What to Plant in Your Garden First Thing . . .

Winter lettuce, of course!

I have planted lettuce in January and harvested it in March here in Michigan, zone 5b. Of course I had to baby it with keeping it warm with low tunnel and radiant heat, but to have something green and delicious so early! So I had the camera out during the whole process of planting the lettuce from seed to harvesting it. I have my first of three videos uploaded to YouTube. Check out step by step on how to start your lettuce from seed. I will be getting the whole "winter lettuce project" uploaded to YouTube soon, so make sure to subscribe so you don't miss it.

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Make Your Own Christmas Ornaments. . . from Gourds!

I just uploaded a video to my gourd art YouTube channel about making ornaments from small gourds. I show how I decorate them with melted crayon wax. You got to see it!

What do you think of when you think of apples?

I hope you think of something tasty! 

Today one of my brothers and his son stopped by for a visit. Haven't seen them in over a year. Zach (that's my nephew) asked his dad (my brother) what's his favorite apple. Brother said: "An edible one." What? I thought. Well, it's true. Many people just haven't experienced good apples. They are mushy from being months in storage, picked green because demand forces the commercial growers to get the apples moving, or an apple was bred and sold for its appearance only, leaving the taste factor (the important part) to the wayside.  

I am spoiled beyond compare I think. Because when I think of apples I think of (besides lots of work) a myriad of flavor, sweetness, tartness, and texture combos. My dad has accumulated over 30 years worth of apple varieties in his orchard - that's over 100 varieties! And I tasted (and harvested) them all! I can experience the cream of the crop, picked right off the tree at the optimum picking time. Lucky right? 

Apples are really amazing compared to any other fruit in the world. I say this because there is no other fruit that can transform its texture and flavor like an apple. You can have a lip puckering tart apple like the Calville Blanc D'hiver or you can have a candy sweet apple like the Tolman Sweet. No other fruit that is "in season" for so long. From July to December you will find certain apple varieties just starting to ripen. Besides apples being unique and yummy they also pack a big vitamin punch. Eating healthy and apples should really be synonymous. Read about the health benefits HERE and HERE. Oh, and guess what, my dad wrote descriptions of many of the apples he grows. Read about them by downloading the PDF booklet HERE.  And if you are in the Newaygo, MI area, stop by at my family's farm and see and taste the apples in person! 

So, what do you think of when you think of apples?

Again I hope it's something tasty - or at least I hope you will soon discover it to be something oh, so yummy!

DIY Video Woodburning Project - Woodburn a colorful Sunflower, monogram, and favorite Bible verse on Wood

It sure has been quite some time since my last YouTube video! I finally was able to edit this particular project I completed last year as a Christmas gift for a friend of mine. She loves sunflowers (see the pattern I made for you to woodburn! http://bernadettesgarden.blogspot.com/p/woodburned-sunflower-with-monogram.html) so I decided to go have a sunflower as the focal point. I want to personalize it a bit more so I included the first initial of her last name. She is a good Christian friend so I thought she would appreciate the Bible verse, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15).

DIY Gardening Video: How to Grow Watermelon from Seed

Watermelon has been a staple crop at Magicland Farms, my family's farm and roadside market, since the beginning. My dad direct seeded them late Spring, when the soil were toasty warm, and crops of huge, delicious watermelon were the result. However, demand for watermelon encouraged my dad to try planting watermelon much earlier, for earlier harvest. He found cold soil just doesn't work and poor germination or no germination ensues. Furthermore, any attempt at direct seeding seedless watermelon was futile. So, later on we found that starting watermelon in pots and then planting out was a good way to get early watermelon as well as the ONLY way to grow seedless watermelon. In this five minute video I made I share with you the method we use to start watermelon seeds in pots.

Ink Garden Coupons and Promo Codes

Ink Garden is the place where I purchase my business cards, as well as personalized gifts such as mugs, thermoses, calendars, notebooks, and other little things. I wanted to share with you some money saving codes and cookies for your next Ink Garden purchase.

For those of you who are newbies, make sure to click this link: 50% Off Your First Order at Ink Garden! Use Code: SPECIAL50 (Sorry, S&H is not included and it cannot be used in conjunction with other offers.)

10% cash back at Inkgarden.com if you go through Mrrebates.com. Click on banner to become a member and start saving!

Painted Gourd Birdhouse DIY YouTube Video

Hi everyone!

I completed another gourd crafting video for you to enjoy and make something beautiful for your garden. It's a birdhouse painted in green with a checkered board roof and decorated with ladybugs and daisies. In the video I show how I painted the birdhouse step by step so that you can follow along with me or take my tips and apply them to your own cheerful summertime design. Have fun with it. Any questions? Just leave a comment here on my blog or leave a video comment on YouTube.

Pinteresting Tuesday: Favorite Fiction from my Bookshelf

How to Start Your Own Tomato Plants from Seed YouTube Video

I have completed another gardening video! I have started so many plants from seed this year (would you believe in the hundred thousands?) and it made me think that I should be sharing what I've learned with all of you. So I made a step by step video on how I plant tomato seeds for optimum germination. I chose tomatoes because I know everyone loves tomatoes in some way, but also because I believe that when you've grown your own tomato seedlings you will want to start all your plants from seed!

You may wonder why not just purchase tomato plants. I'll give you two good reasons--they are so expensive and you are very limited in variety and flavor. Growing your own tomato seedlings has everything going for it! I know it may seem somewhat of a challenge if you haven't grown anything from seed before, but believe me, it's much easier than you think.

So, let's get started!

Daffodil Blooming Time Lapse Video with Bushnell Camera

I did a fun little video of my family's early blooming daffodils. In an average year they would have bloomed in early to mid-April, in time for decorating the table for my parents' anniversary. This year they didn't fully bloom until April 29. I started the Bushnell Camera on April 2nd, and had it take photos every 15 minutes during the daylight hours - a whole month of photos into a minute video. Hope you enjoy! Make sure to visit my YouTube channel for more gardening and crafting videos.

Quick and Easy Raised Garden Bed

Years ago my sister, Rebekah, made a raised bed to grow some annual cooking herbs. Although the bed is still looking good, she hasn't kept up with the herb growing. Instead, she has a new found passion - cut flowers that are deer resistant. We have a large family of deer who like to devour everything around the house, herbs included, so I have been helping her figure out which flowers deer will leave alone. I thought of daisies and asters because a species of both grow wild on the farm - so my guess deer don't particularly like them. I chose gaillardia, mainly because they are such a tough plant with tons of blooms. A little deer browsing shouldn't hurt. Rebekah may add some more plants, but those three are the ones we figured out so far and have started them from seed indoors (to get a head start). I am eager to see the flower beds in bloom and will post a photo of the results.

As for the quick and easy raised garden bed. Photos! I wanted to show you how we built it step by step so you can make one yourself.

We made the frame of the raised bed using scrap 2x4s, which we pounded in the ground in an L shape. We took slag wood (lumber yards and mills have piles of leftover pieces from making standard lumber. You can purchase them on the cheep) and screwed them into the 2x4s as shown. Pre-drilling helps and 3" long deck screws are the easiest to use.