Got to be more careful!

Peace,

It has been 1 week… and my seeds haven’t germinated at all! I am crushed. I normally do a 50:50 mix of potting soil to compost, and that always worked for me. But this time I used a soil that said it was especially for planting seeds. Because the Wal-Mart I went to didn’t have any compost. I did kind of mess the soil up… Apparently I was supposed to mix it with water BEFORE I put it in my cups. Hmmm…That was so different from my usual method I didn’t even consider it could be different. I admit to my mistakes. But what can I do at this point they are already started and it’s not like I can take the seed out and re-use them. So this is what I did….

1. I poked holes in the bottom to drain the excess water.
2. I moved the ‘plants’ from the sunroom (that doesn’t get much sun) to the top of the refrigerator. It’s warm up there and its closer to the kitchen light.
3. I'm going to cover them with plastic wrap so that they don't dry out

I have a sun lamp to shine on the ‘plants’ but apparently that isn’t enough. My sunroom is openly attached to the house. It’s bricked in. There is a doorway and a pass thru. But it is much cooler in there than in the rest of the house. And the last frost date won’t pass until some time in March possibly April. I don’t really have a sunny location to get these seeds going. The only sunny spots are filled with a spoiled Black cat who likes to sun himself. Should I put something in his spots (they change as the sun moves around), he will knock it unapologetically on the floor. Spoiled cat….

So I will see if these changes give me seedlings. These seeds were supposed to germinate in 7 days. Today is day 7. I guess 14 is the new 7.

I’m thinking they won’t get in the ground until some time in April? My old people said that I should plant in the ground on Good Friday (March 29, 2013). That seems like a lot of work for such a religious day….


Peace

Spring Onion: Pass!

Peace.

This is a post I meant to blog about last summer. But since I’m all garden gung ho, I’d figure I share now.

I’m not growing onions in my garden. I grow them in my kitchen.



You know why? Because in the summer, I like spring onions and spring onions re-grow themselves.

Last year I saw that on pinterest. You cut spring onions down to the white part and leave them in water and they grow back. And they do. It was very exciting. I knew you could do that with lettuce, with cabbage, with celery and some other things but never actually tried it. Let me tell you what I did…

(1) Use a clean jar. I used glass because that’s what I had. I suppose you could use plastic.

(2) Stick the hairy white part down in down in the jar and make sure there is enough water. I used ½ a jar. It’s not like you could cut that low.

(3) I didn’t stick these in a sunny window because I only have 1 window in my kitchen. I did however stick them near a sunny window and they did just fine

(4) Cut regularly. Even if you aren’t using them otherwise they will spoil.

(5) They taste best when eaten or cooked right from the plant.



This was a wonderful find for me but there are a few things you need to keep in mind…

(1) Don’t overcrowd the jar you store them in. When I 1st tried it, I put 2 bunched in 1 jar. That was not a good idea because I couldn’t water them like I wanted. They grew back only twice then went sour and moldy. Keep no more than 4 or 5 shoots in 1 spaghetti jar.

(2) Change the water every week or they will spoil

(3) Keep more than 1 jar. It takes 1-2 weeks for them to grow back to full length so you want to stagger how you cut them

(4) Make sure they get cut regularly and store the cuttings, even if you aren’t eating them in the fridge. Otherwise they will stop producing and die.

I bought the initial starters when they went on sale for $1 for 2 bunches. That was me being cheap. It still worked. Since I know that this will last a long time if kept up, I will pay extra for the organic onions at the farmers market.

Peace

How much is enough?

Peace.

Now that I’m moving forward with this garden plan…. The question that looms and has never been answered to my satisfaction is How much of each plant should I grow?

I know the truthful answer is to do it year after year and gain experience with it to see. But I don’t want to wait that long!

There are just 2 of us. And I’m not growing anything he doesn’t eat. (Although I saw some asparagus seeds and was like hmmmm?). So essentially, I will be planting for 2. In the past I grew for 1 or for fun. But I’m being super serious this year. And I’m planning to do a bit of canning as well.

Yes I can! You should too. We are soooooo dependent on external sources for our sustenance. My old people taught this talent to me when I was young. And I was like, “Why do I need to know how to do this?” I suppose it took. I can when folks bring me unexpected stuff. I save 1 can to give them back at the appropriate time so I can guarantee another ‘unexpected’ bounty. Folks never return the can the lid or anything. They must think it’s easy like what comes from the store.

So far… right now…my plan…. is subject to change…. I am planning on 3 of every different type of plant I have going. When it comes to the 3 sisters mound, I’m planning 3 mounds in succession. That should feed us. I’m going to do planting after planting after planting…. of lettuce. You can grow that stuff into the cold weather. I wanna be able to really eat from this garden and not just have a few meals here and there that show case the food. That is the purpose of this working garden rather than just a few plants here and there. Healthy, locally grown organic food that for the most part is not genetically modified. Plus food you’ve grown in your own garden tastes better. IDK if it is because it’s super fresh or what.

So… Any answers for my query? I see y'all looking but no one is saying anything. Help a sista out please!


Peace.

PS: I’m also trying to lure a stray dog to the house.

Seeds!

Peace.

I’m excited. I just got my seeds in the mail. I went with a combo of Home Depot seeds and Baker heirloom seeds. There is a reason….

HD seeds are more than likely genetically modified. The heirloom seed promised that they would not be GMOs. Now why didn’t I get everything from one place or the other? I wasn’t price. They were essentially the same. The heirlooms were actually cheaper, but once you factor in the s&h, everything evened out.

Parts of me were like, “I want it now!” Those seeds came from HD. Other parts of me were like, “I need to choose healthier, safer options.” Those seeds came from the catalog. Also, it didn’t help that the catalog came late, and I didn’t have any money to get my seeds started on 2/2/2013. So stuff happens….

I plan to be very organic with this garden. VERY. I have already started collecting branches for staking and trellising. So really I should have ordered all my seeds…. OK. I’ll keep note of what is GMO vs. what isn’t. I won’t be saving seeds from the GMO plants either.

All in all, I think I spent $50 for the seeds, cups, soil, etc. That is about 2 weeks worth of groceries for me alone. I’m very low key when it comes to food. The God, however, is not. So if I get 2 weeks worth of food from this garden, then I will have made my money back.

OK, I didn’t get my seeds before Imbolc. I missed that window for planting. The next time it will be good to plant, according to my farmer almanac, will be 2/21/2013. That should be my 2nd planting. But it will have to be my 1st and my subsequent plantings will be later. Lesson learned. But I’m ready now!!!!



Peace

Lunar Gardening.

Peace

I am employing the philosophy of lunar gardening to my garden this year. I have always used the almanac, but now that my plot is bigger, shit just got real.

Lunar gardening means that certain activities should be done in specific moon phases. When you google it, it is confusing. But I’m a break it down so even your 12 y.o. can understand it…

Most folks know that the moon affects the tides. Bit the theory behind LG and a lot of other modalities is that it also affects anything thing with water. The human body is 3/4th water and most plants are as well. LG wants to schedule garden activities when the moon is most harmonious with the plant. The moon has essentially 4 phases. New/dark, waxing, full & waning... and in that order.

Waxing means the time when the moon appears to be growing. You know what full is, and Waning is when the moon appears to be getting smaller. New/dark refers to the same time when you don’t see the moon. It’s like birth-death.

Plants fall into 2 categories: above ground and below ground. That seems self explanatory. But let me know I you need to know which plants are which. LOL! If you are planting from seed (I am) then you want to sow the seeds of above plants during the new moon and below plantings during a full moon. You can sow seeds during the waxing phase, but it’s best when it’s new.

The waning phase is the best time to harvest and do garden chores. So New-Full = planting. Full-new = maintenance. See? That’s easy.

Is this complete and utter bullshit? Quite possibly. But folks have been using this method for 10’s of thousands of years with success. My own people used this method. I’m going with it. I have had the experience of “spring fever” and not looking at the almanac or even up in the sky and having lack luster results with my plants, for no real reason. I can’t say it’s because I didn’t follow this method and I can’t say it’s because I did. What can it hurt? Another good reason why I personally feel that LG is the way to go is because current humans have lost touch with the Earth and her seasons. Gardening in using the elements puts me back into a harmonious relationship with the Earth and I like that.


Peace.

Wheel of the Year

Before I fully invested in the Nation of Gods and Earths, I did a lot of searching. I spent a LOT of time (a few years) with Wiccans. Even though it wasn’t what I was looking for, I learned a lot. I’m all about the NGE principle of “taking the best part” or the homegrown wisdom of “eat the chicken, spit out the bones.” Meaning I will retain what is useful and discard what isn’t. The wheel of the Year is a concept of platting the year out through astronomical events. There are major Sabbats: 2 solstices and 2 equinoxes. And in between there are other “lesser” Sabbats. The major ones are astronomically and astrologically predictable. They mark the change of seasons. The lesser ones are usually a specific date that falls in between the major Sabbats. All the Sabbats are fun if done correctly. And I’m all about scheduled fun. Two of the lesser Sabbats are Imbolc and Lamas. Both of these days are Celtic in origin. I just can’t deal with anything that isn’t original and I am really okay with that. So these days and their traditions don’t mean anything to me outside of them being a good day for getting my gardens started. Imbolc starts my summer garden, Lamas my winter one. Strangely, when you look at the dates on an almanac, those dates are ALWAYS appropriate to plant. So I continue to celebrate the Major Sabbats (but not the way the Wiccans do)… because they are a symbol of the relationship between the Sun, Moon and Earth. And if you know anything about NGE, you know that those are significant to us. And I to a lesser degree enjoy the lesser holidays because they are useful to me and my cipher. Peace PS: I miss jumping naked over fires in May……

The Reveal....

Peace!

My surprise is….. I’m starting a veggie garden. A big one. And in my front yard!

I have through the years gone back and forth with gardening. I have planted here and there. I know enough to get a little something from the little something I plant. But I never had the perfect place to put in a REAL garden. And I still don’t. I have decided to screw perfect and work with the here and now.

The property I live on has no real backyard. It’s mostly side yards and front. The backyard has NO grass at all. And there are so many pine trees that the straw is all that’s back there. I don’t go back there. There is no reason to. I was thinking about getting some chickens and keeping them back there. I am allowed to keep 4 chickens. But that still requires some more thought. Keeping chickens will effectively keep me form going on vacation. Who will want to sit them?
This is my backyard.

But the front yard is full and gets lots of sun. I mean a lot. That is saying something because I swear I live in a jungle. When we moved there last year, I was looking for a place last winter. I had no idea when those trees fleshed out I’d feel like I was living in the bush…. Only my front yard gets a consistent 8 hours of sunlight daily. I did my homework and found that it was perfectly legal to put a veggie garden in the front yard in my neighborhood. I think it’s shady that folks can’t do what they want with the property they pay and are responsible for. But you must get along with your neighbors…..
This is the front yard, where the garden will be.


And this is the side yard. I must get the God to rake BEFORE I get planting.

So here is my line up….
1. Cucumbers: 2 kinds, lemon and regular green (I forget the name)
2. Peppers: Hot fish (this is a traditional African American variety from Baltimore)
Chocolate Sweet bell
3. Corn: some hybrid. I never grew corn before. I’m not going crazy over a crop that might not make it. If I get it right, next year I will grow non GMO. At least this year’s will be organic
4. Beans: Kentucky wonders I wanted purple velour variety, but I forgot to order it and wasn’t going to incur fresh s&h for them so I got the KW’s. My grandmother and aunt used to grow these.
5. Black Eyes Peas: self explanatory
6. Squash: I forget the variety. But it’s a small fruit because I’m employing the “3 sisters” planting method and I don’t want big ole squash fruits. Besides, I don’t like squash
7. Zucchini: I don’t like the taste of zucchini but I use it in a lot of recipes. Maybe I can use the squash too
8. Tomatoes: Black Cherry cherry tomatoes and Purple Cherokee
9. Bib lettuce: my absolute favorite
10. Brussel Sprouts: never grew these before. Recently found that I liked them. The pack was on sale so I was like… why not?
11. Peanuts.
12 Maybe some asparagus. It is so expensive in the store. Why not grow it

That’s a lot isn’t it? I’m being super ambitions, I know. It has been my experience that you gotta sometimes just throw yourself into thick of things and figure it out as you go. Most of those things I have grown before, so I feel comfortable. But it’s the scale in which I’m growing that I am iffy about.

More to come…..!


Peace

Peace. I know it's been 50-11 years since I posted here, but that is about to change. I have some things brewing and this is the perfect venue to build about them. So stay tuned! Peace, Serenity