Given how much we enjoy gardening, it seemed worth it to give a mushroom growing kit a try. We love cooking with mushrooms and if we can manage to grow them in a kit, maybe there’s a chance we could start growing them regularly as a hobby for our own consumption. The kit seemed like … Continue Reading
Keeping plants in the house over the winter always ends up one of two ways in our home; they are either over watered or under watered most of the cold winter season. We can’t ever seem to find a happy balance between indoor humidity levels, and neglect or too much attention. After participating in a … Continue Reading
This should fall under the”Saw a bunch of seeds inside a fruit and figured I’d try to grow some” category, because that’show this project started. After a couple of internet searches, I learned they would sprout on wet paper towels inside a ziplock bag after a month. I scraped out about 50 seeds, cleaned them … Continue Reading
We planted Milkweed late last year after hearing of the Monarch Butterfly decline. This year, the plants were getting bigger and starting to fill out. By mid-August, the tall plants appeared to be dying. On closer inspection, the stalks and leaves of the plants were covered with thousands of bright orange aphids. But the true … Continue Reading
Mona Lavender is said to be in the same plant family as Swedish Ivy (notice the purple undersides of the leaves?). I won’t go into how to care for it other than it likes half sun/shade and moderate watering outside, and likes to be ignored inside (I only water when almost dry). I’ve managed to … Continue Reading
The Problem I’ve tried virtually all the seed sprouting tricks posted on Pinterest and elsewhere on the internet. I sprout a lot of seeds, so I wanted to find a quick and efficient process. Since I harvest most of my own seeds, not all of them sprout. I don’t want to start them in soil … Continue Reading
There are plenty of articles and websites that say rabbits can be deterred by dogs. Apparently the rabbits on our property do not read. We have a bull mastiff and a great pyrenees that rountinely patrol the yard (granted they don’t chase anything). The bunnies just hop out of view when the dogs go outside. … Continue Reading
It’s sodisappointing when you realize that the reason your beautiful tomato plant has wilted overnight is because a vole ate its roots. And it’s equally frustrating when small trees and shrubs never really thrive, because their roots are routinely nibbled on by voles and undermined by mole tunnels. The commercial repellent granules we bought definitely … Continue Reading
We have always loved growing and harvesting squash, zucchini, pumkin, and watermelon. But for the past 2 years, by mid-June through July, our beautiful plants would suddenly wilt and die. After learning about the Squash Borer moth (Melittia satyriniformissyn.Melittia cucurbitae) with its bright orange body and black wings and the devastation its larvae cause, we … Continue Reading
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of traditional marigolds. But this larger version with full, delicate foliage and large, showy blooms caught my attention. The seeds I bought were labeled “Alaska”, but are actually “African”. I’ll admit that when I bought this seed, I expected a white or off-white marigold because that what the … Continue Reading
Here are a few variations of Do It Yourself pasta drying racks. The goal of each of these racks is to use as little space as possible, and requiring as little setup time as possible prior to use. Hopefully resulting in one less gadget that needs to be assembled/disassembled and one less thing taking up … Continue Reading