Let me out back

We got a t-shirt for Charlie...it's pretty cute. It says: Australia - Let Me Outback
Since Charlie loves to be outside so much - it's so fitting! Just had to share...

We accidentally got a radish seed in our carrot seed pack. None of us like radishes that much - so we've just been letting it grow and grow...we want to see how big the radish itself will get. So far - the plant stalk has bloomed and is getting very tall. It's been fun to push away the dirt and see how large the radish is actually getting. Not sure when we'll pull it up - but I'll post a picture when we do.

Step 2 - Garden Boxes

We haven't done much on our garden project this week - due to weather and busy-ness. But, we did get the boxes built. We now have more grass to dig up as the boxes are slightly bigger than the dirt area that we made, and we still will need to fill-in some parts of the area between the boxes with gravel, too - requiring even more grass to be dug up. The plus on that is - it's a good workout. So, needless to say, quite a bit more grass will need to come out. Which really doesn't bother me. I like grass...but I like flower beds MORE than I like grass. :) So, digging up grass is nothing new at our house. Oh - and as you can see from the above picture, we have a sprinkler line to repair, too...guess that will get fixed happen when we do drip-lines...oops...

toxic plants

I emailed friends last year with a list of toxic plants - although I'm almost certain that I'm the only one concerned with this topic. None-the-less, as gardening season is now upon us, I thought I would post some websites that have a list of toxic plants - for those of you who are like-minded with me when it comes to this topic.

THE DOG LIST:

Typically, dogs tend to eat more plants than humans do (tee hee), so if you do have a dog, I would suggest you at least glance through this list so you know if you have something in your backyard (and even house plants) that could cause your pet harm. I'm not saying dig it up, or throw away your favorite philodendrum that has taken over your entire plant shelf, but, just to be aware of these certain plants:

http://www.dogpack.com/health/poisonplants.htm

another pet/livestock list:

http://www.vet.purdue.edu/depts/addl/toxic/bytox1.htm

THE PEOPLE LIST:

Each of these 2 lists are in a different format:

http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publications/poison/poison.html

http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/ce/king/poisplant/tox-com.htm

THE CAT LIST:

I just realized that some people do have cats! Sorry about that....

Here is a cat list for you feline fanatics: http://www.cfa.org/articles/plants.html

THE CLIFF NOTES:

If you are not going to click on any of the links I so kindly provided (tee hee) - here is an abbreviated version of some of the most toxic plants that are common names that most people would probably recognize and/or have (there are more than this...these are just the ones that are commonly recognized names):

Azalea
Crocus
Lily [many types of lilies (maybe all types, not sure?) are very poisonous]
Delphinium
Foxglove
Hydrangea
Lily-of-the-valley
Morning Glory

Oleander
Periwinkle
Potato plant (green parts)
Rhododendron
Tomato (non-fruit parts)
Yew (aka Japanese Yew)

5 Steps to Day 1 of starting a garden

This weekend, we have been busy starting the process of making a garden area in our backyard. Here's how we did it:

Step 1: After about 10-15 minutes of the kids helping throw chunks of dug-up sod into the wheelbarrow, Mr. G-man told me he had "retired" from that "job". So, step 1 was to set up "the jump" (as we call it) to keep the kids busy (and wear them out!).

Step 2: Make sure Charlie is involved. He LOVES to be outside. He helped by dragging any small chunk of grass & dirt he could around the yard - eating part of dirt & rock, grass & weeds. He was a big help.

Step 3: dig up all the grass!! Wow - what a job!

Step 4: Here are the various tools that were used in digging up grass/sod. Notice the sand bucket, plastic shovels, and the dog in there, too. Oh and a plastic whiffle ball bat...ALL items were used to dig (OR play) in the dirt.

Step 5: a Winn family favorite for dinner - homemade pizza. We grilled up some onions and yellow peppers to go on half of the pizza (the adult-half, that is). YUM!

More pictures to come as our project progresses...

We always start these projects and it turns into months of digging up grass and putting in flower beds and other various things. I KNOW that will happen again this year! We already talked as we were working this afternoon of the "next" grass digging-up project that we want to do after the garden boxes are done...oh my!!

gardening anyone?

So, this weekend, we will see if any of us has a "green thumb". Since last fall, we have been anxiously awaiting the month of April to start a garden. We have some good friends with a very extensive & impressive garden and have gotten all sorts of great info from them. With warmer weather (supposedly) coming this weekend, we'll see if we can get our garden boxes built. We have some grass to dig up, first - that will be fun (ha ha). But, we're excited for a nice weekend and some sunshine outside! Once the snow has melted from the mountains, then we'll start the planting process. For now, we're in the building phase. The kids cannot wait for their own pumpkins, strawberries and other fun kid-stuff! Mr. G-man is NOT looking forward to the peppers and other "non-fun" foods we're planting - BUT - the girls are, as they will eat most any fruit or veggie. Hopefully the garden experience will help Mr. G come around to the rest of us as far as fruits & veggies goes! :) I'll have the camera outside this weekend - I'll try and take some good pictures to share on Monday. FUN STUFF!! :)