CSA Goods: Our First Crate Full!
March 13, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Natural & Heathly Lifestyle, Simple & Green Living
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Hiya peeps!
Today was our first CSA pickup from Abundant Harvest Organics and were feeling so pumped about our decision to eat more local and in season. We’ve been talking about it for over a year now after I did a write up for the local paper. We didn’t have the opportunity to make the leap until now.
Finally we’ve done so and now were committed each Saturday to pick up a large crate at 10AM.
We happened to be early birds today and from this we gained that “extras” were available for our taking.
Score!
We are not sure whether this will happen every week but it sure was a nice start!!
Here is the glorious bounty …
Doesn’t look like much but we did the tally and …
the contents contained…
1 bunch of chard
1 bunch of spring onion
1 bunch of carrots
1 bunch of beets
3 cabbages (2 green + 1 red)
4 potatoes
5 baby artichokes
29 brussels sprouts
10 tangelos
9 lemons (eureka & meyer)
2 rutabagas
2 leeks
extras
2 green heads of cabbage
4 tangelos
4 potatoes
A pretty nice pickup of organic fruits and veggies, don’t ya think?
We initially thought we’d be sharing a crate but we’ll easily eat up every ounce of healthy goodness a large crate contains.
Mmm!
If you have a CSA pickup in your area, check into it.
Support your local farmers- eat local, seasonal, organic foods..
all while helping to protect the planet for future generations to enjoy!
Yesterday, as I walked into the kitchen, I spotted our Italian herb sprouts popping up in their container.
They all sprouted but one and it took them exactly one week to say hello! 
Today, has been great the weather not so much! It’s windy and nasty out.
But, that didn’t stop us from taking a drive out to our local conservation district to check out what native plants, shrubs, trees and flowers we will be planting in our front yard.
We are hoping to dig out the lawn and plant edible flowers and pretty much have a water wise front yard.
I did take some video footage but I don’t have much time to upload it…
to say the least, we came home with a California native elderberry bush!!!
super stoked.
Elderberry syrup and wine here we come!
yum. yum.
There are so many benefits to supporting local businesses and growing plants, trees and flowers that thrive well in your area.
It puts a lot of things into perspective.
Were connecting ourselves with nature and community.
It’s magical.
I’m grateful for our CSA pickup and can’t wait for din-din because we also get to enjoy our homemade sauerkraut ( 6 days old)
YAY! 
Hope you’ve had a lovely Saturday!
Oh! if you have a rutabaga recipe you’d like to share… feel free!
Refuse Plastic! Get Hip with Glass Dharma Drinking Straws
March 10, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Natural & Heathly Lifestyle, Simple & Green Living
* Attention: Giveaway at the end of this post!
Hi everyone. Hope you enjoyed my interview with Beth.
Since were on the topic of plastic this week… did you know an Atlantic Garbage Patch was found recently (other than the Pacific Garbage Patch) ??!!
One more reason we should cut back on our use of sythentics; simply because plastic is forever, plastic does not biodegrade, and plastic is pesky (toxic)!
One of my biggest goals in this eco journey is attempting to live life with less plastic as Beth Terry does daily. Eliminating plastic from our lives can be challenging but also rewarding.
WHY
When you make the decision to REFUSE plastic, oceans are saved, wildlife and the planet IS spared; nature is protected.
When you think of everyday conveniences like water bottles, plastic bags, plastic utensils & cups, razors, diapers etc. What do you picture? A bunch of waste, right? We’re littering our landfills with these disposable conveniences and sometimes forget to think about their consequences and… sometimes it’s the small things that go unnoticed …
One of the most common plastic items getting tossed into the wastebasket are plastic straws. Since straws are made from polypropylene they happen to be toxic for the environment and to our health (AND as you all know, plastic is not biodegradable!!).
Tell Me More
You wouldn’t think plastic straws are a big deal until you consider this..
“As of March 2008, McDonald’s serves an average of 52 million meals PER DAY!”
and that’s just Mickey D’s… !!
Well, don’t cry your little eco heart out over it…because there happens to be a solution.
Glass Dharma is a Northern California based company who creates and designs hand blown glass drinking straws.
Cool, huh?
Now, I know what you’re thinking … glass straw? What if it breaks?
Don’t worry, because Glass Dharma has a lifetime guarantee against breakage.
This does NOT mean Glass Dharma straws are unbreakable!
It means if you happen to break your lovely glass straw, Glass Dharma will either replace or repair it (whichever applies).
To find out more about what they’re made from and learn more specifics, click here.
Glass is GROOVY
Glass Dharma sent us three eco friendly straws to review and I must say; it sure has made sippin’ beverages more fun (ie: green smoothies in our home!).
Here’s what they sent me…
Beautiful Bends
& a lil sipper with decorative dots…
unfortunately though, I allowed my son (2.5 yrs) to ting tang with the straw a bit to long and boom, bang… right to the floor it went. I’m talking within minutes of opening up the packages. I was so devastated. I contacted Glass Dharma right away to let them what happened and they kindly agreed to send me a new one (since the straw was for review purposes only I’m not planning to have them replace it).
Moral
You certainly want to keep an eye on you’re tater tots (children) while drinking from these straws. As with any curious child, they’ll want to tinker and these straws are after all made from GLASS so they will break… especially against our unforgiving tile!
Does this mean I’m against drinking from glass straws or will no longer allow my tots to drink from them?
Heck no! It means accidents happen; beware.
I LOVE, LOVE our Glass Dharma drinking straws and LOVE that it saves millions of straws from being tossed into a landfill.
We sip green smoothies on the daily around here and I’m always eager to add my new glass straw into my cup. Bend or no bend … they sip fantastically and are very easy to clean. Water rinses through them with no problems. You can stick them in the dishwasher and call it good.
Be sure to check the accessories available for your glass straw drinking needs.
I’ve been trying to be good about taking it with me everywhere by putting it back into the box it came in…
I just place it into my purse and go. You never know when a take-out situation might occur. lol!
Oh, and be sure to check out this handy tutorial on how to reuse the boxes, as your glass straw case. Genius.
{ GIVEAWAY TIME }
Glass Dharma is kindly offering a $25.00 gift certificate to one lucky reader!!!
You know you want one.
Comment to win!
That easy.
Extra Entries:
1. Leave a comment here telling me what accessory you’d like to have;
2. Share this giveaway on Facebook;
3. Tweet about this giveaway;
You must leave an additional comment for any extra entries!
Giveaway ends March 19th, 2010. Winner will be announced on the 20th!
GOOD LUCK
&
Happy weekend to you!
An Interview with Beth Terry: Live life with less plastic.
March 9, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Simple & Green Living
Beth Terry, is someone I consider to be an eco pioneer in attempting to rid your life of pesky plastic. She is the woman behind the Take Back the Filter campaign (urged Brita to take back their filters and succeeded) and is a motivator and inspiration when it comes to living life with LESS plastic. If you haven’t yet visited her site, Fake Plastic Fish, be sure to do so; it’s filled with tons of knowledge regarding the perils of plastic and helpful tips on living a plastic free lifestyle.
Beth was kind enough to take some time away from her busy schedule to do a little Q & A …
La Mama Naturale asked:
What motivated you to start collecting plastic?
In June of 2007 I saw a photo that changed my life. It was a dead albatross chick filled with plastic pieces from daily life: bottle caps, toothbrushes, lighters, plastic toys… At that point, I had never heard of the North Pacific Gyre (the area in the ocean now known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch where so much of our plastic trash ends up) and I had no idea that our lifestyles were causing such harm thousands of miles from civilization. I looked at my life and realized I had to change.
The plastic collection was a way for me to see just how much plastic waste I was generating in the first place and the blog was a way to keep myself on track.
How did you come up with the blog title Fake Plastic Fish?
It’s actually a reference to a Radiohead song, “Fake Plastic Trees.” (Radiohead is one of my favorite bands ever and pretty environmentally conscious.) I came up with name Fake Plastic Fish because if we don’t stop polluting our oceans with plastic, they could be the only kind of fish we have left.
Who are your mentors?
My first inspiration was actually Colin Beavan, the No Impact Man. I had heard about him and his project to live for a year generating no negative environmental impact on a radio program. It was via a link on his web site that I stumbled upon the photo of that albatross chick. He helped me believe that my personal actions could make a difference.
Closer to home, one of my mentors has been Stuart Moody, the coordinator of Green Sangha’s Rethinking Plastics campaign. Green Sangha is a spiritually-based local environmental organization whose philosophy is that there is really no separation between us and that if we want to heal the planet, we need to come from a place of love rather than creating enemies. The Rethinking Plastics program is one of their major efforts, and they give presentations to schools, businesses, and community groups about the problem of plastics for health and the environment. I’ve actually given that presentation a couple of times myself.
And finally, one of my heros is Captain Charlie Moore who first discovered the plastic in the gyre over 10 years ago and has worked tirelessly to bring awareness to this issue. I love that he never minces words. He says that plastic pollution is just the visible symbol of our global crisis of over-consumption. He came up with that in a strategy meeting I attended, and I was so moved that I wrote it down and memorized it.
Honestly, the people I admire are those who stand up for what they believe and don’t worry about looking foolish. That’s what I aspire to.
What are some of the challenges you face when choosing an alternative to plastic?
Some things simply cannot be replaced. That was the hardest lesson for me. I actually was addicted to convenience foods. Energy bars. And especially frozen dinners. But after stubborn trial and error, I found that there is no frozen convenience food that is not packaged in some kind of plastic. Even the cardboard trays are lined with plastic. I used to think I could order drinks in a disposable cup and just ask for no lid and no straw. Then I learned that all those cups are lined with plastic too — as are metal cans, which also contain BPA.
Can you tell us more about your job as the Plastic Sea Monster?
Ha! Don’t know how many more times I will do that because walking around in plastic all day is not fun. Especially in the hot sun.
I created the plastic sea monster costume for the SF Bay to Breakers (the annual foot race/walk across San Francisco). My friend Eli Saddler from Ocean Health (http://www.facebook.com/oceanhealth) dressed as a leatherback sea turtle (because sea turtles eat plastic bags) and I chased him around SF. We actually won the Bay to Breakers costume contest in the green category.
I wore an earlier version of the costume at Oakland’s Earth Expo and for two days in a row at the Marin County Fair. That was what turned me off from ever wearing it in the sun again. I think I need a cloth lining. Sweating in plastic trash is not a good time.
What is your biggest pet peeve with plastic?
Bottled water. Hands down. Not only is the bottle plastic, but the whole idea of bottled water is one of the biggest scams ever perpetrated. Why pay so much money for something we can get for pennies out of our taps? Not to mention the environmental impact of extracting water, shipping it from the source to the bottling plant, using the energy and plastic that go into the bottles, shipping it to the store, and then the waste after the bottle is used. Why can’t we invest in our water infrastructure, making sure there is clean municipal water for all? And that our drinking fountains are plentiful and actually work?
Okay, my other pet peeve is overpackaging. Individual fruits and vegetables wrapped in plastic. I recently saw an article about 7-Eleven trying out bananas wrapped in plastic. Bananas come with their own natural wrapper! And all the automatic extras you get at take-out food places. Utensils, straws, condiments, napkins, etc. The plastic containers are bad enough, but restaurants should ask if you need that stuff before automatically sticking it in the bag. Automatic unnecessary plastic that many consumers don’t even question or that they see as an entitlement.
If you had the opportunity to make/change the laws surrounding plastic what would be the first thing you do?
1) I would require full disclosure from manufacturers of the ingredients in their plastic packaging. We know about chemicals like BPA, phthalates, styrene, and recently antimony in #1 PET bottles; but what about the chemicals we don’t know about? Plastic bottles, bags, and containers rarely contain the simple plastic polymer. Companies use additives to affect the strength, texture, pliability, color, and even antimicrobial properties of plastic. And for proprietary reasons, they are not required to disclose any of those additives. If consumers don’t know what’s in the plastic, how can we really know it’s safe?
2) I would like to see packaging included in requirements for organic certification. Isn’t it ironic that we are willing to spend extra money to make sure no toxic chemicals have been added to our foods and personal care products, only to have them packaged in plastic that could potentially leach hormone disrupting chemicals back into them?
3) I would pass EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) legislation which requires manufacturers to provide for the full life cycle of a product. Currently, we as citizens spend our tax dollars to figure out ways to handle all the plastic and other waste generated from these products. Our cities have to pay for recycling services and figuring out what to do with the material. When EPR legislation is in effect, as it is in Europe, companies that make the stuff are much more conscious of the materials they use in the first place, because they are the ones who have to figure out what happens to it when it’s used up.
What do you want people to know about your plastic less journey?
First, I want to clarify that I am not against all plastics. I want to see an end to single-use plastic packaging, as well as plastic used for food packaging and storage. But in terms of durable non-food related items, I’m obviously using a computer made from plastic. My phone is plastic. My kitchen appliances are plastic. To me, the key is reducing our consumption over all. Taking advantage of resources like Freecycle, thrift stores, lending/borrowing programs, repair services. We are living in a disposable society, but it doesn’t have to be that way. For example, why does each home need to have their own lawn mower? Here in Oakland, we actually have a tool lending library, where we can check out tools just like we would books. In fact, it’s part of the public library system.
The other thing I want them to know is that I don’t expect anyone to be as extreme as I am. My goal is simply to show what is possible.
AND just for fun… if there were no issues with plastic whether in landfills or toxicity; what would you buy?
I’d do the same thing I am doing now. You know why? Because of all those things still require materials and energy to produce in the first place. The manufacture of so much stuff is one of the causes of global warming. But also? Living more simply with less stuff just plain feels better.
touche’
Thanks again, Beth!! It is truly an honor to have you as a guest at RYD.
Hope everyone enjoyed the read as much as I did!
{Happy WW} Tot Fun: Planting an Herb Garden
March 9, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Uncategorized, Wordless Wednesday
{Meatless Monday} Curious About Kelp Noodles…
March 8, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Natural & Heathly Lifestyle, {Meatless Monday's} & Recipes
Hola, dear readers!! Hope you all had a marvelous weekend.
We had a nice one but it went WAY TOO FAST. We added three more chicks to our brood and finally put them into the coop with the hens but separated them until they get bigger (more on that later).
It’s time to share another meatless meal with everyone …
On our last monthly trip to the Whole Foods market, I decided on buying some kelp noodles. I’ve been curious about kelp noodles after reading several posts throughout raw foodie blogosphere. I figured I’d give them a go, so in the basket they went.
At first, I wasn’t quite sure what to think of the translucent yet rubbery feeling noodles.. but once you rinse them off they feel just like pasta noodles. Really! If you have more time you can soak them in water and little lemon juice to bring more life into them and get rid of the packaged flavor.
They have a neutral taste so they take on whatever flavor you mesh them with just like with tofu. The noodles weren’t part of my menu plan so the purchase and the sauce we made for it was definitely on a whim…we ended up making a sauce from the uncook book “Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen” called Garlic Cashew Aioli.
It was really yummy and satisfying. The sauce was creamy like and alfredo and sooo flavorful. I definitely enjoyed the kelp noodle experience and think it’s a wonderful alternative to starchy pasta. Since the noodles don’t require any heating and the sauce was a simple blend of under 10 ingredients… it was an easy peasy meal to put together.
We served it with cooked asparagus from the dehydrator (2 hrs), and a yummy green salad My husband whipped up a quick vinaigrette dressing that consisted of EVOO, S&P, Balsamic & ACV mix, with Italian spice seasoning for the salad and it was good. Organic raw vegan goodness all around.
I’ve fallen in love with eating uncooked goods off the dehydrator… the asparagus was so perfectly enhanced I’ve been uncooking it that way ever since (including other veggies as well). Who would have thought that I’d be using my Mr. Foods dehydrator so often and lovin’ it. It was only used twice before I took it out of the dungeon garage just last July. Experimenting with it and making fun treats has been super fun. Soon, I’d like to upgrade to one of these babies!
Kelp Garlic Aioli + dehydrated asparagus & yummy green salad = happy honey, tots and mama!
The only downside to this lovely sea vegetable (kelp) is the fact, it’s packaged in plastic that cannot be recycled. 
Other than that…my curiosity filled my starchy needs…AND I’d like to try these variations
Mmmm!
What are you cooking or uncooking the kitch this week?
Food Revolution: Shocking!
March 4, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Natural & Heathly Lifestyle, Simple & Green Living
One of the reasons, we decided on plotting out a garden and growing our own veggies was so we could also enjoy it with our boys (this thought was pre-kids, ftr!;). After conceiving the eco tot the message of growing our own food became more clear; having a garden would also serve as an educational tool. It would allow the boys to learn where our food comes from and appreciate it more.
Enjoying moments, like opening seed packets, breaking new ground, allowing the exploration time as seeds are placed into the earth, watching the garden grow, watering/ maintenance, and the best part the harvest are all ways to learn.
I know this isn’t the case for everyone. Which is why I encourage signing up for your local CSA , visiting farmer’s markets and local farms to familiarize your children with where food comes from. When they see foods outside of the grocery store it will prompt questions and make for an interesting conversation which is another perfect opportunity for learning. Especially, when they see yellow broccoli or purple kale. Even something as small as an herb garden or compost pile will spark your child’s interest!
I definitely don’t want my kids to be part of a nation where they believe food comes from a box or from golden arches. It’s sad to think we’re allowing convenience to take care of our children rather than teaching them nutritional values and options and better yet… basic fruit & vegetable identification. I’m not perfect by any means. I don’t always feel like making dinner but in my opinion it starts at the kitchen table.
Did you know March is National Nutritonal Month?
How do you teach your children about fruits and vegetables?
What did you think?
Reusing a Strawberry Basket
March 2, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Simple & Green Living
Hello there!
Happy Hump Day!
Lately, I’ve been in a crazy reuse mood so everything I see gets dissected and often times is recreated into something new. Last week, we bought a 2 flats of organic strawberries. I can hear you now, big deal. It is a big deal in a sense because those flats come packed with individual plastic containers to keep the strawberries contained. The ONLY part I hate about purchasing strawberries is the pesky plastic green containers. They’re so nostalgic to me, actually. I can remember my grandma handing them to us to forage for the strawberries that grew in her yard and not to mention, all the strawberry shortcakes I’ve eaten … just something about them.
I did happen to notice the recycling symbol on the bottom of them now.Quite honestly, I don’t remember that always being the case. So, big green eco thumbs up!
After eating up all the delicious “super sweet” strawberries the plastic baskets began to pile up on my kitchen counter top which became somewhat of an eye sore. Yes, I could just toss them into the recycle bin and be done with it; wipe my hands and walk away but lately I’ve been trying REALLY, REALLY hard to reuse things. I have always been good about it but I’m trying to take good to the next level.
Over the weekend, I was preparing a dish and cutting away at some veggies for din-din (and staring at the little green baskets), … I instantly thought…”garbage bowl” after I scooped up some scraps and needed to find a place for them. They rescued the veggie scraps instantly and it made me a happy camper.
For those of you who watch Rachel Ray, you may be a fan of the “garbage bowl” already… for those of you who do not… well, simply put the “garbage bowl” is for all the food scraps to sit in while you prepare your meal. Granted, her kitchen bowl is twice the size of a strawberry basket but size doesn’t matter here, people. LOL!
It has seriously come in handy for all my kitchen scraps. Especially since most of the kitchen scraps go to the chickens & worms. The green baskets make it convenient to toss in all the waste as you go rather then tossing it into the garbage each time. I’ve been surprised at how much kitchen waste one little basket can fit and remain inside.Even garlic peels stayed inside
Granted, I won’t need that many “garbage bowls” but at least a couple will serve a purpose for awhile. The others are going back to the stand at the farmer’s market so they can be reused. I also have one in use for garlic bulbs! And… I’ve even used one as an Easter Basket (can’t find post with it pictured) for Tristan’s first Easter and will more than likely be doing it again for both this year!!! Just add reused paper stuffing or raffia to fill it up with and it’s ready for eggs or whatever you wish. Oh! and if you notice in the picture above there’s the agave bottle I’ve been waiting on (and the garlic bulbs are in the pic too- swear!).
Next time you get some strawberries reuse the green little basket as a kitchen scrap bowl, you’ll be happy you did!
Here are just a few other things I’m reusing:
* Piece of cotton from prenatal vitamin bottle; will be reused for crafts.
* 2 ice cream sticks; reused for crafts.
* Plastic case a necklace came in; keep my bobby pins inside.
* Very old Malt O Meal box; cut top open and poured baking soda inside for easy pour and no ‘poo regime.
* Plastic shoe case; have several of these in use for misc. crap objects.
* Jar tops; have several of these also for many uses… change holder, picture magnet frame and great for crafts.
Reusing is Rad!
What have you been reusing lately?
{Happy WW!} My Little Kale Chippers!
March 3, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Wordless Wednesday
{Meatless Monday} Syrian Vegetarian Red Lentil Soup
February 28, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under {Meatless Monday's} & Recipes
Hello everyone!
Hope you all had a marvy weekend.
Wow! Can you believe it’s already March ? No, way.
Baby C is going to be a year in exactly one month from today.
Hard to believe.
Alright, time for another {Meatless Monday} edition and you know that means another kick ass recipe!
There’s no denying…
I’m a huge soup lover. I just love soups. I especiallydig easy soup recipes and ones that are versatile.
AND
I LOVE lentils. Brown lentil soup is at the top of my list as far as favorites.
My mom made it a lot growing up and it was always so full of flavor and just pleasing to the tummy.
I request it of her when I’m sick because it’s that good and soothing.
I say GOOD soup for the soul, no?
I’m also a fan of Indian food and I really can appreciate a good serving of dhaal or lentil soup.
All the wonderful flavors of curry, turmeric, coriander…
Mmm!
Last time while I was perusing the bulk section at the market I decided on some Red Lentils.
I came home and found THE. PERFECT. RECIPE.
Simple, yet soooo pleasing and completely full of flavor. The three ingredients of coriander, garlic and salt bring such a tang of flavor to this soup.
It’s 10x better the next day.
Which is another reason why I love soups… they take on a completely different character the next day.
So, last week I prepared the Syrain Vegetarian Red Lentil Soup and am VERY glad I did.
Get your hands on some red lentils – asap!
This recipe is easy to prepare and it’s yummy.
Oh and did I mention it’s meatless? You can’t go wrong.
It’s a no-brainer recipe, too.
Loved it so much so; it’s on the menu again this week!
What meatless dishes are you whipping up?
Let the Liberating Begin: Plant Freedom Seeds!
February 26, 2010 by La Mama Naturale'
Filed under Natural & Heathly Lifestyle, Simple & Green Living
Howdy! Happy Saturday Sunday!
Gotta luv the weekends, right? So much to look forward to and so much to accomplish. With Spring just around the corner it’s hard not to think about this year’s summer garden and greenhouse plans. All the daydreaming we do of having a xeriscaped front yard (no lawn, hopefully!) with wild edibles planted and where nourishing foods grow is quickly approaching it’s season. We couldn’t be more excited to make this our reality.
You know, become an urban gardener. A freedom gardener, if you will. Liberating yourself from all the corporate muck and dirty chemicals. Why not get down right dirty in your own backyard and produce the foods you need to live on with untainted seeds. The idea of growing your own food to feed your family and possibly community may sound like a lot of work but it also sounds so enticing. Especially, after learning about the true freedom gardeners; the Little Homestead in the City, the Dervaes family in Pasadena, Ca aka “The Urban Gardener’s”. Their little homestead yields almost 6,000 lbs. of food yearly. It takes a lot of serious motivation and determination to get to where the Dervaes family is but the possibility of getting an urban garden started is far greater.
The hub and I have always had a passion for gardening it’s something that we naturally felt compelled to do since we bought our home almost 10 yrs. ago. Our house sits on a little less than a quarter of an acre and to us that instantly meant we would have room for a garden. It’s funny, because as we live in an area where a good majority of the people sit on more than acre of land – this town is also known for agriculture and farming, yet, not many people, take advantage of their land by growing their own fruits and vegetables. I know gardening isn’t for everyone but for us it just seems like common sense to have a garden and reap whatever benefits you can on your own property. It was just our observation this morning over breakfast. We all have the opportunity basically. Not to mention, it allows us tobe in control of what’s going into our bodies. With all the chemical use within the food and agriculture industry it’s hard to say whether our food is really safe anymore.
So, to say the least… this year we’re committed to green up our yard in more ways in than one.
We’ve been talking about digging up the front lawn to make it more drought tolerant for quite some time now. We believe, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be taking advantage of the local conservation nursery in our town which sells native and drought tolerant plants. Since we live in the desert having drought tolerant landscape seems more appropriate than lilies and orchids which would require lot’s of watering. Were looking forward to creating a sanctuary with native plants, shrubs and trees etc. that will bring in natural wildlife to enjoy also.
The nursery is having their open house in April and has announced a sale on plants, shrubs, wildflower seeds etc. I’m pretty excited about it. Were pumped to learn more about the native plants and wildlife in our area and start being smart gardener’s. We recently resurrected the wriggley wranch worm bin and replenished it with some mighty fine earthworms (stay tuned for an upcoming post)
Raised Beds
This is our first year attempting the raised beds, square inch gardening theory. Well, we kinda took a stab at it last year but this is our first “real” attempt. The hubby built a raised bed about a month ago using reclaimed materials as a tester and so far so good. It appears all of the seeds we planted have sprouted. Yahoo! For the past five years we always turned over the soil and planted directly in ground. It will be neat to see the differences.
I’m happy to say, that we’re ditching the plastic soil bags this year! I did some research and found a quarry in town that carries local ORGANIC humus soil. Score! I was so thrilled to bring home a truckload home the day Ty built the box. Tyler’s parents used the quarry’s soil last year and had such a glorious garden yield. Their garden had a different glow to it then ours that’s for sure. As far as plastic goes we did use some for wrapping around the box to trap the heat inside which creates a greenhouse effect. I know there’s gotta be an alternative and it’s definitely on the green up the garden list.
After building a bed from wood he built a raised bed from bricks (given to us by a customer who no longer had use for them). He lined the brick bed with cardboard and viola’ it became a new home for some lettuce! My husband REALLY enjoys doing this so I have to admit he does get carried away. It’s his passion so I try not to step in the way. He bought the lettuce from Lowe’s so it could be Monsanto laden… but hopefully living in organic humus it will balance out the negative. Nevertheless, it too is doing well and will hopefully has fresh lettuce in just a couple weeks maybe even sooner.
He also planted some old veggie seeds just for kicks and on a whim one sunny afternoon alongside our driveway (next to a Raspberry bush he bought the same day). Honestly, I don’t know how great the Raspberry bush will do (let’s hope for the best). As of right now, it’s doing surprisingly well ( all of the rain has been a major benefit). Some of the seeds in the patch alongside the drive away are also beginning to sprout. Yippee!
Speaking of seeds, we planted our first batch of freedom seeds this afternoon! Yes, that’s right, you can get heirloom and organic seeds directly from the Dervaes family…
“Seeds for the people!”
and to save on shipping costs and carbonemissions the hub was able to pick them up. Sweeeet!
Reused seed starter!
What we planted
- Red Russian Kale
- Cayenne Peppers
- Anaheim Peppers
- Red Bell Peppers
- Peace Vine Red Cherry Tomato
- Valencia Tomato
- Brandywine Tomato
- Cherokee Purple Tomato
- Aunt Ruby’s German Green (real green tomato’s *squee*)
We still have more tomato seeds to plant and a few other varietys of seeds that don’t need to be started indoors. I’m really, really, excited about 2010’s gardening adventure. Planting pure seeds, free of chemicals; makes me grin from ear to ear.
“The seeds from the Little Homestead in the City are carefully screened for genetic manipulation.…they possess the nutritive properties of old and locally developed strains, based on eatability instead of portability.”
If you have not yet seen the Dervaes family documentary Homegrown Revolution-you can view it here! Their honest commitment to live sustainably makes me realize how important it is to support their cause and continue to fight the good fight.
I encourage you to “break new ground” and start your own victory garden.
Liberate your yard & get down and dirty doing it.
Have you started planning your garden?
Read more
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