The first lettuce harvest

My little basement greenhouse is paying off.  I have 60+ tomato plants, 4 cucumber, cabbage, broccoli, squash, herbs, leeks, hot peppers and now sweet peppers under the greenhouse lights.  I cannot believe that the investment of those grow lights will produce all those vegetables by the end of summer!

Today we had our first harvest of lettuce.  I used 2 grow trays filled with organic soil and have 2 flats of lettuce and spinach growing.  Now that they are of a decent size, it was time to thin the crop.  With the thinning comes the first harvest.

I took my handy salad spinner and brought each tray upstairs to the kitchen.  Using a small sharp scissors, I thinned some of the plants and many of the bigger outside leaves of my lettuce and spinach plants and got almost a whole bowl of baby lettuce for our next salad.

Thanks to the full spectrum fluorescent light fixtures hanging just 3 inches above the plants and the application of organic fish emulsion spray for nitrogen, along with frequent watering I have produced a garden in the basement.  Some of my tomatoes are already 6 inches tall and have been re-potted once already.

Tomorrow's lettuce salad for lunch will be wonderful!  I know how it was grown.. guarantee it to be organic and clean.  And will taste wonderful with my homemade ranch dressing made with homemade buttermilk and homemade yogurt!! 

I don't know why I never invested in grow lights until now... and the basement becomes highly productive space when a corner is used for growing our own food.  Seeds are cheap and easy to buy and these plants are easy to grow!!

Organic Gardening - Seed Starting in the Basement

If you have been reading my blog posts you will know I LOVE organic produce.. and there is no better way to get it than to grow your own.  That is why I am SO excited about the project I have started this month!

I have always had a little garden in the back yard.  Even in suburbia you can grow food for your family organically.  We have a little plot the size of a bedroom and another little plot the size of a large closet.  Every year I end up buying tomato and pepper plants to go into those gardens to the tune of several hundred dollars.  When you buy plants, you can spend a good deal of money on them and if you know me, you know I don't like to spend money when I don't have to.

That is why I saved seeds last summer and this fall.  Saving seeds used to seem so complicated but now that I know how and have watched a few of them actually grow, it is so exciting!  When I had a good organic tomato, pepper, squash, or any other vegetable, I would take the seeds out, rinse them, dry them in a windowsill for a while on a paper towel and then put them in a marked envelope.  So in essence, I have a bunch of free seeds!

So what do you do with seeds?  Plant them!  I converted a corner of my basement to be the "greenhouse".  A few weeks ago I started with a flat of some of the tomato seeds I saved.  My hope is to have a few dozen (or hundreds) of plants up and growing so that I don't have to buy plants for my garden this spring.  I did a bunch of research on all the vegetables I want to grow and have a plan all written out.

So then I had to have supplies for growing.  I bought a few seed starting trays and a bag of seed starter, a bag of potting soil, and a bag of vermiculite.  Then we bought some fluorescent 48 inch fixtures and full spectrum fluorescent bulbs to go in them and hung them from the basement rafters on chains.  A used ping pong table does the trick for a sturdy plant table and the chains on the fixtures allow me to keep the lights the proper distance from the plants.

Here is my set up so far:

On my table are several plant starts.  In the bigger pots are some of my herbs.  In the small flats I have managed to get some tomato plant starts, some stevia, a small asparagus plant, and a leek.  In the 2 flats I have planted lettuce and spinach in hopes of having my own salad garden in a few weeks. 

To plant seeds, I simply put them on top of some seed starting soil and put a seed down and cover it with vermiculite.  Then I carefully wet it thoroughly with a spray bottle and purified water and put a cover on it until it germinates.  When the first signs of little green plants are evident I move the flat 2-3 inches from the grow lights.  I did not know that plants need air movement to make them strong so I have a fan blowing on the seedlings.  That helps them build strong stems.

So today I planted another flat with cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, and more heirloom tomatoes.  When they begin to sprout I will make room under the lights for them and when the danger of frost has passed they will move to the garden outside.

I also have a flat of pepper seeds started in the family room on the bar.  Peppers are harder to sprout and need some heat so that flat is sitting on a heating pad in the family room where they can be undisturbed.  Once they sprout I will move them off of the heat and under a grow light. 

Sitting in my dining room window is another little greenhouse with some growing plants. Right now I have 2 avocado trees and some herbs there. Soon it will be crowded with more vegetable plants and flats of germinating wonders!

So that is the start of my greenhouses.  The fluorescent fixtures $20 each.. bulbs 2 for $9.00.  The table and fan are things I already had around and the dirt was not that expensive either.  So instead of shopping Earl May every year for my plants I will use these lights for years of seed starting to grow my own.

Mike is already prepared to dig up another big chunk of yard this spring.  We have an old wooden swingset in the middle of the yard that will be the center-piece of my new garden with 5 grape plants growing up the posts of that swingset.  We are also planning on 3 blueberry bushes this year in the southern edge of the yard along the fenceline.  And somehow we managed to fit 8 fruit trees in the yard as well.

I am excited about my gardens this year!  What are you growing in yours?

In the Garden - Soil Testing- a good idea!

So you are probably aware we live in the 'burbs.. which is not what I would choose right now if I had to do it over again.  Now don't get me wrong.  I love being close to the mall and the grocery stores!  But I really want to expand my gardens and grow my own food!  I have also decided that one of our next vehicles should be a pick-up truck.  So for those of you local readers, don't laugh at me when you see me show up in a pick-up... it will be a good practical purchase, I am sure.  I promise NOT T EVER wear overalls (at least in public). 

You see, I really know nothing about gardening except for what I am learning.  I am not an expert, even though I have had a small garden for vegetables for many years (mostly I just love home grown tomatoes) and have grown flowers around the outside of the house.  I grow what grows for me and let die that which wants to commit suicide.  I have never paid much attention to soil quality, fertilizers, and some years barely give them any water.  Let's just say I have not been a good plant mommy in years past.

This year is different.  I want a BIG garden to grow tomatoes, squash, strawberries, lettuce, pumpkins, grapes, peppers, onions, garlic, potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb, raspberries, zucchini, and LOTS of other vegetables.  I want to stay busy all summer canning and freezing and have fresh organic food that I don't have to go to the supermarket to buy!  But did I mention I only have a back yard?  That will change.  I have plans.

We put 8 fruit trees in our fenced back yard this fall and so far, they are doing well.  I followed directions to protect their little tender trunks from animals and weather by using a white plastic covering.  We fertilized them organically when their leaves fell and mulched them to winter them over.  Now to wait for fruit and pray!

I checked in my suburb to see if there was an ordinance stating that you had to have a particular percentage of grass in your yard... there is not.  There are all kinds of "rules" about leaving your garage door open, shoveling your snow, mowing your lawn, and other things, but none about a garden-yard!  Mike is "on-board" with this not only because he sees money to be saved on good food, but I think he figures he will till once in trade for less mowing and trimming each year.

So my plan is to till up a good percentage of the yard and make another garden next spring.  I have 2 little gardens now in either corner of the back yard and there is an old wooden swingset in the middle of the yard that Journey has outgrown so we will place a garden smack in the middle of the yard right under and around that swingset!

Since I want to be a serious gardener and really want my food to grow well, I decided to research soil quality and testing.  The soil needs to be the proper pH and have adequate supplies of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.  You can buy a soil testing kit (I got mine from Earl May) and it will do all 4 of these tests 10 times each.  It was $20 but I figured it was money well spent.  No sense trying to grow something in depleted soil, only to be disappointed in the yield after months of watering, weeding, and toil.

I figured I would have to check 5 areas of my yard.  I am glad I did because each area tested out differently on its quality and so I will have to treat each area differently and perhaps plan my planting a bit more carefully this year. 

This is a great activity to do with your children who love "experiments".  Journey had a blast with the pipette and putting the capsules of stuff into the testing chambers.  Then she got to watch them change colors and interpret the results.

As I feared, each area came up with different results, which I won't bore you with.  Suffice it to say I am glad I started composting last spring and I spread some of it around the areas that needed more nutrition but will amend some of this soil next spring as we till and plant.  Surprisingly, the area under our grass that will become my newest garden is very deficient in proper nutrients so I have an opportunity to fix the problem before planting there next spring.

I kept careful notes about the results from each area of the garden too... in a garden journal book that I have had for 8 years and never written in.  See, I told you I was not a good plant mommy.  If I can stay disciplined to keep that journal up, I am sure it will come in handy!

I am also glad that I bought a couple of organic gardening books last week.  That helps a lot... this is the information age and it is possible to learn anything if you study.  I know that because I can now actually cook!

In the Garden - It is time to plant Garlic

Did you know that this is the perfect time to plant garlic in Iowa?  It loves the cold weather and will be ready for harvest about next August.  One little planting section of garlic will produce enough to last most families through the winter months.

I am going to go to Earl May tonight and buy some garlic bulbs to plant in the corner of my strawberry patch.  I have a little room there and that soil has been amended by compost for many months.  Garlic loves well drained and enriched soil.

Do not plant the garlic you buy in the store.  Most of it "has been sprayed with a chemical to prevent sprouting"... Are you kidding me?  Again, another chemical?  I wonder what that does to us?

Anyway, that is why I am going to get my bulbs from the plant store and not the grocery store.  When you get the bulb home, take off the outermost and larger little bulbettes and plant them about 4 inches into the ground.  Keep them about 4 inches apart and space the rows at least a foot apart.  Water well and cover with hay or some other substance to keep them insulated and healthy for the winter.  In the spring you can remove the covering substance and let them grow!!  If you want to fertilize, a balanced fertilizer is recommended.  I think I will rely on my composted soil to give it the nutrients it needs and try for some organic garlic by next winter!  Remember to keep your little garden patch weeded next summer, as garlic does not compete well with weeds!

Next summer when the greenery above the ground dies away, it is time to dig up your new garlic bulbs.  I suppose you could save one of them and replant it next fall too! 

By the way, when planting your garlic, use only the biggest bulbettes and save the little puny ones to cook with. 

Gardening.. fun to do..  great way to ensure you know what is put on your food.. saves money at the grocery store.  Be adventurous!  Dig up a little section of your yard or plan a raised garden or a container garden for next spring.  If you would like gardening questions answered, send me an email or comment on this blog and I will use those questions to plan and write subsequent blogs!

Enjoy this last warm week of Iowa weather!! 

Grow Your Own Sweetener!

What is the best sweetener out there for everyone's health?  Is there something natural, unprocessed, and free of calories that will satisfy a sweet tooth or sweeten beverages, recipes, etc?

Yes!  And I am growing it in the little 4 shelf greenhouse in my family room east-facing french doors!  It is Stevia.  I have talked to several people about this wonder plant and many have never heard of it!

Stevia is a plant that grows in warmer climates than Iowa.  It sure won't survive our winters!  It is not commonly found locally either.  You can buy Stevia extract from some of the healthfood stores but I have yet to find a Stevia plant for sale like I find Basil in pots everywhere.

Stevia has sweet leaves!  More concentrated sweetener than sugar, a little goes a long ways!  I ordered some seeds and a book about Stevia from a mail order company based in Missouri that deals only in Stevia plants.  I had to read the book carefully to find out the best way to grow it so that one day soon I can use it in our kitchen.  Since then I befriended a gal who work at Earl May named Kim.  She kept my number and when our local Earl May happened to receive just 5 seed packets of Stevia a week or so ago,  Kim called me and I bought another packet of seeds.


Keep in mind that I only ordered 20 seeds.  They are not really cheap... they are very teeny weeny too so you don't want to exhale when planting them!  The first 9 that I planted did not grow.  I did not keep them moist enough.  Epic FAIL.  But I had over 1/2 of the seeds left so I read the book again and tried again.  I waited the 14 days for germination to occur and one day I saw this:

WOOHOO!!  I was so excited! They were growing!  I turned on the little shoplight I hung a few inches above them and kept them moist.  They have to be watered from below.  If the little plants themselves get wet, they will die.  So I keep water in the tray under them and keep a close eye on them.  Then a few weeks later they looked like this:

And today, tada!

When the Stevia plants get big enough, the light above them can go off at night.  Soon after, they can be transplanted to bigger pots to continue to grow.  Once they have a few more leaves, I can harvest some of them to use so that the plants continue to grow bushier and thrive.  While Stevia plants are hard to start from seed, you see it can be done.  They are easier to grow from propagation.  For those of you who are not gardeners, that is taking a "stem" of one of the plants and putting it in some growing medium to let it take root and start a new plant.

When the leaves are trimmed, they will be dehydrated and crushed very small.  Here is the great news:  1 - 3 TEASPOONS of crushed Stevia equals a cup of sugar in recipes.  A little goes a long way!  So sometime soon this winter, I may have Stevia plants to sell to those interested but I will CERTAINLY be using them in my own baking to take the place of some of the honey and agave I have been using!  Watch for more information as these little plants continue to thrive! 

If you ever have any comments about anything I am writing, I would love for you to comment below the blog.  And if you have any questions, feel free to email me .. my email address is at the bottom of the About Me section to the right of the blogs.  I would love to hear from you!

In the Garden - Wintering over the green treasures

With the temperatures falling, October 1st reminded me that it was time to decide which of my plants needed to be wintered over in the house.  I have a Bird of Paradise, a Hibiscus, a double Hibiscus, and two Mandevilla plants that successfully wintered over last year and then thrived on my deck all summer.  Even though I have not found a way to convert them to something edible yet, they are too pretty to lose to Iowa's rough winters so I had to clear places in the house for them  I have no windows with southern exposure (definitely a flaw in this house) but I have several windows facing east that get some good bright sun in the mornings.  So I have now brought all those plants inside to enjoy this winter although I would imagine the blooms will stop now soon.

While I was out surveying the gardens I hoped that our first freeze would not happen for a while, as I now have some wonderful green peppers on my plants that have matured in size but are still green.  I read that peppers that are a green color are not ripe yet and that is why people have some issues with digesting them.  My source told me that ripe peppers are always either red or yellow as they mature so I am sort of waiting to see if my green peppers will mature to a red or yellow color before I am forced to pick them.

In the strawberry bed I found a beautiful little tomato plant.  He must have just showed up out there and is already about 6 inches tall with a wonderful healthy main stem to him.  I decided to dig him up out of the garden and place him in his own little pot in the window sill by my greenhouse to see if I could keep him alive until next summer.  Here is a little picture of my tomato plant so you can all say a prayer for me that he lives until time for transplant next spring.

Wouldn't it be lovely if that little tomato plant gave us a few fresh organic tomatoes this winter? I will keep you posted on his progress in that window. 

Organic Gardening - with Rhubarb

This year I had a horrible time with my tomato crop.  My tomatoes were infested by a little white fly called...   white fly.   LOL.  These were spread to my garden from some of my indoor plants and it just so happened those little white flies LOVE tomatoes and squash.  My crop was ruined very early in the season.  The white flies basically prevent the fruits from maturing or ripening and eventually kill the plant.  I tried EVERYTHING to get rid of them.. all out war!  First with organic methods and then eventually with sprays that I am ashamed I used.  They all did nothing on the war against the white flies.  I finally learned that only a hard freeze can kill them.  They hate this climate!  So I give thanks to God that I live in Iowa and I am praying for a hard freeze this year. 

What does this have to do with Rhubarb?  Well let me tell you what I learned about rhubarb.  I inherited a rhubarb plant from my mother-in-law's estate ( that plus fabric and yarn.. go figure).  I transplanted it in the yard just a couple of weeks ago after the temps outside cooled down enough for the poor little thing to live. 

Now mind you again, I am a city girl and have never eaten rhubarb before so I had to research what you can do with this food.  During my research I discovered that rhubarb leaves are poisonous to humans.  They contain oxalic acid, which in large quantities will cause kidney failure.  I was happy to find out that it would take eating about 11 pounds of toxic rhubarb leaves to kill the average person but also alarmed to find that this oxalic acid exists in many other of the vegetables we eat in smaller quantities... so it can't be that bad!

The beautiful thing about oxalic acid is that it aphids and pests do not like it.. it poisons them too.  There is a recipe for making an organic bug killer out of boiling rhubarb leaves.  I wish I would have known that when battling those wicked white flies and I might have had more tomatoes canned this year!

So as some of the transplanted rhubarb did not make it (some did, some didn't), I harvested the dying leaves and boiled them in a pot on the stove.

Not only does that look icky, it left the house with the most awful pungent odor that I had to open a screen window and air it out.  When Mike got home that day from errands he said "now that is a new smell"... I think that was "nice guy" for "hope you are not going too feed me whatever you have been cooking today".  I busted a gut with that one but not consider once feeding him 11 pounds of rhubarb leaves.  LOL

When the leaves had boiled for 20 minutes, I removed them and threw them on the compost (safe) but reserved and cooled the icky brown water.  I put it in an old re-used mild gallon jug with some soap shavings and will use that next spring to spray on plants with bugs.  I think it will work.  I made sure to mark the milk carton with "Rhubarb Poison" but I don't think the smell of that junk would allow anyone to ingest it.  It now sits in my garage ready for next summer and another unwanted pest invasion!

So every spring when you are picking those beautiful stalks of rhubarb to eat, reserve the leaves for an organic pest control solution!  Just be sure you boil them on a nice day so you can open the windows!

The Orchard in the Suburbs

I know many of you know that I am on this adventure to eat as healthy as possible.. I shop organic whenever I can but as you have probably noticed, organic costs more money and I am also challenged to be as frugal as possible and extend our grocery dollars.  So the dilemma continues.  After picking 200 pounds of apples last month from a neighbor's tree, we decided to invest in our own orchard in our little back yard.

We bought 8 fruit trees to put in our yard and I have been researching and studying what to do to make sure they are healthy and thrive to bear us fruit.  I can't imagine how awesome it will be to go to my own backyard and pick a ripe Fuji Apple, Honey Crisp Apple, Bartlett Pear, Anjou Pear, Frost Peach, Polly Peach, Lapins Cherry, or Royalton Cherry from the tree.  I will know it is organic, fresh, and healthy!!

Here is a picture of our little trees in our suburban back yard.  We have a fenced yard so hope to keep most critters from them but already today I had to run to Menards and buy those little white plastic tree protectors because some critter has been gnawing the bark from the bottoms, close to the ground.  They are a little close together so I hope to learn a lot about pruning before they get too big but what adventure would it be if I already knew everything?  FAR FROM IT!

You can see the six of them to the south of the deck and there are 2 more to the north of the deck.   We have not mulched them yet before winter and I was told to put a balanced fertilizer on them right after all the leaves fall off this fall and again in the spring.  They will hopefully have enough sun and I give them a deep watering twice a week.  The rest is up to mother nature. 

The swingset in the middle of the yard is about shot and my daughter is done playing on it, as she is growing up fast, so we have decided to by grape vines and grow them on the swingset like a trellis.  Should be interesting. I will share that adventure next summer!

So if you would say a prayer for my little trees please!  I really know very little about growing any kind of tree so I need all the help I can get!