Making My Coir-Lined Basket Hold Moisture So My Plants Don't Die Again This Year

You know this one -- the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Whelp, that's what I've been doing each summer with this one hanging basket. It's one of those coir lined baskets that I've been using for planting nasturtiums. The coir has a lovely natural look. However, it just doesn't hold water very well. 

For the last couple of years, I'd plant the basket with nasturtiums, herbs, and salad greens, as I also did in my other baskets which are made of plastic. The plants in the coir basket drain too quickly and the soil would dry out so fast. My plants would dry out by early summer. But I kept planting in this basket, thinking "this year my plants won't die." But they always did. I had told myself I'd remedy this soon. Yet, still this year I planted the nasturtiums in the soil without changing anything -- insanity.

Of course, the plants were drying out before June even arrived. Although, not the ideal time to fix this situation, as I'd already planted the basket for the season, this week I decided to bite the bullet and fix things while I could.

I carefully removed the plants, then dug the soil out of the coir liner.

I took a piece of heavy plastic (a mailing bag that I repurposed) and cut it to roughly the size of the interior of the basket, making a couple of small slashes in the bottom for drainage. I lined the coir with the plastic.

I then trimmed the top edge so the plastic wouldn't be visible. I mixed 1/2 teaspoon of water absorbing crystals into the dirt then scooped the dirt back into the basket inside the plastic lining. After replanting the basket, I topped off the soil so that any bit of the plastic liner wouldn't be seen once the basket is hanging.

Hopefully this will fix the situation. But even if it doesn't, I tried something instead of continuing to do the same thing while expecting different results.

Bargain Bedroom and Deck Makeovers

The best way for me to get a fresh look to my home or outdoor spaces is to clean and tidy what I already have. 

I was thinking about this two weeks ago as I was cleaning up the bedroom. Then I thought about this some more yesterday as I was cleaning up the deck. Over the weekend, I'd been browsing real estate online in another city. (My husband had mentioned a job possibility in this other city.) We're not likely to move, but I was curious what was on the market right now. Anyway, I was "touring" one home in particular and asking myself what I'd change to make this house more to my liking. 

The first thing I thought of was I'd want to create a spot outdoors just outside the kitchen for having breakfast or drinking my morning coffee in the summer. Then I realized that I could create that space on our own deck right here at home.  A few years ago, one of the trees that hangs over the deck had grown too bushy to have our patio table just outside the kitchen door. This past year, I've done some needed pruning of that tree. Now, there is some space for our table. I just hadn't thought to move it back to its original spot. 

So I worked at cleaning up that area of the deck, cleaning up my potting messes, organizing the portable greenhouse, sweeping the deck, wiping off the railings, potting some flowers that I started from seeds, and rearranging the deck furniture (including moving the table over near the kitchen door). Earlier this spring, I had been looking at catalogs with patio furniture and was dreaming about what I could buy. How silly, when we have patio furniture already.

Two weeks ago, after returning from our sojourn to Arizona and staying in multiple hotel rooms as well as visiting my stepmom in her house, I felt dissatisfied with our bedroom. It just looked frumpy to me. One day I set out to organize, make slight adjustments to furniture and decor arrangements, and give the room a thorough cleaning. Wow! It made such a difference. I love our room again. The furniture might not be what I'd choose if I were shopping for bedroom furniture, but these pieces have meaning to me. Our bedroom set was my parents set. I won't ever replace them because they have sentimental value to me. The various knick-knacks that I have displayed are also dear to me. Many of the items were gifts to me by some special people in my life. I wouldn't want a magazine perfect-looking room, as that would mean that I would be putting away some of these special belongings.

So I was thinking today, twice in this past month I've been dissatisfied with my surroundings, originally thinking the problem was in the belongings themselves. But all it took was cleaning and tidying those items that I already own. There's a reason I keep all of the belongings that I do. Sometimes items are functional, and I need to have them for their use. Other items are things I selected because I liked the way they looked, and even now I still like them for their aesthetics. And, as mentioned, I also keep some of the things I do because of sentiment. All of the belongings that I keep are either useful, attractive to me, or remind me of special people. I like my belongings. So, when I want a fresh look to my surroundings, the answer isn't to replace what I own, but to clean, organize and sometimes rehab what I own. It's pretty rare that I replace items that still work. Occasionally, something doesn't work like I think it should, and those items I do replace. But for the most part, I use what I have, and consequently, my bank account is never depleted because of a shopping spree at the stuff-mart.

Cleaning and organizing -- the cheapest home makeover out there.