Tomatoes
The tomato seedlings that atara planted this spring did better than we had expected, so by the time she was done planting we found ourselves with three surplus plants.
Rather than cull the seedlings, I decided that I would pot them up along with my herbs. The problem was that although I had enough spare pots for them, we didn't have as much potting soil as we'd thought.
As a result, the little seedlings baked in their little starter pots while I mulled over possible solutions. I considered buying more potting soil (which we are going to need at some point anyway) versus finding an alternate home for them. We offered them to a friend, but he and his wife planted a "crazy person number" of tomatoes already this year.
The seedlings were starting to look a little unhappy, and I realized that my time was running short if I wanted to save them. I finally decided to plant them at the front corner of the house.
The problem with this front bed is that it's cursed. The only thing that will grow in it is crabgrass, and even that struggles.
According to our former neighbour, part of the problem with the front bed is that the previous owner of this house used to dump coal ash there before they switched the furnace over to natural gas. He only had a layer of topsoil added after his wife complained about having a wasteland of death in the front yard.
I gathered up what little good topsoil we had left, mixed it with a generous amount of slow-release plant food and dug it into the corner bed. When I planted the tomatoes, I lined the holes for them with a slurry of bone/blood meal and water.
It's been a few days. I'm keeping them well-watered and monitoring them.
Two of them seem to be perking up. The third ... hasn't died. I'm counting this as a win.
I reheated a pancake for breakfast yesterday, and my overall breakfast looked like something you would get from a mediocre diner. I think it's the broken yolk that cements the look.
The pancake itself is a tiny bit unusual because I used a technique that I learned about on a British cooking channel. When I made the batter for the pancakes, I separated the eggs and kept the whites aside. Once the batter was mixed up, I whisked up the whites to soft peaks while the batter rested. I folded in the whites again right before pouring the batter into the pan. The result was somewhat lighter, fluffier pancakes than normal. Was it worth the extra work? Not sure - I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison.
Rather than cull the seedlings, I decided that I would pot them up along with my herbs. The problem was that although I had enough spare pots for them, we didn't have as much potting soil as we'd thought.
As a result, the little seedlings baked in their little starter pots while I mulled over possible solutions. I considered buying more potting soil (which we are going to need at some point anyway) versus finding an alternate home for them. We offered them to a friend, but he and his wife planted a "crazy person number" of tomatoes already this year.
The seedlings were starting to look a little unhappy, and I realized that my time was running short if I wanted to save them. I finally decided to plant them at the front corner of the house.
The problem with this front bed is that it's cursed. The only thing that will grow in it is crabgrass, and even that struggles.
According to our former neighbour, part of the problem with the front bed is that the previous owner of this house used to dump coal ash there before they switched the furnace over to natural gas. He only had a layer of topsoil added after his wife complained about having a wasteland of death in the front yard.
I gathered up what little good topsoil we had left, mixed it with a generous amount of slow-release plant food and dug it into the corner bed. When I planted the tomatoes, I lined the holes for them with a slurry of bone/blood meal and water.
It's been a few days. I'm keeping them well-watered and monitoring them.
Two of them seem to be perking up. The third ... hasn't died. I'm counting this as a win.
I reheated a pancake for breakfast yesterday, and my overall breakfast looked like something you would get from a mediocre diner. I think it's the broken yolk that cements the look.
The pancake itself is a tiny bit unusual because I used a technique that I learned about on a British cooking channel. When I made the batter for the pancakes, I separated the eggs and kept the whites aside. Once the batter was mixed up, I whisked up the whites to soft peaks while the batter rested. I folded in the whites again right before pouring the batter into the pan. The result was somewhat lighter, fluffier pancakes than normal. Was it worth the extra work? Not sure - I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison.