i’m going to try to start posting more regularly. plants are doing well – i’ve eaten most of the greens i started on my back porch in march. i think it may be too hot to bother growing more lettuces at this point, since they’ll bolt in the heat. however, tomatoes are underway, basil is growing, etc.
the only bad news? a couple weeks ago, i transplanted some flowers outside for the first time, and put some basil in the back yard. two hours later, a maintenance guy came and mowed everything, including a bunch of tulips that had been growing in our yard for quite a while! this was the first time anybody mowed this year, and it figures it happens right after i put out plants. so the flowers were cut off and are essentially screwed. luckily the basil were too small to get caught in the mower blades. i’m going to have to get around to staking off a little garden out back. also, i’m wondering how to deal with the relatively sandy soil we’ve got out back – not very good for plants. maybe i can mix in my good soil that i purchased at ricky’s flower market.
what else? the new york times has really stepped up its coverage of environmental and sustainability issues – not surprising, given the fact that gas just hit $4/gal in the u.s. and bad weather is causing a worldwide food shortage, with price increases that will hurt everyone.
Mark Bittman Puts Meat Back In Its Place
I like Bittman, because he manages to be a reasonable voice for a better-balanced, omnivorous diet. This is a great way to reach people who are reluctant to go vegetarian, while still encouraging them, using scientific and cultural evidence, to cut their meat consumption WAY down. Great points (read the article for a full discussion): most people get more protein than they need, and veggies can have more protein per calorie than meat, so the ‘where will you get your protein’ argument is a fallacy; stop centering your meals around meat – many cultures treat meat as a special treat, rather than the centerpiece of a meal; LEARN TO COOK MORE VEGETABLES!; a little pre-prep will make cooking non-meat items as convenient as a piece of beef; modify your restaurant dining a bit – most restaurant entrees are too big anyway.
Banking on Gardening
This article talks about folks who are cutting costs by doing their own gardening. More difficult for us city dwellers, naturally, but hardly impossible, as I’ve proven to myself. Some friends of mine who are lucky enough to have a nicer yard have built raised beds (plywood and a ton of soil of better quality than what’s on the ground already) and porches/windowsills/etc can be utilized. Seed companies are seeing a huge surge in demand! I bought mine from Fedco, a great company in Maine which emphasizes organic seeds and is working hard to cut GMO products out of its lineup. I spent about $30 for more seeds than I could use this year. Also, the Fedco site has great info on seed saving, which is probably going to be my next experiment.
I’d really like to learn more about gardening once I’ve relocated to Austin, probably by volunteering at a farm. Then I’d like to spread that knowledge (side note: a friend recently taught me to fix my own bike flats – I can’t wait to teach somebody else!).
More later (and hopefully pictures, too!)
