Luscious, warm, a decadent note that makes a dessert sing in perfect harmony. I used to crave this in candy bars, a Twix, or perhaps a scoop of Bruster’s Chocolate Turtle ice cream.
The Great British Bake Off opened my eyes to Banoffee Pie and the simple luxury of making a caramel without instructions. The process is a beautiful as the finished product. A melting sugar and butter, finished with cream.
The Caramel Macchiato taught me what coffee can do beyond ice cream sundaes and candy confections. It can be comforting, a delight to grab between classes, or an awful first job.
But how does one enjoy something they can not eat? I’ve been stumped on how to recreate this treat since my dairy-free lifestyle began, until I picked up a pint of dairy-free Phish Food from Ben & Jerry’s. It had the marshmallow fluff (which I discovered I could eat again this past winter) and ribbons of soft caramel. Caramel that tasted like the real thing.
I began to search for knowledge on blogs and Reddit until I found a recipe so simple I had to give it a try.
1 can of coconut milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
It was so simple. Melt the ingredients together on medium-low, then boil and reduce for 20 minutes. Let cool in a glass jar and store in the fridge. I made it last night and it was marvelous!
I found Vanilla Bean Oat Milk ice cream at the store for a sundae, and bam, I was a kid again, making an ice cream sundae with my grandparents on a summer evening.
What is a flavor that takes you home? Is there a food you haven’t had in a while that will comfort you in these trying times? Make it, your inner child will thank you.
Out of busyness, I skipped last week’s garden update. Rather than mail it in with a very light garden update, I ended up taking a week off and coming back this week with a full update. I apologize for skipping last week’s post. We worked on screening in our back porch last week, and it was time-consuming and tiring. In this week’s update, I learned that I’ve made a mistake when it comes to starting seeds, started a bunch of new seeds, and continued learning the importance of patience with gardening.
Seed Starting Mistake
Each day, I check our seed starting trays to see if the plants need water or can be transplanted to a larger growing cell. Two weeks ago, I noticed that a few were a bit laggy and didn’t look as healthy as they did at the start. Since starting the seeds, I had kept the trays on the heat mats and under the lids. I also turned on the grow lights once germination happened. I did a quick Google search and was reminded that the heat mats should be switched off and the lids removed as soon as germination happens. I immediately unplugged the heat mats and removed the lids, but it was too late for some of the starts, and I needed to restart some of them.
When this happened, I was down on myself. I really hate making mistakes when it comes to gardening, especially when starting seeds. Maggie reminded me to be nicer to myself, which is something I always need to be told. It’s incredibly comforting to know that mistakes are okay. I have to remind myself that it has been three years since we gardened, so it’s natural to forget some of the details. And I suppose that if mistakes are going to be made, it’s best for them to happen at this stage rather than when they’ve been transplanted and are a lot further in their development.
Transplanting, Restarting, and Starting
After learning that I needed to restart some of the seeds, I kept looking for opportunities last week in between the porch project to transplant starts, start new seeds, and restart some of the ones that failed. Sadly, it took until Friday, when the weather wasn’t great and we needed a day to rest, to find that time. That afternoon, I transplanted a bunch of tomato, pepper, and cantaloupe starts. I even transplanted a dahlia start that had outgrown its small starting cell. We didn’t buy any larger planting pots for this year’s garden after finding 10 or so of the peat pots from our previous garden. Beyond those, we’ve been reusing plastic containers that would otherwise be recycled.
Then, on Saturday morning, I took the time to restart the seeds that had failed and start some new ones that I hadn’t been able to get to. The ones that needed to be restarted were some tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupes, and dahlias. We also had to restart all of the eggplants, tomatillos, ground cherries, broccoli, and onions. The new seeds we started were our cucumbers, winter squash, pumpkins, and melons. We were originally going to start our beans at the same time; however, I read that they don’t need to be started indoors since they grow so fast. Instead, we’ll wait to direct sow them in the garden. With the newly remembered knowledge about heat mats, domes, the importance of air circulation for starts, and watering needs, we wait.
Gardening Requires Patience
I am not a patient person. I struggle to give things time and want to rush them. This is the case for gardening. At this time, we have a few plants that could be transplanted into the ground outside and other seeds that can be directly sown into the garden. However, the weather has been uncooperative, with cold temperatures at night that keep the soil temp low and consecutive rainy days, which isn’t ideal when seeds are trying to germinate or young plants are trying to establish roots. The rain has also prevented us from tilling the last two garden beds. I know that we’ll be able to get all of this done, but not rushing the process is difficult for me.
Up Next
This week, we wait for the recently-planted seeds to germinate and to see how the starts do after being transplanted. The healthy ones have done very well in the first few days, while the ones that weren’t looking great in the original cells still don’t look too good. We also need to mow our grass for the first time this year, which will include mowing down the areas for the new beds and handling some of the grass that has regrown in the existing beds. Finally, we have plans to finish our screened-in porch when we can get to it and to work in the garden. We had success with setting up our rain barrel and have noticed its impact on the ground around where the downspout originally deposited water. I’m hoping for a pretty eventful week in the garden. Happy gardening to you.
As a refresher, we bought the Earthquake MC440 cultivator. It has a 40cc 4-cycle engine and has tines that adjust the working width between 6 and 10 inches. We’ve had it for over a month now and have probably put between 15 and 20 hours on it, so I feel it’s a good time to review it.
Pros
Let’s get this out of the way now: There are a lot more pros than cons to this cultivator, and I cannot recommend it enough.
Power
Despite only being a 40cc engine, this cultivator has plenty of power. If you don’t have a good grip on it and are prepared to hold it back, it will be ripped out of your hands if you use full throttle. Typically, half-throttle is about all you need for most of the cultivating work. It’s powerful enough to break ground in lawns that have never been dug before, allowing it to take on jobs generally reserved for larger tillers.
Mobility
Before we bought our cultivator, I didn’t know that some of the smaller ones don’t have permanently attached wheels. Instead, they’re only used when moving it to and from the garden beds. Ours has a set of wheels that adjust to determine the depth of the tilling tines. When you aren’t actively cultivating, you can raise the wheels back up for transportation. The tiller is also nimble enough to be maneuvered in tight spaces and stored in the corner of your garage.
Weight
This is connected to the mobility section, but the weight of this cultivator makes it a breeze to use. At only 32 or 33 pounds, most people can lift it if necessary. This makes it easy to lift out of the garden bed or into the back of a vehicle for transportation.
Cost
This was one of the biggest reasons we bought this cultivator. While many larger machines were approaching $500, we spent less than $300 for ours. That amount is higher than some of the smaller cultivators we considered, but this one provided us with the perfect balance of size and power at a cost we were comfortable with.
Durability
I know that we have only had our cultivator for around a month, but we have used it a lot. We also haven’t gone easy on it. We’re asking it to cut through ground that has never been anything but grass and turn over the soil below the grass up to a depth of 4 or 5 inches. We’ve also run it for hours on end, and it has yet to give us an issue. It fires up within a few pulls each time (as long as I remember to turn it on), hasn’t stalled, and the tines remain undamaged.
Cons
Weight
The same thing that allows this cultivator to be mobile and easy to maneuver is a con. The heavier a cultivator or tiller is, the easier it is to get the tines deeper into the soil. That leads to less work for the person running the machine. I’ve thought a bit about how to add some weight, possibly by attaching something to the frame, but I haven’t pursued it.
Mud & Weeds Getting Twisted Around the Tines
This may not be a con with this specific machine or just cultivators in general, but I’ve found that the tines don’t do a great job of preventing mud from getting caked on them. This can reduce the effectiveness of the tines when cultivating. It’s not a huge deal, as it generally only happens when the ground is pretty damp, but it is an inconvenience. Similarly, grass can become twisted around the metal bar that the tines go on. This doesn’t impact the cultivator’s ability to perform, but we typically remove the tines and pull out the grass before putting it away each time we use it. Thankfully, this is an easy process with only one cotter pin on each side holding the tines on. It only takes a few minutes to remove the grass before you’re back in business.
Noise
If you read our post on picking out a cultivator, you’ll remember that we placed a lot of weight on how loud a cultivator would be when considering the power supply. It’s a reason we went with a 4-cycle engine over a 2-cycle. I still think it was a wise decision, because a 2-cycle engine would have been louder, but this cultivator is anything but silent. If the RPMs are kept low, it’s not loud at all; however, if you need extra RPMs to get through tough ground or thick grass, it quickly becomes noisy. I wouldn’t want to use it without some form of ear protection. That being said, any cultivator that uses an internal combustion engine is going to be loud, and it’s still much quieter than a leaf blower, so there’s that.
Would I Recommend the Earthquake MC440?
I would absolutely recommend this cultivator for anyone looking for a lightweight, cost-effective option. While it’s designed to turn over soil and work in existing garden beds, it can punch far above its weight class and does a great job in untouched ground. It has its limitations, but if you are uncomfortable with spending $500 on a large tiller and only plan to use the machine occasionally, this is a perfect cultivator.
Something I have pondered through this Easter season, thanks to the Bible Project Exodus Way series, is Jesus’ motivation for His mission and how His ministry confronted oppression in the 1st century. Oppression from sin, society, and the corruption of the Jewish leaders, all under foreign occupation. It was a tense atmosphere. That is something I tend to forget. I think that the Pharisees were petty, and Rome was a casual player; instead of Jesus existed in the context of people who wanted to be free.
The Romans were incredibly brutal. If you have watched Gladiator or Gladiator II, there is a temptation to get caught up in the splendors of Rome, but they were a society sustained by oppression. Gladiators were slaves; any immigrants or conquered nations were slaves, there was a strict class divide, and women were not valued. With newborn baby girls and disabled babies being thrown away to animals, off of cliffs, or sold to human traffickers. It was a common practice.
Doesn’t this sound like eugenics and the practices we saw in the extermination plans of genocides? Yep. It’s a cycle of evil and sin that we fall into over and over again. Same ship, different day.
Under Roman occupation, the cross and crucifixion were a common and calculated practice of execution. Men, women, and children could be crucified, usually by the roadside. It was designed to instill fear and was engineered to be a horrific death, and yet Jesus willingly allowed himself to be crucified for us. All of us, His mockers, those scheming against Him, even those Romans.
He came to challenge our understanding of love through the radical expression of it, taking the sin of the entire world – past, present, and future – on His fully human, yet fully God, shoulders – to pay a price we cannot pay for freedom from oppression.
Jesus ministered to everyone in His path, but He sought out those who were abandoned by the society they lived. Jesus healed the sick, the lepers who were kicked out of society and left to live as outcasts, when they needed compassion and care. Those who were disabled were ignored, but Jesus saw them and healed them. He confronted the demons who took up residence inside people and cast the demons out, ending the oppression of their host and restoring peace.
He gave second chances. There were many times throughout His ministry when the disciples and His followers let Him down, yet Jesus forgave them. Even when they denied and abandoned Him, Jesus forgave. Forgiveness confronts the oppression of grudges, vengeance, malice, and bitterness.
Our society is embroiled in grudges, vengeance, and the oppression that comes with unwillingness to forgive. Justice with an iron fist, eye for an eye. That is not what the Bible calls for, even in those Old Testament passages that are brought up to challenge this – the Egyptians were free to join the Passover and be spared from the plague that killed the firstborn, the kingdoms that were in Canaan when the Israelites did it God’s way were conquerered not by violence. God is a just God, a righteous God, and even in the Day of the Lord is not a God of oppression. We are called to forgive, to be reborn in salvation as new creations in Christ, and to give second chances with generosity and love.
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen.
And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.”
His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
John 2:13-22 ESV
It’s been a daily struggle for me and the rest of us who have eyes open to the oppression occurring in our midst. I am angry. I want to fight against the pervasive corruption. This Holy Week has been a week of me learning about the El Salvadorian CECOT prison, where there are no second chances ever, hearing that Autism is an “epidemic”, Putin launching missiles during Ukrainian Easter celebrations, and my state’s governor being the target of arson because of his faith.
The ceasefire, which I knew was broken, just fills me with frustration at the ongoing suffering and senseless death. Like the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Romans, the apathy for suffering people and the greed for power and money is the “tale as old as time” plot playing on today. I wish the world would wake up. It’s also the tax deadline here in the United States, and I have to say, I am the least confident I’ve been in my adult life that my taxes are doing anything good for my community.
Especially when social services and disaster relief funding are cut. I want these leaders in my midst, and my fellow citizens who are lukewarm like the church of Laodicea, to stop perpetuating “Christianity” as a form tied up with politics and confront the ways that they are participating in the oppression of others and repent, because this week is about freedom. We are all invited to become a new creation.
True freedom. From who we are, have been, come from, or what we feel we can’t be. It is a transformative second chance of mercy and justice that we have not earned, but is freely given. No corruption or cronyism can take it away, nor can violence or tyranny.
If you are reading this and haven’t experienced this kind of freedom, may I recommend the Chosen, the Bible Project, and the gospel of John first? John is so thematic, and it’s a story that will pull you in. The world is a vampire, but there is hope. Stay strong, friends, and know that you are loved.
I have a standing date each night. I hurry myself to keep the pace if I see the clock begin to click out of my grasp after my shower. Sometimes I feel like doing my skincare is a chore, I’ll skip the lotion on my limbs or let my hair dry as it pleases if I think I am running behind. As the months pass, I feel the wonderful weight of this schedule, something that was a number on a clock face is now an important engagement with my bunny.
It started slowly, maybe a coincidence? After my shower, I’d walk down the stairs to look for Mia. It was a greeting, then it became a moment on the floor. Now, it has grown into a tradition, an expectation that I will get settled and sit on the floor. I can do some things, other petting Mia, but it must be done from the floor. I can play a little Animal Crossing, one-handed, or find a video to play as background ambience. She’s not a fan of K-pop, though she will tolerate a girl group, with impressive vocals only.
I used to coax her over, after I sat on the floor with a little wiggle of my hand. Recently, she’s been waiting for me in the doorway. Her tail wags, her little body binkies when I open the gate, and last night I could barely find a spot on the floor with her zoomies encircling me. With how rocky our start was, did I ever think Mia would greet me with such effervescent joy? No, I truly thought we would have a distant and tense relationship. Instead, last evening, after 30 mins of pets and snuggles, she flopped next to me, waiting for more pets. She is safe here, and I feel the safety in the silence. The contentment of being with her, the love that is felt in her presence, and the tempo she creates to slow down and breathe.
The greatest thing you’ll ever know, as Nat King Cole wrote in his song “Nature Boy,” is just to love and be loved in return. This line is a key theme of Moulin Rouge, and Bowie’s version of this song was my first encounter with is this song. It’s what I think having a bunny is, to love and be loved in return. I feel her love in her morning greeting, no longer greedy for breakfast for pets, but instead trusting me that food will always be there, she runs over to say “Good Morning.” It’s a celebration of another day, another gift of life, and another day spent with the ones we love.
This week’s update will be a bit shorter than usual, largely because there wasn’t a lot that happened with our garden. We didn’t start any new seeds, but we did transplant one of our starts, saw more seeds germinate, and bought materials for an upcoming project that sort of has to do with our garden.
Transplanting a Pepper Start
The first start you transplant into a larger pot is a momentous occasion each year. It signifies that the seeds have successfully germinated and your plants are growing closer to being ready to be moved outside and into the ground. For us, the first start that needed to be transplanted is the first Cal Wonder bell pepper seed that germinated. Since it germinated on March 22, the plant has grown to about 4 inches tall and has developed its third set of leaves. That’s the point when most recommend transplanting pepper plants. Luke from the MI Gardener YouTube channel published a video where he talked about the importance of not crowding a pepper plant’s roots, and if that means transplanting a plant to a larger pot multiple times, that’s okay. We decided to go with the 5-inch tall peat pots so that the plants only have to be transplanted once between germination and going in the ground. It also happened to be the size we had on hand.
When I transplanted the start, I mixed in some Garden-Tone, which is an organic well-balanced fertilizer that promotes root development and leaf growth. After wetting the soil, I was extra careful to not disturb the root system when removing the start from its cell. The day after transplanting, I cut the bottom off a Gatorade bottle so that it could be placed over the plant and act as a greenhouse since the start no longer fit under the dome of the seed-starting trays. We’ll keep you posted on the plant’s progress after being transplanted.
More Germination
Last week, I wrote that we started a lot of seeds, including all our tomatoes, husk tomatoes, and cantaloupes. In the week since we started them, every variety of seed has successfully germinated. This doesn’t mean that every cell has germinated, but that at least 1 cell of every seed has germinated. This is a huge step because these vegetables are going to be a large section of our garden. Some of the tomatoes and the cantaloupes have even had to be thinned already.
Buying Materials for Our Screened-In Porch Project
Over the next two weeks, we’re going to be taking on screening in our back porch. We have a nice-sized back porch that we love sitting on. It’s also where we have our grill. The downside to it is that wasps, yellow jackets, and other bugs love it as well and can make sitting out there kind of miserable. It is also open on all 3 sides, so rain gets blown in. We’re addressing all that by screening it in with a set of French doors. The back will have screens that run from the ceiling to the floor, while the sides will have screens that run from the ceiling to the railing, which is waist high. Below the screens, the sides will be closed so that rain can’t be blown in. You may be wondering what this has to do with gardening. Great question.
When we bought the lumber for this project, we bought extra to use as a trellis for our long beans to climb and to build some planter boxes. In the end, we hope to see the trellis incorporated into the porch. We’ll share pictures of the project when it’s done.
Up Next
This week, we’re planning to pick up the rest of the materials we need for the screened-in porch project and to start our beans and cucumbers inside. Outside, the soil is finally starting to warm up, and it’s dried out nicely. That means we should be able to direct sow some of our seeds. We’ve been very patient with them because the soil hasn’t been warm enough to this point. How are your seeds going? We’d love to hear from you. Happy gardening!
There are a lot of things about this new Trump term that are setting my jaw. The newest one, though, happens to be the tariffs zeroing in on Vietnam, and something we are losing sight of in this discussion—what is going to happen to garment workers?
Vietnam is one of many countries in the global south that are responsible for the garments and shoes we wear every day. In May 2024, they surpassed China as the largest textile and garment market share for U.S. imports. The nation employs around 2.5 million people within the 6000 garment and textile factories across Vietnam. This rapid growth of 37 billion USD worth of garments being made in Vietnam in 2024, from 26 billion USD in 2017, is due to the low wages of Vietnam compared to the higher wages of China and even higher wages in the United States. In the 1980s, before Clinton’s NAFTA in 1993, garments sold in American stores were made in the United States, but this changed during the Clinton era and has gotten worse in the 32 years since through the rise of fast fashion and the fashion industry’s reliance on cheap labor at the expense of the garment workers.
So, now we bring the so-called “Liberation Day” of tariffs, and since this is a space I like to keep safe, I’m going to move on because I have nothing nice to say. What I want to focus on is not making this job American again, the rising prices of garments, or anything political, and instead I’d like to zero in on what seeing the world with a Kingdom (God’s Kingdom that is) lens has taught me so far this year.
I’d say that my eyes being opened began last year with diving deeper into Fashion Roadman’s channel, which led me to watch two documentaries – The True Cost of Fast Fashion and Perfume’s Dark Secret in 2024. The other revelations that were exposed in 2024 such as the labor practices of Armani and Dior, were very telling for how are garments are made from luxury to fast fashion. It’s no secret that the fashion industry, including luxury brands, is not concerned with the moral cost of their decisions and is solely focused on getting money in their pockets for their shareholders. So, what is going to happen within the fashion industry as a result of these tariffs set on Vietnam, especially with no sign of negotiation from the Trump Administration? I think it’s going to be bad for everyone.
I think costs from the brands will be cut from the quality of the garments being made, to the materials, to the contracts with these factories. I think garment workers will probably see the biggest hit in their work environment and wages, as their economy is hurt. Or potentially the factories will no longer get these contracts to cut labor costs, meaning the production of garments will be further entrenched with slave labor in countries where workers are exploited. Then what will those women be left with? Garment Workers are primarily women, and they are skilled laborers who could be left without a way to provide income for their families.
It’s not okay for so many reasons.
That is why, as we look towards Easter, I am thinking about those who are oppressed in our world, because Jesus came to be a new Moses and lead us through the Exodus Way. Thank you, dear reader, if you stayed with me on this one. I wish this world weren’t such a downer right now, but just know, although we are from the United States, we are not pleased and empathize with how this is affecting you too. ❤
I hate to say it, but I forgot to start this week’s update until Sunday night. Typically, I will start these on Saturday evening, but as I sit here watching the Boston Red Sox lead the St. Louis Cardinals 18-3 on Sunday Night Baseball, I am much later than usual. So, I apologize if this update ends up being shorter than normal, but I was unwilling to push the update back a day or two or not publish one at all this week. To those who read my gardening content: I can’t thank you enough. Writing here has been a relaxing break from work and helps remind me of why I like writing. I don’t want to postpone it any longer: Here’s this week’s update.
Much Germination
In last week’s update, I discussed the difficulties we were experiencing with getting seeds to successfully germinate. This was largely concentrated to our peppers, where we only had two of our 12 pepper cells germinate. I’m proud to report that after we altered the watering process and re-sowed the seeds, we’ve had much better germination. All six of our bell pepper cells, two of the Scotch Bonnet cells, and one of the Hungarian wax cells have sprouted. The bell pepper seeds have been successful enough that earlier today, we thinned the cells so that only one plant per cell will grow.
Germinated peppers, dahlias, eggplants, and onions
We also had successful germination with all three dahlia cells, all six eggplant cells, and all 21 bunching onion cells. We feel so blessed that we’ve been able to turn the poor germination rate around and have successfully started many other seeds.
We also started some new seeds earlier today:
3 cantaloupe cells
3 ground cherry cells
3 tomatillo cells
6 broccoli cells
And all of our tomato seeds (6 principe borghese, 3 Queen Aliquippa, 3 indigo pear, 3 blue beauty, 3 yellow pear, 3 black krim, and 3 mushroom basket)
We’ve been very careful to track what we’re planting in each cell. We use a piece of paper with a hand-drawn chart on it for the one tray, and our other tray came with a cardboard chart. I’m also tracking these on a spreadsheet in case the physical copies get destroy or the ink smudges.
Seed Tray ChartSeed Tray Chart
Cleaning Out Our Garden Tote
This weekend, we spent some time in our garage (also my woodworking shop) cleaning it out. I recently finished a guitar stand project, and when I’m wrapping up a project, I tend to make a huge mess and not worry about cleaning up as I go. That leads to a lot of sawdust, tools, and scraps being spewed everywhere. I needed to clean everything up from that project and reorganize everything so that the spring and summer things are at the front, with the winter items moved to the back. In doing so, I uncovered our tote of gardening supplies, which was pretty cool.
I didn’t forget that we have this tote, but I did forget some of the stuff in it. There were a lot of supplies that we used when we had our container garden in 2022, including soil amendments, organic fertilizers, and hand tools. Some things weren’t worth using anymore, such as the open bags of seed-starting mix and peat moss, but the amendments were still good. I actually repurposed the peat moss and starting mix by pouring it on our garden beds. We’re also able to use the larger seed pots by transferring our pepper plants into them when the time is right. It was fun remembering everything we had bought for that garden three years ago. It helped me to realize how far we’ve come in three short years and how thankful I am to be able to garden again, especially with some of the same items.
So Much Rain…
In last week’s update, I said that a goal for the week was to get gypsum into garden beds 3 and 4 and do the final tilling. I was able to do that on Monday before a large weather system entered the area and brought a lot of rain. I estimate that we received somewhere between 2 and 2.5 inches total from Monday afternoon through Saturday. It made our garden beds nice and muddy, so we can see that we’re still having some drainage problems, but it’s a work in progress. Also, it’s been a very wet spring that has arrived on the back of a snowy winter, so the ground was already pretty wet. As the ground dries out this week, the goal is to get back into the garden and till the final two beds and perhaps even get some seeds in the ground. We also need to get the parts we need for the rain barrel, which will help with some of the moisture problems.
Up Next
The weather forecast is much better this week, so hopefully, the garden beds and yard can finally dry out. If that happens, we’ll likely try to start beds 5 and 6. If that happens, it’ll be great, but if not, that’s okay too. We’re in a great place at this time and need to be patient. In the meantime, we’re going to be screening in our back porch in a few weeks and need to get it prepped by taking measurements, cleaning everything, and making sure we have our supplies list figured out so that we can get everything we need. When we pick up the supplies for that project, we’re also going to get some materials to build some planter boxes and a trellis or two.
As I have dove deeper into the world of fiber crafts and created often, I’ve become more conscious of the fibers I choose. Mainly because when a project doesn’t work, I feel like a jerk for making that mistake in hard to break down acrylic. I would feel less of a fool if my mistakes were constructed in biodegradable natural fibers like wool, cotton, linen, or bamboo. Starting in 2024, I began to migrate back to natural fibers, which I mentioned before in my Summer Knitting Plans post from last year. I had been hesitant to use wool before that, supposed allergies that I debunked in 2024, which led me to explore the many fiber offerings of Knit Picks.
When I was looking at sock yarns in the fall, a particular fiber caught my eye – Oceana. The Oceana line has this vibrant kaleidoscope of colors that evokes the tropical hues of a coral reef. It’s stunning! When my stepdad gifted me a Knit Picks gift card for Christmas, I knew exactly what I would order – the Oceana! Not just for the colors, but the innovative fiber content.
L to R: Sea Lettuce, Spirulina, Tiger Fish, Swordfish, Axoloti
This yarn is composed of 54% Superfine Alpaca and 46% Polyester SEAQUAL, which is made from marine litter cleaned from the ocean, and that plastic is then recycled into polyester (acrylic) yarn that is blended with the Alpaca fiber to create the Oceana yarn. The halo seems to be the Alpaca, based on my experience working with this yarn, and the interior chain fluffy fiber strand seems to be a combo of the recycled polyester and Alpaca fiber. Now, fiber blends are not the best for decomposing, but I like the motives behind this yarn. Instead of using newly created polyester, which doesn’t break down easily and is cluttering our environment, they are taking the trash out of the ocean and repurposing it into something useful. How cool is that? Can more polyester-based products start with recycling the plastic litter before making more? We literally have endless resources of trash, thanks to Shein and our rampant overconsumption.
So how does this yarn knit up? Excellently! It has this plush texture with a fuzzy halo that to me looks like those mohair strands knitters use to plush up a sweater.
I’d say the only cons I have are the price and the yardage. I didn’t find this yarn went far, and had to play yarn chicken a few times. I secondly was only able to order five skeins with my gift card, the yarn was on sale might I add, with a 50 USD gift card. When I ran out of yarn, I chose to supplement with Knit Picks Palette yarn in fingering weight, held in double strands to match gauge. I do understand that part of the price is the process of SEAQUAL and the Alpaca fiber costs as well, but it was just a bit too much for me to purchase more at full price when I ran out, especially when I had existing yarn in my stash that could work.
I had planned to have this project done by the time I reviewed the yarn, but as it is now April, and I’ve shifted to summer and spring knitting it is unlikely this project is wrapping up soon. Here’s a look at the project at its current state. 🙂
Picking out a tiller for your garden is a big deal, and there are many factors to consider to ensure you’re getting one that best fits your needs, including size, power method, and price. We recently bought one for our garden and want to share our experiences with picking out the perfect model. We only plan to use ours when initially starting garden beds or turning over soil in flower beds. After that, we’re going to be as no-till as possible, so we didn’t want to pay a bunch of money for something that will only be lightly used after the first year. With that being said, what all went into our decision?
Gas Over Electric
We initially thought that we were going to buy an electric tiller. They’re cost-effective ($150-$200 range), and the reviews for many of them are strong, with people even saying they’ve used them to break ground on gardens. Electric tools have come a long way from the mediocre weed eaters and mowers of the 1990s. Modern tools are durable, powerful, and often do 80% of the work that gas models do. We also liked that an electric tiller would be quiet. So, why didn’t we buy an electric one?
The cost of an electric tiller may be cheap, but 100-foot 10-gauge extension cords are not, which is the length we need for our yard. That would have added at least $100 to the price of the tiller, bringing the total cost closer to that of a gas model. We also started to realize how big of an area we will be tilling and were less sure that an electric model could endure that level of abuse. At that point, we started to consider gas models.
In our price range of $200-300, we knew we’d be looking at a small gas model, perhaps one with a narrower working width than an electric tiller. But because it is gas-powered rather than electric, we had more confidence in its ability to run nearly nonstop for hours without issue. Additionally, if there is an issue with the engine, I can likely fix it. The final item that pushed us over the edge is the cost of electricity vs. gasoline. Our town has pretty affordable electricity, but running an electric power tool all-out for many hours would raise our electric bill. Meanwhile, gas is in the $3.50 range here, and most of the tillers we were considering had fuel capacities of less than 1/2 gallon, so for a little over $3, we could run it nearly all day.
As an aside, we never considered a battery-powered one. We have a few outdoor tools that are battery-powered, including a chainsaw and a lawn mower. Both work great, but I’m aware of the battery life on those and how long they take to charge when completely drained. Being hindered by that was not something we were interested in.
2-Cycle vs 4-Cycle Gas Tiller
We next needed to decide between a 2-cycle (or stroke) and a 4-cycle gas tiller. Both are great and have their advantages and disadvantages. Two-cycle engines are more powerful for their size and have a simpler design. They last a long time and are easy to maintain and work on. However, they are loud, use more fuel, and require pre-mixed gas and oil, which is an extra step.
Four-cycle engines, however, are quieter (think lawn mower vs. chainsaw), easier to operate, and more fuel-efficient. I’m someone who loves the sound of chainsaws every now and then, and I grew up around 2-stroke dirt bikes and 4-wheelers, so I get the attraction to the sound. But we live in town and don’t want to anger our neighbors. Another benefit to the 4-cycle engine is that it is slightly heavier than its 2-cycle cousin, which should, in theory, make tilling the soil a bit easier.
Which Models Did We Look At?
We looked at quite a few tillers, all in the $200-$300 range. I’ll break them down by manufacturer and discuss the individual models.
Earthquake
MC33 10″ 33cc 2-cycle – The same working width as the two that follow but only has a 33cc 2-cycle engine. This is designed for light-duty work like weeding and only weighs 33 pounds. This was available from Amazon for $199 and Lowes for $239.
MC43 10″ 43cc 2-cycle – A 10″ working width with adjustable tines and a powerful 2-cycle engine and weighing 38 pounds. It was available at two stores: Tractor Supply and Amazon, both for $249.
MC440 10″ 40cc 4-cycle – Like the above model, this one has a 10″ working width with adjustable tines but has a 4-cycle engine. This model weighs 37 pounds and is the one we purchased. It was available at Tractor Supply for $299, Family Farm & Home for $299 (on sale for $259), and Amazon for $265. As you know, we bought ours from Amazon.
Badger 21″ 160cc 4-cycle – This one is substantially larger than the other models we considered. It’s a true tiller while the others are technically cultivators. It has a 21″ working width and weighs a whopping 107 pounds! It would have been heavy to move and difficult to lift but would have required no effort to force the tines into the soil. It was only available at Menards for $449, but it was on sale at the time for $299.
Champion
12″ 43cc 2-cycle – Similar to the Earthquake MC43, this model has a powerful 43cc 2-cycle engine but a wider working width than most at 12″. It’s light at 33 pounds and is designed to be operated in small spaces. This was available from Tractor Supply for $297, Home Depot for $299, and Amazon for $299.
Troy-Bilt
TB225 9″ 25cc 2-cycle – This is a very light (23 pounds) model that is designed for weeding existing garden beds or turning the soil over before planting. It was available at Tractor Supply for $230.
TBC304 12″ 30cc 4-cycle – Much more substantial than the 2-cycle model, this machine weighs 38 pounds and is built for a bit heavier work. It was available from Home Depot for $279.
Toro
10″ 43cc 2-cycle – I’m 99 percent sure this is the same model as the Earthquake MC43. They look nearly identical in engine and frame design with the only difference between the manufacturer stickers. This was available at Family Farm & Home for $229 (on sale for $199), at Lowes for $248, and at Tractor Supply for $256.
Predator
9″ 43cc 2-cycle – This is Harbor Freight’s in-house brand of outdoor power equipment but is built similarly to the Toro model above. It weighs 32 pounds and has a narrower working width than some of the other models on this list. It’s only available at Harbor Freight and is $220, so cheaper than the Toro. As an aside, a lot of people are wary of Harbor Freight’s tools, but I’ve generally had positive experiences with them. So far, we have a battery-powered chainsaw and a host of electric woodworking tools and haven’t had any issues with them. If this had a 4-cycle engine instead of a 2-cycle one, we probably would have bought it.
Why We Picked the Earthquake MC440
In the end, we picked the Earthquake MC440 10″ 40cc 4-cycle cultivator from Amazon, as mentioned above. We landed on this model because it met all the criteria we had and was easy to purchase. We were certain we wanted a 4-cycle engine over a 2-cycle for noise and ease of use. We also wanted one with adjustable tines that could go as wide as possible. We later learned about models with wheels that have to be removed before tilling and didn’t want one of those. Finally, we were looking for the heaviest one we could find in our price range. The more a cultivator weighs, the less force you have to apply to keep the tines in the ground.
Recognizing that we were probably going to push it to its upper limits, we wanted a model that would be durable and reliable. Granted, because these aren’t tools you can “test drive,” you have to rely on reviews and how they appear to be assembled. The Earthquake models all had great reviews, especially the MC440. There were many reviews where the person said they used it to dig garden beds into lawns, which, to be fair, isn’t what it’s designed to do.
We’ve now had our cultivator/tiller for close to a month and have used it to establish five garden beds with two more in the works. To say it’s met our expectations would be an understatement. In the next week or so, I will write a full review of the machine. Is there a cultivator or tiller that you use for your garden? I’d love to hear in the comments. Happy Gardening!
One Rabbit Riot 