Mar 10 2008
Indoor Spring Fever
It is still chilly outside, but I can see the small changes that are leading up to spring. Birds are chirping (as we speak) outside of my window, and little flowers are poking their heads above the surface. Very soon the beautiful spring blossoms will be on the trees. And while I will be sneezing and watery-eyed, I will be enjoying the spring.
Funny, because three weeks ago, I was really hoping for a nice big blizzard to finish off the winter. We had a pretty mild winter in Maryland: temperatures were chilly, but snow was sparse. I like seasons to be what they are supposed to be. Winter kind of let me down, and I hope that spring does not pass in the blink of an eye.
Prompted by the promise of warmer temperatures (and perhaps the arrival of the loom that takes space in my office) I have been doing quite a bit of spring cleaning. Kris and I have realized the need to pare down and simplify, and that meant cleaning a lot of things out, and donating them to local charities. After giving away about 200 books to the library, I consolidated my bookshelves, and rearranged my office. The idea of living with less really resonates.
Functional planting is definitely our focus, but we have made some space for the *pretty* too. We recently arranged a indoor dish garden with some cute cacti and succulent plants…
Seeing the green makes me happy.
And for Valentine’s Day a few weeks back, Kris brought home a lovely orchid that just keeps blooming.
We are making grand plans for our outside garden, hoping to plant many vegetables this year, and really explore ways to preserve the harvest. We live in a small house with a small yard, so we have to be creative in order to maximize our space and yield. We are starting some seeds indoors now, and we are planning to keep some plants going throughout the year indoors - primarily herbs that we use in daily meals. We are primarily interested in raising several heirloom varieties of vegetables and fruits in the garden. We have a local farmer/nursery supply that we have enjoyed for several years, and we will be paying him a visit in late April/early May for the seedlings and plants.
Last fall, we started a vermiculture composter - all winter we have contributed our kitchen wastes to the bin, and those little worms are making some great fertilizer for our garden this summer.
In typical fashion, I have been researching and reading up on the gardening and local food movement. Of particular interest are the general books about family farms and living off the land: I am enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life
How are you preparing for the changing season?
The Tailor and I are waiting for our compost bin to thaw! It’s March 10th, and it was 7 degrees this morning—so our compost bin outside is full, and completely frozen. So we’re preparing for spring by lying in wait for the thaw to come. But it’s remarkable—as soon as that compost bin thaws every spring, it shrinks almost in half, nearly immediately! Go, microorganisms, go!
Thanks for more books to read!!! I can’t wait to get started in my garden - I have to get moving and order some seeds so I can start them!
Let me know how Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Coming Home to Eat are. AMV is on my wish list right now. I just finished Omivore’s Dilemma, so good, and I’m hunting out in Defense of food too. The whole family farm movement is so interesting. I’d give Omnivore’s Dilemma a read if you haven’t already. Sheds a whole lot of light on the food industry in the US including how the family farm fits into it all.
thanks for mentioning it YaiAnn - Omnivore’s Dilemma is what got me “reinvigorated” on this path a few years ago. i read In Defense of Food in January, and highly recommend it.
I’m planning to transplant some daylilies for my front yard that my dad is bringing up next week. Orange is not my favorite color, but they always look so cheerful and springtime-ish!
Any tips on herbs that thrive in shady yards? Or veggies that love shade?
Beautiful photos!
I listened to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle on audiobook as well and loved it. It has made me much more conscious of the origins of my food.
I loved reading ‘Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.’ Thanks for the tips on the other books - I dream of one day having a yard and a garden! I hope to read all about yours over the summer.
I love the cacti! And I’m very jealous of your future vegetable garden. Someday I’ll have that too! In the meantime, I’ll live vicariously through your photos.
Thanks for the great book list… I also loved the omnivore’s dilemma and love having more reads to follow up with. I’m also going to check out those ravelry groups… never occurred to me that there might be such a thing there (silly me).
A great blog to check out in a similar vein is:
http://urbanhomestead.org/journal/
They are practicing what they preach and it can be very inspirational.
I love your cacti and succulent plants garden, it is very pretty. I’d really like to be able to put a bit of green in my life all year round too (both of the pretty and of the edible kind); it’s too bad I don’t have a green thumb!
My only spring preparation so far has been of the knitting kind. I have just ordered a whack of spring/summer yarn (Littleknits.com has some fantastic prices). I went through my stash and had virtually none. I have been better at using stash yarn recently but I couldn’t very well knit wool sweaters for the summer
I was even diligent enough to choose projects for everything before I ordered. I can’t wait! I can wait for spring cleaning though, lol.
I liked Animal, Veg., Mineral, but I found myself frustrated with the way the book was laid out. I enjoyed her husbands commentary, but I would have preferred that each one be it’s own chapter or something.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed Coming Home to Eat. I read it on my way back to Arizona from NYC, one Christmas. Now that I’m back on the East Coast, CHE makes me miss Arizona somethin’ fierce.
We cleaned and fired up the grill yesterday! Here’s to another long season of outdoor eating
We tried planting veggies last year but weren’t as successful as we would have liked. Hubby is all in to planting a garden and trying to can our goods for the winter. We hope to give it another try this year. Love your pics, they are so clear and close up - very pretty.
Oh, and we both read Animal, Vegetable, Mineral last year too
Oops I mean, Miracle!
Check out the website http://www.littlehouseonasmallplanet.com There is also a book by this name…I love the book. It speaks to sustainable living in surroundings that are just big enough to fit our needs. It expands the concept of sustainability to the size of our homes. Cheers
Honestly, I’m trying to keep telling myself that spring will one day come. It snowed 50 cm the night before last here, and was - 20 C this morning. However, because I am an optimist and the days are getting longer and I believe that spring is coming, I’ve started wearing my raincoat instead of my winter coat. I think my goal for the spring (and summer) is to really get out and experience/enjoy it. Too often, I get caught up in the spring transition from school to work and get too tired to go out and notice the outdoors.
I admire your decluttering efforts - I especially need to go through my clothes and cull what isn’t being used anymore.
lolly,
I left a comment a couple of weeks ago to see if you would ever be interested in doing a phone interview with me on my podcast. I know you are a busy lady so I figured I would leave you another note to say that if you are interested I would love to chat with you
xoxox
Marly
Interested in hearing more about your garden - what you’re planting and when. Also I would love to learn more about your composting! We live in a tiny condo with a decent sized patio and I have always thought composting would be difficult. Growing up, we always composted (my dad grew up on a farm) and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do but thought it would have to wait for the house + yard.
Oh, thanks for the ravelry tips! Haven’t heard of those groups and there is some good info. there. I’m starting my own seeds right now as well, I really hope it works as I’ve had trouble with the transplanting part in the past. Here’s hoping!
OMG, you also have to read Plenty if you’re thinking about local foods. It’s beautifully written and touches on so many interesting topics. It’s got me thinking about trying to do some container gardening this year (be glad that you have a whole yard and not just a deck!). I’m also thinking about bike riding, enjoying the flowers that are emerging and looking for recipes for spring foods like asparagus and fava beans. I love spring!
i’m reading animal, vegetablr, miracle too!!!!! it’s pretty fantastic… i’ve even tried a few of the recipes, though I’m still hesitant to make my own cheese.
thanks for the book recommendations. i have a few of those on my wishlist. i also just got “jamie at home”, which although it is basically a cookbook, also has some of jamie oliver’s great garden tips and food sourcing tips to go along with the great food, and is arranged by seasons to take advantage of what’s available locally.
look forward to hear about your garden - i’m excited to start mine soon too.
Lolly, to maximize the use of your yard maybe you could try something called a “Vertical Garden”. It’s something we used to teach a lot to farmers when I was in the Peace Corps.
Here is a trellis-based system (this one is new to me but would be a great way to use companion planting for natural pest management)
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=howTo&p=LawnGarden/VerticalGardening.html
The one I taught involved using a burlap sack, soil, broken up rocks and an old coffee tin. The idea was to create a core of rocks that would serve as an irrigation channel. Once the sack was built up with the rock core and soil outer layer, you could cut holes on the outside of the sack where you wanted your plants, plant either the seeds or seedlings, and just water regularly from the top of the sack into the rock core.
Another idea is to get a copy of John Jeavon’s book on Biointensive Agriculture. Basic idea is maximizing land usage in a way that is healthier for the soil, etc yet also produces more food with less pests.
What an inspiring post! I always try to live minimally but live with hoarders so it is hard to keep things in check. I would love a bookshelf like yours , it is nice and big.
My vegetable patch is dug but unfortunately lack of time and health issues mean it hasn’t been planted yet, I really want vegetables growing there this year!
I found your blog thanks to Miss Scarlett (Knittinfool).
Down here in Argentina we are finishing our Summer and waiting for Fall.
You take beautiful pictures!
You might check out Earth 911. They have loads of info on composting. I use a raised garden. I use a metal flashing painted brown that makes it a little harder for the deer to invade. I have a hard time getting sunflowers here because the deer love to eat them. Happy Almost Spring! March is an illusion. Watch out for the Frozen Daffodil and Snowtire Festivals that occur in March. We may have this dreadful time mess and an early Easter, but it’s an illusion.
Your succulents are amazing! I started a project this semester where I’m growing seeds from plants utilized in southern folk medicine in my studio. I really enjoy monitering the germination process. It kind of reminds you that the natural world is amazing and we can never top it.
I’ve been doing a lot of garden reading as well. I recently checked out Square Foot Gardening, which may be a good option for you if you have limited space. I’m interested in trying it out a little this year to see how it goes. It supposedly needs 20% less space than a traditional garden with just as much harvest and is an organic gardening technique. Can’t wait to see what ends up being in your garden!
We’re planning to plant some vegetables and herbs (fresh tomatoes and basil, mmmm) too. Do you start with seeds or seedlings?
Some of my favorite books! And check out Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. Sounds like it might be right up your alley.
We’re planning on growing some fresh herbs this year, and the Mr. and I are splitting a CSA share with a friend. We will have fresh, locally grown veggies every other week this summer. I am so excited for it! Since I don’t have a green thumb at all, this is the next best thing for us.
I’m interested in hearing more about your composter - how does it work exactly?
How interesting that you have a vermiculture composter! I was kind of interested in that a few years back and did some research on it. It seems like a great idea…
Thanks for all the book recommendations. I personally very much enjoyed Animal Vegetable Miracles, and have put all the others on hold at my library!