Prepping for Spring

The weather is still cool, but I am so getting the itch to start planting!!  Here's the plan for Spring...

Tomatoes:

We still have some fall planted tomatoes that made it through this horrible winter (with some tender loving care).  Seems like the Roma's and cherries we planted were pretty cold resistant.  Believe it or not, they are actually flowering in 40 degree weather!!  We have also started some seedlings.  We'll be doing all potted tomatoes this spring, so to feed a family of five tomato eating freaks and have still have a few left for sauces,  we are planning on 10-15 plants.

Bell Peppers, Black-Eyed Peas, Eggplant:
These will also be potted and we have started their seedlings.  It'll have to warm up a hair to transplant these...hopefully in a few weeks.  The plan is 3-4 eggplant plants, 3-4 bell pepper plants and 2 large pots of peas (5-6 plants per pot).

Squash, Broccolli, Cauliflower, Cucumbers:

We've made some space for these to fill in to the landscaping in the front yard so they can be planted in the ground.  We usually do cucumbers in pots, but I'm curious to see what they will do in the ground.  3-4 summer squash plants will be more than enough if we hand pollinate, 6-7 cucumber plants (they blend so well in the landscape that we can have quite few).  There are a few broccoli and cauliflower that made it through the winter also.  We'll keep starting seeds and try to stagger the planting of broccoli/cauliflower so we have them maturing for harvest at different times.  I found a seed that is supposedly heat resistant, so we will see how long into the summer they last.

Lettuce, Spinach, Greens:

We'll spread another round of lettuce seeds in the raised bed this weekend to fill in the plants we lose over the winter.  Same goes for the spinach, even though it didn't do too well in the fall...we'll see.  Greens are still thriving from the fall.  We have a minor problem with aphids though.  I'm going to try the ladybug trick and see how that works...keep you posted on the outcome.

Pumkin:
I have some pumpkin seeds that a friend gave me that supposedly like to vine up, so I'm hoping I can train just one plant up the lamp post...this is a big "we'll see".   I think I'll plant those seeds directly in the ground this weekend also.

Whew...so much to do...can't wait!!!  If you are wanting to plant any of these vegetables in the spring its not too late to start seedlings now.

SUPER Simple

 

I just got done catching up on my only tv related indulgence --"Smallville".  This is one of those things that I get such beef for that I sometimes even omit it from the Top 20 Things You Didn't Know About Danielle List.  So I might as well just seal my fate... I was a band geek in high school, I have a degree in biomedical engineering, I am a total knowledge freak, I hate the dark and I am obsessed with superheros!!!  There you go, all I'm missing is the Clark Kent glasses although I do wear contacts :).  When all the cool 4-year-old girls on my block were sporting their supergirly, pink Barbie skates, I was the spaz that had to have my mean, green Incredible Hulk skates.  Not much different these days...when all my friends are obsessing over the next episode of Sex in the City (I know that show is so yesterday, but I am that out of touch with the tv world that I don't even know what the must-see, girly show is now), I'm watching Smallville.

Anyways, now that I got that out of my system, and you either feel so much better about your top 20 list or just plain ol' chalked that up to TMI ...on with my revelation of the day!  The whole point of superheroes is that they give people hope.   You hear it all the time when someone asks a superhero why they do the whole superhero thing, they always answer "to give people hope".   So, in hopes that I'm not the only closet Superman fan, I'll say this...people just need hope.  We seek it out like it's the next Fountain of Youth .  At least I know I did.   In my former life, I was looking for hope in all the wrong places...material possessions,  my so important image, my kids' image, my friends and the list goes on and on.   We think somehow that if we have all these things, life will be less stressful.  Talk about twisted!!!  Chasing after all that junk made my head spin faster than that chick on Exorcist, which, by the way, was the only scene I mustered up the guts to look out from underneath the blanket that barricaded my eyes from the tv screen, and I'm scarred for life (another one for my top 20)!!  Not saying all those things are bad, but they are what I finally came to find hopeless. 

Well, I found my Fountain of Youth (or should I say, He found me) and it sure ain't all that junk that did nothing but give me gray hair.  He's my superhero and He makes my life so SUPER simple.  I don't have to chase after all that stuff anymore.  It's OK if I'm not perfect.  It's OK if my kids aren't perfect, if my house isn't perfcet (if I can't spell :) ).  My Superhero has already saved my life and, then, as if that wasn't enough, He showed me how to let go of all that stress.  I can relax and put my hope in the fact that none of those things matter because He is saving me a spot in the most perfect place of all (Jhn 14:2) .  Thank you, Jesus, for being my Superhero!!!!     

Going Green in Real LIfe

Just got an awesome email with a link to a list of great websites and articles about going green and simplifying in today's world.  Highly recommended reading!!

 

"We’re always looking for great ways to make living naturally practical. In today’s world, it can be exhausting to go against the mainstream and live a green lifestyle. Sometimes it just feels impossible! But it isn’t impossible, and it doesn’t always have to be difficult. Check out these six great websites that help everyday people take better care of themselves, the planet and their families. Read more"