This big girl...

Started a blog...

Knifemakersdaughter.blogspot.com

Coptic stitch binding!!

Google sea lemon and Coptic stitch binding. We finally bit the bullet and ran with it. 

Books abound! We are having so much fun! Loving this!! Another craft I avoided. But it is so fun and easy! Even Wisdom can do most of the steps alone! 

Naomi thinks she can too. Haha!

Rhyyan finishing her first book. 

Our first books. From the top: lilley - me - Joelle - Rhyyan. 

I'm wondering when this table will again be available again for meals....

The weather was so beautiful on Sunday. Daddy had the idea of running to the park. 

We quickly made some food and a hr later we were on our way. Cupcakes. We had a Daddy mouse....The temp was dropping but it was still fun. 

Smoked salmon sushi rolls. 

Pinwheels. 

My newly 5 year old Judah. 

Beautiful Naomi Anne Shalom. We love her. She has everyone's heart. 

Joelle. I like having this big girl. She is awesome. Naomi agrees. 

Wisdom was our cupcake froster. She's a funny girl. One of the family comedians. 

Judah is high energy. Parks are good for him. 

Lilley likes others to enjoy their experiences. She pushed many people on the swing. 

Here she was caught in the act again. I'm a awkward photo person. Durr

Rhyyan she had been buried in the tire mulch. I do not like the stuff at all. I understand using things rather than sending them to the landfill. But this is not a good use for tires. This girl is always climbing. Or racing anyone that is up for the challenge. She wins enough that generally only boys will try. 

   It was a beautiful day that we all enjoyed. We are ready for spring!!!

Our neighbor found a bunch of tomatoes growing in her compost pile last fall. She brought me two to see if they would live the winter through. When I got them they were about 3 inches tall. 

One died after the baby broke it. :( 

Last night I transplanted this guy. He is doing good. I hope to keep him protected til planting time. 

I cut the handle off the bucket so no one tries to use it and break him. 

House plants I'm trying to grow big and tall. But I need to move so there is more light. 

The zebra plants are my favorite! I hope to get a few more soon. 

We over soaked some cilantro seeds. So we have lots of starts. A tip: when buying cilantro seeds buy split ones. Both halves start a plant. And when split the shell falls off the plants easier. 

Microgreens!!

Microgreens. We love them. The are a fulfilling and exciting adventure. It is so satisfying to grow them. The green growing food and bright grow lights are so nice! 

We use 1 inch deep trays. You can buy them from many places. You want them to be shallow so you use less dirt. But can still cut it at the base of the tray. If your dirt isn't level with the top you have a hard time cutting them. Johnny seeds sells them. My internet is too slow moving for my time today. So I won't be adding links. 

We buy miracle grow potting soil. It claims to be organic. It is the best we can buy locally. And is $9 a bag. It does at least 10 trays. But I keep using it for other things also. So I don't have a accurate number for you. 

We weigh our seeds so we don't over plant our trays. The sunflower and peas have to soak overnight. We do this in half gallon jars. Draining and planting the next morning. 

These are radish seeds. I'm still trying to learn the 'evenly spaced' concept. But it doesn't have to be perfect. 

I then water them. Put a Unbleached wet paper towels on the top. For a couple reasons. 

1: keeps them moist longer (most important thing in germinating seeds!) 

2: we stack the trays so this keeps seeds from sticking to the bottom of the other trays. 

Radish seeds. We use 1 oz on a standard tray. 

I then invert a extra tray on the top to help keep out the light. They are watered every morning. And kept in the dark until they start leaves. But I unstack trays once they sprout. 

We had them in our bedroom at first. But it was too crowded. So we moved them to the dining room. Lights need to be about 9 inches from the shelf below. (8 inches from tray top.) 

  The bulbs we use are sylvania 6500k t8. We bought a case from the hardware store. 

The costs involved: 

The shelf from SAMs club. $100

Seeds: $3.50-50.00 a lb

Shop lights $15 each

Bulbs: under $30 a case. 

Trays: 5 for $17.30 (johnnys seeds)

Paper towel: $27 for a massive case. But tea towels work too. Just bleach between uses. Also bleach your trays. 

Watering can: we already had. But I want one with a longer neck so I don't have to take the trays off to water. 

This is a collage of pictures Patrick made.  Some ready to cut. Others close. 

I water every morning. 

Plant Sunday's and Wednesday's. 

And cut twice a week as needed. 

Arugula ready to cut. 

Even the baby loves them. 

Pea tendrils. I think they are lovely! 

I have a Tupperware salad spinner. I really like it. Not a fan of plastic but don't think I can get away with anything else here. It works very well. 

Radishes. Day 4. 

Sunflowers drying after being washed and spun. Wisdom embroidered this tea towel for me. I love it! We store the microgreens in a gallon jar covered with a  square of fabric and a rubber band as they must be able to breath. In the fridge of course. 

We grow 6 trays a week. 3 planted twice a week. And we are able to have a salad a day on that. 

   We dump our dirt in a raised bed after each harvest. The chickens tear it to bits and we are building up our beds over the winter. Generally Wisdom is the one to run the tray out as we are currently filling her garden With the dirt. 

   I hope this blog post is helpful. And I have answered all questions. I've been intrupted many times. 

   Also I can't check comments currently so ask me elsewhere. I'll then make another post if needed.