April 13, 2011

Mother Nature

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  Fortunately I work from home, so instead of taking a break and staring out the window wishing I could be outside like I used to do, I now grab my cup of coffee and head out.  I’m not out long, just a few minutes. Just long enough to take a breath of fresh air, feel the warmth of the sun on my face and watch the birds dancing around from tree to tree.  Ahhh…. funny how just a few minutes outside can feel like someone plugged me into a charger.  I feel refreshed, and ready to continue on.

I often wonder why more businesses don’t have a (non-smoking) patio or even a small deck, giving people the option to recharge outside.  I think they would find productivity would increase.  It’s amazing what that connection to the outdoors can do for you.

After my son got home from school we had snack in the back yard followed by a walk with our dog.  We walked over to the small lake by our house, sometimes chatting, sometimes running and playing, but mostly just observing.  About halfway around the lake, he turned to me and said, “Mom, isn’t it nice to see Mother Nature again?”.  All I could do was smile.  I thought about asking him what he meant by that so I could hear him describe it, or explaining that she’s always here, but I knew what he meant.  I didn’t need to.  I just responded with, “It sure is.”

As we continued our walk he pointed out the green shoots where the cattails are coming up and laughed hysterically as he watched ducks skid across the water as they landed on the lake.  Then he noticed garbage that had blown into the water.  He couldn’t comprehend why people would leave garbage.  Then, almost as if on cue, a couple walked past us.  My son had been watching them like a hawk.  After they passed he turned and in a disapproving tone said, “that guy littered”.  I asked how he knew,  if he saw him do it (because if he did, I had missed it).  His response was, “Not today.  Another day, when I was walking with my dad, I saw him throw his cigarette into the lake.” I was amazed that he remembered someone from a previous walk, he obviously made a bad first impression with my son!   I love that he’s still so innocent and truly thinks littering is one of the most horrible things you can do besides using bad words. I also love that he has already learned to appreciate the value Mother Nature has to offer us.

I’m proud that at such a young age he already “gets it”.

Kate

Posted in Environment, Mindful Living | 2 Comments »

April 12, 2011

Spring containers with culinary appeal

The snow is finally gone, the grass is just beginning to green up, but color is still lacking from our landscape in Minnesota.

All of our front entry spaces would love a little pop of color.  Many people put pots or planters on or near their entry in the summer, but I really enjoy changing them out seasonally.  Believe it or not, it’s not too early to plant some spring flowers.  Although there isn’t a huge selection yet, Pansies, contrary to their name, are cold tolerant and able to handle the last little blasts of cold we might get.   I know, Pansies are nothing out of the ordinary, it seems you either really like them, or really dislike them.  I like them.  They make me smile, partially because they look like little monkey faces and monkeys make me laugh.

Anyway, I’m typically not fond of using just one type of plant in a container so I’m always looking for ways to “jazz up” my containers by adding color, or texture, or something a little fun or out of the ordinary.  If you’re partial to flowers, you can use Pansies, Tulips, Daffodils (whose faces follow the sun which can either be fun or frustrating depending on your personality), moss, ferns (perennial, not indoor varieties) branches such as Pussy Willow, Curly Willow or Birch.  If you can find Ornamental Cabbage or Kale, it always adds nice texture too.  If you’re looking for an alternative, another nice option is to use lettuce. If you plant a variety of them, such as green leaf, red leaf, oak leaf, etc., it can really be quite pretty. Add Pansies to the pot for a cheerful salad on the steps!

IMPORTANT: Pansy flowers are edible and make for great color on salads, but make absolutely sure they have not been treated with herbicides or pesticides before you even consider eating them! The plants most nurseries and big box retailers carry will most likely have been treated.  Make sure to look for “edible pansies” from an organic grower or grow your own from (organic) seeds.  Just remember – don’t use conventional fertilizer on them after you plant them!

If you don’t have any luck finding edible pansies but want to surprise your Easter guests with them in a salad, most coops or natural food stores will carry edible pansies near the fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

Kate

Posted in Edible Landscaping, Landscaping, Organic Gardening, Veggie Garden | 4 Comments »

April 11, 2011

Veggies – get sowing!

Maybe it’s because we’ve had such a long winter this year, or so much snow, whatever it is, I’m so anxious to get out and start gardening.

For those of you who are with me on this and anxious to get your hands dirty there are some things we can do… even in Minnesota!

For my veggie gardening friends, April 15th is typically a good time to plant cool season plants such as: Beets, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Endive, Horseradish, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Rhubarb, Spinach and Turnips.

Cool season plants actually prefer the cool weather and don’t care for hot weather at all and they’ll let you know it.  Peas won’t perform and Radishes and Spinach (among others) will bolt.  In other words, they sense they are going to die and try to complete their life cycle by producing seeds.

Ideally you want to get cool season crops in the ground between April 15th and May 1st (in Minnesota), much later and you might not get anything.  If you have a garden calendar, write “Plant cool season crops” next to these dates for future reference. If you live in a warmer climate, plant earlier, if you live in a colder climate you’ll plant later.  Check with your local Extension office for info specific to your area.

(Don’t fret if you miss this date though, many of these can be planted in late summer for a fall harvest as well.)

So, get out and sow!

Kate

Posted in Organic Gardening, Veggie Garden | Leave a Comment »

April 8, 2011

Plant it and they will come!

About 1:00am yesterday, I awoke to the sound of our dog barking her “protective bark” at the bedroom window.   This continued about every hour through the night until shortly before my alarm went off.

Turns out a couple of the neighbors were sitting on the roof outside the bedroom window and wouldn’t leave no matter how much the dog barked at them.  (Since we live near a nature center, our neighbors happen to be raccoons.)  Ah yes, spring.  The raccoons are back… with all of their friends close behind.

Even though I haven’t planted the garden yet this year, it reminded me that when you have a garden, you will have critters.  How you choose to deal with them is up to you.  I pick my battles.

Every year I plant a veggie garden.  My veggie garden has a gate and fencing around it. These are the plants I really don’t want critters touching.

I also have grape vines, apple and pear trees, blueberry shrubs, hardy kiwi vines, red raspberries, golden raspberries and blackberries.  None of these have fencing or gates.  They do get winter protection from rabbits and mice to prevent killing them, but during the growing season the produce is up for grabs, human and animal alike. Why? A few reasons. First, they are all essentially perennials, (not literally) they’ll keep coming back and producing more and more fruit as they age (in other words less work, more reward).  Second, over time there will be plenty to go around for everyone.  Third, these serve as a deterrent from my veggie garden.

I could build a fortress around everything, but in my mind, sharing with wild life is a part of gardening.  Plus, it’s far more stressful to try to keep them out than to just plan on sharing at least part of it.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t offer everything up to the critter buffet.  I will try to deter them, I just don’t expect them to leave completely.

As far as deterrents go, I’ve found Fox Urine Powder to be pretty effective for rabbits.  Just sprinkle it around the plants (not on them like many other sprays, etc.).  It only needs to be re-applied periodically or after a heavy rainfall.  Note – only rabbits can smell this, not humans.

The key to sharing with critters is not to get too attached to your plants!  Attachment is a guarantee that something will go awry.  A couple of years ago, we planted a couple of pear trees.  Last year, to my surprise, they budded, bloomed and even produced fruit – a LOT of fruit for such young trees.  Literally at least 100 little pears.  The branches were so full they were nearly touching the ground.  They still had to mature, but I could practically taste them.  I was already making desserts, salads, you name it, in my head.  Days later we had some wind and as always, squirrels.  Well, long story short, by the time they were ripe… we had 3 pears.

So, don’t be surprised when the critters come back from their winter vacation and want to dine on your newly planted garden. Just remember, whether you noticed them or not, they were here before us or our garden.  It’s our choice to plant the garden in a space that they inhabit.   Just have a plan in place as to how you are going to handle them.  Don’t hurt them and don’t drive yourself crazy.  Unless you’re the Pied Piper, they’re always going to be around.  Its our job to figure out how to live in harmony with them.

Take care,

Kate

Posted in Critter Problems, Mindful Living, Organic Gardening | 1 Comment »

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