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I've made no secret about the fact that I am loving my little urban garden this year. It has produced well and I have been having so much fun with it and dreaming and planning how I will make it even better next year.
Anything that anyone pursues is always much more enjoyable if you have the right tools for the job. One thing that I have already shared this year is my harvest apron that I sewed up to wear to keep my hands free as I harvest the food from my garden. You can see how I did it on this post. Today, I am going to share with you a few more tools that will make gardening more enjoyable and just a bit easier on your hands.
My husband picked me up these Fiskars Garden Shears at Lowe's the other day! You can also order them on Amazon. (the link is to Amazon) They are so nice to have when I'm reaching deep into a plant to harvest a zucchini or to prune some damaged leaves. Clipping is much better for the plant than just ripping something off of it. Just be sure to watch what you are cutting. (I accidentally snipped off some green strawberries the first time I used them! Oops!) I've been needing and wanting these for awhile. I'm so glad to have them!
My Wells Lamont Garden Gloves are just the thing to protect my hand from the prickly leaves and stems of some plants. Squash plants especially tend to poke my hands and there is no getting around lifting those big leaves to find the zucchini and yellow squash. These gloves were easy to work in and not clumsy feeling at all. I was able to used my shears while wearing them with no problem.
I just ordered myself these terra cotta watering spikes to use in my garden while we go on vacation for a week. Alicia tells me that they work great and so do the reviews on line. A week in Phoenix heat will give them a true test!
I picked up this watering timer at Walmart for my front flower/vegetable bed early this year. It has been a life saver. I should get one for my back garden, but I haven't yet. That is why I ordered the watering spikes. You can find similar ones on Amazon.
Going along with my timer, is my soaker hose. The great thing about the soaker hose is that I can move it around as I take out and put in new plants. It is very easy to do and I can place it right at the base of the plants where the water is needed. This one is from Walmart. Walmart has the best price on these that I have found.
Finally, don't forget to feed your plants once a month! Lindsey and I have found that Miracle Gro does such a great job! My plants have never been healthier than they are this year and I have been using Miracle Gro religiously!
Two more favs that are less about products and more about DIYs that work against pests:
There you have it! Our current garden favs! If you have anything to add, please let us know and we will add it to our list of things to try! Happy Gardening!
Other Gardening Posts:
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This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support! Did you know that in the USA, Earth Day has been observed since 1970? Whether you approve of the day or not and all that goes along with it, one thing we can all agree on is that the earth is a wonderful place and we should try to take care of it as we enjoy it. I decided that in honor of the day, I would share some of our past posts with you that encourage mindful use of the beauty around us as well as ways to teach our children to learn from the world around them and respect it, all while having a wonderful time! * The photo above is of Yosemite National Park, one of my favorite National Parks. You can read more about our Favorite National Parks in this post! Visiting one would be a great way to celebrate the Earth! Actually, Earth Day weekend is one of the free weekends to visit the National Parks of America. You can find a list of all of the free days in that post. *One of the great places to find great geologic sites to enjoy is Utah. We wrote an entire post about it here. *Gardening is a great way to celebrate Earth Day! I have really been getting into my garden this year. Even living in the city, it is possible to have a successful garden. I wrote about that here. If you want ideas about what to put in your garden, we shared our favorite things to harvest here. This year, I am going to add beets to that list! They are so easy to grow! Look at this recent post! *It is so important to teach kids about the outdoors and to encourage them to get off of their electronic devices and to get outside! Here is a list of books that we compiled to do just that! *I like to find ways to keep learning happening, even when we are out enjoying nature! You can get some ideas from this post. *If you can't go anywhere, you can always just go camping in your backyard! Kids love that and there is nature to see everywhere. Look at these eggs in a nest built right above my son's front door! They have been able to watch the entire process of the nest build because the nest is situated in front of one of their security cameras. That is how they got this awesome picture of the eggs. *We've also included some crafts for projects to use around the house that are small "green" ways that we can all use to care for the earth, as well as save money.
I realize that since today is actually Earth Day, you may need to do some of these things on a different day. But that's okay, because we should love Earth all year round! This post contains affiliate links. I will be compensated for purchases made through those links at no additional cost to you. All views expressed are my own. Thank you for your support Okay, I will admit that at first when I thought about doing toilet paper roll crafts, it was a little bit tongue in cheek because of the shortage of TP everyone has been dealing with during this Corona Virus self quarantine. But, if you have kids at home and you are trying to keep them occupied and educated at the same time, I realized that I do have some ideas that will allow you to put those empty toilet paper rolls to good use in your child's education. Let me explain where I am coming from. About a hundred years ago, when I was in the 5th grade, (it was in the 60s), we were studying about Japan in social studies. We learned about their traditions and about Mt. Fujiyama and all kinds of things. Our teacher, Mrs. Hill, gave us an assignment to make something that depicted something from the Japanese culture. I think that there were various choices, but my friends and I chose to make little dolls showing traditional dress. I remember that my older sister suggested that I use a TP roll for the body of the doll. I remember that assignment and those days so clearly and I think it was because of the hands-on approach that our teacher used to teach us that unit. In today's classrooms, it seems that there is very little time for these extra projects that reinforce learning. But to me, my experience with this little doll is a testament to the importance of learning through many methods, including craft projects. No, that isn't my original doll. I decided to make one to show you an example of what it was like. I think my grandchildren will get a kick out of it. Click on the pictures for a description of what I did. I didn't give you very detailed instructions because the beauty of these types of projects is to let the kids have free rein to create it how they want to create it. We learned about the obi, etc when we studies Japan. So, of course I was careful to include it on my doll when I did my school project. It is great to see how kids will incorporate what they have learned into their projects. There are a ton of other educational ideas that you could incorporated toilet paper roll crafts into. I thought I would share a few of my favorites in the hopes that they will help you come up with ideas to do with your kids during this time at home. Units and Ideas to Enhance Them: Outdoor Science-Make binoculars with 2 tubes, or cut a paper towel tube in half. Decorate them with paper, crayons, stickers, paint, etc. Then go on a nature walk. You could be looking for specific things, such as types of plants like cacti or flowers. You could be looking for certain bugs or birds. Whatever you are studying. If you only have one tube, make a telescope. Look at the stars and study astronomy! Make a paper journal to record your student's findings.
Biology or Botany- I've seen some awesome ideas for using the toilet paper tubes as a place to start seeds! Just smash up the bottom so the soil won't fall out! It will be easy to tear away the cardboard when you are ready to transplant! If you are studying a certain animal, there are a ton of ideas on Pinterest for making various animals. There are some adorable owls that I think I might make next. Owls are such a great animal to study. You can probably go online and find owl pellets to dissect! You could also choose bees or butterflies! The possibilities are endless!
Social Studies-Just like Mrs. Hill had us study Japan, there are a myriad of countries that you could choose to learn about with your children. Perhaps you could learn about a place that is part of your heritage! I can just imagine making a little British or Danish Doll from my heritage! History- My granddaughter recently did a report on Harriet Tubman. Creating a historical figure could be a great idea to use these TP tubes for! But you don't have to stick to just human figures. How about making a ship or a space shuttle. Or, build a fort or castle! Community- Studying maps and your community are good skills for kids to learn. You could talk about transportation and make vehicles from cars to trains and planes. I saw these cute little houses that could be decorated as schools, churches, libraries and homes and placed on a large butcher paper map that you draw. Then the kids could drive their cars and trains around on the map! Pre-school and Kindergarten- For really young kids, use the tubes to drop pom poms through and count them. Then, as they learn to recognize numbers, number the tubes and have them drop that many pom poms or balls inside them. You can also do this for color recognition. Of course, the binoculars and telescope are perfect for this age. Stem-If you have multiple tubes, your little engineer could create a marble maze. Or, like my brother and I used to do when we were young, we would create miniature mini-golf courses that we played with marbles! We came up with some great obstacles and courses that kept us busy most of the day. I hope these suggestions help you while you are schooling at home! I think they will help your kids have fun while learning and they will be lessons that they will never forget! Let me know if you have some ideas that I haven't thought of. If you make any cool things, please tell us about them and add pictures in the comments! Check out these other educational posts that can help you out at home!
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
April 22nd is Earth Day. Since this time of year is when gardens are being planted around the country, depending on your weather, and we are all looking forward to those fresh tasting fruits and veggies, we thought that in honor of Earth Day, we would talk about our garden faves! Because, a great was to help the earth is to plant some plants that produce food and cultivate and use them. So here is today's Friday Fave question:
What is your favorite garden produce that you can hardly wait to taste this year?
One of my goals this year is to put in a garden. Here in Phoenix, that should have happened already, and it hasn't. Luckily, except for the couple of extremely hot months in the middle of the summer, we can grow all year here. So, it looks like it will be a Fall garden for me this year!
When I do have a Spring/Summer garden in, I love so much of the produce, that it is hard for me to choose my favorite, but Maddy and I chose the same thing this time. Tomatoes! Nothing tastes better than fresh tomatoes picked ripe from the vine. The flavor is just overwhelming every year when I bite into that first tomato.
The tomato in that picture came from my garden a couple of years ago and got turned into some delicious salsa! Fresh salsa is best with homegrown tomatoes! Click that link for the best recipe!
Lindsey says that she loves homegrown corn on the cob! Just like tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob is so sweet, tender and delicious. And, if you missed my recipe for grilled corn with cilantro lime butter, you have to try it. It is full of flavor and the taste just bursts in your mouth.
Alicia really enjoys gardening. Even when she was a college student, she would plant tomatoes in her rented house's flowerbeds and in her apartments she had success with Topsy Turvy Tomatoes hanging from her porch. When I asked her what her garden fave is she answered that she loves her herb garden. It is so great to be cooking and to be able to go out and snip some fresh basil or rosemary when you need it and to get that wonderful fresh herb taste. Now that she lives in the Bay area, the weather is much different from Phoenix, but she is figuring it out. She has just planted a couple of grow boxes behind her house with a nice variety of herbs and vegetables.
One last favorite is strawberries! I love picking bright red berries that are fully ripe. They are so sweet and delicious. Eating strawberries from the grocery store just doesn't cut it after eating the vine ripened ones. And then, using them for Strawberry Shortcake or for making Strawberry Jam is just the icing on the cake.
If you are ready to get planting this year, we have found a few helps for you! Take a look!
If you have limited space, these Topsy Turvy tomatoes are a great idea!
If you want to put in your own herb garden, here is a great assortment of non-GMO seeds! Non-GMO is great because after you start growing, you can begin to collect your own seeds to plant in following years.
Do you need a place to plant? There are some attractive grow boxes available at a great price.
What are your favorite things to harvest from your garden? Do you plant one? Is there something that you have had great success with? Let us know in the comments.
Have a great weekend! Have a Happy Earth Day! |
Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
March 2024
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