Make Grass Egg Heads and Grass Stocking Heads

This post brought to you by Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have a black thumb.

This past year I've already killed four plants.  Sad, right?  Apparently plants come to our apartment healthy and alive, and leave in garbage bags.

That's why I had basically given up on the idea of having any plant life in our apartment.   But when I heard about Miracle-Gro's The Gro Project, I felt inspired to pick up my trowel and try again.



Here are my  two small planting projects:  Grass Egg Heads and Grass Stocking Heads (which remind me of Chia pets)

Materials:
- Miracle-Gro's Moisture Control Potting Mix
- Grass seeds
- Eggs
- Knife
- Safety Pin
- Googly eyes
- Permanent marker
- Glue
- Nude stockings
- Scissors
- Spoon
- Cup

Directions for making grass egg heads:
1.  Using a safety pin, I poked a couple of holes (spaced far apart) in the bottom of my egg head.  (I'm hoping these holes will allow excess water to drain out.)  Using a knife, I gently tapped the egg where I wanted it to crack open.  (This gave me a neater break.) Then, I poured out the egg's insides.

2.  I rinsed out the eggs and set them to dry.

3.  Once they dried, I glued on googly eyes and used permanent marker to draw a smile.  (Permanent markers won't wash away with water.)

4.  Chuck and I filled the egg heads with grass seeds and soil.  Then, we watered the eggs and set them out near a sunny window.


Directions for making grass stocking heads:
1.  I wrapped a stocking around a small cup to make it easier to fill.

2.  Chuck scooped a bunch of grass seeds into the stocking.  Then, we piled on the dirt.

3.  Once the stocking was stuffed to our liking, I tied it closed and trimmed the excess material.

4.  I glued on googly eyes and drew on a mouth using permanent marker.

5.  Chuck watered the grass stocking head and we also placed it on a sunny windowsill.

Cross your fingers for us, ok? The potting soil that we chose is supposed to protect our seeds from over watering and under watering.  I'm really hoping that we'll see lots of grass sprouting so we can give them hair cuts.  (Hrrm.. a mowhawk perhaps?)


**Update-  Guess what?  They grew!  We just spritzed the little egg heads and thoroughly soaked the stocking heads in water daily.  Here's what they looked like after 2 weeks.

If you're interested in turning your thumb a bit greener, you can check out Miracle-Gro's Pinterest page for more fun garden projects.

((Many thanks to Miracle-Gro for sponsoring this post.  It's my first sponsored post and I'm really thankful for this new opportunity.))

Critter Barn

Yesterday we took our family around downtown Holland.  We enjoyed popping in and out of the shops and eating yummy sweets.  We also enjoyed seeing the Critter Barn animals in Centennial Park. 

Baby Chuck and I are trying to convince hubby to buy some chickens...or maybe a goat?   The goat could help mow the lawn.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Funny bunny

Pat the bunny

Oooh, chickens!

Big brain?  Or big hair?

Feel the soft fluffy chick

A future farmer

Do goats eat tires?

Bucket list- Berry picking

A couple of days ago, I helped a friend weed and harvest strawberries from her backyard garden. 
 

 

They were delicious and tasted like summer.

White flowers

I noticed these small white flowers growing on one of my basil plants.

Why, hello there!

I've never seen basil flowers before.  Have you?  I think I'm supposed to pinch them off to keep my basil plant growing, but I've decided to let them stay because they're just so darn pretty! (Plus, I'm curious what will happen next....)

From patio to plate

It's harvest time!  Hubby and I plucked more tomatoes and basil from our deck farm and finally got to enjoy the fruits of our farming labor.

Cheese + tomatoes + basil = heaven *drool*

RIP Tom 1

Sadly, when Tom's red exterior,

Spoke of his flav'ry interior,

My hand had to act,

The fruit I did snatch,

And I savored his taste so superior.  

Orange you glad? I am!

Whoa!  I think Tom 1 is going through tomato puberty.  He's looking more and more like a mature tomato!  (Here's a photo of Tom 1 and a tomato that I purchased from the grocery store.)

*Sigh*  He's growing up too fast.

A deck full of Toms

Perhaps the curse of my black thumb is being lifted?  Not only is my deck tomato plant still alive, it's actually growing more tomatoes!  During a routine watering, I spotted three new tomatoes.

A tiny Tom 3 grows above Tom 1 and Tom 2.

And if you look up higher, you can see tinier Tom 4 and tiniest Tom 5.  Can you spot them?

If all goes well, we just might have enough for a salad (by August)...  

Can you identify this plant?

Sometimes hubby and I bemoan the absence of Asians and Asian cuisine in our area.  However, as much as I miss seeing Asian faces and eating delicious foods (oh steaming bowl of ramen, tender bulgogi, juicy soup dumplings, NY style bubble milk tea, tender kong xin cai, salty nasi lemak, fresh sushi, and piping hot samosas-- how I miss you) we are fortunate to have befriended a few Asian gals.  

So we're not so alone.

One gal is originally from Cambodia and though we often misunderstand each other, we do share the common language of  food.  Most of our talk centers around food: what we enjoy eating, what we've made, and what we want to make some day.

 Recently she brought me this plant to grow in my deck garden:

The stems have to remain in water until roots grow.  Then, I'm supposed to pot them in soil.

Apparently the leaves are (1) tasty with pork, and (2) good for people with bad eyes (I wear glasses.)  Hubby and I are excited to try the leaves out, but there's one problem:  I'd like to know the name of this plant before I put it in my mouth.

So that's where you, dear readers, come into play.  What is this plant called?  I tried googling "Asian plant tastes good with pork leaves Cambodian" and didn't find anything besides kaffir lime leaves.

Here's an up close shot for all you super sleuths...

Harvest time

Yesterday marked the first basil harvest. 

RIP basil leaves:  They've gone to that tasty pasta salad heaven in the sky

Q: How does your garden grow?

A:  Slowly.

A couple of days ago, I introduced  you to Tom.  Now *drum roll please* I introduce you to Tom 2.

Tom 1 now has a tiny friend, Tom 2!

I read somewhere that tomatoes take weeks to ripen on the vine.  *sigh*   According to Saint Augustine, "Patience is the companion of wisdom."  So hopefully this patio gardening process will grow some tomatoes for me and some patience and wisdom in me. 

City girl meets country plant

As I watered my two plants earlier this week, I noticed something *gasp* GROWING on the tomato plant.  Wondering what it was, I leaned in for a closer inspection and saw this:

Mercy me, it's a tiny green tomato!  I shall name it Tom.

I can't believe it.  I'm so excited (and hungry)! Oh Tom, how long will it take you to ripen?
 

Deck farmer

"This is called farming! You kids are gonna grow all kinds of plants! Vegetable plants, pizza plants."  ~ Captain from the movie WALL*E

Inspired by a friend's farm and the good weather, hubby and I visited the local supermarket and purchased some gardening supplies and plants.  Now we have two new additions to our deck:

Meet our new basil plants and tomato plant.

Hopefully my black thumb doesn't kill them and we'll be enjoying fresh mozarella and tomato salad with tomatoes and basil from our mini deck garden.

Farming fantasies

I had a wonderful time seeing my college friends this past weekend.  We laughed, cried, and ate a whole lot.

This weekend I also fell in love...
with my friend's mom's gentleman's farm.  (Gosh, that's a lot of apostrophes.)

*Sigh*  So cute

One of their roosters and his harem of chickens   (I ate their eggs for brunch.  Delicious!)

A bunch of thyme growing in their herb garden

Be still my beating heart- it's a compost pile...

Even though hubby and I live in an apartment now, hopefully one day we'll own a plot of land and I'll get to live out some of my farming fantasies.  For now I'll practice growing plants on the deck...