10th ave. soapworks

Thus would my former supervisor cheerily call out to me during our busiest, most frantic season.  Or to put it more simply, "Try to try."  And some days, what more can you do?  I've noticed a definite pattern: the quieter my blog, the busier my "real life." I'm not sure if the answer is better time management or a slower-paced life--either would come in handy. As it has been April since I last posted, you can be assured that things are been moving at warp speed around here.  But such exciting stuff!  Here are a couple items on the business side of things: I was contacted by Milwaukee Public Television this spring and asked to recommend an outstanding vendor from the farmer's market I manage for a segment on an upcoming show on my town, Monroe, Wisconsin.  I immediately named a favorite produce vendor but because of scheduling and produce availability conflicts, the next day I found myself and my soap business on the interview roster.  Eeep. Sho...

If you've followed my blog for a long time, you've already seen a post on one of my favorite things to grow--loofah, but I think it's time for another one.  People are often surprised when they learn that loofahs are grown.  No, a loofah isn't a sea sponge, but the mature "skeleton" of a zucchini-like plant.  Everyone knows they are good for the bath but they also make great natural pan scrubbers in the kitchen.  They are so popular that I have to remember to tuck away any that I want to keep myself. I raise three or four plants every year.  Like a zucchini or a cucumber, it likes to spread out with little regard to another plant's personal space.  Here is last year's crop. Early in the summer, the loofahs remained neatly on the trellis: But then they wandered over to the basil: Cozied among the tomatillos: And hung out with the butternut squash: Harvest time was a regular treasure hunt.  But I ended up with about 20 loofahs fr...

Yes, another blog post about my loofahs!!! I thought I'd show you a picture of just one of the enormous loofahs in my garden this year. If you can believe it, I was afraid that I wouldn't get any loofahs at all this summer. The plants I sprouted and transplanted to the garden both died, so I replanted in late spring. As you can see below, the vines grew like crazy, taking over grapevines, pole beans, and cucumbers, and even now in late September, there are new yellow blossoms all the time. It wasn't until late summer that I found some little loofahs had finally begun growing, but they are already much, much bigger than last year's crop. In case you wondered, I'll use many of my loofahs to make a foot scrub soap. ....And after this harvest, I probably won't have to grow any more loofah for a year or two!