Highly Experimental

Can i just say how wonderful it is this year to feel in control of our own schedule? Not having to get a little one up and ready for a drive to school, get to school and have 3-4 people descend on you for help, or worse have a coffee clatch in the hall for 3 hours while chores were calling your name at home or errands were waiting to be ticked off the list. Whew!

Especially nice when you are planning a huge garden! We're up, breakfasted and usually schooled by 1pm or so. Then i can hit the chores or the gardening, whichever will make me feel most productive that day. ;o)



So i've noticed this year that not only are there more things in the garden getting accomplished, but they also seem to be more experimental to boot.



Take for instance, planting tomato seeds. Now, i not saying that the experiment's been successful enough that i don't have to buy tomato seedlings next week when my parents are here and we hit the local nurseries, alas, the fact that i had time to plant tomato seeds this year still amazes me. My plants are still a little on the Charlie Brown-ish side of small, but i figured i'd experiment with them never the less.

Here's the one i call "Do Hot Caps Really Make a Difference?", which is also known as "How To Annoy Your Neighbours' With Your White Trash Aesthetic."

First you take a plastic jug....isn't that how all trouble starts? Work with me though, i'm really recycling something, rather than just "throwing it out", which is really truly what "recycling" has become, hasn't it? :o) You'll also need a plant. A sad appearence to the plant isn't required, i think.

Remember to bury those toms up to their ears! Bury 2/3rds of the plant to encourage a strong root system, especially needed for those windy days!

Then, put the plants little hat on and walk away.

(Don't look back though, or you might see the neighbour's giving you the whale eye!)

Hi Lil' Guy, be warm and be wary of slimy things twice your size.

Repeat, repeat, repeat, etc. so it looks like you grow plastic jugs in your garden.

Now, then, makes you glad you're not my neighbour, doesn't it?

We'll see how these little plants do over the next couple weeks. I checked on the first one yesterday, and i swear it seems like it doubled in size just from one day under it's little igloo.
Wish 'em luck!