G Freden

How's it going, Charli?  Are your daily readings showing improvement?

Jason Hernandez wrote:If I could afford it, all of my socks would be wool, even in hot weather. I have bone spurs in my toes, and the hotter my feet are, the less they hurt. Roasting is best. Since I can't keep them permanently submerged in a hot spring, wearing wool socks is the next best thing.

Maybe it's time to learn to knit!  Seriously though, I love my handknit wool socks and they hold up better than any wool (or other fibre) socks I've ever purchased.

I think you could sell it on ebay or etsy as stuffing.  I'm sure there are people who want to stuff their toys/cushions/etc with natural fibres--I know I certainly would.  If it does actually felt, you could mention that as a selling point too;  I would just make sure to plainly state it's not suitable for spinning.

If your ingredients are likely to be infested with seedling-eating creatures (like slugs!) then yes, sterilise.  Or if they are full of weed seeds.  Otherwise, I wouldn't bother--too much effort and kills the good stuff, particularly from the worm castings.

I have bought woven wool fabric off ebay before.

I found this picture on someone's blog, though I can't seem to find if she did a separate post on it.  Still, look at that right knee!

Source: https://yarntangler.com/2017/03/05/sockywocky-doo-dah/

I don't do a lot of direct seeding because there's too much slug pressure here.  I can get the earliest stuff in direct this month--early peas and broad beans mainly--as the slugs aren't active yet.  In a few weeks time, I won't get much success.  I agree that direct seeded plants are much hardier than transplants (and slugs will eat transplants too).

Are they sprouting yet?  I think I made my own seed mix once with equal parts compost and sand and it seemed to work fine, but I don't really do a traditional compost these days, as my chickens now get all our food and garden waste.

I much prefer the dailyish the way it is.  Plain and direct is exactly how I like it.

My due date for child Three is in about two weeks, and as I had to give up gardening while pregnant, this is my kind of topic.  I look forward to some digging and planting soon in the future!

Wihen our oldest was very small, I either parked him asleep in his stroller or carried him in the sling to garden.  When he started walking, he just came with me and "helped."  I really thinking having the kids with you and helping is important, as they learn more than just gardening--they learn self control, respect, and how to work--among other things.  Yes, you could do it faster without them.  But I think having them do it themselves, or help at least, is setting up a good foundation for the future.  Our oldest son is now a (mostly) good worker and I can trust him to do all sorts of jobs around the house and garden;  he's almost ten now.  He sometimes wishes he could be like his friends and not have chores!  But it's setting him up to be an adult, and he'll know how to do all sorts of things his friends won't.

Also, I see it as training him to be a good husband/partner/etc.  I think this is especially important for boys, as I know it's hard on a woman (and on a marriage) to have to take care of not just the kids but the husband too;  I think this expectation isn't as strong as perhaps it was in the past, and my husband isn't completely useless like some men I know, but I would certainly find it much easier if he took on an equal share of the house and garden work.  

Summer Morning by Carl Larsson