garden « crunchy bits

labels in a can

March 16th, 2010

Today we’re heading back to the garden for some more seed-starting ideas. Specifically, making plant labels from aluminum cans. Recycling AND making something you can reuse again and again. Perfect!

It was harder than I expected to lop off the top and bottom of the can with scissors, so I used the tin snips to make it a little easier. Perhaps your scissors would be up to the task, but alas, not so mine.

Cutting a ring around the top, then straight down one side of the can and another ring around the bottom left some rough edges, which I was easily able to trim off with my lame-ish scissors.

The metal was still fairly curled, holding fast to memories of its previous incarnation as a can, so I rolled them the other way and had rubber bands hold them this way for 20 minutes or so. Not a necessary step, but this did make it easier for me to do the rest of the cutting, etc. Once I unrolled one, I folded it in half, making two 4-inch long pieces of metal, which I then cut into four 4-inch by almost 1-inch wide strips.

Since the kids help with these, I trimmed most of the top edges into a rounded shape. But you can see that I experimented with alternatives to this as well. I also folded the opposite end as you would starting some paper airplane folds to make a pointed, reinforced edge to stick into the soil.

The last step is writing in the plant names. I did it both ways, with the “Tomato ‘Sioux’ ” sample being written directly on the silver side of the marker. I also tried the alternative (says “Tomato ’sweet pea’ ” which, for me, involved writing the words backwards on a piece of paper, and then copying the backwards letters onto the printed side of the can. This gives an embossed appearance to the letters. After doing a few and getting my brain into the backwards letter mode, I didn’t have to write them out on paper first, but it did take a few attempts before I was in the ‘zone’.

I can’t say I do this for seed starting, I like my popsicle sticks with a sharpie jes’ fine for the many labels I need. But I would consider labeling the many new herbs we’ve decided to grow this year with these more weatherproof markers. I probably won’t limit myself to the small, utilitarian labels above, but make bigger labels with some decorative touches like scrollwork, etc. as well.

I found details for this idea at little house in the suburbs, and I love the herb label they ended with and plan to make something along these lines for our own until we’re more familiar with them and can identify them in the blink of an eye.

Comments ( 5 )

diy, garden, plant labels

Carrot Cake Smoothie

February 21st, 2010

Botanically, carrots belong to the Umbelliferae family, which also includes fennel/anise, celery, parsnips, dill, cilantro/cumin, parsley, caraway, Queen Anne’s Lace and the poisonous hemlock. Many of the popular plants in this family works well in the garden as a companion plant. Largely because the tiny flowers forming the umbels, for which the group is named, are perfectly suited for parasitic wasps, ladybugs and predatory flies which drink their nectar. These beneficial insects will then dine upon insect pests on nearby plants. Some of the more fragrant herbs in this family possibly dilute the odors of nearby plants, or the pheromones emitted by pest insects to signal to other pests.

Raw carrots contain vitamin C, vitamin B6, thiamine, folic acid, potassium and magnesium. Carrots are one of the best sources of carotene which is a strong antioxidant and is converted by the body into Vitamin A. Also most of the goodness is actually in, or just below the skin. Many people do not realize that numerous antioxidant compounds are located in the skin of fruit and vegetables, so buy organic where you can for fruits and veggies that have edible peels and don’t peel them before using! You can get some vitamin K by using the greens on top of the carrot — the carrots themselves don’t have much of this important vitamin, so save those greens for your next green smoothie! Carrots are also known for their sweetening, antianemic, healing, diuretic, remineralizing and sedative properties.

This smoothie isn’t as simple as my usual morning fare, so I only tend to make it once or twice a year as a treat. It’s also incredibly sweet, so seldom is probably better than frequently anyway. But I’ve been thinking about it for a few weeks now, and bought an extra bag of carrots to satisfy my craving.

We are lucky to have gotten a juicer from Luke’s parents when our old one broke, but if I didn’t have this I would probably just make a pulpier version in the Vita-Mix. Since I do, I juice the carrots ahead of time. I was making enough for myself and the kids, and while a better juicer might yield more juice with less carrots, I nearly used the entire 5lb bag!

I poured all the carrot juice into the blender and set the pulp aside for a later use (I’ll post that later this week — Luke ate all that I made so I am dehydrating the second batch for pictures). The kids were playing Harry Potter and had a hard time settling to smoothie, so I’m here to confess that I didn’t push this sweet treat too hard and found an alternative use for the extra smoothie.

Carrot Cake Smoothie

3.5lbs carrots, juiced
2 carrots
1/2 cup walnuts
2 bananas
2-3 dates
cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, etc to taste

I juiced all the carrots, poured this into the blender.
I roughly chopped 2 carrots, added to the blender, along with the bananas, walnuts and spice. I opted for only cinnamon this time to keep it simple.
Blend til smooth. My old Oster blender never managed to get all the little walnut bits, so I had to chew that smoothie more, but this one was pure smooth goodness.

If our ice cream maker hadn’t started leaking freezy fluid, I would pour this in for a delicious and different raw ice cream. It’s incredibly rich. If making this as a smoothie, I would probably leave out the dates and perhaps one of the bananas. Did I mention that I found this to be incredibly sweet? I don’t remember thinking that at all in the summer when I made this last, so either my carrots were much sweeter or my palate and sensitivity to sweetness has changed. At any rate, it was a lovely, rich treat on a cold winter day.

YUM!

Comments ( 12 )

garden, raw food, smoothie, vegan

Seeds! Seeds! Seeds!

February 1st, 2010

It’s that time of year again here in the Northeast. The holiday whirl has subsided, we’ve had a month for quiet reflection and a string of family game marathons. We’ve peeked into our nooks and crannies and donated the things that don’t fit. Well, we’re still working on that last one, actually. It’s tough for a family of packrats to let things go easily.

The spring-like weather of the past week has gotten us thinking about what new plants we’ll try to grow this year. Some of our seed catalogs arrived back in December, when we didn’t have time to pore over the rainbow within. Today, now that the bitter weather has snapped back into place, we’re happy to snuggle up inside and do just that. I ordered online last year from several of these companies, but it’s lovely to have a paper catalog to leaf through.

Last year, I stumbled on an interesting book called “Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times” by Steve Solomon. As a previous owner of a seed company himself, he offered some ‘insider’ information about the quality of seeds offered for the retail market, and how to ensure that you get quality seeds. The bottom line is that, for the best results, you want to be sure that you buy from reputable companies. He recommended several, and I’ve parsed that list to include companies that sell seeds which thrive in the New England area, as well as those with a strong committment to sustainable agriculture and a non-GMO approach.

Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seeds offers open-pollinated heirloom varieties, presenting a collection of unusual, colorful and flavorful varities from around the world.

Seed Savers Exchange a non-profit, member supported organization that saves and shares heirloom seeds — more than 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties, most having been brought to North America by members’ ancestors who immigrated from Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other parts of the world. SSE is the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States

Seeds of Change offering 100% certified organic flower, vegetable and herb seeds, many heirloom, native and hard-to-find varieties

Johnny’s Selected Seeds is an employee-owned seed producer in Maine selling heirloom and hybrid vegetable seeds; medicinal and culinary herb seeds; flower seeds; cover crops, farm seed, and pasture mixes; fruit plants and seeds, and high quality, problem-solving tools and supplies for both the home gardener and larger customers. The opportunity to purchase in bulk abounds in this catalog.

Richters Herbs offers a wide variety of culinary and medicinal herb seeds, plants, extracts and herb-related products. If you need an obscure herb, this is your source. Last year was my first ordering from them, and I’m excited to see how my “leftover” seed germination rates are this year. They also offer bulk packaging.