How does your garden grow, Part 2

Here goes for composting. 

So much to learn...

We went to a thrift store and bought these canisters. One is for eggshells, veggie and fruit scraps. And the other for coffee grounds.

We were going to build a compost bin of sorts but my parents had this composting container that they weren't using.

They had some extra compost in the bottom so we didn't have to create the foundation. All though it looks disgusting, those are just food scraps and coffee grounds on top of old compost and straw.

So I found tons of charts telling me what to compost and what not to compost. And how there has to be a certain part green (nitrogen) to brown (carbon).

I was starting to get overwhelmed. And then I realized that it will all decompose and become dirt. Hopefully it is not that hard. I found this great blog from Young House Love. Here is their experience composting. 

My personal handy man making frames for the garden beds. 

The beds are now framed and the garden is starting to come together. Michael built a cute little gate we will add once the chicken wire is all up. 

I found some bricks behind our fence and I plan on elaborating on the pathway.

Some sunny weekend I will level the pathway and get the pavers and bricks in their place. 

First round of seeds have been planted! My sunflower, marigolds and bell peppers are the first to plant. Next week I will start the cilantro, dill and basil. I had to create a chart to keep up with when to start planting seeds, when to buy the plants, when to transplant the seeds and when to plant the plants. So much to figure out. But I love it!

More to come next week....

herb garden

So we bought our house mid July and we didn't have time to plant a garden this season. We use a lot of herbs and wanted to have fresh herbs available. So an indoor planter it is!

By the way, you can not buy seeds ANYWHERE during the fall. We tried 6 different shops, from Home Depot to Walmart to Ace Hardware and a local nursery. They don't sell seeds... We had to gather up packets from relatives.

Michael built a narrow box perfect for 8 mid size terra cotta pots. And he attached it to the kitchen window. 

 One week later, the seeds are starting to sprout!

I wanted a way of identifying what the seeds were so I decided to make chalk board paint! 

My recipe is not the ideal mix of ingredients! I had some sanded tile grout and acrylic black paint. I mixed about 1/2 teaspoon of grout to that entire tube of paint.

I started with a toothpick until all the grout was mixed in with the paint. 

With sanded grout it turned out...grainy. It still works fine, just not the ideal texture. 

I painted a rectangle onto the planter.

Here is blog that has a great DIY for chalk board paint. Just use un-sanded grout and latex paint. 

2 1/2 weeks later, they are growing! So excited to have fresh herbs!