2013: Garden Journal – August Edition

August 7, 2013 by Tracy

Thinking we should have planted watermelon as our garden is drowning with the abundance of water this summer. We took a 2-week vacation to Florida and returned to a water-logged garden that seems to have kept our neighborhood Peter Rabbit safe.

I had seen this rabbit in our backyard, but the garden had been tightly wrapped to keep him out. Apparently, he found out we were out of town and chewed or ripped the netting to get into the garden. He then dug himself a hole and found safety.

When we returned, our oregano plant had been uprooted to make room for the hole, and many of the plants had died – either from the water or from the rabbit’s activities. I spent some time clearing out the debris and fixing the hole.

After the July incidents, our garden has evolved into mini-wetlands with the following changes:

Strawberries

We harvested 9 strawberries before leaving on our trip. These strawberry plants are surviving the moist conditions. I cut off the damaged leaves and the remaining stubs from the rabbit’s meals.

Bell Peppers

One pepper is developing well. The rest of the pepper plants have buds all over them ready to sprout.

Eggplant

The purple flowers have bloomed. Waiting to see how the vegetable grows as this is our first year planting eggplant.

Blackberries

The little clusters were still red when we left. Paul checked them when he got back, and they were almost black. The next day, he went to check, and they had been eaten. So, no more blackberries on the vine.

Squash

The bright yellow flowers have grown with the squash in the middle. Waiting to see how this plant grows as well. We are down to one squash plant from the 8 we planted.

Tomatoes

Growth has begun, and a few green tomatoes are on the vine.

Cucumbers

These plants are down to one remaining. The stalk looked weak, so I planted it deeper into the garden and am watching it closely. The little cucumbers are still on the branches.

Oregano

Mostly dead with a little green. We’ll see if it revives or dies. (See bottom right corner of garden. The rabbit’s hole was directly behind the oregano.)

Though our garden is less full than our June increase, we have some growth. The parsley (bottom left corner) is doing well and the zucchini plant (right side behind the oregano) is hanging in there. I’m thankful that at least one of each kind of plant survived the time we were away.

Our garden is an experiment. We usually don’t get it right the first time, but the process is teaching us about nature. In using time wisely, we are harvesting a few items and sharing others with sneaky rabbits. I have since mended the garden hole to keep hungry animals out. Happy learning!

Question: What are you growing that loves the extra water this summer?

2013: Garden Journal – July Edition

July 17, 2013 by Tracy

Summer fun is in full swing, but the spring-like conditions continue giving us lots of rainy days. The moist soil is attracting the slugs as they have invaded our garden.

While weeding this month, I uncovered the top layer of soil to find a pile of white slugs. Ugh! Using the spade, I removed them from the garden and dug around looking for more to which I found none.

Finding it difficult to put out our slug repellant, as it needs a dry surface, I am ridding these pests one by one with the help of my daughter. In the June edition, I shared how she picks them up. So funny to me that my girly girl is not scared of bugs or creepy crawlies. 😉

With more growth happening during June, our garden changed in the following ways:

Strawberries

Much slower growth this month as our patch produced 4 strawberries. From last year’s garden, the strawberries mostly produced in May and again in September. I am waiting for our next burst in a few months.

Bell Peppers

Last year, our peppers took a long time to grow. This year, the plants already have buds, but the peppers will take weeks to grow.

Blackberries

Our plants are getting huge, so we added stakes to wrap the stalks around. One cluster of blackberries started out green and has turned to red. We are waiting for the fruit to turn black before picking them.

Blueberries

One of our plants had a small cluster of blueberries. We harvested the one that turned blue, but the two red ones were stolen by the birds before they fully ripened.

Cucumbers

My favorite plants are starting to sprout cucumbers. They are tiny, but we found out last year how quickly they can grow.

The other plants within our garden are growing with the green leaves healthy. In going on vacation in July, I’m a little nervous about the condition I’ll find the garden when we return. Last year, we lost a few plants, so we’ll see about this year.

In using time wisely, I love checking on our garden. We haven’t needed to water it much this summer, but the weeds are growing quickly.

Our garden is off to a great start. I am enjoying watching the progress each month as we grow our own fruits, herbs, and vegetables. Wishing you success in your garden this summer. Happy gardening!

Question: Have you lost any plants due to the rain this summer?

2013: Garden Journal – June Edition

June 26, 2013 by Tracy

Rain, rain, and more rain makes our garden wet. It is definitely a great year for squash and cucumbers as they love water. Had we known it would rain this much, we would have planted pumpkins and watermelons. 😉

Getting off to a slow start, our garden is barely growing. Keeping an eye on the drainage to make sure the plants are not sitting in water has been the bulk of our work this month. I am also dealing with slugs. These pests love the moist dirt and the leaves of our plants.

My daughter enjoys picking them up and relocating them in the yard. This activity keeps her busy outside as there are lots of slugs living around the base of our wooden garden frame. Thus far, the slugs are staying on the perimeter.

While most of the garden has not begun producing fruit, we have seen some growth and harvest. During the month of May, our garden made the following changes:

Strawberries

Coming in waves, our strawberry patch burst forth and produced a total of 37 strawberries. I harvested 8 on the 19th, 8 more on the 22nd, and 21 additional berries on the 30th. This strawberry variety is very sweet, so I’m thankful the garden is covered with a net this year. If given the opportunity, the birds would grab these delicious berries too early.

Blackberries

Our blackberry plants are growing quickly. They both are one long stalk.

Sunflowers

My daughter planted sunflowers at school. We have been growing them indoors, and the plant has outgrown its cup. Though it is still fragile, my daughter really wanted to plant it outside in our garden. So, she dug the hole and planted it between the blueberry and blackberry plants near the garden.

The garden is off to a great start with lots of rain keeping the plants moist. One of our cucumber sprouts started to wilt after planting, but it has revived and is doing really well.

In using time wisely, we are tending our garden, picking out the weeds, removing the slugs, and waiting for the harvest. The process is full of changes as this is our first attempt at tending a garden in a rainy summer. This experience is different from the heat of last year, so we are learning how to adjust. Happy tending!

Question: If you have a garden, what are you growing this summer?

Guest Post: 4 Steps to Using Coupons Effectively

June 20, 2013 by Tracy

Before continuing in our Coupon-ology series, I wanted to allow Mitesh Mandaliya to share his couponing tips.

For clarification, I have added my 2 cents with a link under the third category.

Though I largely agree with Mitesh, I disagree with point number 4 as I would rather let a coupon expire rather than spend it without a sale or buy one, get one free offer.

These are my thoughts. I’d love to hear your opinion in the comments. Join me there. ~ Tracy

4 Steps To Using Coupons Effectively

Everyone, especially frugal mothers, are always searching for coupons that can get them the maximum benefit, so that they can manage their tight budgets. In fact, searching coupons for grocery items or other products is not a tough task.

The main thing is how to use them effectively and wisely so that you can get the maximum benefit. So, for the people who are interested in couponing, but are not sure how to use them properly, I present 4 steps to using coupons effectively:

1. Ignore any needless shopping.

Some people purchase products just because they have coupons for those items. Avoid this kind of purchasing as you can spend more money rather than saving.

2. Compare different store’s coupon policies.

Different stores have different policies regarding coupon usage. So, always do research on the store’s coupon redeeming value. This is very important, as some stores change the value depending on the price and discounts.

Tracy’s Tip: For an example of this comparison, see the difference between how grocery stores and drugstores handle buy one, get one free coupons.

3. Compare sale prices and the final payable price at each store with your coupons.

If the store doubles a coupon, the final price of the product could be significantly less than a store that doesn’t double. If you shop at multiple stores, then compare the final payable price of the product using your coupons at each store.

4. Use coupons the same day you get them.

If you have coupons with you, then try to use it as soon as possible to get the guarantee savings. This can prevent you from forgetting to use the coupon before the expiration date.

In short, the essence is – don’t be too impatient. With coupons, exercise care to get the maximum benefit.

Mitesh Mandaliya loves to write articles about saving money. He has written articles for couponcodeslady.com and promocodeslady.com and is part of the Using Time Wisely community.

Coupon-ology: Gather Coupons – Part 3g of 5

May 30, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

As I sorted through the mail today, I found a Savings Are Stocking Up At Publix coupon booklet which brought a smile to my face. Gathering coupons takes work to find the sources. But once the coupons begin coming, I just need to keep up with the organization.

I spent this morning updating my coupon binder. Though it took me longer than usual (due to a pulled muscle in my mid-back), I welcomed the new coupon booklet as the entire booklet gets filed in my Publix slot with no clipping, organizing, or sorting. 😀

If you are looking for more coupons, enter the Coupon Binder Giveaway. Besides a new binder, the winner will receive numerous gift cards, movie tickets, coupons, coupon inserts, and a printer with supplies. The giveaway ends on June 14, 2013, so enter before it slips your mind.

In gathering coupons, let’s press on in our Coupon-ology series. Hopefully, you will find coupons in other places as well, but in this series, I am focusing on the main places coupons are found. The sources covered thus far are newspapers, magazines, printable coupon databases, manufacturers, direct mail, and stores. For the last topic, I turn to electronic coupons.

Part 3f: Electronic Coupons

These coupons are loaded to a loyalty card or accessed through your phone number. The electronic coupons, also known as eCoupons or digital coupons, require no clipping, printing, or sorting.

They are manufacturer coupons that can be stacked with store coupons. However, you should not use an eCoupon with a paper manufacturer’s coupon on the same item as the limit is one manufacturer’s coupon per item. The exception to this standard is if the store allows stacking a manufacturer’s eCoupon with a manufacturer’s paper coupon.

To find eCoupons, start with these reputable sources:

Grocery Stores

Both Bi-Lo and Publix offer eCoupons through their websites. I registered initial and now log in, load the coupons, and then shop. At checkout, my Bi-Lo loyalty card takes off the available coupons, and at Publix, I enter my phone number on the keypad.

Cellfire

This service allows you to register your loyalty cards. Then you load coupons directly to the store you choose. This service has coupons for entertainment, restaurants, shopping, and groceries. There are lots of great savings available through Cellfire.

P&G Shopper Card Coupons

For those who shop at Kroger, you can load Proctor and Gamble coupons directly to your shopper card. P & G may load to other stores, but none are in my area for me to report to you. I do know that Kroger cards work with this program.

If you don’t shop at Kroger, you can still register and print P & G coupons from their site.

Shortcuts

Another resource for eCoupons is Shortcuts. Check their website to see if your stores participate. Just load the coupons to your loyalty card, and swipe your card at checkout for redemption.

Upromise

Where the other programs listed are ways to save immediately at checkout, Upromise is deferred savings for college expenses. For Upromise, you sign up, register your store’s loyalty cards, load the coupons, swipe the card at checkout, and the amount of the coupon is deposited into your account. You can then check the balance of your account through the Upromise website.

Regarding eCoupons, I am careful about what I load on my card. At present, I use only the Bi-Lo and Publix eCoupons. My reasoning is to save time and confusion.

If I load multiple coupons at different amounts off, I cannot choose which coupon gets used. Also, the eCoupon is only for one item. If I load a coupon for $.50 off and purchase 4 items, the total savings is $.50 off. These coupons do not multiply based on the number purchased.

As you gather coupons, eCoupons is another source. Taking it slowly, I have gradually learned the ins and outs of using coupons. In trying different options, I have found what works best for me. I present these options for your benefit, not to suggest that you use them all.

I live in a world of reality, and time is precious. In using time wisely, I concentrate on getting my coupons from newspapers, printable coupon databases, eCoupons loaded directly from my grocery stores’ websites prior to shopping, stores while shopping, and whatever coupons come through direct mail.

As you find what coupons you routinely use and where you find them, you can focus on gathering coupons from those sources. My coupon journey has evolved over the years, and I love learning new ways to save. Enjoy gathering those coupons, and happy savings!

Question: Do your grocery stores offer eCoupons?

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