Plant Markers

I'm getting more and more excited about "hands in the dirt" season which is right around the corner!  So, I bet you're wondering why I'm showing you a bucket full of dusty tile? 

Well, aside from the fact that the Mister redid a floor... I found these leftover pieces to be the perfect material to make plant markers with!  Who's with me?

I took the pieces of tile, cleaned them off, and then drew on them with colorful sharpie markers.

And look how they turned out!!

So, I went to it and planted a few things.  Tomato's, peppermint, basil, stevia, bell peppers, and hot peppers.

I'll be putting pea seeds in this weekend.

Loving how the markers are bright and colorful and stand out!

I'll also start my spinach shortly. 

And three cheers for carrots!!  The dogs especially like helping me harvest carrots!!  Not much beats eating veggies straight from the garden.

Let's hear it for hands in the dirt!!  Are you starting your garden?

Hands in the Dirt: from Aquarium to Terrarium

At one point we kept a fish tank.  Well actually we have two fish tanks.  I don't talk about them much ... and that's probably a good thing since all the fish in our large tank have passed on to fishie heaven.  We thought about starting the tank up again, it was a tough call after having one fish live with us for almost three years, but we decided not to.

So, what to do with a 29 gallon tank and stand?

First of all... I drained the water.  It was full to the top, I luckily remembered to take this picture mid-draining.

Then, I flattened out the rocks and cleaned the glass. 

I added about one inch of sphagnum moss (was surprised to find it at Home Depot of all places fairly cheap!) on top of the rocks.  Then, a bunch of potting soil.  Then, I started planting little indoor plants.  I also put the fish rocks and decor back in between some of the plants for added drama.

And voila!!

Here you can see (from left to right):

"Creeping Fig" Ficus, "Silver Tree" Pilea, Polka Dot plant, and Spider plant in the back right

On the left side we have (from left to right):

"Magenta" Dracaena, African Violet, and I have a bit of Christmas Cactus behind the horse 

After everything was planted I gave it a generous watering until I could start to see some of the water making it's way down to the rocks. 

I really think this is going to be a great transition for me to indoor gardening over the winter. 

I know, it's only August... I shouldn't be talking about winter.  But I am.  This should make those cold winter months more manageable.  I hope.

I am going to see how these plants make out for a bit.  Hoping they are all hardy and low light enough to thrive.  I was also thinking about adding a few aromatic plants like mint or oregano. 

And there you have it!  I now get to tend to my very own little terrarium -- we are only on day three, I'll be sure to let you know how it fairs.

Also, here is a shopping list in case you also have an old aquarium laying around that you want to set up as a terrarium:

• old aquarium - I used my old aquarium... doesn't mean a new one wouldn't work.  You can also look for other containers.  Really the sky is the limit on what can become a terrarium.small rocks/pebbles
• small rocks/pebbles - these are also used for drainage.  If you had a fish aquarium, then by all means use the same fish rocks.
• small indoor plants - I found "Angel Plants" to be good ones for low-medium light and the bonus is they purify air too!!  These ran me about $2-3 a plant.  I also looked around at my current house plants and clipped a few pieces of the spider plant and Christmas cactus to include.
• potting soil/dirt
• Sphagnum moss - this is optional; but seems to really help the plants from getting too dry.  I managed to cover the whole surface for about $4.
• decor - anything goes for this too.  I used a plastic horse, fish rocks from the aquarium I had previously kept, and that rad skull which also came from the aquarium.

 Do you keep a terrarium?  I'd love to hear about it!!  And if you set up a new one, I'd love to hear about your experiences as well! 

Let's go garden!! 





I will be adding to these parties:

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Happy Moment #23: Not Just One

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single photo (or a few) - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too!

 

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

日本のための多くの愛
Much love for Japan

Vegetables and Herbs Get a Start!

On Sunday, I did a different kind of sewing ... I was sowing... as in planting seeds.  With spring now here, I got the gentle nudge I needed to get my tomatoes, hot peppers, and herbs going.  Can't wait to get the big outside veggie garden going this year!!

I am pretty sure I saw this idea somewhere... but not sure where it was anymore, argg!  I used nearly thrown out paper towel and toilet paper tubes cut into small sections to form seed pots!  I'm excited that I can even plant these right into the ground with the baby plant.  Neat, right?  And cheapo!!  And recycling!!  The plastic trays I used are also recycled as they are what our chinese takeout comes in.

Other ideas for recycled/green pots came from MB at EarthHuggy -- she uses reused take out containers, yogurt cups, and even makes origami newspaper pots that can be planted right into the ground!!  My mother in law even said I could use eggs shells -- as in break them in half, (use the egg for a yummy breakfast), and then rinse the shells, fill with dirt and plant!  The shell adds calcium to help the plant grow!! 

I start my tomatoes and herbs early and here is a look at what I planted so far!  The baby tomatoes are new this year and I'm happy to have found jalapeno seeds before they were all sold out!

So, two trays, two paper towel rolls and two toilet paper tubes worth of planters.

Filled to the brim with dirt.  Ran my fingers around the tubes to clean the dirt off them and be able to see all the sections again.

Grabbed a few pairs of wooden chopsticks that we keep laying around.  Split them apart and then broke them in half to use as plant markers.  (so I can hopefully figure out what plant is what)

I just used a small sharpie marker to write the plant names on the sticks.  

Isn't dirt just beautiful?  Seriously!  And the contrast of the white tomato seed is just marvelous!

Here is today's Monday quiz (I totally just made that up randomly!) .... ready? .... what kind of seeds do I have in the palm of my hand?  They really are tiny tiny!!

-*-I may even have a little something to send to a few of you if you get to the correct answer.  Anyone can play!-*-

Check your seed packets for planting depth and then just tuck them all in to their respective spots.  Here are my two trays sown with seeds and watered.  Grow baby, grow!

In true Describe Happy style, we will be checking back often to see the progress they make over the next few weeks.  You can find a few of last years seed posts here and here .  It looks like I am starting my seeds a full month ahead of last year -- which is wonderful, I was a bit late getting things started last year. 

Here is a peak at some of the new additions planned for this years garden.  I haven't yet measured to see exactly how much space I need for everything, but I am certain I will be creative in finding the space I need!  I also want to give carrots and potatoes a try.  I wonder what on earth a carrot seed looks like.  Ok, I'm a nerd... I googled it and there are so many different types.  We will have to take a closer look at the ones I pick up later.

Oh, and did you know you can simply plant a potato eye in a mount and it will make potatoes?  I had no idea.  Shows how much I have to learn.  I think you have to use certain types of potatoes... anyway I am looking forward to the challenge of harvesting my first potatoes this year! 

I am hoping to get in some needle and thread sewing tonight.  In the meantime, get your hands in some dirt soon if you can... it's great happiness therapy!

日本のための多くの愛
Much love for Japan