Last Minute Plantings July 14, 2008

So that little jungle of seedlings I wrote about earlier are nagging to get into the ground before I leave and they are a top priority, along with some cuttings I started a few weeks ago. My irrigation methods are quite primitive which I like because I get to hang out with my plants and monitor their progress, HOWEVER when you leave it is all in jeopardy. My husband is good with the watering, but he will need help and the boys are not very helpful when it comes to that.

They turn the nozzle to jet which is traumatic for the plants, but fun for them. I let them start a little 3 sisters plot (Corn, Beans, and Squash), and we spent so much time getting it ready, from sifting out compost, double digging, beautifully spacing and organizing the seeds….The first time I watered it in and turned over the hose, for them to keep up. Well, when the beans, corn, and squash popped up all in the same spot I was a bit baffled.

Being the detective that I am I noticed an irregular amount of mud splats on the wall behind the plot. I said nothing but waited and spied the next time they watered. The jet stream had dislodged the germinating seeds and  because of the huge puddle it formed they all floated into the same spot and replanted. I let it go…hey, it’s their plot, they can do what they want. I was tempted to fix it but they need to understand that life requires patience, you rush it and it just won’t turn out the way you want it.

I guess I do need to get other types of irrigation to be fair, water wise, and more effective. Leaky pipes will probably do the trick but I enjoy hand watering, I can see whats going on.

So  anyway the little seedlings had been moved out recently to harden off and adapt to the great outdoors, and much to my delight the tray is swarming  with bees. I was really happy about that. There is plenty of lavender, sage, salvia, and such already established but there is like a bee for every flower. There must be a hive nearby. Hopefully at a friendly home or at mine.

There is a passage in a book that I like but don’t remember, when the author describes honey oozing out of someone’s walls and the room smelling sickening sweet and practically vibrating from the buzzzzzz. To me it is a comforting image.

just buzzy looking for distractions…

dan de lioness

P.S. Any book suggestions for a flight that lasts 23 hours??? (fiction)

Backyard Farming in the City July 3, 2008

A growing number of city dwellers are growing their own food. In  ground, raised beds, and containers heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, and such have found their way to the city. Is this only a simple solution to our “economic slowdown” aaahhhcooresession! or is it because we are becoming more environmentally conscious? Whatever the  reason, lets keep it up…we are all a part of (cliche alert) the circle of life.

Be lessening our use of disposables (incomes included) we have the  opportunity to learn about our lives again. The values of our great-grandparents may again be in vogue. They were  conservationists, if something broke they fixed it, if  the socks got holes they were mended, if the dress was ripped it became a quilt, the food they ate they grew it, the abundance was shared with a neighbor. The good old days. We have only in recent times become wasteful. It’s not too late, we are still hardwired as conservationists. Maybe a recession is what we need to reawaken that spirit.

Its really easy to grow food, its like having a pet that eventually will feed you. You provide a nice environment and it will flourish, you don’t and they will be sickly. Water, soil, and seed is really all you need. There is very little skill involved. Many are intimidated by the idea but everyone started somewhere. The worst that can happen is that your plant will die, but you will learn from that and it maybe the next one won’t. I have been an avid gardener now for 8 years and I still kill stuff.

I think the most satisfying first crop is tomatoes, those little grape ones are just phenominal, they grow quick, fruit quick, and abundantly. Tomatoes will tolerate a little abuse, and can easily be grown in a container if you don’t have yard space. Yesterday I was in whole foods and heirloom tomatoes were a whopping $5.99 a pound……that is crazy. And they will never be as good as the ones you grow. Give it a shot, grow a tomato. Let me know  how you fair. Ask if you need advice.

Plant Peace

Dandelioness

The Bees and the Balance June 23, 2008

This weekend during a heat wave that rendered me completely useless, I stumbled upon an episode of Nature Silence of the Bees (KCET) about Colony Collapse Disorder and it’s suspected causes. Recently a few of the kids in my neighborhood threw rocks at a hive and I was pretty mad, trying to explain and educate these kids made me look like ‘that mom’ and probably once again embarrassed my kids….so of course I made them watch the program too… along with one other captive. A few parts were pretty heavy but they got the message loud and clear. My kids understand to a certain extent, I have several plants whose flowers did not get pollinated and they have no fruit, but nothing beats perspective.

There was a segment in which they showed a village in China whose overuse of unregulated pesticides killed all of their bee population…the bees have not come back. They still grow pears but they pollinate by hand using chicken feathers and dried pollen that they hand collect. Complete terrifying insanity!!! You can’t send a man to do a bee’s job. They are the link to food variety and flowering plant life which is the majority of the things we should eat, fruits and nuts. Grains are wind pollinated for the most part but talk about a drab carb diet.

Its not just the bees. They are not the first warning that we need to change our food system. One of the theory’s mentioned as a possible cause was mono-cropping. The idea was that the bees were being malnourished by only feeding on one type of flower. Imagine if we only ate potatoes, everyday, all day, for a month. We would be pretty weak and sick, it doesn’t take long to become malnourished. So just another possible theory. There are many more. Check out the program if you get a chance the full episode is available at :

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/by-title/introduction-2/38/

“Life hangs delicately in the balance” ~ 70’s era nature show narrator cliché

I like it because it is so true and can be applied to every aspect of our existence on this earth. Balance in the garden is natural and right.

seek balance :: find happiness

dandelioness

Arabian Coffee Plants Growing in Albertsons? June 19, 2008

The other day I was in the grocery store and I of course always check out the plants and cut flowers:( when I stumbled upon an Arabian coffee plant. I was like neato! but it came packaged in a coffee mug, how chic!?! I wasn’t about to pay 8 bucks for a coffee mug and one plant. I could buy the seeds for less. But because of my journey I am a bit reluctant to plant more than what we need for sustenance and ornamentation. (mind you my kitchen looks like a miniature jungle with all of seedlings I’ve sown the past few weeks) The point is that I am trying to keep it manageable for my husband and offspring.

I don’t drink coffee regularly, but I do want experience growing native Ethiopian plants. This is pretty darn close. I think any program has to take into account its usefulness to the people it serves. Of course it is important to introduce diversity but not at the exclusion of tradition. My goal is to introduce our best mini farming methods and fuse them with the experience, traditions, and best practices of Ethiopia’s farmers. My mission is not an attempt to go and say your wrong do it this way. But as partners lets work towards increasing the success and productivity of the small farms with agricultural practices that rebuild the soil, conserve resources, and feed the people.

• 95% of Ethiopia’s population have and maintain a small to mid-sized farm
• The primary method of irrigation is rainfall
• Rural water development methods need to be explored

I hope to determine on this visit what the direct needs of the farmers are and seek out solutions based on rediscovered and sustainable technologies. Main criteria is that it needs to be easily self managed.

There is no one right way. I know I will learn much more than I will ever be able to teach. Long live life long learning!

…back to Albertsons, so I didn’t buy it. Then I had to go in and pick up something from a different one and low and behold someone else dropped a mug and broke it… the coffee plant was now without a coffee mug and I bought it for $2.50. yippie! Ya just don’t find plants like that lurking around, ya know. Oh and the leaves look like they have been heavily waxed, they are gleaming, blinding, and just way too much… but I am sure after a few years of loving neglect they will dull down to a healthy glow. When will they learn….lol

now get off the computer and grow something,

smiles…dandelioness