Wired For Noise

I’ve been dreaming of a big garden this year. Lots of tomatoes and peppers and onions and everything else imaginable. I’ve been lovingly caring for my sweet little seedlings inside in a little plastic mini-greenhouse. Watering them, singing to them, anxiously waiting for Sunday morning to come. (Saturday night was the dark/new moon)

When the sun was up and the air was warming I took my green babies outside, lovingly planted them in my spot, watered them, even added some of the plant vitamin drink Christine brought me. Sure that they were happy in their new little home I went on about my day.

Around 4 PM I wandered over to check on them. And every tall, bright, beautiful stalk was drooped over, lifeless, near death. If there is any green left in the morning I’ll be surprised. Honestly I don’t know what I did. They were watered, not too much but not too litter, the soil was warm, the tide was rising, they had sunshine, vitamins, care.

And year 5 goes by that I’ve killed a garden before it’s even begun. I have some onion and carrot seeds left, but my tomatoes and peppers are gone. I surrender, I give up.

Tags: gardening, growing things, plants

How many of you drink milk? Do you buy it in the big plastic jugs? What do you do when you’ve finished off the milk in the jug? You could just through it in the trash or you could recycle it into something new. Here are 5 things that you can do with your empty milk jugs to reduce the amount of trash your family is creating.

1. Make a bird feeder.  They’re not the prettiest, but they are functional. Cut out a small hole along the side, about an inch and a half above the bottom. Then fill the bottom with some bird seed and string it from the handle to a tree branch. The plastic can get hot so you’ll want to hang it in a shady spot, especially if you live in a warm weather area.
2. Use them in your garden. Cut the bottom off and stick the top half over young plants to act as small greenhouses. While you’re at it use the bottom part as a place to start your seedlings in. Or leave them intact, fill with water, punch a few small holes in the bottoms, and sit them in your garden for a slow trickle of water onto your plants. You can clean and store these easily during the winter months and pull them out again each spring.
3. Make a container. Cut the top off at an angle so that the handle is in place and you can use them to hold things in. Clothes pins, small toys, you can even use this in the kitchen to hold your scraps for composting. If you have animals that reguire a lot of food this can also be used to scoop up their feed.
4. Use the sides. Cut large circles out of the sides to use for freezing burgers. If you mike to make a lot of burgers and freeze them for future use you can stick the plastic circles in between. It’s better than wax paper as you can reuse them again and again.
5. Save water. Fill empty milk jugs with water and stick in the tank of your toliet. It will automatically become a low-flow toliet, using less water with each flush. Of course less water also means a lower water bill each month, that’s my favorite part.

I’m sure there are hundreds of other great ideas for reusing your empty milk jugs, but these are some great places to start. For other great tips gor check out the Works For Me Wednesday post this week.

Tags: recycling, reusing, milk jugs, works for me wednesday

I’m so excited to try a garden again this year. Yes, all of my previous attempts were disapointing, but I have a good feeling about this year. I’ve moved the location, looked up a ton of hints and tips, and I am prepared to learn voodoo if that is what it takes.

Already my oh so yummy strawberry plants came in. I special ordered them from a woman that came well recommended as trustworthy in all things plant related. I was promised that these beauties were rich and hardy and could survive my inability to keep things alive. It was a good deal too, 6 plants for $6. I gave half away to Christine to try her hand at strawberries too.

Yesterday I got the rest of my seeds. Tomatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, sweet pumpkins, and some free mellons were thrown in. We’re not really mellon lovers here, so Christine might be getting all of those. I really want to add a lot more fresh veggies to our diet for health and longevity. For all my good intentions we’ve backslid into ick food lately, and I’m determined to change that.

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