I held a bumblebee!

Speaking of bees, I had the great honour of holding an actual real live bumblebee the other day! This isn't something that happens often, so I was so incredibly excited - it seemed our bee couldn't fly. They CAN sting, although they rarely ever do - in fact, until I looked it up, I didn't know whether they had stingers or not. The one I held was certainly docile. S/he looked like a big beetle dressed as a bee.

Bumblebees nest in the ground generally - most natural bumblebee nests are down a small tunnel in part or all of an old mouse or vole nest, or they will be in the dry base of a grass tussock or untidy hedge bottom. Gardeners ruin these desirable residences by being tidy. (Damn us! Wait, I am anything but a tidy gardener. Yeah, it's for the bees!)

And I just learned that in addition to creating spaces for mason bees, you can also create spaces to attract bumblebees!  (New project! Woot!) Oh, my delight, I love me some big furry bumblebees! 

If you don't want to go so far as to make nest boxes, there are other ways you can help bumblebees, too.  

If, like me, you are now completely fascinated with the bumblebees and want to know more, go to http://www.bumblebee.org. There is a wealth of information there about bumblebees. Save the pollinators =  Save the gardens =  Save the humans! 

Contain my Garden, the project continues

It has been slow going due to my concussive symptoms, but the container garden project is continuing. This weekend my hubby went out and bought me peat, vermiculite, and soil to mix together. I have compost and some plant food - kelp, I believe.

I started reading, Incredible Vegetables from Self-Watering Containers: Using Ed's Amazing POTS System



There are some great ideas for growing in this book, namely using self-watering containers to ensure that the veggies get all the water they need and all of the nutrition, and the grower (that's us) gets the best harvest. You can buy kits to make regular pots self-watering, or if you're like me, you can Google around and find an instructable or two. Oh, the glories of the internets, where wonderfully creative people have not only taken the time to perfect systems for recycling things like 5-gallon buckets, but have also taken the time to write instructions so the rest of us DIYers can benefit, as well.

I am currently trying to decide whether to take on beekeeping this year as we're trying to find a place to call our own - if I don't order them right now, I won't be able to get them until next year. Have I mentioned that I am impatient? I SO want bees again. But maybe it is best to wait until next year, when we are settled, and I've had some time to plant a garden for them.

bring on the bees!

Of course, no garden would be complete without something to attract the pollinators. My favourite, of course, being the bees.

I found another fantastic guide to what to plant, by zipcode - only this one is exclusively to attract pollinators!

Of course we need the pollinators - they help the plants to propagate and continue the life cycle. The encourage biodiversity in plants - without which we would very quickly lose much of our plant life.

And of course, hey are wonderful to watch - hummingbirds, butterflies, bees....all such exquisite creatures, and most amazing to behold.

A list of plants that attract pollinators:

Calliopsis
Clover
Marigolds
Poppies
Sunflowers
Zinnias

 Perennials
Buttercups
Clematis
Cosmos
Crocuses
Dahlias
Echinacea
English Ivy
Foxglove
Geraniums
Germander
Globe Thistle
Hollyhocks
Hyacinth
Rock Cress
Roses
Sedum
Snowdrops
Squills
Tansy
Yellow Hyssop

 Fruits & Veggies
Blackberries
Cantaloupe
Cucumbers
Gourds
Fruit Trees
Peppers
Pumpkins
Raspberries
Squash
Strawberries
Watermelons
Wild Garlic  

Herbs
Bee Balm
Borage
Catnip
Coriander/Cilantro
Fennel
Lavender
Mints
Rosemary
Sage
Thyme

 Shrubs
Blueberry
Butterfly Bush
Button Bush
Honeysuckle
Indigo
Privet  

Trees
Alder
American Holly
Basswood
Black Gum
Black Locust
Buckeyes
Catalpa
Eastern Redbud
Golden Rain
Hawthorns
Hazels
Linden
Magnolia
Maples
Mountain Ash
Poplar
Sycamore
Tulip
Willows
Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/bee-friendly-plants#ixzz1pbHlHJ75

How does your garden grow?

This year, as we are still renting at planting time, I have decided to grow my garden in pots. I have a NEED to garden! I was lamenting how I wouldn't be able to have my garden this year because we've not found our property just yet...and then I realized that hey, I can garden in containers! And all was right with the world.

Planning a container garden seems to be a bit different than planning an in-ground garden - mostly in that I have more freedom to keep things indoors if I need/want to, and they can be moved about at will as well. I thought I might go ahead and document the process as I go.

Pinterest led me to his great little website that actually tells you when and what to plant, at exactly the time you need - and it can do it for free! It is called sproutbot.com. I am smitten - just put in your zipcode, and not only ill it tell you what to plant, there are also links for instructions on how to plant - and when you click that link, it gives you the container option or the in-ground option. I LOVE it!

Here is an image of my zip code this week:

 The info in the links there is good, and I wanted a little more information on exact soil preparation. So I found this site on vegetable garden growing, with a whole wealth of information on all the things!

In case anyone is as interested as I am, here is what I found about soil preparation for carrots in containers.

Of the list for me, I am growing carrots, possibly celery, broccoli, onions, chives, parsley, peas if I can figure out a pot trellis, and tomatoes.

Tipnut has a great page on vegetables to grow indoors - I bookmarked it for the onions, though.

Did you know you can regrow celery from the butt end? True story. I'm going to try this.

You can do it with romaine, too! Awesomesauce. More things to grow in containers, and easily!

Today I got out my seeds to do an inventory of what I have (everything. I have everything). I am also doing this to test my seeds, since they have been in the freezer and have been in other environments while we moved.

Tomorrow, I'll be likely going to the garden supply to get some of the things I need, like peat and soil. I believe I have vermiculite and soil food - kelp at the very least. For the carrots, it is advised to prepare the soil first, then plant 2 weeks later. So step 1: Soil preparation. Step 2: ( ... ) Step 3: profit! And then, the planting can begin! Muhahahahaha!

And lest you think you haven't got enough space to grow your own veggies yourself, I assure you it just isn't true. You could create a windowfarm with hydroponics, or do what I am doing right now and garden in containers, or find ways to do some other vertical gardening.

Or get inspired by this wonderful example of aquaponics and how 1 million pounds of food can be produced on three acres of land.

Or my favorite, the Urban Homestead. Over 6,000 pounds of food produced on a city plot of only 1/10 of an acre of land.

If that's not enough, here is a wonderful short TED talk on the value of growing your own food:

the garden, the bees, cinnamon bun muffins and chemtrails

Summer  = blog neglect, no? I give you some random updates:

~ The garden is growing. I'm learning more abut plant nutrition and the great importance of feeding the soil so it will feed you. Nutrients are crucial! Kiernen has been graciously donating his pee to feed our tomato plants, and they have NEVER been so happy!

~ The bees...we haven't seen them in a couple of weeks. The landowner went out of town for two weeks, during which the gate was locked and we were unable to visit. Then it's just been intermittently rainy and cloudy, and I don't want to do anything to the hives to make them upset - like opening them in cooler weather, letting out nest scent or heat. I keep waiting for the sun to be out when we need it to be. My plan is to treat with formic acid (or nothing), and I'm not sure. Smaller bees, as we will have having a Warre hive, tend to resist mites. Perhaps I ought to do a mite check before doing a formic acid treatment?

~ I've made these cupcakes twice in the past week. (I use butter instead of grapeseed oil and honey instead of agave, and usually less of it).

The first time I had leftover icing, so what's a girl to do but bake another batch, right? These are so good I cannot even bring myself to share these with friends - I want to eat them all myself. It is all I can do to share them with my awesome husband. Kiernen and I would both easily sit down and each eat half of this batch in a sitting. Possibly all, although realistically, that's way too much sweet for either of our bodies.

The flour to make these is crazy expensive, but you won't even care - they're that good. If you're grain-free, MAKE these. Or don't, depending on your level of self control. And trust me on this one: do them WITH the frosting. Almost painfully delicious. I thought chocolate was my downfall. Apparently I was wrong: it's cinnamon. Goddess bless Elana for her freaking amazing recipes.

~ I wish summer would just decide to be here already. Its sunny, then it rains, then it's sunny, then it rains, sometimes both at the same time. We just want the sun! Dear "military": Stop flying planes over us and dumping chemicals (Titanium,Aluminum, Barium, Magnesium, Calcium)! Just leave the clear skies alone already! WTF! (Want to know what I'm talking about? Here is an introduction to chemtrails. Want to make yourself crazy? Google 'chemtrails' and watch some of the videos. But not too many. I believe it's good to be informed, and not to dwell. Keep finding ways to feel good, most importantly.)

bullet points

~ Life has seemingly leveled out lately. The rush to get the bees hived is over, and now we're just leaving the bees alone. he weather has changed (I hope for good) into spring again, with warm breezes and lots of sunshine.

~ We have seedlings to think of now - tomatoes, cabbage, celery, and I've already forgotten what else. Since I cannot get to the garden in my wheelchair, I've no idea if our peas made it or not. Hopefully we'll be able to work on getting those planted this week.

~ The photo above is of Kiernen's Easter Basket. Can you see the chocolate rabbit? I MADE that. Yeah, I pretty much rock. It's got no sugar, is only made of stuff Kiernen is allowed to have. It was totally easy to make, too. Since we don't do sugar, Kiernen gets lots of little toys. Which of course he prefers anyway!

~ The house hasn't been vaccuumed since I broke my ankle. Hubby has just been too busy to do it. He almost did it yesterday. Maybe tonight? Tomorrow?

~ My body cannot handle even raw cow milk. Sigh. I don't think Kiernen's can, either. I gave us some yesterday in our tea - so not even that much - and we were both gurgling about it. Kiernen had leg pains last night, too - they wake him up - and he hasn't had those in a long long time. Luckily, we can kefir it and it becomes tolerable to us.

~ I made a new batch of saurkraut yesterday. I ran out right around the time I broke my ankle and haven't been able to make it again until now.

~ I have a friend here from St. Louis that I haven't seen in years. He and his wife, whom I haven't met, are having dinner with us tonight. I'm excited to show another friend our cohousing community and just to see familiar faces from "back home".

~ Kiernen keeps asking when we can go to St. Louis again. He misses his family there so much. Sometimes living away from family (and longtime friends) is crazy hard.

~ My ankle continues to heal. I have hope that within the week I will be able to put weight on it and try walking around a bit. This likely means I'll have to get better with the crutches now.

~ I'm kind of having fun with the wheelchair. It's super fun to roll down our ramps in the atria. Kiernen likes to "ride the Mommy ride" (sit on my lap while someone pushes the chair). I always have a very comfortable chair to sit in.

~ This weekend I got to drive one of those scooters around the grocery store. It was pretty fun. If you've got a broken ankle, might as well get some benefit from it, right?

~ This weekend I had a couple of pretty emotionally intense conversations with some neighbours/friends. They both turned out really well and ended up in clearer understanding on the part of all parties. We used some of what we've been learning in our non-violent communication course, and it shifted the whole conversation. I really saw how I was able to hear the other person, even in the midst of a charged situation - when we used reflective listening. Wow.

~ I am so ready to be walking again! I want to be able to drive my car and take Kiernen places: parks, train rides, the store, to see the bees...I'm ready I'm ready I'm ready!!!

all the news is good

It looks very good for me keeping bees at lour local organic farm!!! Woot! I loved reconnecting with the guys there and meeting some of the other folks involved with the farm. It is such a great place, and the energy there is - it's EARTH. I mesh well with it, I believe.

Today I got some seeds sorted out - I borrowed some from a neighbour and inventoried them - I still need to put them in little packets with instructions for myself. I made some pie, my green juice, Kiernen's breakfast, did the dishes. And just now I got the chequebook balanced. And can I say? I love the feeling of paying the balance on our credit card every month. It's a good thing.

We got the bar to hang my Vertical Herb and Veggie Garden - the hubby just needs to cut it to size tonight, and then tomorrow I can FINALLY get my seeds in there - woohoo! I'm ready to get my seedlings going inside, too - it's time to get celery and peas and parsley and tomatoes going indoors. I'm so keen! Garden!

This weekend instead of hubby building my hives, he is going to be reassembling the garden - we're taking apart the entire back garden and redoing it into long rows - to maximize the efficiency of the space and allow for much much more food production - woohoo! Then on Sunday I'm attending the first in a series of nonviolent communication courses done between our community and our organic farm - giving me even more opportunity to get to know my farm community. So exciting!

Meet your newest beekeeper

Have I mentioned that I'm going to be keeping bees this year? Because I am. In fact, I threw my hat over the fence and ordered my bees before I even have my hives made. I trust that the Universe will provide me a space for my bees. The Universe loves bees, it wouldn't leave them out. They are the pollinators! Without the bees, we have no food, no flowers, no life!

I cannot wait to be a real live beekeeper. My dear wonderful handy loving husband is making my hives for me. Making them! I'm going to be using Warre hives - they're designed for natural beekeeping and with the bee in mind.  I found detailed instructions and WAY more at this wonderful blog, The Bee Space. I'll most likely (Universe? Please?) be keeping my bees on a wonderful local organic farm not too far from here - it's where I often buy my local produce, and a few of my cohousing neighbours own shares there.And then the produce I but from them? Will have been pollinated by MY bees! This is a happy substitute for having my very own land to grow my very own food on and keep my very own bees on. Bees!

I very much wish we could keep bees on our property here, but unless we go rogue and do it on the sly, we cannot. Of course, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility, as long as no one finds out...and the whole gardening team would benefit....food for thought.

On the subject of planting

From a book I read recently called, "Notes From the Cosmos" by Gordon Michael Scallion:

On the subject of planting. Plant right after the new moon. 3-9 days after. Better to do it late in the day as it gives (the seeds/plants) time to work at night.

Seeds can be super-charged the month before by exposing them to the direct rays of the full moon. Place on canvas or burlap for about an hour - will yield a very fertile and dynamic crop.

Can't hurt to try it, right? That and soaking the seeds in my mouth to give it my own DNA implant Anastasia-style is how I intend to plant my seeds this year. Most, anyway. I just missed this month's full moon!

It's time for planning the garden!

Tap tap tap. Is this thing on? Um, yeah, it has been awhile, hasn't it? Pretty much since Kiernen and I started our GAPS diet adventure, which for the first bit as least is mostly cooked foods. And being in the kitchen and cooking so much has left me with little time for blogging. But spring is coming! and I've been eating more and more raw foods lately, and of course I have my raw veggie juice every day along with my green smoothies (not every day, but often) as my daily fruit. And today I had the most delicious salad! I tell you, though there are definitely benefits to the GAPS way of eating, my true desire is to have it be as raw as possible - raw GAPS.

With spring on the way, my brain is filled with garden planning and seed catalogues, and this year, beekeeping! And with all of that happening, I just HAVE to share about it, yes? And so I dusted off this old raw blog...

I want to try something different with my herbs this year - I notice just how many fresh herbs I use, and I want to be able to grow much more of them. But how, with so little extra space?

Oh, maybe like this!

I am definitely going to do this - this is perfect for my herb garden!

Parsley, oregano, mint, basil, DILL!!!! Woohoo!

I'm also going to find somewhere to pick some wild chamomile - it grows EVERYWHERE around here - and grow some of that in my kale garden. I really want to learn about companion planting and permaculture...