Here is my link to week 7: http://cauldronridge.blogspot.com/2009/06/independence-day-challenge-week-7.html

Italian bush Beans
Onion transplants
Dill

Harvest Something:

Chives

Preserve Something:

Nothing this week…

Preparation and Storage:

Started sorting through last year’s lentils to pull out wild oats and dirt clods, maybe if they were clean I’d use them more.

Reduced Waste:

Used more baler twine in garden.
Took grass clippings from friend’s mowing service and muched the whole garden, it really cuts down on hoeing! It helps to build the soil and lets the children know exactly where they can walk (as I only mulch the paths).

Build Community Food Systems:

Gave mint away to new gardeners.
Gave away strawberry plants to another new gardener.

Eat the Food:

Local Bought- wheat, eggs, beef, honey
Home Preserved: frozen cherry pies from last year, pickles
Pantry Storage – lots
Fresh from garden – chives

Try Something New:

Made tomato cages and pea fencing from concrete reinforcing wire held together with zip ties.

Pictures on the blog )

It’s raining almost without ceasing here, and it’s bad to plant, dig or weed without upsetting the soil or to move among plants without fear of spreading disease.

Planted: Okra, successions of greens, bean, peas. Want to plant chive among strawberries, but too wet.

Harvested: yet more greens, and some herbs, and a few spuds that went wild over the winter.

Preserved: Started making strawberry jam with 7lbs of fruit picked at the local organic Pick-UR by S. the wonder housemate.

Waste not lugged 13 very large can of food from church to car to parents garage (got nasty stain made up of honest sweat and less honest dust on work shirt grrrr). It’s left over from when we prepared and delivered homeless meals. Contacted company that packaged it: discovered that 8 cans of green beans are past best by date. Contacted Soup Kitchen to see if they wanted rest. Will deliver June 24. Wished I’d gotten round to asking for them earlier. Must plan meals around green beans for rest of century.

Pick up very large bag of yarn from old lady. Yarn smelled of cat piss and cigs. Most of it was half knitted into what must have been mats for cats — rest tangled into horrible mess. Nearly cried. Spent hours undoing — it turnout out to be all useable after washing!!!!! Made (with my mum) 10 watch caps, 6 really good scarves and 32 pairs of children’s mittens — all for soup kitchen in October. Big help towards our goal of 50 caps, 50 scarves, all from salvage in Oct. and the same in Jan.

Preparation and storage: Lalalalalala

Community Food Systems: Paid local boy scout $20 to mow law and cut by yew threatening to eat compost heap to help with his troops’ effort to donate money to food panty.

Eat the food, can you say salad?

We really need some rain. Dry Dry Dry…

Rainbarrel is nearly empty…why why why…

Planting ‘maters and beans and corn…try try try

2. Harvest something: several large handfuls of cherry tomatoes, 2 1/2 lbs tomatoes, 12 oz’s Ichiban eggplants, 1 lb of cucumbers that have finally started producing, and 14 oz’s of zucchinis that are taking their time, but are starting to come in now.

3. Preserve something- Nothing.

4. Reduce waste- Saved some big boxes that I am going to use for “lasagna gardening” once I have enough space cleared. All other stuff as usual, composting, using cloth bags, buying locally, trying to reduce energy use, and reducing water use as much as possible. I have started turning off the shower while I wash, and then turning it on again to rinse. That is supposed to save a few gallons. We have a very leaky faucet again on the bath in the bathroom, it is the same one as last year, and is driving me crazy like it did last year. Robert is going to fix it this weekend, but until then I am collecting the water and using the water on the garden, and Robert is using it to flush the toilet. (My husband never ceases to amaze me!)

5. Preparation and storage: The usual ongoing task of creating more space for the garden slowly. I haven’t done as much this past week as I would have liked, life has been getting in the way. Bought some bulk beans to keep.

6. Build community food systems: Found out about a community garden close by from a friend. I will go and take a look after we get back from the mountains next week. It seems everyone is interested in growing their own food these days which is great.

7. Eat the food- Ate the last of the beets, more pesto, loads of tomatoes, and cucumbers in salads. Last night I put eggplants, zucchinis, tomatoes, basil, (and potatoes and onions that I didn’t grow), in a baking tray with olive oil, and a little salt and pepper, covered them in foil, and baked them for a little over an hour. They were really delicious.