Moving A Shed, Outdoor Work, and the Mother Earth News Fair

It has been a busy week and Mike and I have been involved in all kinds of things.  On a bad note we got one of our properties back in TN…but on a good note we have a contract on it now:)  Yes it all happened very fast.  Before we got the contract Mike decided he wanted our old shed.  First we had to find a mover as it is a good sized shed.


Monday after the rain we got a call from our shed mover and he said he was in his way to pick up our shed.  Mike wanted to bring it up to our house but when we saw the size of the load coming down the highway we decided to leave it at the store.


They are at the store with the shed:

Very cool.  I have never seen this kind of trailer.  It has rollers so the shed slides right off:

Almost off:

Just another building at the store, lol:

The next day we got three loads of crush and run gravel to spread over the big rocks on the driveway:

All spread out…next up we will have to see about drilling a well and installing the septic:

Ah…back to planting seedlings, lol.  The never ending job.  The ones we have planted seem to be doing well so far.  The spot where the deer were only one got nibbled on:

We had to wait for the land to dry out a little before we could seed and hay the spot where we took the shed:

I sure do miss this pond:

Wow…this is one of the trees we planted.  It is three times as tall as me:

On Saturday Mike and I took a day for ourselves and went to a fair that Mother Earth News had.  It didn't have as much solar as Mike was hoping for.  They had many seminars which might be interesting to many.  As it was we just walked the fair.  We did get to see a tiny home, solar ovens, lots and lots of seeds, natural beauty products, and of course baby animals.  Here is the link in case some of you might want to check one out closer to you:
Mother Earth News Fair




We got back home early enough for Mike to get more cow manure for me:)

My garden is getting there.  One more load of manure and I can clean it up and get ready for planting:

Sunday we had breakfast with the kids and then Mike took our grandson driving while I went home with the girls to see Nicole's garden.  She did a great job on her fence.



After we left it was time to get the BA truck ready to sell.  We got a new oil pan for it and it is running very well.  Now it's time to clean this monster:

Mike vacuuming the back out:

OK…it is very gross…Mike decides to hose the back out while I shampoo the front floor areas:

My turn to jump in back and give it some elbow grease:

We got a good amount cleaned up on the truck but we need to pick up some stronger chemicals to finish it up.  The natural cleaning products just didn't cut it.


Later on we got a picture of our granddaughter.  Seems like we were all working outside today:)  Here she is.  She made a house from sticks. I think we may have to make a family adventure of building her a playhouse.

That's all for now.  The weather has turned cooler so we will be a little slower at the beginning of this week.


Have a great week and I will write in on Monday.  Happy Easter.

Chapter 146...Our Annual Trip To The Greenhouse..How Exciting

My stepdaughter and I wait for this day every year.  It has become our tradition.  Each year we make a day of doing plant shopping for our gardens and then we go out for lunch.  It is a fun filled day for us.  There is nothing quite like picking the food you will plant and then get to harvest it.

We live near a small town and we have some great options for buying our plants.  The local High School has their own greenhouse and the students grow the plants from seed.  We used to always go there first but last year they raised their prices which I think hurt them.  We also have a huge Garden Barn which has multiple greenhouses and a very large variety of plants including vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers.  Their prices are great.  The vegetable and fruit plants come in 4 packs that are $1.50 each and the 4 1/2 inch pots of herbs and flowers are $3.00 each.

Every year I get excited and buy more than I have on my list.  How can you not get excited when you see this?:)


Some of the flowers:

And some of the fruits and vegetables.  I love how organized they are.  The plants have signs with all the information you need to care for them.

I plant a square foot garden which is a raised bed garden with a special soil mix.  The first year I mixed the special soil which is 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 mixed compost.  After the first year I add a little more compost each year.  I have my garden sectioned off into squares and have 108 squares I can fill.

I use a planting guide to figure out where and when I will plant my plants.  This is what I use to help plan my garden Garden Planner

I have already planted lettuce, spinach, peas, kale, mustard greens, carrots and collard greens from seed.

These are the plants I bought:

Today I bought 20 different tomato plants.  I got Mike's favorite "Sweet 100" which he likes to eat right off the vine like sweet candy.  He does have to be careful though because he gets a rash on his hands from the acid if he eats too much.

I also bought some Roma paste tomatoes which are good for canning.

And for the first time I am trying Grainger tomatoes from the famous Grainger County tomatoes in TN. Tomato Festival and One Of The Local Tomato Farms 

Then I bought three 4 packs of peppers.  One pack of California Wonder which is a big green bell pepper, one pack of Golden California Wonder, and a pack of Purple Beauty.

I also wanted to try a Sweet Pickle Pepper plant which I thought would look cheery and colorful. Picture Of Plant.

The last of the food growing plants I got was two Yellow Squash and two Zucchini.

Now for the herbs:

I bought a Basil plant.  This year I am hoping not to kill it.  I have bought a Basil plant each year for the past few years.  I kill them every year.  I think I may be overwatering the plants.  This year I will do my best not to kill it, lol.

Next I bought a Stevia Plant.  This is natural low calorie sweetener.  What Is Stevia.  My stepdaughter has been using the leaves in her herbal teas and she really likes it.  This year we will both try to grow our own.  You can dry the leaves and use it as a sweetener, grind it up and add it to foods and drinks or make an extract from it.

And lastly I bought a Dwarf Lavender for the scent and also to attract bees to my garden.

Flower Time:

Although I love flowers I have not gotten onto growing them...yet.  I bought some in hopes of attracting bees to my garden but also using a limited space.

I bought a Dahlia and a pack of Zinnias.

And now for the plant which I think is really pretty.  It is sold in a hanging basket for $17.50 and is beautiful.  I figured I already spent enough money so I bought the small version and will try to grow my own for this season.  It is called a "Sunbeam Samba" or Fuchsia.  This is what it should look like when it grows in.  Picture  I want to plant this in a hanging basket on our patio to attract hummingbirds.

I think my stepdaughter and I both scored today and I'm sure our plants will bring us many hours of enjoyment in our gardens and of course consuming them.  There is nothing quite like eating the food you have grown.