Saturday, October 25, 2014

new beginnings

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on tuesday, i spent most of my afternoon outside in the garden. pulling up weeds, sinking my hands into the cool soil, looking up at cheerful birds greeting me in the trees, & staring in amazement at the tiny seedlings popping up in our raised beds. our little plot of land is waking up from its winter slumber as am i. i treasure the beginning of the gardening season.

this years garden will be our first to tend for an entire year. we have always moved from one home to another throughout the summer months, carrying our many container plants with us. this year is very different- it is a beginning! i want to share some of our goals for this years garden.

:: expand our garden by adding a field garden! we hope to till up most of our backyard (except for the plot where our chicken tractor moves) & amend the soil with local compost. we will grow tomatoes, zucchini, corn, cucumber & squash in that space.

:: sell starts! the local health foods market where i work is encouraging me to sell my garden starts this spring. i plan to sell two varieties of basil, chamomile, thyme, oregano, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers & more. they are already so healthy & will be ready in about a month.

:: save more! i hope to preserve even more from our garden this year. less jam, more vegetables. those frozen bell peppers came in such handy this year so we plan to add a deep freezer to our garage for more space.

:: educate! we hope to have garden parties & hands-on lessons at our home this year. i am also teaching a series on green living at the university & some canning classes at local churches. today, i have an appointment for gardening consultation & plan to add many more to our schedule. luke & i are excited to serve our community as others begin their gardens & thankful for the extra income from sharing our skill.

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& so it begins.
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Friday, October 24, 2014

Fall saffron crocuses

Its been busy, trying to keep Woody calm (ha!) and tidying and planting as I can.

But I was glad to see the first saffron crocus in flower.  Id noticed their foliage a couple of days ago, and made a mental note to watch.  The fun of having a blog is I can search and realize that I posted in previous years, too, about them.

I snagged the stigmas (the saffron) of this flower to dry.  There will be more to come.  These are plants were established quite a few years ago.

Heres a photo from 2008, from a post on Oct. 26 of that year.

Saffron crocus (2008)

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being a life long learner farmer ELISE GETS CRAFTY podcast



friends, join me over at elises podcast as i chat with her about what it looks like to be a life-long learner & farmer (episode #24)! we even chat about some of my favorite resources (of course tend is a favorite!).

- natalie
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back in the garden

Ive been away. Its always amazing what the garden does in the absence of its gardener! I will gradually catch up - and enjoy - my findings.

I spent today gardening. The morning in my home garden - the afternoon at my community plot. Lots of weeding. Some harvesting. Some planning. There are a few more summer sowings that need to be done. Also, just general checking on whats going on. Gardens develop their own life. Sometimes I feel Im just the observer - doing my best to follow along.

I have a bunch of photos I took today and Ill get them posted over the next couple days. And Im looking forward to regular gardening for a while now. Also regular harvesting and enjoying of the gifts of the earth.
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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Natural History of Selbourne the Musical Play


Scenes from my little paper theatre play Entries from Reverend Gilbert Whites Diary in December performed last night for Nev, Iz & M. And they, each in turn put on their very own, very idiosyncratic plays. Much fun was had.
Pictured here are such entries as - December 3 1788 Good mackarel brought to the door. And December 17 1774 Mrs. Snookes tortoise, after it had been buried more than a month, came forth & wandered round the garden in a disconsolate state, not knowing where to fix on a spot for its retreat.
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garden summary

I added up the costs of my gardens for the past three years and tried to estimate the value of the produce. My costs have been high because of fencing my plot 3 years ago, adding the cold frame this year, and the shelves/lights last year. These will each last many years. And its hard to estimate the value of produce, because I think its worth more when its homegrown. In any case, my produce is probably valued about $500- $700/year (which is also about the cost of a yearly CSA share these days). And the garden has been costing me about half of that, even with the recent improvements: $300- $400/ year.

Of course, this summary doesnt add in my time - that would way more than double the yearly value of my garden!

Garden costs

Garden produce

I had fun reading "The 64 Dollar Tomato" recently. Its an old book by now, but I just got around to reading it. Using Mr Alexanders way of calculating, my tomatoes cost me -12 dollars this year! Does that mean I could have sold them for 12 dollars each? Hmmm. Well, thats just because I didnt pay $8,000 to have someone design and install my garden on my estate for me. I wish he had added photos to his book. I bet his garden was beautiful!
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Garden Bloggers Fling 2011

I had a GREAT time last summer at the Garden Bloggers gathering in Buffalo.  Check out this series of posts.

So Im definitely keen on going to the Garden Bloggers Fling 2011 this summer in Seattle.

Im a veteran of many years of scientific meetings (hmmm), botanical garden (APGA) meetings (much more interesting and collegial with great garden study tours), but the Garden Bloggers meetup was a joy -- how fun to interact with fellow garden bloggers while visiting wonderful gardens.  And, there were NO talks in windowless hotel rooms. How nice.

The BGCI International Congress of Garden Educators has been another favorite meeting  -- what a wonderful experience to interact with counterparts from gardens around the world.  Ive been to two:  in NYC and Oxford, England -- both great.

Ive thoroughly enjoyed Garden Writers Association meetings for the last three years, (in Portland, Raleigh, and Dallas) too, for similar reasons. There are talks to listen to (in those same windowless hotel rooms), but theyre quite informative and interesting, and attending has been beneficial to my work.  (Even if going to GWA and Garden Bloggers is self-financed).

So, Im looking forward to Seattle, a place I havent been for many years, but was once quite familiar with.
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