In great Garden Form!

Houston High Garden project has been such a blessing for so many people this year - me because it renews my faith that people want healthy food and to grow things, my friend who lost her husband because she likes to stay busy so she doesn't think so much about how life's not fair, and a lot of the kids who will eat the food and who needed some community services hours so they could get some fees waived for the sports seasons! Tons of benefit and tons of produce!  Here are some of the forms we have used this year to keep track of what we planted, what we harvested and how many hours we spent doing it!  Since we were grant funded this year by a grant from the State of Alaska Department of Agriculture Farm to School Program, we had to keep track and we quickly realized how much we like to see our results on paper!  Nice Job!

This form is from a favorite blogger of mine - either I'm channeling her or she is channeling me - we have a lot of the same processes and ideas.  This one keeps track of how much we planted vs. how much we harvested.  Im pretty sure you could modify it to fit your own needs if there is something missing.  For us we are going to modify it to show a column for how much we planted or for how many plants we had.  For some of it (carrots) it will have to be an estimate since we did not count the seeds in the packet - we will have to call it 1 oz.  For potatoes we know how many pounds of seed we started with, and for tomatoes and zuchinni we know how many plants we have.

http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2012/10/free-printable-end-of-the-season-garden-tracker.html

She also has some other printable forms that you can get on her site.  Check it out!

We are also getting some kids some good community service hours (these are not hours required by a court, but because they look good on the kid, his resume, and his scholarship applications).  And also because we are partly grant funded by the State of Alaska Department of Ag Farm to School Program and we need to keep track of how much time everyone is putting in as well as what we are getting out of the garden. We are using this form (see link below) for this because they can use it anywhere in the community, not just for high school services.

http://www.chaffey.edu/honors/com_svc_hours.pdf

Everyone can use community service - feeling like you have made a difference can be a huge boost for morale for folks who are feeling less than good about themselves, it can make up for a lack of funds for a family who needs sports as a motivator, and it can make people aware of a cause that you are passionate about!  Some people want to be secret agent service people and I used to be one of those people.  I totally get the concept, but read on for why you shouldn't!

A few years ago I was doing some secret community service, I always pick up garbage at the public ice rink while Reed is skating for practices.  They are in the parking lot of a middle school and there is always garbage to pick up, it blows in from all over the place and McDonalds is right down the road!  I never wanted anyone to know that I was doing that - it was just for me - I knew it was getting cleaned up and didn't care if I got credit for it or if anyone knew I was doing it!  It made me feel good to do it and I liked pulling up to a clean parking lot.

One day I had more garbage than I could fit into the back of the car (I had it full with gardening stuff of course), so I tried to sneak it in and throw it away without any one seeing me.  The rink staff stopped me - I have no sneak- and asked me why I didnt tell them I was doing it - I went through all the reasons and they finally said "but Lis - we get credit for your volunteer hours - but only if we know about them!"  Turns out that they can get grant funds for that type of thing because they have willing volunteers!  ONLY if the know about it!  Our school is the same way, as is our garden!  We get credit for the hours put in - only if we know about it!  So keep track of your hours of volunteering that you are doing - even if it is picking up garbage in a parking lot - it is important and it matters!

Stay tuned for the educational handouts we gave out to our volunteers who helped in the garden!

To Dyson for - even on a holiday!

I haven’t done too many product reviews, but this is one that is such a life saver for moms, dads, grammas, gardeners, and pretty much anyone who doesn’t live in a bubble!  We all make dirt, the dog sheds on the floor, dust comes in, boots don’t get taken off, etc.  This little Dyson hand held vacuum has been such a godsend for me.  Received from my mother in law for Christmas one year, my sister in law and I each got one.  You know how everyone says “don’t buy a woman an appliance for (insert holiday here)” – you can ignore them on this one product.  She should love it.  She might have to use it once or twice, but after the flour spills out of the canister one time and she doesn’t have to haul out a big vacuum, or sweep for half an hour to clean it up, she will appreciate this cordless wonder.

It has three attachments, and it also has a long extension so you can get the cobwebs out of the high corners or suck up the rabid mosquitos that got in while the door was open. (yes - my husband DOES do that).  It has a simple recharger (plug into the car or the house), and it is lightweight enough that the smallest of mess makers can clean up after themselvs!

I even loaned it to the washer repairman today (yes - I finally have a working washer after 2 months!  Thank you Darren from Denali Appliance) and he asked me how I liked it so I had to crow a little about it while we sucked up some of the dust bunnies (actually dust clydesdales would be a better  description) from behind the washer and dryer.

Im not saying it’s the ideal Valentines gift – don’t go there guys – but it is a fantastic gift and a fantastic CORDLESS product that makes my fast life a lot easier!

Carry On Mamma - it wont be fair - you are NOT alone!

I have been struggling with “fair” often lately!  My son fell and shattered his elbow in February as you may have read in one of my earlier blogs.  He simply fell down and landed perfectly so that his elbow shattered into more than 15 pieces.  So unfair!  That is “some Bullshit” and could have been a dream stealer for him.  He plays comp hockey and is very good.  He is also one of the nicest kids I know as often as he can be.  He helps others, he is friendly, mostly polite (he is 14 after all), and I see both my kids really trying hard to be good human beings.

How is it fair, and how does he deserve for an accident like this to happen to him?

My oldest son had his very worst injury ever playing soccer – his second sport of choice at one point in time.  He also played comp hockey, and Junior level even.  He was head butted by another player and it required 65 stitches to close the gap, and he had to have a root canal which was his first filling ever!  Again, this is not a bad person gets what he deserves – this is a great person gets screwed!

My best friends husband was taken from us due to cancer.  One of the most awesome humans I ever met was dealt a hand that was more undeserved and unfair than any I had encountered to date.  He and my friend are the most amazing people – if I call – she comes and when he was alive he would come too – chemo pack and all!  He made the fanny pack look cool again!  Complete Bullshit that they had to live through that and that one didn’t make it.  She still practices holding up half the world.  If I can ever be as good a friend as she has been to me I will be in good shape!  Im pretty sure Im not that good yet though – I will have to keep practicing!

I have been without a washer for more than 2 months.  Two days after Reeds second surgery on his elbow, the washer broke down and I have been two months getting it replaced (they tried to repair it, couldn’t get parts, decided to replace it, no equivalent available, etc… its an insurance thing).  So on Wednesday of this week my brand new Electrolux was delivered and installed.  Of course I had a hockey practice to get the youngster to so I put a load in and off I went knowing that when I came home I would have clean clothes in my own house!  NO!  Washer wont spin.  Clothes soaking wet, still dirty, and a brand new broken washer in my house!  Repairman (who is a friend and a great repairman) came over and put the belt back on that appeared to have been shaken off during shipping (the washer came to Alaska on a barge).  He ran it through its paces and it seemed to be working beautifully.  So this time I stayed home while I ran that load.  I heard it go off and thought – ok – I am in business with my 9 loads of laundry!  No Deal!  Washer didn’t make it through one load and my guy can’t come out til Tuesday to see WTH is going on!  More “completely not fair”!  I am making some great community connections at the Laundromat though.

Enter Glennon Doyle Melton and her book “Carry On Warrior – Thoughts on Life Unarmed”.  This is a book that another friend had recommended to me that she picked up while struggling with the grief of losing her son.    I know I just gave you a book recommendation earlier this month, but at least for my girls – this is a must read!  She takes us out of the realm of seeking perfection with her life stories and lets us seek peace in our lives.

It has already made me laugh, cry and say “OK – I am not alone!”  She discusses at one point how we label our emergency contact in our phones as ICE – In Case of Emergency.   She also discusses in that chapter that we need to make sure we tell people that they are not alone.  We can’t try to placate them and make them feel better other than to let them know that they are not alone.  “Life’s not fair”, or “you will be OK” don’t work.  We F%$*N know lifes not fair – we just lived through some crap that pushed that right in our faces – no one has to tell us that it’s not fair.  We might not ever be OK – don’t say that we will.  Just say that we are not alone!  I think we should all change our ICE contact to say “YOU ARE NOT ALONE”!  This is the person that we would call in our direst of need or that someone else would call if we weren’t able to call!  So if we miss a call from that person it will tell us that we missed them but we are still not alone!  Im doing it!  Carry on!

Be a great neighbor!!!

I am a great farm sharer and I encourage everyone to be.  My neighbors and I trade tomatoes, potatoes (of course I have to mention spuds in my blog), and squash as well as flowering plants, apple starts and sometimes grass seed.  Some things should not be shared however!  The other day I was showing a neighbor around the farm - he is a hay farmer - and when we got to the cold frames with the squash he began to try to pull the nettle I have growing in there out!  Oh - he said - you cant have this growing in here!

 I had left the nettle in there so that I could harvest it for my tea products, particularly my detox tea that is an important part of my winter health program!  I have tried for a few years to establish a patch of nettle on the farm at various locations with no success - it wants to grow where it wants to grow!  These plants established themselves in the squash bin along the way and have done really well - I've made two harvest runs at them and they just keep producing!  So I have left them and they have dropped some seed and I have been able to harvest some seed as well to save for next year.

 The hay farmer neighbor was quite concerned that the nettle would escape into his field and make his hay much less salable due to it not being easily consumed by livestock.  He made a good point.  When I had started to try to establish a patch of nettle I never even though about how it might affect my neighbors - certainly not the ones a half mile away and up a fairly large hill from us!  I finally agreed that I would keep the nettle in the squash bin as best I can, but from now on I will think really hard about what I am planting and how it might affect my neighbors.  Poisonous plants and ones that might become difficult to control and contain will be hard pressed to find a place here at Wicked Raven.  I have experience with  mint getting out of control already even though I planted it inside a container!  It is rampant.  I will give you some hints and helps for that one in a post coming soon.  Nettle can become a rampant pest plant in some circumstances, but here in the "burn area" of Big Lake, the clay seems to be a deterrent for this plant spreading too wildly.  At least where I am.  That's not to say that it couldn't get out of control anywhere.  Nettle is a perennial plant and sometimes resumes growth after winter from rhizomes or root nodes.  Here in Big Lake, any perennial can be killed by the cold and I haven't had success finding nettle in the same place each year.  Im hoping it likes the squash bin and will come back there next year.  I would feel somewhat better about my neighborliness if it stayed in the box!

 

The above photo shows the seed on the paper towel from one harvest of the two plants in the squash bin!  The stack of twigs to the right of the glass jar are the ones that I harvested the leaf from and these seeds are all from those twigs - only about a dozen stems!  To the left of the glass jar are the newly harvested nettle stems that are waiting to go onto the towel and rack.  The orange prescription bottle is where I store the seeds that I save and these nettle seeds will go into that jar.  My harvested leaves go into the glass jar.  It takes a lot of nettle to get through the winter for us - I use it for a lot of things.  Nettle is an anti-asthmatic, it helps with liver function, and can assist other herbs as a cure for gout.  It has vitamins C, B, and beta-carotenes, among others.

Most folks are not able to handle nettle bare handed and you should take caution when you are handling it as it can sometimes cause a severe rash or other reaction.  I have never been bothered by nettle and only occasionally do I have to pluck a tenacious stinger out of my skin.  I brush them off and go about my day!

 Regardless of whether I am a good neighbor or not - nettle is a necessary plant.  I will however be more careful about how, where and what I plant and how it will affect my neighbors.  I hope that you will think about your neighborhood and how your planting affects that neighborhood!  I hope your affect will be only positive!

HHS Garden Update - Things are growing great!

We have been seeing some great things at the garden lately - thanks to a great mix of sun and rain as well as the soil amendments we have added!  Our squash are going great guns and producing a plethora of produce out there (see photos below),

 

The zuchinni to the left was growing so hard against the wood of the growing bin that it has a crease in it!  We should be able to harvest it next week!  Can't wait!


The cleanup has been going really well too - we have had a couple of football players who wanted to get some community service hours on their resume' so they have been helping out by clearing the fence line of brush.  They are also working on the huglekulture beds to help us as well - we will be ready for strawberry plants in there soon.  Below left is Tanner Barclay manning the wheelbarrow to move some grass clippings into the Hugelkulture beds and on the right I am walking down the Huglekulture rows to mash down our brush piles before the clippings are applied.

 We have purchased some supplies with our grant monies from the Department of Ag Farm to School Grant that we won in the spring and we are happily using the goodies to make the garden grow better!

The wheelbarrow was already in place at the High School but we purchased the yard card and you can see our shovels and rakes with the red handles in the background as well as a few of our watering cans ( So far I haven't been able to find the galvenized ones that we want), and some of the promix and composted steer manure for helping our depleted and compacted soil.  At right is Nancy Albertsen - Volunteer extraordinaire - checking out the new supplies and garden goodies!  Below she is weeding the sign  near the front gate of the school.  This planter bed has been there since 1989 and is in need of some TLC.  It drives us crazy as we go by so we decided to use some of our summer time to start rehabbing the flower bin.  We have cleaned it out and it will be repaired and have some new soil added carefully around it so we can put new perennials in it next spring.  The red twig dogwoods will stay in place if at all possible.

We are excited about the upcoming harvest season - stay tuned and see how that goes.  I will be posting the forms that we will use to keep track of our produce (planted vs. harvested) as well as the hugelkulture directions for you soon!