Well, it is Monday and I am kicking off the Learning Plot 221 week with some very overgrown tomatoes. Yours might be the perfect size, maybe 8–10 inches tall. Mine are tall because when you start your own from seed, you keep backups for germination purposes, and then more backups in case one dies after […]
This planning almost didn’t start, as I wasn’t feeling like going because the real reason for going was to meet my cousin Stevie — but he passed away on January first. I wrote a tribute post for him, but the idea of traveling without that meeting ahead of me left me feeling undecided. What finally
Welcome to the SCCG Learning Plot 221. If you are getting started I am hoping the Learning Plot 221 can help get your garden off to a great start and all it takes is some basic planning. When you plan your plot, it helps to think about your layout and any weeds you may need
Every January, I dive into my research for the tomato—and, if needed, cucumber—seeds I want to experiment with, along with the rest of my plantings. It’s also when I plan out any changes to my garden methods for the year. Some of those changes actually started in the fall, thanks to a free source where
Maybe you’re like me—someone with two aging computers. One is a desktop that originally ran Windows 8 but received the upgrade to Windows 10. Now, it just doesn’t cut the computer grade, and as of October 14, 2025, it’s officially unsupported. My laptop started as Windows 10 and upgraded to Windows 11. But its days
Windows 10 Decisions and the Ancestry You Keep There Read More »
Ten years ago, I contacted a tree that was copying my records. If you use Ancestry.com, then you know what I am talking about. This was a method of mine to hopefully find more information for my tree — to collaborate. I never thought Stevie — my nickname for him, like when kids knock on
Finding a Cousin, Gaining Family, Saying Goodbye Read More »
I’ve been so busy with the Pickle Patch that I never got around to blogging about my upcoming family fall ancestry trip. You could say this trip took up a lot of my time to plan. I made sure we included some non-ancestry activities, which I labeled in my mind as “everyday living ancestry.” With
Nature seems to be seeking me out lately—first the black widow, and today a baby bird came calling. I was working on my gardening plan for tomorrow when I kept hearing a chirping close by. Being Nancy Dru, I decided to investigate. I opened the front door, looked out, didn’t see anything… until I looked
Good thing I remembered my gloves. While turning the composters, I encountered my seasonal black widow—again. She was tucked into the handle of my big black plastic drum composter, the one that rolls on its side. It’s always the same setup: cool, dark, and bug-rich at the bottom. Perfect conditions for a widow to settle
Pickle Patch: The Spider That Comes With the Season Read More »
I started out with big plans: to repurpose the tomato-growing spaces based on the layout used by Rudy—who’s been tending his plot for at least 15 years in the community gardens. Rudy used landscape fabric with holes just barely large enough to squeeze in a plant. Over the winter, I widened those holes so my
