Broccoli Babies

Broccoli is SUCH an easy plant to start from seed. Within three days, the seeds were popping into seedlings and started their trek reaching for light. I’m finding the celery a different story. Sam Bittman wasn’t kidding when he said celery is “difficult, even for experienced gardeners.” The seeds are not yet sprouting and I’m beginning to believe it could have something to do with air temperature/humidity in the house. Even though they are enclosed in a miniature greenhouse-type setting, the room/house temps could still be a factor. At one point years ago, I experimented with starting seeds in my rec room which is about 10 degrees cooler than the upstairs and I had total crop failure – too cold/damp --- mostly the dampness killed them because the soil never dried out between waterings. The bedrooms are the warmest rooms in the house, so I’m definitely going to keep them there, but I’m a slight bit concerned the 5 degrees cooler than other years may be playing a part. I’ll wait and see. Worse comes to worse, I just won’t have celery, and I can live with that!

Eating Local - a Primer

Local Harvest is an organization on-line dedicated to helping folks get in the groove of buying your food local. You can subscribe to their monthly newsletter and checkout their website here. You can also enter your zip code and find locally produced food. Rick and I found our wonderful can't-live-without Schlegel Apples grown with 80% less pesticides. We're up to buying a bushel every two weeks and eat every single one of them. But the real reason for this post and Local Harvest is their latest newsletter. It really hit the head of the nail for me. I initially found buying local daunting -- there's SO much I've grown accustomed to eating that I found it difficult at first to adjust to just local food. And that's the point of the article. You can't expect to eat everything local -- it takes time. And no matter what you do locally, you're one step ahead. Great read. Check it out.

On a Snowy Winter Day....

Seeds to organize, start, and bread to bake - we're never at a loss for things to do on a cold, snowy, wintry Day in Central PA. First up, my seed "box" was a mess. There were packs of seeds in there from 17 years ago and it was time to clean house. The really old packets that I was unsure where the seeds came from (i.e., a commercial seed producer), were tossed. The remainder was organized by when I'll either start them outside, start them indoors, and whether they are early or warm weather (outside). Next, the timing is about 6 weeks until the broccoli goes in the ground, and 10-12 weeks until the celery would go in, so today is the day to start them both. For those new to seed starting, the starter will need moistened before you put it in the cell packs. After its good and moist (it should hold its shape when you take some and make a fist with it... but it should then crumble easily - it should not be drippy wet), fill the cell packs packing the starter down a bit to pack it in slightly (not too tight or the tiny seedling roots will not be able to grow). Then, sprinkle 2-3 seeds in each cell (you'll pull them later -- a couple extras are going in just in case that one doesn't start), and cover ever-so-slightly with a little starter. Make sure you read the seed packet or a good reference book to make sure the seed should NOT be covered. Some seeds (impatiens, as an example) are not to be covered and need light to germinate. I haven't found that with the vegetables though. Next, slightly level the cell packs with your finger to pack in a little. Then, a seed-starter's required equipment -- the spray bottle. You'll drench the seeds if you use a watering can, so spray each cell with a couple shots with the spray bottle to make sure the seed is wet. You can put water on the bottom of the tray too to make sure the starter gets good and moist on the bottom. Then cover, and sit in a warm spot. Some folks use a heated pad, but we keep our house warm enough (70-72) that I've never had a problem with sprouting. Now we wait. Oh, and I made bread this morning too. Something new -- organic "white" french herb bread. OMG it was good. I don't normally make white bread because it lacks nutrition -- so it was a nice change.

Even With All Those Cookbooks...

You'll have to admit, sometimes the best recipes are the ones we come up with ourselves. My husband will vouch I was never really a "good" cook. But sometimes some things taste soooooo good, we just have to share. My great Aunt (long passed), used to eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches and yes to this day, I love a peanut butter and banana sandwich on toasted bread. There was a time we were skiing and we stopped in the lodge to have our bring-your-own-lunch with a bunch of other skiers. When I whipped out my bread and wrapped the banana in it, the eyes got wide -- it was fun. Even hubby noticed how I got the glares. Yes, taste is in the eyes of the beholder, but that's what makes it fun:

2 cups mashed organic butternut squash (it was the next to the last one in storage).
1 cup organic soy milk
1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese
2 tablespoons raw organic sugar

Whip together like mashed potatoes. O.M.G.

Why Start Seeds?

After reading my post on growing celery and having to start and grow the seeds indoors for 3 months before planting outside, hubby already started complaining about running the lights and the costs. So I thought this would be the perfect time to do a little explaining as to why I start plants from seeds. Many years ago, I went seed-starting crazy with mostly flowers (I was growing, drying, and creating crafts with dried flowers and herbs for a side business), and had 8 sets of shop-light fixtures running for about 2 months solid - 16 hours a day. Our electric bills shot up $25 bucks a month that year. That's why Rick is complaining now. But, after explaining to him this year's plants will only need two sets of lights going, he seemed to settle down a bit. Why grow from seed? Well, have you ever seen a celery plant at the nursery? Have you ever seen Serrano pepper plants to buy? That's reason number one -- many of the plant varieties I grow are not available at nurseries. I used to make and can salsa and my secret was multiple medium-hot pepper varieties; many of which were not available at the nurseries. The only heirloom tomato I've ever seen was Brandywine. And I can't live without Purple Ruffles Basil which sometimes is at larger urban nurseries, but seldom (its tempermental to grow and commercial growers can't give the TLC purple basil needs). And there's my 2nd reason -- I don't have a decent nursery here in Northern Dauphin, rural county PA. We have a spattering of Amish greenhouses and of course the Farmer's Market has some vegetable seedling plants, but they are almost always the basic varieties and plants -- Beefsteak Tomatoes and California Wonder Peppers. B.O.R.I.N.G. Not to mention, the seeds were likely grown commercially and came from Monsanto (they hold 70% of the tomato seed market), and of course they aren't organic. ( Although I'm not so much a stickler for organic seed since I'm not a certified organic grower. But I AM a fuss-head as to where the seeds come from). Reason number 3 - knowing where the seed comes from is major for me. If I can help it, I cannot and will not support commercially grown seed companies that produce "monster" seeds and crops - I.e., GMO or genetically modified seeds. I cringe when I have to buy produce -- even the local stuff may have been raised from GMO seed companies. Reason #4: Is there a cost savings? If you look at it from the cradle (seed) to grave (preserving) perspective, yes. If I were to buy organic produce all year, I'd be broke. But because I grow the majority of my produce, yes, there's a cost savings but I haven't really figured it out. The lights DO cost about $6 a month for 3 months, so there's $18 bucks in lighting alone (not to mention the initial cost of purchasing the equipment). My seeds and supplies ran me $60 bucks this year (that's potatoes, onions, 100 strawberry plants AND the seeds too). But its definitely still cheaper than buying organic produce. Come to think of it, I have YET to see organic strawberries - I'll bet they are an arm and leg in cost. And the final part of starting seeds is the fun and challenge of it. There's not a whole lot going on in late winter, so why not get your hands a little dirty in some seed starter. And when that first sprout breaks ground, oo-la-la.. what a sight to behold and do a dance over. Us gardener-types get pretty darn excited and start dancing a jig when we see new green life that we helped start. It will never cease to amaze me at how a tiny, tiny little speck of seed produces such bounty. I guess that's the blessing, huh? So there are my reasons: 1) choice of varieties of plants, 2) no local nursery to get those varieties, and 3) knowing where the seed comes from (or NOT comes from) 4) overall cost savings, and 5) something to do in the winter. Is it time for you to get your hands dirty?

A New Recycling Concept?

Hubby and I have stacks and stacks of holiday, birthday, and special occassion cards we gave to each other over the past 20, almost 21 years. So this year, we both dug out some of our favorite years-of-past valentines day cards and re-gave them to each other. It saved us both a couple bucks. This card was $4.99! That's too much for a card. We both got a kick our of this little card-recycling antic.

Early Prep - The Celery Strip

Celery will be a new experience for me. Everything I've read claims celery is "difficult -- even for the experienced gardener" to grow. But I really wanted to dry some organic celery for soups next fall/winter and not have to depend on shipped celery, so I decided I'm up for the challenge. Since its a long-season grower (100 days,PLUS a 3 month indoor growing period -- talk about fussy!) it needs a spot all of its own to do its thing. The strip next to our garage was perfect -- complete with afternoon shade to keep the soil moist for moisture loving celery. I hadn't planned on it, but the strip is ready. I love it when I make no plans, and end up getting a major project done. This was a job. First, I had to get rid of the way-too-tall-and-fat Eglantine antique rose which outgrew its space and really wasn't serving a useful purpose. It took an ax to chop enough away to level the ground. Then, I turned over the soil fairly deep, digging in horse manure to let it "cure" for the next three months. The final touch was the brick edge. Celery likes moist, rich, soil with good drainage and this should be the perfect spot for it. This type of celery, Safir Celery, is called a "cutting celery" which means it can be cut just like greens all summer. So I'm hopeful for a successful crop. If anyone ever grew it, please share your story!

Mother Nature Doing Her Thing

The past day or two have been WINDY in central PA - so much so, our grape arbor is history. The three poles on the eastern side all broke off at the ground. It's obvious they were rotted through after 15 years. But I'm none too disappointed, except for losing a nice perch for the bluebirds, Baltimore orioles, mockingbirds, and my mother's peacocks. I believe the birds loved the arbor more than myself. I've been growing, well, trying to grow, 5 grape vines for the past 15 years. Its not an easy task to grow organic grapes without any dormant oil spray or fungicides. The seedless grapes were never much success and the seeded grapes were ok, but they have seeds which is a huge pain in the you-know-what. One year I made and froze grape juice and grape jelly which was nice, but yet another pain-in-the-you-know-what and I vowed it wasn't worth the trouble. (If you've never harvested and used grapes, the pain-in-the-you-know-what is the grape juice spritzed all over your kitchen, and the messy grape pulp/seed mess you get as a result). This winter, I toyed with the idea of tearing out the grapes to expand the garden and I decided I'll just let mother nature takes its course on the grapes -- and she came through! The only other disappointment is a place for the hops to grow. Our annual hops vine would twine up and out the wire put in place for the grapes (yes, it consumed one of the grape vines and choked it to death!). I'll have to figure that one out. Ding Dong, the grapes are dead!

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Feeling the Guilt - Watching What We Eat

Someone at work put out a tray of bagels left over from a breakfast meeting. I joked with a co-worker, since they aren't giving us raises, we'll have to take advantage of things like leftover food and eat up. So I took a half of a plain white, processed bagel with some "margarine". It was awful! What was worse was the guilt trip I went on the entire time I was eating it. I couldn't help but think about what the ingredients were, what was in it, how much nutrition it lacked, and what kind of processing did it go through to make it to this tray. When I slathered on the "margarine" my brain cells were calculating -- calories, ingredients, fat, hydrogenation, GMO beans that went into it, what brand was it. That half a bagel and processed goop confirmed I'm officially a food snob. Last week I felt the snobbishness coming on when I looked at a recipe someone shared with me. It was for vegan lasagna which contained the ultimate processed vegan foods - sausage, cream cheese, and mozzarella cheese. I made it, and it WAS good, but oh the processed foods the recipe contained. And spending a bunch of time in the kitchen the past six months using whole, natural foods in most of my meals, I now look at a "package" of food with disgust. Even a bag of organic tortilla chips -- what's the ingredient list? 6 ingredients and something unprounceable? Back on the shelf it goes. But I'll admit I'm a hippocrat too -- I'm guilty of drinking soy milk, but don't get that feel sick guilty feeling for doing so. Its organic, made with non-GMO beans, and a key food staple in a vegetarian diet. So its ok to watch what we eat 90% of the time? I believe as long as folks are aware of food sources and make some sort of effort in changing eating and buying habits, you're a step ahead of the average person and doing a good thing. Michael Pollan, thank you for making me a food "substance" snob.

New Post Coming Friday, Sat, Sun, Mon

Sorry for no new posts...ultra busy at work with Fed Stimulus (how will it impact my area of programs in state government) and other work-related issues (budget...economy...small business...etc.) make me too tired to think about looking at a computer at night! I have off the next 4 days.... so I'll have some time to post. Thanks for your patience!