Garden State of Mind

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  • 2025 Garden Totals

    The 2025 garden totals are in! I’m pleased; this was a decent haul in a smaller garden compared to 2023. (I didn’t really garden in 2024.) My fenced-in garden is about 8 ft by 6 ft, so 48 square feet. In addition I had some large pots near the driveway for carrots, potatoes and herbs.…

  • The Anti-Black Friday

    How did I spend my Black Friday? Instead of shopping, I repaired: I sewed holes in three items of my clothing, so I can continue to wear them. I’m not particularly good at it, but I don’t mind my revolutionary mending showing. I created: I had a hankering to create something that wasn’t food. Poking…

  • A Cheapskate’s Guide to Repurposing Household Items in the Garden

    The garlic is starting to poke through the leaves! Not surprisingly, it seems the cloves I planted that had already sprouted are the first to reach the surface. Four of them are up. This makes me happy. Some of the lettuce and arugula seeds I planted have sprouted. Too soon to tell which is which.…

  • Wintry Walks & More Thrifting

    I really needed this weekend. I was practically skipping home on Friday, so glad the work week was done. Work was extremely busy; at home I was pulling single-parent duty Sunday through Tuesday while Tom and T went to Green Bay for the Eagles game. I worked from home Monday and Tuesday. N and F…

  • You Should Grow Something. Yes, You.

    You should start gardening. It may be November, but you can stick a scallion in a glass of water and watch it sprout roots. You can grow some lettuce or herbs under a grow light. Or, you can start collecting seed catalogs and make a list of plants to grow in the spring. You can…

  • Sprouts Is Bankrupting Me

    This past week I was off Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. It wasn’t quite as satisfying a staycation as the one I had in August. I had dreams about work from Friday night right on through, frustrating dreams in which nothing was going right. But it was still relaxing and peaceful. I got some things done…

  • Growing Green Beans in Zone 7b

    When I was young, green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) were one of the few vegetables I would eat. I enjoyed when my mom would assign me the task of snapping off the ends. Today, while my kids wouldn’t eat them when they were little, now as teens they like them. And I’ve grown a respectable amount…

  • Growing Basil in Zone 7b

    Basil is easy to grow and so great to have on hand fresh! I bought “Emily” basil seeds way back when I first started gardening. And that’s mostly what I’ve grown ever since. Emily is a variety of classic Genovese basil. Start basil inside in early March. Sprinkle a few seeds per plastic cup filled…

  • Closing Time

    This was a catch-up, clean-out, clean-up, fix-up, and shut-down kind of weekend. Tom did the fixing up: unclogging sink drains, setting up the new dehumidifier, and attempting to fix the back screen door. The kids and I cleaned up: the bathrooms, the kitchen, changing sheets, the cat box, and more. The garden moved a bit…

  • Growing Carrots in Zone 7b

    I love carrots. I don’t get tired of them. I like them raw, in salads, roasted in a savory way, roasted in a sweet way. Soon as I get some more growing space I will be sure to grow more of them. The timing is tricky though with this cool-weather-loving crop. You need to get…