2014 Garden

Finally here the time has come. Just a few months ago from seedlings into the ground they go just a wee plant to nourish our bodies, minds, and soul. 

I've got a Garden...

With the move I now have a backyard for my dog Freyja to play in but I also have a garden. 

Here's a photo of the work we did yesterday to get our fall greens going. Off in the back is a gate to a bigger garden, but that's not quite ready yet. If you are like me than you know how growing brings out a whole other level of love, compassion, and appreciation. We are truly blessed, and I am very excited to share as we continue growing within. 

hugelkultur - the ultimate garden bed

Hugelkultur is raised garden beds that reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation and fertilizer.

Re-Growing Food From Scraps

KALE STEM

I had to add kale to this list below of an article I found today. We've been doing this experiment with the stem of the kale I posted a few weeks ago. 

After using the long leaves I place the 8" long stem into a mason jar with some water out on the porch. When it began growing leaves I pulled those and ate them and planted the stem into a bed that gets about 2hrs of sun/day. Today I went down and took this photo. 

The article below reveals 4 other examples for you to try but I'm sure there are more. Enjoy!

4 Foods That'll Re-Grow from Kitchen Scraps

Written by Lacy Boggs Renner

You recycle your bottles and newspapers, you upcycle thrift store finds into decor treasures, and you reuse all your plastic bags. But do you upcycle your food scraps?  We're not talking compost here, we're talking re-growing food from scraps you might have tossed.

Turns out, several odds and ends you might have tossed can be re-grown into more food!

Scallions

When your recipe only calls for the green part of the scallions, don't toss the white end with the roots. Stick it in aglass jar with a little water and the greens will grow back. You can just snip off what you need as you go. This also works with leeks.

Lemongrass

This delicious, aromatic herb is really just a grass and will grow well in a pot in a sunny spot. Take the root ends (after you've used the rest in a recipe) and put in a jar of water in a sunny spot. After a week or so, you'll start to see roots appearing. Once the roots look healthy, transplant your lemongrass to a pot and let it grow. You can start harvesting when the stalks get to be a foot or more tall.

Celery

The next time you're chopping a bunch of celery, save the root end! Place it in a shallow bowl of water, and after a few days, you should start to see roots and new leaves appear. As soon as you see these, you can plant the celery—leaving the leaves just above the soil.  The plant will continue to grow, and soon you'll have a whole new head of celery!

Ginger

Did you know that ginger makes a beautiful (and useful) houseplant? If you've got a piece of fresh ginger going spare in your fridge, you can plant it in potting soil. Ginger is a root, and before long, you'll notice a lovely plant sprouting from it. Once the plant is big enough, you can actually pull it up, whack off a piece of the root, and replant it whenever you need fresh ginger—or just enjoy your culinary houseplant.

Growing Spell for the Garden

Seeds so blessed by pale moonlight,

Come forth now in sun so bright!

Lord and Lady hear our call,

Make these plants grow strong and tall.

Plants sweet, strong and bold,

Bring blessings now to our abode.

I set this spell three times three

As I will, so mote it be!

This Spring

Since moving in to this beautiful home which I like to call "a cabin in the city", because we are still in the city but also surrounded by the tallest trees. Let me share that is was vacant for a long time so everything on the property was overgrown and just lush with life by the end of summer 2011. Experiencing the changes of the season from the comfort of a cozy sofa on the back deck where I'm able to look out into the trees and watch the leaves fall, and return. I sit here now listening to the many song birds echo for miles in the light rain. Spring has blessed our home  with a birds nest inside the drain pipe against the side of the back deck. Friends for my beloved Cat... Consuela. There's a stream that wraps around the long half of the property which adds that extra sound of water trickling off in the distance. The wild coyotes that use it's path to cross the stream and freely roam over the back 1.5 acre which we don't use is now completely hidden for safe passage. They were so beautiful to watch during winter with tan coat of fur.

Since this post upon moving in, We've answered the question. "Where will our garden go?"

Right here.... well partially. ;) 

click on image to enlarge

Say hello to our raised garden bed. We used large and small rocks found scattered around the property without disturbing the grounds foundation. We also have the large pots from last year we can use so we washed them out and gave them a good scrub with a small bit of all natural dish soap and a scrubber. 

click to enlarge images

Here are the tomatoes we started indoors while there was still a bit of cool weather and frost. This year we bought our seed from a company in NC, Sow True Seed who sells open-pollinated/non-hybrid and untreated seed. So what you are looking at are the Native Cherokee and the Yellow Pear tomatoes.   

photo courtesy of sow true seed

photo courtesy of sow true seed

I plan on jarring plenty of tomato sauce using old authentic Italian recipes ;) Yummy, and hope to share them on etsy.com Who knows... Is there a market for that? 

Where was I? who knows here's some more photos and we're done till next time. 

wild strawberries 

The warmest wishes to the 4 people that read this blog.... May you be inspired to start growing within. 

Can you name this plant/weed?

I'd love to learn more about what's growing on the 3 acres here around the house so I went out and took some photos to share. Recently, I posted something on chickweed which got me to wondering "what else is out here?"So far I've been able to find some common weeds on a university website here in Atlanta. I might not have correctly identified what's in the photos but it's a start in the right direction. 

Let's start with the wild daffodils all around. 

one of the many chickweed beds

tastes like onion

Dichondra

some type of wild lettuce

growing in a row by the driveway

berries from a low thorny bush

another type of berry that grows on a bush

not sure but corse

Carolina Geranium

I think the deer like this one. 

Catchweed Bedstraw (edible)

much larger Catchweed Bedstraw

again Catchweed Bedstraw

chickweed

Purple Deadnettle (edible)

Shiny Cudweed

Chickweed Salad

(click image to enlarge, look closely you'll see the flower)

Chickweed Salad 

Over Thanksgiving it was pointed out that I have tons of chickweed (an edible leaf) growing all over the new property. Today I made a salad and threw a bunch in for fun. Free food - who doesn't love that idea? 

Give it a good rinse and there you go. 

Ingredients: 

• red leaf lettuce 
• chickweed
• avocado 
• cilantro
• onion
• green pepper
• sunflower seeds
• shiitake sesame dressing :)

I've learned there are medicinal benefits to eating this common weed. It tastes a bit like corn but I also felt some kick as in a peppery flavor. Well last month Fox News showed a clip from Central Park NYC. with Steve Brill on foraging, and yes chickweed was a part of the many natural plants they found. 

Here's the link to watch: 

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/01/10/health-benefits-chickweed/

 Let me know if you find some outside your door. Don't be afraid to try some. ;) 

Bye-bye, till next time.

In March of this year we started our very first "indoor garden" and it was very exciting to see what we could actually achieve inside a loft apartment in the city.

We grew... 

lettuce

herbs

tomatoes

peppers

After the move into "the green room" the tomatoes really grew taller than my 5'0" body (lol). 

BUT, they didn't produce as much fruit as they should have.  One word, Aphids!

After 4 organic treatments over the course of 2 months we finally made the decision to harvest what we could and say goodbye. 

The decision was bitter sweet, but I'd love to take this time to celebrate the shift that we are experiencing. 

We are moving into a house!!! Between August 27th - Sept. 1st we are moving our nest into a bigger space, 20mins away from downtown Atlanta to a spacious bungalow that feels like a cabin in the woods. 

Growing Within this loft has been a beautiful journey, one of the food we eat, of self-growth, attention, and in spirit. I'm excited to take our passion outside so please check back soon for updates from the garden.

With Love,
Tania & Lance