"Let It Be" -- Eating Only What I Grow Installment August 1st 2017

Well, it's the first day of not having the huge store in Swormville.  I moved all my stuff out of the shop yesterday and I'm feeling sluggish today to say the least.  Most of the stuff is in storage waiting for me to set up at the new smaller store in which I will have less stress and more free time.  I am looking forward to this. 

This is the reason for such a huge lapse between blogs.  I was so busy with the store closing sale and then the looming move, it was difficult to even think, say nothing about gardening and all the other things that go along with it. 

So today, for the first time in a very long time, I am a free woman.  I have no place I absolutely have to be today.  So, I have plopped myself down under the oak tree in the yard with Pickles the cat and I am giving myself time to write.  And be.  Mike is in the house vacuuming, so there is no peace like the oak tree.  Pickles is rolling around on his back purring, trying to get my undivided attention.  This is a fun thing to watch.  Such a silly. 

So, needless to say, my blog and my gardens have been neglected.  The cucumbers need to be picked.  The tansy is falling all over the sweet annie and my broccoli plants giving them too much shade.  There are still herbs to be planted.  The calendula has flowered so much that many of the flowers have gone to seed and I need to pick them all off so I keep getting flowers all season.  Not really a big deal, as they flowered until after frost last year.  I was busy with the store last year, so nothing even got picked, I don't think. 

There are a few things in the garden that seem to have been waiting for me to return from being too busy.  The zucchini, yellow squash and my favorite patty pans haven't even begun to give me the abundant crop they usually do.  I've only had a few.  The cucumbers have been giving me one to two a day because they knew I needed to eat a few a day to stay healthy during this period of stress.  I noticed two berries on the black berry plants that were ripe, so it seems they will be just getting around to  be ripe just in time for me to freeze them for the winter.   No tomatoes yet.  No beans yet.  They have all been patiently waiting for me.

I really feel this amazing connection to the earth, the animals, the seasons, the plants.  In all my endeavors in my life, I feel very strongly that this one thing is the very reason things always work out for me.  Of course I work really hard at the things I do, but things just seem to come into place at the very moment I need them.  I looked for two months to find a new shop.  Nothing was charming enough or inexpensive enough to put it in place for me.  So I gave it up and let it go.  A couple days later my friend let me know she had taken over a shop and had a big room for me to rent.  Exactly the situation I needed at that time. 

I also have the whole gratitude thing.  I don't think we give gratitude enough attention.  If we are grateful of the things that happen even though they may not seem great at the time, things will work out for the best.  I see people doing things out of spite, and hate and jealousy and they get back only what they put out.  Things don't work out for people when they work out of a bad place in their heart.

So, my gardens and my animals have been waiting for me to have time for them.  My connection with nature allows me freedom to work things out.  Connection has many facets.  Respect is a big one.  Letting nature be nature.  Trying to control it with herbicides, pesticides and all sorts of poisons or machines is only counter -productive.  Nature always wins.  If we let a few weeds grow where nature thinks they should grow, we may find amazing things.  Like an abundance of bees or butterflies that have been dropping in population.  This of course is an example that could be so many different things. 

Let things be.  Let yourself just be.  Stop trying to control everything in life.  It doesn't work.  Nature always wins.  Be grateful for it.

My Messy, Natural Straw Bale Garden Space

Eating Only What I Grow For A Year... #4 Apple Cider Vinegar

Well, I changed my mind...  Don't worry.  I'm still doing my 365 days, but I changed my mind about the start date.  I figured that I'd be done just about at the end of October with my prep, so why waste time waiting for it.  I'll start my 365 on November 1st instead of January 1st.  

Some of my inspiration for this journey is the settlers and pilgrims and people who lived here 100 years ago and had to plan every meal for their winters here.  I'm sure it was even more challenging for them because some people didn't have close neighbors to barter with and rely on for losses of crops or unforeseen circumstances.  Some of the history I've read, it was pretty scary for them because there were children to take care of.  I don't have to worry about other mouths to feed.  It will only be mine.  My boyfriend Mike doesn't have any desire to go through this with me, so I'll need a lot less food...  

Speaking of a lot less food.  I've gone on little spurts of eating only raw, fresh, plant based food before, and I noticed a peculiar thing.  I didn't need as much food.  I feel that when your body is nourished and has all the vitamins, minerals, and hydration it needs, you feel satisfied and don't need huge meals.  Most of us go around being hungry all the time because our bodies are under nourished.  This is caused by just eating the wrong things all together or, even worse, the food we think is healthy is totally lacking most of it's nutrients because it's grown in poor soil with toxic chemicals and then it sits on a shelf or in a refrigerator for who knows how long.  

That is why I really think I will have the worst time at the beginning.  Once my body gets acclimated to being nourished properly, I'll ease into this pretty easily.  At least that is what I'm thinking.  I'll be prepping beforehand though to keep myself detoxed from all the ice cream I love to eat in the summer.  

As my vegetables are growing and getting ready to harvest, I'm making mental notes of the things I'll be canning together or preserving so I can make my meals easier.  One of the things I am looking forward to is something my sister Julia started making probably 20 years ago now, and I've made it and loved it ever since.  Very simple.  Chopped tomatoes, zucchini and onion and sauteed in a pan.  I especially love this as a sauce for pasta, but I won't have any pasta, so I'll eat it as is.  I can can this stuff, or I can freeze it already cooked.  I can just heat it up.  Easy.

Another things I've been thinking about is getting used to eating non-conventional breakfast foods.  I won't have any bread of any kind, so I need to get used to eating vegetable for breakfast.  I really love steamed mustard greens for breakfast though.  Smoothies are another option for breakfast but I won't have bananas, coconut oil or chia seeds or other things I normally use in my green drinks.  I will have blackberries hopefully and possibly kefir if I can barter for milk.

I'm also going to barter first thing for milk so I can make butter.  I have a few places in mind that I can get raw milk and cream.  I just hope they'll take what I barter instead of money.

Yesterday I made homemade apple cider vinegar with apples that were falling off my tree.  I didn't want the apples to go to waste because I may not have that many so I chopped them all up and put them in jars of water.  Normally you add sugar to get the fermentation started faster, but in my 365 days, I won't have sugar.  It will ferment, it just may take 6 to 8 weeks instead of 4.  I checked them this morning and they are bubbling already, so it won't take long.  Vinegar will be useful to preserve some of my food and for getting some of the nutrition I'll need for the winter.  Anything fermented has great amounts of vitamin B and other great stuff.

Until next time.

Eating Only What I grow Blog Post #3

Post #3 of One Year of Eating Only What I Grow.

Things I think I'm going to miss.  I really cannot be sure what I'm going to be craving while I'm in the midst of this journey.  This list is what I feel right now, as I am still eating whatever I want, is what I'll miss about eating only the stuff I've grown. 

Number One!  CHEESE!  When a recipe goes wrong, usually just add cheese and it will make it edible at least.  Cheese makes the blandest food taste better.  Cheese can be an ingredient, and cheese can be the star in the food.  Grilled cheese, mac & cheese,  this may be something I miss.

My second regret:  Johnson Estate Wine.  Even though I'll be attempting to make enough of my own wine from grapes, wild and domestic, and blackberries and possibly beer from the hops I grow, I'll miss just going to the store and buying my favorite wine.  Proprietor's Red wine from Johnson Estate in Westfield, NY is probably my favorite.

Number Three:  Pistachios.  I love them.  You can eat a handful and be totally satisfied because they have salt and fat.  Plus, it takes time to crack them open.  Unlike other snack food where you could have eaten 3,000 calories before you feel like you've eaten anything at all.

Four:  CEREAL.  I know, cereal is bad.  Don't judge me!  I've loved cereal since childhood.  Sometimes the only way my mother could get me out of bed in the morning for school was the promise of cereal.  I loved all the bad ones we had at the time.  Count Chocula, Boo Berry, Frankenberry,  (I also loved horror movies, LOL) and Fruity Pebbles were a staple.  Of course, I really don't eat this stuff now, except occasionally, but I could if I wanted to.  In 2018, however, I am shut down from all cereal.  Bummer.

Are we on #5 already?  Avocados.  Avocados have a creamy texture and a lot of fat and they are my go to food when I have sugar cravings.  Keep that in mind.  They are the reason (besides sugar free peanut butter) that I am off sugar to this day.

Peanut Butter:  Although not a daily PB eater, the sugar free natural PB is another thing I grab when I crave sugar.  Fats are very satisfying. 

Number Seven:  Burritos.  Preferably bean burritos.  Although I could probably make masa for tortillas or some other hack for a tortilla, I'm going to miss burritos because I eat them all the time.  I'm a big fan.  Maybe I'll plant some corn to grind for a really (and I mean Really!) primitive form of tortilla.  Okay, ordering corn seeds!  Non Gmo of course!

Number Eight.  Sour cream.  This goes hand in hand with burritos.  I love refried beans and sour cream.  I cannot help myself.  Maybe I can barter with Chipotle.  LOL.

Number Nine.  Pizza.  Goes without saying.

I know most of you are thinking... what?  No meat cravings?  Truthfully, I am very lucky.  I was born without cravings for meat and I think that may be one of the reasons I'll be able to conquer this 365 days of the unknown, home grown, seed sewn adventure I face in the coming year.  I really have always felt better when I follow a meat free diet. 

I'm wondering if... possible a totally natural, ages old diet will just about suit me perfectly.

Am I still up for the challenge?  Absolutely!

What would you miss?

Countdown to One Year of Eating Only What I grow. 194 days to go

Preparation day #1.  194 days to go.  It just happens to be the first day of summer today and I feel it's starting off well.  I already have some things planted in the garden but today I really stepped it up a little and went to a greenhouse near me to buy some already started vegetable plants.  Now is a great time to get really inexpensive plants.  This particular nursery was having a buy one get one free sale, because it's late in the season, so their 4 pack vegetable starts were $1.49 each originally and you get one free.  So about 75 cents for 4 plants doesn't seem too bad.  They are a bit leggy, but anyone who grows vegetables knows how to get them (especially tomatoes) to grow out of their legginess.  ( I just made up that word).  Plus, they're too big for those pesky slugs to devour in one sitting.

So, today I planted 12 broccoli plants

7 cauliflower

12 brussels sprouts

8 hot portugal peppers

4 yellow summer squash

4 cherry tomatoes

a handful of onion sets

I still have 4 acorn squash plants to plant, a few more onions, a few more tomatoes and orange peppers, and a few other things.  The things I bought today are just additions to what I've already planted.  The latter being things I just wanted to plant, before I came up with this crazy idea to eat only what I grow for a year.  !!!  The other things I've planted, or have yet to plant are things I grew from seed.  I love heirloom varieties and I buy from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company every year.  Their varieties are old fashioned, open pollinated and non gmo.  The plants I bought today were not grown organically from the start, but I felt I needed to bulk up for the year I have in front of me.

I have lots of other seeds to still plant also.  I have late varieties like cabbage, swiss chard, collards, turnips and a few other things.  Some things I can grow later and keep in the garden to harvest all winter when I need it.  A few years ago, I had turnips that I left in the garden all year.  The turnips would grow tops during the warmer days of winter and I'd be able to eat fresh greens even during winter with no covering.  It was awesome.  There was so much, I was feeding it to my dogs too.  Actually I think I blogged about it...

Right now, already in the garden, and growing beautifully, I have a huge patch of Japanese Red mustard Greens, celery, orange bell peppers, potatoes, 6 Roma tomato plants, 4 burpless cukes, 4 butternut squash, about a 30 foot row of beans, 20 foot row of cilantro, radishes, 9 patty pan, zucchini and yellow squash plants, 18 foot row of beets, and a patch of turnips.  I'm not mentioning the berries, grapes, apples that are perennial plants.

So, planting aside, I've started drying herbs for the winter.  I won't have milk, or juice or anything else to drink for a year, and I'm a lemon water drinker, so I have to prepare for hydration.  Water is good but I love making tea from stuff that grows in my yard.  And it's easier for me to drink something with some kind of flavor. 

Today, I dried birch leaves, rose petals from my old antique fragrant rose bush and red clover for my winter teas.  I bought a HUGE mesh dryer for herbs.  I found one of these herb dryers on Ebay that I have hung from the rafters in the attic.  It's very warm up there and these leaves and flowers should dry in a few days and then I can pack them in glass jars for storage.  I paid about $25 for this dryer.  It's fabulous.  It's got 6 layers so you can dry different leaves in each layer.  It's 36" in diameter and has a lot of space. They have smaller ones on Ebay too if you don't have the room.   I dry flowers and leaves for potpourri's on this thing too.  I still love my antique wooden drying racks too, but for a year's worth of dried leaves, I think my investment is worth it.  I'll go up there once a day and mix up the plant material so it all dries evenly and nothing sticks together.  When the leaves are COMPLETELY crispy they can go into glass jars.  I have to make sure there is no moisture because the slightest bit will cause mold to form and it will ruin my whole batch.

Every day or two I'll pick a new leaf or flower for my tea mix.  This tea is not only really delicious, but it is also packed with vitamins and minerals.  Has no caffeine and it's free.  I'll be talking about this in more detail, but some of the other things to add to this tea is my lemon balm, mints, catnip, dandelion leaves and flowers, oak leaves, oregano, thyme, and all sorts of flowers.  Just to name a few.  A few herbs like mint, lavender and catnip are great at bedtime to help with sleep.  As I go, I'll share my recipes with you for the teas, so you can make them yourself.  And I hope you will!  It's very rewarding.

I think that's all for today.  I'm still excited about this journey!  I hope you'll follow me.  I'll be using these blog posts to narrate videos of the garden on Youtube and I'm also theblueladyofthelake on Instagram.

the plants I bought

birch leaves

the drying rack in my attic

Rose petals

clover

A year of eating only what I grow, the preparation

This may be the absolute most difficult thing I've ever done.  And for a whole year...  In starting this endeavor, I'm fully aware of the challenges I'm facing.  This is why I'm going to document about 6 months in advance in preparation for what's to come.  My preparations this year will in every way affect my success with this project in the coming year.  My goal is to eat only what I grow and produce myself on my 2 acre property.  This has been something I've always wanted to do and I hope I'm up for the challenge.  I have only a very few exceptions and a few rules to get me through this journey. 

Rule #1.  Once a month, I can barter something I grew for something else.  The item I receive, however, must be grown/produced by the person I'm bartering with.  For example:  I cannot barter with my neighbor for milk that she bought from a store.  I can also barter something I make from scratch for something someone grows or produces.  For instance, I can trade a wreath I make from scratch for a gallon of milk produced by that person's cow or goat. 

One Exception I'll have to consider is water.  We have public water here.  I will be drinking and using tap water that is not produced by me or this farm.  However, I will use rain water as much as I can.

Exception #2.  Salt.  I have no way of producing salt on this farm, and I live nowhere near salt water, so I'll be using salt that I buy in for preserving, pickling and fermenting.  I am starting my one year journey on January 1st, so I will be relying on food I preserve in the next six months to get me through the winter.

Over the next few months, I'll try to keep lists of what I think I'll need to survive until I start producing greens in the spring.  I'll have to stockpile herbs and leaves that I dry to use for teas and coffee substitutes.  Canning, freezing, drying, fermenting and storing food in the cellar.  This is the time I need to grow as much as possible to preserve what I'll need.  I will not be buying in anything except salt and water for my preserving needs, so my herbs will come in handy for flavor. 

I'm sure you are wondering why I would ever do such a thing.  We have so much abundance in this country and so many things to choose from.  So much convenience.  Why would anyone care about growing everything on site?  Well, one reason is because most people are convinced that it is not possible.  And I hate it when people tell me what to do or not do.  So, I'm in defiance, sort of. 

Another reason for doing this is there is SO MUCH abundance and so many things to choose from without even thinking about it.  We are not doing ourselves any favor by importing virtually everything we eat from hundreds or thousands of miles away.  In my cupboards right now I have coconut oil from Indonesia, Chia seeds which has a label that says "product of Paraguay, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Bolivia".  Green Olives from Spain, Olive Oil from Italy.  Tuna from CHINA!!!  Organic brown rice from Argentina, Banana Chips from the Philippines, and Hazelnut spread from Germany.  That is just the stuff in my cupboards that is from outside this country.  It doesn't list the many, many, many different and quite far away states some of the other food is coming from.  This is a wake- up call for me as I'm writing this and going through my present food supply.  If I can get just one person to go through their pantry and pay attention to where their food comes from,  I'll have accomplished something, indeed. 

If you think it's not a big deal for us to buy food in huge quantity from far away from our gardens, think again.  And think.  Think about the fossil fuels used to grow the food in huge fields.  Huge fields need tractors and big machines which all take gasoline of some sort.  Processing takes water and fuel.  Packaging is almost always plastic which is made from, can you guess?  Yep, petroleum.  Transporting from farm to factory and from factory to distributer and from distributer to grocery store and from grocery store to your home, all takes fossil fuels.  I haven't even mentioned gmo food and the pesticides needed for them to grow.  And the additives that come from...  somewhere??? in processed foods.

 Now think for a moment what I'll be using when I grow everything I consume for a year.  I have no need for a tractor or large machine, as I will be using a combination of methods to grow my food.  Such as straw bale gardens, the Ruth Stout method (covering the soil with straw to retain moisture, suppress weeds, add fertility) and the Back to Eden garden technique which uses wood chips or any cover for a "no till" process of growing.  Even though the straw we use is not grown on our property it is grown in the same town as us and is brought in all at once in one trip.  We have used our lawn mower with a tow behind tiller for spots in the garden that we have run out of straw or covering, but it gets used once or twice a year for 15-20 minutes.  I don't know how much gasoline that uses in that amount of time, but I bet it isn't as much as I use to get to my shop and back. 

I'm also using nothing but water on my gardens.  I mean NOTHING but water.  I have no use for insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, soil additives or anything I else I have to buy in. When needed, I use the compost from my chicken run.  The chickens eat a very small amount (I mean small) of organic grain, and the rest is bugs, worms and vegetation from the property.  I use some straw which composts and fertilizes in place.  There is no miracle grow.  None. Ever.  We use wood to heat the house and we spread the wood ashes in the garden to supplement the minerals.

The containers I'll be using for canning, freezing and pickling or fermenting are made of glass and I've saved them over the years.  Most of them are canning jars I've purchased at yard sales in this town or the next.  So,  not much footprint there.  I'll use a bit of electricity for freezing and canning.  I'll use my rocket stove outside for much of the canning.  Wood fire from wood grown right here.    And my cellar in this house has a dirt floor.  Perfect for keeping root vegetables.

So, the many reasons I'm doing this is because people say I can't, I'll be creating less of a use for fossil fuels, chemicals, pesticides and gmo's.   And another thing.  My health.  I'm curious to see if I can carry on as a healthy person eating only stuff I grow here.  No health food fads, no supplements from other countries, no protein except for what I can barter for, or what eggs my chickens can produce, no sweets, no exotic fruit, no grains, no alcohol except my wild yeast wine that I make here,  no coffee, no oils.  I'm defying the FDA's "Food Pyramid" and I'm going with what people have eaten for centuries before the industrialization of our food.  My very least and secondary reason for doing this project is to lose a few pounds.  Of course, my priority is to be healthy, but skinny and young is always a bonus.  lol.

In the next few months, I'll be updating and writing lists of things I'm Preserving or "putting up" for the winter.  As well as what I'm growing and planning for the coming year.  I'm so excited about my journey and I hope you'll come along for the ride.  I'm sure we'll both learn some new things in the process.

Until tomorrow.

k.