A Spicy Kind of Post

I have this bad habit of bringing in the harvest from the garden and not doing anything with it.  I have a few things I know exactly what to do with (I'm looking at you, collards and ham hocks...), but I keep doing those same things over and over again, rarely varying.  Can you say "Boring!"  I think it's because when I do try to vary, to expand out and stretch my recipe repertoire, I have more misses than hits.  So the veggies sit and wait, and wait ... and wait ... 'til inspiration strikes me.  By the time that happens, the veggies are past their prime, making for a rather lackluster performance in the pot, through no fault of their own.

I think part of the problem is not knowing what to do with them.  I think, "I really should find a recipe and try something new."  But I know that finding a recipe is only part of the process ~ there's also wading through that mess of a spice cabinet to find something suitable that might enhance the dish.  Trying to find inspiration by digging past the bottle of cardamom with a teaspoon left in it, behind the hard red lump in a jar that used to be fajita rub, and between the two bottles of ancient turmeric (from Mom's cabinet, and she's been gone nine years. Ack!) just sounds worse than cleaning out the junk drawer.  It seems such a daunting prospect that I just give up before I even get started.

You know exactly what I'm talking about.  Admit it.  You know you should get rid of that pumpkin pie spice that's been sitting there since 1983, the last time you tried making Thanksgiving dinner completely from scratch.  Then there's that jar of cream of tartar your neighbor gave you after she found out meringue just isn't her thing.  And you know all those envelopes of dip mix and soup seasoning should be thrown out, but you just can't because they came free with that bottle of mayo!  And it's a sin to throw out something free!  Almost as much of a sin as throwing away something that's still good!  So you can't get rid of anything in there!  Not today!  Maybe tomorrow! When you have time to go through it all and see what's still good!

Here's the thing: They're not still good.  Really.  They're not.

You, like me, likely know that most herbs (the dried leaves of seasoning plants) really start to go stale after about a year, and spices (ground seeds, roots, bark, etc.) after two.  Whole spices last longer than that, but not nearly as long as we've been hanging on to them.  So I'm giving you permission to chunk them, and some helpful tips on the easiest way to do it.

First, go to the bulk spice aisle at the grocery store and stand there for a while. Admire the organization, look at the colors, drink in the scents.  I was there yesterday, looking at all the containers containing all the lovely scents and flavors, feeling the possibilities.  Oh, the possibilities!  Steaming plates of ... warm bowls of ... aromatic spoonfuls of ... .  I made up my mind right then and there: Nigella Lawson here I come!

After I chose the things I was familiar with (celery seed, dill weed, Italian seasoning, thyme...), I picked a few things that I knew a bit about, but seemed a little different (sweet smoked Spanish paprika, herbs de Provence...).  I thought I was done and started to walk away, but stopped.  I wanted to be free, adventurous, gutsy.  I wanted to expand my cooking skills.  I wanted to be Nigella, right?

I went back and reached for the pretty colors.  I picked them up and smelled them, letting the aromas decide for me.  It's the bulk aisle ~ I could get a little bit of anything I wanted for less than a buck, sometimes way less ~ so I let myself go.  Anything that smelled good, I got some of.  What fun it was once I really let go and just did it!

Nineteen little baggies, twelve little dollars, and forty-five little minutes later, I was done.  I wheeled my cart and my new determination over to the canning aisle to get some jars.  If you keep your herbs and spices in airtight containers, they last a lot longer.  Plastic doesn't cut it ~ it's gas permeable.  And I didn't want to have a pile of baggies to look through.  I wanted easy-to-find.  And pretty.  I found some 4 ounce jars and got two dozen (eight bucks a dozen ~ cheap), along with a few larger jars for the things I bought a lot of (minced garlic, onion flakes).

Once I got home, I grabbed an empty box and headed for the spice cabinet.  I took everything out.  Once it was all there, sitting on the counter out of it's normal home, most of it looked like what it was ~ stuff that needed to be chunked.  It was wild ~ just getting it out of the cabinet made all the difference.  Suddenly it seemed easy to get rid of.  But as I took each jar in hand, looking for things to put in the box, I started wanting to keep things I knew I shouldn't.  So I changed my outlook and started to look for things to keep.  That's the ticket!  I picked out half a dozen envelopes and three jars to put back in the cabinet, washed out the shelves, and put everything else in the box.  Done.

Helpful Hint Time: If you normally have a hard time getting rid of things, tape up the box and put it in the closet for a month or three.  Then, before taking it to Goodwill, try to think of anything that's in the box that you want to keep.  If you can think of something, you can have it, but nothing else, no matter what. NO. Matter. What.  Thanks to that hoarding gene that runs in my family. I have a tendency to keep things too long.  This strategy has helped me immensely in getting rid of things I never thought I could.

Now comes the fun part: putting all the treasures in the jars and lovingly labeling each one.  The jars came with cute little labels, but I got some different ones I liked better.  Whatever works for you.  Just make sure to also date them.  I didn't want to write that on the label on the front of the jar since I'd have to cross it out as I refill the jars.  After a while, there wouldn't be any room left on the label, and it'd make it look messy.  So I put more labels on the bottom of each jar for dates.

It's so nice now!  When I open that cabinet, I see all the pretty colors all stacked neatly on top of each other, ready to be used in my next masterpiece.  I feel like I just might be capable of making that masterpiece now, or at least capable of not screwing up as much as I used to.

Wheeeeeeeee!!!!!  I can't wait to cook now!  So I'll see y'all later.  I'm headed out to the garden to find something to pick.

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UPDATE: It's been a little more than a week and MAN what a difference this has made!  I haven't had one flop in the kitchen since!  Some things have been better than others and one thing that wasn't all that super great, but it was still good.  So, DO EET!  Change out those spices NAO!

How To Make Row Cover Frames for an Existing Raised Bed

I'm asked every day at work how to make frames to hold up row cover, so I thought I'd make a separate post about it.  This is the last part of the Building a Raised Bed From Existing Soil: Illustrated post with a few more details and ideas added.

Frost bitten kale. Kinda' pretty when it's all  frozen and
sparkly.  Not so much when it's all thawed and droopy.

For those who don't know, floating row cover (aka Remay or frost cloth) is a lightweight cloth specially made for covering plants during winter for frost protection.  There are lightweight types that are used as a pest barrier, but for this post we'll be talking mostly about the heavyweight type.  The heavyweight that we sell at the Natural Gardener makes the temperature under the cloth eight to ten degrees warmer than the ambient temperature outside, while allowing rain and plenty of sunlight for actual plant growth to come in.  Due to those last two things along with the fact that it lets excess heat out, you don't need to take it off and put it on again every day like you would plastic.  Handy!

It's great stuff and I highly recommend it for covering newly planted things in a light freeze, most everything in a hard freeze, and newly planted seeds no matter the temperatures (it keeps the wind from drying out the soil so fast and beating up your new babies).  I've even been able to keep warm season things going through the first few freezes of the year (Ahhhhh, Christmas tomatoes...).

Speaking of tomatoes, this row cover is essential in getting those tomatoes in extra early to beat the heat.  I've even had success planting them as early as Valentine's Day if I hung some incandescent Christmas lights on the cages under the cover.  I leave them covered from planting to the end of March or early April, rarely if ever taking it off, and the combo of incandescent lights giving off heat and the cover holding it in makes it nice and toasty under there, warm enough for the plants to actively grow, even on forty degree days.  No, 40 degrees won't kill your tomatoes, but it'll sure make 'em pout.

The row cover works by trapping the Earth's heat radiating up at night, creating an insulating air space around your plants, a sort of warm-air "bubble" like a miniature greenhouse.  And just like a real greenhouse, the sides are as cold as the outside, so any leaves touching the cloth (or the plastic in a greenhouse) will be susceptible to freeze damage.  

Hence the frames.  They're not that hard to build.  Really!  They're cheap, easy (don't even need any power tools), and they last for years.  Come to think of it, you don't need any tools at all if you're handy at hammering with a rock.  Ha!

Here's the step-by-step:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Materials for a 4'x8' bed with approximate costs including tax (Note: My beds are 12' long, so the pictures show 8 rebar stakes and 4 pvc pipe ribs.):

• Six 3/8" thick rebar stakes, 18 inches long .......................... $11
• Three 10' lengths of 1/2" schedule 40 pvc pipe ................... $6
• Row Cover: 18' heavy duty ...................................................$25
• Six heavy duty clamps OR large binder clips ........................$20
• 
  
• Total for frames only ........................................................................... $17
• Total for frames, cover, and clamps...................................................... $62

Photo 1

1. Install rebar stakes at all four corners (Photos 1 and 2).  Just pound them in with a hammer.  3/8" thick 18" long rebar stakes are about about a buck fifty each at Lowe's.  Ones 18" long will go at least nine inches into the soil below the box and still have three or so inches sticking up above the box for the pvc to easily slip over.  I used some 18" long ones since I had them already, but when I bought more I got 24" long ones since they were only twenty or so cents more, but would go farther into the soil, making them even more sturdy, especially if the beds are tall.

Photo 2

If your box is bigger than 4' x 4', you should put some stakes along the sides as well.  My beds here are twelve feet long, so I installed them every four feet.  For an eight foot bed, that would be three on each long side.  If you want to install them closer together, that's great ~ the closer they are, the more ribs of your frame you will have, and the stronger the overall system will be once you cover it with the row cover.

6. Install the pvc pipe by simply slipping it over the rebar stakes, as in Photos 3, 4 and 5.  I used 1/2-inch pvc, ten feet long.  This gave me 4' tall frames, perfect for covering even the tallest broccoli plants and most shorter green peas even when on a pea fence.

Photo 3

7. Cover the frame with floating row cover and clip into place (Photo 6).  Row cover usually comes on a roll and is sold by the foot from that row.  The size we sell at the Natural Gardener is 12' wide (plenty for covering the width of your bed, across those pvc ribs), and the length needs to be the length of your bed plus ten feet to allow it to hang down over the ends and cover them well.

You can use any kind of clip so long as it's STRONG.  I bought some of all the clips I found at Lowe's when I bought my stakes.  You can see the black ones in some of the pictures, and here's a better picture of them.  They're great for the corners as they can open up wide to grab a lot of bunched row cover in their "mouths".  The bad part is they're kind of expensive at $14 for a set of twelve in various sizes, some of which I don't need. 

Photo 4

You may also be able to see the big binder clips along the sides of the covered beds in Photo 6.  You can get them from an office supply store and they're fairly cheap.  Drawbacks are they aren't as strong as other clips and they rust, but if you have a lot of beds to cover like me, they're a more economical alternative at least along the sides.  So far, they've held in 15 mph winds (Update: They held in those hellacious winds we had not long ago, gusts way past 40mph with a 65mph gust clocked in Burnet, but I only used them on the sides ~ used the big black ones on the corners. And a caution: a row cover next to that one that had some holes in it was shredded, so patch your holes! Duct tape maybe.).  I don't think the binder clips would work at the corners since they'd  have to clamp over multiple layers of the row cover, but along the sides where they just have to clamp over one layer, they work great.

Photo 5

I've also had people tell me they used three-inch sections of pvc pipe, the same size as the ribs, that they've cut along one side lengthwise.  They just open the cut side enough to slip it over the pvc pipe rib, sandwiching the row cover in between.  I haven't tried this yet, but plan to, and I hope it works as that would be OH so cheap.

That's really all there is to it!  Easey-peasey..  And they'll last for at least five years, including the row cover if you keep it folded and put up when not in use.  Speaking of that, if you ever need to wash it, you can put it in the washer, but don't put it in the dryer.  It melts into nothing.  Weird.

These frames are great for row cover, bird netting and shade cloth as well, so you'd be able to use them year 'round.  You can even use the lightweight row cover for pest protection, or if you're a seed saver the lightweight works great for isolation, too.  The tomatoes will likely get too tall to still fit under them and some peppers may also, as well as corn and okra, but you could still use more pvc to make taller frames.  Investigate the pvc pipe fittings aisle for elbows to make something that looks the shape of a roofline instead of the curve shown in the pictures here (three elbows ~ one on each side and one in the middle-top).  You might could find twenty foot sections of the same diameter pvc and bend them into taller hoops, though I haven't tried that yet.  If anyone does, let me know how it works in the comments here, would you?  And if I try it, I'll update this post.

Again, they're cheap, easy, and useful.  What's not to love?  Do it!  You'll be SO glad you did.  

Photo 6

Building a Raised Bed From Existing Soil: Illustrated

Photo 1: The proposed area for the new bed.

I've long wanted to build raised beds in my garden.  I've had wide rows for a while and while they are great and useful, they need more maintenance than real raised beds.  I've also been reading about and wanting to try no-till and other methods of gardening, like John Jeavons' biointensive system, and wide rows just don't lend themselves well to that.

For those who don't know, wide rows are similar to traditional row gardening, BUT instead of being just a few inches wide at the top, they are a few feet wide.  This increases the root space the plants in the row have and allows you to grow more vegetable plants in a smaller square footage overall.  Having to water, amend, fertilize, mulch, and weed a smaller space is always great.  What's also great is if don't have anything to build "walls" out of at the time, but still want to garden more efficiently than in traditional thin rows, you can.  Another plus of wide rows is if you're not sure exactly where you want your beds to be at the moment, you can just take a shovel and change the configuration until you're happy with it.

Photo 2: The same area with plants transplanted,
soil shoveled up into a long pile, and the beginning
of the "box" being assembled.

The main drawback is that they need to be pulled up on the sides by shoveling the soil back up there.  As you water and rain falls and wind hits them, gravity takes over and the sides fall, making the bed eventually "melt" into flatness again.  This also means the roots of the plants at the edges of the bed become exposed or are otherwise compromised because now that area, having less soil, dries out much quicker.  This negatively affects the soil food web as well of course.  Not good.  Mulch helps lessen this "melting", but doesn't completely stop it.

Another drawback to wide rows is, if you put rebar stakes in along the sides to hold pvc pipe frames for row cover or shade cloth, you'll likely have to remove the stakes each time you shovel up the sides, then install them again.  Ugh.

Photo 3: Same bed with box completed, soil amended
with compost, and partially raked smooth.

Real raised beds have sides.  That's really the main thing that differentiates them from wide rows.  The drawbacks are that you have to find something to line the sides with and actually install that something.  This takes time, labor, and money.  But I think it's a worthwhile investment.

You can use plain old kiln dried yellow pine, the usual wood used for building frames of houses.  Be sure it's kiln dried - non-kiln-dried is sprayed with a fungicide while it's drying.  And also don't get "Yella Wood" - that's treated.  You want just plain old SPF, Soft Pine Fir.  It's cheap.  And even though it's untreated, it lasts three or four years before the corners start to rot out.  When that happens, you can just scab on some new corners (cut 2' long pieces of boards and nail/screw them together on the outside of each corner, in effect making new corners).  Or you could use some of those metal corner braces lumber stores sell (ask where the joist hangers are and look on that aisle).  Or, my personal fave, start collecting antique strap hinges used on barn doors and gates.  Those are a foot or more long and look really cool on the corners.

You can also use cedar boards.  I'm not sure how much longer they'd last, but I'd think twice as long as yellow pine.  The drawback there is they are pricey.

You can save some of that money if you scrounge around for the materials.  For low-cost or free lumber, check Craigslist, find pallets to break apart, or haunt local building sites and ask - just be careful to avoid treated wood.  If your land is really rocky, use those rocks to your advantage and do slip-form sides or formal laid stone walls.  I've used cedar posts for walls, too ~ currently along my asparagus patch.  The ones that aren't straight enough for fence posts look great once laid down carefully and with some thought to where the curves are.

Photo 4: First bed on right completed. Second bed with soil
shoveled up into a pile, "box" frame assembled, and
being moved into place 22 inches from first bed before
raking the soil down smooth.

I've even seen people build raised beds from roofing sheet metal and used tires, though I'm not sure about the safety of those tires re: leaching.  If anyone does the research and finds out one way or the other if they're safe, let me know in the comments, would you?  I'd be very interested to hear about it.

Cinder blocks work nicely, too.  If you don't like the industrial look of them, paint them using a non-toxic paint.  Black or brown blends in to the landscape nicely.  You can even plant compact flowers and herbs like pansies and chives in the holes.  (2015 Update: I've been reading lately that they are now using fly ash in the manufacture of cinder blocks. Not sure that'd be good next to your food. So maybe, if you have older cinder blocks, they'd be okay, but I'd be leery of using new ones. Not sure if painting would help the matter - probably for a while, but eventually I'd think the paint would wear off.)

Just make sure whatever you use isn't treated with something noxious.  Old lumber that's painted could have lead in the paint and I'd think that surely would come off in the soil.  The chemicals in treated lumber definitely do leach into your soil.  This includes railroad ties.  If the ties are old, they may be weathered to the point that not much of the creosote is left to leach, but I'd bet there's still enough left in there to do some harm.  Plus, from what I understand, railroad companies regularly spray their right-of-ways (including those ties I'd bet) with brush killer and that can't be good.  I've used them before, old ones that were weathered and grey, but after reading up on them, I got rid of them.

Photo 5: How to join two pieces of wood
in the middle of a side.

Regardless of what you use for the sides, the pluses of having raised beds are SO worth it.  You don't have to pull up the sides, you can install the stakes and pipe frames and leave them, the plants growing don't suffer from the gradual lessening of their root space, and all your soil that you've built up and enriched over time stays put, right there in the bed.  Marvelous!

So the decision was obvious.  And long overdue.

I found some wood in one of the barns some time back.  Some of it might be good for building projects like the lean-to greenhouse I want on the side of the garden shed, but most of it really isn't.  Some is starting to rot from having been laying on the ground for a while, some has got deep chew marks on it from some varmint or horse, and some is off-sized.  But it's all still got some strength left in it, plenty enough strength for raised beds.

Photo 6: Installing rebar stakes for pvc row cover frame.

Last week, we drug up some of the boards and got started.  We did so well on the first one, that we kept going and got a second one done!  This week, last Tuesday, we built two more.

Of course I can't plant everything I want to just yet since I need the wide rows empty so I can reconfigure them into the raised beds.  I'll have to forego planting as many onions as I want since I don't have that much space in the completed raised beds, and I skipped garlic this year for the same reason.  But it'll be worth it.  So very worth it.


And now, on with the tutorial...

How To Build Raised Beds From Existing Soil:

For a 4'x8' bed using wood boards, you will need: (Note: I'm calculating plain old yellow pine here. Cedar would be better, lasting many years longer, but will be more expensive.)

• 2"x6" boards: three 8' boards (two left whole as 8' boards and one cut in half so you have two 4' boards).................................................................................................. $20 or so if you buy them
• At least 12 nails: "common" or "box" nails, at least 3" long ....................... $3 or less
• compost: 2 2/3 cubic feet, or two BYO bags at the Natural Gardener.......$7
• Total for bed only................................................................................... $30 ($10 if you scrounge the boards)

For row cover/shade cloth frame: (Note: My beds are 12' long, so the pictures show 8 rebar stakes and 4 pvc pipe ribs.)

• Six 3/8" thick rebar stakes, 18 inches long ............................................. $10
• Three 10' lengths of 1/2" schedule 40 pvc pipe ...................................... $10
• Total ..................................................................................................... $20

Tools needed:

• hammer
• measuring tape
• pencil or pen for marking boards
• shovel
• saw: a circular saw is much easier, but even a hand saw would work, OR ask the lumberyard to cut one of the 8' boards in half.  They'll usually do one cut for free.

Photo 7: Pair of stakes at front corners, directly across
from each other, that together will hold one
piece of pvc pipe for the row cover frame.

1. Loosen the soil as deeply as you can with a shovel, removing all the weeds while you're at it.  If you have bermuda grass or some other invasive weed, be extra vigilant in getting all the pieces.

Do this in an area wider than the bed you want to build.  You'll be shoveling some of that soil from the walkways around the bed into the bed itself to fill it.  How much farther out you loosen will really depend on how tall your finished beds will be.  If your beds will only be six inches tall, you won't need that much extra soil to fill them, so won't need to go too far out to get enough.  Loosening an area three feet out and just a couple inches deep should give you plenty of extra soil to fill a six inch deep bed, and maybe even an eight inch deep one, especially if you add a lot of compost.

Digging shallowly farther out is better than digging deeper closer in.  If you dig deeper down, but only a foot or so out from the bed, you'll have a big trench around it that would hold water when it rains, won't look all that great, and would be a bear to work in and around.

Photo 8: Installing pvc pipe frame onto rebar stakes.

Digging further out more shallowly, even if that means going a good bit out to gather enough soil, will lessen the amount of slope from the undisturbed ground outside the veggie garden area to the veggie garden itself, making the transition easier to navigate and more pleasing to the eye.  You can simply fill in that lower area with mulch to lessen the slope even more, or completely get rid of it.  And that mulch would make for no muddy walkways.  Bonus!  Plus, you will have an even wider wee-free area around your bed which will greatly lessen those aforementioned weeds getting into your newly made bed.  Even better.

In Photo 1, you see the area I chose for the next bed in my garden.  Luckily the soil was already fairly loosened since I've been working it and amending it for a few years so it was easy digging.  Unfortunately, there is a wide row with collards in it where the walkway should be.  I had to transplant them into a finished bed and move all the soil in that row over a couple feet.

Photo 9: First rib of frame completed.

2. Shovel the soil from the walkways around the bed into the bed itself.  Mark out where you will put the sides of your bed and make sure the pile is well inside those lines to ensure the bottom of the wood sides are at the same level as your walkways.  You can see where I did this in Photos 2, 3 and 4.

3. Cut the boards, lay them out on edge to form a box and nail them together around the pile of soil (see Photos 2, 3 and 4 again).

If the boards you're using are long enough to span the entire length of the sides, that's great.  But if they're not, you can still use them.  In Photo 5, I show how to do this.  Simply set your circular saw's base to a 45 degree angle and cut the ends of the boards to match each other, then nail them together at an angle.  This is kind of tricky as you have to nail the nails angled so that the nail goes through one and into the other, but it's not that hard.  You can do it!  If your boards are one inch thick instead of two like mine, screwing them together may be easier.  Be sure to flatten any portion of the nails or screws that sticks out into the soil so you don't injure yourself on them later if you dig in that area. Then install rebar stakes on the outside of the bed on either side of the joint to keep it from bowing out.  The weight of the soil in the bed, once raked down, will push out against the joint and keep it from bowing in.

4. Rake the soil pile down level.  Add compost, mix it in well, and rake it down smooth again, as in Photo 3.  An inch of compost is good, but more is better.

Photo 10: All ribs of frame installed.

To make the row cover frames (for a more hints and discussion on this part, go to How to Make Row Cover Frames for an Existing Raised Bed):

5. Install rebar stakes at all four corners (Photos 6 and 7).  Just pound them in with a hammer.  3/8" thick 18" long rebar stakes are about about a buck fifty each at Lowe's.  Ones 18" long will go at least nine inches into the soil below the box and still have three or so inches sticking up above the box for the pvc to easily slip over.  I used some 18" long ones since I had them already, but when I bought more I got 24" long ones since they were only twenty or so cents more, but would go farther into the soil, making them even more sturdy.

If your box is bigger than 4' x 4', you should put some stakes along the sides as well.  My beds here are twelve feet long, so I installed them every four feet.  If you want to install them closer together, that's great ~ the closer they are, the more ribs of your frame you will have, and the stronger the overall system will be once you cover it with the row cover.

6. Install the pvc pipe by simply slipping it over the rebar stakes, as in Photos 8, 9 and 10.  I used 1/2-inch pvc, ten feet long.  This gave me 4' tall frames, perfect for covering even the tallest broccoli plants and most snow/snap/shelling peas even when on a pea fence.

Photo 11: A completed bed with row cover installed
and clipped into place.

7. Cover the frame with floating row cover and clip into place (Photo 11).  You can use any kind of clip so long as it's STRONG.  I bought some of all the clips I found at Lowe's when I bought my stakes.  You can see the black ones in some of the pictures.  They're great for the corners as they can open up wide to grab a lot of bunched row cover in their "mouths".  The bad part is they're kind of expensive at $14 for a set of twelve in various sizes, some of which I don't need.

You may also be able to see the big binder clips along the sides of the covered beds in Photo 11.  You can get them from an office supply store and they're fairly cheap.  Drawbacks are they aren't as strong as other clips and they rust, but if you have a lot of beds to cover like me, they're a more economical alternative at least along the sides.  So far, they've held in 15 mph winds (Update: The cover in these pictures held up in the wind storm we had where a 65mph gust was clocked in Burnet.).  I don't think they'd work at the corners since they'd  have to clamp over multiple layers of the row cover, but along the sides where they just have to clamp over one layer, they work great.

I've also had people tell me they used three-inch sections of pvc pipe, the same size as the ribs, that they've cut along one side lengthwise.  They just open the cut side enough to slip it over the pvc pipe rib, sandwiching the row cover in between.  I haven't tried this yet, but plan to, and I hope it works as that would be OH so cheap.


So there you have it!  A raised bed, completed, and ready to be planted.  Joy!

Seed Starting Talk at The Garden Club of Austin

A month or two ago, I got a call at work from Sandi Schmidt with The Garden Club of Austin asking if I would come talk at one of their meetings.  Turns out a friend of mine, Marge Trachtenberg, who I worked with at Natty G's, is a member and told her about me and this blog.  Sandi said I sounded like a hoot, and would I consider coming to their January meeting to give a talk.  Would I!  I would love to!  So we set it up for last Thursday, January 24th, and I would talk about seed starting.

Sandi mentioned that she'd like to have some seeds to give to the members who attended, something they could take home with them to practice what I was to talk about that night, so I offered to give them some of the seeds I'd saved.  Lord knows I have plenty.

I had such fun going through my seeds and picking out the ones to give.  While looking for the little coin envelopes to put them in, I came across the last of the blank seed packets I'd bought years ago and eyed the printer.  Creativity struck.  I love creativity!  I made up 45 seed packets of nine varieties in all.

The best part was getting to see Marge again.  We were hired at the Natural Gardener at the same time, four years ago.  She's worked there off and on since then, working in the store, doing reception.  She's a fellow veggie nut, and took over the veggie availability list last year, researching all the varieties we carried to see if they were hybrids or not.  It was great!  So easy for me to just point to it when a customer asked what something was and I wasn't sure.  I love working with her and really hope she comes back this spring.





We did the whole squeal and hug thing when we saw each other.  Some people laughed, saying we looked like sisters.  I looked over at them and said, "She's my sister from another mother."  That got a lot more laughs.  I've missed her.

Since it was her idea to have me come talk, she was asked to introduce me.  The picture below right was taken while I was listening to her.  I love that picture.


By the way, I want to thank Sandi Schmidt and Carol Kay Johnson for taking most of these photos (all of the ones with me in them) and giving me permission to use them.  I really appreciate it, you two!

After I finished talking, Sandi presented me with a gift ~ Hershey's Kisses!  But these weren't any ordinary Hershey's Kisses.  She and her husband had printed custom labels with "AustinGardenConsultant.com" as well as my name and phone number, affixed one to the bottom of each kiss, filled a martini glass with them, and wrapped them up in beautiful gold netting tied with gold thread.  Beautiful!

She also was kind enough to include another sheet of the stickers so I can put them on peppermints because, like she said, peppermints won't melt in the heat as readily as chocolate kisses so I can carry them around in my briefcase and give them out.

And there were more presents.  Abraham Lincoln tomato seeds from Laura Joseph, the garden club president (I can't WAIT to grow these!) ...

... and a coir fiber brick from Mr. Gani of GaniGarden.com.  He imports these and they're de-salinated.  Nice!  You should be able to find them at GeoGrowers and The Great Outdoors.

I loved answering all the questions afterwards.  Obviously this is a subject many are interested in, as the questions kept coming, even as I was leaving.  But I don't mind.  Not one little bit.

So thank you Marge, Sandi, and all the other members of the Garden Club of Austin.  I had a wonderful time and hope to see you all again soon!

Halloween!

Two of the great costumes from work.  Sadly, I didn't get pictures of any others, though there were some good ones!

Jaci the Lioness.  Rowrrrr!
Can you believe she made this costume at work
as an afterthought?!  

Even the tail ~ she made it out of sisal twine
we use to tie up the bags of compost.
Amazing.

Zombie Joe

Zombie Joe eating lunch.

Zombie Joe going after a little sweet dessert.
(The part of Dessert is played by Lynn.)

Putting Up the Harvest Class at The Natural Gardener

Yesterday, Chef Michael Pearce and I gave a class at the Natural Gardener about preserving vegetables.  I'd gotten to know Mike over the years because he was a frequent customer at the nursery, always haunting the veggie house.  Besides being an avid veggie gardener, he's the executive chef for Ben E. Keith foods, designing their menu items and leading them into using more locally grown, organic produce (YAY, Mike!).  One day we got on the subject of drying tomatoes, something both of us were doing at the time, and an idea for a class was born.

Rosina put us on the schedule for October 20th (yesterday).  We talked for an hour to over fifty people about drying, freezing, canning, and making jellies and preserves.  Mike wrote a detailed handout for everyone to take home listing a LOT of great information, demonstrated how to cut the vegetables up so that they pack in the jars best, and talked at length about how to dry different things different ways, how to blanch then freeze most vegetables, and many more subjects.  I brought my pressure canner and antique jars to show and chimed in every now and again about canning, freezing, making jellies and water-bath canning tomatoes and jellies.

I was very excited to see how many people showed up.  It seems this is a subject many are interested in.  I think we'll do it again next year.

Chef Mike and I discussing lids and rings. 

Showing some of my canning equipment.

Chef Mike and I answering questions.

Seed Saving Class at The Natural Gardener

I have always been fascinated by seeds.  There's something magical about simply planting a handful, watching them grow, and being able to feed yourself with what they produce.  The thought that you can grow that same handful of seeds, save the seeds from the resulting plants, replant them, repeat, and eventually have enough seeds to feed the world is just amazing.

The reasons for saving seeds are numerous: sustainability, saving money, developing varieties perfectly suited to your area or even individual garden, and keeping that historical link to our ancestors, to name just a few.  But the most important reason is so we don't eventually lose the ability to do so.

Heirloom vegetable varieties are dying off at an alarming rate, and big agri-businesses are buying up seed companies that produce many of our most popular hybrid varieties (80% of all hybrids are owned by them as of this writing).  So you can see that saving seeds is as vitally important in this day and age as it was in our grandparents' day.  In order for us to keep control of our food supply, we must save seeds.

Judging from the turnout for my class yesterday, a lot of people agree with me.  I talked to over fifty people about saving vegetable seeds, explaining the hows and whys.  I told them about the differences between hybrids, open pollinateds, heirlooms, and GMOs.  I gave them resources to obtain good varieties for saving, and explained the best way to preserve them once saved.

I had a blast!  And hope to give this class again in the future.