Indoor Plants

Not only do I have plants outside I also keep some inside.  My indoor plants are mainly in the kitchen windows as they are safe from the cats there.  I have a variety of violets.  All of them were purchased on clearance. 

 



 

You should be able to see a small pill bottle in the middle.  While I was repotting one of the violets over the weekend, a leaf fell off.  It was a small, new leaf so I immediately put it in water to root.  I hate to waste it when it could become a new (free) plant.

 

I also have an orchid which was purchased on clearance for $2.50.  I am still learning to grow these, but I am enjoying the blooms now.

 

 

I have mentioned before that I enjoy finding clearanced price plants.  With a bit of care they can quickly grow back into their former glory.  I do not mind a little patience in exchange for saving money!

My Greenhouse

A couple of weeks ago W and I put new plastic on the greenhouse in anticipation of the upcoming winter months.  My greenhouse is not fancy, but it is big.  I need all of the room to store our potted plants, grow lettuce during the winter, and start our spring seedlings.

I am putting it to use a bit right now.  I took some cuttings from our pear and pomegranate trees.  Those are in a mixture of sand and compost and will hopefully root in a couple of months.

I also planted some lettuce and spinach seeds and have that in the greenhouse since it is much warmer in there than outside.  I have three containers and will plant them a week apart from each other so we have a steady supply of lettuce and spinach.  This year we have three rabbits to help us eat it.

Another reason for putting the lettuce in the greenhouse is to keep it away from our visitors/helpers.  These ladies do a great job of scratching in the compost pile and adding a bit of fertilizer. 
They do love anything green and tender lettuce leaves are a particularly tasty treat.

Rooting Pineapple Tops and Dividing Older Plants

I bought two pineapples this week at the grocery store and took advantage of a sale and coupons.  I cut those up this past week.  The two tops of course are now rooting on my kitchen counter so I will have two more pineapple plants in a few weeks.

When a plant gets older, it will begin to put on "pups" (shoots off the base of the main plant).  I had two plants with pups.  I only removed them from one as the only plant is producing a pineapple.  I do not want to disturb it too much.  Here is a picture of the second plant so you can see one of the pups.

It is a little hard to see since the plant is so big.  If you notice the front left side of the plant, you can see leaves which are slightly smaller.  There is a second one on the other side.  You simply find the base of the plant and cut away the pup with a sharp knife.  Of the two I removed one had very defined roots while the second did not.  Roots will grow once the pup is planted. 

The two plants in front are the pups.  I removed them from the plant that produced a pineapple earlier this year.  That plant is still growing strong.  These will be kept in a shaded area of the yard for a couple of weeks.  The removal of the shoots was simple and they should grow just fine.  My free pineapple plants just keep producing more and more freebies for me!

Yard Sale Finds

This past weekend was an annual holiday bazaar and yard sale at a local church.  W was off work and able to go with me this time.  We ended up with some wonderful deals.  He found several pieces of cast iron cookware.

First we got a frying pan with cover for just $4.

We got an 8 inch frying pan for $2, a 6 inch frying pan for $1, and an 8 inch griddle pan for $1.

They all cleaned up nicely and were seasoned with grease.  We did not necessarily need any of them but will certainly use them.  At those prices it was impossible to pass them up.

I found the piece of fabric below.  I have not taken exact measurements but estimated it to be about 2 yards.  I am planning to use it to make napkins.  I only paid $2 for the fabric.

The final item was found by my mom at another yard sale.  I needed a box grater for making homemade hash browns.  The small grater I have has holes wich are much too small.  I had borrowed hers but was on the lookout of one of my own.  She found one that looks brand new for only 50 cents! I saw a similar one in a store for $10, which means I saved over $9.

I was pleased with all of our purchases.  They were all useful items.  Now that I have a good collection of cast iron I will be tossing our non-stick frying pans.  The napkins will be well used and will replace some of our current napkins which are getting threadbare.