Last week’s goals:
I started out so good with goals this week! We got loads done on Monday and Tuesday. We started school again on Wednesday and everything slowed down then. Monday and Tuesday I worked outside most of the day for both days.
Garden Goals:
1. Move raised bed planter. Replant asparagus that is in the bed. Move water lines/rerun water lines. DONE!
2. Plant lettuce, spinach, arugula, turnips, radishes, beets, mache in raised bed. It turns out that I was out of radish seeds, I did order some more.
3. Plant johnny jump-up seeds and poppy seeds.
4. Prune “The Shepherdess” rose bushes and strip the leaves (stripping the leaves is recommended here to force them to go dormant for 2-3 weeks). I also started pruning the climbing roses.
5. Fertilize roses
6. Remove dead cherry tree and replace it with a new one. I did start cutting it down.
7. Plant sugar snap peas (to replace those that didn’t grow/were eaten by bugs)
8. Finish pruning grape vines Mostly done!
9. Add manure to beds. I added 10 bags to the garden; I have 10 more bags to add still
Organizational Goals:
1. Organize the pantry I worked on this, but I still have a long ways to go!
2. Photograph the pantry
Sewing Goals:
1. Cut out and complete one project. I completed two. I made hotpads and embroidered two kitchen towels for my nephew and his bride.
Website Goals:
1. Make and photograph cracker recipe for the website. Edit pictures and publish it.
This Week’s Goals
Garden Goals:
1. Dig up chery tree and plant new one
2. Plant blueberry bushes and blackberry bush
3. Start pruning fruit trees
5. Fertilize roses
6. Finish pruning the Graham Thomas climbing roses.
7. Add more manure to the beds
Organizational Goals:
1: Continue to organize the pantry
2. Organize the sewing room
Sewing Goals:
1. Cut out and complete one project
Canning Goals:
1. Can cranberry juice
2. Can applesauce
Website Goals:
1. Make and photograph cracker recipe for the website. Edit pictures and publish it.
Can’t wait to see your pantry pics! :)I was looking through the rareseeds.com catalog and remembered that you were looking for seeds that would do well in your hot, dry climate. Here are a few:Tigger Melon: 90 days. The most amazing looking melon we have grown. The fruit are vibrant yellow with brilliant fire-red, zigzag stripes, simply beautiful! They are also the most fragrant melons we have tried, with a rich, sweet, intoxicating aroma that will fill a room. The white flesh gets sweeter in dry climates, mild tasting. Small in size, the fruits weigh up to 1 lb. The vigorous plants yield heavily, even in dry conditions. This heirloom came from an Armenian market in a mountain valley.Rattlesnake Pole Bean: This pole bean is easy to grow and produces lots of green pods that have purple streaks. Good flavor and very tender;the speckled seeds are popular in soup. This variety is great for hot, humid climates.Arkansas Black Watermelon: 85 days. Oblong fruits reach around 18″ in length, 15-20lbs, crimson flesh. Vigorous vines tolerated a lot of heat and drought in 2011. A local Arkansas variety sent in by a customer. Loverly, very dark green rinds really do look nearly black.Blue Rind Watermelon: First appeared in a field of Cob Gem in the 1970’s. This variety has reached 160 lbs! In our 2011 grow out the fruits varied a lot in size; the largest weighed 37 lbs, but the vines showed an amazing heat tolerance, yielding in harsh conditions where many others failed entirely. The rind is a deep blue-green with sometimes a hint of stripes. The fruits are nearly round, just slightly oblong. The flesh is a definite pink, very sweet, and well-flavored.
You can fertilize roses with banana peels! Every banana peel goes outside and under a rose bush at our house and I never give them any other fertilizer. We don’t eat a ton of bananas but every month I make a very large amount of banana pudding for the homeless shelter and all of those peels go under the rose bushes.
Wow, you have been busy this week! Your gardening efforts are so inspirational. I live in the South, and even though my container garden fried last year (you know how pots are if you miss watering them ever), most gardens do passably well here. I cannot imaging doing as much as you do with all the different challenges you’ve mentioned in posts and comments. (And here I thought that red clay was a pain!)My “garden” is still in planning stages, but it’s coming along. Going to try a few new ideas, and hopefully keep costs down with cast-offs from my husband’s job site (construction electrician). Can’t wait to see the pantry pics!
I was able to accomplish quite a few of the goals I set last week as well.1) I did do a bunch of freezer meals. I was able to use food from my stockpile and freezer and did not buy one item. I still have not found cheese at a reasonable price, so had to buy it at full price to replace what I used.2) I did clean the corner of by bedroom and organize the shelf my husband made for me. It looks so much better.I still want to:1) Start working on my daughter’s formal dinner dress. Time is running out. I did go buy a zipper and found all the parts and pieces. I just need to get going on it.2) Sort my garden seeds. It is much too wet and cold to do anything about planting yet, though, around here.3) Make a small gift for a little girl’s birthday. My 12 year old daughter has been invited to a party for a much younger girl that really likes her. I love how the ages can mix in the homeschool world! Anyway, even though the party will be mostly for younger ones, my daughter is going to be a good sport and go. She will enjoy helping make it fun for the younger ones. I’d like to make a small apron and send a very easy recipe for beginning cooking for the young lady. I’d love to get a child’s cookbook as well, but only got the invite yesterday, and the party is Saturday, and probably won’t have time.4) I want to do some extra cleaning over the weekend. I’m trying to choose an area and deep clean it every few days.Becky
Do you order your seeds from an online catalog? My local garden center has a limited supply of seed varieties, and I am tempted to try an online catalog. I love your posts about weekly goals…so motivational to me!
Yes I did. You can sign up to receive quite a few garden catalogs, and you can also just search them online. This year I ordered from Burpee and Territorial Seed Company. In the past I have also ordered from John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds.There are so many great catalogs, but I don’t want to pay shipping to too many places, so I limited my edible seeds to two places this year. I will still be ordering zinnia seeds in bulk from Wildseed Farms.
Hi!I had a goal to go through my homeschooling items and organize the items so it would be easier to find them.I did find materials I could use this semester and did not have to buy any items at least for some grades.Pat
If you recently cut down a tree and are looking to remove the stump for a low cost you can rent a tree stump remover for the day and chop up all of the stump grinder rental.