Our garden Journey season 2 week 11 and 12

April 9, 2022April 13, 2022 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Ok so I know that I haven’t been giving very many blog updates lately. It’s not that I don’t want to but it’s that things around here have been touch and go with the weather here. Georgia weather doesn’t want to make up its mind weather to be hot or cold around here. I do have a few updates though when it comes to our garden area/ space and also what plants have made it this far with the wacky weather that we have in the south.

The first update that I have for you all is that I have finally built our second raised garden bed. I’m going to have so much more space now for my transplant crops this year! Im going to start transplanting more crops in this next week. I’ve also have to order more supplies for my drip irrigation system. Those drip irrigation kits that they sell on Amazon are kinda a rip off because then you will realize that you actually don’t have the right sized tubing that you actually need for the system to actually work. So then you end up spending more money than you were anticipating. I think I will do a future post of how I set up my drip irrigation system.

The second thing that I wanted to talk about is the fact that I’ve kinda lost a few more plants from the freeze that we had this past week. I’m so bummed about it but hey you can’t control everything. I might have to replant some winter squash outside. I’ve tried to record some short clips of the garden to show you all too. I do think however learning about the weather in your area and the frost dates is a great way to learn from your mistakes and to either not plant so early or try to find other methods of covering your crops for those freezing nights. Now I know for next year to start my indoor seedings in March rather than February too.

So as a recap of everything that has happened I think I’ve learned these past two weeks some pretty important things on how to not kill your plants faster. Im all about learning from my past mistakes because I’m only human. If you would like to join me on my journey and learn a little bit about growing your own food then please subscribe to my blog down below or follow my YouTube channel!

Our Garden Journey season 2 week 8

March 16, 2022March 16, 2022 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So this week might be a week where I don’t know if all my crops out side will survive. If your wondering why my blog this week is written a little weird then it’s because I’m trying to write it day by day at least for this week. We have had some pretty weird weather happen this week in the good old south!

So if you guys don’t already know I live in Georgia. Not the country the state that is in the USA. If you are from Georgia then you know that the weather is bipolar. One day it’s warm and in the 60’s then the next day it’s in the 30’s and you see sleet in the forecast. Let’s just say that no farmer, homesteader or hobby gardener liked that little surprise in the forecast. Now I did do some preparation to kinda help it. I don’t think I did enough but something is better than nothing right? Well, I did put a covering on my plants outside with what I could find in my garage. I did find a thin blanket sheet that was super long and I put that on my raised garden bed outside. I also extended a ground cover that was already on the hill over to where my plants are. If I would have been more prepared then I would have bought some plastic wrap from the grocery store like this one guy did in my neighborhood. Yes he literally wrapped his whole front garden in it. Last but not least I just covered my smaller raised bed with the plastic from my garden soil. That last one flew off the bed already. As you can see from the pictures below that I got a little creative with pinning everything down. Also, I should mention that my husband and I tried moving that smaller raised bed but it is too heavy.

Now I usually do my gardening on the weekends because I work a normal 9-5 kind of job during the week. I decided to do my gardening on Sunday this time around because on Saturday as you all know at this point we had a freeze. I decided to video document my experience of the morning after. I’ve got to say that I’m not sure that everything will survive but I’m hoping so. The top soil was fine but digging deeper into the soil it was a little bit rock hard. For this week, I planted flowers, herbs and vegetables outside. I planted red knight marigolds, mixed marigolds, winter and summer squash, and parsley. I also transplanted cauliflower and cabbage too. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will still get a good harvest this year.

The last thing that I did was I also planted some new seedlings indoors. I’m supper excited about these because these are the fruits that we eat the most in my house during the summer. We planted Georgia rattlesnake watermelon and cantaloupe. I also planted some varieties of cucumbers as well. I know I sucked at growing them last year but I wanted to give them another chance this year.

So far this year I’m still hopeful that it will be a great harvest year despite the little set back of the below freezing weather we had this past weekend. I’m hoping a lot of the seeds that I’ve planted outside will pull through. My goal for this year is to not only grow as much food as I can but also eat healthier and also to save on some costs and lower our grocery bill too. Please like share and subscribe to my blog. Comment down below if you guys think I should start a YouTube channel!

Our garden journey season 2 week 5!

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

Here we are at week 5 and boy oh boy do I have a lot to tell you guys! I have some changes that are going on in my garden from upgrades that I’ve made and some landscaping that I’ve done. I’m so excited to tell you guys so let’s get started.

The first thing that I’ve done is worked a little bit more on the hill. I’ve cleared out a good section of it. While it is a big project to work on I know that I can get a majority of it done my summer if I work on clearing it out on the weekends. I’ve taken pictures of my progress so far of before and after. As you can see in the pictures below I’ve decided to start from the top and work my way down. My thinking is that instead of growing fruits and vegetables all over it I may put a lot of flowers and attract pollinators and put my fruits and veggies somewhere else.

Which comes to my second point. I’ve finally come to a point where I bought a huge 8 foot raised garden bed. I think I’m going to buy another one in the next few weeks. It was easy for me to put together as a woman on my own. It took me about 45 minutes with one mess up. It only took me that long because I was screwing in the screws and bolts by hand. (I was too lazy to grab a screwdriver) I’ve also took some cardboard that I was going to put in composter and I put that at the bottom of the bed. It wasn’t super hard to put together but it was very time consuming.

Lastly, I wanted to update you guys on seedlings that are started to emerge outside. I finally have two lettuce plants emerging, some radishes and a carrot coming out. I am ecstatic about it. I was a little bit nervous that my lettuce seeds that I planted on the hill had washed out from all the rain we have had but nope they did not! One tip that I’m going to give you guys and I do this with both my seeds inside and outside when first planting is that after I put the seeds in the ground is I will water them with warm water. I do this because in February the ground here is sill on the colder side so it helps the seeds germinate.

My one little carrot that is growing. This type is called Nantes half long

One of my lettuce black seeds that sprouted

These are both of my lettuce black seeds that sprouted.

Overall, I’m pretty ecstatic with what I’m growing. I just hope that I have a good outcome of crops for this year. Like I’ve said that my goal for this year is to cut down on cost of our groceries and that my goal for next year is to hopefully start my own farmers market business. At least that’s what I want to do in the next two years. I think with all the supply chain issues that more and more people are going to start producing and selling locally.

Our gardening Journey week 3

February 10, 2022February 10, 2022 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So this weeks post is going to be a little bit short. We haven’t had a whole lot of changes this week other than one major one. I only made one major change with our plants this week only because 2 out of the 3 of us have been sick. My son and I both got some kind of weird cold virus. Yes I was tested and no it’s not covid.

What’s is the major change you ask? Well, I’ve finally caved in and I bought grow lights. It’s been 3 days and I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not but I have had more seeds sprouting in the last three days. When I say a lot of seeds I really do mean it. So far a lot of my pollinator flowers like my purple cone flowers, sweet William and John jump ups have sprouted. I also have some jalapeños and sweet peppers that have sprouted too. These grow lights that I bought are ones that have a timer so that it will automatically go on and off by itself. I personally like it because I don’t have to manually do it. I think I didn’t want to buy them buy them at first because of the extra costs and also the issue of where I would put them. In the end it all worked out and I managed to fix up a spot in a closet under our stairs.

Overall even though this week has been kind of a cruddy week for me physically I’m happy that I made that changed with germinating my seeds. I know I keep on saying this but I’m so excited to be starting our growing season! Also please don’t forget to follow and sign up for our news letter down below!

Our Garden Journey week 2

February 3, 2022February 3, 2022 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So for this weeks post I’m going to update you guys on what items I bought to prepare for this garden season, what I started to seed this week and what problems that I’m having with my plants that I’m trying to fix. I bought some new items that I figured out that I needed to have a successful garden season this year. I not only took pictures but I took some short video clips as well.

The first thing that I bought was more planting cells. I decided to go with a pack of 5 containers that have 72 cells each. One advice that I will give you is if you are looking on Amazon to make sure that you are looking at suppliers that are not sketchy. I’ve noticed that the quality of sellers and product is going downhill. You want planters that have good reviews. The ones that I have are so far going ok with the seeds that I planted so far. I also bought a composter this year to make my own organic soil. I buy so much stuff from Amazon that I figured that I could compost some of those boxes. I think investing in a composter was a good investment. For one thing it will help keep down the cost of soil. I also bought a soil tester too. All I’ve got to say is that I’ve had it for two days and I really do think it’s going to help. If you keep on reading I will explain why later on.

I’ve started planting my seeds for my garden now. Mostly all of them are brand new seeds that I’ve never grown before. The seeds that I’ve started are:

Rosemary
Jalapeños
Oregano
Sweet peppers
Bell peppers
Spearmint
Snap dragon
Sweet William
Purple cone flower
Jonny jump up
Lavender
African daisy

I’m really excited to start growing flowers and food this year as you can tell. Every day when I get home one of the first things I will do is go check out the seedlings. Right now I only have one rosemary seeding that already seeded. I tried taking a picture of it for the blog but it didn’t come out too good. I also have a couple of pear plants growing too. One major problem that I’m trying to fix with the pear plants is trying to keep them from dying after I transplant them. I bought a soil tester probe to test out the soil and while I think it is a great product so far I, however, don’t think that I can save my pears from dying at this point. From the research that I’ve done is that pears love acidic soil and my PH balance in my soil is too high. I tried saving my pears from dying by putting vinegar in the soil. I think by doing that I either may have not done it right or I should have not put it in at all. If you have any suggestions on how I can save my pear transplants please let me know in the comments below! After all I think that whether your a beginner gardener or not you are constantly learning from your mistakes and learning how to improve.

Overall, I’m so excited on gardening this year! I know I have a lot to learn about gardening still but I’m hoping to somewhat sustain my family off of the food that I’m growing. Don’t forget to like share and subscribe to get weekly updates!

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!

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.

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 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.

Why I’ve decided to put my toddler in school during a pandemic.

September 5, 2021September 2, 2021 by alexa parisi ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

So before the pandemic, actually, long before the pandemic I used to be a certified lead Montessori guide. I had to stop teaching due to some health issues and make a career shift. However, that’s a story for another day though. Anyways my husband and I always talked about putting our son in school from a young age way before he was born and this pandemic hit. I’ve always wanted him to go to school at a young age because of the benefits of social interactions at a young age.

You might say that he is too young or that you should have someone watch him. Or that you don’t think that he should be in school because of the pandemic. Well, right now we do have someone watching him but because he hasn’t been around many kids we still decided to put him in school. For us we had to weigh out the pros and cons.

For a lot of mommas like me this isn’t a easy decision. For some it maybe because they have no childcare while they work. For others it might be the one time of day where they can have time to themselves. You might also say that you shouldn’t put him in school cause of the new variants. Well, news flash you can’t predict where a virus will be and you certainly can’t shelter kids for the rest of their lives. I know that he will thrive in school because of this pandemic he has had to live a chunk of his life a tad bit sheltered. This pandemic has taken away from him meeting many family members and interacting with friends his age. I know that him being in school will have a huge impact on his learning. He will learn many new things and I know that he will make many new friends. As a past Montessori guide I know that a huge benefit to having him in school this young is that it will make him more socially mature.

All throughout this pandemic I’ve worried what will this do to his learning and mental health of staying sheltered. I’m worried what kind of toll this pandemic will take on him in the future. I’ve listed out the pros and cons of having him start school so young. Both my husband and I know that starting him this early as a toddler in school is the best for him. We didn’t make this decision lightly but at the same time we have seen how he interacts with people and we don’t want him to have social anxiety because of this pandemic. I feel that it is important that every parent should make the best decision for their child and not be shamed for it.

I know that this post seems like it’s all over the place with my thoughts about putting my child in school. I just wanted to get my thoughts out their and say that it’s ok to put your child in school or do virtual. You have to do what is best for your child and your family. Like many others I’m so tired of this pandemic and I’m ready to go back to some sense of normalcy.

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