Gardening – Page 2 – Unlikely Martha

Food• Gardening

Easy Steps to Starting a Garden

March 12, 2018

If you follow me on Instagram, you know there has been a lot of chatter about houseplants and now that I’ve managed to amass most of my dream houseplants it’s now time for me to turn my attention outdoors. The weather here hasn’t completely broken but it is definitely time to start seeds indoors for vegetables that have a long germination time , tomatoes and peppers specifically.

I’ve had people ask me a few questions about gardening and while I’m not an expert by far, I’ve had some success and would like to point you to a few posts that will get you on your way if you are interested in trying your hand at growing your own food.

Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive, that handful of kale in the picture above is the flower child born from a $.25 pack of Dollar Tree seeds. If you’ve never gardened before I suggest starting with containers. While they require more attention, particularly when it comes to watering they are the least expensive way to get a feel for gardening before you invest the big bucks into boxes and dirt.

If you are impatient and prefer not to start from seed, Home Depot and Lowe’s are now stocking starter plants and while a little more on the expensive side if you need instant gratification this is the route to go. Keep your eyes peeled because they will often mark them down 3 for $10 and that’s a great price.

There is so much information to cover about gardening that MJ and I are planning to do a fun FB or IG live giving you our tips and tricks, taking a few questions and giving you some resources to help you on your journey. We’ll let you know the exact date and time so be on the look out.

In the meantime here are a few posts I’ve done about gardening to hold you over. If you have any questions please leave them in the comment section and we will be sure to address them in the live!

Starting a garden for $10

Dollar Tree Garden Essentials

Container Gardening Tips

My first year raised bed gardening

by Mimi

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Gardening• Living

Garden Progress

April 18, 2017

Generational characteristics and tendencies venture far beyond our DNA makeup and clearly cross into interests. Just as photography seemingly snuck it’s way into my life so has my interest in gardening.

I grew up around photography and plants and somehow those things never really interested me until I crossed over into my early to mid thirties and now I can’t get enough. My mother and aunts always had large plants around, and my father would work in his yard from sun up to sun down.

I. Am. Becoming. My. Parents.

For the past few years I’ve tinkered with container gardening, not really knowing if I was ready to take the leap and spend the money to build an actual garden. This year I decided was the time to jump both feet in to this gardening life.

Proud to announce that all of the Dollar Tree seeds that I purchased on my Dollar Tree haul germinated leaving me with quite a few plants that were ready to be transplanted.

March 23

March 28

April 1

April 7

April 12

Where to put the garden was the number one question. Our yard slopes downward so finding an area that was fairly level was a bit of a challenge seeing the only logical place was covered with large tree branches. For nearly a week I tracked the sun light and decided since that area gets the afternoon direct sun it might not be a bad idea.

Friday, after spending nearly 6 hours outside I managed to make some headway.

I had been contemplating building a fence but briefly settled on using natural fence methods until my husband kept making jokes that the rogue stray/neighborhood cat would come, scratch up my dirt and pee. That was enough for me to come to the conclusion that I needed a fence.

On Sunday, my husband and I set out to make that happen. We have created the most bootleg of fences with 2 packs of 28″ X 25′ rabbit wire and 16 wood stakes for about $70

The fence is still not finished and because I am still deciding on whether to add another box or not the area is not completed but this is currently where we are.

I took to Pinterest and decided to DIY a garden trellis for my string beans and peas.

I used:

4 bamboo sticks @ $4.28 for a pack of 6

Dollar Tree twine @ $1 for 3 separate rolls

I tied a knot on each corner and used a figure 8 movement to connect the sticks together with the twine before sticking the stakes in the ground. Once the four sticks were connected I took the remaining twine and wrapped it around the top and bottom bamboo sticks before knotting it in place.

Hopefully I’ll be back next week with the finished product.

If you are into gardening or want to start join the Facebook group We Sow We Grow. The group has been invaluable in answering questions and giving advice.

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by Mimi

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Gardening• Video

Start Your Garden with 5 Simple Dollar Tree Essentials

March 22, 2017

When I tell you there is nothing like planting a seed in the dirt and seeing something grow from it. I had never likened myself to be the gardening type until I planted something and it grew!

Since then, the countdown to early Spring is real. The past few years I have strictly stuck to container gardening but I am looking to branch out into square foot gardening this year.

To get my seedlings started I picked up a few items from Dollar Tree. Whether you are going to grow in containers or in a bed it’s a good idea to start seeds indoors early.

There are so many resources to offer you help if you feel like you have a brown thumb that you want to grow into a green one. I’ve recently joined the We Sow, We Grow Facebook group and am loving the community as it is a mashup of newbie and seasoned gardeners connecting to offer support and answer questions.

If you are halfway interested in starting a garden and don’t want to spend a ton of money here are a few items you can get for less than $10 to get your garden started.

Seeds At your local store seeds can cost upwards of $2 per pack. At Dollar Tree you can grab them 4 for $1. The selection isn’t huge but for the basics this is a great start.

Weed Barrier Since I am square foot gardening with boxes, I will need to lie down a weed barrier. These are just $1 a pack compared to $4.99 and above. The size is about 4″ X 8″, perfect for smaller spaces. My boxes will be 4″ X 4″ so this is perfect.

Plant Labels When you plant your seedlings, you want to make sure you remember what you planted, these are great for marking seedlings. I’ve seen these go for about $5 at Target. If they happen to be sold out, popsicle craft sticks work just as well.

Pots We won’t even get into how much pots can cost. They add up quickly. Bought quite a few for my lettuce and herbs. While plastic and not the prettiest, they will certainly get the job done.

Garden Gloves For $1 these things are clutch. I’ve had my pair since last year. The underside is made of latex to keep your hands from feeling water or wet dirt. Grab a few of these.

Dirt is the only item not on this list. I don’t suggest picking that up from Dollar Tree but instead heading out to a garden center for soil that has been enriched with the nutrients and fertilizer seedlings need to grow strong.

If you haven’t a clue of what to do next after gathering your supplies this post and this post will help you out.

If you want to see me talk you through this Dollar Tree haul, click below!

Are you into gardening? If so, what are you growing?

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by Mimi

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Featured• Gardening

how to start a garden with $10

February 24, 2016

I jumped into gardening in 2014 when we purchased this home. Not being sure if it was something I would be totally interested in, I opted to have a container garden instead of having my husband dig an in ground one and get Treequote.com in to remove some of the trees out back. Unfortunately due to the slope in our backyard and an overabundance of shade in the areas where the land is flat I’ve decided to upgrade to square foot gardening this year.

Now don’t get me wrong, over the years I’ve accumulated tons of tools, ranging from a backpack blower (read backpack blower reviews here), a lawn mower, tons of different seeds, gloves and just general equipment. But, I didn’t start that way.

We are currently in that funny phase of weather where the days are warmer but the nights are still a little cold and we can’t write off one last frost. I’m sure it’s like this in other parts of the world but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a head start on your garden by starting your seeds indoors.

With $10 or less you can start your seedlings with just a few items that you can pick up from your local big box retailer or home improvement store.

You will need:

seeds { $1.29 – 3.29 per pack}
aluminum pan { 2 for $1 at Dollar Tree}
peat pellets { approx. $3.50 for 36 }
water

Start with laying the peat pellets at the bottom of the aluminum pan. Do not crowd them, once you add water they expand

Once they are all laid out, pour water into the corner of the pan. and wait for the pellets to swell. They will grow to about an inch in height.

Once they have grown, peel some of the netting back, take a toothpick and lift the dirt a little bit, drop the seeds in and lightly cover them. Only add about three seeds. You will eventually thin them out, at this point you just want to make sure you have some germinate.

After you have planted the seeds, empty the water from the pan. You do not want the peat pellets to sit in water.

Now it is time to watch them grow. Lettuce will germinate within 3-5 days. Now you want to make sure your seedlings get light. I have put mine under a grow light to ensure they get a good start. I’ll be back next week to show you how to make your grow light for around $10.

Happy Gardening until next week.

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by Mimi

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