Planning and the Unplanable: Paper Pots

As winter was coming to an end I could see my garden beginning to green, blossoms opening and the days slowly getting longer.  I had things all planned out - the first week of spring was going to be a flurry of seed sowing, weeding, mulching and turning of soil with my homemade compost.  None of it happened of coarse.  My first set back was strep throat, my youngest got it then I came down with it myself.  It's the sickest I've been since I got the flu when I was 15.  Then there was a trip to see my family which was meant to be a well deserved break after all my gardening, but, after a week of strep it was bliss.  Then there was a week of the kids vomiting followed closely by another cold virus that passed from the kids to both Mamma and Pappa Bear.  Not the start to spring I had planned.

One thing I did manage to sneak in here and there was stripping back our old office that will soon become my scullery.  I'm so excited.  I love bright colours and being a space I can play around with I'm thinking turquoise.

All stripped ready for a sugar soap scrub to get rid of any
wallpaper paste then a plaster, sand and prime.

Turquoise, red and white - with custom coloured mason jars.  Bright and friendly.

Now that things are back to normal I used my Sunday morning to make loads of paper pots and get a good amount of seeds sown for the season ahead.  I love these paper pots, they're easy to make, save my seedlings from the shock of transplant, and best of all, they are FREE!  Here's how I make them.

You need:
Newspaper
Scissors
Toilet Roll
Wooden Spoon
Seedraising Mix
Seeds

Step 1: Cut newspaper into about 12-15cm wide strips, horizontally.
The local paper and the Herald cut into 3 strips perfectly.

The papers are still folded in half in the picture below.

Step 2: Roll one strip around a toilet roll

with about half of the paper on the roll and half off

 

Step 3:  Twist the end like a candy wrapper

Step 4:  Push twisted end into the tube

Step 5: On a flat surface push base flat with the handle of a wooden spoon.

Step 6: Slide off the tube and repeat, repeat, repeat...

Step 7: Fill with soil and seeds then water and wait for the magic to begin

When your seedlings are ready to go into the garden you can pop the entire paper pot in the ground and the plants won't suffer from moving like they do when evicted from other types of plastic pots.  I planted just a few seeds of lots of varieties today, corn, watermelon, gherkins, cucumber, basil, beans, broccoli, celery to name a few.  So we'll have a good selection and not too much of anything over summer.

One more thing, there is one thing I paid for, I brought a huge pack of large ice block sticks some time ago to make labels.  You could use them whole but if you're cheap like me you'll want to cut them in half before labelling and pushing down the side of your pots.  Happy gardening!

Simple and Delicious : Steamed Tofu with Ginger and Soy Dressing

I recently visited family in Auckland and while I was there got a few packs of fresh tofu - one thing I really miss living rural.  Pappa Bear and I used to enjoy our weekend strolls though the Asian supermarkets in Northcote, all the seaweed, mushrooms, spices and sauces an adventurous cook could ask for.  And snacks of steamed rice with banana leaves and weird but tasty fillings.

I wanted to enjoy the simple taste and beautiful  texture of our tofu last night so I steamed it and served it with a really simple sauce.  The Binito flakes finished the dish nicely, you could add a splash of fish sauce if you don't have any.  Thinly sliced spring onion would be perfect sprinkled over the top, but since mine are only babies I used broccoli flowers from the garden.

Steamed Tofu with Ginger and Soy Dressing
Serves 4

2 Blocks of Tofu (1 large pack of about 500g standard or plain - not silken, this is too soft)

2T Vegetabe Oil
1T Grated Ginger, Heaped
4 Cloves Garlic, Crushed
2T Soy Sauce
2T Sugar
3T Water
Steamed Rice, Bonito Flakes, Spring Onion (or broccoli flowers) and Veges to Serve

Steam tofu blocks for 10 minutes if steaming them whole, or 5 minutes if you cut into serving sizes.

In a small pan gently heat the oil to medium heat with ginger and garlic.  When garlic begins to brown add remaining ingredients and adjust salt(soy sauce) and sweet to taste.

Serve tofu over steamed rice and vegetable with sauce drizzled over the top.  Scatter over bonito flakes and spring onions to finish.