Reading Material

Apparently when I decide to learn about something I take it on through full immersion.  I started out  asking for book recommendations about medicinal herbs and bought 2: Homegrown Herbs and The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook. Then I found out about a sale in the brand new Farthing Collective store and bought 2 Raleigh Briggs titles (Make Your Place and Herbal First Aid). All the while I'd forgotten I'd pre-ordered Easy Growing. Fortunately each of these books fills in where others leave gaps. And for anyone wondering? Rodale's Encyclopedia, while the thickest book in my herbal library and brimming with information, is the last one I pick up when looking for information.

Since I'm finally starting to keep an actual garden journal (outside this here blog), I've also found it handy to rip out pages of seed catalogs, since those descriptions are what enticed me to try out those particular plants.

Maybe this will be the year I remember exactly why I was so excited about starting anise hyssop, shiso and knit bone.

What have you got sprouting in your garden plans?

Help Me Help Them!

Someone help me! I can't stop playing with the wall mock ups of my parents' house! If nothing else, it's a fun way to spend Monopoly money. The above arrangement of the TV on the fireplace is my brilliant mom-in-law's suggestion. The move of the TV makes 2 strong focal points become one.

This BDDW credenza is a little too rustic for my parents' taste, I think, but holy hullabaloo, do I love everything they make.  The dark wall mutes out the TV, combined with the dark wood of the credenza the space doesn't seem to compete as much with the textured fireplace. (Painting and credenza from the BDDW site.) Thanks for the fantastic suggestions, Abbey!

Consider yourself an armchair decorator? Send your suggestions and I'll play with 'em and forward them to my mom!

Seed Bug

The bug bit and I'm ready to start planting. I bought a couple pounds of Kennebec potatoes (not from Johnny's, from a local source) to put in the ground and I've placed a seed order from Sow True seed. We had several weeks of spring like weather to tease us all into wintry restlessness, and with the return of cold now I have to sit back and wait.

Each year I go back to the Lazy Gardener's Seed Starting Chart on You Grow Girl, though some of the seeds I've ordered that aren't on the list. To fill in the blanks on the missing data, Weekend Gardener is a great resource!

Obsessiveness is borne of restlessness, and if you don't believe me you can check out my Google Doc worksheet. There are some math errors on there, I'm sure, and some dates that are off, but the good thing about planning well in advance is that I have wiggle room!

Food Forest Example

A while back I posted a worksheet to plan a food forest garden. I've used it a couple times, but thought I'd share this one since it's time to start thinking about spring gardening.

This particular food forest/guild will be planted in a Charlotte, NC community garden and will be about 20-feet in diameter. The plum tree will be the center, the outer circumference will be planted with daffodils, garlic, chives, and crocus and act as a deterrent to deer and squirrels.*** The other layers of plants that will benefit the tree and each other mutually, including gathering nutrients and attracting/deterring insects.  The idea is to have a garden that provides it's own nutrition, mulch and soil building, while providing an assortment of food to those that tend the area. It's a commonly used permaculture technique to provide larger yields and require less work; just the way I like it.

Filled with herbs and fruit, this could be quite a tasty garden!

***Though I don't think there's actually true squirrel or deer deterrent!

Fishing, Barbie, and GMOs

Wikipedia image by Michael Maggs

Lately there's been a lot of talk about fly fishing around the ol' homestead.  We've done a little fishing lately (Charlie much more than I), and the idea of fly fishing seems much more entertaining than sitting around with a string in a lake.

From The Essential Fly: Anatomy of a salmon fly

The flies themselves are works of art. There's a whole culture based around tying flies, and while I'm sure the people that tie them wouldn't liken themselves to the comparison, fly tying seems a lot like playing with a Barbie Styling Head.

Wikipedia image by Michael Maggs

Not that I think we'll go salmon fishing anytime in the near future, but I've been especially intrigued with salmon flies.  Partly it's the actual flies, partly it's because I've been thinking about what a GMO salmon fly would look like. Let's just file that under "inspiration marinade" for a while.

And yep, I mentioned Barbie, fly tying, and GMO in the same post.