Gardening Archives | Kuball's Khaos

How to Create a House Plant Rehab

Lyn — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 21:30:36 +0000

HOW TO CREATE A HOUSE PLANT REHAB CENTER FOR RECOVERY AND POSITIVE GROWTH I have a confession to make…(sing that in your best Dave Grohl voice)….I do not always have a GREEN thumb. So I have created a HOUSE PLANT REHAB aptly named Kuball’s Serenity Rehab for Unwanted Plants! Sometimes house plants struggle to survive in my house because I make common mistakes. But I want to be good at this so bad, I created a safe place to let my plants recover from my heavy watering hand. Do you know the benefits of having greenery in your home?!? So what do you do when you’ve almost killed another plant? You try to make them go to rehab. Rehab…as in a friendly plant spot in your house. Let’s think about where that could be for you. You’ll want indirect sunlight for about 6 hours and close proximity to a water source. In my house it’s the kitchen window sill. I’m there at least once a day (haha more like 4500 times a day but who’s counting) so it is an easy reminder to pay attention. Is the plant happy with the amount of sun? Does it need more water? Is it getting better? Some like it hot….some like it HHHOOOOTTTTT. Oh wait, we are talking about plants (Personal side note: I have a soundtrack playing in my head almost all day….so don’t be alarmed at my random song references). Some plants like light, some like water, some like attention, and some aren’t meant to be…..this is why it is important to know what kind of plant you have in rehab. When you buy plants, you have a label to tell you what they are….BUT when your beautiful mother makes you a bunch of off chutes, you don’t always know what they are. So, I found an app that could help me a) identify the plant AND b) figure out what it likes and needs. PlantSnap is free and all you have to do is snap a picture of the plant in question. Once you know what your plant is and what treatment it likes…you can begin your rehab. Let’s explore common house plants problems: What problems do your house plants have? What are your solutions? The need for rehab means we’ve gone past the above problems and the simple solution didn’t work. After consulting with your plant app, you should try different things. All of my plants get moved to the window sill in the kitchen (as I mentioned before). They will stay there for a few weeks or until I start to see signs of health again. New growth, green leaves, better root system. This is Kuball’s Serenity Rehab for Unwanted Plants. On the far left is part of my succulent, it hates me. It fell off another plant and wants to take root but doesn’t have enough strength…so I tried to make it go to rehab. It’s not making much progress. The one in the middle is an aloe leaf that also wants to take root but this is not how these plants propagate. I thought I would let it try….nothing is happening. And finally the far right cup is a clipping from one of those “mother specials” I mentioned before. Once I found out what kind of plant it is, I decided to prune some leaves and propagate. I placed the leaves in water and waited for roots to appear. It only took 2 weeks. Above is a picture after some progress. The plant previously in the princess cup got some good roots and was transplanted into soil (above in the middle). The succulent is STILL not happy! And the aloe plant did die This plant has been through a lot! It was originally so beautiful and then my dogs attacked it. Those turds knocked it over and got soil everywhere, it was basically uprooted. I moved it to a place the plant killers could never get to it. Well, the plant did NOT like it’s new spot….and this is what happened. It became spindly, lost it’s beautiful color and stopped producing new leaves. I moved it again. It is too big to rehab on the window sill, so I made a special one for this plant. I moved it closer to a window and added water to the drip plate. AND………you see the new leaves right???? Those dogs are lucky this plant is showing new life. Freshen the soil annually – it’s important for growth Once a year, I take all my house plants and assess their hardness, usually it’s in the spring. I repot them if needed, but usually add more soil, fertilize, and just give them a good cleaning! These were another mother special, but they were much easier to care for! I have pruned and propagated this many times. But this is an example of my spring repotting session, where I add soil, spray off the leaves, and flush out the old water. Get your rehab started and your clean air house will be all the rage! Happy rehabbing,

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Baby Gardener

Lyn — Fri, 29 Mar 2019 22:00:46 +0000

A few weeks ago, my baby child and I went to our favorite place in all the land…Target! We were probably there one day when she was ‘sick,’ don’t tell anyone!!! Bullseye’s playground had these easy start seed kits just her size. She picked 2 tomatoes, a strawberry, and a daisy. Similar to this one: Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! Click here for the full disclosure. It was a mommy-daughter experiment and we had so much fun!!! The kit came with plenty of seeds, a pot, and a growing medium (a dry mix of potting soil). We put the growing medium in a bowl and added a few tablespoons of water. We tipped the earth into the pot and pushed in the seeds. She was so proud of her accomplishment that she asked if she could place them on her window sill for growing. She took the daisy and strawberries to her room and left the tomatoes on the kitchen sill. As you can see, it was a perfect thing to do on this rainy day! She even cleaned up her mess. She spilled a little bit of soil while trying to dump it into the pots. After about 2 weeks, we had our first sign of life. The soil got dry very quickly, and we realized that they would all do better in the kitchen. But it was too late for the daisy….she was knocked over by a lethal wagging tail…🐶 As of yesterday, both tomatoes have sprouted, and the strawberry has been moved. I’m confident that these tomatoes will make it to our outdoor garden, for a little girl to enjoy! Even if it’s late into summer!!!! Teaching the kids how fun it is to grow things, care for their food, and be outdoors is such an essential part of who we want them to be. We want them to take pride in what they do, be independent, and learn that hard work does pay off. This is a small way to show them those life lessons without lecturing and nagging, but by having fun instead. Happy growing,

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How to Start a Successful Organic Garden

Lyn — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 19:40:44 +0000

INSIDE: HAVING AN ORGANIC GARDEN IN YOUR YARD WILL SAVE YOU MONEY AND WORRY. SEE HOW TO START A SUCCESSFUL ORGANIC GARDEN Several years ago, Kris and I watched a documentary on Netflix…..it took our family on a journey that we have only veered from slightly. We started our own organic garden. Our story – Rewind to 2009, our second child had just been born. She was so little…..she was sick all the time. Literally, her first day at day care she came home with sniffling and pure exhaustion. OK – it takes time to adapt to day care. But two days later, she spiked a fever of 102 and sounded so congested there was no way there was air getting into those tiny little lungs! To the doctor we went. A diagnosis of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) after one week of day care….it became clear that this kid was going to change everything I thought I knew about parenting. Why did she get so sick? Wasn’t she getting what she needed from my breast milk? Didn’t I give her my immunity during gestation? All these things running through my mind. And then at 30 years old, unable to lose the baby weight, and postpartum depression setting in….I realized…..I was UNHEALTHY!!!!!!!!! Disclosure Statement: The links in this post contain affiliate links and I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. Those funds help keep this site alive and kickin’ but it doesn’t cost YOU a thing! Click here for the full disclosure. The change – We started watching documentaries about food, the food industry, and why we’ve become such a processed food nation. It wasn’t until we watched “Food Inc.” that we decided it was enough. We needed to make a change for our children, for their future, for the health of our family. Enter organic eating. OH BOY!!!! It can be expensive!!!!!!!!!!! At first it was everything. Anything I saw with an organic label, I purchased. Imported from Mexico, Guatemala, or Timbuktu? Nope! They do not have them same organic rules as the USA! I realized milk went sour faster, fruits rotted faster, and meat was gamey tasting. So I started doing some research. What are the benefits? What fruits and vegetables are most important to eat organically? Where can I relax a little? The learning curve – I learned anything with an outer layer that we don’t eat (or don’t HAVE to eat) can be non-organic (think bananas, potatoes, avocados). If it’s processed, there is absolutely no point in buying organic…..fluffed, flaked, puffed, crunched…..what does it matter? That left – meat, eggs, milk, certain fruits and vegetables. HOW can I save money? Grow my own? Let’s try it….. Our Garden – I started with the idea that I could have a small garden in the back yard. My husband, who does NOTHING small, decided to dig up 1/4 of the back yard and build me boxes. We planted so many things, there was NO way we could eat all of them partly because we planted them all at the same time. We did TOO much, especially for our first time. I started all of the seeds indoors, not necessary in South Carolina, but that’s what I wanted to do. We bought organic seeds, used compost, and topsoil, watered every day. I don’t even remember eating the vegetables honestly. I remember the watermelons taking over the yard, having a wheelbarrow FULL of potatoes, and the WEEDS! OMG!!!! I had no desire to pick weeds. But it must not have been too bad because I continued growing my own organic vegetables. Over the years, we figured out how to make the most of this space with planting companion veggies. We used crop rotation to keep the soil high in nutrients. But never again did we plant all at once! PHEW!!!!!!!!! New Garden – It came time for us to move, and our garden couldn’t come with us. We did not wait long before figuring out how to make it work in the new house. The garden got down scaled thus making it more manageable. We have been doing this for so long…..our children go digging for earth worms in here. They find a TON…..good sign of a healthy garden. We still use 50% compost and 50% topsoil. I add fungicide now because the rain has been out of control and root rot has plagued the spring harvest of summer squash. We start eggplant and tomatoes indoors using our own seed starting kits. I make them with biodegradable pots, seed starting mix (organic like this one), organic seeds, and a greenhouse made out of foil pans with plastic lids (like this). I encourage you to find that green and white label on your seeds for true organic gardening. How do we handle pests – Pest control is probably the biggest challenge for organic gardeners. Obviously we aren’t going to be spraying insecticides or pesticides all over our ORGANIC garden…….so we either handpick the critters (gross) or we use FOOD GRADE diatomaceous earth or DE. DE only works when it is dry! DRY! DRY!!! Think of Gremlins!!! DRY FOOD GRADE DE is a perfect silent bug killer! HOORAY nature! Happy Gardening,

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How to Prepare a Successful Fall Garden

Lyn — Mon, 03 Sep 2018 14:41:56 +0000

INSIDE: CHECK OUT HOW TO PREPARE A SUCCESSFUL FALL GARDEN WITH SIMPLE TRICKS, PLANNING, AND WITHOUT THE STRESS. Creating a fall garden in the South, where the seasons are…….ummmm nonexistent, is difficult but not impossible. We go from summer to winter then to summer……maybe 2 weeks of fall and spring. And a month or two of winter (which most people would call “fall weather”). Those are my problems……what kind of problems do you have? To prepare a successful fall garden you must follow some basic rules; they aren’t hard so here you go. Know Your Zone The easiest way to determine your growing zone is to find this website, enter your zip code – POOF – you know your zone. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ Once you know your zone, you can start planning your garden. Since we are starting in the fall, we will talk about what we need to do for fall harvests. Pick Your Place Yard? Porch? Boxes? Directly in the ground? Pots? So many decisions. But you need to think about these things before you start. Sunlight, shade, water amount, drainage. All of this plays a part in your selection. So much to think about….let’s assume that you know where you are going to plant your garden. Soil Selection 50% of your soil should be compost (plant or animal based is up to you) and 50% should be topsoil or potting soil. If you are planting directly into the ground, dig about 12 inches into the ground and mix your natural soil with the compost and potting soil to create a healthy growing medium. Let the soil sit for a few days before planting. Fall Vegetables Beets, cabbage, carrots, kale, lettuce, peas, and spinach are just a few. Of course, we all want to grow pumpkins. BUT we don’t plant those in late summer, we would plant those in July. This is why planning is an essential part of your garden. You have to know when you begin a seed to make it hardy for the ground and harvest in the proper environment. Side note: these are also the early spring vegetables. Seeds Indoor or outdoor start? This is why I LOVE fall……all low maintenance outdoor starts. Keeping in mind that all will harvest at different times, you need to plan accordingly and NOT all at ONCE! 2 week increments are best for keeping the garden going for the longest. Planting in Rows I admit that my first year I thought I could remember where I planted what and I didn’t need help remembering. WRONG! Until you know what the leaves of your vegetables look like, make yourself planting sticks. I used Popsicle sticks with pencil (sharpie fades in the sunlight). If you don’t do this, you will harvest too early, give up on seedlings before you should, not thin accordingly. SO mark your territory! Depending on the amount of room you have, you do not need to plant a row of a thousand seeds. 10 will do. You do not need to plant what you won’t eat! And remember, save the seeds to replant in 2 weeks for more harvesting. Beets, carrots, and peas need 1-2 inches between each other. Most greens (like cabbage, lettuce, kale, and spinach) start with a lot of seeds in a row and get thinned to about 4-6 inches apart. You need to leave room for the “head” of the green to grow. Side note: it is super important that your soil is free from rocks, debris, and clumps. Your “root” vegetables need to be able to grow without obstacles. Harvesting How do you know when they are ready? Every vegetable is different. Beets and carrots have a healthy green stalk appearing from the ground (this is what you see). When these are ready to harvest, you begin to see the vegetable “peeking” out of the soil near the stalk. The best thing about carrots is you can leave them in the ground longer, they don’t become bitter like other vegetables when left to grow. Peas have a plump pod on their stalks when harvesting time arrives. Again, not all stalks will be ready at the same time and different stalks will produce several pods at different times. Pay attention to the size and plumpness of the pod, the peas inside are the vegetable you are eating. Greens look like they do in the grocery store when ready. The heads have fully formed leaves. You can dig up the whole head or clip the leaves. If you clip the leaves, you can leave the head to grow more, keeping in mind that most greens become bitter when left in the ground too long. Companion Growing Most of your fall vegetables are compatible with one another. Try incorporating some herbs, they can help combat pests naturally and give you some more gardening fun. Want to see a full companion guide? Check out this site for some more help. Have you started a garden in the fall? How did it go? Do you have any barriers you need help with? Happy Growing,

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