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Today is my final day with a dishwasher, sink, and real stove... Eek! So, I'm going to work on stocking the freezer with a bit more home baking to tide me over for a couple of weeks. Hopefully, I don't end up just eating carrots and dip by the end of it this renovation, hah! As per doctor's demand, I have been staying away from processed stuff and have taken to doing more baking to help me stay away from the junk. Mostly it has been cookies till now but, wow, this yummy blueberry sour cream streusel cake came to my attention this morning, so I'll be trying something different on my last baking day. The dogs have, thankfully, adapted surprisingly well to all the changes. Thoughtful Bits Love these ideas for how to get things done! Hmm, having an annoying project day sounds pretty darned good for dealing with tasks I dread. Like setting up my craft room, a task that I've been putting off for months! This short read about mindfulness. I think I need to start doing this each day, especially during the renovation for stress relief ; ) What is hygge? This nice (short) article to give you ideas on how to slow down and cosy up your home. The list of ideas in this article is huge, lots of big and little ways of making a difference in your own neighbourhood and community. We can make a difference if everyone does a few little things. Ways To Help The Environment In Your Community – Mother Earth News Crafty Bits Make this pretty grocery list or honey-do-list holder. It is super cute. I definitely want one of these! DIY To-Do List Holder From Scrap wood - Salvaged Living This moss heart instead of a wreath for the mantel, the shelf, the door... is super cute. Is so cute, can be hung or placed anywhere, at any time of year. I do not decorate for Valentine's Day, but I love simple and organic looking, natural elements. This is made with moss and grapevines so is not fussy looking. Gardening Bits Check out this lovely garden tour with raised beds, a lovely rustic dining and sitting area. I pinned quite a few of these pics to my Marigold Yard pinterest board (ideas for the backyard), like the lighting and pergola. What Joe Lamp'l learned from his garden in 2022 to change this coming up gardening season. Very good tips in this post/podcast. I rarely listen to most podcasts, find it faster to read through them and focus on the things I really like, but I understand a lot of people really enjoy them. You do you! Maybe listen to it while organising or going through your seeds. Tired of all the plastic that comes with gardening? Make these simple wooden seeding trays. I remember seeing these long, long ago in one of the early Martha Stewart gardening books. These are definitely going on my honey-do make it list. I am sure hubs will be so excited ; ) All about cucumbers, and cucumber melons, and anything cucumber-y. Some go back hundreds of years! These beautiful ideas for creating a cottage garden. What flowers to grow for a lovely looking, scented cottage gardens! Home & Decor Bits This kitchen though! Wow. In fact the whole house is a wow. I was going to go with a green kitchen with this renovation but thought it was likely too trendy so I might tire of it. I never seem to tire of white and organic so we're going with Cloud White (BM) on the uppers and alder wood on the bottoms. And this kitchen... the reno was nice but the renovation after the reno is even better! Love both the blue and the green though. Imagine having to renovate your kitchen twice in a span of two or three years! I would go crazy! These lovely Butler's Pantries. Oh, how I wish I had room for one. We have been talking about maybe closing in the wee kitchen nook and making it into a pantry, but that is something we need to brew on for a while, too see if it is a practical solution. I saved the best for last. This is kind of decor and kind of gardening, and you all know how I love my terra cotta pots! Read HERE for a bunch of different ways to make them look weathered, give them that aged patina we all love so much. How to take cuttings to grow more plants is coming up next week on the blog. So easy to do! Also, how to grow great onions from seed. Thanks for reading! Have A Happy Sunday, Eh Tanja

Can you believe it is February already? I feel like we just put the Christmas tree away. This short month always feels so long, but if we fill it with crafting, cleaning, organising, and planning, it will be over before we know it and spring will be just around the corner. My kitchen is now well and truly in reno mode. They have taken it down to the studs, the electrical is being moved around for the new cabinet layout, and next week they start building the walls back up again. I'm counting down to the finish line, just 7 weeks to go! Gardening Bits Have a greenhouse with beds in it and wondering what you can grow in them? Here are a bunch of great ideas! 19 Vegetables to Grow in a Greenhouse - Gardening Channel This podcast with Charles Dowding, the no-dig gardening guru. I've been following these same principles for a dozen years and now swear by them. Thinking of making a new bed? Read/listen to find out how. How to feed your soil, when to start, a bit about making compost, and best of all, he reaffirms what I have always said about crop rotation in home gardener plots. Check it out. Remember, if you are hesitant, or doubtful about any of these things Charles mentions, do your own trial. I trial all sorts of things, do my own comparisons. Are you getting a greenhouse this spring? Here are some things to think about. This one is my post that I wrote up a few years ago and covers everything that I could think of at the time! Did you know that there are a lot of plants that do not like to be transplanted? Are better off direct sown? Here is an article that tells you what to prestart and what to direct sow. Love bringing out my baby Stihl for pruning. February is the month for pruning fruit trees, so get your baby chainsaw, pruners, and loppers ready! February weather tends to be all over the place, wherever you live in Canada. We usually got at least one good snowstorm on the island each February, just to let you know that Mother Nature is in charge, hah! Wait till a nice, warm, sunny day to prune and then spray them with dormant oil and lime sulphur. You can pick up the kit at any hardware store, box store, or garden centre to get rid of over-wintering pests and fungal issues on your roses and fruit trees. If you have had no issues with scab or pests on your apples, pears, roses, no need to spray at all. Another thing I like to do in February is to plan my colour scheme for the hanging baskets and planters as that is when I would start planning what to order from my flower supplier or what to start myself from seed. I used to get together with my neighbour to do this, it was a bit of a tradition. I am a bit loosey goosey with my colours while she is so good at picking a scheme and sticking to it. We always chose three colours but there are no hard and fast rules to this. You can go monochromatic with different shades or shapes of one colour, that looks spectacular. You can use any and all colours, that is called a Victorian basket. I go with cool colours, for the most part, as I am not a huge fan of the hot colours, however, a pop of yellow or orange really helps the cool colours come together... see, no rules! Crafty Bits Make this super cute clay heart garland from My Vintage Porch. Make these cute hearts out of clay. She has them painted silver to look like tin, but I think I would make them pink : ) Make some whitewashed flower pots with hearts on it. These would be cute all in a row, like maybe in the window with herbs? This is a super cute pot treatment, turn your plain clay pots into white, antique stamped pots. I really like this one a lot, they are adorable and super easy to make. Look good even without the stamp but the stamp makes it. Kitchen Bits Love this one, gives me much to think about for my kitchen reno, how to incorporate open shelves or a coffee bar, something similar? Love the brick and birch wallpaper, too! Home Diy Bit's This is simple but cute, kind of farmhouse looking. I want to do this in the grandkid's room for a casual way to hang up all sorts of their items. See the cute beadboard and hooks diy idea here. Check out these no-sew curtains! I am looking to update my curtains in several rooms so anything curtain-y catches me eye ; ) Super easy curtain liners! Like this idea a lot for hot, sunny windows. Plus, probably a good idea if you live in a very cold area, like I do, lol, as more insulation. This lovely wreath is perfect for winter, not a hint of Christmas to be seen! Hang in there if you are feeling a bit melancholy this month. Meditation is a great idea, crafting, organising, or just make lots of lists and notes in your journal. I may never go back to those notes but they keep my mind active and help me stay upbeat while construction guys traipse through my home from 8 to 5 each work day ; ) Hang in there guys! Only 43 days till spring ~ Tanja

Well, here we are, two weeks into the kitchen renovation and (according to the schedule) only six weeks to go. We are hanging in there though, the pups and I, doing okay living in a space smaller than my last greenhouse ; ) Time is a funny thing. It feels like the weeks are flying by and yet my days are long. How is that even possible? Luckily, the weather has been glorious these past weeks which helps, and before we know it, spring and gardening season will be here. My plan had been to set up the craft room and start crafting, but we had to switch out poly-b plumbing while doing the kitchen reno, so the ceiling and one wall are torn up. It looks like I can finally get in there this week though, may even see what I can start on today. Here is my Craft Pinterest board for 2023, in case you want to have a poke around and see what has piqued my interest enough that I am hoping to get at this year. There are several other crafting boards, as well, if you are also a DIY-er looking for inspiration. Here are some things that caught my eye this week, see what you think. Gardening Bits This post with a collection of white flowers popped into my emails the other day and changed my whole idea for the backyard on it's head. I love white paint, white furniture, white flowers, white everything, so this was pretty perfect for me. I have mentioned before that I can be pretty loosey goosey with my own gardening plans and plantings, tend to change my mind several times before the actual planting time happens. The backyard colour scheme was to be lots of purples, with additions of pinks and whites, but now, I think, will instead be lots of whites with bits of purple and pale pinks. Still the same colours but will be a totally different look. Just to confirm that my thoughts about the white garden were on par, I found this great new instagrammer on the very same day! White, rustic, gorgeous greenhouse, everything is just lovely. Buying all your annual flowers and veggies from the nursery in spring adds up pretty quickly. Want to prestart some but have no greenhouse? Check out these tips for seed starting without a greenhouse. She gives you a whole swack of tips HERE! I very much enjoyed this podcast about Soil Revival. Yes, it is from a farmer's point of view but still, I found it so interesting. It is long-ish, is in two parts though, so listen to one part first and the second part later, if you want. I had a huge latte and doodled in my sketch book as I listened and jotted down anything of interest. Or, if that is too long, here is a short read about how to improve your soil fertility naturally. Crafty Bits Make a pretty crate with some paint and paper napkins. I love this idea, have done it many times and will be doing it again in the grandkid's room for the crate shelving unit I made them. No pics of that yet as it is not done, is on a slow burner on the side with all that is going on ; ) This tea towel idea is great. She has stamped it in pinks for Valentine's Day but I would use blues or greens and make it an anytime thing. It would also make a great gift! This flower pot idea is so spring like and cute. Wish I still had my greenhouse ; ) I will make some regardless, maybe line them in the window for herbs? Or put these super delicate looking coffee filter flowers in them! Two great craft ideas that are super simple and inexpensive. Dollarama here I come! Are you crazy for candles and candlesticks? Check out this picture above. Isn't that something! Here are a bunch of other candle ideas and the picture above is from this link about candlesticks. Soooo many ideas! Organic, Self-Sustainability Bits These paper towel alternatives. I have been using the Swedish cloths for decades! Love that they are so easy to get now that all sorts of places sell them. Decor Bits What a gorgeous carriage house. I would love to live in this wee house! It is so perfect. This cottage in Sweden is so tranquil, so pretty, has me dreaming of lilacs in spring and cosy outdoor eating areas. This closet is what my dreams are made of ; ) It's not big but it is so well organised. My master closet is on the list of to-do's but will have to wait till fall or next winter, while we deal with this kitchen reno. The brain can only handle so much chaos at a time ; ) Holy doodle, all these beautiful tiles and cabinets and ideas from this one post... some I like not at all and others I love. See what you think...On the Hunt for Tiles that are Timeless AND Fun — The Grit and Polish Last but not least, as they say... this lovely backyard renovation. Love the simplicity, the garden beds and patio area. Looks lovely and easy to care for. Just 36 days till spring! Happy Dreaming ~ Tanja

What a great week I have had. I got to spend some time with my daughter and the grandbabies, the reno has reached the halfway mark, and I got my hair done! The kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities arrived the other day. Will take the fella several days to put them together, but they are here and look as great as I had hoped! Did you know that with all the supply chain issues, you need to order your cabinets 4 to 6 months ahead of time? I had already forgotten what ours looked like! The highlight (hah!) of my week was getting my hair done! Like so many others, I pretty much stopped going to the salon during the pandemic. I tell you, it sure felt great. Nothing makes a gal feel better than a day at the salon. I am sticking with my long, natural hair, still waiting for those silver highlights to spread naturally... but dang, they are taking their time. So, I decided to do a money-piece on one side, a nice chunky strip of silver on one side. It is age appropriate, works with my natural 'silvery highlights' but adds a wee bit of fun. Bye bye mousey hair! Here are some of the great articles I found for you all this week. The gardening bits are really practical, really really good, and the other bits are pretty great, too ; ) Gardening Bits If I was still on the island, I would now be pulling my over-wintered spring pots out of the hoophouse and potting up my front porch pots with spring blooms from the nursery. Tis that time, my island friends! We are still a ways off of that here on the prairies, a few weeks of hard winter yet to come, but our time will come. Till then, we dream and plan. To make these pots, you do not have to have potted them up yourself last fall, but rather pick up forced pots of tulips, daffs, grape hyacinths, irises, pretty much any bulbs at all, from the nursery. Put them in big pots, add some sticks and greenery (lamium and ivies are hardy enough for the light frosts) and ta da, you have an amazing spring planter. See this post for many great ideas of how to put them together. Creating raised beds. I love the mulching idea mentioned in this article, for both veggies and flowers, can be used in any type of bed. I am, however, dead set against recommending people use landscape fabric anywhere except on top of the soil. On top, it will help warm up soil and work as an actual weed barrier, keeping the weed seeds from germinating while you grow your food. Remove the fabric in fall when veggies are harvested. Under the soil it offers zero benefits, the weed seeds will blow into the bed regardless, but most importantly, it impedes the soil life from bettering your soil. Here is yet another great article about raised beds. Why they are amazing and how to make them. If you have a good amount of soil under the bed, going up just 6 inches is fine. If, however, you live on the island (which is all rock) your beds will dry out much to fast to grow anything well. Save water and time by making them 12 inches deep instead. Love all of these cute garden sheds. What is it about pictures of beds and greenhouses that so enthralls? Foodie Bits Make a cream soup without the cream! This is a great idea if you are, like me, trying to lose weight and eat heart smart. Just as tasty without all the extra calories and fats : ) A simple, yummy orange and cranberry scone recipe! I absolutely love scones. Our good family friend, whom we have known so long we consider a brother, makes the best scones that I have ever had, bar none. Though I will not ever be able to beat his scones, I always save the recipes and think on the good memories. Leaving Dave and Jan behind on the island broke our hearts. Crafty Bits Okay, this pinecone wreath is actually super duper cute! I have never been lucky enough to have a pine tree on my property but can try with spruce cones instead. Might work? Homey Bits I just love this house! The exterior colours are pretty unique, not really my style, but I just love all the interior bits.. and that kitty is so adorable going after the lights. Cheeky! Check out this fabulous French style house tour. Love this house inside and out, the butler's pantry, and the barn plus barnyard are amazing, too. One more house tour this week. Check out the amazing kitchen, that gorgeous backsplash, the curtains (want!) and the lovely hues with that blonde wood. Such a beauty. Have you heard of Swedish Death Cleaning? Sounds morbid, I know, but makes sense. My mom was a bit of a hoarder (not like dangerous style, you would not know it unless you looked in every single cupboard that was filled to the brim!). It took forever to clean out the house when she went to the nursing home. I think I have most of my junk pared down, did most of the purging during the move, and hope not to accumulate too much extra for the kids to deal with as I age in place. Such a burden to put on the kids. Do you have telescoping curtain rods and constantly fight with them getting stuck? Did you know there is a simple answer for that? I had no idea but this is genius. I am looking for new curtains for my living room bay window so curtains have been on my mind ; ) Did you see this strawberry basket idea in the February Potager post? Cute, eh? Wishing you all a really great week! Happy Long Weekend ~ Tanja

Things were going along with the reno so swimmingly, I was getting so excited about getting my house back. Yep, past tense. Things were going along so nicely that I told the ladies at the neighbourhood coffee klatch how we were right on schedule, might even finish early at this rate... and boom, the very next day, it completely fell off the rails. Boy did I ever jinx things! The flooring (confirmed back in October!) is still sitting in Vancouver so nothing is going to be happening here for the next two weeks. With the flooring install delayed, they cannot go any further with anything, cannot finish the baseboard install, trim, or get the painter in for the last touch-ups, nothing. Absolute and total stop. Just when I thought I was in the clear. I am so very sad, you guys! Trying to keep a stiff upper lip, look at the positives of all the things I can accomplish in the mean time. Trying real hard to make lemonade... So, onwards and upwards. I have actually started a few seeds indoors, finally. Now that I am 12 weeks out from the last frost, I have sown my onions, peppers, eggplants, and celery. Will see what the weather has in store for us in March, the most unpredictable of months. Potager gardens are my gig, I absolutely love growing food in pretty gardens. I first came upon potager gardening when we were posted to Germany in the early 90's. Of course, I had no idea what it was called back then, I just knew that I liked the look of it and have been growing food in a potager ever since! Potagers are organic, happy, thriving, pretty kitchen gardens. You grow flowers with edibles for organic pest control, companion planting, and is lovely to have cutting flowers for the home, too. Check out this article about planting up a potager garden. They even give you a link to a companion planting guide if you want to read more about it. I was at the dollar store the other day and saw lots of these clear tote bins in all sorts of sizes. These totes make great little mini greenhouses and are light enough for you to use for anything and everything. Put your seedlings inside, pop them outside in the part shade location to not cook them, pull them in at night. This will keep your seedlings from stretching out as they will get more natural light and it is cooler outside than it is inside your home. You can even stack the totes on top of each other, like a tiered mini greenhouse or shelving unit. I plan to get a couple and cut out the bottoms. Now wait, here me out. I will then use it as a cold frame for an earlier start for my cucumbers. Will put the tote out, without bottom, for a few days to warm up the soil. Will then pop in my cucumber seeds. As they start to grow, I can vent the top by opening the lid a little, or a lot, as needed, and close it up again at night. Inexpensive coldframe that I do not need to wait for hubby to build for me. Deep watering less often gives you healthier, stronger, happier veggies, here is how to set up a drip irrigation system in your home garden. Have you ever tried to grow your own peanuts? I've tried it twice, just grown a couple of plants to see how they grow. It was fun, I got a handful of peanuts, would happily do it again. Check out this fabulous potting shed/she-shed made from recycled materials. So pretty! This is kind of like the garden trends post I used to put out each year in January. Is all about what we want in our gardens in the year 2023. This article helps you figure out what to grow, can, freeze, and put in your pantry to keep you in groceries during the upcoming year and time of shortages. I would add pasta and rice to the list, as well. This article for trends to try in 2023 is fun with new and interesting ideas for us to grow and try. Different ideas than from the trending link I gave you above. I like # one, think I will do up a small garden devoted to mixology! Maybe make it into a culinary and bevie bed? Decor Bits For us people getting up there in age, or with limitations... many of you know that I have mobility issues, have a balance disorder and need a new hip, so we have been making sure our house is set for me (both of us) to age in place at this new (to us) home. Here are some really great ideas on how to Age Proof Your Bathroom. We have done many of these things in our new sauna bathroom, in the picture above. I wanted no tub to step into but instead a walk in shower. If, at some point, I were to require a wheelchair, is easy to wheel right in there. No glass doors to keep clean either, hah! Plus a bench for me to sit on while I wash up with both a rain shower and a hand held one, should I need it. That teak shelf works as a grab bar, too, as it is solidly screwed into studs. Super easy to keep clean tile floors. We are going to cut that bench in half this summer so that it tucks up at the back of the shower to take up less space, but this will do till then. Not sure what is going on but this post came a couple of days later about making a kitchen ready for aging in place at home. We are in the midst of a kitchen reno and have done most all of these things listed here, except the rounded corners. Cannot wait to share my new kitchen with you all. The cabinets are in place and the guy was here to measure for the counter tops so just a couple more weeks and it will be ready! Why I Chose My Historic Home - Town & Country Living (town-n-country-living.com) I love old homes! My dream, when I was younger, was for the military to post hubby to Kingston, Ontario, where we would buy one of those gorgeous old brick houses with tons of character. The gorgeous storage areas in this small kitchen. How design will make you more productive in your home office. Some nice ideas here! Oddly enough for an avid gardener, I am not big on houseplants. I do, however, have a real love of Swiss Cheese Vines (Monstera adansonii). Even in my low light office, this lovely plant thrives and grows, with little to no special care. Is your week crazy, getting out of hand and not sure how to organise it so that you do not lose your mind? I thought this post had a lot of great ideas for how to make your week easier... but then again, I love making lists and checking them off ; ) Check out some of her other organising ideas on the blog, too. So many great ideas. Spring Bits These lovely spring wreaths! Easy and inexpensive to make! This sandwich cake is very easy to make and looks fabulous. I love sandwich cakes, they were at many of the family get togethers in Sweden. Elevated sandwiches. I have pinned it to my Easy Entertaining board on Pinterest. Can't wait till spring comes! And these yummy Oatmeal Raisin cookies! My favourites. You can make them with dried cherries, blueberries, or cranberries, if you are not a fan of raisins. Happy Sunday! Wishing you a lovely, happy week ahead~ Tanja

The craft room has been cleaned and organised while I wait for spring to arrive, now just needs a crafting table and a shelf of some sort to hold paints and stuff. My parent's old kitchen table is in storage at my brother's house, so hubby will pick it up for me next weekend. Can't wait, it is nothing special, in fact I think it is from Ikea, but will think of my mom and dad whenever I work on it. Memories come about from the simplest of things. Next on the agenda of small fun updates, is a mural in the grandkid's room. I will help with it but is my daughter who is the artist and will actually be doing it. I can just help fill in with a bit of colour here and there, that is the extent of my artistic talents. My inspiration for the room is a woodland theme but with a vintage vibe. My wee seedlings are coming along nicely, have been planting a bit these past two weeks. Not a lot yet as spring comes late to the prairies, hah, but peppers and some flowers are on the go. If you want to read about what I started and how I keep them from getting lanky, see that post here. These 10 cool season crops that grow quickly. Can be direct sown in April or May, depending on the weather here (zone3) or March/April on the island. Can handle light frosts just fine, in fact they prefer that to the heat. Oh, and a tip, you want to plant long season crops (brussels, cabbage) and cool season crops (in the article) before the weather gets too warm. If you try to plant them too late, when temps are high, they will immediately bolt instead of giving you food. If you plant them small, when temps are cool and wet, they will have time to root and settle in before the heat arrives. You have to check out this post with pictures of super cute she-sheds from the outside and inside. Love these ideas for the interiors! I will make sure to put up a whole bunch of plant hangers to hang up all sorts of things from, and a ladder from the ceiling would be such a great way to hang baskets from while they are in the 'cottage-greenhouse'. How to grow epic potatoes! How to Grow Epic Potatoes | Jim Gerritsen's Tips | joegardener® Check out this super pretty garden/potager! .. with tips on how to have a successful garden with no experience. Okay, these sayings about when to plant what are really helpful... if you can remember them all. Definitely helpful if your spring bulbs and trees are starting to bloom now! Garden Diy Bits Make your own really cool looking summer pots. This blogger makes Pottery Barn Dupe vases but I saw this same technique on Cityline last year, but with outdoor pots instead. They turned out absolutely stupendous looking. This craft is on my agenda to make as soon as spring hits. Pin this to do later, if you are like me and want to do the messing about outside. Turn your plastic pots, or inexpensive clay pots, into rock stars! These vases turned out pretty darned great, too, I must say! Cutest spring or Easter pot! Easy craft to make with little ones helping, too. Decor The best whites for your home. I, as you know, am a huge fan of white. I slap white paint on almost anything that stands still long enough. This list of beautiful whites for your home is bang on, whites that never go out of style. Two of the whites on the list are my favourites, as well. Most of my house, like 80% of the walls, are painted in Simply White. A nice, fresh, clean white that pairs well with anything. Chantilly Lace is my other favourite, so soft and pretty, with just a hint of sunshine. How to spray paint curtain rods, and anything else, too. Save money and keep what you have, just give it a new look. I love paint! I am considering painting my chunky rods gold (see the picture above) when the renovation is done (to go with the new blue curtains that will be going up). Will see when I start putting it all back together again, after the reno. Currently this room is being used as my temporary kitchen ; ) This cute apartment is Scandinavian style with it's minimalism but also shabby chic with all the chippy and lots of white. Really unique and pretty. The small hits of blush pink make it work. I would love to do this at a summer cottage, or something, but with hits of green or blue instead of pink. Maybe when I win the millions ; ) This home is full of very bright colours, not at all my thing, but I love the rag rugs, the kid's room, the rustic touches. Hit the translate button to put it into English, the translations are always a bit weird but you will get the gist of it. The house was very run down when she bought it, a bit slouchy, but she fixed it up on a tight budget and made a lovely home. Lifestyle These 5 tips will change your morning, make you feel better, less stressed, and possibly(?) be more productive. Do you buy fast fashion? Do you feel at cross roads about it? You are not alone. The high cost of living is making shopping ethically nigh on impossible for many, and even thrift shopping has changed since the pandemic. Read this short article, it is interesting. Is a bit like the plastic bag issue. The consumers get blamed for using plastic grocery bags and straws but the big corporations keep using it, make no changes, and keep on making millions. What is the answer? That I do not know, all I know is that the only control I have is what I myself do in my own backyard (a phrase that encompasses my home, my life). I found these two great tips for keeping us organised. One for the pantry and one for the whole home. I hate clutter, am not a fan of tchotchkes, but I have stuff and things nevertheless! I'm always trying to figure out how to corral things so they look nice but are still very accessible. At this new house, we have a small kitchen with just a wee, itty bitty pantry. Smallest pantry I think we have ever had so will be crucial to keep it tidy. This video is about how to make your inexpensive store bought print look like a handmade piece of art. Is so simple, too! I just watched this episode of Cityline and now am thinking I need to head to Homesense asap and make me some artwork! That is it for this week's Bits. Fun bits of this and that. Hope you all are having a terrific weekend, wishing you all health and happiness for the upcoming week. Happy nesting while you wait for spring ~ Tanja

I have all sorts of really great garden related links for you today. So time appropriate as spring is just one week away. We still have snow on the ground here, and minus degrees, but they say is supposed to warm up tomorrow. Who knows! It sure would be lovely to get outside and do stuff, even if it is just sweeping off the deck. I have a bunch of wee seedlings in the grandkid's room. It has a south facing window for lots of natural light and we can keep it a wee bit cooler by shutting the heating vent. Will run out of space really fast so hope to get the greenhouse emptied out this week to get it ready to move some stuff in for end of month (along with a small heater for night times). Gardening Bits! The timing for this post about how to fine tune your garden landscaping could not be better as we prepare for the gardening season ahead. It can help you pull your yard together for all the seasons, in case you need a bit of help with the tweaking. This is what Katherine says about spring flowering bulbs... Like everyone, I get seduced by the fall bulb catalogs, and then place an order without knowing exactly where I’m going to plant everything. When the box arrives, it’s challenging to walk around the garden trying to imagine where you’re going to need jolts of color in spring. Better to take snapshots of what the garden looks like in spring (when the fall-planted bulbs would be blooming) and make notes, to use as a reference library when it’s time to order bulbs again. This is something I really need to know as this is my first spring here and I have no idea what, if any, spring flowering bulbs have been planted. I want to know where to put bulbs this fall for a huge pop of spring colour. Are you growing rutabagas this year? Or sometimes called Swedes. You will want to read these instructions as they are started later so that they finish off in the cooler fall weather. End of June-ish here on the prairies. I am growing a bunch of them as they are good storage veggies. Keep well, taste great, low in calories, high in fibre and anticarcinogens. So good for you. We make a casserole with them at Christmas, roasted the rest of the time, and mashed rutabaga is so very yummy. How to grow Swiss Chard from sowing to harvest, and different sorts and colours to try. Do you use Epsom Salt in your gardens? Did you know that in most all areas of the country, our soil is not low in magnesium so using it can actually cause balance issues? If you use it for preventing BER (myth), you will want to read this article. Food for thought. These pots for the shade are so so pretty! I love the one with tiarella and brunnera, but the bleeding heart one is also lovely. Best of all, these two pots are deer resistant, too. They have used perennials in all the containers so you can pop the plants into the garden at the end of the season, or when they start to crowd out your pot (in warmer climes). These two articles are about watering the garden in times of drought or just to save on the water bill.... this one is how to use gravity fed soaker hoses from your water barrel and this one about how to collect rain water. Are you making a new food garden? Revamping an old one? This article shares all the things to think about... plus lots of pretty kitchen garden pictures to look at, too. Check out this one, too. So many ideas! 16 different garden plans! Soil! This one is so good! How to reuse soil in your pots! What kind of soil to use. How to make your garden soil better. Good soil is a really big deal so this article is super helpful. If you have dogs do not do #4, hahaha. I can tell you from experience that it does not go well. I saved the best one for last. This article tells you how to fill your beds in six steps for great soil. As most of you, we built new beds last year and just got started filling them up before the winter came on fast and furious with snow and freezing temps, will finish next month, just in time for planting season. We used straw instead of composted bark mulch, either are fine. I love composted bark mulch but it is harder to find and can be pricey (tip, we use it mixed with potting soil if we are growing roses in pots) whereas straw is pretty cheap in comparison. Great soil takes a few years to develop, but if you practice no-dig gardening and feed with organic matter, you will have amazing soil that is teeming with beneficial soil life in no time at all. Homey Bits Check out these pretty curtains in this space, you guys! (this post is actually about how they decorated the open shelving but my eye went to the drapes and cushions, hahaha). They are so perfect for the room! Choosing the right curtains for your space is a big deal, you all. There are many choices, many that will work, but the curtains decide the vibe of the whole room. Do you want them to fade into the background? Draw your eye to the view? I just recently had to decide this for my living room (will post the pics when the reno is done and I get my rooms back) and had to decide whether they should be bold or blend in softly to the background. The 10 most popular paint colours in Canada. I love these kind of articles. Are you thinking of changing up your cabinet colours (or walls) with paint? Check out the tips here for picking out just the right colour for you. Some cute house things... this bathroom. To be fair, they had great elements already so was a fairly easy update... but how do you feel about painted wooden floors? I love them in older houses where the wood is not in the best shape... but what if they are in great shape, like these ones? Make It Yourself Bits Forcing flowering branches. In warmer climes, you can be forcing plums, cherries, forsythia, and quince right now. Here, we will be pruning our trees and shrubs in the next week or two (before the end of March) so will have branches for forcing apple blossoms. Honestly, they do not even need to be flowering branches. Prune any tree or shrub and bring the branches in for early spring greens. Hang some eggs, bunnies, ribbons, on them to make an Easter tree. You need to do this soon though, in order for them to be greening up for the holidays. 24 things to do before you look at your phone in the morning. This lemon pie! Yum! I cannot wait to make this! I love lemon meringue pies, this one using Meyer's lemons would be just a bit sweeter as the Meyer is a cross between a tangerine and a lemon, so would like to try it to see what I think. I have made Meyer lemon curd before, it was delish! So many great links this week, eh? I will leave you with this light and fluffy lemon dessert idea that I made for one of my spring workshops. Here is the closest recipe that I can find for it, though is not exactly the same as I crumbled some graham crackers at the bottom of mine for a 'crust'. Have a wonderful rest of your Sunday and a terrific week ahead. Hope you all get sunshine and warmth, a bit of garden time in some way or another ~ Tanja

It is here.. well, almost! Just a few hours to go. The first day of spring is tomorrow! We still have a ton of snow on the ground over here but spring is in the air, the melt down has begun. The huge mound in our front yard probably won't melt till June though ; ) This week I have all sorts of Bits about decorating for Easter and gardening as spring is here (sorta). Gardening Bits I have not sown anything new this week, am just keeping an eye on what I already have growing in the window of the grandkid's room. Will sow some more goodies, like tomatoes, at the end of the month. Most things look great but some are so slow to germinate and it is driving me batty! When I had the greenhouse to start things in, I rarely fussed about how long things took to germinate as they were not in my face all day long. Out of sight is out of mind. Inside the house, I check on them a couple of times a day to make they are okay, and they are driving me crazy, hahaha. Oj vej! We are clearing out the greenhouse today. I see that the ground in there has thawed, is lovely, so I am going to sow some cool season crops and they can just come up when they come up. Things like radishes, lettuce/mesclun, scallions, spinach, and maybe a bit of broccolini to see how it does. I am also going to start some flowers from seed and put them in the mini greenhouse inside the big greenhouse, see how they fare. You never know until you try! I used to sow seeds into the raised bed in the unheated hoophouse in February on the island, to be harvesting goodies in May, so this should be the same sort of timing, except the nights get colder. The brassicas were planted in March for harvest in June. So, we will see, will let you know how they fare. If you are in a warmer climate where your nights are not much below freezing, toss those cool season crops in and they will come up all on their own. How to grow mint, beautiful varieties, and what to do with them. Really great advice for growing scab free potatoes from chitting to harvest. Which veggies to grow for the biggest bang for your buck. How to Select Seeds that Yield the Biggest Harvest - Dave's Garden (davesgarden.com) Have you started your tomatoes yet? Me neither! I start mine 6 to 8 weeks before last frost. This keeps them from getting lanky, unhealthy, unhappy. Read this article about when to start tomatoes and why. Not sure when to start yours? This is one of the very best calculators that I have found. Jut put in your last frost date and it will calculate the sowing dates for you (if they give you a range, I always use the latter date to be on the safe side). Put the dates in your journal! This Organic Gardening Summit! I have signed up for it, is totally free! A really, really, really good guide to growing peas! When to sow, how to grow. Super guide. Edible Favorites for Your Cutting Garden - Floret Flowers These great must-have landscape ideas. My elements are definitely not fancy like these ones, but I have many of the elements, or am working on them at any rate : ) These three yard makeovers take boring yards and turn them into food gardens. Love the last one! Decor Bits Oh, to have a cottage like this. The soft hues, the wooden floors. Just so pretty. That lovely stairway reminds me of both my grandmother's houses, and my aunt's, as well. This farmhouse is so pretty! I could move in right now, not change one single thing and be happy as a lark! Is so pretty and perfect, even has a bright, modern sauna! Do you like looking at pictures of kitchens? I seem to! Both bathrooms and kitchens, especially when I am reno-ing, like now, or if I am thinking of doing so (we still have one downstairs that could use some help... some day later on; ) These lovely kitchens will stand the test of time, look just as good in 15 years as they do now. Mine is similar to the first one, but is a whole lot smaller, like a lot lot lot! I also have a bit more colour as I have a blue backsplash. Will soon be able to share these pics with you! Do It Yourself Bits This cute, pastel hued pillow for Easter. Freehand sew around the Easter eggs but if you are not a sewer, you can still make it! This pretty and easy to make spring wreath! Easy to switch it to a summer one later, too! Oh. My. Goodness! I love these pots so much. I love decoupaging! She also has a link to some gorgeous spring printables to make into cards or put them in a frame and hang on your wall. Love hydrangeas? Me, too! check out this post about how to make your real hydrangeas last a long time in a vase and faux ones that look like the real thing. You all know I love white paints! Will slap paint on anything that stands still long enough. These whites are not super white, except 2 of them... those are my favourites, of course; ) We Sampled 8 Popular White Paint Colors, Here are Our Favorites... — The Grit and Polish We are going to make something like this, just need to figure out where to put it! How to Build an Outdoor Pizza Oven - CityGirl Meets FarmBoy | Hometalk That is all I have for this week... but it is quite a lot, all in all, eh? I love all the gardening ideas, am pinning and journaling things to try. Hubby is emptying out the greenhouse right now so I need to go out there and have a snoop. We are also pruning the apple tree today! Hope you had a great weekend! Wishing you all a spring filled week ahead ~ Tanja

You guys! I am so excited that it is felling like spring around here. I know the weather is still going to be up and down for weeks yet, but am enjoying the melt, can see most of the patio, can sit on the deck soaking up the Vitamin D and watch the water running. Do you have shady areas in your yard but not sure what to grow there? Are you, like me, trying to use as much of your yard for growing food as you possibly can? Check out this post for all the tips on what to grow where. I am so excited to have a shady area in this new yard so I can grow things like lettuces and brassicas longer in the year before they bolt! Here are some lovely ideas for upping your landscape game. I like the lighting idea, I really need to figure out the best lighting instead of just putting sting lights everywhere ;) Though, I bet we end up with string lights, just like last time, hahaha! The Marigold Garden Cottage (@themarigoldgardencottage) • Instagram photos and videos How to grow tulips and what are the best kind to grow? I love them all but tend to prefer simple ones over fancy newbies, but gotta admit, like the look of parrots. For growing in the yard, I like the short little species ones as they naturalise, Darwins next best for their longevity, but my favourites to grow are Mentons for both colour (apricot/pink) and height! Growing potatoes, lots of great information, including how to choose what varieties to grow. My favourites are Norland, Bananas (fingerlings), and Sieglinde but I also like Russets. Having a hard time growing carrots? Read this article about how to grow great carrots. Do you have problems with cabbage moths? Here are two articles, this one, and this one, on what to do about that. I will be talking a lot more about companion planting over the next month or two. This easy to do before and after of a regular backyard shed, from tired looking to wow! Truly easy to do and made such a huge difference. Garden chores list for the month of March, or probably April for those of us here on the prairies ; ) All these ideas for what to dehydrate! I have decided that i will be drying a whole lots of things this year, such a great way to store fruits and foods for long storage. Great for snacking and baking, so many ideas that I see here, I just have to remember them all! ALL these Easter ideas! Check them out to get your creative juices flowing. We should have the reno completed some time this week so will have some semblance of order for Easter but no time to go all out with the decor this year. I did make this lovely wreath for the front door though! It cost me just $8.40 to make with dollar store flowers as I already had the grapevine wreath. Will hang it up out front as soon as the contractors leave the house so I can start cleaning and organising. Till then, all the fun things live in my office with me ; ) Make this Moss Wreath. Or, this lovely floral spring themed wreath that takes just 15 minutes to make. This is where I got the inspo for mine. This one is just for us dreamers. What a wonderful property, the things I could do there! That conservatory! Want to grow your own grain? Read this article about Amaranth. Grown previously as an ornamental mostly but the grains are edible! Gluten free and high in protein. I love amaranth, though I've always grown it as an ornamental, thus far anyways. In my wee Garden Shop bed above, I thought all the amaranth were the same, but you can see as they started to grow, that one of the six packs was actually Hot Biscuits, an upright gold hued one, rather than the cascading Coral Fountain I thought it was. Turned out great. looks intentional as the uprights were in the back, trailing ones in front :) Ps, there are dwarf dahlias under the amaranth but the amaranth were really thriving in the drought, such a hot and dry summer in 2021. The dahlias are called Venti Passion Fruit, and are a lovely pink with peach undertones. Absolutely love and highly recommend this dahlia! I eventually harvested the amaranth and gave it all to my friends' chickens to eat, while I enjoyed the rest of the summer with my dahlias. Hoping you all are enjoying spring-ish weather! Happy Sunday, my friends ~ Tanja

There is nothing quite as gratifying as picking homegrown lemons from your own lemon tree, to make your famous lemon mousse cups for Easter dinner, or to dress your salmon and squirt on your asparagus. Location, Location, Location Location is everything, in both winter & summer WINTER- Citrus trees usually do their flowering and fruiting in fall and winter so you really want the ideal spot for them when you bring them into the house or greenhouse. My two citrus trees, a Key lime and a Meyer's lemon, have been sitting in a south facing window in the grandkid's room since October and seem to love it in there. Both have put on new growth, some fruits, and lots of flowers. Usually citrus tend to survive indoors but not really thrive, so I am very pleasantly surprised. I think the sunny prairie winter days make all the difference. I turned off the heating vent to keep the room a bit cooler, with no warm or cool drafts. If you live in the grey PNW and want to bring your citrus indoors, pick a cool place in your home, a spare room maybe? Make sure it is not by a heating vent, wood stove, opening slider door, or any other drafts, and definitely use grow lights to brighten those grey rainy days. Bright is the key! They also want it cool , not hot, not drafty. In winter, citrus trees prefer to be on the cooler side, ideally around 10°C but anywhere from 5° to 15°C (40° to 60°F) is great. In the heated greenhouse, I used to keep the heater at about 5°C degrees and they thrived. In late winter and spring, I kept them around 10°C, which was not possible in the dead of winter as it was cost prohibitive. These ones here in the window are about 15 ish, even with the vent closed, also thriving. SUMMER - Potted lemons and citrus trees do not want to be out in the blazing hot from dawn till dusk. Find a spot that gets morning sun and then dappled during the hot afternoons, or dappled during the day and full on in the evening sun. They like lots of sun but not the full-on hot sun from dawn till dusk. Put them under your apple trees for dappled shade, on your deck, on the east or west facing patio. They will thank you for the bit of a breather. SPRING - My lemon and lime are now living in the en-suite shower stall. This is a shower that we no longer use now that we have the sauna and new shower room so is the perfect place for them to hang out till they can go back outside for the summer. Is bright, cool, and they are away from heating vents and all drafts. I can water and spray the foliage to my heart's content! When Can They Go Outside? - Your citrus can go outside when night time temps are just above zero, so I am thinking May here on the prairies, haha, but right about now on the west coast. I will put mine out into the wee greenhouse in April, when I start heating it so that it stays just above zero at night. Citrus can handle a light frost on the foliage, so if it were to happen, do not fret, they will be fine. HARDENING OFF- When you bring them outside, from in the house or greenhouse, you want to acclimate them to the new conditions. Out in the shade for the first few days, not full sun, and bring them in for the night if there is a big temperature difference from where they were to where they are going. In the zone 7, I took them from the heated greenhouse to the unheated one for couple of weeks first, to acclimate, and then put them outside on a grey day. If you have no greenhouse to put them in, put them in the gazebo, on the covered porch, someplace where they do not get full sun right away or you will get sunburnt leaves and they will fall off. Watering & Feeding Keep them on the dry side. Water only when the top few inches of soil is dry. If I stick my finger into the pot and the soil is dry, I will water thoroughly, but if it still feels moist, I wait a bit longer till I water. Do not leaving them sitting in a saucer of water. Citrus do not like wet feet. If they are over-watered, too cool, and/or not bright enough, the leaves will start to curl under. Too wet and they will start to drop their leaves. They don't like bone dry but they don't like wet. I always err on the side of drier soil. In winter, I am watering every 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the how fast the soil dries out. It is not in an active growth time and the days are shorter, so less water needed. In summer, I am watering sometimes every second day. Don't be afraid of sticking your finger in the soil. In spring, you want to flush out the salts that build up in the soil from regular watering and fertilising throughout the year. Run the water till you see the water running freely from the bottom. I will do this 2 or 3 times. You can wait till you take them outside if you do not feel like hauling them into the shower ; ) How you feed them really depends on what kind of fertiliser you can find, but they like a high nitrogen fertiliser (first number), with about twice the nitrogen to the phosphorous (middle number). Never fertilise with a water soluble fertiliser on dry soil. They say not to feed your limes if they look healthy as the feed is not necessary and may instead make them unhappy. I have been using this water soluble citrus and evergreen fertiliser (30-10-10) now and again, and they are doing really well on it. You can give this to them once a month from spring through fall, taking a break for three months from November through till February. If your leaves are very yellow or limey in colour (new growth is always lighter in colour, they are not a worry), this should do the trick to start greening them up again. General feeding - If you are able to find a slow release fertiliser meant for citrus, yay! The one I used to use was discontinued and I miss it! Follow the directions on the container, it is usually applied every 6 weeks during the growing season. When they go outside, I give them a top dressing with manure or compost and mix in some kind of slow release fertiliser. I really like Acti-Sol hen manure pellets (It is a 5-3-2). I use this for tomatoes, garlic, any kind of food crops, roses, and have heard you can even use it on lawns, if you happen to be a lawn person. (This is also what I would feed rhubarb, fruiting trees and shrubs, ornamentals, too). You can also use this as a slow release fertiliser year round, as needed. If you cannot find Acti-Sol, you can mix a bit of blood and bone meal to the top dressing instead. I have often just fed them with liquid seaweed and a few dressings of compost per year, too, and they thrive just fine. Worm castings added to your manure is also a great organic feed, at 10% strength. So, if you make a mix to give all your plants, put 9 scoops of potting soil into a bin and 1 scoop of worm castings. Mix it about and top dress your potted plants. Pollination Citrus flower and fruit mainly in fall and winter time while there are no bugs around so you may need to help them out to ensure that you get fruits! Take a q-tip, paint brush, or small battery powered toothbrush to vibrate each blossom, go from flower to flower. Potting Up & Repotting When you buy your citrus tree, take it out of the plastic pot and put it into a nice clay/terracotta pot. Plastic holds in moisture and citrus really dislike wet feet. Clay pots breathe and dry out faster so the citrus thrive. How I figured this out - I had two little lemon trees left on my nursery floor that had not sold in spring. I decided to keep one for myself, and being a bit of a clay pot snob, hah, I put my lemon into a pretty terracotta pot and left the one I was going to sell in the one litre plastic pot. They sat side by side in the nursery, in the shade during the afternoon, and by end summer, my lemon had more than doubled in size compared to the one in plastic. Live and learn everyday! Since then, my lemons (and olives) have always lived in clay pots. You should usually not have to repot your tree more than every 3rd or 4th year, depending on how fast it is growing. Often times, you can root prune and leave it in the same pot, not having to upsize till later. Once my trees got to my biggest pots (see the picture of them outside all in a row), I just root pruned every 3rd year, freshened up the soil, and put them back into the same pot. Pruning and repotting should be done when there are no flowers or fruits on the tree, which is usually in late spring. Root Pruning - I find this easiest to do with a helper. Pull the lemon tree out of the pot, have someone hold it for you while you prune, or lay it down carefully on a tarp while you work on it. - Pull off the bottom third of the roots. These roots will be small, sometimes white and soft, will come off easily with your fingers. If it is really root bound, do not be afraid to use the blade of your pruners to start digging into the root ball and loosening it up. I have never had mine be as root bound as the plant in the picture above, but you can see that he basically just pulled it off, cutting as needed. I do not cut into the thicker roots, just leave them be, but if they are really long, you can shorten them up a bit. - Rub some of the soil off of the entire root ball. - Dump out the old soil (into the compost bin is great). Fill up the bottom of pot with fresh, new soil. I use my 'secret' recipe of 5 parts potting soil to 2 or 3 parts of manure or compost. If you happen to have composted pine bark, you can add one part of that, too, but never use fresh bark. It must be the composted stuff. - Put the plant back into the pot, fill the edges with your new soil mix. Good to go for another three years. Pruning Branches - Dwarf citrus, especially Meyer's lemons, do not tend to need a lot of pruning but if you give it a going over once a year, or every couple of years, it will make for a happier, better producing tree. Take off any dead branches, any really skinny wee branches coming off of the branches or main stem, crossing branches, and upwards growing water sprouts. Always remove growth from below the graft, that will be rootstock. If you see a zigzagging branch, that is rootstock, you want to remove it. If you have branches growing in towards the middle of your tree, prune those out. Last would be to shorten branches that are too long for better shape. It will promote new growth, better fruiting, and keep it more compact. Cut just above an outward facing bud so that the new growth grows out rather than in towards the center of the tree. All About Bugs Citrus are prone to soft scale but are rarely bothered by other bugs, though you may get aphids or whitefly now and again. Spraying for bugs on citrus (and indoor plants) is a 3-step process. I will do this a few times before they go outside for the summer. I do not spray outside as I may be killing off beneficial insects or pollinators. Hose off plants with a strong jet of water. If you have scale, make sure to do the stems and branches really well to get rid of them while they are still at the creepy crawly stage (see the picture above). Spray thoroughly with End-All or Trounce, making sure to get stems and undersides of leaves. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse off the residue and dead bugs with a strong jet of water. This strong spray does not hurt the plant, just cleans off dead leaves, bugs, and debris. This is not going to get rid of scale on the leaves and stems as the bug is protected by that shell they have made. You will need to rub or wipe those off with a cloth or soft scrub brush. Grab a bucket of warm, soapy water, a soft brush, and a cloth. Scrub the branches with the brush, wipe the leaves with the cloth. I usually go along and squish or scrape them off with my fingers before I go along with the brush. It is gross, very gross. You can also use baby bum wipes on the leaves. Keep in mind that if you hose off the stems each time you water, you will be blowing most of them away before they can build that shell. Tips - Bearss or Key Lime, Eureka Lemon, Pink Variegated Eureka Lemon, and Meyer's Lemons are the best for growing in pots. You can also grow oranges and mandarins, plus there is now a new dwarf grapefruit, also. Lemons grown from seed will rarely produce fruits and if they do, they will not likely be true to form, or tasty. Happy citrus growing! Tanja

Succession planting is staggering your planting to extend the seasonal harvest of your favourite vegetables. There is no doubt that it requires a bit of extra forethought and planning but is worth it for the extended harvests, eating organic homegrown from spring till winter. There are several ways to do successive sowing. You all know how I roll! I want to grow as much as I can but in the easiest possible manner. Life is complicated enough! So here are some of the ways I extend my growing season. Plant several varieties of the same veggie with different maturity dates. 1. This is my most favourite ways to succession plant. Grow the same vegetable but with varying harvest dates. They are sown or planted at the same time but mature at different rates for that extended harvest. You can do this with most all vegetables but here are some of my favourites. Growing tomatoes is my biggest passion. I plant them all at the same time but with varying maturity dates so that I stay in tomatoes from early summer till frost. I plant early, mid, and late ripening varieties. Here are just a few of my favourites from each grouping, but there are oh so many more. You grow the types you like best. I tend to prefer the black and green tomatoes over red ones, and love beefsteaks the most. Early tomatoes ripen really early in the season - 50 to 65 day growing season. These will be determinate varieties of cherries and slicers. The majority of the earlies are red, but there are also a few early yellows. Some that I highly recommend are Elfin, Droplet, Sprite (cherries) and Early Annie, Latah, Stupice, Russian Saskatchewan, Sasha's Altai, Manitoba (slicers). Main Crop/Mid-Season are tomatoes that mature in 65 to 80 days. They cover all the tomato groups, so cherries, slicers, pastes, and even a few beefsteaks. These ones are my most favourite to grow - Black Krim, Black Prince, Chianti Rose, Dwarf Hannah's Prize, Dwarf Purple Heart, Green Zebra, Pink-Berkeley Tie-Dye, and most all of the determinate paste tomatoes like Heidi, Heinz 2653, Martino's Roma, Ropreco. Late Season are 80 plus days, usually beefsteak types, as well as storage tomatoes - Mystery Keeper, Long Keeper, Boxcar Willie, Bullsheart, Aunt Ruby's Green, Aunt Ginny's Purple. My favourites to grow and eat ; ) Peas are another vegetable I sow with different harvest dates. I grow a container pea called Little Crunch over the edges of my raised beds, sowing them as early as possible, harvest in 58 days. These have short 24 inch vines and make chubby little snap peas that are so sweet and yummy (in the picture above). Renee's Garden Seeds also carries a new, even shorter vined snap pea called Snack Hero. I have not yet tried it, but am sure they are wonderful. In addition to the snap peas, I grow a shelling pea called Alderman Tall Telephone. These guys take 70 to 78 days to mature, grow on long 8 foot vines that are just loaded with peas. I also do this with beans, growing bush beans with a shorter growing season and pole beans that will come in a few weeks later. Potatoes are another crop that you can purchase for early, mid, or late season. I grow for fresh eating throughout the summer, and for storage to eat throughout the winter. Some of my favourites to grow are Russet Burbank, Banana, Yukon Gold, Ama Rosa, Sieglinde, but the very best tasting one is Norland. Some other vegetables you can grow for different harvest times are broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, eggplant, kale, melon, kale, summer squash. Stagger Sowing/Planting the Same Vegetable 2. Another way to succession sow is to sow/plant the same vegetable a week, two, or three weeks apart. Sometimes months apart. This is what most people think of when they think succession planting : ) If you have been following me for any length of time, you know that in my Zone 7 home, I would sow carrots three times a year - in early January, May, and again in the first week of July. Here on the prairies, I will be trying 2 sowings, one in September/October and another in late May or early June. Do not be afraid to try new things! If they do not work, you lost a buck or two, if they do, you gained a whole harvest! You can stager sow peas, broccoli, lettuces, radishes, beans, beets, cucumbers, spinach and greens. So many things! Leave room for another row as you are sowing or planting, or plant another row after you harvest something else. Like harvest a row of radishes (30 days) then sow another row of peas, or carrots, or beans. Another way that I stagger the sowing of peas is to plant a row of soaked peas, one row of not soaked peas, and another row of pre-started peas on the same day, or around the same time. The starts will produce first, the soaked peas will come up two weeks later, and the dry soaked peas will come up two weeks after that. I have also tried this with corn but did not notice much difference in the harvest times. Plant Different Plants In The Same Space 3. Yet another way of succession sowing is to replace short early season crops with a summer or fall crop. Replace peas with rutabagas, fall cauliflower, broccoli, kale. Replace finished spring greens with beans and then later with fall greens. Plant something summery in the place of harvested radishes, turnips, or bolting lettuces. Cucumbers are great following peas, the nitrogen from the peas makes for better cukes. Don't forget that fall (late summer) greens, broccoli, cauliflowers, etc have to be started 6 weeks before you want to plant them, so in the middle of summer! Very few greenhouses sell fall veggies as it is not profitable for them, so if you want them, start a few trays in a shady, cooler location of the yard. Interplanting/Undercropping 4. Planting two different species of plants together in the same place. This is usually done by planting a fast crop, or an early crop, beside a slow to mature crop. Think small, short plants in a row in between two larger plants rows. Like lettuce between cabbages or broccoli. The lettuce will be harvested before the cabbage or broccoli gets really big. Or corn planted in early summer between your spring sown spinach. The spinach gets shade from the corn and is harvested long before the corn is ready. Or grow a spinach beside where you will be putting your tomatoes.. spinach will be long gone before the tomatoes start to size up. Sow fast growing spring crops like lettuce, spinach, radishes, baby greens, baby turnips, kale or beets in and amongst these slower maturing crops... - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant - cabbages and other brassicas - Long season root crops like carrots, onions - Squashes, melons, cucumbers - Peas and beans, the vines will provide shade for the greens and prevent bolting. Or fall crops in between summer crops. Or root crops between climbers or upright crops. You can easily grow greens, lettuces, radishes in between rows of just about anything. There is so much more I could say about this wonderful topic but you get the picture! You all remember this cucumber experiment when I got here to the new house? I usually direct sow my cucumbers into pots and the garden in late May. I then start a couple of new pots (2 or 3 seeds in each pot) in early to mid July for fresh cukes till fall. Last summer, we got here to the new house in mid July and I suddenly decided at the end of the month, that I wanted to try some growing some cucumbers. I sowed up three pots, one with a slicer (Alpha Beit, Persian Baby Cukes, and Chelsea Long English). This was a late start in a short summer area but you know what? It paid off in spades. The alpha beit did nothing at all really, was a bust, but the other two produced like crazy all the way till frost took them down in October! We had fresh cucumbers for 2 months. So glad I decided to try this., Anyway, I always grow two batches of cukes per summer, plus a big batch of pickling cucumbers, as well, as we eat a lot of them. Grow what you eat & Don't be afraid to try New Things ~ Tanja

When I first starting running these 'plan your potager' workshops, I thought it was going to be pretty easy. Give everyone a plan or two to work from (like those ones you see advertised in the garden planners all the time) and talk a bit about how to plant and grow, bingo and done. As I started to put it on paper though, I realised that it was not nearly that simple. We all like to eat and grow different foods, have different needs from our gardens, have differing yards with more or less sun, wind, wildlife, and varying experience with growing. Therefore, sadly, without coming to your house, it is simply not possible to give you a set plan and say here you go, plant your garden like this. However, if you follow these steps, I have made it make sense (I hope) so that you will have a food garden that works for your family, growing what you like to grow and eat. Planning out your garden takes much longer than the actual planting up does so is a good idea to do it up ahead of time. Can you wing it? Of course you can! If, however, you want to grow as much as you can and want them to thrive, is good to make at least a cursory planting plan. You can change things about a bit as you start planting (I do it all the time, I am fickle like that, haha) but I like to have a basic idea of what veggies I am planting where. There are TWO parts to making a planting plan. First, deciding what you are going to be growing. Second, figuring out what to plant where for the best results. Planning out your beds, what to plant where, takes a lot of time, no matter who you are but especially if you are newer to gardening. Even professional growers, who make a living growing groceries in urban gardens, say that making the plan is the most time consuming part. So grab yourself a cup of coffee and some snacks, find a quiet space to spread out and work, dive in. The steps in deciding ''What To Grow' This first part is similar to the post I made about how to decide what seeds to buy . This will help you figure out how much room you need for what you want to grow. 1. What does your family eat? Make a list of all the veggies, fruits, berries that each member of your family eats, from parents to teens and toddlers, too. It is easy to get carried away at the nursery seed counter but if you do some planning first, you will know exactly what to buy. Whether you go from seed or plant does not matter, all that matters is that you grow great organic food for you and the family. If your family loves smoothies, you will want to plan for lots of greens like spinach, kale, lettuce, plus carrots, beets, strawberries. Whatever goes into the morning smoothie. If, on the other hand you only eat a certain vegetable on occasion, or only one person in the family likes it, it may be better to buy that item at the market and save the growing space for other things. If you like parsnips, as I do, but no one else will touch them, do not waste the space but rather buy the occasional parsnip for your roasted veggie dinner. 2. How much space do you have in your garden? If your garden is roomy, fill it up with all the things that you eat. In my last garden, I had room for it all. Anything I wanted, including pumpkins for the grandkids. Now, however, I have to be choosy as we have about a tenth of the garden space. If you have to pick and choose, some people like to pick the more expensive items to grow and buy the cheaper ones at the grocers. Some like to grow more of things they can freeze, dry, store, or can. Some grow just the things they want for fresh eating in summer. Squash takes up a lot of room and is relatively inexpensive, so you may want to leave the zucchini and butternuts off your list. We love to grow and eat heirloom tomatoes, bell peppers, and English cucumbers. Keep in mind that you do not have to just grow them in traditional beds, you can use pots, planters, hanging baskets (for lettuces and peas), and window boxes. Grow your food vertically, too, on trellises, fences, stakes, or obelisks, to save space. Peas, beans, squash, can all grow up. Potatoes in pots are great, saving that space for other things. I also grow all my peppers and eggplants in pots as they produce better for me that way. 3. Do you do any canning? Dehydrating? Freezing? If you make salsa for Taco Tuesdays, or sauces for pasta nights, pizza sauce or ketchup, plant lots of tomatoes. If you like dried fruits, grow some sour cherries (the Sweetheart series is wonderful and super hardy), strawberries, apples, rhubarb, etc.. Freeze your peas, beans, broccoli, tomatoes (whole). Make sauerkraut, pickled beets and carrots? If you do any of this, add those fruits and veggies to your grow list. We do a whole lot of canning and dehydrating. We grow for fresh eating but grow a whole lot more to fill the pantry with year-round organic food. Some veggies store fresh in a cold room, like spaghetti squash and carrots, while others are processed so jars of sauces line the shelves. I also love dehydrated fruits, like the cherries I mentioned above, pears, apples, strawberries. You can also dehydrate your garlic for homemade garlic powder/salt, all kinds of herbs, plus grow your own chili powder, cayenne, and paprika powder (these are all from peppers, btw, just in case you did not know). 4. Know your garden zone and climate so you know what you can grow and when to plant it. Here is a really good planting guide. Google up the last average frost date for your area, put it into the box at the top and it calculates the planting/sowing dates for you. How to put a plan on paper Now the hard part... putting those plants down on paper so you know what to plant where. You will get better at this with experience. With time, you will just know how far apart your plants are grown and their water needs so will be much less time consuming to figure out the plan. You will also get to know your yard and garden to know what thrives best where. I am going to share some guidelines to help you get started. Don't stress about it, truly! Just plant and try things out. Guaranteed that most all of your plants will thrive and produce if you have good soil and sunshine. Some veggies will not do as well and that may be because of the weather, the season, the variety, pests, etc... there are so many factors that come into play and most of them are out of your hands. Plan, plant, harvest, enjoy your harvest. 1. Draw out your garden beds on grid paper, or computer paper, in your journal, wherever you like. I sometimes put in the journal so that I can look back on it year after year but I most often draw out my yard, my gardens on a sheet of paper and take a copy of it for next year. It does not have to be fancy, just a fairly good idea of the size of the beds and draw them big enough that you can plot in the veggies that you want to grow in each bed. Your drawing can be as simple or as fancy as you like. I only make very basic ones, like what you see above. I then can put the right veggies into the right areas. You may want more detailed drawings. 2. Take the list of fruits and veggies that you made above. If you are planting fruit trees or shrubs, put them on your plan first. They may take a few years to start producing, so get them in right away. Next decide where perennial and long lived fruits/veggies will go as they will stay in place. These are things like asparagus, horseradish, rhubarb, and strawberries (not perennial but are only replaced every 3rd or 4th year). There is nothing worse than planting asparagus and then deciding that you have have to move it in a year or two as it takes 3 to 5 years before you really start to get a good harvest. 3. Put the annual veggies from your list into three columns... cool weather, hot weather, and long season. Knowing their needs will help you plot them out on your plan, making sure that you do not plant up your prime tomato location with long season crops. You may want to make two copies of your garden so that you can plan out your cool season and long season crops on one copy, your heat lovers on the other copy. Cool Weather - planted in spring, harvested before the heat comes, bolts in summer (or grow in in a shaded area). Sow more in mid-summer for harvest in fall. Warm Weather - heat lover that cannot tolerate frosts or cold temps. Long Season - have a long growing season of 80 to 100 days till maturity. You plant in spring and harvest in fall or early winter. Things like the brussels can even handle snow! You plant them in spring and harvest for Thanksgiving. Parsnips and Leeks would also go into this column, if you are growing them. I would put kale in this row as it is not pulled out for summer like the other cool season crops. Here is my veggie list for this year. Make sure that everything on your grow list works in your zone. Things like watermelon need a lot of heat and take a long time so will benefit from a heated greenhouse to extend the season. Cool season crops like peas, onions, lettuce and greens can be sown in temps as low as +1°C (35°F) and the other cool season just a few weeks later, at around +4°C (40°F) so mid April and early May here on the prairies, give or take a week or two, depending on the weather. Sow seeds as early as soil can be worked, or buy/grow seedlings that you can pop into the garden a few weeks later. I grow more cool season crops in spring than I do in late summer as I have less space (and energy) later in the summer. For continuous food, sow or plant something into any empty spots that come about as you harvest. 4. Most all fruits and veggies will need 6 to 8 hours of sunshine to thrive and to taste richer, sweeter, better. The veggies that make (juicy) fruits, like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, corn, artichokes, eggplants, beets, onions, carrots, etc will all need more sunshine, while veggies that make just stalks/greenery generally need much less, things like lettuce, kale, scallions, cabbage can pretty much grow in the shade. In my drawing you will see that on the north side of my yard, that strip between the fence and the house, I have a shade bed where I can grow my lettuces, spinach, radishes, greens of all sorts that are cool weather lovers and tend to bolt in the heat. This area only gets about 4 hours of sunshine in total, about 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours again in the evening as the sun sets. The other side yard, the one on the south side, gets a lot of sun, is a hot area so great for melons, grapes, squash, the sun lovers and out of zone plants. 5. Plan for putting veggies with the same watering needs together, in the same bed. Water less often but deeply to develop great strong root systems, and thus healthier plants. I use these flat weeping hoses that you see in the above picture. Most all veggies only require water a good, deep watering once a week, every 5 to 7 days. When I was working outside of the home, I watered on the weekends. During the week, my days were too long and busy for me to make it out to the garden, and I do not water in the evening as wet soil or leaves causes powdery mildew. So, things like potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, broccoli, cabbage, just about everything only needs one good soak a week. If you got some rain during the week, I would still water on watering day unless it was a really long, steady drenching rain. A sprinkle (or a sprinkler, hah!) only wets the surface of the soil, does not water the roots of the plants. Tomatoes I water every 3rd day with a good deep soak, so twice a week and the same with squash, though it can easily also go once a week. If you overwater tomatoes and peppers, you will get very bland tasting fruits, just watery and tasteless. Let them go dry in between watering so that they develop that rich flavour. Peppers I grow in pots and only water once a week. 6. Spacing is key. If you are new to gardening, follow the spacing recommended on the seed package or the plant label. You will have great veggies as they will have room to grow and you will get to know your plants. Seedlings are so tiny that it is hard to imagine that those cabbages will be 18 inches wide in late summer! I have 3 cabbages per row here in my 4 foot wide beds, 3 different varieties of cabbage. If you have been gardening for a few summers now and are familiar with how plants grow and size up, shake it up a bit and try something new... intensive planting. Plant them just a few inches closer to each other and the rows closer together. Only do this if you have good air flow in your garden. I do not plant my tomatoes or squash closer together, I follow the guidelines for them as they are very prone to mildew and I want good crops. However, I do interplant with other plants. Interplant tall plants with sprawling plants or with root crops. Grow spaghetti squash at the base of your corn or onions between your cabbages, carrots between your dale, cauli, or broccoli. Plant a bit more intensively for a bigger harvest. Just make sure you do not water with a wand that wets the leaves, water in the mornings at soil level only. If you want to read more about this, it is often called interplanting or French Intensive gardening. 7. Add flowers and herbs to your garden to attract beneficial insects and pollinators. The beneficials will keep your garden pest free and the bees will pollinate your veggies. Add a border of annuals, or put a row of flower like calendula, marigolds, or alyssum between your crops, especially the ones that tend to get buggy, like the brassica family. Grow perennials that you like in your beds, too, like lilies or roses, anything flowering will attract even more beneficial insects and pollinators. Interplant tomatoes with basil, parsley, and marigolds. Interplant carrots with onions and calendula, cabbages with sweet alyssum. 8. Keep notes on what grew well, what did not, if you think something would have done better in a different location, mark that down in your journal. I am a very basic journal-er. I just write down notes to myself but I ooh and aah over the gardeners who make their journals pretty. Something I really want to start doing. Check out Zoe's Garden Prints on insta. Do not get discouraged if something does not work out. No one ever is 100% successful with everything they plant each year as Mother Nature loves to throw wicked curveballs. Some years have a wet and cool spring so pollination is spotty for less produce or weirdly shaped tomatoes and strawberries. Some year is so hot and dry that plants bolt (go to seed) or just languish in the heat. I have been growing for 3 decades so like to think I have a pretty good idea of what I am doing by now but still no year is ever perfect. Some years I may only get a few squash on the vines as I get mainly male flowers, or maybe my onions are smaller than usual due to the heat. It is out of my hands, I just keep on growing and tell myself that next year will be better. Gardener's Motto... there's always next year ; ) Let me know if there is something that need clarifying, more information. Happy Potager Planning ~ Tanja