Vote for the finalists in each of 17 Considered Design Awards categories, now through August 8, on both Gardenista and Remodelista. In the Best Edible Gard
deck planter, Kreg Jig, planter boxes, wood project, Building project,
Summertime is such a busy time for a Montessori teacher. Saturday has been spent getting some Cosmic Nesting Boxes ready for our Solar System Studies/Cosmic Education studies for this year. A gorgeous set of Cosmic Nesting Boxes can be found here as well as the Cosmic Nesting Box Lesson as a free download. The child gains a greater understanding of where they belong in the universe. It can somehow be grounding for little children to have this information, and to use the boxes over and over again. I have seen the cosmic nesting boxes used as a reference when creating stories during writers workshop. I have wanted this set for my classroom, but did not want to spend the $85 for them. Now that I have finished with this project I believe I love these boxes much more than I ever would the pre-made set. I spent a long time during the school year looking at thrift stores for a set of nesting boxes but never could find a set. I ended up getting a cheap Melissa and Doug alphabet set for $10 on Amazon and spray painting them black. It took several coats to cover the previous images entirely. I also used the extra coats of paint since children will use them. You can see my 10 year old's bike helmet in the background :) Next I printed off images of the following to paint on the boxes: Galaxy - largest box Solar System Earth North America (since that is where we live) United States Utah West Valley City (since that is where our school is located) Dancing Moose (since that is our school) A Boy and a Girl An Atom (to represent the energy in the child) - smallest box I traced the outline of each image onto the respective box and filled in the lines with white paint to help the images show up better on the black background. This image shows the galaxy already finished as well as the water for the earth filled in. The rest of the images are just filled in with white. I choose to make the images the same colors as the Nienhuis maps. These are the same colors used in our classroom. Once I was finished painting all the fronts of the boxes I let them dry for a day and then sprayed many, many coats of clear coat varnish on them. I really love them and I know that it may very well be because I did them myself. Even so, they are beautiful. I will place them in a lovely basket with an ecru cloth liner when it is time to put them out on the shelf. I am certain that the children will really take to them. I am most interested in how long the children will be interested in choosing them from the shelf after our lesson and, subsequently how well they stand up to use during this year. I may find myself needing to make another set from sturdier material at the end of the year. This project probably ran me around $20 with boxes, paint and varnish.
28 Best DIY raised bed garden ideas: easy tutorials & designs to build raised beds or vegetable & flower garden box planters with inexpensive materials!
Vote for the finalists in each of 17 Considered Design Awards categories, now through August 8, on both Gardenista and Remodelista. In the Best Edible Gard
A mini makeover to your home exterior doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg—just a little bit of elbow grease!
The good old traditional Anzac Slice, it has been a family favourite for many generations. It is easy, cost effective and perfect for lunch boxes, freezing and making big batches. In my version of the Anzac Slice I have tweaked it a little bit by using wholemeal flour and olive oil in place of butter […]
Play Play Pattern is is a modular storage concept made from Birch Plywood finished in natural oil and is the result of a design ...
I recently made one of my most favorite toys for my kids, and I just had to share. It's a DIY plantable felt garden box. I love it so much!
Discover 25 DIY raised garden beds that you can make for your backyard, using corrugated metal, wood, galvanized metal and more!
A healthy 10 minute zucchini side dish to dress up any meal. It’s so simple yet full of flavor! SO SO GOOD.
Ondanks dat we de tuin renovatie hebben uitgesteld tot in ieder geval voorjaar 2018, is het wel een goed excuus om inspiratie op te doen en eindeloos te Pinterest). We willen eigenlijk alles in de tuin omgooien, dus het wordt een hele grote en interessante renovatie (lees: geen ervaring met tuinen). En daarom wilde ik eigenlijk niet zoveel …
Black thumbs unite! I've been there. I feel you! I vividly remember feeling proud when my basil plant had a whopping three leaves hanging off of its branches. Gardening was never really my strongest s...
Flowers Teresa from Meadowbrook Farm knows her zinnias! Her favorite varieties are Magellan and State Fair. Another variety she like is Cactus. Click here to see her other must have annuals. photos from Meadowbrook Farm Year Round Lettuce and Spinach in Containers How to Grow Lettuce - Easy Methods For Success Indoor Vegetable Gardening - Virginia Cooperative Extension - scroll down for section about growing indoors A Winter Container Garden - great article from Mother Earth News I'm dreaming of: I'm dreaming of... defined, non-muddy, weed-free, spacious pathways like the ones shown here from My Everyday Graces. Her post tells how she got the mulch for free. I'm dreaming of... raised beds, arranged with a plan in mind, in an enclosed area to keep out deer - and it should be pretty. I can't remember my source for this picture, but I'll keep looking Here's another good wonderful example found on Home Design Decorating. ... and another found on Sunset. Also see Sunset's Perfect Raised Bed. I'm dreaming of... a garden the deer can't get to. Here's an interesting idea from The Tucson Gardener. I think a high fence would be more practical for us. Beekman 1802 has a ton of ideas about Raised Bed Covers. I am really enjoying browsing their site... lots of good ideas! Also from Beekman 1802 - a post on trellises I'm dreaming of... fun, interesting, pretty trellises. Here's a good one found on Garden in a Minute's Flickr page. Lots of people sink PVC pipe in 2 or 4 spots in their raised beds to use as trellis supports. I found this example from lantanascape on Garden Web. Her trellis is made from electrical conduit. I'm dreaming of... a neat and tidy composting system from Clifford Country B&B Gardens - their raised bed garden is pretty, too. I'm dreaming of... a welcoming entrance to the garden. This one is at the Ash Lawn home of our 5th president, James Monroe. We may need two entrances. Of course Martha Stewart has gardens suitable for anyone's dreams! Her fence would certainly deter the deer . Raised Bed / No Till Gardening: "Soil compaction can reduce crop yields up to 50 percent. Water, air and roots all have difficulty moving through soil compressed by tractors, tillers or human feet. Plows, tillers or spades are the usual answers to this problem. But gardeners can avoid the problem by creating beds narrow enough to work from the sides. Organic matter can be increased greatly without getting bogged down, because raised beds drain better." Planting a Garden the No Till Way - from Jami at An Oregon Cottage "...I have very few weeds the entire remainder of the season. Honest! I don't need to cultivate, I never have any problem finding the seedlings because of weeds, and I can leave for a week and not come back to chaos." Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Design and Planning - Vegetable Gardening Online No Till Gardening - Oregon State University "...the no-dig method... Not only does it use less water, she says, it discourages weeds, improves the soil, and reduces labor for tilling and weeding." Build Your Own Raised Bed Garden - from The Pioneer Woman "...I have raised vegetable beds around my house, and I love them so much I add a couple every year." A Simple Raised Garden Plan - from Raised Bed Gardeing Blog "...Raised beds produce a variety of benefits: they extend the planting season; they reduce the need to use poor native soil; and they can reduce weeds if designed properly. Since the gardener does not walk on the raised beds, the soil is not compacted and the roots have an easier time growing. The close plant spacing and the use of compost generally result in higher yields with raised beds in comparison to conventional row gardening." Block Style Layout in Raised Bed Vegetable Gardens - Colorado State University Raised Bed Vegetable Gardens - Squidoo "...it is relatively easy to attach a framework of flexible PVC tubing to a raised garden bed over which you can place either clear plastic to create a greenhouse effect to extend your growing season even more, or some netting to prevent pests from getting to your vegetables..." How to Build a Raised Bed - interesting plan from Erin Covert Planting Guides and Charts: Central Alabama Planting Guide - a great guide for zone 7b, which is the same as Atlanta. Southeast Planting Zones Crop Rotation Chart - The Yankee Gardener Crop Rotation - Garden Organic Crop Rotation - Your Organic Gardening Blog Typical Harvest Dates in Georgia - good chart How to Plant Just about Everything - from Kitchen Stewardship Seed Starter Containers: Make Seed Starter Pots From Newspapers, Method 1 - Slide Tutorial Make Seed Starter Pots From Newspapers, Method 2 - Get the newspaper moist, using two containers that are the same size, line one with the newspaper and press in with the other container. Remove the second container and let the newspaper dry. Use this to plant your seeds, and when your plants come up and are ready to plant in the garden, you can plant the newspaper pot and all. The newspaper will decompose over time. Save eggshell halves for starting seeds. Use a tack to poke a drainage hole in each half then place the eggshell halves into an egg carton. Fill each shell with potting soil then add seeds and water.When it is time to plant seedlings, squeeze the eggshells to crush them then put the whole thing into the ground. Cardboard or Styrofoam egg cartons can be used to start seeds. Fill each cup with soil then plant seeds. If you use a Styrofoam carton poke a hole in the bottom of each cup for drainage. Yogurt Containers Cardboard coffee takeout trays are perfect and work well as seed starter pots. Source 1 Reminders for Next Year: Hang the trellis fences higher so it will be easier to weed. Dad wants to try Romano beans. Try at least two no-till raised beds. Space the rows further apart!!! Space the plants further apart. Mulch when planting. Plant less. Do something about the deer. Garden Markers: Fun Idea from Scraps and Scribbles Worm Farms (Vermiculture) Vermiculture Blog - I found lots of info on this blog including many of the videos below Setting Up the Worm Factory - YouTube video Cheap and Easy Worm Farming Worm Bin Temperature - lots more info on this site Temperature Extremes Have Their Challenges - another good info site Wood Worm Farms - supposedly better for outside use... year round Setting Up a Simple Bed: Global WORMing - love this video Vermiculture - plywood bin at blog - Mesa Lane COW Unwrapped - picture set showing how to set up Can of Worms bin Composting With Worms, Earth 911 - Ordering Seeds: Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - Virginia Johnny's Selected Seed - Maine Heirloom Seeds - Pennsylvania - They only sell open pollinated seeds - no hybrids! :-D -special page for Southern Favorites Seeds of Change - New Mexico Seed Savers Exchange - Iowa - non-profit, heirloom seeds Renee's Garden - California -some heirloom & open-pollinated Bountiful Gardens - California - heirloom, open-pollinated Amazon - a variety of vegetable seeds, some heirloom, different brands MISC: Thrifty and Money Saving Gardening Ideas and Tricks Cheap Tricks for Seed Starting Winter sowing - in plastic jugs and bottles - click here for explanation Edging and Compost Talk - from Donna at Funky Junk Interiors Fabulous Tomato Cages - also see recommendation on blog, Four Hills of Squash - here and here When to Pick and How to Ripen Pears to Perfection - great article!
For your inspiration, here is a gallery of some of our beautiful raised beds and protective hutches. We use redwood ... keep reading
Maybe you’ve already bumped into these photos on Pinterest or tumblr, which surfaced in May 2013, of some startlingly robust Verbena bonariensis bursting skyward from an enviable geodesic con…
The gang at Gardenista are finally back outside, deep in the dirt, greeting the start of spring. Come join them–they've got kneeling pads in tartan
Discover 27 unique garden ideas perfect for cozy corners! Transform small spaces into charming retreats with creative planting techniques, whimsical decor, and innovative designs. Get inspired to make the most of every nook in your garden.
% How to grow lupins in your garden %
Op zoek naar interieur ideeën? Klik hier & raak geïnspireerd!
Buttery scones full of colorful bell peppers, sweet onions, fresh spinach, and cream cheese. Perfect with breakfast or afternoon tea, or with soup!!! These are great with soup.
In the first decade of America's post-war boom, a million and a half new houses were built, creating vast tracts of suburbia and giving young families thei
