My Skinny Garden

On Rescuing Orchids

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 12:21:00 +0000

I bought this sweet little miniature orchid at the Milwaukee Art Museum in the Spring when we went on a road trip to meet Gayla Trail and listen to a gardening lecture she was presenting at their show Art in Bloom. We're all so citified that I think we were a little worried about being trapped in the car for that long (nearly 2 hours!) so I conjured up some Southern survival principles and made us homemade pimento cheese sandwiches and other various snacks for the trip. Getting there was a lot of fun. We drove through torrential rains and got lost at least 10 times even though it's a straight shot from Chicago to Milwaukee. We ate so much on the drive that when we arrived and Gayla wanted to have lunch, we were all too full, but also too embarrassed to admit we'd eaten pimento cheese sandwiches all the way there.

While standing in line to get our books signed after the lecture we spotted these lovely little orchids. In truth, I think it was Mr. Brown Thumb who spotted them then seduced us all into buying one. Or rather, he bought one and we all copied him knowing if we didn't, he'd be bragging about his orchid all over social media while we sat bathed in regret that we didn't get one, too. That could have been me! That could have been my orchid!

Everyone was skeptical about buying them. Orchids bloom once then sit naked for a couple of years before blooming again. We've all killed at least one. We whined a lot but eventually we all (me, MBT, Jessica, Kim) bought one as a souvenir. Mine did great for a while, despite the neglect. It's in a perfect spot in the bathroom with lots of indirect light and close to the water for convenience. Still, I never remember to water it. And it's still in the same tiny pot it came in because I'm too afraid to repot it. Eventually a few months ago the main stem turned completely brown. I noticed some of the roots had shriveled up too. The only reason I didn't throw it out was because the leaves were still green. So I started trying to revive it, watering it once a week or so. To my surprise, some of the roots started to plump up.

I did a little research on the dead stem last night and it appears this is quite common and doesn't necessarily mean the whole plant is dead. Most articles I read recommended cutting the brown stem all the way to the base of the plant so that the plant can focus all its energy on regeneration. So that's what I've done. I have no idea if this little guy will make it but I'm going to try my best to revive him. I have the signed books from Gayla and the memories of the insightful discussions and laughs we had chatting during lunch and dinner but this is a living memory of that fun drive and meeting new friends so I'd like to save if I can. If you have any tips for rescuing orchids please pass them on. Otherwise, I'll keep you posted!

Strawberry Patches Are Overrated

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:24:00 +0000

I'm getting rid of my strawberry patch. Period.

When I expanded my garden a couple of years ago I devoted one of my four 4x8 foot beds to a strawberry patch. I dreamed of the endless pints of delicious strawberries my strawberry patch would produce. I scoffed at other gardeners who complained incessantly over how invasive the strawberries were. Stupid gardeners, I thought. Just put them in a raised bed!

I love the leaves of the strawberry plant. Deep green, like giant clovers except the leaves are veiny with pointed edges. I love how they turn red in the fall then shrivel up and die like there's no hope for next year. But alas every spring they return dutifully and multiply.

These plants are a pain in my ass. There is no better way to say it. They manipulate me into thinking I'll be in fresh organic strawberry heaven when the bed is a carpet of beautiful green strawberry plants. But they don't produce that much. And they attract all manner of birds and squirrels. A big percentage of the fruit I harvest has a bite taken out. Eventually I'll cover the bed with bird netting which protects the fruit but always ends up tangled with weeds and it makes harvesting strawberries dreadful. And the weeds! God! Weeding that strawberry bed is virtually impossible because the vines running along the dirt are so intertwined. They remind me of tangled cords behind a TV entertainment center or the wires on a giant computer server. Imagine trying to find a weed, green like the strawberry vines only more slender. The weeds, the strawberry vines, they are all tangled together like a woven basket. I grab hold of the base of a weed and yank it out but its bindweed, tightly wrapped around the strawberry vine. The bindweed breaks at the base leaving an inch sticking up from the dirt but the roots of some strawberry plants are yanked out, too. Causalities of war.

The worst part is that the strawberries are sour. I don't fertilize them or add compost to the bed, maybe that's why. I have no idea what variety I'm growing. I started out with a few plants from a friend and they have multiplied so much that they are now overcrowded in their 4x8 raised bed. Not only that, putting them in a raised bed does not contain them. They spill over the edges which does look pretty. It makes for great pictures, the dark foliage and bright red strawberries against the cedar wood. But as soon as they get long enough to touch the ground they root. And they seem to grow under the wood of the raised beds or under the ground, I have no idea how they escape. I gave away all the plants outside the bed this past summer, dug some up and planted them in pots. Still, by the end of the season they'd spread about 10 inches outside their bed. Strawberries without borders.

They've had their chance. In the Spring of 2012 when the plants come in, I'll dig them all up and give them away. There must be a better use for that bed. Maybe I'll grow more herbs or tomatoes. Good riddance, strawberry patch! Thanks for nothin.

Smoothie Recipe: Spinach Banana Date Coconut Water

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:36:00 +0000

This is my new favorite smoothie. I got the recipe from a raw vegan guy who makes YouTube videos on juicing and smoothies. I find him very entertaining and all of his juice and smoothie recipes I've tried have been good.

Recipe:

Water from one coconut (use the coconut meat too if you're not worried about the fat content)
1 banana
2-3 pitted dates (depending on how sweet you like it)
1-2 handfuls of spinach

Open the coconut and dump the water through a strainer into the blender to catch any woody particles that may have fallen in during the opening process. Add banana, dates, spinach and blend until smooth. Drink immediately.

If you can't find or don't want to deal with actual coconuts you can substitute store-bought coconut water. I was able to find young coconuts at Whole Foods but the process of opening them was pretty barbaric and messy.

On the suggestion of a Whole Foods employee I used a hammer. It worked, but with every crack of the hammer, the outer flesh of the coconut was flung onto the counter, backsplash, my face, my husbands face. I guess I need more practice.

Don't let the green scare you. It's really delicious.

Troy-Bilt Snow Thrower Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:05:00 +0000

In honor of Chicago's first real stick-to-the-ground snow of 2011 and in general holiday merriment, I'm giving away a snow thrower courtesy of Troy-Bilt. This is the Troy-Bilt Storm 2410, a two-stage snow thrower with an electric push-button start. It will clear snow drifts up to 21 inches high at a width of 24 inches at a time.

I don't own this or any other snow thrower so I can't comment on its performance but I did find this cute video of a guy clearing his driveway using this model. It looks like it works well. But, now I can't get this song out of my head!

To enter the contest post your worst snow-shoveling experience and I'll pick a winner at random. The contest is open to people living in the contiguous United States only.

This contest will close on Friday December 16th at 7:00 pm CST. I will contact the winner directly so please make sure I have a way to reach you. If I cannot contact you within 24 hours I will select another winner. The snow thrower will be shipped to you directly from Troy-Bilt so you will need to share your address with them after I notify you that you have won.

Good Luck!

Update: Congrats Benjamin Vogt, winner of the Troy-Bilt Storm 2410 snow thrower! Check out Benjamin's blog The Deep Middle.

Her Red Shoes Matched Her Red Poppy Tattoo

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 02:02:00 +0000

The room was drenched in red. So red I gasped when I walked through the door. Deep red carpet. Red sofas. And walls and walls of mirrors. It was warm, mysterious, the entry way drawing me in as I caught glimpses of rooms tucked here and there. Every room excited me like discovering another secret pocket in a cool old jacket and being eager to find out what's in there.

When it was time, we all gathered in the lobby with our glasses of wine and stood watching as she descended a grand spiral red staircase wearing a strapless dress that fit so perfectly it seemed every stitch was sewn with her in mind. The dress was stunning, simple. Stark white, strapless with a bedazzled diamond shaped piece of silver just below her breast bone holding all the sheer soft fabric in place.

I don't know why but it made me feel good that she walked in alone. Her sense of pride and confidence was palpable. I appreciate tradition, but in 2011 I admire a woman who doesn't feel obligated to be given away like a piece of property. When she reached the platform landing at the bottom of the stairs, she turned toward Andrew, her right shoulder facing us, her new red poppy tattoo prominent and in perfect compliment to the red soaked room.

They wrote their own vows, part of which included each of them selecting a passage from a book for the other to read. Michelle handed Andrew the book Love is a Mix Tape opened to the part he was to read. "I am riding in the car with the windows down and the music blasting...." These may not be the exact words but this is how I remember them. He was reading about himself. A passage from a book Michelle read that reminded her of him. I could tell from the sound of his voice that he felt a deep connection to the words. That he was touched that she knew him so well. And then Michelle's turn. A story in first person of a girl discovering her confidence and beauty and ending in beautiful dresses and red shoes, both of which Michelle was wearing.

After the readings, they said their vows. Michelle started with a warm genuine smile, her head tilted ever so slightly to the left "Andrew, you are my favorite person." There is no better compliment. Her vows were conversational and sweet and powerful. And then Andrew..."I, Andrew, take you Michelle, to be my lawfully wedded wife." Their vows were so different yet they perfectly complimented each other. Their beautiful wedding bands were cut and sculptured from the same piece of reclaimed wood. They were married by our friend Nick who'd been ordained just for the occasion. I have scoffed when I've heard of people doing this but standing there watching two good friends be married by another good friend, a person who knew them better than some random judge or minister would have, I totally got it.

The rest of the night people talked about her red shoes. Michelle insisted that she had no idea about the reading Andrew selected or that it contained a reference to red shoes. And I believe her. But Andrew knows her that well. He knew she would walk into that all red room wearing beautiful red lipstick to compliment that striking red poppy tattoo. And he knew her well enough to know she'd never wear anything but red shoes to her own wedding. Those readings, the red shoes, they were so much more than coincidental stuff at a wedding. They were powerful expressions of their bond, their friendship, how well they know each other.

We were asked to bring something for a time capsule. It seemed like a cool concept but coming up with something for that time capsule was harder than I thought and ultimately I left nothing on the table. But I'm hoping the capsule isn't closed, yet. That when they open it years from now they'll read about my experience at their wedding. About how I stabbed myself in the finger with a butter knife that morning and bled all over my kitchen while waiting for my girlfriends to come over for coffee. That Monica took me shopping that day for something to wear to the wedding and that I walked into a dress shop with a deep sadness over my body but I walked out confident with a dress I thought I looked pretty in. That my husband said he didn't think he'd ever seen me in a dress and that he liked it. That I felt pretty that day like the girl in the story that Michelle read at her wedding. That I was mesmerized by all 9 of those beautiful wedding cakes and admired them both for having the balls to have wasabi cakes and plenty of vegan fare. That we danced the night away despite Michelle's recent knee surgery. That I will remember fondly Michelle's first dance with Andrew and watching the hug between Michelle and her brother later that night. No words were exchanged but I know that feeling. It was the same hug I shared with my brother after his wedding years ago. A relationship so close that no words need be spoken yet deep emotion and appreciation are communicated.

I was so moved. It's been two months but these thoughts and feelings still linger.

Contest: Troy-Bilt Cordless Battery-Powered Pole Saw

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:50:00 +0000

Thanks to the fine folks at Troy-Bilt I'm giving away one of their cordless battery-powered pole saws. The saw extends from 5-8 feet and comes with a lithium battery and charger. For my information check out my review of it. And for a good laugh, watch the video below of me actually using it.

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment telling us why you need a pole saw like this and I'll pick a winner using a random number generator Tuesday October 4th at 8:00 CST. The product will be shipped directly to you from the manufacturer so you won't need to give me your mailing address, but you will need to give it to them.

Note: Only folks in the contiguous US may enter. (sorry, international friends) Please make sure you enter the contest using an account that is connected to an email address or leave your email address in the comment. If I cannot contact you to inform you that you are the winner, I'll unfortunately need to pick a different winner.

Good Luck!

Review: Troy-Bilt Battery-Powered Cordless Pole Saw

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 01:47:00 +0000

Where I complain about the cost of tree trimming:
I just couldn't do it. Pay nearly $500 for my semi-dwarf Georgia Bell Peach tree to be trimmed. I'm sure It's worth it. That the professionals know the proper limbs to cut back and the angle and position to cut them to stimulate more growth. To trim it so that it doesn't continue to grow into the house. I planted it to close, I didn't know any better. But for a lot of people, me included, spending that kind of money on a little scraggly peach tree I bought at Home Depot before I knew anything about gardening just can't be justified. Christ! It was never even supposed to bear fruit according to all the "gardening experts." I did get peaches last year but this year when they were able the size of walnuts something terrible happened and the leaves and peaches all dried up and fell off. I holding out hope for peaches in 2012!

How I came to know that pole saws even existed:
As one of the Saturday 6 bloggers I visited the Troy-Bilt facility in Ohio back in April of this year. We went out to the big pavilion at the Troy Bilt lodge where there was a sea of gardening gadgets laid out for us to test. It was like we'd all been good boys and girls and were waking up on Christmas morning to a delivery from a Gardener Santa. I was struck by how many of us were drawn to the battery powered pole saw. Personally, I never knew such a thing even existed or I'd have purchased it a long time ago!

My experience with the Troy-Bilt electric battery powered pole saw:
A pole saw is basically like a long stick with a mini chain saw on the end of it. It can be used to trim the longer branches of small trees and I would imagine, shrubs you have a hard time reaching. For example, the Hydrangea that I planted in the back of what has grown to be a lush wide perennial bed. It's not particularly tall, it's just so damn far back that I have to walk over peonies and coneflower to get to it.

Consistent with my experience with other Troy-Bilt products, I found this easy to assemble. The pole saw came in three pieces. The end with the actual saw on it, the end that holds the battery, and the extension pole that goes between the other two pieces. It took me less than 5 minutes to assemble. Each part connects by sliding one end into the next and hand tightening it. No tools were needed.

At it's shortest the pole saw is 5 feet and with the extension pole it's 8 feet long. One of the best things about this electric pole saw is that it uses the same battery as the Troy-Bilt electric string trimmer so if you already own one of those, you won't need to purchase the battery and charger. Personally, I am glad to now have a backup battery and charger that I can use for both.

I found the pole saw easy to operate and very similar to operating the string trimmer in that you press a button on the battery end then squeeze the trigger to turn it on. The position of the trigger makes it easy and comfortable to keep depressed while using the equipment. I mention that because I know the first generation electric string trimmer had the button and trigger positioned in a way that made it awkward to hold but that has been fixed with the current generation of that string trimmer and it seems like Troy-Bilt considered that when designing this pole saw, too.

The hardest thing about using this piece of equipment was trimming the branches in a way that didn't cause the branches to be scratched up below the cut. I have never used any type of chain saw so I have no idea if this is unique to this pole saw but I am pretty sure it was my own technical problem. What I found is that for the longer branches I would start to cut them but because I didn't have enough control over the pole saw, the blade of the saw would hit the branch then bounce up and back down onto the branch scratching it up quite a bit. Once I was able to figure out the best way to hold the pole saw, the best body stance and foot position to keep it stable, the cuts were pretty clean. For a first time user, I would definitely recommend determining where you want to make your cut then cutting above it first to get a little practice. I feel like this would also be less of an issue using the saw at the 5 foot length than it was at the 8 foot length considering it all seemed to be able pole control. Still, it's something to consider because damage to the branches could leave them vulnerable to disease.

I am not a tree expert but I have heard that fall is a good time to trim them so now's a good time to think about doing that if you have a tree that needs it. For my small garden, this pole saw will be a life saver. It takes up virtually no space stored in the corner of my garage, is cordless with a rechargeable lithium battery (no gas! no oil! no emissions!) and it's easy to use. All things I look for in tools for my small home garden. I would certainly recommend spending the money to have a tree professionally trimmed if you are able to afford it. But if that is not in your budget or you are a big DIY person like me, you may want to consider a small pole saw like this.

Later this week I will be giving away one of these Troy-Bilt pole saws here on my blog so be sure to check back. The equipment will be shipped to the winner directly from the Troy-Bilt facility.

Disclosure: I was given this piece of equipment free of charge in exchange for an honest review of it here on my blog.

Memphis Teacher's Order to Dismantle Garden Hits Home

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:33:00 +0000

Tennessee Coneflower growing in my Chicagoland garden

I tell people the story all the time. About when I was in a long-distance relationship with my now husband and we'd been traveling back and forth to see each other for about a year when we finally started talking about moving to the same city. He lived in Chicago but after visiting Memphis a few times he said was willing to move there. "Are you kidding me? I laughed. You're my ticket out of Memphis!"

If you ever pay attention to those articles that list the top 10 cities for this and that you'll notice Memphis, Tennessee always ranks in the top 5 or 6 for fattest and most dangerous cities to live in. Not only that, the racial tension there is incredible. From my own personal experience, it seems like the white people hate the black people, the black people hate the white people and the only thing the whites and blacks agree on is that they both dislike that the Hispanics keep moving in. And other than those three, no races are present in any significant numbers. I couldn't wait to leave. That was nearly 10 years ago.

When I first read about Adam Guerrero, a teacher in Memphis whose garden had been deemed a nuisance and ordered to be dismantled by September 23rd, I was struck by how close to home this story was to me. I won't provide the intricate details about Adam's project and the complaint against him here because they have been well documented by the Memphis Flyer, Colleen at Treehugger.com and MrBrownThumb (who brought it to all our attention), all articles I encourage you to read. My intention here is only to provide my personal feelings about it, looking at this story from where I stand now.

I grew up in a 700 square foot house on Owen Road two miles from where Adam Guerrero lives. My family lived there until the last 6 weeks of my 6th grade school year when we moved to the burbs, to Raleigh. It was about the worst time in a young girl's life to move away and try to make new friends. I was chubby and introverted, on the cusp of puberty. I graduated from Raleigh Egypt High School in 1985 long before Adam Guerrero became a teacher there. When I attended that school, less than 10% of the students were African American. In the early 90's when my parents sold our ranch style house on Longsneck Ave. I remember talk about how upset the neighbors were going to be that we were selling it to a black family. Now, when I go back to Memphis to visit, I want to drive by that old house, my old school. Drive fast down "thrill hill", that very steep hill near Raleigh Egypt High School where the drop-off gives you butterflies, where I learned to drive a manual shift. But I'm always warned, don't go to Raleigh. There's nothing but gangs there...it's very dangerous. I am not sure how many actual gangs there really are in the Raleigh area but I know that the term "gang" is thrown around way too much these days, many people falsely assuming every group of young black or Hispanic men must be in a gang. I digress.

While reading about Adam's garden I was directed to an article published in July 2011 in The Commercial Appeal, Memphis' major newspaper where a midtown woman was being praised for growing food in her front yard. Her garden is adorable! Her house is bigger and nicer and her garden has a cute white picket fence around it. But for the life of me I can't figure out why her garden is being praised while he has been ordered to dismantle his. Are we really still that concerned about aesthetics in 2011? Or is it because her house is in midtown, a progressive neighborhood where the more tolerant open-minded people live? If Adam was standing in the middle of her cute midtown front yard garden posing for a picture with the three black kids who help him with this garden now, how would the same garden be perceived? Would The Commercial Appeal have even done that story? Or if the cute midtown lady with that adorable light blue dress and fashionable boots was photographed standing in the middle of Adam's current garden, the images rich and color-saturated with cool camera angles, how would Adam's garden be perceived? And why have none of the local TV stations or The Commercial Appeal newspaper done a story on Adam, especially considering that it's global news on social media networks? I appreciate and applaud them both for what they're doing, utilizing their property to grow some of their own food and getting rid of water hogging chemically treated grass. But especially Adam who seems to be giving of his own time and money to teach kids where their food comes from, how to catch and utilize rain waiter, how bees work and how important they are to our food system, how bio diesel and soap are made, how to turn vegetable scraps into organic nutrient-rich compost fertilizer, how magical albeit gross worms are, wiggling their way through the dirt aerating and fertilizing the soil as they go. And as Adam pointed out, these projects are not only important for the environment, they are great teaching tools for math and science. Not only is he doing his part to save the planet, he is giving kids real life examples of how geometry can be utilized to build worm bins and real life examples of science with all the living plants and animals at his garden. He has built a little pocket of utopia there but somehow he, it, has been vilified.

I have seen firsthand the difference that learning about where your food comes from can make and the confidence it gives you to be able to grow some of it yourself. It may sound silly if you've never done it before, but to know how to grow a tomato and compost vegetable scraps is so empowering. Knowing that even though you're only one person on a giant planet, you can actually still help a little. All kids need to be empowered with this knowledge, but especially the ones that Adam is working with. The population in Memphis is over 60% African American. The statistics of rates of incarceration of African American men is staggering compared to other races. We could debate potential reasons for that like whether racial profiling really exists and how much of a role it plays, but in the grand scheme of things the important thing to remember is that poverty breeds crime and higher rates of minorities continue to be below poverty level. There are studies that have shown how community gardens reduce crime rates, anti-social behavior and even raise property value in the immediate area surrounding them. Adam is doing the same thing at his house but on a smaller scale. He is doing exactly what needs to be done with exactly the right people and I agree with the random guy on twitter who was participating in this discussion the other day when he said "he's doing a good thing, everybody just get out of his way!"

I have only been able to follow this story via social media networks and Adam has showed up a couple of times to thank people for their support but I get the feeling this is not the type of attention he would ever want. He seems humble and quietly dedicated to making his community a better place. That is a lesson I was not taught growing up. I learned it accidentally while working to build our local community garden. That focusing energy on your own community, a few dedicated people really can make a difference. I believe that Adam's project has the power to be a catalyst for big changes in the culture of the city of Memphis but even if it doesn't, even if he only changes the lives of those three guys in the Memphis Flyer story, it's still so worth it.

This story, the fight to save Adam's garden has been hard for me. It has made me come face to face with the reasons I left Memphis and the shame I feel for not staying there doing what I could to bring about change. My pleas that my family and friends who still live there, some of them teachers, join in the fight to help Adam have not even been acknowledged which has been painful and caused me to draw some unpleasant conclusions. It makes me wonder if there is any hope for Memphis at all. If there are enough enlightened people there to bring about a change because I know that although this judge may be shamed into overturning this ruling, the change Memphis really needs has to come from within. Large numbers of people, white, black and brown have to somehow come to know that we really can all coexist peacefully, embrace diversity and learn from it. That it's OK, awesome even, to grow stuff in yards besides grass.

I hope that Adam's garden is spared and that he feels supported by all the people around the world publicly speaking out on his behalf and that he continues to teach from that same garden. And I also hope that the citizens of Memphis, especially my family and friends see the outpouring of support from around the globe and that it causes them to examine their own personal beliefs about grass and gardens and race and tolerance.

How you can help before the deadline this Friday September 23rd:

Call Judge Larry Potter (901) 545-3456 or email him at larry.potter@shelbycountytn.gov to ask him to reconsider this ruling
sign the online petition at change.org
go to the Facebook page, click "I'm attending" and tell Adam you're supporting him from wherever you live
if you live in Memphis, check for updates on their Facebook page or blog and show up at court to support Adam this Friday

Green Tomatoes Remind Me of Her

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 17:56:00 +0000

I've been thinking about her a lot lately because her birthday is coming up. If she was still alive we'd already be celebrating it because she insisted her birthday be celebrated an entire week rather than one measly day.

Man! She used to go on and on about fried green tomatoes. We had the same conversation a million times about how gross I thought they were and how amazing she thought they were. I was happy to bring them to her. Especially this time of year when Chicago starts to get cold and the garden is still littered with all different varieties, the frost imminent. Green tomatoes are so beautiful. Perfectly shaped, firm, blemish free. Full of potential. I love the ones that are real dark green on the top and how the dark green fades in subtle streaks to a softer, paler green.

The range of emotions I have when she crosses my mind is so wide that it catches me off guard. Most of the time I think of funny conversations we've had and laugh. But now and then when I'm wishing I could talk to her about something I get teary, or pissed off that she's gone. We worked together for 7 years but I learned a lifetime of lessons from her. She was so vibrant and charismatic, stronger than just about anybody I know yet pathologically compassionate. One time there was a going-away party for a temporary worker who'd been in our department over a year. Carolyn knew of him but because she supervised the clinic and he worked in the finance area, they didn't know each other well at all. I recall watching her as one of the managers made a short statement about how much we appreciated all his hard work and wished him luck in his new position. So predictable. Carolyn's nose started to turn pink then tears filled her eyes and we all busted out laughing. "You don't even know this guy! Why are you crying?" She was moved by the speech, she told us, laughing right along with us. All of us, even Carolyn, got a big kick out of her habitual, uncontrollable crying. But the best part was the juxtaposition of the crying to her palpable strength and confidence.

She spent a lot of time building relationships at work and as a result, she could be a bad ass when it was necessary and people responded quickly and without bad feelings toward her. She took the time to tell people she appreciated them. I mean she would flat out say "Gina, I want you to know that I appreciate you because of this and this and this." We should all do that more. Just being in the same space with her felt good. She was about the only coworker I felt comfortable confiding in. I told Carolyn we were getting married long before I told anybody else. She screamed, then cried.

They called a mandatory meeting that morning. As we all gathered in the small corner conference room overlooking Navy Pier, Carolyn's manager walked in the door. "I have some bad news..." She said the words and as they registered I felt like I was being sucked into the ground. I had just seen her the day before, standing by the bathroom talking, smiling, it didn't seem possible. I am not particularly emotional but in that moment I could not catch my breath. I cried 10 years worth of tears that day sitting back at my desk, my headphones on, the music as loud as I could stand it, every song making me think about some aspect of her personality or life or too-soon death. And I wasn't the only one. I don't think any of us realized just how important she was until that day. We're all crying now, Carolyn.

This time last year she was vacationing in Cancun. In one picture she is standing with her girlfriend, she's wearing a light colored loose-fitting skirt, top and sandals. I was struck by how genuinely happy and beautiful she looked. I envied her for living life so fully and intensely. When Carolyn passed away unexpectedly last year I thought of planting something in my garden in her memory but nothing seemed appropriate. Carolyn was a houseplant person, the window in her office a jungle of lush green healthy plants. But I realized that what really reminds me of Carolyn is green tomatoes. That as long as I have a garden, as long as I grow tomatoes...

Pickled Red Onion and Watermelon Radish

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 12:56:00 +0000

I forgot I even planted watermelon radish until I noticed them bulging out the top of the soil in one of my raised beds while looking for peppers to pickle this weekend. Some of them were huge, nearly the size of rutabaga.

I've never grown radish before. I'm not sure why. They are known to be one of the easiest, fastest things to grow in the garden. But when I think of radishes I think of those limp circular slices thrown on every bad salad I've ever eaten. I've tasted them, but they always seem bland. This year when I received the list of seeds in the media kit from Renee's Garden, the watermelon radish really jumped out at me. Now this is coming from a person who knows nothing about radish so be sure to keep it in context. But this radish is larger than the typical tiny radishes. From what I've read, you can harvest them at any size. Mine were much larger than I expected but again, it was due to my negligence. Cut the radish in half and you'll find the center is a beautiful marbled watermelon color. I'll confess, I didn't try these before I pickled them but maybe a commenter can tell us what they taste like compared to other radishes.

Since there was no way I could eat all the watermelon radish I harvested before they went bad, I decided to pickle them. While reading the pickling recipe in Grow Great Grub I was really inspired by the beautiful pink color of her pickled red onion and cauliflower so I decided to to try the red onions with my watermelon radish. It's a stunning pink.

white vinegar
water
kosher salt
sugar
Penzey's pickling spice
Weck jars

I can't wait to try them although I've no idea what to eat this with other than on a salad. Suggestions?

Why I Speak Out

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 17:06:00 +0000

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.

-Samual Adams

I remember it so vividly that it may as well have happened yesterday. It is 3:00 am and I'm sitting on a tall stool at the lab bench trying to harvest lymphocyte cells from the lymph nodes of a cadaver kidney donor. A bright fluorescent light is shining down where I've gently transferred the lymph nodes from the plastic urine cup to a clear round petri dish. It's been six years since I've done this, but I remember them. The lymph nodes look like little BBs embedded in a big glob of flesh colored fat. Sometimes they are large, fat lumps protruding from the tissue, but these are small. I have to press down on the tissue with forceps to find them.

He who allows oppression, shares the crime.

-Erasmus Darwin

She is standing over me, my trainer. I'm new here. It's my first time on call and we're here to perform the compatibility testing of this deceased donor against one of the patients on the kidney transplant waiting list. I'm sleepy, and already wondering how I'll ever get used to this.

I attach a clean needle to the syringe and draw the translucent pink cell media in completely filling it. The procedure is to use the needle to poke holes in the lymph nodes, then gently inject the cell media fluid into them so that the lymphocytes spill out of the holes into the petri dish. Then the lymphocytes are collected and used for testing. You know you've gotten some when the clear fluid spills out cloudy grey. This process always reminds me of how my mother taught me to poke holes in whole canned tomatoes before cutting them up so they don't explode.

People who advocate freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are people who want crops without plowing the ground. They want rain without the awful roar of the thunder and lightning. Without struggle, there is no progress.

-Fredrick Douglas

I've finished poking holes in one lymph node and as I'm about to flush out the cells, the needle grazes my latex glove grabbing hold of it. I quickly pull it away and the glove releases making a popping sound like rubber band against my skin. I have nearly stuck myself with a dirty needle, a cardinal sin for a lab technician. "Don't do that! This guy's black!" she barks.

A time comes when silence is betrayal.

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I am paralyzed. I'm staring at her and I can't tell if my mouth has dropped to the floor or not but my head begins to swirl. My heart is racing. I'm confused, enraged, sad. I know this is one of those pivotal moments in life where no matter what I do, there will be significant ramifications. I say nothing.

As we must account for every idle word, so must we account for every idle silence.

-Benjamin Franklin

I went on to work at that lab for a year, the "N" word being used regularly by the staff and administrators. I was afraid to speak up. I needed that job. And somewhere inside I wasn't sure I could handle being the only one to take on a pack of racists. It was a miserable year. I burned inside. From the shame of not saying it was stupid and offensive.

A sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.

-Abraham Lincoln

That was nearly 10 years ago but I still regret not telling her it wasn't OK to talk like that at work, or at least it wasn't OK to talk like that around me. And to presume someone is more likely to have HIV because he is a black man. I still regret not reporting them all to somebody that would take action. Their revenue came from state contracts and public universities. Somebody must care.

I moved to Chicago about a year later. On my last day they threw a going-away party for me and another girl who was leaving and gave us both monogrammed jewelry boxes from Things Remembered. Mine was 1/2 the size of hers. Both were pretty but I was tickled by the overt message they were sending me. We like you 1/2 as much as her. Instead of filing a formal complaint I'd become a surly employee, not participating in any corporate events, escaping to the secluded DNA lab whenever I could. They all hated me by then.

The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.

-Elizabeth Cady Stanton

I speak up when I am offended or when I observe what I feel are injustices. I'm not stupid, I know that most of these beliefs and behaviors are deep-seeded, generations old. And that my calling somebody out probably won't really make a difference. But it keeps me from feeling that fire and shame inside. It feels less bad.

Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of the colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, (s)he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

-Robert F. Kennedy.

Lotus

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:55:00 +0000

More Wordless Wednesday

Marigold Summer Splash

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:45:00 +0000

More Wordless Wednesday

I'm growing with the SeedGROW project. Thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds.

White Hibiscus: Physical Representation of My Inferiority Complex

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 03:12:00 +0000

Do you have a plant in your garden that, when you look at it, you almost get embarrassed that you grow it? For me that's my big gaudy white hibiscus.

I am always fascinated by how things going on in my garden are such tangible representations of what's going on in my head. What's going on in my life.

The flowers on this hibiscus are around 10 inches wide. From a distance they look like plates on a plant, so sturdy you could pop them off and use them as Frisbees. But when you look closely at the blooms you notice the delicate crisp white ripples that draw your eyes to the center which you only notice is pink when you're face to face with the bloom. The bloom flutter when the wind blows like the edges of a light cotton summer dress. When you touch them it's clear they're very delicate. But boy do command attention! When you walk by there is absolutely no way not to notice them. Sometimes I gasp when I see them myself, even though I know they've been in the same spots for 3 years. I have one planted in the backyard so that I can see it from the kitchen window and one is planted in the front yard garden for the passers by to admire.

In general, I walk around trying not to be noticed. I've definitely got an inferiority complex and body image issues. I know it goes beyond weight because the times in my life where I've been much thinner and very fit I loved to shop for stylish clothes and although I loved the way I felt in them, I hated for people to notice me, or my clothes. "That outfit looks really amazing on you!" I'd cringe, roll my eyes and launch into pointing out the bad parts of the outfit or my body that may have gone unnoticed. When the conversation was over, I'd walk away smiling, but with the same tape playing in my head. Idiot!

The hibiscus evokes the exact same response. Coneflower, black-eyed susan, shasta daisy, snapdragons, BIG GAUDY HIBISCUS!

Nobody has ever visited my garden while the hibiscus is blooming and not commented on it. And when they do, I am catapulted back to that place inside me that likes pretty things but doesn't like the attention. I'm on autopilot, rambling, pointing out all the flaws in my garden, how the hibiscus really doesn't belong here. It comes from the same place as those "I am not worthy" feelings. And when I walk away I'm playing the same tape in my head as before.

On Being Like Bindweed

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 17:48:00 +0000

I know there is peace and solitude out there but I can't see it for the bindweed blanketing the garden right now. It's symbolic of the regular maintenance needed to fully experience life.  And how neglect keeps you from enjoying it.  I sneak through my garden on the way to my car feeling like the plants are staring at me and I'm somebody in dark glasses hoping not to be recognized. I water when I have to, quickly, trying to notice which variety of tomato is starting to turn pink without reaching into the bed to look at the label. I have no right to be that close. I am like a man trying to steal a glance at a pretty girl without anybody noticing.

I'm in a dark place these days.  More inward. I'm disconnected from you...from everything and everyone that isn't an absolute necessity. I wish I could go off some place and pretend like I don't exist for a while. To be able to go as deep inside myself as I need to and for as long as I need to figure things out. I don't mean to seem like I'm in the same negative vortex I've complained about before. It's just that I am realizing if you can get deep enough inside your own head, it's a pretty peaceful place. There's clarity in there. And energy and healing. And I need more of that right now. I have let the stress of life cripple me and make me sick and I'm just trying to fix it. But I do worry about the collateral damage. It's a vicious cycle I have always struggled with, focusing on one thing while the other gets neglected and becomes its own source of stress. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I wish I was more like the bindweed.  A fierce competitor refusing to go down without a fight. It is efficient and beautiful, growing fast and effortlessly. No matter the conditions, it gets by.  Without fail, its delicate white flower opens every morning, its vines crawl along the the garden not caring what goes on around it. And when I have ferociously yanked every visible piece of it out, it does not get discouraged because its very deep roots give it the foundation to persevere. It simply does what it does, keeping with the rhythm of life, maintaining its focus, growing.

Coconut Lime Echinacea

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:54:00 +0000

More Wordless Wednesday

Orange Daylilies Get a Bad Rap

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 12:47:00 +0000

More Wordless Wednesday

The Dark Side of Homegrown Salad Greens

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:30:00 +0000

me: "Hi, this is Gina, how may I help you?"
him: "I AM FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!"
me: "Why? What's wrong?" (I am only moderately concerned)
him: "THERE'S A BUG IN MY SALAD!"
me: "Hmmmm...really? That sucks. I'm surprised it survived the washing and fridge overnight."
him: "IT'S STILL MOVING! I ALMOST ATE IT! IT'S A LITTLE GREEN BUG!
me: Silence. I know what's coming...
him: "I AM NEVER EATING THIS SALAD AGAIN!"

I washed it. Three times! I swear! I have this technique of washing my homegrown salad greens where I put them in the salad spinner and fill the bowl with cold water and let them sit for a few minutes. You know, so the bugs will drown and float to the top. I do that three times and usually it works. God! I have run across some crazy shit in those salad greens. I am particularly creeped out by earwigs so when they crawl out of the salad greens onto my hand while I'm picking them or washing them it's all I can do not to scream bloody murder. My goal is to remain calm so as not to alert my husband who is even more creeped out by bugs in the garden than I am. It is hard enough to get him to eat the food I grow after he watches squirrels and rabbits frolicking amongst the food but bugs that survived the cleaning process? Forget it.

I have written about my husband's pest issues before. How he used to keep a pile of rocks by the back door of the 2nd floor two flat apartment we rented. He'd put a couple in his pocket in case he encountered a squirrel in the yard on the way to the train in the mornings. In his defense, the squirrels were very aggressive, probably because the folks next door fed them all manner of food right out of their kitchen. We once found a partially eaten hot dog with a bun on our back porch which we assumed had been dragged up there by a squirrel. And then there's the time he accidentally ran over the baby rabbits with the lawn mower. He left the lawn mower sitting in the middle of the yard and refused to mow the grass for 3 years. I was content paying for the service because they helped me weed the garden, too. But then they "weeded" my strawberries, so I fired them. And the next ones "weeded" an expensive Autumn Moon Japanese Maple and some other nice plants so I fired them, too. I digress.

I'm making light of it here but bugs and animals in the garden are just part of the organic home garden. I wish somebody would tell me how to wash my salad greens in a manner that would remove 100% of bugs 100% of the time. Or how to convince my husband that a bug or a squirrel in the garden isn't the end of the world. That just because grocery store salad comes in a nice clear crispy plastic bag doesn't mean it's really clean or safe. I guarantee we'll never get e. coli from my homegrown salad greens!

me: "J says to tell you that you can either deal with an occasional bug in your salad or a lifetime of pesticide"
him: "I'll take the pesticide"

Squirrels Love the Washtub and Marigolds!

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 01:58:00 +0000

There's no good way to say this but my wash tub as a container garden isn't going well. I expected the bindweed to be a problem because, well, every inch of my dirt is contaminated with bindweed. What I wasn't really expecting was that it would be such a squirrel magnet.

I direct sow a lot of seeds in my garden, especially lettuce. I don't have a picture of it but I had excellent germination of the three seeds (marigold, basil and lettuce) I sowed in this container but ever since they sprouted, the squirrel basically been camped out in there. I am pretty sure it has eaten every single marigold and basil seedling, only leaving a little of the lettuce. Aren't marigolds supposed to stink? Hence why you plant them with tomatoes so they'll keep the pests away? Or did I dream that? It's not just that the seedlings were young succulent microgreen squirrel goodness either. I started other marigolds indoors and transplanted them into my vegetable garden after they were several inches tall and the squirrels ate all of them except one plant which is now blooming, thankfully. Flash of genius! Genetically engineered squirrels that love bindweed!

It's unfortunate but I think I'm going to need to clean the weeds out, replant the seeds and cover it with some ugly screen until the plants are big enough to be a little more unappealing to squirrels. I tell ya, these are the types of things that make round-up and BB guns appealing. I'm just sayin.

I'm growing with the SeedGROW project. Thanks to Reenes Garden for the seeds.

My Skinny Garden at Lowe's Naperville Saturday June 4th!

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:14:00 +0000

Tomorrow morning I'll be joining the Troy-Bilt team at Lowe's in Naperville, IL to try to answer your gardening questions while they show off their awesome equipment. If you are in the area, please stop by to say hello! I would love to be able to meet some readers. If you do stop by, remind me to tell you about the "thrown objects room" at the Troy-Bilt facility. I visited in early May and had the opportunity to see all the crafty ways they test safety and noise level on their equipment and I've been planning to write about it but haven't gotten around to it, yet. It was far out!

Lowe's

1440 South Route 59

Naperville, IL. 60564

10:00-1:00

Map and Directions

Disclosure: I am a member of Troy-Bilt's Saturday6 and have received compensation from Troy-Bilt to attend this event for the purpose of answering general gardening questions. Woot! Woot!

Using Washtubs for Container Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 02:42:00 +0000

I'm bad about copying other people's ideas. I admit it. And ever since I attended a Gayla Trail's lecture at the Milwaukee Art Museum and saw her great photo of chives planted in a washtub that she used in her presentation, I've been wanting to create the exact same thing in my garden.

Several years ago I stopped by an estate sale and paid a couple of dollars for an old wash tub and brought it home only to find that the bottom was coming off. In Gayla's presentation, she talked about removing the bottom of the washtub and sitting it right on the ground, filling it with potting soil and using it like a regular container garden. So tonight when I got home I dumped all the crap I had stored in the gimpy washtub out then fought with it for about 15 minutes until the bottom finally snapped lose.

This season I'm going to be planting Summer Splash Marigold and Italian Cameo Basil seeds (and maybe some other yet-to-be-determined ones) in it. Both are from Renee's Garden donated to gardeners for the second annual Seed Grow project. We're also growing Container Babies Lettuce, the third seed in the Seed Grow project. I sowed the Container Babies seeds directly in my raised beds a few days ago. I have never direct sowed basil seeds and this is my first year growing marigold from seed so I'm pretty nervous about it but very excited to be able to participate in this project again this year.

I'll keep you posted on how this wash tub container works out. I placed in the memory garden I planted for my father-in-law just beneath my Wine and Roses Weigela. I think the faded grey color of the washtub will look spectacular against the backdrop of the purple Weigela foliage.

I'm growing with the SeedGROW project. Thanks to Reenes Garden for the seeds.

Independent Garden Centers: Judge Ye Not Lest You Be Judged!

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:26:00 +0000

Over the past few weeks there have been a barrage of posts related to garden bloggers doing product reviews, endorsing products and placing ads on their blogs. The issue is complex and annoying but one part keeps resurfacing and, well, pissing me off. There seem to be a few owners of Independent Garden Centers (IGC) trying to insinuate that garden bloggers are somehow playing a part in the demise of their business. With all due respect, this is about as ludicrous as insinuating that garden bloggers are causing the global failure of print media. I mean I like the concept that we're so powerful and all but it's just not very believable. What's next? Garden bloggers responsible for the collapse of the American economy?

In one case an IGC owner and blogger posted on this same topic day after day after day, taking slightly different angles each day but usually coming back to the same conclusion. Big Box stores are bad. IGC's are good. Bloggers who do product reviews or giveaways and, God forbid, show up at a big box store *gasp* are bad too, or at least not credible to talk about gardening. Even if it's just gardening in their own backyards. That somehow my agreeing to work with Troy-Bilt, to learn about their company, give an honest review of a product and yes, show up at Lowe's to hang out at the Troy-bilt tent and answer gardening questions for a few hours, all for a fair price, means I have turned my back on the entire IGC world. The commenters on the first post went nuts, all of us calling each other out on various perceived ethical infractions, bloggers got caught in lies and put on blast by the blog owner. It was great fun and reminded me of a wrestling match that starts with a couple of people but gets completely out of hand as more wrestlers spill onto the ring, everybody whooping each others asses while the crowd screams and chants and eggs them on. The main fight breaks into sub-fights, each new wrestler entering the ring trying to decide which side to take, which wrestler to punch. Eventually the fight kind of dwindles and the wrestlers, eyeing their opponents, saunter back to the locker rooms, chests still puffed up in a don't fuck with me fashion.

In a more recent blog post on a whole different site that blogged about the same topic but from a different angle (bloggers are good! you should hire us!), another commenter who is also an IGC owner flat out said that garden bloggers using ads on their websites and developing business relationships with any product sold at Home Depot or Lowe's means the garden blogger is "promoting big box stores...and in turn widening the gap between bloggers and independent retailers." Really?  What is this "gap" you speak of and why was I not informed about it before?! What about companies like Terracycle? A couple of college kids who started a business making woom poop fertilizer in recycled 2 liter plastic bottles. Terracycle is now sold at big box stores. Where do you stand on the owners? Should they be hanged by the neck until dead?

IGC's - hear this. Nothing alienates people more than to lecture them about how and where they should spend their money. And that's what you've done. I don't mean just garden bloggers, I mean anybody! I shop local and small businesses whenever I can, but the reality is that we're all trying to work an honest job and feed our families. I work a regular IT job all day then I write and garden for fun.  I find it personally insulting that these IGC's are going around the Internets bashing garden bloggers while they sit there owning their own company and reaping the rewards of that. I'm not saying anybody is getting rich off it, but neither am I with my 9-5. Be happy that you are doing something you love and that you are your own boss. And take responsibility for the success (or failure) of your business!  If you read enough of our blogs you'd know that most of us do patronize your stores. Unfortunately, the things you've said have really soured my image of IGC's. I realize there are only a few of you blaming your failing business on garden bloggers but that's how it works. You make global statements about garden bloggers and suddenly here I am all offended writing a negative post about IGC's.  Because I've got the attention span of a gnat and incorrectly assume all IGC's are mean like you. You know, painting you all with a broad brush like you're doing us.

My personal feeling is that IGC's have failed miserably at reaching out to gardeners, especially new ones. Maybe it's just me but many of them seem to be places you go after you are well versed and can navigate through all those cool plants. I have not found them to be overly welcoming and often feel it's a haven for plant snobs. I fashion myself a bit of a plant snob, too, so I'm OK with it. But if I were a knew gardener I'd never step foot in one. A coworker once told me that she doesn't shop at Whole Foods because she feels like the other shoppers would look down on her. Like snarl, look at her trying to pretend like she knows the difference between organic and commercially grown strawberries! Of course I told her that wasn't the case at all but thinking of it in the context of this discussion I realized that's exactly how I felt the first time I went into my local IGC. At Menards or Lowe's it's like hmmm which shed should I get...wait! how did I get over here with all these pretty flowers?

The bottom line is that the Internet is part of an external environment that is dictating a lot of changes in print media, the music industry and evidently IGC's. In business it is the responsibility of the business owner to be aware and responsive to these external factors. If you sit back using the same business model you've always used, ignoring the changes and only taking action by attacking garden bloggers, I suspect you'll be like Blockbuster and Borders, going out of business right and left.

Lastly, I wanted to point out that while you IGC garden blogger haters go around criticizing garden writers, realize that many of them are struggling to make a living. I know enough to know it's not a lucrative business for most. It's pretty shallow of you to indict people who may write full time to feed their families for the failure of your business when in reality, they are "the little guy", not you.

Lecturing people doesn't work. We're all out here doing the best we can to support our communities, our local and small businesses, etc but I don't appreciate being demonized for establishing a business relationship with Troy-Bilt, a company that started out a very small business and has done the right things in order be successful any more than I do being lectured about how the fact that I eat cheese yet don't eat meat is somehow flawed (even though the milk cows aren't killed they're still tortured!) and makes me a bad person, or at least a stupid vegetarian. And what about the small PR companies who work with folks like Troy-bilt to help them grow their business.  They are small businesses, too and I don't know this for sure but I can only imagine in ruff economic times like this, one of the first cuts a company might make would be to their marketing and PR which could put these small firms right out of business. You seem to think your businesses are the only ones that matter.

It's funny, the thing that has kept me out of IGC's more than big box stores has been seed companies. This year everything in my vegetable garden has been started from seed which makes me wonder why you haven't gone after them. I guess in 2011 blaming everything on the big box stores and the Internet is much more fashionable.

Growing Salad Greens From Seed

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Sat, 21 May 2011 12:26:00 +0000

Of all the edibles I grow from seed in the vegetable garden, I find salad greens to be the easiest and most rewarding. Sprinkle seeds on top of good soil then water. There's no need to cover the seeds with dirt. They'll sprout in around 3 days and can be harvested in about 3 weeks.

If you've never grown lettuce before, I would recommend buying any pack of mesclun salad mix that looks interesting and give it a try. Don't worry about sowing the seeds too thick. Once the leaves are large enough to harvest, cut them at the base of the plant, and within a few days you'll notice the open spaces filled with new leaves. Salad greens can be grown in pots, raised beds or directly in the ground and by growing them from seed yourself, you will have access to wonderful varieties you would never find at the grocery store. One of my favorites is Romaine Freckles from Botanical Interests.

I harvested the first salad greens for dinner tonight. This is Tango from Johnny's that overwintered (shocking!) and a few leaves of Sea of Red from Renee's. It's hard to articulate the excitement of the first dinner salad of the season eaten 30 minutes after harvest. Bliss!

Green Home Experts: One Heirloom Project

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:58:00 +0000

Over the years the gardening world has participated in several programs where we all grow the same plant and share growing tips and reviews with each other. One of my favorites has always been One Seed Chicago. This year I voted for Swiss Chard in the One Seed Chicago contest and it won. Joy!

Green Home Experts in cooperation with Forest Park Community Garden and Root Riot is starting a new growing project called One Heirloom. Each year we'll all grow the same heirloom plant, share our experiences throughout the project, learn how to preserve/can our harvest then celebrate with a potluck. The inaugural heirloom for this project is the German Pink Tomato. These plants are being grown organically from seed and are available now at Green Home Experts. Plants are $3.50 each and there are only 150 plants total so be sure to get yours, today!

I've never grown this variety of tomato before and I'm a tomato fanatic so I'm super excited to try it and about the project in general. I look forward to blogging about it and hearing your experiences with the German Pink, too!

How Soil Quality Impacts Flavor and Nutrition of Food

noreply@blogger.com (Gina) — Sun, 15 May 2011 19:14:00 +0000

Bob Jones, Sr. from The Chef's Garden talks about how soil quality is the biggest factor in determining flavor and nutrition of edible plants. This is not new to most of us but it is nice to hear it from folks growing food on a large scale like this.

The Chef's Garden is an organic farm outside Cleveland, Ohio that grows and sells edibles to chefs all over the world.

Not included in this video, Mr. Bob goes on to talk about the advanced testing methods they use to prove flavor and nutrition quality of their food. I had the pleasure of tasting quite a few of their micro-greens and I was shocked by how intense the flavors were.