March Garden Plans

 I was so glad to see the arrival of March.

February brought record low temperatures here. Some winters we get cold weather, but usually it does not last long. But this year we had morning after morning for weeks of frigid temperatures. I don't think I ever remember so many mornings that registered in the negative digits.

But March began with yet more snow. The photos here were taken on March 6. You can see my grapevine that did not get pruned in February and the garden in front of it certainly did not warm up and dry out yet.

I am grateful for the large windows that bring in lots of light on these snowy days. Since this room faces our backyard, Ed persuaded me to not hang any drapes. I am so glad for every bit of light in the winter.

I actually enjoy snow. If it is going to be cold, it might as well snow imo. Since I don't need to go anywhere and my shelves are still full of the garden produce from last year, I can enjoy being holed up indoors. But after a while...when Legos, puzzles, and playdough has lost its appeal and is replaced with jumping off the couch, pestering your sister, and fighting with your brothers - then I'm ready for the snow to melt.

But there is hope. Snow doesn't stay long in March. Today the temperature reached the fifties. We plowed through our schoolwork quickly and rushed outdoors to take advantage of the warmth. I even hung out some laundry and pruned those grapevines. March may tease us with yet more snow and cold, but the swelling buds herald that spring is coming.

Here is some of the garden tasks for this month in my zone 6 garden.

1. Prepare garden soil

Beautiful, healthy dirt makes beautiful healthy plants. This is the time of year that I like to add a layer of lime and unload my compost pile into the garden. Of course, it is going to be a while until it dries out enough so that I can walk in the garden so it might be April before I can actually get into my garden. If you've never taken a soil test, you may consider doing one this month.

2. Draw up a garden plan

I jotted down a few notes but I want to make a more detailed plan. I look at my past records so that I don't plant the same plant in the same place for at least two years. Crop rotation will help halt the spread of disease and insect pests.

3. Plant early vegetable seeds

As soon as the garden is dry enough to be worked, I like to plant the early vegetable crops. Peas, potatoes, onions, spinach, and lettuce are some of the earliest. In our area, I've heard the old timers say that St Patrick's Day (March 17) is the time to plant peas and Good Friday (April 3 this year) is the perfect potato planting day. But I will just pick a dry day that is suitable for my husband to help.

4. Start indoor seeds

Tomatoes, peppers and flowers should be started in early March to be set out when the danger of frost is past. If you have cold hardy plants such as broccoli, cabbage and lettuce started, they can be moved to a cold frame or planted in a protected area this month. I sometimes plant these cold hardy plants in the garden and protect with row cover, hoop house or milk jugs.

I started a few cold hardy plants in February. I often wonder why I bother starting plants as I can buy nicer plants at a greenhouse in a few weeks. But in February I long to get my hands in the dirt so I amuse myself by starting a few seeds. But I don't have a good place to start seeds—like a good light—so I won't attempt to start tomatoes.

Here is my super simple method.

I fill old plant packs with soft potting soil and place the packs in an old cake pan.

I gently place one seed in each tiny pot and dust a little soil over it.

I pour water in the cake pan (not the plant packs) so the soil will absorb the water without disturbing the seeds.

With tape and a marker, I label the sides of the pan. I have found that if I use sticks, they often fall out or get moved.

I cover the pans with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place (the top of my refrigerator.) The goal is a nice warm humid environment.

When the seeds sprout (which took three days for me) remove the plastic wrap and sit them in the sun.

My only convenient spot is a wide windowsill in my basement. This is a sunny spot and next to my washing machine so I can keep an eye on it every day.

5. Clean up flower beds

Already I see a few emerging spring blooming bulbs. Soon I will pull back the mulch, clear out any weeds that I missed last fall, and cut back any perennials. As the perennials sprout out, I like to divide any that need it as soon as possible to reduce the stress to the plants. I may add some compost around the plants as well. I might add some pansies for some extra spring cheer.

6. Start sweet potato plants.

I haven't planted sweet potatoes for several years because they take up so much room—which we never have an abundance of in our garden. But I do love sweet potatoes so I'm going to try to find a spot this year, even if it means giving up something else.

I wrote about starting sweet potato plants from a sweet potato several years ago—and strangely is it the most popular post I've ever written. Year round, that post has hundreds of readers every week. Who would have thought?

Anyway, I plan to put a sweet potato into water this week to get a start on sweet potato plants. If I can't find the garden space I can probably find some other gardener who will appreciate the plants. If nothing else, the children can have the fun of watching the sprouts emerge from the sweet potatoes.

Are you excited about March? What are your garden plans?

For more garden information, see my Garden Page.

Yo-yo projects

My ten-year-old enjoys hand sewing but I am running out of ideas for her. She has done quite a bit of embroidery - but you don't need an endless number of embroidered pillow cases.



Her aunt gave her this Clover yo-yo maker for Christmas. It makes yo-yo-making so simple and she has had so much fun turning fabric scraps into yo-yos.

But then what?



She sewed some of her creations into a rectangle and we are enjoying it in the middle of our dining room table. I suppose we could make a bedsize throw with them but I'm looking for some other idea that would use a lot of yo-yos of random colors.

Do you have any suggestions?

Winter Reads

Some of the books that have been on my stack this winter...



The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
I had heard much about this book and thought I knew its message without reading it. But I enjoyed it more than I expected. Ramsey gives a simple step-by-step method for managing your money. If you don't know where to begin, he makes it very simple (but maybe not easy) to get control of your spending.

If I would state one thing that I didn't care for in The Total Money Makeover it would be the self-centered attitude. (Please don't attack me all you Ramsey fans!) I'd still recommend the book.

Reading about finances made me interested enough to pull another book off our shelf that I had never read.



Kingdom-Focused Finances for the Family by Gary Miller
To me, Miller went one step further than Ramsey. Through stories of his financial counseling experiences and real life examples, Miller approaches finances through a vision of stewardship. Much of his advice echos Ramsey's but this book is from a deeply Christian (Anabaptist) perspective. I'm not sure anyone could read this book without being convicted in some area. This book also went in far more detail than Ramsey's in areas like communicating with your spouse about money. Highly recommended.



Life in a Global Village by Gary Miller
My parents gave us this short book for Christmas. If all the world were shrunk into one village of 100 people, what would they look like? Where would you fit? Through photos, charts, and simple graphics, this convicting book will open your eyes to the reality of the world's economy. If you ever are tempted to compare yourself to your neighbors and feel like you are lacking, read this book. Simple enough for your children to understand. After enjoying two of Gary Miller's books, I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.

And on the financial topic...

Pennywise published by Keepers at Home
The Keepers at Home magazine occasionally prints what they call a Keeper's Book - a single topic book with a feel of a magazine with articles and stories from various authors. Pennywise is the latest addition to the Keeper's Book. The authors are Amish and Mennonite who bring a variety of perspectives on money managing. Some of the articles ramble and (in my opinion) are poorly written. Other articles are well written such as Sheila Petre's perspective on giving in "Ledges of Joy", Crystal Steinhauer's shopping tips and Florence Fox's funny account of her first budget. Stephanie Leinbach, Regina Rosenberry, and Dianna Overholt also have excellent articles as well as some others. In an attempt at full disclosure (though I find it sorta embarrassing - how do authors talk about their own books?) I'll mention that three of my articles are printed in the book. I'll let you decide which of the two categories they fit. I did enjoy most of the book. Since Keepers at Home are Amish, they have no website but you can find Pennywise here.



My Heart in His Hands by Sharon James
I have always been fascinated by the story of Ann Judson, who followed her husband to Burma to be on of the first American foreign missionaries. I can't imagine the trials Ann suffered to share Christ so far from all comforts of life. Though her life was short, Ann Judson influenced a generation of missionaries. I liked this book because it quoted a lot from Ann's letters and journals. Read if you want to be inspired by her example of surrender.



Good to Great by Jim Collins
Some great books are worth revisiting. I had read Good to Great over ten years ago but found it as good as I remembered. In Good to Great, Collins shares his huge amount of research on what made some companies go from mediocre to outstanding. The answers were not what Collins expected. Though this book is relating to the business world, I found a lot of co relations to church, family, and relationships. If you ever wished to leave mediocrity behind, the insights in this book are worth considering.

(To my local friends - I own all these books - and I love to share books - so just ask if you'd like to borrow one.)

What good reads did you find this winter?

This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to Amazon and purchase any item (not just these books) a small amount is shared with me at no extra cost to you. Thank you.

Help Me Get to Church on Time

I like to be on time.

And my husband really likes to be on time.

But somehow in twelve years of marriage I missed the fact that Ed's definition of "on time"  and my definition were not the same.

My goal is to get to church in enough time to walk (not run) inside, hang up my coat, and settle on the bench before the first song.

We have a twenty minute drive to church. So it is not unreasonable to me to think of leaving at 9:00 to be at church before the 9:30 service.

But typically, quite a bit before 9:00, Ed is herding the children into the van. When we pull into the church parking lot at ten minutes after 9, I groan. All I'm thinking about is the twenty extra minutes I will need to sit with a wiggly one-year-old on my lap who does. not. like. to. sit. (And all you who go to church with us know that is an understatement.)

A few months ago, we pulled into church at our typical time. I sighed and said, "We didn't have to leave home so early."

Ed looked at me and said, "This is when I like to arrive."

That is when I realized that my definition of "on time" and Ed's definition of "on time" were not the same. I'm not sure why I missed it all these years. And since I believe that I need to adapt to my husband's wishes as much as possible, that meant that my definition needed to change.

I did to some sleuthing. "When did your parents get to church when you were a boy?" I asked.

"Oh, we usually were at church so early that we sat in the car for a while before going in. And the years that my dad was a trustee, we were the first to get to church so he could unlock the doors."

Gulp. Ed's parents had six children. Plus they were dairy farmers who had cows to milk before church. If they could be the first ones to church (and their service began at 9:00 not 9:30) I don't think any excuse of mine is going to work.

And Ed must be passing on the early-to-church gene. Any time we are running close on time (not with Ed, of course, but when I'm driving the children somewhere) my children start hyperventilating if we are not at least ten minutes early.

Of course there are times when even the best laid plans go awry. Like the recent evening that I was taking the children to singing class only to find the van battery dead. Ed worked at jumping the battery but finally gave up and told me to take the truck. A few miles down the road he called to remind me that the truck was very low in gas and I needed to stop at the first possible gas station. That evening, we were not on time by anyone's definition.

The next week the children wanted to start out twice as early "just in case."

He has taught them well. They remember the Sunday morning a few months ago that we were headed to another church where Ed was to preach. As usual, I thought we left at a ridiculously early time. But halfway to church, we spotted some cattle dashing across a field almost to a very busy highway. We pulled over and with the help of blasts from our horn, were able to head the cattle back across the field away from the road. Ed considered his options. He is a farm boy enough to know that the cattle needed to get back in their pen but following those cattle across the muddy field in his dress shoes and suit didn't sound appealing.

Thankfully we spotted the farmer in a four-wheeler headed out of the barnyard and we could proceed on our way feeling like we helped to avert a disaster but the situation was now in good hands. And we were still the first people to church that morning. Ed pointed out to our children the wisdom in allowing extra time so that we had time to stop and help others.

So with all this pressure from my family, I need your help.

Tonight begins a week of revival services at our church. I know from experience that it is going to be hard to get out the door every night on time. Especially Ed's "on time" which will include being at the prayer meeting a half an hour before the service each night. (And less you get the wrong idea, Ed is awesome at helping wash up supper dishes and tie shoes to help us get out the door.)

I really want our week to go well. I know from experience that a mom who is frustrated and yelling for everyone to "hurry up and get ready" is not a good way to prepare for a revival service. 

What tips do you have to function well on a busy week of revival meetings? How do you organize your day to make your evening rush less stressful? 

I only have one tip - Start early. 

I learned this as a girl growing up in a house with only one shower for eleven people. As a farming family, everyone had to file through that one bathroom before church. If you happened to be one who didn't have chores, or who completed your chores early, you had better get your shower done at the earliest possible opportunity. Woe be to the one who is found in the shower if they had an opportunity to get it done earlier. The pounding on the bathroom door was warning enough to not allow that to happen again.

When my children were all young (those years that I had four children ages five and younger) starting early was the only way to save my sanity. Have you ever tried to get several sleepy, grumpy children through their bath while also attempting to fix supper? It doesn't work. I learned that on the nights that we were going away and the children needed baths, to give them their bath before their afternoon nap. Then when they woke up, I could read stories while watching supper and waiting for Ed to come home. It majorly lowered our stress level. After supper I could slip them into their church clothes (somehow dressing them before supper never worked) and quickly comb their hair.

Now that my children are older and can get their own showers, a lot of the craziness to get out the door has decreased. Fewer persons relying on me to find their shoes and button their shirts saves a lot of time, but still, starting early, earlier than I even think I need, is still a sanity saver.

So that is my tip - now please share yours!

And extra credit to anyone with a cure for one-year-olds who hate church. And sleeping pills don't count.