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Make, Do and Mend


The cyber-diary of what this homemaker makes, does and sometimes mends.
My motto is "if you do stuff, stuff gets done"

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Use what you have garden 2013

I would love to have a green thumb but my gardening success are really a hit and miss.
In 2009 and 2010,  my backyard pot gardens did great and I grew enough cucumbers, tomatoes and squash all summer that I never had to buy any of those at the grocery store.  I also picked lots of jalapenos too.
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Then 2011 and 2012 were so hot and dry- even with lots of watering- not much grew and very little was harvested.  


I still want to try to garden a little. 
 I was looking around the backyard and came up with this.   I built a little framed  in area with some pavers our neighbor gave us.  I put several layers of weed-fabric in the bottom.  
I am going to use this little area to place our pots in.  

the 3 big pots were discards from another neighbor who purchased trees in them.  


my assortment of pots
quite a mish mash, huh?


I've since gone through all those pots and arranged the biggest one in my little garden spot- more pictures to come.
We went to Lowes to buy some plants but there was just so much to look at and I really dislike shopping,  so all we bought was a few bags of manure to enrich the soil that that is already in the pots.  I planned to go to Atwoods, a smaller store, to look at their plants.  Then I remember a gallon zipper bag in the freezer full of a seed assortment,  saved from several different sources and projects.

I sorted them out and think I will just plant seeds and see what happens.  It will certainly be thrifty!

here is what all I could plant.....

several kinds of beans and squash- probably won't plant any of these in the pots


flower seeds- mostly ones I harvested myself
zinnias, marigolds, geraniums and the ones marked red yellow library flowers are Indian Blanket wildflowers.
These will mostly get planted in the flower beds in the front of our house.  


3 kinds of Sunflowers


4 kinds of tomatoes


Herbs- dill, thyme, basil and cilantro


2 kinds of leafy greens
2 kinds of spinach
and 1 partial packet of radishes


2 kinds of cucumbers and 1 packet of peas


2 packs of Morning Glorys
but I am not too optimistic that will sprout, they were the oldest seeds in my bag


Just 2004 and 2008
uh-oh!


It would of been nicer if I had started these seeds in the house a few months ago and had bigger plants to set out
but it is warm and I think, that any seeds that are sproutable,  will sprout quickly.
Warm weather is just now getting started so I have plenty of time to replant (with store bought plants)  if any of these don't work

I hope I have lots of good growing plants to show you soon- but you never know!
  



Well, I started this garden more than a week ago. The weather was nice this morning and I had free time and was able to plant my seeds and water them in.
Oklahoma weather can be so harsh, maybe I will get a harvest and maybe not.










This garden may not produce but all my grands are thriving and growing like weeds, so to speak.
This is baby JJ, dimples and all.


Partying at 
Think Tank Thursday at
Saving 4 Six

and at
Manuela's (from A Cultivated Nest) and her friend's brand new blog hop
The Creative Home Acre Hop

and with
Danielle at Sunday Blog Hop.  Blissful and Domestic

and
Pretty Happy Funny Real at Our Mothers Daughters.

17 comments:

  1. You know Rhonda, I think that is great you are planting in pots. Your grandkids will certainly learn they do not need acreage to grow their own food. Some of those old seeds just may surprise you.
    blessings, jill

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jilly, I hope the old seeds do surprise me. And it will be a surprise.m
      My grands have grandparents on their other sides that garden on a much bigger scale than I do. They have learned a lot but still seem amazed a out anything that grows, even dandelions.

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  2. Oh..Rhonda..I think we must be kindred spirits. To have had the grandparents I've had and the mother I have I should be able to grow anything. I live on a patch of land that I'm sure is really a rock; my gardening too has been hit and miss. Last year I planted mostly in my flower bed. I had a little better luck. I find myself trying to think outside the box and a sometimes I just say,"Let's try this." I'm loving your site and definitely must follow you.

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  3. Hi Lynn, so nice to meet you too. One set of grandparents were wheat farmers and the other set had the most amazing flowers all over their yard. I should have inherited a better green thumb.
    Thankfully we are not dependent on my little backyard project to keep us fed.

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  4. Aww, the dimples are the best :) Good luck on your garden too!

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  5. What a great idea! Hope you get lots of goodies out of your garden this year! And such a cutie pie at the end of your post. Stopping by from the The Creative Home Acre Hop!

    Christine :)
    http://www.myepicureanadventures.com

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  6. Your little JJ is adorable and so sweet, I love his dimples. You have a great assortment, I hope they come up for you. And that is a good idea, putting them in one spot made just for them. I have only planted cherry tomatoes, rosemary, and cilantro.

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  7. I am sure that your pots will do well. I grow lemon balm, parsley, and cherry tomatoes in pots. Everything else in is the big garden. We have had a garden for so long that it is second nature. I do think that raised beds and container gardening is best for some areas. Your little JJ is so adorable, dimples and all :)

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  8. I hope you have a wonderful garden. I grew up in northeast Oklahoma and my father always had a huge garden. We canned and froze almost everything we ate. I now live in the Dallas area where our summer sun burns up everything. I tried to plant tomatoes in those upside down tomato planters a few years ago. I spent about $36 on all the supplies and got two very expensive tomatoes from them! It looks like your frugal approach is much wiser! :)

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  9. I love how you grouped all the plant pots into one area! Very clever. That way you won't have to worry about weeds. I hope the seeds do well and that you get some beautiful plants. Your grandson is absolutely adorable! Love his dimple!

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  10. The hot dry summer of last year left me not wanting to do a lot, too. I hope your seeds do well. My aunt gave me some morning glory seeds. I planted them today. Fingers crossed!

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  11. I wish you great success with your thrifty container pots! I'm glad you're taking us along on the adventure! I bet they do very well...they'll just need lots of water! Did you put drain holes in the bottom?

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  12. Seeing your post linked up at the HomeAcre Hop was great and I wish you all the best with your container adventure! Thanks for joining us and we hope you'll come and party again on Sunday at http://mumtopia.blogspot.com/2013/05/CreativeHomeAcreHop2ndJun.html

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  13. I love your container garden! It's a great example of use what you have!

    I've grown everything from potatoes to corn in containers and they work very well. They just dry out really quickly here in this summer heat!

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  14. Hey...prayed for you guys during the tornadoes this week. Let us know how you are!

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  15. hello rhonda
    love your container garden. i grow tomatoes,cucumbers,eggplants,potatoes and fruit bushes.they grow very well. wish you luck with your old seed.
    have a great week,
    love regina

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  16. Loved this idea but I'm awful at container farming. I stick everything in the ground now.

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