Blueberries

I have started adding a netting to my blueberries as they begin to ripen. This helps to save my blueberries from the birds and deer. I have harvested more so far this season than in past.

 My youngest was almost eating them as fast as I was picking them. She even tried helping. 

I have had my blueberries for over 4 years and recently I have added coffee and egg shells to soil. This help in a couple ways. It adds acidity to the soil which is great for the fruit and it also acts as a great deterrent for slugs. Slugs will stay away from any plant that you sprinkle with a coffee and egg shell mix it cuts up their bellies and they will avoid it. 

For more information on gardening hacks follow me and see what I have learned from the ideas and tips I have found and explored to see the truth in how well they really work. 

Raspberry From seeds -germinating

Well this is another new and first time project For me. I have taken fresh organic raspberries and used my kitchen aid to make a seedless jam. 

I have taken and cleaned the seeds. 

Laid the seeds out to dry per a blog I read.

Once they are dry I will separate them from the remainder of the flesh and then plant them in small individual biodegradable containers. Hopefully they will sprout! 

Here goes... I will follow up with the more pictures and information as I make progress. 

Until then, stay well. 

Herb and Scrap Garden

So I was able to get my Cilantro, Chives, and Basil growing. All three of these are from seed. I also have Ginger and Green Leaf Lettuce growing as well as Green Onion from cuttings of what I purchased in store. 

You can see the Basil is an addition to what I have left of my previous Basil. My Cilantro is doing very well and I have an onion rooting to the right. The top three images my Green onion are about through I have regrown multiple times. The middle image is my Chives sprouting and to the right my Ginger. I will post a Garden update in a week or two to show progression of my gardening. 

Until then, Stay Well. 

Herbal Mosquito and Flying Insect Repellant

                               

Saturday was a busy but fun day. I went out with the help of my kids and purchased a few planters, herbs and flowers.

This is an image of  one of my planters. It contains Lemongrass, Pineapple Sage and English Lavender. What do these three herbs have in common you might ask? They all three are known for repelling flying insects especially Mosquitos. We tend to have a lot of Mosquitos around. I have to say that when I normally open my front door in the evening I find way too many insects swarming around the light and after adding the planter I only had a couple but wow, I was surprised at how well this worked. I do have to add that I also hung a basket with a citronella plant and petunias planted in it. Both of these also help with flying insects. 

Know if you look closely I also tried another trick I recently read about. I sprinkled cinnamon in my planters. This I have learned helps with many garden issues as well. The first thing I noticed after using the cinnamon was all the small insects that are in the soil were quickly leaving as I was sprinkling. Second it smells amazing. Check back later to learn more about the benefits of Cinnamon beyond cooking and what I just mentioned. 

Until next time, stay well. 

 

 

Lavender

Good Morning Friends, 

Wanted to share with you my current lavender harvest and few ways I incorporate fresh lavender in my home.

I know that when I first gat started with herbs and essential oils I had a hard time with knowing how to use them. 

Truth is it is super simple. You can use them really any way you want. 

I have added fresh lavender to muffins and lemonade. My husband has also made a lavender simple

Syrup for homemade lavender lemonade. 

 

 Yumm. Stay tuned for more tips, tricks and concepts I have tried that others claim may or may not work. 

Until next time, stay well

Gardening - Starts from seed

Gardening is another hobby I enjoy. I recently started some herbs, root veggies and flowers from seed. I will post pictures as they continue to grow. This will be my first attempt at root veggies in a pot. My second with string beans as well as with herbs. I love having the herbs sit on my kitchen windowsill. Do you have any experience with growing herbs, if so, what have you learned along the way? Do you have any tips/tricks? I can say in the little experience I have with gardening the one thing that gets me more often than not is when I forget about them..lol. It can be another full time job depending on how much you plant. I have found that setting a reminder in the summer for watering the outdoor plants helps. I have made habit of setting reminders and alarms for a lot of the things I find myself forgetting and I do this until I have made habit of it. I can't wait to see how well my root veggies do. I have to say the one root veggie I want to grow is potatoes. I have yet to do so. Does anyone have any experience or advice on the best methods? I will say I don't get a lot of sunlight so I am hesitant to do to much planting.