A long overdue post

I regret to inform you that my terribly short attention span has long since abandoned this blog. I have since moved on to another project called The Early Forest Seed Company. My true gardening passion has always been along the lines of growing trees / bonsai and that is the direction that I am moving. Please stop by www.earlyforest.com and look around. I have a daily photo series underway where I post daily tree photos taken by myself and my wife. I also have a few tree seed kits available for purchase with more to come in the future. Other than that I am pleased to say that my tiny garden is producing berries, tomatoes and small trees (not much room for much else) and my new baby boy has been terrific.
Thanks for reading,
Craig

Drought Tolerant Tomatoes

I accidentally ran an experiment last weekend with the tomato sprouts in my office. Typically I will over water everything before I leave for the weekend, but on this occasion I simply forgot. Upon my arrival Monday morning I was distressed to see my tomato plants laying flat, wilted into mush. I immediately threw some water on them expecting very little results. I was surprised to see them slowly regain their shape and begin to stand back up. Later on that morning I noticed the Red Riesentraube tomatoes. I had not initially identified them with the others because they had not suffered the weekend wilting. I will have to keep an eye on this variety, they seem especially stout and resilient. It is now Friday and some of the other tomato varieties have had some die back, but I believe that I have at least one plant out of each type remaining. I am looking forward to moving the plants outside soon and reaping some harvest.

For more on my tomatoes see 01-21-2008, and 01-22-2008.

Back into a Groove

I am pleased to announce the birth of my happy and healthy baby boy. It has been a few weeks since my last post and I am just now getting back into a routine (even if it differs from my old one). I have learned that it is possible to function on 4 hours of sleep every night. It has been an exciting time for my family and I thank you for your patience with this blog.

The weather is growing steadily warmer and on some days it feels like spring is here. In the upcoming weeks I will share with you some of the projects that I have built to make the most of my small patio space. These projects will include a small greenhouse and raised planter.

Moving Days

The move is nearly complete with only a few loose ends to tie up at our old apartment. My patio garden space is starting to take shape nicely. It is still too early to set the plants out, but the furniture is in place. Unfortunately the inside of our apartment is another story. It is a jungle of boxes and loose items. It may be a few days before we can figure this mess out.

I made a trip to the hardware store today and loaded up on compact fluorescent light bulbs. After a quick inventory I counted 22 incandescent light bulbs around our apartment. (and thats not counting the lamps) The one bathroom vanity alone has 6 bulbs, add that to another bathroom with 4, 2 fans with 3 bulbs each and the miscellaneous hallway, kitchen and closet bulbs and you have a pretty significant power drain. The purchase of 20 bulbs set me back about $35. Not too bad considering how much it should save me on electricity over the next year.

In other news, I believe that I failed The Growing Challenge. It has been quite some time since I have written about my plants. I normally wouldn't give up so easily, but our baby due in 5 days and the apatment in such a state of chaos it may be a little while before I can get back to the garden. I will keep you up to date the best that I can while I get my life back in order.

A Low Impact Woodland Home

Buying or building a home has been on my mind a lot in the last few years. I can't go too long without thinking about buying my own piece of land. I am still a few years away from affording it, but that doesnt stop me from thinking about it. I have the dilema of wanting to live in the city around people with a large enough piece of land to have a large garden and greenhouse all of which would close to my work for an affordable price. I know that this is an impossibility and I will probably settle for less than my heart's desire.

Earlier today while reading I came across a great website that really excited me. "A Low Impact Woodland Home" uses sustainable technology to build a really interesting, affordable, and environmental house. The more I learn about sustainable architecture the more I want to stay out of modern subdivisions. Please send any information or links that you may have on Sustainable Architecture my way. For more information on this topic see Mary's Greened House, a great blog that profiles the construction of a fantastic woodland office.

Eat Local, Save Energy

Some of the reasons that I grow my own food are the health and environmental benefits of eating locally. I am aware that I can not entirely sustain myself and my family with my small apartment garden, but every little bit helps. To make up for what I can not grow I shop at my local farmers market when it is in season. To find a farmers market near you I suggest using localharvest.org.


The February 1st EnvironMinute Podcast touched on the question, Local or Organic? They state that the environmental costs of transporting organic produce can often overshadow the benefits of organic food when compared to locally grown food. Ideally, the best option would be local and organic, but when presented with the option local food often has the lower environmental footprint.

A coworker of mine recently introduced me to the 100 Mile Diet. Much like vegetarianism or veganism it is a self imposed diet for personal reasons. Unlike vegetarians and vegans, those that participate can eat whatever they want...well, almost. The 100 mile diet is just what it sounds like. You only eat and drink products that are grown and produced within 100 miles of where you life. The website is a great resource to learn all about those that participated in the original experiment and how you can too. The book is titled "Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally". I have not read it yet, but plan on picking it up soon.

While this all seems like great philosophy it will be nearly impossible to find a local coffee or chocolate grower, not to mention all the tropical fruit that may be in your diet. You could really take this concept to the extreeme but I grow what I can, buy locally whats avaliable, and go to the supermarket for the rest. I am still fairly new to a lot of this and I am still refining how I live.

The Growing Challenge

Andrea over at Heavy Petal clued me in on The Growing Challenge (see image below) a blogging challenge to grow new things and write about them weekly. While this is something that I planned on doing anyway, I figured it was a great way to meet others with similar interests.

Meanwhile my garden continues to thrive. The dim flourescent lamp in my office seems to be enough to sustain my little plants for the time being. I am pleased to welcome Tam Jalapeno and Naranjilla to my family of plants. It took the warmth of an incandescent lamp to bring them to life. I am especially excited about the Jalapenos. I have been going through a spicy food phase and crave them constantly.