Anything Can Be Furnishing - etsy treasury

Patio Container Garden

As some of you know, I'm currently living in an apartment. At one time, my family was given the okay to plant whatever we want in the garden bed next to our apartment as long as we maintain so last year we grew lots of cucumbers, some tomatoes that didn't do well because of the hot, dry weather.. lettuce, mint, wheat, and flowers. This year we wanted to plant more stuff so we made the bed bigger and started lots of seeds really early. Things were looking good until the management hired an outside landscaper who had no idea what anything was so he hoed up many of our plants. Goodbye lettuce and elderberry bush! A few lovely plants made it through the ransacking, but this made me think twice about planting veggies in the bed. I have resorted to primarily using containers on the patio...

And it's a struggle.

Please excuse my nighttime iPhone photography (no flash). These tomato plants are doing GREAT. On the right we have Chocolate Cherry and the left is a Goliath.

Besides the tomatoes though, most things are having a hard time. I'm very new to container gardening and I definitely did not use the right mix of soil. To start, I used straight COW MANURE and nothing else... it seems I was a little off my rocker that day. Since then I have amended many things with sand so they are 50/50 sand/cow manure. Yet most plants still look a little down. The only fertilizers I like to use are those that come from real sources like bone meal, kelp, etc. I haven't invested in any yet, but I have inquired at my local feed store. Should check back in with them. I have made one revelation and it is seaweed :

Above you will see my jar of seaweed! At night I put a handful of seaweed in the jar, let it steep like a tea overnight and in the morning I have nutrient dense seaweed water to feed my plants with! I feel like this is definitely helping, but I still need to amend the soil a bit.

Anyone have experience with container gardening and want to share some tips??

Love - Desiree

Screaming Sardine - support a blogger!

I have been featured in a super cool blog dedicated to supporting handmade artists! The motto "Buy Handmade! Support a person, not a corporation."

Check out her blog at:
www.screamingsardine.net

Thanks Tracy!!!

ReGrow Roots - my etsy shop

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Since being here in Branson, Missouri and living with my parents, I have been able to craft my heart out. Before this, I was traveling from state to state with my boyfriend, no money, and a backpack. It was incredible. We saw amazing places like Multnomah Falls, hitch hiked the Columbia River Gorge, spent time in artsy towns like Olympia Washington, Eugene Oregon, and Sebastapol California. We lived at communes and in forests, took part in a tree sit, and played music everywhere west of the Mississippi. Now we are here, taking a break and spending time with family. Missouri is beautiful and we are keeping busy. This is where etsy comes in...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/100149523/crochet-hood-hat-elf-hood-unisex-ooak?ref=v1_other_1

I call it Re-Grow Roots, my small business. The name describes my mission in life and the reason for all the random crafts that I do. My mission is to become self sufficient and learn how to create a life for myself in harmony with the earth and without the government. Walking this path has taught me to grow food, catch rainwater, make my clothes, process squirrel meat, preserve food, recycle materials into improved items, and  always spend time creating, painting, inventing. Another mission is to share my work with folks that are interested!

I just made tons of crafts for a recent craft show, the first show I've done around here. Plumb Nellie Days, they call it, and it didn't go so well. It was very expensive for a booth and as far as I heard, many people didn't even make enough money to cover their expenses. BUT I gained some new clients and filled custom orders, met fellow artists and heard about some really cool local stuff that goes on in Branson. It was super nice to just get out and meet the locals, since I'm still pretty new in this place. Plus I got loads of positive feedback! :)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/99501017/funky-owl-painting-on-raw-wood-bright

The owl was a favorite amongst passerby, no one bought it, but no one seemed to be buying much at the craft fair. So I need to reach the right potential clients that have the desire to purchase my products... I'll get started on that today. Maybe reach out on other blogs that are "earth friendly" or something like that. Promoting is not my strongest asset, but I'm working on it!

Have a beautiful day!