All chopped up – had various interesting colours throughout.

Pre chopping.

Other than it being way too hot for broccoli this year, I chose an excellent year to start really late – the days are noticeably shorter and the nights mostly cooler but there’s still heaps of hot sunshine to ripen my solanums

Illustration of Rosa rugosa

Hopefully the vast and intimate relationship between human beings and plants is not something that I have to elaborate on extensively. For the sake of not writing a novel (which I apparently love to do despite my own protests) I am going to broadly categorize the relationship that we have with plants into two categories: aesthetics and practicality. Plants are incredible and unique organisms, just as we and every other living thing is. They are fundamentally different from other forms of life based on a myriad of chemical and genetic principles.

For thousands of years human beings have gone to great lengths to enhance the physical appearance of plants in order to satisfy our seemingly endless hunger for the beautiful, strange and interesting. In some cases, we have completely removed some plants from their natural habitat and context and altered them to such a degree that this new ‘cultured’ and ‘designed’ organism exists for us and by us. Ornamental cultivation marks a crucial and defining aspect of our relationship with the plant world, something that has changed both us and them forever and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

However, if you change your perspective to one of practicality and realism, you discover that a plant cannot be eaten or used no matter how beautiful or aesthetically pleasing it may be. This defines the other realm of our physiological relationship with plants; one of reverence and respect for their service of sustaining us as well as all other terrestrial life. Despite this, the world of horticulture and agriculture just like that of medicine and food is drawn by a very thin line that is only slightly blurry at best. Unbeknownst to many, there are a wide assortment of plant species that are more commonly associated with the ornamental end of the scale but also possess edible and medicinal uses. I present to you a few very common plant species that are largely regarded as being ornamental but also offer edible and medicinal uses that can help you to even further enjoy what these plants have to offer. What could be more satisfying than growing and nurturing a plant that provides you with both beauty and aesthetic appeal as well as sustenance and nourishment; food for both the mind and body?

Rose of Sharon blossoms

The rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) is a fast growing shrub or small tree indigenous to East Asia that is closely related to both the medicinal plants marshmallow, Althaea officinalis, (not the artificially colored and flavored confection composed mainly of sugar and corn syrup) and red hibiscus, Hibiscus rose-sinensis. Rose of Sharon is very common in the horticultural trade and a truly staggering number of cultivars are available which has produced a nearly endless range of color, form and texture.

The plants establish quickly, can tolerate summer drought, and do best in a sunny, open position with plenty of space. They can be trained into small trees or multi-stemmed shrubs, or allowed to grow into a full, sprawling bush which seems to be their natural preference. For the purpose of rose of Sharon’s edible and medicinal properties, all cultivars can be used although it is probably best to stay away from the double-flowered and heavily bred varieties since the external and internal chemistry and genetics of the plant have been altered and this could affect how they are processed and assimilated by the body. If you do not have Rose of Sharon already growing in your garden, I would recommend trying to obtain seeds of the the straight species.

The often large, 5-petaled flowers in their entirety are edible, including the small green appendage (calyx) which attaches the flower to the twig from which it emerges. They have a fresh, crunchy and slightly mucilaginous (slimy) texture and a mild and gently sweet flavor. They make wonderful garnishes for any dish, although are particularly at home in salads or the petals separated and layered in sandwiches. The flowers are usually produced for several weeks, if not a month or more, from mid summer to early fall. Both young (when still folded and emerging from the bud) or old (slightly wilted) flowers can be used. I enjoy them best raw, although they can also be cooked and incorporated into casseroles or added to soup or stew as a thickening agent.

The young, light green and irregularly lobed leaves as well as tender shoots are also edible, but they quickly become tough and fibrous. Both the leaves and flowers can be made into a tea which has similar properties to the aforementioned Altheae officinalis. The mucilaginous texture that you experience when eating the raw flowers and leaves is very soothing to an irritated throat and digestive tract, reducing inflammation from irritation or infections. Ulcers, irritable bowel conditions and constipation are just some of the conditions that can be treated by regularly drinking a tea from or consuming the flowers and leaves of this versatile as well as stunningly beautiful plant.

Siberian pea tree flowers

The Siberian pea tree (Caragana arborescens) comes to us from north-east Asia, where it can be found growing in a wide range of conditions including dry, gravelly slopes and moist, rich valley bottoms along streams. This very adaptable and resilient species was originally introduced to North America as a food crop, planted along trade routes by early migrants who traveled from the areas where this plant is native. Over time, other virtues and characteristics of the Siberian pea tree were recognized and exploited. Once considered food, this plant is sold in bulk nurseries to be planted in groups on the slopes of recently constructed overpasses and junctions as a soil stabilizer. It is also commonly planted as a windbreak and to mark the property boundaries of agricultural operations. Unfortunately, the knowledge of this plant as a provider of food and nutrition has largely been abandoned, which is a terrible shame.

As if the name wasn’t enough of a hint, The Siberian pea tree is in the legume family Fabaceae (formerly called the leguminosae) and has the capacity to fix nitrogen into the soil thereby enriching and improving its capacity to nurture other plant species. In addition, the species is remarkably cold hardy (down to at least -15 degrees C) and can tolerate long periods of summer drought and high-humidity once established.

I find that the beauty of this species is its seasonal versatility. I have encountered few plants, that have not been intentionally cultivated for the purpose of being edible crops, that provide food throughout the growing season. In early to mid spring, dense clusters of bright yellow pea-shaped flowers are born on short stalks. These can be harvested (with care to avoid the paired spines at the base of each compound leaf)  quite efficiently and eaten fresh or added to salads and soups for color and flavor. As would be expected, the flowers have a pea-like flavor that is quite agreeable and lends itself to being incorporated into various dishes.

A couple of weeks later, around late May or June, those flowers that remained after your first grazing have been pollinated and have begun to grow into beans. They are long, narrow and a couple of inches long. When still vibrant green and flexible, they can be eaten raw in salads, cooked in casseroles, roasted with other vegetables or used in any one of the ways that you would use green or pole beans; with which the flavor is also quite comparable with. Further still, in August and July, the left-over pods will turn brown as they mature and split open to reveal beans. These can be sprouted and eaten, or soaked and boiled to be used in sauces, bean salads or mashed.

Given that these plants can flourish with complete and total neglect once established (it is fully hardy and drought tolerant), they are an asset to an edible and medicinal landscape. It is appropriate to keep in mind that this species is mildly invasive, at least in the southern greater Toronto area (specifically Hamilton and Burlington) where I have observed it first hand spreading downwards on slopes where it is planted. The mature seeds, when released from the pods, simply roll down the hill and germinate a few feet down slope from the mature colony.

Ramanas rose hips

The Ramanas Rose (Rosa rugosa) is a relatively new wild edible treat for me. Around where I live, they are commonly planted in the small, crowded ‘green islands’ in the middle of parking lots. Ramanas roses can tolerate a modest amount of salt spray and poor air conditions, making them suitable for cultivating in such conditions. However, I would advise not to harvest from these plants as the soil that they are growing in probably contains completely inappropriate amounts of petroleum derivatives, inorganic road salt and likely also garbage. Better to harvest seeds or cuttings from these plants and grow them in your yard or a pot as part of a balcony or porch garden!

Originally growing in clustered colonies in sand dunes and gravelly piles along the edges of the sea in South Korea, Japan and Eastern China, this species was selected for cultivation mainly because of its hardiness and it’s ability to be breed with other rose species. Therefore, there are many double-flowered and sterile cultivars and breeds of this species available in the horticultural trade, although for the most part I have only seen the straight species planted in public places.

Naturally, the flowers have light pink to dark purple slightly wrinkled petals with a faint sugary-sweet fragrance and a white center. Like other rose species, the flower petals can be eaten raw, added to salads or sandwiches, used in potpourris or soaked in water to make rosewater, a very expensive but easily made natural food flavoring. Of course, be careful to avoid getting pricked by the vicious thorns that, although soft and rubbery when young, quickly harden and become a threat to wild harvesters. A tea made from the flowers has a particularly profound affect on the liver and spleen, helping to cleanse.

My favorite aspect of this rose is the fruit that is produced. Rose fruits are referred to as hips, and are biologically very similar to the morphology of an apple or pear, with an astringent skin concealing lusciously sweet flesh surrounding a cluster of seeds in the center. Many rose hips are small and very fiddly to collect and eat, but the hips of the Ramanas rose can be between 2 or 3 centimeters in diameter. The layer of flesh is also surprisingly thick, and has a wonderful texture and flavor.

The hips are produced in clusters from the start of flowering which occurs in mid to late spring. If the hips are harvested as soon as they are ripe in mid-summer, another flush of flowers may produce another crop of hips in autumn. As the hips ripen, they turn orange and finally a bright, deep red. Once the skin starts to wrinkle slightly, they can be picked and eaten out of hand, preserved as jam, made into a fruit compote, or mushed and incorporated into a sweet and savory sauce. Rose hips are famously rich in vitamin C, as well as vitamins E, A, flavonoids and essential fatty acids, which may be important in preventing the formation or spread of various cancers.

Even the seeds of Ramanas rose can be used. Although tough and bitter when eaten out of hand (not to mention the little hairs which cover the seed’s surface and can make swallowing difficult and uncomfortable) the seeds can be rinsed and then ground into a powder which can be added to soups, smoothies, oatmeal, or just about anything. The seeds are rich in minerals and have an impressive amount of vitamin E – and there is more to come! In late spring or early summer,  new shoots from established plants can be seem emerging from the ground. This species aggressively propagates itself in this way and can form dense hedgerows if left to it’s own devices. One way to control its spread is to eat the new shoots! When flexible and tender, they can be cut at base level and steamed, baked or cooked just like asparagus.

What’s incredible is that this is only 3 plants out of hundreds of commonly ornamental cultivated plants which have the capacity to feed and nourish the world. I encourage you to explore and diversify; introducing into your body a wide variety of unorthodox crops, and therefore unique combinations of nutrients, minerals, active enzymes and the like, producing an individual that is just as healthy and diverse as what they eat. I am all about biodiversity in the forest, biodiversity of the mind, and biodiversity of the plate. I believe that a lot of the common ailments that plague the industrialized world result in part from continually eating the same types of food over and over again and for extended periods of time. Embrace plant diversity, both agricultural and ornamental, and continue to step over the perceived and arbitrary boundary that exists between these two terms. Happy learning, growing and feeding!

During my daily foraging walk I’m after wild radishes which are in season.

All I really wanted to know was how many little follies Dr Bill was able to collect. After my wonderful scans I had guessed around 10 – could we have been that lucky? But alas, no. Dr Bill was only able to collect 4. FOUR? 4? Come on!!!  The scans said I had at least 15 in there!  Where had they all gone? I couldn’t hold back the tears. The hurt and frustration and pain was all too much. I had gone through All. Of. This. for four follicles?  I was duped. Someone was playing a mean prank on me.

Mr T tried to soothe me but I just couldn’t stop crying. All that hard work, the repeated injections, the whole bloody procedure. Dr Bill came and saw us in recovery and even he seemed surprised. I wanted to shout at him, to accuse him of stuffing up, I even wanted him to go back in and have woman’s look, but the tears and frustration made me hold my tongue.  Because I knew it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. But I had to blame someone.

So I blamed myself. My stupid, useless ovaries. All I wanted was some morphine to take the pain away, to put me into a beautiful, peaceful warmth so I wouldn’t feel so wretchedly awful. But of course it wasn’t a ‘major’ operation so I got a couple of Endone tablets. Goodie.

Mr T was wonderful through it all. He kept holding my hand and stroking my arm and telling me it wasn’t my fault as I lay there in pain and covered in my own tears. He tried to distract me by telling me that I snored through the procedure and the anaesthetist had to push my head back to shut me up. That I was moving my hand on my chest and Mr T was asked to hold it still for them.

Four follicles. We had been told in a previous meeting not to be surprised if we had a large harvest and only a few were fertilised – as that happens a lot.  But I only had 4. What were the odds for our four?  Could there be any hope of all four being fertilised? We were told that we could call mid-afternoon of the next day to find out. 18 hours away. It didn’t seem possible to wait that long. So I tried to put it out of my mind and focus on healing. The painkillers kicked in and I was eager to head home and lick my wounds in the comfort of my own home.

So my question to you today is:  When have you been so sure of something that when it didn’t happen you were inconsolable?

We’re committed to helping Somaliland via a socially responsible business model. Frankincense and myrrh has been harvested for generations there and it is time that the people who harvest these resins and live on this land, see the real benefits of their harvest. This video is our company’s story of how we began, our mission for sustainability, our journey of growth, and our hopes for the future. Thank you to Shuraako for producing this.

Photo by by Michelle Meiklejohn | Freedigitalphotos.net

Ever eaten a freshly picked, perfectly ripe blueberry?  If not, you’re missing out!  They’re fabulous, and much better than what you get in those cartons at the grocery store.  The good news is, growing you own blueberries is perfectly do-able!  Here are some great resources if you’re thinking of planting blueberries.

General Guides: Organic Gardening, Sonoma County Master Gardeners’ Guide, Univeristy of Rhode Island’s Blueberry FactSheet

Soil Requirements: Oregon State’s Guide to Acidifying Soil,  GardenWeb Forum With Suggestions for Acidifying Soil

Pruning: YouTube video about pruning blueberries, Cornell University Guide to Blueberry Pruning and Rejuvenation

Harvesting: FineGardening’s video tutorial on harvesting blueberries at peak ripeness

Other Info: Dwarf Varieties that can be grown in containers

 Have you grown your own blueberries before?  Share your recommendations in the comments!

Are you interested in gardening, but not sure where to start? Download my FREE Getting Started Gardening Guide.

Want more A Girl & A Garden? I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! Just click to visit :)

This is the first stanza of D.H. Lawrence’s Wild Things in Captivity and I think it articulates something that I have been exploring in my own life for the last several years. It is the reason I became interested in growing food and the inspiration for this blog.

I’ve struggled with what is at times crippling anxiety since puberty and have tried almost every conventional treatment known to man.There were moments of intense fear where I thought I was losing my mind, that perhaps I would be swallowed up by my own sorrow, but I didn’t. In fact I’ve never felt better.

There was no one “aha” moment, but rather a series of actions that lead to small realizations. The first was throwing away all the psychotropic drugs I was on. I do not advise quitting cold-turkey as I did because the withdrawal was hellish and dangerous, though I am glad to not be on them anymore. Not having that crutch was really scary, but it also gave me self-esteem as I saw that I was perfectly capable of handling tough situations. The second and most important action I ever took was to tap into the food movement, specifically growing food organically. I gained reverence for the natural world and my small part in it…through this controlled chaos I embraced my wildness.

In my first herbalism course the instructor told us to try and incorporate more wild foods into our diet (such as mushrooms and weeds )saying that, “When you eat wild foods you are connecting yourself molecularly to the environment.” That was when I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

I’ve devoted many hours of thought into the idea of wildness and place. I would say that these ideas are what motivate me to seek the path I am on. They are what have allowed me to heal. I would hazard to guess that the reason so many of us are feeling so anxious and depressed is because we feel trapped, and really many of us are trapped. The way we are told to live our lives IS a trap and we are being lured in with quick fixes and cheap pleasures. We have lost much of our wildness and are instead, “active with captive activity” and yet many of us are so disconnected from ourselves and the world around us that we cannot even see why this would make us miserable, so instead we blame it on a diseased mind. I don’t think my mind was ever diseased, I was just livin in a toxic environment. Now that I have been diagnosed with MTHFR it all makes much more sense, all of that toxicity was literally building up in my body and causing problems.

At the end of the poem Lawrence advises to:”Break the cage then, start in and try”. I won’t lie, leaving captivity is not easy just ask anyone who has been in jail or rehab for a long time. It might actually get worse before it gets better. When I decided to make all of these changes I was criticized and detoxification comes with some not so wonderful side effects, but if you can get through the initial hump you will feel better than you can ever imagine. My own journey has just begun really and I already feel much better. Instead of dreading each day I wake up excited to see what the next 24 hours will have in store. Being wild means that the possibilities are endless.

In my quest for wildness I have been harvesting a small portion of my food from my backyard and clean fields as far away from roadsides as possible. Here are a couple of my recent inventions:

Wild Breakfast Tacos:

Ingredients:
Wild harvested red bud
Kale
Wild harvested dandelion tops (flowers)
Eggs (optional)
oil for cooking

Red bud and dandelion tops

Directions:
-Pan-fry all the vegetables together in oil (I used coconut) and then add in the eggs until they are cooked.
-Heat tortillas
-Serve!!

Yum (You don’t come here for the photos).

Wild Green Smoothie

Ingredients:
Henbit (or any edible weed from your area)
Frozen Rasberry
Elderberry flower cordial (purchased in Sweden, but available in US)
Frozen Mango
Flax seed
Ice
Shot of water

Henbit-We have tons taking over our garden

Directions:
Blend! The wonderful thing about green smoothies is that you can get creative. Use what you have!

How are you getting wild?

Among the most effective of all gardening techniques is mulching. It can keep weeds from popping up while lessening how fast the water evaporates from the soil, too.When mowing your lawn do not cut it as short as possible. If you leave your grass kind of high, your roots will be deeper and your lawn will be stronger and not dry out. Grass that is shorter has a root system that is easier to dry out.Increase the worth of your investment. Landscaping your yard will bring you a big return on your investment. A simple investment in plants can elevate your property value by as much as 20% or more. Plants that are low in moisture and suit your environment are a good investment.

Architect your veggie garden before breaking ground. Make a list of what you want to grow, and make a detailed drawing of your growing area, including what will be planted where. Make sure that you factor in how much room the mature plants will need, along with each plant’s sun and moisture requirements.Try to grow some wheat or cat grass around your cat’s favorite plants. Offensive smells also work to repel cats and other pesky animals from eating your plants. Try putting mothballs, citrus peels, garlic and other pungent items on the topsoil.Trying to shovel through clay soil can be extremely difficult and tiresome. Make your shoveling job easier by lightly coating a shovel with a layer of wax, then buffing the surface. Either car wax or floor wax will work just fine. The clay will slide off of its surface and it will prevent rust.

The water that is leftover from the steamed vegetables is great to pour over them. Try adding used coffee grounds to the soil around plants that grow in acidic soil. If you find that you have a fungus problem, try sprinkling some chamomile tea on your plants.When landscaping and gardening in autumn, choose plants and trees with vibrant colors. This might not be the reason why. In terms of colorful foliage, fall is the time of year admired by many. Fall hues of orange, yellow and red can be seen falling from maple trees, and dogwoods and beech trees offer comparable spectacles. When selecting shrubs that will be colorful during the fall, consider hydrangea, barberry, or cotoneaster.As these tips show, gardening can be both fun as a solitary hobby or as a family project. Using this advice, you can enjoy gardening with yourself, your friends, or your family.

God’s plan may not be fulfilled in our lifetime.

That statement has been on my mind since I heard it days ago.  You see, I have this image in my mind that God has big, big plans for me.  I’ve been waiting for that plan to unfold for years.  I’m going to do something big and magnificent that is going to change the face of the world.  I might win a Nobel Peace Prize in fact because this “thing” is going to be amazing and awesome.  Fame.  A written book.  Chatting with Jimmy Fallon and the President at some special soiree in my honor.  Maybe I’ll get a beautiful gold medallion with color ribbon attached to it and sit with other truly brilliant people at the Kennedy Center for my honors.  

Something tells me it isn’t going down that way.  I’m not sure God uses people in magnificent ways that are planning the after-celebration celebration to advance His plans on earth.  

In fact, when I go back through the Bible it is very clear that God often uses the least to get the most.  It’s my understanding that Moses had some sort of speech impediment, David’s first stellar act was as a young, unkonwn shepherd boy against a horrific giant, Rahab was a prostitute, Mary an innocent teenager and so on.  

Importantly, if you read through the lengthy lineage of Jesus Christ in the Bible (Luke) you see that it took 77 generations for God to work His way to the birth of our Lord and Savior.

My father has compiled extensive research about our ancestors who came from Germany.  I believe we can go back into the early 1800s.  Years ago I was going through old photos and found a family of young women. The photo featured my great-grandmother and her sisters.    They looked almost identical though they spanned a number of years in age.  It suddenly dawned on me my oldest niece, born 100 years later, looked exactly like the sisters in the photo.  It was uncanny.   That illustrated for me how connected to the past we truly are.   God’s plan lined up a great-great grandmother, great- grandmother, grandmother and then mother to get to my niece.   Now she has children of her own.

Each member of those five generations has been faithful to God.  I have to believe the five generations before that were equally faithful and going back further I would find the same.

Not a single name of any of the women from whom I came, or my niece, for that matter, is a name you would recognize.  That I know of none had a special ceremony in their honor for some life-altering feat.  However, knowing myself, my sisters, my nieces and now my daughter, I can tell these were strong and faithful women.   No matter the circumstance, each of them planted a seed of faith that turned into a sprout that grew to drop more seeds for planting, sprouting and maturing.  In small ways they touched each other’s lives and their effort has been kept alive to this very day.  Their seeds of faith didn’t just touch the next in line though.  They took root and branched out to touch many lives who touched many more lives…to this day.

God does not seem to have an epic plan for most of us.   He drops us like seeds along the trail of His purpose for taking root and growing in our faith and reaching out to others.  He may be saying, you write Psalmgirl,  I have a life for you to touch with my word and that’s the most important thing I need you to do for me—because, it’s not about you…it’s about ME.

In my lifetime I probably will not see how God is using me.  Perhaps 100 years from now when someone makes a connection back they will say, I am faithful today because my great-great grandmother planted her own seeds of faith.

That’s the best honor I can imagine.  I’m totally o.k. getting my reward in Heaven.

Hops are a climbing plant. The only major commercial use for hops is in beer but is also used in Julmust, a drink popular in Sweden, Malta and Latin America. Hops also have medical uses to treat ailments such as anxiety, insomnia and restlessness. Hops farmers also risk getting Dermatitis, a skin condition as a result of coming into contact with hops. Historically, hops were not grown in Ireland, instead being imported from England and other European countries.

A recent advertisement by Kronenbourg Brewery showed a different side to its hop farmers with an endorsement by renowned soccer hero, Eric Cantona!

Kronenbourg Brewery was founded in Strasbourg in 1664 hence its main brand, Kronenbourg 1664 which is part of the Carlsberg group. Kronenbourg uses the Strisselspalt hop, a French aroma hop that comes from Alsace. Kronenbourg 1664 is now also brewed in Manchester by Heineken and in Australia by the Fosters Group.

J&J Kenefick Agri Contractors Ltd.

IRHA’s local partners, Deepalaya (Delhi) and Project AROEHAN (Maharashtra) took the responsibility of organizing the activity in India while Kanchan Nepal did it in Nepal. Faber Castell India provided all the painting materials for the art competition and also the prizes to the 14 schools in India.

According to Mr Bhalchandra Salve, Education Coordinator of AROEHAN, 11 schools in Mokhada Taluk, Thane District, Maharashtra were covered. For the art competition, the children could choose from four topics – Warli art, Nature scene, Rain scene and Common water source.

The Government Ashram School Chas was one of the participating schools. About 35 children from Standards 5 to 9, trained by art teacher Mr Wargade (an alumnus of Mumbai’s reputed JJ School of Art), were excited to take part in the competition.

Thanks to IRHA and AROEHAN, I had the opportunity of visiting Chas and other villages of Mokhada and neighbouring Jawhar Taluk, and getting to know bits about the lives of the local people.

Office building of the Government Ashram School Chas

World Water Day 2013 – Painting Competition

AROEHAN’s Mr Salve gives some instructions

Concentration on the drawing

Art master Mr Wargade watches as the children draw

Chas is a small tribal village with a population of about 2500, located about 2 km from Mokhada town in Thane District of Maharashtra. Spread over about 1600 hectares of hilly terrain, this village, like the others in Mokhada, is a heavy rain precipitation area, receiving 100-300 mm during the monsoons. However, the dry months of December to May are those of acute water deprivation. At this time, many of the wells in the valleys have water and streams are flowing, but people have to trudge distances of 1-2 km to reach the water source and then carry the water back to their homes, usually uphill. Several trips are made per day. It is no wonder that everyone looks slim and trim. Shining water pots are like an essential accessory. Scenes of colourful women balancing water pots on their heads are common in films and paintings. I saw them many times over, for real, in Mokhada.

On the hill slopes, not much has been done to retain the rain water and people I spoke to say that as the land is rocky, the water doesn’t penetrate the earth and runs off quickly. Piped water is more-or-less absent. In places that do have water pumps that connect wells to storage tanks, intermittent electric power and periodic load-shedding often renders them not usable. Thus, from a young age, children see that water is precious and are forced to use it judiciously.

Map of Thane District, Maharashtra, India

Many houses have walls made with Karvy tree twigs and then plastered with mud (Location: Village Aase)

A pucca brick house, where we had lunch cooked by AROEHAN worker Yadav’s mother (Location: Village Aase)

Our lunch of rice, dhal and papad. Sharad Govind (our driver from AROEHAN Jawhar), Bhalchandra Salve (from AROEHAN) and me.

Hay saved for the rainy season is stacked above the ground to prevent the animals from eating it up

Parched hilly terrain

Streams in the valleys enable some cultivation

Off to get some water

Community wells are the main source of water

Pots are like an essential accessory (Location: Jawhar bus stand)

The Government Ashram School Chas is a residential high school, upto Standard 10, with about 500 girls and boys. Spread across a few acres, the sprawling grounds contain the school office, classrooms (that double up as boys’ dorms), dorms for the girls, library-cum-computer room, kitchen, staff quarters, toilets, solar panels for water heating, a 30,000 litre overhead water storage tank, playground equipment, gardening patches and other infrastructure. However, because of the water problems of Mokhada, many of these are in a state of disuse and/or disrepair.

Curious children, wondering who this unfamiliar face in the school premises was

Classrooms that double up as boys’ dorms

Kitchen, girls’ dorms and other rooms located at one end of the campus

The Kho-kho grounds in front of the classrooms

Playground equipment

30,000 litre water tank serves the needs of one day

Taps in the school often run dry. “Another drop is all that I need”

Boys’ toilets, abandoned because of lack of water

Space earmarked for a vegetable garden, not in use because of lack of water

Solar water heating plant, not in use because of lack of water

Rainwater harvesting and water reuse infrastructure is totally absent.
If implemented, this could prove to be very successful in improving the quality of life of all those connected with the school.

Text and pictures: Arathi Manay

We’d set the alarms for 5.30 and booked a cab for 6am – I figured that would give us plenty of time to get down there. And it sure did! The cab turned up at 5.55am and we were there by the 6 o’clock news. Late is one thing I am rarely. So we spent 15 minutes shuffling around outside while my nerves began to get the worse of me.

I am one of those people who will procrastinate worrying about something until the morning of: like exams, tests, interviews, operations. I am cool as a cucumber right up until I open my eyes. And the distance of time between opening my eyes and the event is relative to my stress levels (thus why I make sure interviews are first thing in the morning!). So on this particular day I didn’t have too much time to panic… or so I thought!

Once we had checked in I was given an unflattering hospital gown and dressing gown (who ever said ‘one size fits all’ clearly hadn’t met me!) and I was meant to get completely naked, pop them on and then loiter until called. Do you have any idea how hard it is to perch on a bed taller than normal, with no undies (or modesty) and wait for an hour? Because even though we were there early I was the last to have my harvest (of course!). So for the next hour or so I tried to sit on the stupid bed and made small talk with Mr T.

“It smells like lady parts in here” Mr T whispered loudly to me at one point. I giggled. It smelt like fear not lady parts, but that was probably just me. But then it dawned on me; the room was muggy and not that large, there were 4 couples in little cubicles with curtains, and all of us ladies had been pumping ourselves full of drugs for the past two weeks… and all of us nervously perched in those stupid gowns. So for Mr T (who wouldn’t smell it all the time) it would have been a rather overpowering concoction!

But it wasn’t long before we were led off, one couple at a time, to places unknown. Mr T was doing his best to distract me, but by the time it was our turn I was nervous as hell.  We were led off down the corridor, with my bed not far behind, and had to wait again in a little room where Dr Bill came in and saw us, had a quick chat and disappeared again.

As we were lead into the little theatre room my panic levels were through the roof; I was shaking and all I wanted was a hug. Mr T was ushered over to a stool and I was ordered up onto the bed. I think the only thing that kept me sain the whole time was that Mr T was by my side every step of the way. I couldn’t have done it without him. His jokes and gentle teasing were keeping me grounded. I could not imagine doing this on my own and have a lot of respect for single ladies who do this solo.

So my question to you today is:  Have you had to do something scary? Have you had someone with you to hold your hand (figuratively or literally)? Or have you had to do it solo?

Without electricity or actual insulation, we were dependent upon sunshine to warm the space and provide the light necessary for productive growth.  The plants were very slow to start due to the shorter days and sporadic sunshine, but once they got going, things seemed promising.  Within no time at all, however, field mice started burrowing in from underground at night and would eat a plant or two (or three or four) under the cover of darkness.

We lost an entire bed of kale before we decided to rescue some cats from a local shelter to help us do battle.  We had rescued two cats a few months previously and one had died within a month due to some disease it had when we got it (really! It wasn’t our fault!).  The remaining cat was a fantastic mouser, but we felt like we had a job on our hands that was bigger than one cat could handle alone.  Besides, we like rescuing animals from cages, so it wasn’t hard to convince ourselves to go get a couple more.

This particular shelter really loves their cats.  They are based in Hudson, New York (www.all-creatures.org/ak/), and they have no adoption fee.  They gratefully accept donations of food, money, and equipment, but if you want one cat or 12, you are welcome to just show up and take them home.  We stopped by and took two.  One of these was a beautiful female tabby whom the girls named Mouse.  Mouse could not hate people more.  The entire ride home, her pupils were dilated like saucers and, once we got home, we practically had to shake her out of the cat carrier.  It was like she’d grown opposable thumbs and was holding on from the inside.  That was pretty much the last time we saw her.  To this day, she lurks around corners and hides behind things.  We know that she’s there and doing alright and we’ve made a silent pact with her never to mess with her or attempt to do anything but provide food and shelter and then get the hell away from her.

The other cat was just the opposite.  In the spirit of humor, the girls named her Cat.  Cat is tiny and sweet and a lover, but Cat has Manx disease and doesn’t have a tail and doesn’t always know whether she’s using the “bathroom” or not.  This makes her a great candidate for being a full-time outdoor cat; her mousing skills seal the deal.  Cat may be little, but she’s a tiny little mouse-killing hurricane.

Both cats lived for the first two weeks they were with us full-time in the hoop house.  Since it was the middle of winter at that point, it was a good place to keep them warm and contained, while they learned that our home was now their new home.  We saw absolutely no evidence of mice from the moment Cat and Mouse arrived.  We moved them out after a bit, however, and set them up in the garage.  This gave them more freedom and we felt like the problem in the hoop house had been solved.

After not having checked on the progress of the greens for a couple of weeks, we decided to look in on them today.  We were amazed at the size of the kale.  The shot to the left is how the plants looked.

Nothing eats mustard greens.  They’re like herbs and alliums; you can plant them in an unprotected spot and they’ll be fine because no other creature enjoys them.  That includes mice.  So, our third growth of mustard greens was still untouched and faring beautifully.  Those plants looked like this:

So, we were feeling pretty great.  Our theoretical greenhouse was a success.  We had come up with a system that worked and had beautiful, leafy greens to show for it!  Just as we were starting to feel like… dare we say… farmers(!), we lifted the plastic on the last bed.  Underneath, our previously robust and lush spinach plants looked like this:

Obviously, our absence over the past couple of weeks did not go unnoticed by our little rodent friends.  For fear that the next stop would be kale-town, we enlisted the help of the one woman we know is up to the task at hand:

If all goes well, we should have a wonderful delivery of kale and mustard greens for applewood this coming Tuesday.  Make us proud, Cat!

http://www.growhome.net/Canna-Cutter-Pro-Crop-machine-with-accessories.html

If your garden space is limited, try a dwarf variety of your favorite fruit tree. While many city lots especially have small gardens, it’s so easy to find some room for these tiny little fruit trees. This type of fruit-bearing tree will begin to show a full sized fruit in about four years, give or take a year. The best time to plant dormant trees is early spring; water them well until the roots have taken hold.If you have a vegetable garden, one of your main enemies is garden pests. Since you are growing the vegetables for your own consumption, you want to stay away from pesticides. One way that you can help control garden pests is to remain vigilant. When pests are noticed early, the best way to get rid of them is to remove then from the plants by hand.If you are just starting out, follow all the guidelines and rules on your chemicals and tools. If you ignore them, you can irritate your skin in most painful ways. Keep yourself safe and always follow instructions.Put together a calendar for planning your garden. This calendar allows you to plan ahead for each planting season. This can prepare you early so that you know what you should buy and when. There are many software applications that can help you do this. Or, you can be really old-fashioned and use paper.

Mulching is very effective when gardening. Mulching allows the soil to retain much-needed moisture; it also makes it easier to keep weeds from taking over your garden or flowerbed.A set of comfortable knee pads makes a great investment if your garden is full of plant material that stays low to the ground. Gardening is supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable; you don’t want to finish every gardening session with aching, throbbing knees. Purchase a great pair of knee pads; they will provide a cushion for your knees while making gardening more comfortable.Do not mow your lawn too short. If you leave more height to your grass, the roots will grow deeper into the soil, making the lawn stronger and more resistant to drying out. If you keep your lawn too short, the roots will not go deep enough to survive in case of a heat wave. Growing A Garden For The Whole Family To Enjoy Vegetables are softer when they are warmer, increasing the risk that you will damage them. Cut vegetables off at the vine, and don’t twist them off, as this could hurt the plant.Mint leaves are wonderful, but don’t you despise how quickly they can take over a garden due to rapid growth? You can stunt the growth of mint by planting it inside a container or super-sized bowl. Bury the container so that your plant does not stand out. The container will keep the roots from spreading too far.

As mentioned earlier, the art of gardening means that your dining table can have fresh and tasty vegetables and fruits, that you grow in your own garden. You will enjoy the proud feeling you will have the first time you are able to use the plants that you have grown in preparing a meal. Practice the tips you’ve read here to enhance your experience and grow an amazing garden!

A rain water harvesting system or rain water collection system

Brutus

Now, Brutus stole the crown off Giant Bob, who held his title for almost a month. Sorry Giant Bob, but at least you made good sauce. He was also an Amish Paste, weighing 436g and measuring 10.5cm at the widest.

Giant Bob

**Picture Source: Cora Rose Apothecary, Nichelle Barber

They tend to grow is mostly shaded areas under trees. I found them in my forested back yard under many firs and cedars. They have heart shaped leaves and the flowers grow very low to the ground. It is often hard for me to spot them from any sort of distance. I just walk slowly and carefully so I don’t step on them. The flowers are also small, perhaps the size of your thumb fingernail, or a little bigger.

I am lucky to have two types of violets here, the blue/dark purple and the white with light purple. Harvest these powdered sugar smelling flowers when they are most open. Just take the flower, although leaves are great for tea!

I seem to have an abundance of these violets here and even though not many are up and open yet, I can see the heart shaped leaves everywhere holding their sweet promise.

This first round is wilting for 24 hours on paper.

Picture Source: Cora Rose Apothecary, Nichelle Barber

Tomorrow I will be making violet infused honey. So sweet and fragrant! Please see previous posts for more violet information and recipes.

One of my favorite things about these flowers is that as they wilt my space fills up with their intoxicating smell. As I was walking around with this jar of violets I couldn’t help but keep filling my lung with their amazing smell.

Picture Source: Cora Rose Apothecary, Nichelle Barber

I feel so blessed to have these violets outside my back door, they truly are one of my favorite things about spring.

I’ve been busily installing insulation inside the windows between the blinds and the glass. We have seen it done at http://thepaintedfish.com.au/ in place of curtains. At first I thought it looked quite bizarre, but it works, is easy to clean and you can pack it away easier than curtains when you don’t need it. Our little cottage is in the line of frost drainage and we are only a little way off the ground with a tile floor, so once the cold starts we feel it right away.

The snails ate my bok choy. I haven’t yet sprinkled any egg shells because I assumed the frogs would stay on top of them. But there are so many little shells covering larger sticks in the mulch I think they are outnumbered!

My other bioindicator of the weather (my five year old) has his croupy cough back. I am keeping him home, rugged up, relaxing. Poor little men. Sometime school just doesn’t seem to fit with some kids.

We got a large soak dug for our plans to divide the paddocks up for better stock rotation. Right now its a big hole with a small puddle. Hopefully that changes! Thats a an expensive $500 hole otherwise. This is the driest time of the year though. There is a small amount of seepage. We have put marron in the top paddock, but they seem to like the dirty black sandy holes with tea tree tannin running into it much better. Apparently the diffused light prevents algal growth. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if the geese migrate down there to get away for the dog that is constantly trying to round them up. They can honk it up near the bush a bit further away from the house and hopefully reduce all the mess they are making around the house. Yikes. Organics is sometimes a bit of hard work haha.

I tried to resurrect the bean climbing poles yesterday. Some people are so good and making and erecting structures from all kinds of materials. Im not, usually mine fall over just looking at them. I good nag my husband to get in there but he is so busy on other more essential projects I just let nature take its course a little. Im surprised how many broad beans are coming up, I thought we had a good year last year, this year will be incredible. The potatoes are still flowering, Im still waiting for them to die off before gently digging up, allowing to dry in the sun a little and then bagging up.

Its also time to start eating all the summer produce I’ve frozen away, beans, broad beans, kale, tomatoes, pumpkins. Its going to take some effort to get through it. I can see the value of a big pantry or kitchenette now and wonder why new houses have such little ones!

The simpler we live, the more beauty we see!

A couple of our kids work for her during the planting/harvesting season and she blesses us with excess (when she has it).  Some years our own garden doesn’t produce as well as we’d like so this has been a wonderful arrangement for us.  At times we will barter a couple piglets for produce as well.

One year she blessed us with tomatoes… we had so many I canned over 100 quarts of sauce and such.  Here’s how it works… “I’m plowing down row 2 tomorrow, come clean out the row”  We drive over with the truck, some laundry baskets and some able bodied kids, and spend maybe a half hour picking anything that’s red in that row.

One year it was corn, over 100 quarts of that as well.  Same gig, “I’m plowing down that middle row, go clean it out”

Last year it was potatoes.  The deer were having a field day eating anything what was showing on the surface, so she calls and says “Deer are cleaning me out, go pick anything that’s showing”  We ended up with probably 600 lbs of potatoes!

She plants different varieties; red skinned, russets, sweet.  My favorite, by far, is the Satina .  This tuber has a dense yellow colored flesh with a thin skin.  It makes heavenly mashed potatoes that are light and fluffy, home fries that don’t fall apart, baked potatoes to die for.  I almost never peel them as the skin is so thin.  Being a dense potato they store remarkably well.  We built some wooden bins and store the potatoes in layers of sand.  Even now I am pulling potatoes out that are firm and delicious!

There is something incredibly satisfying about digging out your own taters, or opening a jar of produce that you canned.  Or taking some greenbeans out of the freezer that you grew.  But, that’s for another post

Long plants that run up or around a fence or wall are often useful for masking ugliness. Climbing plants are great for hiding hideous fences and walls, and they usually grow within a season. They can cover an arbor, or grow through trees and shrubs. Some must be tied to supports, but some climbers use twining stems or tendrils and attach themselves to those surfaces. Trusted variations of climbers are honeysuckle, jasmine, clematis, wisteria and climbing roses.Split up irises. Increase your iris population when you divide up overgrown clumps. Uproot bulbous irises if the flowers have wilted. The bulbs should split up normally in the hand, and should flower when replanted for the next year. Rhizomes may need to be divided by using a knife. New pieces should be cut from the outside, then the old center you want to discard. Each new piece you cut should possess at least one healthy offshoot. Replant them immediately.Keep your plants dry and aerated daily. Moisture can be a magnet for disease and parasites on your plants. One common organism that thrives on moisture is the fungi family. Fungicide sprays can deal with fungal infestations, but they are most effective if you apply them before a fungus problem becomes noticeable.

You should think about adding evergreen plants that yield berries into your yard space. Your yard will then have bright spots of color all year round, which is especially cheerful in the winter when all of your other flora is bare or colorless. These plants come in several different varieties, including the Winterberry, American Holly, Cranberrybush, and Common Snowberry.Use biennials and annuals to add color to your flower beds. The annuals and biennials are usually fast growing because they only last one season, and this will let you change the garden every season for a nice change of pace. In addition, you might need something to fill empty spaces in your flower garden. Fill gaps with annuals or biennials. Just make sure the flowers will get enough sun to thrive. Some flowers you can use are rudbekia, petunias, cosmos, marigolds, or sunflowers.

As was mentioned at the start of this article the beginning, a garden is a wonderful way to have your own fresh fruit, veggies and herbs at home. You will enjoy the proud feeling you will have the first time you are able to use the plants that you have grown in preparing a meal. Use the ideas here to have the best garden you can.