A California Winter Garden

If you live in a climate that allows it and have never had a winter garden - you are missing out!
A winter garden in California is so simple and such an easy way to get some fresh produce in the winter. We have a cool enough winter without much frost.

3 young broccoli plants - volunteers from last year

We have grown broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and lettuce. Lettuce and broccoli have been the most successful for us. Both are super easy. You can usually find broccoli starts at the local hardware store (or you could start them by seed but we have better luck with starts) and lettuce seed is equally easy to find. We like to purchase the salad bowl seed packs that include a mix of varieties.

All we do is plant them, maybe fertilize them, cover them if a deep frost is coming (we have only done this twice ever) and harvest. :) Unless it gets super dry like the last year or so, we don't even water them. Sometimes I forget we even have them.

Healthy broccoli plants

For best results get your starts in the ground October 1st. Lettuce can be sown later and sown again mid winter for many, many harvests. Don't plant too much lettuce as you can't preserve it well. And don't be afraid to thin your lettuce early and thin heavily. We forgot to plant lettuce this year so no photos.

How about you - do you have a winter garden?

Milk Jug Greenhouses

This spring with my introductory plant science class, we tested out milk jug greenhouses. We are still getting the data analysis completed, but I'm very pleased with the results. While I can't confirm that the results were statistically significant, I can tell you that the germination rates with our milk jug greenhouses were about equal to the germination rates in the commercial greenhouse. These cheap little greenhouses work! 

The idea with the milk jug greenhouses is that they are a very cheap and easy way to get your seeds started earlier than you might be able to start them in the ground. I've seen some people make the milk jugs into a sort of plant cover to protect the plant. But by using the whole milk jug, if you have a cold snap, you can bring the whole thing inside. It is cheap, easy and effective in starting your own seeds and hopefully getting an extended growing season with your garden.

Here is how to do it. 

Step 1:

Save a milk jug, clean it out. You won't need the cap so that can be recycled immediately. 

Step 2:

Make drainage holes in the bottom. My husband used a knife but in class we were safer and used a drill. Four drainage holes worked great for our class project.

Step 3:

Cut the jug horizontally almost all the way around. Where the handle is, leave a couple inches un cut. The end result should be the top half of the jug being 'hinged' to the bottom half.

Step 4:

Add potting soil and start your seeds. We have started beans, peas, tomatoes, squash and cucumbers all with good success. For each we have just planted four seeds per jug. 

Step 5:

Close the hinge and tape the jug to seal the cut. We have the best luck with duct tape, shipping tape was a bit too flimsy. Make sure the cap is removed and do not seal where the cap had been. The open cap allows for ventilation.

Step 6:

Set out in the sun and enjoy! We did water them as needed, but if you get enough rainfall you may not need to water much at all. If there is risk of frost or you have a cold snap, bring them inside. You could set them in front of a window and take the back out when the conditions improve.

Step 7:

In 2-4 weeks when your starts are looking great, un-tape the jug and transplant! 

I was very pleased with how successful the germination was in the jugs when compared to a commerical greenhouse. It was very inexpensive to try out and you could reuse the milk jugs year after year. We will be repeating this experiment in class with different seeds next spring and I will be using this in my personal garden as well. 

Note: This was not an idea I came up with, but one that I came across online. Whomever originated this idea is brilliant.

I'll update you when the data is complete!

Scrap Wood Flag Project

 

 I made a flag out of scrap wood - it was a simple afternoon project and most of the time was spent waiting for the paint to dry.  Here is what I did:

 

 You'll need a rectangular piece of wood, red, white, and blue paint, a tape measure, stars, and some painter's tape. 

 Having a sweet dog lay at your feet is an added bonus!

 

Paint your wood white - I gave it two coats. 

 Then measure out and tape stripes.  My painter's tape was 1 1/2" so my stripes are 1 1/2" - next time I would like to try 1" painters tape and see how that looks. 

 Paint two coats of red.

 Take off the tape. It's starting to look like a flag!

Stick as many stars as you can on - then tape with painter's tape (not shown since my red was still wet and I am impatient)

 Two coats of blue and remove the painter's tape. 

Peel off the stars

 

And enjoy your flag!  This would be perfect for the mantel or with a coat of poly it would make a nice porch decoration.  It was a quick and easy project that would be perfect for Veteran's Day!

DIY Necklace Display

 This is probably the easiest and cheapest DIY project that I have ever done! AND it looks great to boot!

Our new house has lots of wall space in the bathroom but not a ton of storage. The last few years I have developed a small collection of inexpensive necklaces and was needing a place to store them. I figured a good way to do so would be to create a board to hang on the wall that would also display the necklaces to help decorate the wall a bit. My grandmother had cork boards for her necklaces growing up which gave me this idea.

Supplies
Cork board - I was pleased to find these framed bulletin board style cork board squares at Wally World. Less than $5 each.
Fabric - Black in this case and a bit velvety from the clearance section. Also from Wally for $2 total.
Decorative pins - I think these were upholstery pins also from Wally for $2.
Staple Gun

 Simply cut the fabric to be a bit larger than the cork board you want to cover. Enough room to wrap it around the edges of the cork like a canvas.

Wrap the fabric as tight as possible and staple gun it in place to the back side of the cork frame. Do one side at a time and be careful to keep the fabric tight. I folded the corners before stapling them to make them smooth.

Adding the upholstery pins was the final step. I added them along the top of course.Pick ones sturdy enough to hold up your necklaces.

The final product is a great looking fabric board for hanging your necklaces. I have a couple of these now and am so happy with how they turned out. Necklaces are easy to see and stored in a way that is organized and decorative!

Customize yours with a fabric that suits your rooms and add as many as you need! These would be a great compliment to Sarah's DIY earring holder.

Platter Holder Tutorial

If you saw the dining room and bar tour, then you know that our table sits in front of this beautiful bay window.  What wasn't pictured was this part of the room:

Nothing there (but that random cable cord) and I thought that one day I would put in cabinets or a small buffet table or something.  Then, one day I was reading Country Living (LOVE that magazine!!) and found this, an amazing platter display cabinet shelf thingy (I am pretty sure that is the technical term for it):

I thought and thought ... then (months later) got out paper, a pen, a tape measure, and some trusty blue painters tape and started taping to see where I wanted my amazing platter display cabinet shelf thingy to go. 

I taped and taped then retaped and adjusted - poor Chance was pretty bored.

I even got out a chair to make sure I could reach the stuff on the top shelf. 

I kept readjusting the tape, until ...

I finally liked what I saw.  You can see I even got out a platter to make sure they would fit and come in and out of the finished piece easily.  I made a drawing and wrote all the measurements.   

Then, I went to Home Depot with my drawing and the magazine and wandered around the lumber section for an hour.  This step is optional ...  I took the boards down and made a mock up of the amazing platter display cabinet shelf thingy on the floor (luckily it wasn't busy). 

I purchased 2 furrowing strips, an 8' 1"x4", a 4' 1"x6", a 12' 1"x4" (which I had them cut into 3 equalish pieces), and three dowels (1/2" or 3/4" - I can't remember).  It was less than $20.

Brought them home and did another mock up on the garage floor. 

Got a tape measure, something straight (a ruler for fabric), and a pen.

Then I set up a cutting station in the garage (if you have a table saw you rock, so you won't have to do this) with a table, some clamps (both are what I take to the farmers markets), and a circular saw. 

Then because I wanted a straight cut I clamped the board to the table and another board to the board I was cutting so I could run the edge of the circular saw and have it cut exactly where I wanted it to. 

I started at the top (the 4' 1"x6") and put the sides on (the 8' 1"x4" cut in half).  Then I cut a piece of the furrowing strip the fit.  Remember to measure twice and cut once!

I attached the sides and the furrowing strip with 1 5/8" gold screws - which I counter sunk to make a nice finished look. 

Then I measured and cut the bottom (a piece of the 12' 1"x4" I had Home Depot cut).  Then attached it with the same screws - counter sunk again. 

I started with the bottom shelf.  I measured and cut the bottom shelf (part of that 12' 1"x4" I had Home Depot cut). I hard the hardest time trying the make it level - I must have called my mom 15 times.  She said either use the level or your tape measure to make sure the shelves are even, and if you use the level make sure your floor is level first.  My floor wasn't level so I went with the tape measure method.  I measured up from the bottom and made sure it was at the same distance on both sides.  Then I screwed it in.  I measured for the furrowing strip, cut it and attached it. 

I did the same thing for the next shelf. 

Measured for the furrowing strip again, cut and attached it. 

Then, I measured for the furrowing strip to got at the bottom.  Cut and attached that. 

I had to choose where I wanted to dowels to go on each shelf so I got out a platter and adjusted it until I was happy.  It was 6" up. 

I measured 6" up on each side for each shelf and drilled a hole the same size as the dowel.  On the right side I drilled all the way through and on the left side I drilled about 1/2" into the side. 

I put the dowels in, stepped back and hated it.  Even though I got thick dowels they still drooped and just didn't look right to me.  So, I took the dowels out and it sat in the garage for a few days. 

Luckily, I didn't cut the dowels so I took them back to Home Depot and searched the lumber department to see what else I could use.  I found 4' long squares of thick wood (sorry, but I have no idea what they are called - I found them by the dowels).  I measured, cut, and attached them with the help of my studly boyfriend Michael. 

Then I was in love again ... but apparently did not take a picture. 

Michael patched the holes (including the holes I drilled for the dowels).

Then he sanded the whole thing.  He is so amazing - he took a day off work to go to the DMV (super fun, right?) and got done early so he did this for me. 

Before you paint, make sure to protect the garage with an old sheet or some plastic.  Putting it up on buckets is easier on the back (and knees and butt) and if it is up it won't stick to the sheet. 

He painted the back first. 

Then he put a coat on the front. 

I added another two coats.  We used white paint we had left over from painting the bathrooms when we moved in. 

We let it dry and Michael held it up for me while I looked at it until he looked back at me and told me that it wasn't light.  I guess I was looking too long - I couldn't help myself, it is so beautiful!  We put it exactly where I wanted it and marked the bottom of each shelf.   

 It took us forever to find the sneaky studs. 

We found the studs - which by the way are on 12ish" centers.   

We drilled like 10 holes to find each stud.  Then put it back up and attached it to the wall with 2" gold screws. 

Doesn't it look AMAZING?  We are not going to live in this house forever and I wanted to be able to take it with us when we move, so I didn't want to putty and paint over the screws but, I didn't want to be able to see the screws, so I went back to Home Depot and bought these screw covers.  They were $2.50 and worth every penny.

Just to show you how amazing these fancy screw covers are, here is the before:

and after.  LOVE them!

And that is it!  I put my platters in/on and realized that I need more platters to fill it.   

And there it is again . . . I am planning on putting pitchers on the top.

And, because I love before and after pictures:

This was very easy to make, cost less than $25, looks great, and is a great use of space!  I love that it looks like a built in and provides a place for those hard to store platters.

Although it can be customized to any size this 4' by 4' square was perfect since I had almost no wasted wood.  If I were to make a bigger one I think I would make 2 of this size and mount them side by side - or 3 look awesome with the middle one higher. 

What do you think?  Would you make something like this?