Our Accidental Butterfly Garden

We didn't plant this...It randomly started growing there thanks to a bird, near the corner of the house in the back yard. I knew it was lantana and it wasn't in the way so I told Mike not to pull it, or chemically wage warfare on it.... and it has just kept growing....and growing....and it is covered with these beautiful flowers. A soon as we think the flowers are gone, another group blossoms. And this is what we have gotten to see because of it. One afternoon we we able to observe about three butterflies on the lantana bush, which for Savannah to see something like that (small and fast) means the butterflies were sticking around for quite a while.

I just gotta say, God that is BEAUTIFUL! Joanna you would be proud of me.... I took these with my Macro camera lens (but mine is built in to the digital camera).

Grape Picking

We went Muscadine Grape picking a few weeks ago. Muscadine grapes are a special grape that can be grown in Florida cause it has a very thick skin. In fact, you kind of have to cook them or just eat the middles.... though they also have seeds.I had planned on turning the 5 pounds Savannah picked into some grape jelly, but.....Well, other than not getting around to it, the recipe required canning and I don't know how....

We had though skinned them. Zoe really got into this and was having fun with it. We did all five pounds pretty quickly. Then they sat in the fridge. A day or two later Zoe had a one day fever though, and between that and not knowing what to do next, I threw out the grapes.

I think we will go back next year, but I hope we will know what to do with them by then....

Produce and Garden Growth

Our Bush Beans, as they start to cook.
Our Cantaloupe Plants
Our emerging cantaloupe, as it starts to grow.


Our past their prime Bush Beans


Our growing Watermelon Plants


The Apple Tree


Our Tangelos

Our one successful Purple Flower


Our Pole Beans


Our Pole Beans holey leaves.


The culprits behind the holes in the bean leaves.


Our Garden visitor, hopefully about to have a little snack on our bean plant hole culprits.

Harvesting soon

Our bush beans are getting really close to producing some harvest. I can't imagine that there is enough on them to really provide for a full serving for all of us, but maybe I am just not looking hard enough. We planted the whole seed packet though.

We also learned that we will have to put up rain gutters along that side of the house. We had a pretty hard rain yesterday and this morning the bush beans looked a little knocked over. We were planning on doing it anyways though cause we want to do at least one or two rain barrels to help cut down the watering bills.

Gardening Advice

So my friend Joanna, who blogs over at The Jo's Know and Mothers of Invention, sent me an article called 5 foods it's cheaper to grow. Interesting article go check it out.

Now I haven't been gardening for long, but I have learned that it is very true that you can spend more to garden then one might produce. At the rate that Mike and I are going, it may take a few years to harvest enough to break even. However, in our case, there was no natural place in the yard in which we could simply dig a hole and start planting seeds, because of the newer construction homes tend to be built on dirt that has very little nutrients left. We found that out last year when our vegtable garden produced very sad plants that attracted the bugs to take over (which the bugs will tell you they were happy to do.)

As far as the plants they say to grow, I am always on the look out for fruit trees.... and then praying that they make it in the place in which they get planted. Our Tangelo tree has been a great producer, our apple tree (like the article hints) not so much. But we still hold hope that it will only get better. I think we would like a peach tree some day, and maybe a clementine tree. Maybe we should just replace the oak trees that the builder planted with those two types. Ahh, another gardening item for the to do list.

The vine plants we are focusing on this year are doing a lot better than last years. We have cantalopue in the ground and watermelons. In Florida, watermelons are a big thing, and they can be expensive when they are not in the prime... which since we planted later than most, it will work to our advantage. Cantalopues aren't as expensive but hey, I like them. Cucumbers just attract bugs for us, and I can't stand zuchini, so the two they mentioned are out.

Lettuce is a fall/winter plant down here since they love the cooler temps, and so they are on the schedule to go in the ground when temps start falling.... along with tomatoes (which they say not to plant, but what the hey, we are doing it anyways) and carrots (another one they say not to plant cause it isn't worth it... but they are easy as pie...) among some others.

Bell Peppers. Well, Mike just planted some this past weekend. We'll just have to wait and see.

Of the what not to plant, except for the carrots mentioned above, I don't plan on ever letting the others in the garden unless it is as a plant that starts growing in my fridge. It is true though, potatoes are hard to sommetimes give away down here near the potato capital of the south, celery stays in the fridge way too long in my house and the rest are too cheap and not worth doing. So there!

The ideas on how to get the most bang for your buck are really good though.

The finding of good crops to plant in our area has been somewhat of a challenge. The advice to "Look at your neighbors' gardens." cracks me up though... I never have seen many gardens here in my area... much less with the neighbors. It wasn't till after I started the vegtable gardens that I have noticed others attempting to start too.... but there is a difference between fruit and vegtable gardening and flower beds... and even herb gardens. Though at least the herb garden helps produce items for cooking... if I ever used them with cooking...

Drip irrigation doesn't apply for me though.... Our garden beds were created in the middle of the irrigated lawn areas. Adding drip irrigation would only add too much water, not help save water. Besides, the leaves need the water to keep from getting scorched in the hot FL sun. We are considering how we could reuse water... We want to start by adding rain barrels. (I didn't read this article but you get the main idea) then maybe start thinking about how to add waht they call grey water, or maybe adding a well to water the yard so that we save city water for only inside use.

Doing the work ourselves is a no brainer... The main issue might be how to manage a garden at nine months pregnant, and how to keep the little shovels from wanting to "help". We have also found that we haven't needed much chemical use this year... I don't particularily care for them, but we haven't had much issue. Most of the chemicals we have is fertilizer... and then I think most of that has gone on the grass this year with little to show for it. Reusable seeds is funny to me too, since the seeds themselves only cost us a few bucks a season. I have noticed though that we get more than we need, and sharing with a neighbor would probably be a lot better...

And when we do get enough crop to be able to store it up, I will let you know. Till then, we will just keep eating it as we produce it, and hope, that in the end we don't have a $64 tomato.

One thing that the article didn't mention though, was the sense of accomplishment, and rightness that one gets out of the garden, not to mention the way it can bring together two people that like to garden. With every seed that turns into a plant... with every flower that turns into a fruit or veggie... enormous pride wells up in the gardener, and it makes the spirit soar. Then it also brings you back to humble submission too, as you realize, with all the work you put in to helping that plant grow, there is one greater than you, that did 90% of the work.

Watermelons!

We put the watermelon seeds in the ground yesterday. They haven't germinated yet of course.

Holy Beans!

Since I am tired of seeing posts headed Garden update, I decided to change it up a bit. So, this week's update I titled Holy Beans! but it isn't just the beans that have been growing.

Our bean plants are growing wonderfully. They are getting really tall and look almost like then need to be staked, but the package I bought are bush beans, not pole beans so they really shouldn't need any staking.... right?

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Our Cantaloupes are growing, but not quite as fast as I thought they would. Though there is significant growth since last picture update, they still aren't anywhere near size for producing fruit


Our watermelon seeds will (hopefully) get into the ground here this weekend. We finally have the site ready (other than Mike has to raise a sprinkler head, oh, and we ran out of the weed tarp stuff, but that is easy enough to fix with a trip to Home Depot). They are the last thing going in the ground until fall, when I hear is the best time to plant the rest of the seeds we bought that didn't make it into the ground early enough. And maybe we will add some lettuce to the mix then too.... I hear they grow well over winter down here cause they like the cooler temperatures.



Our Tangelo tree, which produced only one fruit last year, is starting to produce this year. It looks like we will have about 10 to 12 fruit this year to look forward too, and hopefully they will not be as seedy as last year. (I have to do a little research as to what makes the seeds develop... too long on the tree, or if it is just the genetics of the tree itself. ) We have more fruit this year though cause the bird didn't pick off the early fruit to feed her youngings this year (instead she stole all the flower seeds out of my flower garden... But that is a story for another day), so they have had the opportunity to develop after budding.


Our apple tree continues to bud more leaves, I think eventually I need to train it some more, but the fact that there are leaves at all is still kind of a shock to me, as I had given up and declared it dead. The only reason it was still there is I hadn't gotten around to pulling it up (that and Mike made me promise to wait the season to see if it really was dead). So far though there is no real main stem, which is pretty important when it is supposed to be a tree, and being a fruit tree, its even more important since it has to be able to support the fruit when it grows up


Lastly (though I may have forgotten a plant or two) our magnolia tree is still in shock. I know it isn't dying by any means, but it still is leafless. I know it isn't dying though cause it is having fun blooming like crazy... I mean there is tons of white flowers coming out everyday. It just looks weird with no leaves on it. Being that it had been transplanted in the middle of the wrong season though, and that southern magnolias go into shock easily, I really think it will pull through just fine. Especially since Mike and I have taken to watering it on a regular basis, since it is over by the vegetable garden and the hose reaches all the plants nicely.

And some extra Magnolia flower pictures.... yes they are from the tree in shock... and yes I know some of the pictures are of flowers past their prime... I liked the contrast of white and brown.

Around the Garden

Our thriving bean plants


Our Punny Cantaloupes. (They haven't had nearly the amount of time as the beans though so they have some catching up to do.)

Around the Garden

My accidental wildflowers


Our thriving bean plants


Our Punny Cantaloupes. (They haven't had nearly the amount of time as the beans though so they have some catching up to do.)




So as I was walking around the garden today, I noticed that everything was growing rather well right now. I have to debate whether it is just the fact that all the plants love this weather (lows of 60's highs of low 80's) or if it is the fact that I just haven't been out the last few days to bug them. Then I noticed that the Magnolia tree that we planted was having some issues. See we had to transplant it at the wrong time of year (it was about to start blooming) in order to save it's life, but now all the leaves are starting to turn brown and fall off. I have to wonder if it is just shock and it will recouperate or if it is too dry and not watered enough lately (since the roots aren't as established as the other magnolia.) I haven't decided which it is.


On another more positive note though, the Dorsett Golden Apple tree that I thought we had accidently killed....(It literally looked like a stick in the ground the last few months) has started to sprout some leaves lately. I doubt it will ever really make a strong comeback with the ability to support a big tree, but we never know.
(In case you can't tell, there are some leaves at the base of the "stick")

May 1st

So it has been a long week so far. Savannah had the flu last week and once again gave it to mom. So needless to say I have been down and out yet again with the flu stuff. In fact, because of dehydration I even got a one night stay at the hospital. Turns out if you get too dehydrated then your muscles start contracting. Not a good thing during pregnancy. I have also been having horrible backaches. I have even more sympathy for those of you with chronic back problems. Let me tell you though, Tylenol PM works wonders for me. I was trying regular Tylenol and not having much relief, but I took the PM version and slept ten hours, and then laid on the sofa for the whole morning dozing in and out. Yeah, that was only the normal dosage for me too. Maybe I should only take half a dose tonight.

I was able to get the cantaloupe in the ground before I became sick. I hear that they will probably grow really well with the FL heat, though so far there isn't a thing to report. The beans still look strong, though I did find a leaf or two with some bites taken out of them.

Happy May you all. We aren't planning on doing a single thing for cinco de mayo, but to all those who are, have fun and stay safe.

Another Garden Update

So I planted the beans a week ago and I decided to wait to plant the tomatoes and carrots till the fall season that us Floridians have. Instead, I am going to use the space left for the cantaloupe and watermelon seeds that I bought. They really could use all the space left in the garden beds, especially since I did flowers in the back beds looking out towards the pond. I hear though that in Florida, the active growing season for most fruits and vegetables is from January to May and August to December. I didn't know that before planting the beans though so we may not have a very good crop. They are growing well now, but I hear it will get too hot for their likings long before they produce much and then the bugs destroy them when they aren't as healthy. I hear the cantaloupe and watermelon love the nice Florida heat so much though that they will make it. I also heard that green bell peppers could like it enough to be fruitful, though I don't think I am going to try them this year at least. Maybe I will get the cantaloupe seeds in the ground tomorrow, and a picture of the beans for the blog.

April 19th through 20th

So this past weekend was a very active one, with lots of things to do and lots of opportunities to learn, play and work.

Saturday morning Savannah, Mike, and I all had to work, but then Mike dropped me off for a few hours at the agricultural center for the 13th annual agriculture fair, while they went home to take naps. I learned lots of stuff, of which I will have to go into more depth later.

Sunday after church we had dinner with my family and a family friend, Rosemary, who had been in town for the last few days before Mike and I headed back to church to hear John Rosemond speak on Raising Strong Willed Children. How appropriate that is for Mike and I! Well, again, I learned a lot and it really got Mike and I thinking about some of the issues of parenting. I will have to go into more depth about it later too, as it really was very interesting.

I right now, however, have a headache, and Savannah is having a meltdown cause she can't have dinner till Daddy gets home. So that is why, you'll have to stay tuned.

The Garden Update

Well, half of the garden has been planted. I planted several bean seeds a few nights ago and then soaked the rest to see if it really was true that the soaking would help speed germination. I am not 100% convinced that it really would matter.

I tried a new method of planting this year that I have seen in several gardens up in Minnesota... okay so mostly in Uncle Clyde and Grandpa Stan's gardens. Since they seem to be pretty good at it, I thought I would copy them... (In Maggie's defense, She is just as good of a gardener, and I think she does it this way too, but I can't really remember.) We added all the garden soil with the fertilizers and so forth and then put a black weed blocking tarp over the top. I then cut holes in the tarp in which I then planted the seeds through. What I didn't plan for, and am not sure how it should have been done, is that after the seeds were in the ground, as I was planting other seeds the tarp kept shifting slightly so I am not sure if the holes line up with where the plants are going to come up. So is it simply that I need to make the holes bigger so that shifting doesn't matter, or should all the plants have been previously started and then transplanted so that the stems would already have been above ground? The only other thing I thought of was to have some way of marking where the seeds were planted.... like with a toothpick or something so that the holes couldn't shift easily. Hmmm.

Also, I bought some Tomatoe seeds. I read on the back of the package after the fact (but before planting) that the seeds should be started indoors and then transplanted 6 - 8 weeks after germinating. Well, since I didn't get the seeds early enough in the season, is it possible to just plant them outside anyway? Mike and I talked about it and he remembers that every year his dad started the seeds in egg cartons, in preparaation of the growing season. Due to lack of prepanning though, we think we should just plant them straight into the ground and take a chance.... The worste that can happen is that we start them earlier next year indoors rather than wait so long.

Speaking of next year, I plan on also getting ahold of a seed company catalogue. I hear they can help make the planting season a lot easier, not just in the products they offer but also in the tips and hints that they offer for the home gardener. I also plan on researching more plants unique to this area.... like I hear you can grow blueberries down here, but only one brand and only through the seed company catalogues. Then there is also the pear or peach tree that I would love to plant to replace the apple tree that I am pretty sure didn't survive. (After planting the apple tree I found out that they don't like a lot of water which we tend to have in the area that it was planted. I hear though that pear and peach trees do!)

So I think I can officially say that I am a gardening geek.... I actually like pulling weeds and sit there fretting next to the garden when things don't grow, and worry about them when they do ( I mean its only the next insect that could cause problems!!!). If I have anything to say about it, Savannah is going to become a gardening geek too.... she already appreciates playing in the dirt!... That's the first step in liking it, right!!!

Weird time

So I have decided that I am at a weird time in pregnancy. Something happened this past week... maybe I grew just a little bit more, but I went from feeling like I was still really small to feeling bigger, and ready for the days to start flying by more than ever. I guess it could be the fact that I entered the third trimester or that I wore a pair of jeans that still fit fine, but keep me from touching the floor comfortably (I hate how the jean material folds over and makes it harder to move.) Whatever it was though, I am ready to move these days on just a little faster, so that I can really start to get the house back in order, move freely, and eat whatever I want, including Oreo cookies!

Then I look ahead and see a lot more weeks ahead, and I am just going to keep getting bigger. Then I get just a little discouraged and think, I can wait to be that big again.....

I shouldn't be complaining at all though. At least I am not one of those women who gains lots of weight, 25 pounds isn't all that bad. Nor am I one of those women who has to be on bed rest for a long period of time. I am still able to move around, provide for my daughter and husband, and lead a pretty normal life for a pregnant lady.

I have to laugh sometimes though, cause even when I am feeling ill again and don't feel like eating anything for dinner (which seems to be a lot lately), I still know what a huge blessing it is to even be where I am now. There are plenty of women out there that dream of pregnancy and not just pregnancy but as healthy of a pregnancy as I tend to have. There are so many things that can happen during pregnancy that the What to Expect books only touch the surface of, and thankfully I have never had to read a single paragraph of. I laugh though, because even with all the pregnancy stuff I do go through, I don't think Mike has a clue how good we have it.

There are times when I wish that I wasn't as low risk as I am though, just so that there would be more ultrasounds or more important conversations with the midwives and others. So I would be on bed rest and unable to really pick up the toys that Savannah scatters around the room, or have to get up from the naps that I feel like I desperately need more of most days. I stop myself though and realize that it really wouldn't solve anything. My job is that of a mom and doing the mom type stuff. I may get irritated by it some days and the menials of the task, but the fact of the matter is if I didn't do it, someone else would have to. Being on bed rest or what not wouldn't really solve anything, except to make it harder on Mike and the others that help this family. It would require getting help with Savannah, probably through paying someone, which would add to the financial burden of the family while preventing me from adding to the income. It would cause more work hours away from the home for Mike to make up for the extra expenses as well as burden him with the things that I do such as fetching the groceries and so forth. I haven't even touched on the emotional and mental issues that we would have to deal with. Would it be possible to make it, yes, cause there is no other way. But in the end is it really worth it to desire something to be wrong just to get more ultrasounds and so forth??? nope.

I wonder what it is that makes me even have to think about it. I have come to the conclusion that it comes down to just being tired, tired of being tired, and tired of waiting. Tired of being expected to have a kid on me 48 hours a day.... uh I mean 12 hours a day, being the only one to ever do laundry, wash the dishes , and run the entire household. Yet, I realize at the end of every work day that Mike has put in just as much work that day as I have, though of a different nature, and that it is just as tough on him to make it through a day as it is for me, maybe even more so. How could I ask for more from him?

In the end, I have come to rely on what FlyLady has been saying all along.... you can do anything for 15 minutes. It's funny, but its true. I can attempt to start dinner before Mike gets home or the sickness I feel starts setting in, just by putting in 15 minutes. I can do the laundry just by starting it or changing it in 15 minutes. I can even clean the bathroom in 15 minutes. Now pleasing the pleas of the hold me now child, well, lets just say you can divert her attention in 15 minutes. Most importantly though, I can change my attitude in 15 minutes. Cause the fact of the matter is, what I do may just have to be done again tomorrow, and what I do may not make one iota worth of difference to anyone else in the world, but not doing it just isn't an option. Not doing it would make a difference. Not doing it just isn't an option.

In the end, I have to find ways to make this time as productive and efficient as possible. To provide as much activity as I can that balances just getting through the daily tasks with that of adventures for Savannah. I also have to realize that making mud pies is just as much fun to a two year old as anything (though it kinda makes my stomach turn when she *tries* them.) and that it is worth turning on the sprinkler on hot days for her even when the news people are so worried about the lack of water in the state. Or for that matter, what harm can one more bath do??? And I can balance that out with productivity by working in the garden while she plays in the mud or the sprinkler. Or wiping the bathroom surfaces while she plays in the tub. (I even tried to get her to wash the bathtub for me the other day while she was in it..... I hear regular soap can do wonders.)

And then there are other things that just have to be put on the back burner right now. Like patching Savannah's eye. It needs to be done, but it isn't going to happen right now. Time is ticking with it (there is a cut off age where it will no longer work to patch a lazy eye), and it has to be done consistently for a long period of time, but consistency isn't something that is happening right now. Even nap times aren't all that consistent. Sitting on the potty isn't that consistent.... but somehow, everything is kinda being done.... I guess 15 minutes at a time. Those things such as patching that just take longer, will just have to wait a bit.

Okay, so I wasn't planning on writing this post in the first place, and now it has become rather long. Maybe it is just that I have been mulling some of it over and it's nice to just have it in complete thoughts. Maybe it is just the lack of blogging here lately has made me feel the need to write. I don't know, take it for what it is though.

Getting closer!

Well, I have another garden up and running.... sort of. The seeds are still in the packages. We have had a few days here lately of really stormy weather with lots and lots of rain. So not much time to get out there. Not to mention that all three of us went through and or are going through the flu and cold stuff that is going around. We seem to just be unable to stay well this winter, which is shocking since I am one of those people that seem to only usually get sick like once a year. Not this year. It has been one sickness after another coming through our home.

Gardens

I went to the library a few weeks ago, and checked out a few different gardening books to start reading up more on how to make my seeds grow. You got to realize that I am still at the stage in my gardening experience where I stick the seeds in the ground and pray really hard that there is something to show for it. So this year I decided to start with the books that are free to use... (well except for all the overdue fines that I inevitably accumulate since I can't ever remember to call and renew them.)

The book that I have found to be the best and most useful so far, is the book Ortho's Complete Guide to Vegetables. However, by being the most useful, it is also the most depressing.... or maybe the right word is discouraging. By sinking my teeth into the good meaty stuff inside said book, I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to gardening I know very little and have a LOT left to learn. Granted I probably know more than the majority of people my age since my generation is not exactly known for taking the time to even attempt gardening, nor have many of us been raised by parents who they themselves had gardens (unless there also was someone else who tended to them).

Here is one of the most discouraging issues that I have been faced with. Florida has no growing season... or at least not one that I recognize well enough to get the plants in the ground on time before the heat of the summer takes over too much. I have come to realize that the little maps on the back of the seed packets aren't always a good indicator of the right time to plant either cause there are so many variables that have to be taken into account.

The other issue that I have to deal with is soil content. Apparently I don't have very good soil. I need to buy a few bags of good nutrient rich soil to add to the garden so that the vegetables will like me... umm, the sand I mean. Since I live in Florida I should clarify that all we have here is sand, unless one takes the time to really bring in the nutrients from elsewhere. That can get expensive. So the other alternative is to compost....Most Compost is made up of Grass clippings, leaves and other yard waste as well as household food waste. Well out of those three the only one that I can provide myself is the household food waste, and that is mostly Savannah's banana peels of which she has one every morning. The grass clippings get put right back into the grass, and we live in a new PUD development, which most people know, there is no such thing as a mature tree which can produce leaves on a regular basis.... other than oak trees which also produce so many acorns with them that one prefers to chop them down before they can get large enough to be beneficial. The only yard waste we seem to accumulate on a regular basis is weeds, which I am hesitant to use for compost in fear that I will then be weeding the garden much more, one of the tasks I do not appreciate doing.

Well enough gardening musings for now.... though there will be more to come soon as I feel we must get the gardens up and running here in the next few weeks if we are going to have anything to show for it this year as was the plan. Unfortunately, the taxes are also still on the to do list and there is quite a bit of the gardening stuff that a pregnant woman just can't do at this stage... like turning the soil and stuff.

Our Garden Produce... Part Three

We had planted several other things this last year. We already harvested the sunflowers earlier in the year, and other than that, we lost everything else.

The beans were a delectable treat for the catapillars, who ate all but one, and then that one died while still pretty small.

The Cucumbers were lost pretty much along side the beans, but then one plant did start to produce a cucumber, but the freeze killed it off and made the one cucumber sort of cave in and rot inside.

So, those were kind of disappointing, but fear not, for there is another year comming. In fact we get to plant the new seeds at the end of the month! Yup, statistically the last freeze here is usually at the end of January so hopefully we can get the new seeds in the ground really soon! I am excited!!!

For those of you out there with no place to plant... I encourage you to do carrots. They are easy, make great green foliage and all you would have to do is water. Then, pull them and wash. It's a great container Science growing thing. THink about it Joanna!

Our Garden Produce, Part Two

We pulled some of the Carrots out of the garden this past weekend cause the tops were getting so big that they looked like they were starting to wilt, though it turned out to just be the weight of the leaves. In fact, we let some of the carrots grow too long and get way too big. I think we can still cut them up and stew them, but I don't really like stewed meat and vegetables so maybe we will just have to donate them to a neighbor or something.



Mike got a kick out of watching me wash them. I dumped them all into the bathtub, which was probably not the smartest thing to do. We just always seem to have no big buckets available (They are always filled with junk or buried to deep to use) so the bath tub was the next best thing. My little helper was taking the carrots from the tub and putting them in the bowl, except for this really big one that she had to walk to the kitchen to hand to daddy cause it just didn't fit.



Yup I think that was one of the carrots that we let grow too long.

Our Garden Produce, Part one

We finally had to pick the Tangelo from our Tangelo tree. Mainly because the first frost, and probably the last, of the season was coming and apparently that is the best time to pick citrus fruit. Thankfully I was able to get a picture of our lovely Tangelo while still on the tree.

Then Mike and I ate it a few days later. Boy was it good. Very juicy, and unfortunately very seedy. I will have to look online one day to see if there is a way to control the amount of seeds in the produce at all. It would be nice not to have quite so many seeds.

Sunflower Seeds

Yesterday I was able to harvest the sunflower seeds. I went and checked the brown bags in the garage and they had started to go moldy, so I took them out and started hosing them off to see what was molding, and the seeds just started falling out themselves from the pressure of the water. Turns out the seeds were ripe and the part of the flower that holds the seeds in was getting too ripe.

After I harvested them all out, Mike boiled them in salt water and then baked them in the oven. I don't know if that is how they are supposed to be cooked or not, I haven't tried them, but they look good.