Garden Totals for 2020

 We weren't going to do a garden this year.  We were going to rest the beds instead.

Then the pandemic hit, and I decided that I might as well do a garden.  I figured (correctly!) that even if civilization didn't collapse, I'd have lots of time on my hands.

By the time I decided this, it was too late to order seeds.  Ergo, the most productive garden we've ever had was planted entirely with left-over seeds from our stash.  

This is one day's harvest

 Here are the numbers in pounds, all processed weights, i.e. peeled, tops cut off carrots, etc.  (Drum roll, please.....)

strawberries - 2.7
purple beans - 14.6
potatoes - 2.6
cherry tomatoes - 10.8
tomatoes - 240.8  (And that is processed weight, which is probably, conservatively, half of harvested weight.)
okra - 17.5
garlic - 3.7
broccoli - .6
squash - 9.4
carrots - 17.5
zucchini - 41.5
kohlrabi - 2.3
bell peppers - 1.5
blueberries - .000001 (we harvested two berries....)

How does that compare to previous years?  (Keep in mind that there were some years when I opted for a small garden, which basically just means I prefer to avoid eating store-bought tomatoes.)

2014 ~ 138 pounds
2015 ~ 143 pounds
2016 ~ 140 pounds
2017 ~ 260 pounds
2019 ~ 177 pounds
2020 ~ 365 pounds

This year I'm planning to rest the beds and spend a lot of time incorporating compost (including chicken manure) directly into the beds, plus working on our compost pile.

Merry Christmas!

Whatever is --- or isn't --- happening in our lives right now, we can still kneel in awe at the manger in Bethlehem, welcoming the impossibly beautiful truth into our hearts: God really does love us that much!

Upcycled Skirt

I started with a pair of biking shorts, blue with small dots in a swirly pattern, and two men's t-shirts, I think extra large.

 I combined them to make this very comfortable skirt.

 The trick is to make sure that the width of the bottom of the shorts, after the legs are cut off, is as close as humanly possible to the width of the top of the trapezoids which makeup the skirt itself. I think I used 8 panels. The hem is serged but not hemmed since these are mostly for hanging around the house. I could go to the hardware store in them, but not church, I'm thinking.

They were fun to make! I hope you are also having fun with some creativity these days!

Computer monitor stand

Every week I try to do at least one thing that makes my life run more smoothly or I try to make some progress on a long-standing project, like organizing photos.

Here's something I designed to make my life easier. I would have liked to have built it, but my darling husband took my cut list and finished it for me.

 it was made from leftover wood, and was very simple, but it will be an improvement. If I make a little Improvement every week, I can work towards shaping a home that functions better and frees up more time and energy.

I hope you are all working towards your own goals and making good progress! Here's to baby steps-- they really do all add up.

#CoronaCreative

 A sample of some of my creative endeavors....

 

The above headband is designed to match all of my jeans, regardless of the varying degrees to which they have faded. :)

The tops I just added ruffles to, but it's nice because it transforms a tank-top with spaghetti straps into something I can wear in public.  They are SO comfy -- I'm not a huge fan of bras so I love them -- and now they are modest enough to go anywhere.

I hope you've been having some creative fun this summer, too!

A Morning Harvest

Tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, squash, cherry tomatoes, okra, and purple beans. All harvested this morning before work.

My husband has decided that next year we only need one zucchini plant, not four!

 

PS

We did not steal the shopping basket.  We bought two when Shopko went out of business for $5 each.  Very handy!

Video with Life Hacks

Some interesting stuff in this video!

It makes me think I should melt more stuff!

Gardening to save money?

I spent an hour gathering these beans this morning. I'll probably spend another half an hour processing them. I could buy the same amount for about $5, which makes my hourly rate pretty dismal.

Now granted, these are tastier then what I get in the store, and probably healthier as well since these will be more fresh when they are eaten. (Most of them will be frozen and eaten this winter, but even then, I am guessing freezing them right away preserves more nutrition then what probably happens to commercially processed ones.)  They were not harvested by children or people being exploited. And it is quite satisfying to eat food you have grown yourself.

But if you are in it for the money, I'd just get a part-time job

Freezer Inventory Made Simple

Here is an easy way to keep track of what you have in your freezer. As you add or subtract items, simply move the magnets. It stays on the freezer top, held in place by more magnets, and can be customized to what your family eats.

 No need to find a pen, or wonder where you put that piece of paper. Hope this helps!

Today's Harvest

Green onions, purple beans, basil, and chamomile. The latter I grew to use as a dye, although I haven't tried it yet. I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I will prepare a concoction with chamomile and lemon juice for my hair, I kind of DIY Sun In. My roots are showing!

We got a lot done in the garden this morning. Lots of weeding, some harvesting, and we planted some more carrot seeds in the section where they failed to emerge. I also trimmed the lower 12 inches or so of most of the tomato plants. That is supposed to reduce disease, plus I don't really want them going everywhere along the ground. I think there are more likely to rot and attract bugs if they are on the ground.

I have to say, there is something intensely satisfying about growing my own food, even while recognizing that the time I spend gardening is out of proportion to the money I save. But it's becoming less about the money and more about healthy food and a feeling of being just a little bit more independent.

House Painting

My husband painted this. It is supposed to be vaguely reminiscent of Van Gogh. I like it because it would normally go on the inside, so to put it on the outside seems whimsical and fun.

I should add that it is not on canvas. It's on wood, over an insipid painting that I picked up from a garage sale years ago. The fact that the color of the frame matches the house is sheer coincidence. The painting has also been sealed with some kind of special sealant. We will see how well it holds up to the elements.

I'm liking it, though. It appeals to my sense of humor.  🙂

Tomatoes planted!

Now to wait, and hope we don't get any storms with hail....

I'm really glad this is my hobby and not my sole source of food....

Tomatoes: Moving Toward Planting

Last week, we ate the last of the 2019 tomatoes. Yes, we harvested and froze enough last year that they lasted us until May! This is not bragging, I hpoe; it is rejoicing in the generosity of the soil and the sun. So it's time to start up again this year.

We've had tomatoes under grow lights for quite a while.

Hear you see Belovedest finishing off putting up the tomato cages.

Does this look like 140 pounds of tomatoes? Or does it look like an experiment? Hopefully, it is both! My husband and I were arguing about the best way to transplant tomato seedlings into the larger milk containers. I wanted to add crushed eggshells. We also disagreed on how quickly they should be hardened off. I wanted to go more slowly. Naturally, this resulted in a little friendly competition. The results are before you, with my larger, straigher tomatoes on your right. Now we'll see what happens when we plant them... I'm thinking eggshells for everyone next year...

Grarden Totals 2019

This is absurdly late, but here you go.....

Totals in pounds, rounding up or down to the nearest pound:

Lettuce - we don't track, but we do enjoy!
strawberries - 4
purple beans - 1
potatoes - 6
cherry tomatoes - 2
tomatoes - 140
okra - 11
garlic - 4

Total - 177 pounds, 140 of which were from tomatoes.

2019 was supposed to be a small garden.  We were just going to grow the necessities.  Then we decided to plant ALL of our tomato seedlings.....  We had at least 10 tomato plants.  (Honestly, we probably should have had better results.)

Running total:
2014 - 138
2015 - 142
2016 - 140
2017 - 260
2018 - resting the beds, adding to the compost and burying table scraps in the beds
2019 - 177 (mostly tomatoes)

first garden gift

From our 2020 garden and harvested about 10 minutes before eating it!

New Kayak

It's an inflatable kayak!

My husband has wanted one for a while, and I thought it would be a nice way for him to get a water fix, since in a perfect world he would live at the beach...

This was the first time we got it out.

Still sewing!

I'm working on headbands, although I think it might be good to make some masks.  COVID-19 is peaking in our area.

Spring is here!

Quoteable

There is a famous question that shows up, it seems, in every single self-help book ever written: What would you do if you knew that you could not fail?

         But I’ve always seen it differently.  I think the fiercest questions of all is this one: What would you do even if you knew that you might very well fail?

         What do you love doing so much that the words failure and success essentially become irrelevant:

         What do you love even more than you love your own ego?  How fierce is your trust in that love?

From Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, page 259.