Monday, April 2, 2012

A new start!



I officially got the place with the big back yard! I've picked out a spot in the back corner that everyone has been telling me gets the best light for growing... 

Veggie patch to be! <3

We shall see, I want to test it out and see before I get my plans set... Still need to get more info on if there are lines under it and how good the soil is, I hear it is terrible nutrient deficient stuff with arsenic and tons of rocks in it so I am leaning towards raised beds, maybe layered style... I honestly am feeling a little crunched for time... it's still kinda cold but it is definitely warming up even tho there was hail today! I just haven't been able to get to any sort of garden center since the day after I bought my gloves and I've been kicking myself that I didn't just get the Jiffy seed starting mix right then so I get the seeds I have from Irene started... I finally have the new address and more then a single moments free time and Winter made my phone into a wifi hot spot so I have net on my laptop... I have no idea how it works just that I can't blog from my phone effectively. I have an address now to get to my friends for seed trading! I just got that covered actually! Lately I haven't been on my gardening group much and I miss it so much, miss my gardening friends! Super super crazy busy, and we haven't even begun to pack for the move. The reason is an agreement we made with the owner that we don't have to pay a deposit, instead we got to deep clean the HECK out of this place our selfs, which is actually good I was going to anyways. The thing is it was in serious need of love, the walls were stained from a chain-smoking tenant that lived here for over ten years and she moved out because it smelled chemically, then people after her were massive slobs. 

This is after we scrubbed it with heavy duty cleaner. Winter is painting the ceiling with stain covering primer! Gross right???

I have to admit I spent way more money on cleaning supplies and paint then I wanted to and something still needs to be done about the floors. We shampooed the carpet twice but it has these long cigarette shaped burn marks all over it and on linoleum by the kitchen and the carpet by the door. I honestly don't know how the crazy smoker lady managed not to burn down the whole building! Our plan is to save up and put in clip in wood paneling and an area rug till the land lord gets around to eventually replacing the floors because he is annoyingly a cheap-skate and a huge procrastinator. All this is worth it to me to have my hands on the yard and a nice little living environment... I really don't even know if I have enough time to get the garden going at all well this year but I figure it's my first year and so it's an experiment and I'll just keep my fingers crossed and HOPE for some veggies herbs and flowers... It's been quite the adventure trying to assemble a house on a budget... I am so annoyed that it has taken so long for freecycle to approving me. I could seriously really use that kind of help. It's not quite warm enough for many yard/garage sales yet... We did find an estate sale today and I got some steak knives and a silverware tray for the drawer... Been trying to making use of Craigslist and pawn shops and tomorrow will hit up the thrift stores.. We got the bed for the price of the tax on it, the discount somehow was more then the mattress cost because we found one that had been returned to the store because it was too firm and the one that we wanted was out of stock... Winter and I got super lucky and got a decent KING for the price of a cheap queen!!! Everywhere else we looked was way out of our budget for most queens... It's a king!!! I still can't believe it! I saved the plastic from mattress and the box springs as well as some of the thin plastic painting tarps hoping to recycle it somehow..

Anyone have any ideas how I could put it to use in my gardening? Green house for next year maybe? I don't actually know much about how green houses work... We still need more kitchen things since neither one of us has much of anything but clothes... between us we have a kitchen knife, four coffee mugs, 3 forks, 5 spoons, one butter knife, and a garlic press. We are keeping the big huge lazyboy couch which is in almost perfect condition, the last guy abandoned it here, we disinfected it repeatedly. The last tenants actually abandoned a lot of stuff which we scavenged through however it had been very picked over and the land lord got all the good stuff. I kept a crock pot, a small pot without lid, an old kids rubber rain boot that I have this idea I will some how turn into a plant home, it's not very wide so I don't know what plant will fit in it... I also got a basket and a wood box I want to try to make into planters as well... I had planed to cover the tiny kitchen table that apartment owner is lending us with seedlings as well as the window sills in the kitchen and living room and get some other furniture to cover with plant-lings but I'm so not sure it can work, because unfortunately that half of our new home doesn't get hardly any sunlight. I'd have to find a way to get some sort of light. I am very unsure of how to arrange things so stuff that will be able to grow in here... There is hardly any space in the bedroom and I don't think I can make the bakers rack fit where it would get the best light =[ So I don't know what to do and am super frustrated and will need to ask around. Can I even still grow tomatoes from seeds at this point??? Estel, and Lake say I should have started them ages ago and I know other people who are buying starts which I don't think I can afford at all. I'm wanting to try and beat the odds and plant them anyways... I'm hearing talk that the best time to plant around here is when a certain peak melts and they say it will soon and I was just told the last frost was weeks ago... From what I understand your supposed to start most seedlings 4-6 weeks before the last frost which I just couldn't do. I did just get a few more packets of seeds. I have a new friend! Her named Brandi, and she's also a recent transplant to Spokane from elsewhere. She got me seeds! Chamomile, rosemary, and carrots for a housewarming gift! Only I have no idea where they are in this lack of organization... I have been pretty much talking her ears off every visit about compost, GMO's, worm bins and just about everything I learn about in the gardening group! It was super, super sweet of her to get them for me! <3 Also super awesome and sweet, Winter got me two jiffy mini green houses! He got me the long one with the little peat pellet thing-ies and the square one with the larger pellets for tomatoes...

 
I love him so so so much and he is super supportive and awesome!!! <3 I think tomorrow is when the real moving begins! I think the plan is to wash everything we can and seeing as we have only the clothes we are wearing clean... and while I do that Winter will take as many loads as it takes over to our new place... I'm thinking 2-3 carloads including all our laundry. I wish I could start gardening already!!! I went out side with Dommie today and noticed directly across the dirt ally from my veggie patch to be was a man playing with dirt and a frame with wire mesh..... I immediately HAD to investigate so I went right over in spite of my shyness and said... "just out of curiosity... are you starting a veggie patch?" He nodded and I said "Oooh me too!" and I pointed where and asked him what he would be growing and it sounds a lot like what I'll be trying to grow tho he already has seedlings started!!!! ahhhhhk! I need to do that!! All my seeds from Irene are still at Winter's mom's house because we haven't been back over there yet in this mad dash to get the place fixed up! Thank god for friends we'd still be so much more behind if it wasn't for awesome friends helping!!! So the gardening guys name is Jason I think and he's a pretty youngish guy and a newbie too and he seems very quiet... I wonder if I am just really nice to him he will open up and talk about gardening stuff!!! I hope so... My adventures continue!!! just thought it would be good to give an update, let people know that in spite of them chemicals and paint fumes I am still alive and miss everyone I've not gotten to talk to! *huge hugs* 




1 comment:

  1. FYI... Encouragement alert! In my opinion it's never too late t start seeds! You will have time to watch many many plants all the way through, even if its a little late for certain things. Relax, I don't have everything started either. Simply not enough room! If you are pressed for pace with light, check local thrift stores for cheap strings of christmas lights. This is enough extra heat for added protection for delicate seedlings and will give an extra little bit of light. May not be perfect but it will help some :) Keep hangin in there. You've got this. By the way, you and Winter are starting out with more than David and I had when we began. It's just stuff. Doesn't matter as long as you've got each other. As far as the gardening neighbor, I'll send you doubles on some seeds so you have a next conversation starter! Having a gardening friend close sounds like an awesome blessing! Looking forward to more from you when you come up for air! Peace and happy blessings in your new home sweetheart! Have fun making it yours! Angie <3

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