Oh My Garden!

Life is good. The garden is growing and flowers are in bloom. Bees are busy buzzing around, pollinating our squash blossoms and pollinating themselves. It's so funny to watch those big butted bumble bees fly out of a blossom totally covered in pollen. On their face, their feet, their butts. Silly bees! I have a frog that lives right outside my bedroom window and it just sits there all day and all night. It's a little one, maybe a few inches long. Sort of a pastel green color. There are beans growing up our window wall outside and the frog loves it there. So do the grasshoppers... they love eating the bean leaves.

Bountiful Mexican Beans cover our window and it's a jungle!

Those are squash in the front there. One of our 4 zucchini plants! There's a sidewalk at the front of the bed, so we are training the zucchini to crawl over to the side. It's amazing how quickly a plant takes the hint. It was going straight for the sidewalk and after three days of shoving the vines the other way, it caught on. We also have some delectable white patty pan squash plants. Buttery and delicious... Okay more pictures!

Reisentraube Tomatoes - they're extremely bountiful heirloom grape tomatoes

Tomatoes. Zucchini. Patty Pan. Morning Glory. Marigold. Pumpkin. Carrots. Basil. Okra. Eggplant.

Those tiny sprouts are tomatillos that Carlos just planted. Need to thin them soon.

Gourd growing up the wall. Morning glories up the patio. Pepper in front.

And a fun one from the beginnings of our gardening adventures...

Whoa. Big difference!

Most of our plants were started from seeds, many of them our own saved seeds. It's amazing to look at it and think it once fit in the palm of my hand!

A Farm and A Concert

Wonderful things in my future.
Wonderful feelings in the present.
Wonderful tunes in my ears.

A Farm...
It started with a Craigslist ad that I posted for Carlos a few months ago offering music lessons for anyone interested. A lady named Catherine called to schedule violin lessons for her little niece, an adorable shy little girl who picks up dead moths and thinks turtle shells are cool. She started coming once a week and like most kids she picked it up pretty quickly. Personally, the violin is not for me. The crazy posture involved in holding a curvy, fancy block of wood and plastic between my chin and collar bone or shoulder....not for me. Anyway, the two of them hadn't been around in a couple of weeks and we didn't know what happened. Then, out of the beautiful blue, Catherine called Carlos to share a proposition with him. Turns out she has this farm on 16 acres of land with a geodesic dome house sitting on it in Omaha, AR which is right across the border of Missouri maybe 20 miles away from here. She's also got this place in Springfield, MO and she travels between the two which is a trek and she is getting tired of it...

Here is the kicker -
She wants us to be caretakers on her farm!!! WHOA I know. She has food growing there so I'm sure the beds are all prepped for lots more goodies to be planted aaand she has chickens. Chickens. I think about them during the day and I dream about them at night, chickens. We are going over there to look at the place on Tuesday so I'll try to remember and take a few pictures of the place. I'm very interested to see what this geodesic dome looks like. She said it has 1 bedroom plus 2 lofts and it's 1200 sq. feet I think... that's a big dome. It's a dream come true and I love it here.

A Concert...
Tomorrow Liberty and Justice will be playing their biggest show yet! That's my band with my boyfriend Carlos, for those of you who aren't too familiar with my life. We decided to call ourselves Liberty and Justice because our songs are about freedom, community, nature, and self empowerment... and we also mock the government a little bit, here and there. So it's a literal take on the ever popular slogan "liberty and justice for all". We take it pretty seriously and try to bring honesty into a very jaded world. We started our little duo on the road during our hitch hiking adventures last May. Me on harmonica and Carlos on banjo and we played all over the country to unsuspecting pedestrians. I now play the ukulele and Carlos also jams out on the guitar and mandolin every now and again. Since moving to Missouri we have played a show at the Farmers Market of the Ozarks and got paid with delicious local food and we also had a gig at the Springfield ArtsFest with a total of maybe 8 folks in our audience. One lovely lady gave us a $20 tip at that one! Tomorrow is day one of the Summer Concert Series that the mayor of Forsyth, Missouri is putting on as a fundraiser to feed hungry kids. Liberty and Justice will be kicking off the series at 5PM tomorrow evening and we are playing for a full TWO HOURS. Whoa. A two hour set. We've been practicing a dang awful lot the past couple of days.

There's a kicker to this story too -
A boy named Adam broke Carlos' banjo about a week and a half ago, so Carlos had to buy another banjo on ebay and it hasn't gotten here yet. The banjo and my voice are the centerpiece in our 2-piece band. Luckily we have a friend named Jim who plays the upright bass and practices with us sometimes, who just bought himself a banjo a little while ago. He said he'd meet us at the show so Carlos could borrow it. Either way, the show is going to rule!

Check out some of our music on our totally hip facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Liberty-and-Justice/206637086113219

Have a wonderful night everyone. 'Tis almost a full moon again. :)

Gardens can grow anywhere!!!

{Gardening in Branson, Missouri}

I am very inspired to share with everyone the progress of our garden here in Branson, Missouri... Yes, I'm back in Branson with my loving life partner Carlos! We arrived a couple weeks ago from San Diego and are living with my parents in their little Bee Creek apartment. I haven't seen too many bees yet, but that's what they call it. :) Our space is limited here, but we intend to use every inch of space we can to grow many diverse plants including enough produce to stuff ourselves this summer and fall!

The first step to starting a garden in our apartment complex was talking to maintenance guys and the gals in the office. My dad took care of that business, since he and my mom are the ones on the lease. It's great to have a good relationship with these people and be open about your intentions and the general day to day of the place you are living so you can help eachother and develop a sense of community. My dad was already on good terms with Hugh, the head maintenance guy. When he spoke with the office, the ladies there said as long as it's cool with Hugh, it's cool with them and we just have to keep it neat. Hugh doesn't do the landscaping himself, but he hires the people that do. Next my dad talked to Hugh about it and he told him he doesn't mind at all, as long as the maintenance and landscaping folks don't have to work on it and we handle all the plants ourselves. His other criteria was that we keep it weeded and nice looking. Easy peasy! We got the okay so I came out last year and got started.

We are living in the Missouri Ozarks and they are quite hilly and rocky. They call this topography "karst", topsoil that sits on layers of limestone. It's a very beautiful place, incredibly scenic, green, and teaming with life. The problem lies with the present day methods that industry uses in developing land - they blow off the hilltops to create a flat surface to build on, quick and easy. So all of the topsoil is gone and you're left with rock to plant your crops in. It makes for a very difficult soil to dig in. Lucky for me, I haven't been into digging for years! This saved me from many aches and pains I'm sure. I much prefer building up the soil rather than altering what is already there. Some folks call this "no-till gardening" or "lasagna gardening," referring to laying compost or manure and newspaper, cardboard, etc. Others refer to as "raised beds". Refer to this post for more detailed directions: http://ddtheadventurer.blogspot.com/2010/07/raised-no-till-garden.html

My friend Stephen and I took his truck to a horse ranch in the country and picked up a truckload of manure for a few bucks and got to work. We borrowed a wheelbarrow from a neighbor and hauled the manure from his truck in the parking to the corner of the building we live in and set up our garden bed! The next day I lined it with beautiful limestone rocks from the side of the hill and voila!

 

Most of the plants pictured here are the leftovers and volunteers from last year. There are three landscaping plants that were there already, the bush by the window and two chunks of grass. I am tempted to remove them and use them as mulch, but in keeping that good relationship with the apartment folks I haven't done it yet. :) In the front there is a massive clump of spearmint that I planted last spring from a tiny started and it got wild. Next to the mint is a big parsley that is going to seed, also planted last spring. There are lettuces that I planted last fall and they made it through the winter and are taking off now in the spring. That's a lettuce in the bottom left corner too! In the back left is our carrot and radish section, just planted seeds a week ago and seeing random sprouts.. not sure what they are yet. 

 Last year Carlos and I spent three weeks on a farm in the tiny town of Foil, Missouri. It's a few hours northeast of us in Branson, the closest populated town with stores and such is Ava. If you ever make it to Ava, check out the local drugstore - they sell a scoop of ice cream for 5 cents! No joke. The farm we stayed at is our friend Pearl's little homestead, a beautiful place where we learned lots about native plants, simple gardening techniques, milking goats, and slaughtering chickens! It was incredible. We left with some native Elderberry bushes and Wild Cherry trees and when we got back to Branson we stuck them all in our garden to overwinter. Now that it's Spring they are taking off and must be moved somewhere before the grow huge and take over. We are leaving this one Elderberry bush, pictured left. The rest of these amazing plants are being moved to their new home in the forest.

Wild Cherry Tree with our Winter Wheat and Rye Grass

This is our patio garden! :) The hanging planters were given to us by our upstairs neighbor Susan. She's such a sweetheart. She also gave us that tiny little wooden chair in the bottom right corner. It's holding our pot of oregano, with two brand new baby sprouts!

Left: Chives and Mint; Right: Cress; Center: More Mint

Lots of BABIES!! Tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, kale, etc...

Flowers - A California Poppy, Blue Hyssop, and Dwarf Morning Glory and Kale on the left

Little Basil Sprouts! I love the curvy leaves, so cute.

I decided to set up a second garden bed since we have so much growing and there was plenty of space next to the first bed. This time we didn't have a truck to pick up manure and my mom wasn't keen on the idea of throwing poo in the back of her trailblazer...

So we talked mom into letting us put the manure in bucket and trash cans and transported it that way!

The buckets for poo!

Woodland Nicotiana, a ceremonial smoking tobacco with beautiful flowers.

Aztec Marigolds - they're LOVING this hot Spring

It's amazing how many plants we can fit onto a patio and just the corner of our apartment building. Hopefully we can find a place for everyone when it's time to transplant! I'm sure we can make it happen. I will make updates as the season progresses.

Happy planting!!!

Love. Peace. Growth. 

Moon Cycle Farming

I have officially begun experimenting with gardening by the moon cycle. All I know is what I have read, but I understand that basics of it pretty well. The moon has a gravitational pull on the planet's water. When I was a kid I learned about the ocean tides in relation to the moon, but until recently I never thought about the effect of the moon on the groundwater and the rest of the water on earth.

What I have learned so far...

New Moon:
A time to maintain the garden. State of rest. Growth of plants is steady and stable. Plant damage is repaired. Time to cultivate, harvest, transplant, prune, till, add necessary ammendments.

WAXING - a time of increasing moonlight
From New Moon to Second 1/4 Moon:
Plant leafy crops and all gymnosperms - plants with seeds exposed on outer portion (greens, corn).
From Second 1/4 to Full Moon:
Plant angiosperms - plants with seeds enclosed in an ovary (beans, eggplant, squash).

Full Moon:
Do no planting. It is the apex of the above ground planting cycle. Seeds planted during waxing moon should be sprouting. A time of balanced growth and period when plants establish themselves. Soil preparation and ammendments can be done during this time. Harvesting is best done during full moon. Herbs and veggies are at peak flavor and nutrition.

WANING - a time of decreasing moonlight
From Full Moon to Third 1/4 Moon:
Gravitational effects drain moisture down through soil. Plant biennials, perennials, bulbs, root plants, trees, and shrubs.
Third 1/4 Moon to New Moon:
Garden Maintenance! Cultivate soil, weed, and remove unwanted plants. Prune. No planting. Timber cut during this time dries out better. Best time to weed because the weed seeds and roots will have a harder time reaching water.

If anyone has any information to add this, please do! I'm a beginner and have much learning to do.

Raised NO-TILL Garden

[How-To]

raised garden : no till farming style

Growing an organic garden is one of the most rewarding things to spend your time doing. Food is the energy that keeps our bodies alive and moving, feeding your body right gives you an abundance of energy and creates a healthy living system. 

Food = Life

What you will need to make an 8ft x 8ft bed:

• Newspaper (without too much color, no glossy paper)
• 5 trash bags full or 1 bale of hay, alfalfa is perfect
• 6-8 cubic feet of compost
• 6-8 cubic feet of AGED manure (chicken, steer, goat... whatever you can find)
• Wood, stones, cinder blocks - anything that holds the raised bed in place

Raised bed designs:

Step 1:
Soak newspaper in a bucket of water (or spray with the hose as you go and lay down covering the entire raised bed, 3-5 sheets thick depending on the amount of weeds, and layer them covering about 1/3 of each sheet with the next sheet. This keeps the weeds down and will break down into the soil giving it carbon. Glossy paper doesn't break down very well and has chemicals that are no bueno, as does colored ink.

Step 2:
Put up the barrier of wood or stone, whatever you are using, so your raised bed doesn't shift around over time. There are tons of great ways to set up the bed and you definitely don't have to make your bed 8ft x 8ft. If you do make it that large, you will need to put some stones throughout before you build the bed so you have something to stand on. One factor in the no-till method is that you should never step on the bed, so you never disturb the natural factors at play beneath the surface of the soil.

Step 3:
Start your first layer of manure, which should be about 2" thick. You may be able to find free manure if you live near any dairy or egg farmers, but make sure the animals are eating grass and weeds, not grain fed. If you get it from a local farm, ask if they have any that is already aged, otherwise you'll have to let it age for at least 3 months but it depends on where it is and how it's maintained. Once the manure is ready, it will be a very soft soil texture and won't have a smell. Otherwise, you can buy steer manure from a local nursery, but not all nurseries have it available so call first. Water thoroughly.

Step 4:
Layer 2" of hay, alfalfa, straw, or even dead leaves and branches will work. Water thoroughly.

Step 5:
Layer 2" of compost high in green matter ie. vegetable waste, fruit peels, fresh leaves, etc. It should say on the compost bag what was used to make it. Green matter provides a high nitrogen content.

Step 6:
Keep layering until you have a nice, thick bed. The last layer should be compost, then top with some straw as mulch.

Step 7:
Plant stuff!