The Claiming Our Space Garden & a $3 Off Coupon From Whitney Farm Organic Products

**This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms. All opinions are 100% mine.**

This is year 2 of the Claiming Space garden.  The beds are prepped, for the most part, and are ready for this year's plantings.  OK, the grass does need a good trim and I need to fix the fence that helps to keep out the bunnies,  but don't worry, these are on the list for the coming weekend.  I also have a plan for the fence at the West end of the garden so check back to see how it turns out.

My herbs survived the winter. I don't think I will ever need to buy oregano or parsley again.

Last year we had some successes with the potatoes in tubs, lettuces, peas and cukes along with some failures with the brussel sprouts, tomatoes, strawberries.   I am hoping to maximize the successes and minimize the failures this year by actually remembering to fertilize my veggies.

Truth be told, I think I may have used a fertilizer once last year and that can't have helped my plants at all.  I mean, fertilizer is an important ingredient for a successful garden.  While I NEED to remember to fertilize, I want to make sure that the product I use is organic and not only good for the plants and veggies but is safe as well.  Two products that fits the bill are Whitney Farms organic plant food and organic soil.

Using organic products is important to us.  We live close to a river as well as the Great Lakes so we are very aware that what we put in the ground can have a big impact on our water system.  Using organic products makes us feel safer and that we are doing the best we can for both ourselves and the environment.

Additionally, we regularly eat produce straight out of the garden all summer long.  (Here is where I am hoping everyone does this too)  To me, there is nothing better than eating peas straight from the pod or a strawberry right off the plant. Yum! By using organic products, it makes me feel better about not always washing everything off before eating.  Plus, it would take much too long to fnish weeding if I needed to go inside to rinse each snow pea pod I may eat while weeding.

Do you have any big plans for your garden or any garden experiments you are trying this summer?  If so, I would love to hear about them.

To get $3 off your Whitney Farms plant food or soil purchase, click on the link below.
Whitney Farms®

I plan on redeeming mine this weekend.  I am going to experiment with growing some carrots in flowerpots this year so I will need some good soil to tip the chances of success in my favor.

Getting My Planting Beds Ready with a Little Help From Expand 'n Grow from Miracle Grow - Coupon Inside

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Spring is here and it is planting time again.  I have already started some peas, snow peas and lettuces inside and soon will be moving them outside.  Some will be going into pots and others will be going into my raised garden beds.  But before they make their big move to the outdoors, I need to get their beds and pots ready for them.

Part of my prep for is to give them a good potting mix to grow in. One product that I will be trying this year is the new Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix from Miracle-Gro™.






There are several benefits and advantages about this planting mix that appeal to me.

I Have Moved...

OK, not physically. Apparently I have moved Hardiness Zones. 

For those that are not gardeners, a hardiness zone give guidance on what may or may not grow and/or thrive in your area.  Most tags, packet or descriptive provided by growers for a plant or seed indicate the zone range that the plant can survive in. 

According to the new USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map chart, our location is no longer Zone 5b, it is now Zone 6a. I used to be light blue but now am green. Wahoo!

I am hoping this means that some of my flowers and herbs may make it through the winter better than they usually do. I am especially hoping that my two rosemary plants left outside survive.  How I love rosemary!  I brought one plant inside to overwinter but haven't had much success with that in the past. 

I am also hoping it means I can start my direct sow veggies earlier, too.  Spring is right around the corner

Have you "changed" zones?  Click on this link and enter your ZIP to check out which zone you are in. 

Seeds Are Planted!

Two weeks ago, I planted some of my first seeds of the season taking advantage of my new grow light contraption.

Parsley
Tarragon
Thyme
Peas
Lettuce

I already have some teeny sprouts and will keep you updated on things in the coming weeks.

Happy first day of Spring!!

A DIY Grow Light Stand

If you live in a northern climate, like I do (Zone 5b), starting your veggies inside is almost a necessity.

But the catch is that you also don't really get enough natural light to ensure that your seedlings won't get leggy, like mine did last year. Or you may have a dog that will eat anything green within her reach. Seedlings growing in front of a slider door on the floor would be like a siren song to our goat dog, Willow.



 The answer to that problem is growing my seedlings on a table using a grow light.

Of course, you can get grow lights and stands from various catalogs and online stores but the cost can get quite expensive. Most of the versions I have seen start at about $60. Being a bit of a cheapskate, I decided to build my own using two 8 ft long 2x2s, twelve 2 1/2" wood screws, a 4' long shop light with two T8 full spectrum daylight flourescent bulbs, about 8 feet of chain and two s-hooks. Total cost? Less than $35 (the full breakdown will be at the end of the post.)

For my table, I am using an oddly shaped, beat-up coffee table with a missing drawer and wobbly legs that was left in our basement by the previous owner of the house. I figure that this is a better use than holding empty boxes and old magazines, which is what I was using it for last week.

Step 1:
Create a plan. I sketched out a rough draft and then created a "cleaner" version of my plan using Word and the Draw functionality.

Step 2:
Double check the measurements of the table or other surface you are planning on putting your light on.
I ended up having to cut my top piece shorter to make the stand fit on my table.

Step 3:
Cut all your pieces of wood. I used my table saw but you could even use a hand saw to make the cuts if needed.

For my stand, I cut my pieces in the following dimensions.
1 top piece (50")
2 side pieces (24" each)
2 corner brace pieces (3" each)
2 base pieces (20" each) I originally cut 4 pieces but only ended up needing 2.

Step 4: Lay out the pieces according to size so that you don't accidently cut your top piece in half and need to go back to get another 2x2 the next day (not that I did that or anything...)

Step 5: Securing the sides to the top.
Clamp the side pieces to the top piece, using a corner clamp, if you have one, or you can just a regular clamp. (On a side note, if you are planning on building garden boxes or raised beds, the corner clamp is an amazing tool that makes putting together boxes a breeze.) Pre-drill 2 holes per end and screw in your screws.

Repeat on the other side. You should now have a large U-shaped piece.

Step 6. Attaching in the corner braces
In the corner, place the brace piece, Predrill straight through the side into the brace and install screw. When predrilling the hole through the top, you will need to drill on an angle so you don't hit the previously installed screws.

Step 7: Attaching the base pieces.
Measure and mark the middle of your base piece. Center that on the side and clamp in place, with enough space showing to pre-drill, then install one screw. Once you have one screw installed, you can move the clamp to expose the other side so you can pre-drill and install the second screw. Repeat on the second side.

You now have your stand for your light.

Step 8: Hanging the light
The light I bought actually was made for hanging so came with short chains and S-hooks. These were not long enough to go over the top of the stand so I needed to get some more chain. I bought a 15-ft length and cut it in half, then in half again with some wire cutters to get my desired length (about 3.5' of chain for each side of the light. Drape the cut chain over the top, use an additional S-hook on each side to connect the light chain and the cut chain together.

Step 9:
Place the stand with light on your table, install the bulbs, plug it in and test it out. If everything is working properly, you are ready to grow.

You can also add a timer so you don't have to remember to turn the lights on and off.

Here is the breakdown of the cost for the DIY grow light and stand.
$20.00 4' shoplight
    7.00 2pk of T8 daylight flourescents
    1.30 3pk of S-hooks (Package was $2 but I am using the 3rd S-hook for another another project)
    3.00 1 pkg of 15 ft of chain (package was $6.00 but I will be using the other half for another project)
    2.60 two 2"x2"x8' furing strips
    0.00 16 - 2.5" screws (already had these in our work shop)
$33.90 Actual Cost of the project

If you already have a grow light and bulbs, the cost is less than $10.

Now all I need to do is get my seeds planted for my cool weather crops.  Any suggestions?

Spring has Sprung!

Spring has arrived here in the northern climes.  And it is exciting to see what is coming up in our yard since this is our first spring here. 

The forsythia is blooming.

The tree outside our office is blooming (and the big bumble bees are in heaven).

The one of our rhodadendrons in the back yard had begun to bloom.

The hyacynths are blooming making the back yard smell amazing.  (Those little suckers are really potent!)

Does anyone have any idea what this plant is?  It has pretty blue flowers and we have a ton of them in the backyard.

We even have a robin's nest. 

And maybe best of all, some of my veggies are starting to sprout.

We are planning a garden this year a la Square Foot Gardening.  Next up in the "creating a garden" department is moving some shrubs so I can place my raised garden boxes.  Watch for posts on what I am sure will be quite an adventure.

Has Spring sprung in your area?