Summer is HERE in the 5×5 Garden
Yesterday I planted tomatoes in the 5×5 garden. We’re pretty much past the point of frosts, especially here in my garden which is a high south facing slope. The night time temperatures have been dipping less and less into the 40’s and the days are feeling warm. With these warm days the tomatoes are taking off in their cell packs. One signal for me that it’s time to transplant tomatoes into the garden is when I start seeing tomato seedlings pop up around the garden from last year’s fallen fruit. This is a signal that the soil is warm enough for these warm soil loving crops.
If you notice there’s a dandelion blooming back behind the tomato. I purposefully leave these in the garden because they draw up calcium and other nutrients from deep within the soil. Calcium is important for tomatoes in particular helping them set fruit better. This makes dandelions a perfect partner for them. Sometimes weeds can be beneficial for our gardens!
Have you planted warm weather crops yet? Or do you live in a warm climate where you planted them long ago and are eating tomatoes already?
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The Circle of Life
When you have animals you notice the circle of life. On Sunday morning I went out to the coop to find our oldest hen had died during the night. She was in her usual spot the night before when I counted everyone at bedtime, she must have died in her sleep right on her roost. I’m happy she went this way, it’s no fun dealing with sick chickens. She lived a long happy life, out foraging in the fields and have fun with her flock mates.
We’re not sure how old she was, probably around 5 years old. She came to us with the house when we arrived a year and a half ago, she was an Isa Brown. We still have a few of these original hens left, but their numbers have dwindled by way of fox attacks.
Meanwhile, Broody Hen is being a wonderful mom, bringing up replacements for her. So goes the circle of life, there is birth and death; the young replace the sick, older or those lost through predation. It will be interesting to see how many of these little chicks are hens and how many are roosters. It seems in spring the new life cycle of this circle is most evident since this is the time when animals are hatching and birthing the subsequent generation.
Have you noticed new life in the garden?
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A Garden to Dye For
As a kid I was fascinated with the colors of berries and things in the garden. We often took poke weed berries, smashed them and made ink to write on stones with. Being a crafty kid, learning how to dye fabric, yarn and other things with plants would have been so much fun. A few times I dyed items with regular dyes and a few times I used tea and coffee.
“You may have already guessed that there are some great perks that come with obtaining dyes from your own plants: they’re non-toxic, biodegradable (compost anyone?) and absolutely renewable.
Using botanical dyes isn’t even remotely close to being a new concept. People from all over the world have been borrowing nature’s colors for thousands of years, using plant- based dyes to adorn clothing, baskets, cave walls, and skin. It’s the ultimate in awesome to realize that when we derive color from the plants in our gardens or landscapes, we’re communing creatively with our ancient ancestors and civilizations.” (excerpt from pages 4 & 5).
The most fascinating part of this book for me was reading about the studies being done on naturally dyed fabrics and clothing to see if we absorbed any of the medicinal/healthful properties from the herbs through our skin. Super fascinating and something that has been believed throughout history by many cultures. It does make sense with the advent of transdermal patches for medication and other things. What we put on our skin is absorbed, it makes sense that herbal qualities from naturally dyed fabrics would also offer some benefits.
This book includes everything you need, from setting up your craft station to choosing the right plants for the color you want to achieve. Chris geared this book for the gardener and the beginner when it comes to dying so you can learn the basics and then be able to move forward with your own creativity. I must admit, reading through the lists of flowers and other natural materials and seeing the colors achieved with them makes me want to buy some muslin or yarn and get to work experimenting.
When looking at all the colors achieved from various plants, seeds and other natural material many of them made complete sense. Of course pokeweed was in there, the one I used all the time as a kid. Then I came on the section about using avocado seeds and skins (hey I have a bunch of those) and I was amazed! If you use the skins and seeds you’ll get a salmon or pink for your final color, not at all what I was expecting!
It’s not just about dying fiber and fabric either, she tells you how to dye Easter eggs and play dough as well as direction for how to make your own watercolor dye paints. I must admit, making my own watercolors sound like a lot of fun, perhaps I can do it with my nieces when we’re back in Ohio later this year.
She’s doing a great giveaway on her site that includes everything you need to get started including a few silk scarves and wool yarn, head on over and enter if you’re interested.
This book definitely piqued my crafty side and now I can’t wait to try some of the ideas from this book, not sure what I’ll do first, maybe some yarn so I can make a scarf this winter.
Have you ever dyed things with items from you garden? What would you try to make first?
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Quote of the Day: Gene Logsdon
“We have become a nation dangerously dependent on politically motivated and money-motivated processes for our food, clothing, and shelter. In the world we must live in from now on, to produce our own food is the beginning of independence. To accept that responsibility is the first step toward real freedom.”
Gene Logsdon (Small-Scale Grain Raising)
Gardening comes easy to me, there’s nothing I love more than spending days in the garden. I love the hard work, I love the intricacies of it, it’s really rewarding for me.
Tending animals is also very rewarding, at least most of the time. I love the chickens, ducks, and guineas. They are fun to have around, most of the time. Though they can be frustrating at times.
There are parts of producing your own food that aren’t easy, slaughtering animals is the hardest. It is time for us to slaughter eight of our male ducks. They are getting to the point where they are becoming aggressive towards the lady ducks and there are simply too many of them. I sold a few of them, the rest will go to freezer camp.
One of the reasons I encourage people to take a first hand role in producing at least some of their food is because it gives you an appreciation for those that do it full-time. It also gives us a deep sense of appreciate for our food and for what it takes to have something on our plate at each meal.
What part of producing your own food do you find to be the easiest and which is the most difficult?
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That Turkey
Mr Chiots is a hunter and it’s spring turkey season here in Maine. He’s been out a few times without any luck. Of course this past Sunday morning there was a BIG tom turkey right below the house trying to impress our guinea hens with his display.
Needless to say, they were less than impressed and went about their business of eating bugs and grass completely ignoring him. Lucky for him, it was Sunday morning, no hunting allowed. Otherwise he’d be in our fridge.
What wildlife have you spotted in your garden this week?
