My Outdoors Part I

Some Lillies that the Homeowner planted.



My Chamomile, that the flowers have all but fallen off because I don't know how to harvest them/when to.



My Pink Gerbana Daisies.



My Red Gerbana Daisies. As you can tell my camera doesn't enjoy red.



Purple Petunia. I also have Pink ones. These guys really appreciate the warmth this month is providing. Planted these along with Geraniums with the Pepper plants.



My precious little Wormwood. Love this plant. So pretty, soft, and deters animals, also a nerve agent.





First Borage flower. Very proud of this, although Borage is relatively easy to grow. Use this as "my first line of defense."



Some weird mushrooms I dug up.



An open pod, what the mushroom looks like when it is beginning to sprout.

Oh the Joy, Time, and Expense of Gardening in Iowa.

This is the wagon I used to drag home my poor, pitiful plants. This mud/water slush is from their roots draining through the colander on the ride back to my house.






As you can see the leaves have turned purple. This is from my lack of adding phosphate to the soil.



My lone Echinecea plant, that I need to go pluck from the ground because not even this can survive the conditions in my bed.



My poor,poor rhubarb :'(

And this, my friends, is my bed.










Sludge close up.



Granted, I did dig those holes in the ground. The *idea* that I had was that I would dig out the soil that was in the bed, let it dry, then mix it with compost and manure. There is only about a foot of soil that the plants can actually push through. Underneath? There is no way a plant could penitrate that "dirt" (clay). I have some more pictures of what we did yesterday, dug a trench to drain the water and place a french drain in the middle of the bed.

But I can actually garden! And for the most part the garden I have in back of my house is doing well.



This is my spinach harvest. We have also gotten lots of kale and chard from the back.

Oh Anthony. Yum.

I have a HUGE crush on Anthony Bourdain. It is so strange. What's even weirder is he reminds me of my husband! Ha. The one "thing" I can have that isn't real and I pick someone who looks and behaves/thinks/jokes like my husband. So weird. Sometimes he can be annoying though. It seems like he tries so hard to keep up this "image" he has for himself. Yesterday they aired the Saudi Arabian episode which was cool cause 1. Anthony was wearing a sports coat, yum. 2. You got to see his professional behaviour. Dude's a hard ass.

What Not to Wear.

When I first got tv, after 4 years of not having, I watched (basically) nothing but WNTW. But Jesus. Stacey? She tries to dress EVERYONE like HER! Not that she doesn't dress nice, but she dresses nice for her. Not everyone needs to look like her.

Okay, first. I am not an anthropologist. I am married to an immigrant. Wtf?

Walmart. Seriously. I have 2 shirts to return there and I hope to never ever ever shop there again. I have a lot more to say that I think about this but whatever, no one ever wants to talk about it and then if you do talk about it and don't say "wow, I just love everyone and think everyone is right." someone comes out of basically no where and yells at you, tells you how stupid you are etc.

But what makes someone this or that? That they know the culture? Most people who state they are this or that can't even speak the language let alone cook the food. Instead of I am blah - american or that I am a blah how about the word ancestor? My ancestors were this or my ancestors were that? Isn't thinking that you are this or that in and of its self racist?

I'm tired of hyphens. I am tired of people being rude to me just because I am white and speak english. And you know what? I shop at "ethnic stores" and those people are ALWAYS soooo polite, humble, considerate, etc. What the hell is it about Wal Mart? I have always hated thinking I am "better" than other people. I just hate that. But between the hispanics, muslims, indians, white folks who eat a pack of meat patties and ride shippong carts. I can't take it. It isn't that I want to be around white people. I have generally strongly disliked white people and thought they were boring. But this is getting highly ridiculous.

Heirloom Seed Sources I

abundantlifeseeds.com
artisticgardens.com
auntmarthasgarden.com
rareseeds.com
bountifulgardens.org
burpee.com
canyoncreeknursery.com
colonialwilliamsburg.org
comstockferre.com
cooksgarden.com
enscseeds.com
gardenimport.com (Sutton's Seeds)
historyyoucaneat.org
goodseedco.net
gourmetgardener.com
heirloomseeds.com
highmowingseeds.com
JLHudsonsees.net
humeseeds.com
monticello.org
johnnyseeds.com
landisvalleymuseum.org
landrethseeds.com
mountvernon.org
nativeseeds.org
naturalgardening.com
nicholsgardennursery.com
oldsalem.org
osv.org
parkseed.com
peppergal.com
superseeds.com/home.htm
plantsofthesouthwest.com
reimerseeds.com
reneesgarden.com
walkinginplace.org/seeds
roherseeds.com
sandhillpreservation.com
kitchengardenseeds.com
seedsavers.org
seedsofchange.com
seeds.ca/en.php
seedstrust.com
seedsweastgardenseeds.com
selectseeds.com
skyfiregardenseeds.com/
virtual.clemson.edu/groups/seed/index.htm
southernexposure.com
uga.edu/ebl/ssl/
harrietbeecherstowecenter.org
territorial-seed.com
seeds.thompson-morgan.com/us
tomatogrowers.com
underwoodgardens.com
vermontbean.com
victoryseeds.com

Water Recipe

Lemon Water

• 1 gallon cold water


• 2-3 slices fresh lemon


• 2-3 slices cucumbers

Place all the ingredients into a pitcher and serve.
For a stronger taste, let the water sit in your refrigerator for an hour prior to serving.

Cheap eats

Moms, married women are always asking about cheap eats.

Here you go.

Lentil Tacos (delicious!)
Lentil Soup
Enchiladas, pork, pinto/refried beans, black beans, ground beef, lentil, or if you want to get fancy chicken.
Lasagna
Hamburgers
Spaghetti
Nachos
Stir Frys, including Pad Thai
Burritos (have made all kinds, many times.
Baked Ziti
Ratatouille (sp) isn't all that expensive to make and is healthy and tasty.

There is a "trick" to this. If you think of any "3rd world country" and look at what the mainly eat, it is probably going to be cheap. Granted, any of these dishes can be fancied up; meaning become exspensive. I am betting this is what the majority of Ameirca eats .. you know even though they aren't a third world country.

My family's main dinner (read ever week) is pinto beans, fried taters, and collard greens. By family, I mean the one I originated from not the one I have made.

I have a 2 year old son. He can spend all day either playing with his train set or playing in the water I load up in the sink. He still squawks, shrieks whatever you want to call it. The sound is grating. This week he is with me, the daycare providers are off this week. And the speech therapy people don't come back to visit until sometime in July.

And all I want to do is knit and crochet. I still have that huge afghan/blanket to finish and I have to work on some grocery bags. Trying to get ANYTHING done with the child is around is near impossible. Seriously, he will hold my hand, walk me into his room then he just wants me to sit and watch him play.

Best Book EVAR!

I just bought what, seriously, has to be the best book ever.



I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence

Go ahead, add it to your wishlist.

Organic Vegetable Gardening/Companion Planting - Des Moines, Iowa

List of books I definitely suggest the Organic Gardener owner, now mind you this is not specific to the Organic Gardener. I believe these books are good, useful to any gardener.

Got a pest problem? Leaves turning a color and you don't know why? Want to learn about organic fertilizers and pesticides?



The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control
Google Preview

This book is wonderful! Esp for the Northern US grower (the author is in the same Zone number). Covers just about everything you would want to know about veggie gardening. This book was shown to me by a fellow community gardener.



The Vegetable Gardener's Bible

Well, this book is just fantastic. At first I didn't like it. But that's because I hadn't read the book nor was I actively gardening. Go to any garden forum and I guarantee this book will be listed at least once with several others agreeing that, yes you should own this book. The author is a companion plant master.



Carrots Love Tomatoes

This book is highly pratical, for the most part. My husband really enjoyed this book. As soon as we bought it he read it cover to cover in about 2 days.



Square Foot Gardening
Google Book Preview

If I had it to do over again I would have planted Green Manure Crops in my community garden plot, just to set everything straight in my bed and so I would have a better idea about what I was dealing with in the soil. I plan on planting these crops during the fall garden closing down period.

Green Manure Crop Examples: Alfalfa, Red/White Clover, Legumes.

Another link because I just found it and I love Mother Earth News, Mother Earth News Organic Gardening Page

Now, I need to enlist the help of my husband to correct my community garden project. I need trenches dug and mounds built. Because you see, there isn't good drainage at the garden location. Not only that but the dirt is high in clay content, hence the poor drainage. My particular plot has left over chives (from the previous garden spot owner) on one side and the other side has the pipe that runs to one of the many hoses offered in the community garden. I have planted about 9 pepper plants in my garden plot. My poor peppers first received winter burn ... and now they just sit. This has frustrated me to no end. But! I think I figured out why. The ground here in Iowa has not gotten warm enough! Iowa Soil Temp Maps.

All except the Ligularia ‘The Rocket’ I see nothing but these freaking plants here in Iowa. Ahhh.

He's Just Not That Into You is very, very disappointing.

Generally speaking, if a video cover has several different people on the cover I am not going to like the movie.

Monsanto & Obama's Food Safety Working Group Update Alert

If you do not want corporate lobbyists from Monsanto involved in running the proposed Food Safety Administration, please read the sample letter at end of blog.

There is a link where you can send the letter to Secretary Vilsack.

Weeds: Noxious & Invasive

What is a noxious weed?

The term "weed" means different things to different people. In the broadest sense, it is any plant growing where it is not wanted. Weeds can be native or non-native, invasive or non invasive, and noxious or not noxious. Legally, a noxious weed is any plant designated by a Federal, State or county government as injurious to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife or property. (Sheley, Petroff, and Borman,1999) A noxious weed is also commonly defined as a plant that grows out of place (i.e. a rose can be a weed in a wheat field) and is "competitive, persistent, and pernicious." (James, et al, 1991).

Are invasive plants the same as noxious weeds?

No. Invasive plants include not only noxious weeds, but also other plants that are not native to this country. The BLM considers plants invasive if they have been introduced into an environment where they did not evolve. As a result, they usually have no natural enemies to limit their reproduction and spread (Westbrooks, 1998). Some invasive plants can produce significant changes to vegetation, composition, structure, or ecosystem function. (Cronk and Fuller, 1995).

Bureau of Land Management