Garden 2024 

Final Update

The gardening season has ended for me.  All the plants have been pulled up except for the marigolds.  I have started burying compost in the garden and then covering that section with cardboard.  Eventually, the whole garden area will have compost buried in it and cardboard covering it.  Why cardboard?  It helps to keep the weeds down.  When fall arrives and the leaves fall, I will have the raked up leaves scattered on top of the cardboard. 

This section has compost buried in it and the cardboard on top helps me to remember where I buried the compost.

So pretty!

Here's how the garden did this year:

Kale – harvested it 4 times

Red Leaf Lettuce – harvested it 9 times

Romaine – harvested it 7 times

Just a sample of the different lettuces that were picked in a single harvest.  Enjoyed quite a few salads!

Onions – 4 small onions plus a few that were more like scallions or leeks

Corn – 5 small deformed ears (but the chickens loved them)

Cucumbers – 1

Eggplant – none

Green beans – 721 – it was a banner year for green beans!

Bell Peppers – 36

Potatoes – 2 very tiny (not edible)

Pumpkins – none

Tomatoes (beefsteak) – 28

Cherry Tomatoes – 706 – a banner year for cherry tomatoes too!

Watermelon – 2 medium sized and 5 small (the chickens didn’t care!)

I have learned some things along the way:

Corn – plant 4 or 5 rows instead of 2 (I had them planted in 2 rows) – this will make for better pollination

Cucumbers – add nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to soil

Eggplant – put mint planters all around the plants to help deter aphids and ants

Onions – find a better quality of bulbs and plant them a little bit deeper

Bug issues:  I did have a problem with the tomato hornworm but I was able to keep it under control.  I also discovered that bugs don’t like mint plants and I plan to get a lot more to put around the garden.  They will be in planters, otherwise the mint will take over the garden.  I will be researching on how to eliminate aphids and ants so that I don’t have that problem again.  I did have stink bugs on the tomato plants but I was able to keep them under control.  Using the jar filled with soapy water and knocking them into it really worked.  I saw less and less stink bugs and eventually did not see any more.  I also kept any eye out for bug eggs and got rid of any leaves that had them on it.  I put those leaves on the burn pile so that none could survive.  Every day, I walked around the garden to inspect for bugs and the only bugs that beat me were the aphids and ants.  I am determined to win against them!

All in all, I am happy with the veggies I got.  My freezer has green beans, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes to use in the future.  

So, now, I am planning next year’s garden.  I might stick with the veggies that do really well  . . . or not . . .😂 

 

Do You Coupon?

I belong to several frugal groups on Facebook and the one comment that I see over and over is “how do I start couponing”.  I hope this will help you get started.

Back in the “old days”, coupons were plentiful, and stores were in competition with each other to get your business.  Unfortunately, those days are gone.  But there are still ways to get coupons.  Each grocery store typically has a website where you can create an account and choose coupons to use.  When you are ready to check out at the grocery store, you enter your account information, and the coupons will be deducted from your total (as long as you bought the right products that match up to the coupons).  Below is a list of some grocery stores (your area may have different stores) along with their web address.  For other stores not listed below, do a google search to find that particular store and sign up.  Stores like Costco and Sam’s do not have an option for "clipping" online coupons.  But they do have flyers each month to show what is on sale – they call them "coupons", but you do not need coupons to get the sale price.  

Here are the stores in my area with their website links and screen shots.  Not all stores have digital coupons, but they will have their weekly sales ads listed.  This gives you the opportunity to compare prices before you head out to the store.

Publix

Create an account and choose the digital coupons that you want. 

Aldi

Winn-Dixie

Create an account and choose the digital coupons that you want.

Costco

Sam's Club

Walmart

But what about coupons that I can hold in my hand?  The paper kind?  There was a time when the Sunday and Wednesday editions of the newspaper has lots of coupons.  That is no longer the case.  The Sunday newspaper will have a few coupons but if you compare the cost of the newspaper to the value of the coupons that you might use, it is not very cost efficient.  If you buy the Sunday newspaper anyway, then the coupons will be an added bonus (if there are any that you can use).

Here are a couple of websites where you can print out the coupons and take with you to the store.  Note:  Publix allows coupons on their BOGO deals, but I am not sure if the other stores allow it. 

Coupons.com

Print out the ones you want.  There is usually a limit of 2 print outs per coupon.

Proctor & Gamble

Proctor & Gamble have their own coupons that you can print out.

You are not done yet!  After you have done the grocery shopping, there are still ways to save money!  There are various apps that will give you cash and/or gift cards when you upload your receipts.

With the Ibotta app, you accrue cash for various items that they have listed.  You check the items that you buy and then upload the register receipt that has those items on it.

Ibotta  

You can use the same register receipts for Fetch and you do not need to choose items first.  They allow all receipts, and you accrue points towards a gift card.

Fetch

You can also use the same register receipts for MyPoints Magic Receipts, but they need to have specific items on it that you have chosen.

MyPoints Magic Receipts

If you do a lot of online shopping, you may want to check out Rakuten.  You can earn cash with your online purchases.

Rakuten

But wait, there's more!  There are many blogs that will alert you to savings.  One of the ones that I use is Southern Savers.  I can get a “heads up” on what the Publix flyer will be ahead of time.  The sales at my Publix start on a Thursday.  On the Monday before, I can see what will be going on sale and then plan accordingly for when I do my shopping on Thursday.  They also have the sales flyers for stores all over the country including online.

Southern Savers

Another good resource is Facebook.  There are a lot of groups on Facebook that share frugal ideas.  One of my favorites is BUDGETING, SAVING, FRUGAL WAYS, GROCERY HAULS AND HOMEMAKING.  I also like Frugal Living/Ideas/Tips

BUDGETING, SAVING, FRUGAL WAYS, GROCERY HAULS AND HOMEMAKING

Frugal Living/Ideas/Tips

There are also Facebook groups for various stores that will alert you to deals.  

Lastly, there are “Buy Nothing” groups on Facebook.  These groups give away various items for free.  You can get furniture, clothes, household goods and even food.  If you want to see if your area has one, do a search for Buy Nothing City (include your city/town’s name).  It is also a good way to get rid of items that you no longer want and have no interest in selling.

If you are interested in reading more about saving money:

How To Save On Groceries (part 1 of 6 parts):  How to Save on Groceries

Rising Prices – Yikes!:  Rising Prices-Yikes 

The Good Ole Days:  Good Ole Days

Do You Buy Food?:  Do You Buy Food

 

Things are winding down in the garden.  The onions are done – they never got very big – not sure what was going on with them.  I gave up on the eggplants.  First it was aphids.  I killed the aphids and ended up killing the eggplants as well.  Planted more eggplants.  Then the ants moved in.  No matter what I did – cinnamon, diatomaceous earth, soapy water spray, etc – nothing worked so I just pulled them all up.  Finally put down some ant killer (I don’t like using pesticides in the garden – this was a last resort).   

 

The fungus got the pumpkin and cucumber leaves.  I bought some stuff to get rid of it but it didn’t seem to do much.  The plants ended up dying.  I planted more cucumber and pumpkin seeds – not sure if they will do well or not.

The watermelons did not get very big.  There were 2 that were nice and round – a nice size.  The chickens loved them!  The rest were very small but the chickens didn’t mind.

                                        

We are still getting green beans, tomatoes and bell peppers.  So far, I have harvested approximately 520 green beans, 27 regular tomatoes, 656 cherry tomatoes, 8 small onions, 20 bell peppers and 7 watermelons.  I also harvested a bunch of basil and made 3 batches of pesto.  

The green beans filled 10 containers – 9 of them are in the freezer (1 container has been eaten).  I have crushed up a lot of the cherry tomatoes and they are in 4 containers in the freezer.  I also made a jar of pickled cherry tomatoes – something new – not too bad.  Some of the cherry tomatoes went into salads.  For the regular tomatoes, I have enjoyed tomato & mayo sandwiches and BLTs.  Even the chickens have gotten to enjoy some of the tomatoes!  I have 4 containers of bell peppers in the freezer (plus some that have been eaten).

The tomato plants got attacked by hornworms.  Every day I needed to go and pull them off the tomato stems.  I have a mason jar filled with soapy water and the hornworms, caterpillars, stink bugs and bug eggs get dunked into the jar.  I also saw a very unusual bug – the Eastern Leaf Footed bug.  The rest of the garden does not seem to have any bug problems.

The marigolds are so pretty!!  I moved some into the raised planter and one side is doing really well.

As of today (July 27), I trimmed all the dead and bug eaten stems of the tomatoes.  I don’t think the tomatoes will last much longer – although there are still quite a few cherry tomatoes still on the plants.  The regular tomato plants do not have any tomatoes left. 

I have started burying compost into the vacant areas of the garden. I found some info on the internet about trench composting – it is what I do and didn’t know it had a name!  In the spring my hubby will till it all together. 

 

Till the next update . . . happy gardening!

 

As of today (June 17, 2024), here’s what happening in the garden.  The lettuce season is over – just too hot here in Florida.  But I did get quite a few nice salads of red leaf lettuce, kale and romaine for a couple of months.

The red leaf lettuce gave me the most pickings:

Kale – 4/9/24 thru 5/10/24 (last harvest) – 4 pickings

Romaine – 4/9/24 thru 5/22/24 (last harvest) – 7 pickings

Red Leaf – 4/9/24 thru 6/12/24 (last harvest) – 9 pickings

The corn grew tall but the ears didn’t do well.  Picked off the ears (5 small, deformed ears) and gave them to the chickens.  Harvest time:  5/22/24 – 6/1/24.  

Planted more seeds 6/2/24.  Here's how they look today.  I am hoping they will do better in this spot.

One of my potato baskets has failed but I did find 2 potatoes in the bottom (that was a surprise!).  I dumped out the one basket on 6/1/24 and that’s when I found the 2 little potatoes.  (1 was tiny and the other was very small)  

The other basket still has one shoot that is green.  I am hopeful that potatoes are still growing – especially since 2 small potatoes were growing in a basket where the plant had died.

The green beans are definitely over achievers! 

Green beans – started picking 5/11/24 – picked about 300 as of 6/17/24. 

This photo was taken 6/10/24 - I have now filled 7 containers of green beans (most of them are in the freezer) – in addition to the ones that I have already eaten.

The tomatoes are starting to get ripe quicker.  I have already enjoyed one tomato and mayo sandwich plus a few in a salad.  Started picking tomatoes on 6/4/24 – picked 82 (mostly cherry tomatoes) as of 6/17/24.

The tomatoes are hanging over the fence but so far no animal has taken any.

Bell Peppers – started picking on 6/8/24 – picked 5 peppers as of 6/17/24.  I cut up 4 of the peppers and put them in the freezer for now.

Onions:  started picking on 6/10/24 – picked 6 as of 6/16/24.  (they have already been eaten)

Leeks (from last year):  I pulled them all up 5/17/24.  I cut them up and put them in the freezer.

Cucumber – picked first one 6/14/24 (photo on the right)– made a salad of cucumber and tomatoes.  Yum!

Basil – picked 2 bunches 6/4/24 and 6/15/24 – made pesto both times.  The 2nd batch has been put in the freezer for use in the future.  Photo shows 1st batch made.

The eggplants are struggling.  They keep getting attacked by aphids.  I have been dusting with diatomaceous  earth to try and get rid of them.  I think I am making progress.  One of the eggplants seems to have rebounded and now has a flower.  There is hope!

The watermelon plants are doing great.  I have one large watermelon and several small ones.  I am using face masks as hammocks to hold up the watermelons so that they don't get too heavy for the vine.

There are still no pumpkins growing on the vines yet but there are some flowers starting to form.  I really hope we get some pumpkins as the chickens love eating them!

The greenhouse frame is doing a great job as a trellis for the pumpkins, watermelons, cucumbers and green beans.

There have been some interesting visitors to the garden – not all of them are welcome.  Top left is a Eastern Eyed Click beetle, top right is a pretty butterfly and the bottom photo is a hornworm.  This guy was as big and fat as my finger.  I found a few on the tomato plants and got rid of them.  I need to be diligent and keep checking every day and get rid of any that I find.

I have planted basil, oregano, thyme, cilantro, mint, lavender and marigolds all around the garden to help deter and repel insects.  While I am still getting "visitors" to the garden, I believe the herbs are helping to keep most of them at bay.  

The good news is that I have noticed bees in the garden, and they are a very welcome visitor.  Now, if it would just rain once in a while . . .

Garden 2024 - Update #1

It has been about a month since the initial post on my garden.  Here is how things are going:

4/27/24:  I found tiny black caterpillars on the cherry tomato plants and lots of leaves that had been eaten.  Did a lot of pruning – hopefully I caught it in time.  Sprayed the plants with the dawn mixture.  Found some leaves eaten on the beefsteak tomatoes and pepper plants – pruned them as well. 

 

5/3/24:  The fight is on!  It’s me against the bugs. The eggplants got inundated with aphids and were eating up the plants.  I did manage to get rid of the aphids but I was too aggressive and killed the plants as well.  I bought more eggplants and surrounded them with various herbs (mint, cilantro, oregano and marigolds) to try and deter those little devils.  

In between the greenhouse and fenced in area (lined with cinder blocks), there is a gulley.  

Most of the garden is doing well – there are some plant leaves that have been eaten but most of the leaves are good.  If I see a bug on the plant, I remove it (well, I kill it).

Something has eaten the potato leaves.   (Potatoes are in the baskets.)  I covered up the remaining stems with more dirt.  I am hoping that it will come back.  Basil, mint and marigolds are planted in front of them.  (The cinder blocks with the plants line the gulley that is in between the greenhouse and garden.  Our yard has a slight hill and the gulley helps direct the flood of water when it rains.)

The rest of the garden also got some thyme, oregano, mint, lavender, cilantro and marigold plants.  I am hoping to deter insects with these plants as I do not want to use insecticides.  (The lavender and oregano seeds that were planted did not come up, so I bought plants.)  As a bonus, I will have lots of herbs to harvest and dehydrate.

5/20/24:  As of today, the corn is over 4 feet tall,

the beefsteak tomatoes (pictured) have a couple of tomatoes, but the cherry tomato plants are loaded with tomatoes.

The cucumber plants have lots of flowers,

 

 and the green beans are producing like crazy. 

This is the right side of the fenced in portion of the garden: onions, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and more onions.

The left side has lavender, eggplant, oregano and marigolds.  Around the eggplant is oregano, mint, cilantro and marigolds.

This is what is in the topless greenhouse:  On the right side is watermelon, potatoes and pumpkins. 

On the left side are cucumbers, corn and green beans.  There are swiss chard seedlings just beyond the green beans.

I have enjoyed quite a few salads made with the red leaf lettuce, kale and romaine.  The kale is now gone (planted marigolds in its place) and the romaine is almost gone.  The green beans are in the freezer.

Here is the fenced in portion of the garden.  The raised planter with the red leaf lettuce and romaine is not visible in this photo.

Here is a view of the inside of the greenhouse.  

This is how it looks as of today (May 20th, 2024).