According to Dictionary.com, foraging is the acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter. I've continued to come across this as a method of food sourcing in many sustainable living guides, including some of my favorites such as Organic Gardening magazine and The Backyard Homestead. But honestly, it seemed like too much work... I mean, really, with a full time job, who has time to go out and hunt this stuff up?
Until I realized that I already do this in some ways. Picking summer blackberries along our road is technically foraging; I am acquiring food by gathering it from a wild source, in this case an overabundance of blackberry canes. I gather apples from our school yard and plan to go with a friend who knows most of the apple trees along public sidewalks in our area (she propogates apple trees by taking cuttings, so she makes it her business to know where they are in town). I use these apples for applesauce, canning pie filling, and making apple butter. When we hike, I love looking for wild berry patches (I am always careful to take my field guide so I know what I'm eating is what I think I'm eating).
Some foraging guides mention common weeds as edibles, such as dandelion greens (which I love for their spicy flavor in salads) and even our dreaded pokeweed for cooking greens (though I hear it stinks to high heaven when cooked, which has kept me from trying it thus far). Lamb's quarters are also edible greens, and the wild daylilies apparently make fabulous little fried fritters when battered like squash blossoms. I know that wild mushrooms and morels are another source of foraging fodder, but am a little too hesitant to try them on my own. I'd love to find someone local who knows what to look for who could show me how to ID these things.
We're also considering having a neighbor or friend get a deer for us this fall so that we have this source of low fat, high protein meat this winter and next spring. We live in an area where processing fees are minimal, making this meat only about $1 per pound, well below supermarket and farmer's market prices. In other areas of the country, it's easy to acquire wild protein sources through fishing or hunting other game.
One of the best things about foraging is that it's a free source of organically grown food (which helps us stick to our food budget and our ever increasing commitment to eat locally and organically). For me, it's also a great time to enjoy nature and spend some quiet time alone, or pleasurable time with friends or family. It also allows us to enjoy the flavors of fresh produce in the off season. By freezing wild blackberries, strawberries(these are the tiny ones that most people rip out of their yards--I try to transplant them when I dig them up and have managed to make my own little strawberry patch for free!), and grapes, we can have them on our cereal in the morning or in smoothies or desserts (they're fabulous over homemade icecream!). Another added benefit is that if I have an excess, I can these items (jams, jellies, preserves, sauces, etc.) and donate them to our local food pantry. Some food pantries will take fresh donations, so you might check your location to see what they prefer.
If you're interested in foraging, Organic Gardening magazine (Feb/March 2011 issue) has a great article and source list on the subject.
What about you? Do you forage for things in your area? What's your favorite "wild" food? Maybe it's salmon berries in Alaska or clams in Maine (mmm, clams... wish we were closer to the coast so I could do some seafood foraging!) I'd love to hear from you!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Fabulous Sale and Date Day
On Friday, Benny and I took a trip we'd been planning for a while to Troy, NC. This tiny dot on the map is my cousin's old stomping ground and birthplace of Capel Rugs, and just down the road from Seagrove pottery country. The reason for this trip was two-fold: 1) Benny had the day off and we wanted a date day together, and 2) the annual clearance tent sale was going on at the original Capel store.
After an early, but leaisurely, breakfast of scrambled eggs with chorizo and garlic scapes (from our CSA) and homemade rolls with yummy blackberry jelly, we loaded up our picnic lunch into a cooler and loaded ourselves into the Jetta. Roadtrips are always fun times for us, and uninteruppted time to talk about things without being distracted by the "to do" list of the moment. The trip took about three hours, one way, so we had plenty of time to chat and to listen to the current book on CD (The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis for this trip).
We arrived in Troy easily (thanks to Oliver, our British accented GPS phone app), and parking was thankfully a breeze. The tent sale outside was where the best bargains were, so we pulled out our paint chips (which now live in my purse, along with my small retractable tape measure) and began sifting through. We knew our budget, $100, for a large area rug for the living room and two smaller rugs for either side of our bed. Tall order, yes, but my cousin had said the prices were so good here we could definitely make that budget work. (Did I also mention these purchases were our anniversary gift to each other?) I fully intended to snap a few pics of the sale event, just to give you an idea of the place, but I fogot in the excitement. Most of the large rugs (5 x 7 or 6 x 8) out front were under $70 and they had many small rugs for as little as $10.
The traditional braided rugs were the most deeply discounted, so these were the ones we gravitated toward. I also liked these because they are primarily wool, a natural fiber, and because they are double sided, so when one side wears out, we simply flip it over, which gives it double the life.
After much discussion, comparison, and a little haggling with another customer over a rug we both liked, we came home with a large 5 x 7 oval rug for the living room and two smaller ones for either side of the bed. With tax, the bill was slightly over $110, just barely over our budget. But for rugs that will last us a lifetime, we both felt like we'd scored a deal. We love how the rug in the living room isn't too "matchy matchy" and has a rainbow of colors, so that if we decide to paint the room a different color one day, the rug will work with practically any color scheme. The rugs beside the bed follow a similar pattern, though the colors are more muted than those in the living room rug.
Once we had our purchases securely stuffed in the back seat of the Jetta (wonder car that it is), we ate our picnic lunch on the road (pot roast sandwiches, granola bars, and water in our reusable bottles), headed for Seagrove. Along the way, we hunted for a produce stand to buy some peaches, but found none. The mission to Seagrove was really just to check out the route and collect a map or two from the visitor's center to see if it was something we'd like to come back and do some other time. (Our concensus was that it should definitely be one of the next road trips, perhaps with other family who also enjoys handmade pottery.) Leaving Seagrove, we employed the help of Oliver, our friendly GPS, since we were leaving from a different place than we started.
We managed to time our trip back so that we just made Sonic's happy hour (with two minutes to spare!), so Benny enjoyed a half price strawberry limeade (90 cents), while I enjoyed a full price (shame, no icecream things on the happy hour menu) Butterfinger blast thing. (I've always been a sucker for those!) Since there's no Sonic in our hometown, hitting the Sonic happy hour was a small big deal to us; we love cheap thrills.
Of course, when we hauled the rugs inside once we got home, Lavender had to give things her sniff of approval. She also went over the top with the all-out roll and back scratch routine once we had the rugs in place. She seems to appreciate the softer rug underfoot in the living room; it has become her new favorite spot to attack the massive rawhide bone she got for Christmas. (Pictures to come later today.)
Have you found any fabulous end-of-year (fiscal year) sales on home goods? Had a great road trip or date outing with someone special? I'd love to hear about it!
After an early, but leaisurely, breakfast of scrambled eggs with chorizo and garlic scapes (from our CSA) and homemade rolls with yummy blackberry jelly, we loaded up our picnic lunch into a cooler and loaded ourselves into the Jetta. Roadtrips are always fun times for us, and uninteruppted time to talk about things without being distracted by the "to do" list of the moment. The trip took about three hours, one way, so we had plenty of time to chat and to listen to the current book on CD (The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis for this trip).
We arrived in Troy easily (thanks to Oliver, our British accented GPS phone app), and parking was thankfully a breeze. The tent sale outside was where the best bargains were, so we pulled out our paint chips (which now live in my purse, along with my small retractable tape measure) and began sifting through. We knew our budget, $100, for a large area rug for the living room and two smaller rugs for either side of our bed. Tall order, yes, but my cousin had said the prices were so good here we could definitely make that budget work. (Did I also mention these purchases were our anniversary gift to each other?) I fully intended to snap a few pics of the sale event, just to give you an idea of the place, but I fogot in the excitement. Most of the large rugs (5 x 7 or 6 x 8) out front were under $70 and they had many small rugs for as little as $10.
The traditional braided rugs were the most deeply discounted, so these were the ones we gravitated toward. I also liked these because they are primarily wool, a natural fiber, and because they are double sided, so when one side wears out, we simply flip it over, which gives it double the life.
After much discussion, comparison, and a little haggling with another customer over a rug we both liked, we came home with a large 5 x 7 oval rug for the living room and two smaller ones for either side of the bed. With tax, the bill was slightly over $110, just barely over our budget. But for rugs that will last us a lifetime, we both felt like we'd scored a deal. We love how the rug in the living room isn't too "matchy matchy" and has a rainbow of colors, so that if we decide to paint the room a different color one day, the rug will work with practically any color scheme. The rugs beside the bed follow a similar pattern, though the colors are more muted than those in the living room rug.
Once we had our purchases securely stuffed in the back seat of the Jetta (wonder car that it is), we ate our picnic lunch on the road (pot roast sandwiches, granola bars, and water in our reusable bottles), headed for Seagrove. Along the way, we hunted for a produce stand to buy some peaches, but found none. The mission to Seagrove was really just to check out the route and collect a map or two from the visitor's center to see if it was something we'd like to come back and do some other time. (Our concensus was that it should definitely be one of the next road trips, perhaps with other family who also enjoys handmade pottery.) Leaving Seagrove, we employed the help of Oliver, our friendly GPS, since we were leaving from a different place than we started.
We managed to time our trip back so that we just made Sonic's happy hour (with two minutes to spare!), so Benny enjoyed a half price strawberry limeade (90 cents), while I enjoyed a full price (shame, no icecream things on the happy hour menu) Butterfinger blast thing. (I've always been a sucker for those!) Since there's no Sonic in our hometown, hitting the Sonic happy hour was a small big deal to us; we love cheap thrills.
Of course, when we hauled the rugs inside once we got home, Lavender had to give things her sniff of approval. She also went over the top with the all-out roll and back scratch routine once we had the rugs in place. She seems to appreciate the softer rug underfoot in the living room; it has become her new favorite spot to attack the massive rawhide bone she got for Christmas. (Pictures to come later today.)
Have you found any fabulous end-of-year (fiscal year) sales on home goods? Had a great road trip or date outing with someone special? I'd love to hear about it!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Unexpected projects and blessings
Summer is a time for outdoor projects, at least around our house. We're still very much in the settling in phase with regards to landscaping. Our budget only allows for one major project a year, and hardscaping (patios, retaining walls,etc.) must be done before my favorite part of installing plants can begin. This means that I've had about three years to dream and plan for some spaces, while watching the natural vegetation (i.e. weeds) take over certain spots.
Last summer, the major project was buildng two retaining walls out front to make a more usable terraced space for gardening and perhaps a fire pit/chimena. This summer's project was a large patio under the deck out front, using concrete pavers and gravel inbetween to blend with the gravel driveway that it will intersect with. Then, we were unexpectedly blessed with some gifted flagstone, but not enough to do the entire patio area. We were considering purchasing more to fill in the entire area, but then along came a few storms...
We lost several shingles in these storms, called a roofer recommended by a trusted friend, and ended up being told we needed to replace the roof as we would lose more shingles in the next big storm. Consequently, this has put the patio project on hold, since we haven't heard back from our insurance company about what they see as reasonable. So, we're in a holding pattern, and now debating whether we go with a metal roof or asphalt shingles again. (Metal would be more environmentally friendly and more wind-resistant and cheaper in the long run, but the asphalt shingles would be cheaper now.) Since we'll have to have the roof redone, we're also considering getting estimates on covering the front deck in the process. We use the deck much less than we'd like in the summer because our house is southern facing (a huge plus in the winter with snow melt, but bakes in the summer). All this is totally unexpected, but we think we have enough in the house budget to make it happen. If we end up renting a room upstairs in the fall, then that additional income would help to make this project more affordable.
So, that blessing of gifted flagstone? We're planning to construct a smaller patio now behind the kitchen. We'll use the same materials, but it'll cost significantly less since we'll need much smaller amounts of gravel and sand. It will be a dry-laid patio, to allow for drainage, and I'll plant camomille and creeping jenny begween the stones to help the patio blend more with the surrounding gardens. Maybe next summer's project will be the patio under the deck.
In the meantime, we'll do what we can to reduce our expenses and "put our heads down" to make the roofing thing happen. I'd love to see the front deck covered, but we'll just have to see about the cost there. Do you have thoughts on a metal roof, or experience with one?
What about you? What summer projects do you have planned? Has an unexpected expense become a blessing in disguise for you? I'd love to hear from you! (And I promise to post more frequently this summer!)
Last summer, the major project was buildng two retaining walls out front to make a more usable terraced space for gardening and perhaps a fire pit/chimena. This summer's project was a large patio under the deck out front, using concrete pavers and gravel inbetween to blend with the gravel driveway that it will intersect with. Then, we were unexpectedly blessed with some gifted flagstone, but not enough to do the entire patio area. We were considering purchasing more to fill in the entire area, but then along came a few storms...
We lost several shingles in these storms, called a roofer recommended by a trusted friend, and ended up being told we needed to replace the roof as we would lose more shingles in the next big storm. Consequently, this has put the patio project on hold, since we haven't heard back from our insurance company about what they see as reasonable. So, we're in a holding pattern, and now debating whether we go with a metal roof or asphalt shingles again. (Metal would be more environmentally friendly and more wind-resistant and cheaper in the long run, but the asphalt shingles would be cheaper now.) Since we'll have to have the roof redone, we're also considering getting estimates on covering the front deck in the process. We use the deck much less than we'd like in the summer because our house is southern facing (a huge plus in the winter with snow melt, but bakes in the summer). All this is totally unexpected, but we think we have enough in the house budget to make it happen. If we end up renting a room upstairs in the fall, then that additional income would help to make this project more affordable.
So, that blessing of gifted flagstone? We're planning to construct a smaller patio now behind the kitchen. We'll use the same materials, but it'll cost significantly less since we'll need much smaller amounts of gravel and sand. It will be a dry-laid patio, to allow for drainage, and I'll plant camomille and creeping jenny begween the stones to help the patio blend more with the surrounding gardens. Maybe next summer's project will be the patio under the deck.
In the meantime, we'll do what we can to reduce our expenses and "put our heads down" to make the roofing thing happen. I'd love to see the front deck covered, but we'll just have to see about the cost there. Do you have thoughts on a metal roof, or experience with one?
What about you? What summer projects do you have planned? Has an unexpected expense become a blessing in disguise for you? I'd love to hear from you! (And I promise to post more frequently this summer!)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Garden Goodness
We've had rain here for what seems like two weeks straight. It's a bummer for actually working outside, but the plants are loving it. The pass-along plants I picked up at a co-worker's house and garden (phenomenal property... old farm house, two ponds, and drifts of flowers, perennials, herbs, and veggies across the acreage... I was in heaven) are doing well. We went to visit between rain storms on Saturday and came back with a trunk loaded full of perennial geraniums, irises, all kinds of hosta (she's a hosta junkie like I am), herbs, ornamental grasses, wild ginger, and tons of other stuff. Much of it went into our own gardens here at home, but some will be planted by my students into our gardens at school. I'm loving watching my plants thrive in the rain we've had, and it's been a great time to transplant things.
We've also had some lettuce from our garden this week, as well as chives, thyme, lemon balm, and parsley I grew from seed. (I've read that Italian parsley can be troublesome, but I had great luck with it.) My basil isn't quite big enough yet to harvest, but hopefully in a few weeks we'll have some fabulous pasta dishes, focaccia, and pesto for pizza.
Indoors, I potted up some houseplants that were in need of larger containers. Some of these were from my Teacher of the Year "flowers" from my school. (The secretary is a gardening buddy, so she knew I'd want something that would keep on living, instead of a floral arrangement that would die in a week or two.) I've also been reading that you can grow your own houseplants from citrus seeds, avocado pits, and even pineapple tops. How's that for saving some green, while improving your indoor air quality?!
Since we split a CSA (community supported agriculture) share with some friends, we're really looking forward to lots of fresh produce starting in June. We purchased our share through the High Country CSA, but there are lots of others out there. If you're not from our region, check out options in your area. They're a great, and generally affordable, way to support fresh, locally grown produce from farmers in your area. Plus, you usually end up with some fun ingredients that are new to you, so it makes for more fun in the kitchen.
On another note, Benny recently attended a rain garden workshop through our local agricultural extension agency. It was only $20 and included great notes and handouts, first-hand experience with planning a rain garden, and lunch from a local restaurant. For those not in the know, rain gardens are designed to help control flooding and pooling after rain storms. So, they're generally planted in low-lying areas and with plants that can tolerate "having their feet wet". If you don't know much about gardening and would like to get into it, your local ag extension agency is a great place to go. These folks are paid with your tax dollars, so it's their job, and generally their joy, to help you with all things agricultural. They offer all sorts of gardening workshops, from gardening basics to bee keeping courses to Master Gardener certification courses.
So, what're you up to these days? How are you gardening green; are you splitting plants with friends, started your own herb garden, or did you start your own rain garden? I'd love to hear from you!
We've also had some lettuce from our garden this week, as well as chives, thyme, lemon balm, and parsley I grew from seed. (I've read that Italian parsley can be troublesome, but I had great luck with it.) My basil isn't quite big enough yet to harvest, but hopefully in a few weeks we'll have some fabulous pasta dishes, focaccia, and pesto for pizza.
Indoors, I potted up some houseplants that were in need of larger containers. Some of these were from my Teacher of the Year "flowers" from my school. (The secretary is a gardening buddy, so she knew I'd want something that would keep on living, instead of a floral arrangement that would die in a week or two.) I've also been reading that you can grow your own houseplants from citrus seeds, avocado pits, and even pineapple tops. How's that for saving some green, while improving your indoor air quality?!
Since we split a CSA (community supported agriculture) share with some friends, we're really looking forward to lots of fresh produce starting in June. We purchased our share through the High Country CSA, but there are lots of others out there. If you're not from our region, check out options in your area. They're a great, and generally affordable, way to support fresh, locally grown produce from farmers in your area. Plus, you usually end up with some fun ingredients that are new to you, so it makes for more fun in the kitchen.
On another note, Benny recently attended a rain garden workshop through our local agricultural extension agency. It was only $20 and included great notes and handouts, first-hand experience with planning a rain garden, and lunch from a local restaurant. For those not in the know, rain gardens are designed to help control flooding and pooling after rain storms. So, they're generally planted in low-lying areas and with plants that can tolerate "having their feet wet". If you don't know much about gardening and would like to get into it, your local ag extension agency is a great place to go. These folks are paid with your tax dollars, so it's their job, and generally their joy, to help you with all things agricultural. They offer all sorts of gardening workshops, from gardening basics to bee keeping courses to Master Gardener certification courses.
So, what're you up to these days? How are you gardening green; are you splitting plants with friends, started your own herb garden, or did you start your own rain garden? I'd love to hear from you!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Pass-along plants and perennials
By now, you know that I don't like to spend money on something I can get for free, or close to it. This is one of the reasons I have so many "pass-along" plants in my garden. I also love finding deals on the clearance rack at Lowe's and Southern States, especially when they're perennials.
Since this week is my spring break, I've been spending some much overdue time in the flower gardens... weeding, planning, dreaming, planting, and moving things around to fit my vision for this year. I acquired some pass-along plants from a few co-workers who know my passion for gardening (I also teach a gardening exploratory course to my middle school students, so we're constantly acquiring new plants people donate.) and through some donations of plants we couldn't use at school (we have mostly sun at school, so shade loving plants don't do well... so I bring them home to live behind the house). I've added some varigated Solomon's seal, more pulmonaria, helliobores, and will add some more hosta tomorrow. I'm working on splitting some of our larger hosta to fill in some areas along the steep bank behind the house (hostas are a love of mine in the landscape... they're so easy to grow and propogate and they'll grow in almost any situation). My phlox and lady's mantle began to self-sew last year, so there are baby plants popping up all over the garden, which is a nice surprise and a great way to fill in the blank spaces. Now that some of our gardens have been in existance for three years, it means that I now have the joy of sharing some pass-along plants with friends, so they'll benefit from some phlox, pachysandra, lemon balm, and lady's mantle.
Of course, with all this spring gardening, this required the obligatory visit to Lowe's. I went with the plan of scoring some Easter lilies on sale after Easter (they'll come back year after year, so don't toss it after the blooms fade if someone gave you one... plant it!). But, alas, there were no Easter lilies to be found... but there were a TON of spring perennials on the clearance rack for, wait for it, 50 cents a piece! They weren't dinky little guys either, one and two-gallon plants. All they needed was a little water, some deadheading, and they were perfect for my gardens. I grabbed five bachelor's button plants and some other things I don't remember the name of, but for under five dollars, I walked out of the garden center with eight perennials that will add color and texture to my gardens year after year. It doesn't take much to make this girl happy... a trip to Lowe's and five dollars well spent!
How's your garden growing this year? Have you had the joy of sharing plants with others, or started your garden with pass-along plants friends gave you? Any good deals you've found at local garden centers? I'd love to hear how you're living and saving green this spring!
Since this week is my spring break, I've been spending some much overdue time in the flower gardens... weeding, planning, dreaming, planting, and moving things around to fit my vision for this year. I acquired some pass-along plants from a few co-workers who know my passion for gardening (I also teach a gardening exploratory course to my middle school students, so we're constantly acquiring new plants people donate.) and through some donations of plants we couldn't use at school (we have mostly sun at school, so shade loving plants don't do well... so I bring them home to live behind the house). I've added some varigated Solomon's seal, more pulmonaria, helliobores, and will add some more hosta tomorrow. I'm working on splitting some of our larger hosta to fill in some areas along the steep bank behind the house (hostas are a love of mine in the landscape... they're so easy to grow and propogate and they'll grow in almost any situation). My phlox and lady's mantle began to self-sew last year, so there are baby plants popping up all over the garden, which is a nice surprise and a great way to fill in the blank spaces. Now that some of our gardens have been in existance for three years, it means that I now have the joy of sharing some pass-along plants with friends, so they'll benefit from some phlox, pachysandra, lemon balm, and lady's mantle.
Of course, with all this spring gardening, this required the obligatory visit to Lowe's. I went with the plan of scoring some Easter lilies on sale after Easter (they'll come back year after year, so don't toss it after the blooms fade if someone gave you one... plant it!). But, alas, there were no Easter lilies to be found... but there were a TON of spring perennials on the clearance rack for, wait for it, 50 cents a piece! They weren't dinky little guys either, one and two-gallon plants. All they needed was a little water, some deadheading, and they were perfect for my gardens. I grabbed five bachelor's button plants and some other things I don't remember the name of, but for under five dollars, I walked out of the garden center with eight perennials that will add color and texture to my gardens year after year. It doesn't take much to make this girl happy... a trip to Lowe's and five dollars well spent!
How's your garden growing this year? Have you had the joy of sharing plants with others, or started your garden with pass-along plants friends gave you? Any good deals you've found at local garden centers? I'd love to hear how you're living and saving green this spring!
Our Ghetto Greenhouse
Back in late February, I began planning for our veggie garden. (Some of this was done over snow days browsing seed catalogs and drooling over Barbara Kingsolver’s descriptions in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.) The seeds were ordered and each day we checked the mail, I was like a kid waiting for a letter from Santa… “Did they come yet?” The little packets of seeds arrived one day and I began the next phase; setting up our ghetto greenhouse.
This began with getting out all the plastic egg cartons and assorted yogurt/sour cream/ricotta cheese containers I’d been saving all winter. (I told you we reuse everything around here… well, almost; we draw the line at toilet paper.) I punched drainage holes in the egg cartons with an ice pick and nested the two halves together. I did the same thing with the larger plastic containers, saving them for transplanting later.
This meant that I could water them from the bottom and not disturb the seedlings’ tiny roots once they germinated. I filled the top one with organic soilless seed starting mix and then moistened each pod. The seeds were pushed into the moist soil and then I slid the whole set-up into a large bread bag and closed it with a twist tie. We started peppers, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, basil, brussel sprouts, and cilantro this way. Once these were all ready to go, we put them on a card table in front of our sunny, southern facing window… right in the middle of the living room.
In about six weeks, we had some fabulous seedlings in each pod. I transplanted the tomatoes, lettuce, brussel sprouts, and peppers to the larger yogurt/sour cream containers I had prepared earlier. Using a spoon to scoop them out made this process really easy. Transplanting them to deeper containers really gave the seedlings a jump start.
In the meantime, Benny built some raised vegetable beds for outside in the yard where we’ll transplant the veggies this weekend, after we fill the boxes with a mixture of peat moss, compost, and vermiculite. We’re looking forward to good fresh veggies this spring and summer—as local as they get!
We’ll update tomorrow on how we constructed the beds and managed to fit all the materials into the Jetta. I’ll also fill you in on our new additions to our edible landscaping.
I’d love to hear what you’re doing in your garden this spring, so leave some love in the comments!
This began with getting out all the plastic egg cartons and assorted yogurt/sour cream/ricotta cheese containers I’d been saving all winter. (I told you we reuse everything around here… well, almost; we draw the line at toilet paper.) I punched drainage holes in the egg cartons with an ice pick and nested the two halves together. I did the same thing with the larger plastic containers, saving them for transplanting later.
This meant that I could water them from the bottom and not disturb the seedlings’ tiny roots once they germinated. I filled the top one with organic soilless seed starting mix and then moistened each pod. The seeds were pushed into the moist soil and then I slid the whole set-up into a large bread bag and closed it with a twist tie. We started peppers, heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, basil, brussel sprouts, and cilantro this way. Once these were all ready to go, we put them on a card table in front of our sunny, southern facing window… right in the middle of the living room.
In about six weeks, we had some fabulous seedlings in each pod. I transplanted the tomatoes, lettuce, brussel sprouts, and peppers to the larger yogurt/sour cream containers I had prepared earlier. Using a spoon to scoop them out made this process really easy. Transplanting them to deeper containers really gave the seedlings a jump start.
In the meantime, Benny built some raised vegetable beds for outside in the yard where we’ll transplant the veggies this weekend, after we fill the boxes with a mixture of peat moss, compost, and vermiculite. We’re looking forward to good fresh veggies this spring and summer—as local as they get!
We’ll update tomorrow on how we constructed the beds and managed to fit all the materials into the Jetta. I’ll also fill you in on our new additions to our edible landscaping.
I’d love to hear what you’re doing in your garden this spring, so leave some love in the comments!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Long Time, No See
Just a quick post to say that I've been busy with life, but I'll return to post several updates this week. I finally finished my National Boards portfolio and got it in the mail, so I feel like I have some of my life back! :)
We've been busy with getting veggies started, cleaning out flower beds, and planning our veggie garden layout. I'll share that and some indoor projects as well.
Looking forward to getting back to you tomorrow!
We've been busy with getting veggies started, cleaning out flower beds, and planning our veggie garden layout. I'll share that and some indoor projects as well.
Looking forward to getting back to you tomorrow!
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