Garden past and present

What gives you a little bit of peace in your day? For me gardening and doing yard work along with some other things gives me a bit of peace. I have be gardening for a couple years now and each year I learn something new. Whatever I learned/learn about gardening comes from books,YouTube, searching the web and trial and error. Each year I get a little bit better and a little more brave.

Last spring/summer I had one of my best seasons. I planted carrots, bell pepper, basil,parsley, and lettuce. I used seeds for all of them this time around. The bell pepper plant was a gift from my grandma and it came with 3 pots and seeds. After the bell peppers grow I planted them into the ground outside. This was something new I tried as I have only planted in containers. Three plants produced 4 bell peppers. Since I started late in the season that was all the plants produced. I did have problems with spiders so I sprayed the plants with Epsom salt and water. I also cut some cardboard and wrapped it around the base of the plant so that the spiders couldn't climb up.

The basil and parsley also grow well but the parsley ended up dying. A carrot did end up growing but it was later in the season and there was only one. I still have had no success with lettuce so did is one that I want to master. In the pass successes I planted hot pepers and tomatos And it worked out great.

This season I plan on planting squash,cucumbers, hot pepers, and carrots all in containers this time around. I want to try vertical gardening for the squash and cucumbers but we will see. If any one has tips for growing lettuce,squash,, or cucumbers i'll love to hear it.

Fun Friday

Here's what I'm loving

SHOWS:

The 100-the season finale was Wednesday it ended with a what? Kind of ending. Overall love the show

19 kids and counting- ended last Tuesday and I can't wait for the next season. If you haven't watched it....go now!

Pretty little liers- it came back on Tuesday and the season looks promising

Catfish- this season has been pretty crazy so far with only 1 real person.

NOOK:

I'm enjoying my nook a lot more. Since I've been out of school I have been reading from my nook almost everyday

GARDEN:

I love gardening so much and this past couple of weeks I think about it a lot. Trying out new techniques and think about what to plant next.

GAMES:

Farmville- its for the phone and I have been playing it everyday for about an hour. So yeah I'm addicted

Update

I believe my last update a talked about how school was coming to an end and it has about a month ago. I'm trying to enjoy my time out of school before the next semester starts. I did very well last semester and Insha' Allah (god welling) I will do the same next semester. Guess what one of my sisters graduated from high-school! Its amazing how much time flys and everyday we need to try an get closer to where we need to be. Quran class is going well Alhamdulillaah. I don't remember the last time I wrote about it but its going well. Since I have been out of school I have been reading a lot and catching up on YouTube videos. I need to put more effort into Islamic studies I started out fine then it started to fall but I need to get back on it. I'm also trying to do cake related things more or baking in general. I want to make a hummingbird cake this week but we'll see what happens. Garden wise I planted carrot, lettuce, and a bell pepper plant in the ground. It was a new experience and I'm going to do a whole post on it. I think that's it for updates see you later  :)

Plants of the season

In September of last year I planted some basil and parsley and in December I planted some bell peppers. I wanted to plant something that could with stand the cold and could be in doors.  My grandmother bought the bell pepper seeds and it came with the pot and dirt. I used an old cup to plant the basil and a old flower pot for the parsley. Now its time to replant the bell peppers and the parsley. The great thing about this adventure of gardening is that I'm doing this all by trial and error. Ever thing I know I researched to find out.

I have 1 parsley and basil plant,and 3 bell pepper plants. The basil and parsley smell so amazing :) I cut all the parsley that was growing and placed it in a jar with water in the refrigerator. 2 days later more was growing and is almost time to trim again. I still haven't found a way to keep the basil and parsley upright but I'm working on it.

Last week I did it....I transplanted the parsley and bell peppers. I underestimated how much dirt I needed so I have to go and buy some more before I can do the same for the basil and other bell pepper plant. I also have to buy another 5 gallon pot. I'm thinking of picking up some strawberry seeds while I'm at at it.

Decorate a binder

Here is a craft project for you to enjoy that I did one week. I took an old binder that I had from high school and made it into my garden binder. If you garden you have a lot of information that you have to keep up with. From magazine to caring for each plant of your choosing. You just have stuff that needs to be contained. This idea came to me from seeing home management binders all over youtube and pintrest.  I decide why not use the same Technic to make a garden one? So I did and I have also decide to make a recipe one, but here is my garden one.

Items used:

newspaper

glue

binder with a clear pocket on the front

pictures from magazine

scissors  

 optional:

paint & paint supplies    

        

                First thing I did was decide on what pictures I wanted out of magazines and newspaper.
         I cut the pictures to size and my liking. I also cut out words in a garden magazine like herb and fruit.

I measured the sides of the binder (horizontal & vertical).

I found it help to lay out how I wanted my pictures to lay before gluing. 

I also cut strips of newspaper the size of my binder to place around my pictures to help me keep it in the shape of my binder. 

Next I glue the pictures in place. I spread out the pictures so one color was not in one section. 

Then I placed my glued together picture inside the front pocket. 

Trimming away the sides to make it fit nicely.

                                                             
                                                                       Optional:
                   I wanted a blue sky like background so I painted a piece of paper to look like sky.
                               I then inserted it behind my picture so that a little blue showed.

                                                     Here is my finished look. 
                                If you do a binder like this or similar leave a link down below.
                             I would love to see it. Have a wonderful Wednesday and blessed day.
                                                                         :)

What I have planted so far 2013

I wanted to share with you all what I planted so far this year.  I do have plans to plant more this coming week. It has been so nice here in Georgia with temp.in the high 80's. Sadly I could not enjoy it due to school but a break is coming. I'll post pictures or a video of what I planted in a couple weeks. I will also be posting a book review by next week if not this week. My last final for this semester is May 2 and I cant wait for a break. Its very long due. I made a list of things I want to achieve this summer and hoping I get it done. Any ways here is a video of what I planted. I'll love it if you shared with me what you have planted or hope to plant. I will also love to hear any tips on gardening if you have any. Till the next post......Assalmualkium (peace and blessing) 

:)

Sweet potato's

A month and 2 days ago I planted my first sweet potato slips. It has been going great. I wasn't sure if they would grow since it has been getting colder and sweet potato's don't do so well in the cold. I put my trust and God and prayed (and continue too) that the potato's grow. I have been keeping a notebook of when I water, feed, put in the sun and all the above.Doing so as aloud me to see what I did that worked and didn't work. If your just starting out gardening like me that's a tip for you. I'm still learning as I continue on this path to be good at gardening. One thing that I noticed was tine little flying bugs around the plant. Any idea to what those might be and if so do you know what I can do to fix it? I'll love to hear what you'll are planting this winter so leave a comment.

                                                          Have a great day
                                                                    :)

Tomatoes are ready to harvest

Today I harvest my first tomatoes.It was exciting and sad in a way I don't know why I was sad. :( Anyway I still have two tomatoes that are not ready to harvest yet.Does anyone know what to do to get the tomatoes to continue to grow big and not just stop.I have one big tomato and the rest are small.Like in the picture above.I'm not a fan of tomatoes but my family is.I plan on making salsa I just have to wait for the peppers to finish growing.

In the picture it may look like it's done, but I have to wait for it to turn yellow.What things do you like to make with tomatoes?Here is a picture of the plant before I picked the tomatoes.

Look for another book review maybe Thursday.The book i'm read I love the author and the series.I just can't wait to write a review on it.Have a nice day :)

tomato's,strawberries,and cayenne....

About a week ago I brought my first plants.I didn't really have an idea of what I wanted when I went to the store.There was so many plants to choice from but,I know I wanted to have vegetables and fruits.Since I live at home with my mom and mom rents I have to grow container plants.We saw a peach tree and we wanted it so bad along with grapes.I finale decide to buy a tomato plant,strawberry plant and cayenne pepper plant. So far my tomato plant is growing amazing and soon we will have tomato's.My strawberry plant needs a lot of help so I have to go buy a ton (two things) to help it out a bit.Also my cayenne plant is getting attacked by bugs so I need to find a safe pest spray. I did some research for homemade pest spray and I might just make my own.If you are thinking about starting a vegetable and/or fruit garden I think the best thing to do is get a starter kit or a plant that is already growing.Like I did.I plan on going back and buying bell peppers and cucumbers.I'll let you all know how it turns out.