The Gardener's "Tramp Stamp"

As you may have read, I spent a portion of my day today relocating my square foot garden.  It was back-breaking work.  I anticipated sun exposure (as one might do almost every day in Texas), so I applied SPF 45 this morning before taking my kids to school.

This evening, I felt a bit of a stinging sensation on my lower back.  "Oh great," I thought, "I scratched myself while gardening."  I turned around to examine my back and found a thin, wedge-shaped, scorchingly red sun burn, precisely where my tank top met my shorts.  Clearly, all of that bending over and shoveling exposed my unsuspecting lower back to the Texas sun's damaging rays.

"Oh my," remarked my husband, "it's a gardener's tramp stamp!"

Now, let me underscore here that the term "tramp stamp" is not typically in my lexicon.  Nor is it a self-actualizing work of art on my body.  Nonetheless, we had a good chuckle.

Let this serve as a cautionary tale.

Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

Last night, my older son asked if we could make some homemade ice cream in our Cuisinart ice cream maker.  I asked him what flavor he'd enjoy and he said "cherry.  and watermelon."  So tonight I made cherry vanilla ice cream.  I'll make the watermelon ice cream in a few days, once I've mulled my approach.

Ingredients (not as high fat as your typical ice cream since I don't usually have heavy cream in my fridge)

• 2-1/2 cups 1% milk
• 1-1/8 cups (plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 2 cups half & half
• 1-1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup thawed, pitted, quartered cherries (I bought the organic frozen variety since they aren't in season for us)

Instructions

• In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the half & half and vanilla.
• Sautee the cherries with 2 tablespoons of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar until soft.
• Drain and combine cherries with the contents of the mixing bowl.
  Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. 
• The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for about 2 hours. Remove from freezer about 15 minutes before serving. (I froze ours)

Seriously delicious!

An Organic Square Foot Garden: Good Drainage Is Critical

A few months ago, I set up my first square foot garden (you can read all of my Square Foot Garden-related posts here).  I placed it on a flat, mulched area.  While things flourished at first, after heavy, long Spring rains, the garden became over-saturated, didn't drain well and rotted.  All of it.  It was quite sad.

While I hate to learn lessons the hard way, the lesson was learned. 

Here's what I did (photo is pre-grid):

I kept it in the same spot since the light was right, but I combined the two 4x4 foot boxes and lifted the whole thing up on top of cinder blocks.  How? I bought a 4x8 foot piece of plastic lattice fencing from Lowes.  Placed this on top of wood planks, which in turn were on top of cinder blocks.  I lined it with weed barrier to retain the soil yet let the water pass through.  While I was at it,  I added more vermiculite, compost and peat moss.  I then went about the planting, then watered thoroughly.

Drainage problem solved! Just like a potted plant, I now water until it drips out beneath, then I stop. Makes it easy to know how much to water.

I am very hopeful for success.  I'll keep you posted.

How to Behave and Why

While browsing through the eclectic Anthropologie the other day, I came across a really amazing old book, How to Behave and Why, by Munro Leaf.  Though first published in 1946, the lessons are as useful today as they were back then, and the language is accessible.

It's a great book for ages 3 and up.  I'm thinking of bringing it to my kids' school to read to them. 

And whether or not the author intended it, I can see a lot of green lessons one could take from the four main points in this book.  It would be easy to have a follow-on conversation with kids about topics like sustainability, conservation, and caring for our environment.

Caveat: When reading this aloud to small children, it might be helpful to choose substitutes for certain words in the text such as "stupid" or "stupidity".  Though it's clear the author meant well, these are words we have banned from our house in any context to avoid their misuse.

Baby Spinach Tahini Salad

While traveling this weekend to my high school reunion, my sister and I stopped for a quick lunch at a really good salad shop called SweetGreen in Georgetown.  I ordered the Chic P because of my intense love of tahini.  Whether in hummus or in tahini dressing, tahini just hits the spot for me. 

Now home again in Texas, I had a big urge for a nice salad for lunch - with tahini dressing, of course.  So I improvised the tahini dressing, with excellent results:


Tahini Salad Dressing:
1/2 tablespoon tahini paste
3/4 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 tablespoon lemon juice
garlic powder and salt to taste

serving size: 2 tablespoons (you might not need this much)
approx calories: 155
approx fat grams: 16

I put this dressing on baby spinach and added some avocado and a few walnut halves. 

Delicious!  I'd have included a photo but I couldn't wait to eat it.

On Children and Gardens

Today I checked in on the organic vegetable garden I planted at my kids' school and was astonished at what I saw. 

The carrots are flourishing, the sunflowers are growing into huge beasts, and the other veggies are coming along.  Things are, in fact, growing better and faster than in my own garden at home. 

So I asked myself why that is.  It's not the seeds, it's not the soil.  These are the same in mine.  It could be the slope of their garden - there's probably better drainage. 

But I think the more likely reason is all of the attention being lavished on it by the children at the school.  Every class ventures out there every day, admiring it, whispering to it, picking out the weeds, dreaming alongside it, putting small fingers into the soil to make sure it has enough water.  They love that garden. 

The implication is clear: children are as good for vegetable gardens as vegetable gardens are for children.  

Plain and simple.

Happy Earth Day!

How to Explain Earth Day to Kindergarteners

I was asked to do something for my sons' Montessori class for Earth Day.  After a bit of thought, the following is what I did:

I kicked things off by lending the school our boxed set of BBC's Planet Earth DVDs.  These DVDs have mesmerized my five year old, particularly the one about the oceans.

Next, I got the kids thinking about conservation by reading to them The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. This story is as relevant today as it was when it was first published almost 40 years ago.  I then had them discuss the book using questions I found at the Seussville website.

The next day, I gave an interactive presentation followed with an activity/coloring book I found on the EPA's website (which I printed double-sided, natch).

I brought props (recyclable items) and three posters:

Daily Photo: Radishes

I plucked these from our garden before dinner this evening.  Delicious!

Daily Photo: A Rainy Sunday Afternoon Well Spent

I spent this afternoon running a 5k in support of the local school district.  Road races are a really fun way to get the blood pumping.  Go to http://www.Active.com to find a race near you!

Earth Day's 40th Anniversary Is April 22 - Watch This And Get Inspired!

There's Something Putrid in the Garden

Drainage is a big deal in North Texas, for two reasons.  Firstly, there's a lot of clay in the soil.  Water tends to sit on top of clay and is very slowly absorbed.  Secondly, when it rains here, it pours.  Have you ever noticed what happens to a dry sponge when a lot of water is dumped on it?  At first, the water just runs right off.  The sponge doesn't start to swell immediately.  Put these two qualities together and if the lowest spot in your landscape is up against your house or key elements of your garden, then your foundation or your landscaping may be in trouble.

After watching a few trees really suffer due to poor drainage in our backyard, my husband and I got out there in today's driving rain to do something about it.  First, my husband cleared a trench from a major pop-up bubbler toward the street, then he cleared some backed-up (and quite rotten) leaves, etc., from the pipe to allow more water to flow away from the garden.  After that project, we began to inspect other bubblers around the perimeter of the house.  One, I noticed, was full of water but the water was only trickling out.  A possible sign of blockage.

Daily Photo: Nemesis Squirrel

The squirrel from hell still visits me each morning.  I think I might actually miss him if he stopped coming around, despite the havoc he wreaks.

Add A Punch of Color to Your Front Stoop Or Garden

Spring is such a fun season for so many reasons.  The weather is gorgeous, the landscape awakens, and it's a perfect time for planting everything from trees to vegetables.  It's also a great time to add some punches of color to your front stoop or garden.  Here are three planters I've recently planted and enjoy looking at every day. 

This first one is one of a pair that I have flanking my front stoop.  I adore daffodils and don't often see them in Texas.

This second planter is also one of a pair.  I planted these outside of the front doors of my sons' school.

This last one is probably my favorite, mainly because of the brilliant blue of the planter, but also because of the explosion of complimentary colors.  It sits on the deck of my backyard.

Try your hand at it - just stop by your local Lowes or Home Depot, buy a big planter, choose blooming plants that look nice together and are appropriate for the amount of sun they'll get, fill the planter with garden soil (drench it with water before adding the plants), arrange the plants, fill in between them with more soil, then give the whole thing another good soak with the garden hose.  Voila!  Instant beauty in the garden or on your front stoop.

Easter Dinner

Well, the Easter baskets have been dismantled and mostly consumed, the egg hunt is over and now my attention turns to preparing dinner.

This is the first year I'm actually making a fuss over Easter dinner.  The first of many, I hope.  Today I'll serve a roasted chicken (prepared in a similar manner to my Thanksgiving turkey), gorgeous steamed green beans, a spiral ham (Easter is the only time of year I serve this) and stuffing.  We'll follow that with some lovely green grapes, strawberries picked from my garden, and fresh baked sugar cookies that my kids will decorate (this will no doubt be their favorite part of the meal).

I wish you peace, hope and grace this season.