To all who mother. Here is my mother’s day gift: a strawberry pot with strawberry plants! I picked it up early, but the plants seem to be happy next to the cucumber jar, which is an old glass tea jar. The tea jar has a hole where the spigot used to be, so drains well. Time will tell if the cucumbers like it. There is more sunlight here than in the previous location. The water comes from my rain barrel, which was my gift last year. Yay growing things.
I’ve been holding onto some empty helium tanks, determined that I can recycle or upcycle them, rather than take them somewhere for recycling. My idea was to turn them into outdoor planters. So I got out the angle grinder and fit it with a metal cutting blade, then clamped the tank into my work bench so it wouldn’t wiggle.
It wasn’t hard to cut the top off; it took longer to grind the edges so they weren’t vicious sharp. I did what I could with the angle grinder, then used a file. I then flipped the tanks over and drilled drain holes with a stepped drill bit. While my youngest wanted me to leave them pink, I just couldn’t do it. I used black and silver spray paint to obscure the writing.
When the paint was dry I filled them with dirt and set up some extra drip line. I put onion seeds in one and watermelon seeds in the other. We’ll see if anything grows! At least they look good.
In reading into japanese honeysuckle as an invasive species, I also found that it has culinary and medicinal uses. To try it out, I followed the advice from this article. I gathered fresh blossoms (about a cup), brought them to a boil in two cups of water, simmered down to one cup, decanted the liquid, and added a cup of sugar. It does have a pretty color and an interesting taste. I tried another batch with local honey, and the honey taste really overpowers the honeysuckle. However, since there are potential medicinal uses, the plant stays! I also read that the leaves are edible parboiled, and you can make baskets from the vines. It stays.
The honeysuckle is in bloom again, and again I think wistfully that I can only share a picture and not the heady scent. Although if I could, it would probably knock your socks off. The source of the heavy fragrance is the Japanese honeysuckle that the previous owners planted. Turns out it is an invasive species. We have planted native yellow and red honeysuckle, which are also doing well, but not nearly as well as the japanese variety. I can see why it is a problem: it is hard to cut down something so pretty and fragrant. Ours is climbing on a metal arbor, so not strangling trees or brush, but I do need to keep an eye on the runners.
I have read and been told that mint will take over a garden area. I have been trying to get this to happen at various houses in various garden locations for over 20 years. This house, on the side between the house and the chickens, is finally the spot. The chocolate mint is going bonkers. It has spread from its pot and is taking over the hill, which will be awesome.
I have so much I feel OK trying some fresh herb tea. I took 5-10 mint leaves, washed them, poured boiling water over them, and let it sit for about 5 minutes before take the leaves out with a spoon. It tastes good! It doesn’t have the dark color of dried leaf tea, but it smells and tastes nice especially when warm.
Critters and Craft 