It was an eventful day yesterday and this morning. Mama (that’s me!) planted some seeds in a little greenhouse kit (purchased for .50 cents at a yard sale this past fall).
The kit came with some soil. Since I am trying my best to do organic gardening, and I don’t know what exactly is in that soil, instead I used some extra soil from last year along with some compost from my outdoor compost pile.
There are a few stray pine straws in there that I still need to pick out, but over all, my soil is happy, and enjoying the little greenhouse.
And while Mommy planted, the kids got to plant as well with little kid’s gardening kits I picked up at Lowe’s. While it’s not necessarily thrifty ($10 a kit I think), it did come with a cute sesame street bag with gardening tools for the kids. My kids are 2 and 4, so these were perfect to get their attention!
They planted cherry tomatoes and pumpkins! Things were quite messy around here.
This morning I went about storing my organic grain. I washed my containers, dried them thoroughly and let the containers sit empty overnight to make sure all excess water was gone. Then I poured in my grain to the air tight and water tight containers. While these containers are NOT BPA free (from what I know), they are what I have on hand. A girl’s gotta start somewhere!
I ground up my first batch of flour last night, and made banana muffins! They were so good! And while Mama worked on storing all the grains this morning, the kids had some fridge fun (pic complete with bed-head)!
The perfect distraction while Mama works! How are you all doing with your gardening and food storage endeavors? I’d love to hear and see some photos too!
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There is a great website called Greenthumbtrader.com that is all about gardening that you might be interested in. This is a FREE site and the basic premise is that we trade extra plants, seedlings, and seeds with each other. I have personally saved lots of money by being part of Green Thumb Trader. I was able to get two varieties of raspberry bushes, blackberry bushes, rhubarb, blooming chives, and a butterfly bush for free from this site.
.-= Gina Juliano´s last blog ..Over $11 In Coupons From Nestle =-.
WOW! I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
Sounds like y’all had a great time yesterday:) I hope to get my garden started this week! What do you use to grind your grain?
.-= Holly´s last blog ..Publix Ad Deals 3/10-3/16 or 3/11-3/17 with Coupon Matches =-.
I just ordered 2 5 gallon pails with gamma lids from Country Life Natural Foods co-op. When they come in, I will be switching my grains into these buckets. I think it will make my pantry much more efficient. I’ll do a blogpost and follow up with you when they come in!
Oh I’d love to see a follow up! I’m wanting to order these, but they are expensive everywhere I have looked. Do you have a link for where you got them from?
Whoa!! Sounds awesome! Jeff started his seeds also and they have all started to sprout, I am so excited about his gardening this year. I do the herbs, leafy stuff, lol.
I need to get more containers for storing …. You guys are doing great!
Sounds like a very productive day, Mama!
I used some fast food containers for instant greenhouses. I planted in cheap peat pots but I used cardboard egg cartons last year. This works great for sprouting seeds. Check it out….. http://www.isurmise.blogspot.com
I would love to start my own little garden but I have absolutely no idea where to begin since I have never done anything like that before!
.-= Crystal´s last blog ..WHOLE FOODS FREEBIES =-.
I didn’t know anything last year when I started. What worked for me was to just jump in with a couple of plants. I started with beans and tomatoes, and grew from there. Go back through some of my old gardening posts, and you might find some inspiration. We made our own beds and just filled them with soil from a local horse farm (broken down manure).
I’m starting my plants in pots I made from black and white newspaper – I thought it was thrifty and worth a try. We have two little tomato plants peeking through so far.
I just sat down today and planned my garden. I got the seeds a few weeks ago from Menards ~ they had a smokin’ deal with 50% off normal prices and then an additional 20% each packet… This will be our 3rd year doing a garden at our current house, but the 2nd at the current location in the yard. We are expanding it~ and adding a “pumpkin patch” away from the veggie garden with gourds, sunflower seeds, and of course, pumpkins! I’m totally excited to be able to swap stories as I am learning as I go with my gardening skills~
I will be planting the peas and lettuce in 4 weeks (the 2nd week in April) and I use cut up toilet paper rolls/ paper towel rolls around the seed to “mark” it so that I don’t ‘pull’ the wrong “weeds”
that has been working for the past several planting seasons… I start now collecting the rolls and spend an hour or so cutting them up (your hand hurts)… I’m trying to come up with a better pea trellis as last years’ didn’t work too well ~
and to crystal: tell anyone and everyone that you want to start a garden… most gardeners are VERY willing to share seeds/ advice/ soil/ help
Just curious if your kids kit was sesame street? My daughter and I picked up the sunflower kit. They have done awesome and have pushed the top off. I don’t know what to do now though….
Yes it was the Sesame Street kit
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