Garden Wake-up Call

Today is the fourth day in a row with highs above freezing. The weather report claims we may get to 60 degrees before nightfall.

Hmmmm.... feels like Spring, doesn't it?

Well, my plants will sure think so.

The snow is all but gone, and there is mud everywhere. We took full advantage yesterday evening, wearing our boots for a puddle-splashing walk around town.

It is February Thaw, when the earth telegraphs a message to every plant in my garden that it's time to wake up! ... but the Winter is far from over.

The snowdrops and crocuses will foolishly start poking their heads out of the ground. If the thaw lasts more than a week, they may be joined by the tips of my tulip bulbs. Grape Hyacinth mounds from last year are already up and greening, even though we won't see blooms on them for another two or three months.

As a gardener, I have to force myself NOT to get out my rake and peek at my carefully tucked-in beds of bulbs. It is so tempting to get outside and get muddy cleaning up all the winter debris from the last few months.

But I know better. Regardless of the gentle blush of green the grass holds, the shrubs are still sleeping. The robins haven't arrived. I know it's best to wait and keep all the beds well-mulched.

It is so hard to be patient.

I have been taking daily tours of the garden. The only signs of life come from the indestructibles. The ground-covers -- creeping charlie and goldilocks. Some of my strawberries are peeking out, too. But my large perennials, my sage and azalea and lavender and clematis are all bare. They are survivors, waiting until the warmth feels real and lasting.

All that's left for an impatient gardener to do is to peek at seed catalogs instead of the garden. I use a few companies that cater to areas with cold-winter climates. My favorite is Johnny's Selected Seeds in Maine.

When I think about what I want to plant, it helps to make a diagram of my garden space and to think about what worked or didn't work last year. Since times are tougher these days, I think I will devote more garden space to vegetables and less to ornamental plants. So I'll make a list of what I want or need to move and diagram how much space I have in sunny, part-sunny, and shady locations.

As I look at seeds, I will think about what will mature early, mid-season, and late. I'll do my best to arrange my plantings one after the other, to make the most of my garden space and provide the most produce for my family. I'll look at the calendar and plan our when to move the compost pile and when to till the garden. This year, we may make a few raised beds. I'll set a date to build them well before planting time.

To me, planning the garden is the best way to spend these few warm days in February. As the children play in the muddy sunshine, I can dream.

In a week or two, it will be cold again, and our bodies may forget this warmth ever came. But I'll be watching the mailbox more than the weather-channel. And when my seeds arrive, we'll have our own miniature garden growing under the lights downstairs.

Call me crazy, but I can't wait.


- Midwest Mom

Laundry Tip: Keeping White Clothes White

My mother taught me this trick when I was getting ready to have my first child. She used it for the infamous "diaper load". I was under the delusion that I was going to put my newborn in cloth diapers. (ha!)

After changing four outfits a day for the first week, I was blessed with a friend who told me that using cloth was environmentally equivalent to using disposable. (Thank you,
Arun D'Souza!) Did I check the science on that one? No! I just gratefully gave myself permission to switch.

In certain cases, my environmentalism is trumped by practicality.

So, if you are a mom who is using cloth diapers, my hat is off to you. If on the other hand, you have boys to keep track of (I have two) and those boys happen to go to a school that requires uniforms (particularly, white shirts), I have news. The same trick that works for diapers will keep those shirts looking like the day you bought them.

The trick is to use the temperature settings on your washer.
I'll explain.

My boys have found new and exciting ways to stain their clothing. During the first week of school, I have washed out grass stains, blood, mud, chocolate milk, pizza splat, cherry juice, Popsicle drippings, greasy hand-prints and ice cream.

You may wonder how this is possible.
They are boys. Anything is possible.

So, to do battle with their mess (at least the laundry mess) I start by treating their shirts as I sort the laundry. I use Shout Gel. It has a little brush on top to work the stain remover into the stains and it is thick enough to stay on the stain as the clothes get washed. I've tried other brands and even thinner versions of Shout. Trust me, get the gel.

I then put all the whites in the washer and wash them with just detergent (no bleach) in COLD water. Why start with cold? Protein stains, like blood, milk, or grass need cold water to work loose from the fibers of your clothes. If you wash in hot water before these stains are out, the heat will set the stain and make a permanent mark on the shirt.

When you hear your washer spinning out the cold water to start the rinse cycle, switch the heat setting to HOT and reset your washer back to the beginning of the wash cycle. Then pour your bleach into your washer's bleach cup, but use no more detergent. The hot water will get out any grease-based stains (i.e. pizza splat!) and the bleach will whiten the whole load.

I know this method uses an extra tub of water. But, if you're a parent washing school uniforms, it really is the way to go. And, according to my own mom, there's no better way to take care of those nasty cloth diapers, either.

Good luck with it!
Remember, we're in this together!

Midwest Mom

The Making of Mud Puppies

Yesterday, we had friends from Ohio come to spend the day with us. It was hot, so in the afternoon, all the kids donned bathing suits to go out in the sprinkler.

They had a great time running and laughing, pouring buckets of water over their heads and over each other's heads. At one point, the four older ones got together to create a big mud wallow and heave gigantic rocks into it, just to see how big of a mud splash they could make. "Cannonball!" they all yelled together, then sploosh! Mud everywhere.

I let them do it. It's summer, after all, and I've heard mud is good for the complexion. Someday some spa will charge $100 for the same thing.

Once they had exhausted themselves we went indoors. Of course, we tried first to squirt the mud off their ears, foreheads, elbows, backs, and back sides. There was no way we could get it all, but we tried. Inside, bathing suits were put immediately into the laundry.

When our guests' mom came to get them, we laughingly told her about the afternoon's adventure. "Sounds like you had fun!" and then a whisper to me, "...thanks for washing the suits!" I sent them away with a basketful of dinner and hugs.

I'm hoping that a day of crazy fun was just what they needed. They were in town because their grandmother is sick in the hospital. So, when they arrived, they were pensive. There was none of that on their way out the door. Just laughter. I like that.

I think that kind of play is really therapeutic for kids. Sometimes you just have to let your kids go a little insane to keep them sane the rest of the time. And it feels so good to watch them be creative (even with mud!) and play themselves totally exhausted.

That is totally worth a little laundry.

Midwest Mom