Sustainable Living: Holding on to the Harvest (Weeks 21/22/23//24)

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been too busy keeping up with watering, staking, harvesting, working on syllabi, helping a friend ready her property to sell, painting/cleaning my house, and preparing to have surgery, all of which contribute to my sustainable goals. Because I underwent surgery yesterday (the nature of which I may or may not discuss here in the future as it relates to sustainability in my life), this post will consist of a photo update of our gardens. I’m taking advantage of an energetic moment, and then I must return to resting.

We are harvesting on a daily basis now. We’re going on two weeks without rain, so daily watering is a must. My tomatoes in pots are taking up about two gallons of water per day. Zucchini, butternut squash, apple melons, cucumbers, and beefsteaks get the sprinkler for at least an hour every evening. I’m thankful we have access to an unlimited supply of water, which has allowed for the growth you see in the photos below.

Cucumbers

Apple Melons and Cucumbers

Beefsteak Tomatoes

Green Beans

Carrots and Beets

Brandywine and Cherry Tomatoes

Green and Yellow Bell Peppers

Butternut Squash

Sustainable Living: Gardening Goodness (Week 20)

Twenty beefsteaks found their forever spots in the ground behind my garage this week. Five days later, they’ve retained every bit of sturdiness. I think it’s safe to say they’re happy. The cage is constructed entirely of scrap plastic fence, chicken wire, and piping from a broken clothes hanging rack and shovel. (Ya never know when those broken parts may come in handy!)

The beets took up in the newly freed beefsteak pots yesterday morning. They are much happier now, joining the peppers and carrots.

The brandywine tomatoes are as big as they’re going to get in their pots. I’ve got a dozen fruit growing on each. A half dozen cherry tomatoes appeared overnight. I spied a baby pickle yesterday along with some new zucchinis. The blooms are beautiful.

That’s the good news. The bad is that I killed my purple coneflower and butterfly weed sprouts with too much moisture, and I had no time to try bread recipes (mostly because I’d rather be messing with the flowerbeds, which I said I would leave alone but can’t). So, I will buy the plants early next season, and I think I will wait ’til winter for the baking. It’s just not going to happen during the hottest part of the summer without a bread machine. I think I better study up on freezing and canning for the next few weeks in addition to maintaining my veggies.

Flower/bed Update for Mom

I’ve been working on my flowers and beds for a couple weeks. I’ve got five beds around the house filled with flowers and flowering shrubs. The first four pics show a small bed between my garage and house foundation. I can ID irises, sedum (two kinds), fox glove, flowering nettle, hyacinth (can’t see), rose bush (not sure what kind). The irises didn’t bloom (burgundy/yellow) this year because my maple grew and blocked the sun. IDs and speculations welcome on the rest!

The next bed runs the length of my driveway as far as the tool shed with an at-least hundred-year-old maple at the street. I divided hostas from my country home and planted the scraggly cuts here three years ago. My, how they’ve grown! Within days, this will be asplash with orange and purple blooms as the tiger lilies keep blooming and hosta blooms fade in and out. This bed tends to fend for itself well. I’ve got jack-in-the-pulpits, evening primrose, lily of the valley, snow on the mountain, tropical hibiscus (brilliant variety, I think) in a pot, and a couple others.

The rest of my beds are located in front of the house, one along the foundation, another along the street, and the last largest bed on the side. The first two are basically shrub beds, displaying a few boxwoods, smoke bush, almond bush. The street bed is front lined with a retaining wall and back-lined with newly cut hostas. The largest bed contains irises (dark purple bloom), lilies (blush bloom), lilies (dark orange bloom), fox glove, snow on the mountain, phlox (purple bloom), safflower, roses, and sedum (rose bloom).

The street bed took sweat, tears, and curse words. It is finally starting to look like something purposeful.

Sustainable Living: Gardening Glory (Week 19)

I arrived home after three days away, and one of my tomatoes was lopsided and wilting. I gave it a good soak, and two hours later, it looked healthy again. It is the tomato plant with the most fruit, so I figure it needs tons of water. Fortunately, I’ve been able to recycle rain water for the bulk of my needs. Because I am gardening in pots, I just move a plant that doesn’t look happy when watering alone doesn’t work. But, I am wondering if my plants will produce as much fruit from pots as in the ground. Time will tell. In the interim, I will appreciate the fact that I’ve got almost no weeding or pests, just watering when no rain. All of this means I have nothing to write about. Thus, pictures comparing earlier to later growth will illustrate my progress thus far.

White Cucumbers

Butternut Squash and Zucchini

Spinach

Tomatoes (brandywine, beefsteak, cherry)

Carrots and Peppers

Peas

Apple Melon

Green Beans

Potatoes (4 layers each pot)

As for bread making (my goal this week), I can only report failure. I tried to make bread in my old bread machine, and the bread came out as one big hard loaf. After speaking with my mother who gave me the bread machine, I learned that she got the same results when she used it. So, I will attempt to make bread from the oven this week if the temps are not too unbearable. I just want a few staple recipes that I can replicate over and over again. (I’m not home enough to feed a bread starter daily, but I would like to eat bread that contributes to a healthy gut biota.) Any suggestions? My bread machine is going into the trash, and I will look for one to replace it. Any ideas for repurposing are certainly welcome.

In closing, I want to share an amazing gift I received last week, which demonstrates the connection between gardening and creativity. Gardening releases great potential for creative endeavor, and no one in my life better shows this than my friend Phoebe. She dedicated a Facebook post to me when she harvested her beans for which I gave her the seedlings early in the season. Not only was I blessed to see that she had prepared them for a family meal, but also that she had transformed them into works of art. When we celebrate food and art, we are being ultra-sustainable because we are engaging our whole selves into activities that prolong our bodies and spirits, as shown in these Photos by Phoebe.

Sustainable Living: The Summer I Spent My Savings on Soil (Week 18)

The title is an exaggeration, but I have never in my life made so many soil runs. I’m sure it’s because I am gardening in pots. Honestly, I think gardening in pots is better than in the ground because the plants are more protected from critters and disease. The last bag of soil has been bought, I hope.

After being gone for several days and thinking about the welfare of my garden the whole time, I arrived home to find that all my veggie plants had at least doubled in size. I was astounded to discover that the peas have regenerated and are producing again. It’s astonishing, as the bottom three feet of the stem had turned yellow, including the leaves. I was sure they were dying. Lo and behold, the stem has turned green again, shed the dead leaves, and sprouted new leaves and peas. I had put the cucumber in the ground last week, and it has quadrupled in size already. The largest tomato plants are blossoming, and the onions are happy in their forever spot next to the garlic patch. I’m harvesting spinach and beans every day now.

For the last two seasons, I have tried to grow butterfly weed and purple coneflowers from seed. I direct planted them both times with no results. This year, I started them in eggshells in a plastic container with a clear lid. I stored them in the refrigerator for three weeks, then placed them in a sunny window. Voila! One, the other, or both have sprouted!! I had told my husband that if they didn’t come up this season, I would buy the plants. It seems I will not have to resort to buying them. My lemon tree seeds are another matter, as I planted them weeks ago and still nothing. Fortunately, I’ve got more seeds, so I will do some research and try again this week.

My goal for this week is to get my beefsteaks in the ground and to start home-baking bread. I also want to try making a ginger bug for naturally carbonating beverages, as demonstrated by The Zero-Waste Chef. But, we’ll see how far I get; the bug might become a future goal because I’m a bit worried that I won’t be able to tend to it every day.

I so, so appreciate my readers and their inspirational comments. Thanks!

Book Review: Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

I must admit that I don’t know enough Greek mythology to pick up on all the undercurrents in this book, but I enjoyed it immensely. For 50 cents from the thrift store, the book was a steal and a sure path to sleepiness. A great read, but one I could put down and then find myself thinking about in the interims of life and yearning to pick up again. A unique and unusual experience, for sure. That’s how I would describe Robbins’ writing: unique and unusual yet fascinating and alluring, a beastly breath of sultry air.

The story begins and ends with beets, which Robbins makes quite clear from the start. Beets are the blood life of the characters: Priscilla, living in Seattle, working as a waitress for most of the story, daughter to Madame Devalier, owner of the Parfumerie Devalier in the French Quarter, New Orleans; Alobar, an immortal man who imparts his wise theories on life and love based on a thousand years of experience; Kudra, Alobar’s soulmate who teaches him the power of scent and its connection to the blood of life; Pan, the stenchful god of nature and music who Alobar and Kudra take care of while he disappears over time as people stop believing in him; Wiggs Dannyboy, a famously scandalous yet genius anthropologist who re/connects Priscilla with her family and Alobar.

The story illustrates a solid connection between ancient and modern times, tethered by Earth and time. Robbins deftly created a story to ponder the meaning and limits of life and death and the role love plays as we cope with our physical and spiritual boundaries. The perfume industry formed a great backdrop through which the story unfolded, and I am especially thankful for the education on perfume about which I knew nothing. I will refrain from saying more, as I’m afraid of potential spoilers. If you’re looking for something wild and different, this book is it.

Sustainable Living: One Sustainable Story (Week 17)

Because it’s been raining every day and most of my plants are in their forever spots, I don’t have much new to report on gardening. All my veggies are happy with the excess rain. (My tomatoes are blooming!) We don’t have a good system for collecting rain water yet (future goal), so I’ve been letting a large tote fill and then filling all the gallon jugs I’ve saved. I shouldn’t have to use my hose for a while, which is good on the water bill.

With nothing to report yet and an itch to write, I’ve decided I want to tell another of our sustainable stories from last summer. The inspiration comes from the It’s Not a Slow Car, It’s a Fast House blog. Last May, my husband and I traveled to San Clemente, CA to stay with his daughter for two weeks. She lived in a cute two-bedroom apartment near the beach and was paying $1900 a month for rent. She talked about wanting to live a simple life without all the expense. She said she wanted a small camper to live in as she traveled from place to place. She wanted to be freer and in more control of her destiny.

When we returned home and continued our weekly treks from town home to country home (100 miles apart), we encountered a 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon for sale on the side of Route 20 in Illinois (Pic 1).

We knew immediately that it would be perfect for our daughter (technically, my stepdaughter, but I would claim her if I could). I will call her Zeedle for blogging purposes. When we looked at it, we knew it would need a ton of work to make it livable. It had been sitting in a barn for about five years, and the mice had made it their home. Every cavity had become a mouse home. We took pictures (Pics 2, 3, 4, 5), sent them to Zeedle, and asked her if she would like us to purchase it on her behalf and restore it for her to live in. She went for it, so we made an offer and worked for about a month on an acceptable price.

Before we left California, all of us had agreed to meet at my mother’s in Colorado in August because we had purchased tickets to see The Head and the Heart with Iron and Wine at Red Rocks in Denver. So, we rearranged our plans a bit to include bringing the restored Vanagon with us to pass on to Zeedle. We would drive two vehicles to CO, and she would fly to CO and drive the Vanagon home to CA. We grossly underestimated the time it would take to restore the Vanagon, and we barely gave ourselves enough time to get it ready enough to make the trip. However, we got it to a point that Zeedle could drive it home and finish it herself.

First, we took it to a mechanic for new tires and brakes. Then, we gutted the inside down to the steel (Pics 6, 7, 8). Covering the dash with plastic, we pressure washed the inside at a car wash. We made a tiny customized vacuum attachment for the shop vac to clear the vents. I bought long cleaning tools to scrub the vents and also scrubbed every inch of the inside. We pressure washed the seats, as we wanted to let Zeedle decide on the upholstery design.

We kept all the original cabinetry, and my husband cut out the moused parts and reconstructed them with new material. Not all of the cabinetry came with it when we bought it, so he made a new cabinet to hold the sink and refrigerator. We intended to install the stove, but Zeedle decided she would rather have the space, so we sold the stove via Craig’s List in CO.

My son had stored an old camper in our backyard with the intentions of restoring and selling it, but it became obvious that it was just going to sit there. So, we took as many parts from it as we could for the Vanagon, including water pump and pipes, lights, stove, sink, hinges, etc. (We’ve since turned the old camper into a 27-foot trailer!) We bought a solar panel, storage batteries, ac/dc/propane refrigerator, porch carpeting for lining, vinyl flooring (Pic 9), wainscoting (Pic 10) for the cab ceiling, and tons of glue. Otherwise, we repurposed material we already had. The cleaning and reupholstering took a few weeks to complete. We worked night and day for about three weeks, including a week into our vacation in CO. (Thanks, Mom, for letting us commandeer your backyard!)

In the end, my husband had to reconfigure the starter due to a power drain on the battery. (The mechanical stuff is lost on me.) I drove the Vanagon to CO myself without brake lights, as the mechanic screwed something up on the master cylinder when putting the new brakes on. The VW dealer wanted to charge us hundreds of dollars for the part, and my husband managed to pick up the part for ten dollars from a VW restoration shop. (Always look for a second – or more – opinion!) The trip was difficult and sweltering, as the Vanagon’s top speed is about 60 mph on flat terrain. The previous owner had rebuilt the diesel motor, and that speed is all we could expect. (I induced a lot of road rage from other drivers on the trip!) It was an interesting journey, as I watched people’s reactions when they saw the Big Blue Vanagon—pure disgust to smiles and peace signs, and many people whipped out cameras to photograph it while laughing. The Vanagon was in great shape by the time Zeedle had to leave CO (Pics 11, 12, 13, 14).

Since then, she has turned it into an adorable, inviting home for her and her cats, and she has lived in it for almost a year now (Pics 15-22). We could not be more pleased with the home she (and friends) made of that once decrepit jitney (as my grandmother called it. Those crosswords do come in handy, Granny!)

Ultimately, I had thought that my children taught me all the patience I’d ever need, but the Vanagon trumped that notion by far. I also learned that my husband and I make an able partnership for sustainable innovation, as we both have tons of great ideas for getting the maximum use out of available resources. I am confident we have what it takes to reach our ultimate goal of starting a sustainable community. AND, my husband and I are in search of a Vanagon of our very own—to practice how we roll, one sustainable act at a time…

Sustainable Living: Gone Gardening (Weeks 14/15/16)

My, how the time flies when the gardening gets good! I can’t believe three weeks have gone by since my last blog post.

The most exciting news (to me, at least) is that we harvested enough peas to include in a meal (pictured below on a bed of steamed potatoes). Our first harvest!!! They were delicious, of course, served with the potatoes and grass-fed burgers. My steamer has taken up a permanent spot on the counter where I use it almost every day now. We will be harvesting green beans soon, and we think the peas will pitter out because they weren’t planted in the ground. I know what to expect from peas now, though, and I am grateful for that.

In related news, Bob finished making mounds in the backyard for the zucchini and butternut squash. They are now in the ground under the heavy protection of tomato cages wrapped in chicken wire (pictured below), which I will remove when they are big enough to hold their own against rodents. I still need two more mounds, one for apple melons and the other for cucumbers. This endeavor is one of next week’s goals.

Speaking of goals, we almost finished our front flowerbed with the block-lined front and hosta-lined back (pictured below). We need a few more blocks to finish it out. I will plant my safflower in the larger bed in the front yard (also pictured below), and I will be mostly done dealing with flowerbeds this season. While I’m discussing flowers, I must mention Bob’s dumpster-rescued hibiscus, which produced its largest bloom ever about a week ago (pictured below) and then a few days later, gave us three at once (shown below). As well, the peonies are putting on a pretty performance from which my husband plucked a bouquet for my perfumery pleasure (pictured below). I can smell them as I write this blog!

With the rest of my time, I’ve been having a transplant extravaganza. Everything is in its forever pot or ground spot (pictured below), except the beefsteak tomatoes, beets, and onions. We have eleven beefsteaks, so we think they need to go in the ground when ready, as I’ve run out of pots, and I’m not willing to buy that many more. I’m not sure what to do with the beets, but I will do some research to find out what’s best for them. The onions will go near the garlic in the backyard. Yellow and red peppers, carrots (which I will never plant again!), cherry tomatoes, brandywine tomatoes, zucchini, and butternut squash are all in their permanent places!

As for home cooking, I’ve been buying a lot of fresh organic produce to go with meals. For tonight, I’ve got a grass-fed pork loin roast with cabbage and carrots in the slow cooker. I’ve taken to drinking a glass of homemade ginger ale after supper every night. Not only do I enjoy its fresh, cleansing taste, but also its soothing, anti-inflammatory effects. If anyone wants to venture, it’s so easy to make. Peel and chop a cup of ginger root (organic recommended!). Boil two cups of purified water. Add the ginger and simmer on medium-high for five minutes. Strain into a container. Store the syrup in the fridge. When I prepare the ale, I fill a glass jar one-third full with the ginger syrup, add two tablespoons of honey, shake it up, add ice, fill the jar with sparkling water, and squeeze in a slice of lemon. Yummm!!! I save the leftover ginger root and toss a bit into my smoothies. I’m looking for other ways to use the leftovers besides compost.

Next week, I’ve got a ton of painting to do for our seemingly never-ending house remodel, so I will keep my goals simple. Maintenance and transplanting may be all I have time for.

Thanks for reading and commenting! I’m loving the positive feedback!

Sustainable Living: Rain = Blog Time (Weeks 12/13)

Spring brings new life, including baby squirrels. It was fun to watch Mama Squirrel teaching her babies how to jump a couple weeks ago (first two pics). Our theory is that she was trying to keep them off the ground because she lost her last two litters to the neighbor’s dog. And she has been successful, as I see them hanging out in the trees at the back of our lot lately. Though, they were experimenting with climbing on the house, which Mama did not like (last two pics).

For me, the semester ended yesterday when I posted official grades. Thus, I have lots of time to work on my sustainable living goals. Although the last two weeks have been hectic, I’ve found cooking and tending my plants a welcome escape from the inevitable end-of-semester chaos. I finally made the toaster pastries (pictured below, before and after baking). After making them, I’ve decided I need a stock of dough disks in the freezer and a stock of jam in the cupboard. Then, they would not seem so labor-intense. They were delicious! My husband and son think they need to be smaller with frosting and more jam. Aside from the jam, the recipe contains no added sugar, so I understand they want the dough to be sweeter. Fortunately, The Homemade Pantry provides a recipe for frosting.

Now on to gardening, toward which the progress is astounding! I’m only waiting on two kinds of seeds to pop. I planted more butternut squash seeds for sharing with others, but I did not start them in eggshells this time. I’ve ended up conducting an experiment of sorts and discovered that the squash seeds I planted in eggshells popped in about three days, while the ones I did not start in eggshells have yet to emerge after at least a week. So, the eggshells really do provide a boost, at least for squash. Could the sunlight be a factor too? It has been cloudy for the last week, whereas the seeds in eggshells received many hours of constant sunshine. The other seeds I’m waiting for are lemon trees, which I just planted (in eggshells) today. Six seeds should ensure at least one good tree, and if I get more, I will give them away. I wonder if lime trees are as easy to grow.

This morning, my husband Bob put the green beans in the ground after he spent several hours over a few days constructing a pest-resistant place for them to grow (pictured below). Last week, I spaced out my carrots and kale, which made them happier (pictured below). I transplanted the largest tomato and found that some of the other tomatoes were egg bound (pictured below), so I dug them up, broke off the shells, and put them back. I added more soil to the peas and have watered them liberally. Voila, they are blooming (pictured below)! My lavender has emerged, at last. I lost my lettuce basil to overwatering and am hoping to save what’s left of my lime basil. We are preparing the mounds for putting the zucchini, butternut squash, cucumbers, and apple melons in the ground. The beefsteak tomato seedlings are growing like mad, and the beets and peppers are taking their time (pictured below). Spinach takes a few weeks to germinate but grows strong quickly.

After cleaning out a cupboard today and finding an old bag of African violet soil, I did a little research to make sure it would be okay for roses. In the light rain, I mixed the violet soil with a bit of coffee grounds and mounded it up around my four rose bushes. I am determined to get them to bloom this season, as they didn’t last year. The lack of blooms is caused not only by my negligence but also by Asian beetles. They LOVE rose bush leaves! I will use the sack traps this year to keep the beetles off my roses, and I will apply a healthy mound of soil with a blooming agent around each bush. That should do it! A couple weeks ago, I transplanted my ferns away from the side of the house because we are installing vinyl siding and I don’t want them trampled. After transplanting, a bunch more came up than usual, and I will need to transplant them as well. My goal this week is to get my flowerbeds in shape for the season, which includes laying decorative blocks to form a berm around two old stumps and two new bushes in the very front of the house; planting all the hostas we acquired; and moving my tulips.

In closing, I want to share my Monday mini-adventure to Nachusa Grasslands, one of the most successful prairie restoration projects in the country. The best part? It is within 10 minutes of our country home. Bob, my son, and I met a class of reclamation students there Monday morning. One of the leading reclamation experts in the country took us on a tour of several areas in different stages of planting. He helped us identify a myriad of plant and animal species thriving in the conservancy. I took clippings from cream indigo and lupine (pictured on the left below) to attempt propagation for my yard. Turns out, I had no idea at the time I took the clippings that the lupine is extremely endangered and required for the sustenance of the karner blue butterfly, which the conservancy may reintroduce. The diversity of life there is magical! The next best part (okay, really the best part)? They have brought bison (a pure breed) back to the Midwest as part of this project. The bison were not visible on the tour, but afterward, the three of us took a side road in our van and were able to barely pick them out in the distance. Seeing this project gives me so much hope for the restoration of over/misused parts of the earth! I plan to volunteer at this prairie often. So much work is required to collect and process seeds not only for this site but for restorations around the world. If you love the outdoors, this is a great way to spend your time.

Now, onto at least one of the two book reviews I’m behind on…

Thanks so much for reading!

Sustainable Living: Mother’s Day Gardening (Week 11)

Just a quick update. I’m just sitting down after a day of reducing dumpster loads and gardening. The hubs and I noticed a shed in our neighborhood getting taken down and approached the owner about salvaging the garage doors, knowing we will need some soon to replace our old dilapidated ones before we sell our town house. The owner agreed to let us take them down and also offered us about 300 hostas he didn’t want anymore. Within about two hours of waking, we had secured these items and managed to organize our garage before the rain started tonight. Thus, we were able to get the doors and the automatic openers under roof before the heavy rainfall.

In the interim, I transplanted all my new seedlings: cucumbers, apple melons, spinach, red and yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes, and beets. The cilantro and onion seedlings popped this week. Still waiting for the lavender. I planted eight more butternut squash to give away, weeded a couple flowerbeds, and made dough for the toaster pastries and will not force myself to finish making them tonight. They can wait til the morning…

Next week’s goal will be the same as the last—seedling survival and home cooking.