Backyard Improvements

Here are updated pix of my expanded garden.


I also built a small patio this weekend in front of the potting bench that Micah built me earlier this spring.

Things are looking good for the summer!

Garden Expansion 2008

Every year I expand my garden a little bit. Last year I added about 400 square feet of gardening area and said that I wouldn't go any bigger. I lied.

I spent this weekend expanding. The main garden was a funky shape and I made it more square- bringing one side out by about two feet, and make the front edge a straight line as opposed to curved.

The side garden, (which was never very productive because of how shady it is) turned from an "l" to a "b." The new part of the garden has more sun exposure now, where I will hopefully be able to make use of it for pumpkins or other squash.

Pictures to follow.

Seedlings & Spring

It's a positive sign that cold days are soon to be over and summer will shortly arrive when I can finally plant seeds and with some luck , the seeds turn into seedlings. First round of seeds were planted on March 8 with help from my sister Wendy and her daughters, Stella & Ava. Wendy is starting a garden this summer, so I have double seeds to start. Second round planted March 23 & March 30. Here are photos of the emerging seedlings, and below is a list (not complete) of what has been started:










March 8
Peppers (fish pepper, Cal Wonder pepper, Alma pepper, Wisconsin lakes pepper)
Eggplant
Broccoli
Cabbages (red cabbage, Copenhagen cabbage)
Herbs (yarrow, chamomile, marjoram, basil)
Artichoke (just giving it a shot)
Brussel sprouts
Zinnias

March 23
Tomatoes (little mama, brandywine, gold medal, perfect yellow, Arkansas traveler, Amish paste, maybe one more)
Coleus
Calendula (few varieties)
Allysum
Foxglove

March 30
Dahlia
Calendula
Coleus
Lemon Basil
More tomatoes (because I'm worried that the first batch is too spindly)

My handy husband added a third tier to my grow shelves so I can accommodate more seedlings this year. Last year I had two shelves and by May I had run out of space. Maybe next year an entire new shelf will be necessary.

I'm keeping my shelves in the basement - not the warmest part of the house but so far things look like they are not troubled by the temperature. The grow lamps keep them warmer than the surrounding air temperature.

Half Way

We are just over half way thru the month, and quite frankly, I'm starting to think about continuing into October. I don't know if Micah will go for it, but truthfully I'm really enjoying our local month. It has made me be more creative with breakfasts and lunches than I typically would be. And, I've had the opportunity to visit farmstands and stores in our county that I never would have discovered otherwise.

We have been fortunate over the past two weekends to have two very successful foraging dives. Last Sunday we dove in Salem Sound in an area that we don't think anyone else has discovered as excellent scallop grounds. We dove up 160 scallops, or just about 12 lbs. It took us two dives to do it- our bags filled up so quickly and were so heavy that we surfaced just after 18 minutes for the first dive. We had so much air left that we decided to go down a second time. Our freezer is getting stuffed with good stuff!

Yesterday we dove in a popular spot, Brace Cove, in Gloucester. On occasion we find some good lobstering there, but often it is well picked over by other divers and lobster pots. However, Micah picked up a monster - it weighed 4 lbs! I grabbed two 1 1/4 lbers, and we got another four lobsters in our traps in Gloucester harbor. We'll be eating lobster at some point this week, but the remainder will also go join their scallop brothers in our freezer for some cold night in the winter when we need a taste of summer.

So far this month I have:
-Baked 2 loaves of whole wheat bread
-Baked at least 6 loaves of squash bread
-Made several quarts of roasted tomato sauce
-Froze several pounds of chopped tomatoes
-Froze several pounds of green beans
-Made fresh grape juice
-Made and canned a few pints of salsa

It seems more impressive in my mind then when written down.

Grocery Store Woes

My sister asked me yesterday if I found it time consuming or difficult to be visiting farm stands and local dairies to buy our food this month. In a way, it definitely takes more time to be a locally conscious consumer. However, shopping at these local venues is a much more pleasurable experience than driving nearly the same distance to our local Stop & Shop and spending hours navigating the numerous aisles of over processed, high fructose corn syrup laden foods.

Yesterday we had to make a stop to said Stop & Shop. On the list was distilled water so we could replace the water in our boat batteries, and more canning jars. I was hesitant to go, knowing that there would be endless temptations. At the same time, I was curious about what local options I might find.

Perhaps a watermelon? They should be close to in season, and I have yet to spot one. The visit was as I imagined - disappointing. As we drove out of the parking lot neither of us spoke for a few minutes, but could sense our we were mutually feeling let down by how far removed the chain groceries are from the local food system. Hunger was also on our minds - having low blood sugar is a dangerous time to visit a store, but more so when there is not a single option available for snacking. The closest Whole Foods Market is nearly a 40 minutes drive; an unreasonable distance for day-to-day purchases.

There really is something special, almost magical, about visiting local farm stands. The feeling is wholesome - it gives me a sense of hope. What's lacking are the stands of tabloid magazines with Paris Hilton staring me down, and the millions of options of unhealthy food choices that the U.S. government is partially responsible for creating as a way to cram subsidized corn into our diets in any form (ie. high fructose corn syrup). What's also lacking are the unnecessary amount of options- who really needs to choose from 100 varieties of pasta, peanut butter, or english muffins? We eat healthier when not presented with food that really has no place in a daily diet (like go-gurts, which I'm not exactly sure should be considered food).

So, back to today's task of baking bread and drying tomatoes.

Ice Cream Wars

It is rare that my husband and I argue - and, like most couples, the worst arguments seem to be over futile concerns. Like Ice Cream. The clear lack of easily accessible dessert items is, after only 6 days of local eating, the hardest part. Sure, lots of wonderful fruit options abound that we should find to be suitable alternatives to frozen novelties, but we are suckers for the sugary satisfaction of icecream, chocolate, pudding pie, or other cornsyrup concoctions we can buy prepacked in the freezer aisle of Stop & Shop. I seem to be handling the lack of dessert rather well - the five pounds I've gained this summer need to come off at some point - but my husband is just not handling the lack of dessert. He's downright frustrated that he can't get a scoop of ice cream.

Last night our argument was over the "localness" of Richardson's ice cream. Richardson's is a dairy farm in Middleton, Massachusetts - besides producing milk, cream and other dairy products, they make fantastic ice cream. The farm & dairy is in Essex County and therefore fair game in our local eating experiment. My husband seems to believe their ice cream is fair game too. I disagree. Surely the sugar and other ingredients (like Oreo cookies or peanut butter cups) have no place in a local eating agenda.

I'm torn. I feel somewhat hypocritical. The bread that we are eating is not baked from locally grown grains and probably has no "localness" about it besides that it is baked in an oven in Essex County. So, does the same rule apply to the sugar in Richardson's ice cream? Bread is a staple in our diet, and something I don't think of as a luxury in every day eating. Ice cream, on the other hand, is a treat. We can get by without ice cream for a month.

This is a minor setback, and the mister will survive a few weeks without going to a scoop shop. Besides this hitch, we are sailing along smoothly with our challenge. Yesterday I had to go to a meeting in Newbury and had the benefit of passing several farm stands on the way. I stopped off at Russell Orchards in Ipswich and bought a pint of juicy blackberries and a bottle of their own Blackberry Currant Wine and hard cider. Also made a quick stop at Tendercrop Farm in Newbury - a fantastic farm stand/grocery that sells lots of local produce, as well as meat raised on their farm. I bought a few chicken breasts for Micah to grill- price was pretty cheap for free range, local meat. The day ended with me picking up my CSA share for this week, which was robust as usual. The "pick your owns" this week were tomatoes, herbs and beans (as many as we wanted), which I blanched and stashed in the freezer when I got home. I also roasted about 5 lbs. of tomatoes last night and turned them into sauce - also now piling up in the freezer.

Tonight I made salsa. I think it is going to pack a serious punch.

Today's Menu:
Breakfast: Baked Apple glazed with honey & butter served on 2 pieces of locally baked oatmeal bread (baked at 375 for 10 minutes, delicious!) &
Coffee with maple syrup and 1/2 & 1/2 (Richardson's)
Lunch: Vegetable Sandwich (radish, carrot, tomato & basil) with melted Vermont cheddar cheese on locally baked wheat bread
Snack: Nectarine grown at Tendercrop
Dinner: Leftover Gazpacho (last night's dinner) made from my garden veggies,
Grilled summer squash served on cheddar cheese toasts, &
Tomato, cucumber & mozzarella salad (mozzarella not local at all, but we needed to use it up so it wouldn't go bad)

My Garden

A distraction from posting about local eating.

My garden this year has ruled my life since January, so I think it deserves a post. I was on crutches for the better part of last winter, so I spent uncalculated hours looking thru the seed catalogues as they arrived almost daily after New Years. I ordered a ton of seeds with big intentions for the summer, and had my handy husband build me a series of plant growing shelves, complete with flourescent lights, to start my seeds.

Starting in March I ambitiously put the first seeds (peppers & eggplants) into soil and under the lights. By the end of April our guest bedroom was only accomodating seedlings, with little room for anyone else. It was a nerve wrecking day in May when I put the seedlings into the garden, but surely the plants proved to be hardy and strong. My garden is bustling as a result of the effort. Starting from seed makes for a much healthier and less bug-ridden garden.

Clearly the garden will play a major role in our eating local month. I think were it not for our garden it would be nearly impossible to set this type of goal. And costly too! I can't take all the veggie credit though, because our CSA at Green Meadow's Farm in Hamilton certainly helps.

Today's Menu:

• Breakfast: Fried local egg from Brooksby Farm in Peabody & cantaloupe from farmstand in NY (so, not quite local, but local to where we spent the weekend). Coffee (an exception) with Richardson's 1/2 and 1/2 and maple syrup.
• Lunch: tomato, radish, carrot, basil (all from the garden) sandwhich on locally made bread with artisan cheese from Vermont, & a peach for desert.
• Dinner: Grilled eggplant with goat cheese from Topsfield, MA. Vegetable Crustless Quiche made with local eggs & milk, broccoli, zucchini & tomato (garden items) topped with some more of the VT swiss cheese.
  Dessert: Apple from NY with local honey.

Tomorrow I make salsa. I miss peanut butter. I'm might be sick of eggs by the end of the month.