It’s in the Small Things — Indoor Edible Gardens and Apple Seeds

October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 3 Comments

I hope everyone is having a great week– we are getting hammered with rain and wind, all remnants from Hurricane Patricia. Good thing we put everything away for the winter the other night — our persnickety little fishing boat is tucked away in the garage, along with the hose box and other odds and ends that needed to be ready for hibernation!

One thing about Western New York this time of year is that you know snow is not too far off when you hear snowblowers being fired up in people’s driveways– all in preparation for the first snow! We did just that over the weekend– everything is good to go!

Small Spaces, Big Results!

I am thinking ahead to next season, and my husband is on board with me trying to plant a small veggie patch out behind our garage next to our raspberry bush! This is my first foray into veggie gardening. This was never on my radar for my own small space, but we are going to make it happen! My husband is going to help me build some raised beds next spring so we can plant our own tomatoes for sure, and we’ll have to pick out a few other veggies for me to try. I can see us even planting pumpkins, which would be really neat!

After researching the subject of edible gardens, I couldn’t help but share a wonderful graphic from my friends over at fix.com who explain easy-to-grow Indoor Edible Plants. What a great idea to be able to have fresh veggies and herbs all year-long!

Last week, I took some time off and I spent my days taking my daughter to preschool and accompanying her on her little class field trip to a local farm–I wish I could do this more often, trust me! Well, last Friday, her class made applesauce and each of the kids received an apple seed from their teacher.

It’s amazing to think this tiny thing will be a big tree someday.

My daughter was so excited that she wanted to plant it right away, but I stopped her. I wanted to research planting apple seeds and what you had to do.

I want to take my best shot at getting a seedling from this little guy, so this is what I have done so far to make the chances a little better.

Make sure the apple seed is completely dry. If it’s not completely dried out, it will rot and not germinate.
Your apple seed needs to germinate; place it in a cool place for at least 6 weeks. Wrap your seed in a damp paper towel and put it in a bag that goes into the refrigerator.

So, I will wait and take the seed out of the refrigerator in six weeks and then plant it in a little pot and see how it does over the winter in the house. I would really love this to grow into a seedling so I can plant it in our tiny back yard, and say that was my daughter’s little tree!

Stay tuned for the rest of the story…..

A Natural Pause

October 21, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 4 Comments

Quintessential Fall. Sorry, Instagrammers, I have been duplicating the past couple of weeks. I promise not to next time!

Enjoy.

That’s a Wrap — A Growing Season “Summer”y

October 18, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 4 Comments

We got our first snowflakes today! Overall, this weekend has been very cold, but after snowflakes flew this morning, it ended up being nice and sunny, so I went out and took a hike in an area park to get some nice autumn pictures.

Ellicott Creek in the fall.

Because it was so cold, I am thankful I got most of my yard work done when I did, even though now I am questioning myself as to whether or not I planted my spring bulbs too early this year. My parents came up to visit us (the first time since my daughter’s birthday in April– their social calendar is busier than mine), and I wanted to show my mom all my work that I had done in my back yard, and I came across this:

My bulbs are confused by the warm fall weather we are having.

I noticed that in the new extended spring bulb bed that I made, that some of them are popping up. I hope this doesn’t mean that I have lost them until the following spring. Western New York has had an unseasonably warm October, with temps in the 60s and 70s, I have even notice that my clematis and a few of my coneflower varieties have new blooms!

I just hope they still manage to come up in the spring. Good thing it was only a few bulbs and not a lot. After seeing this yesterday, I went out this morning with my daughter and noticed that the deer ate a good part of my ryusen weeping japanese maple. That depressed me a little, but I know it’s too early to start wrapping things up, so I will do the “wait and see” for the next couple of days. If it becomes more frequent, I will have to start covering things earlier than I would like.

The deer are now taking a liking to my little Japanese Maple.

Looking at this carnage somehow got me thinking about the past growing season– what I did right, what I did wrong, and I what I would do better next year.

Most Improved Duty: Watering

Yes, I must say, I worked really hard this year, especially after purchasing three trees, to make sure everything was watered. I learned my lesson last year when I didn’t water my arborvitae enough and they died over the winter because they lost more water than they had. I want to make sure everything has an adequate water supply as we go into the winter. I am even watering in the fall here, when we go without rain for extended periods of time.

What I Need to Work On: Plant Placement

Ok, so this one is kind of a misleading title. I mean, gardening itself is a process where you are constantly moving things to another place to see if does better, or transplanting because they are outgrowing their place, etc., etc. I think sometimes I get so plant crazy that I end up planting things too close together and then there isn’t any room for them to grow when they actually mature. Maybe I am just worrying too much, but I just want everything, and with such little space to plant things, I wonder if I am crowding some out!

What I Need Work On: Taking Better Care of my Containers

I will tell you I need to water these better than I do. Containers always dry out faster, and I somehow seem to neglect them. I must be better with this next year!

What I Did Well On: Creating Balance

I can honestly say that I feel I have finally created zen with everything that I have planted. It feels good, nothing is lopsided like it used to be, and it genuinely makes me happy. Even after tearing out everything behind my garage for a third time in two years, I can now say I am satisfied. I actually feel like I know what I am doing.

So, how did your garden do this past growing season? What would you like to do differently next time?

A Natural Pause

October 14, 2015October 14, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 2 Comments

Some of you have already seen this picture, as I posted it on Instagram the other day. I couldn’t help but give it an encore. Enjoy.

Garden and the Gear — What I’m Digging- Fall Edition

October 13, 2015October 13, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 2 Comments

I hope everyone is having a great week!

*First things first— I have created a new page on my blog!!! I am so excited that I actually figured out how to do this. I get so intimidated by technology sometimes, I feel I can’t ever figure it out on my own. But, I did! It’s a whole new page entitled “Visit Buffalo, NY” that sets right alongside the “Home” and “About” page. Please take the time to peruse it, and get to know the city I currently call home!

Aside from that, with such wonderful weather Western New York has been having, it’s hard to believe the coming weekend is said to bring rain and SNOW.

This tree is absolutely beautiful. I have never seen anything like it!

Nooooooo! No matter, it really got me thinking that while I still have a few things to do in the garden, I need to prepare for the weather to come.

Now, if anyone knows me, I love GEAR. I am such an outdoor gear junkie, I will spend next to nothing on work clothes, but make sure I have the best outdoor/active apparel and gear around! Go figure! Since I know I will be messing around outside in the rain doing last-minute gardening, hiking, running, etc., I know I need to check out the latest gear for me and the garden. It just so happens I have a few things on my gear list that I am thinking about investing in for my zone 6a weather.

Rain Boots — When you are stomping around in the mud doing the last of your winter garden prep, you need a good pair of rain boots. I can tell you any rain boot will do, but I do have my eye on these:
1. Helly Hansen Rain Boots — Love these and they look so practical and comfy — they are, after all, Norwegian, so you know you will be able to get out of them what you pay for them, that’s for sure!
2. Helly Hansen Lyness Insulated Coat — I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time finding a rain coat that is just right for spring or fall. It’s still cold, but not too cold, so you need some insulation, but not too much… yea I actually saw this at my local sporting goods store and am pretty convinced this coat will be perfect when I have to start prepping my flower beds with burlap in the cold and rain. A little on the pricey side, but definitely something that will take you from the garden to the office.
3. Hand Forged Weeding Fork from White Flower Farm — you know from my last “What I’m digging” that I was really eyeing up a tulip shaped trowel, and still have that on my Christmas list. Well, this is actually the perfect gear I need to dig up the last of my dwarf sunflower roots that have been giving me troubles while I tug and tug and look foolish because I can’t get the roots out of the ground! Again, this is pricey, so your best bet would be to put this on your Christmas list, but then again, good garden tools are a great investment, you don’t want another bent trowel, do you? 😉
  2. http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com
4. Water Proof Gardening Gloves— at $4 a pair, these gloves come highly rated, and worth it, especially when you will be putting your hands in the mud and they will end up getting cold!
  1. http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Glove-Nitrile-Garden-Gloves/dp/B000MTT11S

So here are a few of my favorite things. I like to share some of things that I come across, or that catches my eye, because like in life, you always need to be prepared, particularly in a rainy fall garden!

The Beauty of a Fading Fall Garden

October 5, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 1 Comment

Have I told you how much I love fall?? Haha, yes, I have mentioned it before, and for good reason. The transitional season that will be ushering us into winter is so spectacular in its own right, with the leaves on the trees turning vibrant colors, you can’t help but be in awe of such beauty.

All spring and summer we takes hundreds of pictures of our gardens, posting them on every social media outlet we can, and blogging about them. But, do we ever think about taking pictures of our gardens as they wind down? I was doing some last-minute yard work this weekend — putting away my garden decor for the season, and I couldn’t help but notice the beauty that surrounded me, despite the imminent ending to another growing season.

So, here is a collage of pictures from the garden as it nears its end. I hope you take a look at yours and feel the same way too!