Riot for Austerity – Month 13

We entered the second year of the Riot. I’ll keep last year’s averages (calculated here) visible as a baseline. In case you’re wondering, I use this calculator. Gasoline. I added DH’s miles on public transportation (shuttle), which I neglected to do last year. This was an exceptional month, as we made a round-way car trip …

A Composty Day

{UPDATED} below Bright and not too cold out. Amie back to preschool after more than a week’s hiatus. I’ve got two hours to spend in the garden! get horse manure from neighbor spread manure/compost mix on empty beds, cover with straw and cardboard make compost tea for beds in operation set up “kindling dryer” rearrange …

Today’s Food and Garden Work

warm and bright out, emptied all the rain barrels, stashed them upside down, and reconnected gutters raked leaves, emptied pots and containers, stashed them in shed Amie raked leaves too (cough) drank two large coffees (more milk than espresso) baked and pureed 5 sugar pie pumpkins will reserve puree for pumpkin bread (not for today), …

Summer 2009 Tally and Notes for 2010 (#2)

This is the second in a series of posts tallying the Spring and Summer harvest in lbs, success, and satisfaction, and noting recommendations for next year’s Spring and Summer garden. Carrots The little carrots (Nantes) took a long time to grow (much longer than the packet advised) but in the end they shaped up nicely, …

Drying Herbs and Saving Seeds

I dried a large mint plant (catnip) in my kitchen, hanging it upside down from the ceiling with a plate underneath for the dropping seeds. The leaves go into a ball jar for tea, the flowers go into a little muslin bag for potpourri, and the seeds into an envelope in my seed storage box. …

Summer 2009 Tally and Notes for 2010 (#1)

We went into the city to visit, among other things, the MIT Museum. Amie fell in love with Kismet, the emotional robot: And I came back with a bug. That’ll show me to come down my hill…Normally, when I feel that kind of pain in my throat, it’s bad news. But I kept up with …

Independence Days – Week 10

Plant. Nothing: our winter beds are full. We did improve the bedding. Harvest. I didn’t plant any Fall vegetables, so I have few plants left in the garden: kale, chard, parsley. The peas and the beans are giving up in the seesaw of warm/cold, but I managed to harvest the last few. Harvested the three …

Independence Days, Week 9

Nothing much of anything happened this week: I’m a bit out of whack with DH gone, and I’ve also started working on the novel again (again!), while it snows. We had our first frost and our first snow, and the garden is in full Winter mode now. Plant. Planted pak choi. That will be it …