Posted on

5 Things I Learned About Gardening in 2011

It’s December that means it’s time to start breaking out the “2011” lists.

Here are five things that I learned about gardening in 2011.

Getting a Better Yield in Your Container Garden

  • One way to achieve this is through succession planting. That is when you space out your plantings, so as you are harvesting one crop another is growing right behind it.
  • After your seedlings start to grow, you’ll want to thin them out. This will give them room to grow and allow the strong ones to survive.

Organic Doesn’t Mean It’s Great

  • The best example of this is Miracle-Gro and their Organic Choice line. Yes it is organic, but it’s still Miracle-Gro who is partnered with Monsanto.
  • Since I live in a city there are things that I cannot control. One thing is the construction that is going on in my neighborhood. It is likely kicking up all kinds of dirt and toxins into the air, but that doesn’t make my garden any less organic.

Seed Saving

  • I saved seeds for the first time this year. I saved lettuce and parsley. Will get those planted in 2012.

Growing Your Own Food is a Political Act

  • This was one of the more controversial topics when mentioned. By growing my own food and inspiring others too, I see myself as a food activist. It touches on environmental, political, health and a variety of other subjects that most people don’t associate it with.
  • Talking about Michelle Obama and the White House Garden was a topic that pissed a handful of people off and resulted in people no longer reading my site, connecting with me on social media channels, as well as some hateful emails. I see her as a front to distract people from what her husband is doing.

Failure Will Happen

Those are some things that I learned about gardening in 2011, what did you learn?

Posted on

After 10 Days of Not Being Watered, This is What my Garden Looks Like

I was out of town for 10-days around Thanksgiving and filled up the the self-watering containers on my balcony garden the morning that I left.

When I came home you would never know that I wasn’t there to water and take care of them. Just check out the pic above and watch the video below.

This is partly due to how the self-watering containers work and how the plants absorb the water from the reservoir container.

When I explain to people how to build a self watering container, one of the first questions that’s usually asked is, “How often do you water it?”

They will say that they are too busy to water their garden everyday or travel too much. This just shows that you don’t have to dedicate a crazy amount of time.

There are many factors that determine how often you need to water them – such as weather, direct sunlight and type of plant. Generally, I change out the water in the reservoirs once a week.

This time I went away for 10 days, but I have gone away for 3 weeks and they’ve been fine. Anything past that and it starts to get iffy.

Share this post with those that tell you they don’t have the time to water a garden or travel too much.

Posted on

Video Bloopers Part II

There is nothing more fun than being able to laugh at yourself. Ok, there are many things that are much more fun, but I was stuck on writing an intro to this post.

Here are more out takes and bloopers from the past few months.

I’ll be taking a break and back to posting on Monday, December 5. Hope you enjoy the video and have a great Thanksgiving.

Posted on

Apple Soaked Roasted Butternut Squash

    Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Butternut squash
  • 2-3 apples of your juice (I prefer Granny Smith) or fresh apple juice
  • 1 teaspoon of oil (I prefer coconut)
  • Optional: Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
    How to make:

  • Cut butternut squash into cubes and put into bowl.
  • If you are using apple juice, pour that into the bowl or cut up the apples and either juice or blend them down. I’d recommend juicing them.
  • Add the oil, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves if you are using.
  • Pour over the butternut squash to submberge it.
  • Let soak for 30-45 minutes.
  • Put in oven at 375-400 degrees for 30 minutes.
  • Mix them around and put back in oven for another 15-20 until desired tenderness.
Posted on

The Great GMO Experiment: There Is No Opt-Out Or Is There?

A post on Organic Connections Magazine called People Don’t Want to Be a GMO Experiment got me thinking about a few things.

Why we should be concerned about GMOs

Most people assume that GMOs are safe because they are so widely available, which is not true. GMOs have never been proven to be safe and no they aren’t feeding the world.

It was some time in the late 1980s/early 1990s when they were first widely planted. So it hasn’t been that much time to see any kind of long term effects and if they are truly safe.

Ultimately this means that we are walking experiments to see how safe they really are. GMOs are found in most of the foods that are widely sold in the supermarkets.

This makes us all subjects in the GMO science experiment, not only with our food, but with grass too.

Barack Obama lied to us

When he was campaigning in 2007, he specifically said, “We’ll let folks know whether their foods have been genetically modified because Americans should know what they’re buying.” Check the video to hear it yourself.

This sucks, but we can do something about it!

  • There is the Just Label It campaign, which is a petition to get GMOs labeled. They are hoping to get enough signatures and flood the FDA with them.
  • You can also start to grow some of your own food. Most of us don’t have the time or space to be completely self-reliant, but every little bit matters. It’ll assure you that you aren’t supporting GMOs even the tiniest bit.
  • Join your local CSA or shop at your farmers market. These are great ways that give you direct access to the growers to ask them about their growing practices.

What are other ways to ensure that you aren’t consuming GMOs?

Image courtesy of dzingeek on Flickr

Posted on

What Will You Be Making For Thanksgiving From Your Garden?

Thanksgiving is a little more than a week away. It’s a time for us to get together with our friends and family. One of the biggest parts of Thanksgiving is the food.

The Thanksgiving dinner is one of the main things that the holiday is based around, getting together to share and enjoy the company of each other over food. Whether that’s what happened with the Pilgrims and Indians is another story.

The preparing, sharing and giving thanks for the food are all big parts of the Thanksgiving tradition.

What better time of the year to prepare and share your harvest with others.

On the Urban Organic Gardener Facebook page, I asked people to fill in the blanks of the following sentence, “For Thanksgiving I will be making _______ using ______ that I grew in my garden or raised on my own.”

Here is what they said.

There are a few people that have raised their own turkeys for the holiday.
“Turkey,” said Pam Carrico. “Lots of it! Using the Bourbon Red/White Midget turkeys I raised on my own. :-)”

Same for John Bradley Foster, “Dinner and turkey!”

Michelle Gehlman Teeter added, “Turkey that I raised from a chick, in my backyard!”

Side dishes and soups
Wendy Ribelin is going to make, ” Butternut squash soup with the squash from my garden. (that is if no one requests it before Thanksgiving day; it’s been a big hit)”

“It’s a potluck this year,” said Bewilder Ness. “Pumpkin cheesecake from my garden and roasted root veggies from a neighbor’s garden. Sweet potatoes from another friend’s garden.”

Erin Garner Dentmon is making, “Apple pie using my dad’s apples! Probably something with my own herbs. I tried some pumpkins this year, but that didn’t quite work out.”

“Sweet potato casserole from sweet potatoes that I grew I’m my back yard :),” said Green Pete.

Beverly Amborski is hooking up some, “Stuffing using sage from the garden….”

BuffaLoam is making, “Pesto using basil that I grew in my garden.”

Not all of us have the space to raise a turkey or grow apples. It’s all about the love that went into the food. Every little bit matters.

Now it’s your turn to fill in the blanks, “For Thanksgiving I will be making _______ using ______ that I grew in my garden or raised on my own.”

Posted on

How to Plant Garlic in a Container

The fall time is perfect to plant garlic to be ready during the spring. It’s also simple to do.

Each clove that you plant winds up turning into a clove of garlic. The larger the clove you plant, the larger the bulb it produces.

I saw a tip on soaking the cloves in Organic Gardening Magazine to help prevent rot from occurring.

Here is what you’ll need to soak the cloves:

  • Garlic cloves (amount depends on the size of your container)
  • Glass jar
  • Tablespoon of baking soda
  • Tablespoon of organic seaweed fertilizer

When removing the cloves from the bulb, you’ll want to leave the skin (or whatever it’s called) on each of the individual cloves. If the garlic is actually showing, it’s best not to use it. So be careful when removing the cloves.

Soak the cloves in the pre-soak solution for about 2 hours.

Since I’m planting in a 5-gallon container, I soaked about 8-10 cloves.

To plant the cloves:

  • Dig a hole about 2″ deep with your fingers.
  • Put the clove in pointy side-up and bury in the soil.
  • Space the cloves about 4-6″ apart.
  • Once they are all planted, water the container thoroughly.
  • Add mulch to the top or greenhouse it with a covering. I put a plastic bowl on top of it. This will keep the moisture locked in.

 

Posted on

Spicy Carrot Stir-Fry

    Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 2-3 carrots
  • Ginger knub the size of your thumb
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • Teaspoon of cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • Tablespoon of olive oil
    How to make:

  • Cut the carrot into thin rounds.
  • Mince up the garlic and ginger.
  • Add the garlic and ginger to the pan that’s heated with oil.
  • Stir it up until it’s lightly browned.
  • Add the carrots and mix them in.
  • Add cumin and cinnamon.
  • Let it cook until desired tenderness.
  • Serve it up as a side dish, mixed with a salad or over some rice.
Posted on

Imported Food is Elitist and a Luxury

Mark Bittman wrote a piece for the New York Times titled Local Food is Not Elitist. It’s American.

The food industry has done a great job of making it seem like wanting or eating foods from local sources is an elitist act. I mean no one wants to be an elitist and it’s easy to dismiss that way of eating if it’s deemed so. This justifies eating cheap, processed and imported foods.

Someone once said to me that they live in Chicago and love pineapples. He asked if he was supposed to give up his values and not eat pineapples anymore?

First off that isn’t giving up a value. Living in Chicago and having access to pineapples is a luxury.

That brings me back to the piece by Bittman. Isn’t having our food imported at the expense of farm workers and the environment, elitist? Isn’t that saying, I want (insert food here) for cheap and I don’t care what it takes. Wouldn’t that be more of an elitist type attitude?

Elitism has many different meanings, but in the case of imported foods it says, “I am an American and from a dominate country. Therefore, I have the right to this food at a cheap price.”

That seems pretty elitist to me. Me wanting to support my local grower, respect my health, the environment and those that grew the food. That just seems like showing respect…not elitism.

Maybe I’m wrong.

What’s your thoughts on local food being elitist?

Posted on

Simple Fall Vegetable Gardening Tips

The following sentence was posted on the Urban Organic Gardener Facebook page, “My special fall vegetable gardening tip is _____.”

Here are some of the tips that were left:

Justin J Stewart summed it up best when he said, “Don’t give it, you’d be surprised what plants can survive what!”

I couldn’t agree with Justin more. The best way to learn is through your own experiences. Just because something didn’t work for someone else, doesn’t mean that it won’t work for you.

Keep an Eye on the Temperature
“Keep those babies warm and dry,” suggested Andrew Odom from tinyrevolution.us.

Fred J Temple expanded on that and said, “Harvest tomatoes before they freeze or provide means to prevent it (like a greenhouse).”

Erica Stelcik made a recommendation that might be obvious, “Eat your Veggies before they get too ripe. I rarely get to mine on time.”

I hear you on that Erica, I sometimes forget that I’m gardening to eat too.

“Watch your night time temperatures!” warns Cristina Evans. “There’s nothing more disappointing than finding your hard work wilted in the morning.”

The magic number when it comes to getting too cold is usually somewhere in the 40s. Also if there is a huge difference between the daytime and evening temperatures – like 80s at night and 40s during the day. That’s what you want to be weary of.

Before Your Season is Done
Michelle Dahl made a great point to, “Make notes of what went well/bad before you forget for next year.”

We all think that we are going to remember what happened last year, and never do. Taking some notes won’t hurt and will be a great reference point.

Aao Herbs looks out for the wildlife and said, “I never trim my flowers till spring because it’s winter food for the birds.”

Continue Growing Indoors
“Grow your favorite herbs inside in the kitchen window,” suggested Urban Sacred Garden.

For some of us that’s the only space that we have, so might as well use it.

Gloriby Gigi Garcia said to, “Plant a few sugar pumpkin vines in the kitchen 😉 and invest in a grow lamp or two 😉 They make awesome pies, breads, and great gifts for neighbors!”

That definitely struck my interest. Would love to see what that looks like.

Finally BuffaLoam’s comment was to, “Divide and dig up those plants and bring some inside for winter blooms and eats!”

What are some other simple fall vegetable gardening tips?

Image courtesy of Chiots Run on Flickr.

Posted on

How to Deter Ants From Your Garden (or Anywhere) Using Coffee Grounds

There has been a bit of an issue on my balcony garden lately with some ants. One of the swiss chard containers dried up and ants have gotten to it. I’ve been using coffee grounds to help deter them.

I’m not sure why exactly this works, but when the ants go near the grounds, they freak out and won’t cross them.

The first thing that I did was line the bottom of the container with the grounds. Then I had to follow the trail of ants to where they were going, which was into holes that were at the bottom of one of the rails.

A few coffee grounds were sprinkled around the rail, but also into the holes which the ants were using. After grounds were sprinkled into one of them, I watched as they went to the next and filled that one too. Grounds were put directly into the holes, otherwise they would just go around it.

Since putting the grounds down, I’ve definitely noticed a decrease in the ants.

Bonus Tip: If you don’t drink coffee, you can hit up your local coffee shop or cafe. If you ask, they will usually give you the grounds for free.

What are some other ways to deter ants from your garden?

Posted on

Butternut Squash and Dark Leafy Green Salad

    Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Butternut squash
  • 1/2 onion
  • 3-4 cloves of garlic
  • Dark leafy greens (I used collards and kale)
  • Dash of cayenne pepper
  • 3-4 tablespoons of vegetable broth
  • Teaspoon of cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
  • Tablespoon of olive oil
    How to make:

  • Cut the squash into cubes.
  • Cut up the onion and mince the garlic.
  • Add the onion to the pan that’s heated with oil.
  • Stir it up until it’s lightly browned.
  • Add the garlic and cayenne.
  • Mix for 20-30 seconds you’ll be able to smell the garlic.
  • Add the butternut squash and mix to coat with the oil.
  • Add the veggie broth and let it cook for 4-5 minutes.
  • While that’s cooking, chop up your greens into bite sized pieces.
  • Keep checking on the squash, stirring it and making sure there is enough liquid.
  • Add the greens.
  • Sprinkle in the salt and pepper and mix it all up.
  • Put the cover on and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
  • When the greens are nice, dark and slightly wilted, it’s ready.
Posted on

Speech About Growing Your Own Food at OccupyLA

I was asked to speak at Occupy LA about growing your own food. The speech touches on how the food industry is similar to the financial world and what we can do to bring about the change that we want to see.

Excerpts from the speech:

This Occupy movement that started out on Wall Street was started because of the outrage at the outsized power of the banks and financial industry.

As the movement has grown to other cities, it’s become apparent that this doesn’t only apply to the financial world, but to a lot of other aspects of our lives as well.

The power is in the hands of an elite few that have an interest in keeping us clueless and left out in the cold to maintain the status quo that benefits them.

When you look at the financial world, it’s pretty apparent. That’s why we are all here today.

When it comes to our food and food policy, the same thing can be said. Just like in the financial world, the food industry has lots of money and lobbyists pulling strings.

What does all of this mean though? One of the complaints that I hear about these Occupy movements is that there is no plan of action. It’s just protesting and complaining.

So let’s talk about some action. Any action that can be done.

Let’s talk about growing your own food. I’m not talking about completely living off the land and being completely self-sufficient, I’m talking about growing some of your own food.

How will that make a difference?

We live in a country that’s run on capitalism. Though dead for many years, George Washington is still a pretty powerful guy. He can help to change people’s minds pretty quickly.

When you grow some of your own food, you are voting. You are voting against the current food system and the monopoly that it is. You are taking a dollar away from those large corporations. You are becoming more self-sufficient and lest reliant on the system and corporations.

I’m not saying that just one person growing something, will make a difference. No doubt about that. But if I grow something, and you grow something and you grow something and you grow something and you all inspire someone else to grow something. That one + one + one + one effect becomes huge and on a larger scale makes a big difference. All of us taking that action, will help to shift some power and bring about change.

People, we live in LA where we can pretty much grow year round. Let’s take advantage of this and do something about this situation that we aren’t happy with. Let’s take action today and make some change that we all want to see.

Here is the speech in its entirety, including some dude heckling me for a quick moment. Hope you enjoy and chime in with some other ways that we can help bring about the change that we want to see.

Posted on

What to Do With Your Extra Harvest

I received an email from Amy asking what she should do with the extra peaches that she harvested. She wasn’t talking about 10-15 extra peaches. She was talking more like 150lbs worth of extra peaches.

She said, “I like peaches as much as the next girl, but there is no way, even after jams, jellies, preserves, conserves, chutneys, freezing, and all the pies I can handle that I will be able to even make a dent in that amount!”

This was a great opportunity to tap into the Urban Organic Gardener community on the Facebook Fan Page, where I posted the following question, “You’ve grown way too many of a certain crop. You’ve already pickled, fermented, can and preserved your brains out. What do you do with all of the extra?”

Here are some of the responses or view all of them here.

Me say…“If you are growing something that your neighbor can’t, it’s a great way to share your harvest with them and trade.

Tracy Gould said…“Donate to your local food bank, low income school, church pantry,There are so many places that would LOVE to get fresh organic produce!. See Food for Thought’s page! My favorite food bank.?”

Lauren Kelk recommended…“Cropshare!”

Lee Robertson said…“Share the bounty,that’s my rule….we “shared” enough zucchini this year to supply 10 households will all they could use. Also enough tomatoes that 4 households ,besides our own, were able to can up a good amount for the winter.”

Nathan Blakesley said…“I figure if God gives me a bountiful harvest and has provided me and mine more than enough for our needs, then it’s only right that I share with those around me.”

Susan Doane said…“In my world there is no such thing as “to much” but if there were my neighbors and near by family love the extra’s. We also have a family pantry close by for those who are struggling. Although they prefer canned product, they do accomodate for fresh every so often. Especially around holidays. ♥”

Elizabeth Frazee Fisher said…“Our farmers market has a booth set up where you can drop off extra produce and also the vendors can donate at the end of the morning also. I had a meeting at my house Mon night and sent zucchini home with several people. Our community food pantry will take homegrown excess also. I am thinking our Salvation Army food kitchen probably would take excess. I can and freeze as much as I am able, more than I need as also give to son and daughter and their households. I would feel terrible if anything went to waste!”

Mary Kaschak said…” I always take my extra eggplant to the local Greek restaurant. The owner is so delighted he dances around to his Greek music and gives me a free Greek coffee and baklava. I don’t expect that of course but it sure is lots of fun for both of us.”

Micron Cat said…“Take it to the nearest Title I school and give to the social worker to send home with the kids.”

What are some other suggestions that you can add to the list below?

Posted on

How to Transplant Mint into a Container

Mint grows like crazy and can easily take over your garden if grown in a raised bed or in ground garden. After all mint is a weed. You almost always want to grow mint in a container.

What you will need to transplant your mint into a container:

  • Container filled with potting mix
  • Mint plant
  • Water

How to transplant the mint:

  • Pour a little bit of water into the plastic container that the mint plant has been growing in.
  • In the center of the container, dig a hole that is about the same size of the container that the mint has been growing in.
  • Gently pop the mint out of the container that it’s currently in and lightly break up the block a little.
  • Insert the mint into the hole that you dug and add a little bit of water.
  • Cover up the hole with the soil and secure the mint plant.
  • Add water to the container.

What are some of your favorite ways to use mint? Don’t say mojito, it’s not original.

Posted on

How to Make Spicy Roasted Squash Seeds

    Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin you just carved
  • 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • Cayenne pepper, paprika, sea salt and black pepper to taste
    How to make:

  • Soak the seeds in water for 10-15 minutes to get off the orange stringy stuff.
  • Strain the seeds and put them in a bowl.
  • Sprinkle sea salt, black pepper, cayenne and paprika over it.
  • Put in oven at 400 for 10-15 minutes.
  • Open the oven and mix them up.
  • Put back in for 5 minutes.
  • Remove from oven to let cool.
Posted on

“No Food Choice” Judge Now Works for Monsanto Law Firm

The Wisconsin Judge, Patrick Fiedler, who said that we do not have a fundamental right to consume the food that we grow or raise has stepped down.

This might seem like great news at first, but he now works for the law firm, Axley Brynelson, LLP.

Why is this such a big deal? Because according to InfoWars.com, this firm has worked for and defended Monsanto in the past.

This isn’t the first time that time that a situation like this has happened where a high ranking US official either comes from a large corporation into office or goes from office to a large corporation.

In the comments section of the initial post, some people mentioned this is why it’s important to vote. To me, voting doesn’t matter. It’s choosing one clown over another.

The strongest action that we can take that will make a difference is to shift our dollars and where they go. George Washington is still a very powerful man in this country.

Start growing your own food (at least some of it). This will keep money away from the big corporations. Each and every time you make a purchase, of any kind, you are voting.

If enough of us take that action and shift our spending habits, then change will follow. Every little bit helps.

As long as we continue to keep spending the way that we do and deciding who to vote on, clowns like Patrick Fiedler will continue to take away our rights and ruin our lives.

The power is in our hands. What are some other things we can do to make a difference?

Photo courtesy of shyb