Hello Spring
It’s officially spring! We’re certainly having the weather for it already; it’s been pretty warm for NE Ohio. The soil is still really soggy so I can’t work in the garden, at least not doing anything major. As a result I’ve been spending my days doing some spring cleaning outside: washing the windows, scrubbing the siding, painting the shutters, cleaning the deck, etc.
Dexter is enjoying the spring weather just as much as I have, though not by doing anything useful. He lays on the porch in the sun while I work away, occasionally coming over to rub on my legs to command some attention.
Hopefully you have a chance to get outside to enjoy spring today or soon!
Does it feel like spring in your garden yet?
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OOOOOPS
Yesterday was a beautiful day, so of course I was working outside. I wan’t working in the garden, scrubbing the house was the task of the day. Into the garage I went to grab something I needed and OOOOOPS there were 2 big pots that were filled with tulips that I potted up to force.
The poor things were all pale from the lack of sunlight and kind of sad looking. I quickly carried them outside and gave them a dose of water. They should green up within a day or two.
The funny thing is that they’re not any farther ahead of the tulips that are planted in the ground. So I guess forcing them to bloom early didn’t happen. At least nothing will be lost, they’ll still bloom, just not as early as I had planned!
Have you had any OOOOPS moments in the garden lately?
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Quote of the Day: Joan Dye Gussow
Nature is a difficult co-worker: She won’t allow you to postpone things, and she is often ready for you when you aren’t ready for her.
Joan Dye Gussow from This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader
I was thinking about this quote earlier this week when I was carrying all of my seedlings up to the front porch to harden them off. Spring is a really busy time of year and it seems that everything needs to be ready at the same time.
This year spring kind of snuck up on me, I’m really not quite ready. Winter was not nearly long enough for me, there are still a lot of things not crossed off of my to-do list.
I don’t mind though, I appreciate the need to get out and spend every spare minute getting chores done around the garden.
What’s your busiest time in the garden?
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You Asked for It
I’ve been watching and trying to figure out when the flowering bulbs in the front lawn would be a peak. It started a week and a half ago with the early blooms in lavender, light blue and even some soft pink crocuses. About a week later the late ones started to emerge in their shades of dark purple. The same day, I noticed a mini daffodils as well. I decided yesterday was peak, the early blooms are starting to fade and a good number of daffodils were in bloom. I found myself taking photos to share with you since you all asked to see it at peak. Here’s what my front lawn looked like yesterday.
You may think I planted these because I love crocuses. They do look lovely, but my main reason for planting them was for the bees. Crocuses are one of the earliest sources of pollen and my lawn is abuzz with honeybees madly collecting pollen as an early spring meal. I’m happy knowing that I’m giving them a better chance of survival with an early source of food.
Have you spotted any honeybees in your garden yet?
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Friday Favorite: Charlie’s Soap Powder
Since the non-toxic cleaning series is coming up soon, I figured I’d start listing a few of the products I actually purchase instead of making myself for Friday Favorites. First off we’ll start with Charlie’s Soap Powder. For the last couple years I’ve been making my own laundry detergent, grating soap, mixing it with borax and washing soda to make a powdered laundry detergent. Depending on the variety of soap I used it was great or not so great.
My biggest problem with making my own laundry detergent is finding local sources of washing soda and borax. For a while I was using lye soap bars made my a local family for my laundry detergent, but something just wasn’t right. I felt like it left the clothes slightly oily as my towels stopped being absorbent. I also found that it didn’t keep the whites white as well. I didn’t want to buy Fels Naptha soap that so many people use because of the SLS in it, so I finally decided to try a small 80 load container of Charlie’s.
It averages out to about 20 cents per load for the small container, you can buy a larger 1000 load bucket of Charlie’s which cuts the price in half. I’ll buy a bucket next, with only two of us in the house it will take a LONG time to use up such a large container.
Being very sensitive to dyes, fragrances and harsh detergents, I was wondering how my skin would react to Charlie’s soap. They claim that the soap is: Here are just a few of the benefits of using Charlie’s Soap “Contains no clays, dyes, phosphates, ultraviolet brighteners or perfumes.” I also appreciate that the detergent is safe for wool, which makes up the majority of our clothing. Since we have hard water at Chiot’s Run I’m going to order a container of Laundry Booster and Hard Water Treatment. It’s supposed to help clean clothes better by softening the water.
So far I’m very impressed with Charlie’s Soap and will be purchasing a 1000 load bucket when I use up the 80 load container I have. As much as I’d like to make my own detergent, I have found it simply doesn’t work as well with the soaps I’m using. Charlie’s makes liquid detergent as well (which I haven’t tried), I’m a dry laundry detergent kind of gal. Isn’t it funny how that’s one of those things we choose and usually don’t waver from.
Do you use powder or liquid laundry detergent?
NON-TOXIC CLEANING SERIES
Stocking Your Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit
Learning to Love Castile Soap
Make Your Own: Foaming Soap
Make Your Own: Infused Vinegar
Make Your Own: Multi-Purpose Cleaner
Make Your Own: Color Safe Oxygen Bleach
Friday Favorite: Charlie’s Soap
Friday Favorite: Twist Sponges
and more to come
