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Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening

January 28th, 2016

When I was contacted about reviewing and doing a giveaway of ‘Year-Round Indoor Salad Gardening’ by Peter Burke I knew it was something that I would enjoy and definitely something you would enjoy hearing about. This is not a book about growing sprouts, this is a book about growing greens in small containers of soil. No multiple rinsing daily, not as much risk of mold, not as much maintenance. It is also not about growing micro greens, which can take much longer than the 10 days it takes to grow the kind of sprouts Peter is talking about in this book. This book is essential an in depth how-to guide to grow “nutrient-dense, soil-sprouted greens in 10 days or less”.
Year round indoor salad gardening 2
As I’ve been reading through the book I’ve been trying to figure how to incorporate some of the methods into my schedule in order to grow a few greens during the cold, winter months here in Maine. The truth is that I LOVE salad all year long and I buy a decent amount of it during the winter months. If I could grow it myself, I could not only save a little cash, but I could have healthier salads since the greens would be harvested right before eating. While you don’t need any additional lighting for his growing methods, he does recommend some window light. My windows are packed out with overwintered plants: bananas, citrus, herbs, etc. I also have the issue of having loads of cats running around the house eating greens they find delectable, which I’m thinking they’d probably find these tasty little greens.
Year round indoor salad gardening 1
The technique is simple enough, though I think getting the workflow that works best for your current situation would take some trial & error. Essentially, you need 10 containers. Each day, you plant one or more trays with seeds and follow the protocol (putting in a warm, dark closet for 4 days then uncovering and waiting 6-10 more days until it’s ready to harvest). At it’s core, this is a super simple method. Finding the right workflow for your house/time/needs is going to be the most difficult things to achieve. This method would work very well for someone who loves schedule and order. I could go on and on explaining Peter’s process, but in reality, you’re better off reading the book. It answers just about every question you will have and have loads of photos and wonderful explanations. One of you will be lucky, because we’re doing a giveaway of this book. Comment below for your chance to win, in a week I’ll randomly choose a lucky commenter to win a copy of this book.

What’s your favorite type of salad dressing? 

And our winner is:
Screen Shot 2016-03-23 at 1.58.37 PM

On The Go Projects

January 27th, 2016

I like to maximize my time, so you’ll often find me with a few books in my bag and crochet projects with me while I’m out and about. Some of these things don’t lend themselves to shorter periods of found time, a minute here or five minutes there. I thought English paper piecing hexagons might fit the bill and they do!
hexies
Yesterday found me at the car dealership waiting to get a few things tuned up on the MINI. So I whipped out my hexi jar (a wide mouth mason jar) and managed to knock out 20 hexies while I waited.
hexies finished
As I worked, I thought about how I could make a project container that would neatly organize all items needed to make these little beauties. I also need to get a tiny pair of scissors to add to my kit. These are a fantastic way to make us of tiny scraps of fabric and tiny scraps of time, a win/win in my book.

What new hobbies have you discovered recently?

Happy Birthday Mr Chiots

January 25th, 2016

Yesterday was a big day, a 40th birthday bash for Mr Chiots. We don’t usually celebrate birthday, not in a big way anyways. Usually there’s a favorite meal, or maybe a dinner out, but generally, nothing big. 40 is a big milestone, so I planned a big bash. We reserved the curling club and everyone met there. Curling is a favorite activity for Mr Chiots, so it was fitting that he was able to share it with his friends.
birthday bash 1
birthday bash 2
birthday bash 1 (1)
birthday bash 2 (1)
birthday bash 3 (1)
birthday bash 3
birthday bash
We celebrate with some of his favorite childhood foods: brown sugar & cinnamon pop tarts, doritos, pizza, oatmeal cookies, root beers, etc. We played a Brian’s favorite things bingo mixer game. What a great party of celebrate the life of a wonderful man.

What’s your idea of the perfect way to celebrate a milestone birthday?

Quote of the Day: Henry Beston

January 24th, 2016

“Surely the most beautiful of all colors of winter is the blue of winter shadows on the snow! It is a blue which varies with the day and the light, but whatever its tone, is both tender and delicate, and to se it is to be reminded of the purity of certain blues in flowers.”

Henry Beston in Northern Farm

Sun and snow
Sun and snow 1
Sun and snow 2

Friday Favorite: Quiet Evenings

January 22nd, 2016

I love a quiet evening at home, sitting in the living room, reading by the light of a lamp.
reading maine farm 2
Perhaps a cup of tea, or a gin & tonic, maybe a cup of hot chocolate…
evening_of_reading
There’s really no better way to spend a winter evening for an introvert bookworm like myself.

What’s your idea of a favorite evening?

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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