Our Garden Journey season 2 week 1

January 26, 2022February 27, 2022 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hey everybody! Long time no posts! First of all I’m so excited to be gardening again and that it is a new season. I’ve been itching to start posting again but I didn’t want to start blogging to soon but I thought that this week would be a great week to start!

So to start off with I wanted to tell you guys what I’ve been doing during the winter to start preparing my garden for this year! I’ve been doing a lot of things lately. For instance, I’ve started composting in the late fall early winter. So far I’ve got a few gallons of soil composted in my composter. I have also invested in a raised garden bed this year and I’m planning on using one it as a way to attract pollinators. Speaking of garden beds I have made it my mission to fix up our hill in our backyard and transform it into my garden. which I’ve started going already. My plan is to do that in late February or early March because it’s still cold outside and I haven’t been able to do it the last few weeks because we did get some snow recently. Lastly, on what I’ve been doing is I’ve also been watching and learning from other gardeners on YouTube. So far I’ve learned so many things from MI gardener, roots and refuge farms, epic gardening, the veggie boys and ace homestead just to name a few. I kid you not they are amazing gardeners to learn from. I’ve learned new ways of making a raised garden bed to how to combat certain diseases on plants.

So what seeds have I started already? Well, I actually started a couple in December just as a tester seed and let’s just say that they aren’t doing too bad. I started strawberries and pear plums from store bought seeds. My one strawberry plant is doing alright and my pear plum trees are thriving right now. I’ve also just started lavender, rosemary and sage as well just this week. As you can tell I’ve also upgraded my green house trays to fit more seeds. I hope that one day I’ll be able to get a grow light but I think that will be later on down the line. I’ve also added a picture or two of some of the plants that I’m going to try to grow in my garden this year down below.

Overall I’m so excited about growing my own food this year. My goal this year is to get to a point where I don’t need rely on groceries stores. I also want to hear what you are planning to put in your garden this year too!

Long time no blogging!?!?

December 14, 2021December 28, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hey guys I wanted to jump on here to say that I’m still going to be blogging. I just wanted to give you guys an update on everything going on around here. It has defiantly been a minute from everyone in my house getting sick to me planting new seeds.

Everyone around here has been sick this last month. Tis the season for colds! No we didn’t have COViD this year even though 2 out of the three of us did have it last year. Weirdly enough since my body has had many colds in the past from teaching that ever since I had COViD I have symptoms that mimic COViD. Yes I did test negative for COViD and yes I am fully vaccinated. As a side note I believe it’s your choice to be vaccinated or not. The whole vaccination thing is not why I’m posting this update. I’m posting this update to let you know where I’ve been and what I’ve been up to!

If your asking if I’m still going to garden in the spring then the answer is yes! My son is a bit older and walking now so I hope by summer that we will get to have some fun gardening together. After all toddlers do like to play with water and dirt right now I’ve already stared to plant some seeds. Yes I know it’s early but some of these seeds are more like tester seeds for me because they all are from fruits that are store bought. I’m trying out different ways and methods to get them to grow. I should also mention that I learned to harvest the beans from the green beans so that I can grow more green beans next spring. Even though it’s the dead of winter here in Georgia I have been preparing my garden for the next growing season. I will make another post about that later on though.

Overall, I’m excited for this next growing season. I’ll have some pretty big updates to give you guys in the next couple of weeks. Right now it’s our dead season down here in Georgia so nothing is growing and everything is pretty much dead. Don’t forget to sign up to receive blog updates down below!

Our Garden Journey end of season 1

November 10, 2021November 10, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So it’s the end our our gardening season this year and if you have been wondering why I haven’t been posting as much then this is why. I’m going to make this post short, sweet and as simple as can be.

First off I would like to say that I think I had a pretty good season considering I started late in the game. I think I did pretty well for myself. I had one cucumber, tons of green beans and a few red tomatoes and many green ones of course. I know that I have a lot to improve on going into my second year next year.

Secondly, the reason why I haven’t been writing and updating as much is because well their isn’t really much to update on. Other than my garden is starting to die off. I’m trying to dry out my green bean seeds so that I can grow them next year. I also decided to pick all of my sweet tomatoes (even the green ones) because it is getting cold here in north Georgia. The only plants that are still somewhat growing but I don’t expect to last very much longer are my radishes, carrots, and lettuce. I do expect those to die soon too with the colder weather coming.

Lastly, we have been trying to prepare our garden for next year. I have been trying out composting and it seems to be working out really well so far. My husband and I have been also focusing on our front and back garden by adding mulch and taking out all the weeds. He is also trying to put tarp out on our hill to try and kill the kudzu. We don’t know if it will work or help but I will be doing updates on it. Even though I gave up on planting flowers I am going to try and do it again. I still have lots of seeds left over that I’m planning to use. I also almost forgot to mention that I’m trying out a little experiment of growing plum prunes. I originally bought them at Costco and I loved them so much that I want to see if I can grow them from a seeding. I really wish that I took pictures but I basically used a hammer to hammer the seed out of the shell and then I took the seed and put it on a damp Scott towel in a ziplock bag and I set it in a window that has lots of sun for a week until it sprouted. Then what I did was after it sprouted I put it in this small pot with soil and I sealed up the bag. I don’t know what will happen but it can’t hurt to try it.

Overall, I’m really happy with my garden. I will update soon on what is going on around here. Especially with my new seedling starting to emerge and with my compost bin currently baking. I hope to update you all soon on my composting journey.

Our gardening Journey weeks 17 and 18

October 6, 2021October 11, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This weeks post is going to be a little bit different. I’ve decided to combine my weekly posts because well not much is going on here in our garden. It’s almost the end of our growing season and right now I’m in sort of a planning stage of deciding what changes we want to make in our garden.

First off our plants are still doing great. Knock on wood I’m getting some great output from my tomato plant. I haven’t harvested them yet but I see lots of them growing. I recorded some short clips of my tomato plants. It’s starting to get a little bit colder here in the south. If you live in Georgia then you know that Georgia weather can be bipolar as I call it. Where it can be cold in the morning and hot in the afternoon. As a result of it turning into fall my green bean plant has slowed down with growing and my cucumber plant has completely died on me. My plan for this week is to let my beans dry out so that I can use the seeds for the next growing season.

So what do you have planned next? Well, my husband and I already have a couple of projects planned out for this fall. The first three projects are putting up Halloween decorations, fixing up our plant bed in the front of our house and starting a compost pile. This is a brand new house so our front yard has a lot of crab grass and weeds because of the sod. It’s been kinda crazy around here with Halloween coming up. We haven’t been doing much to the garden this week because it has rained so much. As for the composter though, I found this outdoor duel one by for less than $100.00. It did take me a while to put it together but I think it will be well worth it.

Overall’ we are super excited to start planning out our garden for the spring. We hope that with adding in mulch it will give it a much cleaner look. I’m also hoping that my composting adventure will cut down on the cost of soil in our yard while also growing lots of food for us next year.

Using these tips saved me money as a new mom

October 3, 2021October 7, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So I just want to put a disclaimer that everything in this article is my own opinion and that I’m not getting paid to do this. These are purely tips that have helped my family save money as a new family of three. If you are a new mom, a new dad, a single mom or a new family of three you are probably freaking out about the expenses of having a child. Well, these are the best tips that I have when it comes to saving money on baby and toddler items.

1. Don’t buy newborn sizes. Don’t do it because they will grow out of them in a week or two. Only buy them if you have a premie. Buy the 0-3 to start off with. The 0-3 size will last longer on your child than the newborn. In the end you will end up with a bunch of newborn clothes that he/she cannot wear and you could be spending money on those unused clothes towards diapers.

2. Buy clothes that are a size bigger than what the tag says they should be wearing at their age. I’m saying this because if let’s say you are buying fall clothes now those clothes will need to last them till March and these little guys grow like weeds. This tip helps if you are already on a tight budget. For example my son just turned 16 months and I just bought him 24 month clothing because I do not want to keep on buying clothes throughout the winter for him. Especially with prices of every item going up.

3. Join baby products communities and rewards programs. Most baby products like enfamil, huggies or pampers send out coupons and have rewards when you sign up on their website. Enfamil will literally send you coupons to use. We all know that formula can get expensive. Huggies and pampers also have rewards programs too. Also, apps like Fetch is also great to use for baby products. You get points back to use on gift cards every time you upload a receipt or order anything from Amazon. Just as a side note Amazon is great to use to buy baby items on too especially during the newborn stage . You can use my promo code PDNQ27 to get 2,000 points right now when you sign up.

4. Buying baby and toddler clothes at consignment stores or using Amazon prime wardrobe. The best decision that I made was buying my son’s clothes as a newborn at a kids consignment store. I literally got many of his clothes brand new with tags at half the price that they would have been at the store. Now when they grow out of their clothes you can always sell them back to consignment stores and get some money back for them. You can also sell gently used baby toys, bouncers, pack in plays and swingers back to the consignment stores. I also use Amazon prime wardrobe to try and buy my son’s clothes. I like using it because I’m not getting charged until the 7th day and I know myself if I forget to return it then it will sit in my closet. That way if it doesn’t fit him then it’s gets sent back straight away. I also really don’t want to bring my child out at times. It feels like I’m going on a field trip with him. Also, Amazon prime wardrobe is also good to use if you are pregnant for maternity clothes. If you don’t feel comfortable going to the store then use prime wardrobe. For one it’s cheaper than many maternity stores and you won’t risk yourself going out to the stores.

5. If you are buying clothes or any items from a big name brand store then check out their clearance items first because you might be able to buy 0-3 months baby clothes for really cheap. For instance, I really liked Macy’s backstage when they first started because I could get a pack of 2-3 rompers for like $3.00. Also, TJ max also has a lot of cute baby items for 3 to 4 dollars. You can buy clothes, bath toys and toys from TJ max.

Please share this list with every new mom or soon to be new mom you know! Don’t forget to sign up to my newsletter for more parenting tips!

Our gardening Journey week 16

September 22, 2021September 26, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So this week has been a good week for our garden. It starting to cool down just a tiny bit here down south. I’m trying to let what I have grow and harvest until the end of October. Just a warning for you that this weeks post is going to be a bit short.

So let’s start off with the good. I’ve grown a ton of green beans that now my son and I eat it at lunch. My husband, however, likes them raw as a snack. He is weird I know. I literally thought this plant was going to die weeks ago and then all of a sudden it came back to life. The next awesome thing that is happening is that my tomatoes are growing and sprouting. I don’t have any to eat yet but I’m excited! Even if it doesn’t get ripe I won’t be mad. I just wish that I had planted them earlier However, despite the good things I think I’m going to let my cucumber plant die. I took off the mesh covering because the rope that was keeping it together broke. While I’m glad that it sprouted one good cucumber I think I’m going to let this plant die out and just replant it next season.

Over all I think I did okay for my first season of gardening. I’ve learned a lot of tips and tricks. I’m already starting to plan out our garden for next spring.

Our gardening Journey week 15

September 12, 2021September 13, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So this post this week is going to be sort of a reflection post. In the past few weeks I’ve come across a YouTuber named James prigioni. You could say that I’ve been inspired by the knowledge of his food Forrest. Well, this past week he inspired me in showing that even he can make mistakes or have problems as someone that has been growing his own food for years. We are all human and constantly learning.

Over the course of this past summer I’ve learned a lot about what I can improve on with growing my garden. For one thing don’t keep on transplanting plants or fertilizing them too early cause they may die faster. That’s a mistake that I did twice and my basil suffered because of that. I’ve also learned to properly trim my cucumber plant so that I can get a good harvest. I learned that one this past week. I’ve also learned that even though it looks half dead that it can still have a comeback like my green bean plant. I’m still getting a good harvest out of my green beans. I love growing my own vegetables and I love blogging about it. One thing that James prigioni taught me is that no matter if you are an amateur gardener like me or have lots of experience like him that mistakes and disappointment happens.

This is what my green bean plant looks like now. now is really pumping out green beans!

This is what my cucumber plant looked like a few weeks ago. Since then I have really trimmed back my plant.

Overall, I really do enjoy it. It’s something that I take pride in and I hope to someday to inspire people to garden themselves. If you don’t know who James is and have not seen any of his videos then please go to his channel on YouTube.

Our gardening Journey week 12 and 13

September 2, 2021September 2, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Ok so since I kinda missed last weeks update I’ve decided to combine this weeks and last weeks updates. A lot has happened since I’ve last blogged. I’ve learned that I’m good in some areas and I kinda suck in others.

Onto the good parts. Well, let’s just say that my green bean plant came back from the dead and now it’s thriving! I’m having so many green beans growing it’s crazy. It’s fuller and thicker. Also a very shocking surprise that I had today was that I had my first cucumber grow! I checked it out the other day and I must have missed it. I do have lots of little ones towards the top but they aren’t growing as well. It tasted very sweet and my husband agrees that it was a very good cucumber. My other plants are growing very well outside too. I have a small variety growing outside that has grown a lot this week. I thinned them out last week so I think that helped a lot.

Even though I had some positives happen this week I also had a major blow happen. I ended up losing my remaining basil plants. I think it had something to do with the fertilizer. It was a good run while I had them but I still have more seeds for more basil plants in the future.

Overall, this has been so much fun for me to do as a hobby. Slowly I’m learning more and more about gardening. It feels great to know that That at least I know what I’m putting into my own body food wise. I think I’ve come a long way with gardening and this is something that I’m going to continue doing.

Our Gardening Journey week 11

August 16, 2021August 18, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I have so many things to update you guys on. I have had both good and bad things happen over the course of the week. This week has been a whirl wind of things going on.

So to start off with the bad. I think that I may not be using the fertilizer right or maybe my plants just don’t like it. Every time I fertilize my plants die a few days after. I’ve already lost a basil plant. My plants outside are doing fine but it’s my indoor plants. Not only did that happen but I accidentally killed my large tomato’s. I made the mistake of not putting them in a pot with drainage holes. All the rain last week killed them. I’m so mad at myself for doing that. Also, if your probably wondering why I didn’t post anything last Wednesday it’s because I was sick for a couple of days. No it wasn’t covid and I know this because I was tested. Now I’m okay and almost feeling 100% myself.

Ok so onto the good. Where to start is the question. Well, let’s see my cucumber plant is doing really good so far. No cucumbers but is it growing like crazy. It’s flowering like crazy now. The next awesome thing that is happening is that I’ve got more green beans growing. I’ve seen a difference with those ever since I put the netting on. The new leaves are not as eaten up as the others. I think it took literally a few days for the leaves to be eaten up without the netting on at the beginning. Literally my mouth dropped this week when I saw the green bean plants. The leaves have come back to life and they aren’t half eaten. I don’t think that I will get a lot of green beans this year so I’m probably going to use the seeds for next years harvest.

So what is new around here you ask? You can kinda say that I got bit by this thing called the gardening bug. I ended up also sowing some new vegetables and herbs into my garden this past weekend. I’ve also become inspired by watching some YouTube videos of people who grow everything in their garden and have become somewhat self sustainable. My goal is to cut down on grocery costs. I’m also trying to get my husband, the accountant, into it as well. For one thing I think once he sees that it will make a difference in the long term then he will be more involved. Plus I think it’s a good hobby for us to do both together and eventually with our son. However, I also like the fact that it gets me focused on something other than just being a working mom. I don’t have to think about work and it is relaxing for me after putting my son down for bed. Plus it counts as a workout for me too.

So what new crops am I growing? Well, since our first frost date is for the end of October I’ve sowed crops that I will be able to harvest in about 75 days or so. I mostly tried to put out crops that we eat like cauliflower, lettuce and carrots and more tomatoes. Yes we have a obsession with tomatoes. We have to have them every Tuesday night for taco Tuesday. However, I did try to plant some crops that we also don’t normally eat as well like radishes. I also put in some new herbs such as oregano as well.

Also, last but not least I’m trying out a little experiment of using sandwich bags as a mini green house to make my super sweet 100 hybrid tomato seeds grow. I’m also thinking of maybe trying this on my basil as well. I still have my jiffy plastic container box started but I ran out of starter pods. I figured hey I have soil and I have all these pots why not do a little experiment.

Overall, I learned some new things this week that are both good and bad. I may not be the best gardener but I do have room to improve. I am determined to get my grocery costs low and to eat a over all healthier diet.

How to harvest and properly store basil?

August 15, 2021August 15, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So as a new gardener I came to this bump in the road and questioning what is the right way to harvest basil? So I’ve scoured the internet and also asked my father on what’s the proper way to harvest and store basil. These are the steps that I’ve learned on how to do just that.

Materials:

Paper towels

Ice water in a bowl or plastic container is fine

Scissors

Gallon size bag

Basil plants

Step 1: Go through your plant and take out all the dead leaves that have fallen on the soil.

Step 2: Start cutting the stems right after the first node of the mature basil. The mature basil will have two big leaves and two small leaves on it like the one in this picture. You want to make sure you harvest the basil before those two little leaves form seeds. Once it starts forming seeds it will die. Doing this will also help encourage new and more growth. You will see more stems growing and sprouting.

The node is right above my thumb. So you want to cut between where my thumb and where the two stems shoot off of the main stem.

Step 3: once you have harvested your basil go through them and take out any leaves that are starting to become diseased. You don’t want to eat those.

Step 4: cut off and discard the stems of your basil.

Step 5: take your leaves and run them under water to take off any soil or critters that may still be on them. Pat them as dry as you can get them with paper towels