Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Rednesday....Gnome Siting????

It's been a while since my last Rednesday post. I certainly not for the lack of red. More the lack of ambition and time! I am postponing my window washing today to put up this post! I have a timely picture to share today.You see, two days ago I picked my first crop of lettuce! Some red varieties....of course! I had a great idea some months ago that I would start my lettuce inside (as I often do) but instead of putting them in the garden, where I have to share with the furry critters, I would plant them in this large, $1 washtub I bought last fall at the Mega-auction! Another advantage? I can bring in the tub when the weather gets a little chilly. Iowa Springs are notoriously volatile! It has worked like a charm!

I will tell you, I did not punch drainage holes in the bottom (heavens, no!) I filled the bottom with five 1-gallon milk jugs, to fill the space, allow for drainage, reduce the amount of soil needed, thus making it lighter to lift! In all my vegetable gardening I use the Square Foot method developed by Mel Batholomew. He has a great book on the subject! I highly recommend it.

So what else is on my patio right now? A footed washtub planted with daffodils. Not at peak, yet.My chives, in a minnow bucket bought at neighbors garage sale a few years ago!Then, there's my rosemary.....what's that next to it??? Some kind of strange gnome???
No, it's Santa! I guess rosemary does look a bit like a Christmas tree! He found his way to me two weekends ago at another awesome auction. He was stuffed in a box lot of hideous (my opinion) yarn and macrame Christmas items. Mom spotted him! I completely overlooked him! Thanks Mom! He is BIG, 8 1/2" tall and in wonderful condition!

Here's the label. I am tickled to have him! Since he was so well hidden, I picked him up for a song!

So, I will be heading over to Sue's this evening AFTER the window washing, to check out the other Rednesday finds! Hope you do, too!

12 comments:

  1. Love your planters. Just beautiful..loving the red added too,lol. Too cute.

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  2. OMG I thank you for sharing that red lettuce planting tip to make them lighter to carry. What a beautiful gardening tip and post!

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  3. OOOO, a Gurley Santa candle! You lucky girl! And I'm completely jealous of that footed washtub. I've been looking for a cheap one for years. It looks fabulous with the daffodils in there, and I bet you'll plant lots of pretty flowers in there this summer. And there is nothing like the taste of veggies that you grew yourself!
    Happy REDnesday!
    Carol

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  4. Wow! I have two little ones of those but I've never seen one so big. I just ADORE galvanized metal and I love how you've put your garden in it. Just love your post!

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  5. Thank you for letting me know about our salt and pepper shakers being Shawnee.
    I love your idea of using empty milk jugs in lieu of soil. Both for drainage and for lighter weight...smart! Your lettuce looks so pretty and tender. Yum - I love chives and yours are really goin' to town. I like all your buckets and tubs, too. They're really cute.
    That is one cay-ute Santa candle. I bet I would have liked the macrame junk you found ;)
    Happy REDnesday~

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  6. Looks like somebody loves "tin" buckets! Yup, I gotta look into square-foot gardening. Fab Gurley candle! Chives in a bucket, huh? Great idea! I've got little Chive-ettes all over the yard from not dead-heading quick enough!

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  7. I love the bucket planters !The hide out Santa Candle is very cute.
    Blessings,
    ~Myrna

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  8. ~Oh I just love everything~ I cannot believe you have lettuce already! Awesome. I just adore your blog and will be back again soon. I became your newest follower. Thanks for stopping by to visit me too! Hope to hear from you again!

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  9. Love all of your containers. That candle looks like it's in perfect shape!

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  10. love the washtub! great idea with the lettuce and keeping away from the bunnies

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  11. How fun!!! Love the washtub and all the goodies you have growing in various containers :D Sure keeps the frustration of having to share with the bunnies etc. down LOL! Love the fact you can move things in if it gets cooler out too. Enjoy eating and using all the goodies!

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  12. Very cool container garden! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yes, the digital image I used was colored in with Copic markers and printed with my ink jet. Hope that answered your question! :)

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