garden

Basics to Growing Sugar Snap Peas

June 11, 2018 by Danielle

We love being able to grow new things each season. And this season we’re learning the basics to growing sugar snap peas! If you are looking for a great plant for kids to get involved in, you have to try growing sugar snap peas.

Peas are one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed that you can choose from, and they constantly give you something to harvest. As long as you provide peas with the things that they need anyone can be a pro at growing peas. There are a few basics that hold true for every variety of pea plant that you are interested in growing, so as soon as you understand those basics you can begin growing your own pea crop.

Once you have decided what type of pea plants to grow, from snap to snow to vine to bush, learn these basics and get started.

Basics to Growing Sugar Snap Peas

Start From Seed

Peas are best grown from seed, so it is always the best idea to decide where you are going to plant and grow your peas and then stick to that site. Pea plants do not do well with transplanting, so it is essential that the garden space or container that they are in is able to provide for their growing and nutrient needs. Do not plant all the seeds that you purchase at once, but just a few at a time so that you can replant in rounds throughout the growing season and always have plants at different stages of growth to harvest from.

Provide For Pea Plant Basic Needs

Sugar snap peas require full sun, well-worked soil that is organic-rich soil and space to spread out. Vine varieties of peas need to be planted next to a trellis, fence or stakes so that they have something to grab onto as they climb. Bushy varieties need space to spread out because they form clumps that do not like being crowded. As long as you can provide these three key needs and regular waterings, peas should be able to thrive in your garden with minimal attention.

Thinning Peas

Sugar snap peas should be planted 1 to 2 inches apart and then thinned out to 3 to 4 inches apart, so if you have a very successful show of seedlings, you will have to thin them out more than average. Use garden scissors to thin out your seedlings, or pinch them close to the soil, so that you do not uproot pea seedlings nearby.

Harvesting Your Peas

Pea pods will begin to appear on your plants about 6-8 weeks into their growing season, depending on variety. Do not wait for the pea pods to begin splitting and showing the peas inside, pick them before this happens when they have reached their final length. Pea pods will show bumps from the peas inside, but you do not want them to be bulging open. As long as you harvest early, your plants should give you another crop or two before the plant is entirely spent.

What are you growing in your garden right now?

Looking to grow more in your garden? Try these kid-friendly crops!

DIY Indoor Hanging Herb Garden Ideas

Creating a Beautiful Butterfly Garden

How to Grow Carrots with Kids

Pin this article for later!

Click the Pin button on the image below to save for later.

Filed Under: For the Home, Gardening Tagged With: garden, organic gardening, sugar snap peas

Upcycled Container Gardens: Housing Your Herbs

May 17, 2018 by Danielle

Around this house, we try to repurpose and upcycle as many things as we can. If it can’t be composted or turned into something else, we try to donate. So very rarely do we end up with things that go in the trash. This makes for a great assortment of containers to be used in the garden.

When we picked up our chicks I knew we’d need a little home for them until they were big enough to go straight into our coop. At 3 weeks old they’d need to stay warm indoors so I picked up a metal bucket at our local hardware store.

Since I knew I would only be using the bucket for a short period of time I already had it earmarked for a project I’d wanted to do for quite a while… a stand alone herb garden!

I’m not sure if you know this but chicks, like children, grow like weeds! Seriously.

I turned around for a second and these cute little baby chicks are almost chickens at 2 months! But we still have 4 more months until they’re actually laying eggs (so I’m told).

With so many things growing in our raised beds (like the broccoli that’s sprouting from our DIY K-Cup Seed Starters) we didn’t have any more room for the herbs I love to have on hand for cooking.

So it just made sense to have a container garden on the patio. What’s a better green work of art than a container garden?

Our next step will be to build a stacked container garden to house the strawberries we’ll be planting soon! How awesome does that sound? It’s as simple as taking this idea and stacking a few smaller containers on top of one another. Then planting in each tier.

Because our tub housed the chicks, I wanted to make sure that I cleaned the container very well before putting the soil and plants inside.

While some might question why I would clean out the container first – don’t people buy chicken manure? – the chicken poo that may be on the container hasn’t been composted yet. And I don’t want any bacteria that may have been left in the container to contaminate my plants.

But more on composting chicken poo later! Let’s get to this herb garden. First up – the chalkboard label.

Upcycled Container Garden Chalkboard Label

What you’ll need:

2 paper towels (can also use newspaper)
painters tape
chalkboard spray paint
metal container

What You Do:

1. Wipe down the area you wish to put the chalkboard paint on with an all-purpose cleaner. Then rinse the container out with water and let dry.

2. Grab two paper towels and cut each in half (4 half sheets). Then cut one-half sheet in half again. You’ll have 3 half sheets and 2 quarter sheets.

3. Using the painter’s tape and the paper towel pieces, create a square or rectangle space to spray paint the chalk onto.

4. Put extra paper towels under the container to protect the table underneath from paint.

5. Using the chalkboard spray paint, spray on two coats of chalkboard paint onto the container. Wait about 20 minutes in between each coat to allow them to dry.

6. Remove the paper towels and tape to reveal your chalkboard label. Write on it with chalk and display for all to see!

Tips for Planting Herbs in a Container Garden

Use good soil – find a soil that’s good for growing vegetables or use a good blend of soil and compost
Depending on where you’re putting your container garden, consider the height each herb/plant gets and plant taller herbs in the back
Plant what you know you already use now in the kitchen
Make sure you are also giving your herbs vegetable food (found at any garden center)
Place the container garden in a spot that will receive direct sunlight and make sure to water!

What’s your favorite way to upcycle old containers?

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, eco-friendly, For the Home, Gardening Tagged With: container garden, container gardening, DIY, garden, garden crafts, gardening, gardening tips, Giveaways, herb garden, organic garden, organic gardening, raised garden beds, upcycled

How To Make A Simple Succulent Terrarium

July 2, 2015 by Danielle

This past Tuesday was my 8 year wedding anniversary. So much has happened in the past 8 years and I couldn’t be more in love with my husband or more excited about the years to come. Our family has expanded, we’ve moved to a great home in the perfect area of town, we’ve become involved in our community and have expanded our friendships. Life is good.

In celebration of our anniversary I wanted to make something for my husband. I remember him seeing a succulent terrarium at a restaurant or a business somewhere and mentioning that he’d like one for his desk. I had filed it away in my head as a project to make for his birthday or another special occasion. So when this anniversary snuck up on me, I thought that a homemade gift would be perfect.

After visiting City Farmers Nursery with the kids one day to pick up some chicken feed, I saw that they sold all of the components to make your own succulent terrarium. And the options were perfect for creating my own vision and design. Plus? This gift cost less than $20 AND took less than 15 minutes to put together. I’d call that an awesome win! And my husband? He LOVED it. It’s already on his desk at work.

How To Make A Simple Succulent Terrarium

What you’ll need:

glass terrarium
succulent plugs
rocks, sand, dirt of choice

What you do:

1. Place a layer of rocks/sand/dirt of choice in terrarium.

2. Plan out where you want your succulent plugs to go. Try and look at the height of each succulent when mapping out your design. Have fun with mixing different types of succulents together.

3. Add additional rocks around the succulents and include any trinkets you may wish to include as decoration in your terrarium. Sea shells, star fish, pottery pieces, signs, etc. are all great ways to spruce up your succulent terrarium.

Where will you put your new succulent terrarium? What will you add to it?

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, For the Home, Gardening, gift ideas, Uncategorized Tagged With: DIY Gifts, garden, gardening, gift ideas, succulents, terrariums

Adding Desert Plants to Your Garden

April 29, 2015 by Danielle

Desert plants include a huge variety that include succulents and cacti, but also include plants like yucca and agave, which most gardeners are not as familiar with. All of these desert plants are beautiful, sculptural and cold hardy, making them able to be added to your garden.

You might have noticed that a lot of desert plants have flowers, and while you are not familiar with their care, it is relatively easy to find out more and add a little boldness to the garden.

If you have never thought about adding desert plants to your garden, but are looking for something a little different and unique, try these low maintenance, drought resistant options. The perfect way to stay water wise in So Cal!

Gardens to Consider

Most people think that cactus and other desert plants only belong in the desert or where it is very hot, but the truth is these plants can grow in areas where the temperature rises and drops with the time of day. Some desert plants are hardy from zone 4 to 9, which includes most of the continental US. We mainly see them in the desert because of the face that they are able to survive the harsh conditions, can grow in very poor soil and are drought resistant, so where everything else has died, they survive.

Providing for Desert Plants

While they can survive in harsh conditions and poor soil, cactus actually love growing in rich soil and flourish when they have had some water. The water has to be well drained for their roots to survive, but as long as they are given plenty of space to grow out, watered regularly, planted in organically rich soil where the sun shines, the only thing you need to consider is the specific hardiness zone for each plant type. Some types of desert plants do well in landscape that is similar to where you would find them in their native area, so do not be afraid to add them to hilly areas, slopes or rock gardens.

Desert Plants to Try

Cactus and aloe plants are relatively easy to find at a local nursery, sold as indoor or tabletop plants. Look for plants that are not miniature or dwarf versions to add to your garden for their height or shape, you want something that will gain attention. Agave plants are another option, and great for first timers. They grow very large in size, and they do so very quickly when they are grow in good soil with a steady supply of water. Add these to rock beds or gentle, sloping ground.

Yucca plants are also easier to find in nurseries, and are one of the only yuccas that a lot of northern gardeners are familiar with. These plants resemble yucca when they first begin to grow, but then let out huge flowering spike that is very dramatic and beautiful. Finally, sotols are another desert variety that looks great in any garden. They are like the ornamental grasses of the desert, with their spiky foliage and frilly edges. Use them to add drama to the front of the garden bed.

How are you lessening your water bill in the garden?

Filed Under: For the Home, Gardening, Uncategorized Tagged With: desert plants, eco-friendly, garden, gardening, gardening tips, plants

Recycle Reduce Reuse with K-Cup Seed Starters

April 23, 2015 by Danielle

We’ve come up with a clever solution to a problem we had: K-Cup seed starters! Take those used k-cups and turn them into something useful.

Over the years we’ve become more and more conscious of our environment and the impact we have on it. We cloth diaper, grow our own veggies, compost, and make an overall effort to reduce waste and excess.

Since we’ve upgraded from our Keurig Vue to the Keurig 2.0, the one thing I hate is that I can’t recycle the k-cups I use every day. And since I’m a big coffee drinker, I don’t have any way to reuse the k-cups. Until now! I’ve started getting creative with my k-cups and have come up with a list to reuse them in a useful way.

First up is in the garden. Now our garden has always been my pride and joy. I consider it a work of art that is ever changing. And since we just started up our new garden at the new house, I needed an excuse to show it off.

How pretty are those little starter plants? Well, they started in our k-cups from seed! Truly a green work of art.

That’s right. K-cups are the perfect way to start seeds for the garden. Not only are they plentiful around here, but they have a built in drainage hole that doesn’t need to be added. How cool is that?

Here’s how you use them!

K-Cup Seed Starters

What you’ll need:

k-cup
seeds
trowel
soil (any good vegetable planting soil)
water

What you do:

1. Remove the foil from the top of the k-cup.

2. Discard the coffee grounds to be used later in the garden or your compost bin.

3. Remove the filter from the k-cup and discard the plastic filter – you can compost the k-cup paper filter if you’d like.

4. Fill with soil about 3/4 of the way up.

5. Add 2-3 seeds and top with more dirt until filled.

6. Water daily and watch sprout!

Once your seedlings are big enough to transfer just pull out gently and move to a bigger pot or straight in your garden bed!

For a full in-depth tutorial, check out our video:

How do you recycle, reduce, and reuse around your home?

Filed Under: Crafts/DIY, For the Home, Gardening, Outdoor Crafts and Activities, Uncategorized Tagged With: garden, garden crafts, gardening, organic garden, organic gardening, raised garden beds

Garden Veggie Recipes

February 13, 2015 by Danielle

With spring right around the corner I’m starting to plan out what I want to plant. But for now I’m enjoying my winter crop. These garden veggie recipes help me stick with delicious and healthy ways to incorporate my garden crops into meals for my family.

With an abundance of broccoli, kale, spinach, etc I’m finding that I need more and more ideas to branch out and try something new. And once spring hits I know I’ll be looking for more delicious recipes to try with my spring harvest. [Read more…]

Filed Under: In the Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: garden, vegetables, vegetarian, veggies

Growing Healthy Eaters and Snap Peas from Seed

April 23, 2014 by Danielle

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

My son is obsessed with the outdoors. He’s the ultimate bug catching, fossil digging, mud puddle making boy. It’s pretty hard to get him indoors so we try our best to keep him busy. Since I started up our garden beds again he’s been begging to plant his favorite snap peas in the front yard. How can a mother say no? And growing snap peas from seed is fairly easy.

I handed him a trowel, some gloves, some Miracle-Gro Organic garden soil, and some snap pea seeds. And what he did next was pretty darn awesome. Not only did he plant the seeds, but he proceeded to water them daily, check them for bugs, and give me progress reports on their growth.

This experience definitely made me one happy and proud mama. He’s learning how to grow his own food and he’s requesting more and more variety in the seeds he plants. [Read more…]

Filed Under: For the Home, Gardening, Outdoor Crafts and Activities, Uncategorized Tagged With: garden, gardening, gardening with kids, kids activities