Our Humble Garden

It all began on Valentine's day, sitting in our dimly lit kitchen, planting all types of seeds in hopes of one day, in the coming summer, having a garden of our own. As many of you Nevadans know, spring teased us with cold frosts into June (not anything unusual for this area). Planting in February didn't seem like a bad idea at the time, but we soon learned that in Nevada you never plant anything outdoors until mid-May. We followed these guidelines, doing our best to keep the seedlings under 24 hour light for heat in our "college-style" heated house. All the while hoping they wouldn't take over too much more of our 800 square feet of living space. When finally, May 15th came. Our raised beds were built, filled with compost soil (that we got for next to nothing from a very generous source) and begged to be furnished. We planted our seedlings (if you could even call them that at this point) in the beds with love and care.

A couple of frosts came and went and along with them went nearly 75% of our garden. At this point, I had given up. The garden wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for the patience and willpower of my partner, Mitchell. (Here is where I introduce him to all of you who have been reading.) He deserves all the credit for how these plants have grown: waking up in the early morning before it gets too hot to water, spraying every plant's every leaf with neem when the aphids invaded (on more than one occasion). Although I cannot take the credit for this beautiful garden, I find much peace and quiet in the nightly, hand-held tour Mitch gives me of his work of art. He is so proud in these moments, knowing that he is taking care of the food that will nourish us in the coming months. There's nothing in the world sweeter than that. I am forever grateful for and admire his joyful energy. This post is for you, my love...may the gardens throughout our lifetime be plentiful and bring us much joy. May I continue to learn from you the patience to never give up. I love you.

Welcome to "Our" Garden...

Mitch made homemade Zucchini muffins this week. Mmmm good!

Waiting to make a Salsa Verde recipe from a cooking class I took while living in Puebla, MX

I get really excited over the bell peppers. When they first start to grow they are like little barbie-sized bell peppers.

The tomatoes have had a tough time this season with the frost and the aphids but soon we will have some ripe to eat.

And now...I introduce you to the herb garden (in a 5x5' raised bed)

Catnip: Great for a nice morning tea. But, if you're gonna grow catnip don't be surprised when the neighbors cat shows up to roll in it everyday. The best thing is that it keeps coming back.

"Miss Mug"- Mugwort. The queen of the garden. She is our second mugwort plant this season. The first one we bought from a farmers market in Sac (ramento that is). It was one of those instances where it was the saddest looking plant on the shelf but I just knew I could nurse her back to health. Turns out, it's a lot harder than it sounds. When we got her home, we noticed she had aphids. She actually took a few of our seedlings with her on her journey (of death by aphid that is). So we had to get rid of her. The one you see here is from a farmers market in Portland. She was looked upon with good care and graciously given a large Tuperware that spanned over her leaves for the plane ride home. She has been strong. Wait, that's an understatement...she has grown 31 times her original size.

ATTENTION: Ladies... mugwort is a natural mild narcotic and stimulates blood flow so relieves headaches and menstrual cramps. It has also shown signs of helping with the emotional side of your moon (aka PMS, not only in the way that men understand it as, but also the global PMS (aka I'm tired, I'm bloated, I want to curl up in a ball until it's over--just to name a few). It is also well known for it's enhancement of dreaming. It's got something for dreamers of all levels.

You can brew it into a tea. I usually take about 2 tsp. of dried mugwort, pour 1 cup of boiling water over it, let it sit for 3-5 minutes and serve/drink. It's good to start a few days in advance if you know the "not-so-fun" wave is coming your way. I try to drink it continuously throughout the day, throughout my moon.

Oh and guys... mugwort was one of the first herbs used to brew beer.

So now we are ALL clear... Miss Mug is the queen of the garden!

Beautiful Basil...the smell is intoxicating

What Mitch likes to call "Freemont Street", Vegas. But it was a good idea and really sets the "summer night" mood

Black tourmaline and smokey quartz Mitch mined near Frenchman's Lake and Hallelujah Junction. Here they appear in a young, raw coconut shell. These can be purchased from local ethnic markets for $2. They also have them at the co-op (Plumas and California, in the yellow building). It is the shell that keeps on giving. First you poke a hole in the top, put a straw in and drink the "oh-so-good" water. Then you crack it open and eat the meat. Apparently, coconut water is more hydrating than regular water. So drink up!

Compost pile

Dalias with a giant pinecone we found camping near the Sierra Buttes a couple weekends ago. We found a meadow to camp in with a fire pit already set up and stocked, just held out a match. Mitch set it all up again before we left. Pay it forward. We called this place Pinecone Manor.

A mysterious plant that poked up. Thought it was cilantro at one point...I guess it wasn't.

Snapdragons. No garden is complete without the plants that bring beauty, pure and simple. Ahhhh....

I misspoke...NO garden is complete without it's fair share of dandelions. Although many view them as a nuisance, I haven't been able to get over my childish affinity or wonder for them. Here's a challenge for you: Next time you see one of these "invasive weeds", pick one and blow it (for old times sake), and tell me they are not amazing! (Don't forget to notice how intricately designed all it's parts are before you blow it away.)

Just Amazing

Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Till next time... Pace!