A New Season, and Atomic Gardening?

Hello friends!

We have almost unearthed ourselves from a very long winter up here in Minnesota.  The grow light is on in the basement and the cabbage, kale, lettuce, and tomatoes (among other things) are up and leafing out.  Buds are emerging on the trees and there is a good, soaking rain today that hope will really wake up the landscape! 

Until we have truly groundbreaking garden news (pun intended), here is an interesting bit of garden history my friend Liz shared with me.  Atomic gardening!  Seems scary now, but people really did think it was a good idea back in the day.  How far we have come...or rather, how we have realized that doing things the old-fashioned way are sometimes the best way to go.

Happy spring everyone!  More updates soon.

- Nicole and Nate (and Apollo, who is sad it's raining because he can't go to the park)

Garden Savings

I often find myself asking...myself...if the garden is worth it. There are some sacrifices in terms of time invested, one will have to spend 2-4 hours per week harvesting and weeding. More in the spring to bring it to life and more in the winter to put it to bed. But there are some clear savings too. I don't have to run to the grocery store as often, and when I'm there I'm not wandering the aisles pondering what to get: it's milk and eggs, the rest is at home. I don't track my spending all that closely, but I did sign up for Mint.com's service a couple years ago and they keep track of all my transactions. And that got me thinking... How much am I saving?

You can see on average I spend $290 on food per month. July, August, Sept are the harvest months where my spending crashes. I'm spending $100 less then average. That works about to about $10/hr invested in the garden. Of course the savings goes further into the year, as my freezer is loaded with food I'll be using all winter. Nicole and I canned 7 pints of tomato sauce last week, and we will be canning some more this week by my estimates. I just took some zucchini bread out of the oven and that freezes well. It makes a nice treat in mid January.

As much as I'm saving it raw currency, I'm also investing in myself. I doubt I've ever been as healthy as I am now - Nicole laughs because I don't fit into my pants anymore, and I've run out of belt loops (hard to believe I ever had to buy 34s). And that's mostly because of diet, I don't exercise anymore then one 3mi run a week and lawn care. Having a garden, with all this produce sitting on your counter, in your fridge, in your freezer, forces you to eat it. There's very little way to avoid it.

There was a recent experiment by some business students at New Mexico University which modified shopping carts by placing a line of duct tape across the middle of a shopping cart and an accompanying sign which stated "this section for fruits and vegetables." The people who used the modified cart bought 102% more fruits and veggies then those with normal carts.

Having a garden in your back yard, assuming you have the self discipline to use it, is like having a modified shopping cart. It nudges you to eat fresh, eat right, and eat locally. Next time you find yourself at the grocery store, bring the duct tape. And next spring, plant a garden.

metaphor

Breakfast: Fresh Tomato and Basil egg scramble
Lunch: bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich
Dinner: Steamed Swiss Chard, Green Beans, and Herb coated chicken wings on the grill

The garden is a burden of deliciousness.

Nate's Chops

• 5 leaves Parsley
• 10 twigs of Thyme
• 5 twigs of Oregano
• 5 twigs of Tarragon
  
• 2 tsp salt
• zest of a lemon
• 2 tbls olive oil
• 2 pork chops or 4 lamb chops

Grind the parsley, thyme, oregano, and tarragon in the food processor. Add the salt, lemon zest, and olive oil to the herbs, mix well. Apply thick coating to either side of chops. Cook on grill, high heat, six minutes per side. Let rest 5 minutes before devouring. Goes well on a bed of rice.

Remainder of the lemon goes well in a salad. Just coat the lemon slices in a heavy dose of sugar. Let sugar absorb for 10-20 minutes. Toss into salad.

Serves 2.

Seed Saving

One of the beauties of buying heirloom seeds is the ability to reseed the next year from the very same seeds that grew, flowered, and turned to seed once more the previous year. The hybrid seeds delivered by Burpee typically have the 'sex' gene bred out of them. They say this done is to preserve the plants characteristics, but of course what this really means for them is sustainable profit year after year as consumers have no choice but to buy seed the next year.

The unmodified seed varieties we've purchased this year from Seed Savers and Baker Creek are producing wonderful flowers, and in some time we will be collecting the seeds to regrow next year. The broccoli, lettuce, and bok choy are in bloom, and the onions and chives (bi-annuals) are already done flowering. Here's a photo of my work earlier today in collecting some onion seeds:

Raspberries Abound!

Were I to believe the weatherman, something I seldom do nor advise, we have seen over two more inches of rain fall relative to the average June. The amount of rain we've seen has lead to some of the most wonderful raspberries I've ever tasted. The are so plentiful and exploding with water - I picked about 2 quarts this evening, and that was after Nicole and I pillaged them for our breakfast yesterday; homemade waffles with raspberries and cool-whip. They are ripening so fast you'll pick the plant clean, move on to the next plant, and when your down the first plant has some more ripe (Nicole would say I'm missing them all but she's full of lies!).

I see a pie in my future.

Marvin the Monarch

It's been a while since our last blog entry!  I blame the nice weather, fun things we've been doing, and amount of time spent working.  This blog entry is the story of Marvin, our pet monarch butterfly.  Nate and I adopted Marvin when we were up at the cabin frolicking in the meadows.  Nate found the then tiny Marvin munching on a milkweed leaf (he's the minute squiggle):

We took Marv and his leaf and put him in an old coffee jar.  He made the trek back to Minnetonka in the car.  Nate collected milkweed at work or we picked it at the park every few days to keep Marvin's diet healthy and fresh.  He had a ravenous appetite.  Soon we had quite the caterpillar!

One day we found Marvin in his "J-position", hanging upside down in his jar.  This is the first step the caterpillar takes in becoming a butterfly.  Marv had anchored himself by his rear end to the top of the jar and was hanging in a curved shape.  Soon, he formed his chrysalis.

You can see the "gold necklace" at the top of his chrysalis.  This is characteristic of monarchs.  Very cool!  Marvin stayed inside for over a week and we could slowly see him taking shape through the outside of the chrysalis.  Then one day...

He emerged!  He hung on the remains of his chrysalis and filled out his wings.  When he looked ready to go, we carefully transferred him to a stick and placed him outside, ready to fly away.

In about an hour Marvin was gone.  He had taken his first flight and probably found a tasty flower to snack on.  Goodbye Marvin!  I hope you lead a wonderful life as a Monarch Butterfly and do all the good, beautiful, pollinating things that Monarchs do!