Category: gardening

Garden Growth

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

We did not do a big garden this year. I got the seeds started late, but I am proud to say that everything I am growing is from seeds. Not a big flex to anyone who gardens, but it is for me because I’ve never been able to do that before. Everything I’ve ever tried to start from seeds, except the cantaloupe last year, has died.

This squash is in the enclosed garden. It should be ready in a few days. I’m embarrassed to say that this garden is half empty. We do have tomatoes, tomatillos (they came up from the crop last year) and cucumbers. I finally got around to weeding this area last week because it was a mess.

This is the before.

And the after.

I do love my little front bed, but it doesn’t get as much sun as I would like. The cucumbers are starting to flower along with the tomato plants so that’s encouraging.

Donny planted this butterfly plant a few years ago and this year it has really taken off. I can’t wait for the hot pink flowers to really open up.

I have always bought a basil plant every year. This year I decided to try seeds and they are actually growing.

We even have a corn stalk. A piece of corn from the bird feeder must have fallen down and sprouted. I thought it was funny so I just left it to grow.

Our hostas that did not do very well last year, and we even thought they had died off, are going crazy.

I decided to plant some avocado seeds and I guess now I have a mini orchard.

We had some sunflower seeds that we had harvested from one of our giant sunflowers a couple of years ago. Donny planted them in the backyard and they are doing their thing.

I’m still trying to work on the back corner, but we’ve just been getting so much rain lately, I haven’t had the chance. I did make a little bell wreath for the patio on one of those rainy days.

So that’s the outside update. Fingers crossed that everything grows.

Months ago Jackson asked me to get these two cat pictures from a thrift store. I loved them so it was a yes. Last night we realized that they reminded us of Queso and Bailey so I guess it’s like a little tribute to two of the best fur babies there ever were.

Green-ish Thumb

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

My seeds have finally grown tall enough to go into the ground. Yesterday I got the front bed weeded and tilled up in preparation for the little sprouts.

I have 5 cucumber plants and 10 tomatoes.

Some of them went into the front bed.

The pots have Calendula seeds that I’m hoping will eventually sprout.

I planted the squash and 2 of the cucumbers in the garden.

The 2 extra cucumbers went in the corner by the potatoes that are getting pretty big. It will still be a while before we can harvest them.

I had quite a few broccoli sprouts that I just planted in pots and we’ll see how those do. I still have some lettuce and tomatoes that were just slower growing than the rest and are still to small to plant. It’s supposed to rain for the next few days so we’ll see how it goes.

Jackson wanted to go thrifting today. I only found one thing that I thought was pretty cool.

Sharon made it, or bought it and gave it to someone, in 1974.

I just love giving old objects a new life and home.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

I am extremely late this year starting my seeds. Will they sprout? There is no telling. I don’t know why I was putting it off, but yesterday I began the task of getting them all done.

I have no room in the house so I put in the enclosed garden.

After this was taken I went out into the shed and found trays to put them in so that I can keep them moist.

I had picked up some garlic at the Asian Market last week and it had already started sprouting so I decided to go ahead and plant those.

I didn’t get all of them planted so they are sitting with damp paper towels on them in a pie plate. I did manage to get 8 of them done.

I cut up our celery for the week and decided to plant the “celery butt”. I can’t wait to see if it will grow. I did it last year and it did grow but it got too hot and it died. Hopefully I’ll have better luck this year.

I also planted the white part of some green onions. I have a lot of luck with those. They grow fast and you can just snip off the green part to use in cooking. I didn’t take a pic of those. I just forgot.

I was pleased to see that our hosta is coming back in full force. I swear it grows at least an inch a day.

The plant we got when we got the Hosta is coming in. It’s a bit of a slower grower but, I’ll take it, because at least it’s coming back.

We still have the construction going on. They are actually moving quickly, but it’s a mess. They are digging on the opposite side and our side will be next.

I keep telling myself it’s for the greater good.

The Coop

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

Day 3 of working on the yard I decided to tackle the very overgrown weeds around our chicken coop. I didn’t want to use the weed eater because they grow so fast and I just wanted them gone. What I thought would be a quick task turned into 3 hours. I didn’t know much about Johnson Grass before I started, heck I didn’t even know the name of this atrocious weed, but I know much more now. The roots are very long with a bulb like structure at the end that resembles peas stuck together. You cannot just pull them up with your hands either. I had to use this garden weasel thing that has prongs on the end that you push into the ground and twist. That only loosens the roots. I then had to use my weed shovel to really go underneath and pry it up.

If you don’t like insects, earthworms or spiders this isn’t a job for you. I thought my chickens would like the earthworms, but they turned up their noses at them. They do however like baby snakes but I didn’t run into any of those today.

The weeds were so thick.

You can see where I had finished on side of the door. I ended up finishing the whole perimeter. It was really hard and there were many times I wanted to stop, but with a lot of water and determination, I finished.

I still need to go inside and get the weeds out of there, but they are only on the side and aren’t Johnson Grass, thank goodness.

The chickens had a ball on the pulled up weeds before I bagged them up for the trash tomorrow. They were digging around for bugs, but making a mess.

I still need to weed around the outside of the house in the backyard, dig up the grass in the fire pit and weed around the a/c unit. I decided to do one project a day so I don’t stroke out in this heat. Tomorrow I think I’m going to wash the front of the house and maybe also my car. I think I need a day break from weeds.

Yard Work x 2

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I am beat. Yesterday I mowed the yard, the thorough kind of mowing where I moved everything out of the way even all the garden pots out by the shed that had so much grass growing through them. It was hot. I was tired. So tired that I was making tea and fell asleep waiting for it to steep.

Today I started on edging the flower bed, patio and front stoop. We have these weird weeds that look like something that should be growing in a pond. I finally got them all out. Now I just need to get some gravel to fill in where it used to be.

The flower bed had grass and weeds growing up to the landscape timbers so I dug a trench to try and keep those at bay. I also weeded. I need to get more mulch and wipe down the house because of the algae. For some reason houses that face a certain way tend to get this green algae on them

There’s so much more that needs to be done in the front and back. We really need to get the power washer out. I also cleaned up around the grill and the garden and swept out and cleaned off the patio. It’s been a long two day, but the weather has cooperated. One step at a time and hopefully one day everything will be finished. Maybe.

My Monet Yard

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

I know we live in the South. I know we’ve been getting a lot of rain. I just can’t believe how fast our grass is growing. Today I thought it would a really good idea to go out and mow. I figured that I could get it done and not have to worry about it for (hopefully) another week. The only thing I didn’t take into consideration is that we would be under a heat advisory.

Between the humidity and the feels like temperature, it was rough. We have been working on the dead spots in our front yard and they are getting better, albeit slowly. By the time I finished mowing I was dripping in sweat and I was beat. If you were driving by our house you might think, Oh, their yard looks nice. Truthfully though, it’s like a Monet painting, It looks really good from afar, but when you get closer you can see it’s just a bunch of dots that doesn’t make much sense. I so need to move things out of the way and really get in with the weed whacker. I need to straighten up the flowerbed timbers. But here is a before of the backyard.

And the after.

The front yard still has a way to go with the dead patches and all, but it’s getting better.

My flowers are still doing pretty good.

It’s just all the little details like the grass growing up against the chicken coop, the fence and the shed, that drive me crazy. I have to tell myself that I can’t get it all done in one day because then I’ll be wiped out for the next 2. Sweet tea and a whole Brita pitcher of water served me well today.

If you have a yard crew that does your lawn you need to go hug their necks the next time you see them, because this is some hard work they are doing. How hot do we think this summer is going to get? I’m scared.

Dig In the Dirt

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There’s been a task that I have been putting off for a while. My plants were getting too big for some pots and the pothos was getting very leggy and not looking its best. Here are what the wall pots looked like before. I had to go back to find a picture, but the peace Lily was just so overgrown and the purple jew was just past its prime.

We had to run to Home Depot to pick up some more potting soil and I found the cutest little indoor plant to replace the purple jew. I was able to separate the peace Lily and replant it in two bigger pots and still have some for the wall.

The peace lilies are in shock right now, but should perk up in a few days.

I had to give the pothos a major trim.

Since they are so easy to grow, I saved the good parts of the vines and planted them around the house. Hopefully they’ll take. It’s rare that they don’t, but we’ll see. It looks so much healthier now. I wish that I could plant it in a smaller pot, but it’s already so well established I’m afraid that it wouldn’t like it.

And y’all, it was HOT outside today. I was sweating, like pouring down my face sweat. It was only 85, so I can only imagine what the actually summer temps are going to be like. There was one saving grace. It’s what help get me through when all of Longview lost power during the heat wave of the summer. Those were the longest days ever, but this helped so much.

Best flavor ever, Tigers Blood. It’s just coconut strawberry, but it’s SO good! Thanks Zippy J’s!

First Harvest

On By thefunkyfrugalistaIn gardeningLeave a comment

Yesterday before the rain set in, Donny harvested the potatoes.

He grew some red and Yukon gold. The last few gardens we’ve had we haven’t had much luck with potatoes.

He managed to get the plants I bought yesterday in the ground before the sky opened up.

Donny makes the best tomatillo salsa, so I cant wait for these grow and start producing.

His tomato plants have about 40 tomatoes on them. We have Roma, big boy and heirloom.

And my hostas are finally flowering.

I just love Spring, even if my allergies don’t.