Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Home wrecker plus garden picts!

Happy Tuesday!!

The whirlwind continues in my neck of the woods!! I'm car-less and I work in an area that has no bus stops so Ry has been dropping me off. Today his boss asked him to be at work for 6AM..that meant I was at work at 5:30 (I usually start at 7)..eek! I am looking at this as a positive thing though because that means that I get off at 1:30..wahoo!! Anywho, things are coming together...slowly...at the house. I didn't take any time off so I've had to organize after work and, well, sometimes it just doesn't happen. The hubs is working this weekend so I am planning on spending a lot of time in the closets..ha..jk..more likely the garage which looks like a battle zone right now with boxes, tools, gardening stuff etc! As for time in the kitchie....ya...umm...it hasn't really happened. I've been eating on auto-pilot: salad with avocado, pickled beets, carrots, cauliflower, parsley, cilantro, cabbage..etc etc! I really need to stock up my pantry and haven't had a chance to make it to the ONE health food store that I can get to by walking. I was searching meetup.com and found an organic food buying group in my area so I'm going to be in contact with them soon!

Okay so you are probably at the edge of your seat wondering why I would admit to being a home wrecker? Ha...well I didn't even know I was one. What? Let me explain. On Sunday I was outside almost all day in the garden and didn't take my phone with me. When I finally looked at it at 5pm, there were 9 missed calls from this weird number. One time the caller left a message saying her name was Cindy and if I could give her a call. I don't know a Cindy so I thought it was probably a wrong number. Then on Monday morning..literally 7Am on the dot.. I get another call from her and she flat out comes out and says if I'm with "her man" that I should tell her so she came kick him to the curb (apparently this man works with me in some way or another). I tell her I'm married...and am not with her man but she still doesn't really believe me. I'm in total shock at this point and aggitated. I can't believe I get a call like this at 7AM. I finally tell her in a firm voice that I'm not with her man (she still hadn't said his name) and so she doesn't need to worry. She hangs up and I'm immediately in contact with Kelly..AKA office gossip lover..and so she tells Tommy who is the boss of all the guys working here. He phones her up and she admits her name isn't even Cindy and she was assuming because "her man" had a post-it with my address and phone number that he was up to funny business. Well, I found out her man was the guy who dropped off my soil on Saturday and so he needed the post-it to know my address!!! Crazy hey? She was really embarassed and even called me to apologize.Made for good Monday chit chat at least lol!

Onto something a bit more..classy, shall we say? My garden is in and 90% planted...wahoo!
It was quite the adventure as we were making raised beds vs an in-ground garden. I didn't have the time to rent a rotatiller and do all that. It was pretty awesome too because the previous owners of the house left some wood behind which was just enough to make my two beds. I love it when things like that happen in life, don't you? I was pretty lucky too that Ry and his buddy were there to help me. Although working with two "construction" guys has its own challenges..LOL! No, they were fantastic and the beds look fabulous as a result.


First off, I needed to start the day off right so I made a PURPLE MONSTER!!

Don't fall over...fast food joints are not serving smoothies now..wouldn't that be the day! Don't worry I don't eat here either...the hubs.."attained" this mug when he was really young and its perfect for large purple monsters. This monster had romaine, banana, frozen blueberries, Chai Vanilla Vega, cinnamon. Sooo delish! I thoroughly enjoyed sipping on this in the morning sunshine:)

Look at all those bubbles! I have to admit that I haven't been eating too many of these monsters lately. I really need to get into it again and I know I will be for sure especially when berry season strikes the coast!!


This is how Nemo started his morning. You think he likes it here? Oh ya, baby! He loves being around people no matter what they are doing. The hubs had the saw going and he was sitting on the table nearby just checking out the scene..love him!


Once we were fueled..the digging began! I didn't know exactly how it was going to work when you put a garden bed above turf so I did a quick search and found a source that said you need to dig up the turf. I later read ,after all the pain-staking work was done, that there are easier ways..oh well.

Before!!!

After!! The hubs and his good buddy dug up the first bed but I did most of the second bed because they had to go pick up more supplies and I wasn't going to sit around waiting for them. I loved it! It was really hard work (everything was sore the next day..including the thumb muscles..ha ha) but I loved feeling the earth and seeing all the wormies in there. Man, there were some HUGE worms, some like small snakes! I take that as a good sign that my soil is pretty good ( more worms mean your soil is bacteria-driven). Next year I'm going to get a full soil analysis done to make sure I don't have any contaminants in there because more likely I will only be using the raised beds for this growing season.




I call this area operation central!! As you can see by the sawdust below the hubs was cutting a lot of wood that day. I am very appreciative to have a handy hubby who loves doing new projects:)



The boys had a few levelling issues with the beds, so while they were busy creating solutions for that I started filling the planters. My work garden had so much lettuce that they said I could take some home for my own garden..and I was the only one who took any..oh well more salads and green monsters for me:) I just learned a couple days before doing my own garden how fragile plants are, especially frail types like lettuces, when they transplant them. Once you dig them out of the ground they need to spend the least amount of time as possible out of the dirt. I thought they could survive at least a 1/2 hour but its literally minutes. The large leafed plant right in front is a member of the mustard family...oooh she is spicy! I also planted other pots but I forgot to take a picture:( There was re-potted sage, rosemary, and lavender, a pot with parsley, another with purslane ( techinically a weed that has large amounts of omega 3), and one with a tangy lettuce mix that contains cilantro, arugula, and other leafy goodness.



The first bed! Tomatoes, holy basil, spinach, beans, carrots, beeets, and more lettuce.

My carrots that I grew from seed! They are a bit "stringy" right now but I hope that this new, rich soil will help them out:)

The second bed! More lettuce, kale, mustard greens, collard greens, swiss chard. I had the hardest time with my kale and collard seedlings and so I'm not sure how well they will do but I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt! Ryan's great uncles wife bought me the fully grown kale..so sweet! She also gave us a ton of garden tools and even a practically new BBQ!!


Thank you so much Alinne, you are one of a kind!


Those boards on the right hand side are my "walk-through" because immediately to the right of the picture the hubs is putting in a compost..yay! I love "recycling" my food scrapes.


The other end of bed #2. From the left: lettuce (varities of butter), swiss chard, kale.


My lovely zucchini hump..haha..I mean hills!


A swiss chard baby!

I also planted some sunflowers and pumpkins. I have a quarter of a bed left. Any suggestions on some veggies I should be planting? Since this is the first time I was planting a veggie garden on my own, I felt like I needed a little back-up! I purchased The Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden by David Hirsch from a thrift store ages ago mainly for the recipes in the back of the book. Moosewood Restaurant is vegetarian restaurant that focuses on local and organic foods located in Ithaca, NY. I'de heard great things about their cookbooks and so I scooped this one up the second I found it:) It turned out to be an amazing reference for my first garden.

Doesn't the cover just make you want to get your green thumb on!


It had great ideas for a variety of different garden designs. I went with this one that was basically for a raised bed garden. I didn't follow it exactly but it really helped with learning which varities of vegetables thrive together.


Another great reference was the "beneficial companions" page. It showed which veggies and herbs like each other and it also shared pairings that are bad.

The book when through every veggie you ever wanted to plant (well almost) and explained how they should be planted and what they need nutrient wise. The also went over ways to use each veggie-steaming,baking, raw etc!





I know there are a lot of bloggies out there who have a green thumb like Kelli, Lori, Pen, Lauren, Aletheia, and Katie. (If I missed you give me a link to your garden post, I'de love to see:) Even if you just grow sprouts or wheatgrass...that's AWESOME!



Anywho, back to work for me! Even though I'de rather be doing this...

Have a great day everyone! I've missed you all and feel pretty out of the loop:( I've got a lot of posting to catch up on so watch out for my post 10 million posts coming your way!!

PS - The lovely Bitt is having a great giveaway for Jennifer Cornbleet's new book Raw for Dessert plus a flirty apron. So go check out her amazing blog! You have until Saturday June 12 at noon pacific to enter!
















12 comments:

Nikki said...

Homewrecker? Wow, what a strange way to wake up. Must have felt like you were dreaming....

I don't have much of a green thumb, but I love all of these garden posts. I'm happy to support the local farmers in my area and leave the growing to them. The only green I'm growing is in my bank account, haha :).

ac said...

PICK ME! PICK ME! I HAVE A GREEN THUMB! LATELY, I'VE BEEN ALL ABOUT GREEN THUMBING!! Clearly you haven't been reading my blog lately, Melissa. :O

Jay kay.:P Your garden looks amazing though--I can't wait to get my own home and garden...like 10 years from now! Ha! Until then--it's all container gardening for me!

Lots of love and sunshine,
Aletheia xo

Nelly said...

nemo is so precious, i want to snuggle with him...i love orange tabbies...haha, i know you've heard it a million times...

congrats on the garden, nice work, now come over and plant mine please? haha...kidding...

and what a way to start a morning being accused of being a homewrecker, pretty interesting if you ask me...i wonder how much trouble she got into?? weirdo! i would never EVER assume that john is cheating on me if i find a post-it with someone's number and address...the nerve of some people, eh? but yah, i can imagine how funny it was after...nice gossip!!

i didn't even notice that your mug had A&W on it...haha!

have a beautiful day my lady...and hopefully in a few weeks it will be HOME!! and you will be unpacked and you'll be able to just relax when you come home from work!!!!

<3

Melissa said...

Hey Nikki - I totally thought I was dreaming..it was crazy! Green in the bank account is ALWAYS a awesome lol!

Hey Aletheia - I updated the post so your beautiful garden gets some glory!Sorry:( I have so much to catch up on. Can't wait to see more from your garden!!

Hey Nelly - Oh Nemo loves praises haha! He is so cute and he would love some more cuddles:)I would so help you with yours if we were neighbors..hint hint te he! I know I was almost speachless when she was talking..and I nearly laughed because I couldn't believe what was happening.Thanks lovely..its coming together slowely! I just got a call that the hubs won't be home until late so I have some time to organize things my way..haha..perfect!

kelli said...

oh my goodness, the homewrecker story! i've been paranoid before in the past with an ex - NOT a good feeling, but thankfully i was strong enough to get out of that relationship!

look at that garden! amazing! love that the wood was left for you - blessings from the universe.=)

sounds like you have nice soil. i've yet to find a worm in mine (they're all in my compost bin!)

love all your plants! they will be flourishing in no time. i'm amazed at how fast mine are growing.

i would leave the kale and collard seedlings too... plants have a strong will to live, and as long as you see some growth coming up the middle, they'll most likely come back!

i'm very impressed! moving is a pain in and of itself and you've already established a place for your plant babies! great job melissa!=)

(and thanks for the link love.=)

bitt said...

omg when i first read your title i thought something happened to your house. my mind is clearly not influenced enough by the tabloid i pretend not to read. :-) glad it all worked out, funny! this woman is obviously pretty insecure. although i can relate. i'm the jealous type too.

love your garden progress pics. i'd love to build one of those raised beds someday too. nemo is loving his outdor seat, huh?

Jenny said...

that pruple monster looks so hardcore badass. love that it's in a a&w mug...

your garden impresses me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing that funny story, I needed that today! I hope you got a good laugh out of it and it didn't bother you or anything...people like that always make me laugh because it seems overly paranoid to think that you are "with her man" because he has your address? It is kind of silly, and she should have confronted him before deciding to harass you..but at least you get a good story out of it.

Your garden looks gorgeous...and you're planting so many different things. I'm so envious! When I get my own place (sometime in the far future) I want a big garden like yours. Hopefully I am capable of caring for plants by then.

And I always love seeing pictures of Nemo!

HiHoRosie said...

Howdy Homewrecker! hee hee! Funny story! And talk about a wake up call - sheesh! All I can say is things must not be so good if she's not trusting her man! hmmm...she guilty? anyway...

Nemo's such a cutie. My friend had a red kitty named nemo. Loved him! Love your Nemo too!

Your garden will soon be thriving! It'll be amazing and abundant! Look forward to more updates about it.

Melissa said...

Hey Kelli - It takes a lot of strength to get out of a relationship..I'm so proud that you did!
Thank you for all the garden love:) I told Ry a MONTH before we moved back that it was first priority..haha. He must have believed me because there was no complaining..te he!
I love sharing garden picts and talking about it. It makes me feel like the "olden" days when the people in the communities came together to share ideas, seeds etc...love it!

Hey Aimee - HAHA..I read those in secret too! Ya, I guess there was some bad things happening in the relationship and she didn't want to stick around if he was playing her...understandabe but just the wrong approach, in my opinion!
The beds were very easy to build..it was levelling them that we screwed up on. We should have used some gravel to fill in the spots that were unever, instead they had to put wedges under the areas that were not level..lol!
Nemo is the BOSS in our house..haha! He is still a little weary about his new surroundings. Doesn't like the rain AT ALL so its pretty funny to watch him in the wet grass..lol! And ya, that is now his chair..good thing we have more than 2.

Hey nutellacube - love your screen name BTW:) I'm so glad that my green monster looks badass..YAY! It WAS the look I was going for..HAHA!

Hey Lauren - Hey lovely so glad that my crazy morning story brought a laugh..I was hoping it would!! Yes, I agree, her approach was all wrong but hopefully she learnt a lesson there...don't harass random people LOL!
Thank you for the garden love! I wish I could share the space with people because so many don't have yards. I told the hubs next year I'm planting veggies in the whole backyard..he laughed NERVOUSLY...TE HE!
I don't know if I told you, but Nemo loves the laptop. He rubs himself against 50 times before he lays on top of it..must be all the love coming from my bloggies:)

Hey Heidi - HAHAHA..I like to call myself the oblivious home wrecker!! Who knew you could be one without even knowing, hey?
She called and said she was really embarassed and felt bad so hopefully she learns to confront him about their issues, not random strangers!
OMG..another Nemo?? So cute!!
Thank you my dear for the garden love..I'll be sure to post again soon. I'm out there looking for new sprouts every hour...er..day!LOL!

Lori said...

Thanks for the shout-out, Love! And what a beautiful garden you have! So big!!! Yum! I love fresh homegrown veggies!

Crazy story about the guy with your name on a post-it! Wow. I BET she was embarrassed... trust issues??

evergreen said...

Thanks for sharing the purple monster recipe, pictures of your new garden and adorable Nemo, you little homewrecker hehe!