Grow Some Organic Food

What My Food Looks Like

2010-05-11T21:51:00.000-07:00

On the porch in early April, some 'before' shots. This is broccoli.

I'm eating this ornamental kale 'cause I love the colors.

A speckled lettuce.

The most bodacious spinach growing in the Earth Box again. I've been eating this since March, so good.

Kale & Finch

2010-05-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Life attracts more life.

Supper from the Garden

2010-05-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Here's how we do it at the Sidetrack Cafe on a rainy March day off.

Home made pizza with

tomatoes that I grew and canned

leeks from the garden

onions and garlic from last year, still good!

and beautiful oregano, deeeeeelish!

Spring is here in Portland

2010-03-08T06:40:00.001-08:00

One of my 'three little birds' that let me know it's time to get busy in the garden, 'wake up & live!' they sing. Our spring is early after a very mild winter. The perfect day to spend in the community garden, get things cleaned up and make a plan.

Check these roots--one of my leeks. I love to grow leeks because: they're scrumptious to cook with, and storage is not a problem, these have been in the ground all winter here. I dug them as needed. I planted them last spring. This one is huge, and I love it that these leeks have absorbed all that winter energy, survived those freezing rains and winds and come through even more strong and beautiful---now their nature becomes a part of us. That's some good eatin.

Look at the size of my oregano, jus now wakin up from a nice winter slumber. I fed and cultivated it today.

Wow, these chives have doubled in size since last fall. You can eat the flower buds and flowers too later.

Lookin down the bed---garlic is on the left, about 8" high, planted on time (for a change) last October. It'll be ready by June. You can see that I've added some amendments to the soil---I added my favorite chicken manure, a nice organic compost, and some lime.

Great Shape! Inc. In the News

2009-10-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Here we go! Great Shape! Inc. and the SuperKids Literacy Project is making waves in the news.
And I am on my way to participate in this humanitarian mission to empower the Jamaican children and communities with access to education and health care.

http://www.kptv.com/video/21426315/index.html

Reports from the field soon come!
One Love!

October is Harvest Moon

2009-10-06T22:29:00.000-07:00

I'm still here, and it's been really busy between work and putting up my harvest. I have about 100 jars of food put up now. The harvest kitchen is almost ready to close for the season. Expect to see me back here soon catching up with photos and commentary for this amazing year of growing food organically. Thanks, and get out there and experience some harvest time! Such a wonderful time to give thanks, this harvest moon. We truly reap what we sow. Experience picking some organic apples and pears, persimmons, grapes, fall raspberries, check it out before they're gone or in cold storage. There's something about picking your own food, it just makes you feel so thankful and lucky to be alive. Plus it's really fun to do with kids, nice memories of going to the orchard with all the sounds and smells of autumn leaves and crispy air and colors, check it out. Rain soon come!

Making Dilly Beans

2009-08-09T22:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe I started with. I used 2 dry hot peppas and 5 peppercorns per jar.

You can use any shape of bean, just trim both ends---make yourself one as a ruler for the rest to fit in the jar, leaving 1/2" at the top.

Get all your spices ready, peel and crush the garlic ( I used what I grew), dry hot peppers, peppercorns and fresh dill heads, with seeds or flowers.

Oh, and I used 1 fresh grape leaf at the bottom of each jar, it's supposed to keep them crispy. I laid everything in before the beans, so it'll look nice and show everything.

With the beans loaded, see the grape leaf, the dill and hot peppa peppa.

I usually do one jar at a time, pack, pour in brine and seal, but if you work quickly, and keep those jars and brine hot, you can do it like this.

After 10 minutes in the boiling water bath, here are the beauties coolin on the counter, snappin their lids with that sound of success. This took one hour and I got 7 pints of gourmet, organic, local, artisan, yeah well you get the idea---we're makin our own food to eat and lovin it. Try it, you'll love it too.

Still Life

2009-08-09T22:16:00.000-07:00

A recent haul of Sungolds and Matt's Wild Cherry tomatoes from the Earth Box on the porch. Try Sungold, you'll love it.

I got 4 pounds of these for $4 special at Farmers Market for making Dilly Beans (pickled beans), recipe to follow.

One recent day's harvest from the 'big' garden at the Community Garden.

Ites Gold and Green! Peppers and Crookneck, the yellow heirloom squash, fresh basil and garlic.

Freshies from the garden, all cleaned and ready to go. Thanks, Joan, for sharing that problem of too much pac choi, it found a good home.

Blueberry Jammin Part 1

2009-07-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here's the recipe I'm using for my first batch of blueberry jam. I'm excited. When I saw all the sugar called for, I adjusted amounts. I used about 6 1/2 cups of berries to get the 4 1/2 cups of crushed berries. I crushed them with a potato masher. I used organic raw cane sugar, and organic lemon and lime peel, and fresh lime juice. I've never made this recipe before, but Valerie Bear, at Bear Hollow Blueberry Heritage Farm, where my blueberries came from, said it was a good one.

I got a dozen of these half-pint jars for $5.86 at Winco, cheapest price around I could find, and here they are washed and drying with their lids and rings.

Tools of the trade...get yourself some measuring spoons, a little juicer, measuring cup, couple big containers, couple big pots, and a half ton of organic evaporated cane sugar ($.97/lb. at Winco). It's unbelievable how much sugar you can use in jam. The OG raw sug is milder than the white refined crack grade. In jam, sugar does bring out the flavor of fruit, and it's a preservative. My next batch will be with a low-sugar pectin, and I'll use less than half the sugar I do with this one.

The mashed blueberries are measured and ready in the pot.

Heating up the jars in the canner with the rack in place.

The lids are heating too.

Blueberry Jammin Part 2

2009-07-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

How beautiful is that? The pectin is in with the berries now and I'm heating it to a boil. See the recipe, Part 1.

Stirrin in the sugar, then it has to boil hard without sticking for one minute. A heavy pot is good, plus you gotta stir it. Burnt sugar tastes bitter, so this is crucial. Did I mention it's really hot tonight, not the best night for firin up the canner, but that's typical canning weather---that's what makes those fruits so yummy sweet.

The profound moment of jarring has arrived. If you want to can and make all this great food for winter, get a Ball Canning Book. It's only about $7., and it has all these important steps to make sure you will safely put up your food. It's easy, but there are rules to it, like heating your jars, and a bunch of other things, but once you learn the process, you can do amazing things, canning, freezing and drying. Also, there are a few tools that you'll need, like a canner with rack, jar funnel, tongs, and jars. I won't explain all these steps here, because this info is readily available, even online. I love this stuff, I learned it from my mother, and it's really in my blood, literally I think, from eating this way over the years. I give thanks that I'm here and able to pick my food again another year, this amazing organic food that we're so blessed to eat, and put it away for winter. I'm doing more canning this year than freezing because it's better storage for me. I don't even eat that much jam, but you can use this in smoothies, a spoon in fruit salad, in plain yogurt, on cereal and a little in any baked thing for brilliant color and pizazz. Layer a little with peaches and yogurt in a pretty glass.

As I fill each jar, it goes into the canner on the rack, then I'll lower them all at once, make sure there's water to cover them 1-2", turn up the heat and start counting 15 min. when it comes to a boil.

After the 15 min., I lift them out with big jar tongs, put em on a towel away from drafts, and leave them overnight. You hear the lids popping as they seal. Success!
I got 8 half pints done in 1-1/2 hr. time, including setup and cleanup. Today in the store, I saw some fancy blueberry jam that was selling 5 oz/ $4.95. Mine are 8 oz. and organic and with the lemon and lime. Mine probably cost $2. ea. I'm estimating. $40. vs. $16. makes it even sweeter!

U-Pick Blues

2009-07-26T09:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I headed out to Bear Hollow Blueberry Heaven to pick high bush blueberries for the winter stash. Wow, what a place. These bushes were planted in 1948, they're unsprayed and grown with organic methods, but not certified (it's very costly). I love where these berries live!
At $1.75 per pound, I know I'll be savin some serious dough over Farmers' Market prices. I could get some deals at the market, but they're usually grown with chemicals. Plus, I love to pick. Try it, get out there and see where your food lives, it's pretty cool. Much more interesting than the supermarket.

Blues are a superfood, and these are so plentiful, it's like pickin clusters of grapes. I hope I brought enough money, 'cause it'll be hard to stop!

At the back where I like to pick is this old railroad trestle, usually you can hear some hawks around, songbirds, and there's hardly anyone else here. Guess the heat scared people off. Lucky for me, some of these bushes haven't even been touched.

In about 2 hours, I picked 14 1/2 pounds, these are gallon milk jugs filled to the top. All these cost me less than $24.00. I am so stoked! Home to jam!

Into the kitchen for a ginger beer break, assess the jam recipes and assemble the equipment. Wait till you see how quick and easy this is.

My First Tomato!

2009-07-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

"Wake di town an tell di people!" My first tomato off the vine! Major payday with bonus for every gardener, that day when you pick the first one. Kissed by the sun moon and stars, and ripened to perfection! The first one traditionally goes on the best bread you can find, likkle salt & peppa, and that's all you need---make sure you give the spirits some too, give thanks for the harvest....an it's only the beginning.

June Done & Gone!

2009-07-06T09:47:00.001-07:00

Was gone for a couple weeks in June---everything still lookin pretty good. Here's the garlic above before I left...

Came home and harvested the garlic, and some shallots. Pretty nice yield (20 bulbs) for that marginal land strip. Garlic is like a 'free' crop---plant one bulb (a dozen cloves) in the fall, and by next June you've got a bulb for every clove you planted, that's 12x return, not a bad investment return in these dire economic times. Plus, it's pretty pest resistant and care-free. And, besides being the essential ingredient in nearly everything I eat, it's got natural anti-biotic and anti-viral properties. And...if that weren't enough, it'll keep vampires away too. Try some. At $5.00/lb. I'm doin well with this harvest. I grow the 'hardneck' strains because they keep the longest, that matters if you grow a lot more.

Two weeks later, and check the squash tub, wow. I have baby crooknecks already.

Remember the tomatoes with beans on the left and cukes on the right? They're climbing up the poles and growing like mad. Pretty sight to come home too.

The front of the main box again. I don't know about those potato bins (left). Everything is growing huge except for them. Won't know how they worked till I dig for the taters, nothing yet.

A Look at June

2009-07-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

In 2 weeks, my sign is almost overtaken by the tomatoes! Check the small green mater lower right.

These photos were all taken June 15 at the community garden---the big box with heirloom tomatoes above, you can still see the tops of the cages but they're growing so fast.

I needed one more tub for my fave, Yellow Crookneck Squash, and got this for $5 at Home Depot, it's around 20 gal. and took a full 2 cu. ft. bag o dirt. Yellow Crookneck is an heirloom squash--if you pick em small, you can keep up with them. Plus the male flowers are dee-lish too.

At the other end of the box, more tubs---on left, tomato with pole beans at the back so they can climb up onto that arbor which now has peas, and they've been feeding me for weeks. On the right, another heirloom tomato with cucumber at the back to climb up the arbor eventually or hang down. That's another potato in between.

The front of the big box, with more tubs of potatoes (black) and tomatoes (green), looks pretty wild!

Vandana Shiva on the Future of Food & Seed

2009-06-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

To me, seed is sacred. Vandana Shiva says, "Seed by its own nature creates abundance." She's one of my heroes. Watch this video and see why for yourself, and why she says "to save seed for the future is our highest ecological duty on earth".

She spoke in Portland at the Organicology Conference last February. Thanks to Tilth and the other wonderful organic companies and nonprofits who organized this gathering.

Web Video of the Week: A Silent Forest (full movie) - The Threat of Genetically Engineered Trees

2009-06-17T20:16:00.001-07:00

Web Video of the Week: A Silent Forest (full movie) - The Threat of Genetically Engineered Trees

Like we didn't have enough to deal with already, we need to pay attention to this: Open nature is the testing ground and we are the guinea pigs. This is an award-winning documentary starring respected geneticist, David Suzuki. They're discussing the facts around "Frankentrees": Sterile trees (that means no pollen, no fruits, no seeds) that are also pesticides themselves (that means whatever feeds on the leaves etc. gets sick and dies), and are resistant to herbicides (or Roundup Ready as Monsanto calls it). Sound scary? It is. I was prompted to act in this way when I heard on NPR's show Marketplace, that Monsanto, as a sponsor, is now claiming to be a leader in Sustainable Agriculture! PLEASE! They fine farmers for saving their own seeds, and sue farmers for 'theft of intellectual property' if any of their 'patented' canola pollen (for example, Percy Schmeiser in Canada) is found on said organic farmers' land. They are now the largest seed monopoly in the world.
Vandana Shiva explains Monsanto's patented illogic and doublespeak in this video with eloquent detail.

Shared via AddThis

Biotech vs. Organic: Who Wins?

2009-06-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

This post is taken from www.change.org
and Natasha Chart's blog in the Sustainable Food section, a 3-part series on "The World according to Monsanto"

"From the Center for Food Safety:

Washington D.C., February 11, 2009 - A new report released today by the Center for Food Safety and Friends of the Earth International warned that genetically modified (GM) crops are benefiting biotech food giants instead of the world's hungry population, which is projected to increase to 1.2 billion by the year 2025 due to the global food crisis.

The report explains how biotech firms like Monsanto are exploiting the dramatic rise in world grain prices that are responsible for the global food crisis by sharply increasing the prices of GM seeds and chemicals they sell to farmers, even as hundreds of millions go hungry.

The findings of the report support a comprehensive United Nationsí assessment of world agriculture ñ the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) - which in 2008 concluded that GM crops have little potential to alleviate poverty and hunger in the world. IAASTD experts recommended instead low-cost, low-input agroecological farming methods.

... "GM seeds and the pesticides used with them are much too expensive for Africaís small farmers. Those who promote this technology in developing countries are completely out of touch with reality," he added.

"U.S. farmers are facing dramatic increases in the price of GM seeds and the chemicals used with them," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst at the US-based Center for Food Safety and co-author of the report. "Farmers in any developing country that welcomes Monsanto and other biotech companies can expect the same fate - sharply rising seed and pesticide costs, and a radical decline in the availability of conventional seeds," he added.

GM seeds cost from two to over four times as much as conventional, non-GM seeds, and the price disparity is increasing. From 80% to over 90% of the soybean, corn and cotton seeds planted in the U.S. are GM varieties. Thanks to GM trait fee increases, average U.S. seed prices for these crops have risen by over 50% in just the past two to three years. ...

The world's poor can't afford this. They need low cost solutions that have a chance at profitability even when the fertilizer budget runs low."

The Marley Coffee Company Open for Business

2009-06-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Marley Coffee Company is now officially open for business. Started by Rohan Marley, one of Bob Marley's sons, it is the first sustainable, ethically-farmed, organic and ital Blue Mountain Coffee Company in the world. Watch this great video for the inspiring story: "One Cup of Coffee": The Marley Farm Story.
If you drink coffee, or you need a nice gift for someone who does, please consider supporting this company and buy some coffee. It's even very reasonably priced, $15.00 for 12 ounces. Compare that with the non-organic and foreign owned Blue Mountain coffee and it's a great price. Choose from these blends: Lively Up!, Mystic Morning, Jammin Java, Simmer Down, and One Love. Each sale supports the community at the Marley Farm, and their educational projects with children at the Soccer Academy (created by the Marley Coffee Foundation), and Chepstowe Basic School in the area.

Growing the Menu

2009-05-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

You can use 'successive planting' to create lots of food and happy plants. Successive planting: think a constant supply of fresh greens, scallions and herbs and a long harvest of things like beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cukes. If you keep replanting the greens and do a couple smaller plantings of beans and peas, and then plant a couple different varieties of the others, you can "extend your harvest". Above, you can see from before, the bright green lettuce is almost gone. As I take those out, I put in peppers and more baby lettuces.

Above, that beefy little tomato shares some space with those red beets on the right. I figure it'll be a while till the tomato needs that much room. And the beets are something you can eat small, medium, large, early, midseason and late.

Here a tomato shares the pot with some cukes; they'll be trained up the back of the pot and onto the pea trellis, and the tomato has its own cage.

On the left side, 2 lacy Mizuna greens with a pepper plant fill in after lettuce was harvested. The mizuna will be done by the time the pepper gets big. I can eat any leaves that get in the way! And a couple potatoes on the right. I can pull those when the pepper needs the space.

Successive: The pole beans are just coming up to follow those peas on the fence. I tucked them in here and there where the peas were thin.

A happy family of speckled red lettuce, shallots, peas and baby onions. They'll all be maturing at different times, and I can harvest as needed.

Portland, City of Roses

2009-05-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

Founded in 1917, Portland’s International Rose Test Garden is the oldest official, continuously operated public rose test garden in the United States. In the beginning, even though World War I was raging in Europe, hybridists sent roses from around the world to Portland’s garden for testing and to keep the new hybrids safe from being destroyed by the bombing in Europe. The primary purpose of the garden is to serve as a testing ground for new rose varieties. Portland's Rose Festival, in its 102nd year, kicked off this weekend and the first roses on my porch are happenin too.

The nose knows when a rose is a rose. To me, roses aren't complete without that powerful damask fragrance, so I choose them accordingly. This red one is Mr. Lincoln and his velvety dark red petals are surpassed only by the classic fragrance---he's a keeper! Drink in that fragrance---in the 'language of flowers', roses mean love.

This one's a climber, Golden Showers, with a fruity rose fragrance and nice form. I like it because it's resistant to black spot and other foliage problems too.

True, it's not a rose, but since it's on the porch blooming right now, this pretty clematis, "Dr. Ruppel", deserves some show time too. Plus, roses and clematis just go together so well.

My prize beauty, "Aloha". A super duper fragrant pink, the fluffy petals are light on top with a darker reverse, AND, as if that weren't enough, she's also an heirloom 'own root' rose, not a hybrid. The bush on my porch came from a cutting I took off the mother plant---that's the beauty of 'own root' roses. The foliage is really healthy, and the form divine, life is good.

Get Your Tomatoes in the Ground!

2009-05-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

No time for dilly-dally! If you've been waiting or wondering what to do next, just go do it! Just about everywhere is warm enough for all those crops you've been dreaming about--tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, beans, basil, carrots, you name it. You can sow beans, cukes, squash and carrots directly; buy the pepper and tomato starts. Follow the package instructions for spacing and add a little organic food when planting. This can be liquid, powder or compost, whatever is easiest, but stick with organic, skip the Miracle-gro. See, we're actually growing soil here, the food is a delicious byproduct. That's why organic is important---we want to create a healthy environment for all the earthworms and critters who relish in making soil, the true kings and queens of the garden. Make it nice for them, and they'll take care of you.

Along the fence, I'm harvesting that early lettuce completely and following it with pepper plants, what's called successive planting. See the garlic in front, and peas are growing up the fence.

My Earth Box spinach is starting to 'bolt', go to flower and seed. I'm going to harvest it all now and replant with a whole new summer menu.

Cute little Cherry Belles from the porch, these are in a big pot with snow peas at the back so they can climb the trellis. This we call companion planting. When they're done, I might put more of the same in, or maybe something like basil.

The porch is bustin out with lush green vibes, it's amazing how fast things are growing now---moon on the rise, heading towards summer solstice, powerful time in nature, peas growing 6 inches a day and starting to flower (left foreground).

Planting Seeds of Literacy in Jamaica with Great Shape! Inc.

2009-05-18T15:25:00.000-07:00

Some of you may already know, I love Jamaica, I love Bob Marley, and I love Reggae. I'm blessed to volunteer with Great Shape! Inc. in Jamaica where we conduct the "1000 Smiles Dental Project", the SuperKids Literacy Program, and this year, Vision Clinics. I'll be working with our literacy team in schools around Ocho Rios this year.

Last year, we brought teachers, literacy specialists, books, computers, musical instruments, love, smiles and enthusiasm to students like these at Breadnut Hill Primary School.

On our day off, a group of us went up to this tiny Basic School in Woodland, way up above Hopewell and delivered books and 'fluffies' (stuffed animals) to Andrea Brown's students. Here they are in front of their new library.

First Books supplied us with many copies of the ever popular Dora.

Aleshia, the librarian at Parry Town Primary worked with us to get their library ship-shape for the new titles we brought for our Book in a Bag program. We are committed to working with the schools to improve literacy and education for all of Jamaica's children.

Check our work at Great Shape! Inc. on the web. Great Shape's been in the mix for 20 years in Jamaica.

Into the Kitchen

2009-05-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

All the greens are coming in full force now, this is my pick off the porch, 6 kindsa lettuce, huge spinach (6" x 5" lvs!) and the star-flowered plant in the foreground, chickweed (Stellaria media)--it's best harvest time is right now. You can also use it to make a healing salve by simmering gently in olive oil, strain after steeping, and add some melted beeswax to make it 'gel'. Read Jethro Kloss' classic, and one of my main references, "Back to Eden, the classic guide to herbal medicine, natural foods and home remedies" for more info.

I made this Green Goddess dressing with some chickweed and....

1 cup yogurt

3 T. olive oil

1/2 cup mixed herbs: chickweed, parsley, thyme, oregano and basil, all fresh off the porch

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 t. salt
1 sm. piece green scallion or some chive and a sm. piece garlic

Put it all in the blender and 'grind' on low till blended and smooth. If it's too thin, add some nutritional yeast.

Onto greater heights, fresh pickles! I'm practicing now to get my chops by harvest time when cukes will be begging to evolve into pickles. Here I blanched cauliflower, carrot, asparagus and garlic then packed loosely into jars with chunks of jalapenos. In each jar are also mustard seed, bay leaf, salt and peppercorns.

Into the heating brine of water and white vinegar, I added sprigs of dry purple basil and got this pretty color. Bring to a boil and pour into clean jars.

Here's my recipe:

12 carrot slices

3 cloves garlic

partial head of cauliflower

Blanch these for 2 minutes. What that means is get a large pot of water boiling, then throw in everything at once and time it. As soon as time's up, drain and put veggies into a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking, this keeps them crispy.

Into a quart jar put:

1 teaspoon pickling salt

5 peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon mustard seed

1 bay leaf

Now pack loosely into the jar(s) the veggies along with about 8 nice big fat jalapeno peppers, sliced into 1/2" chunks.

Into a pot, put:

1 cup water

1 1/4 cup white vinegar

Heat this to boiling, then pour into the jar. Put the lid on, seal, cool then put in fridge. Eat the next day, and these will keep for weeks in the fridge.

Easy breeezy!

Porch is getting crowded. It's time to put the tomatoes into the ground, but yesterday only got up to 48 degrees! Buy all the starts you want and have room for now, and start planting, 'cause May 15 is the magic date for putting in the warm weather crops we crave all winter long. You've got 2 weeks now to make it happen, so don't delay (note to self).

Signs of Change

2009-05-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

A quick tour of my neighborhood with spring in full swing. Most of these pix are on my walk to the garden.

Check the saddlebags of pollen on this bee enjoying the camellia; encourage more bees with hives if you can do it or small block kits for mason bees. Get info at any nursery; advocate for urban hives in your town. We need those pollinators more than ever---they've taken a big hit with all the pesticides, herbicides, pollution and development. We are allowed to keep bees here in Portland, and chickens, but no roosters in city limits.

Here my friend is making good use of deck space and nice big crocks for growing a variety of salad greens, peas and other green crunchy treats, and soon tomatoes....right outside the kitchen. Brilliant!

I like this--converting that sod by the curb to a planting of poppies in front of the painted poppy fence. Note the smart straw mulch for weed control, water conservation, and building soil, plus it's way prettier and more balanced pH than that boring brown prickly bark mulch. But that's just my opinion.

Change is here! This was just like a driveway, and now look at the raised beds they just put in, bursting with potential. Yes we can!!! I walk by here all the time---watch for progress shots.

You probably know this view by now, yep, I'm walking up to our beautiful community garden. The wild mustard in the foreground is a nice spicy wild food right now. Add those beautiful yellow flower stems to any salad or stir fry. Try some of these wild foods right now, they're so perfect in spring, and traditional blood purifiers for spring. Each wild food has its best time--it's important to know when to pick what part and how to eat it, but it's not hard to learn.

How It's Lookin 4 Floors Up

2009-04-24T10:40:00.000-07:00

The quality of my movie isn't the greatest, but the better versions were too big to upload, so until the technology catches up, this will have to do. Enjoy!

Changin mi tune...

2009-04-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

Our first 'strictly from yard' salad, that's right, it's mid-April and all these greens came from the garden so far. Lettuces, spinach, and a few tender radish leaves, ummmm, nuttin better. I'm picking these every day now, sweet!

This is what I'm changin my tune about....I've always been lovin the challenge of making marginal land productive again, and sometimes that's a lot of hard work. But often it's the difference between having a garden and not. Usually you can get permission to work a wasteland, right? Wasteland to showcase---do something beautiful.

Now here's the latest approach that I'm singing about. I finally realize what a bargain bagged planting mixes are! Don't have any good land to work? Invest $10 in soil and some food for it and you've got land! I used to resent buying dirt, no more! I just dug out the weeds, mixed up a nice batch of dirt, chicken manure, lime and veg food in the wheelbarrow and laid it down---it's another row to plant now. And if you've got a fence like we do here, all the better. Put the peas in close to the fence, and make it wide enough for a couple other things. Here are potatoes, shallots, garlic and broccoli.

I worked this section for the first time last summer and put beans in, now it's full of lettuces, garlic, and I hope peas soon (I think the slugs might be eating the seedlings). It's truly amazing how quickly land can come alive again with organic methods. I'm talkin bout the life beneath the surface especially, you bring a little life energy, air, water and humus into the area and word spreads fast.

Porch Views

2009-04-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

And here's a look at the porch as it is today, snow peas emerging on lower left, baby tomato plants getting some outside air, and greens poppin.

Now here's some catnip juicy enough to tempt any kitty into adjusting her attitude.

My prize habanero! From the plant I brought inside for the winter; now the plant has aphids and mi reddi fi tun it out to di yard! Dis one cyan fix di rice n peas nice.

A big pot of Pac Choi---I'll thin and eat as they grow.

Nice pot of radish. Had to get tough on the cute little birdies who come visit. They ate all the first leaves, they're so smart, they know what's good. Lucky for us both, the best part is underground.

Progress on the Porch

2009-04-11T20:08:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to eat these beautiful lettuces, some scallions, and spinach here on the porch. I have thyme, catnip and oregano to use too. It's just starting to warm up and things are beginning to grow. My clematis is budding and hyacinth in bloom, roses leafing out.

The Earth Box spinach is pulling ahead in the growth and sweetness category. I love it.

The spinach in the control pot is a few leaves behind, and not as vigorous.

This is an example of 'natural agriculture' or this lazy likkle miss' method of propogating. I like to let some favorite plants go to seed especially at the end of the season. In this case it was parsley in a pot last year. When the seed was developed, I just bent the head down and laid it on the soil. It sat like that all winter and now I have a bunch of baby parsley plants to move around and share. Parsley is a great one for reseeding.

I'm starting to eat this Arctic lettuce, it's so buttery yummy, and it has all that energy from being out in nature all winter long, vitamins from earth and sky and spirit. In this pot, I also seeded a variety called Tom Thumb, mini bibb lettuces that are ready in only one month. I'll spread these out as they grow.

Between these lettuces and the ones over at the community garden, I might not have to buy any more lettuce for a few months. That's my goal, replace store trips with garden walks.

Micro Greens Part 3: 2 X Nice

2009-04-07T20:51:00.000-07:00

Here's one for all you fervent recyclers, an I know you're out there. Did you know you can always regrow your organic beet tops for a new crop of microgreens? Just cut the top so there's still some a base of beet on it, put in a dish and add some water. Just enough to cover the bottom. At first, it'll be pink, but that clears quickly. Add water as needed, and you'll have some delicate greens within a couple days.

You can also do this with carrots, but the tops are pretty strong. However, your pet bunny would love for you to grow these just for him.

Game is On

2009-04-05T16:29:00.000-07:00

Finally, I'm back online...no web access all week, and it was too wet and cold to do much in the garden outside. Now the tide has turned, it's warm and beautiful and there's so much to do. We're potting up our baby tomato plants, planting onions, leeks and scallions into the garden. You can put in potatoes now, any of the hardy greens, peas, strawberries, herbs, flowers, lots of things. To find out what can go in right now in your area, visit a nursery and see what they have for sale.

Or, watch your local gardener, you know the one you pass by on your way to home or work that has the Midas touch. See what a gwan inna di yard... and express y'self!

It's a beautiful time out there, breathe it in we've earned it, and much respect to the power of spring. I was walking over to the community garden after work and a local designer had her garden open for a tour, what a nice surprise.

I meandered through and took some shots.

The mossy staircase added a nice touch to a tranquil detour. Thanks, Kathryn Leech of River City Gardens, for the spiritual feast.

Micro Greens: Sunnies, Part Two

2009-04-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile in my kitchen, I'm enjoying my sunflower greens all week long. Once they germinated and began to grow, I removed the coverings, watered them and put them in a bright spot indoors initially.

Once they're growing, it's ok to put them outside during the day if it's still cold.

They grow pretty fast and will pop off their seed shells as they grow.

Start enjoying them as soon as the first two leaves open and they're a couple inches high. They're delicious and buttery and pack a nutritional punch of being both green and living. I add them to salads, stuff em inna pita with hummus, or just graze on them for a snack. Harvest all of them before the second set of leaves develops. You can store them in the fridge in a zip lock for a few days. Try these for something different.

Micro Greens Series: Sunflower Greens Pt.1

2009-03-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Micro greens are at the heart of growing food organically without land. They're really fun to do with kids too, and hey, if you don't eat em, feed em to your pets. They're a powerhouse of nutrition and can add so much to a green salad. We learned how to grow these decades ago--here's my orginal instructions for our first ones, sunflower greens, courtesy of the late Ann Wigmore D.D. of the Hippocrates Institute. Her gold standard for healing has always been wheatgrass, and it's basically grown in the same way. I'll have photos of the process in a future post. Food as medicine. Chlorophyll increases the hemoglobin in the blood which then distributes oxygen to every cell in our body. All the microgreens and green drinks are powerful blood cleansers and blood builders.
$$Tip: These are so cheap to grow, and very expensive to buy, and then not as fresh as just clipping and eating them on the spot, no packaging either, just green green green in your bowl and in your pocket.

These are the instructions I've always used. You can use a baking dish, cafe tray, steel or enamel pan. This time I used a 10" plastic plant saucer that was free.

Big grey stripe organic sunflower seeds in the hull and raw.

Put them in the jar with water--they float at first. Soak 12 hrs.

The soaked seeds now laid on top of nice potting mix (add kelp powder for minerals if you have it), and the wet sheets of paper. I don't like to use newsprint.

Cover everything with a plastic bag to incubate for 2-3 days in a warm place. Part 2 will cover what happens next.

First Sunday in Spring in the City of Roses

2009-03-24T19:50:00.000-07:00

Started off right at our Farmers' Market, they continue every other week through the winter, we're so lucky, and here's one of the organic anchor farms, "Gathering Together".

Nice work, "Gathering Together".

Spinach, avo and smoked salmon from Farmers Market for this Sunday meal. Give thanks for the farmers. We have many CSA's in our beautiful city, Community-supported-agriculture, where you can actually buy harvest shares in a local farm or coop, and receive weekly boxes of produce for the duration of the contract. Most go April-October, and it's definitely a good option if you need more food than you can grow. The co-op concept gives members a wider range of foods and harvest times, but most are single farms. It really helps the farmers too, it's a great partnership with both sharing the risk and harvest. It keeps all that food money local too, another healthy advantage to the community.

Downtown, I'm happy to see this ancient tree on board for spring one more time.

Did you know that violets are edible and have a cancer-fighting property in the leaves too? You can add them to a salad; grow as edible landscaping in a pot or in the ground. They smell divine.

Happy Spring!

2009-03-20T12:02:00.001-07:00

Saving these seeds really paid off. "Hillbilly" is an heirloom tomato that I grew last year and loved. They were huge and made the best creamy, bright sauce. I put a few seeds from my best tomato in between paper towels and look! Potentially, about a hundred pounds of tomatoes, stay tuned.

Everything has just been sitting, waiting for more warmth, light, spring! These radishes are poised for quick growth, you can harvest in about a month.

I moved the baby pac choi into a bigger pot, still in clumps till they gain strength. Then I'll keep some here and spread some elsewhere.

I bought 6 of these for $2.50, about the price of one head of this gourmet lettuce blend. These will be the first to harvest, yippee.

Ah, the first day of spring...this is the day to stand back and watch and listen how the natural world celebrates this time. A day of balance -- equi + nox, equal night and day. It's a good day to get out there and just give thanks for this beautiful earth, give something back to the earth, make an offering to the earth and all the forces that work in harmony to support all life. Make that connection, even for a minute. We're very lucky, and we have a lot to be thankful for; it's a good day to set our intentions for our gardens, ask the spirits in the natural world to help and bless our efforts-- together we can keep growin that positive vibe.
Nationally and locally, the movement towards eating healthier, local, organic, gardening, edible schoolyards, farm to school programs, we're way beyond gaining momentum to packin a full head of steam! Every day seems there's more good news; today Michelle Obama broke ground with some neighborhood schoolkids for the new OG veg garden on the White House Lawn. Green light!

The "Potato Bag"

2009-03-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

A St. Patrick's Day Special--
If you've never eaten fingerling potatoes, try some this year. They're so good they're almost self-buttering, seriously delicious. And this is the year to grow some taters, it's like diggin up gold at the end of the rainbow when it's time to harvest.
Now's the time to plant:
Since I don't have much room, I bought these cool 'Potato Bags' from Gardeners' Supply, and here's how I set them up on 'bare' ground.

I use cardboard as a weed barrier and because I want good drainage on the bottom so I can use it more than one year, no rotting. This is great for any kind of path you want to make, and you can throw it down right on top of the weeds too. Here, I'm covering bare gravelly dirt where some pots had been.

Use a coarse mulch on top that won't break down quickly under foot traffic. Make it twice as deep as you think, it settles; you want all the cardboard covered completely.

Details on the planting bag.

The bag set in place and ready for dirt. I filled it 1/3 full with a nice mix that I mixed up in the wheelbarrow: Planting mix, compost, and mushroom compost, with veg food mixed in too.

Do you have some potatoes like this in the cupboard? These are various organic market spuds that just need to be planted now. Aren't they pretty? A gift from my daughter.

Four purple potatoes and one gold in this bag, in place, before covering with soil. As they grow, I'll continue to add soil. Territorial says you can expect 10 times yield from what you plant for regular potatoes, and 15 to 20 times for fingerlings. Sounds good to me. And they're so easy to plant and care for. You can buy seed potatoes now at the nursery too. Pick up some other starts if you need them, like onions, lettuce, spinach and peas.

Cool Runnings

2009-03-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Check this out:
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11lady.html

Michelle Obama's message: 'Eat fresh food!' “Collect some fruits and vegetables; bring by some good healthy food,” she said. “We can provide this kind of healthy food for communities across the country, and we can do it by each of us lending a hand.” The Times goes on to say: In a speech at the Department of Agriculture last month, Mrs. Obama described herself as “a big believer” in community gardens that provide “fresh fruits and vegetables for so many communities across this nation and world."

March is a true lion. We did get snow 3 days ago, and sleet, hail, rainbows, sunshine, all in one day. Earth Box still tickin....

In other news, the takeout containers win in the germination contest. Tomatoes are up in 4 days.

Cute baby pac choi.

Back at the farm, those peas are finally home, with broccoli in front. Moon waning in Virgo, good for transplanting.

The Macrocosm

2009-03-07T16:11:00.001-08:00

We live in a gardeners' paradise here. There are 32 Portland Community Garden sites, containing over 1100 garden plots and approximately 3,500 gardeners. For the past 14 years, the "Produce for People" program has donated fresh produce grown in Portland Community Gardens to emergency food agencies. Produce for People has donated over 21 ½ tons since 2005 alone, all with volunteers, and 10,000 pounds just last year. That's a whole heap o good food. If you don't live where there's a great community garden program, start looking around the neighborhood and see what you can get going for your community. It's fast becoming time for some of that sod in the churchyard, in the schoolyard, in our own yards, to turn a new leaf, and grow some more to share with our neighbors.When you think about all the water and landscaping labor that goes into 'window-dressing' and curb appeal, might as well grow it without poisons and grow something delicious to eat, a good example is blueberries.

Fava bean cover crop in my neighbor's plot. You'll be seeing more from this master gardener, check out his setup. No one maximizes space like this gardener. One thing I love about community gardens is I get to see what others are doing and copy it!

Ah the freedom of a garden....you can go ahead and make a funky trellis if you want to, no building codes and contractors and permits. Speakin of which, keep your eye out for early spring pruning, and use some of those branches for a trellis for peas, they're free too.

A neighboring kohlrabi crop--this was planted in the fall too and is now ready for the kitchen.

A nice crop of garlic, sown in the fall for summer harvest. It's not too late to plant more here.

I could almost take a nap in here, it's so nice and warm and sheltered, wonder what they'll put in here? It's a nice likkle hoop house, they took a raised bed, and stuck the pvc pipe hoops into the ground, then homeland security-grade plastic held onto the pipe with clips. You could start hundreds of plants in here, plus extend the season by a couple months, pretty cool.

My Day Off

2009-03-06T20:33:00.001-08:00

My view in the community garden, I'm surprised only a couple people are here. We may get a little snow in a couple days, but things are growing and the sun is shining sweet today.

I filled in by the fence with more garlic (use what's sprouting in the kitchen first), and some shell peas. It's old seed but it's early so I can afford to gamble. I keep adding to the soil with goodies. I expanded down the fenceline and transplanted some broccoli starts that survived the winter here.

This is it, my pride & joy, my 4' x 8' box at the community garden. This beauty can grow some food! It's in resting mode with the mulch blanket for the winter. I pulled over 60 lbs. of tomatoes out of here last year, it was a good year. Plus, peas, beans, leeks, basil, potatoes, onions, lettuce, pak choi and strawberries around the back. Some stuff I did in pots; this year I'll be using Potato Bags, a cool container I found at Gardeners' Supply, nice and big and under $10.

I pulled the mulch off to start warming up the soil, and threw it into the tomato cages to save space and dry it out. Moved around some transplants. I'll keep spreading these out as they grow and eating some too.

The soil is so beautiful, I just put in some compost and limestone and called it good. I don't really till much at this point, don't want to disturb the network of teeming life below the surface. Why do I think this way?

Some early influences: The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins, The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, The Magic of Findhorn, Permaculture by Mollison, How to Grow More Veg Than You Ever Thought Possible by Jeavons, and How to Have a Green Thumb without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout. All amazing books that you can probably find in the library.

And soon, a discussion of organic methods...

So Far, So Good

2009-03-06T20:21:00.000-08:00

Lots of peas are up now--these were the old seed tests I did. Cool! It's easier to monitor them inside while conditions are iffy and they are vulnerable. They seem happy.

My tomato and pepper starts with leeks, pac choi and others. I put a few seeds in each peat pot, I'll split em up when they get a couple sets of true leaves. Since I'm planting in a fertile sign, I wonder how long they'll take to sprout. Another experiment.

March 4

March 5

Porch is shapin up...

according to di plan...

March Forward

2009-02-28T18:03:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-23T15:32:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

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.....

2009-02-13T20:21:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-12T10:02:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-10T18:13:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-08T09:43:00.000-08:00

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"

2009-02-06T08:01:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-02-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-05T11:13:00.000-08:00

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...