5 Weeks Later
I was out checking on the cucumbers last week and noticed that they were blooming, they were. I’m amazed by how fast things grow in the summer. I guess that’s good thing or us northern gardeners would never be able to eat summer squash, cucumbers or tomatoes. I can hardly wait to start harvesting cucumbers and pickle them. I’m especially excited to try making cornichons with the Fin de Meaux. (see this post for a description of the varieties of cucumbers I’m growing this season).
This is what the cucumbers looked like on May 30 when I seeded them:
And this is what they looked like yesterday:
The race is on to see if the cucumbers come ripe before I go on vacation. I’m hoping to have all kinds of pickles in the pantry for winter eating!
What vegetables are almost ready to harvest in your garden?
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Taking Care of Your Hands
We use our hands all day every day and often without thinking about it. During the summer they can be especially neglected with all the activities that come along with warm weather. We garden, cook, mow, play and do all kinds of things never thinking twice about our hands until they’re burned, injured, or we notice they’re at the height of neglect. In addition to all the work and play, our hands also have to deal with the onslaught of chemicals from soaps and lotions. This is especially bad because we wash our hands many times a day. Here are some tips to keep your hands healthy, happy and looking their best all summer long.
Wear gloves when possible. Gloves will help keep you from getting cut or scratched and they help keep blisters away. They will also protect your hands from the harsh sun in the summer and from the cold dry air in the winter. Perhaps the best reason to wear gloves is because it keeps your hands cleaner avoiding a lot of unnecessary hand washing that can dry them out. You can choose different kinds of gloves for the tasks you’re working on. I keep a box of disposable nitrile gloves in the closet for painting, staining and other messy jobs. They also come in handy if you need to pull poison ivy. I wear regular Ethel gloves for gardening when it’s dry and the utility gloves when it’s wet. A good pair of leather gloves will come in really handy when doing heavy duty chores like stacking firewood. Wear gloves when washing dishes by hand or find a dish soap that is less harsh. I have found that a lye soap that I buy locally doesn’t bother my hands at all. Dr Bronner’s Sal-Suds also does a fantastic job of washing without being to drying on hands.
And no my gloves are not always that pristine & clean. I have a few pairs of Ethel gloves that are in pretty rough shape from months of hard work in the garden as you can see by the image below.
Include more healthy fats in your diet. I used to be plagued with dry skin, until I started switched away from a low-fat diet and processed fats like margarine and canola oil to butter, lard, tallow and coconut oil. Including a fish oil supplement in your diet will also help your skin, I highly recommend Green Pasture’s Blue Ice Fermented Cod Liver Oil. Now that I’m eating lots of butter, drinking whole milk and using lots of healthy fats like Tropical Traditions coconut oil, my skin does not get dry.
One of the best pieces of advice I can give to keep your hands from getting dry is to: Avoid over washing! We live in an uber clean society, constantly washing our hands with soaps loaded with all kinds of weird ingredients. Only wash your hands if necessary. Personally, I think that eating nourishing food is going to do you a whole lot more good when it comes to avoiding colds and flus than washing your hands. If you haven’t already, think about switching away from anti-bacterial soaps and try to find a local soap made with goat’s milk or other natural ingredients. You’ll be amazed at all the wonderful things you can find made by local artisans in your area. If you can’t find any soap makers locally you’ll find a wealth of them on Etsy.
Use a natural moisturizer. Synthetic moisturizers often contain chemicals that can do more harm than good. Consider swapping your current moisturizer to something more natural like coconut or grapeseed oil. Keep a small bottle by the sink and add a drop or two to your hands after washing. Think about using a salt scrub every so often to soften and moisturize hands. I just discovered the joy of using salt scrub after making some with a bunch of salt I had from curing olives. My recipe for Herbal Salt Scrub is posted over on the Your Day Blog (we’ll be doing a giveaway soon that will include of some of my homemade salt scrub so check back soon, or friend Ethel on Facebook so you don’t miss it).
Every now and then the nagging pain from a cut or burn reminds me of the need to keep my hands protected. The older I get the more I appreciate what my hands do every single day and the more I want to keep them in good shape. That’s why you’ll find my hands protected by gloves most of the time I’m outside in the garden and following the tips above.
Do you have any great tips for keeping your hands in good shape? soaps, lotions, manicures?
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We Have a Frog
I was trying to catch a small frog at my mom’s last week but we couldn’t find one. This weekend I was out working in the garden and found a frog in a container I keep under a small leak by the rain barrels. I figured he’d be much happier in the garden pond, so I took him up there.
Frogs eat all kinds of insects so they’re great to have in your garden pond. I’m very happy to add frogs to the list of amphibians I have in my gardens. Hopefully he’ll stick around as I sure enjoy seeing them sitting on the water lilies.
Do you have any amphibians in your garden?
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A Little Homework Assignment
Last fall a friend of mine did a scrapbooking class where she had to come up with words that described herself. I loved this idea and thought it would make a great blog series. So I’ll be doing Alphabet in August starting – you guessed it – in August. I’d love to have you join me, either on your blog or in the comments each day.
Since it can be a little tough to come up with words to describe yourself I figured I’d give you a head start. Pull out a piece of paper write the letters of the alphabet on it and put it on your fridge. Over the next 5 weeks start jotting down words starting with each letter that describe yourself.
If you want to follow along on your blog I’ll be uploading the photo above to my Flickr account at the beginning of August and you can grab it from there to use on your blog. Post your words every day and link back here in the comment section. If you don’t have a blog just comment your words. I’m really looking forward to hearing what words you come up with for each letter to describe yourself.
So what do you think? Do you want to join the challenge?
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Quote of the Day: Linda Joan Smith
The growth of the garden follows our lead. To plant and nurture and prune and tie is to bend the garden to our own designs, to shape it to our bidding. It rewards us for our protection and guidance with an extended season of growth and living architecture rooted deep within the earth. We use the tools that nature lends us, and our gardens flourish.
Linda Joan Smith (Smith & Hawken Garden Structures)
When we first moved to Chiot’s Run the gardens were a wasteland from years of neglect and chemical applications. The soil was devoid of life, the only insect life to be seen were slugs and earwigs, no birds could be found flitting about the garden and I didn’t see an earthworm in the dry yellow soil for the first four years. We set about transitioning the gardens to organic by adding chicken manure, chopped leaves, compost and lots of mulch. After nine years of work nurturing the soil the soil is finally teeming with life.
Every time I dig I see an earthworm and other soil life. The soil in many parts of the garden is starting to turn brown and loamy. A wide variety of insects and birds can be seen, each attracted here because of the array plants we have and the sources of food and water we provide. I’m happy to see them all, both good and bad, because I know they all play a vital role in our garden.
It’s really nice to finally start seeing the rewards for our efforts. It took a few years before we noticed much change at all. If you’re in the process of transitioning from chemical to organic be patient. Your efforts will be rewarded greatly as the years go on!
What changes have you noticed in your garden as you’ve been nurturing it?
