I know Spring Will Come

Signs of Spring

Well, it has been a long winter and a long time since my last post.  Yet, finally we are seeing signs of Spring in our yard.  No crocuses survived the squirrels, rabbits, and deer.  But the snow drops have and each year the patch gets a little larger.

Then, next to the snow drops was one single dwarf blue iris.  The splash of color from this volunteer is a delight for the eyes.  A reminder that there are more colors in the world than white, brown, and spring green.

Pussy Willows Bloom

And the pussy willow bush is blooming.

Daffodils are up and we can even see the buds forming.  And the bud on the rest of the flowering bushes are starting to swell.





It's Time to Plant Peas

So, with spring starting to show its face, it is time to plant peas.  Each time I look at these small wrinkled orbs I marvel at how they will transform into lush green vines and sweet, delicious peas.  But first we have to wait. . . . . . .


Here is the garden.  The peas are in the center bed.  Next weekend I'll add the radishes and carrots.  As spring progresses it will be hard to wait for the last frost before we plant tomatoes.

Last year was the first year we tried using the old dog pen as a garden fence.  It worked!  It kept the deer out.

A new (four legged neighbor) appears

This morning we realized that the brown lump at the bottom of the tree in the back yard was not a branch.  Yesterday morning, in the bleary-eyed pre-dawn drizzle I noticed that a branch must have fallen from the plum tree.  And, I never thought more about it.

When we looked out this morning, this is what we saw.

Looking closer, we could see a new fawn.

A couple days ago, about 6:30 AM we saw a deer in the back yard.  It was nibbling the leaves on this tree.  Then it wandered out the hole in the back fence.  Our first thought was to check the garden.  We didn't find any evidence that the deer had tried to eat anything inside the fence.  Now I wonder, was it the mother looking for a place to drop her fawn?

In the early afternoon today, we saw the fawn wander off through the back fence.  When and where it caught up with its mother we don't know.  So far it hasn't come back to bed down under the tree.  But we'll check in the morning.

I did learn a couple interesting facts about fawns.  For the first few days they have no scent.  This helps them avoid predators while they are gaining strength to walk.  The mother stays away during this time so that her scent does not attract predators.   However, the mother is always around the area watching and she will come to her baby's aid should it be in distress.  That is a reminder to me that fawns are not abandoned even though they may seem to be.

Radish Harvest

The past two weeks have seen a lot growth in the garden.  This morning the radishes were calling to be thinned.  Even after pulling this huge bunch of radishes the bed looks just a full as before I started.  Debby has started looking for fun new radish recipes.  One with smashed avacado on toast sounds good.  If that doesn't work we can always fall back on thinly sliced radishes on hot buttered toast.  Both types of radish have a wonderful crisp fresh crunch with a peppery after bite.  Pure spring delight.

Looking around the garden, I see amazing evidence of growth.  The onion sets were put in the ground just over a week ago and their tops are stretching sunward.  I wonder how many peas we will really get since the weather is already so hot.  However, they are still climbing their trellis.  Hope springs eternal.

Kale, spinach, and Swiss chard are all growing like gang busters.  

The basil is filling out into beautiful globes.  The tomatoes are settling in well and starting to fill out.  The carrots will have to be thinned soon.  It has been a wonderful weekend to spend in the garden.   I didn't even mind having to replant the dill in the herb garden.  Since the herb garden doesn't have a high fence, either the rabbits or deer got to the dill.  However, the dill is now safely ensconced inside the fence.  

The morning air has been gentle and breakfast on the deck has been relaxing.  We are quickly making the transition from spring to summer.

As we celebrate this Memorial Day, I want to share this photo I took yesterday morning.  The sun was rising, the sprinkler was watering the garden, and I realized that we had a rainbow.  The rainbow has always been a sign of promise.  

A promise of 

Bounty.  Peace.  Memories.

To all who have served, to all who have gone before, you are not forgotten.

Planting Peas

It has been a busy day.  This morning I had my first green smoothie using our own swiss chard.  In addition to chard our smoothies usually have some fruit.  These have mellon, blue berries, and strawberries.  Debby found some chia seeds to add for additional fiber.  The color may look odd to some but the flavor is great.

My projects for today were to finish the center raised bed in the garden and plant the peas.  Debbie surprised me the other day with some pea plants from the nursery.  I had been really bummed that I hadn't been able to get the peas in early enough.  But the garden wasn't ready in time.  Now that these plants are in the ground it looks like I got my peas planted back in April.

The rest of the garden is growing well.  The radishes and carrots were planted May 1st.  Yesterday I started thinning the radishes (the sprouts will go well in a salad).  The carrots are out of the ground.  In this picture the carrots are those tiny things going crosswise in the background.

So far the deer and rabbits have stayed away from the garden.  We can probably attribute the success with rabbits to the additional chicken wire around the base of the fence.  I wouldn't be surprised if the deer are not interested because the plants aren't big enough.  Only time will tell.

Signs of Growth

It has been a busy day.  While eating breakfast on the deck we saw that there was new green in garden.  Our radishes have sprouted.  The seed packet said 4-5 days to sprout, and I did plant them on Tuesday, so we shouldn't have been surprised.  However, any time I plant seeds I wonder.

Now we wait patiently for the carrots to sprout.  The germination tables say 12-15 days at 75 deg.  So I guess I have to wait till next weekend to greet them.


We had picked up some Swiss Chard and those plants are doing well.  Tomorrow we'll start picking chard for green smoothies.  I did have a green smoothie for breakfast yesterday.  Debby made it with spinach we already had.  

 Today's project was replacing the falling down fence in our front yard.  The job is done.  I could even get the grape vine to twine around the new rails like it had done with the old fence.  

Even with all the post hole digging, the Lily of the Valley survived.  Whenever I smell that flower I remember our neighbor's garden back East where I grew up.  She had Lily of the Valley planted along her house.  It brings back fond memories.  This is the view out our kitchen window. 

It has been a good day.  Lots of yard work and now we're ready for a relaxing evening.

A New Garden - In a Dog Pen

Well, it has been a long time since I added a post to this blog.  Last year we didn't even try to grow anything in containers.  The deer had been too effective in 2010, and all we harvested from four tomato plants were four cherry tomatoes.  No matter how many chairs and small fences I made to block the deer from the edge of our deck, they found their way through and had midnight snacks each night.

Now it is 2012 and we have a brand new idea on how to restart our garden.  In the garage we had the parts for a dog run.  Since we don't use the run, we decided to create the garden inside a fence.

The garden pen is 10' x 10'.  The beds are raised 10" above grade.  We know that rabbits can slip through chain link with ease.  We watched them get away from our Welsh Terrier that way many times.  And there were the few that didn't hit the chain link holes just right and Cassie got them instead of them getting away.  Fortunately, that didn't happen too often, but Debby will say it happened too many times while I was out of town.  Here is a close up of how we hope to avoid the rabbit problem.

What looks like double fence is just that.  I added a 2' high section of poultry wire around the inside base of the chain link.  The fence sections are resting on 4x4s.  The 2x10s that make up the bed are screwed to the 4x4s.  We'll see how well this all holds up.

Today I planted my first seeds and plants.  The plants are Swiss Chard.  Green smoothies are on their way.  I'm taking a bit of a chance, but went ahead and planted radishes and carrots.  I have divided the garden in to 1' squares (in my imagination, at least) and I am trying a modified version of square foot gardening.  So here is a long view of the first plantings.

And here I am, one happy gardener.  As any of you who try to grow a garden, you know that we could never do this unless we believed that hope springs eternal.

Mike

2010 Container Garden

This year we are repeating our container garden efforts. This time we have lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, basil, and one stray cabbage plant. The cabbage plant came with the one of the chard seedlings. I am reusing the containers from last year, but with new soil. The tomatoes haven't been planted yet. We were gone over Memorial Day weekend and I didn't trust that there wouldn't be a frost. So this summer I will probably have the latest tomatoes of anyone I know. Oh well, such is life. By the way, no peas this year. For the handful we harvested last year, it wasn't worth the effort. Maybe next year.

Wyandotte to Get Farmers Market

Read an article in the News Herald that the city of Wyandotte has approved a farmer's market for this summer. On Thursdays, from June 17 through September 16 (excluding July 8, Thursday during the Street Fair) there will be a farmer's market on the site of the old Wyandotte Theater, corner of First and Elm.

Superweed outbreak triggers arms race

This article from today's Wall Street Journal raises some interesting thoughts. Think about the implications and consequences. - Mike

The Wall Street Journal, By Scott Kilman (June 4, 2010)
Hardy superweeds immune to the Farm Belt's most effective weedkiller are invading fields, prompting a counterattack from agribusiness that could leave farmers using greater amounts of harsh old-line herbicides. The flagging weedkiller is Roundup. Its developer, Monsanto Co., also sells seeds for corn, soybean and cotton plants unaffected by the chemical, enabling farmers to spray it on freely without fear of harming their crops. Farmers now do so en masse, using "Roundup Ready" crop varieties for 90% of the soybeans and 80% of the corn grown across the U.S. The rise of Roundup, more than a decade ago, sent older herbicides that damage both weeds and crops into deep eclipse. But now, as nasty invaders with names like pigweed, horseweed and Johnsongrass develop immunity to the mighty Roundup, chemical companies are dusting off the potent herbicides of old for an attack on the new superweeds. (The complete article is available on page A1 of today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal)

Carlton Corn at Kurtzhal's

Stopped at Kurtzhal's yesterday (July 6) and they had the first corn from the Carlton farm. It was tasty but small. 3 ears for a dollar. --Jan

Hey, folks, sorry I've fallen down on the job. I wanted to draw your attention to something in this morning's paper. The Detroit Free Press has an article about all the local farmer's markets (although it disappointingly doesn't include Monroe). Check it out at http://www.freep.com/article/20090604/FEATURES02/906040354/1025/FEATURES/Farm+fresh+fun+at+farmers+markets

The article includes a link to a .pdf map of the metro area showing the local markets. This link includes descriptions of all the markets listed on the map: http://www.freep.com/article/20090604/FEATURES02/906040353/Metro+Detroit+farmers+markets


Does anybody know about the one in Lincoln Park? According to the Freep, it's Sundays from 11 to 4, and the goods sold include not only produce and flowers, but products from both Avalon bakery in Detroit and Wyandotte's Vinewood bakery (which I believe is owned by a Grosse Ile family). I plan to check it out Sunday if I can, and I'll post what I find out.

I see tendrils....

The peas are growing nicely.  There are even some short tendrils.  I guess that means I have to start seriously thinking about stakes or some other climbing support for these beautiful little plants.  If you look closely, just to the right of the left-hand row of plants is a row of smaller pea plants.  These are from the second sowing - the one I did when I thought the first crop had failed.  Who knows how many peas we will or won't harvest this year?  It is fun watching.

I'm seeing green....

Yes, there are tiny green shoots poking out of the dirt in our self-contained planting unit.  The picture says it all.  I first saw the shoots on Monday evening, April 6th - 16 days after we planted them.  The picture says it all!  Tiny green shoots all lined up in a row. 

The past two weeks seemed to take forever to pass.  In reality, I thought a month had gone by since we planted peas.  Oh joy!  Oh delight!  We may even have peas this summer!  What encouragement as we move much too slowly into spring.

Water, Water, Everywhere

and not a drop to collect.  Huh?  Well, I just read an  article in the Wall Street Journal that made me stop and think about our bounty here in Michigan. This article talks about some of the arcane laws in some western states that govern just what you can do with water. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123794222413232887.htm

If you are in Colorado, then it is illegal to collect rain water. Water laws in western states like Colorado distribute all the water, that means river water, aquifer water, and rain water, based on water-rights claims that date back to the mid 1800s. In a state as blessed with water as we are in Michigan, it boggles my mind that each drop of rain is so important in regions that I don't think of as arid.

Read the article. Think about the issue from both sides. Then think about how we as Michiganders feel when other states look at our Great Lakes and talk about water diversion.

There are no easy answers. But, I sure am glad I can pursue the idea of a rain barrel without worrying that Debby will have to visit me in jail.

March Madness: Snow! in my Garden!

It doesn't seem right a week after the Reynolds' wonderful pea-planting post (who doesn't love alliteration?) to see yesterday evening's snowfall -- even more aggravating when it stuck around! Still, it just serves as a reminder that we are still in Michigan (even if the presence of the Great Lakes keeps us in Zone 6). And as exuberant as the occasional high-50's to 60's days make me, I have to remember that the average last frost date for this area is mid-May (see http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/mi.html), before I go sticking seeds in the ground.



Of course, there are a lot of things you can plant before the last frost, but that list has to wait (a quick Google search was unhelpful -- I'll have to go back to the books!) Not a vegetable, but encouraging: I did see hardy pansies available for planting at Trentwood market over the weekend.



I've added three blogs to the list on the right. One is the blog from Maplecreek farms, the local CSA (community supported agriculture) farm discussed in class. The most recent Maplecreek post gets into food policy, and some bills pending in Congress. It's very informative. As a frequent reader of blogs, I especially appreciated her including the sources of the information she related.



Incidentally, I plan to call later today to find out if shares are still available. I'll post when I know.


The second blog just looked like another kindred spirit (at least from the title), from here in Michigan.

The third addition, 101 Cookbooks, is not about local foods (although I'm sure she supports their use). Instead, it's about more creativity in our cooking, with a vegetarian emphasis. In addition to getting more and more varied vegetables in my diet, I know that I should be paying attention to grains and beans as well. This site is a good source for flavorful and interesting recipes that meet both those interests.

Happy, snowy Spring!

Peas Please

I love peas and the thought of home grown peas, fresh from the garden, is so tantalizing that I took the plunge and planted some yesterday (March 21, 2009).

Because we have so much clay in our soil and last Fall I didn't plan for a vegetable garden, I decided to try container gardening.  Debby showed me the "self-contained gardening system" which is similar to the Earthbox(TM) containers.  Well, after running to the local big-box hardware and general merchandise stores, I came home with two 18 gallon storage tubs, a pond basket from the on-line "you can buy everything here" web site, and some odds and ends from our cellar.  

The directions on josho's web site were easy to follow.  I built the self-contained gardening system in less than 30 minutes.  Then we went outside to plant.  The photos show the planting process.

The photos show the empty gardening container.  Inside, you can see the pond basket which, when filled with dirt, acts like a wick to bring water from the lower section to keep the soil in the upper section moist..

Once the container was filled with dirt, I covered the top with black plastic to keep weeds down and help warm the soil.  The plastic is held in place by the original storage tub lid with the center cut out.  Rather than cut holes for each pea seed, I cut two slits, ca. 1/4" wide, in the plastic and planted my rows.  Then I put some more dirt (really potting mix) on top of the plastic to help hold it down in the wind.

Filling the tub with water was easy - that's the purpose of the fill tube.  You can't over-fill the container with water because there is a weep hole or overflow in the side.  That hole is just below the bottom of the dirt.  

Now, in 67 more days, if the package is accurate, we will be picking peas from our own plants.  Somewhere along the way I'll have to rig up some stakes and lines for the vines to climb.  But I expect that it will be a couple weeks before I have to do that.

Along the way I'll keep you posted on how the peas are growing.  Since these storage tubs go on sale frequently, I may even make a couple more.

Articles everywhere!

Wow, there are articles popping up everywhere this week pertaining to the topics we talked about in class.

From the Civil Eats blog, there's an article about getting the artificial growth hormone-containing milk out of our school lunch program.
http://civileats.com/2009/03/09/grade-a-for-getting-rbgh-out-of-school-milk/

You can go online to Mother Jones magazine and either read or listen to a wonderful interview with Marion Nestle. (I recommend listening to the interview. It's brief but fascinating.)
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2008/10/mojo-audio-chihuahua-coal-mine

Here's an article on the option of tagging livestock in order to trace disease; not a good idea, says the author.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/opinion/11hayes.html

Here are the latest developments on high fructose corn syrup.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/21/dining/21sugar.html

The latest on this rapidly expanding food movement
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/business/22food.html?emc=eta1

Mark Bittman's latest thoughts or organic or not?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/weekinreview/22bittman.html?emc=eta1

And I'm sure you haven't missed all the publicity surrounding the White House announcement regarding planting a vegetable garden on the White House lawn. What an exciting time to be interested in issues of food!

Hey, This is so exciting!

Pat, this is just fabulous! What a great way for all of us to share our discoveries. HUGE thanks to you for setting this up and for offering to be our blog "guru". And thanks for having a note underway to the group regarding how they can access this blog and be involved.

A few minutes with Google this afternoon tells me that the robin who has been frenetically dive-bombing our windows this week is most likely a male looking urgently for a girlfriend. Urgently, I would emphasize. The strange things you'll see hanging outside of and taped onto our windows over the next few weeks will be our attempts to dissuade him and potentially all of his cousins. (We learned our lesson from poor Tippi Hedron.)

This will lift your spirits:

The Joys of Planting: Earth, Sun, and Peas (New York Times today)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/garden/12garden.html?emc=eta1

I don't suggest this next link to alarm you, but when Nicholas Kristoff speaks, I pay attention.

Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health by Nicholas Kristoff
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/opinion/12kristof.html?em

I think I'll read the happy article about peas again.

If anyone's planning their garden already, here's a link to a homemade growing container that has been compared to an Earthbox.
http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm

Anyone seen any asparagus coming up yet?

Debby

Debby

Debut

First, this is a work in progress, this author's first attempt at a blog. Second, it will be a collaborative effort. This blog arises out of a six week Adult Nurture class offered at Grosse Ile Presbyterian Church of Grosse Ile, Michigan, relying on the curriculum "Just Eating." The class was so engaged by the topics offered that we could only cover a fraction of what our able leader had compiled. This is in part because the participants were so passionate about the general subject, and because there are so many topics to address under that general one: eat locally? organic? vegetarian? fair trade? with or without high fructose corn syrup? What sources does one believe, Mark Bittman and Barbara Kingsolver or the food industry? And how do our choices affect the economy, the planet, the poor?

This is the place for further discussion on all those issues, and anything else that seems to pertain. In addition, we hope to use it to share resources, such as what's in season or on sale; where's a new farmer's roadside stand; worthwhile recipes; and anything else that seems to pertain to the concept of Just Eating.