Almost time

One more week and I think everything can go outside, a good thing too because my squash, cucumber and zucchini are huge. I wanted so badly to put them out this weekend but my mom told me to wait until after the full moon, she said " it doesn't matter what the forecast says you will get one more cold snap" I know she's right, I've lived here long enough to know. I have been putting them outside during the day to harden them off so that when I do put them out it won't be a shock. Thanks to all my gardening friends for all your advice:)
All the things my mom did but I never payed attention, I just loved eating all her hard work ;) but now I realize how much work it really is and I love every minute of it.
I got almost all my yard work done, I found a zone 3 blackberry bush I'm very excited for and also bought a lilac for my husband (he loves lilacs).  It's been a very busy weekend. I also got my raised garden beds planted. My sqaure foot garden plot kinda went out the window, turned more into a spiratic planting of seeds. We will see what happens, lol.  

Transplanting

I transplanted some of my veggies today.  I have done a lot of reading on what type of fertilizer to use, how much to use, all kinds of different recipes.  I still don't know, so like I always do I take snippets of info and make it my own. 
In my mix I used organic all purpose potting soil, sea soil, vermiculite, bone meal, worm castings and Epsom salt I left out the coffee grounds this time :) As for ratios, I didn't measure.  But I'm thinking it went a little like this,
8 C organic potting soil
3 C organic sea soil
1 C vermiculite
3 Tbs of worm castings
2 Tbs bone meal
1 Tbs Epsom salt
So far all plants seem very happy, I put cucumber, squash, tomato and ornamental corn in this mixture.  I will let you know what happens in the next few days.  Also be very careful when transplanting cucumber or anything for that matter. I accidentally ripped part of the root system of a cucumber plant and it was not happy, I think it will live but it looked very sad and it's leaves it curl a bit.  Try not to disturb the roots to much.

Started my veggies

I started my veggies last Saturday and I have to say I'm really excited about them.  Many of them have already popped up.  The japanese ornemental corn, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and a daisy are all up within 3-6 days.  Unlike flowers the vegies are quick, makes you feel like you've accomplished something, lol.  I didn't do the vegetables in the egg cartons only because I have to figure out a better way to do that.  The cartons are decintagrating  to fast and are tough to move, because I'm using a  south facing window for light I rotate the cartons everyday so the plants grow straight.  I'm thinking a tray might help that. So for my veggies I did use a normal seed starting tray, but the good news is that I can reuse the trays next year.  

All the snow has melted from the front yard and looks like all my trees made it and so did my Alexander Mackenzie rose :) I can't wait to see all things green.

Tomato oops

Ever heard the expression you can have to much of a good thing? Well, I over fertilized my little tomato plants and they are on their last leg :( I believe it was the coffee grounds.  My large plant loved the coffee ground and Epsom salt bath, but I think it was just to much for the little ones.  So I think when I propagate my adult again I won't fertilize until they are older. Well live and learn right? So moving on and trying something new.

PrimalCon2013

Wow!! What a blast.  Hi again everyone, my husband and I went to PrimalCon2013 this weekend. We had an amazing time.  For those of you unfamiliar with the primal lifestyle it's basically getting back to our roots as human beings.  Eating animal protein, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and of course playing outside, a lot.  This weekend was all about that! We got to meet the author of The Primal Blueprint Mark Sisson and so many other wonderful and amazing people, all experts in their fields.  We learned so much useful information about nutrition, posture and exercise. I'm so excited to get back home and implement all the things I've learned, I will post a link to Marks website for those of you who would like more info.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz2QTiO8SRj

An alternative to stuffing

I know it's not really the season for stuffing but we did just have a long weekend with yummy food, and yes I made stuffing.  Well an alternative to stuffing anyway. I really like this recipe, I hope you will enjoy it too.
This was a big batch to feed 15 or more, although there was nothing left so maybe 10 or more. Lol.

4 butternut squash.  Peeled, gutted and cubed
2-3 Tbsp of apple and sage stuffing spice (epicure) or your favorite stuffing spice.
1/2 c butter cubed
1 Tsp onion powder
1 Tsp sea salt ( to taste )
I'm not a stickler for exacts :)

Place all ingredients in an oven safe pan, cover and cook at 350F for 30min.  Stir then put back into oven for another 30min or until tender :)

Recycling kitchen scraps

Have I mentioned that I love Pinterest?  I may have :) So I found that you can plant some of your discarded veggies in the ground and they grow again, specifically green onions.  So I had a batch of organic green onions left and thought why not?  So in the dirt they went and 4 days later I already had some major growth.  I may never buy green onions again :)