It’s that time again. You ask, and I pretend to know things and answer your burning questions. It really is so much fun to open my inbox and see the wide variety of questions you guys have. Reminds me that my readers are so diverse and pretty dang awesome. So keep those questions coming and I’ll keep racking my brain for answers. As always, please pipe up if you have any input or are knowledgeable when it comes to any of the following questions:
You completely transformed the backyard of your previous house into a gardening paradise. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, though. Did you have trouble selling the house or did it actually become one of the selling points?
~ Erin
Great question! Because our last property was on a little over an acre in a development of like homes and like-sized wooded lots, I don’t think the vegetable garden factored into the sale of the house either way. However, if I had a smaller lot {like I do now} I wouldn’t go super crazy with the vegetable plots like I did at the last house. We had 16 garden boxes/plots with about 2,000 square feet of {food} growing areas. This time around since we are on a little over a 1/3 acre and have less people to feed, I think my garden plan is for 2 large {6×12} raised garden beds on the side yard and a boatload of containers on the patio {along with several “secret gardens” tucked in as well}.
That way I can scale down the vegetable garden when we eventually put the house on the market. I will replace the side vegetable garden {where I have cabbage and radishes growing now}, with annual flowers for a bit of color.
Were you able to grow okra in your greenhouse? You mentioned getting the seeds, but I didn’t see anything else about how the okra were doing. Curious because I live in Sammamish, WA, and want to grow okra this year. Last year I did really well with other plants like eggplants and peppers, {and tomatoes and cucumbers, of course}, so now that I’ve learned some tricks, I wanted to try my hand at okra. I got two varieties that have low Days to Maturity, and only want to proceed if it is worthwhile.
Much thanks for your input!
~Anita
I had high hopes for my okra but they did not do well. I think it’s because I planted them too early and because it just isn’t warm enough here. Okra grows best in hot climates, but I thought I could get away with growing it if it was in full sun. I researched it a bit and I think I might have needed to add a fertilizer to my soil to get it to grow. I’m not giving up though. I just might try again this year!
Hi last year on your site I read a dog tick repellent recipe and can no longer find it…please help!
~Lynda
I haven’t done a dog tick repellent recipe post yet, but it sounds like I should! I’ve always just used one similar to this recipe. Any of you lovely readers out there have a go-to repellent recipe you use? Please share in the comments section!
A question for you, my family and I are preparing for a move {about 30 miles from our current home} this summer and I am wondering about the food that I have accumulated in my pantry and freezer. I am curious if, in preparation for your move, you found yourself consuming much of what you had on hand in order to have less to move or if you just went about your family shopping/eating habits as usual?
~ Mona
Glad you asked because this was something I actually planned out. Once I knew we were moving, I took an inventory of everything I had that I didn’t want to have to move. Some of my bulk items I knew would travel well and I also knew we could never eat them down, so I ignored those. I really tried hard to plan meals around pantry items I wanted to use up. It changed our menus a bit, but nothing crazy. I duplicated more meals than normal and didn’t eat through as much as I had hoped, but it sure helped when we were packing everything up!
Pam says
I moved about 2 years ago and faced the problem of moving my food stash. Our move distance was only 250 miles but was far enough that moving frozen/perishable items was going to be a problem. So I emptied freezers and fridge prior to the move – partly by planning meals to use it up and partly by sharing with friends/neighbors. I moved ALL of my dried/canned goods. The kids/hubby all complained with having to carry them out of the old house and into the new, but they were thrilled to be able to eat good food from Day #1 in the new house.
Carole Browne says
I have an excellent suggestion for insect repellant for humans, dogs, or any animal. Swan Maiden Soaps in Cincinnati Ohio makes an insect repellant called “jitterbug”. I have purchaded this myself and boy does it work! It is a natural blend of plant essences, vitamin E, aloe and grapeseed oil that was tested in the jungles of Belize by the owner of the company. I use it all summer long and it not only repells insects but it is moisturizing for your skin. We bought a bottle for a friend who had a problem with ticks and fleas on her dog and she said it was great! The dog could lick itself all it wanted and injested no harmful chemicals. It is under their Flowers & Earth line of products. They do mail order. Check it out!
Christine Hagen says
Okra does require a lot of sun and a lot of heat . We live in south Georgia and grow okra every year. We plant in mid – April but it doesn’t really take off until June when the night temps are above 70. Your night temps might be a little too cool.
Mavis says
I really think the south has the okra growing market cornered! I so wish I could make it work over here!
Lisa Millar says
In regards to the moving and food question.
When we moved down to Tassie we were very restricted on bringing food down here. There is a very very strict quarantine for this state as we are happily without a lot of the pests the mainland has.
I was able to bring any stored dry and canned foods, but what I could not give away out of my freezer actually went to the local RSPCA, who were thrilled to get meat etc for the animals and I didn’t feel quite as bad not having eaten our way through it.
Lauren says
For tick and flea repellant, I have been putting a few drops each of rose geranium oil and tea tree oil in my hands, rub them together, and then run them all over my dogs’ collars and once down their back. So far, so good… I have read that tea tree oil can be really harmful to dogs if they ingest it, so I only use 2-3 drops of each, and quickly run the mixture down their back. I do it about every ten days, after a bath.
cheryl says
Question-Change of topic-In need of a repellant
Hi. How can I stop Carpenter Bees from boring holes in the exposed wood on my property?
My husband built a swing with cedar stating that bugs would not bother cedar wood.
There are carpenter bee holes in the cedar swing, the trees, and any other exposed wood (even painted/stained).
A contractor said that he had a cedar sided home and had to take the siding off and replace with brick.
We have tried filling the holes with caulk/silicone and the bees rebuilt their hole.
Thank you for your time.
Enjoy your day!
Cheryl