Grow Write Guild #11: Your Edible Rewards

The last thing I ate from my garden. Well, I'm going to take a bit of lee-way on this one and count my father's garden as my own since he does not do anything to tend to his garden since I moved out. Does that technically count? It does now!

The last thing I ate from the garden (his garden, an extension, or a community plot of my own, if you will), was a piece of pear that fell while I was canning. Wait, wrong again. I just put a spoonful of grape jelly in my mouth. Right. This. Second.

Yum.

Can you believe that until yesterday, I had never had grape jelly? PB and J always meant Peanut Butter and Jam. Strawberry Jam. No exceptions.

The hubs and I have been feeling rather efficient as of late (not really having much else to do during the day), and have been trying to can and preserve as much of the garden bounty as possible. I knew that the pears and grapes would go to waste if we didn't go get them. So what to do with them all?

We made grape juice using this tutorial. We then followed a simple grape jelly recipe from an amazing preserving book my sister bought me for my birthday last year, called We Sure Can, written by another lovely Torontonian, Sarah B. Hood. I highly recommend it. We made twenty jars!

I really don't know why we did not do this for the previous few years, and sadly, this may be the last year that we are able to get free grapes as my dad might be moving next year. I can say this much, however: we will certainly be heading back there in the near future to pick the next bunch for more grape jelly!

This is part of the Grow Write Guild as started by Gayla Trail at You Grow Girl.

{Not this. But this.}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #8: The Essence of Summer

To me, nothing saying summer quite like two plants: the tomato plant and the strawberry plant. Since I did not grow strawberries this year, I'm just going to speak briefly on it, before spending most of my time on the tomato.

To me, strawberries usher in the summer. Once the warmer weather decides to stick around, strawberries are the first thing in my area to pop up delightfully at the farmer's market or (in the past) in my yard. They scream: Now you don't have to look longingly at those giant, tasteless, California-grown, mutants they carry in the grocery store in the middle of January! NOW YOU CAN HAVE ME! They are perfectly sweet. They make an easy, killer jam, and they are the start of my summer.

But, once my summer really gets going, I mean, when it is so hot out that I can't fathom wearing a bra and a t-shirt (swimwear doesn't feel as sticky for some reason), it is the tomato that waits for me.

Black cherry tomato

I start my tomatoes sometime in March, when the weather is terrible and I long for spring to get going. I care for them very tenderly, making sure that they have everything that they will need to grow big and strong. I name them and talk to them. When it is time to go into the ground, after three weeks, they take off like weeds and I scurry to keep up with their growth.

Sometimes, I don't even have to do that. Five or six tomato vines have given me fruit this year, and I didn't even plant them. They have overgrown from the fruit that I let go to seed.

Wild tomato

I love the way my hands smell like tomatoes after I touch their leaves. I love that, left to their own devices, they will more or less take care of themselves. And, naturally, I love them in a noodle stir-fry.

I love that the wild tomato plant grows like a wild beast in every direction. I love that for the past two years, a rather rotund green caterpillar with a spike on it's rear-end has made an appearance on my plant, but only for a day (Since typing this I have found out that it is actually a tomato hornworm that enjoys munching on my greens. He's cute enough that he can stay. Not that I could find him again if I wanted to.). I love that Harley guards the sweet little orbs like it's his precious, because he knows that if he looks cute enough, he will be given permission to take one.

More than that, I like how some look like butts.

And brains.

And noses (yeah, we'll keep this innocent).

And some look like something beautiful and weird out of a science fiction novel.

While other look like abstract clumps.

But more than anything, they are the bright pops of colour in my yard that let me know I'm doing something right (And that it's time for some spaghetti!).

Reisetomate

Don't you just love summer?

This is part of the Grow Write Guild as started by Gayla Trail at You Grow Girl.

{Summer}

Grow Write Guild #10: This Plant is Driving Me Nuts!

Source

Spinach. 

Spinach drives me nuts.

 I have tried year, after year, after year, after year to grow spinach. I have tried conventional seed. I have tried organic seed. I have tried store-bought seed. I have tried seed passed down to me from a gardener who was swimming in spinach. I gave up this year. I won't lie. I couldn't be bothered to even try. 

I really, truly, have no idea what I am doing wrong.

I think maybe I need to start it earlier. Like, way earlier, when it is still relatively damp and cool?

It won't germinate at all.

But I don't know.

I love spinach.

It was the first green leafy thing that I liked to put in my mouth.

And I can't grow it for the life of me.

Sigh.

This is part of the Grow Write Guild as started by Gayla Trail at You Grow Girl.

{End scene.}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #6: Landscapes

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet for ya'll.

Hands down, I am most drawn to mountains. I live in Canada so we have everything from the flattest plains to the Rockies, but oddly enough, the first time I saw mountains I was not even in North America. I was in Germany for Christmas--Munich, actually--and we drove down to Neuschwanstein castle in the Alps.

Never heard of it? Well here's a picture:

Source

After that trip, I fell in love with the mountains. We went back to Germany this past Christmas, if you remember, this time heading for the Austrian part of the Alps:

I'd love to say that there are parts of this landscape that inspire my garden, but honestly, I can't say for sure if it has. I love having trees in my yard for lots of shade, but I'm not going to start growing the black forest on my front yard, not when I don't have a backyard to grow food in. And quite honestly, I've always felt quite at home in a densely wooded area. But again, I'm not going to make my yard here like that.

Having said this, I recently discovered my dream home. You'll know I'm a treehugger if you click on the link for sure. But my dream is to make one of these houses on a densely wooded lot, with forest to the north and an open space to the south (to garden and for passive energy, of course).

So maybe one day, I won't be living on a mountain in Germany, but I will have that little piece of forest that I can sit in and relax.

This is part of the Grow Write Guild as started by Gayla Trail at You Grow Girl.

{Relax.}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #5: Listen

My garden is quite busy with sound, even in the morning.

A few of the crickets from the night will not give up their chirping, even for the morning sun.

A single robin rustles some leaves as it tries to pull food from the ground, and chirps softly as Harley chases after her.

The breeze gently ripples through the tree leaves.

The neighbour's dog faintly barks, she's ready for her walk.

A single squirrel squawks it's odd screech, almost like a hawk's noise but the note goes up at the end.

Cars are starting to be heard in the neighbourhood, people heading to work, going about on their way.

The wind stirs again, only louder this time.

Under it all though, is the constant hum of the falls, water tumbling over a cliff down to the Niagara river.

A second dog, Sydney, begins barking at the neighbour, wanting to say hello, before her owner pulls her back onto the porch.

Following suit, a second squirrel, this one much noisier, sits atop a telephone pole squawking and chattering and waving his tail.

The crickets seem to get louder as time passes.

A few birds tweet quietly in the distance, and the squirrel gets quieter.

As the hum of the cars starts to drown out the hum of nature, of the falls, and the birds, and that noisy little beast on the telephone pole, I realize it's time to head inside to listen to a new kind of noise: the crunching of my morning granola.

* * * * *

This writing has been in response the Grow Write Guild Prompt #5: Listen.

And just so you know, while I describe the squirrel noise as squawking (it totally is), and some might describe it as "annoying screaming/screeching", it is totally my second favourite thing to listen to out there (after the falls). To be perfectly honest, when I first moved into this neighbourhood, I kept hearing their noises and thought (honestly), that someone in the neighbourhood had a pet macaw inside that had separation anxiety or something. I finally realized it was what noise a squirrel makes when I went out and saw one squawking at me in a tree! Ridiculous.

Anywho, have a lovely day. :)

{Listen}

Grow Write Guild #9: The Weird Al

Here you go folks, the Weird Al Grow Write Guild response. I hope you enjoy singing it as much as I do. :) Sorry, I don't know what is going on with this formatting and I can't seem to fix it. Whatevs. Deal with it!

I'm... I'm so in love with you,

Zucchini and garlic too,
Please grow lush and green...
I love that... you feed me and my family...
And I... want to eat your fruit and taproots too...

Let me say that since, berries,
Since you've been planted
Ooo...
Pruning you forever
Is what I... need...
Let me... be the one to water you...
I'll... always weed all around you...

Ooo onions...
Let's, let's grow together...
Watering in hot weather
Whether it's hot or cold, if there's frost or there's mold...
Ooooo... Oooo... Yeah...
Whether it's hot or cold, if there's frost or there's mold...

Why, some people, why they'd plant flowers
Ohhh, when they could have flours
With the right seeds
I'll... never stop watering you... (I won't, zukey.)
As long as you don't stop feeding me

(Here's what we're gonna do)

Let's, let's grow together
I'll water you in hot weather
Whether it's hot or cold, if there's frost or there's mold... Come on

Let's, let's grow together
I'll fertilize in all weather
Whether there's sun or rain, your pH, I'll maintain
And if you stop feeding me, I'll buy a peach tree

Watermelon, let's, let's grow together
I'll water you in hot weather
Whether it's hot or cold, if there's frost or there's mold
And if you stop feeding me, I'll buy a cherry tree

Raspberries, let's, let's grow together
I'll fertilize in all weather
Whether there's sun or rain, your pH, I'll maintain
And if you stop feeding me, oh berries, don't stop feeding me

Let's, let's grow together
I'll water you in hot weather
Whether it's hot or cold, if there's frost or there's mold
And if you stop feeding me, just don't stop feeding me

{Instrumental (so you can sing along, OBVIOUSLY)}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #4: Inspiration and Influence

Dear Ms. Trail, Mr. Beavan, and Mr. Suzuki,

I am writing this letter to you to let you know that you are all in some way responsible for my love of gardening.

I'm not quite sure which started first, my environmentalism or my love of gardening. I know that when I was told I was likely allergic to milk products, I started to read all my food labels. When I saw how many weird ingredients were in processed foods, I started to become curious and I researched all the weird and terrible things that were lurking in our food. I believe that this was the start of my interest in doing good by Mother Nature both by being green and by having a green thumb.

Although I had a tendency to kill any plant that lived inside the house, I seemed to have a knack for plants grown outdoors. Knowing my interest in all things being practical, it is easy to see how I fell for growing food.

Ms. Trail, it was around this time that you became an inspiration. As you put it, gardening to this point, was more or less for old retired ladies who had lots of dispensable income, and let's face it, your book made gardening seem so darn cool. You talked about all the different and rare varieties of food that I couldn't resist but grow. Let's not forget that you hail from Toronto! Canadian to boot. And from that first seed package, I knew that I'd be interested in your garden musings for a long time to come.

Mr. Suzuki, it was also around this time that I was influenced heavily by you. Again, you are another Canuck, and that is awesome. Your passion for the environment makes me want to constantly strive to make this world a safer and healthier place. If I can contribute by making one less trip to the grocery store, if I can eat a zero-mile meal more often, then I'd sleep a little easier at night. Let's not forget the David Suzuki digs my garden contest that I was chosen to be a part of! Too bad I didn't win that awesome gnome made in your likeness.

Mr. Beavan, my gardening love affair with you stems from the same place as my love affair with Mr. Suzuki, but I happened upon you much later in life. Bored and living in Northern Canada in the middle of nowhere, I purchased Netflix and watched your documentary, No Impact Man. It quickly became one of my favourite films. I was inspired by the journey you and your family took in order to make "no negative impact on the earth". I feel like my gardening is part of my effort to strive towards the same ideal.

So I just wanted to say thank you all for inspiring and influencing me to grow a better garden and be a better person!

Warm regards,

Carlee

{Hola}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #7: In Bloom

Wait...what?! Number seven? What happened to numbers four, five, and six (and eight and nine)? Well, I'll get there, but I just figure that I might as well start here and then do some catching up. It'll make me feel better doing it this way. Just........don't ask. I'm weird like that. :)

So there are a couple of plants that are currently in bloom out in my garden, but I know which one I would like to write about.

Quite a few years ago when I first started gardening, I was reading Gayla's You Grow Girl and found that a certain plant was mentioned over and over again as being beneficial for gardens. It not only enhanced the flavour of herbs, but it also attracted beneficial insects to the garden. So when I bought my first round of seeds, I made sure to pick up some Yarrow seeds as well.

I  planted that sucker and out it went. I don't really remember much from it that first year, but when we moved the following summer, I remember transplanting it into the new garden. I recall getting excited the first time it bloomed, it was placed by the cauliflower and broccoli, both of which never flowered before winter. We left it there, Trevor and I, when we left to live in England and Quebec, and it was rather small when we left it. We had come back and found that the whole garden plot had been mowed over. No joke. And then we came back a little later, really, like a month later and BOOM. Tons of leafy green foliage all feathered about. And it spread too! So we yanked those suckers out and transplanted them into our flower garden (The garden that I don't feel comfortable growing food in because I keep finding rusty nails in? Yeah...).

Now they are taking off in there.

I've even bought another yarrow to add because I like it so much.

I never really thought that flower gardening was my thing. I mean, they're not really useful, now are they? But, besides the obvious fact that they attract good bugs to help eat all the nasties off my precious food plants, these flowering plants have a calming effect. Especially yarrow because the leaves feel lovely. They are all soft and feathery. So all in all, I'm pretty happy that I bought the seeds, seeing my yarrow come back every year puts a smile on my face.

Have a great week everyone!

{BUST IT}

Guess Who's Back?

Ever since I've thought of the name for this post, I've had Eminem stuck in my head. Not exactly my kind of music (well, maybe when I was in grade nine it was). Regardless, I thought I'd share with you.

So now that I've effectively fallen off the face of the blogosphere (and let's face it, the real world too) for one month, I figure I should do a quick update before I start getting caught up in posts (Grow Write Guild, ahem....). To say that April and May were crazy busy is an understatement. I was leaving the house before seven and getting home between ten and midnight on average. And the days that I was off, I was sewing for the play or painting/renovating/organizing my house. Like, non-stop. So, I'm pretty happy that I have some time off now.

Remember those eggs that I was using to grow tomato seeds in? Are you curious as to how well that is going?

 I'd say it is going rather well, non? Well, reality is that it is going even better than this. This was taken almost a month ago! They have since been planted in a project that I'll post sometime in the near future.

The other plant babies have done rather well for themselves also. Just a sneak peek:

The rest of the tomatoes one month ago.

Some beautiful-looking dill

My fav: sage.

Baby asparagus!

They too are currently in the ground outside.

Gardening hasn't been without its failures though. I tried to grow an advocado:

 

But I killed it when I failed to change the water out everyday. Whoops.

I also planted some really cool corn outside:

 

Called martian, it was supposed to have yellow kernels and a purple cob! Only one of them started to grow, and that one was killed by a nasty thunderstorm we had about two weeks ago. :(

In sewing news, I have done lots and nothing.

I've sewn a bunch of costumes for the musical that I put on at the end of May, but I have sewn nothing for myself. Hopefully soon something will be in the works though......

Hmmmm....with this maybe?

And finally, in cooking/baking news, I will be taking a little semi-break. I read a really great article by another Niagara blogger all about how food bloggers don't really test their grub anymore before they put it up online for all to see. I will still post recipes, but only after trying it out on numerous friends and family, so they will be smaller in quantity, but higher in quality. Which should be interesting because I'm going back off gluten for a while. Regardless, I'll be spending the most of these next two months gardening and sewing anyways.

And that's everything! Glad to be back. Things will still be a little busy, but definitely not like before, so you're stuck with me now. Sucker.

Now go out and enjoy this nice weather!

{OBSESSED with this}

Grow Write Guild Prompt #3: Ch-Ch-Changes

I can't believe I'm two weeks behind in my Grow Write Guild prompts! Aye Carumba! Well, yeah I can actually. Things have been nutty around here. But that is okay. I'll survive.

So in case you haven't heard, for Grow Write Guild Prompt #3, we are to write about are garden RIGHT NOW. So, I'm going to unplug myself from the wall and take you outside so that we can discuss.

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Alright. Here I am sitting on my side porch steps on this beautiful sunny day. I'm going to try my best to do this one without photos since last time my post was all photos. I should also say that two weeks ago, my garden definitely did not look like this. We have been having a proper spring for the first time in ages, and so things have been growing. Also, I bought plants and I started planting my goods this past weekend. So oh well, deal with it. :P

To my left is what I affectionately call my "flower" garden. It is a small space, about 7 feet by 2 feet. In it, I have two yarrow plants that I originally planted at my parents, but have since transferred over to here. They are lush and green and starting to spread more than last year. I also have the green Chicks and Hens that Lourdes let me swipe from her mom's garden last year. It has produced a number of offspring, of which, a few have been plucked and planted elsewhere in this garden. I have three reddish-brown Chicks and Hens, which I bought a few weeks ago, as well as A new super clustered bright green one, and a clustered red tipped one, which I picked up this past weekend with Trevor from our favourite greenhouse. I also have a newly acquired Stonecrop that seems to be making itself right at home.

Now comes the interesting bits. While at Canadian Tire last year, I saw that they had some "Ontario Natives" plants hanging around. I picked out the best two plants, but that's not saying much. They were pretty sad looking. I bought a Mayapple because I had read that it is an edible wild plant (I have been really interested in foraging recently and have been able to identify a number of plants out on hikes!). I was pretty sure it died last year, but low and behold this weird thing had popped up in the soil about a week ago. It is now standing tall with six lovely leaves. I can't wait until it flowers! I hope it bears fruit! Also sitting rather handsomely in this garden are some fuzzy purple flowers. This too was one of those Canadian Tire destined to die plants. I really did think I killed this one too. Don't ask me what it is. I have no idea. Until today, all that was there was five dainty flowers, perched upon their stems. Today, one leaf has decided to make an appearance. Whatever this thing is, it is welcome back next year.

Above this garden is my kitchen porch planter box. Nothing is standing out of here except for sticks to denote what will soon (hopefully) be asparagus and green onions. I hope both the asparagus and the green onions take over this planter box in the most unruly ways.

To my right is another garden, about a foot and a half by about 11 feet. In order of closeness to me: a peony plant is sprouting up (I swear it was 6 inches shorter this morning!); three garlics, a foot high; two sticks denoting future onions; an unruly rose bush that has yet to produce a rose for me (not that I care for the flower much); four more garlics; something I did not plant, maybe Hostas?; a fresh little golden raspberry stalk; a garden gnome; a single pretty yellow tulip; loads of red raspberry leaves springing up from the ground and loads more on the plant stalk I left in over the winter.

To my "two o'clock" is the garden that we dug up last year. The place where the tomatoes took over. It is barren. I haven't gotten around to planting here yet! But I will!

In front of this, three black mismatched containers are barren also, but they hold more onions-to-be.

Shall I walk to the front garden window box? I shall!


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What do we have here? Oh hello, peppermint! How are you chocolate mint? Howdy banana mint! What's shakin' spearmint? Sup chives?

And under that, not even in a garden, just loitering from the previous owner in my "lawn" (mud patch), four beautiful red tulips and a spattering of daffodils.

Sigh.............tis spring.........   :)


And now....I must go clean some stuff up, get crackin' on my school stuff, and try to squeeze in my current house project.

Enjoy the beautiful weather!

{And enjoy this lovely tune.}

Weekend Project: Pretty Planter

As my husband and dad work on our house this weekend (long story, see bottom), I found myself looking for something to work on. Trevor grabs a dusty basket from the hallway shelves leading to the basement that was there because sometimes I hoard things. (Okay, more than sometimes.)

He grabs it and says, "Why don't you plant some wildflowers in this?"

"You mean like our wedding ones?"

"No, go buy some, then you can take a picture today."

Not one to argue when the hubs tells me to go buy plants, I immediately set to work.

First, I grabbed said wicker basket.

Then I grabbed a plastic bag that I had hanging around.

Then I punched about four small holes into the bottom of the bag for drainage, placed the bag inside of my basket as a liner (so the soil won't fall out), and taped it in place. I know the tape won't last, but as long as it stays long enough for me to get the soil in, I'm good.

I'm committed to the little photoshopped flowers now.......

Then I put some soil in a bowl (all my buckets were in use for home renos), and poured enough water in to make the soil nice and moist.

I put a small layer of soil into the bottom of the basket.

And then sprinkled a small amount of chicken poo fertilizer in there to save myself the trouble in a month when I realize I've forgotten to feed my plants (which will happen).

Then I got my plants ready.

First, this lovely Campanula.

Aaaaand, I give up on the little flowers.

First things, first: I squeezed all around the container holding the plant in order to loosen it:

And the wee flowers are back.

Then, I tilted the plant to the side, and grabbing just where the plant meets the soil, I gently removed the container:

Voila!

Then, I placed the plant in its proper place in the basket.

Next, this cute little Erica Heather plant:

I then repeated the whole process until the heather was also in the basket.

Good. Next, I filled in all the empty spaces:

...with soil:

And that's it! Now you have a cute little flower planter to sit on your front porch!

Now just go to your sewing stash and grab an excess piece of fabric,

And tie a pretty bow around your new planter!

I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. It is uber cute and it is the only thing that is making our house not look like no one cares about the yard. I swear we do, but the whole lawn needs to be ripped out and quite frankly, we don't have time for that right now.

Which brings me to my next point: Wondering why I've been M.I.A. for over a week?

One: that interview, it went really well-- I got the position! So, I've been prepping for that a bit. I belong to a school now! Hurrah!

Two: As a supply teacher, some weeks you work a little (and get lots of blogging done), other weeks you work a lot (and get only a little blogging done). I worked a full week. Good, but busy.

Three: This:

Where the water was coming in.

 AND this:

Where the house flipper failed to support our second floor between the kitchen and dining room.

OH, and this:

Where the house flipper failed to support the second floor in between the dining room and living room, resulting in huge cracks along the walls in the second floor.

OH, but wait, I'm not done:

Here is my toilet and sink outside on my porch. WHY is it there, you ask?

Because this is what my bathroom looks like. Because the wood is rotted out and moldy.

Because water was coming in through the ceiling here also.

And because even though we were told the house was "insulated to the gills," this is how much insulation was in one wall, making this bathroom our second refrigerator in the winter.

So, I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me? Needless to say, I will never buy a "flipped" house again. And, trust me when I say that I am only showing you the worst bits. There are a million other little things wrong all over. But whatever. Live and learn?

So I will be doing a photo shoot before the 19th (obviously) for my Mad Men dress, it is just a matter of finding a good time. Worst comes to worst, I can post the one photo I took of it in the Mad Men pose, and do the rest after. Either way, I just want this insanity to end! Hope you all have a good weekend, we'll be in touch soon. :)

{Exactly.}