Saturday, May 24, 2014

Growing Potatoes in Small Spaces--4 Experiments

Potatoes are something I assumed I could not grow with my limited space. I always thought that one needed a large open dirt area, or long trenches in a huge garden, in order to grow much. However, I'm not the only one with a small growing space, and after I looked around a bit, I began to see just how many methods there are.

This is a picture of the simple potato towers I made; I will show the the step-by-step further down in the post.


Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Planting Tomatoes Sideways



Here are two photos from last year, one at planting time (yes, they look dead and horrible!), and one just weeks later, as the kids admired them with me. Planting them sideways is one of the ways these tomato behemoths not only survived, but flourished.




Friday, May 16, 2014

This Moment


A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
(inspired by Soulemama)


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Chicken, Kale, and Mushroom Stirfry



Though I've made plenty of recipes using kale, this is the first meal I've made using our own kale straight from the garden!

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

3 Fun Ways to Get Ready for a Worm Bin


We may not have chickens or bunnies yet, but dangit, we will have worms!

Our worm factory arrived yesterday, and the worms themselves should be here in a few days. I admit I feel a bit of trepidation, and I am starting to realize this may be a tad more of a commitment than I had originally thought.

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Chocolate Chia Pudding


I have been a long time fan of chia seeds (so divine mixed in with Greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey), but I had never thought to use them to make pudding. After making this recipe, I discovered a few more I'd like to try, including  this Vanilla Pudding and this Triple Berry Chia Pudding. YUM!

The recipe below is a nice, simple chocolate pudding that I'll be making often.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Today in The Garden


I took my mug of coffee and my camera outside this morning. It was crisp and beautiful and green everywhere I looked! I have a lot of work to do today outside, and not a ton of motivation... but in the early morning before the world is fully awake, the garden is so peaceful. Going out and quietly studying each space gives me renewed determination. So much of the garden is a blank canvas at the moment, but things will be changing quickly now that May is here. I'll photograph the progress with each new month and post each new walk through!


Blueberry Bush #1
We had a very severe winter, and I didn't think our blueberries,
which we only planted last year, were going to make it. But,
they are showing beautiful green!

Friday, May 2, 2014

Hitting Paydirt


What is it about making compost that makes one feel accomplished?