Using What You Have

The recent 'Stay at Home' orders from our governor are wise and prudent with this ever increasing Corona virus....but I'm getting a little stir crazy!  Thankfully the weather has been beautiful and I've been working outside a LOT.  One thing I tackled is a brush pile on the backside of our barn, otherwise known as the neglected compost pile.

Because I was out of commission last summer due to my foot surgery/recovery, we've just been heaping yard waste and kitchen scraps into a huge pile.  No reasoning to it, and certainly no care has been taken.  It has been rotting over the course of a year, and underneath all that woody brush is lush, rich soil and I wanted it!

I began clearing stuff out, burning some, sifting and saving others and what I ended up with is pretty pleasing.  I have a ton of rich, organic compost and I have a whole NEW bed on one side of the barn and a composting system with a watermelon patch on the other side.  WIN - WIN!

My new bed has a fig tree, elderberry tree, and meyer lemon tree as a very small permaculture "orchard."  I nestled in two tractor tires and two old pots as temporary beds for spaghetti squash, malabar spinach, pie pumpkins, and acorn squash.  I filled them in with salvaged compost then the whole thing was heavily mulched with the larger brush pieces.  Now I have increased my growing space and added four new "crops" for FREE!  

Y'all know how much I love free!

The now barren side of the barn will hold a new composting system using hardware cloth bins.  Since the soil was so rich in organic matter, I decided to plant some watermelons there.  Their vines can sprawl all they want without overtaking my lawn. 

This small two day task has increased our home food production, gave me tons of free compost, gotten rid of an eye sore, was a good source of exercise for me, and gave me a killer tan!

Who knew I'd be so good at 

"Sheltering in Place?"

Saving Seeds and Sowing Seeds

The summer garden is done, with the exceptions of peppers, and it's time to start thinking about fall and winter gardening.  That's kinda hard to do with the temperatures still in the 90's!

As the old beds get cleared out, it is prime time to save seeds.

I intentionally leave some of the vegetables growing during summer to harvest as seeds later.  It's so simple to do, just ignore them!  Mother Nature allows the vegetables and fruits to ripen, mature the seeds stored inside, then dry up or decompose.  You gather as many seeds as you like!  Above are my beloved Emerald Okra.  With just TWO PODS, I got more seeds than a whole pack from the store and they were FREE!

My most beautiful zinnas for seed.

I read an article once that said if you can repeatedly save seed from your plants and sow them for three years, you'll be virtually pest and disease free.  Plants have the capability to learn.  They can fight predators and some diseases, and by sowing seeds year after year,  you can continue to breed those good traits for your area.  I'm currently seeing if that theory is true by saving as much seed as possible for future gardens.

And what I can't save, I buy!

I get absolutely giddy flipping through seed catalogs and planning for future gardens.  These are just some of the fantastic seeds from Baker Creek seed company that will be in our fall/winter gardens.

There is just something about September!
A new school year, changing colors, falling leaves, a crispness in the air, and the anticipation of the holidays.
I'm ready to settle down and NEST.
But first, I'm saving and storing away what's left of summer.

A Garden Experiment

By mid July here in south Texas, the garden tomatoes are spent.  The plants have given up all the fruit they are going to and start to die back.  Usually I just cut them back to about a foot from the ground and they will come back with a (very mediocre) fall harvest.  But this year I think I'll try something different.

On my days off from work, I usually sit in the recliner with a homemade vanilla latte and watch garden vloggers on YouTube.  Yeah, I know I'm a nerd in need of some serious help, but I REALLY look forward to those mornings!  Anyway, one of the home gardeners was saying that he clips off some of the new growth, puts them into water to root, and then plants them once the roots are a couple of inches long. 

 GENIUS!

So that's going to be my garden experiment for this year, to see if I can get a better fall harvest this way.  I'll keep you updated!

These clones are from my favorite two tomatoes of the season:  Dr.Wyche and Hungarian Heart

And if you're looking for some awesome information about home gardening, check out some of my favorite YouTube gardening channels:

Roots and Refuge Farm

The Rusted Garden

Art and Bri

Sow the Land

Justin Rhodes

I think that's enough to get you inspired to grow something of your own!  And if you already grow things, it's a wealth of information and a wonderful "community" to become part of!

The Scoop on Poop

When you have raised beds in the garden, you MUST feed them regularly.  I used up all my compost making new beds this season so I though manure would be the way to fortify my soil.

There is a wonderful place down the road from us,

The Boling Bunny Farm.

I called and the owner let us have all the poop we could scoop

FOR FREE.

(and 'free' is music to my ears!)

Is there anything sexier than a man hauling rabbit poop?

I don't think so!!!

Rabbit manure is a nutrient rich way to help your garden 

grow and thrive.

Unlike other manures, which have to be well composted before you can even think of using it in your garden, rabbit poop can be immediately applied to your soil. As the rabbit manure decomposes, it helps build up the structure of the soil, and injects valuable nutrients and organisms into your garden that will promote strong, speedy plant growth. 

 Rabbit manure, in particular, is rich in potassium, nitrogen, zinc, and calcium, and it’s one of the most nitrogen-rich manures out there – so you’ll get lush, green, well fertilized growth. 
...and did I mention it was FREE?

This girl doesn't need gifts of flowers, candies, or jewelry!

Just fetch me a truckload of rabbit poop for the garden

and I'm swoooooning!

Another Garden Hack Because My Cheapness Has NO Boundaries!

Spring time consumes me with gardening!

The weather is beautiful and I just want to be outside with my hands in the dirt and the sun shining on my face...so bear with me with all my gardening posts!

I thought I'd pass along another fun little gardening hack:

PLANT PROPAGATION

It's a big word that means making smaller plants

 from your original plant.  

Best of all, it's FREE!

Lavender and rosemary are extremely easy to propagate.  Mix some potting soil or seed starting mix with water and fill any container you have that has drainage holes in the bottom.  I save these flower packs from the garden store and just use them year after year.  Clip off the new to fairly new growth from your mother plant, strip off the bottom leaves and bury deep into your potting mix.  Keep soil moist but not damp and in a few weeks you'll see new growth appearing!

Transfer your new little plant to your favorite sunny garden spot, feed well with compost or fertilizer, and you now have half a dozen or so new plants to fill your garden beds.  

It costs you nothing but time. 

Same thing goes for tomatoes.

Whether you grow your tomatoes from seed or purchase from the garden store, clip off the "suckers" from your plants.  "Suckers" are the small shoots that grow out of the joint where the branch of the plant meets the stem.  Simply bury the sucker to the top leaves and keep soil moist.  They will wilt at first, but in a few days you'll start to see them spring back to life and begin new growth. 

I got FIVE new plants started from the suckers of just ONE plant!

That makes a cheapskate like me squeal with delight!

So when my tomato plants are spent, I'll just plant a whole new crop and we will be able to enjoy fresh salsa all the way into October.

You can also read about how I propagated my hydrangea

HERE.

You can follow the hashtag

#CreamerGarden

on Instagram to see how the garden grows.

(and because I'm a total nerd

 with nothing else exciting going on right now.)

Garden Hack For the Budget Challenged

I usually want all the things, and I want them NOW...

I just don't want to pay for them!

Gardening can be very expensive but if you get out and check out your surroundings, you may find that there are plenty of resources to be found - for nothing!

The Colorado River runs through our town.  One day, Doug took the kids down to one of the river banks to explore.  While there, we found the most amazing bamboo forest.....and I've been harvesting from it ever since for my garden.

There is lots of luscious, green bamboo around.  

You don't want that! 

It takes a strong arm, a sharp machete, and a LOT of work to get it.

Go for the dried, dead stuff.  

Chances are it's already laying on the ground ready for you to pick up, or a simple pull and it comes right out of the ground.  Plus, it's easy to just snap off the lengths you need instead of getting out the hacksaw.

See, I'm all about frugality AND energy conservation!

So many sizes and shapes, perfect for every need in the garden.

I haven't bought tomato cages in YEARS because I can pick bamboo for FREE!

Bamboo weathers beautifully and is super sturdy for climbing plants like cucumbers, cantaloupes, peas, and squash.

Add a pack of clothes pins from the dollar store and you have pretty garden markers for herbs and flowers.

Just be aware, in a house full of children, the bamboo might also be used for things other than gardening!

Starting a Raised Bed Garden - Creamer Style!

Lately I've had lots of friends ask me how to start gardening 

so I decided to make a blog post on how I garden on the 

cheap and dirty...otherwise known as "Creamer Style."

First, have your handy hubby (or sisters, do it yourself!) 

build a square box with corner reinforcements.  The boxes need to have lumber 8-12 inches tall and about 4 feet long.  We buy 8ft. long, untreated boards at Home Depot and have them cut in half.  

Once you have your boxes assembled, cover the bottom in at least two layers of cardboard.  This will smother the underlying grass and attract earthworms, they love to eat cardboard!

Lay yard debris on top of the cardboard.  

We have an area behind our barn where we take all our yard debris like grass cuttings, limbs, twigs, and leaves.  I contribute a lot to it during the winter months and by spring it has mostly decomposed.  This layer will help provide some drainage for the garden soil and will put organic matter into the soil as the season progresses.

Next, add a mixture of garden soil and compost then water well.  That's it!  Your garden is now ready to plant or you can leave it to sit until you (and the weather) are ready.

As you can see, compost is a big part of the Creamer garden.

We were gifted this wonderful composter when neighbors of ours moved.  It's a Good Ideas Dual Senior Compost Wizard and it  makes quick work of breaking down all our kitchen scraps, 

along with a handful of earthworms.

We also have that spot by the barn I told you about for the bigger stuff.  Just turn it with a shovel every now and then, and by the end of each season you'll have some nice compost!

There's no reason gardening has to be expensive.  With a small investment in the beginning, your garden boxes should last several planting seasons.  Just keep adding your composted materials and you'll never have to buy soil or fertilizer!

Get out there and plant something!

"Recovering" and Crafting

Usually, on Mondays, I recover from my work weekends. 

And when I say "recover" I mean catch up on laundry, clean the house that the kids wrecked, and stock the empty fridge.

But THIS past Monday we packed up our beach chairs and snacks and headed down to Matagorda Beach for the day.

I did nothing but sip iced tea and dig my toes into the sand.

The kids played in the freezing water, painted seascapes, 

collected shells...

and dug three feet deep holes in the sand!

There wasn't a soul around for miles.

Just us and the sound of the waves crashing.

Now that's what I call "recovery!"

We came home with lots of treasures that day.

I have a shell wind chime that Doug bought me in Galveston last year.  I absolutely love it and thought that I could create my own version. 

 It couldn't be more simple!

All you need are your shells, driftwood, a drill with a small bit, 

and some fishing line.

Just drill holes in your shells, thread and knot them along the fishing line, and tie your strands off on a large piece of drift wood.

I added glass beads for a bit of color and sparkle.

And when the wind blows, the sound takes me right back 

to our spot on the beach!
I'm thinking "Matagorda Mondays"
might just become a thing, y'all!

Let it BURN!

Every year for Christmas, the kids make handmade presents 

for our family and friends.

This year the boys have discovered wood burning.

I handed them a few pieces of scrap wood

(to kind of get the hang of it before burning our actual gifts!)

And as you can see from their "doodling,"

they got the hang of things pretty quick!

I purchased some pretty bamboo cutting boards and wooden spoons and let Mary Grace draw on them.  

She's currently into drawing gigantic heads with hands and feet coming out of them.

Cute, huh?

Then one of the boys traces her drawing 

with the wood burning tool.

What is left behind is a permanent etching of her artwork,

and a functional piece of kitchen ware.

The boards and spoons are already sealed

so there is nothing else to do except wrap them up.

The cutting boards will get a big summer sausage, package of crackers, and wedge of cheese wrapped up with a pretty ribbon for gift giving.

But this work-in-progress by Kyle 

(our family tree!)

 is going to get scooped up by 

THIS MAMA

before anyone else can get their hands on it!

Happy Elving!!!

DIY headbands

 Lately I have become a little obsessed with headbands.

So much so that I spent an entire rainy day afternoon 

making dozens of them:

I had tons of scrap ribbon in my sewing stash so I measured around Mary Grace's head until the ends of the ribbon almost touched. 

 I folded the ends over an elastic hair band (about an inch), and sewed it securely, back stitching a time or two.

Adorable, not too tight, super girly,

and best of all...

It didn't cost me a cent!