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!

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: Gaga Over Gardening (Week 10)

When I started gardening this year after years of not gardening, I planned to grow a few basic vegetables. “Keep it simple,” I had said to myself. BUT I should know better by now that I tend to go overboard when I decide to do anything. AND I have gone overboard, but I’m giddy about it. I’m having so much fun planting, growing, and sharing my seedlings and story with others. Again, the Law of Attraction is at work in my life!

Today, as we were leaving for the store, my neighbor stopped over to give us some onion plants and chives. We made plans to exchange more goodies. She has oregano, and I offered to give her as many zucchini and green bean seedlings as she would like. Bartering is the best and easily accomplished with veggies and herbs!

Gardening has become a second job. This week, I planted cilantro, lavender, apple melons, lime basil, lettuce basil, lemongrass, onions, beefsteak tomatoes, and white cucumbers. The onions and lemongrass have sprouted already, and my cherry tomatoes and butternut squash popped as well. Despite our initial thought to grow everything in pots, we’ve decided to plant the zucchini, cucumbers, and butternut squash in mounds where the old garden used to be in the backyard. We will plant the green beans along the back of the deck. This week’s goal is to get these veggies in the ground. I’m going to refrain from taking on more than that in addition to tending new seedlings because I’m wracked with grading and student conferences. I hope I have some time to spend on the flowerbeds, but we’ll see…

Last week, I transplanted the tomatoes and carrots into bigger pots. They seem happy. I prepared the homemade vanilla extract and will wait three weeks for it to be ready. It’s beautiful! I bought chicken wire for composting and have been saving kitchen scraps, contributing more to my waste reduction goal. I’ve struggled with my kale. It is puny and unhappy. I read that it likes the cold, but does that mean it won’t grow at all in the heat? (Hopefully, one of you can shed some light on this problem.) I was told I need to continuously plant new kale seeds, but the at-least month-old seedlings I’ve got now are only about an inch tall. Is it worth trying new seeds? Perhaps I should abandon my kale dreams and resign to buy it. I want to grow my own because I usually end up wasting about half of what I buy. Anyway, I think I learned from GreenEggs about saving unused seeds for next year, so I have started rolling them up and placing them in a jar that I will store in the refrigerator.

I’m going to cut this short because I would like to spend some time working on another book review and reading others’ blogs. Thanks for the views, likes, and comments. Keep ’em coming!

Sustainable Living: Big Picture, Baby Goals (Week 9)

We hit the motherlode Friday at two estate sales. For about $80, I got almost everything I will need to prep and can food with all the veggies I’m growing, plus some other stuff we’ve been patiently waiting to purchase used. Our haul included a canning pot with a box of medium-sized jars and lids, Sunbeam standing mixer, old high-quality blender with a glass reservoir, set of knives, set of cutlery, blanching pot, watering can, large cherub garden ornament, gas-powered weed whacker, porcelain-coated teapot, industrial food processor, splitting axe, two long planters, like-new window air conditioner, old cookbook (with a recipe for zucchini relish!), box of Christmas cards, hummingbird feeder, small manual grass seeder with grass seed, and two ornate wooden kitchen chairs.

To top it off, I brought some seeds and seedlings to a friend (pictured below), and she gave me some seeds. She likes to buy “weird” varieties, the kind I would never venture to try. So, I ended up with several previously unknown (to me) varieties of lavender, lettuce basil, lime basil, lemongrass, white cucumbers, beets, and apple melons. I didn’t record the exact names; thus, I can’t illuminate their strangeness. I’m prepared to be pleasantly surprised.

This friend also showed me her compost pile, which I’ve decided to emulate for its simplicity. (I read several articles and blogs about it, too.) She just throws scraps in a fence corner and turns it every now and then. I don’t have a fence corner, so I will use chicken wire to fence off a spot in my yard for tossing buckets of kitchen scraps and whatever else. With the Week 9 goal only a matter of buying the chicken wire, I consider it accomplished.

As in the past weeks, I exceeded the goal. This morning, I resurrected a trellis for my peas made of small volunteer trees I cut out of the side yard last weekend. I secured the pots to the deck railing with bungee cords because the trellis now makes them vulnerable to wind. Viewing the picture I took of the trellis reminds me of when we saved our Quonset hut from going to the dump. Our Greek sculptor friend became too incapacitated to sculpt and had to sell his property. (The roadside attraction with some of his work is pictured here. George has since passed away. His obituary is here.) His wife allowed us to take a few items before clearing the property for the new owners. The Quonset hut is one of the items. We are now using it as temporary storage for our building materials as we remodel our town house. The hut will eventually become a permanent greenhouse at our country house.

Of course, we continued to tend our seedlings, and I planted some new seeds this week, including spinach, cherry tomatoes, yellow peppers, and butternut squash. I intend to plant some onions yet today and maybe the basil and lemongrass. Happily, I can report that the potatoes and red peppers are beginning to sprout (Finally! I was starting to wonder.) Our Brandywine tomatoes and Black Valentine green beans are hardly seedlings anymore.

Finally, I’m delighted to report that my order of pectin and organic vanilla beans arrived. So, I need to stop by the Amish farm to see if I can purchase some frozen berries from last year. Then, I will be able to make the jam for the toaster pastries I’ve been wanting to make. With the organic vanilla beans, I’m going to make my own vanilla extract. (The bottle I intend to use is shown in the first picture in this post, making the extract functional and aesthetic—my ultimate desire for all things.) My use of The Homemade Pantry is underway!

As for next week’s goal, I’m going to keep it extra-simple because I suspect I will be super-busy with teaching responsibilities. (The end of the semester is near!) The goal is to plant more seeds, transplant seedlings, and cook some homemade food.

AND I will continue to spread the Sustainable Word wherever I go to whomever will listen! I appreciate your camaraderie and readership!