Garden Delights and other Tidbits

10 year old's garden. Tomato plant is surrounded by Lemon Cucumber!

Hello!! How are you? It's been a bit since I have blogged. I was trying to post daily there for a while, but I realized that I am way to busy to be able to blog something meaningful every single day. Eventually, my blog would resort to: I woke up, did my thing, cleaned some, watered the garden, cleaned some more, cooked some meals, and ran the children to all their appointments. It was sounding boring to me.

10 year old's garden, other side.

Well, of course, tons of things are always happening around here. Miss Jumping Bean and her mama are moving across the country to start a whole new and exciting chapter to their life. The little tyke was a little tornado sometimes, but then other times, she would climb up in my lap, and smile her cute smile, and snuggle down for some sweet baby love. She will be missed. 

6 year old's garden. Thriving Plants.

100's of tomatoes, this plant has lived up to it's name!!

The big girls took it upon themselves to set up and run a lemonade stand on the weekends. Towards the end of the first day, when they saw how much money they made, they declared that they were going to donate half of it to an EB charity. We have one more weekend for them to have their stand, and then we will mail that out. They also managed to sell a few Raffle Tickets (for an all expenses paid Australian Adventure for 6). They are very excited about their hard work paying off, and can't wait to plan out how they will spend it. We have encouraged them to save it for the upcoming trip, as every child feels rich with pocket money. So far, they have both been content to count the money box a few times a day. I figure they are keeping their math skills honed, so why not? 

My fertilizer jugs. 8 gallons of feed, all will be gone tonight.

The garden is coming along very nicely. I was able to take down the super gates that were surrounding it, and now the vine plants are exploring the new territory. The gates were to keep the toddlers from picking things in the garden before it is time, and to keep the dogs from digging up and eating the tender seedlings each night. Since the gates have come down, we have only had a few minor mishaps. I'll be moving some of the containers to spread them out a bit, and then transplanting the Tomato Tree, I suspect that 7 gallons of dirt for such a LARGE plant is just not enough. I've got a Rubbermaid bucket I can put it into, and then I can figure out how to Stake it better, as it's wire cage seems to be too short. 

Red Bell Pepper plant. It has about 8 growing.

Green Onions.

Topsy Turvy Tomato Plant. Doing just fine...

I've finally picked up some fertilizers that are making a fast and noticeable difference. Miracle Grow makes a Tomato plant food and a Vegetable garden blend. I was just using the basic vegetable garden blend, but when I picked up the Tomato blend, I was able to see improvements within 2-3 days! I use the Tomato blend on the tomatoes, red bell pepper, and the strawberries. The rest of the garden thrives on the garden blend. The 2 blends are colored differently too, so if I have jugs sitting around, I can know at a glance what plants I can feed. 

14 year old's 3 Sisters garden. 

The vine plants show their appreciation for the feed by turning the leaves a deep dark color. They look yellow and faded when they have run out of nutrients. Since I figured out the fertilizer problem, I was able to notice that as long as I water and feed the bell pepper plant, it stopped getting that hard leaf curl that it had. It's looking VERY happy here. So long as the little kids don't come along and pluck all the tiny peppers off before time, I can anticipate some delicious salads in about 2-4 weeks.

A few years back, I started hearing about the newest garden craze, the Topsy Turvy Tomato planter. I thought it was cool, awesome, neat, and totally necessary for my garden's needs. I looked up DIY bucket planters, and seriously considered making a few this year. While out and about, I scored one at a yard sale for only 1 dollar!! WOOT!!! I ran home, and started preparing it for planting. I read all the directions 3 times, and visualized how I was going to do this, so that I didn't break the delicate plant while filling it up with dirt. My hunny got excited too, and picked up 2 matching tomato plants, just the right size to fit through the opening. We were curious how it would work, and couldn't wait for it to hurry up and grow. 

Pumpkin flower and leaves as big as my hand!

Well, next time, I need to make a weight bearing brace to go across the bottom of the planter, and help hold the dirt and plant even with the bottom of the planter/bag. The weight of the dirt and the plant, only being retained by a small collar and sponge-cork is too much. The sponge-cork bowed out, sending water and fertilizer all over the stalk and leaves of the plant. In this scorching summer heat, it acted like a magnifying glass, and burnt the plant. :( I turned what was left of the plant so that it was sheltered part of the day by it's own shadow, and otherwise left it alone. I had actually given up on it in disgust when I found the burnt plant, because I did not seem to be able to keep it well watered with out leaking, and I was SURE the poor plant was going to die of thirst. As you can see in the photo, it is doing just fine!! Color me surprised!! At this point, we are thinking that the weight of the tomatoes will slowly pull the plant downward... but it turns out this plant yields fruit about 2 to 3 times the size of the 100's of Cherries tomatoes, and about 1/4 the size of the tomatoes off the Tomato Tree or the Fiery patterned ones in the red bucket. 

Pumpkin trellis after falling over last night.

Let's see, I showed you the 10 year old's garden, and the 6 year old's pond form garden, I showed you the hanging plant and the green onions... Oh yes. 14 year old's garden, which contains the "3 Sisters", Corn, Beans, and Squash. Her garden is both thriving and struggling. Some of the plants are just booming with growth, and others are seeming quite stunted. The pumpkin plants are HUGE, and their vines were creeping out of the super gates faster than I could re-route them! I had it climbing up the trellis, but sometime in the night, the trellis fell, leaving us thinking of another way to secure it in this solid clay soil (another good reason my garden is in containers). I'm sure I will have some kind of large vine support system in place before the end of the day. I happen to know there are a few pumpkins on the vine, about the size of an avocado, and I want to encourage good growth!

Tomato Tree, next to the 3 Vine buckets and trellis. 

My awesome Cucumber plant, drowned. =(

 Ahhh, now we are to the Tomato Tree. This thing is HUGE, and so are the fruits! This plant also hates me something fierce, just like the one in 10 year old's garden. The leaves are curled up and in on it's self, and it's almost as though it is trying to use the leaves as clothing or tree bark. For a little while, it tried to get mixed up into the trellis with the cucumber plant, but I carefully unwound all the little tendrils and shuffled the weight of the plant over so that it wasn't a climbing tool for the vines.  While all the leaves are curled up and hating me, the plant is still giving me some really big tomatoes once a week or so. 

2 watermelons, growing heavy on the vine.

Speaking of the Cucumber plant... It died. We had a 2 day rainy period a week or so back, and all the containers filled up. I had put drain ports on the buckets, so I wasn't worried. Until I discovered that the ports had clogged, and the plant had drowned. *UGH* This one will get untangled here today, and I will plant more cucumber vines in a different container while I fix that one. I was really excited to be getting such wonderfully big cucumbers for our salads; I can't believe I killed it! 

A miniature pumpkin hiding near the watermelon.

The watermelon vines seem to be doing very well. I had a few rough starts, when the heat wave was scorching the tiny developing fruits and killing them off faster than I could discover them. I've woven the vines up and around the trellis, and now I have 2 hanging melons! I am very excited. I hear that the vine will grow stronger, in order to support their hanging weight, I think I will put a small platform under them though, just in case. 

Miniature pumpkin flower. About 1/2 the size.

Garlic, Chives, and a lonely Cauliflower.

When the miniature pumpkin plant started to flower, the larger one hadn't yet flowered, I had nothing to compare it to. I had mixed up the planting buckets while I was planting, so I had been anxiously awaiting the first fruits to grow, so I could see what it was. The first pumpkin was ROUND like a ball and kind of yellowish orange. I thought maybe it was a cantaloupe, before it got the web-net skin over it. Once these little guys started growing though, there was no mistaking that it was the tiny pumpkins. That means the Cantaloupe plant is the one struggling to thrive out front (drain port clogged!), and it will probably get put into position where the cucumbers were. Right after I drill it a better drain port. 

4 year old's garden. Carrots, peas, Carrots.

 This is my 4 year old son's garden. He planted these tall carrots, and has come to check on them very regularly. Anytime he sees the orange head of a carrot peeking above the soil, he *has* to pick it. Next to the carrots is a few struggling bean plans, and next to that is a few rainbow carrots I had found in my stash of seeds from a previous year. Honestly, it was 2 years ago, and we are lucky any came up at all. *grin* 

Well, that is my little garden these days. Overall, I have to say that it is thriving. I would like it to do better, and I have more seeds to be planting for the fall. As some things phase out of season, I will be starting more seeds to take it's place. I can't wait to get the lettuce going!! 


While I was out fertilizing and watering the garden, I realized that I needed to pick some items. The lemon cucumbers were bountiful! I think I picked 8-10 of them, and there are still a few more that will be ready in a day or 2. I was able to pick tomatoes of of several of the plants, including a handful of small cherry tomatoes. I pulled the carrots from my 10 year old's garden, as they were lost underneath the large leaves of the lemon cucumber vines and under the wild sprawling branches of the cherry tomato bush. I will be working on tying that one up with some yarn, to give it some support. 

I need to look up when it is time to harvest the garlic. I don't want to loose it again this time around. I use garlic for everything, and if I can get it mastered, I could have fresh garlic year round!

Me, Hunny, and Flutters in the Petrified Forest, 6-2012

Not much else is happening around here right now. I am putting together the supply list for the upcoming school year. I have so much already planned out, and one child gets to have the option of independent studies if I can swing it. I have been busy with a lot of mental work, designing and running 2 community pages on Facebook. One is for my family and our life with EB and SPD, the other one is for my friend's son with EB, and his journey though life with the worst disease you have never heard of. You are welcome to check out both pages. Mine is Me and My Butterfly 3 , and my friend's page for his son is Dance for the Cure - Davion's EB Journey . Stop in, like the pages, wander around and read some posts, explore the photos, and on Davion's page, there are several video's of this young man busting a move. =)

If you are interested in purchasing raffle tickets for the Australian Adventure, please go to Butterflys and Bandages webpage, and read more about it. When you purchase your raffle tickets online, please put my name Misty Tanksley in the box asking for "Ticket Seller". The prize is an all expenses paid trip (from your nearest international airport) to Australia. You have 5 adventure packages to choose from (choose your own adventure?? WOOT!) and you will have exactly 24 hours from the time of the drawing of your name, to announce which of the 5 adventures you would like to take 5 people on with you. Yes, that's right, you and FIVE other people get to go!! Airfare, food, lodging and adventure, all included!!

You want to know what the best part is? If on October 31st, they draw YOUR raffle ticket, and you put me down as your ticket seller... I WIN TOO!!! If you win, I win an Australian Adventure for 4!! <3 br="" nbsp="">
The raffle tickets cost a mere $20 (USD) or £15. All money raised will go to support several EB Charities, including P.U.C.K. (Pioneering Unique Cures for Kids - research for a cure for EB), I Refuse EB (dedicated to raising awareness,  being a voice for those affected, promoting advocacy and supporting the research efforts), The Butterfly Fund (dedicated to helping families who have a child diagnosed with any serious life altering disease or event), and the Jonny Kennedy North East created to follow the wishes of Jonny Kennedy, helping other sufferers of Epidermolysis Bullosa and their carers.)

My 5 beautiful Blessings. Photo taken 6-2012 at Little America in AZ.

Thank you! I want you to know that I appreciate each and every one of you that come and read my blog. I appreciate seeing visitors from all around the USA, from Indonesia, Russia, India, and all kinds of countries in between. I know I don't talk about EB much here, but it is an every day part of our lives, and  it seems that it is time to start becoming more of an advocate and helpful friend, than just someone sitting on the sidelines, pretending everything is rosy. =)

To learn more about Epidermolysis Bullosa, go to EB Info. World. It truly is the worst disease you have never heard of.


Have a Blessed Day!
~ Misty

Meandering through the garden, thinking about the summer so far.

10 year old's pool garden. The Lemon Cucumber has taken over!!

Hello!! I've been struggling to blog often, with all that I have been doing this month. We were planning to study all summer long, but in reality, we've only hit the books once in the last 2 months. You know what? It feels good!! 

It's not that we haven't been busy. We've been busy almost any day we haven't been sick. We had a creeping flu bug come to visit, and the bugger stayed around for almost 2 whole months, hitting some people 2 and 3 times. We've continued attending classes for Taekwondo over the summer, and the children are about to have another belt test later this week. We also have summer session of Homeschool Co-Op going on. The kids have been working on their swimming skills, and last weekend the Music Theory classes started up as well. The kids are so happy with our Friday schedule.

You can see tomatoes growing, the carrots are still struggling, and the cherry tomato plant has gone crazy. I need to find a way to cage it after the fact.

I have been busy with the house, too. We have all been busy deep cleaning, pulling out the fridge and getting under and behind it, lifting the top of the stove, and mucking that out, and steaming carpets. I've gotten a lot of clutter busted, and I've had a lot of clutter resurface, it's a constant battle. When things happen (like a down pillow exploding in the drier), we have been using the opportunity to do maintenance tasks that had been neglected in the past (like moving the drier and cleaning out the air path). 

6 year old's pond form garden. The strawberries are thriving and the vine-type volunteer is suspected to be Cucumber.

In order to help with the housework, I created an alter ego on FB. As that ID, I post challenges, motivations, and reminders. I also created kid challenges, to help kids learn to work on their responsibilities a little bit every day (instead of leaving it to the last minute). You can find River Heartsong on FB and send her a friend's request, just send a message, telling that you are from the blog, needing inspiration and help. :)

This tomato plant has 100's of baby tomatoes, and very small leaves.

I also realized over the last few weeks, that people come to my blog from EB related sites. I didn't think anything much of it at first... Until I realized that perhaps some of those people would rather hear about the one thing I barely write about, our EB. I'll work on that. Right now, there isn't MUCH to report about, because we stay inside most of the time. The big girls are getting strong enough in their TKD, that they are starting to damage their knuckles and tops of the feet during drills. The funny thing is, they have me slap on a border, and dash back out on the floor. They care more about the class than they do their injuries!! <3 after="" and="" bathe.="" fix="" get="" home="" p="" properly="" them="" up="" we="">

Garlic Chives in between the tomato plants.

I ended up finally deciding to make a page on FB for "Me and My Butterfly 3". It was a hard decision, mostly because we are not as severe as other patients. Then one day, I realized that EB has many forms, and each form has a range of severity. That alone is a GREAT reason for my girls to have a page too, because we are raising EB awareness. I intend to use the page for EB Awareness, posting updates and prayer requests for my children, and other butterfly children, and occasionally, I will use it to fund raise. Right now, I have joined in the efforts to sell raffle tickets for a chance to win 6 tickets (all expenses paid) to AUSTRALIA!!! Tickets are only $20. All proceeds go to Butterflies and Bandages to help EB families and help fund research for a cure.

This tomato plant is the twin to the one in the Topsy Turvey, a control, so to speak.

The kittens have gotten big! They are now scampering and climbing all over the house, and even the scared one is coming out more, and purring over getting petted. We meant to find them all homes, but the kids got so attached, we ended up giving them all names. Now to figure out how to get them all fixed, as we don't want another kitten problem in a few months.

14 year old's "3 sisters" garden. Corn, Squash (pumpkin), and Beans. 

Honestly, there is not much else to update on. I have been quite busy between all of that and babysitting the extra toddler over the summer. She has gained 5 pounds, 5 inches, and 50 words in her time with us. She has learned so much, like sharing, caring, and communication. I am so proud of her young momma, and hope that she stays in touch after they move to the other side of the country. <3 p="">

Oops. Well, the white corn is tall. Turn your head. Sorry.

Well, Enjoy your wanderings through my garden. Feel free to send River Heart song a friend add, and go like "Me and My Butterfly 3" of FB. God Bless you, and have a great day!! <3 p="">

Garlic, chives, and last Cauliflower plant.  

Oops. Well, this is the Tomato Tree. That red one should be done tonight :D

Cucumber growing...

Watermelon growing...

Well, I had hoped that this was the cantaloupe, but it seems to be shaping into a mini pumpkin.

Red Bell Pepper plant, recovering again from zealous over-picking by an excited child.

Mr. 4 swears that this is his garden, because his carrots are in it. His carrots are doing GREAT! He also has some struggling bean plants and some rainbow carrot seedlings growing.

Mr. 4, helping in the garden.

Another crooked view of the Tomato Tree (Which will be re-potted into a big bucket soon).

Loaded with tomatoes, yet the leaves are very unhappy.

Lemon Cucumbers forming...

Cherry Tomato bush, sprawling.

10 year old's Tomato plant... Beautiful tomatoes growing, but the leaves are miserable.

Miss 2.5 came out after nap to see what was going on. Somehow, "Cheese" translated to "Rowr".

Meandering through the garden, and a sweet ending

My garden is coming along in leaps and bounds, but it is all a precarious balance. I have some plants that are always on the brink of dying off, and some that are under attack. I've got plants that need different types of fertilizers all in the same container, as well as plants that like less water in with deep water types. Needless to say, if this garden does well, I will consider this year a MAJOR learning success. As I type this up, I am waiting for yesterday's pictures of the garden to upload.

I mentioned that I have plants under attack. The invaders are so tiny and light green, that I can't see them unless I put on my glasses. I've taken to petting each leaf on each tomato plant to kill off any egg sacs and whatever invader hiding there. This is helping some, but I can't always get to it 3 times a day. I did some research online, and found a simple, homemade recipe that doesn't kill off beneficial bugs, just the ones attacking the tomato plants. Yesterday, I bit the bullet, and harvested a handful of leaves off of my poor plants. Now that I have more plants, this is a bit easier to do. I brought them in, chopped them up and then threw them in the blender with an equal amount of water. I then liquified them for a full minute, until they were pulverized. They've now sat for 24 hours, and are almost ready for stage 2: Straining. Once I get the fibers out, I will add another equal amount of water, and 1 drop of dish soap. Then I can pour it into the spray bottle, and start spraying down my plants. I am excited to see if this works.

DIY Insecticide for my tomato plants. (photo during 24 hour sitting stage)

This is an overall look at the garden. If you have been following my progress, you will notice some things are different.

I had been having problems with my red bell pepper plant. It was not getting enough fertilizer, and seemed to dislike full sun. I was able to shade it for a little while with my cabana, but the unusually crazy weather flipped the cabana and tore up the cover. I've given it more fertilizer, and then top dressed it with the compost to help protect the roots. I am seeing good results!!



The 10 year old's kiddie pool garden is starting to thrive. I suspect that the Lemon Cucumber would rather be in a different container all together, but I am hoping that it will green up and thrive. It's in flower already, so I am encouraged! (maybe it's supposed to be yellow?) Strawberries are getting ready to produce fruit again, the little hot pepper plants are finally starting to grow more leaves, and the carrots are much happier since I top dressed them with boosted soil and fertilizers. Her tomato plant is one of my sickly ones under attack. It has 1 giant tomato at the base, and then 2-3 starting up at the top! This is encouraging, as it means that changes I've made are helping!






The chives and the one lonely onion I have, I think they are straggly looking, but am hoping that they will keep going. The onion looks like something small has nibbled on it.



The black pond form I used for my 6 year old's plants is both good and bad. It gives me multiple layers of soil depth, but it might get too hot in the summer heat. I may have to rethink how I use this, or how I protect it fom the high temps and scorching sun. That said, her strawberries are also getting ready to fruit again (surprise me, I thought it was one and done!) and her volunteer is starting to perk up. I should be able to identify it here soon.


Her (second) tomato plant is doing AWESOME!! (can you hear me singing that??) She is blessed that she has no invaders, and has at LEAST 6 baby tomatoes starting to grow!!



The other side of her pond form is the potato bin. This is not looking as flourishing as other areas.



Of course, the one that I need to add more dirt to, is thriving like crazy! I will be trying to move this over to a rubber maid tub here soon, as I need to bury them for more potatoes. It might be too late though, as the plants are starting to flower.



This tomato plant is doing great, but I have already seen it invaded. Treatment will commence today! The 2 tomatoes are starting to color up, and more have started forming higher up.



My 14 year old's pool garden is perking up. For a while, the corn and the pumpkin plants were looking pale and less than lush. I did some research and discovered that it prefers a different fertilizer, and I had not boosted my hand mixed soils with those nutrients. I've started using a commercial fertilizer and it has recovered well. (I need more of that stuff!) Her strawberries are ready to go again also. We have one tiny volunteer in her garden too, I can't wait to figure out WHAT it is. *grin* She might be rather disenchanted with all of her late season harvest choices right now, but she is going to be THRILLED when the other gardens are done, and her's is just starting up.



The cauliflower is going well. The larger (twinned) plant is doing GREAT, and had a visible head growing now. The other 2 plants are more puny, but they are sharing their nutrients with the thriving Garlic and the smaller patch of chives.




My poor tomato plant. This one is very much under attack, and while the trunk is strong and thick, this poor plant has no leaves worth mentioning. I am very excited to see the baby tomatoes at the tip tops, and I hope I can make this poor plant happy.



The 4 self watering buckets, and their mixed up vine plants. At least now I can tell that they are 4 different types of plants. If I had more experience with them, I could figure them out, but I will resort to looking up the leaves of what I KNOW I planted, and then label the containers. While the buckets are self watering, the plants need me to top water daily.




I planted the Topsy Turvy Tomato plant. I am not sure if I am happy with this set up or not, as it has it's issues. I might have to set it up to slow drip water, as rapid watering is killing off the plant where it drips down it. Slight design flaw, that could have been easily remedied at manufacture.



I had a strawberry pot, that I planted Marigold as a potato in. I noticed last week that it was dying off, and figured that it was probably root bound. I broke part the pot, and pulled the Marigolds off and set them aside. I moved the lump of soil and placed it into my newly created crate planter, and started burying it. I found a fully grown potato in there!! I pulled the one out, but didn't look for more. Either it will start to thrive again, or perhaps the other potatoes can sprout and make more... I dunno, it may have been too late for that plant, but I had to try.



I put the Marigolds in with my 4 year old's carrots. I also set the last tomato plant in with them for now, so that I wasn't tripping over it in the tiny walking area in my micro garden.



So, there you go. My garden is growing and fighting for survival quite well. My side projects are coming along wonderfully, and I have already gotten to use the first batch of horse manure compost.

Ah, I forgot. Th e little sounds of thumping and crashing bodies, and the prickly sounds of tiny claws catching on the bed quilt reminds me. The 3 abandoned kittens have found their forever home. Their names are Spot (stripey one), Snow (black one, think NYC Snow), and Miss Cuddlebug Grey Grey. The children are very excited and happy.

Anyone with a caring heart towards animals is welcome to donate to fund for the vaccinations and "fixing" of these adorable fur babies. I hadn't put aside vet funds for baby kittens, as I had no intention of getting any for a pet. =) I believe we will be having Lemonade Stands and car washes this summer, to help cover the added expenses!

Thank you for visiting, have a Blessedly good day!