New Purchase!

It's not what you think. No fashion, sorry! But interior decor... kinda.

It's this:

How cute are they? Little air plants in a wine cork! (Thank you Oh, My Darling for the tip.) 

I have been having plant and flower issues of late. Generally, I am a decent gardener. And with more free time I think I'd be pretty good. Last year I had a nice garden. This year the plants on my apartment porch are fair to middlin and the zinnias I planted at Niki's are not going so well... SAD! I love plants and flowers. 

So I ordered these in hopes that their living off of air will help. And they can be inside away from the I-45 fumes (I'm thinking this might be hindering my porch plants. 

Get yours here!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mine grows great!
I have waged an all-out war on the chickens by planting a new garden inside the coop! Yep, that's right- I took the battle to their home turf. The back part, a chicken-run area, is completely fenced around and over the top- so nothing can get in. not even other critters who might want my veggies when they grow (versus the chickens who just scratch around and dig up the seeds without waiting for anything to grow. Pain in my ass). So we put a door onto the back of the coop and shut them out of their own area. Ha!
Well, Ha to me a little because it's so weeded that it needs a ton of work. But little by little I'm working through it and planting as I go. With everything staggered we should have veggies and flowers for most of the summer. And yes, AC, I'll plant you more green beans. I planted peas and limas in there so far, and Mexican Sunflowers and Cosmos because you can never have enough flowers.

These are the same tomatoes that were little yellow flowers about three weeks ago. I'm so excited! I counted yesterday and this plant has 12 tomatoes growing on it right now. The other two have a bunch of tomatoes too. I moved them into the protected area last night and set them on the ground- this plant came up to my CHIN! Not lying!! And I bought a purple heirloom bush yesterday. Since I already have a yellow one I'll have LSU tomatoes in a few months! Geaux Tomatoes!

Green Beans! They're about 4 inches tall now and the climbers are spiting out their little vines to start growing up, up, up!
T gets partial credit for these because she babysat while I was at the wedding.

First tiny little cucumber (Burpless for your dining pleasure)

Granny's Zinnias! They should get about another 2 feet taller, but last night I saw a bud on one!! Can't wait!

And finally, fresh blackberry crumble I made from the blackberries I did not grow, but did pick myself (scars on the fingers to prove it) from the pasture. Yum!!

Farming

So maybe I'm not actually "farming," more like gardening, I guess. But I feel like a farmer! I'm so excited about all my plants growing and coming up. Here's some progress photos:

Tomato bushes which really look more like tomato trees! Their stems are so thick!

Bloom I showed about a week ago. Some of the flowers are dying, which means a tomato will start to form. Slow progress, folks!! But check out all of the other blooms now- major tomatoes to come!

Cucumber plants: burp-less (yay!) and pickling. I have this amazing pickle recipe I can't wait to try.

Zinnias planted from the seeds I found at Gran's when we were cleaning out her things. There's also sunflowers and sweet peas in there!

Gorgeous roses Sal has blooming

My nemesis and the reason all of my plants are fortressed with fencing. Chickens are a pain in the ass if you're trying to grow things. They eat everything!

Green Beans AC and T will be having for dinner in about 30 days - YAY!! And those taller plants are sweet peppers.

Nasturtiums- they make beautiful orange flowers that are eatable and so pretty in salads!

Fresh farm eggs, and the only reason I tolerate the chickens. They are SO much better than store bought! Ummmm!

Wine glass which is a staple in my gardening. My Granny's rule: take a glass of wine out and talk to the plants while you water and weed. It seems to be working!

My Tomato

So I have MAJOR Spring Fever this year! It's bad. And yesterday I went out to check on my plants and my tomato had a flower- which means it's going to make a tomato! I was so pumped, I even told the man at the liquor store when I was buying tequila! Sally told me you'd think I was having a baby.

I called my Paw Paw and asked him how long it would take for my flower to make a tomato. He said 30 days! NOT ACCEPTABLE! So, to entertain myself, I've decided to track the progress. This will probably bore you, but I'm obsessed. So here it is.

Ashley's 1st tomato (I was going to name it, but I have to eat it eventually and that would just be sad).
April 12, 2010; Day 1