J at Veg*n cooking... picked up on this meme and I was shocked to see how full my own list was, so shocked in fact I decided to brag
1. Started my own blog – umm yeah
2. Slept under the stars – my ideal definition of camping includes the tent only as a contingency should it rain.
3. Played in a band – several actually, though never to the extent I would have liked to
4. Visited Hawaii – two years ago, I visited my best bud since first grade, his wife and my godson
5. Watched a meteor shower – yep
6. Given more than I can afford to charity -- I don't know what the definition of more than I can afford is but I have given, to varying degrees, though sadly not as much as I would like
7. Been to Disneyland/world - couple times, I have family in Fullerton, which is about 15 minutes away from Anaheim
8. Climbed a mountain – technically it was called a mountain, but it hardly seemed like it
9. Held a praying mantis –I don't remember if it was a mantis or katydid
10. Sung a solo – a couple of times in school, and in the band (see above)
11. Bungee jumped – um no, never, no plans to
12. Visited Paris – eventually, though not yet
13. Watched lightning at sea – never had the good fortune to see it
14. Taught myself an art from scratch – is life an art? I taught myself a few artistic things which I do with varying degrees of proficiency.
15. Adopted a child – two actually
16. Had food poisoning – got served a dip that I was told was Veg-safe but had chicken stock, I was not well for a few days, lets leave it at that.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty – I try to avoid NYC though I imagine at some point my wife will take me
18. Grown my own vegetables –heck YEAH!
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France – not yet
20. Slept on an overnight train –I think when I was about 5 we took a train back from Cali, but I don't have much of a memory of it.
21. Had a pillow fight – yeah I think so
22. Hitchhiked –no thanks
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill. – usually happens at least once a year
24. Built a snow fort – yes but it was a long time ago
25. Held a lamb – yep
26. Gone skinny dipping – yes, in fact with enough starlight my pale complexion reflects well enough to light up the whole neighborhood
27. Run a Marathon – no way
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice – no, but assuming climate change doesn't make it impossible, I'd like to eventually
29. Seen a total eclipse – yep
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset – both
31. Hit a home run – sigh...no
32. Been on a cruise – yes
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person – pretty much everyone who lives in NY state has at some point
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors – I'd love to go to ireland eventually
35. Seen an Amish community – seen amish people & buggies, but not a community per se
36. Taught myself a new language – bits and pieces of Japanese and Italian, but I'm more focused on Latin right now
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied – I have enough now, but the banks I owe would disagree.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person – Nope.
39. Gone rock climbing – no but I would consider it
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David – eventually
41. Sung karaoke – yes, numerous times
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt – not a priority but I would pass it up either
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant – don't think I have
44. Visited Africa – not yet, though I'd love to see egypt
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight – yep, hawaii
46. Been transported in an ambulance – Thankfully, no.
47. Had my portrait painted – sketched...in an art class
48. Gone deep sea fishing – no desire to do so
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person – yes, and it was amazing
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris – someday probably
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling –yes and its was amazing
52. Kissed in the rain – yes though I really don't see what the attraction is. Seems like one of those things that is romantic simply because people say its supposed to be romantic.
53. Played in the mud – numerous times
54. Gone to a drive-in theater – saw WALL e
55. Been in a movie. – not that I know of
56. Visited the Great Wall of China –nop
57. Started a business – not unless you count a lemonade stand
58. Taken a martial arts class – a couple, sadly I did not have the time to pursue it more seriously
59. Visited Russia – nope
60. Served at a soup kitchen – yep
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies – sold popcorn in cub scouts, does that count?
62. Gone whale watching – Whale watching? yeah, saw a couple whales but it wasnt really that exciting
63. Got flowers for no reason – given yes, gotten no
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma – no and the blood bank's policy regarding donating within a year of your last tattoo has thwarted that for some time.
65. Gone sky diving – jumping out of a perfectly good airplane is ingratitude towards the plane and pilot
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp – no
67. Bounced a check – yes, I was still trying to wrap my head around the issue of cash flow
68. Flown in a helicopter – yep in hawaii
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy – my mom recently uncovered the teddy bear I was given in the hospital when I was born
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial – yes
71. Eaten caviar – blech, no
72. Pieced a quilt – Nope.
73. Stood in Times Square – unfortunately yes
74. Toured the Everglades – no
75. Been fired from a job – no thankfully
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London – No.
77. Broken a bone – Toes, toes, toes. Nothing else thankfully and I hope that I never do!< taken directly from J, but it applies
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle – yes
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person – nope
80. Published a book – I've started writing a couple, but much like most of the people who want to be writers, I lack the discipline to actually keep writing.
81. Visited the Vatican –yep, pretty cool actually
82. Bought a brand new car – a couple of times, though I doubt I ever will again
83. Walked in Jerusalem – no
84. Had my picture in the newspaper – as a kid
85. Read the entire Bible – not quite but I'll get there
86. Visited the White House – during the reagan administration, though it would be cool to see it again.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – as a kid and its probably one of the reasons I'm vegetarian now
88. Had chickenpox – yep, in fifth grade I think
89. Saved someone’s life – she said I did, but I think it would have just been a bad fall down the stairs
90. Sat on a jury – not yet knock on wood
91. Met someone famous – I sat in front of Richard Kind at a production of "Big River" but honestly I never said a word, I didn't want to bother him, and the play was so amazing I didn't really care.
92. Joined a book club – nope, unless you count my brother and I
93. Lost a loved one – my Grandfather's death was one of the hardest moments in my life.
94. Had a baby – biologically impossible considering my gender, but if you mean participate in making a baby, no, we adopted instead of having our own.
95. Seen the Alamo in person – never considered it
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake – not a priority
97. Been involved in a law suit - my company has, but not me personally
98. Owned a cell phone – unfortunately yes
99. Been stung by a bee – bunch of times as a kid
100. Ridden an elephant – I think I may have as a kid, though I would not choose to now
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Thinking in charts
I've confessed my love of the visual before, but this time around I decided to actually come up with something original. Its part of a much larger plan I'm brewing, but this seems to be the core of my thoughts. It seems like there are so many individual projects that get passed around and talked about, that unless you have spent some time in a permaculture book, or are fairly well versed in all things sustainable, that you might have difficulty putting things into perspective. Here is my version of the map in visual terms what books like "The self sufficient suburban gardener" put in words.
Obviously there are a lot of things left out, but I think its a decent place to start. I seem to be short on time lately, and I know I need to finish the section on prepared storage and animals, but you get the gist of it. Anything I have left out? Disagree with anything?
Obviously there are a lot of things left out, but I think its a decent place to start. I seem to be short on time lately, and I know I need to finish the section on prepared storage and animals, but you get the gist of it. Anything I have left out? Disagree with anything?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
minor developments
In the sunroom project, apparently we either lose 1'2" off the front or wait till february for an opportunity to obtain a variance. The Company has offered to cut a substantial deal if we shrink a tad and proceed now, so we took it. Onward, and more waiting.
It would appear there has been some consolidation of the change.org recommendations. Victory Garden on the whitehouse lawn has now become "Green the Whitehouse" I must confess I both love and hate the green moniker. On the one hand it makes the concept of conservation and such more accessable to the public at large. On the other hand it makes it trendy and thus doomed to be over with, and is a faaar to big a tent, including in the idea of green the ludicrous notion of things like "clean" (lie) coal" and other feel good greenwashing tokenism. Its fine if the heading Green includes specific actions like gardening, modern appliances, conservation practices, and the restoration of solar panels on the roof that were originally implemented by Carter, then torn down by Bonzo.
Its fine to make this a big tent idea, but lets keep the specifics clear.
Monsanto is at it again, and made seed saving a priority this year.
It would appear there has been some consolidation of the change.org recommendations. Victory Garden on the whitehouse lawn has now become "Green the Whitehouse" I must confess I both love and hate the green moniker. On the one hand it makes the concept of conservation and such more accessable to the public at large. On the other hand it makes it trendy and thus doomed to be over with, and is a faaar to big a tent, including in the idea of green the ludicrous notion of things like "clean" (lie) coal" and other feel good greenwashing tokenism. Its fine if the heading Green includes specific actions like gardening, modern appliances, conservation practices, and the restoration of solar panels on the roof that were originally implemented by Carter, then torn down by Bonzo.
Its fine to make this a big tent idea, but lets keep the specifics clear.
Monsanto is at it again, and made seed saving a priority this year.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Monkey see Monkey do, I've got another book review
Katie at Gardenpunks just reviewed the perennial favorite (pun intended) Gaia's Garden, and I can't say I disagree with a single word she typed.
I like to hear myself talk, or type as it were, so it was kind of disappointed that I could not flex my more garrulous tendencies in response beyond a simple "right on, i agree, me too"
So I dug out one of my favorites to share.
The Self Sufficient Suburban Gardener by Jeff Ball is an out of print hardcover book from rodale press. Why it is out of print I will never know, perhaps it popularity during the initial print was not what rodale was hoping. It may have just been out before its time, regardless, its time has come.
While the book is by no means exhaustive, it is quite useful in one regard that I don't think has been truly filled and that is as a aerial view of sorts. It paints a roadmap of what the goal is for most of us. That being the transformation of our consumption only plots of land into something capable of providing a net gain beyond just a simple garden. Lots of people have gardens, this plan goes several steps further. This would be a great book to loan a friend who is more than a bit curious about "whats with the trees and stuff. "
Beyond its use in evangelism and outreach, it does one thing I think even converts like myself need. It breaks the whole project down into phases. Its easy to look at something like Path to Freedom and say "That is where I want to go with my life, but wow, there is a lot that needs to be done, where do I start and how do I get to steps 2,3,4 and so on."
Here's the caveat, if they wanted to make the book perfect it would have taken several volumes. It glosses over some things that really need deeper exploration. Were I to design a curriculum, this would be the trunk of the tree, and the discussion of each of the phases would require a different book to augment the material on any given branch. The basic intensive planting and bed preparation chapter needs support from something like "How to Grow more Vegetables..." The chapter about extending the seasons demands you read "Four season Harvest" to get the finer points.
That being said, as many of you may be suspecting, I love detail, charts, diagrams, deep deep detail. So perhaps a more courageous person could take this book, jump in head first, and be totally fine. But just because the roadmap is zoomed back does not make it useless. I refer to this time and time again.
It assumes the reader is convinced of the necessity of such things, and there is little beyond "save some money, eat some quality food" in terms of why these steps are necessary, if you need a convincer look elsewhere, if you need a map, look here.
Grade: A-
This actually gives me an idea, stay tuned.
I like to hear myself talk, or type as it were, so it was kind of disappointed that I could not flex my more garrulous tendencies in response beyond a simple "right on, i agree, me too"
So I dug out one of my favorites to share.
The Self Sufficient Suburban Gardener by Jeff Ball is an out of print hardcover book from rodale press. Why it is out of print I will never know, perhaps it popularity during the initial print was not what rodale was hoping. It may have just been out before its time, regardless, its time has come.
While the book is by no means exhaustive, it is quite useful in one regard that I don't think has been truly filled and that is as a aerial view of sorts. It paints a roadmap of what the goal is for most of us. That being the transformation of our consumption only plots of land into something capable of providing a net gain beyond just a simple garden. Lots of people have gardens, this plan goes several steps further. This would be a great book to loan a friend who is more than a bit curious about "whats with the trees and stuff. "
Beyond its use in evangelism and outreach, it does one thing I think even converts like myself need. It breaks the whole project down into phases. Its easy to look at something like Path to Freedom and say "That is where I want to go with my life, but wow, there is a lot that needs to be done, where do I start and how do I get to steps 2,3,4 and so on."
Here's the caveat, if they wanted to make the book perfect it would have taken several volumes. It glosses over some things that really need deeper exploration. Were I to design a curriculum, this would be the trunk of the tree, and the discussion of each of the phases would require a different book to augment the material on any given branch. The basic intensive planting and bed preparation chapter needs support from something like "How to Grow more Vegetables..." The chapter about extending the seasons demands you read "Four season Harvest" to get the finer points.
That being said, as many of you may be suspecting, I love detail, charts, diagrams, deep deep detail. So perhaps a more courageous person could take this book, jump in head first, and be totally fine. But just because the roadmap is zoomed back does not make it useless. I refer to this time and time again.
It assumes the reader is convinced of the necessity of such things, and there is little beyond "save some money, eat some quality food" in terms of why these steps are necessary, if you need a convincer look elsewhere, if you need a map, look here.
Grade: A-
This actually gives me an idea, stay tuned.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
winter again
and the seedlings are getting bigger. This will be the second year of starting perennials waaay early indoors and letting them essentially become potbound by the time the soil is right for transplanting. I had fantastic results last year with this technique, once in the ground they all seemed to just explode and fill in the area early, eliminating the need to weed around them. In fact, some transplants got downright huge the first season. The wormwood ended up as big around as a beach ball as did the valerian and fennel.
But I still need more. Right now there are about 20 different species of plants that inhabit the area by the pond. Per my motto of "throw diversity at the problem" that simply wont do. I need more variety to attract more insects, birds, etc who hopefully on their way to this spot, will stop over in the garden and eat a few pests or pollinate a few flowers.
Here is what is in there right now
wormwood (standard and sweet annie), asiatic lillies, north american water lilly, calla lilly, valerian, fennel, roman chamomile, echinacea, feverfew, lavender, rosemary, common sage, creeping thyme, wild ginger, ginseng, garlic chive, Lamb's ear, mint, lemon balm, bee balm, borage, st. John's wort, hyssop, valerian, and a pair of pawpaw trees.
I've started sorrel, soapwort and skullcap, I'd appreciate suggestions of perennials or easily self sowing annuals to add to this. Even better, if anyone wants to trade some seed I have leftovers of pretty much everything on the list that should still be good, most is only a year old and has
been kept dry and dark.
I'm particularly interested if any of your suggestions can be made into tea, chamomile is nice, but I am kind of tiring of it, which is fine because I'm starting to run low.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Why I dont support small farms...
Its the same reason I don't support the troops...
(here's a hint, I do, but I think the notion of "support" is a feelgood excuse to abandon the need for action)
The number 2 suggestion in change.org for ag. policy is to support small farms. I think thats great, but exactly how do we do that when small farms just cant compete on terms that the average American can accept. The second we begin to pull subsidies on mega agriculture, their puppets in the media will cry out that the ones who will be hurt the most are small farmers and poor people who cant afford food anymore. And people will buy it.
Here is why I think a victory garden in the front lawn of the whitehouse is the superior choice. President elect Obama no matter what you think of his political persuasion has demonstrated one irrefutable fact. The man can inspire. A victory garden in the whitehouse lawn will put more gardens across America, it will get people thinking more about how they can personally be a part of a changing food economy, and it will get them thinking about local food sources, i.e. small farms. To truly cause a resurgence in small farms there has to be demand, supply side economics (cheap abundance, incentivized monoculture, industrial reliance) is what brought us to the point of giant agriculture domination. Demand side will force the discussion back on to preferable terms. Having the truest definition of mainstream (the president) tout the virtues of raising food first at home, shifts the discussion from the fringes into terms that get everyone interested. I can talk till I'm blue in the face about why its better to raise and buy locally, but I'm one of "those people." I am a walking definition of the stereotypical bleeding heart yuppie granola. The president is not.
The perception of the messenger is often just as important as the validity of the message.
(here's a hint, I do, but I think the notion of "support" is a feelgood excuse to abandon the need for action)
The number 2 suggestion in change.org for ag. policy is to support small farms. I think thats great, but exactly how do we do that when small farms just cant compete on terms that the average American can accept. The second we begin to pull subsidies on mega agriculture, their puppets in the media will cry out that the ones who will be hurt the most are small farmers and poor people who cant afford food anymore. And people will buy it.
Here is why I think a victory garden in the front lawn of the whitehouse is the superior choice. President elect Obama no matter what you think of his political persuasion has demonstrated one irrefutable fact. The man can inspire. A victory garden in the whitehouse lawn will put more gardens across America, it will get people thinking more about how they can personally be a part of a changing food economy, and it will get them thinking about local food sources, i.e. small farms. To truly cause a resurgence in small farms there has to be demand, supply side economics (cheap abundance, incentivized monoculture, industrial reliance) is what brought us to the point of giant agriculture domination. Demand side will force the discussion back on to preferable terms. Having the truest definition of mainstream (the president) tout the virtues of raising food first at home, shifts the discussion from the fringes into terms that get everyone interested. I can talk till I'm blue in the face about why its better to raise and buy locally, but I'm one of "those people." I am a walking definition of the stereotypical bleeding heart yuppie granola. The president is not.
The perception of the messenger is often just as important as the validity of the message.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Calling guild experts
While working on layout for the front yard our family is trying to find a use for the space between each of the fruit trees.
behold my most excellent aerial view of the front yard. The dark green circles in L formation are fruit trees, (apple, peach, plum, pear, apricot)
Can anyone suggest compatible plants from a permaculture perspective? or perhaps a source where I might find this information. Most of the books on the subject I have found do not include the tables and or lists I was hoping for. Which brings me to a minor rant about the "proprietary nature" of permaculture. Granted, I believe in compensating people for their skill and experience, but when information is so critical and may one day be the difference between life and death, keeping those cards so close to the vest seems counter to the mission of the concept.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Last minute additions...
Playmobile, that bastion of blue collar fun now includes black glove occupations.
and Dear God please tell me these poor fellows have good health coverage
And for those of you who noticed the new widget on the left, please spend the 5 minutes to register at change.org and vote for this idea. This is something we should have done on 9/12/01. Turn all that fear and uncertainty into positive, empowering action, rather than shop for stuff we cant afford. True food security will come from a diverse and decentralized system, and our leaders need to take the lead.
and Dear God please tell me these poor fellows have good health coverage
And for those of you who noticed the new widget on the left, please spend the 5 minutes to register at change.org and vote for this idea. This is something we should have done on 9/12/01. Turn all that fear and uncertainty into positive, empowering action, rather than shop for stuff we cant afford. True food security will come from a diverse and decentralized system, and our leaders need to take the lead.
Tis the season
For seed catalogs!
The Miller Nurseries (where my trees come from) and Fedco (where my spuds came from) were expected, but I am not sure where the other two came from, I must be on someone's list. The other two were quite glossy and full of lots of pictures. Neither had an "about us" blurb anywhere to be found, so I don't know if they are independent or simple a storefront for some other big company. Have open pollinated seeds become big business? (again)
The Miller Nurseries (where my trees come from) and Fedco (where my spuds came from) were expected, but I am not sure where the other two came from, I must be on someone's list. The other two were quite glossy and full of lots of pictures. Neither had an "about us" blurb anywhere to be found, so I don't know if they are independent or simple a storefront for some other big company. Have open pollinated seeds become big business? (again)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Holy Helio Harnessing!
Proving yet again that its not just the Unitarians who can get their eco-act together...
The catholic church shows it can roll with the green crowd too!
Eartfirst regales us with a tale of a convent gone green.
To quote a part of the article: "It’s so great to hear about this sort of thing happening – and truly, how better to show gratitude for the wonders of nature than to be a responsible steward of the land and its resources?"
Grist finds a story about the vatican installing a solar array that will produce 6 times the energy that will be needed, with the excess being fed back into the grid. Admittedly, Ratzinger was not my favorite choice for Pope, but he certainly seems to be making an effort to break away from the iron fisted doctrinaire of his previous position.
Its nice to catch such notoriously slow acting institutions such as The Church moving forward faster than some so called pillars of western progress.
The catholic church shows it can roll with the green crowd too!
Eartfirst regales us with a tale of a convent gone green.
To quote a part of the article: "It’s so great to hear about this sort of thing happening – and truly, how better to show gratitude for the wonders of nature than to be a responsible steward of the land and its resources?"
Grist finds a story about the vatican installing a solar array that will produce 6 times the energy that will be needed, with the excess being fed back into the grid. Admittedly, Ratzinger was not my favorite choice for Pope, but he certainly seems to be making an effort to break away from the iron fisted doctrinaire of his previous position.
Its nice to catch such notoriously slow acting institutions such as The Church moving forward faster than some so called pillars of western progress.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
carpe stimuli
hell in a handbasket might perhaps be exaggeration, then again...
A thought provoking post on freedom gardens got me wondering. The neighborhood kid (via parental leading I'm sure) had already made an assumption for the reason behind the garden. I think given the current mood of the nation people are going to start making assumptions about our motives, perhaps placing us in the same category as the perennial survivalist who jealously guards their canned goods with gun in hand.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it presents to the mind of the beholder a clear picture that "THIS IS A WAY OUT OF THE CRISIS" It connects the dots in a way that is so patently obvious that little explanation is needed. On the other hand it limits the perception of the intent of the garden and the gardener to a preconceived notion, and that notion is largely an unpalatable one. Do I want the casual observer to realize that food security is obtainable by our own hands on our own land? Of course, but to limit the perception to just a solution to a crisis merely allows us to survive the current one, it does not prevent the same thing from happening again.
This is not a discussion that can be confined to food security alone. The issue of crisis is merely the stimulus that makes this change of life more palatable to the "rest of the world."
I spend a lot of time wrestling with the urge to speak up, I don't want to be "that guy" but when silence means people assume I'm something else, then I'd happily settle for "that guy."
The skeptical side of me says that people reading tons of other posts and blogs means that there is no such thing as synchronicity, but odd coincidences in subject matter arise so often lately that part of me wants to think it is meaningful. Anyway, Rob at Onestraw has been staring at the big picture and drawn the conclusion that this entire exercise is not about merely surviving the world but changing it into something new. Amen.
A thought provoking post on freedom gardens got me wondering. The neighborhood kid (via parental leading I'm sure) had already made an assumption for the reason behind the garden. I think given the current mood of the nation people are going to start making assumptions about our motives, perhaps placing us in the same category as the perennial survivalist who jealously guards their canned goods with gun in hand.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it presents to the mind of the beholder a clear picture that "THIS IS A WAY OUT OF THE CRISIS" It connects the dots in a way that is so patently obvious that little explanation is needed. On the other hand it limits the perception of the intent of the garden and the gardener to a preconceived notion, and that notion is largely an unpalatable one. Do I want the casual observer to realize that food security is obtainable by our own hands on our own land? Of course, but to limit the perception to just a solution to a crisis merely allows us to survive the current one, it does not prevent the same thing from happening again.
This is not a discussion that can be confined to food security alone. The issue of crisis is merely the stimulus that makes this change of life more palatable to the "rest of the world."
I spend a lot of time wrestling with the urge to speak up, I don't want to be "that guy" but when silence means people assume I'm something else, then I'd happily settle for "that guy."
The skeptical side of me says that people reading tons of other posts and blogs means that there is no such thing as synchronicity, but odd coincidences in subject matter arise so often lately that part of me wants to think it is meaningful. Anyway, Rob at Onestraw has been staring at the big picture and drawn the conclusion that this entire exercise is not about merely surviving the world but changing it into something new. Amen.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Inspiration on two fronts
I've been doing some word of mouth advertising for my gardening class in the spring, trying to get the interest up, and so far I probably have about 5 out of 70 possible definite attendees. And then it hit me...
Why talk about doing this when we can actually set up a rooftop garden at work!? We're a non-profit org, and one of the divisions is responsible for community assistance, why not set up an employee run garden and donate the produce to our food banks? I have been lamenting the fact that downtown Syracuse is full of flat roofed skyscrapers but no one has done anything about it, why not set one up on our "lowscraper" and get some media attention on this.
I don't know how our building and grounds and risk management dept might react, but this just seems too perfect an idea.
A few things impede me at this point.
1.) I have never organized anything...not just anything like this, but anything...period.
2.) I hardly consider myself an expert gardener, am I really the one to lead this?
3.) I have no experience with rooftop gardening. What problems do pigeons present? We have an abundance of them.
And in other news, my wife brought up the idea of splitting a CSA share while we were having dinner with friends. Totally unprompted, out of the blue. Wow. She does that sometimes. She rolls her eyes and smirks then shakes her head when I bring up turning under the entire front lawn, but then out of the blue comes up with things like the greenhouse...er sunroom, and now this!? She is crunchy, she just keeps a lid on it. muahahaha.
Why talk about doing this when we can actually set up a rooftop garden at work!? We're a non-profit org, and one of the divisions is responsible for community assistance, why not set up an employee run garden and donate the produce to our food banks? I have been lamenting the fact that downtown Syracuse is full of flat roofed skyscrapers but no one has done anything about it, why not set one up on our "lowscraper" and get some media attention on this.
I don't know how our building and grounds and risk management dept might react, but this just seems too perfect an idea.
A few things impede me at this point.
1.) I have never organized anything...not just anything like this, but anything...period.
2.) I hardly consider myself an expert gardener, am I really the one to lead this?
3.) I have no experience with rooftop gardening. What problems do pigeons present? We have an abundance of them.
And in other news, my wife brought up the idea of splitting a CSA share while we were having dinner with friends. Totally unprompted, out of the blue. Wow. She does that sometimes. She rolls her eyes and smirks then shakes her head when I bring up turning under the entire front lawn, but then out of the blue comes up with things like the greenhouse...er sunroom, and now this!? She is crunchy, she just keeps a lid on it. muahahaha.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Keep that old computer running...
Most of use in the western world have come to treat the personal computer as something that we keep around for a few years before it becomes obsolete, then we HAVE to get a new one. I ran a seminar yesterday at work to educate some of the retired members of our organization get up to speed with an email system our company is implementing. Yes, the retired members get email, in fact its mandatory, but before you reach for an application to sign up for the free email when you retire, I feel it fair to warn you, they're priests. Not that I wouldn't still encourage people to enter the seminary, but I believe in transparency in hiring.
Anywho, back to the original purpose...or rather the anecdote that leads to the moral of the story. I sat with a stereotypical "little old man" for some time going over the purest basics of use on the brand new laptop he had bought. Why is it that a man who is only ever going to open his mail needs to spend what was likely over a grand for a laptop because the bloated operating system requires such an inane amount of hardware horsepower? Having been a MS Windows user for years we just kind of took it as a fact of life that windows will get slower each week until you have to reinstall it or buy a new machine because the newest version wont run on the PC you have. And why is it that MS charges 150-300 just to get the software that most businesses require as a part of operation (MS Office)?
Are they the only game in town? No, as many Mac users will tell you. Unfortunately as nice as Mac computers are, everything seems to be twice as expensive. Apparently stability and ease of use come at a premium. Why? There are legions of geeks (speaking as one) on this planet, can't anyone come up with an alternative?
Some of you probably already are guessing where I am going...Linux. Linux is a community developed operating system that can be installed on just about any computer. (so long as you have the right installer). The idea hold immense appeal to me, community developed and supported...c'mon how crunchy is that!? I have made several attempts to implement it over the years to varying degrees of success, but I think I finally hit the mark this time. My wife brought home an old computer from her school that they were going to get rid of. A 1.1ghz celeron with "only" 256m of ram. The tag on the side said designed for windows 98 if thats any hint about the age of this. I downloaded a disk image from the Ubuntu site, popped it in the drive and in about an hour with minimal intervention on my part, this old machine is up and running WITHOUT a single issue or spending a single cent. It comes with everything most people need (web browser, email client, word processor, spreadsheet, graphics editor) and they all can use Microsoft file formats interchangeably. I installed flash so youtube will run (have to be able to watch "Homegrown Revolution") And Dansguardian to make sure the kids don't wander where they shouldn't online.
I will admit I have more than twenty years behind a keyboard, but little to any of that experience was needed to get this up and running, in fact if you put two people in front of a windows and a Ubuntu machine, I would wager the Ubuntu user would find the learning curve much shorter. The menus are clear and easy to understand.
I rarely get this excited about technology anymore, the iphone was a big meh as far as I am concerned, but I think this is definitely something people should test drive, and thanks to the fact that the cd image you download can be booted and allow you to demo the system without installing anything, there really is no harm in trying it.
Its secure, community focused, stable and free. Isn't that the goal?
So in the end we prevented another computer from going in the landfill, and got a computer out of it that will be more than adequate for our daughter to write her stories on and play webkinz.
And by the way, I am posting this message from that computer.
Anywho, back to the original purpose...or rather the anecdote that leads to the moral of the story. I sat with a stereotypical "little old man" for some time going over the purest basics of use on the brand new laptop he had bought. Why is it that a man who is only ever going to open his mail needs to spend what was likely over a grand for a laptop because the bloated operating system requires such an inane amount of hardware horsepower? Having been a MS Windows user for years we just kind of took it as a fact of life that windows will get slower each week until you have to reinstall it or buy a new machine because the newest version wont run on the PC you have. And why is it that MS charges 150-300 just to get the software that most businesses require as a part of operation (MS Office)?
Are they the only game in town? No, as many Mac users will tell you. Unfortunately as nice as Mac computers are, everything seems to be twice as expensive. Apparently stability and ease of use come at a premium. Why? There are legions of geeks (speaking as one) on this planet, can't anyone come up with an alternative?
Some of you probably already are guessing where I am going...Linux. Linux is a community developed operating system that can be installed on just about any computer. (so long as you have the right installer). The idea hold immense appeal to me, community developed and supported...c'mon how crunchy is that!? I have made several attempts to implement it over the years to varying degrees of success, but I think I finally hit the mark this time. My wife brought home an old computer from her school that they were going to get rid of. A 1.1ghz celeron with "only" 256m of ram. The tag on the side said designed for windows 98 if thats any hint about the age of this. I downloaded a disk image from the Ubuntu site, popped it in the drive and in about an hour with minimal intervention on my part, this old machine is up and running WITHOUT a single issue or spending a single cent. It comes with everything most people need (web browser, email client, word processor, spreadsheet, graphics editor) and they all can use Microsoft file formats interchangeably. I installed flash so youtube will run (have to be able to watch "Homegrown Revolution") And Dansguardian to make sure the kids don't wander where they shouldn't online.
I will admit I have more than twenty years behind a keyboard, but little to any of that experience was needed to get this up and running, in fact if you put two people in front of a windows and a Ubuntu machine, I would wager the Ubuntu user would find the learning curve much shorter. The menus are clear and easy to understand.
I rarely get this excited about technology anymore, the iphone was a big meh as far as I am concerned, but I think this is definitely something people should test drive, and thanks to the fact that the cd image you download can be booted and allow you to demo the system without installing anything, there really is no harm in trying it.
Its secure, community focused, stable and free. Isn't that the goal?
So in the end we prevented another computer from going in the landfill, and got a computer out of it that will be more than adequate for our daughter to write her stories on and play webkinz.
And by the way, I am posting this message from that computer.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
What comes in pots and makes delicious fruit?
Trees of course...or at least the ones I am looking at. As the sunroom project moves forward with permits and more paperwork my thoughts increasingly turn to, or rather obsess upon the trees I want to fill it with.
I'm rather surprised at how close our overall result is beginning to resemble the plan. Usually things change drastically between the theory and the practice.
But back to the matter at hand, I would like to put 3 across the front (south wall) and one in the east, (left window in the picture).
So that makes a total of 4, but 4 what and from where. Well my search for a local citrus source (or at least in the Northeast) has been fruitless(sorry I couldn't resist). Four Winds Nursery seems like a good shop, anyone have experience to share with them? I tried a couple of the other suggestions that I got, but variety was not what I was looking for.
I'm rather surprised at how close our overall result is beginning to resemble the plan. Usually things change drastically between the theory and the practice.
But back to the matter at hand, I would like to put 3 across the front (south wall) and one in the east, (left window in the picture).
So that makes a total of 4, but 4 what and from where. Well my search for a local citrus source (or at least in the Northeast) has been fruitless(sorry I couldn't resist). Four Winds Nursery seems like a good shop, anyone have experience to share with them? I tried a couple of the other suggestions that I got, but variety was not what I was looking for.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Me? A teacher?
I know I mentioned it in passing but I have been tapped to lead a class/discussion on gardening this spring at "the office." It not my first time teaching (actually I've been teaching as long as I have been gardening, but this is my first time teaching gardening) but I admit a good deal of trepidation. First, I wonder if I really have enough experience (only 5 years) to lead this kind of discussion, and second I am having difficulty putting together a curriculum. Actually its more like I have difficulty making the curriculum more concise. I handed a 3 page outline to my wife who said there was no way I could get through it in one hour and have the audience not feel like they just got off the tilt-a-whirl.
I want to focus on teaching the biointensive method, or a simplified iteration of it. The view from 5,000 feet will focus on intensive spacing, double dug beds (the first year at least), compost as the cure for what ails the soil, and the use of beneficials for pest management.
My problem (as the regular readers might guess) is that I am quite verbose. How do I condense the info? What dear friends do you think I should make the main points of discussion? I'll wait for a few answers to roll in before I post the gargantuan outline I have. I'd like to see what your first reaction to priorities is.
I want to focus on teaching the biointensive method, or a simplified iteration of it. The view from 5,000 feet will focus on intensive spacing, double dug beds (the first year at least), compost as the cure for what ails the soil, and the use of beneficials for pest management.
My problem (as the regular readers might guess) is that I am quite verbose. How do I condense the info? What dear friends do you think I should make the main points of discussion? I'll wait for a few answers to roll in before I post the gargantuan outline I have. I'd like to see what your first reaction to priorities is.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Full Circle
Well we're back to where we started on this one: windowsills. The first winter resident moves in. Hyssop...or soapwort, they both have the same leaf shape and until it gets biggerI won't be able to tell if it has an upright habit (hyssop) or prostrate (soapwort) I really should label when I start two similar looking plants shouldn't I. I've got some more st. johns wort, feverfew, and I forget what else that can come to work. Starting perennials in winter worked fantastically well for me last year, I believe I had a close to 100% survival rate in the ground. No waiting for them to catch up to the weeds. As soon as the soil was decent, they were in and already dominating the scene.
As much as I love vegetable gardening (and I still say landscaping with your stomach is the way to go) There is something intrinsically beautiful and mysterious about setting up a miniature ecosystem of sorts that renews itself each year without human intervention. Odd how that as winter comes and producing food becomes impossible (this year at least) My thoughts tend to drift on the elements of my grand plan which have little to do with eating. I still have plenty of space to fill in the "sanctuary"and I dream of the day when I will have to do for the rest of the flora what I did for the sage this year...that is trim and tie and otherwise make room for its neighbors.
This may be entirely too crunchy for the room but there is a certain visceral joy after spending 8 hours under florescent lights that one gets with just a few moments in nature or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Be it the smell of the creeping thyme and lavender, or the occasional nibble of basil or lemon balm. I will miss that during the winter, but spending time improving the experience will make it worthwhile.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Still growing
Well I have largely neglected the garden in my recent weeks but I am happy to say that while things have slowed, they have not stopped. Falling leaves have largely laid a mulch that keeps everything but the plants that had a head start down. Despite a couple mild freezes, the peas are doing well, and 2 of the four broccoli appear to be thriving. I've even got a couple beets going.
I threw a couple wheelbarrow loads of compost on the north bed (that held the early crops, squash and failed corn.) and when I pulled up the stubby corn stalks I realized that they had in fact produced ears, pathetic (an unpollinated) as they were.
In other news, we are officially signing with the contractor to do the Greenhouse...er I mean sunroom...really I mean sunroom, why would I say greenhouse...tonight. We discussed potential furniture and layout for it. From the looks of things We will be putting 3-4 trees (depending on the length of whatever wicker loveseat goes in). a 6 foot and 5 foot shelf at window level for seed trays, and given that they sit at 30 inches, enough room to hang 1 or two shelves below that assuming I put lights on them. Not to mention that the wall which is the current outside wall of the house will be wide open for things like hanging baskets.
Really I meant to say sunroom...
Oh by the way, I got my shipment of wild ginger and ginseng roots from Garden Medicinals (3 each) And put them in the ground by the pawpaw trees. All three species require shade (the pawpaw during its early years) and behind the bench was a perfect spot. All three have the same native range of areas which touch the Appalachian mtns. IF these take off next spring (and I'm sure they will) they will be joined by black cohosh. I had a great deal of trouble getting cohosh seed to germinate, so I'm going with rhizomes. While not technically a guild I suppose, I am very optimistic that the area will do well. The soil in that area seems quite like a forest floor, and the combination of sun and shade angles provided by the fence and bench appear to be the perfect environment to allow just a trickle of light to the shade lovers and give full sun exposure to the sunbathers. Flanking this group to the west side in full sun in a rather large stand of purple coneflower (echinacea). While I know little of the use of the plants I have put down in this spot (other than eating ginger and pawpaw outright) It would be nice to know that should I have the time to learn how, its there if I want it. I'll be watching this area in coming years for different bugs and birds, I'm hoping that as the diversity of plants goes up in the area, animal diversity will follow. Like I said, I've been feeling optimistic as of late for some reason.
I threw a couple wheelbarrow loads of compost on the north bed (that held the early crops, squash and failed corn.) and when I pulled up the stubby corn stalks I realized that they had in fact produced ears, pathetic (an unpollinated) as they were.
In other news, we are officially signing with the contractor to do the Greenhouse...er I mean sunroom...really I mean sunroom, why would I say greenhouse...tonight. We discussed potential furniture and layout for it. From the looks of things We will be putting 3-4 trees (depending on the length of whatever wicker loveseat goes in). a 6 foot and 5 foot shelf at window level for seed trays, and given that they sit at 30 inches, enough room to hang 1 or two shelves below that assuming I put lights on them. Not to mention that the wall which is the current outside wall of the house will be wide open for things like hanging baskets.
Really I meant to say sunroom...
Oh by the way, I got my shipment of wild ginger and ginseng roots from Garden Medicinals (3 each) And put them in the ground by the pawpaw trees. All three species require shade (the pawpaw during its early years) and behind the bench was a perfect spot. All three have the same native range of areas which touch the Appalachian mtns. IF these take off next spring (and I'm sure they will) they will be joined by black cohosh. I had a great deal of trouble getting cohosh seed to germinate, so I'm going with rhizomes. While not technically a guild I suppose, I am very optimistic that the area will do well. The soil in that area seems quite like a forest floor, and the combination of sun and shade angles provided by the fence and bench appear to be the perfect environment to allow just a trickle of light to the shade lovers and give full sun exposure to the sunbathers. Flanking this group to the west side in full sun in a rather large stand of purple coneflower (echinacea). While I know little of the use of the plants I have put down in this spot (other than eating ginger and pawpaw outright) It would be nice to know that should I have the time to learn how, its there if I want it. I'll be watching this area in coming years for different bugs and birds, I'm hoping that as the diversity of plants goes up in the area, animal diversity will follow. Like I said, I've been feeling optimistic as of late for some reason.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Looks like its a go
The sunroom, that is.
Two nights ago we had a visit from a representative of a local installer. Previously I had thought I could tackle this one on my own. I am thankful now I will not be doing that. There are a lot of factors involved in the construction both from a technical side to the administrative (incl. permits codes etc.) It appears the materials used would be far superior from what I thought I could get away with. Steel upright posts that don't require the glass sections to function as structural elements. In other words, the frame wont require the skin to stand firm. Having seen pictures in the portfolio of hailstorms and fallen trees that have wrecked the house but left the sunroom intact I am confident in the quality. We are also getting a guarantee on the whole thing that I could never provide. The glazing is superior to what I could obtain and should provide excellent thermal insulation given the large areas of glass. I was pleased to hear the "surveyor" was well versed in many of the factors I am concerned with given its intended role. He agreed that the location for it on the house was perfect, providing maxim southern exposure, a position far enough forward to avoid shadowing from our neighbor to the east, and garage to the west. And exposed east and west ends to allow ample cross ventilation. In short, he was speaking my language and it was a relief to find that maybe what I am after isn't so way out in left field afterall. In fact the surveyor had a fistfull of lime trees in his own sunroom (and apparently a fan of martinis.)
There will be some elements that my brother in law and I will be doing ourselves to save some money, like pulling up the hedges, cutting and installing the doorway and electrical connections, but it will be nice to let someone else have to do the worrisome parts for a change. And this is a local company so its nice to know the money stays here.
So while my wife is thinking about furniture to go in the 8x11 space, I am back to thinking about trees.
Meyer Lemon, Kaffir Lime, and Blood oranges. The question is from where. None of the nurseries around here have any citrus. Suggestions?
Two nights ago we had a visit from a representative of a local installer. Previously I had thought I could tackle this one on my own. I am thankful now I will not be doing that. There are a lot of factors involved in the construction both from a technical side to the administrative (incl. permits codes etc.) It appears the materials used would be far superior from what I thought I could get away with. Steel upright posts that don't require the glass sections to function as structural elements. In other words, the frame wont require the skin to stand firm. Having seen pictures in the portfolio of hailstorms and fallen trees that have wrecked the house but left the sunroom intact I am confident in the quality. We are also getting a guarantee on the whole thing that I could never provide. The glazing is superior to what I could obtain and should provide excellent thermal insulation given the large areas of glass. I was pleased to hear the "surveyor" was well versed in many of the factors I am concerned with given its intended role. He agreed that the location for it on the house was perfect, providing maxim southern exposure, a position far enough forward to avoid shadowing from our neighbor to the east, and garage to the west. And exposed east and west ends to allow ample cross ventilation. In short, he was speaking my language and it was a relief to find that maybe what I am after isn't so way out in left field afterall. In fact the surveyor had a fistfull of lime trees in his own sunroom (and apparently a fan of martinis.)
There will be some elements that my brother in law and I will be doing ourselves to save some money, like pulling up the hedges, cutting and installing the doorway and electrical connections, but it will be nice to let someone else have to do the worrisome parts for a change. And this is a local company so its nice to know the money stays here.
So while my wife is thinking about furniture to go in the 8x11 space, I am back to thinking about trees.
Meyer Lemon, Kaffir Lime, and Blood oranges. The question is from where. None of the nurseries around here have any citrus. Suggestions?
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Hope Springs Eternal
I spent the evening sobbing. It was late and both the kids were asleep. When the projected winner was announced my wife and I were ecstatic. It didn't sink in until Eugene Robinson said that he could finally look into his children's eyes and say without hesitation that they can achieve anything they want. Eugene Robinson of course speaking as an African American. In case you hadn't figured it out yet, I along with my wife are white. Our children are not. By and large when we first introduced them to our families there was nothing but love and acceptance. But there was always an elephant in the room, the fear that only a few honest souls spoke that these children might never truly feel culturally integrated. Given to doubt as I am, the fear that our kids might fall into the more repugnant elements of either culture occasionally crosses my mind. After last night I wonder if I should stop worrying about how they will fit into the world and start teaching them to change the world.
And with the horrific news and doom and gloom that floods our airwaves every day I was beginning to wonder if I have the strength to maintain optimism and a solution oriented approach to life, I honestly wondered if I could go on with the same zeal I had when I started this journey.
I have my answer
Yes I can.
And with the horrific news and doom and gloom that floods our airwaves every day I was beginning to wonder if I have the strength to maintain optimism and a solution oriented approach to life, I honestly wondered if I could go on with the same zeal I had when I started this journey.
I have my answer
Yes I can.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
still going
I know Its been quite some time since I updated, in the meantime the beans are definitely flowering and I am showing a few beet leaves, still no hoophouse yet. And I have taken in another 3lbs 12 oz of tomatoes making my total almost 49 lbs, soooo close! oh wait, one last take of yellow squash gave me 1lb 6oz.
drumroll....
51lbs! whoohoo! (yes I know its not the 100 I was hoping for but I'm off to a good start)
heard any good news lately? I haven't. On the one hand its nice to know I was not part of some shared delusion, on the other hand, it looks like being right is going to be painful. I have to balance my participation in discussions and desire to stay informed, with the essential human need to not be completely swept up in a fear soaked paralysis. So if my posting here and commenting on your own sites is a tad sparse, I'm just trying to get a mental handle on everything, and I'm likely doing what has worked for me to get through times like this.
Stay Busy
drumroll....
51lbs! whoohoo! (yes I know its not the 100 I was hoping for but I'm off to a good start)
heard any good news lately? I haven't. On the one hand its nice to know I was not part of some shared delusion, on the other hand, it looks like being right is going to be painful. I have to balance my participation in discussions and desire to stay informed, with the essential human need to not be completely swept up in a fear soaked paralysis. So if my posting here and commenting on your own sites is a tad sparse, I'm just trying to get a mental handle on everything, and I'm likely doing what has worked for me to get through times like this.
Stay Busy
Thursday, September 18, 2008
not to kvetch
It would seem life is not without a sense of irony. I was sidelined for a couple days with some pretty fierce stomach pains, and after inconclusive tests the theory is ulcers. Ergo, no acidic foods for a week until it either goes away or we get to the bottom of what is really happening, and wouldn't you know, about 3 more brandywines are staring at me through the kitchen window, just begging to be plucked.
Coincidentally we may get a freeze this evening, so I need to build the tunnel fast. Hoop house is out this year, but I can get a tunnel in place, so wish me luck.
Coincidentally we may get a freeze this evening, so I need to build the tunnel fast. Hoop house is out this year, but I can get a tunnel in place, so wish me luck.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
fast approaching fall
As much as I don't like to admit it, the weather is getting colder. And I have been scrambling to get things done before it becomes impractical given the weather. Thankfully some of those things include projects that move us forward, like making the platform section of the outdoor shower. The garden has shifted into low gear, it looks like we'll be getting about 3-4 yellow squash before the plant goes the way of the zucchini. I must say I am very happy with the production level of summer squash/zucchini this year. Two plants seems to be a good fit for us. It guarantees that we have squash as a minor ingredient every week, and a major every other week. Thats enough to make a significant contribution to the dinner rotation without people getting really sick of it. Tomatoes are coming now, brought in a 15oz beauty and I probably have 3 more this week. Thats almost 3 pounds of tomatoes from only 3 tomatoes so far. The total now stands at 45 not counting whats still on the vine. I WILL make 50! If I include everything overwintered up until next april 15th (on full year of gardening) I might make 70 but I doubt it.
I'm also happy to report that the first of the green bean "catch crop" is beginning to flower. It is taking a little longer than the mid summer plantings, but I think it will produce. I'm a bit worried about the leeks, beets and carrots, I don't see many sprouts right now, but as you know I'm prone to unnecessary worry. As it stands, one broccoli plant survived caterpillar assault so I will have to fill in the row with three more. I'm going to start my lettuce and spinach indoors this week, the nights are getting too chilly i think.
And here is the lone bottle gourd that pollinated. They are a night bloomer so that probably doesn't work well in their favor. At any rate it is quite heavy, and the fierce windstorm dislodged some of its tendrils, so with a little plastic meshing and some string I made it a hammock. Hang in there baby, you're only half as big as I need you to be.
By the way if anyone knows of any good types of onions that will grow well in the north I am looking for sets. I tried Stuttgarts last year but they did not do very well.
I'm also happy to report that the first of the green bean "catch crop" is beginning to flower. It is taking a little longer than the mid summer plantings, but I think it will produce. I'm a bit worried about the leeks, beets and carrots, I don't see many sprouts right now, but as you know I'm prone to unnecessary worry. As it stands, one broccoli plant survived caterpillar assault so I will have to fill in the row with three more. I'm going to start my lettuce and spinach indoors this week, the nights are getting too chilly i think.
And here is the lone bottle gourd that pollinated. They are a night bloomer so that probably doesn't work well in their favor. At any rate it is quite heavy, and the fierce windstorm dislodged some of its tendrils, so with a little plastic meshing and some string I made it a hammock. Hang in there baby, you're only half as big as I need you to be.
By the way if anyone knows of any good types of onions that will grow well in the north I am looking for sets. I tried Stuttgarts last year but they did not do very well.
Monday, September 8, 2008
theories, plans, setback and TOMATOES!
Finally! A ripe tomato!
A bit green in the shoulders and a few cracks, but at 14 oz. its got a bit to spare. And yes this is a brandywine, I forgot that the particular strain of Brandywine OTV is orange. And delicious. It had substance but was not gritty. According to SESE's site, this strain is very heat tolerant, could that be a possible way of saying that to a certain extent it doesn't just tolerate heat, it depends on it? Given how cool this summer was by comparison might this be a reasonable explanation as to why I did not harvest the first tomato until sept? I'll be holding on to the seed to plant maybe a vine or two next year since the taste is flat out awesome, but perhaps I should search for varieties which do not include "heat tolerant" in their list of attributes.
And check out the amount of flesh in these. My beloved of course puts in her two cents about the absurdity of photographing a tomato.
Now I know I have mentioned our plan to put a fistfull of fruit trees in the front yard. After having the gas company come out and mark the no-dig spots, it would appear we will need to change the layout from what we had originally intended.
Those flags are the dotted line where our natural gas feed comes in from the street. Right up the strip of land we were going to use....grrrr.
And lastly, as anyone who is married or lives with their partner knows, good relationships mean being on the same page as your S.O. In my case that means clearing and construction or other large projects with my wife before I reach for a hammer or shovel. I want to keep gardening though the winter, I could be happy with just a single row cover tunnel over one bed, but I figured what the heck, lets shoot for the moon with a hoop house and see if she goes for it....She went for it! I think I can fit this over both the beds. Winter greens here I come! Despite the frigid winters I am not going to double layer the plastic unless someone says its absolutely necessary. I'll be using it to basically extend seasons and grow spinach, some lettuces, leeks and so forth during the coldest months, and experimenting with clover as a cover in the unused areas. Clover is a big N producer and grows well in our area/soil. Since I have been doing well with compost, I think a cover crop of clover during winter, plus compost at kill/ planting time should keep the soil in shape. I will test it to see if there are measurable differences.
A bit green in the shoulders and a few cracks, but at 14 oz. its got a bit to spare. And yes this is a brandywine, I forgot that the particular strain of Brandywine OTV is orange. And delicious. It had substance but was not gritty. According to SESE's site, this strain is very heat tolerant, could that be a possible way of saying that to a certain extent it doesn't just tolerate heat, it depends on it? Given how cool this summer was by comparison might this be a reasonable explanation as to why I did not harvest the first tomato until sept? I'll be holding on to the seed to plant maybe a vine or two next year since the taste is flat out awesome, but perhaps I should search for varieties which do not include "heat tolerant" in their list of attributes.
And check out the amount of flesh in these. My beloved of course puts in her two cents about the absurdity of photographing a tomato.
Now I know I have mentioned our plan to put a fistfull of fruit trees in the front yard. After having the gas company come out and mark the no-dig spots, it would appear we will need to change the layout from what we had originally intended.
Those flags are the dotted line where our natural gas feed comes in from the street. Right up the strip of land we were going to use....grrrr.
And lastly, as anyone who is married or lives with their partner knows, good relationships mean being on the same page as your S.O. In my case that means clearing and construction or other large projects with my wife before I reach for a hammer or shovel. I want to keep gardening though the winter, I could be happy with just a single row cover tunnel over one bed, but I figured what the heck, lets shoot for the moon with a hoop house and see if she goes for it....She went for it! I think I can fit this over both the beds. Winter greens here I come! Despite the frigid winters I am not going to double layer the plastic unless someone says its absolutely necessary. I'll be using it to basically extend seasons and grow spinach, some lettuces, leeks and so forth during the coldest months, and experimenting with clover as a cover in the unused areas. Clover is a big N producer and grows well in our area/soil. Since I have been doing well with compost, I think a cover crop of clover during winter, plus compost at kill/ planting time should keep the soil in shape. I will test it to see if there are measurable differences.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
back in the saddle
Wow where to begin...at the beginning I suppose. We went on vacation last week, spent several days at a place called Taughannock Falls near Ithaca NY. Its about an hour drive from our home in Syracuse. It was great to turn the volume down on life for a few days. But before leaving I scored another 6 oz cuke and 1lbs 5 oz of zucchini and summer squash, but I missed one that was ready and waiting on the vine (I think you know where this is going).
Anyway, off to Ithaca. I feel this needs a disclaimer, I have been there before and will say upfront that I love it there. There is a distinct crunchiness to the city. First of all they have the all vegetarian restaurant Moosewood (which was fantastic) and serves hot cocoa that is out of this world. Of course the food is great but check this out.
There is a fantastic place called "The Children's Garden" which is a community garden of sorts cared for (If I understand the posters correctly) kids. During our visit my wife claims I fell into some kind of altered mental state of ecstasy so my memory of it is sparse but here is what I remember from the pictures.
The main growing area. Personally I think there is too much walkway, but with the intended audience being kids I can understand the need.
This is made from bamboo, those are cucumbers climbing the pyramid. What a fantastic idea!
Of course they compost! are you kidding? They have 3 big bins of it.
Not 50 feet away is a created wetland swale. And just past that is the wildflower zone. Holy permaculture kiddies!
What monument to a sustainable future is complete without a strawbale house on the premises.
Who doesn't love sunflowers? Lemon Queens if I'm not mistaken.
Ithaca has great hiking, we walked trails to Taughannock and Buttermilk Falls, some really cool second hand clothing and book stores, and a really cool children's science museum. We joked that it must have been adoption day because most of the kids in that place didn't "match" mom and dad. It was actually pretty funny, at one point one of the workers was trying to find the parents of a child who had wandered off the beaten path, and they were befuddled without the usual clues. I say its funny because the search was short and not at all urgent, but the situation was hysterical in a very ironic sort of way. Or at least it was hysterical to be in a situation where our family arrangement was not in the minority and hijinks ensued. Other than that it was a nice quiet break from the world, a good recharge if you will. And even though I did not hit my reading mark (I brought/bought 2010:Oddessy Two, Shogun, Chapterhouse Dune, 2061: Oddessy Three, and Prelude to Foundation. I got through 2010 and most of Foundation), but it was great nonetheless.
After coming back we had a few days of staycation before returning to work. Unfortunately the cucumbers did not do well in my absence. I think they are done. On the bright side all of the beans are up , the peas are poking through, I've got itty bitty beet and carrot seedlings. A small green caterpillar type beastie appears to be ravaging the broccoli seedlings. I'm going to start some more tonight just in case they succumb to infestation. And finally at long last, the first of the brandywines is FINALLY turning pink!
And that zucchini that escaped scrutiny before I left...a 3.5 pound monster as long as my forearm. That makes my harvest total for the year at just a touch over 43 pounds.
Anyway, off to Ithaca. I feel this needs a disclaimer, I have been there before and will say upfront that I love it there. There is a distinct crunchiness to the city. First of all they have the all vegetarian restaurant Moosewood (which was fantastic) and serves hot cocoa that is out of this world. Of course the food is great but check this out.
There is a fantastic place called "The Children's Garden" which is a community garden of sorts cared for (If I understand the posters correctly) kids. During our visit my wife claims I fell into some kind of altered mental state of ecstasy so my memory of it is sparse but here is what I remember from the pictures.
The main growing area. Personally I think there is too much walkway, but with the intended audience being kids I can understand the need.
This is made from bamboo, those are cucumbers climbing the pyramid. What a fantastic idea!
Of course they compost! are you kidding? They have 3 big bins of it.
Not 50 feet away is a created wetland swale. And just past that is the wildflower zone. Holy permaculture kiddies!
What monument to a sustainable future is complete without a strawbale house on the premises.
Who doesn't love sunflowers? Lemon Queens if I'm not mistaken.
Ithaca has great hiking, we walked trails to Taughannock and Buttermilk Falls, some really cool second hand clothing and book stores, and a really cool children's science museum. We joked that it must have been adoption day because most of the kids in that place didn't "match" mom and dad. It was actually pretty funny, at one point one of the workers was trying to find the parents of a child who had wandered off the beaten path, and they were befuddled without the usual clues. I say its funny because the search was short and not at all urgent, but the situation was hysterical in a very ironic sort of way. Or at least it was hysterical to be in a situation where our family arrangement was not in the minority and hijinks ensued. Other than that it was a nice quiet break from the world, a good recharge if you will. And even though I did not hit my reading mark (I brought/bought 2010:Oddessy Two, Shogun, Chapterhouse Dune, 2061: Oddessy Three, and Prelude to Foundation. I got through 2010 and most of Foundation), but it was great nonetheless.
After coming back we had a few days of staycation before returning to work. Unfortunately the cucumbers did not do well in my absence. I think they are done. On the bright side all of the beans are up , the peas are poking through, I've got itty bitty beet and carrot seedlings. A small green caterpillar type beastie appears to be ravaging the broccoli seedlings. I'm going to start some more tonight just in case they succumb to infestation. And finally at long last, the first of the brandywines is FINALLY turning pink!
And that zucchini that escaped scrutiny before I left...a 3.5 pound monster as long as my forearm. That makes my harvest total for the year at just a touch over 43 pounds.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Everything I know about: staggered planting
I got a question about planting to ensure continuous supplies of veggies, here is the lowdown on that topic.
First, to really be able to live off of your garden requires either lots of land (like the pioneers), lots of skill and sunshine (like PTF) or both. But for the rest of us I think a well planned garden might be able to produce good weekly yields from as little as about 100 square feet (what I'm working with).
There are two kinds of things that produce edibles and for the sake of clarity I'm going to use tomato terminology. Fruit and vegetable plants are either determinate or non-determinate.
Determinate plants give you all they've got at once, or you take all the plant has at once as in the case of head lettuce, cabbage etc. If you are going to be canning or doing any kind of preserving, these are your friend because most canning recipes call for using large quantities of fresh produce. Determinate varieties ensure that if you plant a large amount at one time you will harvest a very large amount at one time.
Non-determinate plants will stagger production, or allow you to harvest a few leaves, fruit or one plant at a time without worrying too much about the rest of the crop going bad, as I do with potatoes, onions, or leaf lettuce.
Then there is another type which doesn't quite fit what I would consider either, and the only one I can think of like that is broccoli, cut the main head and it will regrow more "side shoots" but they will not be as large as the initial offering.
The first thing that should be very evident is the planning required, a level of planning that keeps me awake at night. If you wanted to be absolutely scientific about it I'm sure there would be ways to ensure that even with small plots, you are taking in produce daily, but I have yet to achieve that. The other thing to consider is the days to maturity variable. I might be a cynic but I don't put much stock in those numbers except as a rough guideline to tell me roughly when they will be ready. Unless you have perfect soil, perfect sun exposure, and perfect weather I wouldn't bet the microfarm on those numbers.
What the numbers can help with is to provide a way to minimize wasted space in the garden, and by that I mean if you are trying to get a somewhat continuous harvest of green beans you could plant an early bush variety like "provider" at the same time as a slightly longer maturing bush variety. The alternative is to plant a second "provider" crop a week or two later. The disadvantage there is if you are planting closely, the later crop might not get the same sun access from the other group getting a head start, and second (perhaps the most irritating to me) there is a bare spot in the garden in the interim. Bare soil gets easily compacted by rainwater (a big problem for me lately) and it also is an invitation for weeds.
Non-determinate varieties deliver over a wider range of time and usually once they reach the days to maturity number they will produce until they die or have a serious disagreement with the weather. I've noticed non-determinate fruits and veggies usually grow on vines, which is nice because it means you can grow them upwards and save valuable horizontal space. The disadvantage of this is that with non-determinate varieties you usually only get a few fruits at a time, so if its something like green beans or peas, where you will be eating more than 2 or three per serving, plant a lot of vines.
There are of course charts and recommendations for time between plantings
of determinate varieties like corn, lettuce etc. but again, (and please don't think this is a cop out) I think its just better to pull out a calendar and a seed catalog, and mark your estimated planting times and harvest times based on the dtm#, take copious notes of when you planted and harvested, and then try again next year. And if you mark the estimated first frost date of the year on the calendar and count backwards to your harvest times, you might find you can squeeze in another crop of something else? Our ancestors did this their whole lives, they grew up doing it, so it came naturally. We just need to remember what is actually possible.
I referenced green beans a lot because so far I have had the most success with getting a large and somewhat steady supply of it. At least until now when 3 weeks of cold and wet has interrupted my plans. Live and learn.
First, to really be able to live off of your garden requires either lots of land (like the pioneers), lots of skill and sunshine (like PTF) or both. But for the rest of us I think a well planned garden might be able to produce good weekly yields from as little as about 100 square feet (what I'm working with).
There are two kinds of things that produce edibles and for the sake of clarity I'm going to use tomato terminology. Fruit and vegetable plants are either determinate or non-determinate.
Determinate plants give you all they've got at once, or you take all the plant has at once as in the case of head lettuce, cabbage etc. If you are going to be canning or doing any kind of preserving, these are your friend because most canning recipes call for using large quantities of fresh produce. Determinate varieties ensure that if you plant a large amount at one time you will harvest a very large amount at one time.
Non-determinate plants will stagger production, or allow you to harvest a few leaves, fruit or one plant at a time without worrying too much about the rest of the crop going bad, as I do with potatoes, onions, or leaf lettuce.
Then there is another type which doesn't quite fit what I would consider either, and the only one I can think of like that is broccoli, cut the main head and it will regrow more "side shoots" but they will not be as large as the initial offering.
The first thing that should be very evident is the planning required, a level of planning that keeps me awake at night. If you wanted to be absolutely scientific about it I'm sure there would be ways to ensure that even with small plots, you are taking in produce daily, but I have yet to achieve that. The other thing to consider is the days to maturity variable. I might be a cynic but I don't put much stock in those numbers except as a rough guideline to tell me roughly when they will be ready. Unless you have perfect soil, perfect sun exposure, and perfect weather I wouldn't bet the microfarm on those numbers.
What the numbers can help with is to provide a way to minimize wasted space in the garden, and by that I mean if you are trying to get a somewhat continuous harvest of green beans you could plant an early bush variety like "provider" at the same time as a slightly longer maturing bush variety. The alternative is to plant a second "provider" crop a week or two later. The disadvantage there is if you are planting closely, the later crop might not get the same sun access from the other group getting a head start, and second (perhaps the most irritating to me) there is a bare spot in the garden in the interim. Bare soil gets easily compacted by rainwater (a big problem for me lately) and it also is an invitation for weeds.
Non-determinate varieties deliver over a wider range of time and usually once they reach the days to maturity number they will produce until they die or have a serious disagreement with the weather. I've noticed non-determinate fruits and veggies usually grow on vines, which is nice because it means you can grow them upwards and save valuable horizontal space. The disadvantage of this is that with non-determinate varieties you usually only get a few fruits at a time, so if its something like green beans or peas, where you will be eating more than 2 or three per serving, plant a lot of vines.
There are of course charts and recommendations for time between plantings
of determinate varieties like corn, lettuce etc. but again, (and please don't think this is a cop out) I think its just better to pull out a calendar and a seed catalog, and mark your estimated planting times and harvest times based on the dtm#, take copious notes of when you planted and harvested, and then try again next year. And if you mark the estimated first frost date of the year on the calendar and count backwards to your harvest times, you might find you can squeeze in another crop of something else? Our ancestors did this their whole lives, they grew up doing it, so it came naturally. We just need to remember what is actually possible.
I referenced green beans a lot because so far I have had the most success with getting a large and somewhat steady supply of it. At least until now when 3 weeks of cold and wet has interrupted my plans. Live and learn.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Theory and Practice: a map after the fact
I actually intended to do something like this when I first started, but I think its more relevant now that I have changed from the original plan.
Here is how things started, by the book, and I am intentionally leaving the exact square footages of the crops out. If you want those numbers, buy the book.
(click for a larger view)
Then phase two came along and This is essentially how things stand now.
So thats where I am at now, and you can kind of see with the late summer crops where things will be this winter. If all goes according to plan, the remaining warm weather crops in the lower bed will get swapped out with cold weather veggies to overwinter, before the cycle starts again with minor changes (most notably a change of bed locations).
My new goal is to come up with a reliable rotational system that keeps each plot continually productive. It is going to be an evolutionary process to achieve a real sense of flow with the seasons. And of course ideally I'd like to add another bed or two into the rotation.
Here is how things started, by the book, and I am intentionally leaving the exact square footages of the crops out. If you want those numbers, buy the book.
(click for a larger view)
Then phase two came along and This is essentially how things stand now.
So thats where I am at now, and you can kind of see with the late summer crops where things will be this winter. If all goes according to plan, the remaining warm weather crops in the lower bed will get swapped out with cold weather veggies to overwinter, before the cycle starts again with minor changes (most notably a change of bed locations).
My new goal is to come up with a reliable rotational system that keeps each plot continually productive. It is going to be an evolutionary process to achieve a real sense of flow with the seasons. And of course ideally I'd like to add another bed or two into the rotation.
An oldie but a goodie
Still trying to use potatoes and running out of ideas, I cant believe it took me this long to use the caribes for what in my opinion, a vocation they were born for. Creamy mashed goodness. Add in some milk, sour cream and a few chives from the backyard. Perfect.
I also made some blueberry ice cream, but that disappeared before I could photograph it. Didn't see any at the farmer's market, but in wegmans I was just about to grab a carton when the stockgirl walked by and said: "locals are on the other side, they're better, trust me."
I didn't sample the others but lets put it this way, 6 full tummies agree the local berries were good.
In other news, brown bat number 8 decided to take up residence just outside the men's room at my work.
Bruce was evicted moments after.
I also made some blueberry ice cream, but that disappeared before I could photograph it. Didn't see any at the farmer's market, but in wegmans I was just about to grab a carton when the stockgirl walked by and said: "locals are on the other side, they're better, trust me."
I didn't sample the others but lets put it this way, 6 full tummies agree the local berries were good.
In other news, brown bat number 8 decided to take up residence just outside the men's room at my work.
Bruce was evicted moments after.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Growing Flax for Fiber: part1
Fiber crops for self sufficiency
The first step of course is planting, something I got to later than I should have. Once I decided to grow flax it was well into May, and I really should have sown in early April. But I got the seed from Bountiful Gardens and it arrived promptly. Like most plants the recommendation is for loamy rich dark perfect well drained soil. I have none of that so I worked a little compost into the clay and planted. When growing for fiber the recommendation is to plant closely to prevent branching, mine was about 1.5-2” centers and it seemed to work. Yesterday Aug 18th I pulled (not cut) the flax. The imperative is to pull it out because maximum fiber length is key. Most sources I could find say to harvest just after flowering, when the base of the stalks starts to yellow. Just after flowering the stalks were still green on mine, so I used that as an indicator, not flower timing, and it would appear that the seed was starting to set by the time the base was yellowing, as you can see in the picture below.
The inclusion of the toe was entirely intentional, to show the amount of flax produced from 1 full packet of seed. I totally meant to do that.
next time I'll talk about ripping, retting, scutching, and what the heck they mean.
Monday, August 18, 2008
close to home
cnn reports that on the tug hill plateau here in NY not everyone appreciates the wind farm.
This is eerily similar to a conversation I had with my father not long ago. He lives farther out in the country (albeit 5 minutes from the city I grew up in) but it definitely has a more rural feel. Anyway, aside from always lamenting the arrival of new neighbors and the slow evolution to a more suburban setting he has been an opponent of the windfarm that went up on the ridge some 5 miles away, on the grounds that it spoils the view. I always counter with the notion of acid rain or fallout from nine mile point as being the alternatives. No dice. Anyway, when his neighbor put in a home scale turbine he was furious, the noise being of primary concern. Personally, I live in a more urban/suburban setting, noise unfortunately is a part of my life, and I could just as easily adapt to that, but he has been "in the country" for almost 17 years now, so this is a big change. Like the man in the article he has also grown up with a sense of respect for the land and tried to pass that value on. The part I found ironic was that the son was protesting the windfarm on the grounds that it spoils the natural beauty. Most of my readers are probably thinking "that windfarm might be the only thing that saves it." But we have to understand that no solution is perfect, has absolutely zero impact, and is universally acceptable to everyone, because not everyone places value on the same things. Ask this man if he cares about the health of the land and I'm sure he will say "of course I do" but there may be other factors he values more.
noise is energy, energy that could be put to better use, so as turbines become more efficient, and quieter I imagine this will be less of an issue, but there is still the visual impact, and well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While some see independence and a bright future, others see the spoiling of natural scenery. Progress does not come without cost, the difference now is that the cost is no longer being hidden to society. If we want to dance, we will need to pay the piper, we can't keep letting our children or our mother pay the tab. I suppose it is the same with home gardens. Neighborhood covenants and traditionally minded neighbors concerned with maintaining property value (one of the last remaining legal forms of segregation) will always oppose widescale and visible gardens, chicken coops, etc on the grounds that they are an eyesore. Personally I feel that endless undifferentiated monocultural lawns are an obscenity, and likely no covenant board would ever tolerate my kicking and screaming for change. Is there a compromise? Is there a way to appeal to more traditionally minded folks that what is being introduced in the form of a windfarm over the hill, or a garden in the yard is not the destruction of something dear but an evolution into something more valuable? Will we one day see a time when the annual yield of a home orchard or garden is included in the for sale listing? When smart home shoppers will prefer homes where the soil is well cared for and trees are productive?
The entire "green" movement is not intrinsically a shift in purchasing habits (despite its marketing of such). It is a shift of values, and an accounting of the full cost of our choices. When we make that clear, we will no longer find ourselves swimming against the current.
This is eerily similar to a conversation I had with my father not long ago. He lives farther out in the country (albeit 5 minutes from the city I grew up in) but it definitely has a more rural feel. Anyway, aside from always lamenting the arrival of new neighbors and the slow evolution to a more suburban setting he has been an opponent of the windfarm that went up on the ridge some 5 miles away, on the grounds that it spoils the view. I always counter with the notion of acid rain or fallout from nine mile point as being the alternatives. No dice. Anyway, when his neighbor put in a home scale turbine he was furious, the noise being of primary concern. Personally, I live in a more urban/suburban setting, noise unfortunately is a part of my life, and I could just as easily adapt to that, but he has been "in the country" for almost 17 years now, so this is a big change. Like the man in the article he has also grown up with a sense of respect for the land and tried to pass that value on. The part I found ironic was that the son was protesting the windfarm on the grounds that it spoils the natural beauty. Most of my readers are probably thinking "that windfarm might be the only thing that saves it." But we have to understand that no solution is perfect, has absolutely zero impact, and is universally acceptable to everyone, because not everyone places value on the same things. Ask this man if he cares about the health of the land and I'm sure he will say "of course I do" but there may be other factors he values more.
noise is energy, energy that could be put to better use, so as turbines become more efficient, and quieter I imagine this will be less of an issue, but there is still the visual impact, and well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. While some see independence and a bright future, others see the spoiling of natural scenery. Progress does not come without cost, the difference now is that the cost is no longer being hidden to society. If we want to dance, we will need to pay the piper, we can't keep letting our children or our mother pay the tab. I suppose it is the same with home gardens. Neighborhood covenants and traditionally minded neighbors concerned with maintaining property value (one of the last remaining legal forms of segregation) will always oppose widescale and visible gardens, chicken coops, etc on the grounds that they are an eyesore. Personally I feel that endless undifferentiated monocultural lawns are an obscenity, and likely no covenant board would ever tolerate my kicking and screaming for change. Is there a compromise? Is there a way to appeal to more traditionally minded folks that what is being introduced in the form of a windfarm over the hill, or a garden in the yard is not the destruction of something dear but an evolution into something more valuable? Will we one day see a time when the annual yield of a home orchard or garden is included in the for sale listing? When smart home shoppers will prefer homes where the soil is well cared for and trees are productive?
The entire "green" movement is not intrinsically a shift in purchasing habits (despite its marketing of such). It is a shift of values, and an accounting of the full cost of our choices. When we make that clear, we will no longer find ourselves swimming against the current.
evening
I managed to have a decent digital camera in hand friday evening while I was out in the garden,
My actual reason for being out there was to apply about 3 wheelbarrow loads of compost to the area the potatoes were occupying. This is now holding the fall crops and about 15 sq feet of green beans. The "provider" variety is fast enough I think I can get a crop out of them and still have time to get lettuce and spinach sprouted before I have to put up plastic to keep the cold out. You can see the dark is of course compost, and the brownish is the "wonderful" clay soil that we are blessed with here in Syracuse.
Katydids can either be a nuisance or a boon depending on the variety, but I've seen two of these this year, and so far, neither really cared about the foliage, so I think they may be of the predatory variety, in which case...please make yourself at home.
Cicadas on the other hand are completely benign, as long as you don't mind the constant chirping hiss on a summer evening. 120 db at close range, these suckers really hum. This is not actually the bug itself, just the shell of the last nymph phase, they are everywhere this time of year.
these baby's are soooo sweet, its hard keeping enough ripe one on the vine, which I moved over next to the brandywines, in the hopes that some of their ethylene will start ripening the other tomatoes.
This is a bottle gourd flower, you don't see many unless you're out at dusk. They're a night bloomer, an uncommon but not unheard of practice in the plant kingdom. and the flowers, much like the rest of the plant are covered in a soft fine hair. Much nicer than your average squash leaf. This one is a male by the way.
This is an immature female:
In Other News:
A sad day as natural farming legend Masanobu Fukuoka died at 95. Domo arigato gozaimashita Fukuoka sensei.
Looks like my frontyard orchard will be at the forefront of the next emergence in home food production.
And just in case you thought it was going to be all high quality pictures from here on out...
The swiss chard plants that had gone to seed well, finally produced mature seed. A lot of it.
Want some?
And speaking of seed, the fennel flowers that are mostly pods now have started to dry into seed. When I cut the stem I could smell the liquorice, and having sampled a few, these do not disappoint. I'm going to be setting aside more for a special winter project.
And remember the sweetpea flowers of which there were two, well apparently there were three, I'm wondering if maybe this was a sign to not give up on them yet. I might just plant these next year to see if my luck improves.
I got another 2 cukes totaling 1lb 1 oz bringing my total to 38 lbs. More yellow squash (prolific indeed) is about two days away. Still no sign of the brandywines grrrrr.
And someone want to tell me what the hell this is doing in my yard in the middle of august!?
My actual reason for being out there was to apply about 3 wheelbarrow loads of compost to the area the potatoes were occupying. This is now holding the fall crops and about 15 sq feet of green beans. The "provider" variety is fast enough I think I can get a crop out of them and still have time to get lettuce and spinach sprouted before I have to put up plastic to keep the cold out. You can see the dark is of course compost, and the brownish is the "wonderful" clay soil that we are blessed with here in Syracuse.
Katydids can either be a nuisance or a boon depending on the variety, but I've seen two of these this year, and so far, neither really cared about the foliage, so I think they may be of the predatory variety, in which case...please make yourself at home.
Cicadas on the other hand are completely benign, as long as you don't mind the constant chirping hiss on a summer evening. 120 db at close range, these suckers really hum. This is not actually the bug itself, just the shell of the last nymph phase, they are everywhere this time of year.
these baby's are soooo sweet, its hard keeping enough ripe one on the vine, which I moved over next to the brandywines, in the hopes that some of their ethylene will start ripening the other tomatoes.
This is a bottle gourd flower, you don't see many unless you're out at dusk. They're a night bloomer, an uncommon but not unheard of practice in the plant kingdom. and the flowers, much like the rest of the plant are covered in a soft fine hair. Much nicer than your average squash leaf. This one is a male by the way.
This is an immature female:
In Other News:
A sad day as natural farming legend Masanobu Fukuoka died at 95. Domo arigato gozaimashita Fukuoka sensei.
Looks like my frontyard orchard will be at the forefront of the next emergence in home food production.
And just in case you thought it was going to be all high quality pictures from here on out...
The swiss chard plants that had gone to seed well, finally produced mature seed. A lot of it.
Want some?
And speaking of seed, the fennel flowers that are mostly pods now have started to dry into seed. When I cut the stem I could smell the liquorice, and having sampled a few, these do not disappoint. I'm going to be setting aside more for a special winter project.
And remember the sweetpea flowers of which there were two, well apparently there were three, I'm wondering if maybe this was a sign to not give up on them yet. I might just plant these next year to see if my luck improves.
I got another 2 cukes totaling 1lb 1 oz bringing my total to 38 lbs. More yellow squash (prolific indeed) is about two days away. Still no sign of the brandywines grrrrr.
And someone want to tell me what the hell this is doing in my yard in the middle of august!?
Friday, August 15, 2008
sychnronicity?
Ok this one has been gnawing on my cerebrum for a while. The friend from CT who unloaded the yellow squash on us last weekend, he and his wife started the garden this year and without any kind of communication on the matter between us, they picked the almost all of the same things to grow as we did...almost exactly. The varieties may be different but even the oddball stuff like bottle gourds we both planted!?
weird moment. Anyway it rained again last night, and most of the seeds still have not sprouted for the fall crops, big shocker. Someone on the freedomgardeners forum in Canada is having the same problem, says the jet stream shifted further to the south. Instantly my brain went to "Day After Tomorrow" funny out overreactors do that sort of thing.
weird moment. Anyway it rained again last night, and most of the seeds still have not sprouted for the fall crops, big shocker. Someone on the freedomgardeners forum in Canada is having the same problem, says the jet stream shifted further to the south. Instantly my brain went to "Day After Tomorrow" funny out overreactors do that sort of thing.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
uuuugh.
nothing new to report really, brought in another yellow squash at 12 oz. some of the greenbeans left from the providers at just a touch over 4 oz. Brings the total up a pound to 37. Those will be coming out as they are spent at this point. I've got enough time in the year to pop some more right back in the same spot. The corn isnt big enough to block them out, which worries me, Its been so dark and rainy the corn seems to be in a holding pattern. This does not feel like august, more like september. No signs of ripening from the brandywines, I am going to set the cherry tomato basked in their midst to see if that can jump start the process.
The green beans I started more than two weeks ago have yet to show more than a few seedlings. This cold and wet weather is doing more than wrecking my mood. Its august for crying out loud.
I've finally got a cantaloupe growing and a bottle gourd female flower, but at this rate there will be frost before they are ready!
The green beans I started more than two weeks ago have yet to show more than a few seedlings. This cold and wet weather is doing more than wrecking my mood. Its august for crying out loud.
I've finally got a cantaloupe growing and a bottle gourd female flower, but at this rate there will be frost before they are ready!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
oh by the way
I made the prediction here that I had 3 more pounds of spuds in the ground. Try 4.5lbs bringing my total to 36! I might make fifty yet!
odds and ends...
That stack is 5 high so...you do the math
hey remember that basil I started in the aerogarden back in december?
I've got three bottle gourd vines and so far only one has made a female flower....grrr.
I don't have an ID on this little white bugger who was climbing up the potted cucumber, anyone got a guess?
What do you do with an abundance of summer squash, potatoes and pizza dough?
I threw on some rosemary and basil (from the garden of course) and voila!
It tastes just like it smells...delicious!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
One man's Trash
Is another man's brick walkway....
File this one under my ongoing campaign to be rid of the need for a mower. My neighbors up the street have apparently done away with a rather large brick paved patio. The remains of which were unceremoniously dumped curbside. While a good 50 percent were smashed or degraded beyond usefulness, I did manage to score about 2 loads worth in the back of our Saturn Vue. I didn't count, and I forgot to take a picture this morning since I was hauling well after sundown, but I would guess its somewhere on the order of 250 ish red zigzag paver bricks.
So now we at least have a great start on the walkway through the middle of the backyard to the garden.
price...free
File this one under my ongoing campaign to be rid of the need for a mower. My neighbors up the street have apparently done away with a rather large brick paved patio. The remains of which were unceremoniously dumped curbside. While a good 50 percent were smashed or degraded beyond usefulness, I did manage to score about 2 loads worth in the back of our Saturn Vue. I didn't count, and I forgot to take a picture this morning since I was hauling well after sundown, but I would guess its somewhere on the order of 250 ish red zigzag paver bricks.
So now we at least have a great start on the walkway through the middle of the backyard to the garden.
price...free
Book Review: Lessons In Nature
First of all a thanks is due to Gardening in Converse for his prior review of this book which enticed me to read. I will attempt to offer my own thoughts without duplicating his.
Malcom Beck (the author) has lived at the forefront of the organic movement for most of his life. This book is as much a memoir of trial and error as it is a series of short vignettes on a variety of garden oriented subjects. In that regard it bears similarity to another work "The One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka. The similarity does not end there, in fact barring a likely language barrier I think the two men might find decades of common ground on which to discuss. I would even go so far as to say that as Fukuoka is to Buddhist farming, Beck is to "western faith" gardening. While Beck makes no mention of the specifics of his particular faith, evident in some of his axioms are the need for trust in the providence of and thanks for the blessings of God. I would safely assume that he probably speaks from a Christian perspective given some other clues.
At the risk of venturing into rarely walked territory in the sustainability arena I'd like for a moment to explore perhaps how where I believe his faith has informed his technique. His respect for (though begrudging at time) pests from both the plant and animal kingdom resonates clearly the idea expressed in the Genesis account that all of creation is good and there for to some degree necessary. "bad bugs" seemed predisposed to select and feed upon weak plants. Disease, infestation and weeds while detrimental to the short term goal of this season's harvest are necessary to the long term survival of the plant species. Certain weeds prefer and even correct certain soils. Insect pests exist to such that when their numbers are kept in check by other natural factors, they are only capable of suppressing plants which are ill suited to pass on their genes to the next generation. As was made famous in the song there is a time for every purpose. Beck displays a rare patience when discussing the notion of cover crops, if I'm not mistaken growing green manures for seven seasons to improve deficient soil before planting a single carrot.
And just as Fukuoka and Beck might come from different backgrounds and different perspectives, their conclusions are nearly identical. Both have observed over many years that the system which closest duplicates natural conditions is the system which shines brightest. Corrections to any system should only be aimed a restoring a balance rather and completely eliminating or creating an abundance of certain factors. Corrections to the system should be as closest to natural conditions as possible, i.e. using rock phosphate instead of refined "super-phosphate" or adding a large number of predatory insects to correct for a large number of pest insects rather than spraying a pesticide.
Beck advises and I'm sure Fukuoka would agree that when intervention is required as in the case of applying acetic acid to prevent root suckers in a vineyard, that the proposed solution have a very specific intended effect, be composed of simple and organic components, and should not incur a long term effect on the system. Long term solutions to any problem for both men lie almost exclusively in the improvement of the soil.
In summary this is not a book full of "new information" Anyone interested in the subject by now knows that compost is necessary, that organic methods are intrinsically more successful in the long term, that patience and careful observation are what truly builds great gardens. We have all learned this by now, but after reading "Lessons in Nature" I feel I now understand it.
I can definitely without caveat recommend this book, there are a few tips and trick, but the real value lies in the message. Borrow it or buy it, either way...read it.
Malcom Beck (the author) has lived at the forefront of the organic movement for most of his life. This book is as much a memoir of trial and error as it is a series of short vignettes on a variety of garden oriented subjects. In that regard it bears similarity to another work "The One Straw Revolution" by Masanobu Fukuoka. The similarity does not end there, in fact barring a likely language barrier I think the two men might find decades of common ground on which to discuss. I would even go so far as to say that as Fukuoka is to Buddhist farming, Beck is to "western faith" gardening. While Beck makes no mention of the specifics of his particular faith, evident in some of his axioms are the need for trust in the providence of and thanks for the blessings of God. I would safely assume that he probably speaks from a Christian perspective given some other clues.
At the risk of venturing into rarely walked territory in the sustainability arena I'd like for a moment to explore perhaps how where I believe his faith has informed his technique. His respect for (though begrudging at time) pests from both the plant and animal kingdom resonates clearly the idea expressed in the Genesis account that all of creation is good and there for to some degree necessary. "bad bugs" seemed predisposed to select and feed upon weak plants. Disease, infestation and weeds while detrimental to the short term goal of this season's harvest are necessary to the long term survival of the plant species. Certain weeds prefer and even correct certain soils. Insect pests exist to such that when their numbers are kept in check by other natural factors, they are only capable of suppressing plants which are ill suited to pass on their genes to the next generation. As was made famous in the song there is a time for every purpose. Beck displays a rare patience when discussing the notion of cover crops, if I'm not mistaken growing green manures for seven seasons to improve deficient soil before planting a single carrot.
And just as Fukuoka and Beck might come from different backgrounds and different perspectives, their conclusions are nearly identical. Both have observed over many years that the system which closest duplicates natural conditions is the system which shines brightest. Corrections to any system should only be aimed a restoring a balance rather and completely eliminating or creating an abundance of certain factors. Corrections to the system should be as closest to natural conditions as possible, i.e. using rock phosphate instead of refined "super-phosphate" or adding a large number of predatory insects to correct for a large number of pest insects rather than spraying a pesticide.
Beck advises and I'm sure Fukuoka would agree that when intervention is required as in the case of applying acetic acid to prevent root suckers in a vineyard, that the proposed solution have a very specific intended effect, be composed of simple and organic components, and should not incur a long term effect on the system. Long term solutions to any problem for both men lie almost exclusively in the improvement of the soil.
In summary this is not a book full of "new information" Anyone interested in the subject by now knows that compost is necessary, that organic methods are intrinsically more successful in the long term, that patience and careful observation are what truly builds great gardens. We have all learned this by now, but after reading "Lessons in Nature" I feel I now understand it.
I can definitely without caveat recommend this book, there are a few tips and trick, but the real value lies in the message. Borrow it or buy it, either way...read it.
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