#I don’t grow zucchini in mine because I know the plants produce SO MUCH | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

i-can-even-burn-salad · 2 years

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Lemon, vermilion, and turquoise blue for the watercolor asks, please!

Thank you for the ask! From this list.

lemon; what’s your comfort food?

Hm. I do love potato things. Potato casserole and good old fries (preferably with some equally healthy meat option) are things I often throw in the oven when I feel like I could use some nice food.

When I’m miserable enough to not want to cook, though, it’s always gonna be toast <3

vermilion; what’s your favorite accent?

Okay, honestly? I HATE ACCENTS. I have a hard time understanding people half of the time already if they speak perfectly clear textbook language. I once asked a customer on the phone for his name 7 times, spelling it out at the end, and still didn’t get that it was PETER. That’s how much I hate accents. Then I feel horrible for not understanding someone when it’s obvious it’s their second language; sorry I’m not making fun of you, the words just don’t arrive in my brain.

And that’s in my native language. English makes it way harder.

Written in books it’s just as hard to read. I do not enjoy this. I don’t hear a voice in my head when I read. All I see is funnily written words that take a moment longer to decipher.

turquoise blue; if you could start a garden, what would you plant?

I mean, I could. If I had the motivation. I once did, but a) it’s work and b) god I do not want to garden in front of a horde of annoying little goblins screeching at the top of their lungs and calling “hello! hello! hello! hello! what are you doing? hello!” over and over.

(Should one be allowed to forbid children from playing outside? No. Should I have to endure it 2m in front of me while doing work I didn’t like in the first place? Also no! Also oh my god, it’s not only the children screaming, apparently no one in this family has indoor voices.)

Didn’t have much luck with sub ground plants like carrots and radishes; very small, got very eaten by stuff. I’d probably go for potatoes (they are magic. you put one potato in and pull several out! :o) and green beans (god I love green beans) and perhaps cucumbers - I know zucchini grow fast, but I do not want several tons of zucchini. Tomatoes would be nice, but I would not have the patience to grow them from seeds, so it’s also a bit expensive, getting the plants. Perhaps some salads. Would likely get eaten by slugs :(

We do have some apple trees, a quince tree that produces like 3 fruits a year, a plum tree no one took care of so it’s too high now to reach anything, and our cherry tree died last year :( I’d like to get a new one, or mirabelle plums, but there isn’t really a good spot to plant a new tree. The old cherry tree was in the middle of a lawn, and it was annoying. In general, fruit trees are the best. And bushes. We used to have red currants, which were fun to harvest, but no one actually liked to eat them :D I love raspberries, but I so do not want to deal with the thorns.

I don’t care much about flowers. I’d like to murder every last rose that’s still in this garden, because they grow wild parts that are thorny all over the place, and I don’t like thorns. Something that is perennial. Perhaps a nice flowering bush. Oh! Some more hibiscus :) I have one that’s mine. And dandelion. It has a hard time growing in my garden (oh, the irony), but all my hamsters loved it.

I’d also like to rip out one of the flowerbeds, because it’s overgrown anyway, and the path next to it is really narrow. Would love to have a wildflower meadow mix there, but on the one side of the house it’s super hot and dry in summer, and on the other it’s very dark and everything is full of moss. So currently it’s “whatever manages to survive can stay”, lol.

Just a bunch of tasty things, and a bunch of nice plants that do not require replanting and can be trimmed down to size once a year, I guess.

#salad-ask #whump-in-the-moonlight #Yea sorry this got long #apparently I have emotions about the garden at 4am #I don't have anything against kids in general #as long as they leave me alone in my own home #But I do not want to deal with that when I'm already doneTM with life after work #and have to water some shit #I have in fact not touched the garden since they moved in #which was some years ago

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expatsecuador · 5 years

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Cost of Fruits & Vegetables in Ecuador

Fruits and vegetables are abundant and cheap in most Ecuadorian cities. The low cost is a key input into the overall cost of living in Ecuador and you should pay considerably less than in your home country.

However, there is a big difference between the cost of fruits and vegetables in local markets vs the supermarkets (ie Supermaxi).

Our regular weekly fruit and vegetable shop at a market costs around $20. But, we still end up spending about $80/week at Supermaxi on items the markets either don’t stock or we just like better from Supermaxi such as chicken.

Everything you see on the table in the above pic cost $23.50. Laying everything out like this actually makes me feel good about all the great food we’re going to each in the week ahead.

We have included several non-fruit & veg items in the $23.50 cost (honey, cheese and flour). Take these out and you’re looking at a cost of $20 even.

Cost of Fruits and Vegetables at Cuenca Markets

We try to do as much of our weekly shopping at our local markets in Cuenca because it’s cheap and I find it more enjoyable and stimulating than a supermarket.

The below table shows a summary of the various fruits and vegetables, along with their costs and where we bought them.

Fruits

Name (ENG)

Nombre (ESP)

Quantity

Cost

Where?

Lemons

Limones

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Bananas

Plátanos

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Tomatoes

Tomates

2 Pounds

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Apples

Manzanas

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Passion Fruit

Maracuyá

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Strawberries

Fresas

2 Pounds

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Kiwi Fruit

Kiwis

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Plantains

Verdes

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Mountain Papaya

Babaco

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Vegetables

Name (ENG)

Nombre (ESP)

Quantity

Cost

Where?

Potatoes

Papas (Cholas)

1 Bucket

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

White Onions

Cebolla Blanca

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Leeks

Cebolla Larga

1 Bunch

$0.50

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Spinach

Espinaca

1 Bunch

$0.25

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Peppers

Pimientos

$0.50

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Green Beans

Vainitas

1 Pound

$0.50

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Carrots

Zanahorias

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Cassava

Yuca

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Turnip

Nabo

$0.25

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Canna Indica

Hojas de Achira

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Other Market Produce

Name (ENG)

Nombre (ESP)

Quantity

Cost

Where

Honey

Miel

200 ml

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Fresh Cheese

Queso Fresco

1 Pound

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Corn Flour

Harina de Maiz Blanca

1 Pound

$0.50

Cuenca, 10 de Augusto

Ecuadorian Fruits

As you can tell from the summary pricing, fruits are generally purchased from the market in amounts of $1.

ie:

6 passion fruits for $1

10 lemons for $1.

This also makes it easy to remember pricing over time.

But, the supermarkets generally use pricing per weight so it is a little more difficult to compare prices in the markets vs supermarkets.

Weekly Fruit Costs

Our weekly fruit bill generally costs around $12 for a family of 4 (2 adults, 2 children & nanny). We have a nanny Mon-Fri and we provide lunch for her, so we make sure there’s more than enough to go around.

Lemons (Limones)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Lemons

These are the larger lemon variety that are a little more difficult to find in Cuenca. We mainly use these for making lemonade or guacamole.

Bananas (Plátanos)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Bananas

These are just your standard bananas. I'm not even sure if they are Cavendish. We generally alternate between the different types and be sure to try the red bananas!

Tomatoes (Tomates)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Tomatoes

2 Pounds

Whilst we try to eat our own hydroponic tomatoes when we can, we normally need to supplement by purchasing some at the markets.

Apples (Manzanas)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Apples

These are Ecuadorian produced apples. There's normally also a steady supply of several different types from neighboring countries such as Peru and Chile.

Passion Fruit (Maracuyá)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Passion Fruit

Passion fruit grow like weeks in some parts of Ecuador. And this means low prices for consumers. We use these large passion fruits for juices, smoothies and on our morning granola.

Strawberries (Fresas)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Strawberries

2 Pounds

Strawberries are available year round and are a common staple in our house for weekend pancakes. We also have a few plants growing and produce a good harvest.

Kiwi Fruit (Kiwis)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Kiwi Fruit

The quality of kiwi fruits can vary a lot throughout the country. But, we've normally found at least one or two vendors at each market have good quality. This is a favorite of mine in smoothies.

Plantains (Verdes)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Plantains

There's a large variety of plantains to be found in Ecuador. These ones are commonly just called verdes (ie 'greens') because they are not ripe. We boil these and use for tigrillo, bolones or even soup. You must give them a try if you haven't already.

Mountain Papaya (Babaco)

Fruit

Quantity

Cost

Mountain Papaya

The Babaco is a large, popular Ecuadorian fruit that we mostly stew and have as a dessert or use as a pie/tart filling. We also have a young tree growing that does well in Cuenca's altitude, but is too young to produce fruit.

Ecuadorian Vegetables

Pricing for vegetables is not quite as standard as it is for fruits as it’s quite common to buy in bunches or buckets (for potatoes). I’ve found pricing doesn’t generally vary too much between market vendors. Be prepared to pay around double the price at Supermaxi.

Weekly Vegetable Costs

Our weekly vegetable bill comes in at around $8. We do have a little garden where we try to grow at least a few crops year round such as potatoes, onions, zucchinis and broccoli. This helps reduce costs a little, but without it we’d still only pay around $10/week for an abundant supply of fresh vegetables.

Leeks (Cebolla Larga)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Leeks

1 Bunch

$0.50

These are generally not as fat as the leeks you may be used to but I've found the flavor to be close enough for substituting into my favorite leek recipes such as potato and leek soup.

Potatoes (Papa Cholas)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Potatoes

1 Bucket

Ecuador is a potato lover's dream. There's a massive variety grown here, but our standard potato is the papa chola and we use it a lot for soups such as locro.

White Onions (Cebolla Blanca)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

White Onion

Slightly milder than the purple onion, the white onion is still very common and we use it most days as the base for our lunches and salads.

Spinach (Espinaca)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Spinach

1 Bunch

$0.25

This common variety of spinach is available everywhere and is super cheap. It grows as a ground cover and our neighbor let's us take as much as we generally need so we don't normally need to buy much. Great for salads and I even add it my morning smoothie if I'm feeling wild.

Peppers (Pimientos)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Peppers

$0.50

I'll admit that I still haven't completely figured out pepper pricing. Some vendors charge the same for red and green peppers, whilst some charge slightly more for red peppers. I do wish there was more of a demand for different types hot peppers here.

Green Beans (Vainitas)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Green Beans

1 Pound

$0.50

Another weekly staple at our house is green beans. I love cooking Thai food and add a handful to many Thai (or local) dishes. I've tried to grow snow peas a few times but haven't had much luck (yet).

Carrots (Zanahorias)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Carrots

This is one vegetable I normally have to inspect at multiple vendors because the quality can differ a lot. They normally sell them with the leaves on, which I like because I can add it to my home compost.

Turnip (Nabo)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Turnip

$0.25

Can't say we buy a lot of turnips. We only really use them for some soups.

Cassava (Yuca)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Cassava

This root vegetable is used a lot by Ecuadorians and I understand why. My favorites are tortillas de yucca and little panes de yucca (with yoghurt), but they also make a good soup and fried chips (chifles).

Canna Indica (Hojas de Achira)

Vegetable

Quantity

Cost

Canna Indica Leaves

These edible leaves are used to make delicious dessert cakes called 'quimbolitos'. The cake is boiled in these leaves for 20 minutes and served in the leaf. We normally have to wait until Michelle's mom is in town to make these as we haven't stolen her recipe yet!

Quimbolitos are commonly enjoyed in the afternoon with a coffee. Here's the finished result:

We’re updating this list of fruits and vegetables as we buy different things.

I’m always on the lookout for fresh new ingredients, so let us know if there’s any fresh produce that you’d like to know availability and prices.

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ancientbrit · 4 years

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Natters # 15 &16 06/09/2015

Subject: MI MG Natters #15 &16, June 9th 2015 Date: June 9, 2015 11:40:00 PM PDT Friday's clinic, two weeks ago, put us back in the numbers again. A lovely day with just Sam and me in attendance. We had a sudden rush arriving after 5:00 pm - our closing time, but we were able to get them all answered to the clients satisfaction - thank goodness. One lady from Israel (our second ) had been given some spurious information about growing conditions in Washington State, on which we were glad to set her straight. Her only growing experience to date had all taken place in Israel, which is obviously a wee bit different to Mercer Island. But I was able to reassure her, that yes indeed, Cyclamen do very well here, at which she was delighted. We talked about becoming a MG and she was much taken with the thought and she will be checking back with us at the Farmers Market, due to start on the 7th of June. One gentleman coming out of Rite Aid with an armful of plants stopped to ask if there was anything that would get rid of powdery mildew on zucchini. He had it last year and wasn't able to do anything for it. In fact there were a lot of clients who had experienced the same problem which also effected most of the cucurbits outside. At the time I could only offer the word that a solution of sodium bicarbonate is sometimes effective, although it wasn't very strong. Then when I was visiting Bellevue Nursery this week, I saw an item labelled 'Green Cure', which uses Potassium bicarbonate combined with a spreader sticker to enhance the fungicidal properties. It apparently kills powdery mildew & other plant diseases on contact with up to two weeks of residual protection. The literature lists 25 different diseases that are controlled and describes how it does it. On the literature, among those giving enthusiastic support to 'Green Cure' is an Advanced Master Gardener in Brookfield, CT. I am growing pumpkins and zucchini this year, so I am going to try it for myself. What a nice thought to find something like this that actually works. It is odorless, mixes & fully dissolves in water to spray, does not accumulate in the soil, is compatible with many beneficial insects and fruits & vegetables can be harvested an hour after spraying. Jean's favorite tree, Styrax japonica, now in its sixth year, is about twelve feet high and I find to my surprise that it is hugely fragrant. I didn't know that! The scent is fantastic and the whole tree is alive with bees all day - what a bonus. Give it another year or two and I will be able to remove some of the lower branches and it will be giving the shade it was planted to produce. A beautiful tree! This is Clem-a-tis "Romantika - a new one from Estonia I bought earlier this year and in bloom last Saturday for the first time. Although the color here looks great, it doesn't really do justice to the way it really looks. The main color is almost black and that lighter color bar along the center of the tepal is a deep ruby-red with a shimmer that makes it looks like velvet which has been caught here - quite incredible. A beautiful flower. ( I am sorry that processing this way does not allow the production of pictures) My Cardiocrinums are having a strange year. One I planted two years back shot up to about 7 feet high and is now in bloom. One of three 'pups' from my original, started to move a little after the big brother next door, but it has barely reached three feet high and is also in flower - not exactly a giganteum by any stretch of the imagination. I not sure exactly what I have here, but I will be keeping an eye on it. Looking at them today I had a sniff of their lovely perfume, but there was something else on the air which didn't appeal at all. It didn't smell at all like my compost pile, which only has a vegetable smell. This was quite rank - and then I almost trod on a dead Mole! It was just laid out on my footpath and I have no idea who I have to thank for this nice gesture, whether it was a gift from Pickle or the new cat next door or dropped by a crow - which doesn't seem too likely. Whatever, one must be grateful for small mercies - and I am. This has all taken longer to assemble than I had thought, so I will combine the last Rite Aid clinic with the first Farmers Market clinic on Sunday. Our last Friday at Rite Aid clinic this year was sort of crowded with four of us - Karin, Carin, Janet and myself, but it was a good day. When we weren't satisfying clients we were able to talk about various gardening topics and other fascinating subjects. We find frequently that some RA costumers assume that we are 'with' RA and we get drawn into helping them make choices of plants and I don't feel badly about this - it is about the only way we can really say how we appreciate RA's allowing us to store our stuff there all year - apart from our donating cookies, etc to their lunchroom, which is really appreciated. We always try to place one or three plants from RA's display on our desk to attract our clients. But all of a sudden there appeared a pot of 'Snow on the Mountain' aka 'Bishops Weed'. Karin had placed it there as she knows I cannot stand the stuff. She is the only person I know who has used it and never regretted the choice. She had it planted between two concrete strips along her driveway and it filled the space in nothing flat. I wouldn't trust it not to insinuate itself under the concrete into the rest of the garden, but as Karin was moving she wasn't too worried. I am still amazed that this thug is allowed on the market as it is almost impossible to remove once it gets a grip. The plain green version is Ground Elder and in England, it is a legal requirement that it be removed. Its reputation precedes it and house sales have been known to fall through when this plant is seen growing in the garden. At the Plant Sale, there had been numerous flats of a particular plant that looked okay when first divided and potted up. However, just before the actual sale, when plants were being checked, 28 of these plants had to be dumped because they were infested with Bishops Weed! There is a plant that secretes an oil in its roots which kills this darned weed. It is called Tagetes minuta and is so named for the tiny flowers it produces. The plant itself grows to about 3 feet high and is planted in and around the infestation. If left, it becomes apparent that it is working, as a roughly circular patch of dying plant appears around the Tagetes and when you check, although the weed stems are still there, they are hollow and very dead. This last Sunday was our first Farmer's Market of the season and I was joined by Joan & Janet. The weather was lovely and we were under a canopy with a constant breeze blowing through. It also seems that we have been rewarded with a permanent canopy location - right at the end of the street on the north side, with our backs to the parking lot. 'Couldn't be better, so I hope that Patty maintains our permanency there. It is always a pleasant clinic here as we get clients returning from previous years - it is quite like old home week. One couple returned to tell me that the ivy clearance that we had recommended last year was almost completed and they were interested in growing all sorts of things from cuttings etc. I mentioned air layering in which they became very interested, so I will be bringing them some information next week. They also had grown a type of African gourd last year which they brought to show us. It had been emptied and dried and is used as a musical instrument - rather impressive as they know how to play it. I told them about the small, different shaped gourds I used to grow in England. When they were ripe they were dried, varnished and polished and Jean used to display them in a fruit bowl. They looked quite attractive. A couple of friends came to visit one weekend and they were keen gardeners but not too knowledgeable. When my friend's wife went into work the following Monday, she told her friends about their visit and about her friend 'who grows turds, which he dries and polishes and his wife displays in a fruit bowl!' She has never been allowed to live this down! Then on Monday Becca had arranged for a load of MGs to visit Pat Roome and take a tour of her garden, which I found to be fantastic. Her veggie garden had two stands of peas, one of them about seven feet high and covered in plump pods. Her tomatoes were up to about five feet high with fruit about 2" in diameter. Apparently, Pat had sown the seed in February and planted them out in April when she judged it unlikely that there would be any more frost - 'really got that right! The thing that really impressed me however was the number of plants she had which are the same sort of thing that I grow - just way bigger. For instance, I have a Pineapple broom which I grew from seed I took from a mature bush in Yorkshire, at the RHS gardens there. Mine is about seven feet high - it has spent a few years in a pot which slowed it's growth somewhat! Pat's is taller than her house by several feet and is covered in blooms. I have a Chilean fire tree I bought at the F & G show, which is now five feet high. Pat's again is probably about 35 feet high with the topmost branches covered in scarlet blossoms, being visited by loads of hummers. And so it went, but how nice to see what I might expect to get in a few years' time. One plant that she has which appealed to everybody was a perennial Nasturtium. It has a neat arrangement of five leaflets arranged somewhat like an Akebia and it was growing up the side of a large evergreen hedge. At the top it turned over into the sun and was covered in scarlet blossoms. Pat had several rooted cuttings in her greenhouse and they all were picked up by some of the MGs. Unfortunately, we had to scoot a little before the tour came to an end as we had carpooled and Bev, who was driving, had another appointment, but the whole trip was well worth it and quite honestly I don't know how Pat manages it all. I am writing to thank her for her generosity in giving her time to us all. This first Farmers Market clinic was not as frenetic as last year when Bev and I literally didn't stop the whole day, clocking about 75 clients. This year we took 40 which I thought was a nice score. People were out in force and the Market looks all set to be a constant success. Hopefully, we can increase the numbers when we get the new sandwich boards in place. We had quite a lot of people who stopped by but didn't know we would be there apparently. I am not sure why they wouldn't know as we have been there constantly since it started, but there you go. Your fearless leader, Gordon

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gethealthy18-blog · 4 years

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Simple Seasonal Eating Guide for Families

New Post has been published on http://healingawerness.com/news/simple-seasonal-eating-guide-for-families/

Simple Seasonal Eating Guide for Families

Table of Contents[Hide][Show]

I’m always looking for easy ways to improve my family’s health and seasonal eating is one of the best. We don’t drive ourselves crazy over it but try to enjoy dreaming up recipes based on what’s at the farmer’s market or in the garden. And it’s not as hard as it seems! Seasonal eating comes naturally when you simply change your mindset and get in touch with where your food comes from.

Why Eat Seasonally?

Eating seasonally has many benefits:

Taste – In-season produce is often much tastier than out of season produce because it doesn’t have to be shipped as far (or at all) and can ripen for longer on the plant.

Health – For the same reason that in-season produce tastes better, it’s also generally higher in nutrients.

Support Local Economy – Eating in-season means you can support the local economy and your local food growers by buying from local farmers instead of the grocery store.

Cost – Eating seasonally also means you’re buying food when it’s least expensive, saving on your grocery bill.

Because I keep a garden, seasonal eating is a necessity. But it’s also a lot of fun to find what’s coming into season in the grocery store or farmer’s market and figure out how to use those items.

How to Eat Seasonally (& Have Fun Doing It)

Moms are often already stretched thin, so adding one more thing to the to-do list can be very overwhelming. Luckily seasonal eating doesn’t have to be another to-do list item. It can be a fun addition to a healthy lifestyle.

Here’s how:

Have a Plan

Having a plan for using seasonal produce is important. If you don’t normally meal plan, now might be a good time to start. I use Real Plans to plan out my family’s weekly meals. It’s much simpler than doing it myself and Real Plans automatically serves up seasonal recipes!

Think Differently

To start eating seasonally you’ll have to change your mindset a bit. Instead of eating blueberries every other week throughout the year you’ll have to find interesting ways to use them in the summer when they’re in season (or frozen ones at other times).

Don’t Overcomplicate

When it comes to finding seasonal recipes for the produce you’re growing or buying locally, keep it simple. Don’t try to cook complicated dishes before you’re comfortable with using certain ingredients together. Stick with simple recipes and build your skills and knowledge base slowly.

What to Do With Seasonal Produce

Once you start to buy produce seasonally, you’ll realize that you end up with a lot of one thing at a time.

Here are some ideas for dealing with large amounts of seasonal produce:

Learn to preserve – If you can buy or grow lots of tomatoes in the summer, learn to can or freeze them for the winter. Do the same for other produce you find in-season. If canning isn’t your jam (pun intended), try pickling, freezing, drying, or fermenting to extend the life of in-season foods.

Adjust to eating more when it’s fresh – We tend to eat the foods we like at regular intervals all year. But seasonal eating asks us to eat a lot of one item when it’s fresh (and little or none at other times of the year). That means we might eat lots of berries in the summer, but stick with citrus fruits in the winter.

Bake with the extra – Another option is to make sweet breads, muffins, casseroles, and quiches with whatever you have a lot of and freeze those for later.

When I get a large harvest from my garden or the farmer’s market I do all three of these things! It gives the kids something to look forward to (all the strawberries you can eat in June!) and adds routine to the year.

What’s in Season Now?

What produce is in season depends on where you live in the world. The easiest way to know what’s in season is to go to your local farm or farmer’s market and see what they are producing. You can also check a state-by-state seasonal food guide.

But local foods are not the only in-season foods. Foods that travel from other climates also have a season.

For example, most Americans can’t buy local citrus fruits, but the winter is the best time to get them at their freshest and lowest price. Here’s what to look for at the grocery store or farmer’s market for the freshest produce year-round:

January

For most people, January is a time of rest and reflection. The garden has long been put to bed and the season calls for warm soups and stews as well as lots of starchy vegetables. Here’s what’s in season in January:

Beets

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Grapefruit

Kale

Leeks

Lemons

Oranges

Parsnips

Pomegranates

Potatoes

Rutabagas

Tangelos

Tangerines

Turnips

Winter Squash

January Seasonal Recipes:

February

For many climates, February is cold and dark, so warm and bright foods are welcome! Root veggies, cruciferous veggies, and citrus fruit are abundant:

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Grapefruit

Kale

Leeks

Lemons

Oranges

Parsnip

Radishes

Rutabagas

Spinach

Sweet Potatoes

Tangelos

Turnips

February Seasonal Recipes:

March

March is the official start of spring. Spring brings back the more fragile vegetables like greens and reminds us that more fresh produce is coming!

Artichokes

Arugula

Asparagus

Avocado

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cauliflower

Celery

Collard greens

Kale

Leeks

Lemons

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Oranges

Parsnip

Pineapples

Radishes

Rutabagas

Spring peas

Swiss chard

Turnips

March Seasonal Recipes:

April

As April enters we start to see more spring vegetables and some fruits start popping into the stores.

Artichokes

Arugula

Asparagus

Avocados

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Celery

Collard greens

Leeks

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Pineapples

Radishes

Rhubarb

Spring peas

Strawberries

Sweet onions

April Seasonal Recipes:

May

May ushers in the end of school for some and the beginning of the unofficial summer (Memorial Day). Berries start showing their faces as well as other fruits.

Apricots

Artichokes

Asparagus

Avocados

Blackberries

Blueberries

Carrots

Celery

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Collard greens

Cucumber

Grapes

Lettuce

Mangoes

Okra (a favorite of mine)

Pineapples

Radishes (my kids will eat them in this dip recipe)

Rhubarb

Spinach

Spring peas

Strawberries

Sweet onions

Swiss chard

Tomatoes

Zucchini

May Seasonal Recipes:

June

The official start of summer begins at the end of June and the wealth of fresh fruits and veggies is growing every day.

Apricots

Avocados

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Cherries

Corn

Garlic

Kiwi

Lettuce

Mangoes

Peaches

Pineapple

Raspberries

Strawberries

Swiss chard

Tomatoes

Watermelon

Zucchini

June Seasonal Recipes:

July

Summer is in full swing and BBQs and backyard grilling are favorite ways to prepare meals. Here’s what to look out for this month:

Apricots

Avocados

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Corn

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Garlic

Green beans

Kiwi

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangoes

Okra

Peaches

Peppers

Pineapple

Plums

Raspberries

Strawberries

Summer squash

Swiss chard

Tomatoes

Watermelon

Zucchini

July Seasonal Recipes:

August

For many places August is the hottest month of the year which means lots of picnics at the beach! Luckily there are lots of easy to pack fruits and veggies available this month:

Apples

Apricots

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Corn

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Figs

Green beans

Kiwi

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mangoes

Okra

Peaches

Peppers

Plums

Raspberries

Strawberries

Summer squash

Swiss chard

Tomatoes

Watermelon

Zucchini

August Seasonal Recipes:

September

As school resumes and summer vacation ends families are looking for packable lunch items and simple recipes. But September is still technically summer for a few more weeks so there are lots to choose from:

Apples

Beets

Cantaloupe

Cauliflower

Eggplant

Figs

Grapes

Green beans

Lettuce

Mangoes

Mushrooms

Okra

Peppers

Persimmons

Pomegranates

Pumpkins

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Swiss chard

Tomatoes

September Seasonal Recipes:

October

Many areas are cooling down and crisp or brisk weather is a welcome change for the hot days of summer. October is when heartier veggies begin to come into season. Many of these veggies store well long term:

Apples

Beets

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Cranberries

Grapes

Leeks

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Parsnips

Persimmons

Pomegranates

Pumpkins

Rutabagas

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Swiss chard

Turnips

Winter squash

October Seasonal Recipes:

November

Thanksgiving is just around the corner so flavors reminiscent of this American tradition are on many people’s minds. Find root vegetables and cruciferous veggies in abundance this month as well as a few choice fruits:

Beets

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Cranberries

Leeks

Mushrooms

Oranges

Parsnips

Pears

Persimmons

Pomegranates

Pumpkins

Rutabagas

Spinach

Sweet potatoes

Tangerines

Turnips

Winter squash

November Seasonal Recipes:

December

The holiday season is in full swing and Christmas is just a few weeks away. December brings more of those hearty vegetables that are great with roasts or in soups.

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Grapefruit

Kale

Leeks

Mushrooms

Oranges

Papayas

Parsnips

Pears

Pomegranates

Rutabagas

Sweet potatoes

Tangelos

Turnips

Winter Squash

December Seasonal Recipes:

Seasonal Eating Made Easy

It might be overwhelming to start eating more seasonally but it’s not as difficult as it seems. You don’t need to go all-in and only eat local or in-season produce. Simply add more seasonal produce to your meal plan as you can. This is a great way to get you thinking seasonally. Soon you’ll be eating and serving as much seasonal produce as you want!

How do you eat seasonally? What are your tips?

Source: https://wellnessmama.com/428020/seasonal-eating/

0 notes

sageinthegarden · 5 years

Photo

A new snapshot from https://sagesacre.com/2019/11/04/build-a-keyhole-garden/

Build a Keyhole Garden

Keyhole Gardens are water efficient, easy to maintain and super productive in a small space. Here’s how I built one without breaking the piggy bank.

So I was sitting around late last winter reading the week’s Costco circular when I ran across an article about the success of something called a “keyhole garden” in remote villages of Africa. (What Costco had to do with this, I don’t know.) Anyhow, intrigued, I dropped the brochure and hopped over to the interwebs to find out what was up with these keyhole gardens.

The backstory on the keyhole garden is that it was developed in the 1990s by researchers in Lesotho, an arid mountain kingdom surrounded by South Africa where they were trying to find a way for remote populations with poor soil, little water and desert-like conditions to build efficient, and sustainable, but low tech, food sources.

The garden’s design is basically a circular raised bed made about 6 feet across with a wedge cut out to allow you to reach a basket at the center of the bed. The bottom of the bed is lined with organic material, sticks, leaves, cardboard, etc. and soil is filled in on top of it. The basket gets buried as well, but the top remains accessible so food scraps, plant trimmings and other organic material can be thrown in and compost will leech back into the bed. The width and height of the keyhole garden makes it easy to water and maintain by hand without bending or reaching too much. Best of all, it’s designed for intensive planting so it yields a whole bunch of produce in a very small space.

I read a couple more websites, looked at some photos of the keyhole gardens others have built, and said “I’m going to build one.” A couple weeks later, I did. Here’s how I did it and the results.

Step 1

Design the Keyhole Garden

My keyhole garden design on paper

Most of the keyhole garden builds I read used a circular bed about 6 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep with walls made from stones, cinder blocks, bricks, and similar sturdy stuff. The area I wanted to build mine was the old kitchen garden, a 10 ft x 10 ft south-facing patch right outside the door. Not wanting to waste space, I decided to make my garden 8 feet wide with a two foot keyhole opening. I also made the compost basket in the center slightly larger to compensate for the additional planting area.

Because I wasn’t certain this whole keyhole garden thing was going to work out, I decided to skip the cost and effort of dragging (and possibly removing) a ton of stones or blocks to the area and go with a wood wall built like an open top barrel. I chose cedar fence boards as the wood because it was inexpensive, bugs didn’t like it, and held up well in the weather. I used standard 6 in x 6 ft dog-eared fence boards rather than 8 in x 6 ft because the narrower boards were less likely to split. For the “barrel bands” I chose ½-in stainless steel pipe strapping because it was (again) inexpensive and held up well in the weather.

My supplies list:

5½-in x 6ft Dog-eared cedar fence boards

Roll of stainless pipe strap

⅝-in screws

¼-in x 2 ft wire cloth (for the compost basket)

All of these things are available at any local hardware or home improvement store.

Step 2

Calculate How Much You Need

Thank a geometry teacher if you can read this

With a supplies list in-hand, the next thing I had to do was to calculate how many cedar boards and screws I was going to need. I planned on cutting the cedar to 18 in, giving me 4 boards for each piece of fencing. Each cut board would need 4 screws to attach it high and low to two bands of pipe strapping. So figuring out the circumference of the bed would tell me the number of cut boards and screws I need.

Except… the bed also has a “wedge” cut out of it that’s 2 ft wide at the edge and 18 in wide in the center where it meets the compost basket. Those extra three pieces (left, right and center) actually make the number of boards required higher that just the circumference.

Calculating the circumference of the bed was easy enough:

C=2Πr

Or, for my purposes the Circumference = 2 x 3.14 x 4, which just a tad over 25 ft. Subtract 2 ft from that for the opening to the keyhole, and you’ve got 23 ft and change for the outer wall. (Mr. Janko, if you’re reading this, I owe you a huge apology. Despite my earlier statements to the contrary, I did actually end up using geometry for something.)

Figuring out the amount of wood I’d need for the walls of the keyhole was more complicated. I had to determine the base angles of the isosceles triangle that was the “wedge” formed by the keyhole, then determine the intersection of the compost bin and the wedge, and calculate the length of the walls from there.

When that didn’t work, I used a tape measure and eyeballed it.

You should too. It’ll save you a whole bunch of time and some negative consequences that come from calling and threatening your high school geometry teacher in the middle of the night.

Anyway, all told, I needed a minimum of 16 uncut cedar boards, and 18 if I wanted to leave room for splits, cracks, bad measurements and all the other stuff that can happen. I bought 20.

Between the wood, screws and 100 ft of pipe strap, I spent about $100.

Step 3

Cut your boards to size

Cut the cedar boards to 18 inches long

I decided to make my keyhole garden 18in instead of 24 in high because there’s a nice view out the dining room window and I didn’t want the garden wall to block half of it. Plus, dropping the size 8 in let me get 4 pieces per fence board rather than 3.

Somewhere between 20 and 350 cuts later, I had my stack of wall pieces.

Step 4

Building the main wall

Line up the boards and cut a length of pipe strap

The first thing I did was build the main portion of the keyhole garden’s wall — the whole circle except for where the 2 ft keyhole opening would be. For my project that was 51 pieces of 18 in cedar boards (total length divided by the width of each board).

To put the wall together, I laid the boards down side-by-side, evened them up with a 6 ft level, and screwed two sets of pipe strap, one at 6 in from the top edge and another 6in from the bottom. Two screws per strap, four total on each board. When I got to the last board, I extended the the pipe stripe 12 in more and cut it. That piece would be used to join it to the interior wall of the keyhole.

Attach the pipe strap to the boards with 5/8 in screws

Finally, with the assistance of a helper, we brought the long “snake” of joined boards and stood it up in the garden. We knew where to place the wall because we had used a couple of stakes and a 4 ft length of twine to mark the circle’s boundary.

Stand up the assembled wall in the garden

Step 5

Assemble the keyhole walls

Once the main wall was in place, we used the same double strap technique to assemble the right and left walls of the keyhole along with the center section where the compost basket would sit.

Then we stood those up and screwed them to the main wall using the extra 12 in of strap to join the pieces.

Step 6

Make the compost basket

Assemble the compost basket with a length of weld wire cloth

To make my compost basket, I unrolled a few feet of weld wire, shaped it into a tube 3 ft across and used some wire to tie the ends. Then I dropped it in place in the center of the garden and secured it with two garden stakes to keep it from collapsing when we filled the soil in around it.

Place the compost basket in the center of the garden bed to complete the keyhole

With that complete, it was time to fill the bed.

Step 7

Add debris to the bottom of the bed

A 6 in layer of twigs, leaves and sticks

The bottom portion of the keyhole garden is a layer of course plant matter and compostable materials — branches, twigs, leaves, even bark and cardboard — to provide drainage and organic matter. Fortunately, I had plenty of that, so the bed was lined with feijoa branches and leaves, spent grapevines and tomato vines left over from fall. After adding and smashing it down we had about 6 in of coarse organic matter.

Step 8

Add Soil to fill the bed

Adding soil and manure to the bed

Next step was to figure out how much soil it would to take to fill the bed. (If you already have plenty of soil, skip this and simply fill the bed.) To do that, I had to know the radius of my bed (4 ft), and how high the soil would be when the bed was full (1-½ft). Then using my high school math again, I calculated the volume of the bed like this:

Volume=Πr2h

(You can also just and plug it in to the Google.)

Once I knew how much soil I needed, I checked prices at both the local home improvement stores and landscape centers, but didn’t find much difference. I chose the home improvement store because their 1 cubic foot bags were easier to carry to the garden than navigating the paths with wheelbarrows of loose dirt. I spent about $100 on the soil.

Add your soil to the bed. (That’s me. King of dirt mountain)

After I got the soil, I filled the beds and mounded it to slope away from the compost basket and help nutrients and water to leech from the compost to the outer edges of the bed. Finally, I gave it a good watering and let it sit for a couple days so air pockets between the soil and debris would settle so I didn’t wind up with “sink holes” later in the season.

Step 9

Plant Something!

The keyhole garden complete and ready for planting

At this point the garden was good to go, so I started moving seedlings out of the greenhouse and into the bed. Here’s what I planted over the course of the growing season:

April Broccoli (Arcadia) Cucumber (Boston Pickling) Lettuce (Loose leaf mix) Tomato (Tigerella and Valentine) Zucchini (8 Ball)

May Basil (Genovese) Carrot (Napoli) Onion (Gladstone)

June Frying Pepper (Corno) Hot Pepper (Red Ember)

July Basil (Large Leaf) Corn (Red Dent) Pumpkin (Rouge Vif D’Etempes)

Some of the articles I read about keyhole gardens mentioned that wide spreading, shallow root vegetables tomato and zucchini wouldn’t perform as well as other crops, but my results didn’t match that. The tomatoes eventually took over half the bed and the zucchini produced so much fruit that the ducks and chickens ended up getting plenty as well (yes, they love squash).

I also had to wrestle with sweet potatoes I apparently missed when we cleared the area to build the keyhole garden. They didn’t grow in the bed, but sprouted from the bottom and took off from there, eventually creeping over the top and swallowing the compost bin (which I still used).

Summary

Yes, it’s a great garden design

My Keyhole garden in late May

All told the yield from the keyhole garden was easily twice that of the standard raised beds down in the vegetable garden, and watering and upkeep was far easier. I did have some problems early with the soil drying too quickly (we only get rain between November and March), so I laid down a soaker hose and placed about 3 in of leaf mulch over it to control evaporation.

After that it was basically zero care and continuous production from May through September. Definitely worth the $200 and the few hours I put into building it. If you build one, I have no doubt you’ll be equally pleased at how much food production you’ll get out of such a small area.

If you’d like to see the keyhole garden throughout the year, check out this post.

#keyhole #keyhole garden #raised bed #water efficient

0 notes

benjamingarden · 5 years

Text

DIY Arched Cattle Panel Garden Trellis + Garden Update

For the past couple of years I've been thinking about replacing the trellis netting we'd been using. I wanted something stronger that could also hold small winter squash. I've seen cattle panels used quite a bit and decided that's what I wanted.

And then I was told it wouldn't work....

My husband is very talented. He can figure out how to make just about anything work. But only if he wants to. Well, let me tell you, he did not seem to want to make cattle panels work. How do I know this? When I first mentioned it his response was "it won't work". I anticipated this and had 2 blogs pulled up showing photos of them having used them in fairly narrow walkways. I showed him. "huh" he said. "I still don't think they will work in our narrow space". I showed him where one of the blogs noted the measurement and it was similar to ours (I measured ahead of time). He wasn't convinced.

winter squash

At the next farmer's market he thought for sure he would settle this once and for all. One of our farmer friends was visiting with us and J said "hey, how much do you think I can bend a cattle panel in order to make an arched trellis? Four and a half feet would probably about snap it in half, right?"

Sneaky.....he threw in what he wanted the response to be at the end of the question.

Does he forget we've been together for 20+ years????? Does he think I don't have him figured out???? Silly man!

Our farmer friend began answering by saying "boy, they're pretty flexible. I think you could probably do it". I (quickly) followed up with a solution I'd already thrown at J but couldn't get it to stick. I said "well the distance between raised beds is 4 1/2 feet but we could always put them inside of the garden bed if we need a larger arch" to which our farmer friend said "oh, I think that would definitely work".

I smiled at my husband. He rolled his eyes.

cattle panel trellis

That was on a Sunday. Guess what we did that following Tuesday? Yup - went and purchased 2 cattle panels and installed them. And guess what else? They look fantastic!

Now let me mention what we did wrong. Once again, I have a very talented husband. (just in case he reads this post I want to be sure to mention it a couple of times - I've got more "projects" on the wish list!) And he always thinks things through in order to identify potential problems before they are a problem. But once again, if he doesn't want to do the project, well, he doesn't always take the time to think it through. All of the cattle panel trellis projects I had seen showed the use of t-posts to support the panels. "We don't need those" was the response I received when mentioning it. Guess what? WE NEEDED THEM!!!!

see the rope he tied at the top? It didn't fly with me.....

Without the supportive posts the panels will bulge out in the middle and won't stand nicely or securely. So what did my husband do? If you guessed he admitted he was wrong you are not correct. Nope. Instead he grabbed some nylon rope and tied the panel together at the top. "There" he said, walking away. He muttered "I guess that's why they use t-posts" as he kept on walking right to the house. I now have posts. Mine are wood but metal would be best. Just saying.... So, it's super easy and a great climbing surface for veggies that like to do so.

beautiful arched trellis minus the rope!

For each arch you need: 1 cattle panel (we purchased ours at Tractor Supply) (I believe we paid just over $20.00 each) 2 metal t-posts (either Tractor Supply or a home improvement store) 2 zip ties (to attach the metal posts to the panel) Dig a small trench for each side to sink into. Insert a t-post to support the first side you will be working with. It should be center to the panel. Arch the panel so you can start to get a shape into it before you begin sinking the bottom into the ground. We did this by each taking a side and walking toward each other, slowly. (be very careful & patient when working with them) Walk the panel over to the site where it will be and sink one side into the ground, leaning it right against the t-post. Secure to panel with a zip tie. Fill the small trench back with dirt. Set the second side into it's trench. Pound the second t-post in, again center with that panel. Secure to panel with a zip tie. **important to note. If you are planning an arched trellis, make sure whoever loads the panel into your vehicle does not bend it completely in half. They tried to do this to us and we (thankfully) caught it and stopped it before it was creased in the center. Instead, we put a soft bend in it, like it has to create the arch, and tied the ends together so it wouldn't release.** The bottom line is cattle panels are reasonably priced, last a long time, and are durable. I will be using more of these in the garden as we expand it again.

squash blossom

And the rest of the garden is doing nicely! We did grow a lot less this year which proved to be the right decision since, although I didn't realize it when I planted it, I spend my days divided between caring for my own family & business and caring for my ill mother.

yummy broccoli

But what I did plant is producing very well. We harvested 8 HUGE heads of broccoli and are still getting some off shoots.

green beans

The green beans are starting to produce prolifically, even though the plants are still small.

cukes

We've been getting a lot of cukes. I haven't made any fermented pickles yet, but those will be made soon!

photo taken on a VERY humid day. Can you see the fogginess?

The zucchini/summer squash plants are chest-high. They have done quite well. We pick squash daily.

delicious freshly picked blueberries

Blueberries are completely ripe!

2 pears on the entire tree....

Our 2 pears are growing. We'll be picking them in the fall. (yes, just 2 this year.....)

Asian Pear Tree

Our Asian Pears are growing slowly as well. Another fall treat and at least these trees are loaded!

tomatoes

The tomatoes are tall and producing quite a bit. I did purchase a couple of large tomatoes 2 weeks ago because we wanted slicers and were only getting cherries, but we are harvesting both now. The eggplant is small still, and should be ready for a late August harvest. The peppers are growing quite well. We are waiting for the red varieties to turn red. The swiss chard and kale are growing in quite the abundance which is good because I eat it daily. I love going out to the garden each day to see what's for dinner for the week!

DIY Arched Cattle Panel Garden Trellis + Garden Update was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

0 notes

bitterbarley-blog · 6 years

Text

Part 2.D: Food Systems

How can we make our food systems more sustainable? Not many people think of the full cost of their food, either for the environment, factory workers, or the treatment of the animals themselves. According to ReFed.com (2018), 43% of food waste occurs at the household level, totalling 27 million tonnes, and $144 billion dollars! According to ReFed, food waste also consumes 21% of the world’s fresh water, 19% of the world’s fertilizer, 18% of the world’s cropland, and 21% of total landfill volume. This is staggering, and unacceptable. So how can we change the way we eat in order to minimize food waste, and also make sure our food comes from responsible sources?

My personal downfall is that I don’t have time to shop that often, so when I do grocery shop, I buy a lot. A lot of this food goes bad. You would not believe how angry I get when I have to throw out another two or three avocados, because they turned unexpectedly. So the first change I want to make is to shop more often, and buy less at a time so that I can eat what I buy. Another thing I want to do along these lines is to learn how to keep food in ways that it won’t go bad. After losing so many avocados, I learned how to freeze them so I can keep them for longer. For those of you interested, it’s as easy as removing the skin and seed, then brush on some lemon juice. Wrap the avocado half in an airtight package so that there is no room for air (saran wrap really clings to the fruit), then put in a freezer bag and you’re off to the races! Another tip would be not to buy fresh produce in bulk…it may seem cheaper, but not if you throw half of it away. Save Costco for non-perishable items.

Living in Portage la Prairie, I am very lucky to be able to buy vegetables that are grown in fields less than 5 minutes from my house. I just have to look for Peak-of-the-Market boxes in the store, or go to the wonderful farmers markets every weekend where they sell the vegetables not “perfect” enough to go in the store. It’s really great that I know where a lot of my produce comes from and that the money from my purchases goes back into the community. Now, obviously my precious avocados don’t grow anywhere near here, so I have to use a little more discretion when shopping for imported produce.

I have also enjoyed keeping a small garden, though lately I have been able to supply other people with vegetable seeds from my work. Some of my friends live out of town, and have much more room for large gardens. I supply the seeds, they supply the labour, and I get a few zucchinis, tomatoes, and carrots out of the deal. Community gardens are a great idea, and unfortunately my community has none. A colleague of mine recently became a teacher at the local high school, and has asked me to help start a small garden at the school where she can teach the kids how to grow there own vegetables either as part of a science class, or an extracurricular activity at lunch. This is an excellent idea, as I believe people don’t understand how easy it is to grow things. You don’t need some magic green thumb, just a basic understanding of how plants work.

All that being said, I throw away way too much produce, and it’s costing me and the environment. My plan for now is to start by shopping more often, for less produce at a time, so that I eat all of it. I will also keep researching how to freeze or store different types of produce for long periods of time. This will be my first step to optimizing my food system.

ReFed. (2018). 27 Solutions to Food Waste. Web. Retrieved from https://www.refed.com/? sort=economic- on November 15, 2018.

0 notes

sageinthegarden · 5 years

Photo

A new snapshot from http://sagesacre/2019/11/04/build-a-keyhole-garden/

Build a Keyhole Garden

Keyhole Gardens are water efficient, easy to maintain and super productive in a small space. Here’s how I built one without breaking the piggy bank.

Step 1

Design the Keyhole Garden

My keyhole garden design on paper

My supplies list:

5½-in x 6ft Dog-eared cedar fence boards

Roll of stainless pipe strap

⅝-in screws

¼-in x 2 ft wire cloth (for the compost basket)

All of these things are available at any local hardware or home improvement store.

Step 2

Calculate How Much You Need

Thank a geometry teacher if you can read this

Calculating the circumference of the bed was easy enough:

C=2Πr

When that didn’t work, I used a tape measure and eyeballed it.

You should too. It’ll save you a whole bunch of time and some negative consequences that come from calling and threatening your high school geometry teacher in the middle of the night.

Anyway, all told, I needed a minimum of 16 uncut cedar boards, and 18 if I wanted to leave room for splits, cracks, bad measurements and all the other stuff that can happen. I bought 20.

Between the wood, screws and 100 ft of pipe strap, I spent about $100.

Step 3

Cut your boards to size

Cut the cedar boards to 18 inches long

Somewhere between 20 and 350 cuts later, I had my stack of wall pieces.

Step 4

Building the main wall

Line up the boards and cut a length of pipe strap

Attach the pipe strap to the boards with 5/8 in screws

Stand up the assembled wall in the garden

Step 5

Assemble the keyhole walls

Once the main wall was in place, we used the same double strap technique to assemble the right and left walls of the keyhole along with the center section where the compost basket would sit.

Then we stood those up and screwed them to the main wall using the extra 12 in of strap to join the pieces.

Step 6

Make the compost basket

Assemble the compost basket with a length of weld wire cloth

Place the compost basket in the center of the garden bed to complete the keyhole

With that complete, it was time to fill the bed.

Step 7

Add debris to the bottom of the bed

A 6 in layer of twigs, leaves and sticks

Step 8

Add Soil to fill the bed

Adding soil and manure to the bed

Volume=Πr2h

(You can also just and plug it in to the Google.)

Add your soil to the bed. (That’s me. King of dirt mountain)

Step 9

Plant Something!

The keyhole garden complete and ready for planting

At this point the garden was good to go, so I started moving seedlings out of the greenhouse and into the bed. Here’s what I planted over the course of the growing season:

April Broccoli (Arcadia) Cucumber (Boston Pickling) Lettuce (Loose leaf mix) Tomato (Tigerella and Valentine) Zucchini (8 Ball)

May Basil (Genovese) Carrot (Napoli) Onion (Gladstone)

June Frying Pepper (Corno) Hot Pepper (Red Ember)

July Basil (Large Leaf) Corn (Red Dent) Pumpkin (Rouge Vif D’Etempes)

Summary

Yes, it’s a great garden design

My Keyhole garden in late May

If you’d like to see the keyhole garden throughout the year, check out this post.

0 notes

benjamingarden · 5 years

Text

DIY Arched Cattle Panel Garden Trellis + Garden Update

And then I was told it wouldn't work....

winter squash

Sneaky.....he threw in what he wanted the response to be at the end of the question.

Does he forget we've been together for 20+ years????? Does he think I don't have him figured out???? Silly man!

I smiled at my husband. He rolled his eyes.

cattle panel trellis

That was on a Sunday. Guess what we did that following Tuesday? Yup - went and purchased 2 cattle panels and installed them. And guess what else? They look fantastic!

see the rope he tied at the top? It didn't fly with me.....

beautiful arched trellis minus the rope!

squash blossom

yummy broccoli

But what I did plant is producing very well. We harvested 8 HUGE heads of broccoli and are still getting some off shoots.

green beans

The green beans are starting to produce prolifically, even though the plants are still small.

cukes

We've been getting a lot of cukes. I haven't made any fermented pickles yet, but those will be made soon!

photo taken on a VERY humid day. Can you see the fogginess?

The zucchini/summer squash plants are chest-high. They have done quite well. We pick squash daily.

delicious freshly picked blueberries

Blueberries are completely ripe!

2 pears on the entire tree....

Our 2 pears are growing. We'll be picking them in the fall. (yes, just 2 this year.....)

Asian Pear Tree

Our Asian Pears are growing slowly as well. Another fall treat and at least these trees are loaded!

tomatoes

DIY Arched Cattle Panel Garden Trellis + Garden Update was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

0 notes

benjamingarden · 6 years

Text

How to Garden with Chickens

The truth about how to garden with chickens is that there are things that work and others that don’t. While adding chickens to the garden offer some benefits, there are some not so great things about it too. Here we’ll uncover the best practices to get the most out of gardening with your chickens to make it a win for everyone.

How to Garden with Chickens 101

If you are like me, I had visions of my flock frolicking through my lush garden, munching on bugs, sunshine streaming down upon us, me working near by and everything perfect in my little world.

This, of course was BEFORE I let chickens into my garden! Once I did, those idyllic visions of me gardening with my girls sadly disappeared into a plume of dust. In the blink of an eye.

My fateful reality check of what it’s really like in the garden with chickens happened right after I transplanted a bunch of cute little seedlings. Enter the chickens. Oh, they were happy and frolicking, for sure. That part of my idealistic vision was true. They happily danced right over to those fresh transplants and plowed them over, dug them up and made a mess of everything.

THIS WAS NOT HOW I PLANNED IT!! UGH!

After crashing of my chickens in the garden vision, I’ve learned a thing or two about how to garden with chickens. There is a perfect marriage between your flock and your garden so that everyone wins. I’ll show you how. But first let’s talk about why you’d want them in there to begin with.

Benefits of Chickens in the Garden

Maybe you’ve heard that chickens are good for the garden. It’s true. They’re a great addition. They can make your work so much easier, if you do it right (or a LOT harder if you don’t). Let’s look at some of the benefits of chickens in the garden:

Bug Patrol

This one is a big drawing point for everyone! Who doesn’t want the chickens to eradicate the bug problem in the garden? Chickens love to eat bugs and will search for them tirelessly. This is a good thing!

Weed Eaters

Chickens LOVE weeds. Especially the young, tender ones. They’re a great organic way to help control weeds in your garden.

Compost Creators

The thing chickens do best (besides eating constantly) is poop. A lot. Around 45 pounds of poo per hen per year. That’s a whole lot of poo! If you put that waste to work for you, you can create some lovely compost to later put in the garden (don’t put it into the garden while it’s fresh. It needs some time to mellow or it will be too strong for your garden and kill it all).

Compost Managers

If you have your compost set up in a way that chickens can help, they will. I turn mine with a big snow shovel and once the chickens see me with the shovel, they come running to report for duty. They love digging through compost and can make your job of managing it easier.

Garden Tillers

Chickens spend their days scratching and searching for food and other interesting things they might uncover. If you put that natural behavior to work in your garden, you get help tilling and breaking up the ground and general aeration practices.

Organic Matter Spreaders

Pile up leaves, compost or pretty much anything, and chickens will make short order of it. They’ll have it flatten and spread out before you know what happened. When I clean out the coop in the winter months, I’ll often dump the bedding straight into the garden in big cart loads. It just takes a few minutes for the chickens to spread it all out for me nice and even and flat. It’s a beautiful thing. (Why do something your chickens can do for you?)

Garden Waste Clean Up

Those tomatoes that are discovered half eaten by some bug? The big zucchini that somehow hid from you and turned into something the size of a bus? The chickens will gladly devour these things for you. (And even better, will give you richer eggs for having eaten the veggies and bugs you throw their way). They also help clean things up at the end of the harvest season if you let them into the garden spaces to explore.

Yes, there are crazy amazing benefits to a garden with chickens! It’s true. The trick is to use the benefits without sacrificing your garden in the process. Chickens can (in seconds) destroy all your hard work and careful cultivating. They don’t mean to. They’re not being terrible on purpose. It’s just their nature to curiously explore, look for food, and dig around in the dirt. The fact that they disrupt plants doesn’t register to them as a no-no. And all those beautiful, ripe veggies? They think those bright red, vine ripe orbs are there for them, like winning the chicken lottery. Who would think twice about eating them??

Ways to Garden (Safely) with Chickens

The truth is, we want chickens in the garden. To a certain point. But we want the garden still standing at the end of the day. Here are some tips and ideas to help both your garden and chickens co-habitat and for your world to live in (relatively) peaceful harmony (at least when it comes to the gardens and the chickens).

Open the Garden Seasonally

I allow my girls in the garden from the end of harvest in the fall until spring planting. During that time, they can go crazy. Dig up things, eat whatever they want, leave their poo in it wherever it lands, etc. I don’t care what they do because I’m not trying to grow anything (except for the places I AM trying to grow things, then those are still off-limits).

(This photo below shows the chickens the day the garden gate closed to them for the season! It’s always quite a shock to them the day it happens! ha)

Fence the Garden

It goes without saying that if you have free range birds, you’ll need a fence around your garden. And, if you plant things too close to that fence, they will reach in and eat it. (I learned this the hard way one summer that I used the fence as a bean trellis. I found out my girls actually LOVE beans. The leaves, the pods, Anything. Everything. Yea. That.)

“Free Range” Tunnels

Another trick some people do is to create wire tunnels (like this) around the outer edge of the garden where you allow the chickens to wander to eat bugs without being able to destroy your plants. I’ve never done this myself, but I’ve talked to people who have and they love this method.

Wait Until Your Plants are Mature

Some people let their chickens in to the garden once the plants are big enough they can withstand the constant pecking and scratching of a chicken. If you go this route, just know that those hens will NOT think twice about eating the tomatoes within their reach, plucking the thriving kale plant clean, making your carrot bed a dust bathing station or eating chunks out of your zucchini. If you don’t mind sharing your produce with them, and the benefits of having them there outweigh your smaller harvest, this is definitely an option to consider.

Use a Chicken Tractor

A chicken tractor is a portable chicken coop that you can move around daily from place to place in the garden. The chickens will be contained within the tractor, but can eat the bugs and weeds beneath them. If you want to make a chicken tractor of your own, here’s a step by step guide with lots of photos. You can also search for chicken tractors on Pinterest and get lots of ideas.

Add Netting

This advice is especially good for those blueberry bushes (and the like) you’re trying to grow fruit on. My chickens discovered the young blueberry grove belonging to my neighbors and ate every last berry! They also devoured my gooseberries. (They’re not good at sharing). If a fence around such things feels a bit much, get some netting to cover the bushes/trees during their blooming (the chickens love the blooms as well) and berry growing seasons.

Add Chicken Wire

You can ‘enclose’ the plants you’re wanting to protect in chicken wire, hardware cloth or other similar kinds of barriers. Or cover your raised beds with a wire dome to keep the chickens out of places you don’t want them in. This selective protection will allow you to give your chickens some garden time but keep them from destroying everything in sight.

Leave the Big Weeds or Add Rocks

If you don’t weed your garden, you won’t uncover bare patched of dirt that attract chickens. Alternately, you can weed and add big rocks, again, to cover the bare soil and discourage digging.

Bonus Tips

While I’m talking about how to garden with chickens, I thought I’d throw in a couple of bonus tips.

Plant Extras

Plant extra veggies that your flock will like (my love kale, tomatoes, zucchini, beans, strawberries, blueberries (any kind of berries, really), and more). While my flock is locked out of the garden during the growing season, they’ve learned that if they hang around on the other side of the garden fence they will inevitably get treats in the form of fresh veggies.

Plant a Chicken Garden

Every year we plant a garden just for the chickens and bees. They love it. We fill it with blooming things that the bees will love and a chicken foraging mix for the flock. Here’s more information on planting your own chicken garden (and where to get inexpensive seeds).

Chickens and gardens go together fabulously, once you learn how to garden with chickens in a way that’s a win/win for everyone. My way of making it all work is the seasonal approach. They’re allowed into the garden from around October until May. Then, they get the boot. I plant a chicken garden for them to forage in to their hearts content, doing what chickens do. And I also plant extra veggies so I can feed them fresh veggies without taking away from what I’m hoping to harvest for myself.

Your solution might not look like mine, but hopefully you gained some ideas from the above and can come up with a plan that works for you. Good luck. And happy gardening with your chickens!

How to Garden with Chickens was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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benjamingarden · 6 years

Text

How to Garden with Chickens

How to Garden with Chickens 101

If you are like me, I had visions of my flock frolicking through my lush garden, munching on bugs, sunshine streaming down upon us, me working near by and everything perfect in my little world.

This, of course was BEFORE I let chickens into my garden! Once I did, those idyllic visions of me gardening with my girls sadly disappeared into a plume of dust. In the blink of an eye.

THIS WAS NOT HOW I PLANNED IT!! UGH!

Benefits of Chickens in the Garden

Bug Patrol

Weed Eaters

Chickens LOVE weeds. Especially the young, tender ones. They’re a great organic way to help control weeds in your garden.

Compost Creators

Compost Managers

Garden Tillers

Organic Matter Spreaders

Garden Waste Clean Up

Ways to Garden (Safely) with Chickens

Open the Garden Seasonally

(This photo below shows the chickens the day the garden gate closed to them for the season! It’s always quite a shock to them the day it happens! ha)

Fence the Garden

“Free Range” Tunnels

Wait Until Your Plants are Mature

Use a Chicken Tractor

Add Netting

Add Chicken Wire

Leave the Big Weeds or Add Rocks

If you don’t weed your garden, you won’t uncover bare patched of dirt that attract chickens. Alternately, you can weed and add big rocks, again, to cover the bare soil and discourage digging.

Bonus Tips

While I’m talking about how to garden with chickens, I thought I’d throw in a couple of bonus tips.

Plant Extras

Plant a Chicken Garden

Your solution might not look like mine, but hopefully you gained some ideas from the above and can come up with a plan that works for you. Good luck. And happy gardening with your chickens!

How to Garden with Chickens was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

0 notes