an itty bitty redwood forest

remember that mushroom kit we got as a very random wedding gift? well we're trying out another growing kit. wade did really good this year for my birthday - and one gift was this adorable dawn redwood bonsai forest kit from potting shed creations:

redwoods are pretty special around here. this little forest will be a mini version of the the giant sequoia redwood tree in boston public gardens that we were engaged beneath. best gift ever, right?

want to know a few fun little redwood facts?
• these tiny trees are actually ancestors of the giant california redwood - which can grow up to 10 STORIES tall.
• the redwoods found in boston public gardens are super special bc they normally grown in much milder weather. that's why they thrive in northern california.
• dawn redwoods were thought to be extinct until the 1940s when one was discovered growing in a rice field in central china.
• even though its towering relative is an evergreen tree, the dawn redwood is one of only two known deciduous conifers. woah science talk. that means that its needles turn from green to yellow then copper in the winter.  a mini remind of the seasons on your desk or kitchen window.

{credit: potting shed creations, mini us retouch by me!}

and now i wait impatiently for our little forest to grow! 

while i wait - it's time for me to start gathering ideas for wade's big 30th. 

got the perfect gift idea? let me know!

adventures in container gardening: critter control!

you want to get on my bad side? dig up my parsley.
want to no longer be friends? nibble on my basil.

... uninvited of course.  today we're talking "critter control".

critter // squirrels

i've read that it's best to either water in the early morning or late evening bc less water is lost through evaporation during the hotter hours. so i water my garden in the mornings. the only problem is that i'm usually running about 10 (who am i kidding ... 30) minutes behind in the morning.

we share our front porch w/ our neighbor, jerry - an elderly gentleman who is quite the character & conversationalist. last week, i found jerry eating hisbreakfast on our shared front porch. of course, i was running late. for a moment, i contemplated skipping the watering. but my tomatoes and cucumbers needed me ... so i wandered out and said hello.

jerry keeps an excellent watch over our garden - and he's taught me a ton! while discussing the discoloring on my tomato plant leaves, a squirrel leapt on to the porch and bee-lined straight for my parsley. jerry - hunched over & bare-chested - and myself - in dress & high heels - took off running towards him. we chased that dang vermin back and forth the length of our porch cursing and flaring at least 5 times until we finally gave up. we're talking one determined squirrel!

why do squirrels dig? did you know that squirrels hide extra nuts all year long? then when they are hungry, they hunt for them. the soft soil & sweet smell of a garden is a natural temptation for them to start digging. so w/o borrowing grandpa's bb gun, how do you deter an animal that depends on smell for a living? give them a smell even they can't stand! a few recommendations: male urine, human hair, smelly moth balls. gross!

we're using miracle-gro organic choice blood meal. blood meal is a dry powder made from animal blood (sorry, vegan friends). okay okay it's still gross. and it's still pretty potent but it has add'l benefits that set it apart from the urine recommendation. this organic nitrogen supplement corrects nitrogen deficiency in soil promoting vigorous growth in flowers & vegetables.  

to use: evenly sprinkle the powder over the soil - not just concentrating around the plants - but the entire surface. mix into the top 1-3" of soil then water after application.


critter // bugs
the second we started to get the squirrels under control, i noticed somebody had been treating my basil like a buffet! and i soon found the culprits - 2 chubby little caterpillars happily napping post lunch. most of the insecticides i found are basically bug poison. i'm not sure about you, but that seems like a big ol' no no for something we plan to consume. (even if i plan to wash it first.)

we're using ortho elementals insecticidal soap. it kills all kinds of bugs: adelgids, aphids, earwigs, grasshoppers, mites, and caterpillars to name a few. and it's organic! which means it may be applied to edible plants up to the day of harvest!

to use: simply spray it on your plants (don't forget the underside of your leaves). you can use weekly or bi-weekly as needed.

alright - your turn: what's your best kept secret for keeping critters out of your garden?

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oh hey - it's the last day! sign up for this awesome noonday giveaway (a $78 value). you can enter up to 4x - how 'bout them odds. you can thank me later ... ;)

adventures in container gardening: whitney farms!

this is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms. all opinions are 100% mine.

happy Earth Day, friends! hope you're able to get outside today to enjoy the beautiful world God has created! what's more earthy than an update on our container garden:

 

this is our first attempt at gardening. we're growing lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumber + okra and a whole bunch of different herbs. i'll admit it - i'm going through a bit of an obsessive stage. we don't have kids or room for a pet, so these little guys have become my babies. i might check on them every time i leave the apartment and i might visit gardening blogs and websites 2-3x a day.

when we planted our little garden i was concerned w/ 2 things: sun & water. little did i know how important the plant food and soil you choose are to your produce as well. i've found that Whitney Farms® comes w/ highest recommendation. and love that their organic plant food & organic soil are guaranteed to create a bigger, HEALTHIER harvest.

 

with 25+ years of leading gardening experience, Whitney Farms® is a full line of 100% natural plant foods and soil with no additives, nothing artificial, just ingredients from the earth. their specially designed protein-based blends provide your plants with both macro and micronutrients they need to grow and thrive. as a container gardener (if i can call myself that), i also love that their product is proven to have low to no dust and no manure odor - making it ideal for transferring plants in/out depending on the season.

 

Whitney Farms® is offering a case of the mundays' readers a $3.00 coupon to try out their product. get your coupon now! CLICK HERE.

okay - i'm off to ace hardware to pick up Whitney Farms® organic plant food & a couple bigger pots. we're growing out of the ones we initially bought!

adventures in container gardening ...

you say tomato, i say tomaters:

how does your garden grow ...

my current obsession:

see that - teeny tiny baby basil and thyme!!! it's true. i can't stop peeking to see what's happening in our little herb world. i'm pretty sure i checked on them 4x before i left for work this am. and once more during my lunch break. which is beginning to make me seriously doubt that i'll be able to hold off on finding out the gender of our future babies as planned.

this will be our first attempt at a munday family garden - well container garden!

last night we picked up a few plants: romaine lettuce, spinach, 2 varieties of cucumber, a cherry tomato vine and okra (i'll need your help to use this! definitely a request from wade!). did you know that okra can grow to be 5ft TALL!?! yeeks - might need to re-pot that little fella.

i'm creating my own idiot's guide to container gardening:

romaine lettuce:
container // depth 6-8". shallow roots - perfect for window box!
sunlight // move containers to shade to avoid too much heat. warm temperatures cause crop to stop making leaves and become woody or leathery ("bolt"). the result - bitter greens. ick! keep cool.
soil // rich + well-drained. add lime to keep soil from drying out.
water // consistently. keep soil moist but not wet. luckily lettuce doesn't require a lot of fuss! :) my kind of plant.
do // plant w/ carrots, cucumbers, radishes + strawberries
harvest // 80 to 85 days. harvest when leaves have grown to approx 4-6". cut leaves 1-2" above the base from the outside, letting the inside continue to develop. or you can take the whole plant, cutting it off about an inch above the ground, and letting it re-grow.

spinach:
container // depth at least 8" and 10-12" wide. shallow roots. you can prolong your harvest by moving them into the shade in the afternoons
sunlight // partial shade. again, move to shade to avoid too much heat.
soil // rich and well-drained. fertilize w/ high-nitrogen fertilizer.
water // regularly. 2-3x a week so that they don't dry out (and bolt!)
do // plant w/ strawberries.
don't // plant w/ corn or beans.
harvest // 45 to 50 days. harvest spinach once each plant has a few full-sized leaves about 1" from the base. the plant will just keep growing new leaves.

cucumber:
container // depth 18". large root system needs at least an 18 to 24 inch diameter pot. you'll need a 12-18" trellis or bamboo to support the plant.
sunlight // full - 6 hours
soil // fertilize often.
water // cumbers are about 95% water - so they require regular water!
do // plant w/ beans and peas.
don't // plant w/ potatoes or herbs.
harvest // harvest 55 to 65 days. when they are fairly small or they will become bitter. also vines w/ too many cucumbers will stop producing!

cherry tomato:
container // depth 18". 4-6 plants per 20 inch pot. you'll need a trellis or bamboo to support the plant.
sunlight // full - 6 hours
soil // fertilize often. every 2-3 weeks (even w/ each watering!)
water // very substantial amount of water. keep soil evenly moist. water at base of the stem avoiding the leaves.
do // plant w/ asparagus, carrots, chives, onions and parsley.
harvest // 60 to 80 days once they've turned color from their original green. twist the fruit instead of pulling on the vine

okra:
container // choose a small variety. can grow 4-6 feet tall and will need at least a 5 gallon pot! a dark container will keep the soil warm. also - as a warning, okra pods & leaves are covered in fine spines that irritate skin. keep this in mind when placing the pot and when harvesting.
sunlight // full - 6 hours. thrives in hot weather - that's why it's a true southerner!
soil // well-drained
do // plant with basil, cucumbers, eggplant, peppers and peas.
water // regular. can be kept on the dry side as the stems rot when wet or cold.
harvest // 60 days. harvest when pods are a few inches long and about as thick as your finger.

overwhelmed!?! oh just a little bit. actually i'm only nervous about the okra. we should have done our research. 1 // it's gonna be huge! 2 // it needs to be dry - while the cucumber we planted it with needs to be WET. definitely our first transplant in the near future. and i am starting to think that raising lettuce and spinach will be much like having a puppy. will i be dedicated enough to run home at lunch to move them into the shade? we'll see! :) thankfully i live about 5 blocks from the office. i'm crazy enough to want to add green beans to the mix too!

much more too come.

sources: gardeningblog.net, sunset.com, gardennaturallynow.com

i've got spring fever

don't you just love spring?!? it has been so beautiful in nashville. 75 and sunny! perfect ride your bike weather. perfect work in the yard weather. perfect loooong run weather. (we're doing a lot of the latter these days. in fact, wade ran 19 miles - almost 3 hrs on saturday morning.)

i've got a major case of spring fever. i'm itching to get the windows open and the house deep cleaned. and wade's really really itching to create some sort of garden oasis. this could prove to be quite the challenge. we have 500 dimly sunlit square feet and a shared front porch. time to get a bit creative. of course ... first a little research:

   

row 1: the edible balcony - growing fresh produce in small spaces by alex mitchell available on amazon. let's face it this is a must-buy book! //  row 2: boskke ceramic self-water planters. swoon! and perfectly placed above the cutting board. double swoon! sadly just missed these on sale @ fab. what was i thinking!?! // row 3: super helpful small garden tips via the one the only martha stewart. garden pots and window boxes. dwarf veggies + different varieties of lettuce for color.

game on!