In the Garden

Today we had a major find in the garden--not as epic as coming across a new marble, but remarkable nonetheless.

By noon we had roto-tilled a potato patch and planted 3 rows of red potatoes (so much for keeping better records this year as I already forget what type and I threw out the bag before writing down the name). Also planted 10 raspberry canes, one apple tree and a hydrangea. I moved 6 hedge rose from where I planted all the extra trees last year, placing them downhill from my swale in hopes that their roots will bind the topsoil and prevent more erosion.

Before it began to rain, I turned the soil in two of the raised beds. I worry that one has too much clay, but I will try to amend with compost before planting. I am waiting to plant the rest of the garden until closer to June--it has been a cool spring and I don't want to lose anything to frost this year. There is much more to plant but rain is welcome. In the past few days of rain we have done more work in the basement and been pleased to see our lawn begin to grow.

Wherever you are this weekend, may you dig a hole and find an awesome rhinoceros (or the happy equivalent thereof). 

One (Lonely) Swale

I began to read Toby Hemenway's Gaia's Garden in the winter of 2012/13, when we still lived in our old house an hour's drive south of here. It is a very practical guide to planning one's yard, and one that impressed upon me the importance of water conservation (among other things).

In the book, Hemenway illustrates the usefulness of swales in reducing water runoff on slopes. The idea is to dig a trough of one to two feet deep (in my case, much closer to ONE backbreaking foot deep!):

Although it looks like I have put the swale running downhill, the actual slope that we lose most of the runoff from is to the left of the trench I dug.

See what I mean? This is facing uphill, where snow melt and rain runoff had actually worn deep gullies into the soil before we harrowed (carrying away my valuable topsoil). But back to the swale. Into the bottom my helpers and I deposited first, gravel. We topped that with sand because, hey, they had loaded their John Deere trailer and I hated to disappoint ;)

The next layer was straw (or rather long dead grass out of the bushes). It was straw-like and more plentiful than the bit of straw I swiped from the farm for my compost. We quickly covered it before the wind blew it away. Looks like the helpers are conspiring...

Ah, yes, they moved on to more exciting adventures and left mommy to finish the job. As usual ;)

The point of the swale is to catch water as it moves down the slope and give it somewhere to go (rather than gushing downhill in soil depleting rivers). When the water hits the swale (and the slight berm that is on the downhill side of the swale...difficult to photograph...) it should soak in and travel along the gravel bottom before soaking slowly and more deeply below-ground--the width of the swale.

I had high hopes that we might get three or even four swales installed because our yard is sloping in every direction. Alas, I managed only this one poor lonely swale by the sweat of my own brow. We are short on time and very short on horse power, but if there is a chance this fall after my cover crops get turned under I hope to try another.

Have you any water conservation strategies in place in your garden? Or is the rainfall plentiful enough that you haven't the need?

All In A Day's Work

We have settled into a routine with Husband home and weather warm enough to work outside. Slowly but surely we are striking tasks off our (long) list. And as I strike them off, more tasks get added until it seems we may never finish. Indeed, that is the whole point, for our list is made up jobs that require us to work together, co-operate, be outdoors, connect with the land and nature...all of the reasons we moved here and began this adventure a year ago.

We were lucky to get several truckloads of free birch for firewood. Husband has been splitting it so that it dries without rotting, and stacking it in the trees near the garage. Initially we planned to build a wood shed this year, but we are undecided where to put it. We might wait til next year when we know what will be most convenient. I hate the thought of putting things in the wrong place because we are in a hurry to get things done!

Husband also stacked all the wood leftover from our garage-build. From that stash we used 2"x10" boards for two raised beds, and 2'x12" boards for the middle one. We used what we have on hand. The beds look small to me, but my garden at our old house was only productive at the west end (an area much smaller than these 3 beds combined. I also plan to plant my potatoes, corn and peas outside of the raised beds, so for this year I think we will get enough food from these 3 beds.

In the picture below, you might notice a layer of cow manure. The four year old and I have been busy collecting cow patties from the pasture. We also had a blast gathering earth worms out of the dirt I dug from my fish pond. Many were added to the garden beds, and many more to the compost pit. I fear the two-year-old may have dropped most of his during the delivery, but I'm sure the worms have found their way back into the earth by now ;)

We have had some very productive days working in our yard. There are moments with a four and two-year-old where it seems we might get nothing done--but this year is just an indication of things to come. As they get older the kids will stray further from my sight to build forts and climb trees, explore the little creek and climb the rock piles. I have a feeling I better enjoy having them under foot while I still can!

A Room of One's Own

Virginia Woolf said, for a woman to write she must have 400 pounds a year and a room of her own (Not a direct quote. And I couldn't figure out how to make the sign for British money. I'm off to a poor start). I would agree with Virginia, and add that a woman needs a room of her own if she wants to do anything creative. I know, I know. I heard that J. K. Rawlings wrote Harry Potter on the backs of napkins in noisy restaurants. Clearly there are exceptions to the rule. But for me, I am loving finally having a sewing room all to myself. It is where I sew and write this blog, keep track of bills and banking, and I feel that more is possible now that I have a dedicated space for my hobbies. (Clearing the kitchen table to sew, then removing everything for sticky little fingers and snacks every few hours is just not an option anymore).

This room has been a dumping ground in our new home. We did not even have stairs to the basement until this winter, so many things that did not belong were being stored here for lack of storage elsewhere. As we have gained access to the basement and now have our garage as well, I am slowly clearing the clutter and making this room what I had imagined it to be.

I bought this old desk at a flea market. Love those sturdy legs!

I bought this old cabinet on kijiji. I love the glass doors--unfortunately we broke one when we put the shelf in. We don't talk about it--it's too soon.

I have finally organized my material so I can see what I have. I think it is pretty and cheerful behind the glass.

This little room had an elliptical trainer, a 10x13' rug, boxes and toys that have all finally found their proper places in our home. I am not expecting any major works of art to come from my little sewing room. We keep toys in here and it can get a little dusty in the corners. But now that I have a space of my own I hope to dedicate some time each week to my own creativity. When I do that I feel happier and more connected. I think Virginia would be proud.

Do you have a dedicated area where you can craft/ write/ create? 

Coconut Oil For Teeth

We have had a few weeks of cold and wet--snow and rain mixed which swamped our new yard and caused the compost to pile up (the pile being in the muddiest part of the yard). Daily I swept up a dustpan FULL of mud and dirt from the yard, adding this to the compost waiting to be taken out. At the same time we lost our sporadic and unreliable internet connection. The only thing consistent about our internet is the monthly bill that rolls in whether you have a signal or not. But I digress :)

Spring is tentative this year. The moisture has helped to bring a glint of green, here and there. We need some heat for things to erupt, but in the meantime we are wearing our toques in the wind and preparing to plant lawn. The list of projects is long but after waiting all winter to tackle most of them, it is very satisfying to begin. Outdoors we have wood to split and stack, rocks and stones to pick, lumber to stack and raised beds to build, along with a new compost bin and swales (more on all of this later). Indoors we have painted the basement and are sealing the concrete floor down there. We aren't going to finish the ceiling this year but trim and baseboards will come soon. It is a busy time and Husband is home to help. It is nice to work together as a family.

I will post on our many projects as we complete them. For today, I wanted to share what I have learned about coconut oil. I heard from friends about the many uses of coconut oil so bought some and tried it in baking (like it but it's expensive). My brother takes a teaspoon per day in his coffee to prevent gout.  I finally gathered my nerve and tried coconut oil on my teeth in what is called a "pull". Essentially you take a teaspoon full of coconut oil in the mouth and swish it through your teeth for ten to twenty minutes (or as long as you can stand it). My first attempt was a wretched four minutes but by then I lost my nerve and the kids needed yelling at. Husband bragged that he managed 24 minutes so my next try was more determined (and the kids were being bathed by their dad so I had no excuse). I swished the oil for 16 minutes and will continue to use the oil daily for a couple more days. My sensitive teeth are no longer bothering me; they appear more white (even the coffee stains on the backs of my bottom teeth) and hot and cold foods are no longer painful to eat. Husband agrees and we are fans of the oil (if not the melting sensation of lard turning to oil in my mouth). If you have sensitive teeth but dread the dentist (bill) you might give it a try--I found it in the health food aisle at the grocery store.

Have you ever tried coconut oil? I've read about its many uses--what do you use it for?

Peas Pudding, a Newfoundland Favorite

Many in Newfoundland call their Sunday Dinner "Jiggs Dinner". I've never found out if I spell it right, but no one has corrected me :)

I get a surprising number of readers that are looking for a traditional Newfoundland dressing recipe so I thought that those searching for a recipe from "back home" might be making a full jiggs. There are probably many variations out there, but I follow what the mother-in-law does and get no complaints around here ;)

A Newfoundland Sunday Dinner is usually comprised of salt meat, boiled with split yellow peas in a bag, turnip, cabbage, carrot and potato. We always have ours with either a roast turkey stuffed with dressing, or a roast chicken with the dressing baked separately. A turkey is really too much if it is just us, so I do a chicken to avoid wasting (or eating leftovers for a week!)

The first thing I do is soak the salt meat (I do this the morning of the big meal). This is a matter of preference (and NOTE: this meal is definitely not part of a low-sodium diet!) Those that prefer the salt might not rinse (too salty for me) and those wishing to reduce salt content would change the water completely as many times as they like. Personally, I do one rinse. It is a salty meal but one that we don't have often.

This picture is from last year in my old house.
I intended to do this post back then
 and am only finally writing it now!

While the meat soaks I prepare the yellow split peas by sorting them and looking for any stones or lentils that don't belong.

I have a peas pudding bag that I purchased at Sobey's last year. I have also made my own bags from a clean pillow case. If you make your own bag you must be sure that tiny threads do not make their way into your peas, or into the boiling pot of meat. I did several passes with my sewing machine on a straight stitch and also a zig zag stitch and clipped the material very close to avoid bits of material coming off.

I put about 1 cup of yellow split peas into the bag and tie the bag shut with kitchen string, leaving 1 or 2 inches room for the peas to expand/fill with water. If they are packed in too tight they take longer to cook and may not get enough water circulating to soften entirely (a mistake that I have made). As well, you must tie the bag to the handle of your stock pot so that it does not scorch (also a mistake that I have made). Make sure that the bag is off the bottom of the pan (see below) but is low enough in the pot to be submerged in the boiling water.

I put the salt meat in the pot with fresh water and set it to boiling with the peas. I try to have it boil 4 hours but have gotten away with less. You must continually top-up the water level so that the peas are submerged, and I give it a little stir initially to check that the meat didn't stick down (you guessed it, I've done that too!).

The meat and peas will boil approximately 3 hours before adding vegetables to the stock pot. I add turnip first (cut into chunks about 2" x 3"). I then let the water return to a boil for 15-20 minutes before adding the cabbage (cut into quarters, core intact to hold it together). I add carrots, cut in half, after the water has returned to a boil for 15 minutes. If I am boiling the potatoes in the same pot I add them at the same time, but quite often I boil them separately and just turn that pot on at the same time. Generally, I begin adding vegetables about an hour and a half before I plan to eat.

Once the boiling is complete, remove vegetables into a serving bowl. To prepare the peas pudding for the table, I cut the string tying the bag to the pot and carefully snip the string that has kept the bag shut. I later rinse the bag for reuse, so I'm careful not to put a hole in the bag when I snip the string. Dump the bag into a dish and mash any peas that aren't already mushy. I whip them up with a fork, adding approximately one tablespoon of butter per cup of peas pudding.

This picture taken with my phone does not do peas pudding any justice. It is a thick, creamy pudding (think split pea soup) seasoned with the salt and flavor of the beef over several hours of boiling. We love it and I hope you give it a try!

Fish Pond: The Dig

Last fall, I was fortunate to have my dad show up one day with a tractor. All the topsoil that had been stripped away in order to dig our basement and haul in the house was in a big pile at the south end of my yard. We had already rented a bobcat to do some landscaping and had done some sloping and leveling. However, the dirt was in a pile and winter approached.

If you knew my dad, you would know that taking a day to go landscape a yard would be considered "a day off" when there are too many other farm chores to be done. It was a surprise, and an honour, to see a tractor whistle past my kitchen window one morning (just a guess, but I think it has a bit to do with the two little helpers that he adores).

The house is on a hill and try as we might we ended up with a low spot on the south-facing slope. Luckily, the low spot was in the perfect place for a fish pond. In the last two weeks we had a few days of nice weather, so my boys and I have been busy with the ground work for a pond. In our first day of digging, we stripped the topsoil down to clay, except for a few places that were still frozen.

Those rocks spent the winter in that spot.
The ground was still completely frozen
 beneath them, while I was able to
 dig down to clay almost everywhere else.

child labour...my favourite!

The pond is deeper than these photos show. It got too cold and windy and I haven't made it back there to take a more recent picture. I'm excited to get back at it and show more pictures as we do the rock work, install the liner and (yay!) plant some pretty things. For now, it is snowing and miserable so we have turned our attention back to indoor projects.

hugging...not fighting...I had to get a picture

I intend to plant one of the shrubs that I recently ordered beside the pond, along with reed grass and ostriche plume astilbe. I also have a peony ordered--one of my favorite flowers. I'm looking forward to it warming up. Every day that we spend outside seems like a dream. Before I know it, it is time for lunch and a nap for the little one while 4 year old and I return outside to do more. We have explored the yard, played in the mud, checked on our trees and had all kinds of adventures. I can only hope that the 4 year old will remember this summer working in the yard and the part he played in digging the pond. Did you help in the garden as a kid, or do you have little helpers in your garden now?