Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from July, 2011

Vermicomposting

Vermicomposting is exactly what is sounds like: composting with vermis, which is the Latin for worms.   I first became acquainted with vermicomposting when I started at Grow Food, Grow Hope in November 2009.  One of my coworkers was attempting to vermicompost in a container he kept in his desk and usually the 1st thing he said to you after "hello" was "want to see my worms?"  However, the worms jumped ship, were all over the office, and then were banned permanently.   Since that day I had a small adventure into composting with worms.  In my ignorance in the nature of compost I assumed that worms were always necessary for compost and therefore dug up worms from the backyard to add to my porch compost bin (an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tub I drilled holes in and added my food scraps to).  These worms of course were never seen again as they were cooked in my compost bin.   And then the research began.    Now that I have done my homework and realized that

What's Growing!

Moss Roses Pink Hydrangea Yellow Rose Tiger Lily Husked Tomatoes Zucchini Cabbage

Pink Hydrangea

I'm really excited about this blooming this is one of the few perrenials I have that have 1. Survived and 2. have rebloomed!   I really love hydrangeas, they are just full of blooms and this was a super great deal.  For awhile my Lowe's store had 1/2 off their already reduced items and I got this bush for under $2!  I think this one time blooming is worth that alone.   So here's to good deals that keep giving!  

Husked Tomato

My Husked Tomato plant I first became acquainted with Husked Tomatoes last year at Wilmington's Tomadah Paradah event.  The plants are more low growing and shrub-like than your ordinary tomato and the fruits are surrounded by husks such as those you would find on a tomatillo.   According to Trade Wind Fruits they are,  "Small orange fruit similar in size and shape to a cherry tomato. The fruit is covered in papery husk. Flavor is a pleasant, unique tomato /pineapple like blend. The ground cherry is very similar to the cape gooseberry, both having similar, but unique flavors." I would definitely agree that they have a unique flavor I wouldn't have said pineapple but reading it that's not a completely inaccurate description.   The fruit In the above picture you can see the husks that form around the fruit.   The fruit are quite a bit smaller than a normal cherry tomato would be (even smaller than most grape tomatoes I think) and are mea

178 Days so Jump on It!

I just finished reading a post saying that there are only 178 days left in 2011 , and it challenges the reader to think about what their goals for the year were and basically to  And get back to what you were going to accomplish this year.  So I thought I would take some time to think about what I was going to accomplish this year so that I can do exactly as Sir Mix-A-Lot recommends.   The first obvious thing that I was working on this year was my 101 in 1001 and as you can see from the Update I've been fairly passionate about it and I'm doing well.  Plus I've got until September of 2013...so I've got some time.   A Personal  Manifesto is something that I started thinking about during the WordCount Blog-a-Thon.    And I was reminded of it recently thanks to Escaping Mediocrity who sent out her own manifesto that has been both inspiring and daunting in the face of writing my own.  Its something that I still want to do.  I feel like its important for me to focus

Tool Lust

I seriously have the DIY bug but feel that I don't have the tools to make it happen. I have this excellent coffee table that I want to refinish that I "rescued" from Josh's alley but have you ever sanded something that has multiple layers of grossness with just sandpaper.  Someone forgot to take her patience pill when the DIY bug bit her!   And today I just found this EXCELLENT idea of how to turn an old pallet into shelving that I LOVE.   Kim at Too Much time on My Hands is BRILLIANT!  And I want to make one of these for every room.   But I'd have to rip the pallet apart with my bare hands. My cabbage plants are nearly ready to begin their journey into becoming saurkraut (I'm determined to make this myself) but I also lack a recepticle large enough to make it in *(my family has promised me a crock that I've yet to receive).  I'm also ready to try making Pesto.  I've always said I was going to but its always been daunting.  I found a