Sunday Bits #61 - New Year's Eve

Dwarf Hannah's Prize, an open-pollinated tomato.

Welcome to the last Bits post of the year, and what a year it has been, eh? Looking forward to seeing what 2024 has to bring. Check out some of these fun rituals that folks traditionally do on the eve of the new year in my New Year's Eve post : ) Have a great evening!

Okay on to all these fun Bits that I have been gathering for you for the past 2 weeks. There are quite a few this week as last week was Christmas.

In The Garden Bits....

The sale on heirloom tomato seeds ends January 2nd! I got my order in a few days back, it is on it's way! TomatoFest is a super good company, I have been growing their seeds for a great many years and you usually always get a personal note from Gary.

Did you know that tulips last longer if you do not water them? Or they do not get much rainfall? I had no idea! So, that explains why the tulips under the eaves of my workshop lasted much longer than the ones in my long potager/garden beds. More fun info in this short read about tulips.

Are you like me and want to read most everything about making your own compost? This is winter composting tips!

How to make compost in 18 days! This would be a great thing to trial in summer, not right now, not anywhere in Canada, hahaha. It is easy though! Start saving your cardboard and other 'browns' now to use in summer.

Can you use leaves to fill your raised beds?

We had a fence around the potager/garden beds to keep the dogs out and the acreage was deer fenced to keep dogs in the yard and deer/bears out.

Different ways to fence in your vegetable garden... depending on who you are trying to keep out. We had deer fencing around the entire acreage and this wooden pencil post fence around the potager to keep the pups out. Penelope used to love digging up carrots!

A really good post about how to successfully start marigolds indoors.

How to grow fruit trees successfully... from planting to feeding and watering. I really love her recommendation for feeding your trees (because that is how I feed mine, lol).

This read about seed catalogs we love.

This is a good idea! How to get Glad's to bloom earlier? Start them indoors ahead of time. I'm not sure that I would do this in the house, but I will certainly start some in the greenhouse to get a bit of a head start on them. Is always such a long wait till they bloom ; )

In The Home Bits

Ten easy things to do in January to stay organised. I love some of these ideas.

What do you think of these backsplash tiles? Not just the colour, but how they look on the wall? I mean, I like it, both the colour and the look, but not sure how easy it is to clean and I know, for sure, that hubs would never go for it.

On the other hand, the backsplash in this adorable tiny little cottage is amazing.

Love this kitchen! It says green and pink but looks like a white and green kitchen to me... It's so pretty, in any case. And do-able.

All these kitchens. Are you looking at a kitchen reno? Need some ideas? This post has them all, from floors to backsplashes, cabinets and more, tons of ideas. My kitchen is done so now I poke through pictures and live vicariously through my daughter, sending her ideas and plans as she looks into doing her big kitchen renovation (which involves building a pantry, too!).

Recipe Bits

Just two recipes this week. I think we are all a bit 'cooked and baked out'.

This one is fun and perfect as we settle into the winter months. Maybe tonight around the campfire? Ten hot chocolate recipes.

Sweet potato muffins for breakfast, made with spelt flour and applesauce. These look and sound yummy to me, must try!

Happy New Year's Eve ~ Tanja