Tag: farmer’s market

My Little Garden!

The world has gone crazy for succulent gardens and I’m now on the train! I’m so excited to share my little garden today!

succulent garden

First a little shout-out to the market where I got these little cuties for $1 each–the newly opened El Cajon Farmer’s Market! My friend has worked tirelessly to get the market up and running and yesterday was its grand opening! It was a little far for Doug and I to drive, considering we have great farmer’s markets closer to where we live, but we went to check it out to support our friend. We arrived with only $6 but it went a long way! Bought the three succulent cuties you’re about to see, a big bunch of carrots, and some red chard that made a really, really delicious salad after we got home. For those in the area, the market will be open every Thursday afternoon/evening.

Now to the garden!

How I made my succulent gardenSupplies needed:

  • Planting vessel (passed down from a family member)
  • Larger rocks/pebbles (leftover from wedding centerpieces)
  • Potting soil (“borrowed” from a planting bed downstairs)
  • Succulents ($1 each at the farmer’s market)
  • Water
  • [Total cost: $3!]

Planting it was easy peasy and I got to make a little mess in the kitchen.

  1. First I put the larger rocks or pebbles into the bottom. My layer was between 1 and 2 inches thick–this allows some space for water drainage–especially important when the pot doesn’t have a hole in the bottom, like mine.
  2. Then I took the plants out of their plastic planters (tip: squeezing the sides a few times makes it easier to pull them out). I broke up/loosened the root ball a bit and placed them into the vessel.
  3. I then took the potting soil and filled it into the gaps.
  4. I watered lightly but didn’t want to pour too much in since the pot has no drainage hole in the bottom. I’ll be checking out other blogs for tips on keeping these suckers (haha) alive as long as I can!

succulent garden

succulent garden

succulent garden

succulent garden

Ta-da! I’m so excited about my new family member!

Pssst… don’t forget to follow My Friend Staci on Bloglovin’ or Facebook!

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Last Saturday

Last Saturday I headed on over to the Temecula Farmer’s Market that I had heard so much about during, oh, the past ten years I’ve lived here. I can’t believe I had never made it down there before. But the rest of the family was in Azusa taking my little baby sister to school and I had the whole day to myself. The world was, indeed, my oyster. So I went down to old town armed with about $20 cash and determined to get some delicious vegetables for that afternoon’s lunch (my friend was coming over).

I came away from the farmer's market with these items
I came away from the farmer's market with these items

I got an eggplant, bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, nothing too exciting and daunting, although I had never cooked with eggplant before I was confident that I could use it no problem.

For my first foray into farmer’s market cooking I did something safe, but delicious!

Stuffed bell peppers (side of potato salad)
Stuffed bell peppers (side of potato salad)

I made bell peppers stuffed with tuna salad (tuna, mayo, tomatoes, spices) and… that tihng there is a side of potato salad from Stater Brother’s just to fill space.

I also got white peaches which turned out to be kind of a bust because they were pretty much gone bad on the inside. Does anyone reading this have experience with farmer’s markets? Are vegetables generally a safer bet than fruit?