Gardening - 2014 - March 24 (Or, something happened to a seed starting pod so I got organic seeds.)

Last time I wrote about the garden, I had:

• three pods starting seeds: lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli.
• The pods were in a different window from last year because of Orange Cat 2.
• I had no sprouts and we were getting to the 10 day mark.

 What I did since then:

• I opened the pods and added more water because they looked dry.
• I moved them into the better window.
• The cat is not at fault for the loss of the lettuce pod.

Saturday. We had wonderful, open-the-windows kind of weather. The kind where you wish the whole world was off and you could enjoy the weather. The kind where you go home, grab Husband, and take a 1.74 mile walk around the large awesome park nearby.

The kind where Husband clumsily knocked the lettuce pod out of the window while I'm at work because he didn't check that the pod was sitting in the window track. I really don't know who is at fault here: me for putting it there or him for not checking. Either way, the lettuce pod was a mess of dirt inside of it (thankfully, it did not pop open and send dirt everywhere. OC2 would have loved that).

I was kind of bummed. Actually, when I saw it, I thought OC2 did it. It was right up his alley to just go "WHOOPS. (Not really). Feed me."

Nope. It was Husband and he probably could have blamed OC2. Husband's first thought was "You can just fix it."

"No. There is dirt everywhere. I have no idea where the seeds will sprout, if they do and if something else sprouts, I'll have no idea what's what. I have to start over."

So, he felt kind of bad about it. I said "I want these organic seeds I know we can get [here]. You can pay for the seeds when I figure out the brand name."

"Okay."

Sunday, it is colder and we have errands that will take us by the place with the seeds. We go there and at this point, I'm feeling less annoyed with him. I'm also wondering how the destruction of the lettuce pod means I get 7-8 packs of seeds. I forgive him (I forgave him pretty quickly because I decided the seeds weren't really working anyway. They are 5-10 years old. Same group as last year.). I decide to just pay for them myself and he decides he's going to treat me to pizza later that night.

At the store, I pick up seven packs of High Mowing Seeds. This includes: Brandywine tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Arugula, Basil, Romain Lettuce, Sweet Pepper, and Spinach. I was so excited. I love the idea of new seeds and possibly non-GMO ones? Yes, please!

What I did today (or status as of today):

• I set up more seed pods bringing the seed pods to the following:



Pods: Small, plastic take out containers, 4 egg slots of a paper egg carton, water, dirt (I'm using compost), seeds. Works very well with good lighting!

• Original: Brandywine Tomatoes (Burpee seeds, older), Broccoli.
• High Mowing: Brandywine Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Basil, Lettuce (not shown. In another window due to lighting and temperature), Sweet Pepper (this plant is for our Guinea Pig and is a total experiment)
• Broccoli has sprouted! Two of the four have come up so those seeds aren't "bad." That's from an older, refrigerated seed pack. Look at those sprouts!

Here's hoping the third year is a charm!

Lessons Learned:

• Read seed packages or research how to grow things. Most will do well where they are, but the lettuce will probably do fine at room temperature during the day and tucked into the pod at night. I learned so much by reading the packaging this year. Let's see if it translates into our own food.

Project: Cat Harness

I have this crazy notion that I want to walk my cat. Lately, the main reason has been Orange Cat 2 has SO MUCH energy, I think he'd enjoy it. I also want to take a walk with a pet and we aren't getting a dog any time soon (Mom's dog and I loved walks when I'd finally get to it). The issue was, we had this old harness and he hated it. Absolutely hated it.

I poked around. I found cat harnesses on Jackson Galaxy's store that said "Cats love it." Awesome.

But not at that price. I love my cat, but we've all ready spent so much trying to find what type of cat scratcher he'd like (cardboard=no, twine/rope=no, carpet like our floor=good, except he only likes the basic pole variety), what types of toys he likes (a particular type of ball, that rattles...anything with noise), to cover the toys he's apparently lost (5-10 balls so far and I've looked), and trying to figure out what food works with his stomach (one is great for Gray Cat, not so much for him). Oh, and vet trips are coming up.

I really didn't want to spend more money only to find out he'd snub it or it didn't fit.

Enter the Internet and a search for "DIY Cat Harness" or some variation. I found this post from SoSewLovely about a cat harness she made for her cats. She includes a pattern and instructions. It looks like the harness above (which I did love and want), but I can customize it.

I printed it out, went to the fabric stash and spent time looking for the right fabric to match Orange Cat 2.

I made the pattern up a month or so ago, but didn't have D-rings so it was just a harness, minus the ability to put a leash on it. This week, I picked some up and finished it. This was a fairly easy pattern to follow. When I do it again, I will print it smaller for Gray Cat (who seems "ok" with his when I tested it out on her, but she obviously needs a smaller harness and a color that matches her), and try to work the ribbon differently. I wanted to sew it on so it didn't fray. Overall though, I think it turned out great and Orange Cat 2 definitely doesn't mind it (most of the time)! Going out to explore though is a totally different experience for him.

Photo by LibraryElfDesigns. All rights reserved. You may not use this photo without permission.