Laser Engraved Plant Tags

One of the biggest problems we have had over the years is keeping track of the things we grow.  For the most part, it’s easy to tell a tomato plant from a zucchini plant, but when starting seeds, it’s important to keep track of what you planted and where.  As the seedlings grow, it becomes easier to tell what kind of plant it is, but if you plant multiple varieties, this becomes more difficult.

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Garden Irrigation – Newtry Fertilizer Injector

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For most of my drip irrigation setups, I use the Dig 1 Pint Proportional Fertilizer Injector I get from Drip Depot.

House Front Drip Setup

House Front Drip Setup

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Learning How To Propagate

Double pink impatient

Years ago I went flower shopping for the very first time, best friend in tow.  It was the nursery section of Builder’s Square and I had $20 burning a hole in my pocket.  Flower money, which was also a first.  My new home had a row of established lilacs bordering the grassland beyond and I wanted a pretty little flower bed underneath them.  Suddenly my “friend” shouts out, “Hey they named a flower after you!”  I was like, “Really?”  Her reply, “Impatient!”  Funny girl, but I bought them.  This started my love of these little flowers and every year after that I planted them under my lilacs.

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More Garden Irrigation – Drip Tape

This post will be an instructional post for how I install drip tape irrigation in raised beds.  There are many ways you can do this, I find this method to be effective for me.

I use mainly Irritec Perma-Loc drip irrigation tubing, drip tape, and fittings.  I get them from Drip Depot.  They have very decent pricing, and the best selection for all of your irrigation needs that I have found.

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Favorite Finds At Aldi’s, Shopping Clearance Plants

Why is it called “Aisle of Shame”?  My guess is because you go there for groceries and can come home with a chainsaw.  I’m not ashamed of the things that I get from that aisle.  In fact I went back specifically to get more and ended up also getting milk.

Aldi’s was my go to and then it fell off the radar but it is back with a vengeance and I’m remembering all the things I love about that store.  This year it’s been all about the garden and the finds have been awesome.

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New Garden Irrigation

The new garden area we created this year is really doing well.  But it has added a lot of manual watering to our days.  In the new garden area, we have about twenty grow bags of pumpkins and winter squash, 25 bags of summer squash, 4 tomato plants, a 4 foot by 8 foot raised bed of corn, a 2 foot by 8 foot raised bed of sweet potatoes, and in the greenhouse there are 5 watermelon plants, 8 cantaloupes a zucchini, and a couple of tomatoes.

Corn, squash, and pumpkins by the greenhouse

Corn, squash, and pumpkins by the greenhouse

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15 Gallons of Fun – FIMCO 15 Gallon Spot Sprayer

This has made life a lot easier, a little more complicated sometimes, and overall an investment worth making.

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Growing Melons in a Poly Tunnel

I’ve never had great success growing melons.  Sam was the first person to grow an actual watermelon here.  From a seed that was in a piece of melon from the grocery store.  He was excited about it and asked if he could plant it.  Bill and I said sure and he plopped it in the ground right in front of the house.  As the summer wore on that little seed just kept growing into a beautiful plant and then formed an actual melon which we enjoyed that fall.  Not in a million years did I expect that.  I have attempted to grow them every year.  I have carefully tended to them, I’ve started them directly in the ground, I’ve started them in the house, I’ve put them in tilled gardens, I’ve put them in low raised beds, I’ve put them in low raised  beds and then stapled wire over them to keep critters out, I’ve put them in tall raised beds, I’ve tried them in multiple different locations and I’ve tried many different kinds of seeds.  From time to time I’ve gotten small melons with little taste but nothing has even been as good as that random seed that Sam planted.  So what have I learned?

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Organizing Made Simple

I am a pro at putting things in safe places.  So safe in fact that they will never be found again.  I am also a pro at putting things that do not make sense being grouped together, together.  I also have an advanced degree in the quick clean where you shove things out of sight because someone is coming over and you don’t want them to see just how out of control life has become.  Of course I will remember where everything that moved out of eye sight in the frantic grab and shove went, not.  Enter organization software Odoo Inventory and Totescan.

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Adding A Wooden Door to a Tpost

wooden door with small gauged wire covering it on the original garden

Bill built two of these doors for our original garden after the store bought ones fell apart.  They are heavy duty and are holding up really well. Continue reading

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