Spring Garden

I've got a broccoli crown that is just started to grow, carrots that can be harvested to make room, or wait until they get a bit larger, pea & cucumber seedlings ready for transplant next week, & strawberries starting to grow. A friend of mine mentioned pollinating the strawberries as he had a hard time with them before, but we have so many bees buzzing around our plum trees out back it hasn't been an issue.
The plant seedlings were not organic, but the growing methods are. I know that still does not make my food 'organic' but I feel better knowing my food only needs a good rinse when it comes out of the garden.

Bees- they buzz around, collecting pollen and sometimes stinging people. There are usually bumble bees out buzzing around me while I garden, and I make sure to give them space. They are tending to my plants making sure the flowers get pollinated. I have always liked bees and since I eat a lot of local honey my allergies aren't even half as bad as my boyfriend's-who hardly sweetens stuff.
If I ever reach my goal and live on my own land my main priorities will be my garden and my bees. I want to keep bees to extract their delicious honey in the spring and fall. I have read up about bee keeping and it seems like something I would really enjoy. Not only that but it will definitely be an income earner for my 'farm' and I can focus on having a garden purely for sustaining my 'family' and not having to stress and mess with large quantities of organic produce.

Broccoli FTW

I did very well with growing broccoli this winter. In the deep south this mild winter rarely lead to freezing temps. The 4 broccoli plants I grew from young plants at Lowe's yielded a large broccoli crown each, and very many florets. Some of them flowered and I still ate them raw in salads and on veggie sandwiches. I read that once they flower they are inedible... but when ate some like this and I was fine... The broccoli leaves are also edible and I've found a few recipes online but have not tried. Now I have 9 very happy young broccoli plants growing in my potting mix and compost I got from a neighbor. Strawberries are also surviving the cool nights well in the middle of the broccolis, and a young carrot harvested was delicious and told me they still need another month or two before they're full grown.
I also planted a tomato today, the small cherry kind because those did best in the buckets last year; and 5 bell pepper plants.

We may be on the road again soon. And when that happens I don't want to abandon my garden. So I am looking at buying a trailer and building up sides, drilling holes in the floor and putting my soil and garden in that. I will garden in square feet so I can easily determine how much I can grow. I have a design laid out and seeing on craigslist the one I'm looking for can come inexpensive so I look forward to practicing (on a small scale) a gardening style that was practiced successfully by native Americans.

Zuni Gardens, Curtis

Garden Update

Minus Photos at the Moment, sorry my one reader. :)

I've got broccoli and lettuce that is doing great! I got a 4 pk of starters for 1.50 each, planted about 4 weeks ago, fertilized a few days ago and they are doing great! The weather has started to cool finally and the 40degree nights are great for these guys. The lettuce is slow growing but I just fertilized it yesterday, and I keep picking the lower leaves for salads and tacos. Buttercrunch is good.
However there's these horrible bugs that ATE my catnip and now they are getting on my plants. I unfortunately sprayed the broc because it doesn't have the heads yet. But the lettuce I don't feel comfortable spraying since I eat it right off the plant... I know I can wash it but I just feel like it sinks in... So I go out and flick em off the plant here and there.
The bugs fly and are square-ish in shape, with a hard shell. They look like itty bitty dark chicklits~ that weird square gum in vending machines, except slightly smaller on one side. WHAT ARE THEY!? I don't know but they KILLED the catnip. I harvested what I could, but goodbye yummy friend until next year!
Also got some mint growing inside because i wanted a lovely green, good smelling plant that grows "readily indoors." So it was doing great and then it started dying, and then I noticed leaves were getting MUNCHED. A big fat green caterpillar ate my plant. It had some green shoots, so I repotted it, and set it by the window. Low and behold, leaves are growing back quickly.
Carrots~ I started them months ago, I don't even remember when. And what small little things they still are. I did a good thinning out and fertilized. Maybe that will get them growing good. The little ones I pulled were white little taproots that smelled like carrot! they should go through the winter Ok if I cover them in extreme cold (which is not often here in the deep south) and should have nice spring carrots.
I now know that I need to start my seedlings EARLY and get them outside ASAP because an early crop is essential, before the temps start staying above 100 degrees.

Garden Update

To the left you can see my Catnip plant is doing awesome. (My cat Bootsie Collins is in the background) Catnip tried to go to seed so I pinched off the head to keep it from doing so. Harvest time is near. Fresh catnip doesn't do much for the kitties, they just sniff and walk away. Once it is dried they have more interest. Until then, I have found that fresh catnip is AWESOME on pizza. Just rip some up and throw on top of sauce before you cheese is. It has a wonderful taste. I think it would also go great with steaks and pork although I don't eat pork. I don't find much on the internet about people using catnip in recipes but I have been using it as a go to spice since my other choice is Basil, which my strain is very strong flavored, almost like licorice. Next year I will try a few different varieties of basil to find my favorite- this one is just a bit too strong. I still use it anyways though :)
The sun has moved in my yard, so I had to move my plants now that their old spot is shaded by the apartment buildings I live in. I also got complaints about my buckets so I reduced the amount, pulling up my beloved jalapeno (because its too cool now) and bell peppers (who got diseased somehow but still produced 3 delicious peppers. Thank you Bells!) I said I was sorry and thank you, and tossed them into the woods. Most people are happy about my plants and dont have issues... but some elderly ladies like to make trouble with us young'uns so they do their best. Since I don't have wild parties and disturb anybody they find other things to complain about.
I planted potatoes and garlic at stupid times- mid summer. I just felt like sticking some that started growing in pots and see what happens. The potato plants got pulled and I was surprised to find some teeny little tatos in the dirt I dumped from the bucket.

Hello Tatos!

the jalapeno farthest from the tatos is the only one I got from seed. Either my soil mixture was not right, or they do not like transplant. Next year I hope to find out more.
My garlic is doing something weird~ but appears to be going along a lot better now the weather has "cooled"- that means it is in the 80s and not 110s! I transplanted a bulb back in July and a small clove had already formed.
There is a feeling i get from growing my plants my brings me great joy. I look forward to the day I can do it full time, producing a bountiful harvest in the summer to bring me and my partner food all winter long- giving us time to travel and return when its time to plant again.

Garden Update

Well I finally got carrots sprouted~ I did the old method of putting the seeds in a moist towel, but soaking them in a sprouter and then rinsing them like how I make sprouts may work just as well. It worked for my spinach~ the weather is finally cooled off enough now to get a good start. I want to start some broccoli but I haven't found any seeds yet.

My catnip has grown a lot in the past week! But today I picked up it's basket to re-arrange my plants and a root was ripped from the earth beneath it! I hope it will be Ok... I should repot it in a bigger pot I suppose... I love the basket look though and I don't want to disturb the roots by ripping it out of the basket~ so I am going to just set the basket in a bucket of soil and leave it at that until its time to harvest it completely. Next time I should re pot it before it gets so big. Luckily I have a whole bunch of seeds still for next spring!

Lookin' a little wilty now...

My Jalapeno plants are still going strong, one of them has a whole set of new peppers growing. Now that is getting cooler out I worry if they'll have a chance to fully develop. They grow a lot smaller than other jalapenos I see at the store or ones my friend grows... But they still pack a punch! I'll have to make some more Pinappeno hot sauce! Pineapple juice + jalapeno + vinegar + bit of salt and blend! You can cook it down to make it thicker too... but we just left it runny.

Pickles and Hot Sauce

I grew some cucumbers and they were yummy, but I don't prefer plain ol' cukes. I like 'em pickled. Refer to page 212 in Back To Basics for info and recipe. (don't have this book yet? Well you're crazy because it's awesome!) Ok, so it may be in the mail... I will tell ya what I did.

Pickled Cukes~ I sliced my cukes into spears and soaked them in Brine (1/2 cup salt : 1/2 gal water) it is best to use salt with nothing else in it or else the cukes will turn color or the water will cloud. I used regular table salt because that is what I had, so the water is a bit murky but that is just because of the additives...
I let them sit on the counter for about 8 hours and drained them. Meanwhile I brought vinegar, salt, sugar and water to boil. I put the cukes in a mason jar along with jalapenos I grew and some garlic. Usually you want to add some fresh Dill here, but the dill got over run with weeds and I haven't started anymore.
After you're smelly vinegar mixture is done you pour it into the jars with your cukes & spices. Now put on your lid and boil it in water for 20 minutes. This cans it! Take out your jars with some tongs and let cool. Enjoy!

Pineapple Jalapeno Hot Sauce & Spicy Pickled Cucumbers

Pineapple Jalapeno Hot Sauce~ I have 4 jalapeno bushes in 5 gal buckets (now I know you only need 2-3 gal per bush) plus some young plants that started from seed and take forever. Its wetter here than their natural habitat so I've had to pick some peppers early. I made hot sauce with these cause they are so dang hot! !
We had around 10 or 15 peppers, put in a blender, added vinegar, sea salt and pineapple juice. It turned out wonderful! Just add a little bit of everything at a time and taste~ you can always add more but can't take it out! :) Also if you aren't doing sweet, use water & onions & garlic for savory-ness.

Holla!!!! Penos

In my large cucumber pot I had dill & carrots growing. In the first photo you can see a tiny dill baby sprouting up. The other shoots I thought were carrots, but they were weeds! I let them take over the dill and I pulled one up randomly to see how it was and there was no carrot on the end! So we pulled the rest of the weeds up... Gotta watch those weeds, they are sneaky.

Back To Basics

This month a friend and I were thrift store shopping and she found this book~ Back To Basics for $3. She let me take it home with me for the evening to look through since I was very interested. This book, copy written in 1981, tells you in logical order how to start a homestead. From what to look for when purchasing land, how to do a soil test, plan your property layout, collect firewood in ways to keep your forest yielding constantly, building a home, composting, gardening, preserving, hunting, leather making, beer & wine making, bee keeping and much more!! It even has different designs for building an underground house, which is the type of home I had planned on building. Before the section on wood cutting it tells you how to make your own ax and tools! This book is a must have for a "n00b" like me...
what is even cooler~ in the next few years I will actually be able to use this book from cover to cover.

Last year I got the book "Making Stuff and Doing Things." This book is a collection of articles ranging from making your pet flea collars, soy milk and compost to all natural remedies, cleaners, and feminine products. There are sections on clothes making, sewing, book making, and even an article on making your on strap-on dong! This book taught me about menstrual cramp relieving massages~ something I should have learned about when I was eleven. Some of the articles are very in depth and others just give you a quick look at how to make things on your own~ but may not give measurements.


I heard about a poll that was taken at a friend's school~ one of the questions was, "If you lose a button on a shirt do you sew one back on or throw it out and buy a new one?" And most people chose to throw it away than take 5 minutes to sew a new one back on. Wow people, just WOW.