Just Let a Few Weeds Grow

[Note the above pic is from the 2008 garden] The garden is already bursting with life. The mild Utah winter didn't force many perennials into dormancy, and a few tenders and annuals actually pulled through. If you read my entry, "January Broccolli" you have a general idea how alive our garden was all through the winter. To get you up to speed, allow me to offer a brief (potentially boring) synopsis of where the 2009 garden stands to date. Officially, Rainbow chard, sorrel, Chinese cabbage, and dandelions (one man's weed - another man's medicinal herb and delicious salad green) survived the winter and are already harvestable. Broccoli and brussel sprouts pulled through the winter and are setting fruit. Fall planted carrots and onions are doing great. the carrots are harvestable but not sweet enough to bother yet. Cilantro, chamomile, bachelor buttons, cosmos, and sunflowers reseeded and are popping up all over the garden. The last week in march, we seeded in new cold weather veggies and salad greens with the exception of peas, beets. turnips, and radishes. Little baby salad is popping up all over. On Sunday I planted turnips, beets, and radishes. Yesterday I planted peas. Today it snowed. Ah, spring in the rockies. Now for the gardening wisdom of the day: I am absolutely fascinated by the life in the garden (although I could do without the volunteer grass). If I did nothing but water the garden from here on out, I am certain it would be beautiful; full of wildflowers and volunteer crops. Last year a petunia volunteered on the edge of a bed. Somehow a little seed survived the winter and the decomposing power of the compost pile, was turned into the soil as compost in the spring and by mid summer was a proud and beautiful flower. Several fruit producing squash and the biggest cosmo I have ever seen sprung forth from compost crumbs around the bin. The year before a tomato volunteered in front of our mailbox and actually produced fruit despite our neglect. My devoted plant-loving counterpart transplanted a mystery weed all over the garden last year in hopes that it would bloom and attract pollinating insects. When plants volunteer I try to let them be. If they are in a really poor location, I try to transplant them to a more favorable spot, but I never assume a weed is a weed is a weed. People always comment on how beautiful our garden is. In truth, if we pulled everything that we didn't plant on purpose our garden would be very dull and very void of color. Our weeds are often wildflowers and wildflowers attract beneficial insects and guests with mojitos. The moral of todays blog post? I challenge you to let a few "weeds" grow. You may be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

I Declare: It is Officially Gardening Season.

Ahhh. . A warm spring rain to liven things up a bit. Indeed it has been a long strange winter and the spring has tested my patience. But, today, today my friends, it is officially gardening season. Seed sales are up this year as people scramble to save on grocery bills. "recession gardens," are replacing 10x10 blocks of sod all over the U.S. Hooray! Gardening is therapy. It is a welcome respite from your stressful life. In the garden, everything is magical and life outside the garden is suddenly less earth-shattering. So, for those of you just starting out, I would like to first offer my congratulations; quickly followed by my condolences. My first garden flopped hard, but I learned from my mistakes and my second garden kicked ass! So, don't give up. The Green Dog Blog will follow my garden this year every step of the way: from seeds to canning. I will share with you my tips and tricks as well as the lessons learned the hard way. Gardening isn't just a hobby for me. The packaging and food miles involved in 'buying' food turns my stomach; and I am a huge proponent of knowing where my food came from. It doesn't get any closer than your own backyard. To all you new gardeners out there, welcome to a wonderful lifelong obsession. To all you seasoned gardeners out there, please share your knowledge, and GAME ON!

I enjoy a donut on a Sunday

So, I like to eat a plain cake doughnut on Sunday morning. It is part of my Sunday ritual. For the dogs, Sunday is egg day. For me it's doughnut day. As you know, I have been limiting my consumption of animal products of unknown origin (APUO). This has made the Sunday doughnut nearly impossible, and I have yet to find a suitable alternative. Last Saturday evening, I needed a few items at the store. "delicious Sunday donut," was on my list. I decided to have one this week despite the APUO. It was after midnight and the bakery was closed so there were no pretty pastries lined up in rows in the glass case. I would have to buy a package of doughnuts or no doughnut at all. So, I settled on a purchase of one dozen cake doughnuts. I figured I would freeze the rest and have them for several Sundays hence. The packaging was standard grocery store packaging: a hinged lid, a clear plastic box, a crooked sticker indicating the price. These familiar cues led the happy little child dwelling in the depths of my subconscious to believe those donuts had a wholesome past. I wanted to believe that at the end of the day, the same happy baker who made the donuts from scratch with wholesome ingredients right back there behind the counter; then packaged all the left over donuts into these little hinged boxes, and lovingly placed the stickers on each one. WRONG!! When I read the label in the morning over coffee, I realized I couldn't have been more wrong. My donuts came all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio! I had been deceived. One would think that baked goods purchased in the bakery are relatively fresh and packaged relatively recently. Nope! So, in order to keep my donuts tasting delicious between Cincinnati, Ohio and Ogden, Utah; they had to be made with 'pretend' food. The ingredient list boasted a litany of preservatives, additives, stabilizers, flavorings, colorings, etc. These weren't donuts. They just looked like donuts. So, I am on a quest, a quest not unlike the quest to meet the cheese cows, or the quest to meet the happy chickens. I am on a quest to find a doughnut in my own little town of Ogden, Utah. The perfect doughnut will meet the following specifications: 1) It must be a plain cake doughnut, although a sprinkling of cinnamon is nice. 2) It must be baked in Ogden less than 24 hours before purchase. 3) It must not contain any 'pretend' ingredients. i.e. 'flavor,' 'color,' 'preservative.' 4) The origins of all ingredients must be known. Local is a plus. Organic is a plus. 5) In regards to APUO, the doughnut must either contain no dairy or eggs, OR contain dairy and eggs of known responsible origins. There may be no such doughnut in my town, but I am about to find out.