Winter Garden

Well it's been a while.  It's near the end of September, so it's starting to cool off.  Winter gardens are cool because:

• Less watering, the rain will take care of that. Just proper drainage during heavier rains.  
• Soft soil, it is much easier to work with once it soaks up some moisture.
• A wide variety of plants can be grown.  Around here it's prefect for broccoli  spinach, lettuce, carrots etc... 
• Keeps food coming from the garden year-round! 

I just planted some carrots and spinach in a raised bed.  Gonna see how that goes.

The At Home Workout Plan

Are you like many people these days and have a busy daily life?  While wanting to improve your health, you don't seem to find the time. Well here's an easy 3 in 1 solution.  Turn your lawn into a garden!  Instead of driving across town and/or paying to work out, why not start a garden and get the exercise while doing something you enjoy.  Also you can get tasty vegetables to add to home cooked meals.  


Start small and use fallen leaves or grass clippings to amend the soil. Then pick up seeds from local hardware stores and begin your vegetable or flower garden.  You will quickly feel the exercise even just moving around a bit more.  The fresh air is great and the various activities are good for building core muscles and endurance.  There are many resources online for stuff like this.  Try searching Backyard Gardening or similar keywords.


After a few months of consistent work you can get nutritious vegetables, herbs etc...  This will make your work easier as you get natural vitamins. 


There you have it, an at home workout with a built-in nutrition plan.  You can spend as much or as little time as you'd like. 

Garden plant stakes

Check out these engraved wooden plant stakes.  You can get anything up to 15 letters engraved, making it great for various garden types.  They are carved out of a solid cedar wood.   Plant Stakes at Etsy    

AllWoodForms

As you can see they are clean and skillfully made.  Get them Custom made for $2.50 each.   Check out the site to purchase.  Email or message me with questions or continuous order arrangements.  

These are popular at a few local nurseries.  

Plant Stakes at Etsy  

Broccoli Fish Tacos

Here's a recipe that turned out pretty good.  Broccoli Fish Tacos:
4 small white corn tortillas
2 servings of fish of your choice. (I used a cod-like fish)
1/2 a head of brocolli
salsa of your choice
shredded cheese
a few slices of lemon
a teaspoon of salt
butter or veggie oil

Start baking the fish as this will take the longest, add a small amount of salsa on top to add flavor and moisture.  About 5 minutes before they are done, flip them so both sides get cripsy.  You can tell they're done when they start to brown a bit.

Cook the tortillas with butter on the stovetop untill lightly browned.

Chop broccoli leaving mainly the heads. (I like to cook and eat the stems on the side, or add to compost)

Boil in water with salt for about 5 mins.

Drain and then chop into small 1/2 inch chuncks.

Cut fish into smaller 1 - 1/2 inch pieces.

Add fish to tortillas, then broccoli.

Next add cheese, and squeeze lemon.

Add a spoonful of salsa.

Serves 2.

A healthy decently priced meal to make.

Mixed Vegetable Bed

I had an idea for a mixed garden bed and decided to try it.  I added a 3 x 8 ft raised bed to the garden.  Then filled it with a thick layer of compost, followed with composted and aged horse and goat manure. Spread a small amount of heavier clay soil on top to help the compost break down.  Next I added a variety of garden plant seeds to a cup, mixed then up and tilled them into the bed.   It's been a few weeks since.  I've been watering avg once a day.  Today I went out there and many things have sprouted!  Looks like some corn, squash, beans and more.  Ideally they will grow in with some as companion plants and thriving.  While vegetables grow quickly in full sun, having many together may keep the surface cooler during hot summer days and require less water.