Gardening in West Texas-Trying Something New

Nothing seems to be getting us through Mother Nature's mood swings. We go from 90 degrees to 28 in 36 hours flat. So I have just decided maybe we need to experiment and take a new route ;0)

Cut a water bottle in half and planted some seeds underneath ;)

Planted the top of a pineapple.....hey why not!

I ran out of bottle lids so why not try the tops to ;)

Planted corn seeds underneath so hay in the dirt to keep the moisture in!

Mr.Blueberry

Mr.Blackberry

My pretty new plants

My new babies

My blackberry and blueberry bush have really started to take off! It is about time because I really though I would just be killing everything here in West Texas the rest of my life! But look flowers!We spent a couple hours at walmart and Lowe's this weekend and found some great plant that have survived outside in the frost and wind. Granted they have been battered and bruised but they have fresh growth and were CHEAP!I haven't given up completely though I have some fresh life that is just about ready to make a name for itself ;)

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Jello Hard Candy

Most hard candies call for corn syrup, but since I was out and I have 3 children home I decided to experiment and make something fun! Here is what you need:
2 Cups of Sugar
2 Cups of Water
1 Package Sugar Free Jello
A candy Thermometer

Making candy is a pretty tricky process and trust me I messed up a batch or two getting this to work right.lol Put the sugar and water into the pot and turn on medium whisking well till the sugar is dissolved. Stirring pretty regularly to help the sugar from burning. As the sugar begin to boil turn the heat up to high. Watch your thermometer when the candy reaches 230 pour in the jello continuing to mix. Pour this mixture immediately into a cake pan that is lined with parchment paper of you can rub a little veggie oil in it. The candy will continue to cook as it melts anything over 230 you will be left with a burnt candy that tastes like licorice.lol After you candy is cooled completely turn it out onto a cookie sheet and break apart :O) I like to dust mine …

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Killing Ants Safely

June 14, 2012

LOL okay I know the title seems a bit silly. Here is West Texas ants are a BIG problem. Not only do they bite, but well they are really annoying! They sneak into every crack in your house no matter how hard you try. With pets though you are very limited to the products you can safely use to kill ants. As time goes on more and more I am concerned about the products I keep in this house and the effect they have on not only me and my children, but my pets. When looking for ways to rid myself of these pests I found a simple, cheap, and effective means to do so. CORNMEAL! Yep it is very simple, for about $2 a bag I can treat weekly for an entire year! While it doesn't kill them all it has certainly brought down the population so that now it isn't even noticeable. All you do it sprinkle it on top of their mounds and watch the greedy little ants drag it all inside! When eaten it expands and POOF! ;O) You get the picture.

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Homemade Fly Traps

June 28, 2012

We all love summer but as the weather gets warmer the flies get worse and worse. We have a bush out front of our house that I swear just attracts every fly in town! I wanted to get rid of them but I didn't want to kill all the wonderful butterflies it also attracts. So I went about finding a new way to kill them all. I had some empty Tazo tea bottles I simply poked a pen sized whole in the top, added 1/2 cup of water, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of dish soap, and 1 tablespoon of syrup.Now I do find that these work better if you place them in the sun :O) If you want to use a bigger container simply multiply the ingredients. Make sure your hole is only about the size of a pen cap! Then they can't seem to get back out.lol

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