10 Organic Gardening Tips And How-To Improve Garden Soil Conditions

One of the issues of living where we do, is that the ground at our house is all clay. All of it! Not a spot of top soil to save my life. That does not bode well for a garden or a lawn sadly.

This past weekend, I headed over to Greenstreet Gardens, which is just down the road from us. They were having something called Veggiemania. I only went to hear the Saturday speakers because we had too much going on Sunday.

The first speaker was Anita Dafonte from Coast of Maine. I have to be honest with you, I felt so bad for her, and for the garden center. I was the only person who showed up. The benefit to that was getting one on one time with Anita, but I wasn't even prepared to ask her any questions. I figured her presentation would either cover stuff I needed to learn, or would spark questions for me to ask.

Having never had to improve soil, I had no idea what to do or where to start. As I'm chatting with Anita, Fred is at home trying to till a spot for me to be able to garden. We borrowed our neighbor's cultivator, and that thing barely made a dent in the ground. On top of that, we brought in a yard of top soil. While it was a lot, it will only be able to do the garden, and I won't be able to go too deep with it. All I can say is, it's a start.

I've had a perennial and vegetable garden for years, but I've never been knowledgable about soil. I'm not even an amateur at it. I dig a whole and plant something. That's about it. The only thing I've ever known is to not plant the same thing in the same spot year after year. Aside from that, I know nothing.

When it comes to my garden, I'm going to try out a few of the soil supplements on top of the top soil that we're adding in to the ground. That's what I'm going to be sharing about.

Lobster Meal

This is made from lobster and crab shell. They have natural nitrogen and calcium for plants. Once the shells and body are dehydrated, they're ground into a meal for fertilizer. With a new garden, they suggest 5 lbs per 100 sq ft. And you mix that into the top 2-3" of soil. It promotes green leafy growth.

Kelp Meal

This is made from dehydrated kelp and seaweed. They say this is a source of trace macro and micro-nutrients (which I'm not exactly sure what that means). Kelp meal promotes healthier plants and improve crop yield. Sounds good to me with all the veggies I want to have! With a new garden, they suggest 2 lbs per 100 sq ft. You also this into the top 2-3" of soil. It promotes root and plant growth.

Fish Bone Meal

This is made from dehydrated Pacific Whiting bones. It contains the three things most plants need: phosphorous, calcium, and nitrogen. This promotes flowering and root growth. Turns out this is good for bulbs and vegetable gardens! Now the downside about the Fish Bone meal, is you need 8 lbs per 100 sq ft to mix into the top 3" of the soil.

Alfalfa Meal

This is made from...alfalfa, which is a perennial flowering legume. I had no idea. It helps increase organic material into the soil, and is an effective soil conditioner. Alfalfa meal promotes revitalized soil and improves crop yield. They recommend it to top-dress your soil. They even suggest it as a tea, but not the kind of tea for humans, but for plants.

What are best tips for getting a garden started from scratch?

Welcome Home: Our New Outdoor Mat

Can you believe that I've never had an outdoor mat to welcome people into my home? Never. In all of my house. I know, it's pretty pitiful. A couple months ago, I reached out to The Rope Co. I have to be honest, I had this mat for almost two weeks before I put it out. Listen, it was so pristine I didn't want it to get dirty. HA! Don't harass me, this is just me being me.

Knowing I had to review it, I finally put this beautiful mat in front of our door. I was tempted to put a sign in front of it telling everyone to avoid stepping on it. STOP! If you had this at your front door, you'd feel the same.

That being said, everyone has been stepping on it to get in the front door. See, I'm not a horrible person. I allow people to walk in my front door still. =) 

You might be thinking, "Um, this is just a doormat. What's the big deal?" So glad to know you were thinking that, because I have the answer. First of all, it's Made in the USA! Logan, the owner, is a 5th generation lobsterman, and his roots in ropes stems back to his great-grandfather who worked in lace mills. His story is amazing, and I would encourage you to read it. How many people do you know who can trace a line like his? It's really cool! Their products are made from his father's rope company in Maine!

What I've already loved about this doormat is that it's taken a lot of muddy paws and dirty shoes because it's been raining for almost two weeks here in Maryland! It's also easy to clean off. We can just whack it against the porch or rinse it off with the hose. Honestly, with all of the traffic of people coming in and out of our home, we knew we needed something that was durable.

This particular doormat is the Navy & Light Tan from their Nautical Line. Pretty apropos since I'm living near the ocean now, and my hubby loves all things that do with the Bay. Specifically the crabs and oysters.

My doormat is hand woven. It doesn't retain water so no concern about mold or mildew. It's also UV protected so I don't have to worry about the blue fading or bleeding. The Rope Co suggests using their doormats on non-skid surfaces or with a non-skid pad underneath. The smallest the doormat comes in is an 18" x 30" up to the largest for a double door of 26" x 50". So a great range of sizes for any home.

They also sell more than just doormats. They have a magazine rack, a bin that would be perfect for keeping your blankets in your living room, and a rope basket that would look beautiful in a child's room.

The Rope Co will add beauty indoors and out. Please be sure to visit this family owned company on their Facebook and Instagram channels as well!

Clean Up With SunJoe Pressure Joe

Have you ever used a pressure washer? I did back in the mid-90s, and it was awesome! My girl friend had one, and was using it to clean up her house and patio! Now it's my turn to have my very own pressure washer! My friends and family know that this thrills me to no end.

When I worked at the hardware store (isn't this a common refrain) I loved being able to learn about the pressure washers we sold. The tips, the hoses, the psi...all so good! Who doesn't love to learn about this kind of stuff?

I had originally contacted Snow Joe to find out if I could review one of their cultivators because...gardening...They came back with a, "how about a pressure washer instead?" Um, hello, who would say, "No," to an offer like THAT?! Not this girl! I said yes, and got to do an unboxing of the product in a video. They offered the Sun Joe Pressure Joe 2030 PSI 1.76 GPM 14.5-Amp Electric Pressure Washer SPX3000.
















After I had it all together, guess who ended up using it first? Not me, I can tell you that. The hubster wanted to grill the same night I put it together, and thought it would be a great idea to wash off his grates. So, he got to use it first. It was pretty funny listening to him show me how good the Pressure Joe was doing. He's so cute! I got to watch. Watch him use the new pressure washer I got for review! What's up with that?

He started off with the 0° spray tip, but because it's such a narrow stream I handed him the 15° tip.  That one was a lot better! As soon as he was done spraying down the grates, he got the grill fired up. He was making pork chops, and what surprised both of us was they cooked about 5 minutes faster than normal!

While he was grilling, I grabbed pressure washer, and sprayed off our sidewalk and porch. It was something I'd been wanting to do since we moved into the house. They were still so dirty from all of the construction.

One of the exciting parts of this was clearing out the spaces between the sidewalk squares. That was done with the 0° tip. I put the 25° spray tip on it to spray everything down, and then switched to the soap tip. Who knew there'd be a separate tip only for the soap? I like that because then you don't accidentally spray something with soap when all you wanted to do wanted to do was spray with water.

Something I didn't even realize was that there was paint splatter dried onto the sidewalk and patio. I changed the tip back to the 0° and blasted that paint right off! I asked Fred if he thought it would be ok to spray down the door. That stinkin' door had gotten so dirty. I hadn't even been paying attention. I was just going in and out of it every day. Cleaned up in a jiffy.

When I was talking to my friends from church, they were talking about spraying down their siding, and I happily offered them our pressure washer! Do you know how fulfilling it is to be able to share something with someone? They were just going to go rent one. Pshaw Take ours for a spin, and then you'll want to get one of your very own.

Let's talk about the bells and whistles of this little gadget. I had it put together in about 10 minutes. The directions are easy to follow, and you can always watch my video (wink wink) to see how to do it. There are 5 quick connect tips (0º, 15º, 25º, 40º and soap), two removable tanks, a 34" extension wand, 20' high pressure hose, 1800 watt motor, and a 2 year warranty!

Now you're not allowed to laugh at me because I've already made a list of accessories I already want to get. Who says a girl doesn't love household items as a gift or just because? I want to get the Surface, Deck, and Patio Cleaning Attachment, the Extension Spray Wand, the Gutter Cleaning Attachment, and Power Scrubbing Broom! 

If you've never used a pressure washer, you'll be surprised at how easy they are to use. The power cord is 35' long, so you can get around large parts of your home, car, or wherever you end up using it. The trigger gun has a safety lever that we used each time we switched tips. I really like that safety mechanism.

Now, if you watch my video, you'll see close to the end that I don't put the spray tips in the right spot. hahaha I just drop them in the wand holder. As you can see in the photo a little bit above, there's a spot on the back, just underneath the handle that they go. I hadn't put one of these together for a few years and totally had a brain fart, and forgot. It also comes with a little tool to clean out your tips in case they ever get clogged. Pretty slick, eh? It's the little things.

I'm already making plans for all of the ways I can use our pressure washer. Once we have a deck to keep it in tip top shape, when our huge fence needs to be cleaned for us to reseal it, washing our cars, cleaning our outdoor furniture, and so many more things! I'm sure those ideas really are almost endless!



Now, be sure to follow Sun Joe on their social channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Pinterest!

The Garden Is Growing

It's been a few weeks since I shared my garden that was starting to show some green. When Fred moved into his house, I planted some flowers in his front yard. I wasn't thrilled with a couple of them, and a few didn't make it. Then when we were in Minnesota last July, my friends and I dug up a bunch of plants from my perennial garden at my old house (my ex still lives there) to bring back to Maryland with us.

Gram's hostas didn't make it, but it a couple of my other variegated ones did. The ones I got at the store a few weeks ago are barely hanging on. They're not in good soil. In fact, they're living in clay for the most part. Turns out, that's all we have at our house: clay. Blah

Thankfully, the builder of the house put some (a minuscule amount) of black dirt where he laid the sod, so some of that ended up in the garden. I have a feeling I'll have to take my plants out, till up the clay, and add good soil at some point. Good thing I love getting dirty!

So let's see how far we've come in just a few weeks from where we were with my garden.

At the top of the photo is a Jacob's Ladder. I think it was the main part of the plant because it's larger than the other three splittings. Then there's a big empty spot that I wasn't sure what was about to blossom. Along the wall is a spiky thing, that's similar to the very bottom left of the photo. I had NO clue what those were. I hadn't planted any bulbs when we moved in so it was going to be a surprise.

Then there are a couple more Jacob's Ladders. Next to the Jacob's Ladders by the fence is a small red something or other. I wasn't exactly sure what was coming up. Then there are my iris, and they haven't changed at all, just getting bigger. At the bottom of the photo is a brown clump of sticks. I'm holding out that God will do a miracle (ok, not really) and breathe some life into my golden raspberry plant that my best friend got me 5 yrs ago. My youngest wanted it to come with us, and that's why I want it to do something more than anything.

So, here's what we have going on in the garden now.

The green spikes at the top and bottom are Alliums! I had globe ones back at my first home in Minnesota. I don't recall planting any here, but who knows. Maybe I did. I'm just happy to see them. They're not a globe one, but they're beautiful and have a lovely fragrance.

What I love about these was at the end of the day, they seemed to have been following the path of the sun. Check this one out, it's stretching towards the last rays of the evening.

Then there are two of the hostas that I got at Menards while I worked there. I actually didn't think any of them made it, and they certainly didn't look like I remember them when they'd come up so I had no idea they were still here!! I brought several of them with me, and only 2 made it through.

Next, the little red stubs that were sticking out midway down turned out to be one of my peonies. It's not the favorite one I had that was in the front of my old porch. It was the one that sat in the back and I didn't really future. Yet here it is, coming back to life in my garden! Then again, maybe it'll turn out to be the other one. I only have small buds on it right now. lol I have no idea what's going to come out of those buds. I haven't seen any ants around. Ants are what get the flower to bloom! Hopefully they'll show up soon to get them to show off their beauty! And if this doesn't turn out to be my favorite peony, I guess that just means I need to go buy a new one.

I added to my collection earlier this week because my friend Deb was letting people come split some of her plants. It took us an HOUR to get through her whole yard. I came home with two bee balms, a lambs ear, and a clump of smaller irises. Next to the lambs ear is liatris that I planted about a month ago. I should have about 4-5 of those coming up next to the garage.

And to top things off, I have no clue what these clumps of green are. They're small bulbs that I ended up splitting accidentally when I didn't realize they were bulbs. Looking forward to finding out what they are when they bloom.

What do you have growing in your garden this year?

Mother's Day With Hallmark

You know Hallmark. You love Hallmark. You two have been through everything together: birthday, holidays, anniversaries, and everything in between. Is there a Hallmark commercial that doesn't make you cry? I didn't think so.

I actually just celebrated Mother's Day with my mom yesterday. It was totally unexpected. She called me on Saturday, in the midst of a hectic day, and told me she and dad wanted to come over on Sunday! I was shocked! They hadn't been to our new house yet, and I was elated. When 7:30pm came, and I realized I hadn't gotten anything for her for Mother's Day, I made plans to go at the end of church the next day to Hallmark for a gift. I had planned on sending her something, so I wasn't prepared. Here's what I got her:

Now, Hallmark has given me the opportunity to work with them on their Ken Sheldon line for a Mother's Day review. I was beyond elated, and emotional. This line...I feel like this line captured the essence of what it means to be a parent, at least for me. I had actually run across it when I went to Hallmark about a month ago when I was searching for a gift.

I actually welled up with tears right there in the entry way of the local Hallmark store.  I'd never heard of Ken Weldon, but I was sure glad they had it smack dab in the entry way...aside from the tears. I'm truly a sap when it comes to sentimental family products. What I love about this line is it's not relegated to just parents, and how we feel towards our children. It's also for siblings. Like my girls, they have a very loving bond, and are only 2 yrs apart so they have truly done life together. My boys...well, they're not quite there yet. HA!

"So much more than brothers."

"Life side by side."                                                          "First friends."

Back to moms. I love my mom more than I can explain. I wouldn't have been able to say that years ago as a teenager. In fact, I never thought I'd be able to say it. Now I can't get enough of our time together.

On the flip side of that, of being a daughter to my mom, being a mom to my kids is something I can't put into words. I don't feel like anything I would try to say about being a mom would come close to being adequate. I just love my family. I'm beyond thankful that God allowed me to be a mom, when being a mom was the last thing on my mind. I can NOT even fathom what life would be like without my children. My identity has been as a mom for over half of my life. It's the greatest job in the world!

Now, I'm hoping that I'll be getting this pillow because, Holy Bible (secret phrase that means I'm telling you the truth no doubt about it), every time I see it, I start to cry.

Oh my goodness, walked away from this post for the day, came back to pick right back up, looked at the picture of the pillow, and welled up with tears. Not kidding. I'm pitiful.

Isn't being a mom one of the best things in life? I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Now for the best part of celebrating our moms or being a mom is this giveaway! I'm not going to cry alone because I'm a sap. I'm taking you down with me! Thanks to Hallmark, I'm giving away Signature & Kim Mallory greetings as well as this set:

Be sure to enter and visit your Hallmark store or shop with convenience online!

TAKE NOTE: This giveaway will NOT be finished in time for Mother's Day. Please don't count on this as your only gift for mom. =)


a Rafflecopter giveaway