Tag: garden

Long time no post

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, homeschooling, kids, life, mini-farm

Hello! Happy May.

It has been about 2 years since I have posted. I currently have a 4 year old and a 5.5 year old. Both very active and very smart. Life is busy. I am home full time with the kids and we are homeschooling.

Recently we moved to a smaller town about 30 minutes from where we were living and are even outside that small town. We have just over 2 beautiful acres that feels like paradise…..the house, not so much. But you can’t have everything can you?

This is my view while I type.

I am hoping to start blogging regularly again. I will still be mostly a lifestyle blog. I will still talk about health and fitness; especially my fitness journey (nothing new there). After having 2 children less than 18 months apart the weight never really came back off. Currently, I am, deep breath, 185 lbs. and I am only 5’4″. I got really sick during my pregnancies, so it was always more just about eating than worrying about weight gain. Though I did gain weight. Since then it has been survival mode. Since having kids I have run 2 half marathons but have never managed to outrun my diet hahahaha. I am working on that. I did do a chest and triceps workout this morning and even resting my arms on the table to type this is starting to hurt.

Part 2 of the blog will be our life and anything that may encompass; travel, gardening, what I am reading, mom encouragement, and who knows what else.

Last, but by no means least, our homeschool journey! We just finished out first year with Classical Conversations and I love it. I will do a whole blog talking all about it. I will also talk about the homeschool philosophies I sort of adhere too and anything homeschool under the sun. We are done with our co-op for the summer but in the fall I will post about our weeks each week. I am working on a summer rhythm for us right now and once I have that nailed down I will tell you all about it.

If you are still here from before I hope this continuing and new content interests you; and if you stumble upon this blog now HI!

My daughters birthday party this past weekend. We have been reading Little House in the Big Woods and that is the theme she chose.

Crappy Garden update for 2024

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, kids, mini-farm, Uncategorized

One word: E. Coli

Well I guess that’s two words. The neighbor diagonal to our backyard has a pipe that likes to overflow. Apparently. It overflowed when we had a big storm surge and our backyard was flooded. The city took some tests and there was high E coli levels.

Once the sun hits the top layer of soil after a couple hours, the E coli will be killed off by the UV rays, but the underlayer can be contaminated for months! So that takes away half of our backyard for planting food.

Our side yard had no flooding and there’s nowhere near the contamination zone so our raised bed that we do tomatoes in should be fine. Also the little area where we do snap peas should be fine.

My neighbor has a row of grapes that come every year and she lets us eat as much as you want. So for the month of September the kids gorge themselves on grapes and those are still fine

Thankfully our raspberries are fine. They’re on the complete other side of the yard from the contamination

We have this area that’s already 3/4 of the way fenced off from the chickens but it’s solidly in the contaminated area. So what I think I’m going to do is get a couple above bed, just kind of garden planters. The cheapest ones I can find and some cheap trellises to do cucumbers and a few other vining plants, not 100% sure what yet.

Thankfully garlic doesn’t have super long roots so these ones planted in the above bed gardens should be okay.

My husband actually cleaned this area out about 2 years ago. Took all the dirt out and we never refilled it between being pregnant and having newborns and babies. But this year I think I will put more cardboard down and fill it for a raised bed garden again and that should be good to plant in.

We won’t be planting any root vegetables this year just to be extra extra safe.

We are also inquiring about getting a permit to tie into the city storm drain to stop the flooding in our yard but is prolific and happens every winter so hopefully that’s a process that will be happening this summer as well.

I will keep you updated.

July 2023 garden update

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, kids, mini-farm

It has been a very weird late spring/early summer for us here in the Pacific Northwest. Spring stayed cold and wet later than the last few years then once summer hit, boom! We have been in the mid 80s- high 90s since then.

My watermelon is staying alive but barely growing
I finally put chicken netting around this area and it’s not growing. Broccoli, carrots, bell peppers and a lone surviving pumpkin plant.
My pumpkins are the only plants that are thriving. But the chickens have started digging so I might be harvesting them a bit early. We will see.
We have some volunteer cherry tomato plants amid the weeds
Raspberries
My 2 lone survivor garlic
Salsa garden
Beefsteak tomatoes
Version of a Roma tomato
My basil is doing amazing
Jalapenos, with cilantro behind it and cucumbers to the side of it.

We have four chickens and on average we get 2 to 3 eggs a day. One of them was injured last year so I don’t think she lays anymore.

We have a fig tree out front that’s doing well and a small little container of strawberries that we’ve eaten. Maybe two of us because my son picked some early and birds have gotten the others.

Homeschooling

by Ariana Peters, posted in kids, school/studying, Uncategorized

My children are not school aged so I am not doing any formal schooling yet. But I am trying to foster a love for learning and put as many learning opportunities in our lives as possible.

We love to read

I bought a nature study curriculum called exploring nature with children that I am currently dipping in and out of for inspiration. When we are playing in our yard or taking walks I mention the seasons and ask about flower colors and flower bulbs and on and on.

The other curriculum I was introduced to by my friend Stephanie is by a company called Timberdoodle. So far I love, love, love it. They have curriculum for kids from 0 years old to a senior in high school. I don’t know how long I will homschool for but the state of public education in this country is scaring me more and more.

Farmland math
Working dates, seasons and weather

I picked and chose what I liked and wanted to start with. We don’t touch on everything every week but i try and hit 1-2 things a day m-f. The weekends are just bonuses if we manage anything because our schedule is different.

Threading is great for dexterity and motor skills
He LOVES these smart workbooks
Puzzles are still a work in progress hahaha
These 2 are more advanced and not quite as ‘fun’ as the smart workbooks so he’s less into them right now.
Bunny boo. He is supposed to recreate the example on the card. Eventually he gets it but currently needs a lot of prompting.
We also count chicken eggs and fruits and vegetables when they are growing. My 2 yr old helps me in the kitchen sometimes. I’m basically just trying for a wellrounded introduction to life and education hahaha.

I just love when they understand something, when they learn something new, and when he tells me something I taught him 5 min ago, 5 hours ago or 5 days ago. I love when she actually communicates something to me bub pointing or bringing something to me.

Come on this crazy journey with me!

August Garden Update

by Ariana Peters, posted in baby, food, healthy lifestyle, mini-farm
Jalapenos
Tomatoes
Serrano peppers
Peas not doing so good this year
Thyme
My helper
Chickens eating the last corn that the dog didnt destroy
Cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin and watermelon all torn out by the dog. But volunteer tomatoes are here
Bell peppers are doing great
2nd carrot planting……and somehow tomatoes
1st carrots and leeks. I am pulling these as we need them. I need to devote a day to Dehyrating and freezing them soon
Celery going to seed
Lima beans
Some kind of beans, don’t remember what I planted lol
Cherry tomatoes
Baby eggplants
Sweet potatoes
2nd onion planting
Cabbage and Brussels sprouts totally bug infested so chickens will get them
Aloe
Dill, smells sooooo good
Raspberries
Chives
Eggs from our chickens!!

Garden update 8/1

by Ariana Peters, posted in mini-farm

Happy August 1st!!!!

Traffic was not horrendous today which was nice. Got home, a quick snack and changed into partial workout gear hahaha.

She is impatiently waiting for us to go do out watering in the yard.

Raspberries!!!! Well raspberry plants, they are still growing but not really producing anymore.

One of Brandon’s newly panted areas. The front yard is mostly his domain and he wants it to look presentable.

More newly planted flowers…..that i got free from someone at work woohoo!!!

broccoli!!!!!!

mixture of lettuce, flowers and my herb garden. we have basil, sage, thyme, rosemary, and oregano along with my little fig plant that is very SLOWLY growing.

My pear tree is having a growth spurt

Another area that Brandon has created. He has a good eye for yards actually.

Pea season has definitely come to an end. I am slowly getting one or two peas here and there that are no where near as sweet and wonderful as the ones at the beginning of the season. I have a bag in the freezer that i am slowly adding to, it will be good to throw in soups over the winter.

These tomatoes are finally starting produce a bit. The artichoke plant is still just there lol. The cucumber plant is hanging on, i have gotten one cucumber off it so far. The bell pepper plant is just starting to get its first pepper. and the chive are new and doing pretty well.

She LOVES to roll around in the grass. She never did this before we moved here. I think she likes it a lot.

2nd batch of onions, they are surviving!!!!

Pepper plants!

Summer squash…….do you see it?

My 2 lone pumpkins. I have cut them from the stalks and they are starting their curing process. I don’t need them to last months though, just until classes are over then i will cook with them.

This is our neighbors plum tree, i would say 1/3 is hanging over into our yard and i am watching like a hawk for ripe plumbs i can take from out side!!!!!!

Zucchini is still producing like crazy!!!!

Look how many are starting to turn colors!!!! Just a few more days!!!!

That is a cucumber plant growing in among the tomatoes, snaking its vines wherever it can find space.

The last bit of lettuce is holding on in the heat and letting us get a few leaves here and there as we need them.

That is the garden currently.

Today i made zucchini bread and zucchini pasta salad for lunch tomorrow.

Ran some sprints for run training……..my fastest sprints were in the 8 min mile time frame hahahahahaha this is hilarious because that is a lot of runners normal or slightly pushing it pace……there are people who run marathons doing 5 min miles and i am dying doing 8 min for 45 secs. But you know what………I AM DOING IT!!!! And i am proud of that no matter how slow I am.

I am about 1/2 of the way done with my essay that is due tomorrow at midnight but it is 10pm and that is my bedtime if i don’t want to be a zombie tomorrow. Plus the due date is tomorrow so i can afford to go to sleep.

Thank you for following along!!!

Hope you had a wonderful day!!!!

My Garden is Growing

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, House/dating/life

Today’s post will be a series of videos

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The garden is doing amazing!!! Now when dinner time comes it is like ok, what do we have from the garden that we need to use!

Weeds and the organic garden

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, House/dating/life

This isn’t about weeds or a garden but I finally hung up a wind chime that I bought at some swap meet on a family camping trip…..14 years ago!!!! I kid you not, it was wrapped in a newspaper from 2004.

Peas !!!!! So excited to start eating some sugar snap peas!

Hanging basket from Costco, I’m pretty happy with it. It’s really pretty.

Ok so weeds, I let Brandon spray some of the yard when we started on the yard but not the majority of it. I didn’t want a bunch of pesticides in the ground right before we planted crops. And of course we aren’t spraying the plants now so we inevitably get weeds.

I let them get a little ahead of me in the beginning which i won’t do next year but now everyday when I water i spend about 15-20 minutes weeding one area of the garden. It’s not much time and I just pick out what I can see or easily get to. There are always still weeds left and sometimes I look back where I was just weeding and swear there is a weed in the exact spot I already pulled one but i also love those few quiet moments in the garden.

Basically if you dont use anything to kill the weeds there will always be weeds, don’t stress too much about it. Make sure your plants have room to grow and their roots have room to grow and don’t worry too much about the rest. Just do what you can.

Do you have a garden?

What are you growing?

House catch-up

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, House/dating/life

Here is a lovely picture of me from when I was in the emergency room with the flu. They take this stuff seriously now!

Moving this past weekend! Shout out to the mama! She has helped me with every move. She is pretty much a life saver.

Managed to get some meal prep in! Mojito Pork Chops from a Home Chef meal box.

Just ordered this since currently our mail gets left to the side of the front door or on the counter and days later we realize one of them is a bill. Time to organize!

The coffee bar is slowly coming along! and check out the pretty flowers from my backyard!

We planted our first tree! Yep that large twig is a tree, a pear tree to be exact. Hopefully in about 2-3 years it will start producing many pears for us.

We also got 1 fig plant planted as well as 5-6 raspberry plants.

I have biodegradable seed pot starting things arriving tonight so I can get my seed starts done and just plant the whole thing in the ground in a month instead of having to take them out of the starts for transplanting.

I can’t wait to see how my garden grows!