Barefoot Gardener

indy AND carol

2011-01-10T13:44:00.002-05:00

Here's a video of my baby dog, Carol and my roommate's cat, Indy. They are seriously in love, as you will see, shortly. ENJOY!

Serious catdog love

Sunflower Bush?

2010-09-04T11:06:00.003-04:00

So..my sunflowers tend to be one big tall flower with a few big sunflowers at the top...not this guy. He's a sunflower bush. And a beautiful one, at that.

Save the Angel Oak!

2010-07-18T21:20:00.003-04:00

A housing developer wants to build apartments around Johns Island's (near Charleston, SC) ancient Angel Oak. This is the same tree that you see me hugging at the top of my blog. As you can tell, I really love this tree.

Check out the link below and show your support! Save this beautiful tree!

http://www.thestate.com/2010/07/18/1381530/dispute-grows-over-development.html#RSS=local

This morning's harvest

2010-07-03T11:53:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I haven't found my camera yet...but I borrowed my mom's. Had to share today's harvest:

No pictures...but the garden is doing great!

2010-06-08T18:27:00.002-04:00

It appears I have lost my camera. I recently moved into a new apartment down at school and ever since my camera has been missing. There are only a few places it can be..at my house, at the new apartment, or with Claire..it's hard to tell. Anyway, so I will not be posting pictures any time soon. I know, I'm bummed, too.

So some updates on the garden: The grapes are growing like crazy. There are bundles of plump pea-sized grapes all over both of the vines. The vines now reach the top of the trellis. The blueberries are doing well, also. One out of two of our blueberry bushes is completely covered with purple-ish green berries. They just recently started to turn purple. The other bush has no berries, but it did have flowers at the beginning of the season. These few flowers may have fallen off, but at least they were around long enough to cross pollinate with the blueberry covered bush. The tomatoes aren't doing so bad either. The one's in the front of the house looked pretty bad for a while, but are really taking off now. I've counted about 12 little green tomatoes, so that's not too shabby for the beginning of June. The broccoli leaves look beautifully frosted, as they always do. And don't even get me started on the peppers. We have sweet banana peppers probably 2-3inches long, already! Next to the grapes, they are the most thriving plants in the garden. If and when I find my camera, I will post pictures. Happy gardening!

Dirt under my finger nails

2010-05-05T19:22:00.003-04:00

"...all I can think about is the feel of dirt under my nails and in the cracks in my hands, the growth of those little seedlings in the earth, pulling weeds, Franklin the turtle and the garden fish, and grandma Nance hovering over me conducting her general inspection of the placement and orientation of each new member of that plot of dirt...I can almost taste it."-one of my recent facebook postings

No more 'almost' tasting. I got to enjoy the real thing today!

Today has been a great gardening day. I'm still scrubbing the dirt from beneath my nails and in the cracks of my hands. Sweet compost, sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, and the bees are buzzing. Ahh. It's just one of those days where you stand in the garden and think, "Wow, I can't believe dirt, seeds, and a little love can do all of this." My parents surprised me by planting tomatoes, peppers, and some broccoli. I came home to a partially planted garden. What a nice surprise to come home to. I have to say, I'm a sucker for these kinds of surprises. I sewed some sunflower seeds today and will sew more this weekend when finals are over. (Whew.) It is crazy to believe that by this weekend I will have the entire summer to get my hands in the earth and see what life will spring up. Sometimes I forget how the simplest things can blow you away. Happy gardening, everyone!

Cabin Fever...C'mon spring!

2010-02-21T18:07:00.002-05:00

Well, we've had quite the winter in the northeast so far. I am ready for all this snow to melt and for some green to come poking through. I know the garden is going to be better than ever. It is with every new spring and summer. Expectations are high. I bought lots of sunflower seeds at Wal-mart this past week. I was shocked to see the wall of seed packets. I am sure that everyone at Wal-mart thought I was nuts when I shrieked with joy and ran to the wall of seeds. Oh well. Typical day, I suppose. I bought some old and new hybrids (they were all Burpee seeds). These include:

Moonwalker (new) - pale yellow sunflower. I hope these are similar to the Lemon queens I had last summer.

Citrus (new) - orange sunflower - Looks like bright orange mac'n'cheese colored petals (according to the packet).

Strawberry Blonde Hybrid (new) - pink center fanning out into yellow/white tipped petals

Mammoth (old) - gigantic bright yellow sunflower - everyone knows what these guys look like

Chianti Hybrid (old) - deep red/purple sunflowers - these are those incredibly unique dark sunflowers. They were a hit last summer. I bought two packets of these guys.

Evening Sun Mix (new, but similar to old mix)- yellow to orange to deep red petals. I had a similar packet of seeds last summer with a different name, but I believe them to be almost identical. I can't wait to see how these turn out. Mixed seeds are always exciting because you never truly know what you're going to get. I like the surprise.

Garden Blues

2009-11-10T10:49:00.002-05:00

I have been on a cooking kick for some time now, but I am really missing my fresh ingredients from the garden. My parents cleared out the garden so now it is bare and without fresh tomatoes and herbs. It's so sad to see it so bare, but I know this is the time of year for composting and planning for the upcoming garden. Next year my goal is to learn how to can everything so I will have these fresh ingredients all winter long.
Does anyone know of some good canning blogs that I could follow?

Cooper's Rock in the Fall

2009-10-11T21:48:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite places. Fall just makes it even better.

Look what I found in the garden...

2009-09-06T12:50:00.004-04:00

This long holiday weekend brought me home to my garden and as it turns out, I had a visitor. My dad was hosing the plants because they were in some desperate need of water. He noticed a fairly large insect climbing on the tomato plants. He started yelling for me to come take a look. I couldn't believe my eyes; a praying mantis swiveled its head around to see what I was up to. I didn't bring my camera home this weekend so I had to quickly find my mom's camera and take a few pictures of this guy (or girl).

Click on these pictures to make them larger. You can really see some intricate details on the praying mantis.

He (or she) eventually mad his (or her) way over to the grapes.

Garden in Full Swing

2009-08-31T22:54:00.007-04:00

The fall semester has begun, and it is time to say goodbye to my garden. Everything is looking great. The sunflowers are taking over the tiny sidewalk the mailman must somehow use to reach our mailbox. I like to picture Bobby Mac (the mailman) slashing his way through a jungle in order to deliver our mail. We are getting so many tomatoes now that my mom can't wait for me to be home on the weekends so I can take some back with me to school.

I hate being away from the garden when it is looking so wonderful and really putting out a lot of fruit, but it is that time of year again. It is sad to know that the cold weather is approaching and that soon the plants will be gone, but at the same time, this is when the anticipation for next year's garden begins. Time for seed saving and composting. Time to sketch out next year's garden. Time to figure out how I am going to fit those last couple of plants and seeds into a tiny, over-crowded garden. Time to share seeds with my fellow gardeners.

You can never have too many pictures of sunflowers.

two little friends munching on some sun...

intense color

hello, down there

There are just so many of these. I am completely satisfied with these sunflowers. I hope next year's garden can live up to these guys.

Praise the Lord. God really knows that he's doing.

Lemon Queen opening at her own pace. Beauty takes time.

Blinking. I like to take sunflower photographs on overcast days because somehow they seem even happier than usual. (if that is even possible)

Relay for Life at the Good Lake

2009-08-14T22:35:00.003-04:00

So many people lose their lives to cancer. I do not know anyone who has not been affected in some way by this terrible disease. A friend, a family member, a spouse...

Thank you for the memories.

My cousin Keifer and Tara

The memory bags around the lake.

If you have never gone to a Relay for Life, get on the American Cancer Society website or Google Relay for Life. Find an event in your area and experience the miracles that go on in one night with a community of people that know what it is like to lose a loved one to cancer. These people give so much back to those who are still fighting the battle.

Celebrate the survivors and remember those who lost the battle.
Share the love.

Yellow Canary

2009-08-12T16:43:00.002-04:00

I do not have a picture to show it, but a yellow canary has been eating the seeds out of one of my red sunflowers (the chianti hybrid). I saw that something had been eating the seeds earlier this morning. I was a little upset, because I was hoping that I could let the seeds dry out while they remained in the sunflower to be kept for next year. Now that I realize the red sunflower seeds are attracting a canary I have no problem with a little munching. I hope he or she returns for dinner!

Weird Stuff Growing on a Stump

2009-08-08T12:04:00.003-04:00

If anyone has any idea what this stuff is, I would love to get some feedback. I just noticed it yesterday, but I assume it has been growing on there for some time.

This is probably the best picture. Look at the little red flower-like structures.

Today's Harvest

2009-08-08T11:21:00.004-04:00

I had quite a lot of picking to do today:

basket #1
A bunch of tomatoes decided to ripen all at once. YUM!

Basket #2
I decided to cut off the sad little sunflower in the top top right corner. I am going to dry it out and keep the seeds for next year.

I hadn't even noticed the gigantic zucchini until today. Somehow they get so large so fast and yet stay hidden.

What I am most excited about today are the peppers. Bell peppers are my second favorite thing from the garden. (sorry peppers, you'll never out-taste the tomato) I use peppers in everything I cook, so this is a good day.

The sweet banana peppers are also going to be a nice edition to some salsa or a chicken fajita.

This is one of my giant scarlet runner bean pods. I probably should have picked them when they were smaller so I could prepare them like a green bean, but I wanted to see those little pink beans. And man, are they pink!

The closer you look at where they are actually attached to the pod, the hotter the pink coloring.

My Newest Sunflower

2009-08-05T15:18:00.001-04:00

This little guy just opened up yesterday:

I love sunflowers!

Sunflower pictures

2009-07-30T12:48:00.002-04:00

Indy is Indy Drain!!

2009-07-12T15:04:00.002-04:00

Well it appears my mom caught Indy and me napping together. I found Indy in a drain on the Fourth of July aka Independence Day (Independence = Indy). My grandma thought I named him Indy because he was In The Drain =INDY Drain. Anyway, he's the newest edition to the garden crew. My best friend's family will be holding on to him for this school year until I get a different apartment down at school. Thank goodness for such wonderful people in this world.

The Alien Tomato

2009-07-12T14:58:00.003-04:00

It appears to be a normal unripe tomato..right?

No, definitely not normal...I feel like it's looking at me.

If anyone knows why my tomato looks like this, it would be greatly appreciated.

Mystery Solved

2009-07-03T14:29:00.001-04:00

My friend Claire confirmed that the berries are blackberries. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Garden Updates and the Mystery Berry

2009-07-02T16:30:00.005-04:00

The garden is growing like crazy! I've been finding so many new fruits and veggies. Take a look:

This here is the mystery berry. I found it near the plot of land behind my house that recently had a house demolished and trees taken down (this is also the same sight of my wishful thinking for a community garden). I thought at first that it was a wild strawberry, but I found some that had completely ripened and turned black/purple.

Obviously this one isn't ripe just yet.

Any ideas on what this may be?

This is my red sunflower. I'm excited to see just how deep of a red it will really be.

I'm so excited about my green beans.

One of my first green peppers!

Here is our broccoli. It finally looks like the real thing.

These are my yellow cherry tomatoes. My grandma, NaNa, is always going on and on about how much she loves yellow tomatoes because they are less acidic. So this year, I have taken her advice and grown some. I can't wait to see her face when she gets her hands on these.

Bush Goliath has been hanging on to these tomatoes for quite some time. I'm excited that one is finally starting to turn orange/pinkish.

If anyone is discouraged about starting a garden just read this book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. It can make anyone want to eat their home grown veggies. It made me want to be a better locavore.

The Mother's Day Flower

2009-06-26T14:53:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I wish I could shrink down to the size of a ladybug so I could truly appreciate all the intricate details in the center of a flower (especially this one).

Crowette

2009-06-26T14:49:00.005-04:00

This is the newest edition to the Garden Crew Family:

Not only does she fool the birds, but family members and neighbors have confused Crowette with me. Great fun.

The C3 Community Garden

2009-06-23T15:10:00.009-04:00

Okay, so I haven't started my own community garden yet, but I am volunteering for the Covenant Community Garden. It's a great way for me to learn about how a community garden operates, plus the harvest goes to a local soup kitchen. Today I used a tiller for the first time. That tiller was trying to get away from me, I think. Anyway, I also hoed the weeds around the tomatoes. I might be volunteering in the garden every Tuesday morning.

Here are a few pictures:

That's Debbie. She's the one who came up with the idea to donate the harvest to a soup kitchen. Smart lady...and she's always willing to give anyone a ride to the garden. She's really nice.

So many veggies..

The weeds have gotten a little out of control...

The Children's garden..They are growing sunflowers, pumpkins, and corn.

This is the corn field that surrounds the garden. There were two deer running through the field. I ran to get the camera but by the time I came back, they were pretty much out of the picture. You can still see one of them but they are about the size of this comma: , near the patch of brown.

More of the corn field. It is just so beautiful our there. Gosh, I love West Virginia.

This was a different corn field. I was walking down to the garden from where I had parked the truck and just stopped and stared. The wind was running its hands through the corn.

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view.
~H. Fred Ale

Flowers on the beans

2009-06-23T14:43:00.003-04:00

Purple flowers!! These beans seemed to be doing nothing at all. Last night I was passing through the garden before heading in for the night and there they were. Cute little purple flowers. Now I can't wait for the actual beans!

BINDI is here!!!

2009-06-19T10:10:00.003-04:00

"Happiness is a warm puppy." ~Charles M. Schulz

This is Bindi, my aunt Jill's Australian shepherd puppy. Isn't she adorable? Look close and you will notice that one of her eyes is half blue.

This is my favorite picture.

munch, munch, munch...

Bindi and Poppy

itch, itch...

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole." ~Roger Caras

The Story Behind the Garden Fish

2009-06-10T10:32:00.003-04:00

The one thing everyone always notices about my garden is the blue fish. It appears to be swimming in a sea of tomato leaves. He's about three years old now and his shiny blue gills are starting to fade. Between him and MooMoo (the garden cat), not too many birds enter the tomato forest.

My best friend Claire got this fish for me when I first started to really love gardening. I remember the day she got it for me. She was so excited. I had no idea what to expect because Claire and her mom tend to surprise me with very interesting (and lovely) gifts.

How the Garden is Doing..

2009-06-08T12:37:00.009-04:00

I have to say this gardening season has been the most interesting. This year I have blueberry bushes and grape vines, but very little corn. Giant pumpkins but no white pumpkins growing in the hedges. The birds are extra hungry. So are the bugs.
Here are some pictures to update you:

The Garden Inspector: Grandma Nance

Lots and lots of sweet basil

The Giant pumpkin who is not so giant quite yet.

The blooms on my cinnamon basil

The newest edition to the garden. I had a lot of trouble with this plot because the birds decided it was fun (and tasty) to dig up all of my corn, lima bean, and sunflower seeds. Oh well, now we have a total of 19 tomato plants. That's the most I've ever had. I'm excited to see how they turn out.
We have quite the variety in this plot. We have roma, pink brandywine (heirloom), german queen (heirloom), celebrity, and Mr. stripey (heirloom)

Red Sunflowers in the front yard are doing awesome!

We have sunflowers galore. I forget what kind these are. The could be Mammoth or the mixture I bought.

These are the same sunflowers. I wanted to show just how many there are in this spot.

These are a different set, and I'm still not sure what kind they are. I guess I'll have to wait till they bloom.

Zucchini & lettuce

The broccoli my mom put in. I didn't really want to grow these but now I adore them. The leaves have a cool (as in temperature) feel to them even when the sun is beating down on them.

Spinach

The tomatoes are staked and producing tiny fruit.
Bush Goliath has two medium-sized green tomatoes.

Lots of tomatoes. These are big boy, I believe. Bush Goliath and a yellow cherry tomato (the one attached to the small white pole) are also squeezed in there. I have so many now it's tough keeping them straight. Also, the garden fish is peaking through.

We probably have as many (if not more) peppers than the tomatoes. We have banana, yellow, orange, and green bells.

"I'm not really a career person. I'm a gardener, basically."-- George Harrison

First summer rose

2009-05-29T15:29:00.000-04:00

I picked this rose today. It was too beautiful not to post.

What is a Weed?

2009-05-28T11:14:00.003-04:00

My mom has always said, "A weed is just a plant that no one has found a use for yet." It seems reasonable enough for me. But, who decides what is useful and what is not? Who says this plant below is not as pretty or as useful as a lily or a viola? When it comes to pulling weeds, I know that I must do it to allow my vegetable garden to reach its full potential, but I hate to do it. It just seems wrong to take away all those little plants and maple tree seedlings that pop up in my garden almost on a daily basis. Maybe I should designate a small part of the garden to weeds. Don't they deserve a chance at life too?

I pulled this out this morning. It is now sitting in a teacup next to my computer screen.

Let's Make a Community Garden

2009-05-26T12:36:00.006-04:00

I want to make something so ugly into something beautiful...
I would love to make this area into a community garden (possibly a children's community garden). This building has been an eye sore for as long as I can remember, and I couldn't be happier that someone is finally tearing it down. I looked up the property online and as far as I know, it is owned by BB&T. If anyone has any advice on how to get a community garden up and running, I'm all ears.

You can contact me at elaine_hat24@yahoo.com or leave a comment at the bottom of this post. Thanks so much.

Chick, chick, chick

2009-05-24T12:19:00.002-04:00

Here are a few chicks at my Aunt Robin's house:

I was so excited to hear that Robin got some new baby chicks!
I just had to go visit.

I found this great website that tells you everything you need to know about raising chickens:

www.mybackyardchickenfarm.com

The Grape Arbor

2009-05-17T19:21:00.008-04:00

This is one of our concord grape vines. It is by far the stronger of the two. According to gardengirltv.com grape vines grow 20ft/yr. I hope mine can meet this standard.

Mom and I looking proud after a job well done.

Good thing we had Dad on the job and Poppy's tools. It only took us about 45minutes to an hour to prep for the arbor, put it together and cement it into the ground.

This seems to be the weaker vine, but it looks better and better each day.

Garden tips of the Day:

1. Find the most disease-resistant grape vines for your area. Planting not-so disease-resistant grapes can be the biggest problems gardeners have with growing successful fruit-producing vines.
2. Weed often. Keep the soil surround the vine bare or mulched.
3. Don't use too much fertilizer/compost or you will end up with all vines and no grapes.
4. Do not over water. Use this method: water everyday for one week, once a week for a month, and then once a month for the rest of the growing season (except for when the soil is dry).*

*Tip by Lon J. Rombough in The Expert Book of Garden Hints

Garden Crew, Let's Get Gardening

2009-05-02T23:30:00.004-04:00

This is the garden crew. Starting from the left: Grandma Nance, Poppy, Dad, Mom, Sammie. Just love them to pieces. I couldn't think of a better group to spend my time with. There's only one thing missing...and that is...

The Garden Cat: MooMoo
-No matter what I am doing in the garden, MooMoo is there to supervise and protect.
Today, was the first day for actual outside garden activities. Here's the cutest Mom in the world. Her and Dad let me tear up the yard, and I love them for it.

My mom surprised me with the new beds. I couldn't believe how much work she put into this. She's the best.

This is us trying to decide where everything should go. We had to get it just right.

Cute set-up. Thanks Mom.

My Mom found this and was so tickled to put it in.

I think we're going to put some flowers in that back corner.

MooMoo

My aunt Robin gave me these hostas a few weeks ago. At that point they were only sticking about an inch out of the ground. They're going strong now.

I couldn't believe that these flowered. I cannot remember the last time they had flowers. It's been years.

Gardening Tip of the Day: The size of the garlic clove you plant affects the size you'll harvest. Garlic always tends to downsize. Save the biggest cloves for replanting.*

*Tip found in The Experts Book of Garden Hints

Let the Hugging Wars Begin!

2009-04-30T14:47:00.000-04:00

Today I want to announce the beginning of Hugging Wars! I am challenging Mr. My Blog and anyone else who would like to partake in the festivities. The challenge is to hug anything and everything and post your hugging pictures.

Here is my first Hugging Wars creation:
This is a tree at Magnolia Plantations near Charleston, SC

Gardening Tip of the Day: I know everyone is excited to begin tilling up the yard and putting in their plants they've been growing indoors, but be careful not to over-till your soil. Too much tilling can cause the development of hardpan. Hardpan is a compacted layer of soil below the tilled soil. Tilling can remove organic matter. When you do till it is better to till closer to the surface. Also, crop rotation can alleviate soil compaction and maintain the soil's organic matter content.*

*Tip inspired by The Experts Book of Garden Hints

I bought this book for 50 cents at a rummage sale. I never pass up a rummage sale. There always seems to be gardening books and pots at these types of sales. Can't beat the prices either.

A Few of My Favorite Indoor Plants

2009-04-28T14:09:00.004-04:00

Here are a few of my indoor plants that helped me get through the long winter.
Dianthus

Viola

Tulip

Gardening tip of the day: Plant a diversity of species to deter an aphid upsurge. Plant more marigolds and less coleus, nasturtiums and impatiens. And most importantly, make sure you check the plants you bought at the greenhouse for aphids and other pests before you bring them home.*

*Tip from The Experts Book of Garden Hints

April is National Gardening Month

2009-04-27T16:15:00.000-04:00

How quickly this month flew by. New seeds, dirt, clay pots. Feels good to get back into the swing of things. It was a long winter. Although you can grow plants indoors all winter, it is just not the same as getting down on your knees and getting your hands dirty in the garden. Most of my plants I started from seed are about 4-6 inches tall. They are still in a sunny location in my home, but in two weeks,I will be able to get them all in the ground and watch them grow all summer. Tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs, corn. And I can't forget sunflowers. I'm hoping to create an inviting border of sunflowers around the house this summer. I'm not just talking just any old sunflower, either. I'm talking mammoth sunflowers and beautiful deep red varieties. This is going to be a wonderful gardening thyme, I just know it.