Spring Forward!

It feels like the spring time change brought the real thing with it. This week is supposed to be in the 60's!

I've been anxiously eying my flower beds and was finally rewarded this morning!

Signs of spring!

Tulips

Daffodils

Weeds. Yep they're around too. I need to pull them on one of these warm afternoons. Here begins the annual weed war.

We still have plenty of snow on the mountains, but the warm sun and blue skies are promising!

Spring Newsletter

We got the cutest children's book about gardening on our last trip to the library. The riddles and rhymes tickle my funny bone! Here's a riddle for you (name the vegetables):

Papa ate the root and tossed the leaves.

Mama ate the leaves and said, "Mine's best!"

Brother ate the stem and found no seeds.

Sister ate the seeds and tossed the rest! 

Answers at the bottom!

Today I want to share a gardening newsletter written by the Relief Society President of my ward. She helps her father with an acre garden, and says he is crazy enough to plant 500 tomatoes, 200 peppers and 200 pounds of potatoes and think it's fun. She begins everything by seed in a hot house, and I am hoping to get my tomato and pepper starts from her this year. 

I love hearing advice from people with years of experience... it is the best teacher after all. I have heard that her tomatoes are the biggest and juiciest around! Here is what she wrote--it's good stuff so I'll let her have the last word:

Is It Spring Yet?  Well, if you're following the movement of the sun, the days are getting longer.  Compared to last year this winter weather has been a contrast for sure. Our area is known for its unpredictable weather patterns which include killing frost in June, severe winds (especially around Memorial Day), snow on the 4th of July, and hail on Labor Day.

Spring is still a few weeks off.  If you are familiar with the area then you know you don’t need to get in any hurry to plant your garden yet. There’s plenty of time left to look through seed catalogs or check out online catalog versions.

Vegetable and flower seeds will start to appear at local stores in a few weeks. However, if you want a larger selection to choose from, here are some companies with online catalogs that offer All-American (that means these varieties do well in all 50 states) selections and other hybrid options for you to consider:

• Burpee www.burpee.com/
• Parks www.parkseed.com/
• Stokes www.stokeseeds.com/
• Twilleys www.twilleyseed.com/

Gardening is a whole lot like having a baby. Time erases the painful memories and you start to get baby-hungry again. If last year was not a happy gardening experience, spend some time looking at the catalog pictures and dreaming of that perfect tomato or your favorite vegetable fresh from the garden and prepared just the way you like it. If you haven’t ever planted a garden as yet, start out small. You can expand your garden size over time rather than kill your desire to garden right out of the chute.

Late February is a great time to start pruning, weather permitting. It’s best to start with the earliest blooming fruit trees and work your way down. Apricots should be at the top of your pruning list, then peaches, pears and apples.  For best size fruit prune aggressively. All water sprouts (tall single stems that shoot upward from main branches) should be totally removed. Reduce growth by 1/3 to ½. Prune back to sturdy short branches that can support the weight of mature fruit. Grapes and raspberries can also be pruned in late March. 

Detailed pruning and spraying information may be found at the Utah State Extension website: http://extension.usu.edu/htm/horticulture/ A full outline of 2012 spring class offerings held at Thanksgiving Point may be found at that location as well.

If you took advantage of autumn’s fallen leaves and tilled them into your garden before winter arrived, congratulations! Leaves are one of the finest soil builders as they contain trace minerals which are drawn up by the trees from the subsoil. If you didn’t make use of last season’s leaves, set a resolution this year to cache in on the 2012 leaf crop. You’ll be glad you did. Grass clippings and other green waste also build up the humus in your garden. Don’t till in weeds that have gone to seed. Dispose of these nuisances. Additional weed seeds only add to a gardener’s frustration!

In closing, I hope this gets you thinking about the Provident Living principles we talked about last year in Relief Society.  Now is a great time to check your pantry shelves and determine what fruits and vegetables need to be restocked during the 2012 growing season.

***Riddle answer:  Carrots, spinach, celery, peas***

Kale + Recipes

Kale is a super food! My kids don't drink a lot of milk, but I don't worry about the calcium because I can get them to eat green veggies like kale, spinach, and broccoli. A lot of times I can't go through a whole bunch of kale while it's fresh, so I freeze it in a bread or ziploc bag. One major advantage to using it frozen is that it shatters into pieces and you don't have to chop it! This summer I hope to grow a bunch and freeze what we can't eat so we can enjoy our own all winter long!

Smoothies: Blend frozen berries, banana, water, and kale (or spinach) together

Greek Pasta:

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
chopped fresh kale or spinach, between 4 and 6 cups
4 cups cooked whole wheat pasta (spirals or penne)
2 oz finely crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1 clove garlic, crushed
   
Combine tomatoes and beans in a skillet over med heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and           simmer 10 minutes. Add greens, cook 2 minutes or until it wilts. Combine with pasta, cheese, and seasonings. My family loves this!

Salad: Try this one from a great food blog. I reduce the salt, but I love it.

Soups: I often add kale to lentil or vegetable soups. Just add it at the end and simmer until it wilts, and serve!

This Eater's Manifesto

FOOD. It should be simple, right? Just buy it and eat it. On the contrary... I am learning that I'll always be learning.

The variables are staggering. Sometimes I think ignorance is bliss, just because once you start studying food -- where it comes from, how it's made, and how it affects your body -- there is no end! The food industry is a labyrinth of conflicting information and messages from growers, manufacturers, advertisers, experts, reporters, doctors... the list goes on.  Over the past few years I have done a lot of reading, studying, and improving things step by step. I have discovered you can't bite off more than you can chew (pun intended).

Here's a little summary of my stance:

The best food to eat is real food, as close to it's natural form as possible, the way God made it. It's even better if it's organic because it will be free of pesticides, herbicides, and genetic modification. It's even better still if it's local, because that means we are eating in the "season thereof", as described in my ultimate guide to eating, The Word of Wisdom. That also means we are supporting the local economy and biodiversity. My sister-in-law recently linked me to a great summary of food guidelines: 10 Rules to Eat Safely For Life. I also highly recommend Michael Pollan's books, especially In Defense of Food. They were a strong catalyst for this journey we're on. And lastly, there are hundreds of food blogs out there, but my favorite is 100 Days of Real Food. It is testimony that this can be done by normal families, and it's full of great recipes too.

Moving on. In the summer, I feel like I have a lot more control over my food because I can grow it myself. (We are working on a garden design and I am getting excited!) The rest of the year is harder. I want to keep our tummies full of produce, but I have to decide how. I have really been exploring and experimenting at different stores, trying to figure out where to get the best food at the best price. This has been pretty challenging -- not only is it out of my comfort zone, but I am also trying to work within a pretty tight budget.

I have been looking into various co-ops and CSA's (community supported agriculture). Last week I ordered from Bountiful Baskets and got all this for $16 plus a 25 lb bag of white wheat for $15 (white wheat is lighter and finer than red wheat--all I have in food storage--which makes bread and baked goods better). 

Although it's a good deal, I end up with things like jerusalem artichokes that I don't know what to do with, and none of it is local.

Ideally I would order from a CSA, but I haven't tried yet. Here is some information about a couple:

Jacob's Cove of Orem is famous for their heirloom tomatoes. From the sounds of their last blog entry, they are working on some major structural changes that will provide state-of-the-art growing space for year-around produce. 

Utah Farms combines seasonal produce and products (including eggs and honey) from farms all over Utah. The price seems reasonable, but it's still double what I pay for BB...


Some other recent things I've tried include:

Costco: organic spinach, eggs, chips, butter, and strawberry jam; Lara bars, local bread, natural peanut butter, honey, frozen berries

WinCo: best bulk foods, including ingredients for homemade granola, grains such as wheat pasta, lentils, and spices, farm raised tilapia, and THIS:

Have you ever seen a dragon fruit in your life??? I hadn't, and Ella and I were so curious we had to bring one home. My girls love fruit and I figure the more exciting it is, the better. Why not making eating fun?

Well, I can tell you this is NOT what I expected when I cut it open. I guess I was imagining a mango or something. It's white and fleshy with black seeds resembling kiwi. It's a little bland with a hint of nutty... not a favorite, but interesting nonetheless. 

Good Earth: This was going out on a limb for me. I am used to shopping at Smith's and know all the aisles, brands, and favorites. But I decided if I am serious about eating organic I needed to try buying everything organic and see how the prices differ. Some prices, like on cheese, were too high to swallow so I got them at WinCo. Other things, like spaghetti sauce and yogurt, had good brands and prices I could manage. The produce section was small, but I found everything I needed at was happy it was all organic. They also have a bulk section, but again you pay a little more for it because it's organic.

In summary, these changes haven't been easy, but I figure since I am the main influence on five people's food choices -- and the effects of those choices -- I better take it seriously. The horticulturist in me gets excited for the challenge of raising my own food, and the mom in me gets excited about kids who eat less candy and more ants on a log.

As Lisa Leake from 100 Days of Real Food says, "You see, every time we food shop or eat a meal we are voting for either processed food-like substances or real food. If all of us make the right choices together then we can make a big impact, which will help change our country’s food system for the better." We can do it! You can too! If anyone reading this is interested, I can recommend some first steps to take. If anyone has tips, I'd love to hear them!

Gardening Classes

I picked up a copy of Edible Wasatch the other day and devoured it. I love their catch phrases:

"Local food is growing. Dig in!" and

"Vote with your fork."

I have been working hard on improving our diet this winter, but more on that later.

Today I wanted to share some gardening classes listed therein, and encourage people who live elsewhere to look up some locally (start with your state extension service).  These are FREE and are a great way to jump start a successful year in the garden. I hope I can attend one or two myself... anybody want to join me?


February 26
Get Ready to Garden: Beginning Organic Gardening
An introduction to the basics to get you started. Topics include: healthy soil, crop rotation, compost basics, natural pest control, crop diversity, companion planting, and when and what to plant. 


Main Library
Level 4 Conference Room
210 E 400 S, SLC
10 am - 12 pm
register@wasatchgardens.org


February 28th and March 27th
Horticulture Spotlight Lecture Series
Utah State Extension's presenters will include a wide variety of specialists within the horticulture industry.

Red Butte Garden
300 Wakara Way, SLC
6:30 - 7:30 pm
extension.usu.edu 


March 5
Garden Planning and Design
Come learn how to make the best use out of the space you have.

Main Library
Level 4 Conference Room
210 E 400 S, SLC
10 am - 12 pm
register@wasatchgardens.org

The Valentine That Keeps on Giving

Every girls loves getting flowers on Valentine's Day, right? But it's always sad that they don't last very long, and then you have to throw them away. Well this year give your sweetheart a little hint... how about flowers that keep on living?
 

This little beauty is called "Parade Rose" or Rosa Hybrid. It's just a miniature rose plant potted up with a bow. It's like a living rose bouquet that can be enjoyed indoors, and then when it's warm enough to dig in the soil, it can be planted outside in the garden or in a pot on the patio. Roses are perennials, so it would die back every winter, but come alive again every spring!

The blooms are gorgeous and have the characteristic spicy sweet scent of roses.
 

I love giving plants as gifts for any occasion. Houseplants make a home more inviting and interesting, and they even improve air quality!  The Jade plant (Crassula orvata) pictured above is one of my favorites because it's so easy to care for. It's a succulent, meaning it stores water in its fleshy leaves and needs very little watering.  

For example, this is a jade plant I bought in 2006. For almost 6 years it has been on my husband's desk at work (my little contribution to his cubicle, with a picture of us in the newlywed days!). Believe me, if he can keep it alive that long, anyone can. He had to set a monthly alert on his phone to dump in a glass of water, but that's all it takes!

Find a pretty pot and give a plant as a birthday gift, a wedding gift, or even a housewarming gift. 

Ivory Cylinder

Ivory Pedestal

Ivory Urn

Black Rings

Green fiberglass

Blue Cake Cup Planter

Start with Valentine's Day and give a gift that keeps on living and giving.

Groundhogs Day and Deer Reprise

Even if Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow today, I am feeling little tugs of spring in the back of my mind.

Like "Won't it be fun to see my bulbs bloom soon?!?" and

"I wonder if I have room for both corn and tall sunflowers in the back of my garden?" and

"I can't wait for fresh garden lettuce and tomatoes instead of these wannabe's..." and

"It's going to be interesting keeping dirt out of Tyler's mouth this year." and

"I wonder if my strawberries will survive being eaten by the deer?"

Speaking of deer, those naughty critters pulled a fast one on me. The snow cover had given me a (false) sense of security, and I thought they were gone since I hadn't seen them for about 3 weeks.

Then on Tuesday I saw my neighbor out the window, with her camera pointed into the fields behind our houses, and I followed her line of sight to see at least 18 head of deer lazing in the tall grass. It crossed my mind that they might look for food in my yard again, but there were also tractors, dump trucks, and a street sweeper swarming like ants all day, so I thought we'd be safe. They are starting to put in the roadway and utilities for more homes behind us. I will miss the pretty fields and views... 

Well I thought wrong. I was closing blinds at dusk and couldn't see the deer anymore... until I looked down in my own yard. ALL of them were grazing on my grass!!!!

I wish I had been more calm and collected and taken good pictures of 18 deer in my yard, but all I could do was run through the house yelling for everyone to follow me outside. Of course as soon as we opened the door they ran for the hills.

The yard was melted and soggy so now it's a muddy mess. Grrrrrr. Maybe I shouldn't mind the tractors waking me up at 6:30 every morning. A little more development might keep the deer out of my stuff!