tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79422909029091429632013-11-05T06:32:44.539-05:00Learning to grow healthy food for ourselves, our friends, and our families in London Ontario, Canada.Shannon B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15258898358760613778noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-21406077172607750252013-03-13T12:59:00.000-04:002013-03-13T12:59:55.240-04:00

Well that didn't last long. Stupid SMarch Snow 

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-46016035784460102362013-03-12T12:49:00.000-04:002013-03-12T14:20:31.519-04:00

Rain has washed away almost all the snow and soaked the soil. Fingers crossed for a better season this year.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-6127043726678889242013-02-14T14:51:00.002-05:002013-02-14T14:51:39.611-05:00

I was up til 5am listening to this workshop. There's some very interesting ideas here.  If you don't have 3 hours, would you be willing to book mark it for later?  There's also many ideas on the website. When I post something people comment on in my blog I feel encouraged and enthusiastic because my needs for community and contribution are being met.  :)

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-10365730176592759042013-02-12T14:55:00.001-05:002013-02-12T14:56:31.902-05:00

I found this five minute YouTube video. (Link to extended cut - 10 min version) I was inspired. So... I've started to learn yoga with the help of a good friend who's been teaching it for years. I have been practising at least once a week(not daily like I should but it's a start) and I'm honestly shocked how quickly my body is adapting and becoming more flexible/strong. I can touch my toes

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-47348562862698960362013-02-08T17:57:00.001-05:002013-02-08T17:57:58.305-05:00

Life had been keeping me busy with trying to earn an income and blanketing the garden with snow. There's not much to do or say about the garden right now except that I'm going to need to start the early seeds inside soon. I'll write a nice long post with plenty of pictures in a week or so. Promise.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-90670185330783438992013-01-25T12:58:00.000-05:002013-01-25T12:59:54.168-05:00

So the snow came back after some very cold days and blanketed everything. I'm hoping this coating will stay because we could use some build up. The neighbours have their backyard ice rinks and the river's starting to freeze along the banks. Winter seems to have finally come to stay. I moved the aloe back into the window because it was getting pale in the center. Looks like it's doing

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-9377384122717570362013-01-18T16:55:00.000-05:002013-01-18T16:55:35.631-05:00

I decided I was going to make bite-sized banana bread today.  I found a nice gluten-free recipe on Shape.com and tweaked it to what I wanted/had available. I didn't want to use the cherries or raisins, and I did want to use mini chocolate chips. I had two bananas in the freezer waiting to be banana bread and I was a fool thinking I could do without the third. I swapped out buckwheat flour for

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-82922946346216463242013-01-16T16:56:00.001-05:002013-01-16T16:56:43.150-05:00

Last weekend we had a run of days over freezing and it melted all the snow. Warmer temperatures are good for the compost but it hardly looks like winter any more. The cats were trying to use Bed #7 as a litter box when there was snow on it so I put down an old folded dog crate we had laying around and the metal mesh has seemed to put a stop to that. West side.East side.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-34200557961197030162013-01-11T02:32:00.000-05:002013-01-11T02:32:06.982-05:00

I just have to say... This is so awesome.  I'm going to post the weather reports every month! Squee! From wunderground.com They are amazing.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-15385585021626841722013-01-09T15:45:00.000-05:002013-01-09T15:45:47.033-05:00

Lokit Teh Pretyz! As you can see, there's a hefty little block of the ground cover, and the carrots got swapped. Westcoastseeds.com has the option to let them send a similar packet of seeds instead of putting something on back order. I said sure and wound up with Ya-Ya carrots instead of the Scarlet Nantes. The description for Ya-Ya on the site says: "Smooth skinned, uniform Nantes type

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-63169931390262566422013-01-08T12:22:00.000-05:002013-01-08T12:22:01.940-05:00

There's not much to be done in a garden like mine while it's covered in snow... but the compost always needs taking out.  Obligatory before shot. Please note the multiple inches of snow, and the slight excavation in the centre. Some critter had decided to dig for buried treasure but it wasn't very disturbed. I scraped off as much snow as I could before putting the kitchen scraps and used 

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-48887421919859314592013-01-04T15:03:00.002-05:002013-01-18T16:41:16.385-05:00

I made these yesterday afternoon for desert with dinner.I must say, they were very well liked. I got the recipe for these lovely temptations from Chocolate-covered Katie. They are not only awesomely delicious, but are gluten-free(good for me) and full of good stuff like protein. I've written the recipe how I did it. For the original, click the link to Katie's blog. No-Flour Black Bean

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-48721119235595583552013-01-01T18:38:00.000-05:002013-01-01T18:38:09.089-05:00

The Easy Care ground cover blend should keep us from having to mow grass around the front beds while still keeping a neat and pretty appearance. I may have ordered a tiny bit too much considering the area covered by the beds but I'd rather over seed than under seed, especially in pathways. Instead of getting multiple packets of various seeds that I'd only want about 4 of each at a time, I chose

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-82519993415534024282012-12-30T23:28:00.000-05:002012-12-30T23:28:31.889-05:00

I found an interesting website that tells you when to start your seeds but they only do American zipcodes. To get around that issue I looked up an american map for hardiness zones and found a city nearby with the same zone. Ann Arbor Michigan has the same zone and is in a similar latitude as us so I put in Zip 48104 and got this. Turns out for one thing, our broccoli was going out way too

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-60122791844733106932012-12-29T15:42:00.002-05:002012-12-29T15:43:03.164-05:00

So everything's updated and you can find the 2013 plans by clicking here or on the "Plans for 2013" tab along the top of the blog.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-59238800833399607012012-12-27T21:01:00.000-05:002012-12-27T21:01:41.291-05:00

It snowed a lot last night.  There's at least a couple inches covering the garden and more drifted up against the compost.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-57038173991281630712012-12-25T14:07:00.000-05:002012-12-25T14:08:57.655-05:00

So here's the idea on this one: The beds with a diagonal line though them indicate a change of crop in the August-to-October-ish time of year. There's two kinds on cauliflower. One planted early in the spring that ripens in the summer/fall and another we're planting in the fall to overwinter and produce very early next spring.  As you know from This Post , the garlic is already in bed 4

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-87274314436977111802012-12-25T11:41:00.002-05:002012-12-25T14:08:13.583-05:00

Remember how I said the last one was a rough draft... well I meant it. Here's the latest version and I think this is the one that will stick.  Re-do of front yard plan with list of herbs for spiral and raspberries along fence. Here's what that means: The lavender and echinacia will be kept from sprawling across the sidewalk with little wrought iron looking fence things that get shoved in

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-5513735932992535582012-12-22T12:56:00.002-05:002012-12-22T12:56:52.490-05:00

Now do keep in mind this is a ROUGH plan that isn't exact in placement or sizes. The border of the yard is measured and the rest is sketched in in approximate sizes and spacing. Megan says it looks like a face. North is up. The front yard is bordered on the west by the walkway to the front door and beside that our driveway, on the north by the house, on the east by the neighbour's driveway, and

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-63261833371575569672012-12-21T08:57:00.000-05:002012-12-21T09:03:50.316-05:00

Since winter is officially here as the calender and first snow of the season insist I figured an update on the indoor plants was appropriate. The aloe has recovered well away from the direct light and is enjoying it's time on the stereo. Last weekend I gave it's baby/shoot to a friend. She's named it Medusa and says it's doing well. The window plants have various levels of success. The

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-22091466414332965492012-11-30T12:40:00.000-05:002012-11-30T12:40:58.705-05:00

The sprouts seem to be paused as they grow roots. Lavender's doing well. The bulb is working on roots.I wrapped the jar because it was starting to go green. The aloe had to be moved out of the window.It seems to be getting sunburned on a few tips.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-28280462322703234682012-11-29T23:12:00.000-05:002012-11-29T23:12:51.839-05:00

So a few days ago I made yoghurt using THIS recipe I found on the Plastic-Free Life blog. Fresh out of the Thermos. Still warm and smelled oddly like white glue. After a few hours in the fridge. No longer smelled like glue but was weirdly watery. Strained out some whey. Thicker and tasty! (bigger bowl)Next day. Tasty and very creamy... with some weird bits. I had a small bowl

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-18732357144698380962012-11-27T09:29:00.003-05:002012-11-27T09:29:48.803-05:00

After two hours in the fridge straning out some of the whey, the yoghurt finaly started to resemble yoghurt! Because it finally looked right and smelled okay I was willing to taste test. It's definitely different than the store stuff that cultured it but it's also definitely YOGHURT!  (I even got John to taste and make sure it wasn't just wishful thinking.)

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-70901386050553743942012-11-27T08:31:00.000-05:002012-11-27T09:30:40.968-05:00

Yesterday I made yoghurt using THIS recipe I found on the Plastic-Free Life blog. I put everything together and set it aside to sit at 5pm and this is how it looks when I poured it out at 7am this morning. It's lumpy and watery and kinda smells like white glue. Sooo... I'm straining some of the whey out to see if I can get a thicker, more... yoghurt-y yoghurt. Updates to follow. What

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7942290902909142963.post-6072210914970917752012-11-26T14:10:00.001-05:002012-11-26T14:10:54.003-05:00

Winter's definitely here. There's icicles, snow, and freezing winds. Down spout icicle I removed the paper and sticks. The garlic bed looks a little drier than the others because it had that layer of "protection" from the early morning frosts and such but it's not overly dry. It'll be interesting to see how much we can get from this one bed. Garlic hibernation.

Shannon B.https://plus.google.com/107813354685162487870noreply@blogger.com0