Mini Rose Rescue Notes. 19 March 24.

 Here's one from the first group (yellow flower) that came from a pot that had crispy leaves and dead flowers.  I had cut them back, removed the dead leaves, washed off the original crummy soil, and repotted in good quality potting soil.  That was 21 Feb, so one month.  They get watered with dilute Schultz houseplant fertilizer (7 drops per quart of water) and are now outside 24/7.  I move them into full sun all day long.

This is the first with a flower bud.  It's interesting that happened so quickly.  The new leaves are larger and a richer color, compared to the few remaining original 

It will be nice if they bloom.  I check every day.

Here's the red mini that I gave the same treatment a few days ago.  The flower petal edges already had that sunburn.  They'l get cut off soon.  The plants really didn't miss a beat from that treatment.  They look healthy and vigorous.

These three plants were smaller than the five yellow ones, so I had planted them together but in a larger pot.

The better looking red one is waiting for a new pot.  It needs watering twice a day, so I better get to it.

Still looks very nice.  I think it's a newer variety.

Oops. Replanting Dahlia Seeds. 19 March 24.

 I dropped both 8-packs planted with dahlia seeds and spilled most of them.  So I replanted.

I could see that a number of seeds had germinated.  One seedling remains.  I just put the potting soil back into the eight-packs and replanted with fresh seeds.  Not that much time was lost.

Peaches In Bloom. 19 March 24

 The genetic dwarf peaches are blooming.  I think this one is Garden Globe.

Half of the cover blew off.  I don't know if that will result in peach leaf curl disease.  It was protected for part of the winter.  Now that it's blooming, I should select branches to prune.  I don't want it to be any taller than it is.

This is El Dorado.   A lot smaller.  Might have peaches this year.

Potted Bulbs From Last Fall. 19 March 24.

 I potted these last fall and kept them in the vegetable garden.  The did pretty well.

I either dropped the hyacinths or an animal got into 5em.  Still very colorful.

Frugal Living. New Pot Handles. 19 March 2024.

 Not about gardening at all, but about the gardener.

In the mode of reduce / reuse / repair.  I dropped the crock pot lid.  This gets used almost every week, for at least the past six years.  I precook the chicken thighs for Rufus's dog food in it, overnight, before adding the rest of the ingredients the next day.  The crock pot itself came from a thrift store for $15 or so.  A new one can cost $90 on Amazon although I'm sure bargains are out there.  It's been used hundreds of times.

The knob on the lid broke, not repairable.  I had a car trunk load of stuff to take to Good Will, so I went inside and found a small pan lid for $2.  They are fairly universal, just unscrew the knob and install it on the crock pot lid.

That should last a few years.  I didn't think to look, but since then I found knobs for a few dollars on Amazon and elsewhere, even very similar to the original Crock Pot lid.

Why buy a new one for $90 when you get a perfectly functional one for $2?  And it's 100% reduce / reuse / repair?

This is plastic (maybe Bakelite).  By re-using one, that's one tiny piece less plastic made to pollute later.

I also needed to replace the side handles on this Stainless Steel pot.  It must be 40 years old.  The only thing wrong with it was the badly damaged handles.  Plus, they were solid, no finger space to reduce dropping risk.

There were lots of choices on Amazon for minimal cost.  I took off the old ones, measured - they are ALMOST universal or standardized (I can't find to fit another pot however).  

Ordered, here in a day, and installed.

These are better than the originals.  The finger holes mean less dropping likelihood.  Stainless steel lasts a lifetime, is easy to clean.  If something chars on too much, I use a scrubbing attachment on my electric drill, with some Bar Keepers friend.  It's clean in one or two minutes.   Nothing like those cheap, teflon or other toxic chemical coated cookware that becomes impossible to clean anyway, emits toxic fumes, and doesn't last.

The one negative about this pot (also true for all of those light weight, garbage teflon coated aluminum pots and skillets) is the stainless steel bottom is actually a thin layer of stainless steel on a thicker aluminum base.  That's fine for standard electric or gas stove, but does not work on induction.

That's my extremely rare Frugal / Environmental post for now.