Humble Garden

I am very excited to receive the first batch of seeds for the 2009 garden. This year I am going to focus on growing open pollinated vegetables and then to save the seed bounty for the 2010 garden.

This first batch of seeds are all open pollinated and many are heirloom varieties. I ordered them from the oldest continuously operating seed company in the US – Comstock, Ferre & Co., established in 1820 and not very far from where I live!

As you can see from the photos, this company is VERY Yankee – they do not waste any effort on fripperies and stick to the important things. For example, they adopted the use of paper envelopes for their seeds back in the 1830s from the Shakers in their area. They also designed the simple blue printing for the border you see STILL used today in these photos.

You can also see that they simply write on blank envelopes when an order comes in, VERY thrifty!

I ordered the following seeds:

• Beans, Bush, Cherokee Wax
• Beans, Bush, Derby
• Beans, Pole, Yard Long
• Beans, Soybean, Vinton 81
• Carrot, Gold Pak
• Carrot, Purple Dragon
• Chamomile, German
• Coriander/Cilantro, Long Standing
• Cucumbers, Slicing, Apple Shaped/True Lemon
• Cucumbers, Slicing, Marketmore
• Cumin
• Dill, Mammoth
• Eggplant, Black Beauty
• Fennel, Florence
• Gourds, Bushel
• Lavender, English
• Lettuce, Butterhead, Buttercrunch
• Mesclun Mix, Early Season
• Mesclun Mix, Mid-season
• Nasturtium, Dwarf Single Mix
• Pea, Shelling, Tall Telephone/Alderman
• Rosemary
• Sage, Broad Leaf
• Spinach, Bloomsdale
• Squash, Winter Butternut, Early
• Swiss Chard, Giant Lucullus

I will be ordering more seeds for a few more vegetables that I didnt see on their list. I will also be posting up garden maps for the raised beds and also be talking about my expansion project for this year’s garden, exciting stuff, stay tuned!

When we first moved here 13 years ago the first couple of winters were impressive. We had three or four 3-foot storms that first winter. I just figured that this was par for the course around here.

Since then, the past 10 years or so, winters have not been so impressive. This makes people forgetful of what a proper New England winter is like so that this past week, when we got a snow storm (after the ice storm of some three weeks ago that put out power far and wide here) people truly lost their minds with fretting about the storm.

It was called #snowmageddon on twitter – lots of traffic then.

It wasnt a three foot storm but it did get pretty cold (close to 0 F) which is the part I kevetch about (for the animal’s sake – poor babies!)

The photos in this post share a bit of that time.

Night time fun.

Q tending her chickens

One barred rock chicken that seems to be doing an odd snow dance – first she flies out lopsided from the shed ….

Then she some how manages to go totally sideways.

The goats and the llama didnt appreciate the low temps but those low temps made a wonderful thing happen – the llama has started sleeping with the goats! This is good because she can help keep them warm and she bonds more closely with them.

This blonde goat is named Wheat.

Eating hay.

All three species.

Home-hatched chicks – very fluffy. They are a flock of four.

The garden is totally submerged but I have already started planning the plantings as well as thinking about moving the seed starting equipment down next to the wood boiler so that they can be toasty warm.

Will share more about the 2009 garden soon!

Hope all is well out there and that you are weathering this time of transition well.

• We are about to transit through the winter solstice
• The economy is listing and no one knows where it will all land (recession? depression?)
• Seed catalogs are starting to come in and we can dream about this year’s bounty!

I have been extra quiet these days because of being overwhelmed by all the bad news of the world and also my own bad news.

I became a part of the statistics when I was recently laid off. Add this to my husband’s laid off status and things are really stressful here.

To get off this negative and on to why I am writing today, I am going to share some photos from our home last week, of making goat milk yogurt.

Around here, any milk project starts with milking of our goat Torte.

To make this, I used a yogurt starter from the New England Cheesemaking Supply Company.

This yogurt starter has several bacterial species, including:

• Lactobacillus acidophilus
• Bifidobacterium species
• Steptococcus thermophilus
• Lactobacillus delbrueckii

I also made a DIY yogurt culture box from a roomy box, a seed warming/starting mat and foil.

The starter directions say one packet per quart. I made 2 quarts that day. You have to bring the milk up to 180 F (not sure why) and then back down to 116 F. I used a water bath to cool the stainless steel pot of milk.

You then add the starter to the 116 F milk and mix well. Once mixed, pour into culturing jars (I used sterilized pint canning jars) and let set up for 9-12 hours or to the thickness desired.

Once set up, cool in the fridge and then enjoy!

Even though it has been a week since the Transition Town conference I went to in Cambridge, MA I am still integrating its message. I will write more, I promise, but I wanted to share something that resonated for me.

At the end of this intense 2 day experience one of our moderators told us this touching story of the Hopi Prophecy. Our moderator said that the Hopi say that the time of the “Lone Wolf” is at an end and that there is this fast rushing river of change that is running through our lives, whether we wish to see it or not.

There are many Hopi and other native prophesies that are floating about, especially relating to end times (tho they thought it as a Transition time from one distinct age to another, very different than modern day strip-mall variety Rapture Lore).

He gave us the nugget but I will share the whole thing here:

“You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.
Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are things to be considered:
Where are you living? What are you doing?
What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?
Where is your water? Know your garden.
It is time to speak your Truth.
Create your community.
Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.
This could be a good time!
There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore.
They will feel they are being torn apart, and they will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of
the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above the water.
See who is in there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally.
Least of all, ourselves.
For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a
halt. The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves!
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

–The Elders, Oraibi, Arizona Hopi Nation

I have been slowly cleaning the garden of plants that should not overwinter (tomatoes, diseased plants) and pulling out stakes, cleaning out plastic ties.

The chickens have done a great job of converting plant matter into eggs. They have cleaned up a lot of the debris. I will be clearing off the spent landscaping fabric and then overlaying with goat and llama manure. I will top that over with straw.

I am going to be using a bean trellis-pup-tent thing I made this year over a part of one of the beds to see how much I can grow in a small cold frame.

How is your garden doing now?

Over at one of my other blogs, I feel like I have been “all melamine – all the time” the past couple of posts, sorry. (Melamine, oh thy name is Legion and Melamine Toxic Tsunami) Its been a fast moving story and its relevant to all of us who eat food. Its my hope that, as a scientist, I can help people who might feel overwhelmed by this massive and frightening subject.

I would like to shift gears into a positive mode and tell you about what you CAN do so that this sort of problem and all of the food security problems that come from globalization can be addressed.

DeGlobalizing – ReLocalizing

In a nutshell – its all about 2 main things:

• Refraining from buying things that require global travel
• and
• Building your local economy and food systems

The first thing – you can do that starting right now. You will quickly find out that you will have to do the harder second thing – rebuilding your local economy.

A couple of months ago I tried to summon the people in my community for a food security meeting on just this. I sent out a press release and got in all the relevant papers. One person showed up and she was actually confused about the topic.

This is NOT easy work!

I am not the only one who is focused on this, not at all. There is a world-wide effort on, called the Transition Initiative and it is helping people build what are called Transition Towns. The UK is the leader right now but start up groups are nucleating all across the US as I write.

If you visit this link Transition Town you can see if there is an initiative near you (anywhere in the world).

• Transition United States
• Transition Towns Wiki (home of the UK’s Network)

If you live in the New England region, you are lucky because there will be a Transition Training conference this November in Cambridge, MA. There are actually two of these conferences. I will be going to the later one. If you decide to go, let Rob know I referred you and also let me know you are coming and we will meet up. Perhaps there is call for live blogging it! (mind is a churning).

The following is the release from the organizer, Rob Riman. Let me know if you have any questions!

Transition initiative Cambridge (TiC!) together with the Transition Center Portland Maine will be hosting these 2-day trainings to provide the in-depth knowledge, experiential tools and practical skills to successfully set up, run and maintain a Transition Initiative in your own community or neighborhood.

Course Objectives:

• To understand the context for transition
• To understand the Transition Initiatives model as it has evolved so far – from inspiration to working groups
• To understand the inner and outer aspects of transition
• To gain knowledge of the main ingredients of transition
• To develop a plan of action for your self and your locality
• To assemble the elements of an inspiring talk on Transition Initiatives
• To connect with others who are responding to the call for transition

See complete course outline at http://transitiontowns.org/TransitionNetwork/TransitionTrainingDetail

When?:

Saturday & Sunday November 1-2 and 22-23, 2008

Training begins at 9:00 am sharp and finish at 5:00 pm both days. Please arrive by 8:30 am on Saturday for registration and welcome.

Where?: The training will be at the office of the Livable Streets Alliance located at:

Livable Streets Alliance
100 Sydney Street
Cambridge, MA 02139

For directions via various modes see: http://www.livablestreets.info/node/530

Also see the transit system map (and click on the ‘Boston Detail Map’ tab).

Bicycle parking is in front of 100 Sidney. Free weekend car parking is available on Pacific Street.

Sign up!: Course registration is via the RSVP option at The Transition Training Center Portland Maine website: (You will first need to join the group.)

Tuition:The cost for the course is $215/person and full payment or a minimum deposit of $100 should be received in advance of the course start date. Checks should be made payable to ‘Transition Center Portland Maine’ and sent to me (Rob Riman) at the below address.

Lodging:Participants are responsible for arranging their own accommodation.

If you can offer or are seeking a local homestay during the training, please reply to the related post or start a new discussion on the Meetup site message board. Note that all activity for a given discussion is trackable by clicking on Track this discussion. I also have additional leads.

For information regarding local hotels and B&B’s, please contact me.

Travel:If you can offer or would like a lift to or from either of these trainings, please reply to the related post or start a new discussion on the Meetup site message board.

To Bring:

• 1) Any Transition related materials that you can share: posters, leaflets, brochures, any printed/audio/visual material that you have used in your Transition Initiative. This will be a mutual learning environment!
• 2) Lunch to share in the training room. If you prefer, there are local venues to purchase food within easy walking distance. Other meals are entirely up to you. Warm beverages and light snacks will be provided throughout the day. Toward a zero-waste event, please bring your own mug, water bottle, utensils, etc. as needed (some will be available should you forget).
• 3) Laptops and/or recording devices if you feel these might help you, however they are not necessary. Please bring a 330+ mb memory stick for copying background material and training presentations.
• 4) Your story. Take some time to reflect on your journey regarding transition: When did you realize that we needed to make big changes to the way we live? How did you hear about Transition and what got you interested? Why do you want to be part of a Transition process?

Reading: In addition to The Transition Handbook by Rob Hopkins, the following resources offer valuable background and will help prepare you for the course:

• Transition Initiatives Primer
• Transition Network Structure Document

Resources: For more information about current Transition activities:

• Transition United States
• Transition Towns Wiki (home of the UK’s Network)

More Info: See who else is coming, learn about the trainers, find related events in the Northeast, etc. at:

Transition Center Portland Maine

Contacts

Cambridge Trainings Coordinator:
Rob Riman
robriman@gmail.com
92 Henry Street
Cambridge, MA
02139

Trainers:

• Alastair Lough – jlough1@maine.rr.com
• Pat Proulx-Lough – proulxlo@maine.rr.com

Thank You to our Sponsors!

Green Decade Cambridge
www.greencambridge.org

Livable Streets Alliance
www.livablestreets.info

Mass Climate Action Network
www.massclimateaction.org

Here is the Humble Garden video for 2008 (I shoot these with my MacBook Pro, forgive the quality). In it I share my family, our organic vegetable garden, our chickens, our LaMancha diary goats and our guard Llama. I also share a bit of my Colombian culture through the music so turn on your speakers and enjoy.

Let me know what you think! Hope we do not seem too odd to you!

I have been so busy doing work related things for some poorly timed double deadlines recently that I have not been able to focus on my garden or this blog and I am sorry about that.

I wrote a bit about that at one of my other blogs Nika’s Culinaria “Rocking My San Diego Trip“.

This has not been the best gardening year. I thought that putting down landscaping paper would control the weeds and that then the garden would be under control. The weeds were under control for certain and I actually didn’t have any major issues with disease, even with my tomatoes, the few times I got to visit them.

One of the big holes in the garden came from dedicating so much space to bell peppers. I had bell pepper lust and they simply REFUSED to produce, period. My sweet peas, they too were not fecund. My cucumbers were relatively vague in their output. My squash, well, I got two hubbard – modest in size.

I commute 400 miles a week, most of my gardening time was spent in my head, pining for actual gardening. Pining and mental anguish do not lead to a better garden, just frustration. When I get home, my 3 kids but especially my 2 year old requires 100% of my time. I have literally spend no small amount of time this year inside comforting a 2 year old who is really suffering my long absences as I look out the window at a directionless garden. I certainly do not blame the child or the garden. I blame having to drive 3-4 hours a day, working a good 9-10 hours a day on top of that to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads.

I have to be honest with you, there has to be a better way but I have not found it yet.

Ok, I will leave you with that rant. There is no solution unless: 1) you want to be our sugar daddy/mommy, 2) give me a winning lottery ticket, or 3) give me a telecommuting job that will replace or boost my current income.

Lets turn to more interesting details! While I am gone at work, things are happening here on the homestead. One of those things is chicken husbandry, which my oldest is fully dedicated to.

The chickens have trained her well (she sees it as her training them but, well…) and she takes care of them with much love.

One chicken, a buff orpinton named Bonnie (who was the victim of a vicious rooster attack and then miraculously survived after home-surgery by my husband) has been broody for some time.

Recently, my daughter noticed the sound of peeping coming from the eggs so she moved the chicken and eggs that Bonnie was brooding on into the house (we had two chicks hatch in the hen house a couple of months ago and they were killed by non-mother hens or roosters). As she is homeschooled, she had the opportunity to watch as the first egg hatched and how the chick recovered from the experience. We now have 4 chicks with more possibly on the way.

Its not a good time of year to have little chicks and I think that we will have chicks and Bonnie with us in the house over the winter until the chicks are big enough to fend for themselves. This adds even more chores to my daughter’s day (she milks one of our goats twice a day and feeds all the animals) because she has to take Bonnie out 5 times a day to let her “do her thing” outside instead of around the chicks in the house. The chicken has been trained somehow to wait for my daughter to hold it until one of those 5 times.

Wild huh?!

Meet one of our Old English Game roosters (we have two) and one of the hens (other types of chickens shown = Rhode Island Red and a Minorca). We adopted these chickens from a teenager my oldest daughter met on a chicken board. He had bred and incubated these chickens himself but the town he lived in caught on to his chicken hobby and so he had to get rid of them. Its been interesting watching them grow because we were not sure what this kid had bred!

Turned out looking pretty good.

This is another one, a Bantam Old English Spangled Game Hen, we call her Quailie (you may have seen her in a previous post)

Chickens and chicken breeding is fun stuff!

Old English Game Bantam Club of America

Meet Flax, our new boy LaMancha goat and the new sire to our future kid goats. He looks a bit odd because he was shorn, shampoo’d, trimmed, powdered, and I am not sure what else!

He is a really sweet little boy and is in his own area right now as all the girls sniff him through the fence. He has a big job ahead of him!

Arriving