3 Ways To Use Flour Sack Towels In The Garden And Kitchen
Flour sack towels have dozens of other uses all through the home. From soaking up spills to cleaning mirrors and making napkins, there’s no end to the versatility of these must-haves at home.
Flour sacks’ usefulness traces back before the Great Depression when families needed to use and reuse everything they had to cut costs and survive. So they took the cloths that packaged flour and re purposed them for making clothes and other things. In time, flour millers also added decorative designs to the flour sack towels to make them more attractive for those who wanted to up cycle them after the flour was used up.
Today, you can even buy flour sack towels sets, and it would be an excellent investment for your kitchen and garden. Learn below three ways to use them in your garden and kitchen.
Using Flour Sack Towels in the Garden
Flour sack towels are made from soft but highly-absorbent material, which makes them useful with delicate plant materials like skins and leaves. Here are three ways to use them in the garden:
Lining Planters
Plants must have good drainage to thrive, and the soil must be filled evenly with moisture. Therefore, you should ensure your planters have drainage holes that are large enough.
The flip side is, unfortunately, that the holes may cause the soil to fall through them, which is where your flour sack towel comes in. Line the planter with a towel to cover the hole and allow water to drain through without losing your soils.
Protecting Plants
Use flour sack towels to provide a barrier for your plants against harsh weather conditions within your garden.
Drape the flour sack towel loosely over your plant and secure the edges with a stone to protect from frost or hail.
However, remember to remove the sack towels just before pollination season to allow your plants to be fertilized.
Lining Baskets for Harvesting
Flour sack towels can be used to line baskets when collecting delicate fruits and vegetables from the garden into the house. Use them to pick berries and even fresh eggs, as well as small produce that could fall through basket holes. You can also protect your pickings from the dirt or dust in the picking basket.
They are especially helpful in protecting blueberries and raspberries, which are prone to crushing. As an added advantage, you can protect your basket from picking up any stains from crushed fruits. Clean the flour sack towels easily by throwing them in the washer.
Using Flour Sack Towels in the Kitchen
Flour sack towels are a must-have in any kitchen, where they have one hundred and one uses.
Learn how to use them for more than just cleaning below:
Drying Fruits and Vegetables
Once you’ve harvested or bought your fruits, vegetables, and herbs, you must wash them carefully before eating or storing. For best results, dry them thoroughly to give the best flavor and consistency and also keep them fresh for longer. Vegetables in salads adhere to dressing better when they have been dried.
Use a flour sack towel for drying by placing the leaves or fruits at the center of the towel and patting dry gently. Alternatively, you can grab the corners of the towel, cover the contents, and spin carefully to suck up the moisture. You can also place a towel in the colander to soak up the moisture that collects at the bottom.
Comfortably dry your greens by spreading them on a clean flour sack towel and allowing them to air dry for 30-60 minutes after washing.
Preserving Herbs
If you have bought more herbs than you need from the grocery store or farmer’s market, you can use Mary’s Kitchen Towels packages to preserve them and use over several weeks or even months. Most people hang herbs to dry or dry them in the oven, but this can cause some loss of flavor. Instead, microwaving with a flour sack towel is easier and preserves the flavor.
Simply line a microwaveable dish with one towel and pick the leaves off the stems, then lay them in the middle of the towel in the bowl. Use a second towel to cover them, or use the excess part if you had a large sheet.
Microwave thick herbs like rosemary and thyme for one minute, then in 20-second intervals until they are dry.
Microwave delicate herbs like basil, mint or cilantro for 40 seconds, then in 15-second intervals until dry. You’ll know they are ready when they crumble to your touch.
Grind to a powder then store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Cleaning Berries
Ripe berries are delicate, and they shouldn’t be washed until you’re ready to eat or use them. Clean strawberries by rinsing under cold tap water in a colander. More delicate berries like raspberries or blackberries should be swished in a basin of cold water in a colander. A mixture of vinegar and water in the ratio 1:3 can help remove all dirt and keep them fresh for longer.
Dry your berries by placing them over the colander and gently patting them until they are completely dry. Be very gentle, especially with delicate berries.
Conclusion
There are many more ways to use flour sack towels in other parts of the home. If you’re buying them (not getting them with your flour), be sure to collect larger-sized ones which are more versatile. Keep checking the internet for more ingenious ways of using the flour sack towel.
