This week in the 'couve

Here we are in the middle of May 2011 and the weather says "April" loud and clear. Lilacs are blooming, thunder storms are predicted and it is the coldest spring on record with only 5 or 6 days above 50 degrees F.

We are so lucky and blessed to have a greenhouse. It is full of 12 kinds of tomatoes, seedlings including scarlet runner beans, popcorn, anahiem peppers, banana peppers and bell peppers, watermelon, pumpkin, blueberries and a variety of pollinator attracting flowers.

The grape vine, filbert and apple trees are breaking bud.

Chives, raspberries and strawberries are blooming. Blueberries are setting on fruit. Lettuce, spinach, onions, scallots and garlic are growing well.

We intend to set out the bean starts this weekend so soil prep is under way. Will add coffee grounds, rabbit manure and compost after picking out at least one bucket of river rock. Sigh. Lots of rock for lots of projects.

Check out my book review at http://www.examiner.com/organic-gardening-in-vancouver/seeds-of-change-the-living-treasure-review

What are you doing in your garden this week?

The new TwoRivers Music Podcast will be available later today at http://tworiversmusicpodcast.blogspot.com/    Drop by and listen!

All images are by Eric Donaldson Tworivers. You can view his work at http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/eric-tworivers.html

This week in the garden.

Kale

Lettuces

It rained, poured actually most of the week but we were able to harvest four nice salads from the garden. Three kinds of lettuce, baby spinach and two kinds of kale. Those four salads have almost paid for the seeds we've bought this year.

Transplanted twelve tomatoes, a Sweet Basil and two Stevia plants to larger pots in the greenhouse - still too cold to plant out. Also planted twelve seed cells of Scarlet Runner Beans, Japanese white hull less popcorn, six Jack Be Little Pumpkin, six Sugar Baby Watermelon, twelve Anaheim pepper and six each of Chinese lantern, Snapdragon and Asters. Said greenhouse is getting full! It's a good thing we have a larger one to put up. Just have to dig up a bit of turf, spread sand and lay the brick we got from Craig's list. Might start that today as the sun is shining.

Tomatoes in the greenhouse.

Last week we had a Forsythia bush and two old, ratty Rhododendrons removed. The roots are under the house and sidewalk so could not pull them out. This means constant duty to keep them from growing back but it does give us a bit more space for edible crops.

Other news: First: We-meaning Eric-are working on a podcast! We have a new Thursday evening venue, The Sellwood Public House, where we are doing a showcase/open mic and podcast. AS soon as it is on line I'll post the link here. The talent is amazing! Second: Volume I of our cookbook should be available sometime in May! I'll let you know about that too. Third: Two of my piano students performed for an educators dinner and did very well! It's fun to watch them grow and progress.

I have a review of a lovely book at http://www.examiner.com/organic-gardening-in-vancouver/apples-by-gail-gibbons-review.

It's fun and busy here. Hope your gardening week will go well.

Our urban homestead.

Spent part of the week building a slide show of our 2010 garden, Fun, frustrating, productive. The garden and the video both.


I am writing for The Examiner.com. You can read post, how to's, events, link to our videos at http://www.examiner.com/organic-gardening-in-vancouver/deanna-tworivers

Thank you!!!!

Rain and Fall

I haven't posted in a while because the  summer has been intensely busy. We, TwoRivers Music, have played all over Oregon and Washington this summer and have shows booked "away" through October.

The weather has kept things interesting in the garden. We have discovered that our front garden in really a wind tunnel-part of the "gorge effect" I'm sure. High on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River the wind comes zooming from the East, up the street, across the front garden and through the back gate. Our tomatoes suffered from this and it actually took out our trellis of Scarlet Runner Beans. Ah, live and learn. The front garden in a different micro climate from the back. The back gets sun all day and is much more sheltered from the wind. Next year tomatoes will go in the back. Basil growing in the back is also much happier than in the front so...Basil in the back next year!!
We've canned applesauce and peach butter, frozen lots of cubes of basil for winter use. There will be more of that as the basil in the back is still producing!!

Next project: we started a no/low cards/ no wheat way of eating. I won't call it a diet because it's a change of lifestyle. I've lost 11 pounds and quite a few inches (yay!) and my partner has lost 20 pounds (!!!). We both feel much  better. When it came time to add carbs to what we eat we considered how best to do it. Didn't want to eat processed foods to the extent that we did and the wheat free breads are very expensive in the local stores and the variety is very limited. After research and consideration we sent for a packet of dry sourdough starter from San Francisco and bought spelt flour. By feeding the spelt flour to the starter we now have a 99% spelt starter. Have a lovely ceramic pot with sealing lid from Value Village for the starter. Had one misadventure with the bread. We bought a used clay baking pot and it cracked and fell apart with the first bread baking.  Very disappointing. Next trip to Value Village we got a Corningware pot and lid. It works really well. The bread is dark, rich, moist and very sour! Makes great toast and is good with Eric's home made egg salad!! Last night after work (full day teaching piano and voice lessons, accompanying a church choir at rehearsal) we made our first trial at sourdough, spelt chocolate chips cookies. End result, very tasty, 8 dozen cookies mostly in the freezer. Thank you Eric for doing all the work and clean up!! You have the master's touch!
For those who might be interested all these experiments will result in a cookbook.
Canning tomatoes today thanks to a friend whose garden is not in the wind tunnel!! Playing music at a retirement home. No watering the garden today as the fall rain is taking care of it. We have green beans, tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, broccoli, basil, carrots, chard, onions and more still growing. Starting the fall clean up and planting. Got a mini green house to set up and much organizing to do.
Happy Fall!