My Week - Wood Conditioner, New Tree, and Pumpkin Pound Cake

My wood conditioner! Isn't it lovely?

So, the other week I bought new cutting boards. My old, cheap bamboo ones were starting to get splintery and gross, so I finally bit the bullet and bought beautiful new maple hardwood boards. Coincidentally, at around the same time, I ran across this post on the Joybilee Farm blog. I decided to follow the simple recipe and make my own wood conditioner. This way, I'd know exactly what was in it, and be able to make more when I ran out.

Apparently, it is literally impossible to buy organic essential oils in this town. I see a lot of people recommending Mountain Rose Herbs, but when I went to order from them, the sweet orange essential oil I wanted turned out to be a restricted item, meaning they couldn't ship it to Canada. If you're in the States, though, they really do come highly recommended. Anyway, after going to several stores, I settled for regular 'natural' essential oil. The salesperson at the health foods store said that the reps from the company they sourced from had told her it was technically organic, but not certified. Well, if she says so. It was the best I could get, so I settled. My life, it is so hard.

The rest of the ingredients were easy to source. And let me tell you, the finished product smells freaking amazing. I used extra virgin coconut oil, so the scent is a very strong, tropical coconut and orange, with a trace of honeyed beeswax. And, since it's completely natural, when you're done pouring the conditioner into it's jar, you can rub the leftovers on your hands, since it works as a body-safe moisturizer as well. And then you, too, can smell like a tropical fruit salad, which is all a person can ask for, really.

Here's one of my boards, half-conditioned, to show you the difference:

For the life of me I could not get a picture that showed the lustre of the conditioned wood. It's the darker section, by the way. But I assure you that it looks marvelous. And smells incredible.

I also got a little Meyer Lemon tree! It came with over thirty blossoms, though none, for some reason, on one big branch. Anyway, the blossoms are gorgeous.

I'd never smelled a lemon blossom before. It was lovely, and not what I'd expected. Almost like a sweet, light jasmine. I'm hoping I might actually get some lemons. Heaven knows I'm tired of throwing tons of cash at bags of tiny organic lemons that go moldy after approximately two hours in the house.

Pumpkin-y.

Through my blog-browsing, I also came across a recipe for pumpkin pound cake, from Back To Our Roots. I did it as mini pound cakes and one loaf, instead of in a bundt pan. They were delicious, but turned out pretty heavy. I wonder if it's because I didn't mix enough? Next time I'll really cream the heck out of the butter and sugar etc.

And, my seedlings are surviving so far. I have four pepper sprouts, and nine tomatoes, as well as three types of basil and some flowers. I've been keeping them all under the plastic wrap, which seems to be working to keep them alive. I'll take some pictures once there's finally something to see.

Also, I had to put the mint plant outside, on account of discovering that it had a MASSIVE BUG INFESTATION. I was terrified that it would get my sprouts, so out the mint went. It's really thriving, though. People aren't kidding about keeping it in a pot, I feel like it would happily take over everything, like a peppermint Napoleon.

Of course, I can't leave without blessing you with a picture of the cat, trying to sleep while an irritating man takes close-up photos of her face:

You're welcome.

Ostara

My partner celebrated Ostara yesterday, and I assisted, mostly by huddling under a blanket while squinting at the grey horizon visible above the neighboring apartment buildings.

Lately, my partner has decided to begin exploring spirituality, feeling a pull towards rituals that celebrate nature. Here is the Ostara altar that my partner assembled for the Spring Equinox sunrise ritual:

My partner took this picture. Anyway, from left to right: milk; honey; a spoon (to mix the milk and honey - has no other spiritual significance); beeswax candle; ritual candles with crystal bracelet and amethyst pendant; another beeswax candle.

I'm happy to assist with this. I've always been interested in paganism, but only allowed myself to observe in a very clinical, distant sort of way. I'm agnostic, so while I don't necessarily believe in spirits, gods, etc., I like to believe that they could exist. It's just a nice thought. (Or not-so-nice thought, depending on the belief system.) Anyway, I do very much believe that a large part of the human experience is in our heads - our feelings, thoughts, the personal rituals we engage in and draw comfort from - and that if something enriches that experience, and it doesn't hurt anybody, then why not indulge in it?

So, I'm not sure where I will personally end up, spiritually. But meanwhile, I'm pleased to be here for my partner, and exploring this with them.

Happy (belated) Ostara, everyone!

Eggs for Tomatoes

This year I'm feeding eggs to my tomatoes.

Eggshells, I mean. Tomatoes love calcium, which eggshells are full of. Calcium helps prevent blossom end rot, and contributes to general health. Since I did so damned badly with my tomatoes last year, I'm hoping that this helps.

Grind the shells into a very fine powder, using a coffee grinder, spice grinder, or a mortar and pestle. Then MIX 'EM INTO THE DIRT.

I've been washing my used eggshells, and then baking them on low heat (about 300 degrees F) for a while, until they're hot and brittle (and, importantly, sterile). I have a granite mortar that I pour them into, and every time I go into the kitchen, I give it a few good grinds with the pestle. Eventually I get them ground into a fine powder.

Today I planted some tomato seeds (Principe Borghese plum tomatoes, if you're wondering). I washed out an empty plastic cat litter container, which I'll be using to mix soil from now on. I put in some of the soil I'm using in my containers this year, and thoroughly, by hand, mixed the eggshells in. If you're doing this, you'll be able to see the fine white specks of it throughout the soil when you're done. I then mixed the eggshell-enriched soil in with the regular, by layers, as I filled the pot up. I used about four eggs' worth of powder in this. Peppers like calcium, too, so I'll be sprinkling ground shells around the plants as they grow, since it's too late to mix them into the soil now.

I've also read suggestions of soaking clean eggshells in water. Apparently the calcium easily leaches into the water, which can then be used to water plants. It sounds very convenient, but I still prefer the powder. There's just something I love about getting my hands right into the dirt.

March 2015

I've been gone for a long while! I suppose life just caught up to me - I'm working two jobs, and most weeks don't have a day off. This winter was pretty dreary, too, just rain, and weather too cold to grow anything. The hydrangea and roses lost their leaves. Our jasmine and dahlias died. It was a relentless procession of days of going to and from work in the rain.

But Spring is finally here, and I'm starting to feel better.

I've been cooking more - beef and potato stew; buttermilk cinnamon pancakes; homemade pho; lemon sugar scones.

I've started several plants, but cautiously and carefully, in the pots I intend to grow them in. I think that a big part of my failure last year was beginning too early, and starting them in the peat pots, which didn't keep them at the right temperature or dampness. There isn't a lot of sun yet - in fact the entire week so far is supposed to be rain - so I'm hoping the seedlings will be all right.

How about some pictures?

That's a pepper sprout! I planted ten seeds, and so far, four have germinated. The low germination rate might be because the seeds were left over from last year, but they might not be done yet. We'll see. Anyway, I've been keeping the pot covered in plastic wrap, and well-misted with water mixed with a bit of epsom salts. When the seedlings started to come up, I propped the plastic wrap up with little sticks, to keep it from crushing them. I hope I can uncover them soon, but the weather needs to be a bit warmer and sunnier first.

These are all basil. One of Minette, one of Siam Queen (Thai basil), and one of Sweet Genovese. I planted the seeds yesterday, so hopefully there will be sprouts soon.

What's happening outdoors?

The Beloved's hydrangea bush is ALIIIIVE!

The beebalm has started growing between the pathway stones. I love the natural rustic sort of look of that.

I thought that the clematis was dead. I nearly pulled it up! I'm so glad I decided to wait - it's growing like crazy now.

If you look at these last few pictures, you can see the little divider I made of grey wallstone. I plan to do the next side as well, once I can get over my reluctance to carry 42 lb of stone home by hand again.

That's probably enough for one post. Next post: eggs for tomatoes!