Friday, March 22, 2013

Playin' with dirt

We've been doing a lot of playing in the dirt lately!  The front porch/yard is almost finished (seriously can't wait to share - give me one more weekend) and it sure looks like spring around here!  I love, love, love this time of year.  Carson and I go to our little neighborhood nursery so often that they know us both by name.  It's just a short walk from our house, Carson loves the place and they have so many new unique and heirloom plant varieties arriving every day.  They work with a great California grower called Annie's Annuals.  They specialize in rare and unusual annuals and perrenials and the nursery will order any of them for me!  I really have to remind myself that we have a small yard and we don't have room for everything...

During one of my visits to the nursery this week I picked up an interesting tip from one of my favorite plant experts.

Yes, that is a diaper.

She recommended I put a diaper in the bottom of my potted plants.  It's especially helpful in small/hanging pots.  It retains moisture and keeps my hanging pots from dripping.  Genius!  I'm not sure if I'll really see a difference, but I'll keep you posted.  My little hangers did get really dry every day so maybe the diaper trick will work a little magic.  If anything, the hanging pots aren't dripping like they used to, and that's certainly worth a diaper or two.

a little lavendar bacopa and dark blue lobelia (soon they'll be trailing down the sides)

Speaking of diapers...
I feel pretty lucky that Carson seems to like gardening as much as do.  Give my guy a shovel, some dirt and a bucket of water and he's a happy camper.  I had quite the proud mom moment this week when he walked into the backyard, picked up his mini rake, started raking the lawn and said "MAMA".  Yep, buddy, you're a gardener just like mama, and nothing could make me happier.

If you're interested in gardening, here are a couple of books that I've been really loving.
Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew
(I'm getting ready to plant my raised bed again and I love his method)
and
52 Weeks in the California Garden by Robert Smaus
(Obviously only good for Californians, but if you live here, read it)

If anyone has any other great gardening reads, I would love to hear about them!

85 comments:

  1. Whitney,
    I love the tip for hanging baskets...I have a few of Olivia's diapers that are a size she's grown out of. It's great that Carson loves to garden, the two of you will share many hours of fun in the yard.
    I receive Annie's annuals catalog and love the unique plants she offers and I have the Robert Smaus book. He used to write weekly for the L.A Times before his retirement...he really did give great tips for soca gardeners.
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can't wait to hear what you think about the diaper trick! I swear it's helping! Robert Smaus is great, wish he was still with The Times. Do you have any other great books you recommend? I'm devouring garden books lately! I would love your two cents, since you're quite the accomplished gardener! In fact, Jeff and I were just looking at before and after shots of our yard and it's crazy how far we've come - in part due to your help and suggestions!

      Delete
  2. What's the brown lining you use called? I have a 3 tier plant holder but can never seem to find those liners in the store when I there - or I'm looking in the wrong place. :)

    My 3 year old has fallen in love with gardening and I'm hoping that I can nurture it through the California drought. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh goodness, never mind - I just did a quick search for "hanging basket liner" on amazon and found it. Doh! :)

      Delete
  3. I think I will try the diaper in my pots and will let you know if it solves my problems of dripping pots on the deck. Great idea as they do soak up a lot and would help with the wind too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I read recently read where you can take the insides from the diaper and put it in a bucket with the soil, pour some water in and let the mix get damp. Use this to pot your plants in. It is supposed to help retain the moisture. Going to try this today. It is hard for me to remember to water my plants indoors. Like the idea of the diaper in the bottom also. The article I read said you could use a diaper that had been wet on lightly [not soaking, just no pooh.] Sanitary pads do the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i would worry about mold.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I will definitely try the diaper trick for my hanging baskets and especially my tomato plants next summer.

    ReplyDelete
  7. To keep your pots from dripping on the porch and to help with moisture use a walmart bag in the bottom before you add dirt. It holds the extra water and doesn't drip. I don't have diapers any more and never thought of pads so been doing the bags for the past 4 years and it really works. Just another idea for you to think about.
    Blessings to you and your little one.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very cool, I liked it a lot. Congratulations for the text

    ReplyDelete
  9. How interesting I love plants, and it was super beautiful too, congratulations.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great idea as they do soak up a lot and would help with the wind too.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for the post. Every pro has their own unique tip. It’s great to see them all combined into one simple post!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I think I will try the diaper in my pots and will let you know if it solves my problems of dripping pots on the deck.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hehehe this is very interesting. I’ll try and then come back here to tell you how the result was ��

    ReplyDelete
  14. Simple, practical and delicious. I loved the result. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  15. this is very interesting. I'll try and then come back here to tell you how the result was, interesting

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gardening is my favorite hobby

    Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thanks for sharing. I love gardening and your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow what good tips on your blog I loved, this one of baby's frot I know now. Nice

    ReplyDelete
  19. I love gardening, because my yard is full of flowers and this tip of the diaper I used a plastic and irrigated with little water, now it will not be more plastic but a fake. thanks for the tip

    ReplyDelete

  20. Great post! Really enjoyed!
    http://comoreconquistaroexmarido.com/

    ReplyDelete
  21. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I loved, this one of baby's frot I know now. Fantastic
    OMB100

    ReplyDelete
  23. I found a way to recycle my child's skirt, kkkkk, can only be cleaned, ours loved the idea, because my balcony veses dirty with the ecesso of water when watering the plants, very creative !!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Descubra o melhor curso de eletricista online do Brasil
    www.comandoseletricoscurso.com.br/eletrica/curso-online-de-eletricista/

    ReplyDelete
  25. Great website! thank you for shanring

    ReplyDelete
  26. Blz de artigo, saiba sobre adestramento de cães AQUI

    ReplyDelete
  27. I looked a lot for this, congratulations for the post

    ReplyDelete
  28. Very good!

    https://www.flordeameixamodafitness.com.br/com-bojo/Top-Nadador-Preto

    ReplyDelete
  29. Muito bom!

    http://advocaciabarrosoesouza.com.br/advogados-em-cotia/

    ReplyDelete
  30. Perfeito!

    http://evocequemfaz.com/lacos-lucrativos-trabalhe-com-lacos-e-tiaras-infantil/

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wow what creative, I think perfect, I'll make an equal here at home, my son will love to participate with me

    ReplyDelete
  32. very good, that's exactly what I was looking for

    ReplyDelete
  33. I was more than happy to discover this site.
    I definitely savored every part of it and I have you bookmarked to look at new information on your site.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Very nice post! congratulations

    ReplyDelete
  35. very good, that's exactly what I was looking for

    ReplyDelete
  36. Gostei muito do post, muito interessante a dica da fralda no fundo do vaso. Vou fazer, obrigado.

    ReplyDelete
  37. very cool, did not know this tip need to test.

    ReplyDelete
  38. I was more than happy to discover this site.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Thanks for sharing this great post!! I liked it a lot!

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thank you very much, it helped me a lot in the research.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Wow, that's cool, these tips, you're going to do it too! Your baby is so cute s2.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi!


    I’m an editor for BuzzFeed and I love your site! We'd love to include a photo of yours from this post (with full credit and a prominent link back to the original post on your blog) in a BuzzFeed roundup of smart gardening ideas. And potentially use other photos of yours in posts in the future. Would that be OK with you? Let me know, and thanks!


    Natalie Brown

    natalie.brown@buzzfeed.com

    buzzfeed.com/nataliebrown

    ReplyDelete