bussete1's Blog

First Frost: Good and Bad
Oct 3, 2009 | 8:31 AM PST

I experienced my first frost with my first garden this year.  I heard the weatherman warning about it yesterday morning, so I knew I had to get out there and strip my plants of veggies.

Good: 10 lbs of Jalapenios

Bad: 50 mph winds pelting rain.

Good: finding the hidey-holes that the cucumbers were using

Bad: Wind Chill of 30 degrees

Good: Hot cocoa after each bone-chilling trip outside

Bad: Throwing out my back on my last trip to the garden.

Good: enough green tomatoes to fill a paper grocery bag

Bad: Waiting for the green tomatoes to ripen in a paper grocery bag

Good: Waking up this morning to find we didn't get a frost.

Bad: Hands that are burning from picking peppers in the rain without gloves.

Good: Learned a lot about harvesting my garden.

I picked all the vegetables off all my cucumber, zucchini, tomato, bell pepper, and jalopenio pepper plants, whether they were ripe or not.  It took 5 trips with a laundry basket.  Thankfully, it didn't frost, so I'll still have more coming from my garden if we have an indian summer! 

Here's an Idea
Sep 25, 2009 | 4:32 PM PST

Today I walked through what looked like a refugee camp.  The people were starving and barely had the energy to stand.  It was a homeless shelter.  The person in charge said they haven't had much food for the past few months because of the economy.  They've been making soup out of everything. 

I had an over-abundance from my garden this year.  I stored it for winter and gave extra away to friends.  Finally, I had too much, and I heard there was a homeless shelter downtown.  I found out where the drop-off place was and I went with my last herb harvest and a few zucchini.  I was shocked to see this sight.  It was my first time at a homeless shelter, and only 15 miles from my house.

I decided that next year I'm going to double my garden space (which I was planning on doing, anyway) and dedicate a portion of my garden to the homeless shelter.  I know that I wouldn't make much of a dent, but what if everyone planted just one extra plant for the benefit of their nearest homeless shelter?  It's just an idea, but what if it works?

Wal-Mart vs. Everyone Else
May 2, 2009 | 6:20 PM PST
I already bought all my seeds, then I went into walmart today.  All their seed packets were only $1, but everyone else was around $2.  I'm frustrated.

I love freecycle!
Apr 4, 2009 | 7:23 AM PST
Tags: freecycle , mulch
I got a whole bunch of free mulch from freecycle!  It's all grass clippings, and it was enough to cover my new 10' x 20' vegetable garden.  Perfect timing, becuase it's supposed to rain today and blizzard tomorrow.  I love it because we don't have yard waste pickup yet, but it has been so warm that most people have already mowed their lawns.  He needed yard waste pickup and I needed mulch.

Daffodils are blooming!
Apr 3, 2009 | 10:19 AM PST

Our daffodils are blooming!  I have a vase of them on the kitchen table.  I had three job interviews today and another one is comming up on Monday.  Things are looking up in that department!

Diggers Hotline
Apr 2, 2009 | 8:01 PM PST
Tag: diggers hotline
It's a good thing I called digger's hotline.  It turns out there is a power box two inches from where I marked out the garden, and it's close enough to the surface that the tiller might nick it.  I'll have to move the garden a little.

Marked out my vegetable garden
Mar 29, 2009 | 7:01 PM PST
Tag: diggers hotline
I found out that I have to call the digger's hotline even if I disturb the soil, so today I had to color the section of lawn white that I'm going to make into garden.  Good thing I found a spray paint can in the garage!

Bachelor's Buttons
Mar 28, 2009 | 9:21 AM PST
Tags: bachelor's buttons , old seeds
You already know I have a bunch of seeds as old as my marriage that I'm trying to plant.  I planted some bachelor's buttons in paper cups and tin cans, and they're getting some true leaves!  I'd put some pictures up, but I can never get them uploaded to this site.

New to us rototiller
Mar 27, 2009 | 10:49 AM PST

Tim picked up the free rototiller.  It's bigger than a riding lawnmower!  I think the next size up attatches to a tractor, lol.  Tim took a look at it, and he said it would take him an hour and $40 in parts to fix!  Fresh veggies, here we come!

Having friends is great!
Mar 22, 2009 | 4:57 PM PST
Tag: rototiller
My husband is going to pick up the rototiller  from our friends at church, and they told us not to return it.  We get a free rototiller after parts!  Woohooo!

Good thing we're planning a garden.
Mar 20, 2009 | 11:35 AM PST
Tags: jobs , fiscal gardening
It's a really good thing we're planning a garden because I just lost my job.  Wish me luck on the job hunt.  At least our garden will help us pull through this summer financially.

Bringing a new convert to mint
Mar 18, 2009 | 7:08 AM PST
Tags: chocolate mint , cuttings
I told a friend at work that I have a chocolate mint plant and I have tea from it all the time.  She wants some cuttings so she can have chocolate mint tea, too.  I have brought another person over to herbalism.  Mwahahaha

Starting Seedlings
Mar 17, 2009 | 4:57 PM PST
Tags: seeds , seedlings , bell peppers , tomatoes

I found some eight-year-old bell pepper and tomato seeds lying around that I thought I'd try to start.  I went through an egg carton for supper tonight, so I filled it with dirt from outside and put five seeds in each compartment (hey, they're really old seeds, I'm lucky if one comes up). 

If they come up, great.  If they don't, it's off to Earl May for seedlings.  Wish me luck!

I bought seeds today!
Mar 15, 2009 | 7:45 PM PST
Tags: vegetable garden , rototiller , seeds

My husband and I are planting our first vegetable garden this year.  I bought cucumber, basil, radishes, carrots, cilantro, peas, sage, turnips, and lettuce seeds today at the grocery store.  They were 30% off, too!

At church, I asked one of our friends if he knows someone with a rototiller so we can make our garden bed.  It turns out he does, but it's been broken for five years.  Lucky for us, my husband worked at a small engine repair shop after school in college, so we're going to fix it as our "rent."  It needs a carbourator rebuild and a muffler, and I guess that costs $30 for the parts.  This is a great bargain for both of us!  Things are coming together.

Tulips, Garlic, and Daffodils
Mar 13, 2009 | 7:21 PM PST
What do Tulips, Garlic, and Daffodils have in common? They're coming up in my front garden! WOOOHOOO!