Playing In The Dirt!

It feels good to play in the dirt. I usually buy a bag of just potting soil, but I went bold :), branched out and mixed up a concoction I read about. It consists of peat, potting soil and perlite. So experimentation is in progress to see how seeds respond.

And here is what I've grown recently: Mustard and Kale microgreens. Both are good. The kale is mild, the mustard a bit spicy. I think I'm a microgreens fanatic.

Kale Micros

Mustard Micros

 My husband asked when I bought these. I think he was teasing, but they do kind of look like I bought them at the store. Fun to know they were produced at home.


Encouraging Moment:

Gardening While In A Wheelchair

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/gardening-while-using-a-wheelchair-zbcz1603.aspx

Family Moment:

This is one of my own, Mr. LMG acting out Waldo for a library program. 

He definitely gets his outgoing personality from his father.

Start small and grow,

  

A Quiet Day!

My oldest daughter and I have had a quiet day just hangin' out and crafting today while the rest of the family is camping. We've enjoyed our time, but the house sure is quiet without my husband, the four boys and my other daughter. When there are eight people in the house, it is quite a lively place. Heck, even the puppy seems to notice the void of activity. She plays around, "helps" my daughter with her jewelry making, and then heads for the window and cries every once in a while. This is her. She is quite a character.

So my daughter was on a roll today and made a beautiful necklace, a necklace for her sister with a paw print because her sister loves her sweet dog, Emma, so much, and being the huge Star Wars fan that she is, my daughter made a bracelet based off the charm Anakin gave to Padme. .

And I made boot cuffs. The first pair I made were for each of my girls for Christmas. These are fun to make, and I love the touch of lace added to outfits. My girls are mostly comfortable in their jeans and boots but can be girly, too, every once in a great while.

And oh those greens: These are my second batch of radish shoots. They really are very yummy and add a slight touch of zing to a meal. They actually have the same flavor as their full-grown counterpart, the radish.....strangely, and they're really good in sandwiches, in burritos, and on salads. It doesn't get any cleaner than this, no pesticides, organic, untreated seeds.

It was a nice, relaxing day for my daughter and I, a fun day. Off to feed my son's uromastyx lizard since he's on a camping adventure and then another movie. We just finished Flicka, one of my daughter's favorites.

Encouraging Moment:

Sign language is a great way to enhance phonics instruction but also to be able to reach out to the deaf community. It kind of holds a special place in my heart, hence the sharing of this video.

https://www.facebook.com/TheRichest.org/videos/619651868139298/?fref=nf

Family Moment:

I think someone may be hogging the homemade salsa..... :)



Start small and grow.

New Life!

No other signs of life, still cold out, and this little flower poked its cheery head, with its little, yellow petals, out of the soil a few weeks ago. It almost seemed like it was defying the season, determined to grow despite the weather.

And now more life is springing forth, one of them my Bleeding Heart. I planted it last year, but it wasn't looking very well by the end of summer. I thought I had somehow killed it. And here it is! I love how gardening provides food for my family but love pretty flowers scattered along the path, too.

Cliche as it may sound, it seems like such a miracle, life springing forth from the earth, like our little yellow flower in the cold of winter or vegies from a simple seed. We plant seedling trays pretty much each year, and we still seem to ooh and aah at the first sight of the tiniest, little green.

An "ooh and aah" moment, here! :)

Photo Credit - Lindsey M., you rock girl! (My oldest daughter). :)

The tomatoes are looking pretty good, If they all make it, we should have extras to sell, share, or trade with others. The green peppers took a bit of time to germinate. I wasn't sure if they were going to grow or not, but there are some little sprouts now. The hot peppers are coming along, as well.

We've been able to harvest organically grown pea shoots, lettuce, and radish shoots, all before winter's end, from our little urban homestead.

Radish Shoots

Radish Shoots in Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry.

Moments to Share

Encouraging Moment:

This Woman Started A Farmer's Market For Low-Income Neighborhoods
This woman started growing fresh produce in her backyard so low income families have access to clean, healthy food
Posted by NowThis on Saturday, March 5, 2016

Family Moment:

My daughter "helping" my son do push-ups. 

We live in a crazy household. Loads of fun with this Half-Dozen!

Start small and grow.

Before and After.

Things are "growing" along in our little corner of the world.

My sweet husband brought home some pansies for me a few days ago. He just does that sort of thing, is thoughtful in ways that I'm afraid I lack.

So here is the "Before and After" of our growing adventure.

Pea Shoots - BEFORE

Pea Shoots - Midterm :)

Pea Shoots - AFTER

The great thing about pea shoots is they're very easy to grow, and these have already been given a "haircut" (harvested) three times. They just re-grow! Easy food.

And this is how we used our pea shoots, in a yummy salmon sandwich with cheddar cheese. Pea shoots could also be referred to as microgreens. They're harvested before the actual vegetable, in this case a pea pod, develops. Super good for you and full of phytonutrients and chlorophyll.

AND........I splurged and bought a metal shelving unit from Lowe's. It's in my bedroom and makes everything so cozy. These shelves are great for making use of vertical space, and my sweet girls bought a grow light to add to the setup. It's been great fun to increase my little urban garden.

Lettuce - BEFORE

Lettuce - AFTER

We have plans to use this in taco salad tonight. While I was taking "lettuce" pictures, my son thought I was photo-bombing his lunch session, so this was his funny reaction. This is just one of the many faces that fill my life with joy. 

                            

The Habanero and Jalapeno peppers have sprouted. Yesiree! Looking forward to some hot-n-spicy salsa. Well I guess that's it for now. I've just planted radish microgreens. Will document more of that sometime. Start small and grow. It's great to be able to provide at least a little good, clean food for my family. Looking forward to more growing to share with my sweet man and the "Half Dozen" that fill my days.....with so much!

Dawn

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My Gardening Journey

I've been dabbling in gardening off and on over the years but would like to get a little more serious about it. It would be great to be able to provide my family with homegrown foods as well as branch out and share the bounty someday.

I've started planting indoor seedlings this January, 2016, probably far too early, but I love getting my hands in the dirt and seeing life sprout from just a seed. The pictures above are Habanero, as well as Jalapeno peppers. We love to make homemade salsa so it'll be nice to have our very own peppers to add to it. Next I'll have to try growing cilantro. Cilantro is super yummy in salsa.

Next, I planted peas, not for full-grown peas, but for microgreens. Microgreens are harvested before pea pods form. They are packed with nutrition! Microgreens are new for me. I'm not doing it quite right yet. It's more in the experimental stage for now. We'll see how they turn out.

And below, the tray on the right is filled with Beefsteak and Roma tomato seedlings, 76 of them! It would be great to sell some of them if they turn out well.

The tray on the left is filled with lettuce. I was kind of hoping we could harvest lettuce right from the tray whenever we need it.

So this is the start of my gardening journal/journey, maybe sprinkled with a little family adventure every now and then. It's been a nice weekend, with a family hike, visiting, laughing, hassling, teasing and hanging out together. Okay, so I could have done without figuring taxes, but other than that we're good.