So The Plan Is…

   This year, growing goodies in my pumpkin patch turned out to be an interesting and fantastic idea!  There were also many lessons to be learned along the way.

   First off, I’m only really interested in growing two kinds of pumpkins.  Not very creative, I know, but that’s all I want.  I grow Sugar Pie pumpkins and Jack-o-Lantern ones.  This year, in that smallish space, I planted 6 of each kind, totaling 12 plants.  That’s an awful lot all in one place.  Two kinds of pumpkins are really not supposed to be grown side by side, for fear of cross pollination.  I’m not looking for the perfect pumpkin, a slight variation between the two is fine by me.  I also pay close attention and make sure I hand pollinate each female flower right away anyhow, so hopefully I do pretty good in getting the real deal out of it.  However, having so many plants in such a small space made it impossible to figure out which kind of male flower I was matching to which kind of female…  So this year, for all I know, they can be a 50/50 mix of each and not one original pumpkin in the batch.

   Growing so many pumpkins had another disadvantage.  Pumpkin plants get huge.  When those leaves get to the size of elephant ears, they really crowd out anything else in the patch with them.  Some of my plants did well under the leaves for a while.  The peppers really liked having the leaves from the pumpkin vines to filter the sun while they were still tiny and weak.  But after a while, those peppers really craved the sun with no shade, and it was a struggle for them. 

   I grew plenty of greens this year as well.  Problem was, I grew too many, and not in shifts, but all at once.  Many of them bolted before I could do anything about it.  Spinach bolts extremely easily and grow very fast.  Out there in the patch, they grew well before the pumpkins were available to provide them some relief from the sun.  I barely got anything out of the many plants. 

   The kale, on the other hand, is sturdy and took extremely well to the patch.  We harvested loads, which I washed, chopped, and froze or I cooked in batches of Zuppa Tosacano soup.  There is still more out there to be harvested.  Some of it went to waste, but that was mostly due to stress in my personal life giving me limited time out in the garden.

   I did specifically leave some lettuce out there to go to seed.  I have no idea what I’m doing as I try to collect the seed, but we’ll see what happens.  Speaking of letting things go to seed…. I tried to grow cauliflower out there.  Some plants seem to have disappeared entirely, but one went straight to seed instead of providing an edible head to harvest.  Sooooo…. Just for fun, I’m going to let it die and dry out there so I can try to collect seeds to play with for next year. 

   Also in the patch are two artichoke plants.  These were a fun experiment.  I assumed I’d plant them and have artichoke to harvest, like most other vegetable plants.  SURPRISE!  That’s not how artichoke works.  They are a permanent plant.  Fine by me!  They start small for a few years and then get bigger and bigger each year.  I actually would have given up, but my neighbor to the west is growing some and explained to me that her plants are 3 years old.  OH!  Good to know. 

   Asparagus, another item I’m attempting in the patch, is much like artichoke… you aren’t going to get anything out of them for a couple years.  Sadly I only had one out of like 12 root sets take and sprout a fern.  The one fern, when it sprouted, nearly got pulled as a weed until I took a closer look.  (Whew!)  I think next year I’ll replant some of them, and add some of the lovely purple ones I had seen this year.  I’m told they are slightly sweeter.

   I planted corn out there, and mammoth sunflowers as well, but it seems I did so too late and accidentally bonsai’d them.  That is to say, I have mini versions… VERY MINI.  Nothing edible, but kinda cute. 

   As mentioned earlier, I have several pepper plants out there as well, but they are struggling.  I removed the leaves covering them a while ago, but I think part of the problem is I don’t know much about growing peppers.  (Last year I got one bell and 5 jalapinos out of like 8 plants.  So I guess we’ll just have to see.  Peppers I really want to get good at, so I’m very sure I’ll be trying again.

   So I guess my next step is, what will I do next?  Well, I have much to do still.  To start, the pumpkins are still going strong.  I’ll work on harvesting the first ones here soon, because I don’t think they’ll want to hang out there much longer…. I had ones last year that got eaten by slugs and snails once they ripened.  Seems ripe pumpkin attracts those critters more so than the Sluggo.  However, as those start to become less productive, I’ll start cutting back the plants.  I’m already pulling plants that are past their prime and not to be left for seed.   (Compost is a good thing.) 

   Eventually there will be very little left, and it will be time to get some heavy work done.  This winter, I’m going to have garlic in the ground.  To do that, I’m going to have to rake back some of the wood mulch that is currently in place and work the soil some.  (Being careful of the artichokes and asparagus out there.  Reminder to self, ask S at the community garden how they can grow stuff every year and not kill the soil.)  I want to work some compost and a little more topsoil into the patch, keep nutrients in the soil, and keep the soil texture good.  Plus, at the beginning of the summer I had planted several garlic cloves, but haven’t seen anything of them, so I want to be careful in case there are dormant garlic plants out there. 

   Once the soil is ready, I have onion starts and 6 types of garlic I’m going to plant and mark.  On top of that I’ll layer about 6 inches of mulch to keep everything cozy over the winter.  If I plant them strategically, they’ll be ready for digging up while the pumpkin plants and others are just going to start needing room next spring/summer.  That’s a lot of nutrients to pull from the soil, so I’m going to have to really watch the compost and organic additives or I’ll be blowing the whole thing.  (After next summer I think I’ll need to plant some soil enriching crops to simply mulch under for a while.) 

   SO, hopefully next year I’ll have two or three varieties of onion, 6 of garlic (Wait, I planted 3 other kinds this year that are going to have to over winter because of the time of year I planted them.  So I guess that makes 9 kinds.  But 6 I’m really putting focus into.)

   I hope to still have a nifty variety of plants in the patch next year, and have a lovely crop of onions and garlic if all goes well.  But eventually, I’ll have perfected exactly what I want to grow where out there and will have a perfect little pumpkin patch garden.

Baring my soul, and my house, to the reading world...

   I have a bit of a stress disorder.  I’ve never really learned to handle stress at all.  I get freaked out, overwhelmed, and then I shut down.  Once I shut down, it’s very hard for me to get back in the game.  I need to rant and rant, to sort out my head, but when it comes down to getting back in the game, no matter how settled my brain is, it’s just not happening. 

   A symptom of this issue is my home.  Well, actually, my home, my car, my work space… pretty much any area I can call “mine”.  Except my pumpkin patch.  I did a very good job keeping that lovely so far.  But for the sake of this story, we’ll simply focus on my home.  It’s a mess.  There are no two ways around it.  My house is a pig sty. 

   In my defense, it’s all clutter, however misplaced.  I live in complete clutter.  But when it hits the point of filth, I’m done.  I can’t handle filth.  As filthy as my house looks, I have extensive UV air and surface cleaning, and am often found moving my clutter around to get to the filth.  Problem is, even after I get to the filth, I find no place to put the clutter. 

   I have recently learned there is a whole population of people just like me.  One thing I have in common with them is the constant feeling of overwhelmed.  I have learned that when you walk into someone’s home and find the same kind of clutter I live in, they are likely perfectionists.  We get so obsessed with getting everything perfectly clean, that when we can’t reach perfection, we quit.  We hate ourselves for it, and the hate is so heavy that we decide living in the mess is much easier, so we shut down. 

   Often I think I get more out of Cub Scouts than my son does.  This time, we as a family joined the Scouts on a weekend camp out.  For the week before, I found myself so insanely stressed out from other issues, I gave in and shut down so badly, I find myself right now living in the dreaded filth.  Sure built up quickly.  I got to the point where even I, who has had several guests visit me in this mess, wouldn’t allow people not just inside my door, but even to the top of my driveway. 

   At this camp-out, I found myself admitting my hidden humiliation to a fellow Mom.  I learned very quickly that I was talking to the right person.  She too has handled the guilt of endless clutter.  She introduced me to a website I’d heard of before… www.flylady.net  I had visited it before, but never made much sense of it and gave up quickly.  This time, I get it.

   So I found the first step.  I’ve scrubbed and scrubbed all day long, and I have a beautifully clean kitchen sink.  But how do I hold myself accountable.  Well, dear reader, prepare to be appalled, because I’m letting you, and the rest of the blog accessing world, into my home.  It’s humiliating and terrifying.  I can’t bring myself to do a “tour of my home” video or anything like that, but as I set my sights on a new spot, I’ll take before and after pictures.  I am going to embarrass myself into not going back!  And hopefully I’ll do it and make it work, because I know many of my friends are living in very much the same way.  If I can find this program successful, and can help inspire them… and if I can reclaim my life, then it’s totally worth it.  I

   So, the theory of the sink is that it’s the central spot for cleaning.  Fly Lady says she doesn’t care if you have to pile your dirty dishes on the floor…. To which I answer, what if I don’t even have room on my floor?  But hey, if I want to make this work, I won’t argue, I’ll make it happen.  Then, the maintained shined sink is a pride point.  Something to look at, know you did and can take pride in, and eventually after making taking care of that one little thing habit, something you can build on.  Sadly, I didn’t get the brilliant idea of before and after pictures before I started the process, but I got bad enough “during” pictures to get the point across; they are pretty rough to the average person.

   I’m terrified to show.  Only a selected and trusted few have seen inside my house, because I am fully self aware to how abnormal it is.  I’m not quite to the point of “Hoarders”…. But it’s not far from. 

   Okay, so without further adieu, here is my sink… during and after.  I’m not proud of the before and during, but very proud of the after.  I even took toothpicks and tooth brushes, bleach, S.O.S. pads, Comet, and Windex too it.  And damnit!  I’m going to keep it clean if it kills us all!!!

I don't know why it won't let me rotate this shot.  This is the during.  I had already soaked the one side in bleach water, and cleared out most of the crap from the other side....

Looking down into the mess.  Again, most has been removed at this point...

Behind the sink sits all the not so clean "cleaning tools"...

All the drips of coffee and such around the edges....

The "Layer of Ooze" left under the pile in the sink.

Even the drain strainer doesn't have the ability to do its job!

BIIIIIG difference!!!

Freaking spotless!  I even got the plastic bits of the strainer degunked!

So much nicer.  And I have something, so small as it may be, to take a little pride in.  Still a very long way to go, but it feels good to get this far.

How Difficult Is A Freaking Allowance?

   So Eldest Son has his first allowance and even a bank account to put that money in to.  I never thought something so simple as an allowance and teaching a kid savings would be so difficult, but suddenly I was swamped with things such as, “How much should I pay the kid?  How much work should he be required to do?  Should I just let him freely spend it?  Should I have him put it in a piggy bank or in a real bank?  If a real bank, which one?  How can I teach him to not spend his money as fast as it comes in?”  Good Grief!  That’s a lot of responsibility just to give a kid an allowance!

   My folks tried many forms of allowance.  I remember getting dollar amounts every week, I still have no idea how they came to the numbers they got.  I know that I wasn’t always good at minding my responsibilities, and my folks didn’t always remember to have cash handy come pay day.  Eventually, and it wouldn’t take long, the allowance would be forgotten again.  I think my favorite attempt was at a system where my brother and I each had a jar.  For each chore we did, we’d get a slip of paper to put in the jar, with an amount written on it, such as 50 cents, 25 cents, 1 dollar.  The idea was to save up these little slips until they amounted to enough to buy something.  I think we’d worked each of us up to like $100 and mostly by way of fighting with Mom and Dad until they’d write the stupid paper, not so much actually doing the job.  Yeah, they never paid that one out. 

   Thankfully, my Eldest Son has a more mature mind than I do.  He’s very happy to help out, and very handy to hold us accountable for our part of it.  He’s seven.  His chore list isn’t large.  Keeping his room clean is difficult even for the adults, because there are two kids living in there and no freaking storage.  But he is required to make his bed every day, and it is a top bunk.  He’s learning how to load his own dishes in the dish washer.  He helps in the garden, and in the kitchen.  He helps with laundry and with his babies.  And, best of all, he goes out to the back yard to scoop the dog poop. 

   I determined I needed a number.  I needed something that wouldn’t make me go broke, and would be financially manageable.  I also realize that with time, he’s going to want to negotiate for raises.  And in my old feeble mind, I might just not be able to keep up with him and am likely to bargain myself into shelling out millions.  So I came up with the idea, 50 cents per year of age.  He’s 7, that  makes for $3.50 a week.  By the time he’s 17, that will be $8.50 a week.  Anything over that, he’s gonna need to get a job.  If I have pre set numbers, there is no negotiating with the feeble minded Mommy….

   There will be no paying half if he has a so-so week.  It’s all or nothing. 

   He has several accounts for his future nest building.  If I was to go with a bank account, I wanted a totally separate one that he can just use for his own spending and saving, nothing to do with his nest egg.  We tried to just let him keep his money in his wallet, but then when we wanted to use some, we’d have to divide off what he wasn’t going to use and put it in his dresser drawer so it wouldn’t go missing.  Then we’d forget it was there entirely, and think it was lost.  Cause for plenty of heartbreak when the kiddo would want to spend on something but suddenly couldn’t.  And what is he learning from that?  Not much.  So I figure with a bank account, he can learn depositing, withdrawing, and assorted responsibilities associated with such, and as an added bonus, his money would be safe. 

   Now the question was, which bank.  Nice thing is, for minors, there are nice laws and policies that pretty much level the field.  Accounts are free, taxes are easy, and all is good.  So what had potential to be the most difficult of these decisions was limited to simply convenience.  Navy Federal is too far away to need to make a weekly deposit, or even an every other week deposit, and small withdrawls for a kid to shop.  I have an account at Wells Fargo that I use for the mortgage.  There is a local branch, so that’s where we headed.  It’s super easy to set up an account when the adult already has one there. 

    So then it was the fun part of taking the kid to go get his account.  He was so cute, very worried about what happens to his money if the bank was to get robbed.  We met with Mrs. Sarah who helped us through the whole process and made him feel much better.  She got him hooked, and he so happily filled out his own first deposit slip.  We went over to my favorite teller, and he was so proud to hand him the slip and his 20 dollars.  He has his own book to track his funds, and now brags to everyone that he has a bank account.

   Now the next step.  I don’t want him to pick a shopping goal, save up just that much, and have all his money gone, so I decided he needs to save 150% of whatever the cost.  SO, if he wants something that costs $20, he needs to save $30.  And some of his remaining will be required to go to charity of his choice.  Even if it’s just a dollar, it’s an important lesson, I think.  He’s picked out a Nerf type gun he wants to save up for.  I’m going to put a picture on his calendar of it, to remind him what he’s saving for and about when he should be able to buy it. 

The Experiment Begins: Immediate Observations

   So, after having planted the starts in my Topsy Turvys, I have new concerns, observations, impressions and such.  Already?  Well, yeah.  They really are a whole new planting experience.

   So, I started with the strawberry planter, and that’s where I’ll begin this post.  The strawberry plants I bought had pretty decent roots, so they weren’t too difficult to shove in the planter.   The planter is basically a bag with holes along the sides to push your plants in.  But my concern here is that the holes are covered by some fairly firm plastic.  It’s a circle, with a hole in the middle, and slits radiating to the outer edges.  I’m actually kinda nervous about the stems poking through these, as they seem like they could potentially cause damage.  So you fill the pot to the first round of holes, shove in your plants, and cover with more dirt… repeat until full.  I’m a little concerned with the final weight on the roots of the bottom plants.  It seems like for such “delicate” roots, that’s a lot of pressure crushing down on them.  Regardless, the one for experiment is up and running.  I did buy shepherds hooks that did not at all handle the weight necessary, anywhere around 75lbs each, so I’m gonna have to work that issue.  There are three different varieties of strawberries in there.  If this gadget works, the secondary experiment will be what kind of strawberries I’ll like best.  Speaking of, Strawberries are not a temporary plant.  They look like they die, but they are actually dormant and return the next year.  I wonder how that will work with the Topsy Turvy…

   Okay, then I filled the pepper planter.  This one is actually very much like the strawberry one, just smaller.  The stem vs. plastic holes concern is still there.  I’ve planted two varieties of hot peppers and one of sweet bells.  Each hole has two plants, because the directions say I can.  Pretty much, the concerns I have for the pepper one match the ones for the strawberry planter.  The weight isn’t as great, so I guess I’m not really worried about that part though.

   Then we get to the tomato one.  This one has me stumped.  I have the tomato and herbs planter.  This one has the hole in the bottom for tomatoes, and 9 holes along the side for herbs.  I only bought 7, because I apparently misread the directions, so I’m gonna have to go get more. 

   Okay, so I’ll start with the planting of the tomatoes.  I had to hang the planter first, because setting it down after the plants were in was not an option, obviously.  I actually broke the first plant I placed, which was very frustrating.  Thing is, with tomatoes you strip the bottom several leaves and plant a large chunk of the stem in the dirt.  The stem grows extra roots this way.  The directions of the Topsy Turvy even tell you this.  There is a foam sponge that you place (snuggly) around the stems to hold them in place.  After trying to NOT break off the leaves while putting the plants in place, you fight to get this sponge in place.  But that root ball, that’s now sitting unsupported on a single fragile stem, is at high risk for breakage.  Once that stem breaks, you’re done.  So I placed dirt around and under the root ball as carefully as I could, but I really have no idea if I was successful in getting the air space out from underneath, or if I just piled a lot of weight on top, snapping them internally.  Guess we’ll find out eventually.

   I’m a little nervous about the foam sponge too.  I don’t know about having something that can trap water like that right at the stem.  Looks like a big invitation to rot.  But, that’s why it’s called an experiment.  And then there is the bit about root space.  I generally plant my tomatoes in much larger planters, and still fight the whole root binding issue.  (Yeah, I’m not an expert on this by any means.)  This being much smaller, I have difficulty seeing how you could produce a lot of tomatoes with a lot of flavor.  You could water the crap out of it, but you could also wind up with watery tasting tomatoes.  Hmmm…

   A concern I had with all three models came about when I watered them.  The water drains down all over the plant, taking soil with it.  Many plants, tomatoes included, do not do well with water on the leaves.  It invites disease, both soil and air borne. 

   Okay, then I worked up to the herbs.  With the ease of the other planters, I thought the side planters here wouldn’t be so difficult.  Wrong.  Thing with herbs, their roots are far more delicate.  I think that by the time they went through, I wound up with about ½ the original roots of each plant laying on the deck below.  Now, I have seen things with root damage make it back, so this will be interesting.  I have always had a hard time growing basil, so I, of course, had to try a bunch of that in there.  I’ve also planted oregano, pineapple sage, coriander, and I forget what all else.  One of my favorites, though, was a purple basil.  However, when I went to shift the planter around, after realizing the hook I bought wasn’t holding up the weight, the planter brushed up against my shoulder and snapped off the purple basil plant.  Guess I’ll have to try to see if you can shove plants in there after the effect…

   So, while I’m not saying there is huge flaws in design, I am observing where the potential may be, and as part of this experiment, these are points I’ll be keeping an eye on.

   A huge bonus to all of them are the fact that I can actually take advantage of the sun by hanging them in places that were previously unusable because I couldn’t dig the dirt in these areas.  But with them hanging, they have a very small foot print.  So all three are now located in places where they’ll get sun all day long.  And it’s less disheveled looking than the multiple flower pots that litter my drive way…

I Swore I’d Never Do It!

But I did. 

   Okay, so yesterday I was in a mood.  When I get in a mood, I go shopping.  It’s a bad habit, but it is what it is.  ANYHOW, so I wandered into my local Home Depot where I discovered they had the Topsy Turvy upside down planters on sale. 

   I always thought the idea of spending 10-20 bucks on a piece of plastic that hangs upside down to grow your tomatoes was stupid, when you could easily make your own.  (And I’m sure I will eventually, I’d just never gotten around to it.)  But these were on sale for under $5.  The tomato planter wasn’t the original… it’s the one for tomatoes and herbs.  And I picked up the strawberry one as well.  Today while scrambling around to find 15-30 strawberry plants for my planter I also picked up the one for peppers.  I’m an addict…….  Do they have a 12 step program for gardeners?

   I figure that for 5 bucks a pop it’s worth an experiment.  With shepherds hooks, I’ll be hanging them near the pumpkin patch.  Stay tuned… it’s time I go out and plant.  J

The Gals Are Gonna Love/Hate Me Angel Chicken

2 lbs of chicken meat of your choice, skinned

8oz sliced mushrooms

1 medium sweet onion, chopped into chunks

Chopped garlic to taste

1 packet Italian dressing mix

1 8oz tub chive and onion flavored cream cheese

½ cup… or so… of dry white wine (I like Pino Grigio)

¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter

Chopped green bell pepper

1 can of Golden Mushroom soup

Onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms to the bottom of the crock pot.  I like to leave my chicken slightly frozen, because I use chicken breast which dries easily.  Chicken plops on top of the veggies.  In a small sauce pan, melt the butter.  Mix in the dressing mix, condensed soup, wine, and cream cheese.  Cook until well mixed, then pour over the chicken.  Cook in the crock pot for about 4-5 hours (Supposedly on low).  Serve over rice or pasta.  (I like rice.)

Why I am obsessed...

   I think that often those around me must get tired of hearing the word “garden”.  Between bragging about my own, or getting the Cub Scout one on the ground, it’s a lot of work, and excitement, and it’s what I love to talk about.  I know of other gardeners, we’re much like crafters, we get obsessed.  Why is that?  That is my thought of the day.  Why am I so obsessive of anything to do with gardening?

   I’ll start with how I’m physically active.  Seems every year, I prove to myself there is still more and more I can do physically that I never thought of myself as strong or coordinated enough to be able to do.  Last year it was hauling around big bags of dirt and containers full of soil and heavy plants.  This year it’s digging in the actual ground, clearing patches of land, climbing fences, tilling soil, and balancing a very full wheelbarrow.  Next year it’ll probably be building raised beds, making more permanent fencing, and gosh only knows what else.  I’ve been somewhat of a weakling over the last several years.  I had assumed that I’d have to surrender to making the hubby do these things for me.  But through gardening, I find that I’m stronger than I thought, and getting more so every day.

   I love how much I’m learning about appreciating the beauty of things previously overlooked.  I never knew until a month ago what borage was.  Now I’m excited to see it grow, and look forward to making flowery ice cubes with it.  Onions, leeks, and chives, when left to flower are really cool looking!   Pretty globe flowers that attract bees and good critters.  This year I learned that mulch is helpful as well as attractive.  (Would have saved me a lot of trouble last year.)  I’m gaining appreciation for marigolds.  I never thought they were anything special before, but this year I have them everywhere, and am still planting more.  Last year it was all about scents.  I fell in love with sweet peas, and night scented stock.  This year I’m trying more varieties of sweet peas, other night scented flowers, and apparently my new chocolate flowers will be at their best chocolate scent in the mornings.  All day long yumminess!!!

   I’m learning about companion planting, how certain things planted together keep the soil in balance, and others drain so much of certain nutrients that when planted together they can’t produce anything.  Some things planted together repel pests that affect the other plant.  Some things planted together actually attract disease.  Some things planted together make the edibles taste better, or produce more, or both!

   Not all lessons are so great.  Today, I learned that I’m especially sensitive to stinging nettles…

   To me, the self growth I’m gaining in the dirt is so exciting, I just wish I could teach everyone the benefits of “Dirt Therapy”, and share that entheusiam with every person I know! 

   I’m so excited to see the boys of the Scouts at work.  I see it in Boo, he’s slowly catching on and finally getting what’s so great.  He was feeling down the other day, he didn’t win at something.  So I took him to the Scout Garden.  On the way, I explained to him that what is wonderful about going there is that it’s peaceful, quiet, and that you get to see what exactly your hard work does.  He was able to see how beautiful the garden is looking, and how many plants are now growing.  He was so proud that his work to help clear the weeds did so much.  His confidence went way up as he held my hand and walked the grounds with me.  We left calm, confident, and smiling.