Gardening

Even though summer has waned I'm still busy trying to squeeze in a few more things....winter onions, more peas and spinach and lettuce.

I'm obsessively seed saving too. I bought some beautiful striped eggplant from the farmers market last week just for the seeds. Fall is always what gets me in trouble.

The planning of next years garden is always so exciting. I'll be cursing myself next year when spring opens up and I have way too many projects planned.

Gardening 2008

Gardening is something that gives me a great amount of peace and sense of accomplishment. This time last year we were wallowing in a bumper crop of peppers, tomatoes, squash and zucchini.

Not so this year. After our 3 week vacation I came back to a pretty stressed out garden. Most was turning brown and dying even though I had paid a neighborhood handyman to water everything for me.

I've picked one tomato, one pepper and handful of peas, lettuce & berries. I'm gearing up again though and planting more lettuce, peas & carrots, some spinach & bunching onions. I placed a small order from Seeds of Change, my first. I've read about them over the past year as I follow the trials and tribulations in Big Mama's gardening adventures. Before I plant my new seeds I'm going to move the containers back to last year's spot to see if I do any better. I keep dreaming of the day when I have a large enough space to plant a garden like my Aunt Pauline's. As a kid I was in awe of how many vegetables she grew right outside her back door.

I've been reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle this past week and I'm in love. As an avid user of the local library it's rare that I find a book that I like enough to actually want to own. This is an exception. It's already lead me to place a request for Home Cheesemaking from the library. AVM has so many good tidbits I'm hoping to read it one more time before it's due next week.

I love learning new things, especially things I can make with my hands. I'm utterly buzzing with excitement about the prospect of making homemade mozzarella cheese.

Saugatuck Getaway

I've been blogging less lately because I've got a new job title. I'm now the "CEO" of Saugatuck Getaway.

Our Lake Michigan vacation rental is up and running after our extensive January renovations & a bit of website building. So if ya have a minute check out the site at www.saugatuckgetaway.com

Tell me what you think! Would you take a vacation there?

Bumper Crop

I'm lovin the garden right now. I wish I could grow lawn in little pots. This year's garden helps me plan next years garden and what I need to do differently. First I need to plant ONE tomato plant. Lili and I are the only ones who will eat them. I need to plant half the amount of bell peppers - they have done sooo well and everyone likes them....but we're soooo sick of bell peppers and the plants are still growing strong.

I've started gathering seeds from flowers that I see going to seed (daylilies in parking lots, hibiscus at the zoo) and I'm going to clear out one planter just for flower starts.

I'm going to get my mom and MIL these planters for next year and build some stands for them. My mom even printed out the above picture and showed all her neighbors what her citified daughter is growing. I love it.

That Soda will Kill You

A huge U.S. study of middle-aged adults has found that drinking more than one soft drink a day - even a sugar-free diet brand - may be associated with an elevated risk for metabolic syndrome, a cluster of factors that boosts the chance of having a heart attack or stroke and developing diabetes.

"We found that one or more sodas per day increases your risk of new-onset metabolic syndrome by about 45 per cent, and it did not seem to matter if it was regular or diet," Dr. Ramachandran Vasan, senior investigator for the Framingham Heart Study, said Monday from Boston.

Wow. My mom and I often have this conversation where I ask how she did it with 6 kids and she says she didn't have all the "junk" that messes up parenthood. The more news stories like this that come out the more I think she's right.

We still have this back and forth conversation about convenience items though. Like paper towels. My mom started out washing clothes in a creek on a washboard, then a tub style ringer washer and a clothesline to dry. The thought of less laundry to her is like hitting a goldmine. She knows about "going green" but still loves her disposable tree-killing-landfill-filling paper towels. LOL I don't fuss at her too much though....cause lord knows I have a hard enough time keeping up with laundry as it is....and all I have to do is push a button.

Fresh peas

I am thoroughly enjoying myself as a gardener this season! I love my Garden Patch boxes because it makes it so easy to see success. I started out just growing on the balcony of our loft and I've expanded my garden to the back yard. I keep dreaming of next years garden and how much bigger it's going to be. We're already enjoying the sweetest sugar snap peas and my lettuce should be salad size soon.

I checked out a couple of books from the library this week on sustainable farming and mindful eating. I'm especially liking Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall (the chimpanzee lady). As our garden keeps growing I'm becoming more excited about preparing meals. I often struggle with food in general but I'm feeling less stress about it right now as I see it go from seed to plate. I've been reading Sarah's blog and I'm going to use her Kale recipe on some swiss chard I bought at the farmers market this past weekend.

Now if only those tomatoes would hurry up!

No Impact Man

Every once in a while I happen upon a blog that draws me in. Like a good book I can't stop reading, can't stop telling my friends about it.

Check out No Impact Man

His blog description is "A guilty liberal finally snaps, swears off plastic, goes organic, becomes a bicycle nazi, turns off his power, composts his poop and, while living in New York City, generally turns into a tree-hugging lunatic that tries to save the polar bears and the rest of the planet from environmental catastrophe while dragging his baby daughter and Prada-wearing, Four Seasons-loving wife along for the ride.

I'm in awe....but even if you think he's crazy....it's like a car wreck....you have to look.