{garden update}

It's starting to get colder here in NC! But the garden is still doing well. {by the way, so is the little aloe plant in the corner. apparently he doesn't like the outside world.}

 The watermelon was actually ripe, by the way! Super delicious. It probably could have been picked a little earlier, but anyone I've ever talked to always tells me their watermelons never turn out well.Well, guess my thumb just got a little greener!

So now that my cucumbers are doing well, I can tell you how it works. Unless you have bees {which I don't think visit my garden} you don't have to worry about pollinating the flowers. Since I do, I'll tell you how it's done. The picture below is a female cucumber flower. The male flowers are identical, except for the little cucumber before the flower. You remove the male flower's petals {sorry, poor guy} and stick the rest of the male stamen on the female stigma. {The stamen/stigma being the middle part that holds the pollen. Hope I got that right...} It is basically the same thing you have to do with watermelons.

Tada! Cucumbers! I've harvested two cucumbers so far, and have at least three more on the way. By the way, it's fine to pollinate the female and male flowers from the same plant. The only time it's not is if you're trying to save seeds. I planted two plants, and only one is doing very well, but I like the security of having two. & my dear sweetheart said the cucumbers were extra tasty.

female cucumber flower

Can you believe I actually grew a watermelon? I wonder if one day I'll actually be able to have a big garden and start a little bit of homesteading. I'm trying to grow some lettuce now, and it's obviously not going to work. Oh well!

I know, so excited!!

{Mozzarella sticks}

It's official. Dear Wally the Watermelon has decided he doesn't want to stick around. I'm sure he will be much happier in the little wooded strip behind our house. I still have a watermelon the size of my head just sitting on my patio. Not sure what to do with it. I also have about three cucumbers on the way, and Tom Mater has gone completely wild again. I give up, there is no way to control that crazy Tom.

ooey & gooey

I know I promised to let y'all in on these delicious, hot and crispy mozzarella sticks. Even my sweetheart likes these! We make these whenever we buy the string cheese for the stuffed crust pizza. The part that takes the longest is freezing the cheese, and that's not even difficult! Here is my adapted version of the original weight watchers friendly version.

This makes 24 pieces, but I usually make a much smaller batch. Sorry about the blurry picture, someone isn't the best picture taker. Just kidding honey! {I wonder if he even reads this?} The full version filled the two of us up, so that we weren't hungry for dinner! Also, I know this takes a lot of bread crumbs, but they are also good for chicken parm!

ingredients.
12 sticks of string cheese (mozzarella, or really any other kind of cheese you prefer)
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp flour
5 tbsp Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
5 tbsp panko crumbs
2 tsp Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp dried parsley
olive oil cooking spray

I

Cut cheese in half to give you 24 pieces. Place cheese in the freezer until cheese is frozen. {This usually takes me about two hours.}

II

In a small bowl, whisk the egg. Place the flour in another small dish. In  a sparate bowl, combine the bread crumbs, panko, Parmesan cheese, and dried parlsey. 

III

Here's the fun par! Dip the frozen sticks in flour, shaking off the excess, then into the egg, and then coat with crumbs. 

IV

Repeat this process with the remaining cheese placing them on a tray with wax paper, if you won't immediately cook them. Place the freeze back into the freezer until ready to bake if not immediately baking them. {Super important, because other wise they will melt before the crumbs get crispy.} 

V

Ready to bake? Pop them in a 400 degree preheated oven. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with oil. {I don't always use foil, oops.} Spray the tops of the sticks with a little bit more oil, and then bake in the bottom third of your oven until crisp, which is only about 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and bake for an additional 4-5 minutes watching them closely so they don't melt!

Credit 

{Natural Decorating}

Walking around the nature trails at work a few weeks ago, I noticed a bunch of pine cones. I remember seeing massive pine cones in my family's house, but never really thought much of it. Now that I'm trying to decorate our sweet home, my crafty mind started turning... 

I took a few nice {no offense to the others left behind..} looking pine cones, and kept them in a plastic bag for a day. Just to try and kill any bugs I could. Then I laid the cones out over newspaper, and really sprayed them with mod podge. After they dried, I decorated some of the tips. I used stamps, but paint would work well. Another coat or two of mod podge, and done! I think during Christmas I might try this again but with some glitter. Just a little sparkle to nature.

We also realized today that a flower pot is four times more expensive than the large plastic tubs at walmart. For only $6, I {I really did!} drilled a few holes for drainage, and now our little budding cucumber plants can thrive. Fingers crossed! Tom Mater {our 6 foot tomato plant} has jumped the fence, literally. He is growing onto the other side of our little fence. & Wally the Watermelon seems to be growing super slowly. Hopefully tonight's thunderstorm will give them what they need, and I'll get to cuddle with my sweetheart and eat my new homemade ice cream..I'll let y'all know if it's good!!

{Apartment Jungle}

pre-pollinated

Gardening is one of my favorite stress relievers. & watching everything grow has been amazing.

I have a 6+ foot tomato plant I'm growing in a 48" or so pot. We've enjoyed 14 tomatoes so far, and should have another 13 in a few weeks! See, you can grow some of your own food on an apartment patio!

 

So I'm also trying to grow a watermelon plant. I read online you can train them to grow up a trellis. I think you're supposed to do that with 8-10 pound watermelons. Mine should grow to be 25. I can only hope!!

The trick to growing watermelons in an apartment/town house, is that you have to hand pollinate the flowers. Really? it's not difficult, as long as you can catch a female flower blossoming. I had two, and they blossomed on a perfect sunday morning. The very next day-there's a melon growing! 

One of the watermelons is still thriving. The other shriveled up. Maybe because of lack of water, I'm not sure. Either way, I would expect to be able to have my first summer watermelon by mid October. Hope it doesn't frost before then.

An {Apartment} Watermelon's Life

July 21

July 30-Hand pollinated the day before

August 3

August 7

The Other One August 7

August 18

Well, I'll have to find a new hobby for Autumn...