new pin designs
My children found the new pins this morning in the office, and both insisted on wearing the full set on their shirts to school today. I love it! The first question from one of them was “Can I wear this pin today, since I’m a Tomato Lover?” From there, it snowballed when the other one wanted to wear ALL THREE.
Things have to be equal, you know.
So this morning, in between using my brain for stuff, I’m also mounting them on cardstock so they look all pretty for the Guelph Organic Conference. The Expo/Tasting Fair is FREE to the public, so please come check it out on the Jan 29/30 weekend!! I’ll be downstairs near the books table, selling these pins and letting people know that Sarah’s Kitchen Gardens exists and wants to help them grow their own organic food.
Spread the word!
something pretty
Well, I promised yesterday that I would show you something pretty today, so here it is. An artist beekeeper friend of mine makes these gorgeous, one-of-a-kind stained glass window ornaments. The beehive is in the shape of a traditional skep, and the bee is just way too cute. The photo doesn’t fully capture the bee but it’s the best I could do at this point in time, with a broken camera away for repairs and my poor phone doing the best it can.
If you would like to buy one, please come to the “A Little Bird Told Me” Craft Sale at Little City Farm on December 11. I will have them there, selling them at my table.
I was thinking I should probably explain some of the other things I will have available, too, so this post will be full of pictures today.
Earrings in the shape of veggies! And strawberries. And my pins – ‘go organic’ with a sprouty, and ‘I heart Local Honey’.
Sprout kits!! Come with 3 different kinds of seeds to try, plus the container and soil and a bit of composted manure.
Garden aprons, useful for holding tools and seeds and other garden items while you work.
Aprons are available in a number of different types of fabric, as demonstrated by my lovely assistant.
Here’s something special – the next item on the list is my personal favourite. Basically, it’s a pretty gift bag filled with manure. For that person who has everything. Or your favourite gardener who can take a joke. There’s a poem attached, to help explain to them why they are getting nothing but poo for xmas.
Here’s the poem:
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Checking his Christmas lists once and then twice -
Santa sees all who are naughty and nice.
So sad but so true I’m sorry to say,
Those on the naughty list don’t get to play.
Instead of nice presents, only some coal;
But sometimes it’s hard to find at The Pole.
This year has been even harder than most;
Elves were creative, and finally boast:
“The reindeer helped too, so don’t step in it -
Your gift this year is a bag full of $h!t.”
Merry Christmas!
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I know not everyone has my sense of humour, but I’m hoping enough people like the bags and want to give them to certain wonderful people in their lives this season.
Here’s the bag inside the bag:
This organic composted manure is great in the garden, but it can also be added in small amounts to houseplant pots to give them a little boost. Tomato lovers, add a cup or so to every hole you dig to plant a tomato in – your plants will thank you by making the most delicious tomatoes ever.
Of course you can also buy gift certificates for that gardener on your list, and there will also be opportunity to sign up for my newsletter.
AND a free draw for $20 gift certificate for next spring.
So please come to the sale! And tell everyone you know who might be interested in locally hand-crafted gift items. There will be 8 vendors at the sale, selling everything from sock monkeys to baby quilts.
Please also share this webpage on facebook or twitter, to help spread the word – thanks so much!
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projects
As I have less and less in the garden to take care of, I gain more and more projects in preparation of my business product lines and presentation. Lately I’ve been working on a few things at once, one of them being my display space for the Guelph Organic Conference.
So far (this may change) I’ve got a 4×4 Garden Patch on the floor, a 4×1 Balcony Planter on a 5×2 table, and a ladder set up with pots of plants on it. And hopefully some white xmas lights or rope lights too on the ladder. There’s a banner on the backdrop. Oh, and this is all in a 7×7 space.
I’ve started plants, hoping I can grow them to a reasonable, healthy-looking size using my indoor resources.
That could be tricky. But, you never know until you try.
Last night we went to check out pricing for PVC pipe and plastic sheeting, because one greenhouse just isn’t enough for what I want to grow. I’ll need a second one in the later spring to house all the plants as I repot them into larger containers. It will basically be frost protection at that point – a ‘just-in-case’ shelter. Very temporary.
I’m also working on gift packages for Christmas (Little Bird Told Me Craft Sale), and have only one so far: ‘Sprouty Salad’. This will contain a pot, soil, composted fertilizer, misting spray bottle, a few other little things, and a package of seeds that contains a mix that will provide lots of flavour and crunch. I’m working on gathering the materials to plant one and see how it grows.
My guess, I’ll need to package the radish seeds separately, because they grow faster than the lettuce. The idea is to eat them as sprouts, which takes only 4-5 days!
I’m also working on some new pin ideas in preparation for the sale and the show – but those are top secret for now.
These are the ones from the first batch. I’m in the process of trying to figure out the best way to offer these for sale through the website – shopping cart services etc – so hopefully that will happen soon.
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