Gardening as Procrastination - Annie West

If you're like me you probably know that procrastination can be hard to resist. For some reason I find it particularly difficult when I have lots of things I really, really need to do. When I'm feeling swamped I do get in and work hard, but I also find myself procrastinating over the tasks that are just a little bit more complex or take extra thought.

Take this week. I'm trying to finish the draft of a book. Trying, very slowly with lots of interruptions. In addition to that my to do list included:
writing a newsletter to send out tomorrow for the launch of my new book,
updating my website with review quotes for said book (still not done - baaad Annie),
writing this blog,
reading (and paying close attention to) a copy edited version of a book to be published next year and marking necessary changes,
completing detailed art fact sheets on the book I'm currently writing (including plot detail on how the book finishes when I don't know yet),
doing an online interview,
updating my bio,
investigating how to organise print copies of my self-published ebooks (and DOING it),
learning the behind-the-scenes of a new website which hopefully won't look different to you but is to me,
plotting my next book,
etc.

That's on the writing side. Let's not mention other things. I know you understand what it's like. We're all busy, right? There always seems to be so much to think about and plan and actually do.

I can report that I'm slowly getting through my list of jobs but along the way I've diverted for some serious procrastination. I give you exhibit A:

Spring is here and everything, especially the weeds, are growing well Chez West.
And exhibit B:

More proof of spring, this time in the form of orchids which came through my family from my Great Aunt Ethel. As an aside, I love being able to say that Auntie Ethel's orchids are flowering.

So, of course, when I started to feel snowed under by what I had to do over the weekend and into this week, I found myself away from the computer, contemplating exhibit C: a newly denuded and fertilised vege garden, just waiting for some plants.

Which meant I really did need to go to the market to get some seedlings. Did you know you can get black cherry tomatoes? I love cherry tomatoes, partly for the flavour and partly because they ripen quickly so I've a chance of getting to them before the birds and possums. So here is exhibit D, all ready for the vege garden.

But not wanting to stop there, I went for E - roses,

and E, pelargoniums to put in hanging pots.

The only difficulty is that, despite my hard work in between gardening procrastination my other deadlines became really urgent. So now I'm finishing my writing work and my exciting gardening projects will have to wait. Now I fear I might be accused of procrastinating over the gardening too! :)

What's your favourite form of procrastination? Or don't you delay? Do you get in straight away and finish all your tasks before you play?

Talking about tomatoes - Kandy Shepherd

When I was editor of a gardening magazine I found everyone wanted to talk to me about their tomatoes.  In summer, they become almost a national obsession with gardeners.

There’s no doubt vine-ripened, freshly picked tomatoes taste fantastic. And in most places Down Under they’re easy to grow. In our part of the country there’s a local rule that decrees no planting out before Melbourne Cup Day (first Tuesday of November) because of the danger of late frost. But apart from that it’s just plant them, give them fertilizer (in our case courtesy of our hens and horses), water them and wait for tomatoes. Oh, and protect them from hungry birds.

I'd be happy to share with the local bird-life
but they'd scoff the lot if I didn't net my tomatoes!

But for the last three years our crops have been useless: too much rain, not enough rain, whatever the reason the result has been the same—no tomatoes.

That’s why we’re loving the bumper crops this year. The tomatoes have been so abundant we’ve had to look at ways not to waste them. I’ve recently made passata—fresh tomato sauce—and just yesterday tried making semi-dried tomatoes.

Best Romas I've every grown!

I picked the Roma tomatoes—egg shaped, not as juicy as other varieties. 

Roma's ready to go!

Then I cut them in half, sprinkled with salt, olive oil and thyme from the garden, and cooked them in a slow oven for about three hours until they were crisp around the edges but still soft in the middle. 

They don't look very pretty but the semi-dried tomatoes taste wonderful! 

Packed in oil and kept in the fridge they’ll keep for about a month—though I doubt they’ll last that long at our house!

These will be great in sandwiches, salads, pasta and pizza!

There’s a certain satisfaction in preserving crops from our garden. I’ve made pesto from the basil as well as plum jam this year  (for some reason none of our other fruit trees produced anything, unseasonal weather patterns I suspect.)

 

But I think of our forebears and am so thankful we don’t have to rely on my labour to keep us in fruit and vegetables throughout the year. Harvest time is the hottest time of the year and preserving in a sweltering kitchen isn’t something I’d want to do as anything other than an occasional hobby!

Of course my husband, while enjoying the fruits of my labour, reminds me that with a looming deadline, I should be working on my novel. And that all this tomato preserving is just another form of procrastination!

My next Harlequin Romance Crown Prince’s Chosen Bride is out on March 1. The heroine is a chef turned party planner—and she doesn’t make tomato sauce or plum jam in the story though she does make a wicked white chocolate mud cake…

Do you grow vegetables and/or make preserves or are you quite happy to buy them? Any successes or disasters to recount? I’d love to read your comments!

Ponderings on Procrastination

Soooo, I’m making breakfast, the jug is on for a cup of tea.  Outside, the sky is grey and it looks like we will get the promised rain.  I’m tossing around thoughts for the blog post I’m doing today while I wait for the toast to pop.  Will I do a progress report on the bathroom (yep, it’s been a while!) or will I take you the gorgeous drive we did on Sunday (I’ve got pictures, lots of lovely pictures!)  

Suddenly, there’s a bright flash so closely followed by an enormous crash that it seems as though light and sound have raced each other to our house.  Then the room goes dim, the jug goes off, bread rises slowly out of the toaster.  

Power is out!

And then the rain starts, dropping from the lowering grey clouds in sheets, overwhelming the guttering.  Water splashes over the paving and garden foliage bows beneath the onslaught.

Uh-oh… the question now is not, “what will I blog about” but “will I be able to blog at all!”  Which makes me feel a bit guilty because I’ve known that this is my date for blogging so several days – I set up a calendar to send timely reminders!  

But even knowing that, have I scheduled the post? Nope! 

Why not?  

Well, I’ve been distracted, there’s lots going on at the moment. It’s a social time with Christmas around the corner, I’ve got a club newsletter to put together, I’m dabbing about at a de-clutter (now there’s a blog topic for another day!)… the list goes on… and on... and on.

And I realise that although there is lots on the to-do list, there’s not that much actually being “done”!  I’ve been procrastinating!  It’s annoying and inefficient – and I think it’s time it stopped.

So I’m asking you… do you procrastinate? Do you have any great tips for getting procrastination under control? 


Oh and you've probably noticed... the power has now come back on so I can chat today after all!