2012 Garden

we are finally putting a garden together! yippie! ..... it's about time.

for years now, i've wanted to start a decent garden, but have yet to pull it together. it's intimidating, but this year I studied information to at least get us started.

we debated on the raised beds versus tilling up the ground (we seem to have good soil) and decided to go with the raised beds. it sealed the deal after reading how low maintenance they are for busy people.

i read up on soil trying to find a good mixture. we went with 1/3 topsoil, 1/3 compost and 1/3 peat moss. i read that the top soil part should actually be vermiculite. That was too intimidating for me, so we went with the top soil. i later discovered from a friend who purchased vermiculite locally that it contained ingredients that aren't good and will have to purchase online. i'm glad we didn't go that route because i would have had no clue what to look for! :P Anyway, just good ole' earth works for me. :D

we built a 4' x 8' x 8" framed bed. stapled weed barrier on the bottom. and layered the three soils and mixed them. then, the fun part...planting the wonderful things to come!

so far, i've planned: red lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, red cabbage and green onions

here's a peek....













if you are reading this and you are an expert on gardening and you see that we need to do something differently or you have recommendations please, please message me! :D

xoxo - alysia

Freezing Veggies

i recently came across a great tip for freezing veggies that thought i would share.

it might be obvious to others, but i honestly never thought of doing this.

it's not uncommon that kent and i freeze peppers - particularly red peppers and hot peppers. we normally cut the peppers up into slices (or dice them), throw them in a freezer bag and straight to the freezer they go. the problem is that when we remove the bag from the freezer and attempt to get a small portion of peppers to use (especially the hot ones) they are all clumped together. at times, it can seem impossible to get the right amount without wasting.

well........try this.....

cut the veggie up into your preferred slices or dices. lay the pieces out on a baking sheet and stick the baking sheet in the freezer. this allows the pieces of veggies to freeze individually. once frozen, remove from the freezer and then place into the freezer bag. now, they are ready to go back into the freezer for later use. the next time the bag is taken out of the freezer, we will be able to better select the portion we need.

i had a green pepper in my refrigerator on the brink of ruining. it was heading to the trash soon if i didn't use it or freeze it. with green peppers, we normally use them dices, so i dices up my pepper and used the method above.









xoxo - happy tuesday! :D

Tiny Shoes

exciting news!! the towe family is expecting!!! :D

Arugula?

if it looks like arugula, smells like arugula and tastes like arugula, it must be arugula, right?! i sure hope so. for all i know i could be eating a dandelion.

someone PLEASE tell me i'm eating arugula!









just to confirm, i don't believe arugula magically appears in my pots. i actually had mixed lettuce growing in this pot last year (which i loved!). arugula is by far my most favorite leafy veggie! i was just surprised to find this lovely item in my pot and it's hard to believe that maybe it came back! am i really that lucky?

A Young Photographer

giving direction to mom and dad....





and, lining up the shot. too cute!




photos courtesy of paige lawrence.