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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Baby's First Check Up

Saturday.
Wednesday.
We're going to have lettuce!
And the bougainvillea is taking to the root tone.

We already have tiny roots sprouting in the propagation station.
One of my herbs is having a flattening issue however. Evidently, Smidgen the cat thinks this is Nap Thyme.
(I give Savannah credit for that one.)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

It's All About the Cats

A big pot on feet with a hole in the bottom. Yep, that's where we're starting.
Our former fountain was also homemade, but from plastic planters. It served several purposes, including providing a little music in the garden and fresh drinking water for our band of marauding felines. When the sides of it cracked, it was time to build a replacement. Thom is the keeper of our fountain, and he was pretty sad that he no longer had one to listen to, so this one was going to be a lot more sturdy.
You will need:
1. A large composite pot in a bowl shape. Composites are water tight.
2. A smaller pot that when inverted is level with the top of the larger bowl.
3. A pump
4. Decorative rock
5. Goop
6. We also recycled a plastic tray from the broken fountain.



First, using a masonry bit, drill into the pot to enlarge the drainage hole. You'll need to thread the cord from the fountain through it.
Make sure the fountain head fits the drainage hole of the small pot. I encourage you to take your pump shopping with you.
 
Thread the electrical cord of the pump through the hole of the bowl so that the pump is in the bowl. Set this on a sheet of aluminum foil.

Making sure you have enough cord inside the pot, surround the cord with small stones and grab your Goop!

Squeeze a generous amount of this watertight, flexible adhesive over the stones. Let it sit for 15 minutes and apply a little more to completely seal the hole.

Let this dry overnight, the put a little water in the bowl. Wait for an hour and check the foil. If it's dry, you're ready to rock!

Goop over flow can be snipped off.
Guide the fountain head into the smaller pot and out the hole
The plastic drainage tray was already cut from the previous fountain, and I had just used utility scissors to do that.

Set the smaller pot upside down in the bowl. Fill the tray with rocks, shells, marbles, or anything else that fits your scheme, fill the bowl with water, plug in the pump, and you, my friends, have a very fancy cat dish.
Since Thom is our Fountain Whisperer (as in it's one of his chores to maintain it), I let him do the artistic part.
Thom changed his mind a couple of times as far as decor.
I liked the results.
The Quality Assurance Committee was eager to test it out.
And there you have it. Totally Cool Receipt?

Large bowl $19 at Home Depot
Smaller Pot $1.48 at Home Depot
Those were the only purchases for this project.
And doesn't it look Fiesta-esque?




Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Propagation Station

 
...and the easiest way to get new plants yet! Clip a green stem 4 to 6 inches long. 



 

 Angle your cut slightly.
 Take the lower leaves off of the stem so that none will be under water. Then simply place in a glass or vase for a few weeks until you have roots, and plant it!

 
This is my propagation station. It's a sunny kitchen window that faces west, and I often experiment with new cuttings to see what will root. Here we have oregano and sage started, and the middle plant was given to me by a friend to root. It evidently attracts butterflies; we'll know soon enough since it's nearly ready to pot. You'll notice from the pit suspended in water by toothpicks on the lower shelf that I'm hoping for an avocado tree too. I'm not the best gardener (Sam makes me apologize in advance to the cilantro every time I buy it), but we'll see. Maybe I'll improve since I know you're watching.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Getting Back to my Roots

 
When I trimmed the bougainvillea HERE, Issy over at Swimming on Dry Land 
    asked about rooting it. Brilliant. I had to. More paper cups please!

You will need:
1. Paper seed cups with potting soil
2. Rooting hormone
3. Clippers
4. A cup of water

Clip a woody stemmed healthy branch about 8 inches long just below a leaf. Strip any leaves or twigs for about 3 to 4 inches.
 
Dip the stem in water, then rooting hormone to coat to just above where the stem will sit in the dirt. 
Poke it in the soil.

 
Yeah, that's it. Mist with water daily, and you have
FREE shrubs.