Posts Tagged ‘gardening’

Out of Balance

Saturday, July 17th, 2010

Ever since planting began in April, I’ve felt chained to the garden.  Planting took f-o-r-e-v-e-r.  Then there was weeding, mulching, harvesting (digging up carrots), preserving and agonizing as some plants succumbed to disease and/or bugs.  Yes, we’ve gained an abundance of tomatoes and carrots, and a decent crop of onions, but was it worth it? 

Sweat aside, there’s one thing that has suffered this summer besides my time and muscles, and I think that may be my kids.  So often, I couldn’t convince them to join me in the garden.  Yes, they did enjoy the mud play at first, but soon enough they were ready to move on.  At ages 3 and 5, I guess the outrageous heat outweighed their interest in plants.  I get that.  My garden is full sun; I mean FULL sun, and lots of gardening work is rather repetitive.

So they did other things:  a little sandbox time, some bickering and lots of bike riding.  I don’t know if they noticed what we didn’t do: hardly any book reading, virtually no fun art projects and fewer playgroups.  In the last 2 weeks I’ve about thrown in the towel with my gardening.  The carrots and onions are out, I’ve already sauced tomatoes twice, the corn is a lost cause and the pumpkins don’t need me.  As a result, I’ve been able to refocus my energy on planning for our next homeschool year (which begins early August), restocking our library stash and busting out this fun art project, inspired by The Artful Parent.

This is the largest collage Aria’s done, and she enjoyed every minute.  I traced her body on butcher paper and let her have at it.  Liam, who was feeling a little under the weather, cuddled with me as we watched.  It felt so gooooood to support her this way.  Look at this funky hand!

I know that many moms can find a balance between gardening and investing time in their children.  Maybe it’s because I work part time (5 days a week) or maybe it’s because this was my first garden, but I just didn’t.  I’m thinking I need a MUCH smaller garden next year or maybe none at all.  The garden can wait; my children won’t.  And, honestly, I enjoy parenting much more!

Share

Tags: , ,
Posted in Family Culture | 2 Comments »

The Tomato Saucing Experience

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

What do you have when you and your mother plant 8 tomato plants EACH?  How about 35 lbs of tomatoes, and the season has just begun!

To be fair, a chunk of that harvest was donated by my generous mother-in-law who also has a flourishing kitchen garden.  When my mom and I took stock of our ripe tomatoes early this week, we decided to sauce on Tuesday.  Now, neither of us has done this before – either processing tomatoes or canning.  And, unfortunately, my experienced friend was out of town.  But, when the tomatoes are ready, what choice do you have?

We settled on a seasoned tomato sauce recipe that I hoped would pass for a basic spaghetti sauce.  I doctor up store bought spaghetti sauce for our meals, and hoped this would be a replacement for that purchase.  But, the recipe called for 45 lbs of tomatoes.  My mom, a very confident cook, suggested we make no adjustments.  What’s wrong with a little extra flavor?  In fact, she insisted we add more garlic than the recipe called for and also had me add 3 tbsp of her personal spice mix (which I’ll admit smelled perfect). 

I chopped pretty little purple onions from my mom’s garden, when we ran out of her store bought onion stash.  Aren’t the stems pretty? 

My mother cored and quarters about a million tomatoes.  We could barely fit them into 3 large pots.  I had to squish the tomatoes down with my hands in order to add the seasonings!  Instead of blanching the tomatoes to remove the skins and seeds, we simmered them as is in spices for 20 minutes.  Then, we used a Vitamix to puree the mixture – seeds, skin and all.  It came out incredibly smooth, and I figure we saved time and food.

Can you guess the results?  Oooh, spicy!  I tasted the sauce before we cooked it down by half, so I can only imagine how crazy-hot it is now.  There is absolutely no way we could consume it as is, but my mom says to think of it as spaghetti sauce in a condensed form!  I’ll be adding tomato sauce to it when I’m ready to make spaghetti.   

By the way, 35 lbs of tomatoes + 1 whole day of cooking = 8 quarts of SPICY tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce.  Somehow that jar of organic spaghetti sauce seems worth purchasing now!  Still, I’m proud to be eating local, organic food that we’ve raised ourselves.  It’s very “Radical Homemaker”, you know?

Share

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Eco-Friendly Living | 3 Comments »

First Harvest

Thursday, June 10th, 2010

Eating well and eating sustainably rarely gets better than backyard gardening.  This year we put in our first garden ever.  It was hard going.  But largely thanks to help from my mom, it did go in.  Here’s a montage from about 2 weeks ago:

May Garden

This week we took our first harvest, just in time for snacks. Those carrots are baby carrots that were “thinned” to allow others more room to grow. Yum!

First Harvest

Better Boy yielded three large, ripe beauties. Technically, Celebrity sported our first ripe full-sized tomatoe… but my 3-year-old picked and sqooshed it under his shoe before I could say “NO!” That’s real life gardening with children!

How does your garden grow?

Share

Tags: , ,
Posted in Healthy Living | Comments Off

Springtime Gardening Woes

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

I haven’t planted a single seed, but I’m already worn thin by springtime gardening.  This is our first stab at planting a vegetable plot.  Ordering seeds and making a garden plan was easy and cheap.  But now it seems like everyday our list of things to purchase and work to do grows longer.

According to Gardener’s Supply Company, I’m a “reluctant gardener.”  While I plant bulbs with cheer and confidence, the rest of it fails to entice me.  In contrast, my 5-year-old daughter has an in-born love of plants.  I suppose it skips a generation, since her grandmother is a decided green thumb.  Aria has faithfully tended a bean seed (brought home in a paper cup) with such success that daddy built it a trellis.  And, she is SO excited about our garden, harboring endless fantasies of what she’ll plant in her garden someday. 

So, we have to garden.  Besides our daughter’s ardent desire, we also have plenty of land and a huge, flat sunny spot that’s begging to grow food.  And, I do believe in growing your own food when you can.  While I tried to start “small”, one thing leads to another and the expenses add up:

1. 6′ Deer Fence:  Neighbors regale us with tales of garden-decimating local deer.  My husband has seen flowers along the garage disappear overnight.  A high fence isn’t cheap.  My husband will build the gate himself and install everything.  Price tag – $260+.  Work load – Major.

2.  Sprinkler System:  The garden plot is rather large (though we’re planting about 1/3 of it this year), so hand-watering would be quite a chore.  We already own a sprinkler system from when we planted grass, so it just makes sense to relocate it to the garden, now that the grass is established.  Still a few more parts must be purchased and a ditch-digger rented twice (oops).  Price tag – $160.  Work load – Major.

3.  Weed Prevention – With so much space in the plot and our minor appreciation for gardening, weed prevention is in order.  Last fall we bought 10 bales of straw to put down on the garden to enrich the soil and stop weeds.  We have yet to spread the straw on the plot.  Price tag – $60.  Work load – Low.

4.  Tomato Cages – I had planned to plant 8 tomato plants.  Why so many?  I’d like to make lots of tomato sauce to allow us to avoid BPA-laden cans.  You need one cage per plant, and they’re pricey!  You can make your own, but grandma gardener says it’s not so easy to make good ones.  I think we’ll just put in four tomato plants this year!  Price tag $74.  Work load – Low.

5.  Raised bed – Our garden plan includes one raised bed for strawberries.  My husband will make a simple wood design.  I’m starting to wonder if we’ll go through with this.  Will the raise bed significantly help in deterring pests and ensuring a more bountiful crop?  Price tag $80.  Work load – Medium.

Phew!  See, I’m exhausted and we aren’t event talking about planting, weeding, tending, etc.  This weekend my husband finished the sprinkler system, and we’ve just start planting.  Yes, we’re late.  I do hope we meet with some success this year, because I’m already jaded.   Wish me luck!

Share

Tags:
Posted in Family Culture | 2 Comments »

Start Composting Now – 8 Steps to Carefree Composting

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

I will plant my first vegetable garden spring of next year.  I will.  I really will… I hope.  It makes me nervous, actually, but I’ve just got to take the plunge. 

If you also aspire to grow your own food, you’ll want to get started this fall.  Yes, gardening starts in the fall!  The very first step is to start composting.  Here’s an article for all composting newbies, posted with permission from the Healthy Child Healthy World Blog and authored by Aviva Goldfarb:

8 Steps to Carefree Composting

Composting is one of Mother Nature’s miracles – it turns organic waste (like grass clippings, raked leaves, veggie peelings, fruit rinds and other produce leftovers) into rich soil. And it is one of the easiest things the average family can do to reduce their footprint and help the environment naturally. Just think, by turning everyday waste into compost, you can not only reduce the amount of garbage picked up curbside, hauled by fossil fuel operated trucks and dumped into landfills, but you will also gain free, 100 percent natural, organic fertilizer for your garden, flowerbeds and lawn.

While many of us have heard about the benefits to composting, we have hesitated starting this project because we are afraid it is complicated, messy and yet another household chore that is unlikely to get done. But in reality, there are easy ways to get started, and the benefits are vast. Here are some tips for composting simply without the mess and fuss.

1.  Start small. One of the most common mistakes of any gardening project is to get over ambitious, and then stare at a half complete project for months, drenched in guilt. You can simply start with a plastic bin or a designated corner where you dump organic refuse. As you enjoy the results you can expand to a larger area.

2.  Pick a convenient location. If your compost pile is far from your kitchen or your garden, you will be unlikely to visit it when the weather is cold or rainy. You don’t really even need a “bin.” You can simply make a pile of leaves in the corner of the yard and add material to it. Keep a plastic bin (with a tight fitting lid, of course) under your sink for compostable kitchen waste, and add it to your bin (or pile) when it’s full.

3.  Stay with “brown” and “green” materials. Brown materials, as the name implies are dried pine needles, leaves and dead plants. Green materials are “wet” fresh grass clippings and kitchen waste, such as vegetable peels, orange peels, watermelon rinds, egg shells (without egg contents), and coffee grounds (with filter paper). You can even add shredded newspaper and brown paper if you’re feeling adventurous.

4.  Avoid adding meats, oils and fruits. While Mother Nature eventually breaks down anything, these materials are also likely to attract rodents and slow down the overall composting process.

5.  Keep things moist. Water is needed to attract worms, bacteria and fungi. If you live in a dry area or have dry seasons you can water with a hose and then place a plastic cover on top to conserve the water and heat.

6.  Mixing optional. Contrary to many guides, turning your compost pile is not necessary – it merely accelerates the process.

7.  Compost season. While you can compost year-round, compost will develop more quickly during the warm growing season when your garden and lawn is at its peak. So, don’t worry if you seem to be adding material every day or two during the spring and summer because nature will also have the composting process on overdrive.

8.  Finally (after 6 – 12 months) you can enjoy the “fruits” of your labor! Sprinkle your compost on your lawn and garden, once it turns into dark and sweet smelling dirt, and enjoy the beautiful flowers, vegetables and fruits that your own rich soil will inspire.

 Aviva Goldfarb is the author and founder of The Six O’Clock Scramble®, an online weekly menu planner and cookbook to help busy families put easy, healthy and delicious meals on the table each and every night.

healthychildhealthyworldCourtesy of Healthy Child Healthy World: a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit inspiring parents to protect young children from harmful chemicals.

Share

Tags: , ,
Posted in Eco-Friendly Living | Comments Off