Update on garlic water spray....

...it seems to not have worked. i crushed 3 cloves of garlic and added them to hot water and let it sit overnight and then sprayed the spinach leafs in the morning. tomorrow i will be trying this spray:

Cayenne Pepper and Garlic: Mix together six cloves of very finely chopped garlic, one teaspoon of cayenne pepper and one quart of warm water. Let it stand for an hour, strain, and spray the solution on aphid areas.

i will post an update in a few days to let you know if this works.

Happy Gardening my friends!

Garlic Water

Tonight I sprayed garlic water on my spinach plants... the bugs seem to be liking them. Lets cross our fingers and hope that it helps. :)

Herbs

This past week I was deciding on where to plant my herbs. I originally thought they would just go in my garden but after discussing the garden layout with my neighbor I realized there would not be room for them. I started doing research on-line and saw that I could plant my herbs in big pots... so that's exactly what I did. I love the big red pots I found and once the herbs grow they will look so pretty and add character to my back yard. (a mixture of herbs from starters and seeds)

Also, look at the cool sprinkle system my hubby made.

Gardening Weekend

This weekend was very successful in my garden world.

My husband built us a compost in our backyard...

My neighbor and I tilled the garden and added fertilizer...

I planted kohlrabi, broccoli, and spinach.

Handouts from J&L Garden Center

Here is the website if any of you are interested in those handouts I received today.

http://www.jlgardencenter.com/handouts.asp

P.S. I forgot to mention that I planted poppies in my front yard today. I had 2 seed packets. When I went to open the second packet there were no seeds in it... should I take it back and get a refund of $2.00?

Afternoon spent at J&L Garden Center

Last night my husband and I went to dinner with some lovely friends. They talked about how excited they were to read my blog. I instantly felt pressure but reassured myself that in the long run this blog is only to help me become a better gardener.. not a writer. :)

Our lovely friends gave me some wonderful advice last night. They told me to go to J&L Garden Center in Bountiful, UT and that they will answer any question I might have and also carry wonderful starters and organic fertilizer for my garden. So my adventure today was exactly that. Oh, and while our friends and I were talking about what I had started from seeds in my basement my husband pulled out a list and told me he wanted me to plant theses certain vegetables too... multi-colored carrots, kohlrabi, peas and something else... can't remember. I told him that we will have to get starters for those. I was hoping to do everything from seed but I guess I will bend a little.

Back to my adventure... I went to J&L Garden Center and they answered every question I had:

Q. -When do I take my carrots outside that I have started inside?

A. -This week will work but make sure you harden them off.

Q. -I'm trying to have the most organic garden possible. What fertilizer should I use in my garden?

A. -Dr. Earth

Q.-What do I do about snails in my garden?

A. -You make a snail trap using a milk jug and snail pellets. (they actually showed be an example and gave me step by step written instructions on how to make one)

I checked out what they had in organic starters and ended up buying spinach, kohlrabi, and broccoli.

While I was checking out with my starters and organic fertilizer they handed me a Dr. Earth Gardening Guide magazine and a vegetable seed planting chart. I would say my adventure today was a success!

Thank you to my lovely friends for your wonderful advice last night!

the story behind the beginning

I have never been a good writer but today I decided to start a blog about my organic garden. Please don't judge me on my writing just my gardening skills. :)

The truth is, I'm not starting this blog because I know everything about organic gardening... I only know bits and pieces because of the internet, blogs and one class I attended. This blog is designed to keep record of my garden, share any information I might have with other people and to get advice from my fellow gardening friends.

This will be my second time attempting a garden. Last year was a success in my eyes for a first time gardener. I grew green and yellow squash, corn, tomatoes and strawberries. I also planted peas, green beans and spinach but they did not survive. This year I have been doing much more research and have actually taken a class. I decided to start everything from seed this year. I know.. sounds crazy but was inspired at the class I took. I went and bought all the supplies and started a little greenhouse in my basement in our storage room. (pics to come soon) I should mention in this blog that my neighbor is helping me with all this. He does not care as much about everything being organic like I do or the fact I'm starting it all from seed. He is willing to help me turn on and off the lights when I'm out of town and will help me weed and water the garden once the plants make it outside. And of course will help me eat all the yummy veggies that we get. I feel very lucky to have someone help me in this fun adventure.

I just got back from Home Depot.. I will be transplanting my tomato plants into bigger pots today.

P.S. If you are wondering... you can transplant spring flowers from your back yard to your front yard after they have already come up. :)