ghettogardener

[ghettogardener]

[ghettogardener]

My zen space. The Greenhouse. I can't put anything out in my yard permanently yet because Wyoming weather is fickle until around May 20-June 1. Trust me, I have learned my lesson.

Here is what I've got going in the greenhouse until mid-May:

A bunch of shade wildflowers, moon flowers, pansies, snapdragons, sweet peppers, hot peppers, toms, cherry toms, full sun wild flowers, chocolate mint, blueberries, strawberries, and jalapenos.

I am holding on by a thread in today's uncertainty, but these small things are keeping me sane.

Stay safe out there!

[ghettogardener]

So, as per American usual, this week has been gross. I doomscrolled for hours this week, then I made myself go outside and touch organic dirt.

BUT. I got my hands on some greenery, so that helped.

I used a bunch of trader joes' paper bags that I had been saving as biodegradable container filler.

I got pretty drunk today. It was nice. I listened to Viola Davis's autobiography and I soaked some seeds.

I refuse to be judged for day drinking in trump's hellscape of America.

So, I got 6 containers of Shade tolerant wildflower pots going, and I transplanted all of my mature aerogarden pod plants into dirt. Hallelujah.

Have a great week, everybody!

I love you guys

Ps, I decided to propogate 3 Basil. I dipped the ends of the stems into an Aloe cutting, and I tossed them all into some mini Family Dollar progating vases.

This will be my second time propagating Basil this way, and it is extremely successful. It turns out Basil is an excellent companion plant to peppers and tomatoes.

Stay safe out there!

[ghettogardener]

Got some stuff done in preparation for spring🌻 this week, and I couldn't be more happy with myself!!!

First of all, I got my greenhouse ready! I laid down fresh cardboard (been hoarding it for weeks). Then, I spent $57 on black mulch and stepping stones.

I laid it all out, and then I sprinkled eucalyptus essential oil all over as a natural bug repellent.

It came out so neat and crisp looking!

I want to install some solar powered lights of some sort, and I plan to build shelving out of cinder blocks and flat boards. This is just the beginning!!

I also got a fresh batch of seeds going. Focused on flowers for this go around.

First row of 4 is Zinnia, next row is 4 Morning Glory blue, next is 4 M. Glory pink and purple mix, then 4 M.Glory striped mix, finally, 8 Marigold.

Today was a good day! Stay safe out there!

3.25

[ghettogardener]

Painted some rocks to decorate my garden a while ago. Today, I finally got around to sealing them so they can actually go outside in the yard!

[ghettogardener]

Transferred some more plants from the aerogardens to container pots and dirt today!

The four middle plants (back middle two are Golden Cherry Toms, front middle two are Yellow Plum Toms) have all moved on to their next adventure in dirt!

The Yellow Plum (the tall drink of water up front) after I thinned it did NOT look healthy. I know that it can and mostly likely will rebound after a few days, so I haven't taken a pic of it yet, but they were dirt planted today!

The back two in this pic are the Golden Cherry Toms. They transferred and looked adorable doing it! They are pictured with my first batch of Marigolds, too!

I wanted to show my little setup. I use the light from my aerogarden to nourish many many plants, not just the hydroponic ones. I only have one true southern facing window in my house, so I have to make due with plant lights to get the garden party started in the dark corners of my house!

(I have gnat issue every time I plant a new plant into cheap dirt, so those yellow sticky things are a life saver!)

These last two plants, Cilantro and Dill, I have grown from seed I started a few weeks ago. They look pretty limp and sad, but they are nice and green, so I hope they strengthen up! They are on a small plant stand, just beneath the aerogarden, benefiting from the spillover light.

I only point this out to show that an indoor container garden is possible with one aerogarden and some dollar store seeds, dirt, and containers.

Stay safe out there, guys!

[ghettogardener]

Truly truly enjoying "With Love, Meghan" on Netflix. Please do yourself a favor and watch. It's so cozy and informative!

They could never make me hate you, Meghan!

[ghettogardener]

I really need to jump on that link and order some apple seeds <3

Tom Brown, a 79-year-old from Clemmons, North Carolina, has spent over 20 years of his retirement tracking down rare, nearly extinct apple varieties that once flourished across Appalachia. Driven by his passion for rediscovering these heirlooms, Brown has revived more than 1,200 unique apple types with whimsical names like Brushy Mountain Limbertwig, Mule Face, and Tucker’s Everbearing.

His journey began in 1998 after encountering heritage apples at a farmers’ market, inspiring him to search for “lost” apples that hadn’t been tasted in over a century. Stretching across the Appalachian region—from southern New York to northern Alabama—Brown scours old maps, orchard catalogs, and historical records, often driving hours and knocking on doors to find forgotten orchards or lone trees tucked in remote areas.

When he finds a lost variety, Brown grafts clippings onto trees in his own orchard, where he cultivates and sells them for just $15 to encourage others to create “mini preservation orchards.” Despite the challenge of aging trees and a dwindling population of local knowledge keepers, Brown remains determined, calling the work both fun and fulfilling.

“It’s a thrill to rediscover them,” he says. “I’m happy as a lark.” Brown’s mission not only preserves these apples but also honors the heritage of the region, where generations of families once prided themselves on cultivating unique varieties in their backyards.

[ghettogardener]

So my two beefsteak and my two cherry aerogarden babies have made their official dirt debut. This next few days are crucial in these four little plant lives. I lose a lot of plants in the transition from water to soil. I'm not sure what it is that I do wrong, and if anyone reading this has any suggestions, pls pass those on! I'd be grateful.

In the meantime, I put some organic fertilizer in the soil this time, and I will be checking their moisture levels daily to try to keep them alive and producing!!

[ghettogardener]

My little indoor hydroponics setup is showing some signs of life!

I have 2 beefsteak toms, 2 cherry toms, and 2 jalapenos in my 6 pod Aerogarden.

In my knock-off 15 pod hydroponic garden, I have golden cherry toms and yellow plum toms peaking out. None of the other pods are growing yet, but no other pods have tomatoes. They are all peppers, and I am noticing that pepper plants take about 5 days longer to pop out their sprouts.

In some traditional dirt pots I have catnip, oregano, basil, and cilantro herbs going from seed.

I also have some pots of strawberry and pineberry going.

Next week, I'm going to pot plant some companion flowers like dandelion, daisy, sunflower, and marigolds.

Stay safe out there!

[ghettogardener]

02.07.25--I called out sick today. I'm tired. I'm sad.

I played animal crossing for 13 hrs, and I'm not even mad at me.

I needed to check out mentally. I made enough dinner last night to feed my husband, self, and son, for two more days.

I called in sick, and I checked out. I have been erasing my goth-ish animal crossing island (my solace since 2020) for the last couple of days, with the goal of starting fresh with a Studio Ghibli theme.

I knew going into 2025 that I would need gardening and cozy gaming to get me through this next few years.

Normallu, my favorite game series is the Fallout franchise (New Vegas being my #1). And my favorite types of games are role playing games, but as I have horrid anxiety, I need comfort things surrounding me during the bad times, so here I am, back at Celestia, my mental hideaway. My place away from trump and the dark times ahead.

I peeked into the headlines yesterday, I refuse to do a daily check in, I just need some days to be okay, you know? I peeked into the headlines, and I woke up sad, and I chose today to make time for myself.

I am now box wine drunk. I'm drunk on Black Raven Pinot Noir ($23 a box) and homemade pasta (maybe $25 worth of ingredients).

How is everyone else doing? I'm taking it day by day, but today was hard.

How is everyone else staying sane?

I love you guys. Stay safe out there.

[ghettogardener]

cute <3

a promise of spring

[ghettogardener]

Ok, so on my simple living-back to basics- budget saving journey, I stumbled across a recipe to make a years worth of laundry detergant for cheap. I looked into the ingredients, and they are cleaner too.

So I went to it!

The baking soda was a 13 lb bag from costco for $16. The baking soda booster was $5 a bix, so $10. The bar soap is Dr. Bronner's for $5. So, it's $36 for the whole lot.

I used this as a guide for measurements, but I doubled it because I had such a large amount of ingredients (i still have a TON of the ingredients left for future batches).

I put the ingredients into a spare tupperware dish and grabbed an old mismatched 1/4 tablespoon as a scoop.

I'm not gonna lie, grating the bar of soap was a LOT, but I got through it.

I am washing my first load of laundry with the homemade detergent right now! I hope it works out because I have a shitload of ingredients left.

If I am successful, I will have a year's supply (estimated for a family of 3) of laundry detergant for $36.

This is one tiny way that I am giving the finger to the corporations that peddle expensive, toxic stuff to us every day. I'm checking out of all of it.

Love you, be safe out there.

[ghettogardener]

Made this amazing chia seed sandwhich loaf today. So tasty. I haven't bought bread since xmas and it feels nice.

I'd like to try baking focaccia bread next week. It looks like it tastes amazing, and some of those gorgeous designs that people put on them look unreal. Trying it out could scratch a new creative itch for sure!

Be safe out there, folks.

[ghettogardener]

Oh snap! I just planted the first seeds of 2025! Its indoor seed sowing time over here!

I know it's a bit early, but gardening makes me so happy, and after the last few gut-wrenching days, I just needed to play in the dirt right now.

I dusted off the old aerogarden, used some generic soil cones, and stuffed them with dollar store seeds left over from last year.

I planted beefsteak toms, cherry toms, and jalapeno in the aerogarden.

After that, I planted green onions in a ceramic bread pan that I never baked in because it was too pretty. I filled it with the last of '24's garden soil.

Here's to the hope that spring will be swift and sweet.

[ghettogardener]

Not gardening related, but I have been sitting on this beautiful fabric for about 5 yrs. I FINALLY used it today!

I hand sewed a pillowcase cover for my contour pillow. It took about 3 hrs total, mainly because I took lots of breaks.

I am proud of myself for motivating to complete a project.

[ghettogardener]