Vermicomposting, my newest endeavor

I have a compost bin (the Earth Machine) in the backyard but I'm not finding it very satisfying. I can't use it in the winter because I can't get to it through the snow and it freezes shut. Plus I don't take care of it very well (Ron says it's not a compost heap, just a heap of rotting vegetables) and therefore don't exactly get compost from it. We don't have a lot of "brown" material (dried leaves, newspaper, grass clippings) to add to it along with all of the vegetables and it really needs a mix of carbon rich and nitrogen rich materials to thrive.

I have wanted a worm composting bin for a long long time. I haven't gotten one because it seems like a lot of work, I'm slightly creeped out by worms and worry about the kids getting in there. Well screw all that because I have jumped right in! I got my Worm Factory 360, the worms arrived yesterday and I am ready to go. I absolutely hate putting my food scraps in a landfill and now I won't have to. I'm happy to report that so far all is well. There were a few escapees last night but in general it seems very healthy in there. The worms have spread out and pretty much disappeared from view, down into the carefully prepared bedding I provided for them. I have some food scraps in the corners and if they have started eating them within three days I can start putting more scraps in there. With the right conditions it can be fully operational - meaning 5 trays high with the bottom one full of fresh, worm-made compost within 4 months.

I currently have to hold myself back from checking the bin (the worms like their privacy) more than once a day. I am constantly checking the thermometer to make sure it's not too cold (below 40) or too hot (about 80). I worry that even fully operational they won't be able to handle the large amount of vegetable scraps that we have. I guess that's what the big compost bin (aka the rotting vegetable heap) is for. I will keep you updated!

2011 Garden

The theme this year is simplicity. Tomatoes and herbs, just like I promised myself. Talia took half the garden for flowers. We left a space unplanted so the kids (Shayna) can dig around. It was so hard to pass up all the other plants and seeds at the market- peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, carrots, peas etc. but I really wanted to try it this way and see if the garden can be a joyful place instead of a stressor. If I miss growing all those other veggies I'll know for next time!

Pretty Local

We had an almost completely local (and delicious) dinner:

- tomato basil mozzarella salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar: tomatoes and basil from my garden
-asian slaw: cabbage and carrot from our CSA, mint and cilantro from my garden
-green beans with lemon parsley gremolata: green beans from the CSA, parsley from the garden and local parmesan cheese (actually I used the recipe from How to Eat Supper but this one seems almost the same)

AND I grew this! and this too!

My first carrot and what may be my entire crop of shelling peas. I'm going to have to use that ounce of peas for something really special! In other news... I think I might have blossom end rot on some tomatoes. I don't know what that is yet but the butts of my first few tomatoes are black and rot-ty looking. I guess I'll have to look it up. Any words of advice? 99.9% of my toms are still green so maybe there is something I can do...

I grew this!

I've been meaning to write a garden update for a long time. It's growing strong and I've learned some new lessons (namely, that squash plants grow really big and shade everything else. Actually I learned that last year but this year it has really sunk in!) We've eaten a crop of radishes and a crop of sugar snap peas so far.

This is my first head of broccoli. Broccoli is my favorite vegetable and we eat a lot of it in my house-- mostly just roasted in the toaster or regular oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. Sometimes with a little lemon or soy sauce. Everyone likes it but Alex. Considering we rarely all eat the same thing in this house, 3 out of 4 people is an accomplishment.

The main reason I wanted to grow broccoli is that I didn't know what it looked like when it grew. Is it a big tree or bush with lots of broccoli heads on it? Or does it just come out of the ground like asparagus? Actually, it's sort of a combination-- a big plant with lots of leaves and one head of broccoli in the middle. I'll post of a picture of it when I get to that garden post.

Anyway, growing this one head of broccoli felt like an accomplishment. I had heard rumors of pests attacking, like slugs or something. I had no problem with that but I will say the other head of broccoli isn't growing quite as well. Either way, it's broccoli for dinner tonight!

Planted

I finally got my garden planted. It's been hanging over my head for a few weeks. Last year was so successful-- and I'm scared it was beginner's luck. I wasn't sure what to plant, the compost/soil doesn't look as good, I don't want to compete with the produce I get from the CSA, etc. Truthfully, my main goal for the garden remains the same as last year-- I just want tomatoes and herbs. Everything else is bonus. I ended up planting everything from seed except the toms, which I haven't picked up yet. And the strawberry plants were bought too. The list is:

Every herb imaginable.
Radishes (just for fun)
Patty pan squash (we only got one bunch in our CSA last year and liked them a lot)
Snap Peas (definitely didn't get enough of these from the CSA)
Carrots (I think it would be fun to pull up carrots)
Jalapenos (I always need them and never have them)
Peppers (We eat a lot of peppers in salads and it would be nice to have them on hand)
Cucumbers (We eat tons of cukes here. They didn't grow last year but they didn't get enough support)
Spring Onions (I'm always buying these so I thought I'd grow them)
Pumpkin (just a few seeds for a Halloween pumpkin)
Strawberries (The one item that tastes completely different when picked fresh)
Tomatoes (of course)

Now that I look over the list, the only thing I really have in there from last year would be the toms, herbs and radishes. I had other varieties of some of these things, like summer squash and peppers. This year I know a little bit more about where the sun shines on my garden and how big some of these plants can get. I think for the most part I didn't crowd things in as much as I could have last year so this year they are probably overcrowded. I made sure to leave ample room for the tomatoes. I also tried to plant all the vine-y things like pumkins and cucumbers at the back of the garden and I'm going to get some sort of trellis for them to climb. In addition to my wish for tomatoes and herbs I can see I will be disappointed if I don't get some strawberries. I have a strawberry pot with a PVC pipe in it the I drilled full of holes. I read about it in some gardening book last year but couldn't find the instructions this year so I did it from memory. I hope it's right...

Talia seemed to have a LOT more interest in the garden this year than last. She helped me plant the seeds and wrote out a bunch of the stakes-- until she got tired. I also planted a lot of flower seeds for her around the house, including sunflowers. We tried them last year but I have to admit I was very neglectful. This year they have a prime position with lots of sun.

There will be many posts about the garden-- I'll keep you all updated!

Spring

I know, everyone in the world is posting about spring. I definitely never appreciated the onset of spring more than I do now; with two young kids in Wisconsin. We survived the winter! Even if winter returns and we get a bunch of snow between now and the end of April, the light at the end of the tunnel has made its appearance. The kids have enjoyed being outside and playing with neighbors who, despite living literally across the street from us, we have not seen since October. Today and yesterday when I drove Talia to school I kept having the sensation that I had forgotten something at home... of course! It was the snowsuit, the boots, the hat and mittens!

These pictures are from the spring flower show at Olbrich Gardens. Such a tiny room of flowers on display but just enough to dazzle Talia who wanted to find each different kind. It smelled heavenly and there was a little vegetable garden displayed which put me into a slight panic as I haven't done any planning for mine yet.

Enjoy enjoy enjoy before the weather turns again.

"How's the Garden?" you might ask...

The garden is still going strong. We've had a resurgence in peppers and eggplants-- definitely enough to keep up with though. The recent rains have revived my parsley crop. The cherry tomatoes are still coming in strong with many many new yellow flowers that may or may not have a chance to become tomatoes before the first frost. I'm sort of sick of cherry tomatoes-- sick of eating them, sick of picking them, sick of seeing them. I don't pick them that often so when I do (twice a week?) I have way too many and some are overripe. They are seem to be splitting either on the vine or right after being picked. I don't have an abundance of big tomatoes but I have some. They seem to be really small. I actually bought tomatoes last week, can you believe it? I think I went three months without buying them so... I guess that would be about $100 saved. I'll subtract it from the cost of the garden bed, books, seeds and plants etc. Actually, at that rate it will only take me about 4 years of tomato savings to work it off.

The one thing I know nothing about is how to put the garden bed to sleep. Rip up the old plants and then what? Can I bring some of my herbs inside? which ones? There's nothing I hate more than paying for fresh herbs at the grocery store. Any advice would be appreciated!

Eggplants, Green Beans and Many Many Tomatoes

I can see that some of the garden is winding down now. The yellow squash keeps putting out new blossoms but they die on the vine. Those plants used to take up my whole garden but now I can see they need to be pulled out. I think they got a disease-- or maybe there wasn't enough room for them. I had no idea they would get so big. The eggplants are coming in and I have to hurry and cook them up tomorrow-- Eggplant and Goat Cheese Salad again and some fresh bread. The tomatoes are still coming in heavy. I've made lots of salads, tons of gazpacho and some salsa too. I'm also giving many tomatoes away. There are only a handful of green beans so I'm just eating them raw as I pick them. I think it's funny that I didn't even know the green beans were growing. I'm so clueless about gardening that I had no idea where on the vine I would find them. The japanese beetles have decimated the leaves despite putting out traps so I just figured I wouldn't get any beans. Suddenly I saw the first bean and realized that there were a bunch of them just hanging there! Then again, those beans like to hide, don't they? This garden has been fun, educational and tasty to say the least. I need to take some time and gather my thoughts so I'll know what I want to change for next year.

Don't turn your back for a second

I skipped a day of harvesting tomatoes and ended up with about 8 biggies and almost two pints of cherry toms. Since then I'm getting about 5 biggies per day plus a pint of cherries. Now listen-- I love tomatoes. I planted the cherry tomatoes just to eat while I was outside gardening. I had NO IDEA, however, that I would reap this many. I had actually planted MORE tomato plants and the guy at the Bruce Company convinced me that two plants of each was more than enough (thank you, Bruce Company guy!). When I bought the tomato cages I never in a million years thought they would grow that big and now the plants are taller than me!

On a side note, some of my tomatoes have these scarred bottoms. They seem fine-- I mostly just cut that part off. Can anyone tell me if that's normal tomato stuff or if they have some disease?

I'm giving tomatoes away to friends (and yellow squash is coming your way too pretty soon) and I ordered a canning cookbook from the library so hopefully I'll be able to deal with some of this bounty. I'm eating a lot of tomatoes these days.

Also, will it be ok to plant the tomatoes in the same location next year or am I supposed to move them? They have to be where they are now or they'll shade everything else...

From the Garden

Came home to many tomatoes, two yellow squash and an eggplant (not pictured). I can't believe that I most likely won't have to buy tomatoes for the rest of the summer. I'm starting to recover my $400 investment in the garden (that's just the cost of the bed that was built-- not the plants, seeds, equipment, gardening books, etc.). I figure it will take a few years to grow enough vegetables to pay for itself. What I'm should really factor in is the wonder, amazement, satisfaction and excitement (minus my fear of bugs) that the garden has given me so far. A lifelong passion has been born-- no doubt!

Fruits of my Labor

Then

Now

Considering that I had very low expectations from my first garden (I just wanted a couple of tomatoes) I am extremely pleased with the harvest thus far. I had (have) more arugula than I could have ever used (now it's getting past it's prime-- what can I do with it?), the radishes were fantastic, the herbs are abundant and very useful. I'm not too sure about the eggplant and the cucumbers are completely shading my zucchini plants (who knew cucumbers had such huge leaves?) but I suspect my neighbor will have more zucchini than she can use. If the cucumbers do turn out I will have lots lots lots of them (how many cucumbers can a family really consume in a week-- 4? 6?).

My first ripe tomato. It was shocking to see the flash of red in my garden and I gasped loudly. I think I even scared Alex. I brought it inside and I was excited to show it to Talia. I worried that her response would be underwhelmed but she was extremely excited and surprised. She wanted to touch it and even taste it. She had a bit of a sour face when she ate it but she said, "Mom I like tomatoes now!" so I guess it wasn't too bad. I think she might really enjoy plopping some sun warmed cherry toms into her mouth. Of course we are going away soon-- just when the tomatoes will be ripe for picking. Luckily a neighbor has been gracious enough to offer to water the garden, pick up our CSA share and eat whatever is ready! Looks like I may end up with WAY more tomatoes than I can handle!

Lastly, I'm pretty sure the "pest" I thought I had in my garden was hail damage. I haven't seen anything else eat my tomatoes or damage my leaves. Nothing, that is, until the Japanese Beetle invasion of July 08. Hopefully the traps will do their job...

What We're Eating: Radish Feta Salad

I grew something! These are the last of the radishes from my garden. I can't believe how easy they were to grow. I never really cared much for radishes-- I only planted them because I heard they were easy and really quick. I loved watching them grow and it was very satisfying to have a crop of anything so early in the season. I have definitely grown to enjoy eating them as well. I sliced these up, drizzled them with olive oil, lemon zest and juice, salt, pepper and fresh mint. We've had mint growing on the side of our house from the previous owners. We have a TON so if you need some, let me know! There seems to be two kinds-- regular mint like you get in the store and maybe a spearmint as well? or a chocolate mint (is there such a thing?) I have soooo much. I love not having to buy herbs at a store. They are so very overpriced. I have basil, parsley, sage, oregano, rosemary and thyme now. I have a little tarragon but it doesn't seem to be growing. If anyone has a good herb cookbook to recommend, let me know. I'd like to use more of the herbs I have. Also, I now have an empty spot in my garden so if anyone has an idea of what I can put in there that is appropriate for this part of the growing season, please tell me!

What We're Eating: Fresh Peas

Ron and I picked these up from a farmstand on the side of the road. Of course they only had 5 pound bags. That's a LOT of peas! I froze some (blanched them for two minutes and then put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer) and also made Risi e Bisi, an italian pea risotto. This isn't the recipe I used but it's pretty close...


Risi e Bisi -- Italian style rice and peas

1 quart stock (I use Knorr's Vegetarian Cubes-- high in salt but I can't find another boullion I like)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 rounded cup Arborio rice
Salt and pepper
1 cup frozen peas (I used 2 cups of fresh)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Place stock in a small pot and warm over low heat.

Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil 2 turns of the pan, and garlic. Saute garlic 1 minute, then add Arborio. Toast the Arborio rice 2 minutes, then ladle in 1/3 of the stock. Bring to a bubble. Stir rice occasionally, allowing the rice to get starchy and the stock to cook into the rice. Add more stock when rice starts to become dry. Continue stirring and ladling broth until rice is al dente, 22 minutes. Stir in peas and cheese and season with salt and pepper, to your taste. Serve immediately.

Suggestions Please!

Something is eating my tomatoes! Any ideas? I've seen chipmunks and rabbits in my neighborhood (and many many birds) but I have not seen anything in my garden. There are bugs but nothing that I've specifically noticed hanging out on the plants. Maybe slugs? I left some beer out for them but nothing has crawled inside. Also, are the "rips" in my plant leaves from pests or wind? Help help help!

Garden Update

Things seem to be going well. I'm still amazed that putting seeds into soil can actually result in food. It seems so basic and yet so foreign. We've had quite a bit of rain and wind but everything looks ok. I see actual tomatoes on the vines and arugula that I can already eat. I have to force myself to actually USE the herbs instead of just letting them sit there. I feel like if I use them now I won't have any later. I have to convince myself this is not true. I planted basil and parsley from seed recently because I know I won't have enough from the transplants. When I use fresh herbs I use a LOT! Talia and I printed out pictures of vegetables, colored them, laminated them and attached popsicle sticks with medical tape to use as garden stakes. Hopefully they will last a while in spite of this strange and rainy weather.

It's all happening

My garden is growing! Of course I assumed the transplants (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, some herbs) would flourish but for some reason I didn't think anything would actually from from seed. I'm amazed that the arugula I sprinkled into the dirt is growing in a sprinkle pattern and the radishes are growing in rows! I can hardly bear to thin them out but I know I must. We've had a ton of rain this week so I haven't been able to get in there yet. This is all very exciting to me! Now I have to keep that bunny I saw out of there...

Getting Greener

Since it isn't getting any greener outside with all this snow, we've decided to go greener inside. I already seem to have mastered the "no more plastic grocery bags" concept and rarely forget to bring my envirosax. (Love the envriosax, thanks Mom! I've tried using a collection of canvas bags but these work really well and are so easy to carry around...) I was actually so good at remembering them that I ran out of paper bags to use for recycling. I had to "forget" them so I could get a few paper bags at the grocery! I wanted to do MORE this year so I've started two new projects:

1. Reducing the number of ziploc bags I use and reusing the ones I already have
2. Composting my kitchen waste

The ziploc bag thing is going well. I started using a lot more gladware for things like lemons and onions that go in the fridge. I'm also not using any ziplocs for lunches either. I bought wax bags and paper bags for some other things I used to use ziplocs for, like stickers and other little items. I was about to order a ziploc bag drying rack online when I thought... I can make that! I wanted to paint a flowerpot to match the Marimekko container I'm using for my large utensils and I was going to fill it with the colored rocks you use in fish tanks and then stick wooden chopsticks inside to hold the bags open. I bought everything to complete this task but... I haven't gotten to it yet. So I took one of Talia's flower pots and filled it with rice. It's working out great. I can't believe how many ziplocs I used in the past. What a waste! I'm also saving all my plastic containers for my garden projects. Right now Alex likes to take them out of the cabinet to play with. We'll be planting something soon, I hope!

Composting:
I don't want to throw my kitchen scraps in the garbage anymore where they'll sit in plastic bags for 100 years. It seems so wrong. I've been using Rachel Ray's "Garbage Bowl" concept for a while now so every night when I'm cleaning up from dinner I literally have a bucket of compostable materials that I toss in the trash. I did a little research and realized that I don't have to wait until spring to begin this project. I just took a heavy duty Rubbermaid container from my basement and have started to fill it with waste. It's easy, doesn't smell (yet?) and makes me feel pretty good. I also feel slightly less bad about the food that goes to waste in our fridge--I just toss it in the compost bin. In the springtime I'll move it out to whatever are I set up for a compost pile.

Four Seasons Quilt Swap: Sent

This is the quilt I made for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap. It was based on a design I saw at the Madison Quilt Expo so I located the designer through an internet search (scary, isn't it?!) and we emailed back and forth a little about the design and he gave me permission to use it in my quilt. I wanted the quilt to look like gifts wrapped with ribbon. The back was made during a fun freeform afternoon using leftover scraps and a little of my stash thrown in. It was really fun to make a quilt for a stranger and the whole "secret Santa" aspect of it was intriguing!

I thought I would have time to work on it-- I forgot I had holiday crafting to complete, a vacation to Mexico, Talia's school break, sicknesses, etc. The only thing I wanted to do with it was turn the blocks on point, like the original work. I have never done a quilt on point and this was going to be a new skill for me. In the end, I just didn't have enough time so I skipped it but added a pieced back which not stress inducing-- it was actually kind of relaxing!

After a whirlwind of projects, both sewing and otherwise, I haven't really been in my craft room that much in the past two or three weeks. Instead I've been spending my "spare" time (about 10 minutes per day) reading my garden books and getting excited for that new challenge.