I am back again!

I was finally able to recover my user name and password for blogger, and now I am back! I am still uncertain if I will do a spring vegetable garden, as my two kids keep me busy enough, but I am pleased with myself that I actually planted quite a few flower and herbs this year (pics on that in following blog).

Some of the things I have been reading that cleaning solutions and beauty products have in them is alarming me! So I am setting out to make my own. Paraban is in many beauty products, and it is said to disrupt your hormonal balance. I am already on thyroid pills, and have never had what you would call a "normal" cycle, so anything I can do to avoid hormonal disruptions is great! I am going to make my own face soap, deodorant, and hair wash. So even though I may not always be posting about gardening, I will definitely post about all things natural and homemade  :)  wish me luck!

An ounce of prevention

Being fairly new to gardening, I set out to plant of own veggies and flowers with earnest, hoping to carve out my little piece of self reliance. Then Florida showed its' true colors. My pumpkins, squash and watermelon succumbed to powdery mildew, my tomatoes had bugs, and my apples got eaten by squirrels. I was so disappointed that I didn't even bother planting a winter garden. Instead I spent some free time these past few months researching safe, natural remedies for common garden pests. I uncovered some simple ones that i decided to put to the test today! Here is what I did:

*I learned that ants do not like cinnamon, so much so that they will not cross a line of cinnamon. So I set out to create a barrier around all my plant beds, around my windows, and in cracks in my pavement. I also read that cayenne peppers works as well, but I did not have enough of that. Here's to hoping it works!

The spices I used

A barrier we created right around my front walk way

Cinnamon where the ants like to enter my front door

My son helping out

 *Everything I read said that powdery mildew hates milk. Powdery mildew affected all my vining crops, plus my rose bushes. So I bought a few spray bottles, and filled one up with half milk and half water:

 * I also read that baking soda, among many many other awesome things, controls powdery mildew. I figured that I would preventatively kill any already present in the ground, so I sprinkled all my beds and rose bushes with it.

I will let you all know how it all turns out!

Waste not, want not!

We got our first "real" Christmas tree last year. It was wonderful and smelled so sweet! After the holidays, though, I had no idea what to do with it! Burning it just seemed wrong to me, as it is a creature of nature. I think we just set it out and the garbage people took it. This year I vowed to find ways to use my tree. My friend Brittany over at Gardening Adventures suggested using the needles and branches as mulch, and the trunk as fire wood. Brilliant! This way, my plants could keep using the tree, and it would be supplying my new plants with shade and nutrients.

I took my tree outside, and proceeded to cut each branch off. What a workout it was! I felt so accomplished afterward though. Then, I noticed a tree on the curb about 10 blocks away. I started thinking 'oh no, I don't want that tree to be burned!' and proceeded to drag both kids in a wagon down the block. It turns out this tree was 9 feet tall and weighed at least 30 pounds! It did not look that way from afar. Well, amidst more than a few crazy stares, I dragged this beast home. Covered in sap, I cut every twisted and jagged branch off. Victory! I was so happy! So, needless to say, the next day when two (closer) neighbors put their trees out, I totally took them too! I *think* I am all set on pine branches, to my husbands relief. But I cannot wait to chop the trunks up, light a fire, and put the mulch on my new garden beds.

The top is the giant pile of branches I cut off. My arms are so sore! The bottom is the four trunks. See that crazy jagged one? That was the 9 footer.

Waste not, want not! :)

Photos of my winter gardens

Unlike most areas of the country, Florida has temperatures that allow it's residents to enjoy nearly year round gardening (save a few months in the summer). Most of my hardy perennials are still going strong, though some lay dormant. We still have splashes of color amongst the sticks and twigs. Here is what is going on in my gardens today:

 This is my defunct pond that my hubby swears will be revamped this spring! I will plant herbs and flowers around it.

 My crepe myrtle. It is so funny, because it is pretty and full of flowers in the summer, but is basically sticks at the first sign of chilly weather.

 My two garden beds. I cleared the one closest. Here is where I will plant my veggies.

 My sweet magnolia tree, or as my son says "Mommy's tree". My favorite kind of tree, it has grown so much in three years. My daughter snuck in at the last minute lol

 My rose bush. It has such pretty red blooms that smell wonderful. It gets powdery mildew from time to time, but I now know ways to prevent that! If you look on the left, you can see that it has some new leaves coming up.

 After the squirrels got my apples last year, I am cautiously happy about these little guys. 3 little buds on my apples tree!

 The first lime on my key lime tree!

 My meyer's lemon tree. It has some blossoms on it, I cannot wait to smell them!

My lettuce, the unusually warm weather is causing it to wilt :(

That is all for now! What do you have in your garden?

Welcome 2013!

Hello everyone! I am back after an 8 month hiatus. The weather is absolutely perfect here in sunny Florida, and I am ready to get my hands dirty again :)

One of my promises to myself for this year was to get more connected with Mother Earth, and to try and live more in tune with her. This means once again gardening, growing some of my family's foods, and also trying to go a little more natural route with the things we use. I will try and make something twice a month (on my list this year I have laundry soap, deodorant, bug spray and more). Stay tuned, and many well wishes for everyone out there for 2013!

Powdery mildew

My gardens have been growing great. The pumpkins were flourishing, the zucchini and squash were getting huge, my peppers were producing like crazy! Everything was great until powdery mildew came into the picture. At first I did not realize what it was. It just looked like some powder. Then it started to turn my pumpkin black and make it wilt. Here is a picture:

By the time I found out what it was, I tried to stop it. I sprinkled baking soda all over every infected plant (by this time it was the pumpkins, zucchini, squash and watermelon). Alas, half the crops I planted in February are wiped out. This has been a sad gardening year for me :(  Here are some lessons I learned:

1. Don't plant all of one family of crop, otherwise one disease or insect will damage them all.
2. Circulation is key in Florida. My garden is bordered by fence on two sides, so the air is pretty stagnant. This created an environment powdery mildew loved.
3. Prevention is key to avoiding gardening blunders.
4. When I see something out of the ordinary for a plant, I need to actively look up what it is, instead of waiting until it is too late.

My pumpkin is completely gone. My watermelon is small, and might make it. My squash and zucchini has nice sized veggies on them, so some may survive.

In the meantime, my tomatoes are all sprouting. They are green and not ready to harvest yet, but soon. My green beans are growing like crazy! They have outgrown the 6 foot tall bamboo support trellis I made for them. And my peppers are still producing.

I am sad that half my crops are gone already. It's almost May, and not a good time to just start planting things. Oh well, I will tend to what I have and plan for October!

Happy Earth Day

Happy Earth Day friends! In honor of the day set aside to celebrate all things beautiful and natural, I dug up some great quotes about nature. Enjoy!

"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children. "
-- John James Audubon

"Like music and art, love of nature is a common language that can transcend political or social boundaries."
-- Jimmy Carter

"And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. "
-- Kahlil Gibran

"Nature's music is never over; her silences are pauses, not conclusions."
-- Mary Webb

"I believe in god, but I spell it NATURE"
-- Henry David Thoreau 

Homemade baby food

Our little baby girl is almost 5 months old, and really starting to take an interest in us as we eat. At her last check up, her doctor gave us the green light to slowly start introducing solids. Being the green momma that I am (cloth diapered, breast fed as long as I could) of course I want to make my own baby food! What better way to save money, by local and ensure fresh tasty ingredients? So I bought Top 100 Baby Purees and started looking up methods and recipes. It's actually quite simple!

First I had to buy a food processor. Most people have these but somehow my house did not. A quick search on amazon turned up a $25 one with 5 star ratings. Once that came I chose my recipe. I picked apples for her first food. Her doctor said to alternate a fruit, veggie, then meat, and to keep with one food for 5 days to watch out for allergies.

I took two red delicious apples (green or yellow might be too tart for babies), peeled, cored and chopped them. I added about two tablespoons of water into a a saucepan, and threw the apples in. I covered the pan and turned the heat on low for about 10 minutes. Then I put the apples into the food processor and pulsed for about a minute. Once it's pureed completely, it's done!

I spooned out one serving for that day, then put the rest in a silcone sided, BPA free tray. This tray is neat because each square is exactly an ounce, which is how much a baby should have at each seating. I put it in a freezer bag and froze them. It made 6 servings, so she has a week's worth of food! I think I will do carrots next, then chicken.

I am happy to say she loved it! Here are some pics:

 Here is the apples cooking

This is the food processor I bought with the apples inside

Here is the apple puree, inside my tray. 6 servings, plus the one she ate.

And here is Piper enjoying the food I made her! There is nothing more rewarding then feeding your baby (your whole family for that matter) food that you prepare, or even grow yourself. She will be having green beans from our garden soon!

Bartering in the modern ages

Our jalapeno pepper plants are producing like crazy! Each of the four plants has about 4 mature peppers on it, and at least 6 baby peppers on it. And more buds keep popping up every other day. I have a confession to make- I do not like peppers! Not even a little bit. I only grew them because I remember how easy they are to grow. Next year note to self: grow food I will actually enjoy! Ce la vie.

So with my surplus I have decided to give it away to those who enjoy it. Chris (my husband) is learning how to include jalapenos in cooking, and even made jalapeno poppers, but even he is running out of ideas. Chris, my friend, loves peppers and she said that she would gladly take them off my hands in exchange for eggs. Fresh eggs? Score! There is nothing like fresh eggs. I can't explain how, but they just taste different.

And there is something to be said about bartering. I got rid of something that I had plenty of, and in exchange got something that I needed. No money was exchanged. It makes me feel good to know that my hard work with my plants is feeding someone else. Something that I enjoy is benefiting another person. We need to bring back the barter system! LOL here is a picture of my peppers and her eggs, courtesy of Chris :)

Making jam

Today I had the privilege of visiting my lovely friend over at Gardening Adventures, Brittany! We normally get together and talk about gardening, kids and her wedding. But today she showed me how to make jam! I was so excited! We made mango papaya jam, and boy was it good! Here is a link to her recipe, she is so much more of a better story teller than I am ;)  enjoy!

Hard days work

This week I have been on spring break. It has been so much fun! We visited John's Pass, the beach, celebrated Ostara, and had numerous picnics. As most of you know, when you have children it's hard to get much of anything done that remotely resembles work. So Wednesday I asked my sister in law to watch the kids. Most people would have kicked back, read some magazines and caught up on their DVR. Nope, I am crazy, I gardened!I had a full 4 hours free and I put on my muddy sneakers, grabbed my wide brimmed hat, put on sunscreen and headed outside!

First things first, I had two blueberry bushes I bought a few days earlier that needed to be planted. I stopped at Home Depot and got some pine mulch. Blueberries like acidic soil, so I figured adding that along with peat moss would not only acidify the soil but help retain the water in my sandy soil. I got home and found the sunniest part of my back yard, right next to my other blueberry bush. I cleared the area of weeds and grass and dug a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the plant. I back filled it with garden soil, peat and pine mulch. The resulting planting was about 6 inches above the ground level and heavily mulched. I am excited because they are all three different kinds of blueberries, so they should cross pollinate well. Here is what the area looked like as I worked:

 Here is the area before I started ^^

 Got one in

 The hole for the second bush

 Second bush waiting to be planted

 Here they all are! The closest is the one I planted last year, the two further along are the new ones.

Hello plants!

I also surprised my husband and got him a gardenia tree. Yes, they come in trees! Along this fence seems to be the sweet spot for growing things. Everything grows here. Heck, we even have grass growing over here! So, here goes nothing with it. Here is what it looks like:

 Pretty, isn't it?

Ta da! All in a row, I hope they all live long and prosper ;) (star wars pun intended)

Earth Hour

Tonight is the 6th annual Earth Hour. At 8:30pm everyone is encouraged to switch off their lights in a united message about climate change. Last year alone 5,200 cities in 135 countries across the world participated. It brings attention to the fact that if we want to maintain a beautiful Earth with resources for future generations the change needs to be global, but it all starts locally. For more information visit the webpage for Earth Hour and see how you can make a difference. I know for one hour tonight I will be switching my lights off :)

UT's Greenfest

Every year for the past three years Chris and I have gone to Greenfest at the University of Tampa. It is actually where I bought my first plants (two gardenias and a jasmine) back in 2010 and made me want to garden. The gardenias have since died, but the jasmine is going strong! Here is a run down of how it went:

This year it was just as big and busy as ever! They had people selling everything from edible plants to planters to local honey. It was nice to see so many like minded people getting together and sharing stories, tips and ideas :)  Indiana had fun in the children's area, and Chris sat down with Piper along the water front and listened to the blues festival across the channel while I kept shopping. All and all a great day! Here is what we bought:

 This is the key lime tree that Chris saw and got star struck over! We had to get it- key limes are his absolute favorite!

This little guy is a pineapple plant! I can't wait to plant this sucker. The guy who sold it to me said they loathe rich soil. I was sold!

This is gardenia. Chris is not giving up on the thought of having a gardenia bush, bless his heart. I want to try adding pine mulch and coffee to acidify the soil around where it will go For now, it's staying in the pot though.

I finally got my meyer's lemon tree! Isn't it great looking? This one is staying in the pot as well. I may not plant it for a while. I want it to grow more, and need to find a good location to plant it.

We also got some thyme, chocolate mint, parsley, a emerald blueberry bush and a jewel blueberry bush. My hope is that when I plant them next to the blueberry bush I already have that they will cross pollinate one another. We shall see!

I plan on dropping the kiddos off with my sister in law on Wednesday, rolling my sleeves up, and getting dirty! Planting posts to follow :)

First harvest of the season

Hell everyone! Just wanted to stop buy and post a picture of the first harvest of the season: jalapeno peppers! These actually fell off the plant, so I am assuming they want to be eaten lol here they are:

Hooray!!!

Sad orange tree

As most of you know, I am a sucker for citrus blossoms. Having grown up next to two lots full of orange and grapefruit trees, these smells bring back many happy memories. I blogged extensively about it last year (read it here). This year, I have been watching the orange tree in my yard start to develop buds that would eventually turn into blossoms. Every morning I walk out to my car and eagerly await the buds to open. Alas, sadly, many of them just wilted before they even opened :(  I am sad to say that this tree is dying. Here is a picture:

As you can see, about half of the branches are dead. Chris cut off all the dead branches last year, and it looked pretty good, now it looks even worse. The bark is peeling in weird places. The oranges that come off of it are spotted black and taste bitter. And it has a lemon tree with HUGE thorns growing on the side of it. I think I may have an arborist come out and examine it. If it truly is dying we will pay to have it removed. No sense in having it possibly get a disease that may spread to other plants. I will keep you all posted on the outcome!

Sustainable Living Conference 2012

Have you ever been interested in sustainable living? Who doesn't want to make all of their own food, from fruit to eggs to grains? Want to learn more about local farms, planting your own garden, and becoming a more green member of our community? Then check out the Sustainable Living Conference 2012 at All World Farms this weekend. Leaders in the Tampa Bay Area in everything from farming to eating locally will be hosting classes, projects and seminars all weekend. Here is a link to the group's Facebook page. And here is a link to the schedule of events that day.

I am going to another event in Tampa on Saturday (Greenfest) and I am not sure how long that will take, but I am going to try my hardest to swing by. Hope to see you there too :)

Tour of flowers, and such

Lots of plants are starting to display their flowers this time of year, and my yard is no exception. I walked around today (baby in one hand, camera in the other) and snapped a few photos of the new life. Check them out!

This is my two beautiful jasmine bushes. They are finally getting some flowers, and the smell is like heaven!

This giant is my oleander bush. it is about 15 feet tall. It has white and pink flowers on it.

Here is the view looking up into the oleander. Gotta love Florida's skies!

Even the myrtle is slowly waking up

My apple tree! It is still getting some blooms on it.

Bird of paradise decided to end it's slumber and show itself

The holly tree is getting bigger, inch by inch

And last but not least, poinsettias we bought Christmas Eve from Kmart. They were the last ones left, and pretty dingy at the time. We only wanted them for one day. Here they are, almost three months later. Crazy plants!

That's all for now!