The Zombie Apocalypse : Yet Another Reason to Garden

I don't really watch a lot of TV.  That isn't to say I'm adverse to television.  In fact, quite the opposite, I really enjoy quality programming - as long as I don't have to watch commercials.  The problem is there isn't enough time in the day to do everything I have to do on top of everything I want to do.  This means I watch most shows on demand or after they come out on Netflix.

So that brings me to my recent case of stomach flu and AMC's The Walking Dead.  Over the course of those two days in bed I watched all of season 2 and part of season 3.  Now, I know a lot - A LOT - of people don't like horror anything - for reasons - but this show is different.  Yes, it's excessively gory.  Yes, it's freaking scary.  But, the story and characters are so well written, so complex, soooo good.  Robert Kirkman is truly a master of his craft.  Plus, it serves as a reminder of why canning tomatoes is so important! 

Keep Calm and Hide Behind Daryl Dixon

I love canning my own tomatoes and sauce.  It's incredibly labor and time intensive but also infinitely rewarding.  My last real canning effort I milled 70 pounds of tomatoes by hand and canned them in a water bath.  It took nearly three days from start to finish.  But the pure satisfaction I received after reaping my red reward was unparalleled.

The harsh reality is that the sauce that resulted from seventy pounds of tomatoes barely lasted a few months - let alone the entire winter.  After giving away jars to friends and family I was left with 3 quarts and about 8 pints if I remember correctly.  It was several years ago so I could be off on the numbers, but it wasn't enough and that much I do remember.

This years varieties - Brandywine OG, Rutgers Heirloom and Roma OG

This year I will be single-stemming all of my tomatoes in hopes of having a good crop in limited space.  I have been struggling to find the right balance between planting big beefy slicing tomatoes - like Brandywine and Rutgers - which are such a treat fresh and the Roma or Paste tomatoes that I will use for canning.  Currently, my garden plan allocates only three squares for Roma and I'm sure that won't even come close to being enough for me.  However, in the interest of having a good variety I decided to supplement my own harvest with tomatoes from the farmers market.  That way I can grow beans and cukes too!  After all it's prime real estate along the trellis - and my love of homemade pickles is almost equal to my love for tomato sauce.

I'm always looking for recommendations if anyone has a favorite sauce or slicing tomato.

The "Lipstick Walker" - She's sexy, dead or alive.

Sugar High

Caleb and I recently started allowing our daughter to indulge in things like M&M's, cookies and the ilk.  I grew up with a Grandfather who religiously took us to buy penny candy at the local joints and doled out gum and other sweets from his personal stash like all the best grandparents do.  I've never had a bad association with sweets,  nor a single cavity and conversely never craved sweets as an adult.  I always had a taste for salty over sweet.

When I was in high school my friend Marisa told me that her parents wouldn't allow her to have "real" sugar because she was "hyper-active" and instead offered her one of those nasty, aspartame-laden, multicolored lozenges that proudly displayed their "Sugar Free" label while insidiously hiding a bevy of harmful sugar substitutes now widely accepted to cause illnesses like cancer and Alzheimers.  Sugar, in excess, causes its own plethora of infirmities but, in moderation, is one of life's enjoyable and acceptable rewards - like bacon.

Free of sugar but full of cancer - YUM!

So, that's my argument for sugar and in defense of our decision to give sweets (and bacon) to our daughter.

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Yesterday, Chloe woke up, rubbed her still puffy eyes, looked up at me and with the sweetest smile on her face and said "Choc-rate?"  I had to laugh, it was funny - and also terrifying.  I gently explained to her that "We don't eat chocolate for breakfast, honey."  To which her quick reply was, "Cookie?"

This, THIS is the reason I didn't want to give her candy to begin with and I am quickly regretting my decision.  Lucky for us, she's quite an agreeable child - most of the time - and like many toddlers you can use distraction to direct her attention towards some other delicious food that she also loves - most of the time.

I like these - they have more protein than regular yogurt and they have pictograms on the package!  And these.  Both work as a substitute for other non-nutritious junk food but I always feel like I should be making this stuff myself.  

So, I've decided to try this recipe for homemade Chocolate Chip Coconut "Cliff" Bars.  I am conservatively optimistic that they will taste just as good, if not better, than store bought Cliff Bars. 

The recipe I chose calls for something called PB2.  Which, after a little searching, I found out was powdered peanut butter.  I will see if I can find it at the local health food store before ordering it online, though since I've never heard of it before today I'm not holding out too much hope.

  

 

Thrifty Consumer or Stage 1 Hoarder

I love Pinterest.  Some of my favorite things to source on Pinterest are DIY projects using shipping pallets.  I'll be the first to admit that 98% of the things that I pin never come into being.

I've made the odd recipe and I attempted a gingerbread cityscape in a jar for my mom for Christmas. Complete with antique blue glass jar and snapping glass top - very classy.  The jar was beautiful, the cookies were delicious (mostly because I added cocoa powder), but in my haste I cut all of my little skyscrapers too big and not one of them fit inside the jar!  I was forced to give her the cookies on a plate with an empty jar...less than stellar.

 

Mine looked exactly like that - just picture all of the cookies on a plate and an empty jar and voila!

So, when I approached my husband about the possibility of building a small fence out of recycled shipping pallets he was, at the very least, dubious.


Caleb: "Where are you going to get them?"

me: "The dump."

Caleb: "You're kidding right?  And, where will you put them?  I seriously hope you're not planning on stacking them up in the back yard.  What  are we hoarders now?  Just because it's free doesn't mean it's good."

me: "I could always put them in the basement."

Caleb: "..."

I admit, this is a solid argument against "collecting" pallets.  They are cumbersome and moderately unattractive especially when piled up in your too-small backyard.  But (and this is a big BUT), their inherent value can't be denied.  For the most part, they are structurally sound, often single-use shipping pallets which are made of solid wood and can be easily modified or broken down entirely. 

Build a pallet fence by Clay Sawyer.

I've moved on from the idea of building a fence since we a) don't need one and b) don't own this house but, I never gave up on the pallets.  In fact, I'm quite sure we can easily break them down in order to construct our raised beds.  My looming concern now is that I am ill-equipped to tell whether or not the wood has been treated.  The last thing I want is to build an edible garden bed out of wood soaked in toxic chemicals which then leach out into the organic uber-soil that I just spent multiple dollars and hours preparing.

Any must see Gardening Boards out there?  I'm always looking to feed my addiction.

One of the many DIY Pallet Boards I follow can be found here.

Oh no! Not the Parsley...

I am now very confident that it wasn't the Cabbage that I sprayed with Clorox Green Works - it was the Parsley.  I planted 3 Parsley and 3 Cabbage side by side in a partitioned plastic plate.  I was so happy to see them sprouting that I disregarded the obvious fact that all of the cabbage and broccoli had sprouted and none of the parsley.  Such is life.

The trio of Parsley looking less than optimal at day 8.

So, today I move on from what is sure to be the first of many gardening failures this season and plant more Parsley.  This time I am going to germinate the seeds in a paper towel before planting them.  I've used this method many times before and I've always gotten good results.  Plus, there's no chance I will accidentally poison them.    

Gardening Fail : (First of Many) The Incredible Hulking Cabbage

I knew it was a bad idea to try and use my empty Clorox Green Works container as a water spray bottle but I did it anyway - because of reasons.  I cleaned and rinsed it for nearly 3 days trying to remove the cleaner smell.  When I was satisfied that the trace amount of cleaner remaining was negotiable (I mean the stuff says it's "plant based" after all) I went ahead and filled it with water - like an ass.  I even had the foresight to move the bottle with the cleaner to another area, you know, just in case.

The Green Usurper

Well it didn't take but 30 minutes for me to grab the wrong bottle and spray Clorox Green Works directly into one of my seedlings.  I knew something was wrong when I saw bubbles on the surface of the dirt.  I cringed as realization dawned on me.  I immediately decided to try and flush out the cleaner with water.  It was a long shot and, in hindsight, rather stupid since I only sprayed one plant and deluging it with water only served to spread the cleaner to the other tubes by osmosis.  But at this point, I thought, why not? 

Fast forward to yesterday and wouldn't you know, the tainted cabbage was the first to sprout.  I saw one peeking out when I was watering and I was happy, encouraged even.  This morning not one, but all of the cabbage seeds have sprouted.

I never thought they would survive.  Now they are not only sprouting earlier than their predicted 7 days, but all at the same time.  Did I unintentionally Hulk-out my cabbage seeds by spraying them with some radioactive, genetically modified plant based cleaner which also happens to be green?  Great.  I've created a monster. 

I still can't bring myself to throw away the tainted sprouts.  Especially now that they have thrived despite the odds being stacked against them - or sprayed directly on them as it were.  Since their ultimate destiny is to become sauerkraut I'm confident the fermentation process will negate any residual contamination.

Nemo's Jerry-rigged Closet Garden and Pondering Kale

I finished Nemo's Garden yesterday.  Except instead of putting it in the basement which is very, very cold I used my husband's side of the closet!  To be fair, neither of us has many clothes, at least none that fit, so there was plenty of space.  We both enjoyed food heartily whilst I was pregnant and we both gained multiple pounds as a result.

It seems apropos to be growing vegetables in my closet rather than clothes.  Any who, back to the  closet garden.  The adjustable shelving unit - which can be seen here - fit nicely in the closet with room to spare which was surprising and the light was very easy to install.  Everything seems tip-top! 

All I have growing at the moment are some broccoli, cabbage and parsley seeds - none of which actually require light at this stage - but I'm ready and waiting with my brights on!

Nemo's Garden is looking a bit sad and lonely at the moment.

The My Square Foot Garden Newsletter came yesterday.  Cauliflower, collards, kale and mustard greens were added to the "Start Seeds Inside" list.  One thing that I've been struggling with is deciding what to plant and how much of each.  Part of me wants to try everything but my more rational side knows that I am far more likely to need and use onions and broccoli than, say collards or mustard greens.

Now, I love collards and mustard greens as much as the next gal but they aren't something that I regularly buy from the grocery store.  That being said I think they are delicious and I should be eating more greens.  Isn't that the whole point?

And then there is kale.  I have heard "Dino Kale" referred to again and again in gardening videos.  My cousin who lives in an Airstream trailer in Mendecino, CA praises kale as one of her staple foods and grows it in a container outside her door.  Everywhere you look people are talking about kale like it's the secret to life on earth, a miracle food - the edible holy grail.

I probably purchased kale at the grocery store once, maybe twice, last year.  I'm sure this is a deep seeded character flaw, but there it is.  Onions, tomato sauce, pickles and broccoli, on the other hand, I buy almost every trip.  The problem with broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage is you only get one head per square - anything happens to that head and your net gain is 0.  Likewise, you can only put one tomato plant per 9 square feet - unless you prune it to a single stem.  The garden plan I made seems pretty solid but I wish I had more space.

Thanks to some encouragement from +pam lachute and +Quantina Jones  I will be starting my herbs, spinach and tomato trellises asap!  Thanks ladies!

To kale or not to kale?  That is my question.

Nemo's Garden

With another #Superstorm brewing on the east coast, spring seems like a distant memory.  To get a head start I decided to start my seeds indoors - practically a necessity if you live anywhere in the northeast.

To help this process along I purchased the Fluorowing 125 watt CFL grow light at amazon.com.  The total cost for the light - ballast, 125w bulb, mounting hooks and hood - was $47.91 and can be found here.

I chose the CFL because the lower wattage translates directly to less energy usage and a lower electricity bill at the end of the month.  Despite their low wattage they still put out a whopping 7,000 lumens.

I just turned this puppy on and it's bright people - like daylight bright.

 

I have several adjustable stainless steel shelving units lying around in the basement which I think I can convert pretty easily to an adjustable mount for the light to hang on.  Moving the shelf every time I want to raise or lower the light may prove to be a nuisance but you can't beat the price.  They do sell the adjustable ratchet straps here for $12.91 but I am going to try the jerry-rigged version first.  

One of the advantages of this type of light is that it does not put off a lot of heat so it won't burn the seedlings and you can hang the light only a few inches away, intensifying the output on the plants.  The tradeoff is that you have less area underneath the light to put plants. 

I'm using the basement as my make-shift nursery so that means some major re-organization and re-purposing.

--Day 2--

I cleared an area in the basement, but now I'm concerned that it's too cold down there to germintae the seeds so I will keep them in the kitchen for now.  My plan for today was to assemble the shelving so I can install the light.

As is often the case, life has other plans for me which include shoveling snow for several hours in order to get my car out of the driveway.

Since there's normally a 6" step down outside my door I'd say we got just about 6".

It's always a magical feeling when you wake up to a snow covered world so I will take it as the gift that it is and enjoy the snow day with my daughter who is sure to be thrilled when she wakes up. 

The Plot, Smart Pots and Dragon Carrots

Following more advice from My Square Foot Garden I made a plan using Excel.  I also used her companion planting guide which I highly recommend and can be found here.  It's very easy to use and was a big help figuring out what should be planted where.

There's also early and late crops which get rotated but I have yet to tackle that beast.  It is, after all, only February.

I sourced a lot of the seeds that I want to use at Seed Savers Exchange which is a reputable source for hard to find heirloom varieties - their catalog is here.  I will not end up getting all of my seeds from their site - the ones I just planted were from my local garden center - but there are a few which I would have a hard time finding locally like the Mexican Sour Gherkin, Parisian Pickling cucumbers and Dragon Carrot.  Others are more readily available, often organic or at least heirloom and almost always cheaper at local stores.  The catalog is still a great resource for unique heirlooms and I have to stop myself from purchasing six different kinds of everything.  Their descriptions are also wonderful and give an idea of the final taste as well as all the other pertinent growing information.

The Mexican Sour Gherkin - seedsavers.org

Organic Parisian Pickling Cucumber - seedsavers.org

Dragon Carrot - seedsaver.org

I decided to do all of the herbs in containers at my house for easier access when I'm cooking.  I've been looking around at different options and I know I want something inexpensive and also portable so I can make the most of my available light.  I came across the Smart Pot which you can find here and it's probably my first choice.  It seems like a large felt bag with handles for $10 per 3 gallon pot - which seems a little steep but it is very lightweight and also has handles for easy transport.

  
I'm curious if anybody has firsthand experience with these pots and if they are worth the investment?  They have another product which looks intriguing called the Big Bag Bed which is a circular raised bed made out of the same material.  I saw a video of the bed here on YouTube and it looks great.

First Day of the Growing Season

Today marked the first day of our 2013 growing season.  I decided to cultivate a 4'x8' plot in my local community garden.  Luckily the garden is only one block from our house making daily tending a much easier task than having to drive somewhere across town every morning to water and weed.

Upon the advice of one of my professors I decided to try the Square Foot Gardening method founded by Mel Bartholomew in the early 80's which does away with traditional row gardening in favor of smaller raised beds filled with a specific soil blend: 1/3 Coco Fiber/Coir (renewable) or Peat Moss (non-renewable), 1/3 compost and 1/3 Vermiculite (or Perlite). 

Since the last garden I had was more than six years ago and of the traditional row variety I decided to seek assistance as I started planning.  I found a lot of helpful links most notably the My Square Foot Garden blog.  I signed up for her newsletter which very helpfully sends emails reminding you when to start seeds, transplant etc based on your hardiness zone which she assigns a color - I'm yellow.

My "To Do" list for the week of Feb. 1st

On February 1st I got the email alerting me to start my cool weather seeds - which included broccoli, cabbage, leeks and parsley.  A quick trip to the local garden store procured cabbage, broccoli and parsley.  Leeks were nowhere to be found - I also checked Lowe's.

The only cabbage I could find was the "Emiko Hybrid" distributed by Burpee Signature.  This was disappointing and I wish now I had ordered something else from Seed Savers - like the Early Jersey Wakefield - oh my!

I bought organic where possible and got a sustainable, organic (OMRI certified) seed starter mix - $3.57 at Lowe's - and set home to start planting the seeds.  Chloe was also excited - having just been told she could play in the dirt when we got home!

 
And now, when my husband comes home I can prove to him that I wasn't actually "hoarding toilet paper rolls" as he first surmised.