A Few Thoughts On the Garden....

This was my first year using the square foot garden method and I learned a lot to say the least! My hope with this post is to remind myself of some of these lessons when I am super excited and thinking big come late winter/early spring and I need to "reign it in". Hopefully, these little reminders will help another gardener too!

Dear Me (from me in the middle of August 2013),

Please remember the following for (another) happy garden this year (that is also a tad more manageable).

- You love tomatoes but you DO NOT need to plant as many (8) as you did this year and space them out so you can pick them without a face full of tomato leaves.

- With that in mind, don't plant all the "big plants" so close together.

- Don't plan the tomatoes near anything that they can overcome (ie green peppers, hot peppers, and cucumbers).

- In other words less plants and more space!

- Don't plant so much kale, parsley, and basil. You use FAR MORE sage, thyme, and rosemary... especially rosemary! YUM! So plant more of those!

- Don't try and start everything from seed just the really crazy stuff you won't be able to find on killer sale around town or at the farmer's market.

- Layer your potato bins more and give them lots more light!

- Plant your garlic in the fall... spring was a real no go...

- Plant more carrots and in succession because they rock!

- Only plant the stuff we eat lots of (carrots, potatoes, green peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, and herbs) .

- Try corn again... don't be scared, just do it! You learned a lot!

- Start luffa's early, in a big pot, and with lots of "fake sun".

- Have fun and don't make yourself crazy trying to be 100% self sustaining!!!

What tips do you have for yourself, or others, for next year's garden?

Today's Harvest and a Few Rows Knit...

While I am not a fan of the recent heat and humidity the garden is loving it! I did a quick harvest today after noticing when I went out for a few cherry tomatoes for last night's dinner that the garden was in need of a slightly more serious picking. So I went out after work this evening and look at all those yummies!!! I still have loads of herbs and kale to pick but am going to hold off until this weekend when I have a tad more time to dehydrate and make some kale chips. 

In my aforementioned effort to get more knitting in I started on a new project last night, the Kat Coyle linen top . I am knitting it in charcoal Lion Brand Cotton Ease. Hopefully, it will turn out as well as some others I have seen on ravelry and I can wear it into fall. So far, I only have a few rows but my plan for the evening is to make a good bit of progress since I will be travelling for work tomorrow. 

Oh, and I have been driving Shane nutty with Royal Baby coverage! 

So what is going on in your corner of the world? 

... and then it was July...

How is mid July already?!

This past weekend was EPIC!!!! My sister, her best friend, and I spent the weekend being silly, having lots of girl talk, and seeing SIR PAUL McCARTNEY!!!!! It was seriously, a dream come true weekend!

Otherwise, it's been the usual combination of work, teaching, and tending to the house and garden.

We have reached that part of the summer here in Indiana where the tomatoes are big and green, the corn is hip high (okay, not my corn... my corn is tiny), and I feel like I am harvest herbs and jalapenos every day. Last week I harvested the onions and carrots because the rabbits were starting to munch on the greens. Today, I pulled the zucchini plants (after only 2 zucchini.. boo!) and the cucumbers (after exactly zero cucumbers) thanks to the silly squash bug invasion that quickly got ahead of me. In other words, I continue to learn  something new every year and every year my yield grows a little more.

This is my tee plant! Isn't she pretty?!

I have also been slowly but surely working on knitting projects and will share them tomorrow for the yarn along!

Spring in Indiana....

The saying goes here in Indiana, (and much of this part of the midwest), "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change."  When we left for vacation it was typical early spring weather with highs in the high 60s/low 70s. Since we've been home it has been in the 80s and all kinds of humid an muggy. The plants seem to love it but it makes us a tad cranky. (Seriously, we are meant to live in a totally different climate!)

This weather and time of year also bring on some wicked thunderstorms and in some cases tornadoes. Thankfully, typically not any as devastating as those in Oklahoma. I just have no words for the damage there. I have been thinking of the people there and sending prayers their way....

When we got home I took the hoops off the raised beds and then last night prior to storms passing over our corner of the world I put them back on and added tarps to protect the little green dudes in case the weather was really bad. The hoops and tarps did their job and remain on tonight as storms are forecasted again.

They seem to be doing well and growing, growing, growing! Yay! This weekend I will finally get the potatoes and corn planted and I will be done with planting until it's time for our first fall garden! This week I harvested our first two sweet little strawberries!

We also lost part of our willow tree and from the looks of it I think we need to consider cutting it down as it looks like some critter has been munching on it... boo...

How are things growing in your corner of the world?

Little Green Things...

The past month has been NUTS! (to say the least). 

In the chaos of it all I tried to harden off my wee seedlings entirely too fast and they let me know it by dying. I thought I was easing them into the big wide world but I guess it was just too fast. So it was back to the store for replacement seedlings. I have one luffa plant that I am hoping makes it (fingers crossed). 

This past weekend and ahead of our trip to Mexico this week, I got the little green guys planted into their new homes! Last night, I added some carrot and lettuce seeds to the remaining squares. When we get home I will plant our potatoes and corn. Here's to a fantastic gardening season! 

Gratitude Sunday

I am joining Taryn of Wooly Moss Roots in celebrating a few things that I am so very thankful for.

This week I am so very thankful for;

- the continued emergence and growth of little green sprouts that will hopefully continue to grow into veggies and herbs! Yah! 

- Filling up a few squares in our garden yesterday and meeting a few neighbors in the process! 

- Lush shopping and dinner with my friend Jenn! I miss that girl so much! She lives about 3 hours away so we don't see each other near enough! 

- Catching up on sleep and overcoming a stupid 24 hour stomach bug. 

- Clean laundry smell! 

- The weather warming up some... even if I'm not a fan of the sun that comes with it... 

- New Lush goodies to try out thanks to that shopping trip with Jenn and Jane :) 

- Having a growing stockpile of crockpot freezer meals stocked away as our April gets increasingly busy! Having healthy, "Erika safe", dinner to come home to already done in the crockpot is awesome! 

- Clean drinking water. I have always had access and the ability to have clean drinking water and I try so very hard not to take that for granted. 

- Shane hugs! They are the best!!!

- Fun texts back and forth with my sister and sister in law. 

- The chance to knit some... I haven't had as much time to knit as I would have liked as of late so this was a blessing. 

What are you thankful for this week? 

The (2013) Garden is Growing...

Thus far, spring has been a whirlwind to say the least! In the midst of this my little seedlings have been growing, our raised beds have gone up (and are warming up thanks to the warmer weather), and we have been planning lots of outdoor projects. 

Tonight I cleaned up the failed seeds and seedlings, replanted what was needed to make up the deficit, planted a few new varieties, and got out the packets for the direct sow seeds that are cold tolerant for planting this weekend. The weather should be nice for at least the next 10 days which should give the direct sow seeds a good start especially with the added help of the hoop and covering. It will also give me a chance to give the seedlings a little "outside" time to start the hardening off process some. 

Our two 4x8 Square Foot Garden Beds
(Finally, I might add.) 

Our seedlings after this evening's "clean up". 

Are you getting your garden ready? 

Signs of Spring...

... we got our Baker Creek seed order today

... I sent "the" email asking our HOA if we could have chickens

... I am making mad progress on an organic cotton baby blanket for a wee one due in June

...  I am dreaming of the unique and wonderful taste of sun tea

... Macabean is starting to ever so slowly shed his winter coat

As you might suspect all of these indications that spring is coming makes me so very sad that winter is coming to an end. We are forecasted to get 3-5 inches of snow with the front coming through tomorrow but I have a sinking feeling it might be our last this year. 

What do you think? Are you ready for spring or do you want a few more weeks of winter? 

Seeds, Seeds, Everywhere Seeds...

With February quickly turning into March and my plan to get a good solid start on my garden (ahem, unlike last year...), last night was the night in which I assessed the seed situation and placed orders! Then when I arrived at work today the coworker that I am splitting a luffa sponge seed packet with brought in the mystical luffa seeds so that we can get those started indoors (ah, the joys of a long season gourd in zone 6a). So, it's on!

In the past I have grown in containers, first in the apartment and then last year on our deck. This year, we are starting early and planning to build square foot raised beds and will continue to have some containers as well.  Hopefully, this will translate into good harvests to use and to preserve. 

This year our garden will be growing; 

In the Square Foot Beds

- Tomatoes 

- Cucumbers

- Green peppers

- Carrots

- Onions

- Acorn Squash

- Birdhouse Squash

- Jalapenos 

- Egg Squash (maybe??) 

In Containers/Bins

- Sage

- Rosemary 

- Thyme

 - Basil 

- Catnip

- Lavender

- Corn

- Nasturshums

- Poppies

- Marigolds

- Luffa

- Potatoes

Well, that's the plan at least... I am still working on setting up our grid plan with the assistance of my handy dandy spreadsheet so some things might move from to the other. We are also planning to update some of the landscaping and might add in some lettuces or kale? Thankfully, there is some time this week to figure out the details before the rest of the seeds get here and I need to start them. 

What are you planning to grow this year?! 

Thinking About the Garden... A Tad More Seriously

Apparently, I am more excited for spring than I let on. Examples include the following;

• I googled around to get the dates for this year's Greencastle Fiber Event (my Mom, Sister, and Middle Niece, all love going every April!) and sent my sweet sister a tentative plan to attend as it bumps up against a baby shower for my little sis from The Woods.
• I have been drooling over seed catalogs.
• I already have two summer concerts on my "to see list" with the tickets purchased for one.... ("The Package Tour"  with NKOTB, Boys II Men, and 98 Degrees and Fall Out Boy with heaven only knows who... I have terribly eclectic taste in music as I am type this to Mumford & Sons :)  

Back to that drooling over seed catalogs thing... as I shared just a few days into the new year, I have high expectations for our garden this year. However, I am also mindful of the fact that I tend to dream big and realistically don't typically have the time, energy, or on occasion money to do all that my head is dreaming about. I decided to make a list of favorite meals that we eat throughout the year and make a list of the ingredients for each. Not only does this give me an idea of what to plant but if I get into a rut with meal planning I have a little list to peek at. The list will surely grow over time as we find new favorites and my hope is that I can also plan our eating so it's more seasonal to take full advantage of our garden as well as the Summer and Winter Farmer's Markets here locally.

I am still making my way through this process (my OCD dictates that this needs to be in form of a carefully formatted Word document) however, it looks like the front runners, which also align nicely with the initial plans have been pondering include;
- Red Potatoes
- Red Onions (never grown previously)
- Garlic (never grown previously)
- Carrots
- Acorn Squash (hopefully this year is the magic year!)
- Cucumber
- Green Peppers
- Jalapenos
- Sage
- Rosemary
- Thyme
- Lavender

I am also determined to try growing loofah this year and a few kinds of flowers.

My next steps are to finish my list, reassess to make sure I am on the right track, check to see what from last season's seeds I have and make a list of what needs to be purchased so I can start them nice and early inside.

Are you thinking about your garden yet?

Thinking About the Garden.... well... maybe... yeah...

I'm not sure if I have shared this before (okay, I know I share this about every other post), that I am very much a fall and winter kind of lady rather than a spring  and summer kind of lady. This mostly has to do with having a fair complexion, a hatred of sun, and horrible allergies but one thing I love about summer is our garden!

Wee tomatoes growing in the summer of 2011. 

We have been in the house about a year and a half now. We moved in at the end of the summer of 2011 and  brought our wee patio garden over from the apartment. It continued to do pretty well but I was excited about the summer of 2012 and finally having a "real" garden.... well, things happened (wonderful things like an anniversary trip to Hawaii and lots of teaching opportunities) and the plan to build raised beds was put on hold. In the end it was a terrible year for my garden for many reasons (mostly the worst drought in decades). 

This year however, I am determined to make our garden rock! I have started to get seed catalogs and have started lists, talking to my fellow gardening friends, and reminding Shane that we need to get building the raised beds early, early, early! 

Again, I'm still fairly new to gardening, (although I helped my mom lots on our little gardens when I was little) and my philosophy is "why not?". I started small in our apartment container garden with herbs, a few veggies, and each year add a new thing or two and see how it goes and what my little green friends share with me.

This year I will be planting my "usuals"; 

- Tomatoes - Cucumbers - Green Peppers - Jalapenos - Sage - Rosemary - Thyme - Basil - Catnip - Lavender - Red Potatoes - Nasturtiums - Marigolds

This years "newbies" ( I think...); 

- Acorn Squash (again... 2012 was not my year) - Carrots - Luffa - Garlic - Onion (maybe?) 

Have you gotten seed catalogs? What are you thinking about planting this year? Any advice any "must plant" plants? 

Lovely Little Christmas Things

Our home feels just a little warmer with the love of family and friends visiting here and there, the Christmas trees lights twinkling, the nativity watching over us, and of course the smell of cloves and oranges wafting through the house!

We were even visited by the fat (and hopefully happy) squirrel that ate my tomatoes all summer. Even I have to admit he was pretty cute hanging out on the deck rail.

My hope is to finish my Christmas shopping and gift making this weekend before I start teaching a new class on Tuesday (if not, I suppose that is what Christmas break is for? :)

What things are you doing to celebrate the holiday season in your home?

A Peek Around Our Compound

For whatever reason, we have called wherever we are living the Chapman Compound. Chapman being our last name and Compound because we are prepping for the zombie apocalypse?

Now that it is feeling a lot more like my favorite season I thought I would share a little slice of life at the Compound as we welcome this much needed fall weather and feeling! 

Welcome to Our Home! (All decked out for fall!)

Yellow mums make me so happy! I love coming home everyday and seeing them all happy and loving this fall weather just as much as I do! 

I decided this year we needed a few white ones too! I love that as they finish their blossoming they turn a pretty shade of purpley pink. 

The squirrels have decided that our potato plants are the perfect place to stash nuts for the winter. Sadly, I'm going to have to disappoint them when I harvest the potatoes. My plan is to put them together so the little guys can re-bury them. 

Our rock star jalapenos are still going strong! It looks like might get two small harvests before they finish for the season. Yah! 

This past weekend I found a good deal on wool and scooped up enough for a sweater for me and a throw for the living room. My poor knitting bag is overflowing and said overflow is resting comfortably on the hearth while I work my way through projects. 

Last but not least, Macabean Butters Coon Kitty, aka Fluffy Puff, has decided that he MUST snuggle with one or both of us at all times. I can't say as though I mind (most of the time). In fact, he is laying on my arms while I type this... silly kitty! 

How are you welcoming the season into your corner of the world?

In Process...

So the thing is, I'm one of the most impatient people I know!

I am very patient with other people and commonly receive compliments for how patient and "chill" I am with other people. However, with myself or waiting for something to "happen", notsomuch! As such, I have been working very hard to be more mindful and more patient with myself and in those things that I can not control. This is no easy task! 

Last weekend as I was puttering around the house I noticed that there are a lot of things that are "in progress" in our little corner of the world right now. So I whipped out my camera and pondered this post and here are a few images to remind me that wonderful things come from being patient, living and enjoying each moment, and being mindful of the world around me. 

The sourdough growing and changing and getting super yummy... 

The sun tea brewing and herbs growing...

The jalapenos and other green things growing in the container garden...

My triangle (aka the compost shawl because it will keep me warm as I take the compost out in the colder months) growing... (and now it's finished!!!!)

What things are "in progress", growing, changing, evolving in your corner of the world? 

Green Things

As promised, here is a little peak at (the potato section) of my poor little garden as we round the final days of summer. This week I managed to get a little harvest of herbs and jalapenos for freezing and discovered that thanks to the cooler temperatures my tomatoes are much happier campers and are currently working on growing 10 (!!) little tomatoes! 

Like I have said in previous posts, this summer has made me thankful for what gifts my garden was able to give us despite the horrible drought and has encouraged me to take on a larger, permanent raised bed for next year. I am also hoping to finally plant our apple trees and maybe a few fall garden things this year. 

I just need to remember that all of these new, old, skills that I am trying to teach myself are a process and one that I should be thankful for and open to. It's a pretty good metaphor for lots of things I think... 

Oh My Garden! How Thankful I Am!

Oh my poor, poor garden this year... while I am beyond thankful for the rain we had last week ( I seriously love rain more than I can express in words... on a blog... ), I think my little container garden would rather have had less of a series of downpours and more of a gentle ongoing shower.

I can't bring myself to share pictures (although, I probably will in the coming days), my thyme is not only waterlogged but totally dead, the peppers and cucumbers while growing are not looking the prettiest (as long as they are tasty I'm not too concerned), and jalapenos that were just days ago growing like weeds (did I mention we need to mow our weeds?! :) are progressing at a slower rate. It looks a little sad out there with the exception of the potatoes and the lavender. 

Despite this sad state of affairs, every little growing thing out there makes me thankful! We are fortunate to have some herbs going into the freezer. I am learning loads this year about how to care for veggies and herbs in drought conditions (and how not to). I am also more motivated than ever to start have a larger and more permanent garden next year! 

So here's to learning from my garden during one wild and crazy summer! 

My Mega Harvest....

... or something like that.

As I have mentioned before, I have only been gardening, and container gardening at that for 3 seasons. While I did garden with my mom as a young child my main job at that time was to push my thumb into the dirt to help plant nasturtium seeds and help pull weeds.  In fact, last year, I grew cucumbers for the first time and screamed in fear at seeing my first almost fully ready to go cucumber (silly I know but it was hiding behind the leaves, I swear!) 

Since we have been in our house a full year this year I had hoped that this would be "my year". I bought loads of seeds and started them in plenty of time even for our early spring but then we went on vacation and I managed to kill all of my seedlings with a lack of love (or not enough light in the room they were started in), despite a dear friend watering and loving them while we were gone. So I ended up buying plants and getting them into their potted homes later than I had wanted to. The only thing I feel like I did "right" (according to my own silly standards) this year was I bought some seed potatoes on a whim a month or so  back and planted them in laundry baskets and milk cartons and so far they look great! 

Between my late start, the drought that has forced me to water my wee garden with icky chlorinated city water, and the poor squirrels that keep eating all of my beautiful tomatoes, this has not in deed been "my year". My yields have been low or non-existent and I may be the only gardener in history to not get a single zucchini! 

However, always the optimist I harvested all of these beautiful herbs and a few jalapenos this past weekend with more that should be ready this coming week! I have a small and growing supply of herbs in the freezer and all of those jalapenos are destined for jalapeno cheddar sourdough bread, drying, and a wee bit of freezing. I have also been able to dry about a cup of lavender thus far this year! 

So, despite it being a rough year for my garden I am focusing on the beautiful and helpful things it is giving me and using this as a nudge to do my first very small fall garden! How are your garden's growing?! 

My Garden is Growing...

Despite the 100+ degree days we have had in Indiana the past week and my over watering it before we left for my cousin's wedding this weekend (to in my mind, "tide them over") and then some pop up storms my garden seems to be coming along nicely... although not nearly as productive as in years past...

The past two years my garden was in pots housed on the patio of our first floor apartment. I typically had fairly decent yields and was able to freeze some herbs for later use. This year my plan was to build raised beds but our schedule didn't allow for it so I am using containers again. I had also hoped to start all of my plants from seed however, I failed at that as well because I underestimated the amount of light in the room they were starting in.

Soo.... after starting purchased plants in pots and giving them love they are slowly but surely starting to produce. Not bad considering all that the garden has had against it this year!

Today I went out and picked my first cucumber, trimmed up the zucchini and acorn squash, watered it some more, and discovered that the potatoes I planted last week were already starting to show little leaves! My guess in the next few weeks if all goes well I should be harvesting like a mad woman with lots of baby jalapenos, green peppers, cucumbers, herbs, and hopefully tomatoes (provided the squirrels ignore them!). Yah!

1 Week Old Potatoes Sprouting

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Green Peppers,  Zucchini, and Lavender

Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, Basil, (more) Lavender, Green Peppers, Jalapenos, Acorn Squash, and Tomatoes

My first cucumber of 2012

Strawberry Jam ~ Post II ~ The Good Stuff

Before I share the good stuff I want to apologize for the delay. It has been a wild few weeks including a new job for me! I will stay with the state health department, in the same division, but in a new and exciting and kinda scary (in a fun way) role! Yippee!!!!

Okay, as promised, my first strawberry jam making experience!

I tend to consider us "urban homesteaders in training". As I have mentioned before this has developed over time as I want to live a more environmentally respectful and purposeful life and my dear husband Shane, is preparing for the zombie apocalypse so, it works well for both of us! As a result, I have a growing interest in canning and preserving the food we grow or buy locally when in season. At present, I am a.) petrified of ruining perfectly good food and b.) killing us with a mutant form of botulism. So, when the Whole Living Magazine came with a super easy recipe for strawberry jam after I had just talked to a friend about freezing canning, AND I had strawberries that would go bad before Shane could eat them while I was on my work trip it seemed like the perfect chance to try a few new things.

The recipe is as follows;

- 1lb of hulled strawberries mashed

- 1/2 cup of sugar (or another substitute like honey or agave nectar)

The process is as follows;

- combine ingredients.

- heat on medium for about 15-20 minutes until bubbly.

- skim foam and discard (or compost!)

- ladle into jars, label and store.

* The jam can be refrigerated for up to a week and frozen for up to a year.

That's it!!!!!

I actually doubled the recipe and my "jam" came out a tad more like thick and chunky strawberry syrup which is still lovely and has been enjoyed on ice cream and scones! I also froze mine so that we could enjoy it when I got home from my trip. After my little experiment I learned that strawberry is a low pectin fruit and I probably didn't mash them up well enough to bring out enough of the natural pectin in the berries so it wasn't as "jammy". So this weekend I plan to try another batch of jam and add pectin thanks to a little internet research.

I have also been freezing (and using) my bountiful herb crop which I will share in another post very soon!

Meatless Monday ~ Cheese, Crackers, & Fruit

I promise I will get better about taking pictures! For someone that loves photography I seem to be terrible about taking and sharing pictures lately! So, pictures to come, promise!

Tonight's Meatless Monday meal came about because this past weekend was our wedding anniversary and we had gone away for the weekend and came back after yummy food and being super lazy to not really feeling like a heavy meal and not really feeling like cooking. So we had a simple meal of strawberries, grapes, blackberries, kashi sesame honey crackers, and medium cheddar cheese. Super yummy, super simple, and very pretty if I do say so myself!

Upon arriving home I went out and watered our patio garden and found that it is doing really well! All the plants are growing and growing! The basil is still a little smaller than what I remember it being last year so I think I might switch it's location to up on the rail instead of across the riser benches. Here's a wee picture of the final second phase of our patio garden this year. This year's garden includes; sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, green peppers, jalapenos, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Hopefully, we'll start seeing the beginning of veggies very soon!