Welcome Hoppers!
I’m happy to participate in the 7th Annual Authors in Bloom Blog Hop. So glad you stopped by.
Make sure to leave a comment (with your email address to be used only for notification of winnings) so we’ll know you visited every site and you can enter to win the grand prize of an e-reader (winner’s choice up to a $200 value). Second place winner will receive a $25 gift card to the eBook retailer of their choice. Winners will be posted on both the first (Dianne Venetta) and the last (Bloomin Thyme) websites listed on the links below by April 29th. See the main event page for full details.
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Click here for links to all participating blogs, but before you go…
If you leave a comment you’ll also be automatically entered to win my basket of goodies, including a leatherbound journal, a book of puzzles, adult coloring book, assorted teas and honey, and a handy carrying bag with swag items. Also included is a signed copy of my holiday novella, Sami’s Christmas Wish List.
(Applicable to US Residents only).
Let me know you signed up for my newsletter, followed me on Twitter, or “liked” me on Facebook to be awarded extra entries! Winner will be posted here by April 29th.
The hop runs April 18-April 27th.
Feel free to browse around while your here. Sign up for my newsletter to receive an e-copy of SOUL REDEMPTION, the novella prequel to the Chronicles of Lily Carmichael Trilogy. You can also download the eBook SAVAGE CINDERELLA, the award-winning novel that began the Savage Cinderella Novella Series. Get it FREE for a limited time.
On to the yummy part of this post where I share a favorite recipe with you.
While writing my latest novella, Sacred Ground, book three in the Savage Cinderella Series, I was researching Native American foods that might be found at an Indian Pow-wow. I came across this recipe for Indian Tacos and had to try it. Slightly labor intensive but totally delish!!! I didn’t want to post the recipe here because I want to give Hilah’s Cooking Blog all the credit, but I’ll share the link here and you can judge for yourself.
As for gardening tips, I haven’t had a huge garden in some time. I still grow perennials and have some lovely hanging baskets every year, but my herbs and vegetables are strictly grown in pots on my front porch these days. So much easier on my lower back, and with only two of us, it doesn’t make sense to have big garden beds anymore.
It varies from year to year, but typically I grow lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, string beans, snap peas, peppers, and various cooking herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano and dill. I’ve done root veggies like beets, carrots, onions, potatoes, and garlic in deep pots, but with a short growing season, I need to start them early in the house or let them winter over. Nothing is off limits though! Be creative and have fun.
The herbs are easiest. I buy already established plants from a local greenhouse the third week in May. We almost always have a late frost up here in the hills so I wait until Memorial day to plant anything. The dill goes in it’s own pot in a sunny far corner of the deck since it grows tall and bushy and is very aromatic. You can plant violets or nasturtium with it for a beautiful splash of color against the green. Both flowers make tasty and attractive garnishes to salads and dress up any summer dinner plate. Oregano, thyme, and basil go in one pot just outside my kitchen door since I use these most often for cooking. And rosemary gets her own hanging pot , so I can bring her in and use the fresh herb for soups, stews, and seasoning meats through the winter.
My husband built me a bean trellis with deer fencing and 2x4s attached to my deck–which also works for small pickling cucumbers. I plant the seeds in long window boxes just below the trellis and they grow, grow, grow until the trellis is bursting with beans and cukes. It’s good to stagger your planting every few weeks so you keep them going all summer. Weed out older plants as they start to grow leggy or the beans get tough.
The same applies to lettuces and spinach. To have a long, productive season, you need to plant new crops about every two to three weeks. I line up three foot window boxes along my deck railing and across a long garden bench and grow all my leafy veggies in a row so I can pick and choose my salad mix, clipping off a few of each variety. Don’t forget to grow several different types of greens, including kale, swiss chard, and romaine for a healthy selection.
All of this is providing your porch gets at least 6-8 hours of sun. I have to put my big tomato pots on wheels so I can move them easily since an oak tree is beginning to cast shade on our front deck and tomatoes need lots of sun. I plant two or three varieties of tomatoes, including cherry and grape tomatoes in one container and beefsteak, roma, or another meaty variety in another. Just a few plants produce more than enough tomatoes for us right into late summer, early fall.
The best porch gardening tip ever though, is automated irrigation! My husband has automated the watering by setting up a food grade PVC tubing drip irrigation system (similar to what they have in greenhouses and grocery stores) set on a programmable timer for ten minutes twice a day. This is especially helpful when going on vacation. All I have to do is plant, fertilize with compost, and watch my garden grow until everything is ready to pick!
I hope you’ve found this helpful and that it inspires you to try to grow your own front porch garden.
Please share in the comments section if you have any other container gardening tips!
Peace and blessings,
PJ
My mother had a green thumb and my husband has taken over her garden since her passing. These are some great tips that I will pass along especially the automated irrigation will be extremely helpful.
Subscribed to newsletter, Liked on Facebook & Following on Twitter.
Your husband is a good man:-) Thanks so much for subscribing and I appreciate the social media support!
Thank you so much for sharing the taco recipe, I love the idea of the fry bread instead of the bought taco shells…sounds delicious! I have a huge veggie garden and various flower beds, as well as container plants and the one tip I always like to share is this one: Don’t throw away the eggshells from when you use eggs, crush them and put them around the plant. It will give calcium to the plant and prevent certain pests from bothering the plant:) I’m not entering your basket of goodies giveaway because I live in Canada but good luck to those who have entered:) Carole Burant (carole_57@hotmail.com)
Glad to be of help, Carole. I love the egg shell idea. I already compost my egg shells but I think I’ll set some aside for this purpose!
Those Tacos look amazing. Stealing and making these.
I’m am a horrible Gardner unless it is flowers. And most of the time I forget to water. I do love planting and buying the stuff and then hubby plants.
Good to know our strengths, lol. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment!
I now fallow you on FB, Twitter, liked on FB posted the taco recipe. signed up for news letter too.
Wow! Thanks for the social media love:-)
I LOVE frybread, so that’s a magic word for me. I’m already signed up for your newsletter (which is where I heard about this hop), so thanks for the head’s up! I’m off to enter on the other sites!
Hey Karen, thanks for stopping by. Just for being a subscriber, I’ll add an extra entry for you!
Tacos look delicious! I would like to enter the giveaway! yujie.wang87 at gmail dot com. Thank you!
You’re entered, Yujie!
Thanks for being part of the blog hop! This is fun. I am going to try that taco recipe.
Hi Ellie, I love this hop every year too. I’ve met some wonderful readers this way and enjoy the interaction. Enjoy all the stops and don’t forget to enter to win the grand prize!
Thanks for the recipe! I enjoyed reading about the porch garden watering system that your husband set up. I signed up for your newsletter, liked your FB page and follow now on Twitter. Thanks!
Mary McCoy emmasmom69 AT gmail DOT com
Thank you! My husband is an engineer and always trying to find ways to make things easier for me, God bless him, lol. After I’d killed enough of the outdoor plants, the irrigation system seemed prudent:-)
Liked on Facebook and subscribed to newsletter 🙂 Thanks for the chance to win!
Thanks for subscribing, Terry. I only send out newsletters about quarterly unless I have a new release or special event so it won’t be spammy:-) I’ll add your extra entries!
I live in Arizona where we eat a lot of Indian Tacos. Indian Fry Bread is also one of the things that is served at events like the State Fair and sports events.
Thanks for the information about the garden.
I was out in Sedona in November. What a wonderful place! The food, the people, and the sights were amazing:-) Thanks for popping in, Joy.
oops forgot my addy for Joy I
jwisley(at)aol(dot)com
I’ve never heard of Dry Bread before. But loving tacos I’m going to try this recipe with the Dry bread. Thank you for your great tips as well.
Carol Luciano
Lucky4750 at aol dot com
Sorry, my key board is acting up. I meant Fry bread.
Carol
Hahaha, happens to me all the time. Silly autocorrect!
Subscribed to your newsletter. Thank you so much for the giveaway and recipe!
Thanks for subscribing, Jo. I’ll add an additional entry to win the basket of goodies:-)
I love this hop. Your tacos look amazing! I am now a subscriber and twitter follower. I’ve been a FB follower for a bit.
Awesome! Welcome aboard and thanks for joining in.
I love to garden and was outside today trying to get the weeds out to plant more plants of course! I love dahlia’s and I am getting lots of bulbs this year. My back kills me too but I can’t quit playing in the dirt! Rita Spratlen
Yum, love tacos and those look great! I wish I were a gardener. I never lived where it I could plant anything although have planted tomato plants. So admire those that do!!
I forgot to let you know! Following you everywhere and signed up for your newletter!! Look forward to hearing from you!
I’m sure you have other passions that would make me envious of you, lol. I can’t knit, crochet, quilt or do anything crafty (other than write), but I like digging in the dirt:-)
I am followiNg FB , Twitter and signed up. Thank you
Thanks Brenda! Welcome:-)
Thank you for the tip!
Following Facebook, Twitter and newsletter
Sure thing, Katrina. Thanks so much for popping in!
Thank you so much for sharing the taco recipe, I following you on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribed to newsletter. Thank you for the giveaway and the chance. chevygirl901@gmail.com
Happy to pass along good eats! Thanks for the social media love:-) Good luck!
Followed on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Amazon and Goodreads. Subscribed to newsletter.
Wow! Thanks for going the extra mile. I’ve added extra entries for you:-)
interesting recipe
I thought so too:-)
Thanks so much for the recipe and chance for the hop
I love this part of my job! Thanks for joining the fun.
Following on fb & twitter, and already subscribed! Those tacos look delish!
Hey Melanie! Thanks for the follows and for sticking with me on my newsletter list. It’s greatly appreciated!
Your garden looks wonderful. I live in metro Phoenix so not easy getting a beautiful garden. Thanks for the recipe.
It must be tough living with the drought conditions out there. No shortage of water here in the northeast…although a little warmth and sunshine would be awesome.
The Indian Tacos look and sound so delicious. I can’t wait to try them. I subscribed via email. I also like you on Facebook and Twitter. dwelchert at yahoo dot com
Thanks for subscribing, Debbie. My newsletters aren’t spammy. They come out about quarterly or if I have a special event or release, but feel free to reach out on any of my social media sites:-)
Enjoyed gardening tips .Will try them on my deck when warm weather truly comes to the northeast .
I’m getting antsy to start too! Come on sunshine!
Hello,
Yummy recipe. Following you on Twitter, FB, Goodreads and amazon. spongebob2285@gmail.com
And newsletter
Thanks for all the social media love, Yaritza!
Like you we don’t do a big garden either ~ mostly herbs that smell nice and make blooms ~ I’m trying to make homemade bath bombs so fresh herbs will be nice. We also get tomatoes every year as well. I did grab some fresh basil last time I has pho and am trying to re-root it, so far so good as it’s still alive in the water (LOL) I TOTALLY suck at gardening except when it comes to succulents ~ so I kinda wanna try my hand at small herbs in the house (for cooking and bath bombs) I already have lavender growing outside (its been growing for years and doing great despite my lack of skill) ~ OOOH amd the taco looks YUMMY
I enjoy your hop organization
Thanks for stopping by!
Love the taco recipe. I will be trying it. I don’t have a green thumb whatsoever but my parents have a vegetable garden so get fresh veggies. rp98@hotmail.com
My neighbors have a huge garden every year and are very generous with sharing their bounty:-) Enjoy the tacos!
Thanks for the great post 🙂 I’m following on Twitter and FB and I’m subscribed to newsletter.
Thanks for everything, Lacey. I’m glad you stopped by and I hope to see you on social media. I’m not as active as some folks are, but I do love connecting with readers:-)
I am already subscribed to your newsletter, but I don’t use FB or Twitter. I love the irrigation idea, and wish we could figure out a way to do that, it sure would help during those hot summer days! I’m always a little disconcerted by those enormous worms that hide out in the tomatoes, so I’d love to hear your hints for taking care of the pests in your containers.
Thanks for the giveaway. elewkf1 at yahoo dot com
Yes, the irrigation system was a life saver! It wasn’t difficult to do and not expensive. We are lucky to have a faucet close to our front porch.
As for pest control. There is an excellent recipe for natural pest control using garlic, vegetable oil, and dish soap. I’ve used this to good effect. I only have to spray it once or twice per season to keep the bugs at bay. Good luck!! https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/natural-home-pesticides-organic-garden-pest-control/
The tacos look so good! It’s 6 o’clock in the morning and I want a taco now! I follow you by email, facebook, twitter and now pinterest.
Hahaha! I could use one myself:-) Thanks for reaching out on social media!
I subscribed to the newsletter. I don’t have many containers for flowers, I have 2 large flower beds and alot of hanging baskets
Thanks for subscribing, Vicki! Enjoy your flowers:-)
Thanks for sharing the taco recipe. I’m follow via email
Enjoy! Thanks for stopping in:-)
I like the recipe. I have to say, if you consider your garden small, I’m in awe! I can barely grow herbs!
I followed you on twitter (@vipersweb)
thanks for the chance!
vipersweb (at) gmail (dot) com
My perennial bed is a labor of love for sure, but the porch garden is relatively low maintenance once you get it set up. All the best and thanks for the follow!
My grandma made Indian tacos once for a family get together. They were so good!
Love your post! Tip for anyone who wants to find social media links and is on mobile: click to “go to full site”
Followed you on Twitter, Facebook, already get newsletter. 🙂
pailofpearls(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for the tip, Darla! And thanks for the social media love:-)
I love these tips, especially the automated irrigation! You have a very handy husband. 😀 Thanks!
I followed you on social media, Goodreads and Amazon.
Thanks, Kathy. Yes…hubby is a gem! He makes everything look so easy. He spent thirty years building space suits for NASA so I guess water irrigation systems are a piece of cake, lol.
Well I don’t know if this is a tip, but it does make my life easier!!
I put my potatoes in a 5 gallon bucket, with holes drilled in bottom. That way I don’t need to dig them up I can just dump the bucket!
Hi Savannah! Yes, I’ve done this before and it is a great way to grow root veggies. Just hard to know when they are done growing and ready to harvest, lol.
I’m a perennial gardening fanatic and love woodland plants the most. Around here we have plant swaps that for $2 you get in and get your plants for free along with different tips every Wednesday.
That’s fantastic! What a good idea. I try to go through my beds to thin out the creepers every fall. I’ve spread my iris’s, day lilies, and black-eyed suzies to the corners of the earth. Thanks for stopping by:-)
So happy to announce our Grand Prize Winner, Kathy Newcomer! Congrats, Kathy!
As for the winner of my goodie basket items, the honor goes to Amber Terry!
Thanks to all who participated and congratulations to all the winners. We as authors truly appreciate you taking the time to get to know us and can’t tell you how much it helps us when you support us on social media. The best gift you can give your favorite author in exchange for writing fabulous books is to leave a review or tell all your friends about the awesome book you just read. Spreading the word is spreading the love:-)
Peace and blessings,
PJ