The Daily Fuss

{What the Fuss?} Muddy Buddies

During the week, I am an attorney and legal technologies consultant. (This likely sounds less dorky than it actually is). I routinely meet with clients and need to appear well-groomed and professional Monday through Friday.

On the weekends, I garden. It's a dirty job, but the satisfaction I get from giving my green thumb a workout is worth devolving into a sweaty, muddy mess by day's end. It's worth it, as long as I keep my hands protected properly.

I have learned the hard way that, even with short nails, it is NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE to get dirt out from under them quickly. Cuticles are another story.

I would suffer with a nail brush in the shower, scrubbing away at fingertips already sore from shoveling, digging, amending or tilling until I found the world's best gardening gloves a few years ago.

Mud Gloves are a revelation. Specifically, I am addicted to the Cool Mud version. The manufacturer describes them as follows:

The seamless knit shell is form fitting and flexible. The palm is double coated with micro-surface latex, creating a superior grip for working with tools in wet and dry conditions. Machine washable, these gloves are perfect for wet and muddy jobs. The level of fit and function of the Cool Mud glove is absolutely amazing.

These handy helpers are $9 on Amazon. They also abound at local garden centers and supermarkets. If you garden, Cool Mud gloves are definitely worth a try.

I love these gloves because they feel as close to non-existent as you can get with a glove. They protect my hands and are cute too.

I rotate three pair on any given day because I do manage to completely submerge them quite often. For the waterproof version, check out Mud H2O. 

If you're in search of the perfect pair of gardening gloves, or looking for a gift for someone with a green thumb, these Cool Mud gloves deserve a try.

Head over to FB for a chance to win a pair of your own!

{Piteresting} Spider Solution

Pinterest says: Spiders hate peppermint!  Put some peppermint oil in a squirt bottle with a little water and spray your garage, basement, door frames, windows, closets and dark corners.

This season feels particularly spider-friendly to me. Maybe it's the excessive heat and plentiful food supply for our arachnid friends.

While I realize the importance of spiders - mainly to control the population of other pesties, we have been getting bitten.

I'm over it. And, I'm going to try this spray and see whether there's any science to it.

According to the interweb googlemachine, lice, mice and other insects don't like peppermint either.

Has anyone out there tried this? Did you successfully keep spiders at bay? Please post a comment and share your fuss with us.

Abundance

When I told my neighbor about the 800 pounds of sand I put in Lei's new sandbox he said, "Wow. You don't really do anything halfway. Do you?"

That pretty much sums it up.

Friends and family members had similar reactions to my commitment to plant twelve tomato plants this spring. "You'll have a bumper crop," said one. "I guess I don't have to shop for vegetables this summer," declared another. "I give you 'til July 'til you're sick of it," said my mother.

Umm hmm. Go big or go home, I say. No one will ever accuse me of being lazy.

I bought these plastic connector thingies from Improvements and had 2x8s cut at the Ho Depot. I wanted something that could easily be removed if I decided gardening's not my thing. They seemed rather temporary ... until I filled them with several square yards of dirt, of course.

 
They aren't my favorite-looking beds, but they're working quite well, and are slowly being covered by tasty foliage. The garden is in full swing at the moment.

 
Maybe I'm just overly impressed with myself because this is my first gardening experience, but I check my flowers, shoots, sprouts and burgeoning fruits several times each day to monitor progress.

I have twelve tomato plants total - most of which are heirloom: 2 Big Mama, 2 Italian Ice, 2 Honeybunch, 1 Black Krim, 1 Big Rainbow, 1 Supersteak, 1 Brandywine, 1 Red Lightning and 1 Tye-dye. I nearly lost them during the alternating rain/scorching heat we had early on, but they are thriving now. I divided them into three beds. The bush tomatoes are split between two beds with Fairy Tale Eggplant and several varieties of peppers: Pinot Noir, Great Stuff, Bananarama, Golden Giant, Red Delicious, Costa Rican Sweet and The Godfather.

  
 
The climbers are mixed in the root and leaf beds where I have Kaleidoscope Carrots and Sweet Kohlrabi (that I accidentally planted in the same row - ugh), Bull’s Blood Beets, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, as well as Red, Green and Yellow Flying Saucer lettuces, and summer-Long Leaf lettuces.

  
I also have Spacesaver and Lemon Cucumbers surrounding the beds on two sides and Summer Squash on a third. I planted Mara Des Bois Strawberries in two planters temporarily and I still need to figure out what the heck to do with those for the next two years.

 
I have beans and peas in hanging baskets - although it's soon to be just beans since the peas can't take the heat. I will launch those again this fall.

 
I have several Basils, marigolds and Sweet Alyssum tucked beneath the tomatoes and peppers and have started a round of fall herbs including, Fennel, Chocolate Mint, Thyme and Boxwood Basil.

 

  
I'm having a lovely time so far - most likely because I haven't had to pick much of anything yet. If all goes according to plan, I will have more food than I know what to do with. I might even need to get into canning to avoiding wasting any of my yield.

Another project you say? Yes. That's exactly what I need.