Wet Your Plants

My dear friend shared with me this sign she saw at a garden center: "Spring is here. We're so excited we wet our plants!" I must say I concur! At the time of my last post, Clint had just built the frames for my raised beds. This past weekend, he filled them with a truckload of deliciously-rich-with-compost soil, and I finally got to plant my first garden!

I know you're going to be a little surprised about this, but I went a little overboard in my planting (all from seed). I planted, or have started inside, four varieties of heirloom tomatoes, heirloom lemon cucumber, a flower petal salad, four varieties of basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, lavender, heirloom summer squash, heirloom sweet pepper, heirloom okra, cardoon, heirloom purple carrots, spinach, red romaine, heirloom curly kale, borage, swiss chard, beets, broccoli, mesculun, beans, heirloom peas, milk thistle, calendula, chives, lemon balm, cilantro, dill, and echinacea. I promise I held back. The list of what I didn't plant but wanted to is just as long. Maybe we can add another bed or two next year.

Yes, I have a superman husband, and Vivian even helped too!

And, our CSA starts in two weeks, and the farmers market reopened this past Saturday! Yes, I'm definitely wetting my plants. Are you wetting yours? Have you planted anything this year?

THINK!

I had a conversation recently that really saddened me. It was a conversation with someone I care about, and it was about a subject that's frequently discussed on this blog. I'll be the first to say that the topics on here aren't necessarily "conventional" (What would be the fun in that?), and I'm used to being received with strange looks when I bring them up! Things like babywearing, minimalist living, extended breastfeeding, whole foods plant based diets, natural remedies, elimination communication, composting, making your own clothes, alternative vaccine decisions, growing your own food, and even yoga aren't widely embraced in our society. And that's ok! I don't expect anyone to have the same opinions as me or to agree with me about all of these things. But what saddened me about this conversation I had was the absolute, blind, and uninformed closed-mindedness of the other person. Instead of looking at the subject honestly, it was incorrectly stereotyped and flippantly dismissed in a ridiculing way. Ouch. Ouch not that I was made fun of, but that this person who is important to me so brazenly and intentionally discarded evidence-based truth in favor of a (literally) toxic norm, for no reason other than that what I think is "weird," and outside the status quo. A different opinion based on scientific evidence and logical reasoning would have been most welcome! But this was based on nothing. I am no expert in anything discussed on this blog and am hopefully always learning and open to ideas that seem foreign to me. But a different opinion based on nothing other than what's considered "normal" in this country that is anything BUT normal in comparison to the rest of the world, is sad. I say all of that to say that I hope Ear to the Earth is an environment where THINKING for ourselves is encouraged, topics are considered critically, and positive change is encouraged! Isn't there always room for improvement? Aren't there always more questions than answers? Wouldn't we be foolish to assume that just because something is normal, it's right? Let's encourage each other to honestly explore all types of various issues, think critically about them, and then put what we learn into practice! Who's with me?!  :)

Potatoes and Purses

I have to admit that after the weekend cooking frenzy, I was a bit burnt out on being in the kitchen. Plus we have plenty of leftovers in the fridge to get us through a day or two. But, the remainder of my CSA produce was calling, and I hate wasting food, so into the kitchen I ventured again today, and boy oh boy am I glad I did! I made Salt and Vinegar Potato Salad from what is quickly becoming another favorite blog of mine, Joy the Baker. The main ingredients: potatoes, green beans, red onions, and apple cider vinegar.

I love red onions!

A wide variety of potatoes I picked up at the farmers market on Saturday. Did you know that the pigment in blue potatoes is the same pigment in blueberries and therefore the two share some of the same health benefits?

My lovely heirloom beans from the CSA.

It makes a HUGE batch, so either take it to a potluck or halve it if you're just feeding your family! You can also either eat it hot or cold. I can't wait till it's been sitting in the fridge for a little while and the potatoes really soak up the flavor of the dressing.

My main project today was this purse! It looks a little droopy and lopsided in the photo, but it's much better in real life. I made it using this free pattern from the Made By Rae blog. It's the most complicated sewing project I've attempted yet, with lining and an interior pocket, but still easy enough for a beginner. I learned a lot from it and will know how to make it better the next time!

(What do you think, Maggy? Want one?)

What's better than the farmers market?

You all know my love for the farmers market. It's a treat every Saturday morning to get up and peruse the fresh produce, talk to the farmers, see the unique varieties of vegetables, observe the changing seasons through what food is available. The farmers market is great because the money goes straight from the buyer to the producer. No middle man. It's great because it's local. The farmers care about their food. You get produce at its freshest. It builds a sense of community. But, as much as I love the farmers market, there's an even better option . . .

. . . the CSA! (Community Supported Agriculture) CSAs are "a way for consumers and farmers to share the benefits and risks of sustainable agriculture. Each growing season, members pay a pre-determined price up front to support the farm. This price is based on the running costs of the farm divided by the number of households the farm can feed, without over-taxing the resources of the farm. In return for their investment, members receive a weekly supply of fresh, organic produce. Shareholders and farmers thus become partners in the stewardship of the Earth's fertility and in the production, distribution, and consumption of locally-grown food" (www.rootsfarm.org).

Yesterday I received my first CSA share from Roots Farm, and take a look at all of the amazing stuff it included!

Purple beans, three varieties of eggplant, an assortment of hot and sweet peppers of all shapes and sizes, arugula, basil, okra, and two pounds worth of tomato varieties

I love being a member of a CSA because I'm partnering more closely with the farmers, sharing in both the abundances and scarcities of the harvest. It's a great way to experiment with new ingredients and try new foods. I would never go to the farmers market and buy that many peppers or that much okra, but now that I have it, I'm determined to use every last bit! It fosters variety and creativity in the kitchen, which is not only fun, but healthy too! Tonight I'll be trying this okra gumbo, with the majority of the ingredients coming from my share! (To find CSAs in your area, check out www.localharvest.org.)

The day Irene blew my best friend to my doorstep

The first time I met Maggy was when she showed up on my front porch to move in with us. She had recently gotten back from Ghana and her long hair was still in braids-turned-almost-dreadlocks. She had about one suitcase and one box for her bedroom, and the rest of her car was packed full of plants and kitchen supplies, including peaches she had canned herself and other things that seemed weird to me at the time. The only other thing I knew about her was that her favorite color was pink, and in light of what I was seeing as she moved in, I wasn't all too sure I was going to like her very much. Well, to make a long story short, we became the best of friends in the three short months we lived in the same state, and have been ever since.

Now she lives in Virginia Beach, and last weekend she and her husband were mandatorily evacuated from Fort Monroe as Hurricane Irene made its way straight toward them. They were conveniently evacuated straight to my house! We spent a glorious day and a half visiting all my favorite spots in Athens, eating as much good food as we could stuff ourselves with, and talking pregnancy and babies, since she is also pregnant and due in little more than a month! And, as usual, she bestowed on me all sorts of little things she had been gathering over time, including this way too adorable stuffed elephant that she made. I seriously can't stand its cuteness, and she made me a matching burp cloth to go with it.

Thankfully, Irene didn't cause much damage at all to their neighborhood, but because it didn't, her husband was called back to duty after it seemed they had barely arrived, and they were whisked away again as quickly as they had come. As short as our time together was, I couldn't be more thankful for those invaluable moments we got to spend together. Having a friend like Maggy is a rare thing. I consider myself supremely blessed for the honor of having her in my life!

Farmers Market Loot

Today's delicious finds

Athens Farmers Market

 I just got back from the Athens Farmers Market! It was lovely in every sense of the word and a highlight of my week. I brought home multi-colored cherry tomatoes, Swiss chard, figs, one red and one yellow bell pepper, a loaf of naturally leavened whole wheat bread, and some basil. I also talked to some gentlemen from the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extension. They are master gardeners and had some great materials about gardening in this region. I can't wait to dig up my little veggie/herb patch! Today would be the perfect day for it (overcast and not so darn hot!), but alas, I have no tools. Must find some loaners . . .

What were your farmers market finds today?