Gardening

I have started to plant the “conditioned” (see also… Straw Bale Gardens by Joel Karsten for the conditioning process…) straw bales in my garden, and it has been fun and exciting. It is always fun to try something new.

Strawberry plants in straw bales.

Lettuce is planted in front, basil on the side, and a bush tomato planted in the back.

I have saved room in this straw bale bed to add more tomato plants that I have been growing from seed. Right now, I have a pretty good crop of mushrooms that are part of the decomposing process of the straw bales. They will eventually die back and the plants will take over the bales.

Sugar snap peas planted and trellis added for support.

I planted sugar snap peas in this area and by placing an old trellis between the bales and zip tying it to tomato stakes placed in the ground, it made a great place for the peas to run up on.

I am trying bush tomatoes in pots this year.

I planted two bush tomato plants in pots, then added these walls of water to protect them from the lower night temperatures. I have had these walls of water for several years and just never put them to use. I am trying for less wasting of resources this year, and that has also been fun… trying to see different things I can do with what I already have available.

The straw bale gardening has been the most exciting gardening project that I have ever tried. Due to the shortage of straw last year, the bales were a little pricey, but the experiment has been worth the money. Hopefully the straw crop will turn out better this year, and the price will come back down for the next gardening season.

If you are trying to save money in the garden, it is probably better to work on making more compost to add to existing beds. If you have never started a garden, the straw bales would be a great way to begin. There is no tilling of ground, or the adding of anything but fertilizer and water. It has perfect pest and disease control built in, since none of these exist in fresh straw bales like they do in your soil.

I am not protecting any of the plants in the bales from cutworms, or squash borers since the rough straw sticking out is a natural deterrent. Also, there is very little weeding to do.

Another good benefit from the straw bales is that once they have been used for the season, they can be composted to use in the garden next year.

So if any of you are thinking about a garden, keep following my progress with the straw bales over this season and see if it might be worth your time.

“See then that ye walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-18

 

Struggles

My husband was given a 1960’s dinette set that we have been using on our screened in porch for several years. The chair cushions had been torn by Jazz, in her puppy stage, when she was left on the porch one day.

We had them re-covered, and they have set in our basement room since July of this year. We had so many issues with time constraints during this period, we were unable to get them back on the chairs until now. And now… finally they are back in their home, looking better than ever.

1960’s chairs without pads.

I cleaned the brass knobs with Brasso, and they look much better.

Brasso cleaner

Once we took the time, it only took a few minutes to screw the seats back on, using a powered screwdriver.

Since I am in the process of updating our basement room, I decided to reuse the rug from this room, for our deck. And here is the final product.

1960’s dinette set with recovered chairs.

Another view.

The material is an all-weather vinyl-type that can tolerate being out on a covered porch. I also completed painting the garden wagon and have it on the deck now.

Garden wagon on porch.

I hope to have real flowers in the wagon as soon as the weather warms up.

The thing that I am struggling with today is, how much do we leave behind our desires and thinking as the world does, and how much do we follow God’s teaching. If I had been selfish and told one person we could not do what they were asking of us during the time the chair cushions set downstairs, they could have been finished and on the deck in July… but there was Vacation Bible School to teach, and preparations for my niece and nephew to stay a week with us, and I could continue to make a list until my computer shuts down.

How much time and money are we supposed to give to others? When is it okay to stop giving?

The world says:

Don’t let others take advantage of you.

When it comes to money… it is yours to spend however you want to.

Your time is YOUR time.

The world makes it all about YOU!

The Bible says:

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away they coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.” Matthew 5:38-42

“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the lord thy God giveth thee,thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.” Deuteronomy 15:7-8

What constitutes a poor man?

This morning I was listening to 106.9, WMIT, and John MacArthur was saying that we are not smart enough to figure out satan’s strategic attacks against us, but we are to put on our armor (see Ephesians 6:10-20) and leave the battle to Someone who understands satan’s ways. So maybe I don’t have to struggle with this… I just leave it alone and let God decipher it all out and guide my steps.

“Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and He shall save thee.” Proverbs 20:22

I don’t have to do anything… only what God puts in my path on a daily basis to do, and when someone asks me to do one more thing, I just do it, leaving it to God to figure out the attack and save me from it, if what I am asked to do is wrong.

In the words of David as he stood before Goliath, “…the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s…” (1 Samuel 17:47).

Projects in the Yard and Garden

Friday and Saturday I worked on two different projects that I have been wanting to complete for some time. Lack of resources in…. money…. and time…. holds me back from completing a lot of my lofty goals.

This weekend I was determined to spend every minute I had working outside. By Saturday evening I had worked so hard, I began having terrible leg cramps from overworking the muscles. I still haven’t completed either project but will give you a look at the beginnings and continued updates as I am able to complete them.

Leftover day lilies and weeds had taken over the front of the garden after our fence was put in. I had pavers and bricks in the garden that I had used before, but they needed to be re-arranged. I began digging out the day lilies and gave them to my husband to plant near the road. Then….I weeded, removed bricks, and tilled the area.

The weeds and day lilies covered the bricks, so you could not see them.

In process, the removal of weeds and bricks.

Further progress.

I had pulled so many weeds over the previous weeks, the compost bin was exploding!

Compost bin.

So, I had the brilliant idea of composting in a black trash bag. I am not sure if this will work, but you never learn anything unless you give it a try.

Trash bag composter.

After bricks, flowers, and weeds were removed.

I surprised myself by how much better the area looked after I had removed everything and tilled the area. I began to use old pavers and bricks to make a weed free area at the front of the garden.

Pavers and bricks at front of garden.

This is as far as I got on Friday after working all day. I felt a sense of accomplishment to have come so far working by myself, even though the job isn’t finished. (Collette was sick  and my husband was working at the roadside part of our property, mowing grass and planting the day lilies.)

Tomorrow I will share the second project that I worked on.

Have a great day!

Seedlings

Seedlings need: water, air, nourishment, sunshine, a gentle touch, patience, and your time.

Seedlings

A sweet Seedling watching the chickens.

“So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:7)