Decked the walls with hearts & branches...

Our Little Fall Harvest

simple solutions

Breaking ground with a few recipes found online, who knew that canning could feel so liberating?  It has been a way to preserve the over all small yield of my "first timer" container garden and it will help to ensure good health as the season changes to Fall.

 

 

 

 

A pickle blend made from a small mid summer harvest.

Jalepenos, okra, and cajun belle pepper.

 

 

Known as Fire Cider, this is my husband's version of the popular winter tonic.

Taken in tablespoons with honey, it's made with garlic, onion, horseraddish,

ginger root, apple cider vinegar, chili & cayenne peppers. He also added some of our growing herbs (oregano, basil, mint).

 

 

Results of my first attempt at dill

pickled cucumber slices and okra.
I'll pop open one after two weeks.

Meet Hope Balcony!

Yardless, and living on the second floor, I am now 3 months into my first edible concrete garden...appropriately named Hope Balcony..




It was time to stop waiting for the perfect yard to grow my own food. I wanted to eat organic produce for less and NOW! Although gardening is teaching me that patience leads to abundance...

The search terms, "limited space container gardening", led to my gardening pinterest frenzy and confidence to get started!

Containers

  

My first three vegetable plants (cajun belle pepper, husky cherry tomato,and  jalapeno,) were first planted together in an inexpensive rectangular polyethylene grow bag (39 x 15 x 10"). Unfortunately,it looked messy and never kept its shape.

After about a month of using it, I repotted them separately in 10" plastic pots. They began to thrive and I also learned that there are rules to companion planting. 

My biggest stroke of genius came when I began upcycling industrial size food buckets. They are found free curbside, at local restaurants, or grocery stores. I just drill several large holes in the bottom before filling them with soil.

Soil

Potting soil provides better drainage and is less rich than garden soil. I quickly found that creating a basic potting mix is easy and inexpensive. I use 1 part perlite and 1 part basic potting soil. Then, I blend a packaged compost/ manure mix into the top few inches of the soil. Try this google search for more ideas and details.

Fertilizer

I have yet to really enter the vast world of fertilizer and feel my plants will become healthier when I do. Every ten days, I dissolve a hefty tablespoon of epsom salt (for a magnesium boost), and one of an all purpose plant food into a 2 gallon watering jug. I water the plants, and run for cover!

The next step is to know the best soil ph level for each vegetable. It's my understanding that I could then tailor the soil blend and fertilizer to maintain the healthiest plant.


Pests

I'd like to say that once I got them all potted and sitting on my sunny balcony, everything went smoothly. No.

The leaves quickly became infested with little green worms(that I later found out were wasp larvae) and aphids. They snacked day and night while leaving trails of destruction. I first tried an organic garden grade pesticide (that didn't do the job) and a can of the controversial Sevin Dust. 

The dust quickly eliminated the invasion, but left me with a fear/guilt of not attracting/killing bees. In time for the fall garden, I found a recipe for an all-purpose natural insect spray and will buy inexpensive live ladybugs online.

A day's harvest. I picked ripe
husky cherry tomatoes daily
and from one plant

Why now?

When I'm needing a surge of inspiration or a butt kick, I usually write about it. These are mostly random rants that over time become more organized & tangible solutions. This brings me to my present purpose for creating this blog. From dependence to sustainability, the expected outcome is growth and transformation as I post. (...just don't expect award winning literature).

I find myself, at 30 something, newly married, with two dogs, a 2nd floor apartment, and generally loving life in New Orleans. Generally, because suddenly I want to be a healthier, resourceful homeowner with a great IRA. The "big kid" in me is waking up to a cruel and demanding corporate driven world (that I have no stock in). It's time to make a change because this economy no longer supports my frivolous spending. I'm also realizing why my Grandmother preserved everything (food, money, clothes, cool whip bowls).

I think back to my free spirited, and earthier college lifestyle. Living "natural" or with kindness to the earth, back then, began and ended with books and a few packaged products from a natural foods supermarket. I once bought and filled canning jars with a pharmacy of dried herbs, only to slowly watch them expire...beautifully, nevertheless.

Now, the idea of wasting anything is ridiculous to me.  A bohemian-like, incense burning, and drum circle attending dreamer has become the diffused bohemian-like realist before you. My solution to life's enrichment, saving and creating resources is to bring out that inner bohemian-like spirit and put her to practice (vs. theory). 

Sustainability has already begun with my 2nd floor container garden and a growing use of herbs, garlic, and apple cider vinegar. Also, my husband builds furniture from wood and I create artware from recycled materials. 

This is a growing effort, one project at a time, as I replace an old corporate dependancy with simplified living. I learn as I go and use the web as a major resource for information and ideas.  Enjoy & Be inspired!
- Dee