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DIY
Did you know that it is possible to grow celery from the root of the celery you buy at the grocery store? Here’s how:
Start with a stalk of organic celery that you have either grown yourself or purchased at the supermarket. Why organic? Celery is very high in water content, and it is one of the most likely to have pesticide residue when it is not grown organically.
Cut the root away from the celery ribs (the part you eat), leaving about 3/4” of celery intact. The photo above shows Day 1. The celery in the photo has just been cut and placed in a cup of water. A paper towel has been soaked in water and bunched up around the roots to keep them moist in the even that I forget to check the water level.
Place the cup in a sunny window and leave it alone.
At Day 5, you can already see new growth at the center of the stalk. Keep the root wet and let it do its thing. Mother Nature is pretty amazing to watch, and this is a great project to do with kids because the changes happen so quickly that they aren’t as likely to get bored with the process because they can literally see changes almost every day!
At Day 18, there will be a substantial number of leaves and new growth. The image at the top of this post is the same celery at Day 18. At any point after you see this level of growth it is safe to plant your regrowing celery in the garden, container, or raised bed outdoors. If you do so, be sure to keep a close watch on the moisture level of the soil to keep it damp at all times.
The photo above was taken at Day 31. The celery is now located in a raised bed in our new back patio garden and growing well.
This process can be repeated indefinitely. When the celery grows large enough to be used, the root can again be used to grow more celery. Stop buying celery and regrow your own already!
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Necessity is the mother of invention, or so they say. When I moved to a small neighborhood with a rather strict HOA late last summer, the season was all but over and I didn’t really put much thought into the garden I would grow in 2013. Then I started reading the dreaded Bylaws, and the Covenants and Restrictions.
I would have to get HOA permission to dig a vegetable garden on the property? SERIOUSLY? In America? I’m not a terrorist, I’m a gardener. I just want fresh, homegrown tomatoes for crying out loud. But them’s the rules.
What they don’t say is what I can and cannot do in containers, and technically speaking, a raised bed is a container, right? That’s when the idea began to take hold. My beloved fiancé and I started talking about how to lay out raised beds to make the best possible use of the space we had available while simultaneously beautifying our quaint (read: postage stamp tiny) backyard.
BF and I talked about what we wanted out of our garden this year, and listed our priorities and requirements along the way. That led to lots of measuring, tons of daydreaming and more calculating and recalculating than either of us will ever admit.
Here’s the original design sketch I created when we came up with the plan:
The design creates a total of 64 square feet of growing space that will reside atop the no frills concrete pad that is our patio. From there it was a simple matter of designing the beds themselves, then a trip (or three) to the home improvement store to gather the necessary supplies not only to build the beds, but to fill them as well.
In addition to the wood, screws, and landscape fabric, we bought 65.5 cubic feet of soil, compost, and amendments. They were not light. Advil was consumed in abundant quantities.
BF manned the new Ryobi miter saw, turning a stack of 8 foot lumber into four impressive-yet-simple raised beds.
Without any plans, the process was learn-as-you-go, but the end result is better than I ever could have imagined it would be.
This is a “before” shot of the patio, with four GrowBoxes ready to be planted:
Two beds completed, installed, and filled with soil, compost, and amendments:
All four beds installed and ready for planting:
If you look carefully in the photo above, you can see the top edge of the plastic sheeting I stapled to the interior of the beds to create a barrier between the soil and the wood. This was done to slow down the wear-and-tear on the wood by limiting its contact with the moist soil.
I gave the beds a good, thorough soaking to give the bagged soil a chance to reconstitute and settle before I began planting the next afternoon.
I am working on a cost breakdown of the project to analyze exactly how much these beds cost to build per square foot. That will allow us to calculate the value at the end of the season based on the return we see in the form of edible produce. Interested in what is being planted in these beds? I’m going to talk more about that, too.
More on all of that later. For now, it’s great to be back writing on the blog after spending a few weeks getting adjusted to my new full-time contract with The Home Depot. I promise I’m going to spend a lot more time here from now on.
Ooh! One final thing before I run off… in the process of building and planting the beds, I did something I’ve done for years without a second thought. When I snapped a photo and shared it on my Facebook page, I realized that it was something that a lot of people were excited about. These templates for square food gardening are simple to make out of a 1’ square of cardboard, and they make planting according to the grid method ultra-simple without having to lay out strings or boards to keep your boxes straight.
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I never expected my post on homemade laundry detergent to become one of the most visited pages on this site, but even a year and a half after I wrote it I am still getting feedback and questions. That confirmed once and for all that I am not the only one looking for more natural solutions to things like laundry and household cleaners.
While we know how to clean laundry with a homemade and natural solution, and line drying our clothes is obviously more natural and less wasteful than using a clothes dryer, I had yet to tackle the realm of homemade fabric softeners. That changes today when we take a look at homemade fabric softener options.
There are two ways in which we use fabric softeners these days: in the washer and in the dryer. We’re going to take a look at homemade solutions for both.
Homemade Fabric Softener
Hair Conditioner
One of the frugal options I’ve seen for homemade fabric softener isn’t exactly homemade, but it will save you some money. Hair conditioner. Not the salon stuff, either. The big bottles are cheap and they work just as well as the more expensive fabric softeners.
Vinegar
Of course if you’re wanting to go more natural (like I do), you might try good ol’ white vinegar. A 1/4 cup in the rinse cycle will help to remove detergent residue and soften clothes at the same time.
Mix it Up
If you’re looking for something a bit more hands-on, give this a try:
- 6 cups Water
- 1/2 cup Baking Soda
- 3 cups White Vinegar
- Essential Oil (optional)
- Add water and baking soda to a large container and stir to mix.
- Slowly add the vinegar and allow the chemical reaction to do its thing.
- If you like, add a few drops of a favorite essential oil, but this isn’t necessary.
use 1/2 cup per wash load
Homemade Fabric Softener Sheets
My main complaints about dryer sheets are:
- They are made of polyester fibers or polyurethane foam, and that’s bad for the
environment. - They are wasteful and though considered to be disposable, will remain unchanged in a landfill. And that’s bad for the environment.
- The ones that work aren’t cheap, and that’s bad for the wallet.
There are several options for homemade dryer sheets, including these:
Aluminum Foil
A ball of aluminum foil will eliminate static in the dryer as well as (and sometimes better than) commercial dryer sheets. What’s more, they are the ultimate thrifty, environmentally-friendly choice because not only do they last forever, when you do get rid of them, they can be recycled unlike dryer sheets.
Make Your Own Dryer Sheets
Instead of those plastic-infused dryer sheets, why not make your own? All you need is a washcloth or similar piece of soft cotton fabric and you’re on your way. Fill a spray bottle halfway with fabric softener or hair conditioner and then fill the rest of the way with water. Spray this on your clean dryer cloth and toss it in the dryer with your next load.
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3 weeks ago today I started my first winter sowing container outside made from a 2-liter soda bottle. It is a green bottle which is why I loving refer to it as my tiny greenhouse.
I know. Clever.
Because we live on an elevated slope that catches a lot of wind from three directions, I needed to find a secure location for my winter sowing container. As luck would have it, the front steps provided just such a shelter, allowing for adequate light and protection from wind and accidental flooding.
After preparing the container and adding seeds, I stowed it away in the Fort Knox of winter sowing containers (seen above).
As I go into the house, I have made it a habit to look between the steps to see if there is condensation on the inside of the bottle. If the condensate is minimal, I give it a quick spray with a mister bottle and return it to the secret hideaway. I have only added moisture twice in the past three weeks. To put this into perspective, my indoor seedlings have required watering almost daily. They’re needy and starting to get on my nerves.
Thinking that somehow three weeks was the magic number (don’t ask me why), I pulled out the greenhouse this morning and took a closer look.
When what, to my wondering eyes should appear but 3 Aunt Ruby’s German Green tomato seedlings! Yes, three. I know you can only see 2 in this photo, but there’s 3, I swear. Fine, don’t take my word for it. Here:
Recap: As of Day 21, of the 7 seeds planted in this winter sowing container, 3 of them have germinated successfully. Daytime temperatures have been quite warm for the most part though temps at night have dipped into the low 40s more than once.
I look forward to seeing how these seedlings fare over the next couple of weeks.
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