Yes, I know it's only been 3 days since the last "What's That In Your Hand?' post, but I'm trying to get back on my weekly posting schedule, so just bear with me please.
What have I done in 3 days of 'what's that in your hands' kind of living ...
come along and let me show you ...
(picture: beautiful rose from my garden)
I have always been partial to roses but that partiality as intensified since losing my mom ... she loved roses! Roses remind me of her. They represent a beautiful memory that makes me smile every single time I walk into my garden and see them showing off in all their God given splendor.
Here's another area where I have roses growing. I got the start for these from a roadside ditch. They are quite prolific and require regular pruning, but their beauty is worth the work.
The old antique wagon wheel was passed down to us from my husbands family several years ago. We mounted it onto a metal post and sunk the post into the ground. I love the rustic, farmhouse look it gives this little area of our property.
But everything is not about roses in this post, what else have I been up to besides soaking in the beauty of roses ...
Keep scrolling ...
scrolling ...
scrolling ...
How about adding to my pantry in the form of strawberry syrup? This will be good on pancakes or over ice cream for a special treat! Yum!
I pruned my tomato plants and started the suckers sprouting in water!
In a nutshell, this is how I prune tomato plants:
cut off any leaves touching the ground and discard
remove suckers and set them in water to sprout or discard
(the suckers, once sprouted, will be planted for another crop of tomatoes. These are off heirloom tomatoes known as old fashioned german pinks)
That's it, it's that simple!
I noticed that my carrots were beginning to show signs of dying back, so I dug some up to check on their status ... they're too small to harvest now but they should be ready in another couple of weeks!
I've had several to reach out to me regarding what I'm growing and feeding our chickens to supplement commercial feed, so I thought a picture of them enjoying their 'supplement' would be in order.
Their supplement today was cabbage leaves.
I'm dehydrating eggs! Yes, I am! Rather than go into all the detail of how I'm doing it, I'll just refer you over to
Red Rose Homestead, where I first learned it was possible to safely dehydrate eggs. I did my research and came back to her post as I felt that, based on my research, it gave the most accurate and safe information available.
Every time I walk by this lilac bush and get a whiff of it's beautiful fragrance I immediately go back for more.
I love the fragrance so much that I did this ...
I started the process of propagating it so I could have starts to plant in other places on our property! I looked down at the bottom of the bush hoping to find some smaller sprouts and I did!
I did a dance of joy because that meant I could propagate them!
Here's how I did it ...
dug a small hole a little way from where the sprout grew out of the ground
bent the sprout over where part of it would fall into the hole I dug
buried the portion of the sprout that fell where the hole was
laid a brick on top of it (as you can see I did five of them)
In about 6 months, I'll check them to see if they've established a good root system at the point where they're buried. If they have, I'll cut them from the 'mother sprout,' carefully dig them up and replant them elsewhere. If they haven't, I'll recheck monthly until they have a good root system established.
That's all there is too it!
I'm excited to think that I could have 5 more lilac bushes to enjoy in the future.
One more thing, since my last post I planted moringa and nipped off the 'sprouting' tops of my Egyptian walking onions and planted them. Just like that, onions will grow from those sprouts.
That's it for this post ...
What's that in your hand, how are you using what you already have?
Until the next time ...
patsi
A Working Pantry
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
You can receive A Working Pantry blog posts via:
Bloglovin (signup in the sidebar) ...
Email subscription service, follow.it (sign up on the sidebar)
A Working Pantry Instagram page
You can view my privacy policy HERE.
Thank you for all of the propagating info. I didn't know that it could be done with the suckers from tomato plants or the lilacs. Lilacs are one of my favorite flowers. My grandmother used to propagate roses. She would walk through her neighborhood and if she saw a rose in someone's yard that she liked she would knock on their door and ask if she could take a slip from the bush. She then planted it under a mason jar.
ReplyDeleteThis week we went to another town and did a stock up of somethings that were getting low. We also ordered a new washer and dryer as ours is nearly 20 years old and we knew there would be a waiting time before it would be delivered. I was blessed with a gift of eggs from one of my friends chickens that are madly producing. I made 2 impossible pies that are now in the freezer. I made 2 quarts of coconut milk from dried shredded coconut that was on hand. Tonight it will be used for cream of zucchini soup made from the zucchini that was in the freezer. I baked a dozen gluten free sweet potato buns using up the sweet potatoes I had on hand. I used scrap booking paper to make envelopes for cards. I also went into my stash of scrap cardstock and papers and made embellishments for the journals I'm making for Christmas gifts. I continue to knit spa clothes and embroider pillow cases in the evenings.
Cookie, I have propagated roses like that too, I've also used the sprout and trench method that I used on the lilacs. It really depends on what I'm working with as to the method I use.
DeleteI'm glad you were able to replace your old washer and dryer, ours is getting close to needing to be replaced too. What brand did you purchase?
I watched the link to the video on the journals you are making, I really like them and plan to make some myself.
You're certainly keeping your hands busy, I love reading about what you do, it's inspiring!
Can you give some advice on thinning out carrots? I don't want to lose any & I'm afraid I've let them grow too big to pull some out....I've read you can just snip the tops off & add them to salads, essentially stopping the growth of the one you cut. I know nothing about growing carrots.
ReplyDeleteI divided one bunch of chives & processed the blooms/stems I cut off.
I need to prune my tomatoes. I hope to get out later today or tomorrow & work on them. I wonder if my cuttings would just grow in the wild areas of my property? I don't have any room left in my garden for more tomatoes.
Jenny, the way I thin carrots is dependent on how close together they are. I tend to over sow so most of the time the method I use is to nip off the greens at ground level when the carrots are small. If they're not so close together that it could damage the next one, I pull them when them they're small. I hope this helps.
DeleteTomatoes will grow anywhere they can get sun, water and halfway decent soil.
Good Luck!
It's raining again ... but tomorrow and all of next week should be dry and sunny. I was finally able to get the deck furniture moved back into place and get my deck rail boxes positioned. I also cleaned out the planters I use on my deck. In accordance with our townhome association rules, I'll plant flowers in the front (outside, public view) of the deck boxes, and herbs and small vegetables on the inside (where I can see and easily harvest). When straightening drawers in the kitchen, I found a package of snap pea seeds and one of cucumbers. Since it's still pretty cold out there, I went ahead and planted them in deck pots. I planted more than I typically would, but the seeds are old and may not sprout. I can always thin them out, but it might be too late to replant with fresh seed if they don't. I'll add tomato and pepper plants to a couple of other deck pots in the next week or two. My chives are coming back to life too and will be ready for a trim in a few days to remove any remaining old growth and to pick out the first green sprouts. This plant is about 5 years old and still produces enough for my summer needs and drying for off-season. Once I can get back outside, I'll check to see if any of my other herbs are showing signs of life (oregano, basil, parsley), and get some carrot, radish, and leaf lettuce seed in. If not, I'll look for starts when my daughter and I go for annuals next week.
ReplyDeleteLori, I like how you've found a way to follow the townhouse association rules, yet get some things planted as well. You go girl!
DeleteI thought of you this morning, Miss Patsy, as I was "rummage sailing" and came across four gorgeous oil lamps in great condition ($4 each!). I'm always so happy to hear updates on how things are going - especially in your garden! How wonderful (and thrifty) to propagate five more lilacs plants from their "mom"! Forsythia bushes have just started blooming (much later than they did in Virginia). We're still waiting for the ground to warm-up here in South Dakota, but hopefully our garden season will be starting in a couple of weeks!
ReplyDeleteLeigh, don't you just feel good all over when you find those great deals! I would have gladly paid for the oil lamps I was given, but hey, you don't argue with free!
DeleteThank you for your sweet words of encouragement!
That is interesting to see dehydrated eggs! How will you use them?
ReplyDeleteWe ordered a new freezer and then went through our budget and found nearly half of the money to put toward it rather than taking it all from savings. It was actually delivered on Wednesday right on schedule!
Chicken thighs that were in our freezer came out and are now canned and ready to use for quick meals. We also canned two jars of chicken broth and two jars of carrots from some that I wanted to get used up.
Lots of our homemade compost has been used to plant our container garden. The plants are loving that compost and looking great.
My husband is building a new firewood rack and using an old section of stockade fence that we took out years ago and put behind the shed.
Lana, I will use the dehydrated eggs for scrambling and for baking purposes.
DeleteI'm surprised that you were able to find a freezer to purchase! Good for you!
I'm working on pulling things out of our freezer to can also. Trying to make room for this year's harvest.
I need to start sifting our compost as I have a huge pile to work through this spring! I've started a second pile as the first one is full!
That's 'using what's in your hand' with your firewood rack! I love it!
Have a great week!
I am cooking and we are eating from a food giveaway. I give a large portion to a friend. We don't want to waste anything. Last week her dog got pig tails this last week. None of us will eat them. She cooked them and the dog loved them.
ReplyDeletePractical Parsimony, sounds like you are using your food giveaway wisely! Love that the dog even benefited!
Delete