They say that a farmer's job is 365 days a year and that has never been so evident to me as it is right now. I had promised, at least to myself, that I would have something to write about once a week but I'm afraid that after only one month into this blogging endeavour, I've already fallen behind!
The problem started when my husband and I left town for a 1 week trip to Atlanta to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to tend to my crops for a week, I had to plan carefully. It broke my heart that I had to give away a full tray of wheatgrass before I left because it wasn't yet mature enough to harvest! It also meant that I had to postpone some of my gardening projects until I came home from my trip.
I'm happy to say that the moment I got back, I got busy with at least 3 projects on the go and I can't wait for them to get far enough along that I can share them with you! So, while I wait for those projects to "Grow my Goodness!" I've come up with another idea - indoor worm composting!
It sounds disgusting, I know... but my garden and composter are too far away from the back door to make regular trips out there, trudging through the deep snow, which I know is on its way. Then I remembered reading in Dr. Ann Wigmore's book, "The Wheatgrass Book", that she used a system of bins that she used for worm composting - or vermicomposting. I am not as brave as Dr. Wigmore, who suggests keeping one of these large bins - worms and all - inside your house! I am brave enough to put one inside my garage though, nice and close to the door so that it's handy to get at.
What you'll need:
A compost container or bin
Bedding
Worm food
Worms
Making the Compost Bin:
Perkin always has to steal the show!
A plastic garbage can or a large Rubbermaid container with a lid work best. Using an electric drill fitted with about a 1/4" drill bit, drill holes in the garbage can about 2 - 3 inches apart, up and down the sides and on the bottom of the container.
Tip: you have to press down with the drill in order for it to "bite" into the plastic, but if you press too hard you risk cracking the plastic! Drilling smaller pilot holes first "might" solve the problem.
The container should be in a protected area and out of direct sunlight. It should be raised off the ground to allow for airflow underneath it. Most importantly, it should be easily accessible so that you want to use it! I have it propped up on a few bricks in my garage, next to the door.
Moisture will leak out of the bottom holes, so it is a good idea to put some sort of tray below the bin - like a boot tray.
Bedding:
Composting worms need food and a home to live in. The "bedding" provides both, but it needs to have the right moisture content - like a wrung out sponge. Bedding materials include shredded cardboard, shredded newspaper, used napkins and paper towels, old straw, leaves or even your torn up wheatgrass mats. To obtain the correct moisture, layer a couple inches of bedding with kitchen scraps and let it sit for a week or so before obtaining and adding the worms.
Worm Food:
Worms LOVE to eat the following items:
fruit and vegetable peels and scraps,
starches - potatoes, rice, pasta,
egg shells (broken up),
coffee grounds,
tea bags
paper napkins, paper towels, shredded newspaper, shredded cardboard,
broken up wheatgrass mats
Worms HATE the following items:
human or animal waste
dairy or meat
oils and grease
anything inorganic or non-biodegradable
toxic items
Worms also like it when their food has already started to degrade somewhat. Saving your kitchen scraps in a container with a lid for several days before tossing them in the bin is ideal. I picked up an attractive, ceramic, countertop compost bucket for a reasonable price, but any old plastic bin with a lid, kept under the kitchen sink, will do fine.
The Worms:
The most common worms used are Red Wigglers, which are easily obtainable at bait and tackle shops or at a pet store or aquarium shop. Red Wigglers are NOT the same as the common earth worm, which lives in soil, rather they live in rich organic material and are better suited to warm temperatures - like inside a compost bin.
Red Wigglers can process up to its own weight in waste each day. The worm castings provide rich nutrients to your garden and potting soil.
The vermicompost should be ready for use in about 3 to 6 months. I'll report back in the spring and let you know how it worked out - particularly how how I'm going to get those worms out of the compost so I can re-use them!
"Let food be thy medicine and let medicine be thy food."
~ Hippocrates
It was this wisdom upon which Dr. Ann Wigmore based decades worth of research into the health benefits of wheatgrass and other living foods for detoxifying and healing the body, mind and spirit. According to Dr. Wigmore, wheatgrass:
cleanses and builds your blood,
improves skin and hair,
builds muscle and endurance,
fights infections,
lowers blood pressure,
dissolves tumors,
acts as an appetite suppressant.
And according to my husband, wheatgrass was a key factor in the training program which led him to qualify for the Boston Marathon earlier this year! He also claims it grew hair on his head, but I'm not so sure about that one...
Whether my husband's claims are true or not, wheatgrass juice is an effective healer because it contains
chlorophyll, all minerals known to man, and vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K.
Wheatgrass is extremely rich in protein, and contains 17 amino acids, the
building blocks of protein.
Whether you are just starting to try wheatgrass juicing, or you have been drinking it for some time, I highly recommend Dr. Ann Wigmore's book The Wheatgrass Book.
It is a simple, straight-forward read with decades worth of research and experience behind it, and it tells you everything you'll ever need to know about the health benefits of wheatgrass and how to grow it.
Growing and Juicing Wheatgrass at Home
You'll find lots of websites and books that tell you how to grow wheatgrass. Many of them have conflicting methods on what kind of tray to use, planting medium, sprouting techniques, etc. The method I describe is the way I have always done it, and it seems to work for me.
The amount of wheatgrass to sow depends on the size of your growing tray and the climate where you live. Wheatgrass is very prone to mold problems, especially in hot, humid conditions. I find that I have to use less seed in the hot, humid summer months than in the dry winter months to allow for better airflow between the plants. If mold is a problem, it has been recommended to place a small fan near your grass to increase air circulation.
For a standard 21" by 11" growing flat, I use about a cup of wheatgrass seed in the winter and about 3/4 of a cup in the summer. You'll have to experiment with amounts depending on your own growing conditions and tray size.
Soak the seeds
Soak seeds overnight
Pour the seed into a sieve or strainer and rinse it well under running tap water. Next put the seed into a bowl or a jar and soak the seed for about 12 hours or overnight in cool water kept at room temperature. The seeds will expand during soaking so be sure to double the amount of water to the amount of seeds. After 12 hours, use a strainer to drain off the soaking water and rinse the seeds well under tap water once again.
Preparing the seedbed
Wheatgrass does not require alot of soil to grow. Spread about an inch of soil evenly over the bottom of the tray - the one without the drainage holes. Pick out any twigs or debris that may be in the soil. Water the soil well so that it is quite damp but not muddy. I use the spray faucet on my kitchen sink to do this.
Sowing the seed
Sow the seeds
Spread the wheatgrass seed on top of the soil. Try to disperse it evenly across the entire surface of the soil such that the seeds are in a single layer. The seeds can touch each other, but try not to have them on top of each other. Mist the seed with a water sprayer so that it is evenly dampened.
Using the second tray (with holes), invert it and cover the seed tray to keep the seeds in darkness while they sprout. The covering tray should have holes in it to allow for air movement. If your growing tray is not a standard size, you can cover the seed with a couple sheets of newspaper instead.
Growing the seed
2 Days after Sowing
Within 24 hours you will start to see tiny roots and shoots sprouting out of the seeds. Mist the seeds evenly a couple times a day to keep them damp and re-cover them to keep them in the dark.
4 Days after Sowing
After about 3 to 4 days, the roots will be reaching into the soil, and the yellow shoots will be about 2 inches high - sometimes they will lift the cover right off the growing tray. At this point you can remove the cover and place the tray in a bright spot with indirect light. The shoots will quickly green up once it has been uncovered.
Over the next few days it is important to keep the soil moist. Do not allow the soil to dry out but be careful not to overwater either. I use a small watering can with a water diffuser spout. If you miss a watering and the soil becomes too dry, the wheatgrass blades will droop. This is ok as long as it is still bright green. Moisten the soil but don't soak it. The blades will not stand up again, but the wheatgrass is still good.
Harvesting
The wheatgrass is ready to harvest when it is about 7 inches tall - about 7 to 10 days. Unless you need the space, harvest the grass as you need it to ensure maximum freshness and nutrient content.
To harvest, grab a small clump of blades with one hand and using a sharp kitchen knife or scissors, cut it as close to the soil as you can get without taking up any soil clumps. If you find any white mold just above the soil level, cut the grass above the mold.
Harvesting the Full-Grown Wheatgrass
Rinse off the grass lightly and shake it dry or lay on a paper towel and pat dry. Try to keep the blades lined up in one direction to make it easier to feed into the juicer. You'll need a good handful of grass to yield an ounce of juice. I can usually get about 6 ounces of juice from one tray of wheatgrass when I've used a full cup of seeds.
Juicing
Use only a masticating or auger-style juicerfor wheatgrass. Centrifugal blenders and juicers that use blades will only shred the grass and make a yucky, green mess that is indigestible to humans. The wheatgrass fibers can clog up the juicer blades and screens and possibly damage your blender/juicer. Furthermore, centrifugal juicers create enough heat to destroy the enzymes and nutrients that make wheatgrass so healthy in the first place. An auger juicer squeezes and presses the juice out of the grass, separating the juice from the indigestible fibers, and generating a minimal amount of heat.
Juicing the Wheatgrass
Feed the grass into the juicer in whatever size clumps the opening can handle. The juice will trickle out the juice output opening while the pulp churns out the other end. Once you've fed all the wheatgrass blades through the juicer, re-feed the pulp back into the juicer. You'll find that you can squeeze more juice out of the pulp if you re-feed it once or twice.
The juice is now ready to be tossed back (like one might toss back a shot of whiskey!).... or now that your juicer is dirty anyway, mix up a cocktail of fresh vegetable juice to add to it.
Some people don't mind the taste of wheatgrass, and others need a chaser of some sort. Whatever your taste is, enjoy the health benefits that you are getting from consuming one of our healthiest Superfoods - or as some people refer to it - liquid sunshine!
Notes:
Wheatgrass juice should be consumed within 30 minutes of juicing. After 30 minutes, the nutritional value is minimal and it should be tossed out. Do not try to juice and store wheatgrass in quantity, it's not worth it.
If you need the space, you can harvest the whole tray of wheatgrass at once and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week. Be sure the grass is as dry as possible before storing.
If you are just starting with wheatgrass, begin slowly. Wheatgrass is a "cleanser", and in doing its job, can cause unwanted, unpleasant effects on your digestive system (mild diarrhea). Start with an ounce or less per day until your body becomes accustomed to it.
Some growers get a second and third crop of wheatgrass from the same tray of seed by continuing to water the plants after harvesting. I have found that a second crop is not as tall or as large. If you have the space for many trays, give it a try, but I prefer to have only 3 fresh trays with a good yield growing at any given time.
After harvesting, what's left in the tray is a mass of roots and soil that is inseparable and will pull clean from the tray in one large mat. Break up the mat into smaller pieces and throw it onto your compost pile. You could also leave it in your yard for a day or two. The birds and chipmunks will enjoy what's left of the seeds.
Isn’t it a wonderful thing to see fresh spring flowers like
tulips and daffodils after a long, cold, dreary winter? You can have that feeling of spring
inside your home months ahead of time, but you have to plan for it early.
Most spring bulbs require a chilling period of approximately 3
months before they will grow and bloom. This time is usually spent in our
gardens under a few inches of garden soil and possibly a few feet of snow! As the
spring warms up the soil, the bulbs send their shoots up to the surface. We can trick Mother Nature into thinking it is
spring by ‘forcing’ spring bulbs to bloom earlier by manipulating this process.
If you hurry, some of the garden centers still have bulbs left,
and they are probably at a discounted prices, too. I was able to pick up 50 crocus
bulbs yesterday at a hardware store, for only a dollar! I also have some
daffodil bulbs in my garage that haven’t made it into the garden yet, so here
we go!
What you'll need:
Pots
– just about anything will do as long as it has good drainage. They need
to be at least twice the depth of the bulb in order to allow for
sufficient root growth.
Any
commercial soilless potting mix or a mixture of equal parts of soil, sphagnum
moss, and perlite or vermiculite.
Spring
bulbs of your choice - tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, grape
hyacinths can all be forced. (Amaryllis and paperwhites can also be
forced, but they don’t require a chilling period.) When choosing bulbs,
select them as you would if you were buying onions. Choose large, firm,
fresh-looking bulbs which are unblemished and without any soft spots.
Planting:
Fill your pot with potting mix up to the point where the tip
of the bulb will be even with the top of the pot when placed on top of the potting mix.
Place the bulbs, root side down (the flat end) on top of the potting mix.
3 Daffodil Bulbs
Use
as many bulbs as will fit into the pot without allowing them to touch. A 6 inch
pot can hold up to 3 daffodils, 6 tulips or about 15 small bulbs like crocuses
or grape hyacinths.
Added more potting mix and crocus bulbs.
Cover the bulbs with potting mix, without covering the tips.
Water them in well.
Final top up and watered in.
Label and date the pots.
If you plan to mix different types of bulbs within the same
pot, be sure the chilling and blooming times are the same for all bulbs. When
planting in smaller pots, think odd numbers – three or five plants is more
visually pleasing than an even number. If you want continuous blooms, plant
several pots and stagger the times when you bring them inside to warm up.
Chilling:
The potted bulbs must be stored in a cool, dark place for the
chilling period. Temperatures should be around 35 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to
7 degrees Celsius). A refrigerator, cold cellar, unheated basement, attic or an
attached garage are all ideal. If you chill your bulbs in the fridge, be sure
to keep them away from apples, pears or other fruits which emit ethylene gas
and will damage the bulbs, preventing them from blooming.
To plan your blooming times a general rule of thumb for beginning
the chilling period is as follows:
Begin in September for January blooms,
October for February blooms,
November for March blooms and
December for April blooms.
More specifically:
Daffodils: 12-15 weeks of chilling; 2-3 weeks to bloom after chilling.
Tulips: 10-16 weeks of chilling; 2-3 weeks to bloom after chilling.
Crocus: 8-15 weeks of chilling; 2-3 weeks to bloom after chilling.
Grape hyacinth (Muscari): 8-15 weeks of chilling; 2-3 weeks to bloom after chilling.
Hyacinth: 12-15 weeks of chilling; 2-3 weeks to bloom after chilling.
Throughout the chilling period the soil in the pots should
be moist but not wet. Check them every other week and give them a bit of water
if needed.
Forcing the bulbs:
After the appropriate chilling period, check the bulbs. When
fresh shoots appear out of the tips of the bulbs, and they are at least 1 to 2
inches long (2.5 to 5 cm) they can be brought inside.
Warm the plants slowly. Too
much heat and direct sunlight will cause lanky, weak stems which will droop
over so place them in cool spot with bright, indirect light.
Once buds appear,
the pot can be moved to direct light to encourage blooming. After the flowers
open though, move them out of direct sunlight in order to prolong the
flowering period.
After blooming:
Forcing bulbs to bloom uses up a lot of their energy and these bulbs
rarely perform in future years. Toss them on your compost pile after the blooms
are spent and buy new bulbs next fall.
Did you know you can have fresh vegetables, ready in a matter of days, packed full of vitamins and nutrients, and you can grow them yourself right in your kitchen sink? Noooo, I'm not talking about hauling dirt into your house and planting rows of corn in your kitchen! These "superfood" vegetables I am referring to, are sprouts.
We all know that broccoli is good for us, but did you know that broccoli sprouts are not only tasty, but they contain up to 50 times the amount of anti-oxidants found in mature broccoli? That means that you can get the same anti-oxidant power punch from one ounce of sprouts as you would if you ate 3 pounds of mature broccoli!
Sprouts can be grown anywhere and at any time of year. You don't need special equipment, although there are plenty of sprouters on the market. All you really need is a mason jar with a lid or a rubber band and some cheesecloth or screening.
Here's how to do it:
Start with about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of good quality, organic broccoli seeds, which will yield approximately 1 cup of sprouts.
Remove any foreign matter that may be in with the seeds, or any seeds that may not look healthy.
Soak the seeds in cool water in your mason jar for about 6 to 12 hours, making sure that there is enough water that they are all submerged.
Fit the cheesecloth or screening over the top of the jar and secure it with the lid or a rubber band.
Soak for 6 - 12 hours
After soaking for 6 to 12 hours, drain the seeds through the screen, then rinse the seeds thoroughly with cool water, then drain again.
Set your mason jar on about a 45 degree angle to allow all of the remaining water to drain and to allow for airflow. Your dish rack in the kitchen sink is ideal for this. Keep the jar out of direct sunlight so that the tender sprouts don't get too dried out and burned.
Rinse & drain every 8 to 12 hours
Over the next 3 days, rinse and drain the seeds as above every 8 to 12 hours, making sure that all of the water can drain out. If the sprouts start to clump together, gently tug them apart with a fork or with clean fingers to allow for airflow.
On the 4th day, (sooner if the leaves are already out) continue rinsing and draining, but move your sprouts to a brighter spot to help them to turn green. Filtered or indirect light is best as direct sunlight can burn the sprouts.
After a day in the light, your sprouts should be greened and ready. Give them a final rinse but this time put the sprouts into a larger bowl of water and swish them around. Many of the seed husks will float to the top and you can skim them off.
Skim off the floating seed husks
Put the sprouts back into the mason jar with the screen for the final draining - about 8-12 hours.
Sprouts should be as dry as possible before storing them. They can be kept in the refrigerator in a plastic bag or airtight container for 2 to 4 weeks.
And that is that, it's easier than pie! They only need your attention for a few minutes each day while you rinse them. No heavy tools, no digging, and no dirty fingernails! And such a great reward - fresh, healthy sprouts to top off your salad or put into a sandwich.
It's a gloomy November afternoon and I'm watching the squirrels and chipmunks scampering around in my backyard, always on their endless search for food. They seem more busy than ever these days, which makes me a bit nervous. Is this a sign that we're in for a long cold winter, or is it because there was a bumper crop of everything this year and they have so much to gather?
I used to feed them on my deck for the entertainment of my indoor cats who would watch them anxiously through the windows. I'd throw a handful of shelled peanuts right outside the patio doors and watch them come scampering out of nowhere. They'd shove one or two of them high up into each cheek before bounding away to hide them, or find a safe place to sit and enjoy their snack for a minute or so.
'Buddy'
A few years ago, I had one little grey girl squirrel named Buddy. (I named her before I knew she was a girl.) Buddy became so tame with me that she would take peanuts right from my hand. When I would sit quietly reading on my deck chair, buddy would lay on the railing beside me and just hang out. She was a pretty little thing with a white tummy and black eyeliner. Buddy was a fixture in my backyard for about 3 years. Then sadly, she stopped coming. After several weeks, I knew I'd never see her again, but I just know that some of the little grey squirrels in my backyard MUST be her babies or grandbabies. Some of them have white tummies and same distinctive eyeliner like she had. The circle of life!
Nowadays, the peanuts don't get tossed quite so close to the house.... Why you ask?? Because the little rascal chimpmunks became so comfortable with us that they decided to move into our attic! I'm more than happy to give them free food, but I'll be darned if they're getting free room and board!
Chickadee
With winter quickly approaching, if you aren't doing so already you may want to think about feeding our feathered friends too. The furry ones have an natural instincts to gather and hide away food in their nests, while the feathered ones need to search for food daily. It's a glorious thing in the dead of winter to have birds come to your backyard to eat. Such a happy sight and sound!
Bird feeders, books and accessories make wonderful gifts for any nature lover, and it doesn't matter how big your yard is... even if you don't have a yard you can hang a feeder from a hook on a patio or lower level balcony.
Things to remember:
Squirrels LOVE birdseed and can empty the entire feeder in a matter of minutes. Place your birdfeeder where squirrels have trouble getting at it, use a baffle if you have a pole feeder, or invest in a squirrel proof feeder.
The feeder should be close to a source of natural protection like a large tree, to give the birds a sense of safety.
Locate the feeder where it is protected from harsh, cold winds.
For your enjoyment, put the feeder where you can easily and comfortably see it from inside the house.
Place the feeder where you can easily access it in the dead of winter. If you have to trudge through 3 feet of snow to get at it, you might not keep it full and the birds will stop coming. For winter feeding a large feeder might be more convenient so you don't have to fill it as often.
Pack down the snow around the feeder so that the birds can clean up the fallen seed easier.
Keep birdseed in a dry place and inside a rodent-proof, sealed container. Mice also love birdseed and can chew through a plastic bag easily to get at it.
Clean the feeder regularly to avoid mold, mildew and unhealthy conditions for the birds.
PLEASE! If you live in a multi-level apartment, be considerate of your neighbours if you decide to put a feeder on your balcony. The people living below you will not thank you for the birdseed and droppings that will inevitably land on their balconies!
If you can, keep a source of water available for the birds. A birdbath with a heating element in it is ideal.
Lastly, feeding birds is a very rewarding hobby. Learn the types of birds who are visiting you and enjoy!
It's early November in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the recent heavy overnight frosts over the last couple of weeks have already killed off our delicate annuals and most of the remaining, unharvested vegetables left in our gardens. Our time in the gardens now involves raking the leaves out to the curb and pulling out the rotted plants to throw onto our compost piles - that is, when we can bring ourselves to get outside in the incredibly unreliable weather we have at this time of year. Some would say it's a depressing time while we grieve the passing of a season of warmth, beauty and tasty fresh veggies from our gardens. Most of the brilliant fall colours of reds and oranges have fallen from the trees leaving only the sparse die-hard yellows to try to bring light to the mostly grey scenery now.
Some people might wonder why I might choose the end of the season to kick off a new gardening blog... I say, why does it have to be the end??? Isn't this the best time to begin to plan for next year? Let's grasp this opportunity to look ahead to next year's bounties and work with what is left to keep things beautiful throughout the remainder of fall and winter. It's time to plant our tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs and begin to plan and design next spring's gardens. After all, it's only a month or so before we need to start seeding our impatiens, geraniums, peppers, tomatoes and other plants into peat pots and flats in the sunniest windowsills we can find during our bleak winter season. Within days of seeding the first seedlings poke through the soil and there is hope and promise for another season of gardening! In fact, if you have a sunny windowsill, why not start some lettuce or herbs right now and have them ready to eat by January?
November is a good time to reflect and record what went well and what went... hmmm... maybe not so well. Were the 5 tomato plants too many for a 2 person household when they all came in at once? What about 2 green bean plants - were they enough or did they just leave you wanting for more? Did you start your sweet peppers early enough to guarantee a harvest? What about the location? Did everything get the right amount of sun? Was there overcrowding? Could you have timed things differently so that your tomatoes, peppers and basil were all ready at the same time to take advantage of them in your sauces, or was your basil past its prime before the first tomato ripened? And what about those hot pink impatiens? Did their colours really go well with the orange and yellow perennials, or should you consider something else next year?
Record these things now while they are still fresh in your minds and plan for next year's and future year's successes. A gardening journal is an invaluable tool for helping you to maximize the benefits or your gardens - for your vegetables and your flower gardens.
Remember, a picture paints a thousand words. If you didn't take photos of your gardens this summer, sketch them out to the best of your artistic ability, making notes of row spacing, plant names, colours, heights, sun/shade areas or any other pertinent information. You'll be glad you did this next spring at planting time!
I am not an expert gardener. No... not even close! Nor do I have an education in horticulture or botany or any other plant related field. I am merely a novice gardener, a lover of beautiful things, nature and good, wholesome eating. I an avid, year round runner in good health, and I want to remain that way for as long as I can. I have a keen interest in learning how to protect myself from cancer and other diseases. I also have a firm belief that exercise and eating well are our best defences against most diseases - you are what you eat - and preventative maintenance is key to staying healthy. I learn by doing, and plan to share with you through my own trial and error what works and what doesn't.
I hope that some of you who are more 'seasoned' or educated in the field have patience with me, but more importantly, I hope you share your own experiences and advice with me and my readers.
It is a simple, straight-forward read with decades worth of research and experience behind it, and it tells you everything you'll ever need to know about the health benefits of wheatgrass and how to grow it. 
(also known as wheat berries) - available at many health food stores or online
