Garden Apron....or for harvesting

This Weeks Verse.....

Jeremiah 29:5

Build houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

Just wanted to share an easy durable apron idea for the garden or for the kitchen which ever suits you best.

What you need:
1. 3 pairs of old adult jeans about 2 yards of fabric.
2. 1/2 yard of other printed fabric for the ties and neck strap
3. Cheap apron pattern

Start by cutting your jeans into strips of fabric or blocks of fabric. Make sure you save a couple of pockets off the jeans to make the front pockets of the apron.

Jean Fabric Sewn Together

Next you will cut your pieces of fabric that you need to make the front and back of the apron. You can make your apron reversible if you choose. I did not make mine reversible.

The front piece cut out before sewing.

Follow your patterns directions as far as how to sew the apron together. I used fleece for my ties. (I try to recycle left over fabric when I can.

Finished Product!

Use your own creativity as far as where you want to place your apron pockets. What color jeans you want to use or if you want a thigh length apron or a shin length apron. It is all about what you want to create and the inspirations you feel.

Hot and Spicy.....

This Weeks Verse:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live,

but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh

I live by faith in the Son of God, and loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2:20

Young pepper plants from my garden. (2015)

The joy of growing home grown peppers. This week will look at varieties, companion plants and what a scoville is. It is best in the Pacific Northwest to shop around for the shortest growing season peppers.

Here are some great varieties that can come from the home garden:

• Nikita: 65-70 days has a glowing red orange color, they are a blocky pepper, holds it shape when cooked even in high temperatures. Plant is a good producer with 3" mild fruits. (Burpee Seeds)
• Marconi Rosso: Peppers are 9 - 12" by 3" and are a sweet deep red pepper when ripe. They are an 80 day pepper on very large plants. (Seeds from Italy)
• Early Jalapeno: a 63 day pepper which produces an abundance of peppers on a sturdy plant. They can be enjoyed pickled or stuffed. (Botanical Interests)
• Pasilla Bajio: another 80 day pepper which is also known as "Chilaca" and "Chile Negro" mainly used as a dried pod or powder. Has a rich smoky flavor, which is mildly hot and great in mole sauces. (Botanical Interests)
• California Wonder: a great 75 day pepper, which produces green and red peppers on the same plant. Has a great crisp texture, an excellent cooker, and a very productive plant. (Botanical Interests)
• Yolo Wonder: another 75 day pepper. Excellent for cooking and is thick skinned. This is a high yielding plant. (Botanical Interests)
• Sweet Cherry Blend: a 75 day plant, which is great for pickling, they are sweet an bite size, and great on kabobs. (Botanical Interests)

Companion Plants for peppers. There are not very many companion plants that are okay to grow next or with these wonders of nature. Looks like only Basil and Okra like growing with peppers. On the other hand, ground hot peppers do make a great bug and animal repellent to other plants. With a mixture of 3 parts water to one part ground pepper sprayed around the bottom of the plants it works pretty good to keep pests away. Beware of spraying pepper mixture directly onto the plants because you can burn the leaves.

What is a scoville and how are they measured. A scoville is the system of measurement for determining how hot a pepper really is. The way the scoville is measured is: equal parts of sugar water and ground chili pepper. The equal parts of sugar water are add to the chili pepper until the pepper is no longer hot. As the table describes below that Pure Capasaicin (the main chemical that makes up the chili pepper) is the hottest by a long shot. I am still not brave enough to grow the Bhut Jolokia, because I wouldn't now what to do with the peppers. Kudos to the people that do grow and eat them.

15 Million		Pure capsaicain
2 million - 5 million		Pepper Spray
1 million		Bhut Jolokia
577,000		Red Savina Habanero, Scotch Bonnet
250,000 - 350,000		Habanero, Long slim Cayenne
100,000 - 250,000		Tabasco
50,000 - 100,000		Thai Hot, Chinese Kwangsi
5,000 - 25,000		Jalapeno, Cayenne, Serrano, Arbol
100 - 25,000		Guajillo, Louisiana Hot Sauce, Poblano, Anaheim
0		Bell Pepper

Just a little inspiration for a Italian Pepper and Basil Garden:

Why Compost?

This Weeks Verse:

Psalm 51:1-2

Have Mercy upon me, O God, According to your loving kindness;

According to the multitude of your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

Why Compost?

Composting is not a new area of discovery, it has been done for generations. Composting can help lessen the environmental stamp put out by a home. There are three areas that will be covered: bin or pile, what you can and cannot put in compost, and what the benefits of compost are.

My compost bin. See it can be make out of anything.

So depending on what the beginner composter decides, whether its a bin or pile compost can be made equally good. Just remember that a pile of compost should just be used for grass clippings and other materials. Once food is added it may attract rodents. The composter can make a chicken wire fence to contain their pile of compost. A good bin can be made cheaply, just make sure it is at least 3 foot high x 3 foot wide x 3 foot deep and be covered. For the beginner composter the best place to start is with a pile. The compost pile can be as big or as small as the composter wants it to be. all compost piles or bins need to be placed in a shady and dry area with a close water source. When making your pile you need to make even layers of brown and green debris.

Equal Layers of Material

Brown debris will consist of dried leaves, yard clippings and grass clippings (see chart for a full list). Green debris is fresh yard clippings and kitchen scraps. Some people use a compost booster, because of cold winters. This is sprinkled in between each layer of brown and green layers. Once a good sized portion is created, cover with a layer of dirt and wet the compost down. (Make sure that the compost is just wet and not Sloppy) Then let the compost sit for one week, and turn the pile and add more compost booster. Repeat weekly as needed. After a couple of weeks, when the compost starts to turn black and smell fresh, let the pile sit or cool. If the composters add their compost too soon it will be too "hot" and can burn the plant planted in the compost.

So the do's and don'ts of composting are very important to understand and follow. Some materials just are not healthy for a compost pile.

What a ‘Beginner Composter’ can add to their compost:

GREENS:
Uncooked and cooked vegetables and fruits	Breads and grains
Coffee grounds and filters	Grass clippings
Paper tea bags with staple removed	Hair and fur
Chicken, rabbits, cow, and horse manure
BROWNS:
Cotton or wool rags	Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
Eggshells (crushed)	Nutshells
Fireplace ashes (from wood burning)	Sawdust and wood chips
Hay and Straw	Yard Clippings (leaves, branches, twigs)
House Plants and flower bouquets	Fill dirt, Used and unused Potting Soil
Egg Cartons	Leaves
Shredded Newspaper and thin cardboard	Clean Paper and non slick paper junk mail

What a ‘Beginner Composter’ SHOULD NOT add:

Aluminum, tin or other metal	Glass
Dairy products (butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt and eggs	Fats, grease, lard or oil
Greasy or oily foods	Meat or Seafood Scraps
pet wastes (dog or cat poop, dirty cat litter)	Dead animals
Soil Diapers	Plastic
Black Walnut Shells, leaves and twigs	Perennial Weeds
Fire starter logs	Treated and painted woods
Rocky soil	Pesticide treated yard clippings

So just remember to keep a close eye on what's added to the compost, because it can hurt the future plants. So remember that browns are for carbon, greens include nitrogen, air helps organisms grow and keep it watered.

So why compost? The biggest perk to composting is that it saves you money. It helps eliminate commercial fertilizers and compost. It's biggest benefit is that it cuts down on the amount of trash being put into the landfills. It helps the small property owners become more self sustaining. If each homeowner had a composter and cut down one bag of trash each year, just think of the environmental impact it would have. Remember to compost the most each month to help be environmentally friendly.

Sources:

www.epa.gov/greenspaces