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May UpdateApril UpdateJune has come and gone. I bought a lot of dirt, but I really think I'm done buying dirt. I also have the consolation that, since most of my garden is in pails that have handles and lids, I can easily move & reuse this dirt next year. My garden, though it has netted no actual harvest yet, is getting hella big. ( pictures )This month, we bought a mint plant, a half-dozen each parsley and basil (1/2 to go in Eugene's garden), and chives, rounding out our herbs. I'm still giving away a couple of the tomatoes and a pepper, so the garden will shrink a little, but I've still got quite a few plants! Come August and September, I believe we will be swimming in tomatoes. Dirt this month was about $35, plants were about $10. Guesstimating $1 of electricity spent on my grow lamp for each month, $5.00 on spent on seeds, $17.00 on plants and $44.56 on dirt (and a time-release fertilizer), I've spent $69.56 so far. And I think the spending is done! (Cross fingers). Tags: garden
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After the Get Rich Slowly Garden Project, I've decided to keep track of how much I spend on my wee little apartment patio garden. April was mostly spent upplanting seedlings into bigger containers as they outgrew the Chinese take-out trays. (Does anyone want some Roma tomato seedlings? A spaghetti squash plant? jalapeno pepper seedlings? okra?) Speaking of okra, I bought a packet of okra seeds on whim. I also (It was May, but if I wait, I'll forget) bought $3.23 of humus/manure mix. Sunday, I repotted my biggest tomato seedling into a homemade kitty-litter pail self-watering planter, and the biggest spaghetti squash seedling into the leftover kitty-litter pail. Guesstimating $1 of electricity spent on my grow lamp for each month, $5.00 on spent on seeds and $11.23 on dirt, I've spent $18.23 so far and netted nothing but entertainment. Edited to add: Yes. To be honest, I'm doing this for the good feelings it generates. Please don't read the above comment to think I'm disappointed in the lack of yield in my garden. I's the 6th of May! I don't expect there to be anything in my garden yet but the fun of digging in the dirt! But please note that this set of posts is about the financial costs and gains of the garden, not the spiritual and emotional well-being it generates in me. :-P See also this post. Tags: garden
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After the Get Rich Slowly Garden Project, I've decided to keep track of how much I spend on my wee little apartment patio garden. In March, I planted some seeds in Chinese take-out containers, adding some coffee grounds to the soil, as I've tended to do as a sort of quickie nitrogen-rich composting. I freecycled myself some kitty litter pails for later use as planters, and, when and ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) keeblerx and I visited alderfather, Mom, and Wyatt, I drilled the appropriate holes to use two pair of them as self-watering planters for the tomatoes. I also freecycled myself a whole mess of seeds.The freecycled seeds aren't doing so hot in terms of germination rate, but the ones I'd saved from a couple years ago (Roma tomatoes, jalapenos, and habanero peppers) are coming up pretty rapidly, as are the basil & parsley seeds I bought this year. I was a little worried about the habeneros, actually, as they were taking their time, but I have 5 tiny seedlings now, so I'm happy. After thinning, I have 14 tomato seedlings, 16-ish jalapenos, and 5 habanero plants, a mess of basil and parsley, and two spaghetti squash plants, one a little more enthusiastic than the other. The tomatillas and Anaheim chilies for which eseme brought me the seeds aren't up yet, but I only planted those his past week. I'm very excited! Now if only it would warm up... Guesstimating $1 of electricity spent on my grow lamp for the month of March, and $3.50 on spent on seeds and $8.00 on dirt, I've spent $12.50 so far and netted nothing but entertainment. Tags: freecycle, garden
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I love that my preparations for gardening include bringing home Styrofoam peanuts and coffee grounds from work & frecycling kitty litter pails (in order, in lieu of rocks, as fertilizer/soil conditioner, and as planters (because the litter our cats use comes in bags)). Oh, and poking holes in Chinese take-out containers (the plastic ones, not the paper ones). I have planted my first seeds, leftovers, for the most part, from past years, so I overplanted something between 4 to 1 and 12 to 1. Warming on the second heater are three plastic containers with germinating (I hope) seeds for Roma tomatoes, jalapeño & habanero peppers, three kinds of basil (a pack containing lemon & lime basil, and then a "spicy globe" basil) and parsley (Italian flat-leaf) - things we know from past experience that we will use. I'm pretty excited... yippy, actually. Very bouncy over three pins of wet dirt and coffee grounds. :-) Now all we need to do is find the lamp portion of our grow-light rig. Last year, I found this site, "How much does a garden really save." I'm contemplating doing the same thing for my mini-garden this year. So far, loosely rounding, I've spent $3.50 on seeds and $8.00 on dirt. Tags: freecycle, garden, reuse
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To-do, general: * Apply for jobs. Lots of jobs. Anyone know anyone who's hiring? Anywhere? (indefinite) |||||| * Temp Agencies - Robert Half, Stafkings, Kelly (by Monday)* Thank-you notes (by Monday) * Finish baking father's request Christmas treat (tomorrow)* Make mother's surprise Christmas treat (tonight)* Finish making darling husband's requested dinner bread (before dinner)* Dishes (tomorrow) * Laundry (today) * all items on other three to-do lists. Tags: to-do
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Wed, 12/17/08 - 8:00 - 5:00* - 5:45 - 10:00 p.m.
Thu, 12/18/08 - 8:00 - 3:00*
Fri, 12/19/08 - off - 5:45 - 10:00 p.m.
Sat, 12/20/08 - 11:30 - 5:30
Sun, 12/21/08 - Lost!
Mon, 12/22/08 - 8:30 - 4:30 5:45 - 10:15 p.m.
Tue, 12/23/08 - 8:30 - 4:30 - 5:45 - 10:15 p.m.Wed, 12/24/08 - 8:30 - 4:30 Thu, 12/25/08 - Christmas Fri, 12/26/08 - 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Sat, 12/27/08 - 5:15 - 9:15 p.m. Sun, 12/28/08 - off Mon, 12/29/08 - 12:00 - 4:00 p.m. Tue, 12/30/08 - 5:15 - 10:15 p.m. Wed, 12/31/08 - off Thu, 1/ 1/09 - off Fri, 1/ 2/09 - off Sat, 1/ 3/09 - 4:30 - 9:15 p.m. Assume any time ending in :15 really means... :30, :45, depending on how busy the store is. Tags: new job
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I don't really have one. A holiday wish list, that is. Sort of. I'm down to wanting stuff that's either too involved in personal taste to pick out for me, or stuff too expensive for me to ask anyone to buy for me. 'Cause, really, I want costuming for the Requiem character I have yet to figure out, beautiful clothes for work, and a blender. A really nice blender. And, seeing as I work at Bon*Ton now, I'm probably going to buy myself the blender. I want a house, too, and a new car. Yeah, not in the range of gifts. And I want a good, solid, real Christmas. Carols, and friends, and a tree, and good food. That all being said. There is an Amazon list. There are three yarn sites I love. And I will pry a list out of Sam. But, more importantly - what do you want? Because the part I like the most about the holiday if watching people like the gifts we bought them. Tags: winter holiday
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Before 
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