Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Rambling: Garden Space
I've rarely had a lot of space for vegetable gardening. When I was very small, I remember trying to grow carrots in a flowerpot. When I was a bit older, a friend and I started a small garden in my back yard, but I remember each bed being perhaps the footprint of a laundry basket, and I think that there were only four beds. I don't recall whether we stayed interested long enough to see anything sprout; the friend seemed most interested in digging the watering trenches.
In adulthood, Himself and I had a twelve by twenty-five foot plot in a community garden, and while that was enjoyable, it was our only garden, and therefore I promptly filled the ends with roses and rosemary and a bay tree, all of which grew enthusiastically. This left us, after paths, with perhaps 150 square feet of space for annual vegetables. Fun, but not really enough room for a big block of corn, much less corn plus pumpkins plus tomatoes plus beans plus... well, you get the idea. Then we moved into The Best House Ever, but Himself has a great fondness for lawn, so the vegetable area is both smallish and limited in sunlight.
But this year, and likely next year, and not inconceivably for a few years after that, I'll have access to a fair-sized back yard's worth of garden space, more than I've ever dreamed of before. Enough that I worry that halfway through the summer we may need to declare failure and plant half of it with a cover crop and just mow. But I'm not spending much time worrying; I'm spending a lot more plotting what to plant. For the first time in my gardening history I can seriously consider pumpkins, and melons, and winter squash, and more than three tomato plants, and enough strawberries for more than a token taste now and then.
Since my access to this garden is for a limited time, I'm taking it as my opportunity to find my favorite varieties. When the time returns that I have room for only one pepper plant, or one tomato, or a dozen heads of lettuce, or I have to decide whether any melon or squash at all is worth the space, I'd like to know what my very favorites are.
And that means starting seeds--also something that I can do this year for the first time. We've added a tiny greenhouse, roughly the size of a double closet, and I'm already well on my way to filling all of the space available with plants in progress.
It's exciting. Assuming that it happens, there will be Pictures.
In adulthood, Himself and I had a twelve by twenty-five foot plot in a community garden, and while that was enjoyable, it was our only garden, and therefore I promptly filled the ends with roses and rosemary and a bay tree, all of which grew enthusiastically. This left us, after paths, with perhaps 150 square feet of space for annual vegetables. Fun, but not really enough room for a big block of corn, much less corn plus pumpkins plus tomatoes plus beans plus... well, you get the idea. Then we moved into The Best House Ever, but Himself has a great fondness for lawn, so the vegetable area is both smallish and limited in sunlight.
But this year, and likely next year, and not inconceivably for a few years after that, I'll have access to a fair-sized back yard's worth of garden space, more than I've ever dreamed of before. Enough that I worry that halfway through the summer we may need to declare failure and plant half of it with a cover crop and just mow. But I'm not spending much time worrying; I'm spending a lot more plotting what to plant. For the first time in my gardening history I can seriously consider pumpkins, and melons, and winter squash, and more than three tomato plants, and enough strawberries for more than a token taste now and then.
Since my access to this garden is for a limited time, I'm taking it as my opportunity to find my favorite varieties. When the time returns that I have room for only one pepper plant, or one tomato, or a dozen heads of lettuce, or I have to decide whether any melon or squash at all is worth the space, I'd like to know what my very favorites are.
And that means starting seeds--also something that I can do this year for the first time. We've added a tiny greenhouse, roughly the size of a double closet, and I'm already well on my way to filling all of the space available with plants in progress.
It's exciting. Assuming that it happens, there will be Pictures.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wallet-tote
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Wallet-tote !
Fold it up…
Zip it up…
Summer tote!
You can make them in many different shapes
This post is here
A Critter A Day
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Here they are; the critters....the first four in my "Critter a Day(unless otherwise overwhelmingly engaged in the care of little munchkins!)" project where I use up my lovely vintage fabric offcuts...It's been over a week since I first spoke of this project and I have four no actually almost five critters made. As soon as those babes are eyes closed I'm at my singer diving into the scrap basket sewing and stuffing like a crazy woman...don't wake just yet little babies...just a few more stiches to go...so much fun!!
I usually get a good hour or two...darn the washing and the dishes, they can wait i say, I have critters to make :D
Here they are; the critters....the first four in my "Critter a Day(unless otherwise overwhelmingly engaged in the care of little munchkins!)" project where I use up my lovely vintage fabric offcuts...It's been over a week since I first spoke of this project and I have four no actually almost five critters made. As soon as those babes are eyes closed I'm at my singer diving into the scrap basket sewing and stuffing like a crazy woman...don't wake just yet little babies...just a few more stiches to go...so much fun!!
I usually get a good hour or two...darn the washing and the dishes, they can wait i say, I have critters to make :D
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