Poor Friday Finds … it keeps missing its own deadline. But as with most things, Friday Finds are better late than never.
Before I get into it, you should know that as I sat at the kitchen table writing this, one of the flowers (next to the one pictured above) on the amaryllis literally just popped open in front of my eyes. I love it when I catch plants doing plant stuff when they think no one is looking.
I had a wonderful time chatting with Mike from the Vegetable Gardening Show and you can catch our conversation on YouTube now. I do love talking about gardening and I tend to go on a bit when I get the chance. Shortly after the episode was up, a viewer reached out to me in email and we had a great chat about tomatoes. So I got to talk gardening twice! I’d love it if you’d check out the show and maybe leave Mike a comment about it. And subscribe to his channel for all his interviews with gardeners.
The spider mums I bought for Christmas bouquets are still going strong on the kitchen island. Talk about getting your money’s worth from grocery store flowers.
Like a lot of people, I get serious about organizing at this time of year. I love organized spaces. I don’t particularly like the actual organizing, but I like buying stuff with which to organize. After I clean out a space, I can’t stop looking at it. One of the most popular posts in the history of this blog is the one I wrote about organizing my junk drawer.Â
This week I started following Neat Method, described as “Luxury home organizers,” on Instagram, and their feed is full of inspirational images that make you want to call Goodwill and tell them you’re on the way with the contents of half your house. But I have questions.
For instance, in this oh-so-satisfying picture of a perfectly organized pantry, what happens when you run out of the stuff in the nice containers? I feel like I would end up buying food just for “styling” rather than eating.
And in this picture of all the nice canisters of rice and grains, how do you know how to cook it if you don’t have the directions on the back of the package? Or am I the only one who has to read the directions every time?
I asked the followers of The Impatient Gardener Facebook page this morning when the best time for a Facebook Live on seed starting would be and just about everybody said a weeknight is best. I’ll work on organizing that for this week. If you have specific questions you’d like me to address, drop me an email. When I get it scheduled, I’ll let you all know.Â
I’m assigning a little bit of homework for this weekend. I can hear it now: “What? Homework? On a weekend?” But you can multitask this. Go listen to the Joe Gardener podcast. The latest episode with Linda Chalker-Scott is on garden myths and if you don’t believe what I’ve said about epsom salts, the importance of soil tests, why you shouldn’t amend your planting holes or how mulch doesn’t rob your soil of nitrogen, then maybe you’ll believe Linda. Even if you’re on board with all of that, it’s worth a listen if only to be prepared the next time someone tells you that their grandma’s tomatoes were the best because she always used epsom salt, and stuck eggshells and coffee grounds in the planting hole with her roses.Â
OK, homework assigned, I’ll let you get back to your weekend. I’ve got dogs to give baths to and seeds to organize. What are you up to this weekend?
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15 Responses
Shoveled snow this morning, I went to a Invasive plant species identification and phenology training session this afternoon. I am watching football the rest of the time today and probably lots of tomorrow. I will have time to watch the pod casts you mentioned tomorrow. I will look forward to it. Stay warm, cheers.
Oh I bet that was fun (the training session)! So nice to immerse yourself in gardening stuff in the middle of winter. Phenology is fascinating to me.
I do have a number of foods like rice in containers. We finally attached directions on the lids and an index card in the recipe box in the kitchen cupboard. I am making a big effort not to buy storage containers for things like papers, clothes etc. as they just keep me from dealing with things that should get tossed, not organized. Am making plant lists and reading catalogs. So cold here but so looking forward to spring. The lack of snow makes it seem closer than it is.
That’s a really good idea about what to do with the directions! Makes sense to me. Sounds like our no-snow issue is about to change itself. Now sure how I feel about that.
Staying inside and finishing up packing for our cruise. I like to leave everything inside and out organized when we go away so I don’t come home to a mess. This includes making sure the houseplants will be in good shape and well hydrated. I have three amaryllis which will probably bloom while I am gone but can’t be helped.
Well need to clean the fridge and then take a break and read my new seed catalogs with a hot cup of tea.
Ooh … cruise! Sounds lovely. Enjoy! Also, I fully agree with leaving the house in good order when going on vacation. Coming home to a disorganized mess is a drag.
Any recommendations on seed organization systems?
Yes! After years of keeping my stuff in Ziploc bags I finally bought a Seedkeeper. It’s a simple concept but it works! https://seedkeepercompany.com
Thanks Erin! I’ll look into the Seedkeeper.
I’m new to your blog and have been enjoying it. I love the idea of houseplants, but feel guilty buying them because I end up ruining their lives. Lately, I pass by a beautiful plant in the nursery and my first thought is, “I love this. I have to bring it home.” But then I put it back because it deserves better. I’m hoping to change all that in 2018 and learn to not only keep my plants alive, but help them to thrive and grow! 🙂
Hi Lynn! Thanks for stopping by. I’ll be honest, I’m not great with houseplants, but they tolerate my abuse. Alive in spring is the goal. For the houseplants and me.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to his latest episode but I already get annoyed enough with the myths I see on Instagram. I think the hole amendment thing is rather new and may be a disputed thing among garden experts because I see it still talked about in regards to trees. And my husband still adds compost to a hole if we plant a tree—because of said local garden expert.
I completely agree, Misti. For years we were told about a $10 hole for a $5 plant (or whatever the numbers were) and all of a sudden we’re finding out that was wrong. Old habits die hard though, and I don’t know of a single nursery not advising planting hole amendments. It’s no wonder people are confused.
Your amaryllis is lovely. I intentionally start my amaryllis late so I can enjoy them in February and March when I’m sick to death of winter. I just picked up another amaryllis bulb and some paperwhite bulbs on clearance. I’m doing some winter sowing this weekend. If you have a few minutes, stop by and check out my post on winter sowing. It’s so much fun!
I organized my pantry last January, and had the same concerns with wanting cooking directions. Really, just because I’ve been cooking them for 40 years, I’m expected to remember how long to cook that particular pasta or how much buttermilk to put into cornbread? I cut out the directions and taped to the back of the storage container. I put them in the same position as the chalkboard label on the front, so you don’t really see them even when the contents get low. I used the square and rectangular perfect seal canisters from The Container Store- the different sizes all stack together, and I can fit so much on my shelf!