THE DIRT: DIY Easy and Practical Potting Table

I have a quick and easy DIY for you today. I’ve been wanting to organize my backyard potting area for the longest time. Inspiration struck when I saw this super easy cinder block and wood plank table on Freunde Von Freunden. So pretty and simple. In fact, it was such an easy DIY that my son built it for me in a few hours.

THE DIRT: DIY Butterfly Bath and Feeder

I’ve been so inspired by all the bee and butterfly baths I’ve seen on Pinterest I decided to make one for my garden. These are so simple to put together and you may already have everything you need on hand.

GOOD TASTE: Italian Herb Salt

It’s that time of year. Time for the garden to start making it’s way to the table. My herb plants are way ahead of the vegetables and I don’t want to waste them so I’m going to start preserving them. One of the easiest ways is to make spice blends.

THE DIRT: Herbes de Provence Bouquets

To me, one of the best parts of spring is spending time in my garden. This year my herbs are doing quite well, except my Basil. Our dog ate the first plant and my replacement Basil is struggling. But everything else is thriving so I did some research on Herbes de Provence and Herb Bouquet Garni.

First up though, a little tour of my herb garden.

UPCYCLING: K Cup Succulent Pots

Earth Day is around the corner and I love making recycled or upcyled projects even if it’s not in honor of Earth Day. One of my guilty pleasures is my Keurig Coffee Maker. I drink coffee throughout the day and having that fresh little cup of coffee is so darn nice. Except for the plastic K Cups that pile up. I can’t wait for the coffee manufactures to all move to a biodegradable container. I heard it’s coming soon.

INKLING: Printable Plant Care Instructions

Before I left on my trip recently, I was really worried about my little vegetable container garden. I try to take really good care of these little guys and I was going to be leaving them at a crucial time. Tomatoes were really taking off and loads of strawberries were blooming. My son volunteered to take care of the garden for me but was confused about when to water each plant so I whipped up some plant care labels to make the job easier for him.

LITTLE CRAFT: Recycled Container Scare Cat

Here’s a fun little craft for little crafters just in time for your spring vegetable garden. Make a scare cat out of recycled plastic containers to keep the critters away from your vegetables. Or that’s the idea anyway.

INKLING: Free Printable Herb Plant Markers on Spanish Tile

I have a fun printable for you today. Just in time for your spring herb garden.

GOOD TASTE: Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salt

Summer may be winding down on the calendar but here in Southern California it’s just heating up. My tomatoes are just turning red and I’m starting to enjoy the crop.

INKLING: A Colorful DIY Herb Pot

The hardest part about being on the Lifestyle Crafts Studio Design Team is deciding what to make. Not because I can’t think of something but because there are so many goodies to share with you. This month, I made something super easy but still fun and cheerful.

Upcycling: Recycled & Repurposed Unique Planters for Spring

It’s time everyone. Time to get the garden going. If you’re not quite to the point to head outside and start digging up the plant beds, you can start small with these fun and unique container ideas. The best part is they are all recycled or repurposed items. Oh yeah… it’s good to be green.

THE DIRT: THE GRO PROJECT

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.


Last week I showed you my little Japanese Spring Garden Seedlings. I’ve been taking really good care of them and I’m so excited about the possibility of actually harvesting these yummy veggies. The seedlings are Kabocha, Japanese Eggplant and Japanese Cucumber. You can read more about these vegetables here.

Extra Credit: backyard solar ambience

This post brought to you by TIKI Brand®. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’ve been working on sprucing up our backyard in anticipation of summer fun and barbeques.

Sew & Tell: freshening the patio for spring

It’s definitely spring in my neck of the woods. The weather went from gloomy to fresh and sunny recently. Although I was ready for the change in seasons, my patio wasn’t. The cushions and pillows on my patio furniture have had it. They were old, faded and dingy. I would show you a picture but honestly, they were so bad it’s horrifying.

The Dirt: good things at Curbside Chaos

This post brought to you by Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done.. All opinions are 100% mine.

Can you imagine winning a $5,000 yard makeover. There are so many things I would do to our yard – starting with new privacy trees or hedges along our back yard wall. From there I would redo all my flower beds so I could have beautiful cut flowers year round. It would be amazing!

The Dirt: newspaper seedling pots

A few weeks ago I posted about my DIY tomato cages made from branches. You can see how I made them here. I’m still working on my spring garden and want to plant some herbs to go with my tomatoes.



I’m going to start the herbs in pots and then transfer them to the garden once I clear out {uh, weed} an area. I was intrigued with newspaper starter pots that I had seen around various websites and wanted to give them a try.



The nice thing about newspaper starter pots is that once the plant is large enough to be transplanted, you just plant the entire paper pot in the ground. You can rip the bottom open a bit so the roots easily spread out. Your plant will be protected until the newspaper breaks down and composts.



To make these newspaper pots, you’ll need:

• Newspaper
• Masking Tape
• Optional: paper for labels and scraps of fabric

I found a nice, easy to follow tutorial here. I added little labels that I cut out on my Cricut and stamped with the herb names. I also reinforced each pot with a little scrap of fabric.



Once your pots are done, fill them with potting soil and add your seeds or little starter plants.

The pots are sitting on a bed of pebbles and paper shreds in this galvanized container.

Now I just have to buy the herb plants, clear out an area of the garden and get ready for some delicious fresh herbs.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here

 
 

The Dirt: spring planting and diy tomato cages

 
I’ve mentioned here before that my neighbor generously gives us fresh produce from his garden every year. Vine ripened tomatoes, bell peppers in assorted colors, fresh zucchini, beans and more.



Once you’ve been spoiled with home grown produce it’s hard to go back to store bought vegetables. I’ve also always put off growing my own vegetables because bags of my neighbor’s harvest would show up on my doorstep.




Sadly, my neighbor is quite elderly and his health is failing. It’s hard to see him so frail and I’m sure he won’t be able to tend to his garden this year.




So for the first time in a long time, I'm planting my own small vegetable garden. I’m growing the tomatoes in pots but I couldn’t find a tomato cage that worked. Plus, why spend money on a flimsy green cage when you can make your own.




The cage looks pretty primitive but I think it will work. I started with four bamboo stakes and used sticks that I had for the cross bars. A dab of hot glue kept them in place while I secured them with twine. 




I made some plant markers out of a paint stick and small resin alphabet tiles. This tomato plant is called Better Bush Hybrid but I didn’t have enough tiles to spell that out. I had just enough tiles to spell out "Bush" and "Roma".

I’m anxious to see how my tomatoes do. Next up for my garden – fresh herbs. I have a nice galvanized tub that I plan to use. I’ll keep you posted on the harvest.

 Thanks for visiting.

 Carolyn

I happily link at the parties listed here and 

    

The Dirt: Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix

This post brought to you by Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

The weather is turning nicer and nicer and I can't wait to get out into my garden and get planting. I have to admit, my garden has really been neglected this winter so I'm eager to get started.

One of my goals this year is to plant a vegetable garden. The caprese sticks that I made above were from tomatoes from my neighbor's garden. Nothing tastes better than homegrown vegetables so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll have a good harvest.

That's why I was especially excited to receive a bag of Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix to try out. Now I won't have to rely on just keeping my fingers crossed when I plant my garden. Here are some of the benefits:

• Up to 3X the Flowers and Vegetables!* *versus native soil
• Significantly improves soil for multiple years
• Concentrated planting mix expands up to 3X when water is added
• Feeds for up to 6 months
• All natural fibers hold up to 50% more water than basic potting soil

The mix is specially formulated to help you get beautiful results - in the ground or in pots. I was surprised at how light the bag was when I received it. Here's why:

Besides the Miracle-Gro plant food it contains coconut coir fiber derived from the coconut husk. It's lightweight and retains 50% more moisture than regular potting soil. Harvesting coconuts begins with de‐husking. The copra (flesh) and milk of the coconuts are used as food, but the husk itself is also useful. The long fibers are used in the manufacture of ropes, doormats, mattresses, automobile car seats, and garden pots. The remaining short fibers and the pith, which makes up about 70% of the weight of the husk, are by‐products of the fiber industry. Previously, these materials were disposed of, but now they are compressed and sold around the world as soil amendments.

Check out Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix for yourself. Or, leave me a comment for a chance to win a free sample of Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix. I'll draw a winner from the comments using a random number generator and send you your sample. You'll have beautiful plants in no time!

Expand ‘n Gro™

Besides tomatoes, I'm planning on planting a mixture of herbs. I can't wait to have fresh tomato sauce, salsa and plenty of herbs for the barbeque season.