Homemade

It’s been a busy few weeks, but at least I have a whole bunch of homemade things to show for it.

First of all, I’ve started a bottle of vanilla extract going. I would have loved to make it with vanilla beans from some far-off tropical country, purchased from a roadside vendor with a life story to tell – but I had to settle for vanilla bean pods from Bulk Barn. But if you’re going to a far-off tropical country, you know what I’d like you to bring back for me.

This little glass bottle of Absolut seemed perfect for this project when I saw it at the store. The quality of the alcohol is not important, just the fact that it’s alcohol (thus the use of Absolut). According to the different sources, I’m supposed to let it sit anywhere from 2 to 6 months. Now, just over 2 weeks later, the extract has developed a light brown colour – similar to medium-strength tea. I’m pretty excited for the 2-month mark!

Continuing with the homemade things, I also… decanted my orange cleaner solution. Vinegar is an environmentally friendly cleaner, but let’s face it – it doesn’t smell very appealing. The idea behind this cleaner is that you soak orange peel in vinegar, thus giving the vinegar an orange-y smell. You add a few more basic ingredients – and voila.

What are my impressions 2 weeks later? It’s pretty good. I’m still at the point where I wouldn’t use it on more sensitive surfaces, for fear of damaging them, but I use it on glass/counters a lot. It seems to be a bit more watery than commercial cleaners, leaving a bit of a spotty film when you try to wipe it off, but seems to dry well. I think next time I would also use more oranges, because while the vinegar smell is certain subdued, it’s still a bit too strong for my taste. Overall – it’s definitely staying in my cleaning arsenal, but I’m not rushing out to throw out all of my existing cleaning supplies, either.

Finally – the planting season is upon us!

With the new greenhouse, my setup is a bit more sophisticated this year. I couldn’t find a properly sized light, so am unfortunately stuck with a light twice the size of the one I need. Hopefully, this I”m growing more seedlings this year than I’m used to, the shop light will ensure they will all get the proper amount of light.

Do you see your seedling in there? Thanks again to all those who supported my fundraising efforts – you guys are amazing!

And the much spoken-of cardigan/sweater I was knitting? I got to the point where all the pieces were done except for the collar, and had even sewn it together. Except that when I tried it, I hated the way it looked. So, back to the yarn room with that yarn. Until I find another pattern I like, I’m moving on to another project. Sorry, awesome yarn (as Dan would say) – I guess you were just too awesome for that project.

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Plants update

It’s been a while since I’ve talked about my seedlings, or the outside plants braving the elements, but rest assured they’re getting daily attention.

So, first, “the grow-up”. The yellow room is still off-limites to both the kitties and Dan, and the seedlings are doing pretty well. The other day, I had to re-pot some of them due to some underestimation of the  … rate on my part. For a few varieties, since the seeds weren’t bought this year, I wasn’t sure how many would come up, so I put two seeds into some pots to make sure something would come up. Well, *cough*I was wrong*cough*. Most of the seeds I planted came up, which meant I was left with many smallish pots with quickly-developing double seedlings. Luckily, I think I caught it in time, and didn’t have to detangle too many roots. I think the seedlings survived, since it’s been a few days. So… who wants tomato plants?

Tomatoes and broccoli – getting more leaves! There’s one broccoli plant that’s turning out to be a real leafy monster.

Chives – don’t they look funny?

At one seed sale I went to a few months ago, one guy was selling bags of dried peas. His suggestion was to use them to grow “pea sprouts”, and use them in salads, sandwiches, etc. when they’re 4-6″ tall. I loooooooooooove peas, so this one was a pretty easy suggestion to try out, despite the fact that I feel just a little bit cutting these seedlings down in their prime. Curly AND delicious.

Outside, things are moving along nicely, as well.  The individual garlic cloves I planted last fall are looking pretty good. It also looks like I missed a whole bunch of small garlic heads last year, which have now also sprouted. I think I’m going to let them go to see what happens. The peas (that I’ll let grow into pea bushes instead of cutting them down in their prime for a snack) are starting to come up, as well. They’re possibly my most favourite early vegetable. Tomatoes still win the second half of the summer, though!

The lettuce growing outdoors is also adjusting nicely despite (or because of?) the recent frosts.

The lily of the valley lives, wahoo! I know it’s invasive and hard to get rid of once established, but I can’t wait for it to get established faster. I want more lily of the valley, dammit! Spread, my pretties, spread!

The tulip and daffodil bulbs I planted last year, while pretty, look to disorganized. For next year, I’m actually going to make a plan and plant them in clumps in areas I want them, instead of spreading them around haphazardly. It will be better, I promise. And I’ll actually have time to deal with it in the fall this year! In particular, I need more daffodils. I realize now that I love them way more than tulips, and I’m still not sure where many of them went – I swear I had more than a dozen bulbs! And I can’t even blame the squirrels for this one – in fact, you’re supposed to plant daffodil bulbs next to bulbs you don’t want dug up since squirrels despise daffodil bulbs.

This is supposed to be the on-year for the plums – plum trees apparently work on a two-year cycle, with one year producing a good yield of delicious fruit, and the next producing lots of flowers, but not a lot of plums (and at least last year, the plums that did start, withered and fell off pretty quickly). I’m very excited for some more plum jam, too, because the 2008 vintage was excellent.

Finally, another star of the show – my white lilac bush. So tiny, it already bloomed last year, its first year. It looks a bit bigger this year, so I’m excited to see what it will come up with!!

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Garden update

The blow-the-normals-out-of-the-water temperatures of the last week have meant that the garden is puttering along nicely, even with my neglect. This past weekend, I was able to get out there and put some order to the place. In addition to the bulbs planted in the fall, which are starting to bloom already, I found a few straggler bulbs earlier this spring while cleaning out the basement storage. I decided to stick them into a pot in a sunny spot and make a sacrifice to the garden faeries. And, lo and behold, it looks like I’ll have some potted tulip blooms! I wonder if I could clean these pots enough to bring them inside and set them on the dinner table instead of cut blooms…

I’m a little bit perplexed about where all my daffodil bulbs went, as I remember buying up a lot more than the small handful I see poking through. And I can’t even blame the squirrels for this one, as they’re supposed to detest the stuff. The bunches at work look so sunny and cheerful – I want me some too!! Well, I can’t say no to an excuse for a trip to the nursery…

The seedlings started a few weeks ago are also moving along nicely. Only a single jalapeno pot remains in the “short bus” container, i.e. the one used for those seeds slow to emerge. I’m not holding my breath for that one, but at least everything else has come up! The planting calendar says it’s even time to put the first batch of lettuce outside, although I remain skeptical.

Spring is fun! Now, if only they would forecast something other than rain, I might even bike to work!

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Spring…

… is finally in the air. No matter that they’re threatening us with snow for the weekend – I will enjoy this little burst of spring!

Things I like about spring:

• The spring bulbs poking their pretty little heads out, as well as buds on trees. So far, I have tulips, daffodils, lilac and a faint chance of lily of the valley (or am I just imagining the little heads poking through the ground in that last picture?).

• The fact that I finally started some seeds over the weekend. I’m way behind on broccoli and parsley, but it was just the right time for tomatoes and the Jalapeno peppers I finally managed to get my hands on. BB was very supportive of my efforts, and even supervised for part of the time. I just hope she doesn’t sleep on top of my shoeboxes-turned-greenhouses during the prime sunshine hours.

• The sunshine. ‘Nuff said.
• The promise of being able to wear frilly summery dresses soon.
• Preparation for summer activities. Like today, when a display at Sportchek reminded me that I really should start looking for a new pair of cleats, lest I start the ultimate season barefoot. Yes, my cleats were that destroyed last year. My excuse is the summer-long swamp conditions on the fields. Or like yesterday, when Dan finally convinced me to go to a few stores to check out bikes.

Things I don’t like about spring:

• Squirrels which dig up said bulbs.
• Daylight savings – this one easily tops the list. Dammit, I was just getting to the point where I wake up to daylight, and today was a very unpleasant reminder that I now have to start from scratch.
• Forecasts that change by the hour.
• The urge to buy every summery frilly dress in sight, in preparation for summer.
• The sogginess. We had very little snow to start with this year, but a quick melt combined with a day of rain this past weekend means that the yard is a swamp. Hopefully, I will soon be able to venture out for a more thorough inspection.

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