MBA-Missing, But Active

I know. Long time no post. I've been missing, but I've been active. It all started when DJ and I decided to plant mondo grass along our bulkhead. It is a four foot wide path that stretches along our entire section of bulkhead (approximately 50 feet). If your don't think that's a feat, let me enlighten you. We got 25 containers of mondo grass. Each container was then divided into eight pieces. That translates into 200 little bits of plant that had to have their own hole dug, top soil incorporated into the hole and fertilizer added.

After spending two days accomplishing that feat, we decided to go out for a well deserved boat ride.

Then it was back to the 'usual' grind . . . . Work, house work, talking to the ever maturing veggie plants and ensuring that our resident duck couple are fat and sassy.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

More green!


Squash, zucchini and three types of tomatoes . . . Oh my!

Sunday: A day of rest?

Not so much. Instead the morning was filled with working at the gym and in the garden. What now? Installing deer fencing to help bring my tender, green efforts to fruition.

Don't get me wrong. I love God's little creatures. I throw out stale loaves of bread or almost-bad fruit into the vacant lot across the street, where we often see deer at night. Heck. I've been so generous to even let them eat some of my bedding plants. In fact, I currently have two bushes in my front bed that are nekked from about neck height down. Why? Well, the deer's neck only stretches so far. The top 12 inches of the bushes are out of nibbling zone, so it looks great. But, altruistic endeavors aside, I'm growing veggies for the bi-peds in the family.

We have some new neighbors. Meet our resident Canadian geese pair that flew into the harbor last week. They seem to like it. You can hear them fly in every morning around 8 AM. All honks and weezes, they're difficult to miss.

Can you see me?

You are looking at the first sign of GREEN in my veggie garden. What are they? Lettuce seeds I planted early this week. The best part? There were all sorts of green sprouts up and down the 3 and 1/2 feet that I planted with seeds.

GROW, LITTLE GREENS, GROW

Yipee!!!

Loony for Lunar!?!?

Ginger in her role as Gardening Supervisor.

There are some folks who just throw seeds in any ol' dirt and pray for a garden with loads of veggies . . . Then there are those who research what type of soil, fertilizer and light combo produce successful gardens . . . . And then there are those of us who take it a step further and decide which seeds to plant based on the lunar calendar. Many experienced gardeners and farmers will tell you that crop yield can be influenced by what type of moon you plant under. And, no, planting during a full 'moon' will not produce luscious 'orbs.'

Brief lesson: There are four phases of the moon, each lasting roughly seven days

1. New moon
2. Second quarter
3. Full moon
4. Fourth quarter

Now, the amount of moon light is increasing during the new moon and second quarter (also known as the waxing moon), while there is decreasing light during the full moon and fourth quarter (waning moon). The general rule-of-thumb is that you should plant seeds for above ground crops (tomatoes, lettuce, peppers) while the moon is waxing and seeds for below ground crops (onions, carrots, potatoes) while the moon is waning.

Want to make it even more complicated??? The forces exerted during the new moon, increased moisture and increasing moon light, appear to produce balanced root and leaf growth. Thus, of the above ground crops, those that produce seeds outside of their fruit (lettuce, spinach, cabbage) should be planted during the new moon. During the second quarter, you have a decrease in soil moisture, but a continued increase in moon light, which led characteristics to strong leaf growth. Thus, above ground crops that produce their seeds inside their fruit (tomatoes, peppers, squash) should be planted during this period.

Well, as many of you know, I have a tendency to make things complicated. But this amount of detail, what to plant during which lunar quarter, makes me want to take a flying leap off a short pier during the full moon (when tides tend to be higher). So, my thought was to at least plant above ground crops sometime during the waxing moon; seed-to-fruit placement be damned!

New moon started March 26th. Guess what I did yesterday? Started my tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant and zucs.



Lord, please let me be one of your children blessed with a green thumb.

Still no picture of the garden

Too overcast today. Not a good outdoor picture taking kind of day. However, I offer up this photo, taken last week, as an example of how Coastal Carolina is starting to come alive this spring.

By the way, I forgot to tell y'all that I transplanted (my husband called it 'recycled') 9 earthworms from the back flower beds to the veggie garden. As I was weeding, if I found an earthworm, I'd excitedly jump up with my squirming, juicy cargo, run to the veggie garden, dig a little hole, gentle place my precious friend in their new dwelling and lovingly cover it up. Yeah, I'm sure the neighbors who witnessed this ritual, repeated nine times, came to a hasty conclusion about my sanity. Did I mention that after I covered the hole, I would say to each worm, "Welcome to your new home, Eartha."

Eartha is what I named the first one. After that, there was Earl, Erica, Eric, Erin, Edward, Erdette, Egads and Earlynne. I hope you will also welcome your little earthworm friends this spring.

I'd post a picture of what I've been doing . . . .

but after a combined 16 hours spent in the yard the past four days, I'm a little fatigued. Snapping a picture just seemed too complicated for my brain this afternoon.

The upside to all the yard work and weed pulling? It has kept the cat entertained. I'll look up throughout the days to find her quietly observing me or watching the hoard of birds on the feeder. After spreading 250 pounds of cow shit yesterday (yes, by myself), I came inside and found the kitty greatly intrigued with my sneakers. Some where in the back of her furry mind, while huffing those shoes at the same rate teen addicts in training huff spray cans, she must have been thinking, 'With all this cow shit smell, there's gotta be a steak in here somewhere!'

The shoes promptly went back to the garage.

Veggie post-script: I planted onions, swiss chard and some lettuce mix today! Just think . . . . Seeds turn cow shit into something tasty. Nature is truly amazing.

Not something you see everyday

FYI-We did not take this picture. It came from towndock.net. No, there is nothing wrong with your eyes. Yes, this pelican has four wings. No, the picture has not been altered. Quite rare, and needless to say unusual, I just had to share.

Spring is coming, I know it will be here sometime . . . .

Two entries in one day (keep scrolling down)? Well, that's because this one is in no way, shape or form related to the first one.

As the majority of the East Coast gets a extra helping of winter weather, I'm in the mood for warm weather. Forget the thermal underwear, the sweaters, the polartec blankets and socks in bed. I'm sick of it.

So, to get y'all as excited about spring as me, I thought I'd share some recent landscaping (last Friday) at our household.

Yup, you're looking at my future garden. Pretty little 4 foot by 8 foot bed that will soon enough be the home to swiss chard, Hansel eggplants, Cherokee purple tomatoes, red tomatoes, green peppers, Bianca peppers (white), an assortment of lettuces, squash, zucs (because I make some of the best stuffed zucchini this side of Heaven), butternut squash, okra and basil varieties that go beyond your imagination. Did you know that seed suppliers are seeing a 20% increase in sales for 2009 (compared to 2008)? Everyone is looking for ways to reduce their grocery bill! Including me. How do I plan to accomplish this? With cow manure, fertilizer, back-breaking labor, BB gun to rid myself of squirrels, deer fencing (remember, I'm trying to reduce my grocery bill, not the local deer population's bill) and my trusty Farmer's Almanac. Feel free to write a comment about your best gardening tips. I want all the help I can get. And, yes, I know I have way too many seeds for this little space. Although, 4 foot by 8 foot seemed much larger in my head . . . . . .

Parenting Skills

My wonderful husband got to work from home today. Snow + travel + ice = one man working the computer keyboard around the orange-ish, furry lump on his lap. And do you know what wonderful husband (WH for short), mentioned above, said after the cat jumped into his lap for the fifth time?

"She wouldn't be doing this if you didn't let her."

Me: "I beg your pardon?"

WH: "You heard me. She wouldn't insist on jumping in my lap while at the computer if you didn't let her do it with you."

Me: "Oh. So what you're saying is that it's my parenting skills that are instilling bad habits in our adorable baby?"

WH gave me the look that can only be described as 'if-I-agree-I'm-screwed; if-I-disagree-I'm screwed.' Rightly so. Is it my fault if the furry product of our love wants to show her Daddy some attention? He shouldn't be insulted; he should feel honored. Enough said.