I'm tired today. I worked for hours in the garden yesterday, and then was up to eleven at night freezing green beans. This might not sound like a monumental task...unless you recall the monumental size of my garden. It took an hour to pick the beans, and hour to wash the beans and cut the stems off, then another hour to freeze them.
Freezing green beans is dead easy. Drop them in boiling water for 3 minutes, then plunge them into an ice bath. Pat them dry and freeze. It was only the scale of the operation which made this process difficult. I definitely need more extremely large pots. But I did use an exciting new product last night.
Ziploc has a new vacuum bag and tool. I saw a promotional price at my local Safeway store and bought several packages. Now I'm going to run back and stock up while the promotion is still running. After I check for a coupon. This product is so cool. Designed to prevent freezer burn, it's a simple hand vacuum pump which fits over a special "airlock" type seal on the bag. A dozen easy pumps and the produce looks shrink wrapped. I had been considering purchasing a heat vacuum sealer, but I hadn't liked the product reviews. Or that I'd have one more appliance sitting on my counter. I am so happy to have found this product...no, I don't get any compensation for saying that.
They should send me a coupon, yes?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Hundred Dollar Jelly
So I thought I'd get all domestic and can something.I think you can already see where this is going. I was inspired by the blog Chicken Fried Life. The blog author , "Chicken Little", cans just about everything...and casually. She'll be like, "Got home from work today and canned 24 jars of pulled pork". I have no idea what that even is, and I've always been afraid to can meat...botulism.She had a recipe for lemon jelly, more of a marmalade, which didn't even require pectin. I've made jams before (as well as sauces like tomato sauce) So I thought I'd give it a whirl.
I changed a few things in the recipe, which is on her site, http://chickenfriedlife.blogspot.com/.
I'm allergic to sugar, so I used honey. And I wanted to can twelve jars, so I doubled the recipe. Not such great ideas...but wait, it gets worse. So I'm stirring well past the point where the jelly should, well, jell. And nothing is jelling. I realize that the sugar was what made it gel, like making hard candy and stopping before it hardens all of the way. It was late by then, so I turned off the burner and let it sit overnight, then ran to the store in the morning to get pectin. By the way, it smelled incredible.
Our region is cursed by swaths of wild blackberries. An enterprising soul set their beehives out when the blackberries were in bloom and made an amazing blackberry honey. The combination of that honey and the lemon could induce olfactory hallucinations, it's that good..
I made my jam and all was right with the world. The jam still didn't gel, but I figured that it was just that the honey was still warm. Then I went to wash out my pot, my favorite 8" copper pot which is tin lined. The bottom tin was scratched, just from the wooden spoon, and copper was showing through.
I immediately realized that I had let an acidic solution sit overnight on the tin plating. I am often more clever than this. I've checked on the Internet and it will cost over a hundred dollars to get my pot re tinned. And, the jam still hasn't jelled.
I changed a few things in the recipe, which is on her site, http://chickenfriedlife.blogspot.com/.
I'm allergic to sugar, so I used honey. And I wanted to can twelve jars, so I doubled the recipe. Not such great ideas...but wait, it gets worse. So I'm stirring well past the point where the jelly should, well, jell. And nothing is jelling. I realize that the sugar was what made it gel, like making hard candy and stopping before it hardens all of the way. It was late by then, so I turned off the burner and let it sit overnight, then ran to the store in the morning to get pectin. By the way, it smelled incredible.
Our region is cursed by swaths of wild blackberries. An enterprising soul set their beehives out when the blackberries were in bloom and made an amazing blackberry honey. The combination of that honey and the lemon could induce olfactory hallucinations, it's that good..
I made my jam and all was right with the world. The jam still didn't gel, but I figured that it was just that the honey was still warm. Then I went to wash out my pot, my favorite 8" copper pot which is tin lined. The bottom tin was scratched, just from the wooden spoon, and copper was showing through.
I immediately realized that I had let an acidic solution sit overnight on the tin plating. I am often more clever than this. I've checked on the Internet and it will cost over a hundred dollars to get my pot re tinned. And, the jam still hasn't jelled.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Foundations
The guys are setting up the foundation for the house. I'd post a picture if my digital camera decided to work. [ Digital camera working 8-24-09] This of course has moved my thoughts into the direction of foundations in all parts of life. I was wondering, if we had a rotten childhood does that mean that the structure we build upon that will always be shaky? Or is it like the Victorian house we restored...the foundation had to be dug out and replaced with a perimeter foundation to get our loan approved. It was worth doing because the edifice had proved to have lasting value. The house structure was sound. The contractor for the foundation, a fellow who specialized in Victorian foundation restoration (sounds fancy, I know, but we have enough old houses up here to develop a specialty) said that it was the best Victorian foundation he'd ever seen. I felt that it was a shame that we had to re-do it, it had already lasted over a hundred years and although unconventional now was "how it's done" back then. They used huge boulders, strategically placed , to support the house.
So just maybe a rotten childhood can have enough points of strength and stability to support our lives, if we have enough boulders in the right place. Even if the foundation is shaky, if we've managed to erect an edifice of strength and enduring beauty then it will be worth going back to restructure the foundation. I think we've all known someone who caved in in life because their foundation was rotten. I believe that we also know beautiful people who erected their house on rocky ground and they are strong and will endure for a hundred years. Now you know what counselors think of when they're weeding the green beans. ;)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Green Shoots
I am not seeing any economic green shoots. I suspect the "green" is people who are still investing in the stock market. We're stopped out of everything except a gold stock and a uranium stock, both very minor positions. The logic for staying with these? "Well, a girl can hope, anyway". So, no logic, just a smidgeon of optimism against a pessimistic background. Personally, I'm invested in real "green shoots" these days. My cole crops are finally germinating. Yes, there are indeed "green shoots" and they are...Broccoli.
Why they would germinate now, rather "out of season", when they didn't germinate in March is beyond me. I did change starter mix, that may have something to do with it. The previous starter mix didn't "feel" right anyway. I can't exactly describe it, but it felt kind of "dead", and heavy. It worked for my tomato starts, though, and the peppers.
So I'll be planting Broccoli and Chinese Cabbage, Cauliflower (must remember to ties it's leaves around itself for blanching...that's so weird), and Brussel Sprouts. I just hope the heat doesn't kill them. I've already started putting them outside for an hour each morning...hovering like an anxious parent on the first day of school.
So, the evidence is mounting that Goldman Sachs and other banking institutions are manipulating the stock market by pumping among themselves, then dumping the final product off onto individual investors. No surprises there, anyone who's been invested in the market these last few years has seen that amateurs are the meal of the day. There are so many jokes about it..."You too can have a million dollars by investing in the stock market. Simply invest two million". "The market was bad but I slept like a baby last night. I woke up every hour and cried". Yes, I know, not that funny. How about the definition of a market correction; the day after you buy stocks.
Thenk you, thenkyouverymuch, I will watch my green shoots grow in my garden. And if any stock analyst, broker, or banker puts a tippy toe in there...well, I did just buy a gun.
Here's an amusing youtube video, "Hitler Gets a Margin call"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVB-SSkkLnY
Why they would germinate now, rather "out of season", when they didn't germinate in March is beyond me. I did change starter mix, that may have something to do with it. The previous starter mix didn't "feel" right anyway. I can't exactly describe it, but it felt kind of "dead", and heavy. It worked for my tomato starts, though, and the peppers.
So I'll be planting Broccoli and Chinese Cabbage, Cauliflower (must remember to ties it's leaves around itself for blanching...that's so weird), and Brussel Sprouts. I just hope the heat doesn't kill them. I've already started putting them outside for an hour each morning...hovering like an anxious parent on the first day of school.
So, the evidence is mounting that Goldman Sachs and other banking institutions are manipulating the stock market by pumping among themselves, then dumping the final product off onto individual investors. No surprises there, anyone who's been invested in the market these last few years has seen that amateurs are the meal of the day. There are so many jokes about it..."You too can have a million dollars by investing in the stock market. Simply invest two million". "The market was bad but I slept like a baby last night. I woke up every hour and cried". Yes, I know, not that funny. How about the definition of a market correction; the day after you buy stocks.
Thenk you, thenkyouverymuch, I will watch my green shoots grow in my garden. And if any stock analyst, broker, or banker puts a tippy toe in there...well, I did just buy a gun.
Here's an amusing youtube video, "Hitler Gets a Margin call"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVB-SSkkLnY
Thursday, July 16, 2009
First Inspection Passed
DH Matt is in a bouyant mood tonight, as his first inspection (trenches) passed with flying colors.
Personally, I'm happy to see him smiling. He thinks that we might actually make our budget and schedule for our house build.. Our AAC blocks came in at $17,766....about 20% less than we'd budgeted for. I know that our budget, $125K, looks amazingly small. We actually started this project last year, improving a mile of road for $25K. Without a decent road, nothing else would be happening.
We also put the wells (the first well came up dry, although it does produce about .5 gallons/minute) in last year, at about $12K.Plus, we had our plans designed and engineered, septic designed, land surveyed, and the perk and mantle test done, soil compaction test...approximately another $30K in all. So, if I said we were building a small house in the country for $200K, everyone would nod their heads...this is doable.
This project is simple, basically just a glorified barn. Building it in California is the only tough part. Between earthquake codes, energy codes,engineering codes and wildfire codes we've had a lot of expensive extras tacked onto our build. And, it's an unconventional building material.
Our building envelope, the aerated autoclaved concrete, is the result of five years of research on our part. We phoned many, many people, toured houses and building sites, attended home shows and surfed web sites. We examined every Rastra Block, Sip builder, and every brand of ICF on the market. I wanted a product that was 1:1 in price to conventional stick built construction, didn't require special expertise to build, was more insulated, was 4-hour fireproof and could be plastered/stuccoed on both sides without having to sheet rock or screen first. That whole ICF thing of building a great, terrific wall and then having to sheetrock the interior and finish the exterior struck me as stupid and wasteful. And expensive; typically those building products add at least 10% to a build project. DH Matt was a wee bit less picky, but he happily jumped in board when we found the AAC blocks. They are the same price as a stick built house. We can/will plaster directly to both sides, saving labor and cost. They have a 70 year track record in Europe and perform beautifully in fires and earthquakes. And they are simple. Also, our 8" thick walls are R16.
Personally, I'm happy to see him smiling. He thinks that we might actually make our budget and schedule for our house build.. Our AAC blocks came in at $17,766....about 20% less than we'd budgeted for. I know that our budget, $125K, looks amazingly small. We actually started this project last year, improving a mile of road for $25K. Without a decent road, nothing else would be happening.
We also put the wells (the first well came up dry, although it does produce about .5 gallons/minute) in last year, at about $12K.Plus, we had our plans designed and engineered, septic designed, land surveyed, and the perk and mantle test done, soil compaction test...approximately another $30K in all. So, if I said we were building a small house in the country for $200K, everyone would nod their heads...this is doable.
This project is simple, basically just a glorified barn. Building it in California is the only tough part. Between earthquake codes, energy codes,engineering codes and wildfire codes we've had a lot of expensive extras tacked onto our build. And, it's an unconventional building material.
Our building envelope, the aerated autoclaved concrete, is the result of five years of research on our part. We phoned many, many people, toured houses and building sites, attended home shows and surfed web sites. We examined every Rastra Block, Sip builder, and every brand of ICF on the market. I wanted a product that was 1:1 in price to conventional stick built construction, didn't require special expertise to build, was more insulated, was 4-hour fireproof and could be plastered/stuccoed on both sides without having to sheet rock or screen first. That whole ICF thing of building a great, terrific wall and then having to sheetrock the interior and finish the exterior struck me as stupid and wasteful. And expensive; typically those building products add at least 10% to a build project. DH Matt was a wee bit less picky, but he happily jumped in board when we found the AAC blocks. They are the same price as a stick built house. We can/will plaster directly to both sides, saving labor and cost. They have a 70 year track record in Europe and perform beautifully in fires and earthquakes. And they are simple. Also, our 8" thick walls are R16.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
I Am So Wicked
I just have to share this with you...I have been (again) a VBG (Very Bad Girl).
I was counseling one of my clients today, a very mature high school student of almost 17 years of age. One of his complaints was that his older sister had been terribly and unusually irritating this summer when she's home from college. Always correcting him, like a "Mom", and treating him like a much younger person. I was sympathetic, of course. "My, I said", "And when she's home for grad school just as you're going to the local Junior College it will be even worse. You'll have two years of that." It was his turn to be silent for a moment, and then he volunteered the information that his summer film school teacher had said that Cal State at Northridge had a very fine film department. I congratulated him on his find.
The back story on this is that he hadn't been doing well enough in high school to even consider applying to UCLA's film school, or any other prestigious school. And he hadn't been doing anything with his summers except playing video games. I had put his Mom up to volunteer him at a local nonprofit, a done deal and cancelled only if he was enrolled in a summer class. How perfect that a film class was available at just the same time his volunteer work would have started. And, I had covertly incited his older sister to treat him like a little kid so that he'd come up with a college plan. Because his current plan had been to swan along at JC and stay home for another couple of years. His sister and I had put our heads together about what exact behavior would irritate him the most. I am a firm believer that some people are motivated only by pain avoidance. And I am perfectly willing to apply pain.
So, there, a little Machiavellian but it worked. Now I need to come up with a covert plan so that his older sister will apply to Stanford for Grad school. She's perfectly eligible, but she has a crisis in confidence. He needs the stick, she's more of a carrot personality. I am asking around, to see if anyone I know has a cute son attending there.
Yes, I know, so controlling and manipulative. I've counseled these kids since grade school. I take their success in life very seriously. And, I have an edge, in that I'm not their parent .Most of all, my methods work. An unmotivated student took a college course in film during his summer break. He's doing quite well in this course. And he found an alternative to both University and Junior College. I believe that the most important factor here is that he supplied the answers. I simply applied a bit of motivation. Now I need to come up with a way to illustrate to him (without giving my hand away) that his primary motivation is pain avoidance. I'd like to bring his awareness to this so that he decides to add another string to his bow and self motivate because he wants success. That is always the most difficult challenge. And (rubbing her hands in wicked glee) I do so enjoy a challenge.
I was counseling one of my clients today, a very mature high school student of almost 17 years of age. One of his complaints was that his older sister had been terribly and unusually irritating this summer when she's home from college. Always correcting him, like a "Mom", and treating him like a much younger person. I was sympathetic, of course. "My, I said", "And when she's home for grad school just as you're going to the local Junior College it will be even worse. You'll have two years of that." It was his turn to be silent for a moment, and then he volunteered the information that his summer film school teacher had said that Cal State at Northridge had a very fine film department. I congratulated him on his find.
The back story on this is that he hadn't been doing well enough in high school to even consider applying to UCLA's film school, or any other prestigious school. And he hadn't been doing anything with his summers except playing video games. I had put his Mom up to volunteer him at a local nonprofit, a done deal and cancelled only if he was enrolled in a summer class. How perfect that a film class was available at just the same time his volunteer work would have started. And, I had covertly incited his older sister to treat him like a little kid so that he'd come up with a college plan. Because his current plan had been to swan along at JC and stay home for another couple of years. His sister and I had put our heads together about what exact behavior would irritate him the most. I am a firm believer that some people are motivated only by pain avoidance. And I am perfectly willing to apply pain.
So, there, a little Machiavellian but it worked. Now I need to come up with a covert plan so that his older sister will apply to Stanford for Grad school. She's perfectly eligible, but she has a crisis in confidence. He needs the stick, she's more of a carrot personality. I am asking around, to see if anyone I know has a cute son attending there.
Yes, I know, so controlling and manipulative. I've counseled these kids since grade school. I take their success in life very seriously. And, I have an edge, in that I'm not their parent .Most of all, my methods work. An unmotivated student took a college course in film during his summer break. He's doing quite well in this course. And he found an alternative to both University and Junior College. I believe that the most important factor here is that he supplied the answers. I simply applied a bit of motivation. Now I need to come up with a way to illustrate to him (without giving my hand away) that his primary motivation is pain avoidance. I'd like to bring his awareness to this so that he decides to add another string to his bow and self motivate because he wants success. That is always the most difficult challenge. And (rubbing her hands in wicked glee) I do so enjoy a challenge.
Our budget so far
We were $5K over our budget because we decided to do our hydroelectric system at the same time as our building and solar power. Since then, we've had a few lucky breaks. My client who directed us to Sunelec.com for solar panels saved us several thousand dollars. We are purchasing a pallet even though we are only wanting a 4K (that's electricity, not money) system because we have two friends who are wanting to buy in with us. Our aerated autoclaved concrete blocks came in a few thousand less than we had budgeted, using Aeroblock AAC as our supplier. We locked in a fantastic price on wood just before it went up $4 a board foot. .(At this point I feel sorry for men, lacking that shopping gene...it's positively an aphrodisiac for a woman, saving that much money. Wait...maybe I should feel sorry for myself, since he's lacking the aphrodisiac!) Anyway, we are back on budget and I have a shopping high.
We're Baaaack in the budget again! Whoo hoo, we're baaack in the budet again. And only two weeks behind schedule. Thankfully, that time has also been used to trench the utilities up to the future pad/slab, whatever you call the foundation. We may pick up time later. Hopefully we will pick up some labor, also. People are scheduled to come in. Let them be poor, please God, let them be poor. Because if these guys have had a gold streak or a lucky run gambling (I did say they were miners, didn't I?) they won't want to be working in the hot summer sun. They'll want to be back at those air conditioned casino tables trying to double their stake, or at the river trying to dredge gold to get a grub stake. Abjectly pitiful, aint it? Yet, these are amazingly talented and hard working people...they don't do drugs and they even stay sober during the entire work week. I've seen many construction crews, and that's a thing for bragging rights. it's just...if the tables are running...if the river is running...they'd rather be there. And how many of you readers have scheduled a build around gold miners?
We're Baaaack in the budget again! Whoo hoo, we're baaack in the budet again. And only two weeks behind schedule. Thankfully, that time has also been used to trench the utilities up to the future pad/slab, whatever you call the foundation. We may pick up time later. Hopefully we will pick up some labor, also. People are scheduled to come in. Let them be poor, please God, let them be poor. Because if these guys have had a gold streak or a lucky run gambling (I did say they were miners, didn't I?) they won't want to be working in the hot summer sun. They'll want to be back at those air conditioned casino tables trying to double their stake, or at the river trying to dredge gold to get a grub stake. Abjectly pitiful, aint it? Yet, these are amazingly talented and hard working people...they don't do drugs and they even stay sober during the entire work week. I've seen many construction crews, and that's a thing for bragging rights. it's just...if the tables are running...if the river is running...they'd rather be there. And how many of you readers have scheduled a build around gold miners?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Building Permit and Meltdowns
We finally have a building permit. Two weeks later than our direst projections...now the big question is; can we beat the snow date? DH Matt is having conniptions, both from exposure to a pessimistic friend (the effect is similar to toxic pesticides, the friend's nickname is "killjoy") he's hired for the project or from delays. Two days wait for an inspector for the trenches for supply lines (water, propane, perhaps more). One would think the world was ending. Wait, it might be ;).
I'm okay with the delays; we have had a serious water crisis from our barely-there well. I know that my small garden has production issues from lack of water. There simply isn't enough water and water pressure to meet water needs for everything in the garden . Our larger garden was greatly stunted because we were eking the water out to the plants. DH used the building delay and diverted water from a creek on the upper part of our property (half a mile of pipe and trenching) and now we finally have enough water for both the garden and the orchard. Ironically we are sitting right above a water reservoir...it does not work to pump water up a hill. If it were possible with our energy resources, we would still have to litigate water rights. Always a dicey thing in the West.
Water, water in the garden! Enough water that we can actually (carefully) water the driveway to cut down on six inches of dust rising with each step. Water, so that our drip water irrigation system can have enough pressure to work the way it's supposed to. We get about 47 inches of rain and snow in the winter, but it doesn't hang around in our dry summer weather.
People in the West are always and forever fighting over water. Our neighbors right above us have holding ponds for some of the water. I suspect that if this were examined it would be found to be illegal. But, people in glass houses don't throw rocks. We all exist in a precarious truce regarding land easements to pass through each other's property and the sharing of water. This works because our parcels are so large. If the neighbors right above us were to run cattle on their land, the water would be fouled and all bets would be off. I suspect, however, that cattle have been tried in the past and failed. This land is terrific for growing trees, such as Cedar and Sugar Pine, perhaps a bit of Douglas Fir. It's not good land for hay, or fields. Remove the trees and the rich soil slides down the foothills to rest in the lake. Plug too many wells into a limited aquifer and no one has water.
Local friends whom we've shown our land to marvel about how flat it is. I have to give an inner belly laugh over that one. By local standards our land is, indeed, flat. Over our total 160 acres we have only a 500' variation in elevation. And we miss the dreaded 4000' marker; our highest elevation is 3500'. That extra 500' to the 4000' mark would bring potentially 12' snow ...repeat, that is twelve feet, not inches. My gardens are, by our standards, flat. I think my large garden only dips 6' from one side to the other. Visitors who are used to living in a valley, however, marvel about the curving undulations of the land and the lack of long sight lines.
It's so beautiful out there...I try to drive out and garden every day. It's an hour round trip just for the driving, so this isn't always possible. The weather might be hot in town, but it's always cooler on our land. The air blows across the lake and cools before it reaches us. I love the sound of the wind sighing through the tops of the trees, it reminds me of the sound of ocean surf. We'll have some tough times living out there. The winter drive will be rough; we may have six feet of snow for half of the year. There won't be any impulse trips to the grocery store. I pick up a handful of the rich, loamy soil and let it slide through my fingers. I listen to the wind, and follow the fight of a soaring hawk. DH Matt and I have worked for years to own this land. This is worth any delay and any amount of work.
I'm okay with the delays; we have had a serious water crisis from our barely-there well. I know that my small garden has production issues from lack of water. There simply isn't enough water and water pressure to meet water needs for everything in the garden . Our larger garden was greatly stunted because we were eking the water out to the plants. DH used the building delay and diverted water from a creek on the upper part of our property (half a mile of pipe and trenching) and now we finally have enough water for both the garden and the orchard. Ironically we are sitting right above a water reservoir...it does not work to pump water up a hill. If it were possible with our energy resources, we would still have to litigate water rights. Always a dicey thing in the West.
Water, water in the garden! Enough water that we can actually (carefully) water the driveway to cut down on six inches of dust rising with each step. Water, so that our drip water irrigation system can have enough pressure to work the way it's supposed to. We get about 47 inches of rain and snow in the winter, but it doesn't hang around in our dry summer weather.
People in the West are always and forever fighting over water. Our neighbors right above us have holding ponds for some of the water. I suspect that if this were examined it would be found to be illegal. But, people in glass houses don't throw rocks. We all exist in a precarious truce regarding land easements to pass through each other's property and the sharing of water. This works because our parcels are so large. If the neighbors right above us were to run cattle on their land, the water would be fouled and all bets would be off. I suspect, however, that cattle have been tried in the past and failed. This land is terrific for growing trees, such as Cedar and Sugar Pine, perhaps a bit of Douglas Fir. It's not good land for hay, or fields. Remove the trees and the rich soil slides down the foothills to rest in the lake. Plug too many wells into a limited aquifer and no one has water.
Local friends whom we've shown our land to marvel about how flat it is. I have to give an inner belly laugh over that one. By local standards our land is, indeed, flat. Over our total 160 acres we have only a 500' variation in elevation. And we miss the dreaded 4000' marker; our highest elevation is 3500'. That extra 500' to the 4000' mark would bring potentially 12' snow ...repeat, that is twelve feet, not inches. My gardens are, by our standards, flat. I think my large garden only dips 6' from one side to the other. Visitors who are used to living in a valley, however, marvel about the curving undulations of the land and the lack of long sight lines.
It's so beautiful out there...I try to drive out and garden every day. It's an hour round trip just for the driving, so this isn't always possible. The weather might be hot in town, but it's always cooler on our land. The air blows across the lake and cools before it reaches us. I love the sound of the wind sighing through the tops of the trees, it reminds me of the sound of ocean surf. We'll have some tough times living out there. The winter drive will be rough; we may have six feet of snow for half of the year. There won't be any impulse trips to the grocery store. I pick up a handful of the rich, loamy soil and let it slide through my fingers. I listen to the wind, and follow the fight of a soaring hawk. DH Matt and I have worked for years to own this land. This is worth any delay and any amount of work.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Seeds of Life
With a strong sense of wicked glee I have been purchasing seeds. Seeds in July, seeds which I will not, can not plant this year. Seeds which I can joyously store and know that they will propagate for me next year, or the year after. I have flung myself into the seed catalogs of Peaceful Valley Farm Supply (http://groworganic.com). I have stalked obscure specimens through the Seed Savers Exchange (http://www.seedsavers.org), and I have reveled in the .99 cent sale at http://www.valueseeds.com. I've also been a VBG (Very Bad Girl) at Abundant Life Seeds, Whatcom Seeds, and GourmetSeeds.com.
I confess that I am greedy for seeds. They are a miracle which symbolizes all of life for me. Seeds are pure potential, yet requiring a nurturing, guiding hand to realize that potential. The prospect of being able to store seeds in the freezer, using a desiccant, is an exciting "green light" which feeds my compulsion to collect seeds. I can purchase and plant Territorial Seed's Cobham Improved Marrow parsnip, for example, and if my attempts at seed saving are unsuccessful I have the original seed as a fallback. I don't have to rely upon Territorial Seed loving that particular parsnip strain as much as I do and maintaining it for the future. I no longer have to wonder if a favorite strain of lemon cucumber will only be available as a hybrid in years to come. I have "seed freedom", albeit of a limited sort, which allows me to blunder while I attempt seed saving or to experiment with a different strain the next year without "giving up" my original strain.
Whatcom Seed Company (http://seedrack.com) has delighted me with their packaging. Seed varieties arrive in tiny little zip lock bags, with a picture of the plant on the front. I can actually see the seeds inside, and to me this is far more exciting than a nunnish white, inviolate and opaque paper package. I can fondle and count my seed packages which will one day produce pistachio trees, tea plants (camellia sinensis), pawpaw trees, and rare white wisteria (Wisteria sinensis 'alba') among many others. I hold an entire future garden in my hands. Whatcom also includes a tear sheet on each plant which gives information on each plant's growing requirements. I'm feeling that this company is stingy on their seed count...but I love the variety. Where else could I find seeds for Poncirus trifoliata, a hardy orange which grows in zones 6-9, or akebia quinata, Chocolate Vine;a lovely vine with pink flowers that smell, yes, like chocolate. Over the next few years my greenhouse will be filled with life and my zone 7 garden will take on an exotic cast.
Abundant Life Seeds yielded up Red Kuri Squash seeds. Now I need to find the soup recipe which featured Red Kuri in our local newspaper. They also carried Black Hungarian Peppers, which are extremely mild but add a distinct savory depth to tomato dishes. GourmetSeeds had some cabbage strains which I had been searching for; Danish Ballhead and Derby. Derby is a fun little 60 day cabbage which can be grown spring or fall. Danish Ballhead is legendary for its' keeping prowess during the winter.
My best find at Value Seeds was a dwarf Nicotania, Nicotiana x sanderae, an annual, at .49 cents a package. This will add intoxicating night scent to my garden without inundating the roses. Territorial seed Company yielded up Elephant Garlic, Chinese Pink Garlic, Music Garlic and Susanville Garlic at great prices. Yes, I know, an altogether different kind of scent. I also found "the gardener's friend" there, yellow multiplier onion for less than $20 an order. This will be the last onion I ever need to plant, as it will multiply for me year after year. Just as it did for my grandmother. You'll notice I did say the only onion I'll ever "need" to plant. A gardener has a few needs and many whims.
P.S.- Speaking of whims, I have wanted to raise tea plants ever since DH and I visited a mountain tea growing plantation in China. I loved the way the guide and growers described the tea in terms of reverence. Camellia sinensis prefers a cooler, mountain environment and is the tea plant from which green tea, oolong tea, and a mild black tea are made. I would love to get my hands on a white tea plant, or silver plant, if anyone knows any sources.
I confess that I am greedy for seeds. They are a miracle which symbolizes all of life for me. Seeds are pure potential, yet requiring a nurturing, guiding hand to realize that potential. The prospect of being able to store seeds in the freezer, using a desiccant, is an exciting "green light" which feeds my compulsion to collect seeds. I can purchase and plant Territorial Seed's Cobham Improved Marrow parsnip, for example, and if my attempts at seed saving are unsuccessful I have the original seed as a fallback. I don't have to rely upon Territorial Seed loving that particular parsnip strain as much as I do and maintaining it for the future. I no longer have to wonder if a favorite strain of lemon cucumber will only be available as a hybrid in years to come. I have "seed freedom", albeit of a limited sort, which allows me to blunder while I attempt seed saving or to experiment with a different strain the next year without "giving up" my original strain.
Whatcom Seed Company (http://seedrack.com) has delighted me with their packaging. Seed varieties arrive in tiny little zip lock bags, with a picture of the plant on the front. I can actually see the seeds inside, and to me this is far more exciting than a nunnish white, inviolate and opaque paper package. I can fondle and count my seed packages which will one day produce pistachio trees, tea plants (camellia sinensis), pawpaw trees, and rare white wisteria (Wisteria sinensis 'alba') among many others. I hold an entire future garden in my hands. Whatcom also includes a tear sheet on each plant which gives information on each plant's growing requirements. I'm feeling that this company is stingy on their seed count...but I love the variety. Where else could I find seeds for Poncirus trifoliata, a hardy orange which grows in zones 6-9, or akebia quinata, Chocolate Vine;a lovely vine with pink flowers that smell, yes, like chocolate. Over the next few years my greenhouse will be filled with life and my zone 7 garden will take on an exotic cast.
Abundant Life Seeds yielded up Red Kuri Squash seeds. Now I need to find the soup recipe which featured Red Kuri in our local newspaper. They also carried Black Hungarian Peppers, which are extremely mild but add a distinct savory depth to tomato dishes. GourmetSeeds had some cabbage strains which I had been searching for; Danish Ballhead and Derby. Derby is a fun little 60 day cabbage which can be grown spring or fall. Danish Ballhead is legendary for its' keeping prowess during the winter.
My best find at Value Seeds was a dwarf Nicotania, Nicotiana x sanderae, an annual, at .49 cents a package. This will add intoxicating night scent to my garden without inundating the roses. Territorial seed Company yielded up Elephant Garlic, Chinese Pink Garlic, Music Garlic and Susanville Garlic at great prices. Yes, I know, an altogether different kind of scent. I also found "the gardener's friend" there, yellow multiplier onion for less than $20 an order. This will be the last onion I ever need to plant, as it will multiply for me year after year. Just as it did for my grandmother. You'll notice I did say the only onion I'll ever "need" to plant. A gardener has a few needs and many whims.
P.S.- Speaking of whims, I have wanted to raise tea plants ever since DH and I visited a mountain tea growing plantation in China. I loved the way the guide and growers described the tea in terms of reverence. Camellia sinensis prefers a cooler, mountain environment and is the tea plant from which green tea, oolong tea, and a mild black tea are made. I would love to get my hands on a white tea plant, or silver plant, if anyone knows any sources.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Seeds and Such
Today I finally cracked open my copy of Seed To Seed, by Suzanne Ashworth. Now I would have sworn that I had actually perused at least the first chapter of this book . But, since my copy was still wrapped in it's store shrink-wrap, this was obviously not the case. Before opening this book I was confident that I could save seeds. After all, hadn't I finally learned the trick of saving tomato seeds? (You have to ferment the outer gel coating off by soaking until they get icky, then pour the ick off and dry.) It seems that I was overconfident.
Apparently my craving for variety has done me in before I begin. According to Ms. Ashworth, seeds of several species cross and self hybridize, resulting in sterile or unpleasant seed . How utterly inconsiderate of them. Seed to Seed says that the secret to saving seeds is growing just one variety of each plant. Ah, well, considering my personality it is unlikely that this will ever happen. I live for variety. This does explain my grandmother's garden, though. I used to pity her as a child, since she only had one type of bean, tomato, and cucumber. Now I know why.
We are planning a third garden next year. Hopefully the distance separating them will be enough to avoid cross pollination. Hopefully. Ms. Ashworth did say in her book that onions can/will cross pollinate over a mile. A mile, imagine that. It seems too incredible to believe. We have a lot of land, but not that much. And as it's a timber farm, sunlit spaces for gardening are rare and prized. I'm thinking just shallots in the spring and multiplier onions in the fall.
Multiplier onions are very cool. You stick an onion in the ground, wait several months, and harvest
10-12 onions which store very well over the winter if they're kept cool, around 50 degrees. If that sounds easy, it's because it is easy. Not all gardening is sweat and labor. In fact, the hardest job in gardening to me is harvesting green beans. Because they hide. I think it's intentional on the plant's part...no matter how hard I try to pick them clean, I'll miss a few and get a few giants which I let go to seed. They are random, and it's the randomness which bothers me. I did grow yellow beans one year, and purple the next. They were so easy to harvest compared to the green beans because they showed right up. They weren't as tasty, though, so we're right back to the Random Green.
Parsnips are the other hard work in the garden. Planting parsnips will make any person' s back sore. They're light, little seeds and they want to be planted just 1 1/2 inches apart. this is many little holes with many little seeds. They also like to be constantly moist when they're germinating. This means three weeks of daily sprinkeling with a hose because the rest of the garden requires deep watering. Lastly, when they are dug up they must be carefully, surgically removed. No tough pulling, they must be excavated. They are worth the effort though, especially if they are planted in early July (yes, thank you, my back is recently sore) and harvested after the first frost. They are sweet and light; creamy and satisfying to the tongue in a way that makes potatoes seem grainy. I judge a seed company by whether they carry parsnips or not...the best do.
Seed to Seed had one factoid which fills me with hope. Apparently, properly dessicated seeds will hold in the freezer for up tp a dozen years. My alternative is the prospect of digging up winter cabbage, roots and all, and successfully storing it over the winter to replant in spring with the hope that it will seed. I quickly found dessicant on Amazon...the kind that changes color when it absorbs water and can be reused year after year by reheating in the oven. Then I ordered many cabbage and parsnip seeds...not an easy prospect in July. I was very happy to find http://www.gourmetseed.com. They had some great online sales, too. So now, hopefully, for the next several years I will simply pull my seed from the freezer and plant away. This will give me some time to experiment with seed saving. Our grandparents knew all of this information, it was common and every day stuff. My generation has to relearn all of this...and perhaps pass it on to our children.
Apparently my craving for variety has done me in before I begin. According to Ms. Ashworth, seeds of several species cross and self hybridize, resulting in sterile or unpleasant seed . How utterly inconsiderate of them. Seed to Seed says that the secret to saving seeds is growing just one variety of each plant. Ah, well, considering my personality it is unlikely that this will ever happen. I live for variety. This does explain my grandmother's garden, though. I used to pity her as a child, since she only had one type of bean, tomato, and cucumber. Now I know why.
We are planning a third garden next year. Hopefully the distance separating them will be enough to avoid cross pollination. Hopefully. Ms. Ashworth did say in her book that onions can/will cross pollinate over a mile. A mile, imagine that. It seems too incredible to believe. We have a lot of land, but not that much. And as it's a timber farm, sunlit spaces for gardening are rare and prized. I'm thinking just shallots in the spring and multiplier onions in the fall.
Multiplier onions are very cool. You stick an onion in the ground, wait several months, and harvest
10-12 onions which store very well over the winter if they're kept cool, around 50 degrees. If that sounds easy, it's because it is easy. Not all gardening is sweat and labor. In fact, the hardest job in gardening to me is harvesting green beans. Because they hide. I think it's intentional on the plant's part...no matter how hard I try to pick them clean, I'll miss a few and get a few giants which I let go to seed. They are random, and it's the randomness which bothers me. I did grow yellow beans one year, and purple the next. They were so easy to harvest compared to the green beans because they showed right up. They weren't as tasty, though, so we're right back to the Random Green.
Parsnips are the other hard work in the garden. Planting parsnips will make any person' s back sore. They're light, little seeds and they want to be planted just 1 1/2 inches apart. this is many little holes with many little seeds. They also like to be constantly moist when they're germinating. This means three weeks of daily sprinkeling with a hose because the rest of the garden requires deep watering. Lastly, when they are dug up they must be carefully, surgically removed. No tough pulling, they must be excavated. They are worth the effort though, especially if they are planted in early July (yes, thank you, my back is recently sore) and harvested after the first frost. They are sweet and light; creamy and satisfying to the tongue in a way that makes potatoes seem grainy. I judge a seed company by whether they carry parsnips or not...the best do.
Seed to Seed had one factoid which fills me with hope. Apparently, properly dessicated seeds will hold in the freezer for up tp a dozen years. My alternative is the prospect of digging up winter cabbage, roots and all, and successfully storing it over the winter to replant in spring with the hope that it will seed. I quickly found dessicant on Amazon...the kind that changes color when it absorbs water and can be reused year after year by reheating in the oven. Then I ordered many cabbage and parsnip seeds...not an easy prospect in July. I was very happy to find http://www.gourmetseed.com. They had some great online sales, too. So now, hopefully, for the next several years I will simply pull my seed from the freezer and plant away. This will give me some time to experiment with seed saving. Our grandparents knew all of this information, it was common and every day stuff. My generation has to relearn all of this...and perhaps pass it on to our children.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Exertion
Today I tilled the raised beds, after adding amendments. I raised a couple of blisters...spent about 7 hours out there. It didn't feel like work...work, to me, is listening to people's problems hour after hour and lots of mental exertion on my part. Gardening is simple physical labor, a complete respite from my busy mind. The zen of silence.
DH Matt said that on the scale of our garden, it's no longer gardening, but farming. "Hush", I said, "Farming is hard work. gardening is fun. Let's keep calling it hobby gardening no matter how large it becomes. Then, it's still play".
DH Matt thought about that for a minute. He made a comparison to "working out" at the gym or hiking for hours as being very comparable to our summer projects in energy expenditure. We just usually think of one type of exertion as "play" and the other as "work". He concluded, "It's all mental."
DH plays a video game hour after hour in the evenings, "Perfect World". It's a visually beautiful world, I constantly find myself drawn in by the graphics when I watch over his shoulder. He's invited me to play,and to join his "faction". No, no, no, not for me. As I see it, you talk to lots of people, solve puzzles and problems and slay monsters of some sort of another. That perfectly describes my day job as a counselor. What relaxes him would fatigue me.
DH Matt was until recently a successful property developer. He has a "nose" for purchasing property, splitting it, and selling it at a profit usually exceeding 100%. As you can imagine, he is not working on that these days. Like everyone else we lost money, at least half of our assets and probably much more. We don't sit and count it, what would be the point?
So, DH Matt is currently working on our own modest house. He's trenching for irrigation and power, putting in the septic field, and brushing for the 200' clearance required for local code. This is, as you might imagine, a lot of physical work and also solitary work. It is work for him, not play time. DH comes into the house late, around 7:30 in the evening, both dirty and thirsty for the solace of conversation. I have spent a long day both listening and talking to many, many people, attending to their needs. It's taken both attention and practice to put my own desire for solitude away for a period in the evening to respond to DH.
Reflecting upon all of this, I think that exertion is a refection of our value system. We do what we want to do, and we do what we need to do. We can all make that exertion difficult by thinking of it as hard work, but we spend the same amount of energy at activities that we consider "play". One person's work is often another person's play. In the end, it is all the same; it's all mental.
DH Matt said that on the scale of our garden, it's no longer gardening, but farming. "Hush", I said, "Farming is hard work. gardening is fun. Let's keep calling it hobby gardening no matter how large it becomes. Then, it's still play".
DH Matt thought about that for a minute. He made a comparison to "working out" at the gym or hiking for hours as being very comparable to our summer projects in energy expenditure. We just usually think of one type of exertion as "play" and the other as "work". He concluded, "It's all mental."
DH plays a video game hour after hour in the evenings, "Perfect World". It's a visually beautiful world, I constantly find myself drawn in by the graphics when I watch over his shoulder. He's invited me to play,and to join his "faction". No, no, no, not for me. As I see it, you talk to lots of people, solve puzzles and problems and slay monsters of some sort of another. That perfectly describes my day job as a counselor. What relaxes him would fatigue me.
DH Matt was until recently a successful property developer. He has a "nose" for purchasing property, splitting it, and selling it at a profit usually exceeding 100%. As you can imagine, he is not working on that these days. Like everyone else we lost money, at least half of our assets and probably much more. We don't sit and count it, what would be the point?
So, DH Matt is currently working on our own modest house. He's trenching for irrigation and power, putting in the septic field, and brushing for the 200' clearance required for local code. This is, as you might imagine, a lot of physical work and also solitary work. It is work for him, not play time. DH comes into the house late, around 7:30 in the evening, both dirty and thirsty for the solace of conversation. I have spent a long day both listening and talking to many, many people, attending to their needs. It's taken both attention and practice to put my own desire for solitude away for a period in the evening to respond to DH.
Reflecting upon all of this, I think that exertion is a refection of our value system. We do what we want to do, and we do what we need to do. We can all make that exertion difficult by thinking of it as hard work, but we spend the same amount of energy at activities that we consider "play". One person's work is often another person's play. In the end, it is all the same; it's all mental.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
A Netbook Affair
Briefly, the other day, I owned a netbook. And I fell in love with it.
Like all love affairs, this wasn't intentional. I have a perfectly functional laptop computer. I have been wanting to take it into the shop and have more memory added (something I could do myself on a desktop computer, but I've never been able to get the back off this HP Pavilion.) As I said, perfectly functional. We've been together a long time now, for the life span of a laptop (which is like dog years times 3), and while I wouldn't say that the romance burns as bright as the early, beginning days, still, we're comfortable. All of my life is recorded on this laptop. Leaving it would be a wrenching, life altering move which would leave me at a loss, confused and certainly disorganized. So I wasn't looking. At all. But, that's the way all stories begin.
It happened by email, as so many of these affairs begin these days. A casual ad by Geeks.com, a little teaser that they frequently send and that i just as frequently ignore. This caught my eye because it featured the word "netbook". I had been curious about netbooks. To be more honest, I had fantasized about the small package and light weight. the ability to pick up and go on a moment's notice...it was the lure of adventure. With its' spicy Linux system, it was also the lure of the unknown.
The price also caught my eye. At $149, this was a cheap fling. Before I really knew what was happening, without any research or discussion with DH Matt, I succumbed. And, I have to say, it felt good. I felt like a new woman after giving in to that temptation.
The day of our first date had finally arrived, as the Asus Eee PC 900 Celeron arrived. Holding Asus in my hands for the first time, I had my doubts. New beginnings are usually so difficult. With trepidation I opened Asus up, and so we began our journey together. It was beautiful. I had never seen such simplicity. Asus surfed like a dream; the keyboard was tight, and the setup was simple and sweet. I loved.
Then DS saw my new little love. I made the fatal mistake of allowing DS to sample the netbook.
DS reminded me that his birthday was a few days away. This, now, was what he wanted more than anything. Without being able to stop the avalanche of events, I felt like a helpless bystander as my Asus netbbok was carried off in triumph.
Alas, my love, parting is such sorrow...the only sweet part about this is that I ordered a new one with more memory.I am now waiting for the Asus 900A Atom. And never shall we part.
Like all love affairs, this wasn't intentional. I have a perfectly functional laptop computer. I have been wanting to take it into the shop and have more memory added (something I could do myself on a desktop computer, but I've never been able to get the back off this HP Pavilion.) As I said, perfectly functional. We've been together a long time now, for the life span of a laptop (which is like dog years times 3), and while I wouldn't say that the romance burns as bright as the early, beginning days, still, we're comfortable. All of my life is recorded on this laptop. Leaving it would be a wrenching, life altering move which would leave me at a loss, confused and certainly disorganized. So I wasn't looking. At all. But, that's the way all stories begin.
It happened by email, as so many of these affairs begin these days. A casual ad by Geeks.com, a little teaser that they frequently send and that i just as frequently ignore. This caught my eye because it featured the word "netbook". I had been curious about netbooks. To be more honest, I had fantasized about the small package and light weight. the ability to pick up and go on a moment's notice...it was the lure of adventure. With its' spicy Linux system, it was also the lure of the unknown.
The price also caught my eye. At $149, this was a cheap fling. Before I really knew what was happening, without any research or discussion with DH Matt, I succumbed. And, I have to say, it felt good. I felt like a new woman after giving in to that temptation.
The day of our first date had finally arrived, as the Asus Eee PC 900 Celeron arrived. Holding Asus in my hands for the first time, I had my doubts. New beginnings are usually so difficult. With trepidation I opened Asus up, and so we began our journey together. It was beautiful. I had never seen such simplicity. Asus surfed like a dream; the keyboard was tight, and the setup was simple and sweet. I loved.
Then DS saw my new little love. I made the fatal mistake of allowing DS to sample the netbook.
DS reminded me that his birthday was a few days away. This, now, was what he wanted more than anything. Without being able to stop the avalanche of events, I felt like a helpless bystander as my Asus netbbok was carried off in triumph.
Alas, my love, parting is such sorrow...the only sweet part about this is that I ordered a new one with more memory.I am now waiting for the Asus 900A Atom. And never shall we part.
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