Grow Boxes are Working!

So those Grow Boxes that I bought this year are actually pulling their weight... and then some!

Today, after 2 days of not going in the garden (thanks, rain), I was able to harvest this:

And last week, one day I hauled in this:

     I was excited because it was my first white eggplants EVER.  Had to explain to my son, Kai, however... that while it was an EGGplant, that they were not eggs from the chickens.  Nope, still waiting for them to start laying.  The confusion about eggs and eggplants had me laughing, though!

     Will keep you posted on the Grow Boxes, and as I said... will give a final review at the end of the growing season.  Thusfar, I'm pretty impressed.  Dealing with a bit of powdery mildew on my cucumber plant (first time I've tried this kind of cucumber instead of my regular "burpless" kind), so I'm not sure if it's a result of the Grow Boxes or my inexperience with this type.  Might try giving it another whirl if the season lasts and I have to rip this other plant out.  We'll see!

Custom Chameleon and Garden Tomatoes

     I love working with clay.  It's almost therapeutic when your kids finally go down for a nap and you just get the time to be creative and feel as though you've actually accomplished something for the day.  (Same can be said for sewing, crocheting, or working on whatever craft floats your boat.)

     I was recently contacted by a customer interested in placing an order for a few ornaments.  One of the ornaments she requested was a custom piece that would be based on her child's art project.  When I saw the picture, I was super stoked and ready to tackle the project.  GREAT colors, I love chameleons, and it looked like it would be a fun challenge.  What a fun idea!

    The finished product turned out really neat.  I was nervous about getting the coloring right, but after a few coats of paint, it was finally as vibrant as I wanted it to turn out. 

       For this project, I used Sculpey Studio clay, acrylic paint, fine-point paint brushes, satin glaze, metal wire (for the ornament loop) and bonding agent (to secure the loop so it wouldn't come out).  If you want your paint to come out really bright, be sure to put more than one coat on there.  I also double-glaze my pieces for extra protection.

     On an unrelated note, the Grow Boxes are still doing their duty!  Our cherry tomatoes are starting to come in.  We picked these today and have about 40-50 more that are still green on the vine.  Pepper plants, zucchini, and cucumber have also been producing like crazy.  I love home-grown veggies.

Grow Boxes, DIY Mason Bee House, and Chickens... Oh My!

      I love Spring!  Last week was Spring Break and I was able to get a lot done.  Travis also got back and was able to help me move the dirt that I needed, so we're all set and ready for the growing season!

     "Life's a garden, dig it."  -Joe Dirt

     This year, instead of doing raised beds (we moved into a rental house and I really didn't want to mess up the great lawn that they had put in), I decided to go with a container garden.  I set up the Grow Boxes (the ones found at The Garden Patch) in March, but because Travis was gone and I'm pregnant, I waited to fill them with dirt until he was able to come home and help.  This past Friday, I filled up the boxes and got all the plants in. 

     I purchased the big bags of potting mix (2.5 cu feet each) and one bag will fill up 2 boxes.  You have to fill them as full as possible, saturate the potting mix, fill again (if needed), and then put your fertilizer pad/cover on top.

     This is how they turned out:

Close-up of the Grow Box.  (Additional fasteners added.  Explained below.)

     As far as the initial setup, it really wasn't hard at all. It took awhile because I did all ten at once, but the steps are clearly laid out in the directions. 

     Regarding plants and garden layout, I had drawn out a plan ahead of time before even setting it all up.  The instructions let you know how many plants you can fit per box, so I wrote down a list of what I wanted, figured where I wanted it to go, and then bought the plants I had planned on at the same time I picked up the dirt.

     I will say that one "con" of the Grow Box has got to be the spikes they give you to hold down the fertilizer pads.  They just will not cut it.  When you plant your plants, you have to cut into the pad to get the plant under its designated "number".  (Explained in the directions.  The numbers ensure proper spacing of your plants if you plant multiple ones in a box.)  If you use the spikes included... some of which were missing when I originally set up my Grow Boxes.... they just won't be enough and the fertilizer cover will curl up and just not stay in place.  To fix this, I purchased "fabric and garden staples" that you can find in the landscape fabric section of a home improvement store.  These "u-shaped" pins work great for tacking down the fertilizer cover.  No issues after that.

     It's only been a few days and I can already see that the plants have grown a bit.  They're going to be huge if they continue like this.

     Oh, speaking of "huge", my son brought home a "Mega Cabbage" from school.  Bonnie plants has a scholarship program for 3rd graders, that whomever grows the largest mega cabbage in the state will earn a $1,000 scholarship.  We're going to give it a shot. 

Here was the cabbage last Wednesday...

And here it was today....

     Somehow, I don't think the pot is going to be big enough.  Maybe a kiddie swimming pool?  Agh!

     Alright, so in addition to the Grow Boxes and the mega cabbage, I wanted to put in a Mason Bee house.  Some of you may have heard about Colony Collapse Disorder and how it is negatively affecting honey bees.  Honey bees play a huge role in pollinating plants and with colonies disappearing at a rapid rate, pollination has become a serious issue in certain places.  I read an article about Mason Bees and how they are resistant to CCD.  These bees are also non-aggressive and fantastic pollinators, which makes them even more desirable in a garden environment. 

     I did a few Google searches and finally decided on a design that I wanted to go with.  In the end, I came up with this...

     It was really easy to do once I had all the stuff.  Remember, there are multiple ways to achieve the same goal.  Some of the stuff that I used is interchangable with something similar.  (For example, I used a circular saw and a jigsaw.  However, a table saw would have worked as well.  I used a drill with a long spade bit.  If you have a drill press, you could possibly use that.  Beware, I will be jealous of your drill press.  *laughs*)  I am still new to the whole wood-working thing, so if you know of a better way to achieve the same result, by all means... go for it!  Then let me know so I can use the tidbits in future projects.  ;)

Supplies You'll Need 
ALL LUMBER SHOULD BE UNTREATED
1- 2" x 6" x 8' board cut into 1' sections.  (This was the smallest size board they had and I only used half of it.  You'll still have a 4' section left when you're finished.)
1 small piece of thin plywood
1" thick dowel cut to 6" long
Circular saw (table saw or miter saw works too.  I also used a jigsaw for the plywood, but the circular or table would work instead if you wanted to use those.)
Drill with long 3/8" spade bit (Mine was 16" long)
Various sized drill bits (that are close to your nail and screw sizes but a tad smaller) will also come in handy, but I always just eyeball it.
Wood glue
Clamps
4 Super-short nails (about 1")
2 Short nails (about 1 1/2")
8 Super-short screws (about 1")
2 long screws (about 3")
Tape measure
Pencil
Sandpaper
Parchment Paper
Protective Wood Stain and brush to apply it with

Step 1- Cut your 2" x 6" x 8' board so you have four 1' sections.  You'll still have half of your board left over, set it aside.

Getting ready to cut.

Step 2- Mark your holes.  I marked mine 1" apart with my tape measure and a pencil.  Drill through your four 1' sections of 2" x 6" boards width wise using your long 3/8" spade bit.

Step 3- Sand down any really rough areas.  Then, line the boards up the way you want them to be, put wood glue in between the boards, clamp them and let them sit. Once the baords are dry, then you can coat them with wood finish.  (When I did it, I did it backwards and made it harder than it had to be.  Instead, I finished certain areas of the boards, THEN glued them.  It still came out okay, but it would have been easier to finish them AFTER they had been glued.)  Don't worry if the tops are a little "off".  The roof will cover that up.  Just make sure that when you clamp them, the sides and bottoms are nicely lined up or it'll be wonky.

Step 4-  Nail wooden dowel onto the top, about 1/2" forward from the back edge.  Use the two short ( about 1 1/2") nails.  If you want to make it easier, drill a small hole through where you want the nails to be.  It'll make it easier to nail them in and help you keep your sanity.  Now, you can also line your holes with parchment paper.  Cut the parchment pieces so they stick out about 1" on the back side of the bee box.  My parchment papers were about 7" long (not exact... guesstimating works) and about 3" wide.  Roll the papers length-wise around a pencil and push the pencil into the hole.  Tapping the edges of the paper tube roll helps it to expand and the pencil will come out more easily.

Dowel and parchment paper in place

Side view of paper sticking out the back but flush in the front.



Step 5-  Cut a 7" x 15" piece of plywood for the back and a 7" x 8" piece for the sloping roof.  Fold the 1" long "tail" pieces of parchment paper down (make sure they're pointing down so any rain or debris that may sneak in any cracks or crevices will flow down and away), and then secure the back to the main bee box part by running 4 super short screws along the bottom (one into each board for added stability) a little off of the edge.  Then, run 4 more super short screws through the back along the top into each board.

Click to view larger.  (I'm sorry my "Paint" skills are atrocious.)

Step 6- In the last step, you will use your 4 super short nails to nail the roof to the top.  Two of the nails should be just behind the face of the box, and the other two should go into the dowel.  Use your two long screws to put it up on a fence or pole and you're done!

     Lastly in this post, my family and I headed over to Tractor Supply and came home with these little cuties.  (The chicks, not the kids.  As far as I know, Tractor Supply does not keep children in stock.)  :)

     I'm glad I got to practice on the Mason Bee house before I take on a chicken coop.  *whistles*  That's going to be an interesting one.  I'll let you guys know how it works out. 

    Oh, the chickens' names are Perry (after Perry the Platypus), Eva (from Wall-E), Ballerina (that's Scarlett's chicken), Wanda (Travis' choice), Bertha and Kiev (my two picks).  Fresh eggs in the future!  Yum.

Hungry Caterpillar Burp Cloths, Grow Boxes, and Printing on Twill Tape.

     Got some burp cloths finished for the baby due in August.  We still don't know if it's a boy or girl, but "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" is awesome in that it's good for either.  Scarlett kept asking why the caterpillar looked sad.  I told her that it was because he ate too much.  Her solution?  "A lollipop will make him feel better."  Yeah, don't think she gets the concept of eating too much.

Also, my Grow Boxes arrived today!  Yes, I fell prey to the evilness of advertising and ordered some out of a magazine.  I did a bit of research on them beforehand, though... and they did have good reviews.   (Reviews that I found independent of the company's website.  Of course the company wouldn't ever say if their product stunk.)
     This is how they looked when they arrived.  (My Fedex guy does NOT like me right now, though I honestly don't think they were THAT heavy.)

I unpacked one box first and these are the pieces that were included. 

Top: Bottom portion of box; Left: fertilizer patches; Right: Top part of Grow Box

     They were super easy to set up.  I got all ten finished in about half an hour by putting them together, assembly-line style.  Once they were done, I moved them to their spot in the backyard.  I did discover that the ground isn't as flat as I thought.  So before I add the potting mix, I'm going to either:

a.)  Pull out my shovel and dig into the ground to level it a bit.

-or-

b.)  Prop the front up with scrap lumber, bricks, or something else. 

     I'm not too keen on the athestics of option b, so I'm going to give "a" a shot first.  Here they are, all lined up and ready to be filled with dirt (after they've been leveled to my satisfaction).

     Finally, the last project I've worked on was my attempt to make twill-tape clothing labels.  An epic fail if ever there was one, however, the technique is definitely good for other things.  These did not hold up in the wash, even after attempting to heat seal the ink with an iron.  The ink disappeared completely and the ends frayed.  Talk about a letdown.  I was trying to stay away from heat-transfer labels because I'd read that they frayed, but... oh well.

     However, if you wanted to use this to print your own custom ribbon to embellish small boxes, cards, what-have-you.  It would definitely work for that... as long as you don't plan on it ever being washed. 

The labels-

1/2" x 2"

The process-

     Step 1- Open up a Word document and put your logo image in there (you can adjust the size, then just select the image, hit CTRL+C then CTRL+V to copy repeatedly).  Space it how you want it.

     Step 2-  Print.  Take note of how your printer prints and how the paper is loaded so you can print again easily in Step 5.

     Step 3-  Put double-sided tape directly over the printing.  (I did not try this in landscape format, only portrait... I don't know how it would work in landscape, but I may give it a shot to see if I can increase the length of uninterrupted printing.)

     Step 4- Place twill tape (or satin ribbon, or similar item you would like to print) directly over the double-sided tape... pressing firmly to secure.  If you want to check placement, hold the paper up to a window or light source and see how it lines up.  Looking at the backside will help you to see your logo more clearly and the shadow of the twill or ribbon will show the placement.

Add twill or ribbon and press firmly.

     Step 5- Print.  Make sure you know which way your printer prints so you can send the paper through the same way it originally went through.

     Step 6.  Cut and fray check the ends to make sure they don't unravel.

      Use as desired.