End of Week Catch Up Post
Couldn't get to my journal more often this week. So this is a long one...
Sunday - Back to Trax Farms
We got to hit the petting zoo this time. And guess who got to ride their first pony?
Jana had more train time and more strawberries. I remembered more strawberries and forgot the chives. Picked up a bunch of other goodies at least like vermiculite, which I'd been having a hard time finding. Couldn't find bean innoculant, just placed an order from www.JohnnySeeds.com though. None of my edamame soybeans are germinating. I've tried direct sowing and soaking in water for a couple of hours. I'm seeing 100% germination in my bush beans though.
Monday - 3rd night Jana fought us against taking her medicine. She cried herself to sleep basically and no medicine. I was able to get her to take 1/2 dose in the morning. Since then, we've only been able to get her to take 1/2 dose daily.
Tuesday - Jana got a bike!
Thursday - Preparing for transitions
At her school, Jana will be transitioning from napping in a tray bed to napping on a mat. They asked for spare crib sheets at home to help with the transition. I wanted to personalize it for fun so I pulled out my Brother embroidery machine and found a design from my small image library, a Chinese Lucky Cat (the cat that looks like a cookie jar) and then I was going to add her name at the bottom. Ironic because my luck, my machine broke on the tail end of sewing the cat.
[photo]
Michael says I can probably get away with the design, but we'll probably use my Kenmore to put in her name. As low-end as my embroidery machine is, I really do like it.
Friday - trip to Whole Foods after work
Surprisingly, I found nothing at the salad bar for Jana's dinner, so I quickly perused the frozen foods section and picked out organic mac with beef. Checkout then nuke. She ate the entire thing. We ate outside where there was a trio playing and free grilled samples as well.
Then off to pick up a few things. She did great with the kiddie cart! The novelty of speed shopping seemed to have waned and she pushed to follow me, avoided people and objects and happily took products from my hands to the cart. Not once did she pick up something random and put it in her cart. What a great little helper.
Weather has been awesome all week. It's predicted to be in the low-90s today though. I was able to get some light gardening in through the week:
* added more strawberries to hanging planter
* pulled most of the lettuce to reclaim space (cleaned and put leaves in fridge)
* transplanted a wonder light tomato
* planted more spinach seeds (hybrid, not bloomsdale this time)
* reseeded grass and added lawn food
* added more soil to potatoes, filled 3 of 4 containers now but still need more soil for 4th
List for weekend if possible:
* transplant dill
* prepare an orange spearmint cutting to grow in the office
* transplant a strawberry to the planter (need more soil)
* fill 4th potato container with soil
* sharpen lawn more blades
* figure out trellis solution for earthbox with cukes
* trellis the 2nd wonder light tomato
* transplant more coffee plants
Observations:
* I have 5 grape tomatoes on my office upside down tomato plant, so yes, they can be pollinated by shaking the plant.
* In spite of 20 clusters of 3-6 flowers on the Mtn Princess Tomato plant, no fruit. So I started shaking large branches this week.
* Last night, I saw fruit started on: upside down cherry tomato, grape tomato in container and wonder light tomato in bed.
* Finally saw a broccoli head forming
* Carrot tops are pretty
* Potato flowers are pretty
* Whoever wrote in one of my gardening books, "nothing eats parsley" lied! I need to send them photos.
* Black walnut leaves certainly have herbicidal effects (I used them in a standing compost for one of my beds before learning that). Plants are growing though, but not as well as the other bed or containers.
* The hanging strawberry planter always needs to be watered
* Homemade earthboxes are ugly
* I'm hating mulberry trees: birds loves to eat mulberries and then they leave behind the worst and biggest poops plus they keep ladybugs away. My neighbors outside and around the courtyard have mulberry trees.
Sunday - Back to Trax Farms
We got to hit the petting zoo this time. And guess who got to ride their first pony?
Jana had more train time and more strawberries. I remembered more strawberries and forgot the chives. Picked up a bunch of other goodies at least like vermiculite, which I'd been having a hard time finding. Couldn't find bean innoculant, just placed an order from www.JohnnySeeds.com though. None of my edamame soybeans are germinating. I've tried direct sowing and soaking in water for a couple of hours. I'm seeing 100% germination in my bush beans though.
Monday - 3rd night Jana fought us against taking her medicine. She cried herself to sleep basically and no medicine. I was able to get her to take 1/2 dose in the morning. Since then, we've only been able to get her to take 1/2 dose daily.
Tuesday - Jana got a bike!
Thursday - Preparing for transitions
At her school, Jana will be transitioning from napping in a tray bed to napping on a mat. They asked for spare crib sheets at home to help with the transition. I wanted to personalize it for fun so I pulled out my Brother embroidery machine and found a design from my small image library, a Chinese Lucky Cat (the cat that looks like a cookie jar) and then I was going to add her name at the bottom. Ironic because my luck, my machine broke on the tail end of sewing the cat.
[photo]
Michael says I can probably get away with the design, but we'll probably use my Kenmore to put in her name. As low-end as my embroidery machine is, I really do like it.
Friday - trip to Whole Foods after work
Surprisingly, I found nothing at the salad bar for Jana's dinner, so I quickly perused the frozen foods section and picked out organic mac with beef. Checkout then nuke. She ate the entire thing. We ate outside where there was a trio playing and free grilled samples as well.
Then off to pick up a few things. She did great with the kiddie cart! The novelty of speed shopping seemed to have waned and she pushed to follow me, avoided people and objects and happily took products from my hands to the cart. Not once did she pick up something random and put it in her cart. What a great little helper.
Weather has been awesome all week. It's predicted to be in the low-90s today though. I was able to get some light gardening in through the week:
* added more strawberries to hanging planter
* pulled most of the lettuce to reclaim space (cleaned and put leaves in fridge)
* transplanted a wonder light tomato
* planted more spinach seeds (hybrid, not bloomsdale this time)
* reseeded grass and added lawn food
* added more soil to potatoes, filled 3 of 4 containers now but still need more soil for 4th
List for weekend if possible:
* transplant dill
* prepare an orange spearmint cutting to grow in the office
* transplant a strawberry to the planter (need more soil)
* fill 4th potato container with soil
* sharpen lawn more blades
* figure out trellis solution for earthbox with cukes
* trellis the 2nd wonder light tomato
* transplant more coffee plants
Observations:
* I have 5 grape tomatoes on my office upside down tomato plant, so yes, they can be pollinated by shaking the plant.
* In spite of 20 clusters of 3-6 flowers on the Mtn Princess Tomato plant, no fruit. So I started shaking large branches this week.
* Last night, I saw fruit started on: upside down cherry tomato, grape tomato in container and wonder light tomato in bed.
* Finally saw a broccoli head forming
* Carrot tops are pretty
* Potato flowers are pretty
* Whoever wrote in one of my gardening books, "nothing eats parsley" lied! I need to send them photos.
* Black walnut leaves certainly have herbicidal effects (I used them in a standing compost for one of my beds before learning that). Plants are growing though, but not as well as the other bed or containers.
* The hanging strawberry planter always needs to be watered
* Homemade earthboxes are ugly
* I'm hating mulberry trees: birds loves to eat mulberries and then they leave behind the worst and biggest poops plus they keep ladybugs away. My neighbors outside and around the courtyard have mulberry trees.