taking sunshine where and when we can

another week rolls around and here we are.  i must say that it has been difficult for me to keep a positive attitude of late- and not just because of the ‘leaders’ we have or the abysmal condition that this country and planet is in.  no, i am a sunshine type person.  i don’t mind a wee bit of rain- it’s good for the garden- but it has been gray, chilly and rainy for over a week now.  the only thing going like gang busters are the potatoes in the garden.  but, i promised an update and here it is:

i will most likely have to try again with the sunny weather plants- the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squash.  the only issue i see- the peppers need awhile to get going.  i am thinking about getting some going in a couple of pots- tomatoes too- and keeping them year round indoors.  we’ll see. the inlaws got me a topsy turvy that i will try a couple of plants out in.  will keep ya posted on that one too

the birds are teaching fledglings how to fly and feeding babies- and flitting about the lawn pulling up what have to be the biggest worms i have ever seen in my life.  i saw a deer up the street crossing the road and my resident bunny- or a facsimile of last season’s- is back too.    i intend to do what i can to keep the critters at bay- but hey, i am on a learning curve here.

the good news is- since i don’t mow my lawn as often as my neighbors- it doesn’t grow as fast.  i have dandelions up the yazoo but the grass isn’t much taller than mr. mows-a-lot next door.  the roses are starting to bloom but the damp and wet is causing them to get mildew.  sigh.  and the other good news- haven’t seen any japanese beetles yet this season.  keeping my eyes peeled.  lots of violets too- my whole yard is taken with violets- and the fam’s too.  i must admit their yard is starting to look like a jungle.  i haven’t been able to do much unless i want to get wet.  so, i planted my herbs inside and will let you know how the indoor garden goes.  not sure how the sweet potatoes will make it- but the seed potatoes i got are going wild.

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nature does as she pleases

a couple of nights ago, we had a hard frost.  and according to my almanac and a variety of other sources- we weren’t supposed to.  sigh.  so, i lost a few squash and some tomato plants but the rest of my endeavor appears to be intact.  but it’s proof positive that mother nature does what she wants.  and i think she might be pissed off at humans.  anyhoo, i figured that i would do a blurb on how i started my whole process since i bothered to take pictures this go ’round.

i don’t really want to put store bought food in my pie hole anymore- it scares me to do so.  it’s either genetically modified or shot full of hormones or antibiotics— or salmonella.  so, in desperation, i decided to take my fate into my own hands and grow my own.  now, i am networking to find local meat farmers- and have lined up a couple of local farms who raise pigs and poultry- and beef if i want it.  as for the veggies and fruits- i am going to turn my suburban yard into my own produce stand.  or that’s the plan.

i started trying out techniques a few summers ago when i lived in the city- i container gardened with large pots and window boxes- and made my own compost bin out of a rubber maid tub with a lid.  worked great.  this year i have an actual yard, so, i started in the winter poring over my books and making plans and in january, i ordered my seeds.  i like seed savers exchange and johnny’s seeds- but you can swap heirloom seeds locally.

i started as many of my seeds inside as possible- some have to be sown directly.  deciding what to put where was the challenge.  i use companion planting and louise riotte’s book ‘carrots love tomatoes’ is an invaluable tool.

the only part i found difficult was waiting until the appropriate time to plant.  i consulted an almanac to find out when the last frost date was for my area and what zone i landed in.  not an exact science as i found out.

i decided to go with a mix of raised bed and traditional row gardening- and another great resource is ’square foot gardening’ by mel bartholomew.  you can intensively garden in a small space and it’s easier to tend.  i did not make his ‘mel mix’ dirt- i went with buying about 8 bags

of dirt from the home depot.  i know, i know.  but, i enlisted my hubby’s help to make the raised bed- and i don’t think he would have appreciated me spending a million bucks on dirt.  so, the ‘garden variety’ dirt works for me.  hopefully, i will have good homemade compost next summer to use.  i hardened off the wee plants about the first week in may- meaning i put them outside on the porch and left them to the elements.  i planted about the second week of may- and things were going pretty good- although i did inadvertently pull a couple of my swiss chard plants thinking they were weeds   i have put in seed potatoes, corn, squash, beans- most of the staples.  i intend to plant my sister a garden too- i have that in a more traditional style using her own dirt- but laid out in a square foot style.  i am glad i didn’t plant over there- only a few tomatoes and peppers- because i have to start over after the frost.  tomatoes and peppers take most of the season to really get running.  but that’s ok- my inlaws got me a topsy turvy to try for my birthday

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my victory garden

i talk about ’square foot gardening’ versus row gardening and i throw all of these terms around- and i realize some folks may not have clue one what the hell i am talking about.  so, i thought that i would just talk about what i am doing personally- and fit it all together if i can.  i haven’t really started taking pictures yet- but i will post pics too as i go.

i had nary a clue how to do anything before i do what i always do when i don’t have a clue (i am channeling my inner seuss)- i google.  and what i found was vast.  but it helped me to narrow down what i wanted to do and what i could handle and what i started doing was container gardening.  i put lettuce and cucumbers in window boxes on my small front porch and i added tomatoes and peppers in two large flower pots.  i also had green and yellow beans in two more flower pots.  we had some green onions in another window box.  we had a few nice salads out of that adventure and i gained valuable knowledge on what plants looked like in various stages of growth.  i had been strictly a houseplants kinda gal.

but, i figured if i had a green thumb with houseplants- why not gardens?  my dad had gardens for years.  we also had a yard and a rototiller.  since i was living in a second floor apartment with a postage stamp yard- i wondered what i could grow in a small front yard garden- and i stumbled upon mel bartholomew and square foot gardening.  what a concept!  no real work to be done- you build a frame and put soil in it- then you plant seeds and voila!  a garden.  so, then my journey took me to what i should plant together for optimum yield- and i happened upon companion planting- and the bible of all companion planting- ‘carrots love tomatoes‘ and because i am a flower kinda gal, the sister book- ‘roses love garlic.’  i thought my head would explode

now, it has been two gardens later and i have my own big yard- and my sister’s yard- to plant.  and i wanted to get the most bang for the buck and i wanted to save the seeds each year so that i didn’t have to keep spending money on seeds.  i mean seriously- burpee made a fortune on folks being lazy   i opted to go heirloom where i could and organic for the rest- so i avoided big name seed companies.  i was not going to pay monsanto for their genetically modified seeds thank you very much.  i buy from seed savers exchange and johnny’s seeds- and i am keeping my fingers crossed because i am new to johnny’s this year.

i am concentrating in my back yard on the basics- tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, corn, squash, beans, etc.  and what i intend to do is mix and match the two styles- traditional garden rows with the square foot method because otherwise, i would have one big assed square foot garden   i am planting corn, beans, squash, and sunflowers together.  the beans and squash will run up the stalks of the corn and sunflowers and look pretty and benefit each other.  the squash or pumpkin leaves help scare raccoons away from eating the corn.  i am planting tomatoes, peppers, bee balm and basil together as they are all beneficial to each other- and the bee balm helps to attract local bees to pollinate my other veggies- not to mention shore up the natural bee population that is being decimated by disease, pesticides and monoculture farming.

i will plant nasturtiums and marigolds throughout my garden as they help repel many types of insects and i need to plant more garlic as it helps keep rabbits and other critters at bay.  the flowers i will be planting also help in making it look more like a flower garden and less like an invitation to help yourself to my ‘maters.  eventually, i will be landscaping the front with fruit bushes and dwarf fruit trees- for shade, variety and good eats.  this year, i will be planting the herb rue amongst the rose bushes to repel cats and japanese beetles.

i won’t lie- i spent much of my fall and winter poring over my reference books and planning and plotting what to put where- which side of the house gets the most sun and when- and that kind of thing.  but once i get a system in place, all i have to do is plant, weed, and water.  oh, and then pick, and eat   i intend to freeze and can and store the root veggies- and i have pored over material too- you don’t have to have a traditional root cellar to store foods.  and i will continue to share what i learn.  i truly believe that we need to reconnect with what we eat.  amongst the recalls and the abuses to the animals we slaughter and the workers who slaughter them- or pick our veggies, we should be striving towards doing away with those practices.  we need to know where our food comes from and how.  our survival may depend on it.

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how i spent my summer- and other such tales

i decided to get into gardening as a way to lose weight initially. i thought being outside and tending my harvest with the digging and tilling and pulling weeds was good exercise. problem was- i didn’t really have a yard. what to do? i did what i always do- i started googling like mad! and i actually came up with a few really good ideas. who knew you could have a compost bin in the city? not only did i make a rubber maid bin full of lovely compost from shredded junk mail, toilet paper rolls and veggie peelings- but i had a porch garden that actually produced veggies. i was very proud. it was my grand experiment. i have to say, living on the second floor was tough when i had to haul bags of dirt in order to plant- but i felt like mr. green jeans- that’s for sure.

this year, i am going to till up a part of my mother’s backyard- and i already have a bigger, better compost bin ready to go. i have been looking into heirloom seeds in order to save them year to year- i would rather not have any of monsanto’s genetically modifieds thank you very much. i have also looked at catching water in a rain barrel- and may add that in when i actually get something planted. what i thought was a good idea- especially for folks who don’t have much room- square foot gardening. my gardening cohort, jim, tells me not to make raised beds from pressure treated wood- as the chemicals can leach into the ground. i did not know that- so thank you jim jim also pointed me in the direction of weaseldog- who is making a go of permaculture. take a peek at his videos- it’s kind of cool.

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