Lists, leeks and love stories

This is The Cat, looking all peaceful, but while I wrote this he woke up and ended the day, as he began it it, by demanding to be fed... so he may feature twice on tomorrow's task list.

TODAY I have a little list. I have written 'Tasks of the Day' in large red letters and beneath that I have inscribed the words 'I Must'. I case you wonder, I must feed The Cat, get dressed, ring my mother, finish OU essay, post letters for Younger Daughter, buy food, meet friend for lunch, dry washing, bring dustbin in, put recyling bin out

This last item is due to he fact that late last night, clad in nightie and dressing gown, I put the bin out, only to discover early this morning that today is blue bin day, not black bin day. Once upon a time we had a metal dustbin, into which all the rubbish went, and the dustmen, most obligingly, took it away without complaint. These days I spend hours sorting through our unwanted items to ensure they are placed in the correct receptacle - and haranguing my loved ones if they fail to get it right.

Anyway, back to the list. During the day items were ticked off, entries scratched out and chores added: make a leek and cheese bake, I wrote (after all, it is St David's Day, he is the patron saint of Wales, and one of the Welsh emblems is a leek). Go to bank was another reminder, along with water the house plants.

In the event I failed to dry the washing, I forgot to water the plants, I didn't cook a meal (the Man of the House fell asleep and The Daughters went out). Nor did I complete the OU essay - although I did print off a first draft, which is progress.

On the plus side I did feed The Cat, I did post Younger Daughter's letters, and I did get dressed (before I sorted the bins out, I hasten to add). I even found time to discover why the leek is a Welsh emblem. Apparently King Cadwaladr of Gwynedd, engaged in battle in a leek field, told his men to fix one of the vegetables to their helmet, so they would realise they were on the same side.

Best of all I kept my lunch appoinment and spent a lovely couple of hours with my novelist friend Phillipa Ashley, who has just teamed up with two fellow authors to produce an E-book of short love stories - well, romantic encounters at any rate. They really do need your support, so take a look at their website, and vote for which cover you want to see on their E-book by going to http://romanticbriefencounters.blogspot.com/2011/02/great-cover-debate.html

Meanwhile, at her suggestion, I am writing another list. She has suggested a new approach in my search for a job so, on her advice, I am producing a list of things I enjoy doing, which should focus my thoughts and help me think of the types of work I could do.

Compost Tea

MY compost is rubbish. I have been nurturing it for the last year, to little or no effect.

I carefully save eggshells, tea bags, vegetable peelings, fluff from the tumble dryer, shredded paper and grass cuttings, and into the compost bin they go – but do they turn into dark brown, rich, friable soil perfect for growing seeds, cuttings and vegetables? No, they do not.

They just sit there, looking much the same as they did to start with, and smelling a little whiffy. I have added a ‘starter’. I have watered the bin to keep the contents moist. I have stopped watering in case it was too dry.

I stuck a piece of old carpet on the top to keep it warm beneath the lid, and even tried stirring it to mix everything up and aerate it - a task which required me to stand on a chair while wielding a garden fork .

But nothing seems to work.

So when I saw a copy of The Green Guide to Compost, by Rachelle Strauss (Flame Tree Publishing) in a charity shop I pounced on it with enthusiasm.

There are 256 pages all about composting. As The Daughters remarked, you would not have thought there was so much to say on the subject.

But it seems there is.

And this book explains it all, clearly and simply, with plenty of pictures. It tells you why you should compost (good for the environment, saves money), what to put in it – and what to leave out.

There are ‘recipes’ for getting the mix right, tips about layering , greens, browns, hot composting, cold composting, and advice about the different types of containers available, as well as details on the old-fashioned compost heaps that many gardeners still favour.

I particularly enjoyed the chapter on ‘How to Influence Your Compost Pile’. Would it were that easy, but so far my rotting rubbish maintains a mind of its own, and refuses to be cajoled or persuaded into what I would regard as correct behavior for a compost in the making.

For a while I wondered if the author had tried hypnotising her garden waste into submission, but careful reading revealed that I should pay more attention to micro-organisms. They need oxygen and carbon-rich materials.

There’s a useful chapter on how to tell when your compost is ready (assuming you gave the patience to wait that long), another on how to use your compost, and an excellent section on trouble-shooting when things go wrong (so I shall ignore a suggestion from the Man of the House who says a visit to the garden centre to buy ready-made products would solve all problems ).

The book also gives information about other composting methods, such as bokashi bins, which can be used to break down left-over cooked food; wormeries and special teas – for the plants, not the gardener.

It was a very informative book but whether the advice it contains will enable me to transform my rubbish heap into a bin full of wonderful soil remains to be seen.