Bountiful Gardens and Bountiful Children’s Activities!
Why There Are No Stupid Questions On Southern Plate…
Back in my high school days (sometime in between the discovery of fire and the internet), a new teacher came to our school, Mrs. Taylor. Kids didn’t like Miss Taylor from the very start. She was new and her class was hard. You had to actually learn what she taught in order to be able to pass (that wasn’t he case in some classes). You had to study, you had to do homework, you had to know the material. She was thorough and she had intent. She was a teacher.
But Mrs. Taylor honestly changed my life (and perhaps yours, too!). It wasn’t that biology was that groundbreaking of a subject for me and it wasn’t that I even remember all that much of what she taught unless it was reinforced in college. It was that one day during class when a question occurred to me and I actually got up the courage to ask her.
It was a silly question really, I will freely admit that, but it was something I was honestly curious about and did not know the answer to. I sat patiently in my desk, waiting on the class to clear out some before I started gathering my books. Rising, I dilly dallied a bit more until I was walking in the wake of the last straggler. Mrs. Taylor was wiping off the chalk board and I said “Mrs. Taylor, I have a stupid question.” Her immediate response was “There is no such thing as a stupid question, Christy”.
She went on to listen to me ask my question and acknowledged how she could understand my confusion on the matter (no , I won’t tell you my question! Even now I worry about what someone would think of me!) and then explained in detail what the answer was, even going so far as to dirty up her clean chalkboard again to demonstrate.
I left that room feeling like I had the upper hand over everyone in that class. Chances are I know something they don’t to this very day.
So that’s my philosophy here on Southern Plate. Personally, the thing I hate more than anything in this world is for someone to make me feel stupid and the thing I try to do more than anything is to not make anyone else feel that way. No one is born a good cook. Despite what some people might lead you to believe it is not some elusive talent that some have and others do not. It is a skill, easily acquired and easily mastered to whatever level you choose to take it to.
All you need is the right recipe, answers to any questions you may have, and a little bit of confidence.
I hope to give you all of that here.
Gratefully,
Christy Jordan
Now join me as I post a bounty of information from Bountiful.
Bug experiments, Stained glass projects, and How my garden grows!
~cue music~
The Great Bug Experiment!
My kids, especially Miss Katy, loves bugs! We have had a lot of fun with this “bug experiment” by setting up a little oasis for them in our yard and then going back and seeing who has moved in.
We’ve actually done three bug experiments so far and keep going back to water them and restock them for more buggy discoveries. After twenty four hours, you’ll find all sorts of little critters. Ours has attracted the mother load of roly polies, ladybugs, and snails so far!
Stained Glass Art Project
Gardens At Bountiful
My gardens are doing really well, despite the FLOOD of rain Alabama has seen the past two months.
I have been watching out my window for Noah to show up and my squirrels to start lining up two by two!
This is my tomato garden, with a flurry of carrots around the outside.
I took these photos a few days ago and already there are many more tomatoes appearing.
I haven’t pulled any tomatoes yet but next week my Southern Plate friend, Terri, is coming to visit me here at Bountiful and I hope to fry this one up for her!
My cantaloupes are really spanning out! Check out this photo and then…
This is three days later!
One of my kiddie pool gardens ended up not being in the sun as I thought it would be and that garden has pretty much petered out. I’ve since moved it and am about to replant it but haven’t decided what I’m going to put in there just yet.
I dearly wanted bell peppers and since that was the garden that fell victim to my lack of judgement, I purchased a little bell pepper plant for three dollars and planted it in a bucket so I could move it around and make sure it got enough sun! I planted my buckets the same way I did the gardens. Drilled some holes in the bottom (small holes, just for a little drainage), layer of mulch, and then filled with dirt that had some fertilizer in it, then topped with topsoil.
This plant has more than doubled in size in a very short time and is really taking off!
I decided to do an herb garden. You’ll hear a lot more about that in an upcoming video that is being produced right now!
I planted the herbs I use on a regular basis. Parsley, Basil, and Cilantro.
There is also a little straggler bell pepper plant in there that is not going to make it from the shaded garden.
My herb garden is my first endeavor at organic gardening. I used organic garden soil and pine needles from Bountiful as the mulch in the bottom. As a squirrel deterrent, I use cayanne pepper. Unless you got spicy squirrels, that should do the trick.
Those little sprouts in my herb garden are edible greens I’ve planted.
The package said it would take ten days for them to sprout up but…
This is them after only three!
And I’m still enjoying my hydrangeas very much! Especially if I put them in this milk glass pitcher on my sideboard.
Well, thats all from Bountiful today.
I hope you’re getting ready for a great weekend and Happy Father’s day to all of you Dads!
You have no idea the difference you make in your kid’s lives!
Gratefully,
Christy
Around here, “Normal” is just a setting on the dryer.
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Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jun 19 2009. Filed under Misc, Southern Plate Kids.
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Awesome!! The gardens look great. We’re going to plant our 3 year old’s pumpkin patch in a couple of kiddy pools too… gotta get on that soon!
I think I’ll try the stained glass project with him too… I remember doing that in elementary school 30+ years ago
WOW you are FAST! lol
My son planted pumpkins at his grandmother’s house. We need to do that here, too! Maybe that is what I’ll put in the new garden. hmmmm
Hope you enjoy this weekend and thank you so much for taking the time to comment!!!
LOVE ME SOME COMMENTS!!! ~grins~
Gratefully,
Christy
Hey, My Kimmy got first post!!
I was so excited to see little tomatoes starting to grow in my garden. My carrots and spinach aren’t doing so well though.
I really think I need to start an herb garden! Now to just keep the wonder twins out of it!
Have you thought about doing a hanging herb garden? At our last apartment, I put most of my herbs in hanging pots. Not only did it help space-wise (tiny 4′ by 5′ porch isn’t very garden friendly…), but it helped keep critters and kiddos out, plus it was gorgeous. My mints did spectacular, as did a creeping rosemary and a curled leaf parsley. You could even get a 3-tiered vegetable holder and turn it into a planter!
That’s a great idea. We have a large backyard, but it would keep it out of tiny twin toddler-terrors’ hands..
I really need to grow some mint to make the iced-mint tea drink that Christy wrote about..it looks yummy!
Lindsay!! xoxox
I loves you too!! I wasn’t sure who was following S.P. after I talked about it on global family room a few months ago. I’m so excited!
Oh, those are some gorgeous pictures! I love the bug experiment, I hope that when my son gets just a bit older, we’ll be in a house of our own and can do that! Everything can be turned into a teaching moment, as a friend of mine says! Those hydrangeas are absolutely beautiful, they look like something a professional florist would do.
Those are both wonderful ideas, will remember that if we ever get the grandkids out to AZ for a visit.
The hydrangeas look like the perfect kiss of summer.I am glad you and your family are having a great time together. Happy Father’s Day to all the male readers!
Love the garden. I’m planning on planting a garden for fall harvest because truthfully we weren’t on the ball to get everything planted early enough for a summer harvest. I’m going container planting to because it’ll be a lot easier to take care of.
I have to agree cooking is a skill everyone can master. That’s one of the things I like about the new crop of food bloggers (you included of course) and Food Network hosts they actually cook things that can be accomplished by everyday people that have actual lives.
We did a similar thing with the tissue paper but we put them on old glass milk bottles. Can’t find those now days!
Glad the garden is going well! I’ll leave the bug thing alone since you can see on my facebook that I’ve had my fill with bugs for a bit LOL!
Hi Christy! Loved the crafts your kids did. I am going to have my two grandchildren here next month and I thank you for a good idea of “somethin’ to do!” Bill, that is a neat idea about the old milk bottles, if we had some. I’m thinking those cheap hurricane candle globes you can get from Walmart in the floral dept. That would look cool with a candle in it, shining through the stained glass, wouldn’t it?
I never seen a candle on the back of stained glass, But it would make MORE room for light to come in, Less room if you put a candle
How adoreable!!
Your little ones definitely know how to have fun…I think they get that from their mama! If you want a 3-in-1 project the next time you create those stained glass masterpieces, try using light colored-crayons to let them draw their own design before you cut. You’ll just have to make sure you’re a little more selective about how you follow their lines if they are “abstract artists” (aka: Of course that scribble is a horse, sweetie!). You can also let them “finger-smear” designs in the (washable!) glue themselves while you cut out their designs. If you have some wet wipes at the table, the glue won’t morph to rock during hand washing trips… ;P
Thanks for sharing…I see a new “Crafty Dish” blog in the works!
jane
I have a stupid question…..just kidding. I love the bug experiment, will have to tell Justin about it, little Autumn loves bugs.
Lisa planted an herb garden but we had so much rain it killed the rosemary. She planted mint in a small yellow childs pail with a smiley face on it, little shovel hanging off it and has it hanging on the deck… it looks so cute.
Happy gardening everything looks great. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there, and all the Moms who take on that role as well.
Kisses and Hugs.
I have a few kiddos I am keeping here over the summer, these are some great ideas!! Loving it. I think I may have some tissue paper, but it is probably much easier for me to buy a whole multipack! Great job and BTW, you had me almost crying, so are soooo sweet!
I love the hydrangeas in the milk glass pitcher. Beautiful!
Hi Christy,
What a great post!! Loved the story about why there are no stupid questions.
I am sooo excited to see all of your gardens, bugs (really!), artsy crafts and meet those two adorable kids ~waves~. I will have something special for Brady and Katy to do when I get there too. Oh, and I am bringing to you, your own babysitter, a teenaged Amanda. Finally you will have a babysitter (see earlier post on SP), but you can’t keep her.
My mouth is a’waterin for a fried green Ta’mato…..and anything else from the garden. Bountiful here I come! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. See you soon baboon!
Love, love, love the plants in kiddie pools idea. I am going to have to “borrow” it. I have done “real fancy” containers (read 5 gallon paint buckets) for the last several years, but have a big squirrel problem that made me just dread the tomato plants this year. Does the cayenne pepper really work? Do I put it on the soil, the leaves or the tomatoes themself? Sprinkle on or mix in water and spray on? I have tried everything else, including deer away and squirrel away and they thought it was just extra seasoning for them. I would love for this to work!
The garden looks great! Your little ones are so adorable. I love Katy’s curly hair.
You know they still do those stained glass windows at Lincoln. At Christmas time they have volunteers come over and hang them in all the front windows after all the kids have made them, then keep all the front rooms’s windows open. It really is pretty. Cant wait for the top 10 list!Although they are all my faves.
I meant to say they keep the front room lights on. I thought I had checked my post, but after I read it today I saw the mistake. Hope you are staying cool! It’s time for some homeade ice cream!! Hint Hint!
Your Katy looks like a girlie girl…but I love it that she likes bugs….I still do too. Your kids are precious.
My 3rd grade Sunday school class is going to love the stained glass project. Thanks for that idea! Especially perfect for a rainy day.
The garden looks fabulous…made my mouth water.
Loved all the infor and pics of your garden items. We use the red pepper flakes (cheap brand from Dollar General) and sprinkle it around anywhere the squirrels like to go. They really like the plants in my shade bed also, so we sprinkle it around the plants in there too.
Was glad to see that you had the flat leaf Italian parsley growing. It is the best, as the curly leaf kind is basically just for decoration. I’ve already dehydrated 5 trays of parsley this year — in case anyone is wondering, that comes out to 1/2 cup when it’s done!!! BUT, it’s the best parsley you’ll ever use! We love it on/in so many things. We also have garlic chives which we use a lot.
I’m going to pass along the crafty stained glass project to my daughter – her kids will love it!!!
I’m going to start canning green beans next week. They are doing quite well this year. We’ve already had some of the fresh spinach, and our strawberries are doing well also. This is also the year we freeze sweet corn, so that will be an all day project when it is ready. Everything is up and doing well: Red Potatoes; Sweet Corn (2 types); Red onions and a few white onions; zucchini; broccoli; crook neck squash; spinach; beets; tomatoes; bell peppers. The asparagus did well, as did the rhubarb. Hopefully we will get enough concord grapes this year to make some jelly from them.
Oops forgot to tell everyone — if you are having a problem with the sweet ants in your house, I found a homemade solution that works. Mix 2 Tablespoons of Borox and just enough jam, jelly, or honey with it to make a very thick paste. Put a dab of that on several pieces of cardboard, and put that on your counters or wherever you are seeing them. (Make sure pets can’t get to it.) After 24 hours you will start seeing less and less of them. They take it back to their homes, and share with the other ants their fatal treat!!!
Send some of that rain down to the Gulf Coast. I don’t think we’ve had any in three weeks. My garden is wilting! I took a short vacation last week and after three days, everything was all dried out! We went to Callaway Gardens. The vegetable garden there got us inspired to increase our veggie growing efforts. I discovered a new favorite cucumber you can’t get in the store, Boothby’s Blonde. Yum!
The stained glass project reminds me of a similar one we did in elementary school when I was a kid, but we used crayon shavings melted between sheets of wax paper. That might not be allowed in schools these days, although I’m pretty sure our teacher wielded the iron!
Christy,
You have insipired me yet again! As much as I loathe the hot Florida sun, I’m going out today and starting gardens for my two boys.
This weekend it’s all about toddler pools, soil and seeds! I don’t know what will grow here at this time of year, but whatver it is, we will have you to thank for it, and that will be a joy!
I’ll keep you posted!
Thank you for sharing all the bounty of your life at Bountiful!
PS: When’s the debut of your first video in the series. I’m excited to see it! How exciting!
Blessings,
Maralee
Christy,
I love the idea of an herb garden but what intrests me most is the edible greens you planted. My husband and I have a soft spot for animals. We have a small hobby farm. We had to sell our animals when we moved to wait for our new house to be ready but we have begun to buy them again. In addition to 2 pigmy goats and 2 dogs, we also purchased 2 rabbits at Easter this year. They have to have a steady diet of lettuces/greens daily. Of course, nothing but the best for my animals and so they are now hooked on the best Spring Mix money can buy. In addition to hay and feed as well as treats, these have to be the most spoiled rabbits around. I spend about $9 a week on lettuce alone. (They can’t have iceburg so that broke my money saving heart.) So, back to my original comment, I think I am going to grow my OWN edible greens for them. I don’t know why I didn’t consider it sooner. So thanks for the insight! I can’t wait to start saving money, plus I will know exactly what my rabbits are eating. (And I can grow enough for the goats to have a treat also!)
Thanks again!
Amanda
Hi – I love your wading pool gardens. I wouldn’t have thought they were deep enough but they’re looking great!! I have some tomatoes in my raised 4X8′ garden and I sprinkled radish seeds around them. Also some green beans. Did you know that if you mix radish seeds with carrot seeds, it helps the carrots break thru the soil? And the radishes are grown and eaten long before the carrots are ready! I’s food proof!! I used to have a huge garden and I canned and froze all the vegies we ate. Now I’m all alone so I don’t need much – but vegies are way over $1 a can so I may have to reconsider next year!!
I made the stained glass art with my niece this week, it was alot of fun, I think I may have enjoyed the finished product more than she did. Thanks for the great idea.
We have done the stained glass craft at Christmas time with the grandbabies. We have “ornament day at nana’s” every Christmas which involves lots of pizza and taco soup,cookies, eating more candy canes than we make reindeer out of, and lots of washable glue. The oldest granddaughters are 13, and I sincerely hope they never get too old and cool for ornament day. I am not able to keep a garden anymore, and sure enjoy your pictures. They remind me of staking up tomatoes in my aunt’s garden at her farm in Bolivar. TN. when I was a young ‘un.
I’m only 7, But like a few weeks ago we did the Stained Glass Art Project in school BUT we did not use the paper all we did was..: take wax paper and glue tishu paper on it and we had any shape paper and we took wax paper the 2nd time we had to write a pome about anything i choose computer and glue the 2 wax paper together and look on 1 side colers and your pome the 2nd side had just tishu paper it look wonderful on a windo or something!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
plz reply and tell me if u like the idea , plzzzzzz
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Joey you are a VERY smart kid, I love that idea!!
I do not no a website with steps.I got it from my teacher, remember i’m only 7. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just want to let you know, My cusun LOVED my idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!•••
I love to see you on Facebook. The Recipes are wonderful. The way you write and tell stories of your family is so heart warming. I’d love to be you next door neighbor. We would have so much fun because we have likes in common.
I was a school teacher for over 20 years and taught First Grade. We did your stained glass art project every year. The children loved it!!!
I have 6 grandchildren from 2 to 22. The little ones will enjoy making the art project when they come to visit their Grandmommy this summer.
I live iin Alabama too on Lake Martin and am enjoying the water this year.
Keep sending good recipes and art projects. Put on your apron and show us some more southern down home cooking.
Thank you so much Jerri!!! I would love to have you as my neighbor as well, we could have so much fun cooking and crafting!!