Vegetable Garden Planner review

The unseasonably warm weather here in the GTA has really kicked my thoughts of  vegetable gardening into overdrive. Definitely a good sign, because it means that last year's first steps into veggie gardening weren't a phase. As I'd mentioned in my last post, we'll be creating two square foot gardens this year, rather than one, with the new vegetable garden dedicated to salad ingredients. I'm still unsure about everything that's going into this salad garden, aside from some leaf lettuce, spinach and now cilantro (thanks to BD for the suggestion!); however, one thing I am sure about is that I need to start planning.  

This year veggie garden planning means finding a good online vegetable garden planner.  While there are lots of printable grids and vegetable garden planning Excel templates, there aren't many options when it comes to finding an online vegetable garden planner. My first search mission has lead me to three possible options.  Overall, all of the vegetable garden planners are very easy to use. They're completely online, there's nothing to download and all are fairly printer friendly, should you wish to have a hard copy of your vegetable garden planner. Each of the three displays plants in the square foot garden format. Meaning, four heads of leafs lettuce per square, 1 tomato plant, 9 spinach plants, and so on. I am a square foot gardener, so this is exactly the type of vegetable garden planner I was looking for. Now, on to my discoveries: 

Eat Close to Home  

I dream of salad garden

While the weather outside is truly frightful, what with the extreme cold alert going on in the city and mile high snow banks on every corner, I can't help but turn my thoughts to just a few months in the future when I'll be putting in this year's square foot gardens ...that's right, gardens, this year there will be two veggie gardens and one triangle shaped raised garden in the corner for flowers.

With the second square foot garden going in this year, we've decided to make it a dedicated salad garden. So everything that goes into our salads (with the exception of cherry tomatoes ...more about last year's tomato-zilla at another time) will be coming out of this garden. Now it's just a matter of figuring out exactly what will be going in.

I suppose the most obvious choice is romaine.

In my opinion, every good salad needs the crisp sweetness of romaine as a base.In fact, we'll probably stagger plant two to three squares of romaine, using Mel Bartholomew's 4 heads per square foot recommendation.We'll probably also plant some spinach and possibly a box of green onions. That however leaves several boxes empty in my salad-specific square foot garden. Admittedly, I'm a plain salad kind of girl, but as I discovered with my first square foot garden last year, if I grow it I'll eat it. So I'd like to experiment with some additions to my salad bowl this year. It's just a matter of what.


If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. So what else should go into my square foot salad garden?

Decorating with antique glass

So you've amassed a tidy little collection (or staggeringly out of control collection) of milk glass or depression glass. The question is, what do you do with it? Hopefully it isn't hidden away behind shelves or in boxes shoved in the basement/attic.

You've got to let those fabulous pieces shine as part of your decor. And what better time to start working an adorable hobnail vase or green glass bowl into your home's design language than now, at Christmas time. In my post later this evening, I'll show you a few of the ways I've managed to incorporate bits of my milk glass collection and retro green glass into my Christmas decorating.

Amazing Canadian Michael's Coupons

I've just received the latest Canadian Micheal's coupons in my email and they are fantastic! 20% of your entire purchase, 40% off of entryway Christmas trees and a FAB framing sale!

Check it out

Back soon ...

So sorry for the extended hiatus, but life has been hectic. I know, I know, who doesn't have a hectic life these days. But it's been busy at work and I've been working on a project for my church, all the while, something very exciting has been in the works at home. Christmas however, is right around the corner, and nothing inspires my writing (and shopping) like the most wonderful time of the year.

Be back soon!

Living room built-ins on a budget

I've had a design project rattling around in my brain for quite some time now. I'm slowly (very slowly) putting my living room/sitting room/room without a TV together and would really love to include the timeless elegance of built-ins into the décor. At the same time, I don't want to pay the high price for said timeless elegance, which is where my project comes in.


After spending a lot of time on sites like Ikeahacker.com and Ikeafans.com I've come to look at certain bits of Ikea furniture as raw materials, most notably, The Billy Bookcase. The basic Billy start out at a pretty low price and come in a few different colors and finishes, which makes them super versatile and budget-friendly at the same time. This would likely explain why the Billy bookcase turned into Built-ins project seems to be so popular. It also allows for some great personalization with some paint or wallpaper. I've even seen the standard matching shelves swapped out for glass shelves.


With my planned project, I'm thinking about adding some bead board wallpaper and molding to a few standard size Billys, along with some short doors to enclose the bottom shelves. Somewhere down the road, I'd also like to add some jadeite door pulls, to add a bit of antique chic. I have a few other ideas planned, but haven't come to a final conclusion. 



Here are a few Billy bookcase projects that I find inspiring:

 
This is a proper built-in, found at MagChunk http://www.magchunk.com/2009/11/12/more-built-in-bookcases/
 I'm loving the look of the entire room, really.

I can't remember where I found this picture. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know so that I can cite proper credit. I love that simplistic display choices.


 


And a great blog with lots of creative uses for bookcases, Billy included - http://www.simpleeffects.com/blog/?p=362




 

If you're considering a Billy built-ins project, Ikea has a great planner online.Give it a try!

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_CA/rooms_ideas/planner_billy/index.html

 

A slow cooker for smaller portions

This post is jumping in from of another post I was working on, which oddly enough had jumped in front of yet another post I had intended to post today. Confused? Don't be.When something as ab fab as this Royal VKB & Margriet Foolen Slow Cooker comes to my attention, all other things can wait.

When it comes to slow cooking, I happen to believe that one of the things that keeps some people at bay is the concept of batch cooking. There are simply times when I don't want to eat the same batch of chili for days in a row, or take up valuable freezer spaces with batches of beef bourguignon. That's where these wonderful little slow cookers come into play.

Inspired by the tagine (a Moroccan slow cooker), this adorable terracotta bowl and glazed lid set can go straight from the oven to your table. In fact, the lid can even double as a serving plate!  The slow cooker is just big enough to serve 2-3 meals. It's also stackable, so if you have plans for a modern Moroccan dinner party, with a selection of flavorful bites, the Royal VKB & Margriet Foolen Slow Cooker is exactly what you need.

You'll find it for only $64.00 at the A+R Store. Come to think of it, this little slow cooker might make a pretty fine Christmas gift.