Average Person Gardening

We are rip roaring right on into the hot and nasty summer months here in Texas. This year however, I have a fabulous little garden that is producing some lovely summer vegetables for my family to munch on. Having this little garden makes the heat tolerable. I find that Baby DIVA and I enjoy being out playing in the summer sun as long as our hands are in the dirt and the water hose is blasting water our direction. And I tell You Baby DIVA LOVES to water the garden! The fresh veggies are outstanding and I can really taste a phenomenal difference. Perhaps it is the taste of success in growing something on my own or perhaps I am just a dang good little grower. Who knows, but we totally dig it. H4L was amazed at the difference in taste a home grown tomato has in comparison to a store bought tomato. I gloated, but only a little.

A friend of mine introduced me to a fabulous web site called Average Person Gardening.com, recently, that is all about Vegetable gardening for you guessed it, people like me, AVERAGE folks who really have no idea what they are doing but LOVE it. I spent some time looking through the information on the website and was quite astounded when I discovered this powerhouse knowledge bank not only offered information pertaining to my light green thumb, but also a snazzy seed of the month club!

For a mere $1.99 a month, you can enroll in the Club and receive 4 packets of seeds each month from the SEED CLUB , AND in addition have access to a wealth of knowledge right at your fingertips. I couldn't resist! I quickly contacted Average Person Gardening.com, and let them know I was interested by filling out the easy to use SEED CLUB form. In no time, I received my first set of SEEDS!!

1. Cucumber

2. Radicchio

3. Cabbage

4. Spinach

Mike the Gardener runs the place and I have found nothing but kindness and fabulous assistance from him as I embark on planting my new seeds. I was so tickled. I mean how could one not be. These four packets would have cost me a minimum of $8 in a store and they only come with a couple little lines of planting instructions on the package. Average Person Gardening.com provides me with the seeds, the knowledge, the know how and a resource guide to ask questions whenever I feel in order to gain insight on how to produce the best vegetables from the fantastic seeds provided. I never feel embarrassed or too shy to ask a question; whatever is presented is answered in a group discussion on the Vegetable Gardening FACEBOOK page. It really is amazing and such a wonderful way to gain further growing knowledge.

Baby DIVA and I got busy as soon as the seeds arrived. We planted a few seeds of each vegetable provided and are now waiting on some sproutage. As you can see another fantastic advantage this club provides, beside the seeds, knowledge and learning to produce my own food, is one on one time with my fabulous daughter. A few moments in time where we can dig around in dirt and I can teach her the art of creating something on her own, right after I tell her to not eat the package the seeds come in of course!

If you are interested in learning about Vegetable gardening in any capacity, I suggest checking this group out. The seeds provided by Average Person Gardening.com are great and the resources of endless and plentiful. A great place for beginners and veteran growers alike! Let them know Pink Haired Momma sent you!

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How cool is this? I planted these little boogers from little plants and seeds and now they are all grown up and starting to reproduce! I am such a proud plant mom!

Farming in the Burbs

We have our own farmville, right here in the Burbs of Houston, no computer or facebook required! Please send me nothing, I got it going all by myself!

Remember how Baby DIVA and I tried to hurry Spring along this year after suffering through multiple snows here in Texas, something we are not used to all, by planting our garden? We spruced up the back yard with colored pots, flowers, and little baby seedlings of delish foods we hope to munch on over the summer? If you do not then click HERE and HERE to refresh yourselves. Go ahead. I will wait...

So I have totally awesome news. Farming in the Burbs is totally paying off. WE GOT EDIBLES!! This last week Baby DIVA spotted some beautiful flowers unfolding from our farm in the burbs. Every day since, we have gone out to check on these lovely little babies, watering them, talking ot them, making sure they are happy,Yep we CRAZY. But then today, magic happened! We found the beginnings of a baby squash, growing right there in our suburban garden! FARMVILLE meets SUBURBIA! Hot diggity dog!

And then we discovered some bell peppers poppin out! Look MOM TWINS!!

Now I am totally stoked over this fantabulous accomplishment, but I won't lead you to believe I am 100% perfect at the Burb farmin thing, just 99%. You see I also have some little critter munchin my lettuce way before I get a chance. I guess that could be interrupted to mean that I grow super yummy stuff, right? At least that is what I am telling myself and anyone who feels like listening to me. Nonetheless, thanks to a simple swagbucks search, I came up with a cure all for this little critter and have it under control! I will be sure to share this concoction and story in the future!

Oh and one last note. A peculiar thing happened in the garden. It seems the cucumber has grown rather fond of the asparagus and has grown on over and wrrapped its little tentacles around it. Hmmm possibly a Cusparagus in the making?

Backyard Adventures

I am so fed up with this crazy winter! I seriously am about to blow! If winter doesn't pack its bag and move on out I think I am going to explode. In my last attempt to persuade winter to leave, I got to working in the backyard. I am hoping that if I begin living and breathing under the premise that "If you build it they will come", that Spring will very soon be on her way to town.

So yesterday Baby DIVA and I went on a backyard adventure. I drank half a monster, you know the energy drink, and several hours later we had a full garden and a new patio. After all I completed yesterday, I am thinking a monster might be in order more often! Don't ask, cause I am gonna tell you all about it!

Now you have probably heard me rant on and on again before about how my pretty little Pink Haired family is on a pretty tight budget. We coupon shop, discount hunt, freecycle stalk, the works, all so I can be a SAHM to baby DIVA; very much worth all the effort! Anyway with this horrid winter and our tight budget we know for a fact that fruits and veggies are gonna tap into our fundage this year, and tap hard. This crazy weather has already began to wreck havoc on the nations food supply. So we are gonna grow our own. Not to mention we also just love fresh veggies, and I am thrilled to finally have a full garden of my very own! I feel so proud seeing those little green leaves sparkle in the sun. almost like giving birth again, well without all the pain. Well you know what come to think of it, the back pain of both are similar....anyway moving on.

Keeping our budget in mind, I devised a cheap, simple and easy to construct plan for our garden. You are probably gonna laugh, but seriously I spent less than 10 bucks on this garden! And just imagine the profit we are gonna have when all the fruits and vegetables mature, 10 bucks spent on a full summer of food! Yippee! It may or may not turn out to be a genius plan, but who cares. It is all about trying and learning and enjoying myself right?

Laying out the design

How did I do this budget conscious garden? I purchased 4 6ft fence slats and assembled them in a box like shape. Now I did not attach the slats with nail or screws, this could be done, but I preferred just using bricks on the corners of the box design, personal preference, I am weird. H4L says i have a little ghetto in me, I just call it Pink Haired white trash, but whatever. After I constructed my square I laid out some black weed cloth to cover the entire inside portion of the box, (already had this leftover from last year). Then I filled the box up with nutrient rich soil and compost from the compost bin I started last spring. Simple. Elegant. Cheap. And I do love playing in the fresh dirt. Feels so cool and I know there are no scary bugs in it yet!

The soil box

Once the soil was in place, Baby DIVA stepped up to help. She planted some various knick knacks she found throughout the yard, careful to only use her feet to bury, as she does not like to get her DIVA hands dirty. After she completed her"planting", I went to work on the planting of baby plants and she went off to terrorize our cat. We have quite the variety this year, some oldies but goodies, like tomatoes, and also some new items like strawberries. I do not know what will grow to perfection, hoping all of it, but as a novice gardener this budget friendly design not only lends a helping hand to my pocketbook, but it also does not allow my spirit to break if one of my little green pals does not perform as expected. Cheap equals a great learning tool also.

Baby DIVA toe planting

My Pink Haired White trash non nailed boards (bricks were free BTW)

So what is Pink Haired Momma growing in this budget friendly piece of earth? As far as baby plants go we have red and orange bell pepper, spinach 2 varieties, a salad green mix, broccoli, tomato, strawberries, lavender, rosemary, and sweet basil. Still in pots and hoping to get some sproutage are butternut squash, zucchini, cucumber, and cilantro. I am already plotting and planning all the yummy treats I can concoct in the kitchen with fresh veggies and herbs. I can not wait. In no time I might just be that crazy Pink haired lady out singing and chatting to her little green leaf friends. Commit me.

My fun cheap little garden

Oh and the garden is not all that went down! After Baby DIVA and I completed the fabulous little backyard garden a second adventure presented itself. Yep. I had an ADD moment when I needed to move a stone out of the way of the new garden. Figured if I moved one might as well move 100 or so. Sometimes I wonder about myself and my "ideas". But it worked out wonderful. All by myself, lifting each stone one by one, I built a patio. I am quite proud, but man I am sore and tired. But now H4L, Baby DIVA and myself have a pleasant area to sit at in the backyard while dining on the fabulous fruits of my labor, well in a few months at least!

Patio built by Pink Haired Momma!

Tuesday Tidbit

In light of back to school, I found this fabulous Eco conscious craft quite appropriate this week. This simple project not only follows my favorite recycle and reuse philosophy, but it also provides a super cool way for kiddos to carry their sandwich for lunch.

This Tuesday's Tidbit is taken straight from my current issue of Family Fun. I discovered this project way in the back on page 115, I almost missed it actually. And for this reason I would like to share it with you because it is really fabulous and I think it deserves to be noticed.

So you take a used gallon milk jug and give it a refreshing and cleansing super bath, say through your dishwasher. After super bath, draw the below pictured lines on this milk jug. A few snips and folds and Voila your kiddo has a recycled way to tote that fabulous sandwich you made for him to school!

If you would like to see the original Family Fun instructions, follow the link and have a look see!! I am just loving this fabulous idea. I have even got my Pink Haired Momma wheels a turning on how I could decorate and personalize these little babies to add some flare and personality!! Hmmmm...

Market Day

Can I just say how much I love the farmers market! But can I also say how exhausting it is to go out in the excruciating heat and hit the market every Wednesday! My goodness. Yesterday was market day. My mom, Baby DIVA and myself hit up the local grocery stores, drug stores and farmers market. We are coupon freaks and hit the sales. We are very active participants in the grocery game style of shopping. So for us, a grocery day involves many different stores and stops and coupons and HEAT!! Lots and Lots of HEAT right now!! UGH. The rewards are plenty though. We stock 5 households full of food and necessities for less than I used to spend on just us. It takes some work but man I love it! And so does the rest of my family! They reap the rewards of my mom and I getting coupon happy!


So back to our farmers market run. Besides the HEAT and this Pink Haired Momma dripping pink sweat all over town, we found some fabulous fresh fruits and vegetables this week. The fruits were looking sweet and delicious and the vegetables were crisp and clean. We walked away with the usual of potatoes, onion, garlic, lettuce, and tomatoes. This week however we threw in some white eggplant, purple eggplant, some humongous zucchini, jimaca, cactus, hibiscus flowers for tea, and beets! Totally delicious. I can not wait to get cooking on some of these yummy and healthy fresh foods.

Here is a snapshot of this weeks fabulousness from the farmers market!! YUM YUM

White Eggplant!

I have never seen white eggplant before nor have I ever cooked with it. Stay tuned this week as I embark on my first cooking experience with this crazy little food!!

And some cactus for the Hubbs-to-be! He loves this stuff. And when we have it in the house HE COOKS breakfast.

***not to self***I must learn how to grow and harvest this so that I never have to cook breakfast again!!

Dream Travel in an RV: Where would you go?

You may have noticed that last Sunday there was no Dream Travel post. Well our virtual RV had some routine maintenance to attend to back in our virtual home town of Houston, Texas. While we attended a few family graduation parties and baby showers over the weekend, our Virtual RV was having all of its bells and whistles checked and polished. Now the RV is reading to Rock and Roll again.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling!

Pink Haired Momma, Hubbs-to-be and Baby DIVA are back on the virtual open road heading out to discover all the cool off the beaten path places that their virtual RV will take them!! Woohoo!!

And here we go...

This week we are visiting a totally fabulous "green" living subdivision about 13 miles outside of Taos, New Mexico. This Pink Haired Momma has really been engaging herself and her mind in a wealth of information about living more earth conscious and healthy. During these new discoveries I came across this totally fabulous off the grid community. And of course I am virtually dragging the Hubbs-to-be and Baby DIVA along for the ride. they think I am quite looney but sure do love my Pink Haired craziness and will virtually go where not other hubbs-to-be, Baby DIVA and Pink Haired Momma have gone before, just to make me happy! Gotta love my family!

The fabulous community/subdivision is known at the Greater World. It is completely self sustainable. Not only is this community off the grid, and by this I mean no water lines, no sewer lines, no electrical lines, and no gas lines, but the total green homes are absolutely beautiful. In more ways than one. Beautiful for the environment and beautiful for the eyes to see!

The homes that are part of this community are commonly known as Earthships. What is an Earthship? An earthship, as I understand it, is a structure made of natural and recycled product that relies on solar energies to function. Totally awesome if you ask me. The Earthships in this area are literally designed and made from tires, aluminum cans and soil. Fantabulous guys! Simply Fantabulous! Environmentally friendly and gorgeous!

Check out the views of the patio and kitchen of one Earthships!

This is such a wonderful concept. Living green in a modern passionate way while preserving the earth but still providing beauty to the beholder of each home. It is the best of both worlds. I love it!

Now of course rolling into this wonderful town in a fabulous gas guzzling virtual RV is just too dang tacky. So we virtually parked down the street out of the way and rode our bikes into town!

TeeHee!

Wanna know more?
How to build your own Earthship
Easy Green Living
Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style

Pink Haired Momma Approved!

Not your ordinary Tree house

I was sitting my plump butt on the couch while Baby DIVA was taking a bit of a snooze and I was thoroughly enjoying and episode of Extreme Living on HGTV. And then it happened!

The TV spoke to me! Yep I am officially crazy!

Now what really happened is Extreme Living was highlighting a very interesting style of living and I just tuned right in. The topic really hit a nerve in me! TREE HOUSE LIVING! How fabulous and funky. I was immediately drawn in. I already could see my super cool hot pink couch resting gracefully atop the trees! Then as quick as possible my Pink Haired Momma fingers opened the laptop and began to research the topic presented in this lovely show.


As many of you may know I am becoming more and more earth conscious every day. With the birth of Baby DIVA, I have really embarked on learning more and more about how to preserve the earth so that she may have a home for her whole lifetime! I also just enjoy the green lifestyle. Fits me well.


So what the heck was it that caught my eye and struck such a nerve in my Pink Haired Momma mind? Well it is a Fab Tree Hab. What is a Fab Tree Hab you ask? Well this is a really exciting new development in the style of living world. A young architect has envisioned a remarkable form of living that embodies the green lifestyle by manipulating the natural earth in a friendly manner as to not cause harm and results in the development of a new housing option for human kind. This wonderful vision does require a long period of development, however the living home continues to grow with the family that resides inside over a lifetime.

A view of the Fab Tree Hab vision: outer shell

Another view of the Fab Tree Hab vision: inside

I am just so jazzed up about this possibility. I am trying to find out everything I can about this project. I just wanted to share this wonderful development with you as well! Imagine in the future all of us living in these super fabulous GREEN TREE HOUSES!!! Totally RAD!