Hey all, hope the weekend is going well for you and that those of you in the colder climates are staying warm! Here the temp is going to be 82 today and sunny. One of the benefits of living in the desert is our growing season is pretty long and starts pretty early, though it does make it a bit tougher to grow greens. You have to start those in November and December so they have a good chance to grow before bolting in the warmer weather. Just wanted to take a few minutes and catch you all up on what's been going on around here.
We want to thank all of you who follow us on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and here!! We know that we haven't had a ton of original posts lately and we're working on fixing that. We've just been so busy gettin er done and the camera has taken a powder making new videos and even doing some of the DIY projects a challenge. Hopefully, you are enjoying the blogs and articles from our friendly bloggers that we share and find them useful to you.
In the garden...
We've been getting ready for the Farmers Market, our Sugar Snow Peas, Dwarf Siberian and Russian Kale and Romaine Lettuce are getting ready for harvesting. The Lemon Cucumbers are growing nicely, the Clemson Spineless Okra; Beefsteak, San Marzano, Trip-L Tomatoes, Passion Fruit and Royal Hawaiian Dwarf Papaya and Green Leaf Lettuce are all sprouting. The Spaghetti, Yellow Crookneck and Butternut Squash; Hungarian Alma Paprika Italian Sweet Red, California Wonder, Green Bell and Trolli's Italian Pepper; Black Beauty Eggplant; Dark Star Zucchini; Kentucky Blue Wonder Pole Beans; Dragon Fruit; Hungarian Yellow Dattle Cherry and Homestead Tomatoes; Cinnamon and Genovese Basil; Classic and Italian Rosemary are all seeded. The Elephant Garlic and Yellow Onions are growing in leaps and bounds. The Cilantro, Garlic Chives and Dill are holding their own. Strawberries are all in and growing nicely. This week we are direct seeding: Mustard Greens; Hopi Wheat, White Mtn. Apache Sorghum; Hopi Red Dye Amaranth, White Sonora Wheat, Dill Bouquet; Tall Utah Celery and in the chicken run Chicken Forage Blend from Southwest Victory Gardens. We are transplanting the Chocolate Mint and the California Pepper Tree cuttings this week also.
All of the seeds we grow are organic and heirloom. You can get the majority of the seed varieties we listed from SeedsNow.com. When you click on SeedsNow.com, you will be directed to our affiliate link, we get a discount towards our purchases. Their prices are good and their customer service is great!! The first order I placed with them included coupons on future purchases and a free gift and arrived in 3 days.
All of the seeds we grow are organic and heirloom. You can get the majority of the seed varieties we listed from SeedsNow.com. When you click on SeedsNow.com, you will be directed to our affiliate link, we get a discount towards our purchases. Their prices are good and their customer service is great!! The first order I placed with them included coupons on future purchases and a free gift and arrived in 3 days.
A quick DIY Seed Starting/Transplanting project.
Almost all of our seeding takes place inside and then the seeds go outside to harden and be planted. But it takes a lot of pots and trays to get all those seeds started and this week I actually ran out and had to finis some transplanting. This led me to a fast DIY project to repurpose all my Iced Tea Plastic Bottles. Here's a quick pictorial and instruction. It takes 5 minutes from start to finish for each bottle.
After rinsing out the plastic bottle with water and allowing it to dry, remove the label. Using a utility knife make a slit in the side of the bottle to get the scissors in. Cut all the way around the bottle. Using a drill or a nail and in the dimples on the bottom of the bottle make drainage holes. Voila, you have a quick and easy seed starting or transplanting pot until your order of nursery pots arrive. lol
Now, don't throw out the top half or the bottle caps. They make great mini greenhouses for young plants in the ground. They also make great plant collars to prevent the young plants from getting nibbled on by rodents.
Now, don't throw out the top half or the bottle caps. They make great mini greenhouses for young plants in the ground. They also make great plant collars to prevent the young plants from getting nibbled on by rodents.
The Critters...
| | The girls are now 26 weeks old!! They are a very healthy size and still incredibly friendly. This week some of them began to leave me delicious presents!! One of them even laid while I was sitting there petting her!! They are just as friendly and inquisitive as can be. As soon as they see me heading towards the coop they come running to the inner door and wait. If I'm working on the compost bin, they sit along the run fence and just watch me like a hawk, if you'll pardon the phrase. |
The rabbits are getting bigger and are still being handled daily. Hopefully this will make it easier when they have kits or when moving them between sections in the hutch.
The Hutch Upcycling DIY is coming along and hope to have that for you in a week or two.
The Hutch Upcycling DIY is coming along and hope to have that for you in a week or two.
| | Misha and Bella are settling very nicely. Mischa is a bit of a rambunctious pup but very eager to learn and please. Also, her cone of shame came off and she's no longer walking into things. lol |
Bella, still has some confidence issues that we're working on. It is obvious that her former owners abused her and if I raise my voice to correct Mischa, she ducks under the closest available object and begins shaking.
We are working on basic commands before introducing them to the chickens or any other animals. So far they have mastered sit and stay. We are working on the come and leave it commands. They are making good progress though.
Thanks for dropping bye and have a great weekend!!
We are working on basic commands before introducing them to the chickens or any other animals. So far they have mastered sit and stay. We are working on the come and leave it commands. They are making good progress though.
Thanks for dropping bye and have a great weekend!!
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