A gardener's journey of faith....

My word for this year was serious, but now I think it should have been journey.

I've only recently reconnected with my faith. A few years ago, my grandmother passed away and then my aunt. They were both 99 and 95. They had had such wonderful glorious years on Earth. They were the original suburban farmer's. Raising most of their own food on quarter acres of land in the middle of the 'burbs of Chicago. Canning, baking,preserving. The meat they ate was either hunted or fished by my grandfather. All that life they raised every year as the food grew from the ground and in all their years with life cycles and life and death, first as hungarian tenant farmers', and then suburban farmer's, and they were agnostic.

I was shaky in my own faith and so it made me wonder; How can a woman who has lived that long in life  believe that once you die that's it? You go in the ground and compost is your only legacy, your only reward? For some reason, that revelation shook my entire faith existence and for a few years, I was actually ambivalent.

After years of having been raised in a Roman Catholic church; for  a moment my eyes were opened to the possibility that this was all there was. The light grey sky above me and the dark grey road in front of me. The revelation hit me while driving home one day and suddenly I felt so small and so uncertain. Suddenly there were no rules to life and I floundered. It made me feel  scared. 

And so alone.

It was easier not to think about it, but deeper inside, I craved. I felt hungry, or thirsty, I just couldn't put my finger on it. I had thought about going back to church because it was what I wanted for my children and my family, but never really gathered the courage to make that step. 

I hemmed and hawed for  along time about what to do, all of the time this deep ache inside from  a place I couldn't name. I wanted there to be more, but for some reason I was more afraid to believe than not believe.

Just before Christmas this last year, I took my children to church. It was a run-of-the-mill 5 o'clock service, but when I went up for communion and knelt at the bench, the minute I took the wafer and the wine, I felt as if some one had given me a cool drink of water after days in the desert. I felt tears come up through my throat and burn behind my eyes. My only thought was, I should have been doing this all along, why did I stay away?

Suddenly my eyes were opened once again. To all of the good things in life. To all of the possibility and growth that faith brings. My walk isn't alone any more and it was such  a heavy burden lifted off of my shoulders. To everything that He's given us in the dirt in the ground, and the air, and the sky.

And suddenly I wondered... how can someone who was so intimately connected to the earth and all that God has provided not believe in His existence? 

My friend Jeanne told me, "When you use the talents that God has given you, you honor Him." I truly believe that, but on the same point, isn't honoring God also taking care of what He's given you? Your body, your family, your Earth? When you give  a child a toy and he ruins it, how can you not  feel anything but disappointment? The chemicals we use, the poison's, the waste and trash and plastic. How does this honor God to ruin the beautiful thing He's given us?

I think that is a part of being eco-conscious, organic and earth friendly. Respect for what we've been given. It's a connection that even an agnostic might have to agree with.

Every time I think  about my Aunt and Grandmother and wonder what they have discovered and hopefully for them, it was a pleasant surprise.

A what kind of farmer?

My husband told me the other day that if we wanted to get a farm one day  that we could do it , but he only wanted to be a vegetable farmer, no animals. 

I might have to sneak one of these little guys in though,

But if I can't I could always be a dill farmer; I seem to grow that great :)

Jen

Garden surprises...

 Lately I have a few things in my garden that keep me guessing...

These are my compost pumpkins.Well, I think they are pumpkins. They look pumpkin-y. One day a small trailing vine started and I thought, let's see what happens. The next thing I knew, my poor compost pile was buried.

What's interesting is while I may have put a jack-o-lantern or two in the compost last fall, I did not put any on the other side of the yard where I have another gourd-like thing growing....

I may be doing pumpkin giveaways this fall...

And these guys.. Japanese beetles. Gah.

I sprayed my yard last year with a "very green" beneficial nematode for grubs, which worked, the grubs were gone. Grubs are what Japanese beetles come from. What I  didn't count on was my neighbors beetles deciding my yard was yummier. I am actually considering getting one of those traps, some people say it actually attracts them, but how many more can it possibly attract? I'm already"dispatching"30-50 a night in what we refer to as "the cup of death". It involves dish soap, a lot of swimming  and finally a watery grave. It's totally crazy. It's a regular beetle love shack in my backyard. I'll knock piles of 5 and 6 having "a party" at one time with each other at all hours. I have to say, they are very non-discriminating; it's all 1960's free-love in the Rizzo's yard, until I come along of course and stop those shenanigans.

It's a good lesson to learn, though.

Note to self: reaction times are slower when fornicating.

Though they might not be too happy with me for ruining their fun. They've actually started buzzing me when I approach.

And there's my lemon balm, I've heard it referred to as Lemon BOMB. Now I know why. Unlike me, it loves to run ( it is in the mint family, you'd think I would know better.) and is quickly taking over everything including my poor Golden Oregano. I've had it in it's neat little spot for the last 5 years, it smelled so nice when I walked past it  and this year... Kaboom! I swear it's in cahoots with the pumpkins. And the beetles.

And finally, I'm explaining to my girl's how to do the beetle control. They were very enthralled until they realized the little suckers don't go down without a fight and will hang onto your fingers for dear life  if you're not quick enough.

It was not a pretty sight.

There was a lot of screaming involved.

  But life's full of surprises, isn't it? :)

Jen

In the garden....Late June

 I have been battling the black ants for these beauties; super sweet, Fall Gold raspberries. Those ants suck just enough to start a bit of mold on each berry with all of the rain we have been having.

I finally decided to put a small bowl of sugar water out and am moving it away slowly, a bit farther each day. They, of course, don't even bother the tarter Red Heritage variety. Damn ants.

I'll let you know if it attracts them away, or just brings more ants to the party.

The good news is is last year we put a biological nematode control for grubs and this year , so far, knock on wood, I've seen hardly any Japanese Beetles. I'll have to let you know farther into July if it's a fluke or if it really worked.

I have no clue what this is. It's a weed that sprouted in my yard and I thought it was too pretty to pull. There are a few of them. It's about 3 feet tall with what almost looks like a pink grain with a leaf with a ruffled edge. Any ideas?

The corn is definitely knee high. And the soybeans and squash are slowly filling in too.

My potatoes are finally blooming and the new potatoes will... umm should, be ready to dig out soon. Though I will admit, I tried to find some today to cheat a bit and I couldn't find any. They are either still really tiny, or really deep. Damn potatoes.

I also cut some lavender today. I am going to make lavender sugar once it dries.

And I have this rambling mystery vine happily growing from my compost pile. I am pretty sure it is from last years pumpkins. I think so. I hope so. Otherwise, It might be a bit scary.

Grow potatoes

My grandmother had always grown and stored her own potatoes, but I never realized there was more to it than just plopping them in the ground.

While you can grow them in a container or in the ground, dirt or straw, I like the ground in the dirt, it give bigger yields. Even though it takes up more space, I like the sensation of getting in the soil and pulling out a bit of buried treasure.

You start with these little cutie's , either

a whole certified seed potato , cut into 3 or four chunks with an "eye" each, or you can buy "sets" already cut and ready to plant from a mail order catalog, on-line or nursery. Potatoes from the grocery store have growth retardants sprayed on them so they may not sprout for you correctly.

If you decide to cut your own from a whole potato, cut them into 3 or 4 pieces each with an "eye". Let them sit on your garage for a few days exposed to air so they scab over. They will look moldy and gross; but they are perfect for planting.

Put them in the ground a few inches down and cover them with soil. I put the "eye" sideways. Put a stick in where the potato is so you can remember and don't dig it up by accident.

As it comes out of the ground it will resemble tomato leaves a bit. as the plant grows, you want to mound the soil up around the stem, probably about once a week depending on how fast they grow so only about 6 inches is above the ground. This keeps the potatoes out of the sun. Potatoes exposed to sunlight become green and bitter and toxic. Never eat green or bitter tasting potatoes. This can happen in the grocery store too, so the same goes for them as well.

My friend ,Manuela ,helped me to take the spud plunge with her great advice.

I imagined organic, fresh, white, creamy, fluffy mashed mounds at Thanksgiving.

Two years ago, this was my entire potato harvest...

I mean my lame harvest. I planted after July, Waaay too late. For best results, plant them as early as possible, In Illinois I put mine in this year in late April.

As they grow you mound and they become sprawling. Some will develop seeds which looks like mini-green tomatos. Never eat these, they are extremely toxic with high contents of solanine. I cut them off right away so my kids don't get a hold of them.

After the plants flower, you can " carefully" dig for new potatoes , you know, those expensive gourmet kind. You want to be extremely careful not to scratch other potatoes you aren't digging up . The skin is very fragile. Cover back up the rest of the potatoes until you are ready to harvest them again.

Last year, when I stared digging, I wasn't sure what I was going to get after the previous year's harvest..

It was kind of like a treasure hunt. But, I had images of last years results and didn't set my hopes too high...and then....

Hey! Look at that! Holy cow! Is that what I think it is?! A real potato! My neighbors probably thought I'd lost it the way I whooped and hollered; it was like I had never seen a potato before.

I squealed every time one came out of the ground.

I ran in the house with a bowlful yelling "Look! Look!I grew these! Real potatoes! From our garden! How awesome is this?!"

My hubby looked at me for a minute,

and then I think he rolled his eyes.

Who can blame the guy?

All that for a root vegetable. Imagine if I had won a million dollars?

I had 4 plants and probably got about 6-8 potatoes per plant. This year I planted Russett and Yukon Gold varieties.

The full size potatoes are ready to harvest about 2-3 weeks after the tops die back. Brush off any dirt, but do not wash. Store in a cool, dark place until ready to eat.

Jen

Never gardened? Get started.

If you've always wanted to garden, and get back to more self-sufficient roots, it's as easy as just a few plants in limited space.

Green beans.

They grow fast. can be replanted through out the season and have high yields. They fix the ground with nitrogen which helps other plants like corn grow.

They are good companions for celery, cucumbers and corn. They are great for kid to grow too.

IF you don't want to worry about a trellis, then make sure you get a bush variety. You may need to chicken wire or fence of your patch too because bunnies looooooove them green beans.

Tomatoes.

Plant with Basil as a companion. Plant an indeterminate variety which keeps giving. Determinates ripen their crop all at once.

I love the green zebra heirloom variety. They have a fabulous flavor and those damn squirrels can't tell when they are ripe.

Plant them in a pot with organic garden soil (if you don't have space.) They like it hot, ho , hot last winter was terrible. I think I got eight from 3 plants!!

Cucumbers.

put them in, give them some water, watch them grow. Get the bush variety if you don't want to trellis them. Don't get the lemon heirloom variety. They are spiny and super seedy.

Picking your seeds

I try to get NON-GMO varieties. I don't want to eat frankenfood. I don't want my kids eating it.

If you want an eye-opening experience about GMO food, watch the Future of Food.