On a sunny day not too long ago...

Getting ready to mix mushroom compost and "black earth" (humus). I've been learning a bunch about humus and composting from Composting for Dummies. Thanks Kim!

Filling a few of many pots...

SO EXCITED to find a worm in both bags! Living in a condo, you get to miss the dirtmakers :) Chucked him in the compost bin, along with a few others. Even if he's not the right type of worm, he'll have an okay life in there.

Hmm, will the little containers be too little?

Everybody sitting pretty. Also the garlic may be dead... Oops. Guess you can only chop the top for popcorn seasoning so many times!

Photo Update from the Second Garden

 

 

Top: Most promising strawberry plant. This baby has been pumping out big, beautiful flowers like there's no tomorrow. Bottom: The rest of the strawberry plants. The trough has been in need of weeding for a week. Where's the time?

Peas, round 2. Time to walk through the nearby park and find some sticks. Going to try the reverse wigwam method as the peabucket with wigwam is growing at a ridiculous rate surpassing the sticks. 

Red Fig Tomato bush(es) breaking ground. Planted them 4 weeks ago. The weather was very warm and summery, then quickly turned to cold spring rains. I wasn't sure if the seeds would die because growing conditions weren't ideal or if they'd wait until the time was right. Guess tomato's are patient!

2 of 3 (or 4?) bloomsdale spinach plants. I broke off a shoot from another plant and ate it. Spinach is going to be delicious! Way past time to get kale in the ground. Where's the time?

One of two Calypso Calendula containers. I chose to grow them for their anti-inflammatory qualities when eaten.

The other CCalendula container, just breaking ground.

My "fun plant"; dwarf sunflower. Not looking so hot. Guess he doesn't like forest soil.

Peas in the Ground... err, bucket of dirt.

The four pea seeds that sprouted! Look at those cute wittle tailies! Sat in damp tissue for two days, but I got impatient and threw them in a small dish of cold water. Less than 24hrs later and this is how they looked! Guess the dark guy is a dudder; I tried to eat it but it was too hard to crack.

Toothpicks marking where each seed was planted. Going to add in the sticks and string for climbing very soon. Should I wait until I see greens above ground or just go right ahead and git er done?

Notes on bucket composting for condos and apartments. Stumbled upon Effective Organisms (EM) and the Bokashi Bin, will have to look more into it. My heart is set on vermicomposting and from my understanding the two are compatible.

Ideal composting notes. Didn't cover hot vs. cool(er) methods. HOT kills weed seeds and diseases, but not sure if cold(er), which reaches up to 45 celsius, will.

And there you have it! A summary of yesterdays gardening work and research.

Gardening: The First Official Foray

As with all daunting tasks and impending major life changes, a bowl of chocolate for breakfast... and erm, lunch and maaaaaybe dinner... goes a long way!

Would be interesting to check out!

We started the week off here in a productive fashion, the likes of which I haven't seen from myself in quite a while! The Universe seems to pulling for me to make the lifestyle changes I've been dreaming of, so I'm doing my best to take advantage of the help. For example, this week is Spring Break so the younger one will be home aaaaalll day. How fortuitous, then, that the owner of one of the largest apartments in our building asked me to take care of her cats for the week. Not only do I get to cuddle the adorable Persians (okay, yes they do have to grow on you before you stop calling them smush-faced freaks -- endearingly, of course) but I can run upstairs for an hour's Yoga escape. After sorting through crap online dating site messages, I filled a bottle of water, grabbed the iPod and speakers and scurried up a few floors. I had a hard time clearing my mind, not surprising since I haven't done Yoga consistently since coming back from the Philippines; consistent for me is at least every two days. Starting to get into chanting these days, ever since discovering the effect of "Om Mani Padme/Pemme Hum" on my mind and body. Another *sign* was when my favourite Yoga teacher offered to burn a CD of "Tibetan Healing Sounds" from a seminar-type event of the same name here on the island. It starts with "a" or "aaah", focusing on the third eye and visualizing the vibrations of the sound breaking apart any longstanding conflicts. I noticed that I had a few mini headaches when I was really focused and "on task" as my past teachers would like to say. Not sure why this is, but I remember hearing mention of it when I was actively using binarual beats off Youtube to study (Gamma waves) or relax (Theta waves). I believe it's something about changing the frequency of your brainwaves and releasing tension. In any case, very cool and I'm excited to keep practicing and move on to the next sound and chakra.

Dwarf Grey Peas, from Sugar Shack Seeds, wrapped in cold, wet paper towel until they sprout a wee bitty

Pea seeds -- look very bumpy, are shockingly smooth when placed under the tongue. Inspiration for this nifty discovery from Anastasia of the Ringing Red Cedars Series, where she states that holding seeds in your hands for ~2 minutes and in your mouth for 15 will give the seed genetic information about you. It will grow to be resistant or able to fight off all of the icky, tiny, 'unnoticed' glitches in your system. Why not, I figured. I don't currently have enough space to set it up as a proper experiment to find a discernible difference between the matured plants, but it only took me an extra few minutes to add a personal twist to planting.

A little note to explain the bucket of dirt in the living room... Don't say I don't love ya, my OCD co-habiters! Figure I may have to stash this bad boy in a closet around day 4.

I learned a lot more about peas than I expected today. First off, the different types: There are three groupings and each is eaten at a different stage in the growth cycle.
1. Shelling/English/Green PEAS : these are the kind you eat just the juicy, developed peas inside and chuck the pod.
2. Sugar/Snap PEAS: I used to hate these guys because they can get quite fibrous, but now see them as the ultimate lazy snack. You eat both the pod and peas.
3. Snow/Sugar Peas: Like my Dwarf Grey Peas, you pluck the pod off of the plant when these guys are no more than three inches in length. It should still be flat and the peas NOT developed. 

Peas taste better from the garden because that's when they have the least amount of starch. Peas picked this morning will already have an increased starch content, making them tougher, more fibrous and not nearly as sweet as when eaten in the garden. They are confusing little buggers that don't do the best in containers (wooopsie; ah well I was told it can be done, and so it shall!) and prefer to start in warm soil and environment. After they've sprouted though, they produce better-tasting and higher yield in cold weather.

That's all according to the interwebs, and soon enough I'll be able to add my experienced two-cents. Seems to be that gardening is like style: there are similar ones, and even genres if you will, but when it comes down to it we each have our own method. Hoorah! Feels good to have something down in the 'garden', besides the ever-shooting garlic bulb and nine struggling strawberries. They look like they're struggling, some of them anyhow; I do believe I saw the teeniest beginnings of a flower bud on one! Now if only the snow warnings would slip away quietly and quickly so that we can usher in the sunshine with sheer will.