Creating a straw bale garden has several advantages, especially if you are limited for time, space and on a budget.

You can use the bales where there is limited space and they are cheaper to buy than establishing a raised bed.

Where I live, it’s very hard to find straw, so I used old, weathered hay bales that are no longer good for animal feed.  I can get them for about $1/bale.

They also provide the advantage of creating compost right where you leave them and can be planted again.

The bales are a great place for fungus as they compost.  You will see tiny threads in the soil called mycelium.  The mycelium form a network that connects individual plants together to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon and other minerals.

Both are a sign of healthy soil, so welcome it.

Conditioning bales

1. Use straw bales or VERY, old, weathered hay bales.  Fresh hay bales are full of seeds (although as you condition the bales, they can get hot enough to kill germination)
2. Place bales in a sunny spot, with the strings left on and parallel to the ground (cut side up).
3. Condition the bales:

• Day 1-3: Soak bales thoroughly and keep them damp.
• Day 4-6: Sprinkle each bale with ½ cup urea (46-0-0) and water well into bales. You can substitute bone meal, fish meal, or compost for a more organic approach.
• Days 7-9: Cut back to 1/4 cup of fertilizer per bale per day, and continue to water it in well.
• Day 10: Stop applying fertilizer but continue to keep the bale damp.

Planting in bales

1. You can direct sow or place plants directly into the bales.
2. If you direct sow seeds like lettuce, spread potting soil on the top of the bales and plant into the soil.  For larger seeds you can just push them into the moist straw.
3. For plants, create a hole in the top of the bales and place some potting soil in the hole.   Place the plant in the hole and water well.

This is one of my favorite ways to garden because I know I’m creating a secret ecosystem with the bales that will feed the gardens for years to come.

The bug pressure in Southeast Texas is HUGE.

I don’t quite think people understand just how bad it can get to you actually have to grow here.

It’s a multilevel approach to help alleviate some of that pressure on the plants.

I companion plant.

I cultivate healthy soil.

And, I have been on a mission to find the best varieties of squash plants that are resistance to powdery mildew and squash vine bore (the bane of existence for gardeners who love squash).

I think I have hit upon 3 different varieties that have done really well this year (Summer 2024)

• Cucuzza (Italian squash-which I have done a post about in the past)
• Tromboncino Squash
• Passion Golden Marbre Scallop (Baker Creek)

I have already done a post about Cucuzza squash HERE, so I am not going to into a lot of detail.   Here’s what I like about it

• Drought tolerant
• Self-seeds
• Disease/pest resistant
• Good taste as a young squash (as it ages it gets a hard shell like a gourd)

Trombonicio Squash is also quite a large vine, so make you have something it can climb on and room to allow it to spread. The #1 reason I love this variety is because it’s a two-fer plant, you get two veggies in one plant.

• As a young squash, it has soft skin and tastes quite like zucchini.
• It’s can also be used for a winter squash.  Allowing the fruit to age will give you a hard outer shell with an orange inside much like a butternut squash.
• I love that I can grow the squash all season long and get two different yields.

This year I tried the Passion Golden Marbre Scallop from Baker creek.

I have been pleasantly surprised by the high yields at the beginning of the season.

The plants DO get the squash vine bore, but they are trucking along still producing and the plants look great.

These plants are also:

• Heat tolerant
• Mature quickly (55 days)

Here is a bonus with the scallop squashes:  If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat them, give them a fun name like Octopus squash or Flying Saucer Squash.  My one daughter is 15 and she thought it was fun.

Do you have any favorites of squash that are disease and pest resistant?  Let me know in the comments section so that I can try them out as well!

Big emotions are hard.

A couple of weekends ago I had taken the girls to ride the horses I leased for them.

Keegan, my youngest, had just gotten back from a week long trip to Disney with the band the day before.

I am sure that you can imagine how a teenage girl working on very little sleep is going to be.

Yup, we had a meltdown.

Her legs weren’t staying in the position she wanted them to stay, and she was frustrated that she ALWAYS had to work so hard on this.

Lots of tears.

It’s true, her legs when she rides, are her sticky point.

And, yes, it’s true she has to work extra hard on this, harder than her sister.

You and I both know what happens when we start comparing ourselves to our siblings.

I remember when I was younger, I HATED that my younger sisters (I’m the oldest) were more athletic and better at sports than me.

Anyhoo….This was a golden opportunity to help Keegan learn to process the big emotion of frustration.

1. I recognized that her basic needs were not entirely met. She was tired, so OF COURSE any emotion she is having is going to be amplified.  So I asked her if she was tired.  Recognizing that some basic needs like hunger, thirst, sleep, etc. might need meeting will help you be more patient with your child.  If you can, meet those needs first.
2. Slow down and process the emotion: She was riding so I had her stop her horse and breath through the frustration.  I don’t push her through it or tell her to suck it up.  This frustration was really trying to tell her that she was tired and probably needed a nap.  That moment wasn’t the time for a nap, so I taught her to calm her nervous system with her breath.  She took all the time she needed. Several times I asked her if she was ready and she said no, so I waited for her to tell me she was ready.  This is teaching her to be with herself through these feelings and not run away from them or stuff them down.
3. Name the emotion: Giving the feeling/emotion a name helps to defuse it and it will loosen its hold.  It will also help her recognize what she needs in the moment.
4. Recognize thoughts: I know that our thoughts create emotions/feelings, but sometimes it’s hard for kids, and adults, to see the thoughts that they are having. It feels like the feelings are automatic, but thoughts always come first.  In this case, she wasn’t sure what she was thinking, so I helped to her out.  It was something like, “I shouldn’t have to work so hard at this.”  Anytime we tell ourselves we “shouldn’t,” we create frustration for ourselves.
5. Come up with a thought that creates a different emotion therefore a different action equaling a different result: This one can be hard, especially for kids.  I identified with her, and told her that it was hard for me as well.   It seems like I have to work harder at some things when it seems to came so naturally for others. “I can do this,” is a simple thought that helps create a different result.  This helped her come up with a solution that she would change from the big area to the round-pen (its smaller) and that she will have one more round with her legs in the right place and call it a day.  I did help her with this solution, and you may need to help your kids too, especially if they are younger.  You can give a couple of different options, if needed, and let them choose.

Coaching has given me the tools to be able to process my emotions, so that I am better able to show up for my kids and help them through theirs.

I want to raise strong, emotionally resilient kids so that they can show up in this crazy world as the best version of themselves.

To do that, I HAVE to be able to process my own emotions.

This is the same process I use for myself and with my clients.

I can teach it to you as well.

To learn more, Click HERE to  book a FREE consultation.  This is where we chat about where you are right now in your life and I help you see how I can help you get to where you want to be.

Not getting the results you want?

A coaching client of mine came the other day wanting to set a goal of getting doctor’s appointment scheduled.

This might seem like a simple thing, but for her she wasn’t getting it done because she was creating discouragement for herself.

Here’s what would happen.

She would call an office and would hit a road block with either they weren’t taking patients, she needed a referral from another doctor, appointment slots didn’t fit with her schedule….all kinds of things.

In her discouragement, she just stopped trying.

She was tired of making phone calls.

Now it had been over a year and she KNEW she really needed to get into the doctor to get some blood work done.

Let me show you how her thought created her result:

• With her thought, “I’m tired of making phone calls, I’m never going to find a doctor,” she created discouragement for herself.
• The action she took from discouragement was she just stopped making phone calls.
• The result that she created was she has never found a doctor.

Action and results don’t come from discouragement.

You might be saying to yourself, “Now that’s silly, just keep calling doctors.”

But stop and think, where have you done this in your own life?

• Did you try and start a business and not get the result that you wanted and just stopped?
• Have you tried planting a garden and not gotten the result that you wanted and gave up?
• Have you started a new skill and found it hard and moved on?

Whether the goal is as simple as making a doctor’s appointment or as complex as creating a business, most can’t handle the failure.

My client has two options:

1. Sit in discouragement and not get the result she wants
2. Take massive action and increase her chances of getting the result she wants.

The truth is, my client, will not get result of an important doctor’s appointment made right up until the point that appointment is made.

She has to keep taking massive action until that appointment is made.

So she and I coached on taking massive action to create the result of getting a doctor’s appointment made.

We coached through:

1. Being willing to sit in the discomfort of being told that their not taking new clients, she has to have an referral, etc. In other words, she has to become comfortable with the discomfort of the roadblocks and obstacles.
2. Scheduling specific time where this is here ONE thing to do and she has a specific result in mind at the end of the time frame. So she scheduled one hour, NON-NEGOTIABLE time, and at the end of the hour the result she would have would be an appointment scheduled.  She DECIEDES how long it will take and she sticks to that.  This REQUIRES her to learn focus and discipline.
3. We coached about what massive action looks like for her for this specific goal. She doesn’t sit down to WORK on finding a doctor, she sits down to PRODUCE the result of a scheduled appointment.

Is there goal that you are looking to take some action on but you feel discouraged and stuck?

I can help.

Let’s schedule a time to chat so that we can get you taking massive action TODAY!

I may be biased by I think the #1 hibiscus for Southeast Texas is Roselle.

Now, I am no hibiscus oficialito, but I do love the plant not only for its medical properties but for its beauty.

My youngest daughter is named after the Rose of Sharon which she thinks is pretty cool.

Texas has the Scarlett Mallow or Texas star as a native hibiscus, it is quite lovely; and while I encourage planting natives, I do want to tell you about  Roselle.

Roselle goes by a couple of different names so you might find it called red sorrel, Jamaican sorrel, and Florida cranberry.

• It’s SUPER EASY to start from seed and germinates quickly (I was surprised how easy it was and how well the seeds germinated from those I collected).
• It’s a tropical plant so it can take the heat and sun, which is a plus here for southeast Texas (if you live in zones lower than 7 and you’re reading this-GREAT, BTW!-you will need to keep this plant in a pot and bring it in during colder months).
• Choose a well-drained, sunny spot where this plant can reach its full potential of 7-10 feet tall.  Because of this, it might need to be supported.
• The flowers start in the fall when the day light starts to get shorter.
• Within 7-10 days after the flower blooms and withers, a calyces is produced.  Inside of this is the seed pod.

The calyces are used to make jellies, juice, tea, and pies.

One of the most popular uses, especially in Jamaica, is as a seasonal drink, “Rosa de Jamaica” at Christmas time in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. In Mexico and in Mexican restaurants in the United States, the beverage is known simply as “Jamaica”.

• The blooms, leaves, and pods of Roselle are also edible.
• The leaves can be used in salads, cooked greens, tea, and jams.
• Because Roselle belongs to the Mallow family, both the leaves and calyces contain natural pectin.

There are many documents health benefits of hibiscus in general, as for Roselle, they include hormonal balance, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, digestive aid, cold management, blood pressure management, and more.

The easiest way to consume Roselle is with a tea

Roselle Tea

• 12-18 fresh hibiscus calyxes, washed, seed pod removed
• 1/3 cup organic raw cane sugar (optional) or local, raw honey
• 1 gallon water
• Sprigs of fresh mint to garnish

1. Rinse fresh hibiscus calyxes under cold running water, slice off the bottom tip, remove the seed pod, discard the tips and seed pods. Another option is to break them off by hand.
2. Place sauce pot with water and hibiscus calyxes onto burner set at high, bring to a boil then remove from heat.
3. If adding sugar, stir it in to dissolve. The taste can be tart, so add more honey or sugar as desired.
4. Steep for 30 minutes.
5. Pour through a strainer into a pitcher.
6. Garnish with fresh mint leaves.

For a traditional Jamaican Sorrel, try spicing the roselle tea with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves, and serving with orange slices. For the traditional holiday punch version, add rum and/or sparkling wine.

So, do I have any Roselle available?

You betcha!  You can pick them up at the Bridge City Farmer’s Market or text me at 409-749-0184 and you can pick one up directly from the farm.

I was talking to a fellow business owner the other day and I asked her what her biggest struggle was.

This is what she said:

“Mental drainage is real. There’s so much to do. When I’m sitting with my morning coffee I’m thinking about all the things and immediately get overwhelmed. Then I just feel tired already because I’m exhausted just thinking about all the things.”

Need help with overwhelm? CLICK HERE

I am sure you can relate to this.

I know I can.

The overwhelm comes when we notice all the things on our to-do list and we think the thought, “I HAVE to get all this done, but my life is too busy to be organized.”

Que the overwhelm and the anxiety.

Que being scattered.

Que the thoughts spiraling into the worst-case scenario.

The actions taken from overwhelm is that we jump around from task to task never really fully completing anything.

Or, we just stay stuck in looping thoughts accomplishing nothing.

The result?  Your to-do list doesn’t get done.

Goals aren’t reached.

The truth is, when your mind isn’t organized, your life won’t be organized.

You can’t just keep everything in your head.

Your brain isn’t a storage unit, it’s a processor.

Since it’s not a storage unit, you loop on thoughts so that they are not forgotten because if you forget to do something, then that could mean danger for you.

Good news.

Nothing has gone wrong.  Your brain is working exactly as it was created to work.

So take a deep breath right now knowing that there isn’t anything to be “fixed.”

Thinking is hard work it takes a lot of energy and your brain just wants to protect you from wasted energy and the possibility that forgetting something might mean death.

You’re not in danger of death from not getting your to-do list done but your brain doesn’t know that.

Our minds can only focus on one thing at a time efficiently, so YOU have to use the higher functioning parts of your brain to direct those thoughts.

The #1 thing you can do to direct your brain is to first get those thoughts out of your head.

I call this a thought download (not my idea).

The purpose of a thought download is to put everything that is in your brain outside of you so that you can see it.

You’re writing down all the things your brain offers you.

If you don’t write them down, your brain will continue to offer them to you and those thoughts that are offered up will sabotage the very plans you have set.

This is how it’s done:

1. Set your timer for 5-10 minutes.
2. Grab a piece of paper and pen and just write.  Write about what you need to do now, or in the future.  The page could be filled with random thoughts, thoughts about current events, or what you want to do with your life.  It doesn’t matter. The thoughts don’t have to be true, clear, or profound.
3. Write with no judgment or thought of how these things will be accomplished.
4. Don’t edit what you write.
5. When the timer goes off, take a pause and revisit what you wrote.
6. Pick one thing to do today, just ONE.
7. OR, answer one of the questions that you asked yourself.

Maybe your thought is, “I don’t have time to do a thought download.”

Consider this:

• How much time are you wasting on looping thoughts and not accomplishing what you wanted to accomplish?
• How much mental energy are you using on the looping thoughts of what you need to do?
• How much time are you wasting jumping from task to task because you “have so much to do?”

The time wasted being stuck and the mental energy used on looping thoughts could be directed to productively doing a thought download that will move you forward in your life.

This strategy is an intentional practice, but it doesn’t take a lot of time.  Ten to 12 minutes three to five days a week is all that is needed for measurable results.

The next step would be to calendar the things you need to do and keep your commitments to yourself.

You have to learn to trust yourself that you will follow through.

Take this first step, though of doing a thought download.

Give the thought download a try and see how it goes for you.

This is not a one and done thing.  You may need to do them multiple times.  The more you do it, the more you become aware of what has been running in  your mind the whole time.

P.S. Need more help with your overwhelm?  I can help give you the tools and strategies to help calm your mind and learn to focus on one task at a time so that you can accomplish whatever you want to in your life.  CLICK HERE for a free consultation.

I know that you are itching to get out in the garden and get the plants going, but it’s still a bit chilly and there are some things that you need to do before you get those plants in the ground.

Here are 10 Pre-Spring gardening tasks that will help take the edge off the spring fever and even get the kids involved with gardening.

1. Pick up downed branches: You can save them for wood burning stoves or, what I like to do is burn the piles and use the ash for the chickens to wallow in.
2. Rake leaves but don’t burn them or throw them away. They can be used as mulch in between garden rows.  The can also be composted.
3. Dig up perennial weeds and any snails that you see. Getting a head start on the weeding helps to lighten the spring load when it comes into full force.  Those pesky snails will be under leaves and pieces of wood.  Collect them and feed them to the chickens.  This might be a good job for the littles to do.
4. Research what grows best in your area: Just because someone says you CAN grow it, doesn’t mean it will actually grow; and some things that will grow in your area may require more input that you are willing to give it.
5. Think about what you eat the most: There is no reason to waste time, money and energy on things no one in your family is going to eat.  No one in my family likes radishes except my son, and he is off living his best life in California so that is no point in me taking up valuable growing real estate with them (even if they are easiest thing to grow).
6. Decide what you are going to grow. It’s too late to start your tomato, pepper, and eggplants from seed (for southeast Texas) but you can decide what direct sow plants you will grow.  The vegetables that do the best direct sow are beans, squash, cucumber, lettuce, radishes, Swiss chard, etc.
7. Test your soil and condition if needed: I am always adding and amending my soil with rabbit, chicken and cow manure.   Add last year’s compost to your soil
8. Get that compost going: Make sure everyone in the family knows what can and cannot be added to compost. Place “compost catchers” near the kitchen sink and anywhere else food is prepared. You really can compost through the winter.
9. Check your hoses and watering system: This may not seem like a big deal, but hoses do age, especially around here in the heat of the summer.  Last year I discovered that my hoses had leaks.  Since I have to use city water at times, this can cause a problem.  This is also the time of year, I lay out my irrigation system and make sure there are no clogs and the water is running well through each of the spigots.
10. Divide perennials: Some perennials tend to crowd each other out, causing their  performance to deteriorate year over year. Daylilies, Shasta Daisies, Hostas,  and many others all benefit from being divided in early spring.  You can transplant them elsewhere in the garden to fill in spaces.  FREE PLANTS!  Who doesn’t love that?

Pumpkin Pie Playdoh

• 5 1/2 cups flour
• 2 cups of salt
• 8 teaspoons of cream of tartar
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1 small container of Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 4 cups of water
• food coloring

1. In a large saucepan dump in the flour.
2. Add salt.
3. Add cream of tarter and pumpkin spice and stir.
4. Add oil.
5. Add water and stir.
6. Add the food coloring (optional) to get the desired color you want.  This is a good time to talk about how colors blend to make different colors.
7. Warm over medium heat and stir until all the lumps are out.
8. Dump the dough on a floured surface and knead until it is no longer sticky.

It may smell really good, but I wouldn’t eat it!

Get the kids outside and send them on a fall scavenger hunt. Download HERE

Gratitude Turkey Activity.  Download HERE

You want to give yourself the best chance to be successful as you get started on your journey.  Chose varieties that are easy to plant, don’t require a ton of work, are disease and pest resistant, and produce high yields and in the fastest amount of time.

Start with these 5 easy to grow plants to give you the motivation and courage to keep going.

1. Lettuce:  Lettuce can be sowed directly into the soil in the fall and early spring as they are a cool weather plants.  Once the weather warms up they will become bitter and bolt (flower and go to seed).  There is an endless variety of lettuces so it is fun to experiment and see what you like.  Plus, leaf lettuce can be cut as they grow, and you can enjoy several harvests from the same plant by snipping off what you need each time.
2. Bush Green Beans: These are by far my most favorite vegetable to grow because I always have TONS of beans to harvest and they have never failed me.  They grow fast and you can get pounds and pounds of yield in a small space.  Green beans are easy to harvest and preserve by freezing and canning.  Start with bush varieties so that you don’t have to worry about trellising the pole varieties.  Contender and Jade are couple of my favorites.
3. Radish: Radishes are not my favorite veggie, but boy are they super easy to grow, so these are a good one to start with kids since they will be successful.  Not once have I ever had radishes fail me.  Luckily, my son likes them so I do grow them for him.  They can be harvested in 24 days, making them one of the fastest growing in the garden.  They are a cool weather plant so think spring and fall for direct sowing.
4. Peas: There are a few different types of peas: snow peas and sugar snap are cool weather peas, and shell peas (think purple hull, butter bean, zipper, etc.) are summer, all are easy to grow. Direct sow pea seeds in early spring.  They will need to be trellised as they like to grab and grow.
5. Cucumbers: Cucumbers are a warm weather plant, so they are planted in later spring when soil temperatures are at least 70 degrees.   It is recommended to trellis cucumbers that way they climb and keep the plants healthier as well providing you with more growing room.   I recommend varieties that don’t require pollination (Parthenocarpic) so that you are guaranteed fruit.  A heat tolerant variety, Katrina is one that I will be trying for our area (Southeast Texas)

Bonus

Basil:  Basil is my favorite herb and super easy to grow.  There are so many wonder varieties and each has its own unique and wonderful smell; and let’s not forget how good basil is in pesto and tomato sauces.   Not to mention the medical properties that come along with varieties like Holy Basil, and they they make great additions to your flower arrangements.

Oh, so many things you can do with basil!

They can withstand less than stellar maintenance on my part.  However, they do not do well with temperatures below 40 degrees, so make sure you plant when temperatures are consistently above that or plan to bring them inside.

Click HERE to download the list.

Reedy Press sends out a list of “100 Things to do in Beaumont Before You Die,” and my little homestead made the list!

Isn’t that AMAZING!

I want to share this list with you so that you can enjoy things to do here in Southeast Texas if you live here or if you are visiting.