Independence Days Challenge, Week 6: In Which Our Heroine Goes a Little Bit Crazy

Just after I posted last week’s write-up, I went out to the garden and worked for close to five hours. My back hated me a little, but my soul sang. Two beds are now composted and partly planted, two giant pots are planted, and I’ve started the nasty work of clearing weeds out of beds I neglected to clear in the fall.

Now we’re back to cooler weather–still warm for March, but not “what the hell?” warm. The peas, arugula and a little of the spinach I planted last last week are up. Trees are pollinating, things are blooming a month to two months early…it’s beautiful and scary and the air is pollen-laden to the extent that even my husband, who has minimal to no allergies, is congested and Random, Heather and I are all wheezing, sneezing and generally miserable. Hence a day of inside work!

Plant something: (I’m being specific about varieties because in some cases I emptied the seed packet and I’m likely to forget); Cascadia snap peas; Little Marvel shell peas (somehow planted the whole packet, so no fall crop of those); Tyee and Burgundy spinach; arugula; tiny patch of anonymous boc choi to use up the packet; Heinz Processor, Brandywine, Gardener’s Delight, and Yellow Pear tomatoes (and I still have more to start!); Valentine lettuce; chard; more Chinese kale; corn salad; transplanted lettuce and some of the Chinese kale outside.

Harvest something: Kale, dandelions

Waste not: Packed up a few things for donation, but otherwise nothing unusual

Want not: Nothing unusual.

Eat the food: I discovered frozen basil makes good basil limeade…yum. Made chili from home-canned tomatoes and frozen beans. It’s been a crazy week and we ate a lot of quick meals and leftovers–but didn’t order takeout, so I feel pretty good about that.

Support local food systems: Not so much. Since we had to go to Providence last night, we didn’t go to the farmers’ market this week, and I skipped last weekend because we didn’t need enough to justify the trip, which is about 45 miles round-trip. So while I didn’t support the market, I figured we kept our carbon footprint a little more reasonable.

Skill up: Nothing new.