~Garden April 2012 Update on Projects~

the gate into my cucumber raised garden bed.

Cucumber raised bed

These are my upside down cherry tomatoes planted with my cucumber bed. I had pink tomatoes in these two years ago and I am hoping that these do much better than the pink tomatoes. We did not mail order these plants that was a better start anyway.

This is my cucumber bed. it has fence all the way around because I have to protect from critters.

a project I will be starting soon. I plan on planting morning glories or moon flowers in it and parking it next to one of my trees in front. I have already gave it a paint job, I know that takes away from the beauty of the rust but its going to get water on it often and have vines crawling everywhere anyway.

My starter plants and my milk crate onions that are planted in their for good! The rest will be transplanted into the bucket garden or into a raised bed somewhere.

My bucket garden start up. I have some starters pictured above with the onions I plan on having about 26 buckets in my bucket garden. I have found that it is easier for the buckets to be in the truck bed. When we need the truck bed we just take them out. We just move the garden around the property in the back of the bed super easy to protect plants from high winds, ect. I really like my bucket garden this is the first year we have had one!

My well house!. I got all of Grandma's front flowerbed plants transferred to my well house. I will need to find a location to prepair for the bearded irises next. Some of the plants have started blooming already I hope it will really start filling out the bed in the next few months.

This is my crooked neck squash bed. So far so good. The wood around it is scrap and the outside is cedars we have been clearing out from the property. amount the front access of the bed we have put up a removable fence so we can keep critters out. We love squash and have always had trouble with squash bugs now that we have moved maybe we wont see a squash bug again.

Walmart Trip April 2012 Savings of $42.64

I usually do not go to Walmart coupon shopping but lately they have had good coupon lists. I went to walmart late Friday night and found the Shick Hydo lady razors I have been looking for. I had $4.00 off coupons and they have them marked $5.97. The package comes with a small can of skintimate shave gel and $4.55 in additional coupons. I also got Jello for $0.25 a box. Fantastik fr $0.97 cents a bottle, Stayfree for $1.00 a package. Honey Butter country crock $0.12. Wisk $2.99, nextcare band aids $0.97, face masks $1.50 a box, all using coupons! total with the chicken I did not have a coupon for my bill would have been $98.74 after coupons it was $56.10.

Spring has cleared my pocket book with these new projects!

It's that time of year, I am on a mission of beautification and function! One of the first projects of course has been to create a raised vegetable garden. This required picking out a location. I chose a cut out area of land that had a few cedar trees in it. The clearing of cedar commenced and we started building raised beds. The beds are constructed out of the cedar trees that have been cleared from the property.  We have purchased the dirt to go into the largest bed. Dirt is expensive! there is another large bed that needs only the front side put up and the purchase of dirt! I realized that the infrastructure of my property is going to take a really long time, and lots of money. to create. However, it is worth it! When we have it closer to completion I will put up some pictures!

I also started a project I deem essential as it is the focal point of the entrance of my property. I have wanted climbing roses forever. I bought two Golden Shower rose bushes, and two trellises for climbing. Three 2x4x8's painted white.  Installed them to the back of the pump house. From a previous project I had about 100 retaining wall bricks in a red/grey color. However, I had to purchase an additional 85 blocks! These required some digging and some leveling but once the first layer was complete it was just a matter of stacking! Plus  the addition of peat, compost, garden soil, and top soil and it has been a huge amount of money. Not to mention I always lay down black landscaping fabric for weed block.  In the next day or two I will be putting the dirt into the bed and preparing to plant the roses, and by the end of spring break my rescue flowers.

There are two side areas that are going to have hydrangeas planted in them. My Aunt does not want to have Grandma's flowers anymore and I just do not want to see them die. To the rescue!!! I have a home for all of them. Now I also have to find a place for the bearded irises that will also face death if I do not save them! Grandma had bearded Irises at every house we ever lived at, I will save them, I will!

From here on out soil will be my only cost this year, I will not buy any more garden borders, I sure wish we had better soil quality around here!

The picture is of the pump house's new flower beds before dirt and plants, you can see the old and new bricks at the lowest ground point the bricks are 6 layers deep, at the highest two layers! (This deep area worked out perfect for the roses!)

Tornado/root cellar

Tornado season is about here. My tax return was supposed to be underground shelter money. NO WAY, my return sucked and so did my tires!  So I decided to look around and see what I could do to make my own! I did an internet search for root cellars. I found some interesting looking root cellars. So I got to thinking, why not put a root cellar n the old gully and use it as a storm shelter too.  So I am in the process of planning such a project. 

First I plan on making my own sand bags. I am going to buy contractor bags and duct tape, then  I will go down to the river and fill them up.

Using scrap and other needed materials I am going to build the frame and use the sandbags to keep water out of the structure.

Then I plan on covering the structure with dirt and planting shade grass on top to hide it and make it part of the land. 

I do not have a pulmonary picture/drawing as of yet, just making initial discoveries and plans

is there anyone out there that has done this before has tips or critique?

First competition for the goat Sheila

This weekend we had our first FFA competition with Tatum’s goat Sheila! This being our first one it was a learning experience. Sheila was not fat enough! The goat’s  not skinny but she should be really pudgy looking. The good news from the show was she handled very well. Much better than many of the other goats that were there in the ring. Sheila needs to learn to keep her stance longer but Tatum has already been working on that with her. Sheila has also become a diva, our new goats have been getting attention too and she does not like it. Hoss was getting walked in the pen and she was jumping all over Hoss and over Tatum. But she got her walk too and quickly recovered from not being the center of attention around here. I so miss the other show goat we had Georgina. It is so unfortunate we lost her to a sudden illness.  We will be feeding Sheila a higher protein diet and corn as well I hope to see her fattened up by the county show! Tatum will not be selling Sheila at the end of the school year. She will be keeping her and may even breed her with the help of her FFA teacher.

Sheila is the goat behind the judge

Sheila and Tatum walking the ring, Tatum is in the blue jacket.

Sheila is the one getting worked over by the judge at the far end of the ring.

My New Coupon Box

I changed from a coupon binder to a box!

So I changed, and it is good! The binder was great for a while. I sorted coupons by the likely isle in the grocery store that the item would be on and then tried to keep them in alphabetical order. I had to fold them and divide them between front and back window. It was so time consuming.

Then came a couponing friend and her box she started. I loved it. I actually went to Wal-Mart and bought the exact box she had. Not pictured is a snap latch lid with a handle at the top. From the pictures you can really see how easy it is. Clipping and organizing coupons has never been so easy. I do not have to think what section would this item be in, I no longer have to fold most coupons and carefully make sure the right information is in the front or back windows.  No more trying to keep a section in my binder alphabetical try moving 50 coupons just to fit one in, I rarely alphabetized and it made it difficult when shopping.

What I did. First I decided to keep it cute! I purchased some letter and flower stickers from Dollar Tree and personalized my one plain box.  I bought several things. Envelopes three boxes $0.97 a package. I bought two packages of peel and stick tabs for $1.98 a box, also purchased index cards multicolor pack 3.5's although I would get the larger if I had to do it all over again. I put the tabs on my colored index cards. My label tabs are A-Z a number section one tab in numerical order for companies such as 3M, and 4-way. I also added a restaurant tab and I keep restaurants in alphabetical order within that one tab.

For each brand name I make an envelope to keep them in. I fold the flap backwards and write the name on the flap I put it behind the correct letter and put it in alphabetical order within the envelopes behind the same tab.  

I keep a little envelope box in the back of the coupons to hold extra envelopes my marker, scissors and index cards and tabs.  There is also room beside the envelopes I use when shopping to hold the envelopes I am going to use or shopping lists. 

Shopping has been so easy! I can get to coupons quickly. If there is something in the store I want well, I look it up quickly and see if I can make a great deal.

At Wal-mart I went down the clearance isle and there were several medications marked down I decided to try to make some matches. I matched Alka Seltzer cold and flu making them $1 a box, and Musinex also $1 a box. Great items to keep in stock in the winter. The box has worked so well, I know I will never go back!

Future Critter additions

Chickens: we have three but we would like a nice chicken house with at least one rooster to stay in the chicken tractor. I do not like to eat fertilized eggs for meals so I would like to keep the rooster separate.

Turkey”s” We would like a few each year to be slaughtered for our holiday meals!

Rabbits: Not he fun lopsided eared kind, we want meat rabbits as breeders and have enough meat to feed the tribe!

Pigs: William wants to show pigs as part of ag next school year so we will be adding them to the reservation sooner rather than later!

More goats: Tatum will be breeding for a school project, we are going to have little Sheila’s!