Friday, March 14, 2014

Another Round for the Slugs Please!

  If you live in the Northwest, or in any damp place, such as myself you know all about these pesky buggers. Last year I had such a slug problem I sought all sorts of home remedies. I really didn't want to spray anything on my veggies so I tried the copper tape, I tried lining my beds with eggshell and salt, I tried everything I could find. 
  I was over at a friends house and a monster slug was creeping by as we sat on the porch and it sparked our conversation about slugs in the garden. I explained my frustration to her and she said that she had a remedy for my garden intruding slugs. GET THEM DRUNK! I told her she was crazy, to which she replied yes but try it anyway.  She told me to take a pie tin and put it flush to the soil in the middle of the garden. After that fill it with cheep beer and let the magic happen. Below is the home remedy slug trap. I set one every night for a week and I happily lessened my slug problem to almost complete extinction. The first night I had about 20 slugs in the trap, then fewer and fewer as the days went on. Basically the slugs crawl in, have a few beers and get too drunk to make it out of the pie tin and they travel to slug heaven. May their broccoli eating souls rest in peace.  Hope this helps save some plants, time, and frustration! 



HAPPY GROWING FROM THE GREEN THUMB GAL

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Celery from Scrap in 6 Simple Steps

Want to grow celery? Here is the easiest way in 6 simple steps! 


Step 1 
Buy a head of celery from your grocery store for your instant gratification of a peanut butter and celery snack(Cause I know you want it now.) when chopping leave about 3" of stock at the base for your new plant growth. This is mine after bout 2 weeks of growth.  Once you have chopped your celery stock fill a small tupperware with water and let it sit in the window for around 2 weeks.  Make sure that your celery has at least an inch of water at all times.



Step 2

After you two week wait, it is time to get planting! Here is what you will need.
  • a pot about 6in deep (if you are doing container gardening)
  • your raised bed or garden
  • Dirt and manure mix 
    • steer manure
    • any garden soil
    • I used a bit of vermiculite for drainage only because my steer manure was very saturated
For the lack of a raised bed at the moment I have decided to plant my two celery starts in biodegradable pots.

Step 3

Throw some dirt in your pot...




 Step 4

Put your leafy celery stock in the pot…




Step 5

Cover and pack with dirt leaving a 1/4 in to an inch of stock above the soil….



Step 6

Now you have your very own potted celery plant!


MOST IMPORTANT PART OF ALL OF THE STEPS!

  • WATER WATER WATER!
    • THESE PLANTS HAVE BEEN IN ONLY WATER FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS OF THEIR LIVES THEY ARE GOING TO NEED WATERED EVERY DAY FOR A WEEK. THEN GRADUALLY LET UP ON THE WATERING AND YOU WILL BE EATING HOMEGROWN CELERY IN A MATTER OF WEEKS! 




Happy growing from the Green Thumb Gal!






Green Thumb Gal is a page created for people to gain knowledge about simple gardening and a way to find tips to make their experience fun and rewarding! Im excited to get going in the blogging world!