How to get petunias to come back year after year.....

 Nov. 12, 2020

For those of you who love gardening and hate to pay for plants each spring I have an idea for you.

For years now I have had petunias come back each year.  

In the fall I put my flower pots 'to bed' for the winter.  That means I don't pull the old dead flowers out, rather I bend them over in the pot.  This gives the old flowers time to drop their seed into the pot and it keeps the soil covered for the winter so the winter doesn't blow the seeds and dirt away.  

I leave the pots this way until about April.  Then I gently removed the old debris without digging up much of the soil. Sometimes I add a little more potting soil if the pot needs it.  And yes I use the soil for several years before replacing it and I fertilize them several times a summer.  As the weather warms I begin watering the pots about once a week.  Soon, as the weather warms, you'll see little petunias begin sprouting.  They will come up thick and you may thin them out and transplant them to another area.  I find that these petunias are more stringy and gangly as they grow than ones I buy at the store each season.  Several times during the summer then I trim them back to shorten them up and they come right back blooming again.  The picture below shows petunias that came back from seed the prior year in a flower garden.  I did the same thing with the flower garden as I do with my pots.  Have fun gardening!

Lasagna Gardening!

 Oct. 9, 2020

I love gardening!  About twenty years ago I read a book about lasagna gardening.  I have been gardening this way since.  It is so easy and produces such great results.  The best part of it is that there are virtually no weeds to pull or hoe.  I am running this past you gardeners this fall with the thought that you may try it come spring.  

The following are pictures of a flowerbed I built on the edge of our drive way and our garden that was built on top of grass. Both are several years old.  

To build a lasagna garden:

1.  Pick your spot to build it.  It can be on top of lawn or driveway.  Just needs to have dirt below it.

2.  Lay down cardboard to cover the area of your garden.  Make sure all the area is covered.  You can also use newspapers to fill in holes where the cardboard doesn't cover.  You may wet this down if you want.  That will help to keep it in place but not a must.

3.  Begin layering your materials.   Use manure, straw, leaves, hay, and/or grass clippings.  A variety of these is good. If you use straw there may be some wheat come up but it pulls very easily when it is about six inches tall.  I don't worry about it until then. There may also be some weeds come from the manure, but again they will pull easily. I particularly like to use plenty of leaves. So begin bagging some now and keep them until spring when you will build your garden.  In between layers you are supposed to put peat moss.  I am usually too cheap to do this but I know that some of it is necessary so I buy a big bag of it when making a garden and layer it in.  

4.  I like to build a new garden about a month before I plant so it has a little time to settle.  I water it with a sprinkler a little every few days.  But if you don't get it built ahead of time don't worry.  Just build it and plant.  You can sprinkle your seeds in the garden or put in plants.  Be sure to sprinkle it often to let it compost down and keep your seeds/plants moist.  After the plants come up I lay several sprinkler hoses in the garden connected to a three way splitter to water the garden through the summer.  

5.  I use this garden then again year after year.  In the spring I usually put on another layer of old composted manure and some more leaves.  

6.  The soil on these gardens stays very soft.  The petunias in the picture all came back from seed from last years petunias.  I leave the dead plants on the garden through the winter.  This protects the soil from blowing away when we have big wind storms.  Then when April rolls around, I take the old dead plants off of the garden and sprinkle the garden with water a few times.  This drives the old flower seeds into the soil, gets them moist, and allows them to sprout.  Many flowers will come back to enjoy the following summer doing it this way.  Again, I don't work up the soil but I often add a new light layer to it. 

Give it some thought - prepare ahead this fall by gathering leaves - and give it a try come spring! 

My secrets on how to make great, quick, easy brownies

 

Some years ago I had a friend tell me how to make the best ever brownies.  I'll share with you what she told me.....

Buy brownie mixes when they are on sale at the store!! Then make them according to the directions - EXCEPT put in an extra egg for each box of mix.   Most boxes have directions on them that tell you how to make cake-like brownies.  This is what we are doing.  I usually make two boxes at a time and put them in a 9x13 pan to cook them in.  That way they are nice and thick. Brownies made this way stay soft and delicious for a long time. If you are only making one box put the mix in a smaller pan. 

Other hints:

Oil only the bottom of the pan before you cook them.  

When you think the brownies are done, test them with a toothpick (not in the center of the pan) but 1/2 way in to the center.  It is so easy to get them cooked too much.  I usually leave mine in the oven about 35 minutes at 350. 

When they are done and slightly cooled, I cut them with a plastic knife.  It slides right through and doesn't get gummed up.  If they are too hot it will melt the knife!

Sprinkle powdered sugar on them with a sifter to make them look nicer.  Enjoy!!

Settling for mediocracy?

 October 5, 2020

This past week some of our horses got a gate open and got out into our yard.  They took a bite or two out of the good green grass in our yard.  I would have thought they would have loved it and thought maybe they were in heaven ...... but NO.....

They walked right by the good green grass and stopped out on the road and began grazing the bar ditch.  They did not like the good (in my understading) green grass but went back to the kind of grass they were used to eating daily as they grazed in the pasture.

This brought to mind an analogy for us ---- are we comfortable with our surroundings?  Do we love being in the same routine, doing what we want, and settling for mediocracy? OR we do strive for something better?  Do we strive to be Godly, God honoring, God fearing, God obeying workers for our Almighty Savior?

Jeremiah 15:16

16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy words were unto me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by thy name, O Jehovah, God of hosts.

May I encourage you today that you not be comfortable with your mediocre surroundings.  Instead SEEK GOD with your whole heart and life and walk in His green pastures honoring, obeying, and praising Him!! 

Guidelines in making decisions

 Sept. 20, 2020

What are we 'free' to do as Christians? When it comes to: movies, tv shows, school options, Bible studies, churches to attend, food, drink, drugs, hair or clothing styles, music, shopping, or hobbies, how do we know what to do? Sometimes we don't have point by point answers from the Bible for the activity we are considering. How do we make decisions that honor God for things that are not specifically addressed in scripture?

The following are a few ideas that I gleaned from a two-part sermon by John McArthur called: Using Your Liberties - the E's of Decision Making

1.  Will this 'thing' I'm considering be spiritually beneficial and profitable?  Is it helpful to me spiritually?

2.  Will this 'thing' edify (improve me spiritually) me?

3.  Will this 'thing encumber (restrict, burden) me?

4.  Will this 'thing' bring me into bondage? Is it habit forming?

5.  Is this 'thing' something I am doing to cover up my sin? Does it turn my liberty into license?

6.  Will this 'thing' train me to ignore my conscience?

7.  Will this 'thing' be a good example to others? Sometimes we must limit our freedoms to set a good example for someone else.

8.  Will it help me to or allow me to share my faith?

9.  Would Christ do this activity? Would I be emulating Christ?

10.  Will it bring Christ glory?

This is just a 'quick' recap of the messages.  You can find them on Grace to You on the internet.  

Hope this is helpful to you and the decisions that you make! Have a good day! 

Happy 48th anniversary to Gail and I!

 Sept. 1, 2020

Happy anniversary to us, happy anniversary to us, happy anniversary to us!!

Gail and I are celebrating our 48th anniversary today. (celebrating? at home? yes, two of our girls fixed us a wonderful steak lunch!!)

I just want to encourage any of you out there reading this.  Marriage does get better and easier as the years march on.  So hang in there!  Seek God and His ways and you will be blessed.  God's ways are right and good and rewarding. There are some rocky roads in marriage. They are some seasons that are more difficult than other.  So hang in there!  Stay committed to your mate.  Stay committed to God's Word and His ways.  Hang in there! He will carry you through whatever you are going through and bring you into greener pastures.

I am so thankful for the years Gail and I have had together.  I am thankful for God's leading in our lives and that He is molding us to be more Christlike and mature. 

Seek God.  Seek His ways. He will bless you too!

Praying continually ... as I tromped through the pasture. Why?

 Sept. 2, 2020

This looks harmless enough.  It actually looks very appealing with all the wild flowers blooming.  It was a 'fun' cool morning out in the pasture as I again was pulling those old devil's claw plants.  I was actually doing what I had learned from I Thessalonians 5: 16-18.  Those verses say: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

You see we live in south eastern Colorado where there are plenty of rattlesnakes.  There is a danger in roaming around in the pasture.  Most every summer my husband kills about fifteen of these deadly rascals on the ranch. So as I was out pulling weeds I was thanking God for the beauty around me BUT I was praying continually and being watchful for snakes around me.  

I thought that really this is what we should be doing in our everyday life.  

We need to:

1.  Rejoice always - thanking God for his gift of salvation, for His Word to guide us, for the Holy Spirit to empower us, and for blessing us so abundantly

2.  Pray without ceasing - Satan is like that rattlesnake.  He is lurking around the corner waiting to trap us and to hurt us and to take us down.  Pray for God's help and direction and protection at ALL times because we need His help to give us victory over Satan.

3.  Give thanks in all circumstances - In life we have good and bad things happen to us.  Let us remember to look to God to give Him thanks for what ever situation He has put us in. May we use every circumstance we are in to glorify Him and grown us in our faith. 

Romans 8:28, 29  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. 

P.S.  No, I didn't see any snakes.  Thank you Lord for answering my prayers!!