Koupon Krazed

Well, it has taken a little while to get to Week 2 in the Krazy Savings from the Garden. But, honestly it would have been quite boring. Besides watering, if it doesn’t rain, all you do is wait on the seeds to sprout and grow a little. So there is nothing really to see or talk about.

We did have a small mishap – it rain really hard and washed all our okra seed away We kept waiting on them to sprout and a few starting popping up in strange places. That’s when we figured out we had to replant. The new seeds have sprouted now, but are only about an 3 inches tall. Okra plants really don’t hit their stride until it gets really hot outside though.

I totally forgot to take pictures of the squash and zucchini plants but they are getting big and blooming also. I will make sure and get them next time.

Anyway, lets take a look at a few things…

The tomato plants have really grown and we have baby tomatoes already. There are lots of cherry tomatoes, as you can see. There is nothing better than home-grown cherry tomatoes in a salad!

We also have the cages up now. We use concrete wire to make our own cages. To do this, we make a circle about 3 feet in diameter and tie the wire together with wire. We then drive a rebar stake beside the cage to tie it to as an anchor. The concrete wire cages are a lot sturdier than your normal tomato cages. We don’t like the regular tomato cages because after the tomato plants get big, they tend to fall over and the plants would break or be on the ground.

The cucumbers have grown and are blooming. There a some baby cucumbers forming in there also! We are sure waiting on these also. We have a cucumber salad recipe we love to make with them. And, then there are the pickles to be canned. We usually can bread & butter and dill (sliced and spears) pickles.

As you can see, we use a garden fabric underneath the cucumbers. This prevents grass and weeds from overtaking them. Once they grow and start spreading, it is hard to get the grass and weeds out if you haven’t used something to prevent it.

The pepper plants are blooming and putting on peppers. We have jalapeno peppers and bell peppers planted. As of now, the bell peppers are just little nubs, but the jalapenos are starting to get fairly big! We use a lot of jalapenos. So each year, we can some and then dehydrate some. We store the dehydrated ones in the freezer and use them in dishes likes beans, soups and chili. When we get ready to dehydrate some, I will show you how we do it The bell peppers get cut into strips or chopped and stored in the freezer. This makes for easy cooking when you already have them chopped up and waiting, not to mention the homegrown flavor it adds to your dishes!

The mulberries have turned red and we have had a few ripe ones already. They are ripe and ready when they turn purple. It won’t be long before we are making mulberry jelly!

The apples and pears are coming along. Of course they take time, so not much changes from week to week except they get a little bigger. I just wanted to show you the difference from last time when there were only blooms It will be later this summer before they are ready to do anything with.

Overall, everything is coming right along. We have just been watering and doing some light weeding with the hoe and rake.

Save on Potted and Hanging Plants!

I did have one more thing to show you. It is a way to save on your potted plants! I know at the stores you can buy those big beautiful hanging plants or potted plants, but they cost a fortune. You can easily pay $15 bucks for one plant! Did you know you can make your own for just a few dollars?! Take a look…

The first picture was taken last month and the second picture was taken a few days ago. You can see how it is filling out and growing. In just a few weeks, this pot of flowers will be just as big and beautiful as the $15 plants in the store! All this cost me was $2 for a 6-pack of Impatiens and some potting soil to make 3 pots!! I used the other four plants to make two hanging baskets. These three plants would have cost me $45 at the store!!!! They grow fast and for the money saved, I am willing to stick them in a pot myself!

To make them, all you do is add potting soil to your flower pot and add 2 plants per pot! You don’t even have to have a fancy flower pot. You can use just about anything, as long as it provides drainage in the bottom. You can even mix and match flowers. If you do, make sure the ones you use need the same amount of sun, shade, water, etc. So have a little fun and get creative with it!

Do you have a creative flower pot, basket or container you would like featured here? We would love for you to share it with us!

Want to read Krazy In The Garden – Week 1? Find it HERE!