Back to Eden Film

Back to Eden Film

I first stumbled on this film back on September 21, 2011. I meant to watch it (more than the trailer I saw) and share a post about the movie. It has long been in the back of my mind and obviously I am just getting around to sharing now. Can I just say the film took my breath away, blew my mind, and built in my such a great excitement to garden I can hardly stand it?

As I have shared earlier this week; lately the chickens, rabbits, and garden seem like such a major, extra chore. I have to remind myself why I am doing this all. Why grow my own food when I could just buy it from the supermarket? Sometimes I just don't have the answers. Especially after we took some bad advice and fertilized our raised beds with un-composted rabbit manure late last fall. Apparently, the mild manure that can "just be added right to the soil" is only to be added if you feed pellets alone. We don't. We feed hay. You know... grass like the wild rabbits eat. Pellets are just a supplement. Well that means only add rabbit manure to your garden beds before composting if you have weed free hay. Funny the solid layer of grass and weeds growing like a carpet on all my old beds that we added rabbit manure directly to... lots more work. **Sigh.**

This movie changes all that for me. You know when you read and look in search of a better way to do something just knowing it is out there and it still alludes you. The answers are within this fabulous system revealed to Paul Gautschi by God and shared with the world. Now I just have to convince my husband, the muscles, and we will be in business. 

Here are the highlights that really stood out to me:

• Paul's love for God and gentle spirit are so appealing that you are just drawn in. His knowledge of scripture and application is just fantastic. I loved how the verses related so well to the action of gardening. 
• This is the perfect system. Designed by God, modeled by nature, and recreated by Paul. Amazing.
• That this "system" is being revealed now for a time of need. The ability to garden like this has always been "there" and many people have touched on or discovered many of the concepts shown but I do feel there is an element of timeliness in Paul's methods and in how it is revealed. I also feel pressured to have a food system in place for a time of need for myself, family, and strangers in need. 
• You may or may not be amazed as I was at the size, swift growing, and sweetness of the fruit/veggies. Even being said to taste like candy. In addition, the water content in the fruit of the garden is so apparent that I can't relate it to most modern food homegrown or otherwise. It was just dripping!
• No need for crop rotation (love this!), watering, weeding, fertilizing, soil testing, etc. Most of the chores of modern gardening are completely eliminated. Weeding, watering, and crop rotation are all major chores to me. Yuck! You don't have to "work" to keep up with this garden.
• I kept wondering how to create such a garden myself while watching. Either from scratch or with what I already have. About an 1 and 30 minutes into the movie you get a great demonstration of the beginnings of making a garden like Paul's. Clearly only time will make a garden as fertile as Paul's but you see the start and early success. There is also a step-by-step "how to" on the film web site.
• I love how Paul gives freely of his garden and his explanation of why he does so. Talk about beautiful. 
• The movie is a bit of a time commitment but it is so very worth it!

Please buy the DVD or give a donation if you have the financial means. I am not affiliated with the film in anyway but I love how you can watch the film for free and I feel that should be rewarded. I am sure it will be a blessing and money well spent. Have you seen the film? Or if you watch it please tell me what you think about it. I would love to know what stood out to you. Did you agree with Paul on his method's?

I Grew That

Tonight was one of those moments that reaffirms why I want chickens and a garden. Trust me... I think ALOT about throwing in the towel. I am tired, worn, and it often seems like just one more chore and one more expense. I feel like right now the need for cheap food outweighs the need for truly clean, healthy, and wholesome. I do what I can with what I can afford. Then as I am quickly throwing together a cheap and last minute meal I am out of onions. Ugh! I just sent Gary to the grocery store so no chance of going back just for onions. 

Then it hits me. All the things in the garden that overwintered were growing in the warm spring weather we have been having. Fantastic, there were onions (although small) out there. Ethan was still sleeping and Wade was playing and watching "Cars", so I ran out the back door and did a hurried garden raid. My Tuna Cabonara would be on steroids tonight. Swiss Chard, onions, asparagus, and a big fat carrot (although I left the carrot out of the tuna dish). Then three homegrown chicken eggs and I felt like I was soaring. FOUR ingredients from my own yard. 

I came in feeling like a hero and a warrior. I have to fight to keep thinking of the positives of these extra chores in my life and I honestly felt rewarded for my efforts today. I guess there is good reason to scatter more seed in the ground... even if I am behind this season.

Happy Gardening.

Weekend Highlight: Gardens, Greenhouse, and Cute Toddler

Once again we had AMAZING weather on Sunday. Hard to believe it is only March 12 with such a promise of spring. It frustrates this Momma to not be able to bend over or put on shoes as we still have no baby. I kept looking around the yard and shaking my head at how far we have come and yet how much more there is to go.

One of the most wonderful surprises about yesterday was all the life found yet in the garden. So many plants made it over winter. Including a large row of carrots we planted late and have over wintered. A few more weeks and they will be perfect!

Wade loved running round the garden paths. The paths did a great job holding up to the very wet winter. All we need is a few more loads of wood chips...

He was so precious posing for me everywhere. I can't wait to garden with him this summer. Last summer he was tiny but still loved to crawl to the garden for beans and tomatoes.

Do you remember the green house (Before, Update, Update, Growing stuff, etc.)!?! Well it is looking pretty impressive finally. Of course I am disappointed we didn't grow anything in it over winter but sometimes you just have to let things go. Not everything can get done all at once. It just needs some white trim around the side winder and a gutter for a rain barrel. We spent $25.00 for roller shades in order to get some protection from the sun and right now it hides the little bit of mess that needs to be cleaned out. Looks like it has been there forever.

That is cilantro!!! I was shocked to find tons of it growing. Although it is a cool or early spring weather crop I guess I should be surprised. I can't wait to find a bunch of uses for it this early on. We actually had several herbs make it over winter in the herb bed and a rosemary plant in the green house made it as well.

That is Rainbow Swiss Chard. Looks a little beat up but there are several wonderful bright and fresh new leaves growing. Yum! I need to get some spinach seeds planted!

The winterized beds. We need some dirt!! Time to get things going. We might be able to get a jump on the growing season. Although this year we won't risk it. We will be putting up row covers for early spring to ensure the rain (or hail) doesn't damage the tender new plants. One bed even has onions I thought were lost from our early spring hail storm last year.

Check this out! This is a thermostat installed in the green house. I can set the desired temp and a blower will turn on and keep the temp down to what is set (say 80 degrees!). That should help a lot with growing in the green house this summer.

Here is the blower. I know... not impressive looking but wow does it work! Best part... the blower, thermostat and installation is "free" on a barter for a tattoo! I love my husband's skills to trade. 

What happened around your house or homestead this weekend???

Life After Kale....

I may have said this too many times on this blog but I am spoiled.   I am fortunate to run out to the chicken coop when I am short eggs for a recipe, to reach out my backdoor to grab herbs for suppers and to generally eat fresh and well out of my garden.   The land, the open spaces, the quiet.  Yes lots of good things to be thankful for but kale has spoiled me the most.  This often despised vegetable has worked its way into my heart and daily meals.  I find myself craving it!   Last years planting (after not putting the garden to bed the previous fall) had sprouted curly green growth in just April of this year.  Imagine having your favorite veggie at your beck and call for eight full months.  And then, on particularly hard frost night, it's gone.  This friends is what heartbreak looks like to a grower...

Sure it is sunny but all that brightness is deceiving.  It's freezing out there.  A confession?  I took this picture from my kitchen window because I didn't want to pull on a coat and shoes!  But the good news is I managed to get one last good pick before the sun came out and withered the frost covered leaves.  This is what happiness looks like...

I wish I could tell you these leafy greens are washed and resting comfortably in my crisper but they are not.  Gone already.  Cooked up and taken to a family supper.   What is a kale addict to do when she has no more free kale?  Buy it?  It's just not the same.  It feels like cheating to me.   Ah... farewell kale.  See you in April.

Mulching (AKA: How NOT to Spend Your Summer Weeding)

Garden? Planted...

Plants? Content...

Water? Every other day...

and weeding? Nope.

What? Really, you ask...

In my garden there is very little weeding. (I mean, come on there are so many other things I would rather be doing than weeding like alphabetizing my homeopathics or cleaning out the freezer of the-year-before-last-years remaining vegetables.) Hello free time! Yes, welcome to the wonderful world of mulching. Summer months are when plants and weeds struggle for all those good things that help make green things grow. Mulching around plants helps keep the weeds down and water in the soil. This one thing has saved me countless hours bent over in the garden.

Some people use actual wood mulch but there are other cheaper alternatives too. I've tried newspaper and cardboard but since I tried yard clippings, I'll never go back. Here's what my mulching routine looks like.

Step 1: I catch yard clippings in my push mower.

Step 2: Fill my nearby wheelbarrow with clippings, about 6 bags.

Step 3: Push full load of clipping to your garden plot and spread a generous layer (think wood mulch, about 2-3 inches) around plants, but not too close. I leave a two inch radius around the stems free from the grass clippings.

Step 4: Nothing! Just water and pull an occasional renegade weed.

This is what my mulching looks like immediately after... it starts green and poofy.

a day later... losing some of that color and height.

and a week later. Completely brown and flat.

See how the clipping form a thick layer. I would compare it to a grass mat. Keeps light out but still lets water in and keeps it there. I wish I had a picture of last years garden later in the season. The only weeds we were fighting were on the walking paths that we hadn't mulched. Also, my grass clipping are NEVER grass. More like weed clippings. And yet mulching my garden plants with them doesn't just give me more weeds. I know, amazing!

What other tricks do you use to keep weeds down in your garden?

Oops turned Agricultural Experiment

I accidentally left soybeans soak way too long and by the time I found them they were sprouting. This is not what you want for making soy milk. I drained the water off and this is what I saw.

It reminded me a bit of potato eyes growing those creepy white arms and legs. Bummer. Then I remembered an article Lauren sent me about using store bought dried beans to plant and grow instead of seed stock. Lauren and I fill each other's inboxes daily with interesting articles and links to pretty things and this one stuck in my mind (definitely not pretty but on the interesting side). I remember skimming it and then filling it away in my mind as a must try. Little did I know that it would come in handy so soon. Even though it was raining I headed outside to do a trial plot. Please do not allow this one occurrence of immediate action fool you into thinking I'm incredibly ambitious. Nope, I'm only half dedication to growing my own food and half convinced that if I didn't plant right away the stinky beans would end up in the compost and I cannot waste anything. The guilt from throwing out a cup of moldy beans would surely send me into a guilt spiral. Okay, so maybe not that bad... anyway...

I had about a foot in my greens bed between kale and spinach that made a ideal place to try three rows of edamame.

The article said to plant them one inch apart possibly two in a hole, just to make sure something comes up since sprouting and planting is just a good idea not really a guarantee. But since it was raining, I rushed and ran a trowel through the soil and sprinkled a heavy layer of sprouted beans.

Guess you can see that my planting style is a lot like my cooking style, really no measurements and no fear of absolute failure. I also planted some by my peas, not wanting any beans to go to waste in case this experiment actually pans out.

I'm really hoping this style of planting works. It is so much cheaper to buy dried beans at the store instead of ordering the seed stock alternative. The price of edemame seed is crazy per ounce (I think I paid $2.29) and I got my organic soybeans for $0.99/lb. Oh, pretty pretty please work because I'm dying to have some of these dried beans growing in my garden this year.

Cannelini beans are the stuff that traditional Italian meals are made of. These were expired at the store so they were FREE! I think I feel round 2 of bean seed sprouting happening very soon.

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Also so very exciting news from the new raised beds...

I am dedicating these beds to called my kitchen garden. They will be growing the things that can be planted early (greens and peas) or are perennial (asparagus, herbs and strawberries). These plants grow fast and will be included in meals several times daily. So instead of heading out the the big garden and wandering through row after row of vines and late season crops all of these will be right out my kitchen door.

A Real Green House & Monsoons

Annie the Wonder Dog... um Beagle/Jack Russell Terrier

We weren't kidding when we said we had the nicest weather all spring (and winter for that matter) this past week. The monsoons of April made it literally impossible to cut any of our 1/2 of grass. It was so tall in places that it came up to my knees and the dogs could stand up to their bellies in the lovely green stuff. Personally, I would have left it lush and beautiful. Who says we need perfectly manicured lawns? I love my weeds, covers, flowers, and beautiful green stuff. The color of spring green is absolutely my favorite. Besides, in the drought of summer my weedy lawn never needs to be watered to look green. Moving on....

We had to take advantage of the weather and work. Really push ourselves and it was a good thing we did. This weeks forecast is as bleak as the middle of winter only with rain and COLD. As a show of success we now have a real working green house!

These are leaving and my living room is returning to normal! Wee...

The big chickens get to free range. Look at those plants.

It is about 70 degrees in the green house. Outside about 55.

Awwww... doggie in the window.

Um... another one. Have you been keeping count?

See my new beds under the benches? Aged horse poop & top soil.

My green house is set up to transplant, plant, and generally take care of plants from this point forward. I am pumped. If the monsoons continue we will be ready...

To be continued... **Wink**

Expectations: Planting Seeds

Who turns their living room into a green house?

Dirt covers my floors, couch, dining hutch, and end tables. Make shift seedling pots are over ever flat surface available. There are sour cream, yogurt, coffee cups, baby food containers, non-dairy coffee creamer jugs, peat pots, etc. anything I could get my hands on to grow a plant in. I debate adding more tables until we have a few warmer nights outside. Thirty and forty degree temps are not going to keep my seedlings flourishing. Expectations...

I worry about the seedlings often. Are they warm enough? Are they too leggy? Are they growing fast and large enough? Will they successfully supply my family with much needed fruit or will they only succeed in being leaves and stems? My expectations, hopes, dreams ride on these little seedling's backs. This is my chance to learn (more than I know), see what I can grow (on a large scale), and how being a stay at home mom I can still provide for my family. I don't have much room for error in this. Perhaps these seedlings will even open the door to additional income for my family in the future. Expectations...

The expectations are great. A pantry full of homegrown food. Even a simple shopping cart of groceries stresses my tiny budget. No extras. No pop, sweets, treats, extra baked goods, or much meat ever get bought at the grocery. It isn't like you need those items. Could we eat even cheaper? Yup. Sure we could if we ate the same boring meals day after day. I don't want to eat as poor as I am. White rice for dinner every night isn't on my menu. I want to eat variety. I want to eat quality, expensive, healthful food. Honestly, I want to eat like a king and queen and have excellent choices for my children. So you see, these seedlings are my pantry. My hopes for variety and savings in the next year. Expectations...

I tend them at least three times a day. I turn them. Water them with a spray bottle to ensure the germinating seeds don't get washed around. Watch to see if new plants have sprouted. Gently fertilize them once they have more than two leaves. Thin them. Transplant them. Expectations...

Try watering 240 seeds with a spray bottle. The muscles in your forearms get a nice little workout. There is of course more than just food growing. I have some perennial flowers, ornamental grasses, and annual flowers growing as well. Or hoping they grow. They tend to have longer germination periods so there is the promise of beautiful landscaping without actually knowing if a single plant will thrive and with out the huge expense of purchasing more mature plants. Expectations...

Honestly, I know in my heart that if this garden isn't as spectacular as my expectations imply there is always next year, but I want so badly for this year's garden to be spectacular. I have waited for and imagined this garden for years. No master gardener grows their masterpiece garden in three year but... expectations...

People driving buy, walking by (we have a lot of foot traffic & street traffic), and stopping by must think we are crazy with my current living room green house. I can only imagine what they think is going on here. My one neighbor is thrilled though that I will be canning for the first time this year. He exclaimed that it is a "lost art". Maybe I am not crazy after all... expectations.

Grow little seedlings. Grow! What are your expectations for your yard/garden/living room this year?

P.S. I confess I am addicted to buying seed and I promise to stop now for the year. I walk past a seed rack and always find more veggies and flowers I could grow to make my yard lovely.

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Farm Friend Friday Folks! Thanks to Verde Farms and Dandelion House for hosting...

Lots more fun stuff here...

Green House Update

Another gloomy day in the Cleveland, Ohio area. At least we have something to dream about!

As you can see it is really coming along. The shelves we are using for tables were free. The legs cost $18.00. Not bad. We have plans for more shelves for the walls and such. Hanging baskets. Garden beds under the tables. Stepping stones (we already have).  And of course a nice crisp coat of white paint on the wood walls. Maybe a mural on the blue wall...

The sky is the limit. Hope your Saturday is a happy, productive one. We are just WILLING Ohio to spring weather.

My Seed Starting Set-up

Today we are busy installing some indoor outdoor carpet in our basement to complete the remodel. There is still lots to do and consider like furniture and layout, but I'm looking forward to putting cool stuff up on those bare cream walls.

A week ago, I officially started my seeds. There are lots of new additions and my entire list is here. I'm not neat or fancy when it comes to projects, but I can get the job done. All of the planting took place in my dining room and later the pots were hauled upstairs for their dedicated growing spot. I'm really thankful for my bamboo floors throughout the house for tasks such as this. All I needed was a bucket of hot soapy water and the room was good as new.

So here they are a week later.

Don't you love my table, a section of board over two saw horses. Like I said, it may not be pretty but it works.

This our normal light with full spectrum compact fluorescent bulbs. We have them in every in fixture in our home. The light is switched on first thing in the morning and turned off when the kids go to bed.

Pardon my flash, but I wanted to show you the extra supplies stored under the table: a laundry basket with the rest of the seeds, a clear box holds more containers, and the tote has soil. The soil is from the woods behind our house, mixed with a small bag of organic potting soil and half a bag of vermiculite.

And if you look closely you can see even if it's inexpensive and unattractive, it can still work.

Chamomile. The package said it may take a long time and sprout erratically, but here they are!

Our first planting of broccoli. We start some every 4 to 6 weeks so we have a constant harvest.

This is my first year growing some ornamentals and flowers.

A pepper already! I'm a surprised as you are!

Hope you have a swell weekend!