Potato updates
Inside the greenhouse
Greenhouse as of April 21st
Potato growing experiments
I purchased several pounds of organic seed potatoes. They are presently in an open box, getting misted daily, pending shoot development.
In the meantime, I started a few plants from store-bought potatoes to experiment with growing. Continue reading “Potato growing experiments”
Heatwave
We had a heatwave this past weekend!! It got up to 28°C!!
Suffice it to say that the clothes on the line dried beautifully, and that any niggly little fruit stains that remained on Eliza’s clothes after I’d scrubbed them were sun-bleached!
We also aired out the house, though I question if it was so wise exposing what have been rather cool internal temperatures to sudden intense warmth!! Oh well.
We’ve had probably 3 weeks of rainy spring weather. Rainy but very cool. Yesterday was a sudden shock on just how quickly Spring can end, and Summer can arrive!!
I’m not looking forward much to the sweltering summer temperatures.
We started the first bunch of seeds (squash/melons, nightshades, salads and peas) back on Wednesday 6th, and I am told this morning that some of them are already sprouting.
The corn, broccoli, and cauliflower were started yesterday.
We’re hoping that some of the beds will be able to be filled next week, which will allow for me to get the root vegetables started.
If I can’t get them planted in this month’s waning moon, they’ll have to wait until next. Well, I guess they don’t really have to wait, but I am trying to plant ‘by the moon’, so I’m trying to stick to the rules.
I still need to work out what companion planting paring I’m going to use … sigh.
So much to do. It’s very overwhelming.
Seed Order
I ordered my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds on Saturday; a mix of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers.
Another shift
I’m right in the middle of garden planning at the moment.
One thing has become exceedingly clear: If I truely wish to be self-sufficient, I’ll not be able to live with a raw diet year-round.
I’ve asked myself which is more important – raw or self-sufficiency.
I feel amazing when I’m eating 80-90% raw food.
I feel great when I’m eating only vegetables (cooked).
I start to feel a bit groggy when I eat flour-based foods (bread/pasta)/rice.
I feel my throat get ‘thick’ when I eat dairy/cheese and too much onion/garlic.
For me, it’s far more imporant to be self-sufficient.
It’s easy to be extreme.
Either you’re following a ‘strict’ dietary regime, or you’re eating anything.
It’s difficult to eat for nutrition’s sake – you have to eat a lot more low-calorie food (veg & greens) in order to pack the minerals and vitamins in.
Grains are just a filler – they’re rich in calories, but (unless I’m greatly mistaken) very poor in nutrients. Hence, the need for flours to be ‘enriched’ (pumped full of extra vitamins/minerals).
I guess it’s just like tap water and rain water – tap water will keep your plants alive, but rain water will make them thrive.
The Garden
April is less than two months away.
April is when our darling little seedlings will be started (I mean plant seeds … we’re not ‘growing’ any more babies just yet!).
We have a large enough plot of land, given that we’re ‘downtown’ (even if it is a rather small town), and hope to add more over the years.
At the moment, we have just over 1/2 acre. With any luck, by the time we’re done, we should have 1.5-2 acres.
I’ve been reading up on intensive gardening techniques, and if you’ve read my earlier posts you will have read about the companion planting techniques which I hope to adopt.