Mid-July Garden Update

The Squash Ghetto 

Spaghetti squash hangs from the trellis
behind the corn. The plant is withering,
and there are squash bugs everywhere,
but I hope the squash hangs in there
until it ripens enough to eat it.

The sugar baby watermelon is really growing!

Butternut squash is looking good.

The Annex

An eggplant bud is starting to turn into an eggplant.

The fennel isn't looking very perky.

I pick a couple of handfuls of really ripe
cherry tomatoes nearly every day.

The Pea Haven

Prolific purple hull peas. I'll pick some this weekend.

Similarly prolific green beans to pick this weekend as well.

It only takes one bloody pumpkin bite before you start carrying a stick to the ghetto

The garden is doing great. Produce production has increased significantly. So far I've harvested 6 cucumbers, 3 zucchinis, a pint of cherry tomatoes, a couple pounds of turnips, a few beets, more than a gallon of green beans, and outrageous amounts of chard and kale. I've been very impressed with the garden this year. That doesn't mean that I haven't had some failures; it just means I've learned from my past failures enough to see improved results. This year my lessons have been about feeding plants,controlling bugs, selecting better seeds, and using space wisely. Lack of nutrients was killing my tomato and squash plants a few weeks ago, so I started using Miracle-Gro on them, and they perked back up. I've also figured out that using Miracle-Gro on my plants will generate usable produce sooner, which is especially important for plants that bolt in the heat (broccoli, fennel). And in the future I will prepare the soil better by adding some sort of fertilizer in the spring before I plant. For the most part I haven't had problems with bugs eating everything in sight. Some were snacking on my baby green bean plants, so I found a recipe for a homemade concoction to spray on them. It seemed to work. I also wanted to avoid corn earworms. I hate those things. It's so gross to pick a pretty ear of corn and find that a fat grub has started eating it already. I read that a few drops of vegetable or mineral oil on the silks will prevent them, so I'm trying it. We'll see in the next month whether it worked or not. My other big bug problem is squash vine borers. Last year they ate my spaghetti squash before I could and decimated my zucchini plants before they had produced much. I recognized them infesting my squash ghetto and knew I had to take action before the entire ghetto was compromised. My research suggests that wrapping the base of young squash plants with aluminum foil to prevent the borers from getting in in the first place is the best solution, but it's a bit late for that now. So I found an insecticidal soap spray that's supposed to help control them. The soap is approved for organic farming. I'm not a nut for organics, but I'd prefer the veggies I grow to not potentially poison us. It would be a shame to increase the veggies in our diets and get sick from it. I started hunting for different varieties of basil seeds when my recent attempt at pesto was nasty. Previous attempts had also been nasty, but I thought it was because the basil I was using had already turned bitter. My basil isn't bitter yet, so I was hoping for better results. I was disappointed. So I researched a bit and found that there are basil varieties that are better for pesto than others. I just ordered Profumo di Genova basil seeds from Amazon and am hoping they will make good pesto in September. The last thing I've learned is that some plants get bigger than I expect, so parts of my garden need to expand a little next year. The purple hull peas are growing riotously. I had to put up a little fence to keep them from overrunning the green beans. They could use another block-length of width, which is easy to fix for next year. I will also probably fence them again to make sure they observe some boundaries. They have no concept of personal space. I also need to make sure that veggies in blocks don't interfere with veggies in pots and vice versa. My turnips and rutabagas in blocks have prevented my kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli in containers from getting the light and water they need. And the plants in the blocks around the squash ghetto are having trouble getting light now that the squash leaves are getting huge and growing everywhere. A little space would benefit all of them. The squash ghetto itself needs to expand its width by a few blocks. Some of the vines stretch the length of the ghetto and have had to be turned back to grow towards the plant again. It's crazy. I've put up tomato fencing around the perimeter to keep them from growing into the yard and interfering with Matt's mowing. They are growing so thickly that it's hard to harvest the produce or spray the vines with insecticide or add some Miracle-Gro. This is why I ghettoized the squash. They grow everywhere and are hard to control. I've already had to barricade them, and I recently had to start arming myself. I picked up a pumpkin vine the other day to move it into a better position, and it bit me hard enough to draw blood. I decided that what I needed was a stick to move the vines aside. I found one today, and it was very helpful when I sprayed for squash bugs. I hate to feel the need to be armed in the ghetto, but I also don't want to end up bleeding every day. I'll expand the ghetto and see if that helps. I also decided today that I should try to sew simple grow bags out of lawn fabric to put inside of the blocks in the future. It will be so much easier to get the soil back out to be mixed with fertilizer if I can just pull the whole grow bag out and refill it. Grow bags are available from Amazon; but I've got a plan in mind, and I have the lawn fabric and a sewing machine. We'll see how it turns out. Now that I've got empty spots after harvesting beets and turnips, it's a good time to try something new. The explosion of produce has led to a flurry of cooking which has made the kitchen a bit messy which has displeased Matt. (I'm not thrilled with the mess either, but I at least get the joy of making the mess in the first place while creating things.) But I expect some of the cooking to slow soon. The turnips and beets are requiring more processing than other veggies--for one thing, they produce both roots and edible greens that have to be cooked separately--and now they've all been harvested. I'll replant soon for a small winter harvest. The tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, and purple hull peas should come in at more reasonable rates because they are continual producers and don't have big one-time harvests. I also got the great idea to make borscht (Russian stew) out of my beets, but I chose a recipe that requires making my own beef stock out of marrow bones slow simmered for hours with carrots, garlic, and onions. The beef stock is fantastic, and I'll have enough to make both borscht and French onion soup; but it's also been another project to mess up the kitchen.

Quick Update: Late June

I found out this afternoon that I failed the one-hour glucose test by 5 points, so I have to go in tomorrow morning for the three-hour test. The doctor had told me that if the results were even marginal I'd have to take the long test. But I was disappointed. I'm an over-achiever and hate to fail.
It didn't help that I found this out after a short night and a long day at work. Matt had a boys' night with professors/fellow-gamers in Louisville last night. Elsie and I went shopping in Campbellsville. Consignment stores, Big Lots, Dollar General! We did it all! After Elsie and I got home, a rowdy thunderstorm moved in. Matt was still on the road when the electricity went out, so I scrambled to find lights and food and entertainment until he arrived. I was a little wired when he got home. About the time I got settled, Elsie decided it was party time... for four hours. I got about four hours of sleep and then worked an extra 1.5 hours at the church. So I was in no state of mind to be told that I had failed a health test, especially since I am very aware that my primary job as a mom is to take good care of myself and be healthy. And I was told I'm already failing. Self-flagellation is very easy when I'm tired. But I'm doing better now. Matt took me to Colton's for salmon and steamed veggies. Eating salmon always makes me feel virtuous. Then I took a nap, went swimming, discovered baby squashes and cucumbers and green beans while watering my garden, and took a long warm bath. I'm about to eat some tuna and celery (which also makes me feel virtuous) and then head to bed around midnight, when my fast starts. Tomorrow is another test. But surely the virtuous mom who consumes fish high in omega-3s, exercises, and grows her own produce can pass a test of sugar water and waiting around.

Fruitful and Multiplying

 The head of broccoli is recognizable as broccoli and is the size of a small floret.

The first cherry tomato of the season!

Several snap pea plants and a few peas. The big pea in this picture was promptly eaten as soon as the photo was taken. It was pretty yummy.

The blueberries are small but growing.

It took a few replantings in some spots, but I've got many green bean and purple hull pea plants that are thriving. The oldest plant is putting out flowers.

And the chard in the front right corner has grown since I harvested some last week.

And the squash ghetto is growing like crazy. I will soon need to put up some sort of trellis.

The tomatoes are already caged. I stayed on top of them this year.

Gardening is so easy I can do it from Missouri!

While I was traveling in Missouri last week, my garden continued to grow. (Thank you to Heather for watering and talking to my garden.) I had planted the Squash Ghetto a day or so before we left, and look at it now! Corn has sprouted and is 4-5 inches tall. And the squash, melon, and cucumber plants are well-established. Hurray!

I was also excited to see the peas and green beans I planted at the same time as the Squash Ghetto were doing great, too. These pictures were taken before I weeded. 

My oldest blueberry bush (which isn't very bushy) is actually making blueberries.

The snap peas are not only clinging to the little fence, but they are also starting to put out flowers.

My tomato plants grew exponentially while I was away. They now have buds on them. I expect flowers and tomatoes soon.

And all of my other veggies are looking great. I've got edible radishes. I'm looking for a good radish recipe to use my first produce.

AND MY IRISES ARE IN BLOOM! There weren't even buds on them before I left, so I was shocked to find them in full bloom.

Sprouts of All Sorts

My garden is growing pretty well. I've only run into a few snags. One of my tomato seedlings isn't looking good, a few of my root veggies haven't come up yet, and I'm working out some problems with the hose attached to my rain barrel. But everything else is doing really well.

Below are a few examples of the successes.

Broccoli (in the back planter) is doing well. I've got two plants growing and a couple more seeds sown. Kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts are transplanted and sown nearby. They are also doing well.

Turnips are growing in the block in front. My radishes and a carrot are also sprouting in blocks. Parsnips, leeks, and beets are starting more slowly.

The chives, garlic chives, and green onions in the back planter are doing good. The really tall chives were transplanted. They were in pots that I kept inside all winter. I transplanted them too early, and the cold "thinned" them, which was good for them. I always over-crowd when I plant and I hate to thin, so they tend to be spindly. I tried extra hard not to over-plant the chives this time. I hope it turns out well.

The front planter has spinach and arugula. Hurray!



I bought strawberry plants from Walmart and put them in strawberry pots. They are still alive and making flower and berries. I'm looking forward to fresh berries this summer.










I bought two new blueberries plants because I was afraid the one from last year wasn't going to come back this year. It surprised me. It came back and is putting out leaves and buds. I don't know if I'll get berries this year, but I'm excited about the progress my blueberry plant is making. In a few years I should have an ample blueberry harvest.


I'll take more pictures as more things grow. I planted lettuces and other greens around the Pea Haven last weekend and planted some purple hull peas and green beans in the two rows inside the Haven structure. I hope to get my rain barrel hose issue straightened out soon so that I can plant corn, sunflowers, cucumbers, melons, and squashes in the Squash Ghetto.

Garden 2013: More Ambitious Every Year

This year's garden is getting off to a good start. I made grand plans over the winter, and they're pretty much in place, ready for planting.

The biggest innovation is a border of concrete blocks. They will keep mowing clippings out and provide a potentially attractive border. And the holes in the blocks will serve as planters for lettuce, herbs, and root vegetables.

The Pea Haven

  

On the shadier side of the house where I planted purple hull peas last year, I've built two wide rows for purple hull peas and green beans. The concrete blocks on this side will have greens and herbs. I've already planted two types of kale, chard, spinach, basil, parsley, and cilantro. The dinosaur kale and chard have already sprouted. I'll plant a little more spinach and herbs this week. And a few weeks later I'll plant some more so that I can stagger the harvests.

The Front Garden
The front garden isn't changing. I've already planted snap peas like I did last year. I'll put some colorful planters of herbs behind/above the peas.

The Squash Ghetto & Expanded Annex


Last year I had squashes on the shady side of the house, and they didn't do very well. This year I'm moving them to the opposite side in hopes that they'll grow better. I'm ghettoizing the squashes because they like to take over. They can now do whatever they want in their ghetto. I'm planning watermelon, pumpkin, yellow summer squash, zucchini, butternut squash, acorn squash, and spaghetti squash.

And while I was adding to that side of the house, I expanded the Annex on the front of the house so that I now have a wrap-around garden. I'm going to get bigger pots for tomatoes. Their root systems are bigger than any of my planters can handle. I plan to plant corn in front of the front windows to keep the tennis court lights out of the bedroom. I've already put some asparagus roots in one of the planters. In a few years I'll be able to harvest asparagus in the early spring. I've got many more veggies planned for this area, including jalapeno, fennel, two kinds of eggplant, and kholrabi. We'll see how it goes.

The blocks around these areas will have root vegetables. I've already planted a few radishes, carrots, and turnips. I've got more of those as well as beets, parsnips, and leeks to plant in the coming weeks. I'm terrible at thinning root veggies, so I'll just plant one or two in each hole so that I don't have to thin them.

The Squash Ghetto will be possible this year because I bought a rain barrel to put at that corner of the house. A friend from church is going to help me install it. Watering with the hose on the opposite side of the house would be difficult, so now I'll have a closer water source. And I'll be using free rain water. I bought a soaker hose that will slowly seep water, and I'll lay it across my tomato plants and through the squash ghetto. I'll still water everything, but they should all be much happier with lots of sun and regular watering.

Planters & Porch
I bought some strawberry plants from Wal-Mart and put them in a strawberry pot. I've seedlings started for a type of cherry tomato that grows well in hanging baskets, and I've got another hanging basket made for strawberries. I thought I'd get another type of strawberry for that planter so that I'll have strawberries for several months.

Lawn

The blueberry bush I planted last year is looking rough. So I bought it a couple of friends. Maybe the three blueberry bushes will encourage each other.

Last fall I planted something entirely ornamental: daffodil bulbs. I planted them in a ring around the crepe myrtle tree, and they came up beautifully this spring. Daffodils are my favorite flower. Since those bulbs did so well, I bought some iris bulbs a couple weeks ago and planted them between the clumps of daffodils. The irises have already started to peek out of the ground. I'm looking forward to a second wave of color from the flowers as well as the shocking pink from the crepe myrtle.

Those are my plans for this year's garden. I've got seedlings for several veggies started. I'm going to introduce them to the outside gradually so that they don't die when they're transplanted. I'm also toying with ideas about planting potatoes and garlic. As long as I don't have to expand the garden again, I'm willing to throw just about anything into the dirt to see what will grow.

Taking Care of Myself is a Part-Time Job

I have a part-time secretarial job at a local Baptist church, and some semesters I add a second job when I teach a class at the university. The more I learn about human anatomy and physiology the more I believe that taking care of myself is an additional part-time job. Other people might be lower maintenance than I am. I have enough chronic conditions (depression, obesity, face herpes, plantar fasciitis, back injuries, etc.) that I have to keep an eye on that it takes quite a bit of energy to keep them all in check. For most of 2012, I didn't teach, so I only had one part-time job. I was able to do a pretty good job of taking care of myself. I stayed healthy (after the intestinal infection), learned to swim, lost 15 pounds, and felt really good. Then in November I took over a composition class when the chair of the English department died. During the 2 months from the time I started teaching until I got back from Christmas travels, I had gained back 10 of the pounds I'd lost, caught a respiratory ailment, and felt like a mess. Yes, Christmas isn't great for weight loss, but I was already in a downward spiral by the time the semester ended. I have developed the opinion that I cannot work two part-time jobs and take care of myself properly, especially when I'm trying to develop healthier habits. It's like three part-time jobs. So I'm glad I'm not teaching this semester. I've already had time to cook healthy meals and go swimming every couple days. I feel much better. And I'm looking forward to a spring semester and summer of good health and good habits. And gardening season is coming soon!

Swimmingly

How's my semester going? Great so far! I'm not teaching and am enjoying the break. And I've stayed healthy so far.

My big excitement this semester is the wonderful swimming schedule. I get to swim six days a week! And I've really improved. Tonight I swam for an hour and a half. At one point I did 4.75 laps without a break. I could have done many more, but I stopped to help a guy get his goggles from the bottom of the deep end. I was swimming very slowly, but I swam steadily and didn't feel tired. That's a huge improvement in stamina, efficiency, and confidence. And I'm now fitting into pants I haven't worn in a year or more. This is what I hoped to accomplish last semester. Well, that and more cooking and cleaning. I'm still working on the cooking and cleaning.

Different Strokes

In June I finally started swimming lessons. I learned to swim with my head out of the water when I was in elementary school, so I know how to swim. I want to be able to swim with my face in the water because it's more efficient for lap swimming. After about a month of lessons, my instructor told me that I knew the technique but I wasn't making progress because my problem was all in my head. After I came home from one lesson crying--I was supposed to pretend that I was swimming to rescue someone at the other end of the pool, and I didn't make it--I considered that I might need therapy before I could be a good swimmer. Instead I decided to learn other swimming strokes. Perhaps the freestyle isn't my stroke. I could already do the backstroke, so I started learning the breaststroke. I had taken my instructor's advice and had watched YouTube videos about swimming. In addition to getting some good tips, I discovered that one company makes a swimmer's snorkel. Instead of sticking out at the side of the head, the snorkel comes up straight in front of the nose. It allows swimmers to practice proper form without worrying about breathing. AHA! Practice without worry! Maybe I could get out of my head. So I ordered a snorkel from Amazon, and I love it. I can feel myself making progress. When I swim in the mornings, I do several laps with the snorkel and then a few laps without, and I can tell a difference in both my freestyle and breaststroke. And with enough oxygen, I'm finally developing some stamina. I'm still not a great swimmer, but I'm getting closer to my goal of efficient lap swimming for exercise. And even if I never get really good on my own, I now have a snorkel to help.

Sunny Days are Here Again

In my last post I said I planned to post more often. And then I got sick. I have kept a cold that turned into a sinus infection for a month. When it was obvious that it had turned into a sinus infection, I went to the doctor and got antibiotics and am feeling much better.  So now I am posting as promised.

My return to health is coinciding nicely with the return of warmer weather. And warm weather means gardening. I already have pictures.

Just before I got sick last month I started some herbs and lettuce under a grow light. I enjoyed gardening in my dining room so much that I bought another grow light. Here's my set up: Walmart grow lights with aluminum foil reflectors sitting on long free-standing wire shelves on the floor next to the dining room table. I put my aloe vera near the light to perk it up, too.

The plants have done well. I put them outside in a shady area for a little while this afternoon. They seem to like it.

I also checked on my previous soil bags and found herbs already growing. Parsley, dill, mint, and thyme are going strong.

I've also put out some new soil bags in hopes of foiling my arch-nemesis, bindweed. I dug a trench in the little front garden, lined it with weed retardant fabric and newspaper, and put soil bags on top. I'm not sure if it will work, but it's worth a try. I've already planted snap peas near the little fence in front of the garden. I plan to put in herbs and lettuce soon. I'll also prep the containers from last year to plant beets, radishes, carrots, and tomatoes. I will probably start seeds indoors again and hope for better results now that I have grow lights.

Now that I'm feeling better, I've also gone to the pool once and experimented with eggplant recipes (not at the same time, obviously). The ratatouille and moussaka I made were really good. We discovered that Matt has a slight sensitivity to eggplant. It made his mouth tingle. I researched and learned that eggplant is high in histamines. Since he's never had problems with eggplant in the past, I'm assuming that his allergy to Kentucky is making him more susceptible to allergic-like reactions to histamines. By that logic, I shouldn't eat eggplant in southern Arkansas or east Texas.

I've got to wrap this up now. I'm making waffles for lunch. The waffle maker is on the counter and is calling to me. I tried some Krusteaz waffle mix and thought it was great. Krusteaz does everything well. I've also got some past-their-prime strawberries to puree to put on top. Waffles with strawberries and puttering around barefoot in the garden sounds like a good afternoon.

"What Not to Do Next Year" Gardening

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting cousin-in-law Carrie at the family reunion two weekends ago. It was good to finally meet after being Facebook friends for about a year. We talked about gardening and both agreed that part (or most) of our gardening experiences are learning experiences so that we don't make the same mistakes next year. I have been very fortunate that most of my garden has grown well for two summers, but I've learned a few things from my failures:

1. Cage tomatoes when they're small. They're hard to corral when they get to be teenagers (nearing fruitful maturity).
2. Not all green peas have edible pods. Well, they're edible like cardboard is edible. I now have seeds for snap pea varieties that I'll plant in late summer for fall harvest.
3. Cilantro bolts quickly, so plant smallish batches regularly. I did realize that cilantro and coriander come from the same plant, so I let the plants flower. I've looked up directions for when and how to harvest the seeds. I'll see if the coriander is worth the effort of getting the seeds out of the pods--another learning experience.
4. Lettuce turns bitter in the heat. I'm going to try starting and keeping some lettuce in the house. As long as growing lettuce indoors doesn't stunt it, keeping plants in the window should keep the lettuce yummy.
5. Green caterpillars eat corn!  I don't know how to fix that one yet, but it's infuriating.
6. Tomato plants and squash plants are like puppies; they always get bigger than you think they will.
7. Laying newspaper between rows to prevent weeds is more difficult than you imagine. I have yet to master it.
8. Planting herbs in soil bags works really well. Carrie told me about research that agrees with my own experience. I'm considering using soil bags to combat my bindweed problem. If I cover the current garden so that bindweed can get through it, maybe it will die. And while it's dying, I'll put bags of soil on top and grow herbs. Take that, bindweed!
9. Throwing bindweed on the lawn is a bad idea. Matt mowed over it, and the clippings blew onto my garden. And each clipping can start its own plant. 

I'm sure there are other things I've learned and many, many more things that I will learn as my garden continues to grow. 

Squash in the Annex

My weird (but wonderful) cardboard and plastic garden annex now has squash and zucchini planted in two cheap 7-quart plastic bowls.  I cut holes in the bottom of the bowls for drainage and so that roots can grow through if they need to.  I'm not sure how deep squash roots grow. I can use the bowls as planters again next year, and I can just put some garden fabric in the bottom to keep the soil in if the holes are too big for future use.  The bowls hold about as much soil as I would pile into a normal squash hill, so I thought they'd work.  They're at the far end of the annex, and when they get bigger they'll help hide the cardboard and plastic soil bags.

I had so much soil left over from the little bag I bought for the squash bowls that I started seeds for cucumber, butternut squash, acorn squash, and pumpkin, which I will transplant to more cheap plastic bowls that I plan to buy if the seeds sprout.  Those cucumber and winter squash bowls will go around the corner of the house by the trash can and water hose.  But because the hills are in plastic bowls, I can move them elsewhere if I need to.

Because today was cooler and partly cloudy, I let my indoor herbs and tomato seedlings stay outside all day.  The tomatoes loved it, but the herbs need to stay inside a bit longer. I'm hoping to eventually transplant some of my indoor herbs into the unopened soil bag in the annex.  I also have at least half a planter that I haven't planted yet. I like to keep my options open should I get the urge to plant something else.  Eventually, I'll plant a few turnips, probably in the long planter with the few beets that are already sprouting. I never need tons of any vegetable, but I like a wide variety.

Oh, the Gardens I Grow!

I love gardening!  I love it so much that I have three gardens this year: two at home (plus some seedlings inside) and one at the farm.  The farm garden (see slideshow) is doing well. I didn't plant carefully, so the growth is a little spotty in some places; and I haven't kept up with the weeds, so I'm just now putting down newspaper to keep weeds from growing between rows.  But I'm most excited about my home gardens (see slideshow): both the original front garden that I added last year and my new odd and creative garden annex.

THE ANNEX:  I had wanted to dig up an additional garden on the other side of the porch, but it got hot.  I didn't feel like digging up a 4x10 foot garden plot in 90+ degree heat, so I looked for other options. First, I bought a couple of long planters from Big Lots (they're on sale for $6 now).  I thought I might just cover the area with planters, but that many planters plus potting soil was going to get expensive.  Then I did some research online and found someone who had planted in bags of potting soil without putting the soil in planters, so I decided to try it. I still wanted to cover the entire area with something that would kill the grass/weeds, so I got some moldering bookcase boxes from the basement (which probably weren't helping Matt's allergy cough) and put them out. I put the soil bags and the planters on the cardboard and put a plastic white picket fence around it.  It looks kind of janky (to use an Ashley term) from the porch, but it doesn't look bad from the road.  The fence isn't properly installed because the ground is so hard. I hoed up the grass along the fence line to make it easier to sink the plastic spikes in the dirt, but I'm going to have to wait for a good rain to soften up the ground before the spikes will go far enough in the yard to hold it up securely.  It will also look better when more is growing in the planters and bags.  I've already got herbs sprouting in one of the bags. And I'm looking forward to seeing how the lavender and chamomile I planted in the bags comes up. They sound very pretty and calming.

I love my hoe, which I have named Hoedun after Ghengis Khan's mother. I read a biography of how Genghis Khan's progressive ideas of warfare, commerce, and diplomacy were way ahead of his time and am now a big Genghis Kahn fan.  And now my hoe is Mongolian like my sister. :)  As I said, I love my hoe, which has led to many jokes from my friends; however, I took a quarter-sized chunk out of my palm trying to hoe a fence line for the annex. I didn't realize I had made a blister until it had broken open and gotten dirt in the wound.  When I saw the hole in my hand, my first thought after ouch was "Hoedun bit me!" And it made me smile despite the stinging pain.  My hand is healing well.  I've had to keep it wrapped like a boxer to keep the wound clean, which made me look way more formidable than your average home gardener.

Marigolds, lettuce, peas, cilantro, and carrots at home

I've previously shown photos of my little front garden between the house and the stone path.  It's doing really well.  I probably won't have to buy lettuce for the rest of the summer.  I eat a few raw peas every now and then. The tomato plant is growing like crazy and has its first flower, so I'm looking forward to tomatoes soon.  The whole garden grows visibly by the next time I water it 12 hours later.

I've also got tomato seedlings and herbs inside as well as a planter on the porch with a few herbs and tons of marigolds.

My garden research has also turned up a possible solution for the bindweed problems that won't require digging up my entire garden and replacing the soil. I've read that Mexican marigolds may kill bindweed.  I will definitely be planting Mexican marigolds next year, and I may sow some mint around bindweed strongholds. I've heard mint is invasive, so it will at least fight with the bindweed, and any mint that grows will be great in my summer iced tea.

Sooo employed

Wednesday night, I got the call that the church had approved hiring me, so I went in on Thursday morning to start training.  Wow!  This job is different.  I'll mostly be working by myself because everyone else on staff has a day job, so there shouldn't be many co-worker conflicts. :)  They get very few phone calls: only two in the four hours I was in the office.  They keep the doors locked, so there's no foot traffic.  The bulletin is on a single sheet of paper.  And other than routing mail and financial papers, picking up bank bags on Monday morning, sending a few letters, doing the one-page bulletin and answering a phone that doesn't ring, almost everything else I do is self-motivated.  This job will not add 50 pounds. Hurray!

This afternoon I walked to the academic office on campus to get some forms and sample syllabi for the class I'm teaching.  I also picked up a textbook at the bookstore.  Syllabi prep now begins in earnest.  My friend Shawn says it's the best part of teaching, and I have to admit it's pretty exciting before students get involved and expose all the flaws in the teaching plan and before the grading begins.  Some of the forms I picked up are for signing up for classes.  I hope to get that done by early next week at the latest.  My friend Anne works in the music department and recommended that I take Piano 2 since I've had six years of lessons, but it meets while I'm teaching so I'll have to figure out how to work that out. I now have so many friends I've become a name dropper.  :)

I went to water aerobics again this evening.  I started realizing that the rest of the people who attend water aerobics see us as a group.  I don't even know their names, and they probably don't know mine.  I'm probably just the girl in the blue and black swimsuit who grins really big while she spins in circles when we do the tilted bicycle exercise (everyone else stays pretty stationary). It's my favorite.  I'll have to try learning who the rest of the exercisers are.  From their conversations I assume several are public school teachers/employees.  Word is that the sixth graders are really rowdy this year.

It's been a good busy day, and I'm pretty tired.  If I go to bed earlier, Matt gets to bed earlier, so my job may be good for both of us.

Ch-ch-changes

A stuttering theme for all the new things starting in August.  This evening while I was at water aerobics, the chair of the English department called to offer me up to 3 sections of classes to teach.  I'm supposed to call him tomorrow to find out more about class content and times.  The times are important because of my (probable) new part-time job as church secretary at Lowell Avenue Baptist Church.  The office is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., so I'll need to work my teaching schedule around that.  The final decision about hiring me at the church will be made at a business meeting on Wednesday evening, but everyone involved seems to think it's a formality.  I was also reminded recently that I can now take classes for free at Campbellsville University.  I'm looking into a Monday evening Self Defense/Tai Chi class, twice-a-week class piano lessons, and a 3-credit video production class.  If Matt needs me to take his Fantasy class to boost enrollment numbers, I could take that, too.  Matt pointed out that he would have to give me a grade, and I reminded him I'm sleeping with the professor. :)  But since it conflicts with water aerobics, I probably won't take it.  The classes I take will depend on my teaching schedule.  So my fall seems like it will be busy.

While I was at open swim last Thursday, I decided I was ready to really start trying to lose weight.  I've been coasting for almost 4 months and am at pre-pregnancy weight, but pre-pregnancy weight was 30 pounds more than I'm comfortable with.  My job at the church in Madison was pretty stressful for several years, and it added almost 50 pounds.  I'd really like to get back to a comfortable weight.  I've lost a pound since I decided last week to lose weight. Hurray for me!  This morning I did a Bollywood dance program from the fitness channel and was reminded how uncoordinated I am.  It really energized me, though, and I danced and fidgeted around the house all day.  And then I went to water aerobics tonight and stayed an extra hour after class at free swim.  I'm trying to teach myself proper swimming and breathing techniques so that I can swim laps efficiently.  Sometimes I do pretty well, and sometimes I inhale water and stand up sputtering.  My friend Beth used to teach swimming lessons and has offered to help me.  If I can't get the hang of it, I'll take her up on the offer.

I'm also following a fascinating new blog: http://adashofsouthernsass.blogspot.com/.  Ashley started it two days ago.  Ashley keeps me in touch with coolness, has a great sense of humor and sense of style, and tends to get into crazy situations and meet crazy people.  I look forward to reading her blog.  And when I logged on to post this evening, I found out there are all sorts of new features from blogger, so I redecorated my blog.  Even my blog is changing.

July Garden Update

My garden is still doing well.  At the end of June, I had a couple small green peas.  After photographing this one, I ate it. Yum!

The other day I checked on my garden after vacation and found a nice harvest of purple hull peas.  I cooked them, and they were delicious.  I need to take a spade to the garden to dig up some green onions.  I also had tons of basil.  And I've got a little tomato growing.  Squash and zucchini are growing like crazy, including in my front yard garden.

The DIY Life for Me!

Gardening has led to a renewed interest in all my crafty hobbies.  I've been cooking things with my produce and am looking for more recipes to use the bounty of green beans and squash that has already begun.  I made green bean fries in the oven.  Other than being a little salty because of the extra garlic salt I added, they were really good.  And yesterday I made a potato squash gratin that I wouldn't mind eating every day.  I made watermelon granita with the half a melon Aunt Donna and Uncle Johnny sent home with us from vacation.  And I made peach sorbet (in a couple of Ziploc bags) with the peaches that were more soft than I care for.  I like my peaches firm enough to pull cleanly away from the pit.  Anything softer used to sit in the fridge until it was shriveled and moldy, but now it can become peach sorbet.

I've bought a storage tub to use for my own compost heap.  It's first use will be as a trash can until we can buy the style we like from Walmart.  Someone stole out old garbage can while we were on vacation.  And I've begun to suspect Walmart since the garbage cans were in stock on Monday but not on Wednesday.  I think they've been going around stealing cans to increase demand for garbage cans.  Ingenious!  :)  The $4 storage bin has a lid to keep critters out, so it will give us an OK place to put the trash.  And it doesn't matter if it gets stinky because I'm just going to fill it with newspaper, grass clippings, and vegetable rubbish for my compost heap.

I've started my ABC quilt made from the fabric from Matt's holey plaid boxers.  I think I'm going to try altering a cheap Walmart t-shirt into a shirt with more shape and style.  I've found a pattern for an easy blanket to crochet.  My friend Beth knits and is teaching our friend Susie.  We could start a knitting club.  They are both thrifty, crafty people, so we have a lot in common.  And their garden plots border mine.  Susie asked me the other day if I'd like to go to a one-day class on canning.  Sure!

I've been cleaning and organizing the house.  I've still got a long way to go, but I'm making progress.  I've also been reading a lot of blogs about thriftiness, crafting and green living.  I'm not passionate about saving the planet (I care, but I'm not passionate), but green sites have great ideas for reusing things you already own, which is thrifty.  I'm working up to a big de-cluttering.  I like the idea of streamlining my life by owning less stuff, but I'm a hoarder.  We'll see how it goes.

The other day I told Matt that I keep getting distracted from organizing because of all of the blogs about organization that I've found.  :)  He said that would be in his top 10 quotes that describe me.  Oh how well he knows me!  

A Busy Week for Me and My Garden

Last week we were on vacation in Sevierville, Tennessee.  We have no pictures of our trip to Dollywood because the camera would have been a pain to keep up with, but we do have photos of a few other activities.

On Tuesday, we went to an educational activity center called Wonder Works.  Some of the most fun activities--dancing for two different camera systems that alter the images--weren't photographed, but the bubble lab gave us some great photos.  And we like the picture of me in the space suit.  More photos are on my Picasa site.

On Friday night Matt and I went to dinner with Ashley.  Sevierville is the hometown of Dolly Parton; a statue of her is in front of the courthouse.  Ashley is a big fan of Dolly Parton, so we went to the courthouse to have our pictures taken with Dolly.  Then we ate at an Asian buffet with sushi and hibachi.  Then we went to the world's largest "as seen on TV" store.  I think they figure "largest" by store size and not number of "as seen on TV" items.  We didn't buy any TV items (I counted at least 11 that I already own), but we got an octopus and a hedgehog for our unusual stuffed animal collection.  After we got back to the condo, Ashley, Grandma and I put on face masks.  It was hard to keep from smiling and making the mask slide down our faces.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Knoxville to shop at used bookstores.  The best was McKay, which is a used book, movie and music superstore.  We thought we were in the wrong parking lot when we arrived because it was so busy.  We've never seen a bookstore so big or popular.  We also went to a used music and movie store that had fun refrigerator magnets and toys.  Matt got a set of four literary finger puppets, including Virginia Woolf and Charles Dickens.  He uses such things to decorate his office at school and as show and tell for his classes.

We stopped at Carpe Librum (love the name!) and didn't buy anything, but they had a big piece of paper in the bathroom on which people had written favorite restaurants.  We asked the people working at the store about the restaurants and chose King Tut's.  They had told us the food is delicious and it's an experience.  They weren't joking.  We arrived at the tiny Egyptian restaurant after parking in an empty lot and discovered it was almost full because of an engagement party being held there.  We were seated by Moe, the owner.  He took our drink orders and filled two vases with Matt's Dr Pepper and my water.  He handed us menus, saying "I highly recommend the Greek salad and an Egyptian sampler to share."  We browsed the menu anyway and saw that by the Greek salad it says something like "Moe highly recommends it." :)  So we followed his recommendations and had a super meal.  I think we'd eat there every day if we could.  The Greek salad was covered with feta cheese and herbs.  The hummus and grape leaves and falafel and all the things I didn't recognize were yummy.  Moe took a music request from the groom-to-be and blared reggae-style Christmas music, which everyone sang along to even if they, like Moe, only knew the fa-la-las of Deck the Halls.  The groom was also allowed to wear the pharaoh headdress while slow dancing to the Christmas music with his fiancee.  Matt wore the headdress later, and I took his picture.  The walls are covered with bumper stickers, colorful lights and a stoplight.  Moe offered to do a magic trick if all three of the guys next to us ordered dessert, but one guy was too full.  I almost bought him dessert just so I could see the magic trick.  We got baklava for dessert, and left happy.

On Saturday, we checked out of the condo and stopped in Knoxville again on the way home.  We ate Indian food and went to two Big Lots (a.k.a. The Happiest Place on Earth).  After we had gotten home and unpacked a little, Matt took me to the garden.  It had grown wildly.  I no longer have rows to walk down because of how big the plants were.  My green peas were twice as tall and blossoming.  My green bean plants were growing at least one tiny bean (below and slightly to the right of the flower).  The green onions are almost big enough to use.  I picked enough basil to make pesto sauce for supper.  I've got to go to the garden again tomorrow to pick more for my pasta salad.  We're having friends over tomorrow for a supper of pasta salad with chicken, tomato, basil and feta and some watermelon granita for dessert.

The Herbs of My Labors

While Grandma was staying with us on Saturday night, we made a trip out to the garden to show her.  It had made major progress since last Sunday.  Most notably, the green beans are flowering, the green peas have doubled in height, and the basil was big enough for me to pick some.  I've got some fresh mozzarella.  All I need is tomatoes.  By the time I get a chance to go to the garden again I may have some green beans, green onions, parsley and more basil--all less than 2 months after planting!