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Tuesday, May 20, 2014

USING RECYCLED COFFEE GROUNDS IN YOUR GARDEN

coffee grounds for gardening

Composting with Coffee Grounds

Old coffee grounds are one of the best ways to add nitrogen to your compost pile, which is often a lacking element in urban or suburban composting. They can go right into the compost pail, and just give the pile a bit of a stir when you add the pail with the coffee grounds, to make sure they spread out well in the pile. You want to spread them out not only for the added nitrogen, but because they are great at retaining moisture and keeping your pile active.
It’s hard to generate too much coffee grounds from one household unless coffee is all you drink, so don’t be afraid to ask non-composting neighbors for theirs too.
Another plus: they don’t stink when kept in a plastic bag, unlike much other composting material. Remember you can also compost the coffee filters, although cutting them up or shredding them is always a good idea to break the tough fibers down faster.

Coffee Grounds as Fertilizer

Another frequent use of old coffee grounds is as an organic fertilizer. They work well anytime you want more nitrogen and moisture in the soil, such as when you’re digging new planting beds for heavy-feeding vegetables, fruits and flowers.
Save them up yourself, or ask local gas stations, restaurants and coffee shops for their discards if you have big gardening plans. You can mix the coffee grounds right into the soil with a garden rake after you have turned the bed over well. Plant your new seeds or seedlings as usual, and they’ll love the nitrogen, sprouting up fast. If you’re fertilizing container vegetables or houseplants, turn coffee grounds into a gentle liquid fertilizer by diluting it with water in a bottle or jug and shaking it up before each use.

Slugs Be Gone with Coffee Grounds

An unexpected bonus for many gardeners who use coffee grounds as a mulch or soil amendment around nitrogen-loving plants is that coffee keeps away crawling pests, and is especially good at repelling slugs and snails. A border of coffee grounds around plants or gardens is nearly a guarantee of slug-free gardening.
The caffeine in the grounds acts as a poison absorbed through slugs’ and snails’ skin, and they’ll avoid it thoroughly. If you have plants that slugs love, such as lilies, hostas or tender spring bulbs, surround them with some coffee mulch.

Vermicomposting with Coffee Grounds

While the list of substances that can be composted using worms is different from a plain old compost pile, coffee grounds can be used in vermicomposting with as good results as anything. In fact, their gritty texture helps the worms digest other waste.
The principle of worm bins is that the worms eat the scraps you add, then excrete a nice, dark, humus in return. But worms, like birds, have gizzards that require sand, cornmeal or other fine, gritty substances to break down their food.
Coffee grounds serve this function in a worm bin, as well as having a mulching effect on the bedding, which keeps worms moist and happy.
Article is from www.gardeningchannel.com

Thursday, May 15, 2014

CLONE OF A CINNABON


At my home, cinnamon rolls are always loved and eaten.
My husband asked me to make him some so that he could take them to work.
I think he'll have some very happy co-workers.
Here's the recipe that I used.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter, melted
4 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

1 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
  1. Mix the warm milk, eggs, butter, flour, salt, sugar and yeast together until dough is formed.  Place dough in a greased bowl and cover away from any drafts.  I put my bowl in my oven preheated to its lowest level.  I turn off the oven when I place the bowl.  Let it rise for an hour.  
  2. After the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes.  In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
  3. Roll the dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle.  spread the dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with the sugar/cinnamon mixture.  Roll up the dough and cut into 12 rolls.  Place the rolls in a  lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan.  Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.  Once risen, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  4. Bake the rolls until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  While the rolls are baking, beat together the cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt.  Spread the frosting on the warm rolls before serving.



Tuesday, May 13, 2014

MY GARDEN

Last year for some reason, I was not tending to my garden like I should have.
Unfortunately, this year I'm paying for it with weeds.
I know that the road that lays before me with the weeds is not an easy one.
But I am determined to win this war.

As I'm waging this war on the weeds,
I don't want to miss on the beauty that surrounds me.
This morning, I was pulling weeds in the bed
that I had worked on last year and transplanted my lamb's ear.
The wind was blowing and the wonderful scent
of my lilac bush came right to where I was.
I saw bees and butterflies fluttering from one bloom to another.
My snowball bush was in full bloom and 
my dogwood tree was filled with wonderful blooms.

In the midst of pulling weeds, and cutting the grass,
I stopped and just soaked up the beauty that surrounded me.






 Dotty enjoying the sun and warmth as I work.




Saturday, May 10, 2014

MY MOM

I am so blessed to still have my mom with me.
Today she celebrates her 82nd birthday.
I so love spending time with her.

I want to take this time to describe her.
She is a tiny little thing, 4'10" and 100 pounds when wet.
But she is still mighty.
As long as I can remember, my mom worked very hard for the family.
She made sure that the brother, sister, and I ate well.
Our house was always clean.  
She had and continues to have a love affair with cleaning.

One of the best memories I have of my mom is back
when I was 16 or 17 years old.
She had bought tickets for us to go to Navy Pier and hear Air Supply.
Our father was out of town and so we would always do fun stuff with her.
She knew how much we loved Air Supply.
What was so funny was that she was disappointed
she could not get tickets for us to go and see Earth, Wind, and Fire!

As I was growing up, I would see her serve others before herself.
She would always see the good in people even when they did hurtful things to her.
The three of us would always rather get a spanking from her
 than see the disappointment in her eyes.

My mom has always loved her family.
When she became a grandmother, she was elated.
She has doted on my two sons.
In her eyes, they can do no wrong.
There is nothing that she won't do for them.

My mom has been a wonderful example of a godly wife.
It was not an easy job for her.
She put up with a lot.

I could go on and on about her and never finish.
I love my mom very much.
I know that one day the Lord will call her home
and that will be very hard for me.
But as long as I still have her with me, 
I will cherish every moment with her.







Wednesday, May 7, 2014

AFRICAN VIOLETS

For as long as I could remember, my mom always grew African Violets.
In the last home that I lived in Chicago, 
the windows were covered with African Violets.
I remember many people would covet her violets.

For many years, I tried to grow them as well as she,
but I was never successful.
That's when my mom came to my rescue and told me how to grow them.
I now can say that my violets are doing as great as hers.

There are many varieties and colors.
Follow the link below on how to take care of them.


Monday, May 5, 2014

PLAYING IN THE DIRT

I had a wonderful day playing outside in the dirt.
I got to use "new" used tiller and worked the vegetable garden.
It was a very good day.


 My garden is all tilled and ready for planting.

 My three raspberry bushes that my girlfriend gave me.

 My first strawberry bloom.
All the plants had to be transplanted to a new bed.
I can't wait to eat fresh strawberries



 I should have worn gloves.

 Dianthis from my favorite greenhouse:  Heartland Growers.




 My kitty wanting to be out.

New red mulch placed around my hostas.

I still have a lot more work to be done.
But the eight tomato plants are planted and
my onions are also planted.
Tomorrow I'll finish planting the garden.

I love this time of year!