Wealth Underground & backyard farming

The crew over at The Wealth Underground Farm of Portland, Oregon, have unloaded a couple more visual treasure chests of the bounty that has emerged from the fertile depths of their backyard.

The operation that Chris, Nolan, and Brooke (with the help of their friends and community) have established is a true inspiration to me.

If I could go "balls to the walls," as they say, my backyard farmstead would include the following: one or two sugar maple trees for sugaring (=maple syrup, right behind the house for summertime shade), goats for milk, cheese, and lawn mowing, chickens for eggs, and maybe even some bees for honey. I don't have a sugar maple tree and couldn't get one to grow quick enough; I probably don't have the space for a goat; and I'm sure I don't have the temerity needed to raise a colony of bees. But it's a pretty sweet visual in my mind's eye. That leaves chickens but besides C's objections there very well may be some newish local codes that prohibit such a wholesome pastime.

Longer

Been trying to find something to write about. Today I rushed out of the house in a terribly grumpy mood after finding that two of my tomato plants had fallen over due to pouring rain, worthless metal cages, and the burden of so many large and unripe fruits.

C called me at work to say she had managed to prop the plants up with bricks. It's a temporary fix, but it reminded me that she loves me so much and wants to take care of me, if only to reverse the direction of my shitty moods.

I also found these photos on J&M's photo-blog of C and me. I usually hate pictures of myself but I'm obsessed with Jess's editing talents. She knows how to make it work.
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I'll also mention C's dad has been staying with us since Monday to start finishing our basement. He's banged out so many great projects around our house. This one is more than a bite and I'm excited to get my hands in on it--even if my part is only hanging drywall and slinging mud.
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This week has been a stress: lots of rain that seems to dump only when we are trying to get work done and gray clouds that have lingered all day long; C's work schedule has been a bit off; not been riding my bike much--which tends to be my main form of exercise; and work around the house has kept it a mess and has inhibited much needed down time. None of it is really bad--just minor things that are keeping me feeling a bit exhausted. I'm pining for the weekend.

Good Life Garden Journal

I don't mean to muddle things here, but I'm starting a second blog. Currently, I'm calling it "Good Life Garden Journal" and intend on it being a garden journal which should prove to be useful to myself, but hope that it's useful to other people as well. Unlike this blog, I can organize entries by plants and dates so I can reference entries in the future. Starting a calendar in July is a goofy choice, but I wanted to get the blog rolling and figure I still have plenty to talk about during the rest of this year. I'm posting a link on the blogroll you'll find to the right under "I creep"... Enjoy!

Tomato

I have the day off of work so, after waking up around the time I'd usually be leaving for work, I was able to get some easy chores done and treat myself to a long bike ride, a cup of good coffee on the corner of our main thoroughfare uptown, some antique store perusing, and bike shop gawking...

Back home, almost as quickly as I sat down to the computer to check my blogroll, I noticed that Colin at Seattle Urban Farm Co. had posted literally only minutes before about pruning tomato plants. Great luck!

Our four tomato plants have been on my worry list for a little while now. Up until this past week, I still didn't know which plants were my "paste" tomatoes and which were my "salsa" tomatoes--believe me, there will be a difference between them--due to a little mix-up in the transplanting process... Ooops. Fruit has been growing for a couple weeks, but only a few days ago did the fruits start growing slightly differently on two of the plants--which was a relief to know we would have two of each variety, rather than three of one and one of the other... Garden drama.

The plants are getting huge and the two salsa plants appear to be very "indeterminate"--meaning that instead of just growing up as one massive stem with some smaller fruit-bearing branches, they put out some huge lateral stems that grow out then up so you end up having this crazy 4-foot wide bush of tomatoes and it gets out of control. So, despite my attempts to constantly tuck these branches into the metal cages, the branches were content to grow out, beyond the garden bed, and lay in the grass, disregarding both the mower and Alden's penchant for eating plants.

Ok. I open my blog, scan through my list of favorite blogs, and notice SUFCo wrote about the importance of pruning tomatoes. Bingo. I was out the door quicker than you could shake a stick at something, dismembering the lowest branches and anything that looked like it should be destroyed. It was a blood bath. I suspect it's a little late in the growing season to be butchering plants as I did, but I figure the plants were screwed if I left them on, so what's the harm? Best case scenerio is the fruit will be sweeter and come in smaller quantities so we won't be overburdened like last year...

garden, mud hole

tomatoeshot peppersyellow squashzucchchamomilezinniapurple coneflowersalvia...?hydrangeadaylilypatiopool party

Bugs, Animals, Compassion

I've been seeing small praying mantises around the garden lately when I've been pulling weeds. Pretty awesome.

Besides the fact that mantises are (1) great insect control and (2) amazing in appearance, they are believed to be good omens, harbingers of luck. On that first note, I should clarify, while they will prey on unwanted insects like mosquitoes, they will also feed on beneficial garden insects too...

While I'm on the subject of "bugs," I almost stepped on this buddy today: a Giant Leopard Moth (Hypercompe scribonia).
I feel bad for disrupting him so much--In transit back to my office I realize I caused many of the powdery scales to fall off his wing tips (Moths are from the taxonomic order Lepidoptera--which also includes butterflies; lepido- means scales and -ptera means wings). As far as I understand, this could hinder his ability to fly. Ever again. Crap.

I guess this points me in the direction of a post I had been contemplating for a while now which is about how my dog Alden is inspiring a compassion in me towards all non-human animals that is more profound than ever before. I mean, this compassion is strongly directed toward mammals, but certainly includes those other members of the Animal Kingdom. A few weeks ago I was hiking up a steep slope in the woods, up from a stream (it's my job!), and noticed that a few feet above me a TINY fawn was curled up in a ball as if to hide from approaching danger. All you could see was a fuzzy brown ball with white spots and two pointy ears poking up from the head that was tucked into its body that was hardly hiding in the few forbs of the forest floor. I could see its ears were twitching and alert and the fawn must have been terrified and unsure about what to do. What amazed me was that this baby deer was no bigger than my 23-pound puppy. I just wanted to pick it up and let it rest in my lap like Alden does, and console it: let it know we weren't going to harm it; that it was safe.

Alden can be a huge jerk. A lot. Like, he acts out--and it's probably just play. But sometimes I get mad. But to think about him getting hurt and in the times when he is sick, I feel such pain inside--it breaks my heart. The bond I've formed with Alden is as strong as the closest ones that I've formed with any other person and it's pretty amazing. And the fact that he is a (non-human) animal has inspired me to translate that compassion, like I said, to other animals. So I get sappy over plump little songbirds that bop around on our deck; or a young calf that follows its mother through the field; or the... whatever. And I get really bummed out when I see a beautiful creature that is hurt or killed, like the Cedar Waxwing that died in front of our bank, probably because it crashed into the window thinking it was sparring with another male that was really just its own reflection.

So, what was going to be a couple sentences about praying mantises turned out to be this longer rant about compassion. Back to work!

White House Garden + critic

Wowie. On a brief search to find out why my parents' container garden is "not growing" as fast as expected I stumbled upon this unfortunate editorial: Liberal Common Sense: The Obama Victory Garden Not Growing on Me.

Go ahead and read the original article.

This author feels pretty threatened by the Obama garden, but stands strong: "I won't feel guilty about not having a backyard garden, if I were to come across an extra $200 to spend on one? I probably still wouldn't because I support local farmers..."

Apparently, the fact that Michelle Obama didn't go the extra mile and make the White House lawn a community garden really gets this woman's guff. It's a justice issue. She argues that some people don't have $200 to spend on plants (let alone the fact that a packet of tomato seeds cost me less than $3 and will yield, I'm guessing, 30 pounds of produce); and even if they did, they don't have the time to give...for free! Time is money. And well, my time is really expensive. I charge myself $100--an HOUR! That helps compensate for the arguably low wage I earn at my day job. Thus the ~10 hours of planting and watering I've put into each of my four tomato plants is going to cost me $1,000. Shit. On the other hand, I can afford it because I pay myself so well.

But seriously, if you factor in the labor that you force yourself to do for the inflated wage you charge yourself, it is less expensive to buy from a farmers' market. You know what's cheaper than that? Going to the mega-Grocery store that is down the block and open 24/7 and buying a can of ValueTime green beans with ham for $0.40 or whatever.

Never mind the fact that replacing White House lawn with an organic vegetable garden is a HUGE symbolic gesture promoting environmentally-friendly landscaping while challenging the passe mowed-grass aesthetic, climate change, the global food structure, and post-War agriculture... Whatevs.

I wrote a better and more mature response that will hopefully be found in the comments section of that particular post and you can read it there. I will, however, quote myself for writing this: "I think it's a poor excuse to say that by doing something for yourself you are depriving someone else of a living. It's like defending littering because someone gets paid to pick it up."

Overall, it's all about priorities and mine rest at home, with my family, surrounded by a garden that we grew out of love and willingness to do good work there. Boo-ya.

good work, photos

lamb's ear, sage

squash

sugar snap peas

lettuce

tomatoes

homegrown strawberries

deconstruction

Movies, garden

Watched "He's Just Not That Into You" last night. It was cute, and cool to see an "all-star" cast like that. Less of a movie, more of a public service announcement, but they were able to spin a few feel-good plots out. Not sure how it may have compared to any of the books of the same title. I guess there were some take home messages: dating sucks because most people suck...err, are inconsiderate and self-centered; Ben Affleck is dreamy, but not as dreamy as I; I am not too dreamy and wish I was both more creative and assertive...

It was leagues better than "New In Town."

Big ups to Red Box and $1.09 DVD rentals. I've definitely been enjoying hanging with C (and Alden) on the couch for a couple hours in front of a movie--something we never really did much before dollar rentals. And honestly, it's better than watching TV which can be pretty redundant if not pointless, especially with all the same commercials.
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Lots of (not-sweet) strawberries coming out of the garden, starting last week. Also, sugar snap peas are about full on. Unfortunately they have grown about 1.5' beyond the crappy trellises I built and are starting to completely bend over--not the plants, the trellises. Lettuce is super happy. Spinach is spent and going to seed. Tomatoes are getting huge, and so are all three squash plants. My jalapeno pepper is slowly getting established. Chamomile is starting to take off also.

"In the year two-thousand..."

Surely, every generation finds itself in the middle of some pretty huge changes that gives that generation an identity in history.

Despite the inherent vagueness of the definition of "generation", everyone believes and understands they are part of some sort of generational bond with those around them.

In my (our?) case, the newest change might include this recession. Despite it's temporary nature, it could likely affect how the global community interacts from here on out. I'm not even going to get on with Information Technology. The speed of the expansion of modern technologies makes me want to laugh and puke at the same time--kind of like being on one of those carnival rides that demonstrates centrifugal force. I'm proud to say I almost got through high school without the internet or cell phones. Currently I'm getting along fine without an iPhone.

What might be a bigger phenomenon defining this generation is climate change and how we respond to it.

I just read this strange article about the future of farming (published by The Columbus Dispatch; found at Columbus Community Gardening). Is it possible that farms of the future will in fact be massive, self-contained greenhouses? My gut reaction at the end of the third paragraph was that this was a total environmental catastrophe waiting to happen. Apparently it's not: energy-neutral, sustainable, water conserving, fertilizer reducing, production-increasing, worker-friendly future farms... It is Biodome come to life.

Currently, family farms seem to be disappearing--not due to the climate, but other problems. At best, big, trend-conscious cities are experiencing a spurt of small farms peddling organic, heirloom, free-range goodies--which is sort of a throw-back to pre-War agriculture. But these hip farmsteads, especially, won't survive severe climate changes that scientists are predicting.

Farming (or "raw food production") can't die, but it's apparently possible that farms and Agri-Culture as we know them might. Obviously farms have changed a lot over the years, and I'm not a big fan of what are known as "conventional" mega-farms that, collectively, are the monster of the Industrial Agriculture Revolution. (Fun fact: agriculture developed roughly 10,000 years ago.)

So, it occurred to me that the end of farming might be impressed upon my (our!) generation. I can't really say how the disappearance of a farm might affect my daily life other than I pass them on the highway and I appreciate the aesthetics of their seasonal variation; I take comfort in the fact that farms have a potentially positive ecological relationship with the surrounding natural environment as they might benefit animals and watersheds, to say the least. Also, while I've decided to not pursue a life in the Country, I care about the preservation of Rural America which is part of my identity in many ways.

And consider this: if farms are being replaced by greenhouses because of the climate, how soon will neighborhoods turn into big, climate-controlled bubbles?

(Photo Source)

Paint/Holiday Chill

This is my latest work of half-ass-ed art, but I'm a bit obsessed with it for a couple reasons: (1) this particular canvas has been serving as our makeshift baby-gate to corral the dog(s) in one room or another, so it is constantly being shifted around and always visible; (2) this painting marks the first time I've picked up a can of spray paint in a long time and it felt great. Nothing compares to painting with spray paint. It's a phenomenal medium and gives you an awesome amount of control.
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So, the weekend was pretty great. Instead of filling it with tons of chores, errands, traveling, etc. we got a lot of rest. C would argue it was pretty boring and a waste of time, but I really appreciate all the mid-day napping and couch-surfing that went down. Plus, we DID get stuff done. We bought as many as twenty-one plants which are now planted in the front yard; we weeded and cleaned out helicopters from our garden beds; I removed some turf to expand another garden bed; we added a lower level to the garage work bench for additional (and essential) storage which allowed some much-needed organization; I also organized the basement a bit. The one thing I am really frustrated about is getting a pretty wicked sunburn on my back which was extra stupid considering I had applied 50SPF sunscreen to my neck, shoulders, face, and arms...twice! C and I biked a lot this weekend and I'm sure we got many other small things done, all while watching M&J's dog.

All the R&R was afforded, unfortunately, at the expense of spending time with family--which was not an easy decision to make. If we had traveled out of town, not only would our time with each relative be pretty thin, but on top of the long drive, no rest would have been had. I've got a big week at work coming up and needed some home time with C, the pup, and our impatient gardens.

Sometimes I fear that I walk a thin line between laziness/boring and "chill." I can be pretty complacent about things and am usually not too frustrated with doing nothing--as long as that nothing is restful and pleasant. I can get antsy at times, but usually don't have a problem with filling those small gaps with completing useful chores or doing something I enjoy (riding a bike, making art, etc.). I guess I mastered the art of un-organized, solo activities when I was younger (skateboarding, playing music, etc.).
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Tonight, our holiday chill will include tacos, a Red Stripe, Religulous, and maybe brownies...byah!

Spring, explosion

I realized last night that our garden is really starting to look like a garden (not just bare soil dominated by sprouts of dandelion and thistle). Spinach is really getting huge, the romaine lettuce looks like miniature heads like you would find at the grocery store; sugar snaps peas are climbing beyond the top of my poor trellises; herbs are exploding with flowers. The 3 different squash have sprouted in place and will soon be spreading several feet in every direction. What really offers some vertical structure to the beds are the tomato cages around the four transplants and a smaller cage around my recently transplanted hot pepper.

I still haven't planted my Kentucky Blue pole beans--I'm avoiding because I haven't figured out how to trellis them yet... Also, I still have about 1 cubic yard of pine bark mulch in the middle of my driveway. Hopefully soon I'll expand some more garden beds in the front yard if only just to get rid of the mulch. Of course some will probably go to enhance our compost as well.

Frost! Really?

Really, frost? Are you kidding me? 30-something degrees last night - and the forecast shows frost again for tonight. Supposedly it's not a "hard frost" and shouldn't bother sensitive young plants (like tomatoes), but really? If my tomatoes or sugar snap peas or squash get messed up I'm gonna flip out. It's freaking May 18th.

dirt virtue

I like getting showers. No doubt. It feels great. Especially when I have some Dr. Bronner's pure castle hemp oil soapy goodness. I feel good when I'm wearing clean socks and clean underwear. Other than that, I don't mind getting dirty. I might go so far as to say I enjoy being dirty. What's worse than having some nice khakis or a clean shirt--then spilling something on it; or not being able to get on your hands and knees to garden, play with a dog, walk in the rain, or whatever...? That sucks. My wardrobe is built around getting dirty. That is mostly due to the fortunate fact that my job entails getting dirty and I can get away with wearing pants with knee stains around the office on a normal day. In most cases, stains on your knees and dirt on your hands are a measure of good work in my mind.
If you have been suffering from an aversion to soil--go start a garden, or plant a container, and do it without gloves. Break up clods of soil with your fingers and sprinkle them back into place, then wipe your hands on your thighs. Don't change until you've enjoyed one of your favorite drinks (ice water is a good choice) and admired the metaphorical (or perhaps very literal) fruits of your labor. One of my favorite things is plunging my hands deep into a loose, loamy garden bed as if it were a pool of water, then lifting up a pile of cool soil only to dump it back into the new hole and churn it again.
If you've ever seen me try to "dress up"--you should be able to notice the small indicators that prove I am not experienced nor interested in that fine art. I can admit that it can be fun to occassionally dress in suit pants, buttoned shirt, and tie--but it's not comfortable and far from practical. Plus, just as the term "dressing up" implies, it is a better indicator of money spent than hours worked.
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Sidenotes: Congrats to BW graduate Terry "Waste No Time" Love
and Happy Mother's Day to all my moms who have helped shape me into the dirt-loving freak I am

Garden

Today (5-4-09)
Planted:
- 4 tomato plants (not sure which is which...oops)
- zucchini
- yellow summer squash
- butternut squash
- sunflowers
Added mulch to the squash bed and around the herbs
and weeded like crazy

Yesterday, thinned out lettuce (which is about 2" tall) and spinach
Also planted zinnias (~6" tall) that I started inside

Update

This weekend C and I helped my sister and her fiance execute a surprise party for our mom. Family came up from Kentucky and it was a get-together that could have in no way been anticipated by her--though she claims she had her suspicions.

After returning home, I had some opportunity to put in a little more garden work and attempt to build my rain barrel. Here are the results, presented (partly) in list form:

(April 19)
- transplanted 6 tomato plants into bigger containers (Solo cups with holes in bottom)
- planted cilantro, chamomile, more spinach directly into ground
- thinned out sugar snap peas, which still need to be trellised
- weeded our recently mulched beds
- zinnias and basil are starting to emerge from potting soil inside

The rain barrel was partly a success, after several failed attempts at accumulating parts and tools. Currently the faucets are assembled - I used two 3/4" faucets, each with hose-receptive ends (~$4/ea). I wrapped teflon tape (~$1/roll) around each faucet, which were then screwed into 1" holes I drilled into the plastic barrel. I hope to add some caulk to further waterproof the holes.
What I've not yet figured out is where I can find a small basket to place in the top of the barrel to allow water in while keeping mosquitoes out. Also, I need to figure out how to divert any of our gutters for this. I tried for a long time, out in the rain, without any success. Bummer... I took a few pics which will be posted later.

weekend - full

A great weekend with the Love family up north. Indians game on Saturday afternoon, great food afterward; i got drunk playing spoons; church; visit to an eagle nest, great food afterward; egg hunt with the chil'ens
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[An unrelated note:]
Friday after work I went to the bike shop and bought some Pearl Izumi "Quest" cycling shorts with the padding that pretty much feels like a diaper. I knew I wanted some padded shorts for comfort but had no clue what I should get. I didn't have a chance to test them out before leaving town for the next two days and I spent that time away wondering if I shouldn't have bought them. On Sunday afternoon we returned, and as usual, I found some excuses to ride my bike. I donned my spandex shorts--and some baggy swim trunks to quell my insecurities--and took off.

I felt like I was sitting on a cloud that was sitting on two clouds. It was so comfortable.

I was so stoked about my heightened state of being--the sun was out, I was getting stuff done, and I was more than comfortable. In fact, the wind was at my back on a stretch of particularly straight and flat (if not slightly down-sloped) road. I spinned up to 28.58 MPH.
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The garden is doing really well. Sugar snap peas are exploding outside; lettuce and spinach seem happy. My transplanted oregano has taken hold. Inside, tomatoes are gigantic and hot peppers popped out this weekend. I replaced one of those butchered Spirea bushes with a hydrangea that needed more attention. I removed a nasty grapevine from my neighbor's crusty chain link fence; I divided a hydrangea planted near my gas meter and spread them out a little bit; I replanted my red-bud tree with hopes that it will get huge this summer... oh and I mowed for the first time this season.

April flowers... and other plants

I keep forgetting to post this but as early as April 2nd (here in Central Ohio) I saw lots of woodland wildflowers emerging from the leafy carpet that lines our local forest floors. This included toad trillium, dutchman's breeches, cutleaf toothwort, and Virginia springbeauty to name a few. I suspect you could find mayapple and troutlily near flower about now in Southern Ohio. To the north I bet those same flowers are starting to peak their first leaves. I'm sure there are plenty others to name. Feel free to post them in the comments section!

That said, gardens are coming alive too. Besides the early and obviously blooming bulbs (tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths...), lots of peonies are stretching out which has really captured my attention. My sugar snap peas are unfolding their cotyledons (first leaves), as well as lettuce and spinach. Hopefully we'll be feasting on these salads in about a month.

Go take a hike in the nearest woods you can find and see what is coming up. Take photos and try to identify them back at home... or bring a field guide. A really user-friendly key to wildflowers is Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (~$20).

reap what you sow

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
If you plant hard work, you will reap success
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

Be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Chaos + Backyard Farming

I have a lot of work to do, but wanted to jot (jought?) some stuff down.

- C is an amazing cook and excels at Italian food. And cookies.
- Chocolate soy milk is freaking wonderful.
- Got a lot of work done in the garden this weekend - back breaking work including breaking up lawn, removing grass (sod?), dividing and moving plants, laying nearly 2 cubic yards of mulch, and making it look BOMB
- Hung out with family yesterday, including a dirt-loving toddler

- I am sort-of involved with a pilot program about sustainable living which involves reading a guide book and doing some activities. Long-explanation omitted, there was a brief section about food. One important point the authors made was about the importance of eating food that looks like food. For example: an apple/orange (fruit), rice (grain), lettuce (veggies)... The more your food looks less like it did when it was born, it's probably not as good for you (relatively speaking)... Interesting thought.

- I've got sugar snap peas and lettuce popping out of the ground--we're supposed to get frost tonight here in Ohio. Meanwhile, I REALLY need to start my basil, cilantro, swiss chard, and parsley inside immediately - hopefully tonight. We're losing time! For anyone interested in starting plants indoors, I've found that putting my flat (which includes a clear plastic top) at a south-facing window is working well. The table it sits on is over a heat register and on cold days & nights, the warmth is probably helping it stay at or above 60 degrees (65-70 is optimal)