In Disguise

Here it is - finished! My ugly blue food barrel is now this lovely looking rain barrel. The spigot is hidden at bottom left with hose attached. The only modification I may make is to buy another set of blocks to raise it up just a little more. The higher it is, the more gravity works for you and the better hose "pressure" you get (not that there's any true water pressure going on here).

This area I chose is a place where a lot of water runs off the roof. I'm used to getting a big hole in the sand in this spot, so it was the choice place for the barrel. Now most people put these under their gutter downspouts but we don't have a gutter system on the house, so this little corner works like a charm.

As you can see in the second picture, it's placed directly under the 90-degree corner where the walls meet. I am going to add a pretty copper rain chain that will hang from the roof and down to the barrel, to more directly catch the water, but that's on order from Amazon.com and I'm still waiting for it to arrive. However, my barrel is already 90 percent full from just one hour of rain yesterday!

Overall I'm so happy with how it turned out. I really wanted a rain barrel but I didn't want the ugliness that can some times accompany one, but I think the paint and the plants have made it look quite nice. Not bad for free (not counting the $25.00 I spent on spray paint)!

Go on clouds - drop your rain, I am ready for the same!

Rainbow of Colors

It's time to start pickling some peppers!

Tonight I had enough peppers to fill a mason jar, so I decided I better get busy chopping them up and pickling them before they go to waste. I decided to mix all three types of peppers for an interesting blend (sweet yellow banana, red banana, and my one jalapeno). They make such a beautiful rainbow of colors in the jar! I know they look canned but technically they're not. I don't go through all the trouble of boiling jars, etc., etc. After all, there's only one jar, so I'm probably going to eat them all in the next few weeks anyway. So, I just pickle them and then keep them in the refrigerator. That way they last about three months and they're so great in salads!

It's so easy to do! Here's my pickling recipe:

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Pickling Juice:

2 cups white vinegar

2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

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Place all pickling ingredients in a pot and bring to a rolling boil.

Place peppers in jar(s).

Pour in pickling juice and let cool.

Place in fridge and leave for one week.

Enjoy!

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Rainbow of colors in my fridge, pickling, pickling now.

I just love your look and smell and taste you see, and how!

Over a Barrel

So, exciting news this week! Last Saturday was my rain barrel class through the Hillsborough County Extension Service, and yes this big ugly blue barrel is mine! China was helping me clean it out. Now all the barrels are food grade, so whatever was in there is completely safe, but when we drove it home in the car I wondered how many people thought we were transporting toxic waste! So we cleaned it out with vinegar and water, though it really wasn't all that dirty. The great thing is that the wonderful people at the extension service already drilled a hole and installed the spigot, so that was one less thing Bill and I had to do. The instructor did show us how to do it though, so if I get a second barrel I'll know what to do! Bill went to the class with me, which made it all the more fun. We were able to walk around their beautiful garden before the class. You would never guess when looking at the building that there is a gorgeous courtyard in the back complete with lighted gazebo, pond, and wonderful plants. We really enjoyed the morning.

Now I'm in the process of painting my barrel. I'm spray painting it with that special paint for plastic. Then we'll have to set it up in place to catch water. Will keep you posted with some more pictures as this project progresses.

Roll out the barrel
Roll out the barrel for rain
Roll out the barrel
For this drought has been a pain
Roll out the barrel
Roll out the barrel today
Now is the time to roll out the barrel for here comes the rain!

In Memory

There comes a time every year when I start to feel the garden is overtaking me. That such time is now. The tomatoes are bigger than me and literally engulf me when I go to water them, but this is a good kind of overtaking. My grandpa asked me today why they were so big and I honestly don't know. They must be the indeterminate kind that just grow and grow and grow until they're done and dead. They still have a little bit of fungus but I think they're so big and strong that they're overcoming that on their own. So I must say that the self-watering planter and special soil mix will be worth repeating next year - I just won't use the leftover mulch!

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Now, the bad news. Little Dill is gone. Dill has not done well since being re-potted. Something about the pot I chose he did not like and so he began a progressive decline. Last weekend I transplanted him into a different kind of pot in hopes of saving him but, alas, it was not meant to be. And that's not all, my beautiful chamomile have done the same thing. I think I over-watered them a couple weeks ago. I have to be very careful with them in the self-watering pots. They like moist but not wet soil and if I completely fill the water reservoirs it turns out to be too much. However, one or two of the four might make it through, but that's still to be determined.

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My peppers are in abundance, so I think I'll be pickling peppers soon. When I do I'll be sure to blog it, as that is part of the fun. Meanwhile...

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I'll be in the garden

Hope that you can find

me in the vines

looking for tomatoes

or peppers for to dine

Harvest Time!

Well, you are looking at the very first picked tomato of the season and, wow, did it taste good! I know we've all heard it and said it, but let me say it again - Store bought tomatoes can in no way compare to homegrown. For the first time ever I noticed that they even smell different. Maybe I need to have a blindfold smell test (would I need to be blindfolded for that?). Well, you know what I mean. Can Lisa tell the difference between homegrown tomatoes and store bought tomatoes by smell alone?...

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Anyway, it looks like I have a really big harvest this year. So I'm looking forward to much yumminess!

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Ode to the homegrown tomato

To you no other compares

In the grocery store

you're extinct you are so rare!

Birthday Garden

So for my birthday on Thursday Bill and I took a day trip to Epcot to see the flower festival. While there we toured the high tech garden of hydroponics and aeroponics, and this very perfect looking vegetable garden. I wonder how many people and how much machinery it takes to have the perfect garden...mmm

Check out our pics if you like:

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4-30 was so special
off to Epcot we did go
they let me in for free
on my birthday, don't you know