Seed Saving

Let's be honest here: I have no idea what I am doing. With that said, I am not going to let that stop me from trying something new.

After Hurricane Sandy hit, my brother and I had some time to see where we stand in a state of emergency. Thankfully, I didn't get to really test out my resources, because... well, with the lack of any kind of solid financial backing in the last couple of years, I have none. My brother, on the other hand, had no power for nearly a week and found out he was pretty well equipped to hang out within his condo in relative safety. His one "weak link" in his prepping was food. He had enough to sustain himself for the short term, but had no real preparation for anything long term. He decided that he would like me to be the food expert in the family. (I'm guessing that's because I have the backyard!)

Anyway, since I have already started some of the exploration in this area and I have been wanting to bring my garden to life, I figured I better take him up on this challenge this way I have someone to cheer me on when things start going right. Also, since we starting having this conversation in December and my health is crawling back to the somewhat quasi-normal, I think there is enough time to really make this happen.

I started saving seeds. (This is where the "I have no idea what I am doing," comes in). I was watching one of those prepping shows (maybe Doomsday Preppers) and there was this family that had a really great self-sustainable garden going. The kid in the family was in charge of seeds. He saved all the seeds from anything they ate so that he could plant them the following year. A couple of things passed through my mind when I read this:

• If a kid can do it, so can I! and
• Those seeds are FREE!!

I started researching seed saving and quickly saw how easy it was. The only problem is, I am not sure what I am doing is actual legitimate seed saving, or if my seeds will actually grow. Here's my problem: I did not have a garden this year. The seeds I am saving are from store-bought produce. I don't even know if they will germinate in the Spring. Every site that I research about seed saving only discusses saving seeds from the fruits and vegetables grown in your own garden. I've tried to see if I what I am doing will work, but I have not recieved any answers. I guess only time will tell. When it is is time to plant I will probably buy seeds also, just to make sure I have some guaranteed growers, but it would be really great if I could do this for free since funds are super low!

If you have any suggestions for where I should do my research or any tips on seed saving and growing seedlings, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!!
 

My Composting Conundrum - GARDENERS I NEED YOUR HELP!

Yesterday it rained, the day before I spent writing for three different blogs, so Tuesday must have been the last time I ventured into my backyard.

Spring Has Sprung
 
As I stepped out about an hour ago, I noticed that life had spring up all over - I was overcome with weeds throughout the walkway, at least three baby maple trees  springing up within the weeds (how apropos for Arbor day!), the peach tree is in bloom, my tiger lilies have grown up to my knees and the wisteria is readying to climb all over the back fence again this year. After witnessing all of that I don't know why I was surprised when I opened my compost bin, but having visited it and layered it only three days ago, I was. The last thing I expectd to see in my compost bin was this:

 It's beautiful. It's exciting. However, I have no idea what it is!

And one more thing - it's not alone!

Here's another baby one

And the other corner...

A couple of weeks ago I gave up my hopes of having a hot compost pile when I discovered that all of the "brown" materials I had been using were among the slowest to decompose. Alas, without steam emanating from my pile I simply had to trust that I was doing the right thing and that, in time, my rich soil would be produced. One issue with a compost pile that is not hot is that any seeds added to the mix will not be killed with the heat. ...Although I consciously understood I there would be no hot compost, I seemed to have forgotten that very important detail about the seeds until seeing my beautiful new babies.

The Good News

As an insatiable optimist, I am always looking for the positive spin on things. So here are the pluses:

• The soil in my bin can support life, perhaps even better than I can! (I am never very good at growing anything from a seed.)
• My goal this summer has been to grow food in my backyard, while I am still waiting for my tomato and asparagus plants, potato and pepper seeds to arrive (along with a nectarine tree!!) some food has already started growing! I am on my way!

The Puzzling Part - Gardeners WHAT DO YOU SEE?

I called this post "My Compost Conundrum" for a reason - I am completely confused. I have no idea what I am growing back there and I am afraid I might kill it if I just start digging it out to find out! Here are some of the things that I have put in the compost bin that may have had seeds with it:

• bell peppers ~ this would be awesome since the bell pepper plants were all sold out and I am relying on my ability to grow something from a seed (see above for reference to my lack of confidence in this area) to get my bell peppers going in the back.
• pumpkin ~ while cleaning out my backyard I noticed someone simply moved a jack-o-lantern from the front of the house to an ignored corner of the backyard after Halloween. I shoveled the orange goo (which did include seeds) up and threw it in my compost bin.
• apples ~ I have been eating apples like crazy lately and I have been chucking the whole cores right into the compost. Could I have an orchard growing in my bin?
• potatoes... maybe? ~ I have put potato skins/peelings in the compost. They might have included "eyes." I worry about this possibility because I know if you grow potatoes in a patch of soil, then that soil should not be used for potatoes or a number of other plants in the following growing season. If they are potatoes is my compost ruined?? 
• zucchini ~ I feel like I had to compost a part of a zucchini that got gross because I didn't use it in time. It was either a zucchini or a yellow squash - something like that. I was sad about it, but flt a little bit better about it knowing I was composting it and not just throwing it away.

Beyond that, I am stumped. I am sure I will be thinking of new things every hour, but those are the biggies. I know one of you fabulous gardeners took one look at those pictures and knew INSTANTLY what we are looking at here - so let me know!! Even if it is not on my list above, that probably means I just forgot to list it!

My Questions for ANYONE to Answer

• What the heck am I growing in my compost bin?
• How did this happen? Is my compost too wet? Is it because I didn't turn my compost? 
• Is this good news or bad news for my compost?
• How and where should I transplant these plants? Should they go in a pot/container, or into my garden?
• Did this ever happen to you?
  

The Greening of My Thumb

HAPPY EARTH WEEK!!

This is Phil.

I often joke around that I have a blue thumb. I want to be a good gardener and  friend to plant life everywhere, but the facts are the facts. 

This year, while on my search for sustenance I have also been trying to "green my thumb". I kept a basil plant in the kitchen, bought two ivy plants, a mini money tree (I can hope!) and a lovely plant I call "Phil" (he's awesome and he's a philodendron!).

So far, although there were some ups and downs, I think I have done pretty well based on my own history. Phil and one of the ivy plants nearly doubled in size since coming home. Money tree had a rough winter, but we came through it. The other ivy plant had to be cut all the way down to nothing and is slowly coming back with three little sprigs of life. The fact of the matter is - for the first time in my life all the plants are at least still alive.

It is with this great leap of progress that I felt it was time to take a giant leap (of faith??) forward:

Yesterday I embarked upon: My First Food Planting!

OK, OK, it is not a full-on vegetable garden.

It is not even a vegetable plant.

Well, let's face it... it's not even a plant yet.

Yesterday, I set out to plant my first seeds with great anticipation that later on this summer I will be able to harvest some SEEDS! It is actually quite hilarious when you think about it... Why didn't I just break into my seed packet right there and start noshing away?

I'll tell you why! Because in the amount of seeds I am going to yield from just one of those seeds will astound you! The magic seeds I planted yesterday were sunflower seeds!

I hope I followed the directions correctly, because sunflowers are just about the most fun flower there is and their seeds are a pivotal part of my favorite trail mix.

Nicole's Favorite Trail Mix: almonds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and dried blueberries (if you only have one kind of dried berry, that's OK, too!).

I didn't have a ton of space to devote to my sunflowers since I am saving space for some vegetable plants I am saving up my pennies for this week, so I only planted 10 or 11 seeds in front of my shed. If they all sprout up, it will look pretty amazing (even though it might freak out my dogs!).

I was reading about sunflowers in my favorite new book today, The Backyard Homestead and I learned of other fantastic things I could do with them if I didn't want to wait around for the seeds. Perhaps you too, will be enlightened of other ways you can enjoy sunflowers in your kitchen while watching them grow in your garden. Did you know that you could eat the immature buds? Or, if you would prefer to see the big flowers, you could wait for them and put their petals in a salad or a soup? I had no idea! Now I don't know what I am going to do!

The one good thing is - I have time on my side. I can mull it over as I watch my beauties grow, because right now there is nothing more that a truly odd-looking rectangle of soil dug into in front of my shed.

According to my seed packet, if I have done everything correctly and if I treat them right between now and then, I should see seedlings in 7-14 days.

...I am very nervous about this. (I asked Phil to say a prayer for them!)

Any tips for this blue-thumbed gardener? 

Any ideas of what I should do with the sunflowers?

For other sunflower growers out there - do you keep them for yourself or share them with the birds and the squirrels??

CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME BOOK!!

March Moves Monday Run Down #4 (from The Hummingbird Project)

Do Something Month is coming to a close. In this final week of March, I, like the hummingbird, kept up doing what little I could in my corner of the world. It wasn't much, but I feel like my contributions will grow into larger, life-long actions that will influence my family and friends and who knows who else beyond that realm!

Composting is something our house has needed for a LONG time!

I am declaring myself a composter. Honestly, I know I still have a lot to learn, but I am actively collecting my kitchen scraps, bringing them to my bin outside which is layered nicely and my garbage has been reduced. In fact, just the other night, when my husband and I were out we return to a typical scene - a garbage bag strewn across the floor, chewed through, with various items taken out and explored through. The culprit? Buffy, the beast.

She's a beagle, she can't really help herself and she was taught by Chewy, who passed away in 2009. Anyway, as I got to the routine of cleaning up, which didn't seem that bad my husband said, "Well this is one huge benefit of your composting!" He was right! There was nothing but boring garbage in the bag - no food scraps, nothing messy - she basically went into the bag because of some old deli container my husband threw away, and she was kind enough to lick up every trace of whatever the heck it was he had in there! B.C. (you know, "Before Compost") there would have been potato peels, apple cores, melon rinds, strawberry tops, etc all over my kitchen floor, in the living room and, perhaps, even buried in Buffy's bed!


Gardening on the horizon with total appreciation (finally!).

I may even get started with this today. I purchased a nice planter for a small herb garden along with some herb seeds (I have basil, oregano and cilantro). I bought sunflower seeds, too. I am not sure where I want these yet (mom once grew them on the side of the house), but I really look forward to their growth. As for my husbands resistance to growing food in our yard, well, we had a very interesting exchange on Saturday:

Me: I saw this cool book that is all about gardening and homsteading. I think I am going to get it.

Hubby: Oh yeah?

Me: Yeah. I thought it was awesome because it talked about everything from planning your gardens all the way to canning and preserving which I don't remember anything about. I would just love to be able to can my own tomatoes.

Hubby [putting XBox controller down]: Wait... What do you mean? We can do that? OH WOW. I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT.

Me [smiling/laughing]: How do you think my grandmother was doing it back in Palazzo Adriano?! Why do you think I want to grow my own food so badly? THINK of how DELICIOUS it would be!

And for some reason, after all of these years, after so many long, arduous conversations about growing our own food he finally gets it.

Turning out the lights enlightened me.

This past Saturday my husband and I participated in Earth Hour 2011. It was not a public gathering, but, instead a small act in our own home. The experience drove us to a simple evening together over a book. It was wonderful, relaxing and gave me much to think about in terms of my own abuse of electricity on a daily basis. I wrote a complete post about our experience, including candle-lit pictures called Lights Out for Mother.

What's something YOU DO that we can replicate in order to make great changes from small moves?

*If you think you might be interested in writing a guest post about any action you took during Do Something Month, please feel free to e-mail me at BlogWithNV@gmail.com.

My Composting Adventure Begins!

It began with a bin.

Isn't it cool?

My husband took me to Home Depot and purchased it for me (because he is awesome and he loves me) and then he even put in together for me. After watching him do this, I think I could have done it myself, but after spending the morning cleaning out my gardening space I was more than happy to let him complete this task!

The bin was large (120 gallon capacity) and empty.

I was a little bit intimidated by all this space.

I decided I needed to refer back to the composting video I found so helpful to get the "recipe" for my "garden lasagna":

I now have this screen-capture from the video saved on my iPhone for easy reference.

So I grabbed the bag of "brown" that my husband gathered from next to our shed. and added my first layer.

This was super easy (and fun)!

Then, I went around my backyard gathering some neglected flower pots and planters that had various annuals or failed growths in them, so I could use their soil. (I wrote a post about one poignant find in one of the pots on my other blog, Rivera Runs Through It, for a memoir meme.)

There was some pretty rich soil in those pots.

Finally, it was time for the GREENS - my kitchen scraps!! I ran into the house to gather my container and two gallon zip-lock bags full of collections. Then, I decided it was the perfect time to do a thorough excavation of my refrigerator. Here is what I came up with:

There's lots of stuff, but I could help but think about the stuff that didn't make it because I had thrown it away by mistake!

Finally, it was time to complete the "lasagna" to help keep the odor contained. Another layer of soil.

And another layer of brown. However, the bag of browns from next to the shed was not enough!! Luckily, I have a magnolia tree in the front of my house that grows like a weed and needs major trimming from time to time.

This branch actually broke off from the weight of the snow this winter and I saved it.

I did not even use half of the magnolia branch, so it will come in handy next week when I come back to add more to my compost!

Final layer for now and SO MUCH MORE SPACE to go!

I closed up the lid and got the hose to "water" the compost. I'm not sure if I added enough water, that is something I will have to watch. But otherwise I feel like I am well on my way to a mini garden cook.

It is funny how being excited about composting affects so many aspects of my life.

• I want to be more organized when I go through my mail so I can shred the non-glossy mail for more "brown" materials.
• I am thinking about my meals in terms of what kind of compost contributions they make. This really has me thinking about whether or creating a "Compost Diet" (eating only things that produce "green" compost waste is the one way to think about healthy, responsible eating.... maybe/maybe not??)
• I want to dust mop my entire house and brush my dogs like crazy because that, too, according to certain sources is more "brown" materials.

For more information about the bin I purchased, here is a link to the company's website:
E-Composter by GardenViews

Starting Small To Make Big Changes (A Hummingbird Speaks)

This is our first-ever guest post from Jen who blogs over at The Misadventures of Mrs. B which includes cooking, fabulous writing and some irresistible food photography!

Hi, everyone! I’m so glad Nicole offered the opportunity for me to be here today so I can share my Hummingbird ideas with you and hopefully pick up a few tips as well.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been the type of person to say “Oh, I’d love to do that” or “I really need to make a change in my life” or “I wish I had the discipline to keep up with a plan for change”.  It’s the story of my life, truly.

That’s why I was so pleased to read about Nicole’s Hummingbird Project.  What better time to start than right now? And thinking of it as a project, and as a way to effect lasting change in my little family and (ideally) throughout the world, makes it that much easier to not only stick to it but to make it fun!

Most of the changes I’m working on deal with nutrition and stretching our food dollars.  The fact is, it may take a little more time to make something from scratch but the result is something I can eat with confidence – after all, I know exactly what went into it.  There are no hidden additives or fake colors or “natural flavors”.  It’s all real.  Besides, there’s a sense of pride in knowing that the bread we’re eating came from my hands.  Same with any baked goods (why grab a muffin at the coffee shop when I can bake my own over the weekend to eat all week long?) and even pasta.  There is just nothing like homemade pasta.  The fewer steps a product takes between production and my mouth, the better.

I’m already working on my herb garden! Last year I planted flat parsley and sweet basil.  This year I’m expanding to include dill, thyme, chives and oregano, too.  My husband is sweet enough to be building boxes for me to start my own vegetable garden as well – I can’t wait to plant! I’ll definitely be starting small – tomatoes are on the list but I’m looking for any ideas on something a beginner like me can grow with ease! Thoughts, anyone?

Other changes I’m working to implement:                                                                                             

• Carrying a large insulated cup to work – if I feel like stopping off for coffee on the way in, I just present my cup rather than using one of theirs.  I hope that it catches on amongst the people I see waiting in line every day!

• Drinking from a reusable water bottle rather than constantly buying and discarding plastic bottles.  This is something I see people doing around the office all day long – not to mention using a paper cup for a single drink of water and tossing it out immediately.  Wasteful!

• Being more diligent with my recycling – now that recycling rules have loosened a bit in my area and everything can be included in the same bin, it’s easier to remember.  I admit that I haven’t always been a smart recycler in the past.

• Learning about green cleaning products.  It’s fascinating what you can do to lessen the amount of potentially harmful chemicals in your home! It’s an education for sure.

I know that there are so many other changes to be made, and this is merely the tip of the iceberg.  But it’s easier to start small, isn’t it, rather than getting overwhelmed.  At least that’s what I tell myself! I hope to document my progress on my blog – at least when it comes to cooking and gardening.

I’d love to hear any tips or suggestions from those of you who read this for ways to improve (and tips on gardening, since I’m a newbie)!

Thanks, Nicole, for having me here.  You’re an inspiration.

About Jen:

Jen blogs over at The Misadventures of Mrs. B, where she shares recipes, ideas and stories from her life while trying to maintain a sense of humor about the whole thing.  You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter or email her if you would like to be a part of the misadventures or just to pick up a sinful new recipe.

March Forth on March Fourth - It's Do SOMETHING Day

Every year, as March 4th rolls around, the date begs you to MARCH FORTH! and do something! To add to this beckoning call, this past Tuesday, I challenged you with my Hummingbird Project to extend this to an entire month of doing something.  Whether you are willing to do something for a day, or take the leap for the entire month, you may still be stuck wondering What should I do? I have been thinking about this kind of thing for awhile, so I am going to share with you some ideas I have,

Simple One-Day Acts to Do Alone or With Others

• Watch a documentary for a new perspective on something you are interested in. Here are some of my documentary experiences that can possibly help you with your decision:  
• Blue Gold:World Water Wars,  
• Fuel, The Future of Food and Food Matters, 
• Food, Inc., Tapped, King Corn, and No Impact Man, and  
• Dirt: The Movie

• Get in the kitchen. Get the whole family involved in learning about some new cooking technique, how to make your old recipes healthier, or just to rid your pantry of some evil ingredient (may I suggest high fructose corn syrup?). Here are some posts that may help you on your path:
• Vegetables Every Day,
• The Meatless Monday Experience,
• Vegetables: Raw or Cooked?,
•  Quinoa: The Mother Grain,
• Clean Eating Defined,
• Finding Healthy Recipes, and
• The Land O'Lakes Boycott

 What You Can Do With Just A Computer

• Watch (or Read) and share some inspirational/educational videos. Whether it is through the wide expanse of YouTube or you take a direct route to a worthy  organization's website (ie. TED), there is so much out there to absorb, share and enact change simply in the way we think. Here are some web videos I was moved by:
• Birke Baehr's TED talk and a peek at The Meatrix, 
•  The Perennial Plate 
• Small Ways to Make a Big Difference (a free eBook)

• Find a nonprofit that needs YOUR help (virtually or financially). One of the best actions you can take is to network with like-minded people around your cause - whether you join a mailing list, sign up for an event or have the means to donate, finding a way to Do Something may be easier than you think when you connect with the right groups. Here are some you may want to check out:
• FOOD BANK,
• Food & Water Watch, National Resources Defense Council, The Center for Food Safety,
• Organizations and Readings from the Changing the Way We Eat (ChWWE) Group

Long-Term Projects You Can Begin with Just One Step

• Composting. This is a project I am getting started on myself, so I am still learning, but I have found a couple of great resources to start out.
• Home Composting Made Easy
• Meet the Green Compost Episode

• Gardening. I am truly a novice when it comes to gardening. I should have picked up more tips from my mother when she was around... Alas, I must learn again (I'm really hoping that the things I learned as a child start to come back to me when I begin!). Here's a great resource that a fellow blogger, Brenna, pointed me to:
• Master Gardeners

And If You Are Ready to Build a TEAM of Do-ers 

• Build a Culture of Community Involvement. Meg Appleby of the How to Make a Difference blog and the Do Good blog has all the tips you need to get some volunteers to join your cause. Read her post How to Build a Culture of Community Involvement to see how!

I hope this gives you lots of ideas for March 4th's task to DO SOMETHING (and I really hope it inspires you Do Something every day! I look forward to reading how everyone spends their day.

...and don't forget to wear your action too! (I think this company is SO COOL!)

Where Are All My Hummingbirds? A Call to Action

I am going to be honest with you today. I have a problem. I want to change the world. I don't know exactly when this idea first occurred to me (college? high school? earlier?), but I know that I very much felt that was exactly why I belonged in the classroom. I am not delusional, I am completely aware of my smallness in this world, however, I believe every single one of us is capable of changing the world no matter how small we are. As I watched Dirt: The Movie last week, I saw a great story about a hummingbird who had the same problem as me. 

I am doing the best I can... Can't really ask for more than that. 

The best that I can do now is shift audiences (put out of the classroom on medical leave) and use this time to still create ripples in my small pond. Will you help me make some waves?

This Friday, March 4th, has been declared "Do Something Day," but I've been thinking - why not make this a "Do Something Month"? It's a great time of year to start something new for your health, your wealth, your family, your home or your home planet. 

Here are some ideas I am working on for my own personal challenge:

GARDENING IDEAS

• learn about and begin composting
• get soil tested in yard to see if growing food is a safe option, if not - plant other things to start to heal my soil

COOKING IDEAS

• work on meal planning and getting hubby to bring more lunches to work (save $$!!)
• do some more baking

ENVIRONMENT IDEAS

• continue to spread the word about the Farm Bill and actions that need to be taken to ensure our food is appropriately labeled and regulated
• take my dogs on longer walks and get back out to my parks

... this list is getting long and can get even longer if I allow it to. These are all small things, doable things, but right now they represent me doing the best I can. Not one of these individual little droplets of water can put out the huge forest fire around us, but, like the hummingbird, I must do something, I simply can't stand by in shock.

As I come up with new ideas, I will implement them and I will share them each Monday (since I will most likely need weekends to put some bigger things into action) in March Moves Monday Run Down! I challenge you to join me and share whatever "moves" your making this month each Monday. Also, spread the word about this challenge far and wide - who knows? Maybe we can inspire an elephant to fill his big trunk up with water to really start to extinguish this fire!

Ready to "move"? 

What things can you do this month - big or small - to help enact change in the world around you?

What things are you already doing that may be a good idea for someone else to try?

Here's a post to help you get started: March Forth on March Fourth - It's DO SOMETHING DAY

My Own Garden for Eating

Yesterday I began to ask myself how far removed I was from my ancestors who lived with the Earth and not necessarily off of it. I suspect that, in Sicily, my father's grandparents had a relationship with the land, with their chickens, with where their food came from, but I am not sure. On my mother's side I think we would have to travel back to her great-grandparents who lived in Pennsylvania based on pictures I saw that looked like they may have been living on a farm. I thought once our family moved to the city, it was natural that this relationship with food was severed. I was about to become complacent in these thoughts, feeling free from blame for my reliance on purchased foods rather than home-grown foods. Then I suddenly had one glaringly clear thought penetrate my brain, "It wasn't them. I am the first generation in this family that has not had at least some of her food from her own yard."

The Gardens of My Past

My grandparents always had tomatoes, herbs and a huge grapevine in their very small Brooklyn backyard. When I was a child, we had a nice sized vegetable garden in our backyard (I can't believe I forgot about this!). We grew tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, zucchini, an herb garden, a strawberry patch, a grapevine, a fig tree and a peach tree. Our garden shrunk over the years - tomatoes, cucumbers and the strawberries were the last go and then our house got termites. We were told by the exterminators that we should not eat anything that grew out of ground for nine years. That was the end of the garden.


The Pests That Won't Leave Me Alone

It is far beyond nine years. I don't even remember when we had the termites, but I know I was in school then and I know I have been teaching for twelve years, so I know we are safe. I have been itching to start my own garden, but the legend of the termites haunt me...

My husband knows of the termites and the warning that was given to us (I probably told him long before we inherited the house when I never dreamed this would someday be our house!). He does not buy into this finite time period of nine years. He often asks, "How do they know nine years are ok? Maybe in another twenty years they will come out with a new study saying - Oops! We mean 25 years, we suddenly found this new side effect that only comes out after 25 years!!" ...and he goes on like this until he finally ends with, "You want to plant food back there? Go ahead, but I'm not going to eat it." I know he could be right about all of this and this all may be true, but I can't help but continue to wrack my brain for a solution.

The Garden Plan for My Future

I think I may have found a solution this morning - raised bed vegetable gardens. This is not, by any means, going to be an easy task, but I figure I have the winter months to research, plan and save up some money to make this happen. Oh, and one more thing: I have to convince my husband that these foods are edible and that this is a FABULOUS IDEA!! Our backyard will be pretty and functional.

If you are unfamiliar with the term raised bed gardens, simply put it is a technique where you create a garden on TOP of your land confined either in wood, stone, or even hay. This technique is helpful in places where the soil is difficult to grow in. You can use the raised bed as a place to put rich soil, compost and not have to worry about it being compacted by foot traffic. Evidently the beds are also very good for drainage. I look forward to furthering my knowledge about this technique while designing a suitable layout for my backyard.

I simply can not wait for the time when I can reconnect with my own local Earth beyond my little basil plant growing in my kitchen!

Please let me know of any advice you may have about beginning a vegetable garden, raised bed gardens or things I can do during the winter months to get ready for this big project.