Monday, July 28, 2008

"Pay Dirt"

I woke up around 4:30 this morning. I just couldn't go back to sleep. I tried to read a bit and even that didn't put me to sleep. I finally just did a bit of meditating until I felt myself getting drowsy.  I meditated on how I was going to do some things in the garden, on having to get back on task with school, and just my life in general.

I did a few more things before falling back off to sleep and then finally getting up when I heard the doorbell ring. It was the DHL guy bringing me the materials for my raised bed. Woot!!! I didn't take a picture of it because it is wrapped up, but I will take a picture of it as soon as it is put together. I was SOOOOOOOOOO excited.

Right after that I left the house to run an errand and to get some gas.  I got a scratch off card for 2.00 as well. The funny thing is that I didn't even look at it again until I had gotten in my car. I was a bit chagrined when I did because it actually wasn't the one that I asked for. But as things would have it, that 2.00 netted me 100!!! ::Still doing happy dance::

After putting a little away, I went to Home Depot. I needed a few small things anyway and decided to look for seeds and for what they had on clearance. This is what I came back with:

Not the trowel or the gloves or the cutter, or the little yellow chair, but the plants and the boxes and the soil. This just happens to be my work station when I transplant. I was soooooooo very happy to be able to get a few little things to help me get my yard at least partially set up before I head back to classes next month.

After transplanting them to the boxes, this is the result:

In the first two boxes, I replanted Marigolds and Zinnias. The ones that I put directly in the ground did not prosper. I'd like to see what happens to them in a container.  The third box has Tropical Hibiscus, and the yellow flowers are Zinnias in the foreground and yellow Marigolds in the back. The pinkish looking flowers that are really red and white are also Zinnias. Home Depot had a buy one get one free sale on some of their plants and a nice mark down on others. I  just sat them out for now until I figure out how I want that area to be. 

Here is close-up of the flowers: Aren't they pretty? I am hoping that they continue to bloom and are healthy.

I also re-transplanted a tomato plant. This is what fell off in the process:

Hopefully they will continue to grow in the sun. I also re-planted the watermelon plants that were not making any real progress directly in the ground. We'll see what happens.

I also planted my potatoes today. I buried them deep in a nice sized container. I can't wait to see what happens.

I need to get the Pumpkins and the beans that have sprouted into the ground. I am hoping that I can do that plus put together my raised bed as a weekend project.

But even more fun almost than found money is the little treasures that you find in your own backyard. This is my "Home Shopping Network". Yesterday, I needed to retrieve something from my shed. I hadn't been in there to give it a good cleaning in quite some time. Plus, some new things were added that just cluttered things up even more. While in the shed, I began pulling things out and found a treasure trove of things that I can use in the garden;

I was so happy to find these two storage containers and both of them have lids. I can keep my extra soil, and mulch in them to protect them from the rain. I found my wide rake top as well. I have the handle but couldn't remember what had happend to the rake. I also found the two tomato cages standing in front of the darker storage bin. I had them back from when I had my last garden and had put them away for safe keeping. In the lighter blue bin was a wide variety of pots, baskets and smaller storage boxes that will definitely come in handy in the garden. I was also able to fish out and use this old tool box:

I can both store away and lock my tools inside so that I don't have to bring everything outside each and every time I come out to work. I saw a great barn-like shed at Home Depot today that is my dream to one day have to store all my supplies. Here is my trusty pocket knife. It really comes in handy when I am outside.

All in all, it was a GREAT day on the Homestead!!

I also decided to attach to this entry my vegetable of the week. I am still working on trying different veggies and fruits to see if they would be something that I could attempt to grow in my own garden. Today's choice was:

 "The Artichoke".

I have never had an artichoke before and don't even know how to cook it. But I plan to figure out how and then partake of it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Till next time......

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had the BIG score again today! :-)
I love artichokes, they have just gotten to expensive to buy for the whole family. They are very easy to make and really yummy -- be warned though, they are an acquired thing, you may have to try a few times before you fall in love. The old Italian way of maing them is just cutting the top off, cut the stem off and boil/steam in a pot with some olive oil and garlic for about a half an hour. You peel the leaves off (can dip in melted butter if you want) and just scrape the inside of the leaf with your front teeth. Yum!
FM :-)

Anonymous said...

Wow!!! What a win!!! Congratulations!! That is so great. The most I have ever won is $20.
The flowers are so pretty. It is nice that you are incorporating flowers along with the vegetables. Diversification. I like it.
Love artichokes. It's a fun veggie once you figure out how to eat it. :)


Anonymous said...

Way to go!  Don't you love little surprises and really come in very, very handy

I love what you got and what you're doing.  Looking fabulous!

Deb