Making a Mini Greenhouse from Reused Plastic Spinach Containers

I just had to laugh the other day while reading It's Not Easy to Be Green, a blog written by friend and fellow "green" blogger, Jennifer. In her post about Tiny Houses, she discusses environmentally-correct compromises and how it can be difficult to make the right decisions. Jennifer mentions that while shopping, she "can’t decide between the organic spinach in the plastic box or the loose leaf conventional spinach that can go in a reusable bag ." This is the part the part that made me laugh because the spinach bag vs. container has been a similar dilemma of mine for years.

Due to financial restrictions, I do not buy the local loose-leaf spinach from the Co-Op. Like Jennifer, I have to make compromises. Although I buy many local, organic vegetables, I choose to grow my own spinach and lettuce in the Summer, but purchase imported spinach during the Winter. I'm sorry to admit that I'm far from being a true locavore, but fresh salad is my all time favorite food and I can't imagine going a Winter without it. My grocery store offers pre-bagged conventional spinach or organic spinach in a large plastic container. For years, Mark and I bought the bagged conventional spinach because we thought the large plastic containers were outrageous and waste more materials than the bags. This year, however, I've decided that the containers are probably less impactive than the bags for three reasons: 1) they are made from recycled plastic, 2) they can be reused as containers for storing things, and 3) they can be recycled, whereas plastic bags cannot. But mostly, I want to buy spinach in plastic containers because I want greenhouses for starting my seeds!

One of my gardening goals this year is to try to grow and store as many tomatoes as possible. Growing tomatoes in the heart of the Rockies is challenging and tomatoes have never been a strong crop of mine anyway. Since the last frost in Bozeman is traditionally Memorial Day weekend and first frost could be anytime in September, this means a very short growing season for sensitive plants. Plus, since I technically live on a high desert, Summer nights are usually pretty chilly. Tomatoes don't like cold nights.

I've noticed that in addition to insulating tomatoes plants with Walls of Water, the key to growing tomatoes in Montana is to grow them as big as possible indoors before setting them out in the garden. Most folks buy very large tomatoes to plant in their gardens. I'm not talking about the 6 inch tall seedlings that come in 6 packs. I'm talking about the mature, 12+ inch plants that are sold in deep tubs. These large tomatoes are grown in commercial greenhouses and cost any where from $5 to $20+ each! I can't afford mature plants, so this year, I'm starting tomatoes from seed myself. Although the seed packet instructs to start tomato seeds 2 months before last frost, I started mine on January 30th, so that's 4 months in advance. Hopefully they'll grow big and strong in my apartment before I set them outside.

To make a mini greenhouse for starting seeds, you'll need two large plastic spinach containers. Spinach and lettuce containers come in all shapes and sizes and any shape and size works, as long as you use two that are the same. I filled one container 3/5 the way up with seed starting mix. I didn't punch holes in mine for drainage, so I have to be careful not to over water my plants. You can punch holes in yours if you'd like. I planted 6 seeds, watered the soil lightly, put the lid on the container, and placed it in a sunny, south-facing window. When the seedlings where almost touching the lid, which was today, I removed the lid and placed another container upside-down on top of the container with the soil and seedlings. I carefully cut away the rim of the upside container so that it fit into the rim of the bottom container. The tomatoes will now have a warm, moist growing environment until they are about 6 inches tall. When that happens, they should be healthy enough to grow in the container without the lid. At a certain point, I'll have to transplant the seedlings into larger, individual containers. Another option is to place the upside-down container on top of the bottom container at the beginning instead of temporarily using the lid. The lid can can be placed under the greenhouse to act as a drip pan, should you decide to punch drainage holes in your container.

I've grown various seeds in the exact same homemade greenhoues. Most any type of seed can be started indoors in a homemade mini greenhouse, except for seeds that prefer to be directly planted outdoors. Plastic seed starting greenhouses and flats are available to purchase from gardening stores, but why buy new plastic when you can reuse old plastic? If you do not buy spinach or lettuce from plastic containers, but want to make you own greenhouse, I recommend picking through your local recycling dumpsters for discarded containers. This is how I scored a few plastic containers last year for making my own greenhouses.

By, the way, I'm growing three heirloom tomatoes varieties that are supposed to mature the quickest and be most cold tolerant. They are Glacier, Oregon Spring, and Honeydrop Cherry. I'll continue to blog about their growth and production over the course of the Spring and Summer to let fellow Zone 4 gardeners how they work out.

Homemade Granola: A high-protein breakfast

Bowl compliments of With These Hands Pottery

Hello all. Just thought I'd share an easy vegetarian breakfast recipe today. I started making my own granola a year ago and Mark and I love the stuff. My recipe is chock-full of seeds and nuts, providing energy that lasts for hours. Homemade granola is cheaper than buying the pre-made kind and almost all of the ingredients are available to purchase from bulk bins. Plus, by making homemade granola, you have the benefit of knowing exactly what's in it (no mystery ingredients or excessive amounts of sugar). To make your own batch, begin with the basic ingredients of oats, butter or oil, and honey and/or sugar. You can then add whichever spices, seeds, nuts, and fruit that you prefer or leave out certain ingredients that you dislike. This granola is great with yogurt or milk/milk alternative.

Homemade Granola Recipe

4 cups rolled oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons butter or canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup walnut pieces
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup chia seeds
1/3 cup flax seeds
1/3 cup wheat germ

1/3 cup banana chips
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine oats, cinnamon, and salt in a large baking pan. Melt butter/oil, honey, brown sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla together on the stove. Pour melted mixture over oats then thoroughly mix. Bake oats mixture in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, add almonds and pumpkin seeds, stir, and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, add remaining seeds and nuts, stir, and return to oven for 10 more minutes. Remove pan from oven and cool before adding dried fruits.

Enjoy!

How to be an Urban Farmer... without actually owning land

Ever since I was a kid, I've dreamed about owning my own farm and living off the land. I'd love to have a small house on a rural piece of property where I could raise chickens, milk goats, and grow a large vegetable garden. That dream, however, isn't my reality as I am currently renting an apartment in the urban-ish town of Bozeman, Montana. In order to make the most of my situation and to appease my farming dreams, I am aspiring to be an urban farmer... despite the crucial fact that I do not own land nor does my apartment have outdoor space for a garden or chickens.

Urban farming has become a trend in progressive areas where eating local food and being environmentally-conscious are meaningful ways of living. I've read many news articles and blogs about people who have successful homesteads on very small urban properties. One of the most popular examples is "The Urban Homestead" in Pasadena, California. As much as I admire and respect The Urban Homestead and other such in-town farmers and strive to follow in their footsteps, I have one major difference with these people: they own their land. And I don't. Land owners, even urban landowners, have the advantage of cultivating property that is strictly theirs. Unless their neighborhoods have restrictions on aesthetics or keeping animals, landowners can transform their home and yard however they want in order to produce food. They can invest in perennial edible plants, compost in their backyard, and keep bees on their roof. Landowners have the freedom and assurance that they can invest time, energy, and money in their land and be rewarded with fresh food. Since I am a renter, I do not have this benefit.

As a non-land-owning urban farmer, its critical to think outside of the box, or rather, outside of the backyard. Despite all of the information on the internet about urban farming, I've found few sources on how to be an urban farmer with without actually owning land. So, I've decided to compile my own list of suggestions. I hope that Living Lightly in a Wavering World blog can eventually become a helpful resource to aspiring non-land-owning urban farmers such as myself. Here's some ideas I've come up with so far:

1. Join a Community Garden. Many communities rent out public gardening plots for a small fee. Tending a community garden plot is a great way to have a garden that's "yours;" a garden that nobody else will meddle with and that you can work on in your own time. There are also community gardens in which there are no individual plots, rather one large garden that everyone works on together. The food grown is handed out equally among members. This type of garden is great for those who have no prior gardening experience or work better under the direction of others.

2. Land Share. Some communities have organizations that connect aspiring gardeners that don't own land with landowners that don't choose to garden, but are willing to share their property with others. If there is no such organization in your area, you can seek out landowners by posting ads on Craigslist, in the paper, or on public bulletin boards. Usually the land owners charge no fee to use their land, but they may charge for water or have other mandates. Land sharing is a great method of free gardening, but the gardener must remember that the landowner could ask them to leave their property at any moment. From my own personal experience, there is no guarantee when gardening on land that is not yours.

3. Container Gardening. Growing in pots, recycled containers, or movable gardens is an easy method of producing veggies on your windowsills, balcony, deck, or small yard. For those living in a city or with no other gardening opportunities, container gardening is a manageable way of growing your own food indoors or out.

4. Be a Squatter. In the book, Farm City, Novella Carpenter shares her experiences tending her farm in downtown Oakland, CA. Novella didn't own the land that she farmed on, but rather squatted illegally on an abandoned property next door. This is a brilliant way of farming if you live in a place with no room to garden. Just like with land sharing, be mentally prepared to be evicted at any time.

5. Work or Volunteer at a Farm. Helping at a farm is great way to be exposed to farming and gardening, with the potential of earning money or acquiring free or discounted food. Most CSA farms around the country are desperately seeking volunteers and workers. Depending on the type of farm you work at, you can learn about animal husbandry, large-scale commercial farming, or sustainable/organic gardening. Maybe you work at a farm for one season in order learn more about farming and later apply that knowledge to your own urban gardening efforts.

6. Be a Farmsitter. For the past six years, I've been a part-time pet/home/farm sitter and through these gigs I've had the opportunity the tend to laying hens, meat chickens, ponies, turkeys, pigs, and vegetable gardens. As a farmsitter, I get to live at the farm for a short period of time, temporarily experience what its like to be a farmer, and learn a little bit about animals, etc. I also usually get to keep the eggs that I collect and help myself to the garden.

7. Urban Foraging & Wildcrafting. Instead of growing food yourself, why not collect food that's already growing on its own? If you're willing to explore your town by bike or foot, you may find apple trees, berry bushes, and other edibles growing in public parks, industrial areas, or abandoned property. You can also ask permission to pick fruit on privately-owned land. In addition, I suggest doing some research on wild edibles and medicinal herbs then take a day trip to the forest or other natural area to collect wild foods.

8. Barter Goods and Services. I think that there are very few farmers out there who are completely self-sufficient. Even those who produce the majority of their own food and products and are very skillful still need to acquire products from others. In traditional farming communities, people trade their surplus goods for goods that they are lacking. This goes for skills and services as well. This past Summer, I traded excess garden lettuce for handmade pottery and rhubarb. Just a few weeks ago, I gave away 25 saved egg cartons to a local chicken keeper in exchange for a dozen organic eggs. The key to bartering is to be creative and brave when seeking out potential trading opportunities. Posting on Craigslist or in the newspaper or joining a local alternative living community are just some methods of finding others to barter with.

9. Work/Trade Opportunities. Last year, I picked strawberries at a local farm and arranged with the owner to give him half in exchange for keeping half. I also worked 5 hours a week at a CSA in exchange for vegetables. Non-land-owning urban farmers need to be open to new opportunities to work on a farm-like settings in exchange for food and for opportunities to learn more about farming. Maybe help an elderly person tend to their garden in exchange for food or help a farmer milk his cows in exchange for milk?

10. Find a Rental with a Yard. I happen to rent an apartment with very little outdoor space, but there are many places to live where there are actually backyards. If you are a renter and are serious about urban farming, it may be in your benefit to spend more money on a rental property that includes space for gardening or raising hens. In many urban areas, rentals with established gardens are being scooped up like hotcakes. Talk to your landlord about planting a garden, putting in raised beds, or keeping chickens. In this day and age, a vegetable garden is an asset to a piece of property.

11. Guerrilla Gardening. There is a fantastic fad these days to throw "seed bombs" in industrial areas, neglected properties, and other ugly urban spaces to help beautiful the area and add green life. Usually the seed bombs are non-edible flowers, but what if guerrilla gardeners planted vegetables instead? I've thought of planting random vegetable seeds and seedlings around town with the idea of letting them fend for themselves over the Summer, then returning in the Fall to possibly harvest the food. Of course, the vegetables could very well die, but then again you could actually grow a significant amount of food on property that is not yours. Be careful to plant only flower seeds in areas where the soil might be contaminated and save edible plants for areas with safer soil.

Now that I am going on my third year of urban farming, I've realized that the key to success is that there is no one solution. "Urbansteading" requires a combination of different tactics and it will probably take years to figure it out. Some years will probably be better than others. My first season, I started out slowly with one community garden plot. Last year, I had the community garden plot, a land share garden, did some wildcrafting and bartering, and helped out at a farm. This season I hope to expand my urban farming ambitions even further. Meeting people, making connections, and creating community is important. With an open mind, creativity, and some hard work, urbansteading without actually owning land can be seen as a challenge rather than a problem.

Are you an aspiring urban homesteader or farmer? Do you have your own clever ways of growing a little bit of food at home? Please share your own tips and suggestions here!

How to Freeze Fresh Herbs

While fresh dill, sage, and rosemary are easy to dry, I've found that its best to freeze leafy herbs such as parsley, basil, and cilantro. Freezing is a quick and easy method of storing fresh foods. Over the course of the Summer, I picked parsley from my garden and froze a total of two gallon freezer bags full, which I'm able to use all year long in meals that call for fresh parsley. Freezing is also a great way to stock up on fresh herbs that are on sale at the store. If you purchase some basil for a recipe, but cannot use the entire bundle before it goes bad, freezing the remainder is an easy way to preserve it for future use.

I've had good success using the ice cube method. I just plop a few frozen parsley cubes into soups, sauces, and other meals that I'm cooking. I haven't tried thawing them out and using them "fresh," although a friend of mine froze cilantro via the ice cube method, then thawed the cubes, drained the water and added the cilantro to fresh salsa. She said it tasted great. My herb cubes contain about 2 tablespoons of herbs. If you're making recipes that call for specific amounts of herbs, you may want to measure the amount that your ice cube tray holds. Enjoy!



1. Wash herbs, but do not dry.

2. Chop finely.






3. Pack densely into empty ice cube tray.

4. With faucet running at a slow trickle, fill each tray cube to top with water. The leafy herbs will probably fluff above the water a bit, which is fine.






5. Place tray in freezer until frozen.

6. Pop out frozen herb cubes from tray and store in a plastic bag in the freezer.

Do you know where your water comes from?

One of my favorite places to recreate in Bozeman is Sourdough Canyon, a winding dirt road that follows a creek and leads to Mystic Lake and the Gallatin Mountain Range. The road, located on National Forest Land, is closed to all motorized vehicles and being only a 10 minute drive from downtown, is a popular place to hike, run, mountain bike, horseback ride, and nordic ski. I usually venture up the canyon at least once a week, in every season.

The road is carved onto a steep mountainside and as I ride my bike or ski up and down, I often peer over the edge of the trail to Bozeman Creek down below. Since moving to Bozeman two years ago, I have known that Bozeman Creek is our city's water source, but I never thought about it too deeply. It wasn't until last week, after skiing up the canyon and taking some photos of the snow conditions and the ice-covered creek, did it really dawn upon me that the beautiful water in Bozeman Creek is the water that I drink. The crystal-clear, mountain run-off water is the very same water that I use for bathing, washing my clothes, washing the dishes, and flushing my shit.

I realized that the pristine water in Bozeman Creek is an incredible resource for people our city. It is worth protecting and preserving at all costs.


Mark and I consider ourselves to be environmentally-conscious people and try to be mindful of our water consumption. We typically run one load of laundry a week, follow a strict "If its yellow let it mellow" policy, and wash our dishes by hand because, even though we're not entirely certain, it seems to use less water than the dishwasher. We wash our car maybe once a year, if that, and don't have a lawn to water. I do, however, water two vegetable gardens, which arguably is the most practical use of fresh water. With all of my water conservation efforts, I do have one major downfall: long, hot, steamy showers. Hot showers are so relaxing and I often draw out the rather simple chore of cleaning myself to a luxurious 10 minute-long event.

Even though it feels terribly difficult, my New Year's Resolution is to take shorter showers. With the beautiful water of Bozeman Creek in mind, I will strive to consolidate my bathing experience and turn the water off while lathering my hair or shaving my legs. A shorter shower is really the least I can do to preserve Bozeman Creek. Imagine if everybody in Bozeman used as much water as they wanted and, god forbid, the creek dried up?

It would be difficult for me to get the word out, but I wish that everyone around the world would take on one simple New Year's Resolution:

Find out where your water comes from. Get online a do a quick Google search if you have to. Does your water come from a creek, a lake, or a reservoir? Does it come from underground -- from a drilled well located in your backyard or from an aquifer? How far does your water travel before it reaches your home? Does it come from the town next door or from an entirely different state?

After you've successfully located your water source (and aced your resolution, congrats!), I have two more easy assignments for you:

Do a Google image search of your water source. Find a photogragh of the creek, lake, or reservoir that your water originates from. If your water comes from underground, try to envision all of the layers of dirt and rock your water runs through before it reaches the Earth's surface or try to picture the expansiveness of the aquifer.

Visit your water source. If your water source is not too far from where you live, spend a day visiting it. Send a a beautiful afternoon picnicking along the reservoir, hiking along the creek, or swimming in the lake. While you're there, try to really connect with the fact that the water that you consume in your daily life comes from that beautiful water. If your water comes from a well, do you know where it is located on your property?

For myself, realizing that the water I use at home comes from the immaculate creek that I love to ski and bike beside caused me to reflect upon my water consumption. I only can imagine that for others, after identifying your water source, viewing a picture of it, then spending a day alongside it, you will also begin to think of your water in a new light and will be more inclined to preserve it. You could start flushing your toilet only when the contents are brown (an increasingly common water conservation practice). You could take shorter showers. You could stop watering your lawn or instead, dig up your lawn and plant a vegetable garden or an edible landscape. After identifying your water source, you may also be more diligent in conserving water during heavy rains or floods, as waste water and raw sewage often flows into lakes, creeks, or seas during high run-off periods.

Do you know where your water comes from? What do you do to help protect and preserve your water source?

Stocking the Pantry

I made pancakes the other morning and was tickled to have a choice of three different homemade fruit preserves to top them with: Cherry Rhubarb Jam, Apple Butter, and Crab Apple Jelly. Since they all taste so good, I divided my big pancake into thirds and helped myself to a bit of each topping; Mark did the same. Having such a lovely assortment of homemade preserves in my cupboard (which by the way, should last until Summer), has inspired me to make a list of all of the fresh food I was able to preserve, freeze, and store this year. 2011 was my most successful year to date in terms of gardening, foraging, hunting, and preserving food then being able to keep it around for a while. I'll count it all out and try to beat this number in 2012.

1. Cherry Rhubard Jam. I purchased the all-natural sweet cherries from an orchard in Paradise Valley, Montana and combined them with locally-grown rhubard, which I acquired by bartering for my garden lettuce.

2. Apple Butter. This Fall, I rode my bike across town to a remote corner of a Middle School parking lot and filled my backpack with really good apples. I combined these with a bag of apples that I picked from the yard next door. I made the apple butter in my crockpot, which I think used less energy than doing it over the stove.

3. Crab Apple Jelly. I picked the crab apples (in the rain!) from a tree in the small park across from City Hall. Some of the jars of jelly jelled nicely, but some jars didn't and instead is a thick, sweet juice. Mark loves this juice and has been pouring in a little bit into our homemade electrolyte drinks for flavoring.

4. Dried Rose Hips. I picked a bunch of big rose hips from a bush in my alley. I still have 2 jars of rose hip "jelly" from last year, so I this year I borrowed Jennie's dehydrator and dried them. I plop one or two in my hot tea and komucha tea for a Vitamin C boost.

5. Frozen Raspberries. Mark and I picked a bunch of raspberries from our friends' bushes while they were away on vacation. I baked with most of them right away, but froze two gallon-sized freezer bags. I've been using them a handful at a time in smoothies, but we may make a dessert with them at some point. I have one bag left.

6. Frozen Service Berries. Mark and I foraged these berries from wild bushes located right in town. We picked 10 quarts and used most of them in desserts, but froze a gallon bag and have been using them in smoothies. Unfortunately, most of them are now gone.

7. Frozen Sour Cherries. I painstakingly picked 2 quarts of sour pie cherries from our friends' backyard. Even though they took hours to pick, I lucked out and didn't have to pit them because they were ripe enough for me to pick to fruit-part off of the tree, leaving the pit and stem still attached. A couple of weeks ago, I used them to make my first-ever Cherry Cheesecake. It was sinful! I have one remaining quart of cherries.

8. Frozen Parsley. I planted the parsley in Fall 2010, it survived the Winter, then grew all through Summer and Fall of 2011. Growing parsley is great because you can cut most of the sprigs off, then it grows back in. With this method, it can be harvested every other week. I continuously cut the parsley, chopped it up finely, then froze in it ice cube trays. I collected a total of two gallon bags of parsley cubes. I plop 2-5 cubes into soups, stews, and any other dish that calls for fresh parsley. At my current rate, it should last until Spring when I grow parsley again.

9. Pickled Beets. Unfortunately this Summer, my beet growing was marginal, but fortunately, other people grew an over-abundance of beets and donated them to the Food Bank. I was entirely thrilled to collect from the Bank many pounds of locally-grown beets on two different occasions, which I used to make 8 quart jars of pickled beets. Yum!

10. Beets. Like I said, I wasn't able to grow many beets this Summer but did grow enough to keep a small bag of them in the fridge. Fresh beets last a long time in the refrigerator. I actually ate roasted garden beets with dinner last night.

11. Potatoes. I was also not thrilled with my potato production this year, but managed to grow a 2 1/2-foot-cubed box-full. At our normal potato eating rate, my garden potatoes should last another month before I have to begin to buy them.

(Note: These squashes are much smaller than they appear.)

12. Winter Squashes. This year I grew New England Pie Pumpkins, Blue Hubbard Squash, and Salmon Falls River Squash. They also did not grow well, but since we usually only eat one squash a week or less, my garden squashes should last us quite a while. Jennie has also generously given me local squashes that she acquired. The pumpkin pie I made at Thanksgiving was delicious.

13. Onions. My onion production was poor this season. I did however grow enough to last me, with normal usage, through November.

14. Garlic. By far, garlic was the most productive crop at my big garden. Not only did Mark and I eat garlic scapes almost everyday for a two-week period during the Summer, I managed to dig up about 150 garlic bulbs. They are quite small because I didn't water them enough, but I still have enough to last me several more months!

15. Carrots. I grew enough carrots in my two gardens to last me until November. Not great, but not terrible, I guess.

16. Frozen Rhubarb. As mentioned earlier, I acquired a bunch of local rhubarb by bartering, then cut it up and froze it. I originally had two bulging gallon bags of rhubarb, then used one bag in the Cherry Rhubarb Jam. I now have one gallon bag left, which I'll use in desserts at some point.

17. Red Cabbage. I grew four red cabbages in my garden this year, which last in the refrigerator in plastic bags for months. I use small amounts of red cabbage at a time in salads and stir-fries. My garden cabbages will last until January before I have to begin buying them at the store.

18. Fermented Sauerkraut. I combined green cabbages from my garden with locally-grown cabbages acquired from the Food Bank to make a gallon jar full of homemade fermented sauerkraut. I think I made enough this year to last me until next season.

19. Frozen Venison. Mark killed two deer this year and butchered them himself (Blog about hunting coming soon). Now that we have drastically reduced our meat consumption, we hope to stretch out the venison until next Fall. We had to buy a deep freezer to accommodate the venison, but we believe it to be a good investment as we hope to continue to store meat, fruit, and veggies in it for years to come.

20. Canned Tomatoes. I acquired about 10 pounds of overly-ripe, organic, locally-grown tomatoes from the Food Bank. I spent an evening cooking them down and canning them. It only made 4 quarts, which I used up quickly. It was an interesting experiment because it really showed that I'd need to grow and can LOTS of tomatoes in order to continue eating crushed tomatoes at our regular rate.

21. Radishes. I grew a lot of French Breakfast Radishes in both of my gardens this year. Since radishes germinate and grow best in cooler weather, I harvested hundreds of them in early Summer, but grew none the rest of the season. Mark and I certainly couldn't eat hundreds of radishes all at once, so I washed, dried, then stored them in a sealed plastic bag in fridge. This way, I was able to add radish to our salads all Summer long.

22. Frozen Green Beans. About a third of my Community Garden Plot this year was bush beans, so when I left for Montana for three weeks just as the beans were ready to pick, I was afraid I was going to sacrifice the crop. Fortunately, my friend, Jennie, tended the garden while I was gone and I encouraged her eat as much as possible so that none of the garden veggies would go to waste. Jennie said that the bush beans were so prolific that she was able to eat lots of fresh beans, freeze some for herself, and even freeze a two gallon freezer bag full for me. I'm so lucky that she did this for me as I'll be able to put a handful of garden beans into my soups and stir-fries for months to come.

23. Frozen Zucchini. Raw zucchini can be shredded, bagged, and stored in the freezer. The frozen zucchini can then be added to zucchini bread, soups, sauces, etc. This is a great way to use up zucchini because it takes away the mystery of how to use it and also adds a secret vegetable to many meals.


So, that's twenty-three different foods that I was able to put away for future use. Most only lasted a few months, but some will last the whole year. I am worlds away from self-sufficiency, but for now, I am happy to see any sort of savings in food and to be able to eat at least one local organic food everyday, all year long.

I know that some of my regular readers have done some canning, gardening, and storing of their own. How many different varieties of food were you able to put away, at least for a little while? Did you make any exciting canned goods? What was your bumper crop or acquired food that will last you the longest?

Giant Mutant Parsnip

Before the rest of this giant parsnip is used up in stews, I feel I should pay homage to this mutant vegetable by taking photos and blogging about its enormity.

Four parsnip plants unintentionally grew in my garden this past Spring. I had planted the parsnip in the Summer of 2010, however, the seeds did not germinate that Summer and instead decided to make their presence in 2011. The plants were as big as bushes and I had to pull all but one to make room for other vegetables in my small, 100 square-foot plot. Even though the three that I pulled had very small roots, I decided to leave one parsnip in for the summer as a experiment to see if its root might grow into an edible size.

Oh, did it grow. I was shocked when I began digging it out in October. It was so deep and large that it took nearly half an hour to uproot. Its circumference at its top is 14 inches and it was originally over 2 feet long. The above photo is only the top portion of the root; I've been gradually chopping away pieces of it to use in soups and stews. The most amazing feature of this freak parsnip is that it actually tastes good. I would figure that a parsnip almost 4x larger than normal would taste woody and bitter, but it instead tastes sweet and tender. I'm glad I left it in!

In other gardening news, I just put in my 2012 seed order to FedCo. In addition to my ordinary vegetable preferences, I hope to grow a number of different vegetables that I've never grown before: celery, sorrel, lovage, hot peppers, patty pans, sugar snap peas, delicata squash, and a few "alternative" greens that are in categories of their own. I also plan to make a better effort this Summer in growing tomatoes. Tomatoes have historically been a weak point for me and especially now that I am gardening in Montana, I am skeptical that the are worthy of the space and effort. I do, however, see people all over town growing superior-looking tomatoes and I guess I'll just have to join the masses and buy a dozen Walls of Water. Unfortunately, it seems that the key to growing tomatoes in the heart of the Rocky Mountains is a lot of plastic. Also to hopefully ensure my tomato success, I plan on starting the seedlings indoors in January. This will help to save money since large tomato seedlings bought from a greenhouse cost $5 and up.

By the way, parsnip seeds did make it into my 2012 FedCo order. I'm excited for the new gardening season!

When life hands you lemons...

Make lemonade. Upon hearing this saying, most of us of course think of its allegorical meaning: Make the best of what you've got or Make some positive out of something negative. But what if we rethink of this figure of speech in more a literal, food-related way?

In this day and age of global economics and cheap transportation, we can eat tomatoes and watermelon during the winter, oranges in Alaska, Spanish wine in Montreal, fresh tuna in Kansas, and bananas in Norway. In most Western supermarkets, you can purchase any food item you want, any time of year. Making a recipe that calls for limes, jicama, srtiped sea bass, and persimmon? No problem. Want to make a fresh salad in the dead of winter made with tomatoes, cucumbers, Greek olives, and feta? You can have that, too. Maybe an allegory for the new millennium should be: When life hands you beans, make lemonade anyway.

For those of us who are striving to eat fresh, local, naturally-produced foods, we find that its only possible to make lemonade when we actually have lemons. And although making meals only with ingredients that you have on hand can be difficult at times, it can also be a fun challange. With the popular Community Supported Agriculture movement, CSA members choose to pay a lump sum of money up front to local farmer in exchange for weekly boxes filled with fruits and vegetables that are ripe and ready to pick that week. CSA members can't choose what vegetables they want in their box; if you want to eat tomatoes, but it is early Spring, you're out of luck. A CSA member may receive a box full of bok choi, sorrel, daikon radish, and tarragon one week and may get green beans, lettuce, and cucumbers another. It can be baffling to get a box full of bok choi and daikon radish, but the challenge is rewarding after you've created a new and exciting dinner.

Another method of challenging yourself to cook with what's on hand is to go as long as possible without running off to the supermarket. Most folks have non-perishable food in their cupboards that has been sitting, unused for quite some time. When my fridge and pantry starts to look empty, I find that I still have a lot of food on hand. What could I make for dinner with quinoa, polenta, a can of beans, frozen zucchini, and broccoli stumps? With a bit a creativity, I've often made delicious meals with misfit ingredients.

In an effort to save money on food and to be more resourceful in general, I've been making weekly trips to my local Food Bank. My friend, Jennie, introduced me to this idea. The Food Bank in my town has a section that is open to the public and anybody, regardless of their economic status, is encouraged to take as much food as they want. Local businesses donate huge amounts of food that they over-ordered or is slightly expired. There is often so much perishable food that regular Food Bank recipients can't take it all and it is offered to the public in hopes that it will be eaten before it spoils. Every week I find different foods and every week I find at least one organic option (which is generally the type of food I choose to take). Among the more exciting foods I've taken for free: locally baked bread made from organic Montana wheat, fresh organic herbs, organic milk & cream, overly ripe bananas (great for freezing and using in smoothies), lemons and limes, a pomegranate, and a plethora of fresh vegetables donated by local farms and gardeners.

This week from the Food Bank, I took 2 quarts of Organic Valley buttermilk that expired a few days ago, several loaves of locally-baked artisan bread made with organic flour, and a dozen leeks, so small and beautiful that I can only assume they're from nearby CSA farm. I need to use the buttermilk quickly before it actually does expire, so I made buttermilk waffles for breakfast. But what could I make for dinner that calls for buttermilk, leeks, and bread? How about Buttermilk Stratta with Mushrooms and Leeks! I had never even heard of stratta before, but a Google search helped me find a recipe that used ingredients I have on hand. I'll certainly be making a stratta again. Its easier to make than a quiche and tastes like milky homemade stuffing.

Winter has settled into Bozeman, Montana and gardening ended months ago, yet I am still able to eat meals made with all local, "fresh" ingredients. Last week I made an excellent venison stew in the crockpot. It was made with venison (from a deer that Mark killed), potatoes and hubbard squash from my garden, CSA sunchokes that my employer gave me, CSA celeriac that Jennie gave me, and carrots, parsnip, and leeks that I got from the Food Bank (which I believe to be from a local farm). The only non-local ingredients were spices and crushed tomatoes from a can.

Around the world, we are seeing food prices escalate. The main reasons for the "record level" food prices are low crop yields due to climate volatility (aka global warming), higher production and transportation expenses due to rising oil prices, less corn due to its use in biofuel production, the rapidly growing world population (7 billion now, eek!), and artificial manipulation of food economics and distribution due to politics and capitalism. Not to be pessimistic, but it is likely in the foreseeable future that we will go to the supermarket looking to buy a tomato, but won't buy it because its too expensive. Or, as is also possible, we won't buy a tomato because there are none to buy.

Feeling depressed by this thought? Just remember, When life hands you lemons... However, since most of us don't live in Florida, the allegory can be revised to fit you, where ever you live. In Montana, the new saying is: When life hands you venison and potatoes, make a stew.

The beauty of the lemonade saying is that it can be interpreted figuratively or literally. Whether you choose to eat only local foods that are in season or you are waiting until the day when you can no longer buy tomatoes, persimmon, and sea bass (or a combination of both, like me), it is important to look on the bright side. There is no reason to panic if you can't eat a tomato, because if you're smart and resourceful, you can still come up with a delicious and nourishing meal.

Have you found yourself being more creative in the kitchen when you have limited food to cook with? Is the thought of going without tomatoes frightening or are you up for the challenge? What do you do when life hands you lemons?

Community Garden Spotlighted in Organic Gardening Magazine

In this month's edition of Organic Gardening Magazine, a small article about Bozeman, Montana was published in the "Destinations" travel section. I was excited to see a short blurb and photo of the new City Hall Community Garden. I was asked to participate in a photo shoot for Organic Gardening last Spring and although none of the close-up photos of me working in my garden were included in the magazine, you can kind of see me in the background; I'm wearing a yellow shirt.

This article is one of of the many times this new Community Garden has been highlighted in the news. A local TV station covered the Garden when it was first being built and the local paper wrote a story after the Community Garden won a Beautification Award. Its inspiring to see news sources consider community gardening to be "newsworthy." This indicates that more and more people are interested in local gardening and want to hear about gardening-related stories.

I love that gardening has become a "green trend," but I hope to see it become no longer a trend, but a commonality. Have you seen more stories about local foods, community gardening, etc covered by your local news sources?

Occupy Everywhere

"What I find exciting is the idea that the solutions to the ecological crisis can be the solutions to the economic crisis, and that we stop seeing these as two problems to be pitted against each other by savvy politicians, but that we see them as a ... single crisis, born of a single root, which is unrestrained corporate greed" -Naomi Klein

Hello blog world. Although I haven't posted in a while, I've been reading and watching a lot of news as usual, signing petitions on MoveOn.org, and been keeping a close watch on the various Occupy Wall Street movements across the country. Michael Moore says that the Occupy movement is "one of the most remarkable movements that I’ve seen in my lifetime" and I agree that these recent events have renewed my hope for all environmental, economic, and political concerns.

If you have 45 minutes to spare and are interested in learning about the "Next Steps for the Movement Against Corporate Power," I strongly suggest that you watch The Nation's panel discussion aired by Democracy Now. It is an inspiring discussion featuring Michael Moore, Naomi Klein, and others. I was particularly excited to hear Ms. Klein share news that "the White House announced that it is going to have a new environmental review for the Keystone XL pipeline. That review is going to take at least a year. And the company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline, TransCanada, has said that it can’t handle another delay, that their investors will lose faith." The XL pipeline is an extremely upsetting environmental concern of mine. Even President Obama himself said that "Climatologist, Jim Hansen at NASA, says that if we tap the tar sands heavily, it’s game over for the climate."

Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to join Bozeman's small Occupations (only three small rallies that I know of), but I continue to protest in my own ways: shopping locally as much as possible, limiting my consumption of corporate goods, keeping my money in a small, local bank, and trying to live simply. I've also been posting relevant articles and petitions on Facebook, but I never get any replies.

Have you participated in an Occupy rally? What are your feelings on this movement? How do you protest in your own way?