Branching Out

A friend was doing some “spring cleaning” in her yard about a week or so ago. Not normally a thing I get too excited about, except I found out she was hacking at a huge curly willow bush! One phone call with that kind of information can send a “scrounging for free stuff” kind of gal like me into a frenzy. I went to her place as quickly as possible and loaded the back end of our Subaru with the long clippings.

Let them dry up for a while in a dry place, strip the leaves with a leather-gloved hand, and, voila! Instant container fillers! I gave more than half of them to my mother and put the rest into a big container in my entryway and some in our bath. We rarely use this tub, so I had no issues having the twigs swirl and coil all over the place.

Fun, interesting and cheap (I refuse to pay for dead twigs at a craft store. SO overpriced!!). Now I’m on the hunt for pussywillows. They should be peaking about now, I think. Love making wreaths out of them for spring. They are great shoved into giant containers, too. So just look in your yard, nearby forest, or even your neighbor’s yard for great decor items, and find interesting containers (need to be fairly heavy to not tip!) to cram them into. Instant art. I swear.

Easy Seedling Markers

We decided the time was right to start our seeds indoors. We like using those “Jiffy” containers with the clear lids and found the normal seed markers were too tall to fit under the lid. Using stuff we had in the house  - I came up with these little guys.

Mailing label stickers, toothpicks and permanent markers and you’ve got some easy markers. I used 2 labels, sandwiching the toothpick. You could make a smaller one by folding the label in half, too.

Another reuse/recycle idea for getting your seeds started is to use all the paper pulp egg cartons (Easter leftovers if your recycling hasn’t already gone out!). We did a batch of seeds in those as well. Just be sure to cut the rows first, so you’re not trying to tear them apart after the dirt and plants are in. Also put them on a tray of some kind – they are paper pulp and not water tight. But when you’re ready to plant, you can just plant the egg carton cup at the same time. And a final reuse for recyclables, is to save any to-go containers with the black bottoms and clear tops (Applebees has these) and use them like you’d use the Jiffy containers. These worked great for the additional seeds we planted (my son got a seed kit from the Easter Bunny this year). So far our broccoli and corn have sprouted! I can’t wait to get them all in the ground, but first it has to stop snowing.