Thursday, May 9, 2013

woohoo - first naked gardening day of 2013!!!

it was awesome. yesterday, wednesday, may8, 2013. we gardened naked for the whole day! it was absolutely fantastic!

next up - the always promised sky pic for my mole sister, Helga. look Helga, the green is starting to come back!

 

and here's out front:

 

and again:



there's lots of green slowly coming back. we had an excellent winter - no staying snow until the end of february and that only lasted for about 2 weeks. for the first 2 weeks in march it was bare ground and we were looking forward to getting into the garden in april. and then we got hit with an unexpected snowstorm. and that snow stayed for 2 weeks and froze the ground so that there was no working on the raised beds or tires...and worse, jambaloney couldn't start work on the greenhouse that he is building for us - he had to wait until the ground was workable.

why? you ask. well, because we will need proper drainage in the greenhouse. meaning trenches needed to be dug as well as the railway ties that he has been gathering for years now needed to be sunk in the ground. here's a sneak peak at my new greenhouse floor:

 

 isn't it awesome?!?!?!?!? when completed it will be 8ft by 20ft, plus 6ft high on the short end and 8ft high on the tall end...our roof will slope and the greenhouse is being built facing south - it's going to be a wicked season extender and early season starter. i can't wait for it to be built! he has been working on it like mad! also, we had our Framboise family's help in getting the railway ties sunk and levelled. our dear friend E's 2 boys, H & N, came over the weekend before last to help dig out trenches for the railway ties to be laid. then they went to the beach with jambaloney and shovelled a truck load of sand onto the truck bed. then they unloaded all of the sand. the following day they shovelled the sand to level the floor and the railway ties. then E's other son, M, came over and needed a ride into a nearby town in order to get a job on the fishing boats. so jambaloney downed tools to give him a life and H & N just kept on working. they knew what they were doing and they did a mighty fine job. i was very proud of them! we will be getting them back to help when jambaloney is putting the roof on the greenhouse. imagine - a greenhouse built out of all thrown away windows! it's going to be sooo awesome. oh, and jambaloney has gone to the beach 3 more times to get truckloads of rocks as you can see in the picture. then he shoveled the rocks off of the truck and onto the sand in order to finish the floor of the greenhouse. the rocks, sand and trenches will provide good drainage as i intend to spray all of my plants using the garden hose....and i intend to have many plants in the greenhouse! jambaloney will do future posts on step by step instructions - i just wanted to give you all a sneak peak.

anyway, the last few weeks have been spent getting the garden ready for planting. some of those days included wearing gloves, boots and scarves which then changed into t-shirts and workpants, which then changed into tank tops and shorts - and finally yesterday it was full-on NAKED GARDENING DAY - woohoo!

well, we had to down tools in late afternoon to go to our Fourchu family's house, C & B's, in order for jambaloney to try and fix B's laptop, and to set up a new router for all of their computers. it was good as gold in regards to the router - not so good for the laptop. the darn thing wouldn't even start!!! jambaloney had everyone laughing when he said "ok guys...my job begins after the thing powers up. if there's no juice, there's nothing i can do!". so they have to send it back to the manufacturer and get it replaced. after that, it was off to the Volunteer Fire Department meeting where we all received our Level C CPR/AED certifications which are valid until 2016 - woohoo!

for those of you who don't know, Level C in Canada means that you are qualified to do single, or two-rescuer cardiopulmonary resuscitation and choking maneuvers for adult, child and infant casualties. the AED certification means that you are qualified in the knowledge and skill to safely use an automated external defibrilator. for this course, i think we had 16 of our members now qualified at these levels. we also have 3 fully-trained Medical First Responders. being that our VFD only has 28 members - over half of us are trained to help in a variety of emergencies. and that is a good feeling.

anyway, back to the garden - woohoo! we have amended our soil by adding sawdust and a truckload of year old composted horse manure and hay - the stuff smells delicious, looks delicious and i was very tempted to try eating some. honestly, the guy we got it from has been making organic horse manure/hay compost for 18 years. he filled our truckbed with that gold and we have been adding it to all of our raised beds and tires! to get ready for planting - which i have spent the past 5 days doing - woohoo!  have a look:



that's all-season blend broccoli, all-season blend cabbage and french breakfast radishes! next up, have any of you had problems in years past with making plant markers for your beds and having them run in the rain even though you used permanent marker?!?!?!? i sure have! this year, jambaloney made me markers from old siding. i then used a paint marker and some spray adhesive stuff and hopefully these will last for years to come - have a peak - i love them:


back to the garden - 
 






all in all - here is what has been planted so far:

Bush Peas - 4 varieties
Pole Peas - 5 varieties
Carrots - 6 varieties
Beets - 3 varieties
Radishes - 3 varieties
Onion - 3 varieties
Chives - saved seed from last year
Kale - 3 varieties plus saved seed from last year
Swiss Chard - 1 variety
Spinach - 2 varieties
Cauliflower - all season blend
Broccoli - all season blend
Cabbage - all season blend
Brussel Sprouts - 1 variety
Pak Choi - 1 variety
Chinese Cabbage - 1 variety
Daikon Radish - 1 variety
Rutabaga - 1 variety
Garlic - 1 variety

so that's what is in the ground for now. however...in our crappy, little make-shift greenhouse in the kitchen we have:

72 tomatoe plants - 6 each of 7 varieties, and 8 each of 3 varieties. have a peak:




the styrafoam that you see is silver on the front and therefore reflects the light and the heat.


also in the greenhouse is 40 pepper plants - 4 each of 10 varieties - woohoo!

can you say 24 tires of potatoes??? oh yes you can!


this year we are doing irish cobblers, red chieftains and brown russets. oh and the absolutely amazing thing is that we are still eating last year's potatoes that were harvested for the final time in december. those potatoes are still as fresh as the day they were harvested. better yet - we used our harvested potatoes for seed this year - no need to buy seed potatoes when you already have your own!

continuing on, jambaloney had to clear some land to give us extra room this year. in clearing the area he had to cut down a bunch of alders. we felt bad doing it but knew that we would put those alders to good use! in the interest of waste not/want not - we used the alder branches to make teepees for our pole peas. we will do the same for the pole beans. we will use the alder branches as stakes for tomatoes, peppers and anything else. those alder branches will not go to waste!


 well, to wrap up this long, drawn-out post, i will leave you with some food pics. you can't do all of that planting and building and seed-starting and whatnot without some good food in your belly. how about some delicious liver, mushrooms and onion with rice, some quinoa salad and grape tomatoes and olives:





 certainly not to be outdone by a delicious plate of vietnamese noodles with bok choi, cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and green onion with some mandarines on the side:





mmmmm. and then there's coconut curried chicken with a ton of fresh cilantro, a parlsey, tomatoe, cucmber and sprout salad with some pineapple:

 

 i know that it has been a while since i posted and i hope that i am making up for that with this looooong post. as it is gardening season, i will want to keep an almost daily diary of what's growing and stuff. plus soon we will be swimming in the river. so expect more regular posts coming. good luck to you in all of your gardening endeavours - i promise to hit up all of your blogs this evening and tomorrow!

(p.s. - today we had a few hours of naked gardening but then it got overcast! and it looks like we are in for a week of overcast/grey skies/showers/etc. but i just know that naked gardening season has started and i can't wait to share more naked gardening adventures with you all!)

34 comments:

  1. I think you all should write a book. And call it "NAKED GARDENING." With pictures, and how to do your garden. I bet it would make the BEST SELLER list in no time.

    I was really excited about the meals, until you brought up them dreaded Smurf brains. LOL! It looks really good though.

    And the garden, looks like it will give you all that you need, and then some. Maybe you could sell some at a farmers market or something.

    It's good to see you blog.

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    1. Flier - so glad to see you again, buddy! i have been keeping up with Kathi's updates and am so glad you are doing well - keep it up, buddy! and i will be sending jambaloney over to your latest posts about the bricks, potatoes and knives - what awesome info! thanks for sharing!

      we don't grow enough to sell at a farmer's market but this year we will grow enough to be able to give a basket of fresh produce to all of our family and friends, as well as to our friends on the 2 Mi'kmaq reserves that we frequently buy from. if we are able to do that - we will feel very successful!

      and you need to eat you some smurf brains - they are good for you but they are also delicious! i promise buddy!

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  2. Since you didn't see my comment on the last post (you would have answered it if you had) I have to repeat myself:

    I haven't seen Helga around here for ages. Is she well? I hope you've checked on her since you never neglect to post a sky photo for your dearest sister. She's definitely been MIA for so, so long.

    I miss seeing her comments!

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    1. hey lottajoy...have not received an email notification of your last comment so i am glad that you repeated yourself.

      my dear sweetest Helga sometimes gets caught up in things called life. she is not a big internet dweller and can sometimes disappear for a few weeks at a time - not to worry. she has finally learned to live life at her own pace...well, maybe not at her own...but with consideration to her family obligations...and saying more would be betraying her confidence. i will send you an email as soon as i hear back from her from my latest correspondence with her. i, and she, appreciate your concern.

      thanks so much.

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  3. So did you put your clothes back on when you went to the Fourchu family's house? :D Don't you get bitten (not by jambaloney) by bugs and scratched to death when you garden naked?

    I have to say I always garden fully clothed so I don't get arrested. :D

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    1. Joey buddy - we have to put on clothes whenever we meet our Framboise and Fourchu families....although one of our family members, S, wouldn't mind if we didn't wear clothes. i swear, he'd strip right down and join us - bahahahah! as for bugs - the black flies will be out soon and they are deadly so we wear our bug nets...they cover our heads and bodies. but we are naked inside of them. but the black flies are usually gone by mid to end july - thank goodness! and then we just naked everything!

      as for being arrested...there are only like 6 cops on the whole island - bahahahahahah! we are really lucky that way!

      thanks for stopping in buddy!

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  4. Glad your garden is so well underway. Wish I could say that mine is!

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    1. Mr. Smythe - the beds are ready and the seeds are planted..now i just have to sleep with one eye open for the next 5 nights as we may get a deluge and if we do - we have to run out and put up some protective plastic to keep the seeds from washing away. so far it looks like it will only be sporadic showers for the next few days - *fingers crossed*. i hope that you can get to your garden soon. i also hope that you get that well-suited job soon. we are praying for you, Sir.

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  5. I had a source to scrounge Styrofoam with a shiny, silver paper on one side. Now, I will see if I can find more to use as you did. Brilliant!

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    1. Linda/PracticalP - you have a crazy sense of always getting to the heart of a post - like always! ya that silver-lined styrofoam is a god-send in regards to starting plants. you can bet there will be tons of it in the greenhouse. go and get yourself some more, girl!

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  6. Wonderful. Between you and Duke's gardens I can now look forward to some wonderful meals. Well done, guys.

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    1. oh dear sweet one - i wish that we all lived closer together! i could use my wiles to make Duke share his bounty and i would share all of the goodies from my garden with you in a heartbeat...and cook ya lots of good food and stuff. yer a damn fine, hard working American patriot. least i could do, buddy!

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  7. Gratz. That greenhouse floor area looks sharp and will be a wonderful addition for you guys.

    Looks like the rains are finally winding down here so I cna get some serious planting done.

    Your place is really looking good!!!

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    1. PP - thanks so much buddy. i have been catching up on all of your latest posts and you have been working your butt off regardless of the rains! i hope that you get some good dry weather over the next couple of weeks to get everything planted. and i am glad to hear that "your girls" are doing well. keep up the good work buddy!

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  8. My squash are almost ready to eat, don't tell Stephen he will be over here begging. I decided to plant potatoes in tires this year. Looks good.

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    1. Duke - big, big Bro with a capital B - i won't tell Stephen nuthin' - he'll have to go elsewhere to get any intel on the state of your garden. you can trust me, Bro. let me know if you have any questions about potatoes in tires...we been doing them that way nigh on 6 yrs now...and we have always had success. our worst year, we harvested 120lbs of potatoes. our best year, 200lbs. this year we hope for 230lbs. fingers crossed, Bro!

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  9. Those garden beds look great! I suppose the fencing is to keep critters out. What tries to take all your veggies? Looking forward to watching that greenhouse get built. Isn't is great to have willing & able helpers? And, as usual, the meals look delicious!

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    1. thanks so much sweet DFW - i really appreciate that! as for the chicken wire - it's not to keep anyone out. the only critters that ever come around are bunnies - and they love munching on our white, pink and red clover so much that they have never even noticed the beds and tires. nope the chicken wire is to keep "THE CATS" out!!! we have 3 fixed males and given even the slightest chance, they will be in the tires in seconds digging and such. jessh. they are a royal pain. the greenhouse is finally coming along and jambaloney is really working it. having the additional family helpers in the form of young teenage boys and early adult boys..oh my gawd - what a blessing! we are so lucky to have them. we have so much to be thankful for, DFW. i think you know of what i speak!

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  10. I just have to ask... Do you wear your bunny ears when naked gardening? :) Ha ha! Glad y'all had a beautiful day.

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    1. buddy - i think it would be easier if i answered the question "what activities don't i wear my bunny ears?". buddy - i am coming up with a blank - bahahahahahah! ya nutter!

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  11. Sweet Naked Friend Kymber,

    I should have none it was that time of year when you and Jambaloney go buff and play in the dirt :-)

    Bahahahahahahahah.................That totally explains the full moon!!!!

    You've been very busy planting my dear friend, I love all the garden boxes, and tires. You will have a large harvest this year, are you going to be doing some major canning this year?
    I'm so excited to hear all the specs on your greenhouse, this will make a world of difference with growing fruit and vegetables any time of the year.

    Thank you for the heads up about Mamma Bear's give - away. You are a great friend, thank you for being a part of my life.
    Your Friend,

    P.S. Give Jambaloney a hug :-)
    Sandy

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    1. dear sweet Sandy - bahahahahaha about the full moon!!! too funny! and yes - we plan to do a ton of canning and freezing this year. in fact, we are planning on setting up the canner in a semi-permanent place outside so that everytime i have enough produce to fill a jar - we'll can it or freeze it on the spot! as for the greenhouse - you are sooo right! it will be so great to be able to have fresh herbs and whatnot in winter. we are also planning a couple of hot boxes/cold frames to be able to grow beet and turnip greens, spinach and radishes over the winter.

      you are very welcome for the heads up about the give-away. and i pray that either you or i win so that you will get the honey. you are such a sweet and dear friend and i am very glad to have you in my life. jambaloney too. and he sends a hug right back to you!

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  12. goodness...no wonder you haven't posted in awhile. You are far ahead of me on planting, "naked" or not...bahahaha...We still had some freezing weather in April and then rain...lots and lots of rain. I only have the tomatoes, peppers, squash and a few peas in the ground. It is so late for me I am wondering if I should even bother this year. We did the tomatoes, peppers and squash by the Eden method. So far it looks like it is going to do wonders. I do see that a very large garden will take a long time making using this method. We should have started last fall and then we'd be good.

    Use a plain pencil on your plant markers. I promise the pencil writing will be there years from now!

    Everything looks great my friend!

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    1. bahahahahaha Mamma - that was a good one! i think the eden method is awesome and you will have to keep us updated on how it works out for you. and thanks for the tip about the pencil...i swear every year my markers have run and it drives me nuts!

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  13. *looking at my email and waiting for the naked photos*

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  14. Kymber, I just finished up a my beds in the back yard (Square foot garden). I found some squash seeds that grow on bushes and one is is supposed to be ready for harvest in 45-55 days. Heck I didn't know that some squash grew in bushes. Heck it might be possible to get 3 full batches of growing those little sqaush with replanting until October.
    Buying a book that covers all kinds of fermenting foods from beer and wine to krauts, kim chee and meat preservation. I have had good luck doing beer and mead so I just need to start adding in more veggies and fruits. Five new (used) cookbooks to read and try out recipes.

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    1. myadventures - it sounds like you are all set and ready to go for this season - woohoo for you! i didn't know that squash grew in bushes either - you'll have to keep us updated! and i love fermented food. we have kraut, kimchi and other veg down pat but have just gotten a beer kit and will try to make our own. and i love finding new (used) cookbooks - be sure to tell us on your blog about any good recipes that you find. lastly - i am adding you to our blogroll right now!

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    2. kymber, if you need any help with the beer give me a holler. I have been doing Brew In A Bag (BIAB) and I get about the same results as people that have the special brew pots, sparge and all that complicated stuff. I have several posts on brewing beer with extract or all grain and if you go all grain you can use the leftover grains as food for most livestock or make some specialty breads.

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    3. jamie - we are reading through all of your old posts to get an early handle on tips, mistakes, etc. we will definitely be calling on your knowledge and experience when we start brewing. thank you so much for the kind offer. oh and jambaloney is drooling over your beer bread - teehee!

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  15. Kymber and Jam,
    I suppose there is no arguing with all that work done, and the fabulous food, but I can't imagine gardening naked, even in Nova Scotia. Don't you worry about House Spiders, Brown Recluse, and Black Widows ? As I the only one when in Canada, they seem to chase ?

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    1. dearest Jane - yep - it looks like all of the spiders in canada have got your number! we see the occasional house spider in the house - they don't bother us, they mostly live in our house plants AND they catch and eat flies...so we leave those guys alone to do their work. as for Brown Recluses and Black Widows...we don't have those here. i think they must all be down on the mainland waiting for your return - bahahahahahah! oh sorry, i just couldn't help myself!

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