Update on the Growing Challenge June 4, 2008

I joined the Growing Challenge a while ago. As part of the Growing Challenge, I’m supposed to increase the number of fruits or vegetables I am growing (from last year), and I’m supposed to grow them from seed.

I did that. However, I’m also supposed to post about gardening once a week. I have not kept up that end of the bargain.

I have had some family emergencies going on that have been taking all my energy, my thoughts, and my focus.

So, to make up for it, I’m posting this mega-update of what’s going on in my garden.

We had a new wall put in:

They just finished it yesterday. It used to be an old fence that was literally falling down. So we extended the brick wall. Now I’ll be able to garden all the way to the front!

They also put in this new gate:

Here are the first tomatoes of the season!

These are the first tomatoes of the season — cherry tomatoes! They were volunteer seedlings that came up from last year’s plants.

Here they are:

They look kind of sickly but it’s because I waited too long to transplant them. They’ll come back. Or they won’t. And if they don’t, they’re not hardy. In which case, I don’t really care.

My mom taught me this about gardening a long time ago — she always said she didn’t care if plants died. If they weren’t tough, she didn’t want them. Makes sense to me. Survival of the fittest and all that.

Plus, gardening is not something you should ever get uptight about. It should be fun and relaxing and enjoyable.

Here’s my thyme and sage:

Same story with these guys — I let them get leggy and then pruned the shit out of them. So they look kind of unhappy now. But they will be OK.

As with the cilantro and parsley:

Lemon balm (this was 10 times its size before I pruned it):

Here are some purple potatoes:

I took some purple potatoes that we never got around to eating and threw them in a pot full of soil. And look what happened! It was so easy!

Here’s some rosemary:

These are actually two rosemary plants. I dug them out of the vegetable garden and threw them in a pot. I’ll transplant them tomorrow. (Baby woke up from her nap so I had to stop.)

Strawberries, lettuce and chives:

Kate and I usually eat all the strawberries as we garden — otherwise the birds get them. I need to cover them with a bird net.

Here’s my avocado tree:

Just planted it about a month ago. If we do leave LA and move up to a farm in Washington State, I will really miss being able to grow avocados and citrus.

Here’s a hibiscus:

When I was little, my mom was always growing hibiscus. It was her pride and joy — I guess because it’s not so easy to grow hibiscus in Texas. Here in Southern California, they grow like weeds. This one badly needs transplanting.

Did you know you can make tea out of hibiscus flowers? You can! Hibiscus iced tea is really delicious — like Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger. (I wonder how it would be made into kombucha…)

Here are a couple more trees I got recently, lime and blood orange:

Still don’t know where I’m going to put them…

Here’s one of the lemon trees (there are two) Seth had in the yard when I moved in:

It’s so nice to be able to just go in the back yard and get a lemon whenever you need one.

I just got this Meyer lemon tree:

Meyer lemons are sweeter than regular lemons. I have had Meyer lemon trees at two of my former homes in California — they are so fabulous!

Here’s my new grape vine, planted in the back corner of the yard:

Not sure how long it will take to produce grapes. But the real reason I bought it is so that I can use them for my lacto-fermented dill pickles. Grape leaves are the key to crunchy, crispy pickles! (I’d also love to make dolma one of these days…)

Here is the first bloom from one of the hydrangeas:

I have no idea what these are:

Some kind of flowers I planted in the shade garden. We’ll see what comes up!

This is what the shade garden looks like:

I’m calling this a before photo — I plan to do a lot to this side of the house to make it look a whole lot better.

Here’s the before photo for the front yard:

That’s it for today. I’ll keep you posted.

Support Our Local Farmers May 23, 2008

Kate is sleeping so I’m taking a break for once. It occurred to me that I need to take breaks when she is napping.

We get up at 6 or 6:30 am every day. And she doesn’t go to bed until 7. So that’s a 12-13 hour day! Plus then I still have to get dinner on the table and do the dishes and clean up the kitchen.

I don’t know how some of you moms out there do it. The ones who are homeschooling and cooking traditional foods and doing all your own cleaning. I guess if you have older kids, you can put them to work doing chores. But it is a lot of work. I commend you.

It’s a rainy overcast day today. Cold, like winter weather. Bizarre, since it was blazing hot all last week.

Kate and I went to the Japanese market this morning to get sashimi for dinner. Seth eats a lot — so I bought $30 worth. This GAPS diet is expensive. We used to be able to save money by eating more rice and beans and other things. But when all you are eating is meat and vegetables, you need more meat to fill up.

I only buy the wild-caught sashimi — so I got tuna and albacore and some snapper. All the salmon was farm-raised which I refuse to buy. I’ve also got some bonito broth simmering on the stove for miso soup. And I’ll make a seaweed cucumber salad.

I dug out some grass-fed ground beef and bison heart out of the freezer for tomorrow night. Gonna make taco salad. I’m going to grind up the heart and add it to the mix. Hopefully Seth won’t be able to taste it!

Here’s some exciting news — about a week or so ago I dumped some cut up potatoes into a big pot outside. And guess what? They already sprouted. There are green leaves coming up out of the pot! Isn’t that exciting? These were just potatoes that we didn’t get around to eating (since we went on GAPS).

See, this is the thing. People are getting all worked up about food prices and how there’s going to be a famine. And yet it is so easy to grow food! I mean, I literally just dumped those potatoes into the pot, added a little soil and water — went out and watered them a couple of times — and that was it. People need to get out of the grocery store and get into the backyard.

I was listening to Joel Salatin’s lecture at the last WAPF conference. He said an interesting thing. “In America today, there are twice as many people in prison than there are on farms.”

Doesn’t that blow your mind? Is it any wonder why so many people are incarcerated? Why so many people are dealing drugs?

We used to be able to live off the land and support ourselves. Now we are forced to work outside the home and leave our families for 8, 10, 12 hours a day. We are forced to drive cars to work since everyone is so spread out. And most families have two cars — 50 years ago, most families had one car if they had a car at all.

It’s ridiculous the way we live. Most of us are stressed out all the time, working way too many hours, not spending enough time with our kids, and yet we have huge homes with five TV sets and two cars and fancy gourmet kitchens we never cook in.

How did this happen?

Joel Salatin said something else in his lecture. He said, “Over 50% of all meals are eaten outside the home.” Isn’t that incredible? And restaurant food is not only bad for you, it’s very expensive!

Salatin said, “Try just making one homecooked meal a week.” It’s a good goal.

Here’s another statistic I heard today: 30 million people — oops — that’s supposed to be 300 million people in the world are malnourished. The person who said it said it was due to industrial agriculture and monocropping.

We need to take back our land. Even if you don’t have a backyard, you can grow something. Even if you only have room for pots on a patio — you can grow potatoes! Or herbs. Or lettuce. I remember when I was single, living in San Francisco, I used to grow baby bok choy in a pot on my tiny little postage-stamp sized deck.

If you can’t grow anything, you can support a local farmer. Local organic farmers take care of the soil. They don’t monocrop. They don’t spray poisons on the food. Go to your local farmer’s market and buy as much as you can from the local farmers. You can still go to the supermarket to get other things.

Busy Saturday and Sicilian Dinner May 17, 2008

It’s going to be a busy day. Heck, it’s been a busy day already.

Kate and I got up at 6:30. She had her bottle, I had my Dandy Blend, and then I got dressed and made breakfast while she watched Muzzy. We got to the farmer’s market a little after it opened (around 8:45) and we ate scrambled eggs and sausage and banana while we walked. I had to carry her in the Bjorn — she will not ride in the wagon anymore without trying to stand up. She’s so close to walking; she hates having to sit down.

I got 2 dozen fresh oysters, 4 dozen eggs, a rump roast, 2 pounds of ground beef, 3 huge bunches of carrots, fennel, a pound of fava beans, some spring onions, some mesclun, some yams (for Kate), a quart of raw honey, fresh organic peaches and apricots, olive goat cheese, 2 gallons of milk, a duck, and some chicken feet. It was a challenge to fit it all in the wagon.

I can’t wait to try that olive goat cheese. I got it from Healthy Family Farms — where I get my chickens and ducks. I think we’ll have some for lunch, along with the leftover chicken liver mousse. And some fresh peaches and cream.

For dinner, we’ll have the oysters (they’re very small, which is why I got 2 dozen — called luna, and they’re like Kumamoto oysters). I think we’ll go Sicilian tonight — oysters on the half shell, chilled fennel soup, fava beans with bacon or Italian sausage, and a salad of blood oranges and kalamata olives on a bed of arugula.

I wish Seth could have cream — I could make gelato. But instead I will make granita — a traditional Sicilian dessert and perfect when it is hot outside (which it is). I think I’ll try making mint granita. I have mint growing outside. Of course, I’ll make it with honey instead of sugar.

I need to make kombucha today, and kefir soda pop. And I’m going to make more sauerkraut, and Kate’s fermented yams. There’s chicken stock that needs to be strained. And there are diapers in the wash that need to go out on the line. I also really need to stake my tomatoes and prune and move some of the herbs out of the vegetable garden.

Speaking of that, right after I posted yesterday about the container gardening, I looked on Craig’s List and immediately found a guy who will build me custom planters — whatever size I need. He charges about $7/linear foot. Not bad! And best of all, it’s reclaimed (recycled) wood.

I’m going to do it! Now I just have to research how to make them self-watering.

First Seedlings of Spring April 18, 2008

I was gathering Italian parsley and oregano for my spaghetti sauce tonight, and I was thinking, “There isn’t anything better than this. Being able to just step outside and gather herbs for your dinner.”

Then I realized there is one thing that is better. And that’s the first seedlings of spring.

I was so excited to find these seedlings this afternoon. I actually jumped for joy. They are baby chamomile plants. I love chamomile tea, so I figured I’d grow my own. It’s also great to plant chamomile around the garden, in between other plants.

Amazingly, I only planted these seeds less than a week ago. It was last Sunday — on Kate’s birthday.

Here’s my set up:

I got some stainless steel shelves from the restaurant supply store (I figure I’ll use them in the kitchen or pantry later). I’m using shop lights with fluorescent bulbs and the lamps on the sides are for warmth. And I have everything hooked up to a timer so they get light 14 hours per day.

Those are egg crates. In the ones that are flat, I used cut-up cardboard rolls from toilet paper and paper towels.

I didn’t put plastic wrap over them. I haven’t gotten around to it. Actually — I just can’t figure out how to put plastic wrap on them and still water them. I need to water them every day — and trying to get the plastic wrap off and get them watered seems like a big hassle. Anyone have any ideas?

I planted lots of seeds — including a few different kinds of tomatoes, basil (for sandwiches, pesto, tomato sauce, and lots of other things), nettles, dandelion, jalapeno (for my salsa), bell peppers, a few different kinds of lettuce, hosta and impatiens (for the shade garden), and something called blue shrimp plant. There’s a whole lot more — can’t remember off the top of my head.

This is so much fun. The best thing is — the fun doesn’t have to stop. I can’t keep planing all summer. I think I’m going to order some more seeds.

Heck, I live in Southern California. I can plant all year long.

I’m going to plant a bunch of other stuff directly in the garden this weekend. Watermelons, various kinds of flowers — including sweet pea and lavender. I forget what else.

Saved by a Scallion April 15, 2008

I decided to make smoked salmon frittata tonight. Frittata is an Italian quiche. It doesn’t have any crust — so no grains to soak.

I used the recipe from the “Barefoot Contessa” on the Food Network website. I just doubled the butter and instead of using goat cheese (I didn’t have any), I used NT cream cheese (homemade cream cheese — recipe from “Nourishing Traditions”).

It called for 3 scallions, which I knew I had gotten in the CSA box. this week. Not sure if they got thown out or what but they were not in the fridge.

I went out to the garden and lo and behold — the lone scallion I “accidentally” planted a couple of months ago — when I buried my kitchen scraps into the vegetable beds. I just pulled it out of the ground.

The recipe called for three scallions — but I figured we could get away with one.

It came out great!

Daily Photo: Eating Dirt April 9, 2008

Kate and I were planting seeds this afternoon. She ate dirt for the first time. I think it’s good for her — builds the immune system.

Of course, when I called Grandpa Otter to tell him, he said the same thing — verbatim!

Not done planting the seeds yet, but here’s what I planted so far:

Dandelion
Echinacea
Chamomile
Basil
Jalapeno
Bell Pepper
Roma Tomato
Hosta
Impatiens
Stinging Nettle
Astragalus
Calendula

Lazy Gardening April 7, 2008

I can’t believe it. I went out to the garden this weekend to show my family what was growing and we found 5 or 10 close to 40 small tomato plants that popped up out of nowhere. Isn’t that awesome?!

I was lazy and didn’t take out all the tomato plants right away — left them there for a few months. I guess they went to seed and self-seeded.

There are so many benefits to being a lazy gardener. I find that the less I do, the more I get out of the way and let the garden do what it wants to do, the better. It’s kind of like life. Expect the best, relax, and get out of the way.

Now I don’t have to start any tomato plant seeds. However, I have a couple of heirloom varieties I want to try — so I’ll start a few more. It never hurts to have more tomatoes. I will store my tomatoes in mason jars in the fall. That is what they do in Tuscany — and they have tomatoes all year long.

Now I need to buy some sprouted flour so I can make pizza and pasta!

I haven’t gotten around to planting my seeds yet. Too busy with vacation and I was sick last week, too. But I’m going to do it today! When Kate goes down for her afternoon nap.

I found some more trees at the farmer’s market yesterday. Blood Orange and Mexican Lime:

And here are the strawberries I planted a few weeks ago — already bearing fruit!

Serendipitious Vegetables March 27, 2008

OK this is crazy. About six weeks ago, I buried a bunch of vegetable scraps in the garden. I didn’t have a compost bin set up yet, so I was just burying my scraps directly into my beds.

Look what happened!

I accidentally grew beets and what looks like some kind of onion.

I always joke about how easy it is to grow things in Southern California. I always say, “Just throw it in the ground and it will grow.” Interesting how your belief becomes your reality, eh?

Still, it’s amazing to me!

Avocados and Live Chickens March 9, 2008

Just got back from our Sunday shopping. Kate and I went to the farmer’s market then Whole Foods. Our usual routine. When we returned home, Seth and I put Kate down for her nap, unloaded the car, and then I came out back to sit in the garden to enjoy a glass of yummy zinfandel (organic, bien sur!) and a snack of raw milk cheese. Seth opted for a nap.

It is a beautiful day today. 77 degrees, sunny, clear blue skies. This is why we live in Los Angeles. There is a slight breeze which is making our whole backyard smell like jasmine.

I am so excited about what I found at the farmer’s market today. An avocado tree! There is a nice lady who sells organic plants — I also got a strawberry plant from her. Last week I bought some aloe (for Alla) as well as some chives and mint.

I’m going to put the avocado tree right next to the lemon tree. I’m thrilled that we will have avocados in our own back yard! Next I’ll get a Meyer lemon tree and a lime tree (my lady at the market said she’s going to get some in). And I must have a banana tree. One of Kate’s favorites!

And when I came home, our neighbor Otto saw my avocado tree. He was so excited — told me he just planted an apple tree yesterday. He took me in the back to show me his other trees — a kumkuat, a fig and an orange tree. Said he’s been eating 2-3 oranges every day ever since December. I told him we should trade — said I’d give him vegetables and herbs and lemons and avocados for his figs and oranges and apples.

I also bought a grape vine at Whole Foods. I want a grape vine mainly for the leaves. I want to make dolma. I also want to use the leaves to add to my homemade pickles. You add grape leaves to make them crunchy. I know right where to plant the grape vine. On the other side of the lemon tree, there’s a very sunny spot on the back wall.

I also got very fresh fish at the farmer’s market — wild salmon and sea bass and oh, I forgot what else. I’m going to make sushi for dinner tonight. I picked up some sushi rice, nori, and rice wine vinegar at Whole Foods, along with some sake and pickled ginger.

I love shopping at the farmer’s market. If I could buy everything there, I would. There is something about shopping there, buying directly from the farmer, that makes me feel so alive and so connected to my community. Kate loves being wheeled around in her stroller, sun on her face, tasting organic strawberries and apples.

A woman stopped me at Whole Foods today to compliment me on Kate. She said, “How old is she?” When I told her 10 months, she was taken aback. “My niece is 14 months and she is not this big!” I said, “Liver, egg yolks, raw milk, and cod liver oil. Every day.” She wrote it down.

I also met a very nice chicken farmer today at the farmer’s market. Bought some of his onion and garlic, as well as some of his free-range eggs (truly free-range, meaning pastured on the grass and dirt — not the faux free-range where they keep them packed in the giant rooms). And they are not fed soy.

I asked him if he ever sells chickens and he said he’s not allowed because he doesn’t have a processing plant. (Read Joel Salatin’s book, “Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal”)

I said, “What I really need is chicken feet. I can’t seem to find them anywhere, and I make a lot of broth.”

He said, “I can sell you whole chickens — but I have to bring them here alive. I can sell them to you for $8.”

He said I’d need to get there early in the morning on Sunday — 8 am. And he’d break their necks for me right there. All I’d have to do is boil and pluck. He said I could buy just one or as many as 10.

They’re not very big, he said — maybe 3 pounds. And they’re laying hens so they’re older. Not as tender but much more flavorful. Perfect for chicken stock! Plus I’d get the chicken feet and the livers and other organs which I could add to the stock.

He told me all I need to do is put them in boiling water and the feathers and claws will come right off.

So I’m going to talk to Yensi and see if she can help me process them. We could do a big batch on a Sunday. I don’t think she will have a problem with it — I’m pretty sure this is the way they do it in Guatemala.

Anyway, it’s a real bargain — only $8 for organic, free range chickens. They normally cost twice that at Rawesome — and three times that at US Wellness Meats. And those prices do not include the feet or the organs (the best parts!).

I’d better go now — Kate will be up any minute and I need to get the rice into the rice cooker. I found a sake called Otter Festival. I bought it in honor of my stepdad, John, whom we call Otter.

Stop the Insanity! March 8, 2008

It is insane to knowingly ingest poison. And yet, this has become normal in our world.

People think I am insane because I want to grow all my own organic vegetables from seed. The man at the gardening store yesterday thought I had snapped my cap.

“Why do you want to go to so much trouble?” he asked. “How will you have the time with a baby?”

“It doesn’t take that much time,” I said, smiling.

I wanted to tell him all about how Monsanto bought Seminis and how the plants and seeds we buy are now contaminated and genetically engineered and how seed saving and sharing is a political act — but eh, I figured we didn’t have all day.

Then this morning I read this story about a cat named Raisin.

A cat who used to spend his days cavorting outdoors in the Sonoma vineyards. A cat who almost died from the pesticides they sprayed on the grapes.

It is insane that we live in a world where a cat isn’t safe to go outside. A world where mother’s breast milk is contaminated with DDT. A world where babies and toddlers are so poisoned from their own mother’s milk that they lose the ability to speak or make eye contact.

Humans can be exposed to DDT and its metabolites in several ways. The principle route of exposure is the consumption of foods, particularly through leafy and root vegetables, fatty meat, fish, and poultry.[1] The levels of chemicals absorbed in food usually reflect the contamination present in the country of production. Although DDT contamination can occur in a variety of food products, the most serious contamination usually occurs in fish and other organisms high on the food chain that themselves have bioaccumulated DDT. Other less common routes of exposure that are considered minor are breathing contaminated air or drinking contaminated water, especially near waste sites and landfills or in recently treated homes; and breathing or swallowing dust or soil particles near waste sites and landfills or in recently treated homes.[1]

DDT’s elimination from the body can take some time; its half-life in humans has been estimated at four years. DDE’s half-life is estimated at approximately six years.[3] Because of these varying breakdown rates, the proportion of DDT and DDE detected in human tissues can be used as an indication of the length of time since exposure. In areas where DDT exposure has been recent, the DDE/DDT ratio is low, while in areas where substantial time since exposure has passed, the DDE/DDT value is higher. Because DDE is attracted to fat, levels in breast milk are often six to seven times higher in a mother’s milk than in her blood.[4]

Source

I buy all organic everything these days. Organic coffee, organic ketchup, organic personal care products (deodorant, soap, lotions, bath products). I’ve been trying to buy all organic wine (it’s not so easy). I get the organic stuff at Whole Foods — but sometimes I’m lazy and grab non-organic wines from Trader Joe’s.

But after this news about poor little Raisin, I’m stepping up that commitment. No more wine that has been sprayed. If I buy wine that has been sprayed, I am partly responsible for cats like Raisin who can’t go outside anymore.

Remember, if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Stop using pesticides and herbicides on your lawn and your garden.

Stop buying vegetables and fruit sprayed with pesticides.

Stop buying meat and dairy made from animals given feed that was sprayed with pesticides.

Stop saying organic food is too expensive. Your health and the health of our planet is worth more than anything. Cut back on other things so you can buy organic.

Stop shopping at Wal-Mart or Safeway and go to your local farmer’s market.

I switched to all organic last year. Got a CSA subscription with a local organic farm (found ‘em on Local Harvest). Started buying my meat from Lindner’s Bison and Rawesome and North Star Bison and I also get some organic meats from Whole Foods. I buy all my eggs and chickens from Rawesome — they get it from a local farm where the chickens and turkeys are on pasture and are fed organic feed (and no soy). I buy all my milk and dairy products from Organic Pastures — their cows eat grass, not genetically modified pesticide-laden feed (what a concept!).

You can do it, too.

Here are some links where you can find local organic food:

http://www.localharvest.com

http://www.eatwild.com

http://www.realmilk.com/where.html

I recently found out about an organic food co-op called Azure Standard. Email them to see how you can start a co-op in your neighborhood.

If everyone stopped buying foods that have been contaminated by pesticides, they would stop doing it!

If not everyone did it, but more people stopped buying them, the price of organic food would drop.

So step up. Make the commitment. Stop buying contaminated food. And stop buying these chemicals to use on your lawn and garden.

You could be saving a cat’s life.

PS: To those of you who blog, please link to the story about Raisin on your blog. If you don’t blog, email it to your friends and family. Let’s get the word out about why it is so important to eat organic and stop supporting people and companies who use these deadly chemicals.

Pallet Composting March 4, 2008

I was so thrilled to set up my pallet compost bin today.

Yensi (our nanny) and Luis (our gardener) helped.

Here are the photos:

I have to say — I think it is stunningly beautiful. I think Yensi thought I was a bit of a lunatic. I kept saying, “Isn’t it beautiful?”

I’m just so excited to have a place to throw my garbage. It’s been sitting around in bowls for months.

In the process of putting in the compost bin, we needed to move a lemon tree:

I think it’s much happier in it’s new spot. A lot more sun!

And we get to enjoy it here — I positioned the chairs around it so we can sit in the sun and honor the shrine of lemons.

Food Not Lawns March 4, 2008

I got a new book from the library. It’s called “Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard Into a Garden and Your Neighborhood Into a Community”.

Here’s what the author writes about her upbringing:

For the first twenty years of my life I never thought about where my food came from; nor did I question the deeper workings of the food system or society as a whole. Though marginalized by my half-Mexican blood and low-income status, in many ways I was just like any other kid in the suburbs: I struggled to fit in, I fought with my parents, and I ate sugar and industrial meat almost every day.

Public school taught me to obey authority, and that words are more important than actions. Television taught me to buy my way to happiness, and that I should starve myself and keep my opinions to myself so I could find a husband and make babies. My family taught me to tolerate abuse in the name of love, and the mainstream workforce taught me that my time isn’t worth a living wage.

She tells how she rejected her upbringing and moved to San Francisco at age 21, started riding a bicycle, canvassing for Greenpeace, and stopped watching TV.

I can relate! I moved to San Francisco at 18. When I was 24, I worked as a canvasser for an environmental group, raising awareness for curbside recycling.

Some amazing facts from the book (and I am only on page 14!):

The average urban lawn could produce several hundred pounds of food a year.

Today 58 million Americans spend approximately $30 billion every year to maintain more than 23 million acres of lawn. That’s an average of over a third of an acre and $517 each. The same sized plot of land could still have a small lawn for recreation and produce all the vegetables needed to feed a family of six.

The lawns in the United States consume around 270 billion gallons of water a week — enough to water 81 million acres of acres of organic vegetables, all summer long.

Lawns use 10 times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland. These pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides run off into our groundwater and evaporate into our air, causing widespread pollution and global warming, and greatly increasing our risk of cancer, heart disease, and birth defects.

The pollution emitted from a power mower in just one hour is equal to the amount from a car being driven 350 miles.

I LOVE this book!!! Those facts are absolutely staggering to me. Doesn’t it seem ridiculous that we have all this wasted land that requires maintenance — and for WHAT? We spend money to maintain lawns, when we could be SAVING money by growing food!

It’s absurd that many people say they can’t afford organic produce. Do you know how easy it is to grow things? I have lettuce, all kinds of herbs, tomatoes (we ate them on our salad last night). And I barely have anything growing yet. Just wait till this summer! (I’ll have to post before and after pictures of the garden.)

You know what else I keep thinking about? Community. When you have a garden that bears fruits and vegetables, you end up giving a lot of them away. It would be so cool to be able to share vegetables with neighbors. Barter for eggs and chicken and milk. Some people could make honey, others goat cheese, others wine.

And we would share seeds — ha ha, Riana and I are already sharing seeds long distance — and she is in France! Sharing seeds and saving them from year to year makes so much sense to me.

It’s the same thing with fermented foods. You share your starters. They proliferate so it makes sense to give them away. And it’s also insurance — if you ever lose a starter, you can just get another one from a friend.

There is something so wonderful about a real community where people share with each other. And something so liberating about not having to buy a huge cart full of food from a supermarket. It’s so freeing to be able to grow your own food in your own backyard.

Plus gardening is so fun and it’s such good exercise. I love being outdoors, soaking up the sun and breathing fresh air. The truth is, there is so little work involved. Organic gardening is a lot less work than maintaining a lawn.

More to come from this book — I have a feeling I am going to learn a lot!

Daily Photo March 2, 2008

Kate, natural born gardener. Look at the dirt on her face.

She crawled on all fours for the first time ever today. I put her down on the grass and I guess it was slightly damp and she didn’t want to get wet. So instead of slithering like she usually does, she stuck her butt in the air and, instead of dragging herself, she crawled on her hands and her knees.

Garden Inventory March 2, 2008

I bought more seeds. More vegetable seeds.

So now here is my complete inventory of vegetable, herb, and fruit seeds:

FRUITS
Heirloom Amish Moon & Stars Watermelon
Sugar Baby Watermelon

VEGETABLES
Heirloom Peas (Progress #9)
Tavera Bush Bean
Heirloom Wheatgrass
Jalapeno Pepper
Heirloom Straight Eight Cucumber
Heirloom Black Beauty Zucchini
Sweet Corn
Beets
Florence Fennel
Little Finger Baby Gourmet Carrot
Danvers Carrot
Heirloom Red Winter Kale
California Wonder Sweet Bell Pepper
Heirloom Cherry Belle Radish
Heirloom Bloomsdale Spinach
Heirloom Scallions

SALAD GREENS
Mache
Microgreens
North Pole Lettuce
Arugula
Mesclun
Heirloom Four Seasons Lettuce
Butterhead Speckles Lettuce
Carmen Radicchio

TOMATO
Heirloom Brandywine Tomato
Heirloom Italian Roma Tomato
Heirloom Cherokee Purple Tomato

HERBS
Echinachea
Catnip
Basil
Astragalus
Stinging Nettles
Roman Chamomile
Dandelion
Calendula
Heirloom Cilantro

No, I’m not going to plant ALL of those. But I am going to plant a lot of them.

I also have these rain forest seeds that my inlaws brought back from Costa Rica:

TREES
Blue Jacaranda
Golden Goddess
Pink Shower Tree
Flame of the Forest
Royal Poinciana

PLANTS
Ylang Ylang

The trees I might wait on until we move to a place with a bigger yard. I’m very excited about the ylang ylang! And the trees are all gorgeous flowering trees so I’m excited to plant those (one day).

I also bought a bunch of seeds to plant on the other side of the house. I have a lot of soil over on the north side of our house. Unfortunately it’s partial shade. So I need a bunch of plants that will grow in shade.

I chose these (on an online site that specializes in rare and heirloom seeds):

SHADE PLANTS
Carpet Bugle (Ajuga repens)
Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
Lords and Ladies (Arum italicum)
Blue Shrimp Plant (Cerinthe major purpurescens)
Sago Palm (Cycas revoluta)
Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra spectabilis)
Abyssinian Banana (Ensete ventricosum)
Hosta (Hosta sieboldiana)

I also got a couple of vines to go on our fences and ugly brick walls:

VINES
Moonflower (Ipomoea alba)
Purple Bell Vine (Rhodochiton atrosanguineus)

And today I bought two organic plants at the farmer’s market: chives and mint.

Currently in my herb/vegetable garden, I have the following:

VEGETABLES & HERBS
Red Leaf Lettuce
Butter Lettuce
Thyme
Sage
Oregano
Rosemary (two)
Lemon Balm
Parsley
Italian Parsley (flat leaf)
Arugula (growing like a weed)
Cilantro
Dill (barely hanging on)
One last tomato plant that I did not pull up (currently has two tomatoes I am about to harvest)

I still (unbelievably) need a few more seed packets. I want to grow garlic and celery and I want one or two more kinds of tomato. I’d also love to grow some baby bok choy (it’s easy) and potatoes. And onion. And Riana is also sending me some eggplants, cantaloupe, yard long beans, chinese cabbage, carrots and fennel seeds from France.

In addition to all of that (take a deep breath) I also need a few fruit trees. I’m going to get the dwarf ones, since they’ll need to be in pots. I don’t have sunny spots for them in the yard — plus, I want to take them with me when we move if at all possible.

I want to get:

FRUIT TREES
Banana
Avocado
Meyer Lemon (we have regular lemon already but I want a Meyer)
Lime
Blood Orange

I also really want a grape vine and some berries.

I know, it’s a lot. But these are the things we eat regularly. And if I can grow them, which I can, why not?

Expanding My Gardens February 29, 2008

I’m excited! I just scored 15 pallets. And they were free! I found them on Craig’s List yesterday.

I have to drive to North Hollywood to pick them up but I’m not working today and Alla will be here to take care of Kate so I’m going to use the day to do errands and get my taxes filed.

The pallets are going to be used to make compost bins. I’m going to secure them together with rope or maybe screws — maybe even bungee cords. We’ll see. Now I’ll be able to compost ALL our yard clippings in addition to our kitchen scraps. I’m going to start with two compost bins, and if I want to expand it, I can.

Last weekend my father-in-law, Ed, and I went and got everything I need to start my seeds. We got steel shelving from the restaurant supply store, and at the hardware store we bought fluorescent lighting incandescent lamps and a timer and S hooks and extension cords. Yensi and I set up the shelves yesterday afternoon in the garage. I’ll post a picture when it’s done.

I still have to buy vermiculite and perlite and more seeds. I’m amazed at all the things we can grow here in Southern California. Did you know you can start palm trees from seeds? And banana plants? And Ed and Nancy brought me back some seeds from Costa Rica — including a jacaranda tree and ylang ylang.

OK I gotta go get dressed so I can head over to pick up my pallets!

How to Make a Free Compost Bin February 13, 2008

I just found this great tutorial on how to make a compost bin out of pallets. (http://farminginsuburbia.blogspot.com/)

More info here: http://www.digitalseed.com/composter/bins/palletbin.html

Not sure where to get the pallets. She found hers on Freecycle.

I noticed some free pallets on Craig’s List — but they are in the valley and I don’t want to drive all the way up there. Maybe I’ll post on Freecycle and Craig’s List and see if anyone has any lying around.

I’m going to do this — it’s an easy, free way to compost.

Planning My Garden February 2, 2008

Okay, I really have to get busy and get my seeds started. I’m already behind! Most people are already getting their seeds in the mail.

I’m saving egg cartons and I’m going to set up some shelves in the garage with lighting. Then I’ll set up a timer and some soaker hoses. Not difficult.

I’ve been looking at the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Catalog all morning.

Here are all the things I want to grow (the asterisks are for seeds I already purchased from Mountain Rose Herbs).

HERBS
Nettles *
Chamomile *
Catnip *
Calendula *
Astragulus *
Dandelion *
Basil
Yarrow
Anise Hyssop (for tea)
Chives
Peppermint
Tarragon
Purslane
Lemongrass
Oregano

FLOWERS
Kiss-Me-Over-the-Garden-Gate
French Marigolds
Zinnias – Giants of California
Sunflower

VEGETABLES & FRUIT

Summer Crops
Rainbow Chard
Tomatoes - at least two varieties
Watermelon
Spinach
Onion
Garlic
Fennel
Spaghetti Squash
Butternut Squash
Carrot
Celeriac
Cress
Mesclun
Arugula
Red Wing Lettuce Mix
Tom Thumb Heirloom Lettuce
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce
Blonde du Cazard French Butter Lettuce
Sunrise Hawaiian Solo Papaya

Winter Crops
Turnips or parsnips
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Kale
Ching Chang Bok Choy
Kohlrabi
Broccoli
Cover crops – flax, Thai peanut, sesame, buckwheat

FRUIT TREES
Meyer Lemon
Lime
Avocado
Banana
Blood Orange

Almost all of those I found in the Baker Creek catalogue. I know, it’s a lot. I may cull this list some. This is my starting list.

Problem is, I don’t know where to buy organic dwarf fruit trees. I see lots of dwarf fruit trees online but not organic.

Does anyone know?

I am so over Google. We really need a better search engine.

Insta-composting! January 25, 2008

There’s no need for a compost heap when you can just compost directly in your garden bed!

Here’s my easy composting method:

Just bury your kitchen scraps directly in the garden.

You don’t have to dig very deep. Just barely enough to cover the scraps with dirt.

Do not use any meat scraps or anything from animals — otherwise you will have pests in your yard.

If you have worms, they’ll go at this right away and it should break down completely within a matter of a few weeks. If you do not have worms in your soil, add some. You can buy them at any garden store.

I’m just adding new mini-compost holes in between in the plants in a line along the garden in my side yard. To keep track of your holes, just leave the shovel standing where you left off — then you will know where to make your next hole.

When your good rich compost is created, you can dig up a little and pat it around the roots of your plants.

A good book to read (one of my all-time favorites for organic gardening): Lasagna Gardening by Pat Lanza.

Her lasagna method is even easier because there is no digging. Just lay down some wet newspaper and do layers of scraps, peat moss, hay, what-have-you. You can plant directly into it. I’m going to do this in my vegetable bed.

PS: I’m till going to do a real compost heap because I have a lot of yard and grass clippings that I need to put somewhere other than the city yard scrap recycling bin.

How to Reduce Global Warming: Compost! January 20, 2008

Here is the number one thing you can start doing today for the environment:

Start composting!

I was just listening to one of my favorite shows on the Lime channel on Sirius Radio. It’s called The Organic Gardeners.

They had a guy on the show this morning named Joe Lamp’l of JoeGardener.com.

Wow — he is amazing. One of the things they talked about was this:

Over 60% of the trash that goes into landfills is compostable.

and

Landfills are the number one cause of greenhouse gas emissions.

Isn’t that staggering? I had no idea! That means if we all started composting, we would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60%. Holy moley!

Are you composting? If not, why not?

I wasn’t doing it because I thought it was too much trouble. I didn’t have a compost bin set up. And it was easier just to throw things in the trash. And a lot of stuff went down the garbage disposal. Which just clogged it up. It’s funny because whenever the plumber comes to snake the drain, the always tell you not to put stuff down there.

Composting is a simple thing we can all do to help the environment.

How to get started with composting:

1. Find a bucket or a big bowl.
2. Start putting scraps in there. Vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, egg shells and the like. (What not to compost)
3. When it fills up, throw it onto a compost heap, bin or worm trays.
4. If you don’t have any of those things, just go dig a hole in your yard and bury it. You don’t have to bury it very deep. I just barely cover mine with dirt. You can pour scraps all over your garden beds this way.
5. Also be sure to add leaves and grass clippings to your piles.

Add some worms to your soil if you don’t have any. You can get worms at most gardening supply stores. If you feed the worms with scraps, they will multiply. You will know if you have worms by just digging into your dirt with a shovel — you should see them wiggling around in there.

I have worms in my dirt and I will tell you they eat fast! I buried a large bucketful of scraps in mid-December. A few weeks later, I went to check it and guess what? All the scraps were gone!

If you don’t have a yard, you can compost in an an apartment using worm trays or a Bokashi bucket. Then you can use your compost for your houseplants.

What? You don’t have any houseplants? Get some! Houseplants are so good for you — they increase oxygen indoors and actually reduce toxins.

Joe Gardener says you can use a paper shredder to make compostable material out of your junk mail. How cool is that? And what better use for all that paper? Give it to the worms!