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.

Project #1: Seedlings: First Seedlings!

First of all, look at how my two garlics are growing!

I just realized that there's tinsel under that box? The cat must have put it there??? I don't understand, we had no tinsel this Christmas...

Anyway, on to the seedlings.

I must be honest. It had been well over two weeks, and I was despairing. At around 10 days, I checked the soil, wondering why nothing had deigned to sprout for me. To my surprise, it was dry under the first few milimeters. I'd been noticing that the little containers seemed to go dry very quickly, but I was misting them several times a day, so I thought it was fine. After discovering the dryness, of course, I decided to try another tactic and began watering from the bottom every few days, and pouring water directly on top every day. That seemed to work better.

But still there was no sign of anything sprouting, not even when I watered them yesterday (so, at day 16).

Then, this morning, I went to do the watering, and suddenly, there were sprouts. Three different containers had sprouted:

The thyme;

The Candy-Stripe Cosmos:

and the lavender:

This isn't a plant but it is cute:

She thinks I'm an idiot for freaking out over tiny green things.

How or why they all seemingly sprouted overnight, I'm not sure. I did have a weird dream right before I woke up this morning - something about pulling a big plant out of my seedling pots and seeing that the seeds had started sprouting. An interesting coincidence - I think maybe I noticed the sprouts subconsciously or something when I watered them yesterday? Well, whatever caused it, I'm pretty darn excited. Here's hoping they survive!

Project #1: Kitchen Composter plus Bonus Picture

The Kitchen Composter. Eco-friendly? Probably. Laurence-friendly? We'll see.

So the other day, I saw this at work. It was the only one there, and since I was feeling paranoid about my plants not getting enough nutrients and such, I bought it. It's stainless steel and has a filter in the lid to prevent any smells. And, it is pretty adorable for something that is essentially a little garbage digester.

Of course, after the fact, I do a bit of research, and it seems that I won't be able to actually make compost in such a tiny bin? I'm thinking that I may have to get another, larger one to keep on the patio, which is annoying, as I must ensure it is a) smell-proof, so as not to upset the neighbors or the strata; b) rat-proof, because we live right by the dumpsters and rats like to frolic about in our shrubbery; and c) inexpensive and reasonably attractive.

I really like the idea of a worm composting bin. Worms are cool and not smelly, and worm castings are supposed to be excellent compost. I wonder if I could get a few worms and just put them right in the bin? I do keep the bin indoors, after all. I'm seriously considering joining a gardening community online just so I can bother them with my asinine inquiries.

Anyway, in the meantime, I've been trying to be careful about what I put in my compost.

Pretty, pretty garbage.

That means nothing with seeds (such as tomato seeds) that might decide to randomly grow, no dairy, no meat or fat, etc. I do put my used teabags in, after removing the labels and staples. It seems to be handling it all well so far.

Meanwhile, today is Day 9 of Project #1. Here is what our garlic looks like now:

So proud of that stupid little sprout!

That's a terrible picture, but you get the idea. I'm not sure why the soil is cracking, since I keep it pretty moist. Well, whatever, as long as my sprout is happy.

Unfortunately, that is the only thing that has sprouted so far. I know I should be patient, but I'm starting to get worried. Seven of my seeds could have germinated by now, but haven't. I don't want to have to start over, but I guess I will if I have to. I refuse to give up, damn it!

And now, for the bonus picture, the thing everyone wants to see: my cat.

She is proud of the garlic sprout too. We look at it together. Seriously.

Project #1: Seedlings: Day 5

Accused of attempted murder.

So this morning I get up to make the caffeine I require in order to survive, and I discover that Gala Apple V had been knocked over in the night. And it was clear who the antagonist was.

Caught returning to the scene of the crime.

I'm pretty sure that it was accidental, as my cat is actually normally very good around plants. Although I've caught her a few times before rubbing her face against the seedlings, making them tip precariously, this is the first time one actually fell over. As you can see, I have yet to buy a tray for my impromptu apple pots, so maybe once I get one they'll have more stability.

I fixed Gala Apple V back up - fortunately, only a bit of the top soil was disturbed, the seed stayed nicely put away - and will buy them all a tray today.

Besides that, I will have yet another look for Bee Balm. I don't want to buy it online because then I will be tempted to buy other things as well (you know, to 'make it worth the shipping', that age-old justification of online shopping addicts everywhere). I don't even get paid until this Friday and I already have plans for all of my spare cash.

Nothing has sprouted above the soil yet, and I'm very disappointed. It's hard not to try and take another look at how the garlic is doing, but I've resisted so far. Tomorrow, I'm not so sure. Savory is supposed to be 5-21 days to germinate, so there's a tiny possibility that I'll see it soon.

Turns out that gardening from seed isn't ideal for the impatient. Maybe this will be good for me. Maybe I'll become veritably Zen-like in my patience and lofty moral character. Or, maybe I'll end up digging furtively through soil every night to see if my garlic has grown another millimeter yet.