So ready to garden!

I'm so ready to get outside and start gardening!  Last weekend I bought several coir blocks and 4 bags of soil to add to our raised beds.  This year we are NOT doing tomatoes.  After several years of doing mostly tomatoes we're giving the soil a rest!  We're planting peas, green beans, carrots, cucumbers, lima beans and pumpkins.  I'm also doing the usual flowers zinnia's and marigolds.  I also added some calendula and plantain to the mix.  I want to expand on the lotions and salves I've been making this coming winter.  I also threw in some chamomile since we drink tons of chamomile tea.  We have 2 raised beds that are 2' x 20'.   Then I use containers for herbs, smaller plants and flowers.  Someone emailed me and asked why I use coir.  Basically it's a way to help retain moisture (we have heavy clay soil) and its more sustainable than peat.  A great article on coir can be found HERE.  I remember a few years ago when I first heard about coir I started calling around to the nurseries and greenhouses locally asking if they had coir blocks and they had no clue what I was talking about.  One person suggested that I just take a coir liner and rip that apart.  Nope!  Need way more than that.  I've found that Menards usually has about a dozen coir blocks in their inventory every spring.  I buy most of their inventory.  I'm just glad that I can find it locally now.  I HATE paying shipping for anything!  I'm cheap like that! :)  I've also bribed my friends kids to come over and do some heavy weeding/ prep garden work.  The kids are used to spending a ton of time on the farm and actually like weeding.  I told them if they cleaned up the raised beds they could then spend the rest of the day watching TV at our house.  They only have a very small TV and no cable at their house.  Therefore watching anything on our 55" is a big deal for them add Netflix to that and they'll weed their little hearts out! In years past I've always hit the dollar store and bought about 2 dozen sand pails to use as containers for flowers.  My dad hates it.  He thinks it looks junky.  I keep on telling him it's whimsical.  This year I went to buy the sand pails and the Dollar Tree had a big gardening section including planter pots for a buck.  I'll be thrilled to not hear my dad bitching about the sand pails!  I also bought a couple of pool noodles.  I cut the noodles into 1" slices and put a layer of that down in the pots I'm growing flowers in so I don't have to use as much soil.

I have my nephews for most of this weekend.  It's the big fundraiser at my  youngest nephews school that my sister chairs and is the treasurer for.  It's a royal pain in the butt for all of us.  I wind up getting home about 2am by the time my sister finally gets done wrapping things up each night.  I'm too dang old to be doing that anymore!  I feel it way too much!  On the upside it gives me some serious one on one with my nephews.  We always start the boys pumpkin seeds this weekend. It's so much fun to just hang out and have no really schedule.   I'll be dead tired come Monday but that's ok.

Now I need to go swap out laundry.  I swear the stuff is like Gremlins.  It totally  multiplies when you aren't looking!  We're trying to get PB's summer wardrobe figured out.  This is the first year in I don't remember how long that she might be able to actually wear some of her clothes a second year.  I'd be so excited if PB was finished with her growing.  She's almost 5'7".  It's darn hard to dress an 11 year old that is tall in an age appropriate manner!   Anyhoo- I'm off to go swap out laundry loads and get ready for an appointment.  Have  a great weekend!

Update:
Here is a pic of the Dollar Tree planters.  They aren't very deep.  My goal is adding flowers around the house will attract more bees and hummingbirds.  I think they'll work well for that.