After spending almost a decade in the event decorating industry I have repetatively heard "I can do that". Instead of being dismissed by creative minded people, I want to show you how I do "that" so you can be sucessful in recreating that inspiration image. I just might have a few tricks that you haven't seen yet!
I know this isn’t talked about in early spring, because the focus is putting seeds in the focus is on planning and putting into ground right now. BUT….
Here’s my garden right now. Even before the seeds go in the ground, I still have seeds that are preparing to be ready to harvest.
Talking with others who are expanding their seed saving skills, they haven’t yet experienced saving seeds from the Brassica family (cabbage, kale, cauliflower, broccoli and others). One reason for this is most likely because we grew up being told to clear out garden beds at the end of the year. But for gathering these seeds, you need to leave the plant in the ground after you’ve harvested.
In previous years, I harvested cabbage in the spring after the pods have formed and dried. But when I let this bed go fallow, I left the cabbage in for a second year. Mainly it was to see what the life cycle of cabbage looks like after I’ve long pulled mine.
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In the second year with cabbage, any additional heads that grow are much smaller than the original year (for growing purposely, definitely not the best use of garden space). What I hadn’t counted on was a second gathering of seeds.
Why might you consider these seeds?
The general rule of thumb is that you save the seeds from successful plants–the biggest and best. But as I said, this second year cabbage didn’t really produce heads of quality in the second year.
Seeds are the memory of the plant.
The seeds of this second year cabbage not only contain the memory of the first year head growth AND it remembers the bad growing season this past year (unseasonably cold and wet that made me question if I’d grow anything).
Originally I wasn’t going to save these second year seeds because the potential passing on of tiny cabbage heads is not what I’m looking for. However the seeds do contain the memory of surviving through an uncharacteristic cold year.
So after going back and forth on what I’m going to do, I’ve decided to keep these seeds. I’m going to perform a comparison of first and second year seeds to see what the difference in performance will be.
This will be a future post since the seeds are not ready to do the comparison this year.
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What is the life cycle of Brassica and their seeds?
Whether you’ve allowed your Brassica family plants go to seed or they just bolted on you when the heat of summer came, you may have seen something like this:
This was one of my rapini that bolted on me. The first thing that you see is the bolt.
Next, the flowers (which form the seed pods) grow for pollination. While there are still flowers you will see some of the seed pods developing.
Out of all the plants that I’ve collected seeds from, I think the Brassica family is the one that I’m most impatient with. I don’t know if it’s just my grow zone or everyone starts tapping their toe asking their plant, “Are you done yet?”
These pods remind me so much of beans. And I honestly expected them to bulge out more than you see above. But this is what the end of the seed maturing stage looks like, immature beans. Even though these pods are fully grown, they still aren’t done yet. They will turn beige.
Everyone I’ve heard always described them to turn brown. I translated that to mean that they would darken. But the first time that I saved these seeds, they started bursting open when they were beige in color. So once you start seeing the green fade from these pods, you know it’s almost time to pull the plant and collect the seeds.
What you are waiting for is the pod to turn papery dry. If you go out each day to check on your seed pods, you will get the feel for it when you see the first one pop open. The pod will look very much like this threaded hook:
Do you see how the center of this hook has a frame and then there is negative space?
Theseed pods of Brassica have the exact same structure. There is this frame like structure with negative space in the middle.
When the pod bursts, it’s the dry skin that cracks open and falls away. The seeds live in this center portion of the frame. So when the pods open, the seeds fall out and the frame remains on the Brassica stem.
The goal is to catch your Brassica with fully mature branches, dry beige skin, before they release their seeds. Once you accomplish this, you cut the branches off or uproot the whole plant.
If you can’t open a pod by rubbing it between your fingers, you will want to hang your branches/plant upside down in a cool dry place. This can take a week or two. But the pods will crumble.
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Removing the Seeds from the Pod
Once the seeds opened in my hand, I chose to put the branches into a pillow case and tie off the open end. Then I gave the pillow case to my kiddos and told them to hit the pillow case against the deck!
This was perfect timing for this project because my kiddos were at each other and I couldn’t keep them from hitting each other. So I gave them an alternate action of being aggressive. After each one had a turn, the pods had all broken open and the seeds were all released inside the pillow case.
To separate out the seed from the chaff (stems and pods), I just used the traditional method of winnowing. I modified this by using a little modern convenience of a box fan on high speed. Because the chaff was so thoroughly dried out, they blew away with ease. And even though the seeds are small, they really do drop back down into the pillow case that I kept at the porch in front of my box fan.
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If you want to see how this type of winnowing process is done, there are countless videos on YouTube. There are some that do this winnowing with Brassica seeds, but the majority is in relation to wheat and other grains. The process is the same. So whether you watch how grains or Brassica are winnowed, you will understand this process. There’s no need to invest in a winnowing box or other tool unless that is the path you want to go down. All you need is your seeds on a cloth and a wind source (whether natural or manufactured).
There’s no further step that you need to take in processing your seeds. Just store
Even though now is the time to plan and plant in your garden beds, I wanted to talk about saving Brassica seeds now. Where you plant your Brassica now for a spring crop, it will stay there for the rest of the growing season. And in some locations, it will need to overwinter to give your plant enough time to make its seeds and mature them.
This is a slow process. But it so worth it when you can grow hundreds upon hundreds of seeds in a single season and not be dependent on what’s available in future market sales.
What are your tips for saving Brassica seeds?
What other seeds do you save from your garden?
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This year I’m working in concert with others in a garden. (I am so excited for this!) If you’re as busy as I am, you can imagine how quickly things slip through the cracks.
After hitting my local dollar store, I found some pieces that are going to make an inexpensive tool that doubles as home decor, all the while keeping tabs on what’s been done.
With these I decided to make a magnetic board where anyone tending the garden can quickly mark what they did.
I know the galvanized finish tends to overtake everything. So with the galvanized frame and banner, everything gets lost real quick. Not to mention that the frame was a really bad fake wood. To dress all this up a bit and minimize the galvanized look, I painted the frame and banner black.
I forgot to take a picture of the banner painted in flat black chalk paint (the same paint as the frame). It looked too minimalistic for my taste, so I took the transfer tape (which I used to apply the vinyl text) and put it straight onto the paint. Some places lifted the paint quite easily. But to get the distressed look, I scratched the tape
The magnets needed a little something extra. There are so many things that could be done. I have children and they’re helping with this garden and they’ll also be marking what we do when we work, so I went into kid zone and painted the magnets with acrylic paint and did all the colors.
If you want to keep minimalistic, pick your favorite color.
Love things that sparkle, glue on gem stones or use glitter.
What about texture? Glue on fuzzy pom poms, baby pine cones, large seeds or nuts… literally whatever catches your imagination. Maybe you have a farm and want to use small farm yard figures and animals. (I wish I had these in my craft room!!!)
Something that is great about using the galvanized banner is that the extra magnets can be kept on the banner so you can add stickers, personalization, more tasks, or a note section in the blank space on the bottom.
And then while typing I decided to go a different direction.
I pulled these out! Last year I made carrots out of my corn cobs. And I brought out the wooden beads from my drawer (which I also got from my local dollar store).
With the beads I removed them all from the string they came on and noted how they tied off the end bead to keep them all on the string. This “knot” that they used was how I spaced the beads further apart on the string.
Once I made those changes, the colorful “polka dots” needed to change. The gold and green glitter styrofoam balls simplified the overwhelming colors.
Even with the new modifications hanging, I’m not satisfied with the final color scheme. And sometimes that happens when you’re creating. You start building from the image you see in your head and make a change here or there and an earlier idea you loved just doesn’t work anymore.
The black isn’t working anymore. I loved the idea to begin with because it was a nice basic color that goes with where I was going to hang this. But it’s just not working anymore.
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First thing first, I need to lighten up the banner. So I’ll be distressing it heavily so that the majority of the galvanized metal will show through. With the addition of the carrots, which obviously take the spotlight, I can bring out a lot more of that metal and the metal is not going to overtake and make everything else hide.
But before I do that, I need to decide what I’m going to do with the frame and that’s going to take a few days of looking at it to see where I want to go. At the moment, I’m leaning toward the idea of painting on white striped and creating a plaid hand painted design on it. If I go that route, I might keep the banner predominately black still and incorporate that same design element into parts of the banner.
Stay tuned to see what I finally decide!
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And I’m going to leave you here in this moment just because sometimes the right thing is to take a step away from a project and let it tumble around in your brain. You don’t always have to have the answer right away. And you don’t always have to have things done in an hour.
Perhaps it’s convenient to have an idea presented to you in a finished state.
But I’m going to leave you here with your own thoughts. Because I know someone has that inner voice screaming, “You need to ____!”
Go ahead and leave that comment below.
Or better yet, use that idea to make your own magnetic board for your daily tasks, your children’s chore board, a classroom helper sign, your regular “Honey Do” list, or that board that I didn’t mention but you just got the idea for.
And when you’re finished, send me a picture so that I can see what you came up with.
Before I answer this question, I should put it in a framework. In some instances no, it doesn’t matter if you don’t follow directions on a recipe, or do things out of order. And in other instances, YES it absolutely matters if you do things in the right order AND measurements.
What is the determining factor?
The item you are making.
For example, cooking and baking. I will absolutely advocate experimenting. Yes, even with bread (which we’re always told is a science and should never be deviated from). I’ve gone in left field with bread recipes and have had success.
Know the science. If the ingredient is not part of the active component, it’s just there for flavor. Experiment away. Yeast (going back to the example of bread) is a living organism and has preferred temperature and environments for optimized leavening activity. This is the science part that you cannot change no matter what you toss in the bowl. Kill your yeast, there’s nothing you can do (even following the recipe perfectly) that will get that bread to rise.
So by all means, if you want some fancy bread with herbs tossed in to complement a meal you’re making, do it! Use a recipe you’re familiar with and add the herbs you want to add. Go ahead and baste the bread with salted garlic butter right before cooking it. Modify to your heart’s content.
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When does it really matter?
Soap making is definitely one of those times where you must follow the recipe.
Mind you, I’ve been less than precise where I’ve added a couple of grams more or less of the fat/oil components of the recipe and the bars have turned out fine. Some fat/oil are known for making a softer bar, so be prepared that if you use more of a softening fat/oil, your bar is going to turn out softer than if you were more precise. But the soap is still soap and still becomes firm when you cure the soap.
Just because I brought this subject up, here are fat/oils that affect the hardness of your soap: Sunflower oil will make a softer bar. Harder bars of soap can be obtained by using Cocoa Butter, Lard, Palm Oil, or Tallow.
Take the time to do a quick search and learn what all the different fat/oils do. Many contribute multiple attributes to your soap. Some attributes you can find are lather, shine/conditioning, oil control for acne, helping dry skin, and so many other factors. It really is fascinating to see what can contribute or irritate your skin’s health!
And when you make soap, the ingredient that it absolutely matters how you use it is Lye (sodium hydroxide for bar, potassium hydroxide for liquid)!
Of course there are the standard safety warnings: use in a well ventilated area; wear long sleeves, gloves, and eye protection; and use equipment that are least reactive to this caustic chemical (use glass or plastic).
But this particular ingredient, it absolutely matters how you use it!
Here’s one way that I messed up!
Disclaimer: At no point in time am I ever encouraging you to go against directions with caustic ingredients. At all times use safety equipment and be aware of what you are doing. Understand what you are working with, what reactions are happening, and never leave a project at a volatile moment in the process. Be present. Be aware. And have safety equipment and procedures in place. And always work in an environment free from distraction.
Even know I don’t know why I thought I could make soap during the day when the kiddos were awake. There’s a reason why other women also tell you to focus on soap making after you put the kids to bed for the night. I knew exactly why and I still chose to give into the illusion I could do this and it would turn out all right.
Nope. Even nap time is not a good time to make soap.
After the frazzle of getting the kiddos to go to sleep, I forgot that the recipe I was using did not call for water (to react with the lye). Instead I was using Aloe Vera liquid (which acts like water in this recipe). I put the Aloe Vera in the bowl that I was melting down my solid fats (coconut oil being one). I caught this accident when I grabbed my Olive Oil to measure out.
I so wanted to kick myself!
Instead of wasting all these ingredients, I decided to move forward and see what happens when you make the mistake and proceed with the batch.
The first thing I learned, you can’t sub out a fat/oil for your “water” ingredient.
This comes back to science–which you cannot change no matter how much you wish you could. Olive Oil did not dissolve the lye. The chemical reaction with the lye never took place until I added the fat/oils into the bowl and started mixing. The Aloe Vera finally came in contact with the lye and the reaction could proceed.
And this is why soap recipes are broken up into two components: lye and fat/oils!
When your lye and water start to react it produces heat. If you have your whole recipe in a bowl when this happens, your fat/oils are instantly heated by the reaction. What follows is the accelerated rate of saponification. And if this happens before your fat/oils are emulsified with the lye solution, then you are faced with all the problems of soap making.
In this particular instance, my soap broke. I had an oil slick on my hands. And I know for a fact that my soap wasn’t set up because it hadn’t had the time needed to emulsify everything together.
And the more that I blended the soil back into the soap version of cottage cheese, the problems didn’t go away. By the time I got the oil slick to disappear, my soap seized up!
At this point there were only two options. One, I could throw everything away and start again. Or Two, I could see if this would work.
Normally, everyone tells you to take the blending of your cold press soap to a light trace. I’m not like everyone else. I find that a light trace gives me a soft soap (even when following a recipe to utter perfection). So my comfort zone is to take my soap to a medium trace. It gives me a firm soap that doesn’t melt in the shower thanks to young hands who sometimes leave the bar in the water. And it still allows me to make bars without air bubbles. (I’ll come back to that trick in just a moment.)
I kept blending that seized soap past my usual medium trace and prayed to see the final signs of emulsification. This one is hard to describe in words, because this is just where experience comes into practice–you know when you’ve emulsified.
At this point the soap was so thick from seizing and still being worked that I only had a few minutes before complete loss. And I didn’t even have time to stop and put in my scent. So I stopped and immediately transferred into my individual soap molds and my loaf mold.
Tip for Removing Air Bubbles: This one is taken directly from the baking world of cake making. Have you ever seen someone drop a cake or cupcake pan down on the counter several times? They were removing the air bubbles to keep an even crumb. I use this same trick for soap making, especially with the batches of soap with a heavier trace.
I dropped my molds like there was no tomorrow, to remove the air bubbles. I knew they were there. And because of how I could or could not drop the molds, both types had different outcomes.
The individual molds were not rigid and could only use a light drop. The silicone wouldn’t hold up to much gravitational help. As a result, you can see here how these soaps turned out to have a cratered texture.
On the other hand, the loaf mold has that beautiful wood frame (thank goodness for jointed corners!) which definitely could withstand a little help from gravity. I dropped that loaf mold several times until the soap started lying flat in the mold and no more air bubbles came to the surface. And as you can see here, no one would ever know that I had trouble with this batch of soap. (These ones again will be for family use because I didn’t include the scent.)
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What if recovery is not possible?
This time I was able to pull soap out of that massive mistake. But I already had a backup plan in my back pocket in case I unmolded the soap and there was total devastation.
Melt down the soap and mix it with a correctly formed soap mixture. This is what soap makers do all the time when they forget to mix in a scent or even a couple of other errors. Especially when you do a cold process of soap making you have a little more time to decide if you want to fix this mistake by melting down and trying again.
Cube or shave the soap down into decorative pieces and add it into a soap batch that worked out better. If you’ve ever seen soap that has another color “floating” in the bar of soap. This is the technique they use. The day that you unmold these soaps and cut them down, they are solid enough to add to a fresh batch of soap. You will just cure the bars on the time scale of this fresher batch of soap. (Tip: make sure that this fresh batch of soap is stopped at a light trace. This will help get around all the corner/curves and get into any craters without the need of dropping the mold to remove air bubbles–which would throw off the suspended look.)
Use it for other DIY projects. Make sure that you still cure this soap because you don’t want the lye to cause problems with your other projects. But you can use this soap to grease that sticky glass slider track or any other trick that you’ve seen elsewhere.
Just because this mistake had a “happy” ending…
I want to give this disclaimer one more time.
Disclaimer: At no point in time am I ever encouraging you to go against directions with caustic ingredients. At all times use safety equipment and be aware of what you are doing. Understand what you are working with, what reactions are happening, and never leave a project at a volatile moment in the process. Be present. Be aware. And have safety equipment and procedures in place. And always work in an environment free from distraction.
Sometimes, you just need to know the reason why you’re told “this is the way that you do this”. As I said earlier, in instances where you accidently gravitate away from a recipe, you’re not going to start a fire or blow your house up by adding herbs or seasoning in a recipe that you’re told to stick to. But when you’re working with chemicals, the process that you’re told to follow is there to prevent serious issues from happening. There’s no doubt a long list of possible things that could happen by mixing soap out of order, most of them causing harm to your body.
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How can you prevent mistakes from happening?
Make sure you’re in the right headspace for your project. (You’re not distracted or sleep deprived as examples.)
If you’re rushed, stop and find a different time to do this project. (You are in control.)
Rewrite your ingredients in the order that you will use them.
Rewrite you steps in precise order (short and easy to read).
Before you start your project, organize your materials in groupings of what you’re adding together, in the order that you will add them.
Pre-measure out everything into separate containers.
Even if you’re used the recipe before, reread through the ingredients and steps and make sure you remember what you’re doing.
Even when you do prepare, mistakes are still going to happen. Know in advance what you’re going to do. Have plan B, C, and D already in your head. This allows for quick thinking and recovery. One of these plans needs to include what you do when you need to dispose of a failed project.
Here’s the final cut
As I walk back through all that happened, I’m actually still surprised by how things worked out in the end, having dealt with broken soap and fixing it until it seized. When you look at these pictures you will see that the bar on the left (the soap I put in individual molds) definitely show the war that took place. However the bar on the right (cut from the loaf mold) looks like the only issue was minor cosmetic issues.
Most of the issues on the loaf mold soap are really seen from the side view. And the worst of the individual mold is seen in the face picture.
As a point of reference, if you ever hear a soap maker describe a problem as looking like brain matter, what they are describing is the face shot of the individual mold. It doesn’t literally look like a brain, but it has webbing and crater like surface.
Hopefully you never have to go through any of this while making soap of your own. But here’s at least some conversational information that you may or may not hear from anyone that you’re learning soap making from or in any of the countless videos on YouTube.
Above all, at least now you have some information and images to go with everything else that you are learning elsewhere.
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It’s that time of year where we need to look at the space we have to grow a little something to supplement what we get at the grocery store. This year, more than ever, is this important. Grocery prices are skyrocketing, independent farmers are finding it more difficult to stay in business, and there are just times where you want to buy produce and there was a run on that item with nothing left for you.
The great news is that you’re not held captive by what is or is not available in your local market. Even if you choose a little something that is easy to grow, that is one less thing that you have to depend on others for putting up in your kitchen.
Maybe a Victory Garden sounds intimidating. You don’t have to go down the rabbit hole of homestead farming. Start by picking one vegetable that you eat a lot of. Do you use a lot of pasta sauce, tomato paste, tomato soup, or ketchup? You can start by growing some tomatoes and offset those items that you usually buy from the store by making it yourself. You will find it surprising at how few ingredients you really need to make those items. And you cut those preservative and other junk ingredients out of your diet that are put in those commercial products. And tomatoes are not demanding when it comes to you time. You can fit this vegetable into the cracks of your time.
Even if you respond to me right now by saying, “I’m not a vegetable gardener. I plant flowers. I love flowers.”
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Did you know that right now the price of living has risen so much that people are putting off doctor visits because they can’t afford to pay the co-pay? In 2018 44% of Americans skipped visits due to price. (Forbes) In 2021, 41% skipped visits due to pandemic concerns. (AMA) Even with statistics provided in December, 2022, 40% of Americans still are avoiding visit for various reasons. (First Stop Health) This is a reality for many people. But that doesn’t mean that you do not have to go without treating your body with items from your garden, even your flower garden.
There are many flowers that you can grow in your garden that have medicinal properties.
Echinacea: good for boosting your immune system and fighting colds and flus.
Rose Hips: (the dark pink or red fruit seen after roses have gone dormant for the winter) are high in vitamin C and good for fighting colds and flus.
Lavender: treats insomnia, reduces blood pressure, reduces menopausal hot flashes, and treats acne inflammation.
Dandelion: there are so many uses this flower has but some are soothing an upset stomach, aide with gall stones, and detox your liver.
Mullein: benefits for your lungs, sinuses, and ear aches.
Bee Balm: helps relieve flatulence and urination.
Yarrow: helps with fevers.
Elderberries: are high in flavonoids, vitamin C and A, betacarotene, iron and potassium.
Comfrey: is great mulch for all gardens (hint: in case you find it difficult to find a fertilizer). It also has anti-inflammatory properties (great for many different skin conditions), but also has a long history of being a bone mender. There are many medical articles that talk about how using a comfrey salve can decrease your broken bone healing time by half.
Chamomile: helps with muscle spasms and insomnia
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There are so many more flowers that I could put on this list. Last year I started increasing the amount of medicinal herbs and flowers in my garden. Not only are herbs amazing for making your meals flavorful (hello oregano, sage, basil, and the whole mint family), but they can also be used in tea with the above flowers to help treat the symptoms of oncoming colds before you become sick. Or maybe you have a skin condition where you need to look for specialty soaps in the store. Did you know you can make your own soaps for a fraction of the price and better for your skin? Fact!
I’m inspired. What’s next?
Whether you’re ready to grow your own vegetables or just want to stick to our flowers, there are plants that do well next to each other and ones that don’t. So by planning on where you are going to put everything you want to grow, you can be sure to keep the friendly plants next to each other and competing plants away from each other. And by knowing if your herb or flower is a spreader, you can plan on keeping them in their own contained area.
Some vegetables you can’t plant next to each other:
beans and onions
tomatoes and corn
celery and carrots
garlic and leeks
carrots and herbs (parsley, dill)
onions and beans/peas
lettuce and broccoli
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Vegetables that should be planted next to each other:
garlic and tomatoes
spinach and strawberries
beans and tomatoes
tomato, basil, and lettuce
corn, beans, and squash
radish and carrots
carrots and onions
By searching companion planting and the vegetables you want to grow, you can see what grows well together. You can also find out what does not do well together.
For example Marigolds deter pests that attack tomato plants, brussels sprouts, cabbage family, and bush/pole beans.
Search not just for vegetable companion planting but also flower companion planting.
Geraniums and Roses do well next to each other
Coneflowers and Black-Eyed Susans
Astilbe and Hosta
Hydrangeas and Daylilies
Daffodils and Amsonia
Daisies and Petunias
Marigolds and Lavender
Saving Time in the Garden
Now that you know what you want to plant, what does well together, and what doesn’t do well together, don’t wait until it’s time to plant your seeds or put your starts in the ground. Spend the time now in drawing out your grow space and determine where you will put everything.
I grew up putting seeds in the ground without a “map”. We would spend all day planting in a small garden because there was a swapping around of seed packets and other time wasting activities. Last year I mapped out where I was putting everything. By the time it came to putting seeds and starts in the ground, it only took me a couple hours to plant twice the area that my mother’s garden was.
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Plus, that “map” had the added bonus of being a reminder of what I planted where. This is particularly important because I planted cabbage and I can’t plant any brassica vegetables this year where I planted cabbage last year because of the competition between these two vegetables.
Not everyone keeps a garden the same way. The focus on most of the gardening community is that you just fertilize your garden, or scorch and burn to add nutrients back into the garden. I decided to practice not just crop rotation, but also resting the land. All throughout history these two practices were how farmers kept land without all the modern conveniences of amending soils with fertilizers and other products.
By keeping this “map”, I can keep a record of how long I’ve had a garden plot, planter box, raised bed, pot, or any other container. This puts a concrete calendar that tells me when it’s time to rest an area. This past year was my first year in resting the very first garden bed that I started. It made me nervous letting a decent size space go fallow. But I watched saw that only a couple dandelions sprouted in the bed. I left them because one of the jobs of dandelions is to draw up nutrients from deep down in the ground to the surface where my vegetables for this year will use. But dandelions always grow where they are most needed. It was encouraging that there were only a couple and not a whole garden bed full of dandelions. So the rotation and natural fertilizing with compost and tea from comfrey is doing its job.
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By watching your land sit during a year of rest, you can see what you are working with. Because your land will talk to you just like your plants will talk to you. They will tell you if something is wrong.
How to map and plan
I’ve looked at so many different sheets that homesteaders put together to share their process. The problem I’ve had with everything that I’ve found is that I have to shift through a dozen different pages to note the information that I want.
This year I decided to make my own sheets that are simplified and keep the information where I want it.
I’m providing my 8×8 Garden Plot and Weather Log for free on my website. Just click here and select the style that you want.
Why is a weather log important?
When I kept a weather log for my wild yeast starter, the mystery of why the same recipe was yielding different results.
In the same way, our gardens are going to respond to different weather patterns that hit. For example, the non-existence of spring and the extended winter jumping right into summer weather stunted all my seeds and starts. By keeping a record of the weather, I can look back on past years and see if and when I need to be concerned and add in hoops or other insulating method to help my crops in an uncharacteristic early season. And there was also an additional issue of powdery mildew hitting my pumpkins and comfrey plants in the midst of a sunny streak with absolutely no rain or my watering leaves. It turns out that the problem was the extremely uncharacteristic humidity levels. After a month of fighting mildew, I finally checked the humidity and saw that it was in the 90% range!
With everything that I threw at my plants to treat them, I ended up with a long list of what didn’t work. This gives me information in the future for looking for a different solution without wasting these resources. So never underestimate the power of keeping notes!
Last year I used a grid pattern not just for my garden beds, but for all my containers and irregular shaped beds.
No matter what shape or container you’re working with, all you need to know is the measurements and then you can roughly draw it on the grid.
Just keep in mind that when you plan seeds, you’ll want to keep a couple of inches away from the side of your container or raised bed so you can have a healthy root system.
The grid will do the math for you!
I set up the grid so that the darker squares can be used for a 1 foot measurement and the smaller squares can be used for other incremental measurements that you seeds require. Having this information already in mind, this past year I just used my pre-mapped seed drops sites, poked the soil with a chop stick and dropped my seeds. I knew ahead of time how many rows and columns I would be making so I didn’t need a ruler or anything else to space. (And spacing is always the most time consuming part of planting!)
Another thing that I hated with the other planning sheets is that they didn’t set it up like a map, complete with symbols to make your coding easy. It’s easier to use a shape code than an initial code when diagramming your seeds. I’ll tell you what! You never recognize just how many plants start with the same letter until you try to put them on a map. And they’re all at the beginning of the alphabet!
Make it Simple
I hope these two sheets will help you and your garden out as much as I know they will make my life simpler.
The Garden Plot sheet I will use for each of my gardening areas. I will be leaving the back of the sheet blank so that all I have to do is flip the sheet over to have more space for notes on what this growing season throws at me. And the Weather Log will be nice because a whole year can be seen on one page.
So far, this year’s planning is only going to take me 6 pages instead of the 18 that I started off with last year.
Give this Garden Plot a shot and let me know in the comments how it works for you!
Also let me know what other information you keep records of when you are gardening.
Lately I’ve been very interested in the Boho style of event designing. A lot of event designers and coordinators tend to gravitate toward the fantasy of rich and fancy feeling decor. There is nothing wrong with that. I gravitate toward that. There’s just something about pretty sparkly things grabbing our attention.
Even when I worked for a decorating company, there was this huge gravitation toward bringing the Boho brides nearer to the glittery and sparkly end of design. I know why there is that nudging toward that direction. But I’m not going to speak ill of other businesses. I just want to take this moment to see and recognize those brides, and other event organizers and celebrants, who want to stay more toward the end of the spectrum of the simplistic and natural look.
This post is for you!
What I want to focus on today are a couple of floral options that are different than what might be proposed to you when you talk with a florist; succulents and preserved wild or garden flowers.
I don’t know if you’ve taken the moment to look at all different colors available in succulents. They are definitely a wide spectrum that diverges from the cactuses and green succulents that your mind naturally gravitates toward.
The best part about succulents, especially if you’re DIY as much as you can for your wedding, is that you can get these in advance and arrange your centerpieces weeks in advance. This is true, even in the middle of winter!
The one thing that you want to pay attention to is the little amount of care that you need to give them. But these are not going to wither or die on you when you look at them funny. They just need to be kept in soil designed for succulents and give them a little water every now and then.
Tip1: Succulents loved being watered from below. So when watering them, place their dish (with drain holes) in a dish of water and give them a few hours to drink as much as they want. They have enough water when you see that the soil on top has been touched by water, not dry to touch.
Tip 2: If you see the petals start to have a wrinkled appearance, they are underwater. Make sure you soak them in a dish of water. It may take a little time. But once the succulents have gotten enough hydration they will look plump again and not wrinkled.
The only other thing that you have to pay attention to is how much light they get. Here in the Pacific Northwest, succulents are not about to get too much sunlight. They can be burnt by full sun, depending on your region. But in the couple weeks that you have them before your event, this is not likely going to be an issue.
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One issue that you might have is when you’re succulent undergoes what looks like a growth spurt.
This example is definitely an exaggeration of what you will see because I’ve had this succulent for well over a year. It started to bolt like this a couple of months after I received it. What happened here is that the window sill (eastward facing) did not receive enough light. So the plant grew to reach more sunlight.
Your succulents will stay small when they have enough light. So if you see this, or you notice that there is some growth that is starting, then you want to find your succelent(s) a sunnier location.
If you catch the growth quick enough, you can trim off the growth, and return your succulent back to the smaller size.
Take a length of dental floss, wrap it around where you want to trim and pull it tight. You can use scissors, but it will apply pressure from two points to cut. If you use thread or floss, you can apply even pressure around the plant. Also if have a cluster flower of a succulent, you can fit the floss in between the petals and top the succulent without damaging the rest of the plant.
The clipping you can then put in a new container with soil and it will propagate for you.
I put the topped succulent in this cup with water with another topped clipping that I’m waiting on soil for. It’s okay to put into water, but you want to get clippings into soil as soon as possible.
If you are saving money by propagating your own succulents from bought succulents, make sure that you give yourself enough time to let new buds grow. It doesn’t happen overnight. If you don’t have enough time, your succulents will look bald and not so happy.
Here is another What-Not-To-Do
This succulent was originally small like the first picture of succulents I showed you in this section. This one also grew to reach for more light. I should have trimmed this when it first started to grow. Had I done that, it would have remained small and cute. Instead, it changed its shape and spread. But what you can learn from this is what it will look like at the spot where you clip back the top your succulent. There is a small bud that you see on the top right. That grew in about two weeks after trimming. On the bottom left you see another bud grow in where I snapped off some of the larger leaves to practice propagation techniques that I’ve seen on FB reels.
If you are interested in looking to propagate succulents for your event, make sure you give yourself enough time to do so. You will want a couple of months to do this DIY. Talk with some local greenhouses with growers who have experience with succulents. Also there are FB groups dedicated to succulents. Join a group or two and learn from those who are succulent whisperers. There is a wealth of good viable information there.
I readily admit that I am not an expert. And there is a world of information available. Just do not take your advice from clips and reels on FB, Tick Tock, or anywhere else. I tried propagating leaves in a plastic bag, through a slit in paper to suspend over water, and directly in water. None of these have worked for me and I am most certainly a novice at propagating succulents. If you’re a novice, I suspect that these reel methods are not going to lead you to success either. (With the leaves, I tried about a dozen and not a single one grew. This is reason why I have little reason to believe these techniques work. Not working the numbers paid off. If I get a success rate of 1 out of 10 attempts, I call it a viable option.)
One other walking away point I want to draw your attention to, is take notice of the terra cotta pot decorations on my pots. These were painted on with acrylic paint and have stayed on the pots over a year later. So it will not flake off anything else. And this is an excellent way of incorporating your event colors. You can create endless possibilities with your design. Whether you go with feather like swirls, dots to simulate lace, stripes, or even using a stencil from any store’s craft department. You can certainly dress up your terra cotta to fit the look you are going for.
I’ve lost count of how many events that I decorated for where I would take home flowers after an event because there was no second life for the floral arrangements after a wedding.
Don’t get me wrong. I LOVED those events because I had pretty flowers to take home and enjoy for a week or two. That is definitely an occupation perk that I’ve enjoyed.
However, at the same time, it has always saddened me a little because I have always wanted people to have more bang for their buck when they are spending good money on a wedding or other event.
So here is where we join two very important passions of mine!
I breathe creativity and decorating. But I also love working in my garden and learning all the old skills of creating home supplements, natural cleaners, and especially new ways of putting food on my table.
The very day that I learned about making a Chive Blossom Vinaigretteis the very same day that I made it.
This is Day One of my Vinaigrette:
My Four year old and I did this together for the very first time and as soon as I saw how this jar looked I immediately thought, “How Beautiful!”
And this was the first, on many ideas that I had:
You can go with sentiments or go all the way with the couple’s monogram, name and wedding date, or even line art that goes with your over all Boho decor.
What I absolutely LOVE about this inspiration is that it’s simple but has so much LIFE after the wedding or event.
For example, this Chive Blossom Vinaigrette will become a salad dressing, meat marinade, or other meal flavor provider in as little as 3 weeks. The total cost for this is just your jar, the chive blossoms, and food vinegar. When you’re looking for cost saving centerpieces, you seriously can’t beat this for bang for your buck!
To do this idea, you will definitely have this be your day of preparation, so have a few hands on deck. You will want to clip your edible flowers, rinse them, and place them in the jars before adding the vinegar.
The reason why I say do this on the day of is because of the process needed to properly turn this into a proper dressing or marinade. It is shelf stable during the whole process, but it needs to be kept in a dark cool place for the 3 weeks of processing. You could also use the jars at the end of the three weeks, when the vinegar takes on a fuchsia/purple appearance. But you want to try to limit the heat and light exposure no matter if you do it at the beginning or end of processing.
Tip 1: This needs to be shaken once a day for the entirety of the three weeks. So you will have a cleaner look at the beginning of the process. At the end of the process, you will have some floating pieces from the flowers. That just naturally happens with daily agitation.
Tip 2: At the end of the 3 weeks, you will need to filter this vinaigrette through a cheese cloth to remove all debris (and rebottle) before you use this as a dressing/marinade.
Maybe puple is not the color that goes well with your Boho design. Here is a list of some other edible flowers that can be used in making your own version of a different vinaigrette. Or you can just put the blossoms of these flowers or others into a jar filled with water.
Nasturtiums
Pansies
Violets
Hostas
Borage
Calendula
French Marigolds
Chrysanthemums
Carnations
Hollyhocks
Sunflowers
Cornflowers
Gladioli
Honeysuckle
Dianthus
Antirrhinum
Tulips
Roses
Lavender
Pea Flowers
Broad Bean Flowers
Onion/Chive Flowers
Brassica Flower Heads
Pak Choi Flowers
Squash Flowers
Dandelions
Daisies
Chamomile Flowers
Red & White Clover Flowers
Chickweed Flowers
WARNING: Make sure that you only use flowers that have NOT had pesticides or herbicides used on them. Whatever has been applied to flowers will enter your body if you eat them or any extract that you make from them.
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Flowers as herbs and seasoning have different flavors that they impart. Some have a peppery note to them. The chives that I grow are a garlic chive, so it imparts a garlic flavor without having to fuss with cloves of garlic. I’ve also started working with Lemon Balm (a member of the mint family) which imparts a lemon flavor. So I could have added tiny Lemon Balm leaves in with the chive blossoms. Which now that I think about it, I’m definitely going to add that to my vinaigrette as soon as I post this!
Another thing to keep in mind is that for thousands of years edible flowers and plant leaves have been used for natural medicine. For example, Lemon Balm is great for combating the viruses behind the common cold. So you can give your body the things it needs to keep healthy while adding flavor to your food.
If making a vinaigrette is not something you will use after the wedding (or other event), consider looking into making your own chemical free cleaner. For example, you can still use this mason jar idea and make a kitchen cleaner with lemon or orange slices and peels.
If you’re not looking for a natural cleaner, than even using berries and mint, basil or other leaves in water, is a great of washing your produce before you eat it while borrowing it for a few hours for your event.
There is one more option for Fall and Winter Events when most of the edible flowers are not in season. You can make Pine Syrup or Spruce Tip Syrup. I found this type of syrup interesting because I have spruce widely available around where I live and real Maple Syrup is a luxury on my family’s budget. This can be a pretty centerpiece as well because you use the new growth tips on a spruce tree or pine cones for the Pine Syrup. I’m sure that you can imagine the possibilities for all your holiday parties with this one!
Decorating the Mason Jars
The simplicity of these jars is beautiful all on their own. But maybe you want to dress them up a touch. What can you do to add a little panache?
Paint the jar ring (White, Gold, or other event color)
Apply glitter to the jar ring (after finished spray with a clear coat of paint to keep from leaving a glitter trail)
Use squares of pattern, texture, or fancy cloth on top (held in place by screwing the ring down onto the jar over the fabric)
Decorate the jar itself
Use the jar as a base for a taper candle (with candle holder) to raise the level of the candle above other centerpiece elements
Put your table number on top of the jar
I hope you’re just as excited about these ideas as I am. These are definitely something fresh for existing wedding and party themes. Be free to experiment with using some of your food preparation and preserving techniques the next time you are decorating for your next event!
Files Used In This Project
As a special treat I have a surprise for you! Visit my store and check out Love. Be sure to hang around and see what else is new. Every Monday at least one new SVG is added!
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