Growing Human

First Day of Fall Equals Cake

2011-09-21T09:00:00.001-04:00

Perhaps you're wondering how the first day of fall automatically equates with cake? Well, I'd be happy to tell you.

Despite the fact that I'm now middle aged and would be horrified at even the mention of a bikini, out of habit I've always dreaded fattening food in summer. It is sort of a habitual guilt left over from my beach babe days. So, the first day of fall is a day of freedom for me and I like to indulge in a sinfully delicious home baked cake.

Fall Spiced Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Ganache

The first slice of heaven

This cake is very moist, super rich and absolutely delicious. A hint of cinnamon and nutmeg give the chocolate a cut of spiciness that gives another layer of flavor. In this one, I put a thin coating of my home-made strawberry jam between the layers with more ganache to hold it in place.

Peachy!

2010-06-07T13:40:00.005-04:00

Just for fun, I thought I'd play show and tell with the first productive (sort of) season for my peach tree. Yes, I know I'm in Virginia not Georgia, but this particular peach tree does well as a specimen tree for coastal Virginia if you can give it a little TLC during peak cold times.

Peach blossoms blooming ever so prettily

My blurry attempt to show the nascent peaches

Tiny peaches as fuzzy as can be

Super fuzzy but growing quickly

This is just too fuzzy...whoops...that Boscoe not a peach! :)

After thinning off any that looked off, my still small tree has a small load of a few dozen peaches

And here they are now, still growing, still fuzzy and still not eaten!

Now, I don't know if it is because I still have this potted or because it is the first year it is old enough to bear fruit, but the peaches are rather small. They should be pretty much full sized right now. I'm inclined to think it is because it was potted still. It is a semi-dwarf but I wanted it to be mobile over the first winter with me just in case the cold got too much. I'll be planting it this year in a spot that is just perfect for it.

I'll let you know how those tiny peaches taste!

Cherokee Village Lots

2010-05-29T10:47:00.006-04:00

Sorry all for the weird post but I'm trying to show a person who has recently visited my lots in Arkansas my CAD interpretation of their pictures to see if I'm on the right track. Be back with more homesteading news soon.....

This rendering is with more flattening at the 600 ft elevation and sharper inclines at the edges. Click the picture to see it bigger.

This one is a straight interpolation between the elevations as if it rose and fell absolutely evenly between elevation points.

Home-made Pupsicles

2010-05-25T08:16:00.006-04:00

Boscoe and Gigi Enjoying a Pupsicle

I used to be that person who occasionally purchased those overpriced Doggie Ice Cream cups. My excuses abound! Ones like; my dog is old and doesn't tolerate the heat so this is cooling. Or another; my doggies is missing 16 teeth and the few he has are weak.

My real reason? Because they looked so happy to get their little ice cream cups!

But then I had a good look at the ingredients and was not impressed. Seriously, 5 bucks for 4 little cups smaller than the ones in school lunches with those ingredients? Not to mention the gas in transport for the product while frozen and all the transport of the many ingredients isn't exactly negligible when you think of it.

So, I had a brainwave. I feed my dogs a spoonful of plain nonfat yogurt in their breakfast to help keep their chemistry in good order (old hounds can get ear problems with yeast). I eat frozen yogurt. Why not make my own?

It so simple. Just take small cups, like the ones used for bathroom dispensers or reusable small cups (like egg cups) and plop a dollop of nonfat plain yogurt in the bottom. Give it a tap or two to settle the blob fairly evenly. Drop a tiny little bit of creamy peanut butter into the middle of that bottom layer and then cover with another good dollop of yogurt.

In all it should be no more than a couple of tablespoons worth for a beagle sized dog that's watching their waistline (or enduring you watching their waistline for them).

Now just freeze hard and tip out after a walkie on a warm day. You'll be a hero and your dogs will feel refreshed with a healthy treat.

Giant Parsnip

2010-03-29T13:25:00.008-04:00

You know how you almost always miss one or two carrots or parsnips during harvest? Either because you've topped it but didn't get it out all the way and forgotten or just somehow overlooked it when the foliage died back?

Well, sometimes you get a giant!

This puppy came out with a great deal of effort along with 2 others of normal size. This giant one finally broke off about halfway down in order to come out. The others were about 16 inches long. Amazing!

Now, how will it taste? No clue. I usually leave parsnips in the garden during winter to harvest after the first freeze but I seem to have missed a couple of dozen. One or two I'll leave for new seed, but the rest have to get eaten. Anyone know if there is something special I should do to cook these over-wintered giants?

Boscoe is amazed also. I believe that look means; "So, can I eat that one too?"

I know I'm terrible for not updating!

2010-03-05T15:27:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to get questions on whether or not I'm still alive. Yeeps!

Yes, I'm still here but to be honest, since September my live hasn't really been my own.

As many of you know, I'm a Naval Officer. What you may not know is that I transferred. I didn't have to move, but I moved to a different command and you wouldn't believe my job. Yikes!

I've either been gone, been working 7 day a week shiftwork (meaning gone more than 12 hours at a shot) or handling short fused craziness.

I solemnly promise that I will update very soon...promise, promise.

As an aside...we did get hit by that nor'easter back in November. Flooding like you wouldn't believe but not a bit of it in the house. Good thing I built that crawlspace a little higher than it needed to be, eh? Garden bit the dust hard though.

Hope, however, springs eternal. Seed starting is happening and the smell of potting soil is in the air.

Yes, I'm still here. A summer update...

2009-08-31T12:48:00.002-04:00

Based on some of the comments, people are wondering what happened to me. Well, nothing but summer! Here's an update....

Garden

Alas, I wish all was good there. I had huge bumper harvests of tomatoes very early this year. Did well on chinese red noodle beans and certainly for squash. But then the bountiful rains caught up with me and things took a real nosedive by the first of August.

I got some sort of virus on my tomatoes as well as a more recent attack of stinkbugs. I've had to chuck more than 100 lbs of tomatoes...a full third of my expected harvest over the last few weeks.

Those stinkbug holes really irritate me!

The cooler summer meant that the cabbage moths lasted until a few weeks ago. I can honestly say that it can't have been more than two weeks since I last sighted one. That seriously affected all the cole crops.

Peppers likewise took a growth hit without the heat, though they are now catching up and I've had a great harvest of the Patio Marconi I got from Baker Creek seeds.

But, on the upside, I've definitely canned a good harvest of tomatoes for the winter. Picked up and canned some truly magnificent organic heirloom corn from a local grower. We had a long and fruitful season for berries and I have enough to satisfy that urge for a good berry all winter long. And, of course, the tomatoes were delicious and continue to grace my BLTs with their rich purplish hues.

I've read on some of your blogs out there that many have had similar problems, so I guess that is just this year.

Family

My sister is due anytime now. The due date moved up due to the chunky nature of my soon to be niece. As a halfway selfish gift, I gave her one of those fancy high def ultrasounds. It was great to see her so clearly. She looks so much like my sister and my other two nieces but in different ways and has the cutest nose (like our other sister) but yet is so totally herself!

She's feisty for sure. After trying unsuccessfully to stick her whole hand in her mouth, she tried both hands and then finally gave her all in getting her foot in there. She makes the greatest faces when you bother her too. :)

On a sad note, my sister's friend Beth passed on and she was doing the baby shower with me. We soldiered on and I was very wrapped up in that. It's been decades since I did one so I was nervous and made more work than I needed to.

I got the cake designed by Chef DeLong and it was spectacular. When I get copies of the pictures from my sister's camera I'll post one. It was a masterpiece. I'm still not a fan of buttercreme; it is just too sweet; but her cake is to die for. I'll definitely be ordering the couching (natal) cake from her and we've already figured out some of the design.

Of course, I got so excited I completely overbought. But seriously, when you buy baby things after so long, how do you NOT get carried away? She's going to be the best dressed fat newborn you've ever seen.

On that note, Beth had everything very well planned (we should all take a lesson there) except one thing: her psychotic cat.

With only one relative there was really no one who would take her. I couldn't bear to think of the one thing she had always worried over happening. If Bernice would have gone to the pound she'd be put down for sure. So, what do you suppose happened? Yes, I have a new and psychotic cat.

She acts feral though she's been a housecat her whole life. She's grossly obese and sheds like I have never seen a cat shed. I call her Bernie the Bruiser. We're making great progress and she now will lay in my lap, belly up, drooling, making muffins in the air and purring while I rub her belly. But only after a half hour of slowly working up to it. Most of the time she's under the bed.

Oh...and I saw her promising the dog through the gate that she would, in fact, be murdering said dog at the first opportunity. Lots of work there.

Home

Lots to do around here, but not much is actually off my list. We've had several major rain events that caused flooding. Nothing up to the house, but I did have to swim across the flooded street on one of them. It's made a horrid mess of things and I'm looking out at yet more rain right now.

I've done lots of re-organizing and stuff in the house and yes, more experimental cooking. I've gotten a new cookbook recently. A cookie cookbook! Oh yeah...1001 recipe of cookie goodness. It's out of print but I found it at a dealer and was rewarded finally for my diligent searching. It has got to be the best cookie book out there.

Over time, I hope to be able to get through all of them.

Since I'm home today for Boscoe's disgusting bowel upset from eating something atrocious outside (probably) and his meds haven't quite kicked in yet, I'm now forced to cut this short. I must keep an urgent appointment to stand out in the rain while he fills the air up with an unendurable stench for 5 minutes. Wanna join me?

Miss everyone and I'm so sorry that summer got the best of me!

Dehydrating Squash for Winter

2009-07-02T16:00:00.000-04:00

Last year when I discovered that dehydrated squash and zucchini made the ultimate in dog cookie, I've not had to worry about having extra. In fact, I wish I had more! Aside from being the supreme tool for dog obedience in my house, dehydrated squash and zukes rehydrate wonderfully and maintain their summer flavor far better than frozen do. They seem to work best for me in cheesy squash casseroles or soups and stews after rehydration. If anyone knows how to make them so they are good for frying or saute'ing, I'd be grateful!

Harvest of the 27th, the smallest is a 1/2 lb saucer squash.

I also got myself my ultimate toy for dehydration this year. It is the Excalibur 3900! A very pricey but extraordinarily highly reviewed and American made dehydrator for those with very large gardens. It is a 9 tray model. I was anxious to try it.

My Long awaited Excalibur 3900

Controls are easy, but precise

Loaded with all the squash above except the saucer

Unfortunately, after a few hours on, I went to check and realized the unit wasn't producing heat. You have no idea how upset I was! I did all the checks recommended when it arrived and after disassembly, I saw nothing that shouldn't be there or anything undone. It was simply faulty. And, on top of that, the company is closed for a week for the holiday!

Now, Excalibur is just a pedestal

And so, I had to pull out my cheapo Nesco from walmart, reload and take 2 loads to do what I had already cut. Most annoying.

Now, I don't want to cut any company down since they have an almost universally wonderful reputation. But I do think the increase in home food production may have affected their quality control just like it did for so many seed companies that experienced the increase in sales. I sure hope they make it right without requiring me to perform electrical repairs myself! I'll let you know.

Boscoe and the Man Cat say Hello to you all!

Harvests are picking up!

2009-07-01T13:49:00.004-04:00

Gathering Lunch

Well, obviously that is more than lunch and since I'm grilling for dinner I can see a very satisfying meal in my future! Tomatoes pictured are Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Constoluto Genovese (my favorite for canning), Green Zebra, Goliath and Mortgage Lifter. There are more on the vines, but they are hidden enough to not be in danger from the birds (who are bedeviling me) if I leave them on to ripen more fully for a day or two.

Mostly I'm canning them. And shockingly, as many as I planted I need to double my planting next year to get truly full canner loads at one shot. For example, the 12 pounds below only came out to 7 pints, never mind quarts. And doing that every 3 or 4 days but not getting 7 quarts isn't very energy efficient.

Nonetheless, I'm very pleased with what is coming so far and the yields just pick up from here!

My harvest from the 27th and 28th made only 7 pints out of 12 pounds of tomatoes

Question for you all on canning tomatoes: I've always heard that Romas do best, but I'm finding they don't have the kind of texture or color or powerful flavor of others. Do you can Romas or do you like others instead?

Pretty and Tasty!

2009-06-25T19:00:00.001-04:00

Not much to say today. I'm super busy at work and coming home to be super busy working at home. I'm just itching to know how the weather is treating everyone's garden though.

The way a windowsill should look in summer

Harvest for 20 June...way early!

Uhhh...now what?

At this point I'm lost in the corn growing process. My climbing beans grew faster than the corn so it is a tangled mess in there. The corn is getting the tops but not quite as tall as I am yet. I'm not sure what to do to it now to try to get things to go right now. I suppose I just wait for the experiment to unfold?

A hundred, two hundred...oh, I give up!

My winter bed looking sloppy.

But it has hidden treasures in it. :)

My acorn squash in the winter bed (which is just a small bed in the area near my house that has extended spring and slightly less devastatingly hot conditions in high summer) is producing and the amount this is growing in a day is shocking. The squash get visibly bigger from morning to evening. Weird. This was on the 20th and now it is more than double that size. I've thinned off some to be sure I have space between fruits and a limited number on a plant. I adore acorn squash so I'm drooling over this fall's hearty dishes when the weather cools.

Best to all! I've been reading on my iphone all of your blogs while waiting or between meetings, but commenting is difficult on that thing so just know I'm still with you!

Recipe - Lonely Squash Boogie

2009-06-16T16:00:00.003-04:00

There is a time in the garden when summer harvests are just beginning and spring harvests are winding down when there just doesn't seem to be enough of any one thing to do much with.

Maybe there's not enough to can or dehydrate or even to make a decent sized pan of whatever your favorite dish is of any one veggie. If you're at all like me, you get terribly tired of sauteed veggie medley after a while.

This dish is a delightful surprise when you're in that bind. It is easy, fast, hearty but not heavy and with a simple flavor profile that doesn't require a lot of brain power after a hard day to enjoy.

Ingredients:

Equal parts sliced zucchini, yellow squash and scallop squash

For each set of one each of the squashes inlude:

1 sliced carrot

1/2 chopped chicken breast without skin or bones

1 immature leek and/or early onion

Enough olive oil to coat

1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used 4 cheese blend)

1/4 cup italian bread crumbs

Fresh cracked pepper and sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Slice up the squash, carrots, onions (leeks) and chicken and toss with olive oil in glass oven proof pan to coat. I used approximately 1.5 tbsp of olive oil but I like it light. Then further toss it with the shredded cheese and bread crumbs. Bake in 350 deg F oven for about 30 minutes. Veggies should be nice and firm still, but cooked enough for flavor to release.

State of the Garden - 14 June 2009

2009-06-15T16:00:00.001-04:00

And now for the garden update with loads of pictures, a few weird questions and some interesting tidbits. I hope your garden is also doing fabulous and you're getting ready for the bounty!

Wall of tomatoes - now 7 feet high

Tomato Walls from the side

Ripening tomatoes - Oh, the anticipation

Some of the Romas are ripening also

I've always heard that Romas, being determinate sauce tomatoes, sort of come ripe all at once or in a shorter period of time. This is the second year in a row that doesn't appear to be true. They sort of produce a few at a time in the beginning, a couple of really big flushes, then smaller amounts for the rest of the season. Do you all have this? Is that really what that means, just a couple of main flushes but smaller amounts all season?

Some are just huge. These show on a sling at over a pound each, but that is a swag and may not be accurate entirely since they are still on the vine.

If you peek in there, there are a dozen or more just in this one photo and all of them full sized. Why aren't they ripe yet!!!

This is one of my twinned tomatoes. It produced 17 blossoms on the branchlet, 14 tomatoes and now has 11 since I thinned 3 off for frying.

Of course, those heirlooms give their flaky shapes. Brandywine.

Some of them really weird. Mortgage lifter.

And some of them shaped downright scary. Constoluto Genovese here.

The squash patch is a bit large at this time. I'd say bordering on Jurassic.

Is it okay that some of them fall on their side? Will they continue to grow fine or should I wrestle them back upright?

Peek down there, do you see my zukes? Marrow here.

Onions look so pretty and clean at first. Then we get this. Looks like a big knot, doesn't it.

One of my herbs that went to seed this year. I lost the marker but I think it is Oregano. I think these buds look nifty.

My peppers aren't really doing great this year. I think it hasn't been hot enough yet for long enough. They really do like the heat. The Patio Marconi is producing though, so I'm happy.

My Nasturtiums are now 9 feet long and taking up the whole path between beds. Can I cut these back so they'll grow new vines?

Borage is blooming profusely and I adore these flowers. They work on mood wonderfully. If you freeze the blooms into ice cubes, you can have mood lifters for PMS'ing teenagers all winter long. :)

The pupperonskis had a bath today. They were very good but you could tell that it scared poor Boscolator. He is such a sweet old man and he smells better now.

As you can see, they got a little excited because I had squash cookies in my hand.

Thanks for visiting! Hope you can help me with my questions because I'm completely confused about some things and could use the expertise out there that I know you all have. Till next time!

How do I harvest Parsnip seeds?

2009-06-14T19:22:00.004-04:00

I left a few parsnips from last year in the ground over winter in order to get seeds from them this year. Now, the time is either here or fast approaching and I've got no clue. I know, sad. But still true. So...help!

Parsnip stalks approximately 6 feet tall

Central Stalk - Are those seeds ready?

Surrounding stalks - still blooming and more flowers coming.

I saw on a short video online here, that this woman waited until the stalks and seeds were all dry and then cut them and shook them in a pillowslip. I probably would have done that. But then I saw other articles that said the home seed saver can get better seeds by babying the seed heads.

Basically, I gather that I should cut the flower heads when they become seeds and dry them indoors and collect them that way. But how do I know when? I mean, is that central head ready to harvest for seed? Do I just leave the others and harvest the heads as they get ready like the central head?

Anyone who knows and can offer advice, I'd be so very appreciative.

And my apologies to you all! I've not kept up with all your posts like I should with the growing season well in force and household projects that can't be put off anymore taking precedence. I'll try to visit you all, the ones I've missed, very soon to see what's up and I'll try to post more often too. :)

Garden update should post tomorrow. Wait till you see....

Great Recipe for those who never know what to do with Cabbage!

2009-06-09T09:54:00.005-04:00

Sorry there aren't photos, but it was gone too fast. Maybe next time. :)

Those who know my cooking style know I'm terribly picky with recipes. I never use a recipe as-is. I tweak and alter until it may or may not even resemble the original. This is no exception.

This is styled after an Ethiopian cabbage recipe, though I've changed it some. This will give a family of 5 a full meal of veggies. It needs no meat really.

It is also timely in that most of these things are available as spring winds down and we harvest our cabbages and carrots, pull out early onions to thin the ranks and harvest those early potatoes. And even if you're still shopping the markets, these are all in season and create a very frugal, yet hearty, meal.

The main ingredients:

-1 head of cabbage, medium, shredded (just cut on the bias)
-About 1/2 lb of carrots, sliced nice and thin
-1 medium onion in nice thin slices
-About 1/4 cup of olive oil to cook it in depending on how big all of the above turned out to be
-About a half teaspoon salt (some people like more, but my olive oil brings out salt flavor so I go with a half tsp)
-One and a half pounds of nice small yellow or white potatoes cut into dices of about 1 inch. I peel mine so the skin doesn't flap off and look bad in the dish since it gets stirred so often.
*Spices (options below)

Over medium heat, cook up the onions and carrots for about 5 minutes or until onions are clearing nicely. Then add spices (see below) and salt, as well as the cabbage. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until the cabbage is almost, but not quite, done. Then add the potatoes, cover, reduce heat slightly and let cook, tossing often, for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the potatoes are just right.

Spices: You have so many options! The strictly Ethiopian recipe would call for a teaspoon each of tumeric and ground cumin and pepper. If you are at all like me, that much tumeric will give a bitter flavor that isn't totally pleasant.

A good substitution is to decrease tumeric to 1/4 tsp and put in a teaspoon of curry powder (which has a bit of tumeric too). Instead of ground cumin, which tastes different once it has been ground for a while in the cupboard, smash up your own cumin seeds (still 1 tsp). Add a few saffron stamen for another layer of flavor. And use fresh coursely ground pepper to give it a pop.

Certainly, the above combo gives a more Indian flair (it is still very slight in my book) but the beauty of this dish is the ease with which you can nationalize it in flavors you like.

The cabbage suits itself to you rather than you to it. To me, this is a much under-rated veggie, so comfortable and accomodating, yet bursting with nutrition, texture and flavor.

Good and Delicious

2009-06-05T21:03:00.005-04:00

When the garden finally starts really producing, I'm always taken by surprise. Now, I don't mean those dribs and drabs of a few early things. I don't mean lettuce or other early treasures like small and sweet peas or tiny bright carrots.

I mean the kind of production that has you looking at your basket and wondering exactly how you're going to eat all of this. When you're nowhere close to having your canning season started yet here you are, carrying a full hod of beets.

Fried Green Tomatoes

As I've shown on a couple of previous photos, I've got no shortage of tomatoes growing. The most I have on a plant right now is 30, which is too many in my opinion. I'm probably wrong but I've always thought that when I have too good of a start on the plants and they get overwhelmed with full sized fruit too early, that they wear out for the delights later in the season.

So, with so many on some, I pruned off a few of the nice ones and had myself some fried green tomatoes! They are delicious but they make such a mess of splatters on the stove. My most prolifice plant still has 27 on it with about half a dozen at full size and ready to go red any time.

Roasted Vegetable Mixture

With a big load of chiogga beets, my personal favorite, some early potatoes, peas, carrots and onions, I made a roasted vegetable mix that is as rustically delicious as it is colorful. Toss the chopped veggies in some olive oil with thyme, minced garlic, a splash of balsamic vinegar and white wine. I added some chickpeas for protein but that really isn't for everyone as it changes the texture some. If you add tiny fresh peas or snap peas like I did, toss those in during the last five minutes. Roast at 400F for 20-30 minutes depending on your veggies. It really is a very satisfying and simple dish that can easily make a meal on its own.

What are you harvesting now and what yummies are you making with it?

State of the Garden - 27 to 30 May 2009

2009-05-30T15:00:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I'm late. I actually loaded all this up on the 27th but not posting until the 30th. I just get so busy!

But enough of that. Want a tour?

Me Holding a Lettuce...yes, Lettuce, before I stripped the good leaves and composted it.

My Nasturtiums are now over 6 feet long

So many tomatoes, I expect ripe ones by next weekend

Some tomatoes are huge

Purple cauliflower that is ready to harvest today, the 30th (see Mr. Dead Cabbage Worm there to the left?)

My Onions are way taller than last year. This is just below my chest level.

And this is what a patch of onions looks like from above. What a mess!

I'm harvesting peas daily. They are super sweet and yummy.

All my lettuce is huge. Not bolted though. Still tender and sweet. I'm pulling them all now though since it is only a matter of days at this point.

All my squash are blooming nicely. This is marrow.

And here is me while almost mended from Strep (so I look like doodoo) visiting the garden. Note I'm completely covered because of the antibiotics making me burn in the sun. What a dork!

More tomatoes...(this one has 17 tomatoes growing on this little branchlet)

And more tomatoes. This is my Super Fantastic from saved seeds. I think it will be ripe first.

Blueberries coming on (and birds getting more than me!)

My second year parsnips in bloom for seed saving.

Corn and beans.

And a view of the jungle. It doesn't look quite so pretty, just very large.

Things are moving along! When I look back at last year, this is far and away a totally different experience. Tomatoes are several weeks ahead and everything is much, MUCH, bigger than last year. I'm not sure what I did, but the plants are just huge and overly abundant. I actually pruned some of the larger green tomatoes off and had some fried green tomatoes. It just didn't seem right to have 30 tomatoes on one plant so early.

Things Are A Blooming...

2009-05-30T11:30:00.001-04:00

Many Nasturtiums

More Nasturtiums

Comfrey

Brocolli

Peas

Don't you just love all the useful and pretty blooms in your garden? I know I do.

Best Gardening Journal Ever!

2009-05-28T17:00:00.001-04:00

I've had my eye on this journal for over a year, but I just couldn't see spending over $40 with shipping for a garden journal, especially when I wasn't sure what was going to work for me. So, I bought one for half that for last year that is nice, but not quite the thing for me. So, I splurged and took the plunge. Wow, I gotta tell you all, it is the finest garden journal ever! I got it from Lee Valley.

It is pretty thick at almost 500 pages and very well bound in sealed fabric to make it more weather proof. Very nice paper that is going to stand up to the repeated shuffling through that a gardener will do over time.

Probably the best thing about it is the logic of it. Each page is dated, but has divisions for 10 years of that date per page. This makes it so much easier to compare the status of things from year to year. Each entry has the place for the year, the predominant weather, temps and plenty of room for almost any days entry.

But like they say; that ain't all folks! It has loads of stuff for garden layouts, harvests, planting dates, seeds, major purchases, projects and even references. Basically, it is good stuff!

100th Post and One Year of Progress

2009-05-27T18:36:00.000-04:00

Sorry all! I've been way busy for the last couple of weeks in the garden, working on the house, taking care of the pets' semi-annual and annual medical needs and even having strep throat (yippee..argh). I promise to get back to the blogs soon. I can't even imagine how much I've missed that you've all posted. The missed recipes alone are enough to make a girl weep!

I tried so hard to find some profound thing to post for my 100th, but all that got me was a 2 week dry period where I couldn't think of a single thing. This is better. :)

A Nice Spring Day at Home

Lavender is Blooming

Peas were blooming and are now being harvested

Garden a couple of weeks ago...just wait till you see the changes!

On May 12th, 17 blossoms on a single branchlet..now 17 tomatoes!

I can't wait to show you all the changes. I'm beginning to think my garden isn't quite normal at this point. I mean, since when do cauliflower get 3.5 feet tall? And lettuce leaves as long as my hand and forearm? And...::gulp:: 17 tomatoes on a single branchlet and all of them growing as big as any other? I'll show pictures. It's a little odd for me.

2012: Doomsday - The Worst Doomer Movie Ever

2009-05-10T17:00:00.000-04:00

I've admitted previously how much I love doomer movies. Whether it's post-apocalyptic or dystopian or whatever it is...if it fall into that general line, I love it.

That said, 2012: Doomsday is one of the worst movies I've ever actually sat through. In fact, it was so bad, I sorted junk mail for shredding and composting while it was on. Argh..I feel like I was robbed of almost 2 hours of life.

It was so very bad, I can't actually write a review of plot details...

Just thought I'd share. :)

Cleaning Challenge To Myself

2009-05-09T17:00:00.001-04:00

Some of you may have read here about my first successful use of just plain vinegar and water to wash windows. It was clear that the window with windex was no better than the one with vinegar. So, one cleaning solution down. But what else is lurking around that I'd like to replace with those alternatives I can make myself from a simple mix of core ingredients.

First, evaluate what I have going on and well, you can see the challenge.

Under the sink (there's more behind the trash can on the other side)

Oh, but there are more sinks...

...and laundry areas...

...and more bathroom sinks...

...and closets in each bathroom...

...and even more sinks.

And lest you think that is all, I didn't show you all the sinks and closets because people had private things in there that might have wound up in the photos. In fact, because I am a prepper and a frugal shopper, I tend to have large amounts of stuff I use on hand. I stopped counting after a while and you can see why.

Just for comparison, I found 19 bottles of toilet bowl cleaner. Argh.

So now, I'm organizing those things back into a central location so I can use them up and test the alternatives in side by side comparisons before I switch. While I'm all for buying baking soda, vinegar and a few other normal things to make my own, I won't settle for a halfway clean house. So, testing is in order.

I'm ready! Anybody got any good recipes? I've found a good many out there, but am collecting as many as possible.

Book Review - "The Gate to Women's Country"

2009-05-07T17:00:00.000-04:00

This is the first book I read by Sheri S. Tepper, who has a written a great many books since her late-in-life entry into the world of authorship. This isn't her first work, but it is probably one of her most talked about. That's actually putting it tamely. Many people really argue about this book, feel deep seated insecurities about what others think of the book or embrace it with a little too much fervor.

Why?

Gate is essentially a post apocalyptic tale, with the fall several hundred years in the past. The world is lovely and quiet, with a slow rediscovery and recovery of technology. The world, at least as far as these folks reach, is based on widely spread walled towns. Where it gets tricky for folks is that these towns are inhabited only by women, their children and a few men who have undergone a complete separation from "normal" male life.

And what is normal male life in this new world? They live in garrisons, each protecting "their" town and women. They do lots of drilling, lots of yelling and male bonding and lots of big talking regarding their prowess. They interact with women personally only during sheduled free for alls, but the women seem very obliging in the matter. Every so often the men get word of some major insult from one town, or women relay, leader to leader, that there is some threat somewhere and a few towns' men march off in great honor to fight and come back far fewer in number.

Hmm...wonder why this makes male readers a bit uncomfortable at this point?

The main character is Stavia, though there are many other characters who are just as strong and vivid, and she essentially goes through her young life and into adulthood in this story. She is becoming...in all ways. She intuits and then discovers the world and what has happened within it as well as the secrets that only a very few know in Women's Country.

It is a difficult book in some respects. Mostly because it touches on some things, at various points, that all women feel deep down inside but go their entire lives never once speaking about to another soul. It touches also pretty deeply on how solutions aren't at all what they are sometimes cracked up to be.

Now, it isn't perfect. There are some resolutions that wouldn't be possible in our world and some mystical bits that always seem to wander in. All in all, it is very satisfying and one I'd want to keep to read again a few years later so I can refresh my enjoyment. It will certainly give you some pause to think.

And, for the guys; no, this isn't a man-hater book. It does put some issues on the table that are otherwise taboo though. I mean, we all know facts and numbers, but there is little alternative history to compare to. What can we point to as a truly woman dominated society to compare with our male dominated one to see, empirically, what is better? So, if you do read this, keep in mind this is a fiction writer with an interesting speculative slant on a story.

Enjoy and let me know if you read it and what you thought of it?

Independence Days Challenge Week 1

2009-05-06T17:00:00.000-04:00

I've joined this years Independence Days Challege over at Casaubon's Book! I'm not sure if these are the same questions from last year in total, but I really liked the old questions so maybe I'll pop over to one of your blogs and get those to add. My first report and at least it isn't completely empty.

Plant Something: Yes! Another run of radishes, Chinese red noodle beans for the Three Sisters Garden, Sugar Baby pumpkins for the same, replanted some losses in the squash bed, transplanted many things including herbs and veggies.

Harvest Something: Just getting rolling on that! Radishes, leaf lettuces, beet greens, early carrots, green onions (just thinning my Juane bulb onions), various herbs for flavoring the salads.

Preserve Something: Trying to harvest and ready for storing my rosemary seeds, but nothing major this week. Mostly I'm working on getting all my stuff ready for harvest season.

Reduce Waste: Not much there either, just tossing veggie waste where it will recycle into dirt for me.

Preparation and Storage: Definitely! Mostly odds and ends to keep my stocks at the level I've determined I need. Store what you eat and eat what you store, ya know. But also increased some areas and bumped up rechargable batteries (with car adapter), water containers and other things for hurricane season, which is just around the corner!

Build Community Food Systems: Given very strong plant starts of heirloom veggies to two new gardeners and one returnee from last year that I converted!

Eat The Food: Oh yes, I'm enjoying a great many salads fresh from the garden and using up a good deal of my canned veggies from last year's harvest. I'm going to be sad to see the last of the corn and tomatoes.

Blissful Moment

2009-05-05T16:00:00.001-04:00

The following series was taken in about 30 seconds. It goes off center because I was laughing. My old man Beagle has these moments of bliss, usually when he goes into his "cave" after a good bit of sniffing outside.

And to finish off, he stayed just like this and was snoring in about 2 minutes. Oh, the joy of being a beloved dog.

And this crate, his cave, is a spot he has chosen as a nice vantage point to rest while others run about. The door is never closed.

Book Review Series Coming: Author Sheri S. Tepper

2009-05-05T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is for all you readers out there like me, who occassionally find a new author that you just devour. The one you consider a newly unearthed goldmine who has a whole body of existing work you haven't touched on yet? Oh yes, I love those discoveries and recently I was accidentally introduced to my latest. Sheri S. Tepper.

I first heard about the book, The Gate to Women's Country, on a post-apocalyptic/doomer book list of good reads. Having never heard of it or the author, I looked up reviews and was delighted to find passionate disagreement, outright hatred and over the top adulation. Ahhh...perfect. So I ordered it with my next Amazon Order and delved right in.

Now, I'm not saying it was perfect, nor that any of her books are perfect. Instead I'm saying they are fascinating, completely novel, refreshingly new in their point of view and each has a moral like the old fashioned fairy tales set for our modern literary tastes.

Very quickly I ordered a further six novels and I've finished them in less than 2 weeks. Included are the SciFi masterwork, Grass, The Family Tree, Beauty, Singer From the Sea, The Margarets and The Companions.

Her body of work has a great many more in it and I'm preparing my next order with her works dominating it. As an aside, for anyone thinking of jumping in before I get the reviews, a lot of her books are out as regular paperbacks and Amazon some of them may still be in their 4 for 3 special, but those get rotated so no guarantees.

I'm going to review all her books in an upcoming series of entries, but if you've read any of them already and want to get your two cents in, I'll incorporate your comments as I write the reviews. You can leave them here and I will look. Even if you hate it I'll be sure to include your views!

About the Author:

Sheri Tepper isn't a spring chicken. In fact, had my Grandmother lived to now she would be the peer of Ms. Tepper. And she hasn't been writing all that long, I believe writing her first in 1984. Despite that, her novel Grass is number 48 in the Science Fiction Masterworks list and edition. Pretty amazing considering the scope and company in that group.

And yes, she writes Science Fiction, but not in the way you might think of it. It isn't the hard science of Benford or the smushy romantic pretend SciFi of authors I won't shame to name. It is instead a truly unique and unparalleled ability to build worlds and put our human selves in a new light and with a whole new extension on our history. The way we change, inside and out, and see ourselves.

But I'm about to spoil it so I won't go on. The reviews are being written in draft now and I'll schedule their posting far enough in advance to edit for anything you all write that needs incorporating.

Book Reviews: Gardening When It Counts and Square Foot Gardening

2009-05-04T12:37:00.001-04:00

I'm reviewing both of these books together because they represent the two ends of the home gardening spectrum when it comes to philosophy. I have both, love both and have finally figured out how to combine the best elements of both philosophies to fit my particular climate, space and habit. I'll warn now, this is more of an article than a blog entry and is a bit long. Sorry!

I'm also including both because I think many people get really polarized in their gardening views. And yes, I've actually heard folks use heated words with each other over this very topic. Strange, but true.

Another important reason to really delve into these gardening philosophies is based on what the future is shaping up to be. Both writers fully understand that during hard financial times, home gardening increases and many folks jump in for the first time while being really financially tied to the outcome. Even for the experienced gardener who has been treating their veggies as a hobby and not paying attention to what it costs would benefit from really evaluating their garden.

Sometimes, it boils down to the interpretation with regards to environmentalism, sustainability, food safety or even meshing with the wilds. The truth is, a strict adherence to any gardening style when it may not be ideal for any one particular spot on the world is going to be the lesser one and that could wind up being either of these. If I had to summarize what I took from both books, I'd say it was that knowing both methods is essential and all but the most urban spot is probably going to wind up needing a bit of both.

Gardening When It Counts

Steve Solomon, the author, hasn't been an advocate of the wide space method forever. In fact, he wrote books on various intensive methods in the past. He's actually a relative newcomer to this but he is a logical person with long gardening experience and a wonderful point of view. His current garden can survive without much in the way of irrigation or inputs and leverages the habits of plants in nature as a way to ensure harvests under adverse conditions.

Square Foot Gardening

Mel Bartholomew, probably one of the best known and most personable of all the intensive method gardening writers, is the developer of Square Foot Gardening. While he has refined it some over time, the basic premise remains the same as it was when it had its debut on PBS to the American people. It's been spread throughout the world and is often used as a way to allow urban people and schools access to growing food they wouldn't otherwise have.

The Good, The Bad and the Comparison

Spacing: One of the most basic differences in these methods is the plant spacing.

GWIC, very wide plant spacing is used to leverage expanding root systems to reduce or eliminate irrigation or fertilization needs. Instead of putting a lot of inputs, the plants get to use more area to get what they need. The upside is that water, if expensive, and fertilizers which are increasingly expensive, aren't needed. The downside is that lots of open space between plants means lots of light for weeds to grow and even more importantly, lots of space that is dedicated to crops instead of the natural plant array for that area.
SFG promotes a very close spacing of plants in an ideal soil mix while tending the plants to keep them in check, such as pruning tomato vines to the main vine or 2 instead of sprawling. The upside is that even the most limited space, even a balcony, can produce veggies. There is very limited destruction of ground structure and containment is easier. It is also the only option for many in HOAs that don't permit in ground gardens due to aesthetics. The downside is that some produce will be smaller, in particular, big beefsteak tomatoes, larger peppers and eggplants, primarily because roots sense their spacial limitations.

Initial Outlay: Big difference in costs and labor between these methods.

GWIC uses a much larger area but takes the ground as it is. Initial amendments are limited to what is on hand, like compost and manure and added only rarely or during fallow times. So cost is low. Sweat equity, on the other hand, is quite high. Initial clearance, leveling and breaking sod can be back breaking, and if you're clearing a large area or many patches, it can be overwhelming. If you live in a verdant area that has a lot of vines, creepers or invasives, this may not be do-able at all. And if you're in suburbia, your lot may not be big enough for much in the long run.
SFG does use a very small area relative to output. In just pound for area comparison, there isn't much to outstrip SFG. Initial labor means building beds, filling them and that means a day of hard work. The cost, however, can be really prohibitive if you don't have a ready supply of compost and manure and soil. Good lumber, stone or blocks to build the beds can cost a pretty penny and importing good soil and compost cost even more.

Maintenance and Output: Tending the garden for what you get out of it

GWIC is reputed to give very large and very abundant results. With so much space to sprawl and drawn nutrients from, the plants give their all and this is the kind of garden you can get prize sized tomatoes from. Of course, the downside is the weeding since weeds are going to take advantage of all that space and sun and nutrients too. You'll lose the advantage that produces the size unless you're tenacious with weeding. Mulching with whatever is available reduces that need for weeding some, but relies on the availability of mulching material that is appropriate. Watering, which can be a pain, is much reduced as the resevoir of retained water is being used by a smaller number of plants per area.
SFG definitely gives smaller produce in space dependent plants, however the amount per square foot is higher overall. Weeding is so easy as to be a non-issue and once plants establish they shade the ground preventing more weed growth and keeping in moisture so the watering isn't too bad. Of course, you do have to water SF Gardens more overall. In the height of a truly blazing summer a bed of tomatoes is going to need a shot every other day no question. Nutrients are going to be depleted more rapidly with an intensive bed, no matter what. Side dressings of compost are going to be needed for full season plantings and a handful of compost added to each square during succession planting is a must.

Overall Impressions of both books:

Each one is a valuable addition to the core gardening reference section of every home gardener. If you're at all concerned with changes in economy or foreign food safety changing the way you garden or feed your family, then these are really a must. Both have sound principles and both have a valid point of view. Both of them aren't likely to be able to be used singly in any location, though there are exceptions to that, but together and used in combination, they cover almost any garden location you can think of. I don't think you'll regret making these purchases and will refer to them over and over as the years go by.

Knowing how to figure out what is right for you can be hard for some folks. It is just too confusing and people remain unsure about things for years, even when they really do know it deep down inside. I wasn't born with a green thumb...I developed one. It took only about a year of watching to figure out what was right for me. And believe me, if I can do that with little effort, so can anyone else.

Quick Garden Tip and Harvesting

2009-05-04T10:00:00.001-04:00

Just a quick garden tip for anyone else who, like me, had trouble with certain impolite mammals nibbling off newly sprouted plants in the garden. I've found a pretty fool-proof method for my home. My squash bed, just a 10x10x10 foot triangle with 6 hills for 1 or two plants each, had all my sprouting plants nibbled off to the stem as soon as they sprouted.

I thought maybe those metal baskets that get lined with paper for eating fries or the like from would work. But metal ones just aren't made much anymore. So I found some plastic ones, very heavy duty ones too, for just a buck each. I placed one upside down over each of the newly planted seed clusters.

Yep, it worked. Once I got the bigger leaves starting to unfurl, making the plant wobble about with menace in the breeze, I take off the bowl. Wonderful! I now have 2 bowls off and 4 to go.

Ingenious upside down plastic basket seed protectors

My first full salad harvest was delicious

And I've graduated from mere bits and bites here and there finally. Full and large butter, green leaf and red leaf lettuce, early carrots, strawberries, radishes, early onions and decent beet greens make a fabulastic salad that still tastes like a sunny spring morning.

Just One Month

2009-05-03T17:00:00.001-04:00

Have a look at what the beds looked like on April 1st and on May 2nd. Spring is amazing, isn't it?

Overview on May 2nd

Same beds on April 1st

Most of the Garden Overview - Corn still short!

Can You See the Difference?

2009-05-03T10:00:00.001-04:00

Why in the world am I posting a picture of the glass in my living room window, you ask? In my ongoing quest to limit the amount of junk that I buy that isn't at all helpful to anyone really, I'm experimenting with cleaning using low tech and old fashioned cleaning methods. One of the most common and approved of is the use of vinegar and water instead of glass cleaner. And my, oh my, it works!

Left is vinegar and water; Right is Windex

If you click the photo it should open up huge for you. Please, please ignore the rampant meadow that is my lawn, it is now cut. I promise! At any rate, like many people with dogs, I have a constant streak of nose marks across my window at Beagle nose level. It is gross and cloudy and snotty and even has little run marks when they are particularly excited and fling snot. In other words, I have window challenges.

While there is some reflective cloudiness on the windows, it isn't them but my camera work and you can take it from me, there was not one jot of difference between the two windows. And while I did notice an immediate vinegar smell when I sprayed the windows, it was gone by the time I was done. I think it must evaporate quite quickly.

The recipe is simple: 1 Part White Vinegar to 3 Parts Water. That's it.

Colonial Williamsburg with Mom

2009-05-02T18:17:00.001-04:00

Mom in Governor's Palace

My mother, J, came down for a lovely visit a few weeks ago. She stayed with my sister but we got to do plenty together. A super fun day for Mom and me, but perhaps less so for my sister J the Younger, who wasn't feeling great, was our trip to Colonial Williamsburg. My sister was a trooper though and seemed to have a good time anyway and it was nice to spend time with her.

I've been there before, but never in the first flush of spring and it was wonderful! I think the highlight for my Mom was the tour of the Governor's Palace. For me, the kitchens and kitchen garden were by far the focus.

Kitchen Gardens at the Governor's Palace

The food made daily in the kitchen outbuilding is taken from foods grown there in the gardens and heritage breeds of stock, some now quite rare, raised and slaughtered there. Some of their animals are simply amazing and wonderful. Luckily, they have a book of their breeds for sale in their book shop. :) Next time I'll get it. This time I focused on garden books outlining the evolution of the garden design in America, Pleasure gardens and other wonderful garden-y things.

But back to the food for a second; the cooks in that outdoor kitchen use authentic implements and everything just as it was and cook real food, all day long, which they lay out on a table in between their cooking area and the visitors. Not to eat, of course, but anything you might want to ask or have explained, they do. It really is amazing.

The Hedge Maze at the Palace

The hedge maze was looking a bit worse for wear with so many people pushing through rather than find their way out. Since it is still early, they will thicken up, but it is a shame to see people destroying something so old and beautiful. This photo was taken from atop the ice house which is about 16 feet tall and still perfectly operable. The Palace runs along the canal, with truly spectacular terraced lawn and gardens, and the ice used to be cut right from that canal. It hasn't actually frozen in years, but the stone and earthen ice house provided cold storage and ice throughout our sweltering Virginia summer and fall for all the people that lived there.

We ended our evening there by enjoying a wonderful dinner at Shield's Tavern, where we were very lucky to get an early reservation. It is superb food and very stout fortified beverages are served :: grin::. I knew enough to get a Pimm's Cup, which is just fine to have early in the dinner and be able to drive a few hours later. My Mom, on the other hand, got a Rummer. Those are basically a glass full of delcious, but rather potent, alcohol. She was a trooper though. The portions were huge and we took home doggie bags. I highly recommend it.

Mumsy is coming back this month and we plan on going again to see the growth. We're going for King's Tavern reservations and carriage rides. I'm focused on trying that Colonial Game Pye, which I've heard a great deal of good about, before I try the recipe (which I have) with my limited supply of venison.

Blogalyser

2009-05-01T19:31:00.001-04:00

I recently saw this analysis on another blog, (sorry that I can't remember who, it isn't one I follow but one I linked to somehow), and favorited the base site for later. I've now run the analysis on my blog. The link for the site is at the bottom so you can do it to your blog too. I'd be interested to see how all my blog friends out there roll out doing this.

My feeling is that a lot of us garden bloggers and sustainable living bloggers might wind up similarly. My purposeful and, at times, difficult avoidance of talking politics and sullying gardening with that tends to skew these stats some, I think.

I also ran the Gender Genie linked at that site to see the results for individual posts. Every single post I tried, and I tried a lot, came up more male than female (how depressing is that!) but there was a definite difference depending on topic. When rambling on about Sustainability or reviewing a book, I came up less overwhelmingly male in my writing. When giving facts and status on gardening then I come up with a much higher percentage, up to 80%. Argh...is that just my alpha personality and 23 years in the military?

Enjoy! What would you suggest I do to improve my communications with all of you?

The Blogalyser reveals...

Your blog/web page text has an overall readability index of 11.

This suggests that your writing style is conventional
(to communicate well you should aim for a figure between 10 and 20).Your blog has 34 sentences per entry, which suggests your general message is distinguished by verbosity
(writing for the web should be concise).

CHARACTER MATRIX

male		female
self		world
past		future

Your text shows characteristics which are 56% male and 44% female
(for more information see the Gender Genie).
Looking at pronoun indicators, you write mainly about yourself, then the world in general and finally your social circle. Also, your writing focuses primarily on the present, next the past and lastly the future.

Find out what your blogging style is like!

Ginger Beer Results...Delicious!

2009-04-30T05:42:00.004-04:00

Delicious, Ice-Cold Ginger Beer

My first batch of Ginger beer didn't really trip my trigger much. It was just a tad too blah for me. So, I spiced things up a bit and added more lemon this time and used a lot more fresh ginger.

Whoooyaaaa...can I even begin to describe the delicousness? I think not.

The taste is sweet, spicy, a bit citrus-y, a bit bubbly like champagne and utterly refreshing.

I used plastic water bottles, which I rarely have but did after my Mom came to visit. You can use bigger bottles however the bubbliness of it will go away if not used within a day or so. Smaller bottles mean you get fizz the whole way.

As for alcohol content, I do think I might have a little in mine. I'm a notorious lightweight and my lips get numb after the first sip of wine or spirits. When drinking this, I don't necessarily feel anything but my lips get numb after a glass for a little while. So...maybe a little.

Mine got very fizzy. Perhaps that had something to do with the alcohol content.

A word of caution though. Please don't be tempted (like I was) to use all glass bottles. If you can't stomach plastic, which I normally detest also, be sure to have at least one bottle of your batch in plastic to act as a tell-tale bottle! Mine seemed to not be making pressure at all, so I relaxed about it. I came down the next morning to all my bottles bulging and unable to stand up from the pressure in them. While I hurredly put them in the frig and stopped the process safely, glass would have been a huge mess all over the counter

If anyone else does this, let me know how it goes for you, please.

Watching the Flash Flood Happen

2009-04-28T15:14:00.002-04:00

I was only able to get one decent photo of the deluge last week and I thought you might be interested in seeing how exactly, I managed to have a flash flood event localized to my very own yard. Well.....

...here it is! The lot behind me where a new house is going up has an increasingly tall mound of dirt. The plastic barrier meant to keep an 8 foot tall pile from blowing around via a 3 foot tall bit of plastic had, unfortunately, gotten it's lower edge buried by the ever growing pile. Which means over a foot of water built up like a little dam in 25 minutes and then, whoosh, it all came down the incline where I was standing.
Yours truly, after taking this picture, decided to be really intelligent and go see for herself how high that water was going to get. LOL...oh, yes, I was trudging across the mud when it came rolling down.
No worries. I'm fine, of course and my garden is clearly recovered since I posted the pics just yesterday. It was a moment of pure rush though. And I've reaffirmed my undying love of rubber boots :)

Squirrels and Cabbage Worms...Oh My!

2009-04-27T06:10:00.004-04:00

I really don't know why I keep trying to grow brassicas of any kind in the spring here. For this area, it really is a fall crop, but hope springs eternal with me. And lets face it, I'm craving some tender Brussels sprouts, crunchy broccoli and rich purple cauliflower. Okay, I'll stop drooling and get to business.

Purple Cauliflower looks healthy but...

The holes are from a hailstorm last week but the chewed leaves are just that, chewed! The brazen and hungry cabbage moth caterpillars have been having a heyday over here. When very early spring starts here, I always here people oohing and aahing over the dainty white moths that go flitting here and yon. I groan. I flicked the ones I could find off but I'll be honest, they creep me out.

Sacrificial Brussel sprout plant with cabbage worms.

If you look at the second to the top leaf, you can see a nice big worm but believe me when I say there are several. This is a sacrificial plant, sort of like a scapegoat. I noticed last year that the moths laid their eggs mostly on the larger and more healthy plants, leaving those that lag in growth alone. So this year I tried an experiment by starting a sprout plant last fall outside, mulching in a protected area to winter over, and then planting it in a bed far away from where the other brassicas would go. It actually worked a bit. Almost all the worms were found here, in this plant. The purple cauliflower had some, but they grew very quickly, and only a few were found in any other plants. Its something to think on for sure.

Ravaged sweet corn bed.

My experimental bed that should hold sweet corn for the three sisters method looks like a minefield. Squirrels keep digging up the corn, even after it is well sprouted, eating the nub and then leaving the poor plant just lying there. I've started more inside to transplant once big enough to be nubless.

Close up of the damage.

Here you can see the holes from the squirrels' digging and a baby corn plant, now rootless, lying there just to taunt with all it's lost potential.

I did try netting, but they just squeeze through somehow. I've got to get psychological on those critters, but how can I consistently psych out a squirrel?

State of the Garden - 27 April 2009

2009-04-27T05:47:00.007-04:00

It's been 3 weeks since my last garden update and what a difference a bit of spring makes! So, let's get started with the show and tell. I also have a couple of questions in here that maybe some of you savvy and more experienced gardeners can answer.

Those little sticks that were supposed to be apple trees, remember those? Well! They are covered in leaves and look very happy!

The comfrey plants are well up and the leaves are just huge! Far bigger than my hand. I really love the soft feathery feel of the fuzz on them.

One of my olive trees, arbequina olives, is actually blooming! I wasn't really expecting that until next year. There won't be a harvest, per se, because the first few years they bloom and set fruit they are mostly pit. Arbequina olives are the most flavorful little bursts of deliciousness you can imagine and the finest oil also comes from them. They are great for large containers too and can be shaped very nicely too.

Sorry about the thumb in the picture (when is the last time you actually saw that happen?) but I didn't have another shot quite so good from yesterday. This is one of the new beds and wow, can you believe how much it has grown in the last 3 weeks? I sure can't. In fact, I'll post a time show sometime soon because Spring is just amazing in how fast it works on our gardens, isn't it?

You can see the onions are growing super fast, as are the purple cauliflower, radishes (of course) and beets, but the real surprise is the recovery and fast growth of the tomatoes! I put them out way too early because I had run out of space under the lights, thinking I had so many extra that if they died I could swap them out. For a while it looked bad and then a week ago, we had big hail ripping holes in things but then, suddenly, bonanza!

Here in Bed 2, the peas are twining, lettuce is still producing some beautiful (and yummy) leaves, and other brassicas are growing apace even while being attacked by my greatest spring enemy (I've got another post and close up for you). Tomatoes here are doing fab also. As of this morning one of the early peas also had a few blooms. Hurray!

And for the first official tomato bloom of the year, the prize goes to a surprising contestant. The Black Krim tomato. I'm pot growing many of the extra tomatoes as well as giving some away.

Not too far behind the Black Krim is another surprising one, Cherokee Purple, who is probably going to unfurl its lovely and large bloom today.

The blueberries, which are just on their second year, are loaded with lovely growing berries. I just have 2 bushes right now as I'm experimenting with variety and soil and they are contained in a giant pot...I do mean giant...that is 3 feet high. New branches have come out of the base of it and they are quite tall, but I'm still trying to figure out how to prune for max production so I think I have far less than I probably should.

And one of the biggest surprises in the new "orchard" of experimental fruiting is the cherry tree. It is a dwarf, self pollinating one and was just a stick and hasn't even fully unfurled all the new leaf growth, but yet, it has one small blossom that appears to have taken!

My strawberry bed is producing, but the results are a bit varied. The plants near the base of the brick porch have grown by leaps and bounds more than those out front and center. I'm thinking it is because the porch retained heat while it was so cold while those up front had more chilling wind effects.

Nonetheless, I've harvested a half dozen or so small and perfectly tasty very early strawberries!

Here is on of my most pressing questions. The bush below is one of two planted when my house was built in 2005. Since I wasn't very familiar with what my neighbors would or wouldn't accept in my front yard and not at all sure of the right types for this area's weather, I asked they choose something fairly easy care, evergreen and not likely to create problems with my foundation. This is what they put in. To this day, I still have no idea what they are.

To describe them, they are evergreen, they spread about twice as much as they grow in height and right now each is about 8 feet wide and 4 feet high. And for a close up...

You can see in this close up what the blooms and leaves look like. They have a very heady scent that is quite enticing. I associate the smell with gardenia but I'm not good with very precise smells. The leaves are waxy and firm. I'd really like to know what they are. Any idea?

My alien hostas are coming up fast and I'm very happy to see they weren't all destroyed when my foundation was re-stuccoed last fall. It looks like some close to the wall may have had some damage as they aren't coming up fast or as thick, but there is survival! I desperately need to separate these out this year and spread the wealth to the other beds around the house I'm building. I actually included this picture to show the effect of 30 minutes of rain that produced over 2 inches of rain! It overflowed the gutters and came down in sheets, pushing the soil right over the bed edging and into the yard. I estimate I lost about a cubic yard of newly laid compost/topsoil mix in that half hour.

My dogwood is blooming so prettily.

And the bulbs are starting to bloom and be all showy for me.

And not to forget a little puppy love, here is Boscoe smiling up at me because he knows he's about to get his belly rubbed. It is totally his favorite.

Backyard Predatory Frenzy

2009-04-17T22:43:00.003-04:00

Tonight is a weird night around our place. I think of spring as a time of new life, that particular shade of green from new growth, working in the ground and fresh radishes as a garden welcome. What I forget is that everything else is waking up and thinking the same thing and their diets aren't always so benign.

Just a bit ago I went outside for a few minutes and stood on the deck. Within five seconds a rather large and fat cat I've seen for a couple of years darted guiltily off to stare at me from under my bayberry tree. A second later the turning shine of its eyes alerted me to the rabbit standing nearby very still. He seemed to be considering whether I was more of a threat or the cat. I eventually got between them and shoo'ed them both in opposite directions.

Hearing a rustling, I looked up and who did I see but my very own household sociopathic owl. He looked down at me with those shiny eyes and I skeedaddled back up onto the deck. He is truly a disturbed owl. He can eat all the squirrels or rabbits he wants, we can share our space just fine, but must he bring them into the branch of the tree right outside my bedroom window and let them scream for up to an hour while he just stands there with his claws in it? Demented. Truly.

So there I am back on the deck having a serious conversation about the need for sleep tonight with a most uninterested owl when I hear a mad splashing and very pathetic keening from the shore of my wetlands. It is followed by another mad splashing, silence, a weaker cry and then a crack. Silence. There goes one of the baby geese or ducks.

::sigh::

Spring is a time of new life, but darkness brings out those who feed on it. I suppose this is one of the downsides of having such a wildlife friendly urban homestead. It offers a chance oasis in our man-made city for them but the cycle of life goes on.

Just thought I'd share. But now I have to go get that owl to leave Mr. Bunny alone. I rather like him hanging about nibbling on things I prune from the garden. He's just so polite!

Book Review - "One Second After"

2009-04-13T09:19:00.004-04:00

Since my last book review, I've probably read more than 3 dozen books. They aren't reviewed up here, though one or two are worth the work, but this one has absolutely galvanized me to ensure I tell everyone about it. Written by William Forstchen, it is my first reading of his work, though I have heard he's a good writer.

I heard about it on Nealz Nuze and even though Neal's unimitigated disdain for women drives me insane, I did like the book review so I immediately ordered it from Amazon.

When it came I pulled it from the box of books first and devoured it in one day and night of little sleep. I just couldn't stop.

Right on the cover it says the Foreward is by Newt Gingrich, and I'll admit that is quite off-putting for many, including myself, but trust me when I say that it isn't at all what you might expect from him.

So, what is it about? Wow, I can barely describe what it is about because it is about so many things tied beautifully together. If you go by the bookflap, it is about the after-effects of an EMP burst by unknown enemies, perhaps even terrorists, over the United States. EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse), for those who may not know, is often associated with an airburst of a nuclear weapon where radiation is the real problem.

As noted in the book, however, EMP is a powerful weapon in itself and the definitive report on it was unfortunately submitted for our leaders' consideration on the same day the 9/11/01 report was, thus ensuring it was never considered. EMP remains our most vulnerable and easily exploited gap in our freedom and way of life.

Without creating a bunch of spoilers for the book, a single EMP is launched and explodes about 100 miles above the United States, creating an instantaneous overload in any electrical circuit and immediately overheating and destroying any chip not shielded within it's line of sight, which is almost the entire North American Continent at that height. It doesn't create radiation that hurts, doesn't damage buildings or the environment. Everything simply stops and won't start again.

A retired Colonel and now history professor who lives with his 2 daughters in a small western North Carolina town are the main characters and it is about the first year after the EMP.

It is a profoundly moving book and I will say that if you don't cry at least twice in this book, you may not actually have a heart. It is utterly realistic, widely scoped while keeping true to the family at the center, amazingly beautiful and profoundly sad. It will become, I have no doubt whatsoever, a classic like Earth Abides, The Time Machine and Brave New World.

Now, this isn't a Doomer book in any way, shape or form. Not at all. It isn't a military book with loads of hard to imagine movements or people. It isn't a survivalist book where the protagonist seems to know everything and never gets tired. It isn't filled with bad science or incorrect mechanics. What it is: A story of a very realistic family, in a very realistic small town in a very realistic but unfortunate situation.

I really can't recommend this book highly enough. If I could afford it, I would buy hundreds of them and hand them out to people. Take stock of the person you are before you start this book and then again after finishing. If you are at all like me (and many others who have now read it) you'll find that you are no longer the person that started the book. You'll hug your family a bit more, pet your dog with more love, look at our day to day life with more wonder and have a new lease on a brand new life.

Rooms We Wished We Had

2009-04-08T06:17:00.004-04:00

Since I'm still (and will be for the foreseeable future) trying to figure out the details of my future home in the country, I read a lot about the subject. Recently, I read an article that only indirectly related to my quest, but was very interesting so I thought I'd share.

Apparently, someone has finally figured out that the people that bought all those McMansions don't actually use all that room. (Insert laugh here.)

Honestly, how long should it take to figure out that 2 people who work away from home all day aren't really using a house that has 5 bathrooms, 6 bedrooms and more than half a dozen other rooms with labels like media, conversation, grand dining or library? I'm equally sure that this only comes up as the economy contracts and these same homeowners are no longer capable of keeping their maids or cleaning services. Houses can certainly seem bigger when one is suddenly required to be the one taking care of it.

But it brought up a thought. Some of the quotes in there reflect where purchasers were coming from when they bought it really well. One commented that she had always wanted a butler's pantry like in the old house she grew up in, and it was only in this large house that she had found it. Personally, I wouldn't buy a 5,000 square foot house in order to get a pantry, but that is just me.

It further wrote that studies show that people will buy a home based on a single room, even if they don't know they are doing it. Sort of backs up that above example a bit.

So, what room would you most like to have in your house? Assume you have the right number of regular rooms for your uses, such as bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen, etc. All the normal stuff is there we'll say. What would you add if you could?

I did a bit of a real world poll by asking everyone around me for the last couple of days and these are the answers I got:
Harvest Kitchen
Butler's Pantry (or walk-through/walk-in pantry) - lots of this answer
Media Room
Library
Game Room - lots of guys answered this one :)
Conservatory
Arboretum/Attached Greenhouse - Loved that one

My choice, if I could only have one, would be a ginormous butler's pantry now that I've been able to think about it. Second choice attached greenhouse. What about you?

Do you thin potatoes?

2009-04-06T20:26:00.004-04:00

Here are my All Blue potatoes just a couple of weeks or so after they got above ground.

This pot is a 24 inch pot with 2 very small seed potatoes in it. Clearly one of them has sprouted 3 new plants. The rest of my potatoes are in deep 18 inch pots, with 1 big or 2 small potatoes in them.

They are only filled a bit, leaving about a foot of space for me to fill in dirt for the potatoes. My plan is to fill them in as they grow and then use rigid plastic to fill in higher than the top of the pot for max potatoes per pot.

So my question is: Do you thin them when you get more sprouts like this? I can't imagine there is a lot of room for growing nice big juicy potatoes with 4 vines in this pot, 2 yes but more?

What do you think?

Squash Hills - Are These Correct?

2009-04-06T19:40:00.004-04:00

For those who followed last year, you may remember that I had some issues with squash hills. I followed the directions for doing such, but every time I watered it seemed a bit more dirt came down. Eventually, roots were getting exposed and I simply couldn't keep those thirsty plants watered enough.

Well, I've looked for pictures, gone back through my books and tried again. Did I do it right?

Each hill is about 18 inches in diameter and a little more than 3 feet apart peak to peak. There are 6 hills and they each have 4 seeds planted around the perimeter of the top. The patch is a rough triangle about 10 feet to a side.

If you see how nice and loamy my soil is, I'm wondering if that very loamy-ness is what is letting the dirt fall down when I water.

So, if this is right, how do I water without undercutting the structure of the hill? Also, how much should I thin. Just to two per hill?

Should I surround the plants with straw and cover the hill with it once they sprout, or maybe right now, and simply water the straw? I didn't do that last year because I read it promotes powdery mildew by keeping things too damp.

I would so much appreciate any good wisdom out there! I need as much squash and zucchini as I can get for drying over the winter.

State of the Garden - 2 April 2009

2009-04-02T19:51:00.006-04:00

And now it is officially garden season for me! Yippee. (Insert jumping and clicking heels together here.) So here is a quick and very incomplete tour of what is going on and growing up so far.

Blueberries are blooming.

The first small green buds that will be branches and leaves are showing on the new apple trees.

Potatoes are showing above the soil. Here are All Blue.

Here the 2 new beds are slowly getting planted as the season changes. Purple cauliflower and onions in the front, with radishes, carrots, peas, brocolli, brussel sprouts and other colder weather crops starting the more rapid growth phase. Some unfortunate tomato transplants I decided to risk a bit early struggle valiantly, remaining far more stunted than their brethren under grow lights in the house.

And, of course, Boscoe the Big Man, as he fruitlessly examines the beds for any carrots he might dig up when I look away.

Why I Want a Donkey

2009-03-31T14:30:00.005-04:00

Yeah, yeah...laugh now!

Seriously, I really do want a donkey. To me, they are one of the homesteader's dream animals along with goats and chickens. When many people think of alternate ways of doing things, whether because they are convinced the country's infrastructure is going to fall, leaving them in the dark ages, or because they truly want to get back to the land, they think of horses. I think of donkeys and mules.

If you've ever seen me standing next to a typical donkey, you might laugh again.

Yes, my legs are far longer than many donkeys'. In fact, my arms are often longer than a donkey's legs and that is humorous. Picturing me riding a donkey could bring you to giggles, I'm sure. BUT, donkeys are an amazing animal, riding them left to the side for now.

A donkey is a very hardy creature. Far more hardy than any horse I've met, including the northern ponies. They are comfy in almost any climate, bed down wherever they can, eat willingly and with little pickiness and are often smart to the point of wiliness. Many of the truly scary ills that even the most cared for horse gets I've never heard of in a donkey, such as a lethal case of gas (colic).

They live for a very long time and their care is super easy. They also can carry
burdens far and away greater than you think and it doesn't even bother them enough to stop them trotting off for something tasty to nibble. They can pull carts and wagons and odd shaped conveyances with ease. And, they'll carry people, albeit comically.

Personally, I like riding a donkey. I do it to the side like I've seen often in South America but I don't really see the need to do it save to keep them used to it on any regular basis. Where their true value to me is in their ability to haul and carry. Odd shaped loads of firewood, big bundles of assorted stuff, produce baskets and even a cart filled to the brim with dirt are all viable options. And because they are small, they can get closer to the garden, woodpile or on a smaller trail in the woods. They don't squish up the ground as bad either.

So what about their stubbornness? Oh yes, they do have that, but like any animal, that is far more often the fault of the human than the animal and I personally, haven't yet met one that didn't do what was wanted when handled properly. They have personality and spunk. It needs to get to know you and you need to get to know it. Most of the time, you'll probably wind up really digging each other.

Strawberry Patch and a Matching Dehydrator

2009-03-31T11:28:00.004-04:00

Like some of you out there have reported, I too have had a great deal of difficulty getting my strawberry plant orders in. Finally, after placing 3 orders with 3 companies, 2 of them came in. What is funny, is that the only one I didn't have problems with was Jung's. I ordered from them last of all and got theirs first.

Gurney's came in second with only one delay. My Park Seed order, placed in January, still hasn't come and no notification has ever been given, only reluctantly admitted when badgered by phone.

But anyway, I'm now the proud mama of 75 Strawberry plants and I immediately set to work getting them in the ground.

Now, that strawberry patch may not look impressive to you, but to me it is a joy to behold. Why? Because that piece of ground is a nightmare! Truly. That little tree you see is actually the 4th one of it's kind to be there. The previous three have died there. My house isn't even 4 years old so this is worriesome.

The matching one on the other side is hale and hearty. It is only in this patch of dirt we have problems.

I finally figured it out though and now have high hopes. It turns out this little 6 foot by 12 foot patch of ground had several problems: poor drainage and fill dirt hidden underneath being the main culprits.

So, this past weekend I dug it out. I mean...dug. Pulling out all the house building debris that construction workers had hidden underneath the pretty layer of dirt and sod they put down afterwards, digging up the dead tree, freaking out over a great many worms and bugs, pulling up every blade of runnered grass and weed was the first half. I then filled it back up with a lovely compost and topsoil mixture and added 6 inches in height for drainage. I bordered it with those blocks and then planted my tree and strawberries.

What amazed me was that those little leafless bundles of roots put out leaves in less than 24 hours. Amazing!

Oh, and those 3 in front are testers. I went ahead and bought 3 of those $2.98 each strawberry plants from Lowe's to see if there really was a difference in the plants by the time for bearing comes. We'll see!

And for my big news...drumroll...I finally bought an Excalibur Dehydrator! I got the 9 tray, 3900 Model, which is my heart's desire! This month, till today actually, they had a pretty amazing special going with 50 bucks off the price plus a whole lot of accessories and free shipping. They are a significant investment, I know, but using the WalMart Nesco special last year for the first time showed me the value of a good dehydrator.

For me, it is really important to Store what I Grow and Eat what I Store! In short, no waste if possible. Freezing stuff is fine, I suppose, but it uses a lot of energy. Dehydrated stuff is no fuss, no muss and isn't going to spoil when I lose power in storms. Plus it keeps nutrition really well and seriously, who doesn't love home-made jerky or fruit wraps?

I'm very excited to get it and can't wait to start the production going for this year!

Herbs are Rising!

2009-03-26T16:31:00.004-04:00

I'm always amazed at plants. Over winter I didn't touch my herb pots or garden area. Not once. In fact, I'm just now getting to those and pulling out the collection of pine cones and weird debris that has collected there during storms over the winter.

As I was pulling out piles of tangled pine needles, I realized that almost all of it had already come back to life. Here is flat leaf parsley and St. John's Wort.

And here my Feverfew is growing with amazing speed!

And here is Comfrey, peeking out of it's bed of hay.

And here is one of my second year Rosemary plants, which grew and bloomed most of the winter. It is once again taking the opportunity to bloom like crazy in the spring rains. Actually, if anyone knows how I should collect seed on rosemary without damaging the plant and how to know when they are ready and also the best way to store them, I'd be most appreciative of advice! The old blooms are simply loaded with little cups having 2 seeds each (I think 2).

There are a great many more to see on a tour. More types of parsley, tarragon in huge numbers (which surprises me), 2 types of thyme and oregano that is both lush and aromatic in it's new growth. Ones I didn't at all expect to survive and renew like Lemon Balm and a tender and old catnip are nicely growing as if tomorrow would be just too long to wait.

Surprisingly, given how invasive it is, it appears one of the only casualties in my herbs is the Mint! While others battle it like I battle honeysuckle, I've lost it entirely with not a hint of life from below the withered stems.

For your viewing pleasure we now have Gigi, in her bed at night. We use a sheet over the bedspread because she is shedding for this lovely change of season. Oh the joys of spring with dogs! In case you can't see, she is sleeping with a toy. She tucks it under her arm like a kid would and simply won't settle until she has it just so. I'm thinking she was, at one time, a very spoiled little beagle before she wound up in the dire straits she was in when we got her. And just as a side note, when I come to wake her in the morning, she may have rolled around some in her covers, but she is in the exact same spot and holding her toy. Weird.

Blast From Our Soda Past

2009-03-26T16:15:00.004-04:00

Recently, I read a really great recipe for Ginger Beer on a blog and decided to try it out. It isn't done yet, but it did bring up the idea behind trying it. Namely, that I do like the fizzy soda-ness of soda, but just can't tolerate how very bad it is for you. Even though I do admit that I will partake now and then at work, I wish that I wouldn't!

By chance, during a clean out of my frig, I found this. Now, when is the last time you saw a Diet Coke with a pull tab? Sometime in the 70's I'd imagine, yes? Are you now imagining that maybe I've actually had a coke in my frig for more than 30 years? ::laughs:: Not quite, but it has been in there a while. Now take a look....

...at the other side of the can.

Surprise! Yes, this is from the Middle East. We bought several cases while on the ship since soda became as rare as hen's teeth for quite a while and anything made with ship created water tasted horribly of bromine. A good bit of it made it home as items of curiosity for friends and family and 2 lonely little cans were hidden very well (fell behind the bins on a hidden shelf I didn't know was there).

For those who might ask: Bromine is added to water made from sea water on our ships to kill germs. Our situation was such that we were making water fairly close to a country you wouldn't even want to get in the waters off of, so we were super-brominating the water. Aside from the taste, that much has other, completely unmentionable effects on the body. At that point, even soda is less of a hazard :)

My Favorite Needlework Book and An Old Project Found

2009-03-25T06:20:00.003-04:00

Pardon the blurry picture. The cover of the book may be old, but it is very shiny so I had to take it with no flash.

This is my, hands down, favorite book to learn sew-y, knit-y, needle-y things with. It covers almost any type you might care to do and has loads of pictures and patterns to go with it.

It came back to my attention while I was doing a bit of spring organizing and unearthed an old dining room tablecloth project from several years ago that I'd put aside before going on deployment.

I found it, shook it out and thought how very pretty it was and realized I had no clue as to what I'd been planning for the rest of it. I dug out my handy book and tucked neatly inside was my written and drawn diagram.

Of course, I changed it. I unwound all the scalloping and am making it more like the center so it will stay flatter until I get to the very edge, then I'll add the scalloping back in. The color on the picture isn't very even due to the flash, but it is simply ecru in color and uses size 10 cotton.

It will, upon completion, fit my big dining room table with all the leaves in it. Meaning huge. When projects get so big that I consider it a milestone to get another row done, I stop finding them as fun. This one will probably wind up being a test of willpower.

Right now though, I'm enjoying picking it back up again.

The book is long out of print, however a quick browse of the web and I found at least 2 copies for sale at various places. If you ever run across it while in a second hand shop, give it a look. It is a great one to get someone who'd like to get into doing such things, but doesn't like being hand taught.

Snow, Ice, Sunshine and Gardens

2009-03-25T05:59:00.007-04:00

And how do you like your weather lately? Pshaw! If yours has been doing anything like mine, then you've been on a roller coaster.

Norfolk, especially where I'm at on the interior river's edge, isn't really known for horrible winters. Cold, yes. Rainy, yes. Snow in March? Ehhh...apparently the answer is yes to that now too!

Here's a nice picture of my house after the snow had plenty of time to go away. We were not amused since we had just finished planting some things.

And yes, my house is missing some screens. We've had some killer wind storms and I can't find the same kind of frames for these screens. ::sigh::

And here the Pupperonski's are expressing their dubious feelings about leaving the cozy house in such weather.

Luckily for me, nothing major was transplanted yet, just a few seeds for radishes and other cold hardy items put in. You might notice that the normally even layer of pine needles I usually have is a bit bare. My normal source doesn't sell them anymore. I mean, seriously, dozens of bags are put to the curbs all the time and I can't get enough to lay down in my yard? Boggles the mind, it does. Alas, picking up some myself isn't really an option. No one, including me, separates out things so almost all bags have some of the invasive species contaminating them. And I certainly don't need to introduce more!

And during that windswept night, we had some crashing and falling all about the house. One nice big branch landed on the roof and caused a bit of work (no punctures) but this one is the hum-dinger. It may look small, but it actually comes up to my hips and is pretty hefty. It was sunk into the ground, spear style, almost a foot. Sure glad that one wasn't on my roof!

So the weather was so dreary and cold, we decided to stay in and keep trying out bread recipes. I'm still stumped as to why my white bread rises up so wonderfully high and light while my whole wheat bread is so low and dense.

Here we are above, about a week later, and you can see that I've begun the transplanting. Cold weather crops like cauliflower, brocolli and so on are in the new beds. Potatoes are in the big pots (well, a few are since my Peaceful Valley replacement order never did come in!)

After that, we were, shall we say gifted?, with 4 straight days of rain. Ack, it was horrid. So far we've have very few garden casualties though.

Above, just two weeks later I've finished all the moving of beds, with my final bed moved from behind that tree where the shadow is (unwise placement, I know) to a nice sunny front row seat. It is now mostly empty and getting a nice sunshine sanitization session before getting refilled with fresh dirt and compost.

For a nice peek at what I wake up to every day, above is the view from the back of my house. My bedroom overlooks this and the wind over the water and through those invasive phragmites australis is heaven to wake up to. They are mostly between 10-12 feet tall but there are a couple that are even taller. I remain at war with them, but it is a war of attrition and I won't lose!

I've slowly been replacing them with natives that have largely disappeared from this area like Lobelia Cardinalis, Joe Pye Weed, Dutchman's breeches, short spartina, Jack in the Pulpits and other lovely and appropriate things.

Gigi and Boscoe give you all a nice howdy-doo, too!

A Homesteader's Home

2009-03-19T13:10:00.004-04:00

Living where I live now, I was limited by city ordinances, lot size, environmental restrictions and a whole host of other items, not the least of which was financial, so I built a home that was wood frame, extra strong and flexible (hurricanes), super energy efficient and roomy enough for a big family without a lot of extra rooms no one uses. It matches my neighborhood theme and I like it. Good ending, yes?

Ehhh..not so much when you think about it.

Someday soon I'll be retiring and moving to the country, whether it is to the property I own in NE Arkansas or some other lovely few acres I find, I'll be building a house on it too.

Deciding what to build as a homesteader who is also trying to be sustainable, trying to embrace the human values that made us a successful species, ensure continuity for the future, able to age in place and on top of that...love it forever, is a tall order.

Maybe you all can help me out.

I've considered the low cost things that are totally natural like the famous Hobbit House. I've considered the ultra-efficient and low impact Natural Home. I've perused the offerings for Underground Earth Homes. I've spent hours combing over the available concrete home plans in search of more permanent homes. I've even finally found articles on the increasing trend in Multi-Generational homes, yet plans remain sadly lacking in realistic living.

The bottom line on all of that is that they are hopelessly flawed in one way or another. What is a self-sufficient, sustainable, homesteading, multi-generational living, comfort loving girl to do?

While the Hobbit House is cute and, in theory, lightly living, it isn't at all a really permanent home no matter what the former inhabitants say. Too flimsy and too vulnerable. Also not a good idea for aging.

The Natural Home and Underground homes both have the appeal of concrete, which is much more permanent, but they are drastically limiting in terms of normal family sizes and multi-generational living. Both also tend to have significant problems after 20 or 30 years that just don't pass the permanence test for me.

Concrete home plans seem to be geared almost entirely toward those who want to build huge monstrosities in areas where houses probably shouldn't be...like the Florida coast along Hurricane Alley. And current multi-generational plans usually really mean it has 2 ginormous master suites or a mother-in-law cottage/suite somewhere in there.

So let me run past you all what I think I want. Maybe you can offer me some sage advice?

1) Permanent - Homes are generally built for a 30 year life. Surprising but true. They say more, but no, not without a lot of work. Concrete is a sure and certain way, if properly done, to ensure your house will be there for hundreds of years of continuous occupancy. Minor maintenance needed, of course! Look at some of the simple middle class homes from Rome, almost 2000 years and still safe and sound, albeit buried under the new city. Heck, the Colosseum is still there.

2) Sustainable and gently built - Believe it or not, much of the concrete and cement materials are sourced locally to their use. Fossil fuels for creating it are often counted as the bad guy, but nowadays, many use old tires and other industrial waste for that process without contaminating the concrete itself. Good deal. Sustainable to me also means lasting. If a house has to be rebuilt every 5 years like the Hobbit House, then it really doesn't matter that only a tenth of it came from manufacturing, it is still a waste in the long run. Permanence is a part of sustainable, I think.

3) Multi-generational - Personally, I think the idea of every nuclear family unit living a totally separate life from the rest of their family is going to wind up being a fairly short lived norm, relatively speaking. It leads to so much instability, so much waste and so much expense that it really isn't super wise. I'd like to be able to ensure a reasonable and comfortable existence for all who live there. (I lived multi-generationally for a while and it isn't an unknown concept to me. I rather like it; no scratch that, I love it.)

4) Flexible Over Time - Any house that ties me to one type of wiring or permanently fixes some "modern" need in time won't work. Part of the reason our homes have a true life of 30 years is because of these ancillary issues. Any house has to be able to be changed, modernized (or de-moderized) and be generally flexible.

5) Appropriate to the climate - Most houses are not at all built that way. Same house plan in muggy South Carolina can be seen in Wisconsin. The dependence on artificial means to force it to work is a hallmark of today's homes. I'd like mine designed to take advantage of sun angles, prevalent wind conditions and all that good stuff. That includes protection from common negative environmental happenings normal to that area. Ever seen how many houses are now built in tornado alley that have no basement or storm shelter? No thank you, I say.

6) Stage-able - By this I mean that it doesn't have to be done, inside and out, to the last floor tile before I move in. I'd like to savor the experience of putting in shelves, the non-concrete interior walls (if any), the fixtures for all the bathrooms (but one, of course!), the cabinets, tiles...well...all of it over a period of time.

I'm not asking too much, am I? Nah..I didn't think so. So why is it that architects look at me in horror and simply say that is too complex a set of requirements in a less than 1 Million budget (for NE Arkansas!). Prices for design on a house like this are truly astronomical. I could buy a house with that much. Seriously.

I've considered that altering an existing plan might be better and, believe it or not, I found that the most likely one to be altered was in a luxury home plan book and I've found it online for you. It is ridiculous and all of it has to be changed, but it has the bones it needs, if you know what I mean.

So, what do I do? Where do I compromise? How do I find, commission or buy plans that will suit that? Who exists that will be my willing accomplice and design a home that is truly meant to be the right home for me and those who come after me? ::sigh:: Okay, I'm ready for your words of wisdom!

Away...And Back Again!

2009-03-18T12:53:00.003-04:00

I know I've been away and haven't actually posted in more than 3 weeks. I'd been working on a series of posts but then I found out about a family member's passing.

The person who passed was my Great Aunt and a sister to my most beloved Grandmommy. I'd lost touch with her over the past several years when my father moved away. There was that sense of losing touch with that entire place and the pain associated with losing my Grandmother. Certain times I'd see my Grandmommy in my Aunt Clara and it hurt to feel her so close and yet so unreachable. When she laughed and then looked down, I used to see a happier and less troubled version of my Grandmommy and a younger version of her mother, my Grandma Elma.

Actually, both Aunts Ruby and Clara remind me so much of my Grandmommy in different ways that it was hard to be really with them. It was the same with my Uncle Jimmy and my Poppy (my grandpa). It's a convoluted thing though. Because in the end, you just wind up missing time spent with another person you love who can't help that they cut their eyes to the side a certain way, or laugh a familiar laugh or even walk the same as another person.

Nevertheless, I shouldn't have lost touch and just because we think of a person fondly and often doesn't mean they know we think of them fondly and often. It was inexcusable and I felt very guilty since it was now too late to fix. I couldn't even attend the funeral due to obligations here.

Hence, the past couple of weeks have been without posting or doing much online at all. But I can't leave off forever since that never did anyone any good. The best I can do now is to be sure that I don't ever lose touch with those I care about again. To be sure they know I love them. So for my family that comes here to see what I'm up to...I Love You. Aunt Ruby, that does mean you, too!

For all those who are probably embarrassed right now because we've never met, please excuse the family hug.

New Raised Beds Are Done!

2009-02-23T05:56:00.006-05:00

Here is yet another great delivery of dirt and compost mix from Friday. Another 6 cubic yards, another long bout with my little garden cart and a shovel.

Yeah...(can you hear the excitement)?

Nah, just kidding. I really do enjoy doing this hauling. I feel like I'm accomplishing something that has actual results vice some paper shuffling result. So here is my nice, fresh compost smelling pile on Friday.

And here I am with one raised bed built and filled. (It only looks crooked because I take pictures crooked. We were sure to level it.)

And here we are on Saturday afternoon, with both raised beds built and filled and the "squash bed" being laid out to the left.

The area that is a bit gray and dry is where I leveled out the area with 6 cubic yards of dirt a few weeks ago so the beds would sit nicely. I'll be banking up that front area with a bit more dirt. I'll also be using very large containers that my herbs and such go in as a frontage on that bank.

Now to something completely different...

Last year I wrote about making dehydrated squash into dog cookies. I got some questions and remarks on them. I even tried them on my best friend's dogs but they had no interest in them (they are young boxers). What I have found is that because my dogs had yellow squash quite frequently in their home made dog food, they developed a taste for them and now, dog squash cookies = maniacal frenzy of love. Here I am opening up a new jar of dehydrated squash chips.

And this is what I see as soon as that lid pops and the aroma escapes.

Too funny.

I thought, hey, if they like them, I wonder what they taste like.

I won't show you the after picture because my face is not web-safe after I took a bite. And yes, that is bread dough in my hair. Don't ask.

For those who had questions on my home-made dog food recipes, I'll give a whole blog entry on the expanded recipe set later on. Needless to say, they love it.

Chris's Questions: My Answers

2009-02-17T10:09:00.007-05:00

Another blog I follow pointed to yet another great blog that had the following questions on it. I really enjoyed reading the answers other people gave so I thought I'd take a run at them too! Hope you enjoy my answers as much as I've enjoyed others.

If you want to get them for yourself, the One Acre Homestead in Ohio is the original author and has the original versions easy to copy and paste. Let me know if you do so I can read yours! Hey, I'm nosy. ;)

Basic Questions About You
1-What is the biggest goal of your lifestyle?
Improving self-sufficiency and independence, being sustainable in a real way (not the faddish TV way), having clean and healthy food that actually tastes better, being less of a consumer and more of a creator.

2-When did you start this lifestyle?
It grew on me. Since I'm still near the urban center/edge of the suburbs, I'm very limited by local ordnance what I'm allowed to do. I've been increasing my capabilities over the past 2 years conciously and drifting that way for years.

3-What was your main motivation?
If you had to boil it down to one single motivation, I would have to say fear. That is a bit embarrassing, but true. Food contamination, lack of control over prices and availability, utter dependence on our consumer system really sort of freaked me out.

4-Did you have any previous experience in anything you're doing now?
I come from a long line of farmers, but really nothing that I did myself. I never graduated from the "little helper" stage in my Great-Grandma Elma's or my Grandmommy's garden. Even as a teen I was still being directed due to lack of interest. Canning and preserving and hunting and fishing and the cleaning of catches were done under duress. I wish, oh how I wish, I would have been more pro-active. They told me I would regret it....

5-Does your spouse/signifiacant other (if you have one) share the same ideas?
Alas, no spouse ::sigh:: but my family is sort of half and half on it. One sister shares my "green" ideas and also gardens and the like for health but no one else. I really think they think I'm a bit of a nut job.

6-Do your friends and family understand and support these choices? What about your kids?
My best friend is very supportive even though she doesn't share my passion for it. Some family support in the form of not making actual fun at me, most of the time, but no one to really share the journey with or enjoy the accomplishments. The kiddles, my sister's, really have no interest save the youngest who thinks the wonderful rich compost/dirt mix smells and feels nice to play in. (I agree.) She also likes to see things grow. I have hope for her!

7-How happy are you with your achievements so far?
Pretty happy. I wish I could do more. I'm always reaching for the next thing to do or learn. Really can't wait to move into the country!

8-Are you more of a gardener, homesteader, prepper, health concience, "green"' or a combination of several?
I would say all of the above since they all sort of lean on each other or come from or go to another. Being a gardener gives an urban homestead capability that allows prepper-like food independence that is more healthy and certainly more green!

9-Has this change of lifestyle affected your personality?
I'm not objective enough to judge my own personality changes. I'm me every day. BUT, I do think it has changed my views enough so that it must show in my personality. Every single day I get at least one moment of max happiness and that is good for your sunny side. It also means I see more of the "lack" in the world in independence, responsibility and just plain common sense. That, I think, has made me a bit less sympathetic and I'm sure that shows in my personality at times. I'm also less daunted by new things or skills because I have learned new things I never thought I could do. Now, I'm more of a grab a bull by the horns sort of person. (No actual bulls will be grabbed this way!)

10-Has it changed your view of your life before?
Pretty much as in Question 9.

11-What about how you view others that don't understand it or naysay?
Sometimes I feel like I should try to change their minds, mostly if I care for them. Other times I feel like such total idiots should not be reproducing. It varies. Many times, I just feel sorry for their kids, growing up to be just one in the zombie horde, dissolving their brains with TV and junk food.

12-If you could convince someone to live the way you do in ONE sentance, what would you say?
If you've ever actually seen what e-coli or salmonella can do to a kid, you might want to start a bit of a garden.

Other Questions-
1-How large is your vegetable garden?
I do Square Foot Gardening with some side beds and herb gardens. I couldn't really give a square footage since I am opportunistic in where I put plants. They are everywhere! And I use dozens of giant to medium sized containers too. Just look at my 2009 garden plan for the plant listing to get an idea, I guess.

2-Do you grow any fruits, and what and how many?
Some blueberries from a couple of bushes and strawberries. I have apple and olive trees but the apples won't produce for a couple more years. Ditto with my newest fruit dwarf trees that I keep in containers.

3-Do you have any animals and what are they? (other than pets)
Nope. City laws allow NO chickens or poultry and no other animals not "commonly" considered pets. Pshaw! I'm working on it!

4-Do you can/dehydrate/freeze/store your own produce?
Yes, Yes, NO and Yes. I don't do very much freezing of excess produce because it is energy dependent. In a major emergency or hurricane, I couldn't keep it frozen. I can or dehydrate or just plain store (root veggies, etc) almost everything.

5-Do you work with mainly power tools or hand tools in your gardens and others? (wood cutting, splitting, tiller vs. broadfork etc...)
Because my home borders the wetlands, I can't do anything with power back there. It completely sucks. You ever tried taking down a 30 foot high wall of invasive japanese honeysuckle, poison ivy and multiflora rose with a pair of hand clippers? Yeah...great....

6-Do you compost?
Yes, but I'm a miserable failure at it to this point. It just won't break down! I'm keeping on trying though. I'm gonna get one of those fancy spinner ones this year.

7-Do you recycle?
Absolutely! However, I never take the labels off the cans because I'm lazy and I don't like touching slimey cat food. (Before anyone says anything, my cat has IBD and has to have a special pre-digested food. I've have him 14 years (as of the 15th of February) and love him so I give it to him.)

8-Do you consider yourself energy consience? (conserving to save $)
To some extent. I've really tried by unplugging things when they aren't needed and replacing all the non-critical lightbulbs with CFLs. Places like the kitchen and bathrooms though, I just can't stand that yellowish light so they have regular bulbs. I have been doing really well keeping the thermostat much lower this winter than in previous years and simply not wearing shorts 365 days a year.

9-Do you make any of your own household cleaners?
I've recently begun doing that again. I used to years ago because I was so poor when I first went out on my own. So far, I'm limited to vinegar for window cleaner (it really does work better than Windex!).

10-Do you make your own bread?
Yes, 100% of it for the last several months. For Christmas my best friend and her dad got me the ultimate in bread machines, the Cuisinart stainless steel rolls royce of bread machines, so that I could do it even when I was simply too busy with gardening after working all day. I gotta say, it really does free me up to do a lot of other things and uses a LOT less energy than firing up the big oven.

11- If in an emergency situation, are you able to not leave home for a week? How about a month? A year??
Yes for a week or a month. No for a year however that is the goal. I think at 3 months I'd be hurting. And milk...I'd probably be sweating bullets for a glass of cold fresh milk by the end of the first week. I would have to have power though to do it at this for anything longer than a week if in winter or full summer.

12-Are you tired of answering questions yet?
Nah..this is fun.

13-If you prep, what do you consider to be your most useful tool/items
Hmm....Propane grill/stove probably, because I can do so much with it from cooking to canning to baking to sterilizing water in a pinch. You'd be amazed what you can do with a good one!

14-Are you able to heat your home without gas or fuel oil?
No, since I live near the wetlands and in a pretty protected area, I'm restricted in what I can do. I built the house to be super energy efficient, meaning all electric also. I've got propane based support to a limited extent.

15-Are you able to cook without gas or electricity?
I can for so long as my propane bottles hold out. I can also use my solar oven for some things if there is sun. If no one is checking, I can also build one heck of a campfire!

16-Again, if in an emercency situation, could you live in the wild or out of a tent? ( camping,hunt/fish, cook,etc.)
That depends. Not here because there isn't enough wildlife to eat nearby without a vehicle to get to them. I could fish in my river, but I'd have to be pretty darn hungry to eat out of it since it runs all through the suburbs and urban environment. I am a pretty good camper in general though.

17-Have you ever practiced your prep skills? (turning off main power for a day or 2) How did you do? (this can include a power outage due to weather as a test)
I have had to practice it when a water main broke for a couple of days and once when the power went off for about 24 hours. Other than that, I've really limited my practice to individual things. For example, trying to figure out how to clean clothes if I had no power or having no power to cook, etc. Given my heavy work schedule I really do have to work around "modern life" at this point.

18-Do you have the knowledge & skills (plus tools) to hunt and fish for food?
Limited at this time. I do have some skills, but I really need to find someone this year who will take me hunting since the last time I did it I was a child. I'm a crack shot (I've got the chest candy to show it) and have some skills with human powered projectile weapons as well.

19-If you don't prep, why not?
NA. I do prep.

20-Do you or can you sew your own clothes and make your own bedding?
Yes! I love to sew and can sew everything from a full authentic Elizabethan gown to modern pajamas and make my own patterns too. I wish I had more time to do it at the moment. I can crochet but what I don't know how to do is knit. That is one of the skills I've got on my list for this year.

21-Can you field dress a deer, drink a coffee, smoke a cigarette, make a cell phone call, light a fire, AND answer all of my annoying questions at the same time? lol thanks for playing!
Ahhh...no! Wish I could do all that and whistle a tune at the same time.

Weirdest Veggie 2009 - Cannibal Tomato

2009-02-12T15:20:00.003-05:00

It seems that every year I hear about another new and weird veggie. Could be weird for its looks. Could be due to history. Could even be the name.

This year is no exception and my personal fave for weirdness is the Cannibal Tomato.

It's actually an eggplant, though it is red or green. It is from Fiji and thereabouts and supposedly, the sauce made from it was used for cannibal meals.

Talk about gross.

Now, I'm no shrinking violet and I do love a weird vegetable. I'm an experimenter by nature. But this one just couldn't make it to my short list.

It wasn't the veggie, it was the idea of it. I mean, wouldn't you instinctively shy a bit from something you know had that history? Could you enjoy it knowing the history or would you get a little gag reflex going when you really thought about it.

It's not quite fair really. Poor eggplant. Picked on for it's history. Shame on me!

Random Stuff from Shopping to Onions

2009-02-12T13:38:00.006-05:00

Christmas last year, we decided that consumerism had reached ridiculous proportions and that either no-gift, handmade gift or drawing a name options were the way to go.

With my best friend, we simply made a list and set a dollar limit. For those who know me, it is perhaps not surprising that everything on my list was cooking or kitchen related. I do love my kitchen and all it's wonders.

One of the coolest gifts I got was this pair of Onion Goggles. Now, I know, some out there are going to bonk me on the head for wasting all that plastic on goggles against onions, BUT, I'm exceptionally sensitive to them. I love them, I eat them any chance I get, but I cry like a baby and have burning eyes for hours when I cut them.

Alas, no one will cut them for me. So, Onion Goggles. I was going to take a picture of myself with them, but the result was so horrifying and silly looking, Boscoe volunteered instead. He looks much more attractive. The blur is because he was doing the "Boscoe Dance". They work wonderfully.

I know I just recently wrote a post on what I thought sustainability was and I know that buying smelly nice things for showering isn't exactly in the correct category. Bear with me in my imperfections!

But it does bear on frugality.

I do have pretty dry skin in the winter and it is quite painful to have your hands so dry they crack from washing them a lot, digging in dirt and all of that.

Most of the Bath and Body Works formulations work well for me and as a bonus, smell nice! But I'm also trying to be less spendy on things and get used to the concept of planned spending and improving overall spending patterns.

One of the ways I do that is to buy a large supply when they have their fantastic semi-annual sale or when they change packaging and put all the old packaged items on sale. Here is my haul from the last sale. I saved an average of 49% even including shipping costs. I probably won't need to buy again for a year and maybe by then, I'll have figured out how to make more of this stuff on my own.

(Not all of this is for me, by the way. I do front load items that will go into gift baskets for both expected and unexpected gifts throughout the year. Hey, I found out right after my order that I would need to give a Mom-To-Be basket soon, so we all know it happens. Congrats, J!)

And just for kicks, here is the Boscoe-Big-Man enjoying a moment and trying to lure me into scritching his belly! You'd give in to that face, wouldn't you?

Seed Potatoes, A Very Bad Smell and Then...?

2009-02-11T19:26:00.002-05:00

Okay, I posted a pic of the opening of the box of my seed potatoes a few days ago here. When I opened it I saw a small wet spot from the top, but it looked okay overall.

Weeeellllll, when I brought out that bad of potatoes it was a hot mess that smelled as only rotten potatoes can. It looked like the Colorado Rose seed potatoes had pretty much disintegrated and spread the nastiness all around.

I managed to clean off and save 3 All Blue seed potatoes, 1 Yellow Finn and no Colorado Rose. There are a couple each of Blue and Yellow that only have rot on a small part of them.

How do I, or can I even, save those?

Now, I only ordered 5 lbs since this was just for first time fun growing, but the idea of losing all my seed potatoes except 4 out of them all is pretty bad.

I've written to their customer service and we'll see what happens. But what I would like to know is: Is that much rot normal? Do you get rotten ones in your seed potato orders? If so, how much and how often? Do you just order more than you need to compensate? And how do you prevent the nasty rot juice from corrupting the others in the box?

Any and all info so I'm not such a total amateur is most welcome. :)

What Is Sustainability And How Sustainable Is That?

2009-02-09T09:14:00.008-05:00

If you ask 10 people you'll probably get 10 very different answers. At one end of the crunchy spectrum, you'll get people who say sustainable is taking only 20% of their earth share (about 1 acre) in goods and resources. At the other end on the decidedly delusional end of the spectrum, you'll get someone who says that sustainable is ensuring their hand-scraped mahogany floors are imported from Borneo from only Orangutan friendly and selectively harvested virgin forests. Or even better, the person who buys a new Hybrid car every 2 years when it takes about 6 years to payoff the savings of going from regular gas to hybrid.

I'm somewhere in the middle there.

The real question is, what level of sustainability can I, and all my world neighbors, live with and remain reasonable yet still provide an avenue towards the future?

I've been reading Radical Simplicity, and while I have a whopper of a book review to be posted at a future date, it did make me think more about what sustainability means to me and how sustainable such sustainability is.

Now say that three times fast for a prize!

At either end of the spectrum it is unworkable in the long term for humanity.

Cures for cancer aren't developed in mud huts by people who will only use 1 acre of total global resources. That won't even get them a single box of sterile test tubes. It won't develop new ways to manufacture that use less virgin material, that too must happen in a lab where a few square feet equals that 1 acre of resouces. And people who dedicate their lives to these pursuits aren't going get the education to do that research since each student month of university time equals 1 acre or so.

One piece of immutable wisdom comes to mind. If mankind ceases to use their current technology for 30 years, a single learning generation, then they will never rise again. Ever. Retrace to the Stone age then stop for all of the future of our species.

Why? Sideline digression:

Because getting up to the bronze age, iron age and industrial age calls for surface materials for one. Being able to glean copper from rocks laying around or extract iron at low temperatures from nice chunky surface deposits and a hundred other things. None of that is available and will never be available again. Right now our metal resouces have become so far removed from the surface that it has actually become profitable to glean nodules of magnesium from the very deep sea floor where they precipitate out. If you can imagine how much in resources and ingenuity that takes, then you can see why no stone age person is going to make the transition to any metal age should all our technology and know-how go away via attrition in time.

To pre-argue all the suppositions others could make, I probably could go on for days and pages, but suffice it to say that to get from there to here, stones to space shuttles, requires a large middle portion that we simply couldn't re-create.

Scary, huh?

Sideline digression over!

In the end, if we take our two extremes above, these are the two worlds we eventually get:

One, we totally embrace the back to nature movement and a world we make by hand. If we all did it at once, for a few generations we'dl enjoy the peace of ignorance with our leftovers but the inevitable slide into early death by disease, losing half the children we bear, starvation when a year is bad and all the things that come from a stone age life will happen. A few hundred years and the stories of our lives today will be like magic tales and the people alive then will most certainly not share our idyllic view of their lives. And what happened to the rest of the world during this time doesn't bear thinking about.

Two, we totally embrace development. Humans being what they are, it is almost certain to lead to a world as bad as the one from the first choice. In this Rush Limbaugh/Sean Hannity Cash Is King world, no fictional dystopia could really depict what we'll probably wind up with and the results beggar description, but surely a world unfit to live in save for the very few fortunate ones is not out of the question. And in the end, what happens to them?

For me, who is somewhere in the middle, I'd prefer we look to the future with hope and reason and grit our teeth when development goes through times that seem wasteful and learn from the mistake not to do it again.

Our species may struggle through this delicate period and we are faced with the bad effects of changing things where we shouldn't have and a population that behaves more like locusts than custodians, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Change our individual ways but always have the next year and generation in mind as well as the next development technologically. Support that which achieves the goal of a better future and eschew that which uses resources for no real purpose. Raise our children in nature and to appreciate it, while ensuring they know as much as they can get into their heads educationally and let them be scientists without prejudice.

In short, I would take a third choice: To think well and hard before we leap, with every leap we take, but never be afraid of the jump. Work to anticipate the consequences of everything we change and then forge ahead.

So where is it that people like me, and maybe like you, can make a difference without sabotaging our future? Again, what is sustainability in our small part of the world?

I think it means waste not, want not in its purest form. The 3 R's in today's catchy terms but with a little more thinking than a 30 second TV spot gives.

Perhaps I'm getting a bit preachy here, and I do apologize. The word sustainable gets bandied about so much with so many different meanings that the importance of the word is getting lost in hyperbole and advertising and political infighting. And I wanted to get out there what I thought and even more importantly, find out what others think. So, what do you think?

I'd really like to know how you define sustainability and where you think you are at in the spectrum.

Seed Potatoes are Here! What now?

2009-02-08T17:58:00.005-05:00

My seed potato order from Peaceful Valley is in! I ordered 5 lbs of their Red, Yellow and Blue mix just for fun. I've got some Yukon Gold here so these will be a nice flavorful change if I'm successfull. Included are Yellow Finn, Colorado Rose and All Blue.

My original Grand Plan was to build potato boxes like these.

But then I recently saw these Crocus Potato Boxes and fell in love with the concept. I couldn't actually build any for the price these are, but how long would they last? Anyone got any ideas?

I'm hesitant to build yet more things that I'm going to have to load up in a truck in 2 or 3 years and take with the other 13000 lbs of stuff to my final homestead. And with all the other dirt hauling and raised bed building and tree planting this early spring, I'm really dreading putting yet another building project in the queue. Hmm..that sounds perilously close to whining doesn't it?

I may just wind up making a big pile of dirt and straw.

What would you all recommend?

When Waste Isn't...Sort Of

2009-02-08T16:11:00.004-05:00

I'm not much of a drinker since I'm such a lightweight. In fact, I'm so easily made tipsy that it is embarassing and I'm quite careful if in the company of others.

Despite that, there is one beverage I do like. I realize that some of you may start giggling and ask when I became a 1960s era loose woman, but my drink of choice is champagne and orange juice. I don't know why but it always feels like a fizzy juice I used to get from the soda fountain when I was young.

Considering how little I drink though, buying a whole bottle will mean 3/4 goes into the trash. So recently I started buying those little 4 packs. One four pack lasts me 3 months or more and costs about the same as one bottle.

And yes, I do buy the cheaper stuff. Who can tell when it is in calcium enriched Minute Maid Orange juice?

Mostly I recycle the bottles, but I have used some for various herbal mixtures that I use for gardening, bathing or the like.

So even though it is less efficient to buy things in tiny four packs than in a single large bottle, I guess waste is relative when you use so little of something. Of course, if I was really being sustainable I would be making the stuff in a vat in my bathroom, but hey...maybe someday. :)

Global Rich List...Ready For a Shocker?

2009-02-06T10:53:00.005-05:00

As I was reading the entries for blogs I follow, I found a little image on one that read, "Affluent Persons Living Sustainably".

My initial reaction to that was, "Well, La Di Da for you." To me, affluent can be a divisive word because it indicates they are doing it for a different reason than the rest of us.

But then I thought about it. Isn't the good old USA considered a universally affluent sort of country? I mean, even our illegal immigrants tend to live better than they would in their home country despite the stress and problems they endure.

All that led to me to click on through and then I found the link for the Global Rich List. You put your income in it and then it tells you where you stand in the world economy.

I was pretty shocked to see that I was in the top 0.63% wealthiest in the world and my specific standing was:

You are the 38,061,910 richest person in the world!

It is shocking to think that might be true. Taking aside almost the entire population of the UAE, where even the trash carriers are imported and paid approximately twice the average American's salary, and all the other well to do people that litter the western world, that means that over 6 billion people have less than I do.

6 Billion.

I do okay, I admit. But after 22.5 years at one job, steady advancement and working through multiple levels of college, it doesn't seem fantastic. I worry about mortgages, changes in financial strength and paying college tuition for el kiddoes, but that number certainly puts it in perspective.

How about you? I'm deciding that I feel pretty lucky today.

I Do So Want One of These!

2009-02-06T08:21:00.004-05:00

I took this image from the site where I drool over it, Kitchen Krafts, but they are a bit pricey. This one, with the spigot, is $299.95 and without the spigot is about 40 bucks less. That is certainly the price or more for a very good pressure canner.

Why do I want this? Because I have a ceramic glass stove top.

For those who may be just getting into canning or are thinking about it, a ceramic glass stove top, especially that Star Trek looking thing I have, are not suitable to anything that doesn't have a flat bottom. They also have weight restrictions.

There is only one canner that I know of that is specifically for use with those type of stoves and it is the WalMart Presto version, the smaller one that can hold 7 quart jars, not the huge one. But that is a pressure canner. I also used it as a water bath canner this past year because no one said I couldn't. :)

The difference is the weight. To use that Presto as a water bath canner I put a LOT more weight in it to get the water an inch above the top of the jars. The result is that I feared I would crack my stove and did very little in the way of Quart Jar processing out of fear.

This little puppy above will eliminate that problem by allowing me to water bath can right on the counter top and hold water at a steady heat so that I can minimize time between batches and process more efficiently.

What do you all think? Anyone ever used one? Like 'em, hate 'em? Anything I should know about them?

As to why I have an electric stove and all that, well, when my house was being built I wanted an E* plus house and so it wound up being all electric but very efficiently so. Give and take, I guess :)

Tracking the Costs of Reclaiming the Good Life

2009-02-05T19:19:00.004-05:00

Last year I was absolutely dedicated to the idea of tracking how much it cost to start a garden. To that end, I saved all recepts and even logged them for a while.

By September I wound up with a large pile of fading receipts, indecipherable entries streaked with garden dirt and a vague notion that I had spent approximately 7 dollars per pound of vegetables.

I was not impressed.

But, like I said before the vast majority of those costs are going to be amortized out over time. The dirt deliveries, building raised beds, various cages and stakes, seeds...well, the list is really endless. Suffice it to say that I pretty much started from an idea and a check-card and didn't even own a wheelbarrow.

Again, I'm determined to keep track of my garden costs. I'm also creating new beds so I will again have some additional costs.

So far, one dirt delivery at $224.00, the Lowe's purchase above at $120.83. Olive trees at 124, apple trees at 70, grow lights at 145...okay, the list is long and I'll get to it. I promise!

The real reason I post this is because of the economy now. For a while I've been telling my friends and co-workers to start a bit of a garden so they can enjoy it. They all like the produce but don't like the idea of a garden. And invariably, when I bring up that it offers independence and food security even in stressed money times, they always point out that all of us are doing just fine so why bother.

This year is different for many though and now I've found people asking me about starting a garden. I hate to tell them all that they need since most of them are starting where I did, with nothing for gardening.

When money is tight it is hard to scrape up the investment and even harder if nothing comes of all the investment. To my view, people should start a garden and get over some of our common rookie mistakes when they are prosperous, not when they are strapped.

How do you get that across to others? Do you find it is the same for people you know or meet? What do you recommend to people who really need to start but are pretty broke or under economic stress?

And for those who are also relatively new to this, how many years did it take to amortize out your initial investments in gardening?

A Tale of Sloth...The Three-Toed Kind

2009-02-02T09:36:00.005-05:00

Hah, you thought I was going to wax philosophical on some of my procrastination lately. Well, no.

Instead I thought I'd share a story from several years ago in Costa Rica. It is one of those that never really leaves me and I find myself telling it at odd times. And now I also love Sloths as a bonus side effect.

So here is the story...

I was standing on a sidewalk between sights and I noticed a young man who looked like he was hugging a stuffed animal.

Now that is a strange sight for a nice conservative place so I subtly got a little closer and realized it wasn't a stuffed animal. Instead I was looking at the cutest face I had ever seen. Smooth baby head, a big contented smile and eyes that crinkled up at the corners because of that big smile. And of course, long arms with wicked long claws. It was a beautiful three-toed sloth.

My mouth was hanging open and the guy saw me and laughed. He, surprisingly, spoke very clear and unaccented english. He was outside waiting for his wife and child who were shopping in a store that didn't want his sloth in there.

At any rate, I did ask and he did tell his story. I can't remember his name, but he was an only child because it turns out he had a congenital heart problem that his sister had died from as an infant. His parents were told not to have more children because they too would have the problem. I later had it translated and looked it up and it was essentially very leaky valves which caused depleted blood to enter the arteries, lowering the oxygen percentage in the blood. Surgery for this was far too expensive for his family, who had a small farm. After his sister died and his parents were faced with him following her they went to an old healer from the rural parts one of his parents hailed from.

The healer had said that if the boy had a three-toed sloth, he would live to grow up.

Now, this is clearly ridiculous but the parents went with it. There are laws against that kind of thing though and an adult sloth isn't exactly tame. The father set about locating and tracking all the sloths in an area while the mother worked the farm. Apparently it was not a short procedure and the father searched and tracked for a long time, like months.

But finally what he had been searching for happened. A baby sloth had fallen off of its mother onto the ground. His father waited and hoped and sure enough, the mother sloth didn't come down for the baby. (They often don't depending on the age of the youngster or the danger.) So the father grabbed it up and headed home.

The baby sloth was fed on goats milk and a very carefully prepared diet as it grew and it lived on the boy. Yes, on. It hangs from his chest with its arms over his shoulders even now. At night, it slept on a stand much like a bird stand so it could hang upside down. This same sloth had lived with the boy who was now a man and when I asked how long it would live, he said that it could live to 25 or even 30 years and he hoped he would not have to live without him.

He let me hold his sloth. I didn't ask but he could tell I was twitching to. He simply put his hands around it's little chest and tugged slightly in my direction. I stood next to him and the sloth moved one long arm over to my shoulder and transferred himself. He was snugged in and comfy very quickly. He stared up at me like I was the worlds most fascinating creature with that smile on his face.

The feeling is instantaneous. And I could immediately understand why the healer said what he did. There is an odd sensation that goes with a sloth like the feeling at the height of a good massage. Total calm. Considering that heart problems are made worse by stress, well, the sloth by it's very nature allows no stress to be felt by the wearer.

When I pointed him back by moving his arm, I felt strangely bereft. Sad and almost like I'd lost a friend I could never get back. The man patted me on the back and said that is how everyone feels.

We were outside for about an hour I'd guess and eventually his wife and daughter came out. He said that his daughter did not have the heart defect and that he himself was doing quite well.

I found out when I came home and researched the three-toed sloth that the smile is actually just the way they are all the time. The same with the upturned smiling eyes. I also learned that the claws aren't generally dangerous as they are really not aggressive but they are ideal for hooking into trees for hanging around.

Most people I tell that to don't really fully believe me and I'vd had a hard time finding proof. Recently on one of my random searches I found a sort of proof via another person who had a similar experience and had the foresight to take a picture. You can see it here:

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/set/1478/sloth-lt.html It is on the first part of the very long page.

One of his parting wisdoms was that the three-toed sloth was slowly going away and he felt the world would become a bad place if that happened. He also said that when a baby sloth falls and no one finds it, they are eaten. He said that he thought every baby that fell should be given to someone who needs it and then the world would have peace.

Very profound there. Wouldn't you say? I never forgot this encounter and whenever I see a three-toed sloth, I just want a hug.

To Orchard or Not to Orchard

2009-02-01T19:01:00.009-05:00

It is now an established fact that I do love gardening. I really can't think of ever going back to not gardening. The taste of a tomato so fresh I can almost taste the sunlight, lettuce so recently plucked that it is still finishing up photosynthesis while we enjoy it and corn so new and bright and sweet that it is shocking.

Yes, I do love my veggies. But I also love the process. Lovingly tending the tiny seedlings, the exciting day when those strong plants get bedded into the garden and the smell and feel of the foliage as it grows.

Oh yes, I'm a gardener alright.

But what about fruit? I do so want more permaculture that I'm feeling a terrible lack.

But there is a little hitch to just doing it.

I'm not going to be staying in this house after I finally leave the military. Instead, I'll either be moving to the 3/4 acre that I already have a few states away or, if I finally find "the place", then to there. But either way, it won't be here.

So actually planting an orchard doesn't seem smart. For most things, I'll just be getting that first harvest when I'm ready to leave. But also, who wants to to wait several years for that first harvest from trees once I get moved. Ahh..the conundrum.

What I have done is buy a few dwarf apple trees that I'm told I can keep in very large containers for a few years. We'll see if that is true. I also have 4 Arbequina Olive trees coming that can supposedly be kept in large containers forever if need be. Again, we'll see.

But for every tree that I buy and keep in a container, I also have to be committed to hauling that now much grown tree all the way to my final homestead. And while I will have a military shipment of my regular household goods, I will also be hauling all the rest and my SUV in a truck on my own. I'm sure that is going to be stressful for them.

So what does everyone out there suggest? Should I go for it and fill my life with everything from elderberries to pears or should I stick with the 7 trees I have. Or at most, get a few of those ever so tiny citrus trees that are more like houseplants.

Tough call...

Arbequina Olive Trees....Finally!

2009-01-21T13:52:00.018-05:00

For several years I had only to go to my local store to get the best olive in the universe. The tiny and perfect Arbequina.

They are like crack.

One taste and you're over with. Even the girls got addicted to them. When we got transferred and suddenly, no more true imported Arbequina olives were available. Believe me, I searched. It wasn't happening. Finally I had some imported myself at ridiculous prices. But they weren't the same and were clearly inferior to the previous perfection. A sort of anemic relative really.

After a few years of this I decided that enough was enough and if I couldn't get them, I would grow them. Yet after several months, I still couldn't find decent sized trees, with parental history of a compact height and excellent quality oil.

But now I found GrowQuest in Oregon. They were very prompt in answering questions via email, helping me to work out what size trees I should get and even working out the best shipment options for my wallet and the trees. Super fantastic. So now I have 4 trees on the way that should, if I care for them properly this spring and they adjust to the new weather, give me olives late this summer! Oh yeah...my own olives.

Now, the trees aren't here yet so I can't give you a final opinion on the seller yet but I will as soon as they arrive. You can also be sure I'll post pictures of them throughout the year so you can see how things are going.

Wish me luck!

Seed Starting Status and My First 2009 Load of Dirt

2009-01-21T13:52:00.012-05:00

Early seed starting is moving right along. I'm set to plant some things as early as the beginning of March (those things calling for planting before last frost) and I've started seeds for those things going in at the end of March. And as of today, even my tomato seeds have been started.

Here is a picture of my final seed starting setup with both Jump Start lights in place. I did find this system in other places and was amazed that the cost was 50-90% more than the place I got it. Gotta love a good deal.

This window is almost south facing, slightly south-southeast really, and I worried that it wouldn't get enough light on the seeds which is why I bought the lights. I may have actually been able to get away with less. As you can see, the seedlings are all leaning forward, towards the window.

While I am using the trays with peat cells for some, what you see below is actually my favorite way to start seeds. The containers are Beneful Ready Meal containers. I re-use them for the home made dog food but had so many last year I gave this a try and found it wonderfully effective.

I simply put 5 dents in the starter mix in the container and start five seeds for bigger items like peppers or tomatoes. For things like leeks and onions, I just sprinkle them on thinly and cover with a bit more soil mix. What makes it great is that I don't waste whole cells for seeds that don't sprout and getting them apart is a breeze. I just wait till I would normally water and pop the whole, slightly dry, hunk of soil and plants out onto the transplant area. Then I douse with water and it separates all by itself. Teasing apart over developed roots can be a bit of trouble, but timing is everything.

Don't the newly sprouted onions look lovely and delicate? I love the smell of them as I'm now thinning out the weak.

And now for my most recent bout of self-punishment via dirt movement. Here is my delivery of 6 cubic yards of topsoil. In the picture below, I've actually already taken off a bit of the back section so it isn't quite as tall as it was.

And here is what it looked like the next day. I did get it all moved on Saturday and Sunday afternoon, despite the hours of misting that made it get ever heavier.

I used this topsoil to create a level area for my 2 new raised beds to go on. So none of this is even garden dirt but rather a base. I'm letting it settle for a couple of weeks before setting up the new beds and then filling them with a further delivery of compost mix.

Great Heirloom Seed Sources

2009-01-21T11:52:00.009-05:00

Here is a quick look at most of the seed catalogs I got this winter. Pretty spiffy, eh?

One of the only great garden pleasures one can get in the winter is drooling over the colorful offerings on sale for next spring. And making plans for doing more gardening, of course.

And despite what anyone may tell you about buying seeds being cheaper, my tally of payouts for this coming up spring is far...far...more than when I just bought plants.

But I don't want this to turn you off to seeds and seed starting because there is a good reason why I go overboard and you can avoid it.

I grow for beauty as much as food and I'm always experimenting with old and rare varieties that I've not seen before.

So, for anyone else it might be choosing a single eggplant variety that is right for you and then paying from $1.50 to $3.00 for enough seed to grow 300 lbs of eggplant. Or spending that much and having enough seed to grow 30 lbs for several years.

That would be the economical way to do it.

I choose the elaborate and totally spendthrift way to do it.

I chose 4 types of eggplant this year. I'll grow between 3 and 5 plants of each, leaving 90% of the seeds not used this year. But each is a beauty with distinct characteristics that make it attractive to me. I'm also growing 11 types of tomatoes this spring...so far.

Hence, the ridiculous amount of money spent.

Back to the point now: Regardless of whether or not you are doing the spendthrift method or the frugal method or some lovely happy medium, finding good seeds with good and trustworthy service is paramount.

I ordered from most of the catalogs above and have received a good part of my shipments. I've ordered everything from bare root trees to seeds to root cuttings to bulbs to various additives for my soil. Packaging, shipping and expertise are important in a company.

Nowadays, with the returning interest in open pollinated or heirloom varieties of vegetables (once people get a taste they tend to want nothing less!) seed companies are popping up all over the place and not all of them have a long history to google about.

Some of my most reliable favorites are Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I know people are going to start thinking I work for them, but I don't. They are just really that good. There are something like 800 varieties of heirloom seed and they don't just have a Safe Seed pledge, they also actually test for GMO contamination in some vulnerable seeds, like corn. That is something I don't think anyone else does. If you can't find it there, you probably won't find it! They also do something I adore. He pops in freebies now and again. You never know what and how many depends on the size of your order I think, but it is fantastic to get them. Some of them are quite rare also. Germination is fantastic and no one can say their seeds aren't strong, healthy and pure.

Another true favorite is Horizon Herbs. They are just that, herbs, but they also have some other items like basic vegetables, tinctures and herb processing equipment. Their herbs are often hard to find varieties and their service is next to perfect. Very personal. They also have something called LifeLine pricing on items or collections that are considered very basic in the herbal world. Sort of like WalMart gives low price prescriptions on things that are common and essential, so do they. Their LifeLine medicinal collection was one of my purchases this year and almost all of it is must for cold and flu season. Not to mention just great tasting teas!

Park Seed Company isn't a strictly heirloom purveyor, but they do offer some of them and they have pretty good prices on the accessories of gardening life. Their service is that of a larger company, so a little less personal, but they are also efficient and they do try to ensure you get the right product in good condition. Their prices on Sea Magic (great stuff) is excellent. Where they really shine for me is strawberries though. This year I'm trying hanging bags because I really hate snails and slugs. They just freak me out. They have a great deal on those with bare root strawberries to go in them. More than enough for my purposes.

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden is where I got my seed potatoes this year and I'm not sure yet how I'll review them since this is my first year with them. But I will say they have a great selection of organic seed potatoes with some of the older varieties at superb prices. We'll see!

Prairie Moon Nursery is also a new one for me this year but I can already tell you that I love them. They aren't selling veggies or herbs or the like, but they are selling seeds for the re-naturalization of my little corner of the wetlands and riparian buffer zone. And the prices...whohee. I'd been quoted prices from $1000 to $15,000 for seeds and plants required. These guys offer them with no fuss, no muss and no markup and they are in the business of re-naturalization so they know their seed and seed purity. Love 'em! If you're looking to naturalize any part of your yard, whether wetlands or prairie, this is where you should go.

There are others I've ordered from but they can wait till I see how they sprout! Enjoy the last bit of your winter planning in preparation for spring.

3 Sisters Method...A Great Way to Garden

2009-01-20T11:11:00.007-05:00

Since I posted my tentative layout for this years garden, I've gotten some questions in particular over the 3 Sisters Method of gardening.

I won't usurp the wonderful things you can get from Googling, but I can clear up some of the particular questions.

Yes, it does work with square foot gardening. I've seen some wonderful results and been amazed at how much more efficient it was than either method alone. Combining the orderly nature of SFG and the companion gardening of 3 Sisters is a winner.

For a quick rundown, the 3 sisters method (3SM) is when you plant corn, then when it is six inches high, plant pole beans that use the corn as a trellis. Then, when those sprout, plant squash between the plants to shade the soil. They all work together nicely.

Now, for the biggest question I've gotten. No, spacing isn't set in stone! I went ahead and did some research and found that most of the confusion probably comes from getting multiple answers on the spacing issue. Here are some guidelines that can be made to work for your setup.

1. Corn spacing isn't set in stone at 1 per square foot or 4 per square foot. It is spaced according to the variety. When you see someone using 4 per square foot, they are using it with the short corn NOT tall corn. Likewise with 1 per square it is using very tall and slower varieties.

So check your packet of corn if you are set on a particular variety. Better yet, choose a variety based on what you want the outcome to be. If you're doing like me and trying to go with open pollinated, non-GMO and heirloom varieties, then you are looking at, generally speaking, the wider of the spacing.

I'm using True Gold variety so I'm going to be spacing at 1 per square foot, meaning I'll only get about 16 ears of corn from my 4 x 4 foot plot. That seems very little and it is, but it is a test plot so it is exactly what I need.

2. How many beans can a corn stalk support. Every single tribe seems to have had a slightly different version of 3SM. Some use 2 per, others plant several stalks of corn in a hole and then plant just one bean per risen stalk. The basic method is to planet two beans per stalk and modify that based on the height of your corn variety, the heaviness and vigor of your bean vines and so on. I'm planting big tall corn so I'm planting Chinese Red Noodle Beans and Kentucky Wonder pole beans. Half and half so I can see the effect on the corn.

3. Yes, definitely use Rhizobium Inoculant on your beans! The beans work with corn because they give corn nitrogen from the air and corn are heavy feeders. That will happen faster and with more vigor if you pre-prime the beans with inoculant.

4. What kind of squash and how many? I admit that this is a pure gamble for me because every tribe had their own varieties that they used. I'm going for the long season squash for sure because the last thing you want to do is have to root around the base of your corn and beans every day to find fast maturing summer squash. I'm probably going to do half Waltham Butternut and half Table Queen Acorn squash. They are long keepers necessary for winter storage and long growing season squash that won't need to be mucked about with and endanger my other crops.

5. And finally, how do I plan on keeping it all safe from wind and critters in a raised bed with very loose and rich soil? You are quite right that my rich soil means wind can knock it down easier. So I'm going to leave the hoop frame up! It will mean that most of the corn will be on the inside of the loop and have a bit of bracing that way. Not fool proof but no work involved really. As for critters, I'm going to take a watch and wait attitude. I don't want to put a giant ugly chicken wire box around the whole thing and I do have a lot of stuff planted that should be preferable to critters. Let's see.

So, I hope I answered your questions on the 3 Sisters Method and cleared up a bit of the mud!

Don't You Just Love Dystopias?

2009-01-19T10:11:00.005-05:00

It being winter and all, I do a lot more movie watching and since I joined Netflix, I'm having a blast catching up.

Now, I'll make a confession: I adore dystopian and post-apocalyptic movies and books. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it makes me feel better about how the world is today in a "Wow, at least we aren't there yet!" sort of way. Maybe I feel just one little iota more prepared for anything. Maybe it is just good imagination overlaid with the normal human tendency to worry a bit over the future.

Whatever it is, I love 'em. Once I got on Netflix I actually got a few of the "best of" lists off the Internet and searched for all of them. My queue is quite long...

So, recently I watched "The Quiet Earth", a British offering and was pleasantly surprised. It was really quite good. I like the ending and when I listened to some of the DVD commentary on it, it was pretty impressive how they did the effects in a pre-digital movie industry. Give that one a whirl.

Now, I'm watching one I've had at the very bottom of my queue for a long time. I just wasn't that interested in it but it seems to be on everyone's list of ones to watch. "Day of the Triffids". I opted for the BBC, made for TV, version that is broken up into several small bite sized sections. That way it would be less painful if it was truly bad, I figured. Despite the fact that I have no yen for movies based on walking carnivorous plants, I actually liked it moderately. It is on the Instant Viewing list on Netflix if you're bored and want to get that classic out of the way.

Some of the ones on my queue that I'm looking forward to are Equilibrium, On the Beach and Code 46. All of them get horribly mixed reviews and that usually means I'll like them. I'm just so contrary!

It's Dirt Time Again....::sigh::

2009-01-18T20:30:00.005-05:00

I've been putting this off. No, that is too mild a statement. I have been putting it off out of sheer dread.

For those who read my blog last year in early spring, you may remember that I built my raised beds and then hauled 10 cubic yards of dirt back to them, one wheelbarrow at a time. It was cold, a bit rainy and my arm hurt for days afterwards.

But here we are again. I'm building more raised beds, more than doubling my garden space, so I'm going to need lots of dirt. I do mean LOTS of dirt. I'm also building a small bed all the way around the house. That means more dirt and even worse, nice heavy blocks of stone to build the beds.

Yehaww...can you hear the sarcasm?

The latest edition of Living the Country Life journal has a great head to head challenge of 11 small utility tractors. Well, not really small but smaller. The range in price from $28K to over $50K. When I think of that dirt and all the dirt to come in my life, I'm almost tempted.

I'm open to any offers of assistence. Bring a wheelbarrow. I'll provide lunch.

Dinner in Winter...Almost Like Summer

2009-01-18T19:30:00.005-05:00

During the summer I posted lots of pictures of the results of my initial canning efforts. Jewel-like colors and so beautiful. Of course, I was excited to have done it and feeling very satisfied with the outcome. But how did it really turn out, you might wonder? How many exploded, rotted or otherwise didn't make it? How did stuff taste? Was it really better?

Not a single one went bad...not one jar out of all those dozens and dozens.

But...I'll admit that I was very dubious of eating my own jarred up food. I'd read so often of the dire dangers of doing anything even slightly wrong, that I'd surely die of botulism or at least get seriously ill that I had myself paranoid beyond belief.

It took a serious act of faith to open up the first non-acid food that I'd jarred myself. Tomatoes and things like that, acid foods, I didn't worry about since those aren't potential carriers. And those were delicious like you wouldn't believe. But corn, green beans...things like that?

Before I opened the first ones, I brought them up, examined them with every light on, held them up by just the little lid to be sure they were still in a vacuum, shook them and then held them up again. Listened for the pop when I opened them and then looked at them again.

It smelled just the same as the day I packed it, so fresh and clean. I added the corn to the goulash (sp?) I was making and then stood, paranoid but determined, until it was ready.

Oh my, how delicious it was! It has a texture, almost a crispness, that it does when it is very fresh and on the cob that no store bought version is going to give you.

After that, it was field day with the jars. Now, I still take reasonable precautions and check things like the seal and discoloration, but I do that with stuff I buy in cans too so there is nothing new there.

Currently, I'm starting to run out of things and am ever so sad to see them go.

As a step towards a greater sustainability in my life, I could hardly have done anything better. Growing your own food in season is great, but making it last after the season is the best.

Just think of this: Fresh food gets trucked an unknown distance to a factory where it is processed at high temps using large quantities of water and cleaning solutions, put into cans that use large quantities of metals, paper or plastics (for those single serve things). It is then trucked out, even right to the place it may have grown. Then you drive your car to pick them up at the store and then toss that can and paper right into the garbage, (or recycling if you have it). What a mess for a single can of green beans.

For my jar of green beans: I grow them, enjoying them right from the vine and having extra, I clean them, jar them in glass jars I'll re-use countless times, process them on my energy efficient stove and then open them whenever without going to any store. In fact, the only thing I use is one part of a 2 piece lid that has to be recycled and water. That's it.

You tell me which is the best one for our little green and blue planetary body?

But as I start new seeds for this year, I'm keeping all that in mind and this year, I'll have twice as much to go in the jars!

Heirloom Seeds and Another Grow Light..With Info!

2009-01-18T18:27:00.003-05:00

After I posted a picture of my little grow light set up for seed starting, I got some emails asking about it, particularly in terms of price and how it is performing. I did some looking around and did notice that most grow light systems are pretty darn expensive. Bigger ones have the added disadvantage of not being very portable.

So it looks like I got really lucky and now that I've ordered a second one, I'll share the link! The one I got is the Green Thumb Jump Start System. I got it from YardLover.com and the price was only $65, which is about half the price of the same size system everywhere else. (No, I'm not getting a kick back so click away!)

It came with 2 48 inch bulbs of the full spectrum sort also. It is quite sturdy, easy to put together and very user friendly. So, yes, I do recommend it.

As I said, I ordered a second one today. I'll be putting it on that same table right in front of the other one. Then I can fit pretty much my whole seed starting operation on that one table. Pretty nifty, huh.

Seed orders are being made and rolling in now. I got my Baker Creek Heirloom Seed order in and have started quite a few of them just yesterday. Their catalog is just luscious and even their seed packets are adorable and ever so retro. Here are just a few from this order.

I'm thinking that a lot of people will think I'm awfully early with seed starting since I am in Virginia, but I'm not really. Last frost date is March 25th and on top of that, I'm on the tidally influenced river and the climate is moderated some at my house because of that big body of water coming by all day.

Speaking of my seed starting, some of my stuff is coming up and they look so tiny and perfect. My brocolli below.

And here are my spanish and red onions. Yes, I do know there are too many in a cell. I cull them some so the weak should tremble! I actually have pretty good luck with just tearing the cell off and teasing them apart to transplant. At least I did last year.

And even with my very hefty Baker Creek order in, I have loads more coming. I do love variety and I'm slowly switching to open pollinated heirloom varieties. This is what my collection to date looks like. Yes, that is a shoe box..lol.

And just because we haven't seen him in a while, here is Boscoe saying how much he misses everyone after the holidays. It seems he put on a little bit of belly with the holiday bounty!

"Have-More" Plan - The Book I Should Have Bought First!

2009-01-18T17:14:00.005-05:00

I don't know about you, but I have a lot of books about gardening, homesteading and other related topics. In fact, I counted them. It turns out I have 126 of them. Each of them has prices ranging from $9.95 (very few) to $49.95 (also very few) but most are in the range of 25 to 30 bucks. That means, just using the average, I have spent $3150-$3780 on those type of books.

Now, I don't know if I actually spent that much since a good portion of them came from Amazon, but even if I got a discount, that is pretty ridiculous.

What is worse, most of them are simply not that useful.

When an expert writes a book on say, gardening, they assume too much or they get too basic. It is difficult to fill a book up with material and it seems no one wants to write pamphlets that won't bring in good money.

Of course, there are exceptions and I do have a handspan of books I just couldn't do without. And almost all of them have their place and have been used for reference or to double check things.

I just got a new one though and I find it so wonderful, so awesome and well, so darn great that I've got to tell you all about it. It is a short book, more of an oversized pamphlet really and it was written in the 1940's. It is called the "Have-More" Plan by Ed and Carolyn Robinson.

I just got mine from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds instead of Amazon because it is one of the few books that doesn't have a discount and I like to support my favorite places.

Ed and Carolyn were city people who simply got tired of it, took their young son and went to the country. As total novices they managed to commute for work to the city and have a mini-homestead that supplied a truly amazing part of their support. And this was in the 40's!

The book is oversized and paperback and reprinted exactly as it was on the second edition, which had a few more lessons learned in it. It's written more like a series of articles, none of them meant to be the end all in how to for any subject, but more of a guide to how they chose and did it and all the things they wound up doing wrong in doing so.

Subjects range from Bee Keeping to home meat rabbits and even in setting up a Harvest Kitchen. These two are amazing...really.

It's told in a wonderfully conversational tone and is filled with those lovely pre-1960s assumptions on gender roles that will have you cracking up a bit. They included lots of family snapshots that aren't just cute, but incredibly useful. Even right to his little chicken guillotine, complete with chicken under the blade. (Don't worry, no gore and it is just before the ax fell.)

Some of the sections are pretty eye-opening. Under their food preservation section they do go on about using a freezer. These were very new to the market then and they actually paid more for their freezer in 1941 than I would in buy the same sized one today!

They do use actual money numbers in the book and while clearly we don't buy our homestead for 2,650.00 anymore, the use of relative numbers does work in many instances because we don't make 100 bucks a month anymore either.

Some of you may really like the goat section. I learned a LOT about goats here and have a lot less fear of getting those dairy goats than before. His were awfully cute too.

The tone of the book is such that you'd think you were talking to a city dweller today. The urge for sustainable living and a bit more control over our food and a happy and less stressful life appears to remain unchanged.

One of the most surprising parts of this book is the whole pre-1960's gender role thing. While it is clear their speech indicates they were raised with those views, like everyone else, their reality was far different. Once they got homesteading, they really did become equal with each relying on the other. They don't say it in so many words, but she is a far more powerful member of the household than she was before homesteading. I do like that!

Nonetheless, I find this to be the most enjoyable and useful of the books I've gotten since Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening. And it was the cheapest one too!

I did find it online however I'm not sure if it is a legal copy so I'm not including the link. It looks like a scanned copy of the original and since that one isn't copyrighted, but in 1978 it was, I can't be sure. I'll keep researching and update if I find it is a legal copy. Either way, the scan is a bad one and the lovely copy I have is a delight to own.

*Disclaimer: I do NOT have an Amazon store or any other concession for these links. They are the same links you'd get from google searching. I don't do ads or commissions and get no kick backs. Just passing on the good info....

Welcome to 2009! The year of ???

2009-01-06T09:39:00.002-05:00

To me it seems like each year develops it's own theme. It doesn't stick by a calendar or anything but a theme is there nonetheless.

For 2007, it was the year of the horrid deployment (which really wasn't that horrid once I got back and started forgetting how horrid it was).

For 2008, it was the year of getting started. I started my first large organic veggie garden. I started a social life. I started learning new skills like canning, dehydrating and other general food preservation skills.

So what is 2009 shaping up as? I think it started in December and I'm pretty sure it is going to be the year of "Get 'er dun!". Please pardon the play on a truly tasteless movie! But really, that is it. Pretty simple in concept, but oh so complicated in reality, don't you think?

I'll give you an example. Like many others out there I have my list of things to do. Some are small things like number 14: Examine all light switch and outlet covers for damage. Buy and install new ones where needed.

Okay, that one should take 10 minutes to look, 1 hour to shop and another hour to install. And yes, I do have some that need replacing. I really don't like those marks that get on them from plugging things in and out all the time.

Others are so much more complex. Take number 30: Rip out carpet and padding in FROG. Replace all subflooring and get rid of all creaks. Install new padding. Re-install carpet or buy new.

Yeah...that's gonna take a while, not to mention it isn't cheap. Yes, I know, my house is only a few years old but I really hate that floor and want different subflooring. And padding is nasty and should be replaced when you can.

Others just require hiring someone and a whole pile of moolah. Take 63 for example: Have solar attic fan installed. Or try 41: Have retaining wall installed along pathway behind house where everyone walks and fix the incline. Or perhaps number 3: Have hallway carpet replaced with same maple floor as downstairs.

Oh yes, I have pages and pages of this list. I am actually up to almost 200 line items remaining and that doesn't include the 50 or so I've marked off since my last iteration of "The List". I am constantly adding new things and it seems that I add 3 or 4 for every one that I mark off.

Some of them have been lingering around since the original list of 2005 simply because I really, really, don't want to do them. One of those would be number 1: Go through all Star Trek trading cards and trade, sell or give away duplicates and consolidate only one set of each series.

That may not sound so bad until you note that I have over 100,000 cards. Yeah, I love Star Trek though I haven't actively traded or collected or anything in many years. I am not a Trekkie, but a true appreciator of creative talent that changed TV and our everyday culture in huge ways we don't even notice nowadays. Okay...nuff of that.

I probably shouldn't have mentioned that one.

So how do I know that this is the year of getting things done? I think because I've been very restless about the list. I seem to trip over the list no matter what I do and I feel terribly guilty when I see the list. Since last month, I've been working on something from the list at all times. So, I think that this is the year.

Anybody want to work on some weekend projects?

Garden Season of 2009 is Starting Early!

2009-01-06T06:02:00.005-05:00

Oh yes, the seed catalogs have been coming in and I've been a drooling over the bright and shiny pictures of rare and heirloom plants. I've got dozens of sticky tabs in the catalogs and literally hundreds of marks on pages indicating my "short list" of possibles for this year.

The gardener's dilemma is truly hitting me: How can I wait even one more day even when I know it isn't time yet?

Yeah, well, I didn't wait.

This winter I purchased some things from my List (previously posted about) and got set up for starting seeds with a little less trouble and a little more success this year. In the picture below you can see my initial set-up.

I bought a full spectrum flourescent grow light stand and a longer folding table to set it on. I put it in a large unused room with full southern exposure from those 2 big windows. When set longways, I can fit 2 large seed flats under it. If set shortways, then 4 will fit.

A little later in the season, when I just put seeds in a little dish with soil in it and transfer after they sprout, I'll be able to fit a fairly comfortable number under there.

On January 4th, I started a bunch of Red and Yellow Onion seeds as well as some eggplant seeds from the slowest of last years eggplants. I'm determined to get adept at growing onion from seed and last year I started them February 1st, which gave me only small onions to harvest.

According to my ridiculously complicated schedule, in two weeks I'll start seeds for a great many of my other veggies and that will make me very happy.

So now, I'd best get cracking on those seed catalogs. Stop drooling and start ordering is my rule for the day!

No Garden, Just Dogs

2008-12-12T09:54:00.004-05:00

Not much happening on the garden front, what with it being winter and all. Yes, the Brussels sprouts are growing as are the carrots and beets, albeit slowly. Yes, I do plan to get my act in gear with much raised bed building and dirt moving...but not today and not till after the holidays.

Today, I'm just posting a couple of pics of winter behavior. When it is cold and rainy and just plain ucky outside, this is what you are likely to find in the late afternoon on my couch.

Just the fact that someone was able to stand so close to us and get a picture should tell you exactly how far out into nap-land we were! Beagles make the warmest snugglers, don't they?

And this irresistible photo is Vanna snuggling with the Gigi...in her crate! For some reason this just cracks me up and I thought you all, (Mom, Amelia and Holly, I'm talkin' to you), might enjoy it too.

Till next time...

2008 Harvest Wrap Up

2008-11-26T10:58:00.008-05:00

Yes, the sad day that one officially calls it done. But it is also a good day because you can tally up your victories for the year, think about all the lessons you've learned and most importantly, starting drooling over seed catalogs for next spring.

So how did my first truly organic, square foot garden do? Fantastic...sort of.

First off, let me confess that I totally lost track of all my harvest weights. I dropped my scale and broke it and then dillied about for 3 months in getting a new one. But in a way I'm glad. I was getting way too hung up on weight totals and missing some really good information along the way.

Here is what I learned in my square foot garden:

It is true that some produce comes out smaller.
The efficient spacing means that gaps for non-germination can be easily filled.
It can be difficult not to disturb roots on adjoining squares during staggered harvests.
You can grow all that Mel says you can grow.
It can be hard to harvest certain types of crops.
I used far less water than traditional gardening.
I used far fewer insect controls (organic only).
Interplanting and succession planting are no brainers with SFG.

Number 1 is really the most important one to most people, I think and I did some informal experimentation to see how this really played out. I put some tomatoes of the same variety in large pots, some in the bed and a couple in the ground. The container and the SFG bed plants definitely had smaller tomatoes than the ones in the ground. Bottom line is that I think plants that sense boundaries more keenly at the root will produce smaller fruit. The sheer number of fruits was not affected though. The same approximate number bloomed, took and formed on all the tomatoes, regardless of which method used.

This limitation on size wasn't universal though. Tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplant seemed the most obviously affected plants. Bush and pole beans, carrots, beets, parsnips, lettuce and the like seemed to be the same size...or bigger! My carrots were fantastic this year; huge and sweet. My parsnips were up to..wait for it...15 inches long! I'm sorry there are no pictures of those, but as soon as I had a freeze, I pulled them, roasted them and proceeded to snarf. Parsnips gone.

Number 3 seems to be the second biggest issue in practical terms. Basically, if I have bush beans next to a tomato plant, then when I pull the bush beans and plant something else, I'll have to dig about to get this new thing, say a cabbage for fall, deeply planted. Without fail I wind up tangling up in the tomato roots and the tomatoes don't like that at all. I can't really think of an easy solution, so I've tried to stagger things in my planting plan for next year so that the root bumping potential is limited.

Number 5 actually turned out to have some consquences. I find bush beans difficult to harvest because I can't always see the bean. And if I leave one on there and it matures, the ability to get that slightly extended harvest or second picking is vastly diminished. Well, I missed a bunch because there are 9 plants to a square and it gets very overgrown in there. So I got a much lower yield on a good part of my bush beans because of it. Those mature beans, some of which I apparently missed on clean up, are now sprouting in the midst of temps in the lower 30s. Go figure.

So what did I get?

About 200 tomatoes (even after the massacre of the Romas in June), maybe more. About 64 carrots (I so should have planted more!)
12 Parsnips
About 75 bell peppers (total swag, but I counted dishes I cooked so it really could be a whole lot more)
About 100 hot peppers....oh how I wish it were more...
Very few squash and zucchini and one lonely butternut due to my very novice use of an organic control that killed my plants.
About 3 pounds of bush and pole beans.
About 30 beautiful eggplants.
Enough lettuce for a big salad or two a week for about 3 months.
About 3 pounds of tiny sweet potatoes (I planted them waaaay too late.)
10 pounds of onions or so.
Well....I'm sure there is more but I'm tired of thinking that hard.

Now, I know you're all going to look at this list and then my next year's harvest estimate when I post it and wonder how I'm getting from here to there, even with more than double the space. Here is the answer. Optimism! No, really. I'm taking some of what I learned and using it. I'll stagger out in space some of the restricted ones, having small root plants in the squares between, to provide room. Interplanting, Interplanting and Interplanting! It will allow me to free up squares for long term crops while still getting many multiples of those fast growers.

Oh, and by the way...even though I'm calling it done, I'm actually still growing and harvesting brussell sprouts (they are so freaky looking), and more late planted carrots and beets.

And here is the Boscoe man, for all his girlie fans out there, looking suave at bedtime. His tail is waggin' for you!

Check back soon for the 2009 Garden Plan!

2009 Tentative Garden Plan

2008-11-26T10:22:00.005-05:00

As you may have guessed from my 2008 Harvest Wrap Up post, I'm now a firm and converted believer in the Square Foot Gardening method for us urban or suburban gardeners. There is simply no better way to get so much from so little space. And in terms of labor, it was certainly a total breeze even with a full time job, family requirements and even the occassional need to travel. Basically, I love it.

Of course, now I need more. Yes, more beds. I've been measuring and mulling for a few months now and I've come up with a new arrangement that will allow me to put in 2 additional 4x8 foot beds, which more than doubles my growing space. I'm also putting in a little side area that I'll use for squash and such. And not to be forgotten, I'll be building potato boxes off to the side also. Those 50 big containers will also still be gettting a workout.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. So from the top:

Goal 1: Produce 75% of my veggies for fresh eating. Last year was far less, with many gaps in production I intend to close.
Goal 2: Produce sufficient to can or dehydrate or freeze a further 50% of my veggies needs for the entire year for one person. While I did very well in this respect this year, it was supplemented with corn, berries and tomatoes purchased at a local farm. I also ran out of my yummy Rare Breed (TM) marinara sauce before the tomato plants even died!
Goal 3: Grow 3 new things.

Now, that doesn't sound too bad does it? Yeah...right! Below are some images of the slides I've made of the intended plan after much diddling about. This isn't certain yet since I'm getting a very important second opinion before the work begins.

You'll notice on all the beds next year I'm really going to take advantage of interplanting more than I did this year. I simply didn't know enough or have enough confidence to work this sort of plan. But the numbers don't lie and the yield can be vastly increased by putting those little fast growers around the bases of the slow ones.

In Bed 1, I intend to plant some of the Tomatoes, Peppers and Cukes relatively early, while others I'll grow in slightly larger starter pots to be transplanted as spring harvest completes later. It is sort of an experiment since this year I didn't have enough data to determine what differences the time spacing made in harvests. I'm kicking hard on providing more onions since I used up all mine by the first week of November this year.

In Bed 2, I'm doing much the same as Bed 1 with more tomatoes, eggplants and peppers and lots of interplanting.

Bed 4, which was in use this year, is going to be moved to a more advantageous spot and put into heavy production. Bed 3, my champion bed this year, is in the prime spot for an experiment in the 3 Sisters Method of growing. I've used the spacing of tall corn listed in the SFG book and worked everything else around it, but I am worried that only 2 squash should go in between rather than 4. For those who aren't familiar with the method, it is the standard Native American method and it is increasingly popular again for very good reason. The corn, planted first, provides the support for a couple of climbing beans planted a couple of weeks later. The beans, in turn, provide nitrogen fixing for the heavy feeding corn. The squash, planted last, provides cooling shade to the roots of corn which really helps it grow during high summer, shades out weeds and keeps moisture in the soil. Pretty sweet arrangement!

Bed 5, which is the one I put to the side of my house is in a position to have extended spring, milder summer temps and an extended fall. As a matter of fact, this is the bed that produced brandywine tomatoes and pole beans until November 10th, even after 2 freezes. It is just in a perfect sheltered spot. Since I've been able to grow lettuce there all summer, I'm going to really leverage that this next year.

All the herbs that I had scattered all over are going to be concentrated in pots this year. The misc list shows some of my other goodies and includes my new items like Watermelon, Sunflowers and Luffa. The apple trees are brand new and not expected to produce for a couple of years and the coffee beans that sprouted are actually taking a nose dive right now and will probably be replaced soon.

So, to make this blog post even more ridiculously long, I'm going to put in my harvest estimates based on the above plan. Yes, it is a bit optimized. I counted all carrots and beets and other single root crops as harvested, even though many will be pulled early and some may not make it. Others are based on what I got from each plant this year, like eggplant and tomato. If anyone sees anything totally out to lunch here, please do let me know!

Harvest Estimates from Planting Plan in Beds 1 through 5

Spring

Carrots – 168 each
Beets – 144 each
Radishes – 72 bulbs
Onions – 60 bulbs
Cauliflower – 12 heads
Snap Pea – 24 plants
Peas – 32 plants
Cabbage – 4 heads
Brussels Sprouts – 8 plants worth (20-30 per)
Lettuce – 20 plants
Broccoli – 5 plants worth (5 main heads, many small sides)

Summer
Tomato – 24 plants in beds (more in pots), unknown quantity, aiming for 200 pounds, hoping for more!
Cucumbers – 4 plants, unknown quantity
Eggplant – 9 plants, usually 5 pounds or more per plant in beds
Peppers (hot and sweet) – 15 plants, unknown mix or quantity
Bush Beans (green beans) – 99 plants, unknown yield, usually ¼ pound per plant

Multi-Season Harvest
Leeks – 32 bulbs (fall harvest)
Parsnips – 64 each (early winter harvest)
Acorn Squash – 3 plants, unknown harvest, usually 3-5 per plant
Corn – 16 plants, usually 1-3 ears per plants
Pole Beans – 32 plants, long harvest, usually ½ pound per plant
Yellow Squash – 2 plants, usually 7-10 pounds per plant
Zucchini – 2 plants, usually 7-10 pounds per plant

Fall Planting for Early Winter Harvest
Not yet completely decided since it will depend on earlier harvests but estimates are:
Carrots – 144 to 288 each
Beets – 144 each
Peas – 64 plants
Cauliflower – 16 heads
Brussell Sprouts – 16 plants (20-30 per plant)
Brocolli – 8 main heads with many side shoots
Cabbage – 8 heads

Harvest Estimate from Planting Plan for Containers and Side Areas
Sunflowers – 20 Heads for seed
Yellow Squash – 2 to 3 plants
Zucchini – 2 to 3 plants
Luffa – 2 plants
Butternut Squash – 2- 3 plants
Strawberries – unknown number of plants
Potatoes – 20 to 50 pounds each from 2 potato boxes
Cucumbers – Several in pots and in flower beds
Peppers – All extra starts in pots and flower beds
Roma Tomatoes – more in pots

Way Overdue Update with Loads of News.

2008-10-02T18:47:00.006-04:00

Hello All!

Yes, I am in fact, still alive! Yes, I'm still gardening and yes, I'm a total loser for not updating in 3 ridiculous months. However, I will give you all the scoop, do a bit of show and tell and then start into all the lovely planning and mooning over next years garden.

But first...why exactly haven't I updated, you ask? Well, a combination of things sort of came all at once. Number 1, I actually got a social life and started dating. Nope, no boyfriend but the looking can be fun.

Second, my garden got totally pummeled by the effects of 2 tropical cyclones followed by a lovely nor'easter that would have pulled the nail polish off your fingers. Oh, and did I mention the flooding? Yeah, baby...that's the way we like to garden.

All that aside, above we have a nice picture from the first of October and the harvest for that day. Even though most people are closing up shop in their gardens around then, I was still harvesting truly fantastic amounts of warm weather veggies even after all the weather woes. It was right about that time I started to see some recovery on the plants damaged by falling limbs and the like...just in time for them to start shutting down production!

For anyone curious, you can see one instance of the flooding at the front side of my house in the first above picture and what the backyard looked like the next morning in the second one. I know it is quite blurry, but at the point this photo was taken, the house at the end of the cul de sac had water in their garage and the water level came up to mid thigh on me. And no, this water isn't nasty. It is just the tidally influenced river during high tide combined with storm surge. No sewage or mess like that. Nothing ever touched my house during all of these, but my yard in the back...oi vay!

And here, for the truly discriminating Boscoe fan, is the Lederhosen himself looking oh, so happy to be trying on his Halloween costume. Umm....he decided to be a devil instead and Gigi was the Ladybug. I just couldn't handle the big man having to look like such a pansy. He actually did like his little devil costume, I think. He chewed it with great gusto.

Now, I'm working on the SuperPost of the tentative garden plan for next year and the Harvest Wrap Up post for this year. I'll be posting them soon and, scout's honor, I won't be such a non-updating loser without notice again!

State of the Garden...15 August 2008

2008-08-15T06:20:00.003-04:00

Not many pictures to post yet, but I'll get out amongst the swarms of mosquitoes to get more today or tomorrow. And that brings me to my first update! The mosquitoes are a nightmare right now. The combination of good soil, occasional really hard rains that leave just enough puddlling and my naturalized part of the yard mean it is an ideal breeding ground. And to top it off, I'm a magnet for the little blood suckers! At this point, unless it is the hottest part of the day when they are not active, I wear long sleeves and jeans even in 100+ degree weather while working out there. But it is so worth it!

Just look at one afternoon's worth of pick up. That doesn't include the beans and grape tomatoes either. Just the big ones. For lots of gardeners, this doesn't represent much, but to me this is heaven. All organically grown using a new gardening technique and with having made a few pretty dire mistakes in where I placed a few of the raised beds so I'm happy.

Below is a snap of my butternut squash. While fruit are setting and looking pretty fantastic, there are spots on the leaves that have me confused. What is that? Is that just the effects of having my stucco re-done around the bottom of my house, which created clouds of dust that had to be hosed off every day? Is that a disease? Is it the effect of having placed my squash bed in a place that wound up getting a little less light than they really need?

Right now my tomatoes are going strong on their second flush of fruit, most of them gaining good sizes quickly and leaving me breathlessly waiting for the ripening. I'm particularly excited because the ones fruiting now are my heirlooms, which I had begun to despair of ever setting fruit. My eggplants are loaded and gaining size daily. And the second flush of peppers are set and growing, but too slowly for me. I inspect them like the avid fan I am every single day. See my previous entry if you want to know the two types that have me over the moon this year.

Planting for fall crops is on the schedule for this weekend. Carrots, parsnips and the like are going in as seeds while I'm going to re-start the seeds for the things like cauliflower, cabbage and brussell sprouts. Something I can't identify has nipped off the tender young growth of my previous starts so I'm on the lookout for the brave thief who'll do that right on my own deck! Pole beans are coming as are the bush beans. I think from now on I might stick with pole beans. Not only because of the taste, but because I simply don't see the ripe beans in the bush beans until they get oversized. It is much easier with pole beans.

Squash is still so-so and it is directly related to their position, I'm sure. I'll be moving the squash bed this winter too so they can get more sun during the best of summer. My bad. Which is ironic, I think. Most people have luck with those crops if nothing else and have so much they feed it to chickens. But me, I need hundreds of pounds of the combined crops for making dog food over the winter and can get only enough for fresh eating.

And here I am. Just a snap for my mother...

And for all those breathless Boscoe fans, here is the big man! His leg looks fantastic doesn't it? The hair is growing back and while I do miss his little naked old man butt, I'm sure he is happier with his right cheek well covered. I don't think the scar will be evident at all once it is fully regrown. He is doing exceptionally well and he is chafing at the bit at the enforced rest now. Once he gets moving and warmed up, he has only the slightest of limps, something most wouldn't even recognize as a limp. That is far better than when he came home from my sister's in early June so the surgery looks like a success at this point. He has gone on a short walk to the water this past week because he was so stir crazy and enjoyed himself immensely, marking every tree on the route with glee. But, we do have to be careful. The surgeon made sure I understood that most surgery failures happen from 3 to 8 weeks post surgery because owner's give in to the dog's desire for more activity. So I'm holding steady and giving only minimal surrender to his pleas. Isn't he adorable with his head cocked to the side?

Peppers, Peach Jelly and Squash Dog Cookies

2008-08-06T20:43:00.005-04:00

Yeah, I know, not exactly an exciting title but I'm pretty excited about the subjects right now.

My "hot" peppers, which aren't really hot at all but very low on that scale, are on a bit of a hiatus right now because I've harvested this round. Believe me, I'm watching each blossom like a hawk! This is my final bowl of Spanish Spice, Godfather and Poblano peppers, already cut and ready for the pan. They were absolutely fantastic. There aren't enough stars to give my true recommendation of both the Godfather and the Spanish Spice. Yes, they are hybrid seeds, but my goodness are they fantastic.

When I finally...finally...finished the peach jelly I was amazed at how beautiful it turned out. It is a lovely rose color and the smell is a true fresh peach smell. And the taste..well, let's just say there is no way this one is going to last long! I made 17 jars, note there is already one gone!

Of course, there are bound to be questions on it because it is Peach skin jelly that also includes all the sections and segments that were just a tad too ripe for canning or had a bruise or what not. In other words, the stuff we usually throw into the compost bin when canning up peaches.

The question that naturally comes up for those like me who like our food organic is the effect of using skins because peaches are one of the most affected by pesticides seeping into the fruit from the skin. Well, I can highly recommend the recipe but only on the condition that the peaches used are organic. Even if you aren't normally an organophile, (that looks a bit naughty), peaches are one of the few fruits that you really should consider it for. Soft skin fruits in general really soak up the pesticides sprayed on them.

Okay, sermon over! Well cleaned peach skins with anything sketchy cut out and all those segments that are just slurpy ripe (once you've eaten your fill, of course), work fantastically. Here is the link to the recipe. This recipe has been successfully used by many folks on various homesteading and canning boards I'm on for multiple years, so I feel very confident with it with one glaring exception. Peach pits are, in fact, toxic and while it is probably okay in this recipe, I've left them out and so has everyone else I've personally contacted who makes it.

Now for the wonderful and accidental dog cookie find. We call them cookies because they look and feel like cookies but all they are is dehydrated slices of yellow squash. Yep..that's it. While my dogs turn their Beagley noses at squash in any other form not already soaked in chicken broth, these they go bonkers over. I found out because I heard the tell-tale sound of dog paws sliding on the edge of the counter, a classic sign of a dog that is attempting to counter surf for anything remotely edible near the edge of the counter. This was immediately followed by the alarming sound of crunching. After running into the kitchen with visions of dealing with doggie diarrhea from chocolate ingestion playing in my mind, I find Boscoe eagerly snarfing down these. Now I use them as the ultimate bait and they work.

You don't need to do anything to them really. Just slice about 1/4 inch thick, steam blanch for a few minutes, layer in dehydrater and let it do it's thing. Remove and bag up as serious treatage. If you do this, let me know your results.

For all those of you out there who have pet beds in your house that outnumber your dogs 10 to 1, this snap and the gratification of it should be recognizable. The greatest beds we buy and lug home proudly often result in turned up noses and put upon looks as they settle on the floor rather than touch that bed. Finally, finally, I brought home a bed that meets the standard. This one I took with my cell phone so the quality isn't great. I took it the day before Boscoe's surgery. Isn't he cute and happy looking? And he still really loves this bed!

A Couple of Clarifications...

2008-08-03T13:36:00.003-04:00

I've had a few emails asking me details of the blog so I'm just going to make a short entry to let everyone know the answers.

First, the hit counter. I've had a couple of questions regarding why a person's hits aren't counting when they visit during the day. It's real easy. I have a counter that records an address as a hit only once per 24 hours. So if you are hitting from a family computer where more than one person is visiting from, only the first one per day counts. Sorry kids!

And as to who those hits are from other countries; nope, I have no idea who they are. So far, no one who has left comments has stated their country so I guess we'll never know! They are sort of cool though, yes?

Second, emails. Members of family and friends have my email and that is why I talk about emails. Posting a comment is the only option for those who don't have it...sorry! I've removed the comments that just keep asking for my email address because I wouldn't want your addresses compromised by being listed so openly. If there is someone out there that I do eventually get to know, I'm sure we'll work it out. Besides, I like comments...it is like instant gratification of the best sort.

Canning Weekend...Results are Awesome!

2008-08-03T12:44:00.004-04:00

What a weekend! I suppose most people might consider this a sort of drudgery, but not me. To me, this is fun and productive. Most of all, I know how much I'm going to love opening this stuff up in the dead of winter and enjoying food that tastes like summer.

I took a day of vacation on Friday so I could go to the spa for a nice massage and facial. Ya, ya..I know..self indulgence. It was great, by the way. But I also wanted to do my canning starting on Thursday night in order to get it all done. Rough calculations showed I would need all that time in order to still be able to do my regular chores, garden work and get the laundry done.

I started with tomatoes, corn and peaches to can and dehydrate. I'm still dehydrating potatoes and onions and will be all week. This is what my corn supply looked like (I'd already removed some but it is close). I include that because it is amazing how few jars come from such large amounts. Most people sort of take for granted cans of corn. After all, you go to the grocery, it is one of the cheaper cans so you pick up a few and it is a relatively boring addition to most family meals.

After shucking, removing silks as much as possible, carefully cutting the kernels from the cobs and then processing, you wind up with about 3.5 ears per pint or 6 to 7 ears per quart of corn. Next time you're in the grocery, think about what an amazing bargain that can of corn is.

I also combined the tomatoes from my garden with a half bushel from a local farm I like and canned those up in quarters and made a couple of pints of sauce. I gave a few away and also enjoyed some lovely tomato sandwiches, of course. Don't they look pretty when they are cooking for canning up.

When working with the builder to make sure that this house was ultra energy efficient, I made the decision to use all electric. One of the huge downsides to this is that I have a smooth glass ceramic cooktop, which is fine for cooking but bad for canning. Weight limits on it mean that I have to use the smallest good pressure canner out there and can process only 9 pints or 5 quarts at a time to be sure I won't crack it.

Hot work, yes, but aren't the results just awesome. From left to right we have peach halves and quarters in a very light honey cinnamon syrup, honey spiced peaches, corn, tomato wedges and halves and off to the far right is the start of the dehydrated things. What you are missing from that picture are the quarts and pints of dehydrated stuff, like peaches, which I'll use for breads and such during the winter. And...

...also about 16 jars of peach jelly. Shown below are the pots of the skins and sections of peaches that were just a bit too ripe for canning. Those make a wonderful jelly, but it does require cooking and then sitting overnight, using up my pans and stove. That means it gets made last and my whole house smells of peaches and will for another day.

And there is no way I would leave you all without a Beagle to brighten your day. Here Gigi has just finished eating a treat, leaving a mess, and looking a tad mournful that it is gone. Just a good example of why I always keep the couch covered in a white sheet in the evenings!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend! I'm really enjoying reading your emails on how your gardens are doing, so keep them coming!

Garden is Good!

2008-07-30T19:03:00.003-04:00

Now, in case you didn't see that the first time....

Yes!! Those are the tomatoes I got today and that doesn't include the peppers, eggplants, green beans, stevia or grape tomatoes. Hola...we have good stuff here.

Oh, and please excuse how I look because it was 96 degrees outside with 83% humidity and I was working hard. Remember, focus on the tomatoes...

As much as that is, it still isn't enough to for a full canning batch, so I'm headed off to my favorite farm to get 6 dozen ears of very sweet corn, a half bushel of just-picked peaches and a half bushel more tomatoes. Between that and my harvest today and tomorrow, I should have enough for a nice big batch of canning.

Preserving the Bounty

2008-07-27T20:44:00.005-04:00

Aside from learning the fine art of canning, I'm trying other things too. I'd like to have foods be as independent of energy using devices as possible, of course, but some vegetables simply can't be canned well. Or if they can be, the taste and texture is appalling.

Squash is one such vegetable, particularly yellow summer squash.

My solution is to dehydrate them. Dehydrating has a lot going for it. Whatever you dehydrate can be rehydrated and then used like fresh, well, for the most part! For some things it is better to use them in casseroles or breads or other things where the food is cooked with other things. My intention is to use this stuff in the dog food over the winter since I make home-made.

For me there is a further benefit. I live in a hurricane zone and it is pretty unlikely that a bunch of jars are going to weather a direct hit, should my house get rattled, while a vacuum sealed packet of a dehydrated veggie should be just fine.

Here is what it looks like to dehydrate squash. You might notice that one of the squash in this snap is orange. I didn't use that one, it is just an experiment of mine. Some of my bits turned a bit brown so I took those out. Not sure if it matters, but better safe than sorry!

Give it a try!
And, as usual, a delightful snap of a beagle to brighten your day. Here GiGi is enjoying ruining a freshly dried load of towels by making a burrow of them. Ah well, it is worth it to see her so happy!

State of the Garden...17 July 2008

2008-07-17T13:54:00.006-04:00

I know, I know; I haven't updated the garden in total for several weeks. With Boscoe, it's been just too busy to get all that is happening in there down at one time.

But, things are a moving and it is way overtime for a full report with lots of pictures.

First, the bugs. I started to get a nasty case of aphids last month so I decided to see what an order of ladybugs would do to them. I ordered them and a bag of red wrigglers for the soil and my compost pile (I'll write more on them later). I released half the ladybugs right away and put the rest in the fridge for later. Sure enough, I had not an aphid in sight within 24 hours! Just a few days ago, I released the other half when I saw evidence of more aphids starting on the eggplant. Again, not an aphid in sight now. But, also not a ladybug in sight either. They just don't seem to hang around after supper! Here's a nice shot of them.

For those who remember, I had a small problem with my peppers. The blooms were simply falling right off or even if they fertilized, the little nublets of pepper fell off. It was very depressing. It looked like I might have over-nitrogened some of them because of the heavy leaf growth and others were simply not liking all the sun. I moved them and voila..pepper heaven for many of them. Here is my Spanish Spice pepper showing some lovely 8 inch hanging fruit. Some of the bells are now following suit. The Godfathers and the poblanos are also producing really heavily right now. Right now I'm frantically looking for ways to preserve the bounty for later.

My first eggplant came off the other day too! It is quite small but I understand that is normal for the first one. I'm not worrying too much. There's more growing. Here is a snap of my confusing yellow squash plant. It has no growing tip at all. It produced one male and one female flower and they made one single perfect squash. I'm letting it grow unchecked to see what happens to it. Just out of curiosity :)

And here is my experiment in lettuce. Since I've never actually seen one go to seed, I decided to let one of each kind bolt to see what it looks like. It is quite attractive, isn't it?

Here is a nice picture of my pickings for the other night. It was just enough to enjoy a lovely grilled dinner of eggplant and peppers with a small carrot salad and sliced tomato...yummm. Those Spanish peppers are over 8 inches long just to give you an idea of scale.

This is my largest Butternut squash plant. The leaves are huge and the bloom gigantic. I'm confused about them though. It looks like all the blooms and buds are male. Do they do like Zucchini and produce males first and then females or what? Any info is welcome to this squash newbie.

This bad picture is an early morning shot of my squash bed. Those large and tall bush like plants in the back are actually my Stevia plants. Amazing how huge they are getting, but I'm sure not complaining.

Bed One here has changed over the past month in a big way. Newly planted bush beans and edamame have taken the place of peas and carrots and the tomato plants are producing well, even if they look a bit ragged. Gigi approves as you can see. Beds 2 and 3 are equally changed with more beans of various kinds and peppers transplanted from the smaller pots in the container garden.

This was a short tour and I didn't include flowers this time, shame on me, but I'll hopefully catch up soon. I'd love to see pictures of everyone else's garden.

To finish off, here is a nice picture of Boscoe's shaved behind and leg. His incision looks good and his butt is funny enough to share. :) Happy gardening everyone!

Boscoe Doing Very Well Everyone!

2008-07-17T13:17:00.005-04:00

For those who sent good wishes, we both thank you ever so much! Boscoe is doing really well and is itching to get around more than he should. I'm keeping to the doctor's orders though and he is getting only very small walks in the yard and no stair climbing at all. Crate rest as much as he can stand is still the order of the day, too.

His smile is back and goofy faces, his specialty, are better than ever. Here are a couple of pictures of the big man.

By the way, I just think his little shaved right rear quarter is hilarious. You can really see that he has an "old man butt" when it is that way!

When we go back to the surgeon in a couple of weeks, I'll let everyone know if the surgery was effective or not. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

BiteNot Collar on Boscoe

2008-07-09T19:20:00.004-04:00

As promised, I'm posting some pictures of Boscoe with his BiteNot collar. It may look like he is not happy with it, but that is the drugs talking, he is actually much more comfortable now. The e-collar was keeping him sopping wet on his jaw and neck because the drugs make him drool. This is keeping him clean and dry and he can actually eat rather than simply slop it into his e-collar.

It works like an e-collar because it keeps him from turning his head tightly, sort of like one of those neck braces, but stronger. He can still get to his front paws, so he can still hold his treats to eat them. Bonus! When he lays down it pushes some of his loose skin rolls foward so he gets this little scowling wrinkles on his forehead.

I'm still very worried about him and scared of potential infection, ligaments popping loose or any number of things...but at least he is a bit more comfortable!

Boscoe Home and So Brave!

2008-07-09T17:12:00.004-04:00

Boscoe came through his surgery very well and came home the next morning. I admit that I was shocked when I saw him and his leg. It just looks so butchered! Here are some pics of the big man but please...keep in mind it shows his leg and if you are very squeamish don't look!

This is a picture of Big Man just before I took him into surgery. Doesn't his look sweet.

These two show him right after he came home. He is wearing an e-collar and it was too big for his crate if he was going to be comfortable on crate rest for 2 weeks! I ran to WalMart real quick and bought the giant one...like for a great dane...and it was quite an experience trying to get that in from the garage in a hurry. Doesn't his leg look pitiful.

Here he is showing how much he was drooling into his e-collar. It was disgusting and it couldn't have been comforable so I made a quick overnight order for the BiteNot collar. The owner of the site http://www.dogsupplies.com was so nice and called me to be sure I got something that would work for him and did overnight it.

I'll get a picture of it for the next post.

And here is all the pills he has to take twice a day.

Boscoe's Big Day

2008-07-06T23:10:00.004-04:00

Well, tomorrow is the day of Boscoe's surgery to fix his poor torn ligaments. I'm terrified but it has to be done so I just have to buck up. He doesn't seem to care...of course he doesn't do calendars.

Tonight he got a nice steak, with quick fried zucchini and squash...with a little kibble for interest. And he got a new bed at Petsmart...the second one in 3 weeks...that he actually really likes. The other one he doesn't like at all and the cat has claimed with territorial zeal.

He is a nice array of pictures of my big man lately. Everyone, wish him luck, good health, a smooth surgery and to not become addicted to prescription pain pills.

Here here is watching fireflies in the yard. The early ones with a yellow single flash were all around him

Boscoe has the sweetest little dome head, don't you think?

This is a rather embarrassing one, but I gotta admit I do the "dance" to get them moving. It has been raining the last couple of days and neither one of them wants to go out and do their last business of the night when it is wet. So I get them all riled up by doing the dance and talking like an idiot and then they go. If you look at the bottom you can see Boscoe with his head tilted to the side and grinning.

And here is Boscoe giving Gigi a little smoochie-poo. Enough said.

Wish him luck....

My First Tomato!

2008-06-20T17:10:00.003-04:00

Yes, I got it. My first tomato. Just look at this rosy hued beauty. And yes, I did just make a tomato sandwich and slurp it up like it was my last meal. Ahhhhh...

There are several more getting a nice blush so I'll be flush here really soon. While I am grateful for the wonderful beets, peas, carrots, onions and beans since they were also delicious and fed me well, there is nothing quite like that first tomato!