March Forward

Pretty soon there's gonna be a lot to do, so I'm tryin to get a jump on it--time to plant inside and outside. It's still winter, but I know spring is just around the corner.

Earth Box Spinach 1 week later above.

Here's my 'control' pot of spinach to compare. They're both fine, but it's freezing cold out there and windy, not nice for gardening. Might as well work in the nursery inside.

My baby Copra onions, the best keeper onion of all time, and melt in your mouth saute scrumptious. Onions are photoperiodic, so they need to go in as early as possible, and keepers take the longest to mature, over 3 months. They start to bulb after summer solstice, so go for the most growth before then for the biggest onions. Plant early, easy to raise from seed. Put about 100 seeds in a 4" pot, plant out before they reach 5" into a nice friable loam. This is the first round, using up some old seed first. Lookin good.
$$ Tip: If you have the space, you might increase your number of seed starts. You could have some to give, barter with, and sell; a pack usually has plenty of extras. They need a lot of light, natural or grow lighting, and space for potting up once or twice.

First round of peas, I like to start some and direct sow some. Too cold out there yet. These are Cascadia and Sugar Snap sprouts under there.

Visualize juicy red tomatoes. This setup is pretty cheap, or you can use what you have. I use 6" pots and takeout trays with lids (wow, greenhouses!) I fill these cells w/a soil-less mix for germination, tamp a little, then pour water into the bottom tray and let it soak in gradually. This takes time but it's worth it. The dirt stays nice and fluffy for the seed, and the water doesn't run off and disturb the seed.

I made a list of what I want to eat/grow, and a little map of the porch. I put the date of when to sow by each; I'll use these cells to start the tomatoes and peppers as soon as I get my labels together. You can use popsicle sticks, even cut up window blinds work really well. Use a waterproof Sharpie, 'cause seriously, you won't remember what they are. So it's worth waiting to do that first. Plus there are some good planting dates by the moon comin up: March 1 & 2 in Taurus (earth), and 5 & 6 in Cancer (water), and the moon's on the rise, which makes for above ground growth. If we get some seed in the soil on the first 2, it could emerge on those second two dates, a nice experiment.

My Earth Box

Playing in the dirt now gets more scientific with the Earth Box, a patented self-watering Garden Kit developed by a company in PA.

I set it up last week on my day off, these photos show its structure and the organic amendments in position for the bumper crops! It's now in operation with the first planting of spinach. I'm determined to raise more food on my porch; last year, I didn't get much yield because even the large containers dried out so quickly. It's a great microclimate with shelter from the wind and lots of sunshine, so I'm experimenting with this new product. I'll document its progress. I plan to follow spinach with peppers and something else, a tough decision...

I'm looking at their kits for the classroom too, complete with curriculum guides for kindergarten through high school. It's my dream to see every school develop an "Edible Schoolyard" and have access to that living laboratory for study and delicious lunches.

And speaking of science, let me drop a little on 'planting by the moon'. I got Ed Hume's guide which I like 'cause it confirms what I'm feelin sometimes and keeps me on track with my timing. I've followed planting by the moon for decades and there's always more to learn. Principally, that the moon has a pull on plants just like the tides, and if you 'work wid it' you can increase your effectiveness and harmony in the garden. So... science meets spirit too.

We're in a 'new moon' phase right now, and by the 25th and 26th, moon will be 'waxing' (getting bigger) and in a fertile sign, Pisces. Green light! This will be great for putting in the first peas and cool weather crops. Sure, it's still on the cool side, but give it a shot, and you can get into this riddim, too. We're not gardening in a vacuum, not outside anyway. There are lots of natural forces at work and play, so it's a chance to tune into these and see what happens. I'll mention more as I blog on.

About those natural forces...yeah, give thanks for those. It's so nice to 'get out' by this time of winter and get some o dat fresh air, sunshine, wind, freedom and color again. Rudolf Steiner formulated this whole approach to gardening "biodynamically" way back in the 20's. Read more here.

$$ Tip: Test Your Old Seeds First

Do you have some partial packs of old seeds lying around, and you really want those shiny new packs at the store? It can be a problem... I recently went through all my seed and found some that is 10 years old! I decided to test the germination before I toss them; you can do this too.

Put it in water in a bowl and soak till it swells, maybe overnight. Rinse well, toss any seed that won't sprout (no germ or broken), drain well, then cover the bowl with a damp paper towel.

You're creating a nice warm environment for sprouting. Keep towel moist and check seed a couple times a day. If you see any spoiled seed, toss it. Rinse seed.

Within a couple days, you'll see sprouts like these. I grew them for a few days like this. Now they're actually in the fridge till I get time to plant this week. My germination rate looks about 50/50, and took zero effort. Not bad for some seed from 2002.

Day One of Spring Training

Today was so productive and fun. Starting to get the porch dialed in, I have to create some chaos first! I'm converting my big pots from flowers to veggies and moving stuff around, repotting and givin everything some love and cleaning.

Then went over to the big garden. It's like goin to the beach on a pretty marnin.

This garden was love at first sight for me, I remember when my daughter first showed it to me. It looked like a beautiful patchwork quilt on the slope in Gabriel Park, here in SW Portland. It's the prettiest setting, one of 33 community gardens in the city; I've been gardening here for 9 years, and now have a raised 4' x 8' box, and the surrounding land, a nice macrocosm after my micro porch.

Gardening makes me feel so grateful. I harvested the rest of my leeks, harvested some compost, a half wheelbarrow full! and spread it on the garlic, transplanted overwintered lettuce starts, and dug enough potatoes to eat for supper. I can hardly believe these lettuce starts survived our freezing snowy winter in a pot---talk about life force!

To do: take cardboard over and do the paths. start grapes along the fence, maybe potatoes under. Take time to dream about what to grow and where. Visualize bountiful delicious beautiful food picked at the peak!

Look on the Bright Side

Today, I came home early unexpectedly because of slow business where I work, yeah, I was feelin low and trying to stay some full strides ahead o' mi worst fears. Everywhere I turn it seems, time tough and gettin more so.

What to do? Head out to the farm, my balcony in this case, and see what a gwan...

A little chilly, but there's a lot to do now that I'm out here. The Oregano is wakin up, and the green plant on the right is a righteous weed, Chickweed, in fact. Now this is a good herb to know and eat. Very nutritious and tasty in salads, try some, it's free. It makes a nice living mulch for spring too, watch for it in your patch and make use of it now. A good spring tonic.


The catnip is juicy and tender right now, just the way kitties prefer. I use it for a relaxing tea as well, and I love it---purrrrrr....


A shot of my Thyme pot, just needs a little food and attention and it's ready to cut for some Jamaican rice and peas. I feel better already!

Onto some real harvesting! I scattered some carrot seed in a pot late last fall just for fun, and now I'm pulling some real baby carrots, and they're great! This amazes me, because they survived snow and freezing temps 2 mos. ago. Now I feel like I'm absorbing all that cool cosmic energy that they've grown up with---you just can't buy that in the store!



This is another experiment that went well from 08. I grew a Habanero in a pot; they have a very long season, think tropical, so by the fall, it was just thinking about fruiting and wouldn't survive the winter outside. So I brought it inside and it's become a pet. Look at all the flowers...I'll put it outside into a bigger pot and hopefully have a habanero tree this summer.

Cool, I got started out there, and I feel so much better. Next, I'll be starting some peas and onions in peat pots. I'm lovin the future once more.

Ready, Set.....

It's time to get everything lined up for the first plantings, yes already!

Pick up a seed catalogue and see what you want to eat. Check your seed you have and buy what's needed early. I'll discuss testing germination of old seed in a future post, so don't toss it yet. You can put in some lettuce seed and mustard, a salad mix, those hardy greens. I'll start with pac choi, lettuce, and some parsley seed. Within a couple weeks, I'll put in the first round of peas. I like to grow shell, sugar snap and snow peas, so I just stagger the plantings.

I went to the nursery today, and decided that in this terrifying economic time, I needed to invest in myself and my health, and I bought an Earth Box! This is the patented self-watering planter box that claims very good yields. I'll use it for vegetables on my balcony. I can't wait to set it up.

I got peat pots too for starting peas, tomatoes, onions, spinach, peppers, salad mixes. I like to start them at home for transplanting later into the community garden where they're more vulnerable as seedlings.

The nurseries are just starting to get plants in; they have bareroot strawberries which you can grow in pots. If you're blessed with more land, get some bareroot asparagus, rhubarb, grapes, berries, even horseradish etc. You'll save money by buying bareroot anything now; you can pot them up if your ground isn't ready and have your own nursery!

I haven't found herb starts yet, but I'll feature them in a post soon on growing herbs on a sunny windowsill.

Slow Food = Fast Food!

Remember the leeks I was bragging about? Here's what I did with half of one today. To me it's amazing that I'm eating these leeks from 2008, and it's almost time to replant them. Think about including these in your garden. They're almost labor-free, and you can store your harvest in the ground! They grow slowly, but they're fast in the kitchen.


I sliced it down the middle to clean it thoroughly, then chopped half. Put it inna pan to saute.


Next, I added tofu, some cooked kabocha winter squash, some pumpkin seeds and soy sauce.

Finally, threw in some cooked brown rice to reheat.

Here it is on the plate in about 10 minutes, with yogurt and hot sauce of course.

And that's a planter7 breakfast!

Sprouting Seeds & Beans

Both seeds and beans use the jar method. You can think of any edible seed, and if it's organic: grown without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, grown with natural methods of nourishing the soil, and then not fumigated, irradiated, and sterilized, and stuff like that... it should sprout, of course. I just sprouted some fenugreek seeds last week, that fragrant seed used in Indian cooking. They're slightly bitter (tonic) and good.

Some favorites to try are radish, broccoli, and mustard seeds. These are smaller and more delicate than lentil, but grow the same way. Harvest at 1" long.


I used to sprout red clover and alfalfa all the time; I don't anymore. The FDA now advises that those two kinds in particular, when raw, may harbor bacteria that'll make you sick, as in salmonella. And you wouldn't want to cook them. I would say 'stay away' from those. I've even tried to grow alfalfa in the recent past several times and can't get a good crop, so there must be an issue with the seed.

With any sprouting, it's crucial that you start with organic seed; you can find it in any natural food store. Wash it well, use clean equipment, rinse the sprouts with clean cool water, and monitor their growth. If the location is too warm, they'll rot. Too cool, and they won't grow. By the sink seems like a good spot.

You're probably familiar with mung bean sprouts and possibly soybean. Those are commercially available. Your homegrown sprouts will be shorter and smaller, but tastier too. For mung, soy and aduki, you can put a paper bag over the jar to keep it dark. This extends the roots and minimizes leaf growth, just like store-bought! Only better. Bean sprouts are best lightly steamed or stir-fried.

Here's a trick: Try peas too. I sprout the ones that grow too long in the garden, especially at the end of the season. Sprout them, eat some and store some in the fridge for planting in the late summer.

And for camping and survival out on the trail, you can make a screen bag to sprout in and hang from your campsite tree bough.

Payday!

Here it is 3 days later, and I'm eating my fresh lentil sprout crop, pretty fast payoff. The added bonus is that this is a 'live food', full of vitality and a complete protein. Things happen when seeds germinate, this we know. I'll go into just what happens in a future post.

Every time you eat a live food, you're adding to your retirement plan in the most delicious and beautiful, and cheap (of course, gotta mention that!) way. Seriously, these sprouts only cost me about 30 cents for the whole crop, and they're organic. Try em, you'll feel very rich and smart, and that's even before the health benefits kick in.

The Challenge: "Small is Beautiful"

What can you grow on a 5'x10' balcony? A whole heap o' paradise as it turns out. My goal is always to provide a habitat first, it's a huge sign of success when the first birds decide to check it out and come by to serenade me.

So, get some large pots, say 14"-20" (watch the weight), because they'll dry out less. You need saucers for each so those who live below you don't live in the rain every day when you water! I went with plastic for less cost and weight and less evaporation than clay. Home Depot has the cheapest, nicest looking around here. Avoid black for less heat. But, if you're strapped for cash, check out the bins at nurseries where people can recycle their pots, and put some to use. Little ones are good for starting plants, more on that lata.

Last year, I watered at least once a day when the warm weather kicked in. This year, I'm going to try some self-watering containers to provide a more stable environment for my thirsty veg, herbs and flowers. You'll get better yields if the plants don't get stressed. I'm looking at EarthBoxes, they're a patented system but also an investment. And, I'm definitely trying some self-watering inserts that you can put into your large pots--Gardeners' Supply has those for a nice price.

Online, you can easily find sites that show you how to make self-watering systems out of 5 gallon buckets and rubbermaid containers. They're not pretty though, so I won't use them where beauty matters. Think of your garden as a showcase no matter where it is---it can have a positive effect on anyone who sees it, walks by every day, shows their kids what peas look like when they're growing (and taste like!) so make it beautiful.

5 Minutes a Day = Salad!

So, you've got no job, no land, no money, and you're tired of eating beans with your rice. You long for some pure fresh greens and crunchy salad, but can't afford all the delicious organic produce at the store....Sound familiar? Here's what you can do:


Take 1/4 cup dry lentils, pour them into a clean wide-mouth jar, rinse them very well, put a piece of screen material on top with a rubber band and cover with water. Let that sit overnight or do it in the morning.


After 6-8 hours, pour that water off, (water your plants with it) rinse thoroughly but gently, and invert the little greenhouse onto a rack or improvised drainage system. I use 2 chopsticks over a bowl. Put this by your sink so you can pay attention to it. Rinse and drain 2-3 times a day, and whenever they look dry.


Eat in 2-3 days when the sprouts are 1/2-1" long. These are the easiest seeds to sprout, very nutritious, and fantastic on top of a salad or in a wrap. Refrigerate with a lid on when they're ready. Get into this rhythm and you'll always have some fresh nutritious live food, almost for free, and best of all, you grew it! More about sprouting supergreens soon come...

Gardening in February

I pulled a couple big fat leeks yesterday from my bed at the community garden. These have gone through about 9 mo. in the earth, and they're beautiful.

What to do when it's still too early to plant? Get ready! I'm researching my seeds, (Territorial my fave), and the latest in container and roof gardening for food.

And since I like to do something every day towards raising my food, I'm starting a new batch of sprouts. You don't need any land, just a little counter space, water, seed, a jar and screen. You can be eating your own food in 3 days time, in the middle of winter, for pennies. Sound good? Read on...