Quote of the Week

                  Picture by Th G from Pixabay

"For all things produced in a garden, whether of salads or fruits, a poor man will eat better that has one of his own, than a rich man that has none."  

                          -- J.C. Loudown

The Viability is on Point

Whenever a gardener can save money on seeds, its a great thing, but seriously many of us still buy seeds anyway--cause why not, experiment with something new or even try to test growing fruit or veggies not usually grown in year planting zone. Come on, I can't be the only one who does this from time to time. 

Last week, I was frantically looking for my seed bag. The seed bag had some unopened seed packets that I never got around to planting last year, and saved seeds from previous years. So, to finally find it, the elation that went through my body was a ten. 

Finding the bag didn't mean, no seed purchases for me because I'd still need to know if the seeds are still viable. 

One easy way to check a seeds viability is to place the seeds on a small plate and lightly water the seeds and cover the seeds with plastic wrap or you could place the seeds in a napkin-wet the napkin and place the napkin on a plate and allow it to get some sunlight, and depending on the seed and warm conditions you create for the seeds you should see some progress within 4 days, if not give it a full week. 

Hope this bit of information helped someone, now I've got to get back to more gardening prep, I have a few more seeds to checkout. 

In the meantime, keep growing!

Shelly 😊

Wordless Wednesday

Lavender in the Pot: Finally

Finally got the lavender seeds settled in their home, yesterday. Supposedly lavender takes some time to germinate - the instructions on the box said, could take 14 days, so I'm looking at March 6th for any signs of growth. 

Growing anything inside my home takes a lot of patience and ingenuity since my home doesn't receive a lot of natural light in areas of my home that I'm used to growing in: my kitchen and living room areas are very much on the dark side which sucks as a gardener trying to use natural light, but as a homeowner, I enjoy the lower energy bills in the summer months, so see, there's pros and cons with my home situation. 

Right now the lavender pot sits on top of my refrigerator---to give it a bit of warmth and sprinkle of sunlight. I don't see this as a long term home for the plant, but until then...the top of the fridge will have to do. 

Quote of the Week

In a way, winter is the real spring -- the time when the inner things happen, the resurgence of nature.

                            --Edna O'Brein

CPI Is Still Hot: Grow A Garden

Well... well...well that CPI report still came in pretty hot at 6.4% even though, some consumer goods showed some cooling off, but the main staples for everyday life continue to go up. Here's a little snapshot:

Eggs - 70.1%, Butter - 32.5%, Lettuce - 17.6%, Frozen Vegetables - 18.6%, Motor Vehicle Insurance - 14.7%, Motor Vehicle Repair - 23.1%, Energy - 11.9%, and Public Transportation - 17.1%

As a nation, inflation is still high, and as a gardener and CFO of my household:I'm ready for this challenge of growing and saving. 

Growing more in the garden- especially more lettuce, greens, and potatoes. Salads are main staples over here, and the plan is to grow more in containers to utilize more growing space along with growing potatoes, usually we only grow a small amount to make one large meal from, but with limited space the garden/garden area might not be able to supply the household with a larger abundance, but it doesn't hurt to try. 

The greens I want to grow more of this year are the two for one greats like: turnips, beets, and radishes - they give you edible seed pods, so you actually get three things from them. This group makes an occasional appearance in my garden, but I plan to make them a bigger part of the garden this year because of the abundance of food my family will get from a seed packet. 

 

What are your plans for this season of your life? 

Keeping growing :)

Wordless Wednesday