Hold the presses (an old-fashioned term, I know, but use your imagination), put away your hacksaw (or your serrated knife, my personal favorite garden tool, second only to a pair of scissors), and find another way to satisfy your gardening-itch. Seriously.
For just a little longer, forget the urge to tame those nasty looking banana trees.
You can rake leaves. You can pick up dead limbs. You can sweep. You can plant peas and potatoes and pull the yellow leaves off the kale and collards. But that’s it.
Credit: Jackie Malloy
Credit: Jackie Malloy
Don’t even think about cutting down those ripped and tattered banana leaves. As much as you may want to take advantage of these last remaining cool days to neaten up the garden (and for many of us that means getting rid of last year’s browned, shredded and listing banana leaves), dig deep into yourself and find the strength to resist because sure as shooting, as soon as a new leaf starts to unfurl (and this could happen in hours since the stalk of a banana tree is merely the tight overlay of leaves; there is no trunk there), overnight temperatures could still plunge and that beautiful new growth – so perfect, so green - will be nipped.
Think the cold weather is past? Try to remember standing around in those frigid St. Patrick’s Day parades in mid-March without a hat or a scarf. Try to remember that kind of “spring” cold we can get, what some people call a blackberry winter.
It’s time to divert that pent-up, spring energy/desire to garden into something just as worthy.
It’s time to reclaim your refrigerator. That means taking a good, long look at your condiments.
Credit: Reviewed.com
Credit: Reviewed.com
Raise your hand if you’ve tried to jam some leftovers into your fridge (or ice boxes, the word some of us grew up with) without finding space on the shelves; if you’ve tried to balance small jars on top of larger jars and going up instead of out because, well, there are just too many half-filled, neglected, forgotten, forsaken and crusty bottles of hot sauce, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, fish sauce, capers, horseradish, ketchup, relish, Nutella, mayonnaise, jars of Better Than Bouillon and Newman’s Own Pineapple Salsa.
And then there’s mustard. Boy howdy, how did we get so many kinds of mustard? Dijon mustard, honey mustard, spicy mustard, yellow mustard, brown mustard, hot mustard, Grey-Poupon mustard.
Don’t get me started on pickles. Sweet, sour, Gherkin, cornichons, homemade, sour, kosher, bread and butter. I know, I know. Pickles are not going to go bad. They’re resting in pickle brine after all. But they do take up space. They can be ignored too, especially if they’re too spicy or you forgot about them or they’re tucked away in the back forty or their lids are too ornery and stubborn to deal with.
Have I mentioned jams, jellies or preserves?
But get ready. Clearing out the fridge is an all-day job, especially if you intend to recycle the glass (and why wouldn’t you, especially if your neighbor subscribes to a paid pick-up service). That takes time too. Peeling off labels (not so easy).
Credit: Reviewed.com
Credit: Reviewed.com
Reaching deep into the jar to get at the last stubborn food particles (out, out damn spot). Trying not to choke from the fumes of the final dregs of the hot sauce bottle you’re emptying. Cough, cough, gag, gag. Call the ambulance. I can’t breathe.
In the process, get ready for your next challenge: finding enough counter space for all those jars between the rice cooker, the Cuisinart, the coffee machine, the Magic Bullet, the three cutting boards.
Stuff. Too much stuff. Time to move into an RV. Or buy a second fridge.
Jane Fishman is a contributing lifestyles columnist. Contact her at gofish5@earthlink.net or call 912-484-3045. See more columns by Jane at SavannahNow.com/lifestyle/.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Ignore the weather. Put the garden shear down. The real spring cleaning is needed in the home.
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