Helping out

Yesterday, Daddy brought home another tomato plant for Pooka. While I know it is another plant, this one has a story. Pooka's gave her Great Grandmother a tomato plant for Mother's day. Great Grandma has not been feeling very well this spring and summer and realize the other day that the tomato plant was suffering a bit from neglect. Normally, we wouldn't care, but Great Grandma didn't want Pooka to be upset if the plant died and Great Grandma realized she was not able to get to the plant to even pick her tomatoes.

Great Grandma's tomato plant

Great Grandma asked me if Pooka could raise her tomato plant. Since we had planted it in a pot to begin with (and hopefully make it easier for Great Grandma to get to) I agreed. It wasn't looking too bad we it got home, but you could tell it needed a bit of TLC. We pruned off some of the dead branches and it is looking much better. Pooka asked if we could make sure to give Great Grandma a tomato every time we see her so she won't miss her plant. Judging by what didn't survive transport, I think that is going to be very possible. These fell off on their own when we got it out of the car.

Casualties of the move

Sunflowers

Yesterday, Pooka and I walked outside and were surprised by the sunflowers. Now generally, we plant the sunflowers and forget them. In fact, we don't even water them much, but we were amazed at how well they were doing this year. Some are over 12 ft tall, but what amazed us more was all the different ways the sunflowers had bloomed.

 

Velvet Queen

Pooka's new red sunflowers had bloomed. They are a bit shorter then the others, but still a good 6 feet tall. She loves the red look of them and the fact that they are different. We all know Pooka loves things to be different.

Tallest

Here you can see the varying heights of the sunflowers. That velvet queen looks so tiny compared to the mammoth next to it.

Tiny flowers

 We have giant sunflowers, but this was just the cutest little sunflowers. They are hidden under another sunflower, but they have the smallest heads. At least I think they are sunflowers.

Surprise

 I am assuming this one came from the velvet sunflowers seeds. This is not quite what we were expecting, but it gives a nice color and surprise to everything. If we go off of just Pooka seeds next year, we may have some very interesting results.


Giant

This is our biggest sunflower. The bloom is bigger than my hand. Forgive the horrible angle, it is so big, it has fallen over a bit and I had to climb underneath it to get a picture.

I am curious on what kind of seeds we will be able to save from all these flowers. I think its a great experiment in genetics and to teach Pooka with. She wants to see what kind of sunflowers she will get next year, maybe multi headed, colored giants?

A gift for Pooka

Pooka saw her Grandma K this last week. Grandma K and Pooka get along wonderfully even if Pooka was trying to tell Grandma K what she should be planting around her house. Pooka was asking about some of Grandma K's statues and Grandma K gave Pooka this little fellow.

A gift for Pooka

 Pooka has decided his name is Ribbit. Hes a cute little guy that Pooka made sure to take good care of when we brought him home. In fact, as soon as Ribbit came out of the suitcase, he was the first thing she had to put away. (She had checked the garden the minute she got out of the car).

Welcome home

Ribbit now lives next to her black eyed susans. I am not sure which is protecting which, but she decided he looked really good there and that is where he will be living for awhile. Pooka can't wait to show her friends what her Grandma K gave her. All Grandma K asked is that Pooka think of her when she looks at it. I am sure that will happen quite a bit. Thank you Grandma K for everything.

Getting closer

The tomatillo plants are filling out. Pooka eyes them daily wondering when she can finally harvest. I keep telling her it should be soon, but we have to wait till papery skin pulls back from the fruit. Pooka is waiting anxiously for the day she can start making green salsa.

Tomatillos on the plant

We had a couple of tomatillos fall off the plant during a storm one night, but there wasn't much to actually call a harvest.  Pooka wanted to try these, but I told her they probably didn't taste right.

Almost a harvest

Daddy has already consented that we will probably be growing tomatillos next year, and that Pooka consistantly drools over the purple tomatillo seeds she has seen in stores. We have already talked about picking them up soon so Pooka can grow them next year. Then we will be making Salsa Purpura instead of Salsa Verde.

Pooka and the nursery

A week ago, Pooka decided to spend her money. We went out to the store to see if she could find a toy she liked, but she didn't see anything she wanted. When we got home, she asked if I  could take her to the nursery to spend her money. I asked if her is was sure and she said "Yes, I want to buy something at the nursery."

We went to the nursery on a Friday. The nursery staff know us on sight and asked if we were back for our "weekly field trip " Pooka told me to look for milkweed to attract more butterflies, but couldn't find anything. Nor could she find anything she wanted in the veggies or herbs. They were on sale, but rather picked over. Pooka went back to one of the nursery employees and asked "Do you have any plants that will attract good bugs like butterflies?" 

Black eyed susan

The nursery person was a bit taken aback by a child so young knowing that question. She asked Pooka if she wanted a plant that came back year after year, or would only be for this year. Pooka told her she wanted one that would come back year after year. She took Pooka to look at the black eyed susans. Pooka checked with me if she had enough money to buy one and I told her she did. 

As we walked back, Pooka mentioned she had been looking for milkweed. The staff said they had pulled them that day because they were getting to hard to water, but she would take Pooka in the back if she wanted one and would charge Pooka a quarter each. Pooka was very excited so we went back and she found 2 4-packs she wanted. One was still flowering but most had gone to seed. The lady at the nursery told Pooka if she lets the seed pods dry out, then she can save the seeds for next year. 

Pooka's haul, milkweed and black eyed susans

They ended up not charging Pooka for any of the milkweed and telling Pooka to come back in 10 years and they could give her a job. I only worry she may not have a paycheck if she works at a nursery. Pooka came home and told me she was going to plant her plants "all by myself, you can sit on the porch and watch." She laid them out in the garlic bed. Her milkweed was spread throughout the bed.

Laying out her purchase

Pooka then planted all of her plants by herself. I still need to go through and rinse off the sidewalk, but she is happy, and her black eyed susan was planted in a place the garlic didn't do well, but the susans should be happy back there. If we need to we can move them next year, but I think they should be okay there. Pooka is just happy to have done it all by herself and she was a big girl.

Pooka's plantings

Better late then never - August Overview

I promised these pictures are from the first, even if life has kept us busy of late. The temperatures have been milder this year then most. The garden is certainly loving it tho.

Garlic bed

The old garlic bed has been replanted twice with new annuals and Pooka's new plants. Those will be in a post later. Almost everything in this bed we will have no problem tearing up in the fall to replant garlic. Until then, we will see what we get.

Front yard beds

 The rest of the front bed is filling in nicely. We have been harvesting herbs not only for meals, but we have been drying plenty of herbs as well. It will be so nice come all winter to cook with.

sunflowers

 The Sunflowers are growing. Some of them have reached over 10 feet tall, and the Pooka a few of the Pooka sunflowers have multiple heads. Pooka loves to have Daddy go stand next to them so she can see how tall they are. We have yet to see the velvet sunflowers bloom, but they have started to form buds so their bloom is not too far off.

deck view one

The back deck is covered yet again in plants. The eggplants are getting ready to produce and we are getting some very nice strawberries. Our second set of green onions is growing and we plan are starting to get squash off the squash plants.

Pot stand

The lilac is doing well and the celery plants are doing much better in this slightly shadier spot. The snapdragons are even starting to bloom which gives this little spot some color as well as the lavender sitting on the table between the two chairs. I will say the zinnias died as well as the snapdragons in the easter baskets. At least we know now that easter basket don't work. Good to know.

Deck View 2

Around the table the lettuce and the strawberries are doing okay. The zucchini is going okay. We have yet to get much from it, but it is trying. The pots on the table have all sprouted but are not ready to transplant just yet.

Broccoli and nothing

The bed next to the house is still holding on. The broccoli is still fighting no matter how much the cabbage worms are trying to kill it. The bok choy seeds I planted do not seem to be doing much, but that is why we also started some in a pot. Hopefully in a few days we will be able to transplant the little bok choy

Sugar Snap Peas, Green beans, and Basil

 The peas are still producing no matter how sad they appear. They are holding on but the heat spell we had a week did put some stress on them. The green beans are doing well in their spot. We never seem to have enough for the meals, but the kids are enjoying having green beans as a snack occasionally. The basil is doing very well and is in need of being cut back again. More herbs to dry.

Sweet peppers, Tomatillos, Red onion and romaine

 The Peppers are doing okay. We are finally starting to see some real production out of these and it is making us all very happy. The tomatillos are loaded down with and should be ready soon. Pooka is so excited to have her green salsa. The sweet onions are doing well and some are even flowering. The reds have been pulled, but the lettuce seeds we planted there are sprouted. Maybe the romaine will do better in this setting then the hanging pots

corn squash and peas

The sisters for the corn didn't take. The corn is doing well, if suffering a bit from needing more nitrogen.  I am going to try putting more peas in the container and seeing if it helps. The squash has produced a few times, but it seems to be having its own issue. The dirt from the potatoes is in the black bucket in the back with pea sprouts starting.

Cucumbers and broccoli

The cucumbers are climbing and producing while the regular broccoli is doing well. The geometric broccoli is starting to take off. We have had a couple of broccoli harvests already, but as long as the plants don't bolt, we should be able to get many more.

Tomatoes

The tomatoes look smaller if anything. What happened was that the tomatoes actually fell over. We have already harvested over 180 oz or almost 11.5 lbs of tomatoes. Pooka has already asked to see if we can make homemade ketchup. Brother agreed, but has started to worry maybe he shouldn't have. The tomatoes have become a giant mess I will have to untangle soon.

Spicy peppers and cherry tomatoes

The hot peppers are taking off. We have harvested over 9 oz of jalapeno. The poblano peppers are finally flowering, but we haven't seen any yet. The cherry tomatoes are taking off although we have only seen yellow and orange tomatoes. Pooka is looking desperately for a purple tomato. Hopefully she finds one this year.


As you can see, the garden is doing very well. Pooka has harvested over 421 oz or 26+ lbs of food. Pooka says this total "is the best news ever." I am glad she is happy being her and happy with what she is growing. If we are growing plants that make food, that makes Daddy happy the grocery bill is lower.

Living chair

Sorry for disappearing. I know it was unannounced but life has been weird of late. I will have first of the month garden pictures up probably tomorrow. Oh to have the world be normal.

I wanted to tell you about something we are trying this year. We had this metal patio chair. It was a great chair, until the day I sat in it and the springs gave out which sent me tumbling into the house. I had gone completely over backwards and had a splitting headache to thank for it. The chair was in great condition aside from this fatal flaw, so I wasn't ready to just pitch it. All last summer we kept putting it in corners and telling people not to sit in it, unsure what to do with it. We did notice it held a pot fairly nicely.

A dead patio chair

This spring, I was really ready to just pitch it. Pooka wanted to reuse it, so the idea of a "living chair" was born. Daddy took the chair into the garage and cut out a hole in the seat of the chair. Now we did measure the pot I had found for the chair first and cut it to fit.

Looks like the pot fits

Next, Pooka and I went and got a mint plant. We figured we would use their sprawling tendancies to our advantage. In this case we used Chocolate Mint. Pooka said it smelled nice and was curious to try it. Of both my kids, this one has the sweet tooth. She loves just pulling leaves off it.

Chocolate mint anyone

Pooka planted the mint in the designated pot. She loved the idea of a living chair she could eat. In fact, it was a couple of days between parts of it, and she was asking daily if we could finish it (if not hourly).

Planting mint

We placed the chair in the corner we planed to leave it in. Then we took the rope that came with the pot (it was designed to be a hanging pot) and wove the rope into the chair. The chair's diamond patter gave us the ablitity to weave the rope in without having to use fasteners

Installing the rope

We weaved the rope into the chair for all three supports. The resulting hanger gave the bottom a nice support so all the weight wasn't on the lip of the pot.

Finished supports

Lastly, we set the pot into the chair and walked away. Now I will admit this first attempt seen below died because I tried to cram too much into the pot. Since then, we went back to just a chocolate mint and the plant is doing much better.  We also moved the chair a bit further into the shade and it seems to be helping as well. This picture was actually taken earlier this spring, but I promise I will update you soon on how the living chair has progressed.

beginings of a living chair