How NOT to be Overwhelmed With Spring Chores

This weekend was a test. The weather on Saturday was a beautiful spring day in central Pennsylvania, with temps hitting the high 50's and sunshine. It was a day to be out in the garden starting the spring clean-up and prep for planting and growing season. But alas, my time in the garden this spring will be limited due to my bike training schedule for my 7-day stage race that starts on Memorial day. Not to mention, every Saturday morning (sometimes Friday mornings when I have rides scheduled for the weekend) is now dedicated to helping my elderly mother. Needless to say, Saturday was not the day for my garden to get attention. Luckily, because of a book I partially read this winter, I practiced focusing on the living in the moment philosophy and cleared my head and focused. The Karate Kid movie does the same thing -- no thoughts, focus. This weekend I tested it and it works! Saturday was focusing on helping my mom in the morning and a nice long bike ride in the afternoon. I ignored the patches of green herbs screaming under the dried dead stuff to get this scrappy dried stuff off of us so we can grow. Sunday morning was dedicated to the garden but that was the real test. It normally takes me weeks to clean everything up and start planting and every year on that first day, I near kill myself trying to do everything at once. I'm impatient. This year though, there's no room for impatience. Instead, the work is broken down into little chunks with each one getting a priority. That way, you get done what absolutely has to be done and what doesn't, can wait. In my garden, the can-waits are things that don't put food on my table. The ornamental herbs can wait (yes, the little green monsters screaming at me will force themselves through like they've done in the wild for millions of years) and the perennials and roses can wait. The top priority chunk this weekend was prepping the onion and pea patch. I didn't get any horse manure on the garden last fall, so yesterday morning was manure spreading day. It only took 3 tubs and little digging in. Rick will be rototilling it in deeper when the plants arrive and its time to plant. I caught myself not focusing on the priority yesterday and started to whack away at something that wasn't on my priority list for the day. "Jill...stop it. You need to go for a bike ride and this wasn't on your list for today." The bike ride felt great and it helped me focus on the task at hand. So don't be overwhelmed! Take it a chunk at a time, and take your time. There will always be another day, another week, or even another year.

Broccoli Seed Starting #2

Lesson learned: don't forget about your seeds after you start them or they'll get leggy and start laying over. The same legginess can occur if you don't have plant lights. Right now, my 72 broccoli plants are growing beautifully, but laying over with the weight of every new leaf. In another two weeks, they will be a matted mess that will be difficult to separate when planting time comes. What to do? Absolutely nothing at this point in time. This flat is going to be headed to the garden a little early this year. I'll take a chance letting them in the flat too long to become more tangled, and I'll take a chance planting them a little too soon and a freeze may get them, so in the garden they will go - possibly next weekend. Yes, broccoli can withstand frosts and even a mild freeze or two. These young babies will be planted very deeply to get the stems strong again. They'll go in the ground almost to the leaves. And if these guys pull through and make it, I'll REALLY be over run in broccoli because I just started a second flat of 72 because I was worried about this first flat not making it. I had an extra pack of seeds from two years ago I thought I'd try. If they sprout and grow, I think I may be selling some broccoli this spring.

What To Do With Kale

Kale is king in my garden. It's cheap to grow from seed right in the ground, you can start it early in the season (my seeds are going in with the sugar peas on St. Patty's day), it tolerates frost, and is super-charged with nutrition even though the flavor is ho-hum in my opinion. There's only so many things you can do with kale to make it a tasty dish. A co-worker of mine had a comical statement, "I thought it was just a decoration on the salad bar. I didn't think people really ate it!" Alas, my friend, yes, you eat kale and its actually good for you too. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse packed with protein, calcium, and a plethora of minerals and vitamins. Nutritional experts hale it as one the top foods to include in any healthy diet -- vegan, vegetarian or meat eaters alike -- although vegan nutritionists really zero in on this nutrient-laced leafy green. Dr. Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live and other healthy eating books, puts it on the very top of his nutritarian pyramid. So how to make it? You can start harvesting it when the leaves are as little as two inches long -- they actually taste better when young and tender. The older and bigger the plants get, the more bitter they become. Soups, soups, and more soups are always a good choice in cooking kale. You can never go wrong including kale in soup because the soup spices and other vegetables nearly always drown out the kale flavor. Two recipes I found palatable beyond soups are Confetti Kale and Kale with Crimini Mushrooms (kale, mushrooms, onions, and a squirt of soy sauce). But today, I tried Crispy Kale. Bingo -- another awesome way to make kale edible. The recipe, courtesy The 30-Minute Vegan:

1 large bunch kale

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon salt.

Lay the kale flat in pieces on cookie sheets. Bake at 350 until crispy (10 minutes -- but watch it - it browns and dries quickly). Put in large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, then the yeast and salt. Store at room temp.

Wow.... I almost ate the entire bowl in one sitting. Like eating chips, but healthy chips! It truly was hard to keep my fingers out of the bowl. And yes -- it only took 30 minutes.

And the The 30-Minute Vegan is my latest cookbook this recipe came from (I have WAY too many cookbooks. I'm good for at least 1 a year). So far, the cookbook is 3 for 3 with awesome recipes. First was Tofu Saag (tofu, frozen spinach, and Indian spices), 2nd was Pasta Florentine (whole wheat elbows, spinach, soymilk/nutritional yeast and spices), and now is the Crispy Kale. All were fantastic and yes, quick. I highly recommend this cookbook.

72 Broccoli Babes

Success. I now have 72, and some to spare, baby broccoli plants clamouring for light. I say clamouring because I forgot about them for 3 days while they were sprouting and they were all reaching desperately for the window when I finally remembered to check them. When I remembered I forgot to check them as we were driving to work on Friday morning (they were started Sunday evening and I checked them once on Monday evening), I thought for sure they'd be dried up. But the greenhouse effect of the cover on the tray really kept them nice and moist and I think by my forgetting and NOT opening the cover to see what was going on actually kept them nice and toastie inside their little greenhouse -- perfect sprouting conditions. They look awesome. The lights have started and they are on their way. I didn't get brussels or cauliflower seeds in time to start them also, so it's just the broccoli plants.

Could Spending More Time in the Backyard Be On The Horizon?

Yes my friends, hubby and I are talking the R word. We're both a little young, but if push comes to shove at my job and Pennsylvania goes the way of Wisconsin with cutting benefits and salaries for government workers, retirement may be sooner than expected -- like maybe in three months. The other deciding factor is the rising price of gas. Right now, today, it costs us almost $8.00 to drive our 50 mpg car to and from work every day on our 100 mile round trip. That's a little too salty. We've both been saving our pennies like crazy people and got rid of all debt, so we feel confident we'll be ok financially. But the other confidence builder is what I can produce in the back yard and my other frugal plans to save money. Simple things like riding bike to the grocery store, giving up using the dryer, and driving as little as possible will save money. Hubby is giving the go-ahead to plant lots of food to save on the grocery bill. I just ordered onions. Rows and rows of black beans, kidney beans, and white beans are going in the ground in May. The broccoli is started, and the greens will go in sometime in April as will the peas. Sweet potatoes are on tap as is butternut squash. I'll try to freeze as much as I can and use my mom's huge chest freezer if need be. Lots to think about over the next three months. But the main, top priority is starting my spring bike training on March 7 for my 7-day stage mountain bike race the end of May and early June. All else comes in behind the training. The gardening and retirement planning is done on down time from riding bike. There are a bunch of female professional mountain bikers coming to the event I'm entered and I'm honored to be in the mix with them. Without a doubt, riding takes top priority this spring.

Garden 2011 is Happening Because of High Fuel Prices

Quickly rising fuel prices are going to have an effect on the prices of food at the grocery stores and markets. And it won't be only food -- it'll be everything. As a result, hubby and I discussed how to save $$ and of course the first place I went was the backyard and the food we eat. Hubby "complains" (nicely) that when I start seeds, I use up electricity with the grow lights - about $25 a month with all 8 lights glowing for 14 hours a day. My plan was only to start broccoli plants this year, but I have room under a set of two lights for two flats of seedlings so we started talking about filling up that area. What shall we grow that would 1) save us money at the grocery store, 2) is nutritious, and 3) you can start at the same time as broccoli? The answer? Cauliflower and brussels sprouts. Both are pricey at the grocery store, yet nutritious, fairly easy to grow, and we both love all three. I estimate I can save about $200 just by growing maybe 48 plants of each of these three plants and freezing them (except the broccoli which doesn't freeze well). So on tap for seed starting as soon as I can get the seeds are brussels, cauliflower, and I already have the broccoli seeds. Bring on Spring -- and cost savings!

You Can't Hold a Dedicated Farmer Down

A year without fresh vegetables from the backyard is like a year without sunshine. It's virtually impossible for a dedicated organic farmer/gardener to go without those tried and true easy-to-grow staples in the backyard to pick for dinner. I really liked Michaux Mayhem's link on their blog, Living the Frugal Life. Kate had a post about a book entitled the Resilient Gardener which is basically about surviving on what you grow, but it gave me an idea about not being so fussy in the garden and spending too much time on certain things. Kate mentions a part of the book that caught my eye which gave me an idea of not working too hard in my own garden:

Even more do I appreciate her frank admission that not everything is worth doing well, or even doing at all. What she terms selective sloppiness appeals to my sensibilities. This is a book that will help you find the sweet spot between maximum productivity and minimum labor. If you want advice on how to make your gardens a beautiful, weed-free show place, this isn't it.

Until last year when my mother became ill, I've always been a neat freak in the backyard. Every weed had to be pulled and row perfectly spaced. There had to be beds of straw or compost between all rows to keep weeds at bay, and even the design had to be aesthetically appealing. No more! This year, I'm just sticking the seeds and plants in the ground paying attention only to crop rotation to keep disease at bay. Obviously, if the weeds start sapping moisture and energy from the vegetables, I'll pull them, but many weeds will now be left to grow to become bad-bug food. I won't have as big a garden either. Here's the plan for now:

Broccoli
Kale
Spinach
One or two tomato plants
3 bell pepper plants
Zucchini
Butternut Squash

Maybe there will be a few more, but this should keep the old girl happy and still riding her bike. Growing to store and harvest can wait until retirement.

Shocker - No Garden in 2011

It'll be quite some time before there's anymore posts on this blog. I'm giving up the gardening for a year to focus on my other passion -- mountain biking. I entered a 7-day stage race next May 29-June 4 and training for it will consume all my spare time from about Nov 1 until the day of the race. There won't be any time for any gardening next spring. I'm actually looking forward to taking a break from the spring clean-up. I've already started prepping beds this fall so no work will be needed next spring. And there's a bed or two I'm giving back to nature -- the herb garden will become whatever it wants and I may do the same with part of the rose garden. They'll both be there another year if I decide to clean them up again. Enjoy your passion!

A Home for Pheasants

Pheasants have been experiencing a downturn in population due primarily to the loss of habitat for these beautiful creatures. They like fence rows, tall grass, underbrush, and wild areas -- most which are disappearing quickly to housing developments, removal of trees, and modern farming practices. Today's local Harrisburg Patriot news had an article about Central Pennsylvania becoming Home to First Wild Pheasant Recovery Area. And guess where that might be? You guessed it, in my backyard. I feel SO fortunate to live in the Gratz-Hegins valley area that they consider "wild" enough to try raising these beautiful creatures again. Several years ago, the Game Commission attempted to release sechwan (spelling?) pheasants and farm raised birds with no luck. This time, they are catching wild birds from Montana and South Dakota and releasing them here. I'll snap some shots if I see them and share them with you. What's really nice is there will be no small game hunting in this area designated for the pheasants. I'm thrilled this area was picked. I wonder if they know about our family's 20 acres we leave stand in tall grass for the bobolinks to nest each year? Maybe.

How NOT to Grow Strawberries

Last season was filled with new plantings, new ideas, and new ways to prepare my new crops. You read about them nearly everyday all season long. One of my ventures was 100 strawberry plants going into the ground with hopes that future year's harvest of strawberries will fill my freezer. O.M.G. Little did I realize that this year I'd start turning into a strawberry. My 100 plants started ripening my first day of vacation and 10 days later I had 22 boxes of berries in the freezer and more to come. I'm spending about 2-3 hours a day finding them (I planted them WAY too close together and they are a matted mess and the berries are hiding deep under the debris of crumbled, brown leaves), picking, slicing and freezing. I'm ready to mow them over and start over when I'm retired. So a word to the wise: whatever you do, if you want strawberries, start with about 25, give them a bunch of space, mulch well with straw, and cut off the runners until you are ready to start new plants. I made the mistake of letting the runners root and when 100 plants send runners out and start rooting; the patch becomes crowded way too quickly. I have a mess, stress, and a LOT of work to restore some order to the patch. I'll be digging and tossing probably 100 plants or more. This is one of my biggest blunders to date, and hubby LOVES to remind me about it - every single day. ARGH!