Cold weather vegetable transplants

Right now I feel very much like we are playing the watch and wait game. I simply have to remember to water my plants every few days. I must admit, my broccoli was looking a little dry. But it's still alive and I'm looking forward to putting everything out in the garden. Well, the cold weather veggies anyway. I need to buy a more water permeable agrabon cover to keep the bugs out. Do you have a preference? I purchased mine locally the last few years but I think this year I'm going to order something online. 

In my life outside of gardening I've been dreaming about building a nice outdoor Aviary for my parrots. I plan on owning a beautiful macaw one day so the Aviary will need to be large enough to  accommodate a larger bird, prevent snakes from getting in, and have plenty of flying space, some shade, and some sunny spots. My birdies need their vitamin D. And when we clean out the Aviary, we can compost everything.

Full Spectrum Grow lights help plants grow straight and more compact

The nice thing about grow lights is that the plants grow straight up and more compact in than in a window. When I first started gardening I started everything in my window sills. The more cloudy days you have the skinnier and longer the stems of your plant will be. Of course, Windows aren't the only thing that can cause that problem. It's tempting to get ahead of myself sometimes and move the lights up when the plants are getting closer to the grow lights. But if I move the front row of lights up too soon, the plant will more than likely become "leggy". The plant will stay more compact if I leave the lights close for now. This will help the plant to not grow tall and spindly. A weak leggy plant is more easily damaged by wind when I transplant it outside. Of course it is not as bad with tomatoes. I bury most of my tomato plants in an eastward trench filled with egg shells so that only a small portion is visible. The eggshells prevent blossom end rot by providing much needed calcium to my tomatoes (I have the most  nutrient lacking clay known to mankind in my yard). Keep the lights close. I've never had burn issues with my plants touching the bulbs.  

Why do my plants follow the sun?

Why do my plants follow the sun? It is not like they have a brain and a central nervous system.  They do have cells and those cells need a certain environment to grow properly. So why is it that my Cilantro (coriander) is bent? The cells on the shady side of the plant grow bigger and the cells on the sunny side of the plant are smaller or more compact. This causes the plant to lean towards the sun and because it is sitting in my window, the sunlight is filtering in mainly from one side. How do I help my plants grow straight and tall? Simply turn them around as often as needed. The faster the plant grows, the more often you'll need to do this. I turn my Cilantro about once a day. The second photo should really be first but it will not let me change it on my phone. 

Preparing Peppers

I mentioned yesterday that I would share more about the jalapeño peppers as well as the Keystone Giant Bell peppers that I am growing. I have been growing both in my garden for a number of years. I've also grown Serrano peppers and Cayenne peppers in the past. I really didn't use the Cayenne peppers so I'm not growing them again. I'm the only one who likes spicy food in my family and medium is enough heat for me. I will probably buy the Serrano from a green house this year and transplant them. I just didn't have enough room. I doubled my broccoli plants and added Swiss chard this year to my sprouting tubs. Peppers like heat. They need a warm climate to get started. I placed a heating pad under the tub directly under the peat pots with the peppers. My basement is cold so this helps them germinate and more seeds germinate this way.  They transplant easily while they are little so if one pot remains empty and if I get a few in another I can just move a some. This year all the Bells are sprouting. Yay! You can see I set the heating pad to low. I've used medium once or twice. Depends on the chill in the air.

February garden update

It's that time of year again. My gardening is off to a great start and I have renewed energy to work on it. My daughter is beginning her Personal Progress in April,  and Moms can complete their's as well. Gardening is my main project for the value Faith. Heirloom tomatoes can take months longer than hybrid tomatoes to even bloom, much less produce fruit, so I started them in January around the 2nd or 3rd.  I'm growing Cherokee Purple and Pink Brandywine yet again. Yum! The second tub holds the seeds that I planted last week.  So far the cabbage has sprouted. It's probably due to the heating pad on that end to help the jalapeño seeds sprout. Jalapeños take at least 3 weeks, if not 4 weeks to sprout, so if you haven't started yours yet, you still have a little bit of time. More on that tomorrow!

Mini 4x6 monthly calendar free printable

See, I told you I'd share it soon. Enjoy - it's 4x6 so inexpensive to print.

2014 Calendar Free Download

I made this for my husband. He told me how much he loves having a big calendar on his wall and how much time it saves him at the office.  No more opening iCal just to find a date. with a quick glance he can see just what he needs. I'm make a mini calendar also. I'll share that soon.

Just click on the image and save or download from the larger image. It is an 11x17 image. If you're using Photoshop or Elements to add in the photos, just use your magic wand tool to quick select the orange. Put the photo over the orange and you will have a fun calendar for your family. 

Free printable 12x18 calendar for 2014

Free 12x18 calendar for 2014

Enjoy this free calendar that I made for 2014.  I will be working on the 4x6 version as well, my husband loves both for his office.

Just add your photo and you are done.  If you want to quickly add the photo, and you have photoshop or Elements, choose the Magic Wand Tool, set the tolerance to 5, check anti-alias and contiguous.  Using CMND-J or CTRL-J to put it on its own layer. Then clip the photo to that layer. You'll be done in no time.  It's such a fun and inexpensive gift!

UEA Vacation

I found out this year that not everyone has UEA at the same time.  My sister's kids had it the week before.  We went to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon.  We stayed in a beautiful cabin just outside of Cedar Break National Park.  My children earned their Junior Ranger Badges for all three parks AND the Night Explorer Badge in addition to those three.  

I'll share more beautiful photos soon!

Getting Organized for School and Homework - Hanging Files

I made these in photoshop using some digital scrapbook paper and the font Buttermilk.  These are obviously for my daughter. 

Then in my Silhouette Studio Pro I used the Cut Tool to make the marks for the Silhouette to cut.  I only made one using the rectangular tool you can see here below. 

I used Replicate and Duplicate Left. This way it lines up perfectly and I don't have to try and create 7 more boxes the same size.

The most important thing to do when using the Print & Cut Feature is to click Show Registration Marks.  This allows you to line things up in the right spots and you'll need it to be able to cut it with the Cameo.

And you don't need a cutting mat if you use the Silhouette brand sticker paper.

Here it is printed and you can see the registration marks printed.

Peel them off

I stuck them to the paper included in the tabs so that we could easily remover them later. 

Place the paper & Sticker inside the plastic tabs.

Place the tabs at the tops of the hanging files. My daughter was so excited that she wanted to add the tabs.

And take a moment to enjoy it.

Now she can easily keep track of all those papers she gets to bring home.  

She gets to bring it out every time she comes home from school. It worked well last year with 3 teachers but with all the new classes and the 6 teachers she has this year, it needed to be totally redone.