Researching veggies for zone 4

I have begun my research to find veggies appropriate for an even shorter growing season. Being in zone 5 is hard enough at times...with the limited amount of warm days. Not I'm trying to find varieties of tomatoes, sweet peppers and especially hot peppers. (hot peppers is really going to be a challenge for us LOL) I just came across a website dedicated to gardening in zone 4. http://zone4garden.com Appears to be FULL of great tips and info.


Granted...there's not a HUGE difference in the zones but besides having to deal with a shorter growing season...I also have to learn about amending extremely, EXTREMELY sandy soil.

I've found so far that California Wonder is one type of sweet pepper that should do really well. Also..the early jalepenos should be ok but I will also have to find a couple of the hotter varieties such as Serrano, Cayenne and Thai for the hubby. Maybe they'll have to be babies or brought indoors if it gets too cold too soon.

Tomatoes will probably be a bit easier as I'll just find some with an average of 70 days from transplant to harvest.

I still need to research other crops such as melons, cukes, squash, pumpkins and zukes.

Time for change....

Time for a change for my family and I. We have decided to move. Sometime this summer...probably in July, we'll be moving about 2.5 hrs north of our current home. My hubby's DD has a property, a small fixer-upper on a wooded acre that he's going to sell to us on a land contract. The price is so right that we'd be insane to not take him up on the offer and if we've figured correctly, we'll be the owners in approx 6-8 yrs. So...for the next 5 months (give or take) we will be busy bouncing between home and working on the new place. The plan is to add 2 new bedrooms, a hallway with a laundry closet and a screened in porch.
Plus, (from what I can see of the yard even though it's covered in snow) I will have to do a lot of yard/debris clearing. Mostly weeds, small scrubby trees and bushes. After that is cleared out, I can start to plan on where I'll be putting my new flower beds and vegetable gardens. My hope is that I can also talk my FIL into letting me use a very small part of his 20 acre parcel (open, sunny prairie type of land) to grow a variety of crops that I can sell at a local farmers market. I would like to eventually own/operate my own gardening business but that is a few yrs up the road.

For now...my mind is full of plans. Curtains to make, paint colors to pick out, building the rooms, finding some appliances and generally working on fixing the little place up. What started out as a "job" to help the in-laws out so they could or rent the place has turned into a wonderful opportunity for us. It was really very unexpected for us to "fall in love" with it....but we did. I just walked in and immediately felt at home...in spite of the mess of construction, the smell of paint and tools lying all over the floor. More to come...the adventure is just beginning!

What's new.....

Lots of new things happening with the shops and studio.

First I've added a new shop on Etsy that is dedicated to destash and supplies. Fabric, beads, findings, buttons, beach glass, sewing notions, ribbon, yarn, scrapbooking goodies and more. I also have a fan page for the shop so if you can...check it out. I'm adding new stuff daily.
http://divawynddestash.etsy.com
Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diva-Wynds-Destash-Shop-on-Etsy/233456912329

In my Gypsy Wynd shop on Etsy...I've been adding lots of new vintage jewelry items plus I've updated the clearance section and marked everything WAY down so take a peek there also. Plus...I'm having a special 100th sale celebration so make sure you check out the shop announcement to get the details!
http://gypsywynd.etsy.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gypsy-Wynds-Etsy-Shop/246135655083

And finally my home shop on Etsy and my ArtFire Studio... New items added. New sections like Crochet Fun and Simply Sewn have been added to both. I have so many projects that I love to do that I decided to really jump in and list all the things I enjoy creating. Crocheted cupcake pincushions and patchwork pillow are a couple of the new additions. Plus the clearance sections in both the Etsy shop and Artfire studio are bursting with awesome deals. I think there's maybe only 2 or 3 items that are over $5 so you can find some real steals there.
http://rusticdivadesigns.artfire.com
http://rusticdivadesigns.etsy.com

Thanks for reading and I hope you're all having a wonderful New Year!!!

Free Craft Patterns and More

I just stumbled upon a great site called "Craft Stew". I was searching for easy skirt sewing patterns but this site offers much more than that.

Take a peek! http://craftstew.com/

I also just opened another shop on Etsy dedicated to destash supplies. Working on stocking it with beads, fabric, yarn, craft books, paper goods and much much more. Hope you'll come take a look.

http://divawynddestash.etsy.com

Have a wonderful New Year everyone!

Sock Monkey Tutorial

Take a look at this wonderful Sock Monkey Tutorial that I just found on the web. Great directions and good photos. Easy to understand! I think I might have to try this out!

http://www.web-goddess.org/writing/tutorial/Image0.html

Winter Cardinal

Just added my "Winter Cardinal" to my Etsy shop. This was a fun painting with a little textural interest in the background and bright colors.

Great day for Beach Glass hunting and Photography....

Went to Lake Michigan today and spent quite a bit of time hunting for beach glass. We did quite well! Lots of colored pieces, some pretty tile, milkglass, a couple pieces of jadite and some neat fossils.

Took some "countryside movement" pics on the way home too. Beautiful day for November!