Cookies?

Our Weeping Cherry (something) tree is starting to bloom!:

Tonight is my last Master Gardener class!! That tone you detect isn't excitement that its over- just excitement that I get to learn about Composting, the topic for tonight!

After Composting, the last half of this class is devoted to having local organizations who might be looking for Master Gardener volunteers to come in and present about the volunteer opportunities they have- cannot express how psyched I am for that!

 I've been looking lately (for a while) for a way to meld my personal interest in gardening and the environment with my professional experience in social work and community work. You think it'd be an easy connection to make, but I seem to have some difficulty finding opportunities to break my way into the "Environmental Nonprofit" sector without a degree in agriculture or botany or something akin to that.

SO maybe tonight some volunteer opportunities will present themselves!!

I stopped by Growing Hope, our local awesome nonprofit that runs the community gardens in Ypsi and does some educational program, runs one of the Farmer's Markets... as I said, all-around awesomness. I went to one of their volunteer orientations, and I plan to go volunteer on Saturday... maybe I'll be building some raised-bed gardens, or maybe I'll be weeding. Who knows! All I know is that I'm excited to get out there and do something active and productive!

I need to do something with these window boxes on my house. It looks like my home has baggy, tired eyes. Other than that, it's looking quite nice!:

In honor of our last class tonight, I decided to make those delicious Chocolate Chip cookies that I stumbled upon a few weeks ago! Everyone is supposed to bring a dish to pass- I guess this is my dish?

Mmmmm!

Upcoming events!

This week I have TWO Master Gardener classes instead of one- gardening overload! Thursday I have Indoor Plants, same time same place, and on Saturday I am shlepping down to the Monroe County Ex. Office to make-up the House Pests class I missed a few weeks ago. Should be a fun week, and I think those two classes will be pretty complimentary!

I'm thinking about stopping by the 6th Annual Seed Swap at Toledo Botanical Gardens while I'm down in that area- has anyone ever been to the Seed Swap before? I really don't need any specific seeds, per say, but we all know that doesn't mean I won't return with any! I will certainly take pictures, if nothing else.

I've only been to the Toledo Botanical Gardens once or twice, but it seemed to be a really nice place. I think I went in fall, so not everything was in full bloom. Now I will be going in winter, another in-opportune time to see the best of TBG, but oh well- I'll just have to come back another day as well! Here's the info on the Seed Swap if you're thinking about swinging by! (They also have some awesome-sounding workshops scheduled!)


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6th Annual Seed Swap

(Please note, the Seed Swap will be held at the Ward Pavillion, Wildwood Metropark and the workshops will be held at Toledo Botanical Garden)

Seed Swap
Saturday, February 27, 2010
12:00 - 3:00 PM
Wildwood Metropark
Ward Pavilion
5100 W. Central Ave.
Toledo, OH 43615

Free and open to the public!

Diversify your garden by exchanging seeds and learning new skills! No matter your gardening ability, you’ll enjoy the chance to interact with other gardeners, while swapping favorite seeds.

Live entertainment by the Root Cellar String Band and activities for kids!
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Workshops
Saturday, February 27, 2010
at Toledo Botanical Garden
10:00 - 11:30AM From Plant to Plate: Easy, Tasty Vegetables to Grow (TBG Conference Center)
10:00 - 11:30AM All About Gourds (Children’s Ed Building)
10:00 - 11:30AM Bugs & Birds in the Garden (TBG Conference Center)
1:30 - 3:00PM A Creative Approach to Herbal Gardening (Children’s Ed Building)
1:30 - 3:00PM Troubleshooting Your Vegetable Garden (TBG Conference Center)
1:30 - 3:00PM Container Gardening (TBG Conference Center)
3:30 - 5:00PM Preserving the Harvest (Children’s Ed Building)
3:30 - 5:00PM Gourmet Vegetables for Fun & Profit (TBG Conference Center)
3:30 - 5:00PM Raising Chickens (TBG Conference Center)

 Other interesting classes coming up:

Matthaei Botanical Gardens- Ann Arbor, MI

• Chicken Coops
  Shelter from the elements, nesting spots, and safety all need to be considered when building a coop for your home flock. Learn about chicken-coop construction with yard-hen expert Bob Dluzen. Fee: MBGNA members and U-M students $10; nonmembers $12. #10-AE-07
  Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
  Category: Adult Education
  Date: 3/6/2010
  Time: 10 am to 12 pm
  More info: click here
  
  

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• Ann Arbor Bonsai Society
  Beginner and Intermediate Classes, Part II with Cyril Grum
  Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
  Category: Adult Education
  Date: 3/6/2010
  Date Details: Greenhouse 5
  Time: 9 am to 12 pm
  More info: click here
  
  

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• Ann Arbor Backyard Beekeepers 
• Second Tuesday of each month, with tonight’s presentation to be determined. This monthly meeting is designed for anyone interested in learning about the life of honeybees, their survivability, their habitat, how they fit into the community, and how to keep them. Please contact Richard on his cell 734- 660-8621, or email him at brescue@att.net; or Marin (mperusek@ymail.com) if you have any questions. Free; drop-in.                                                                                                                 Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens                                                                                                 Category: Meetings                                                                                                                        Date: 3/9/2010                                                                                                                              Date Details: room 125                                                                                                                       Time: 7 pm to 9 pm
  

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Shine Shine Shine!!

Today as I walked outside this morning to hop into my car for the morning commute, I got a distinct whiff of Spring. I don't know how to explain it- it just smelled of Spring! I'm very aware of the date on the calendar today, folks, but I've been feeling all day as if it is a chilly March 25th, not a nice February 18th, and that is a great feeling! I actually took off my coat in the car today because it was getting so warm!

Tonight's Master Gardener class is going to be on Vegetable Culture, and I am about as psyched about it as one could be about vegetables! I'm new to gardening, so a lot of the MG class has been very helpful knowledge that I haven't been able to put into practice yet- but I do have experience growing vegetables (although only a small amount) and I do have a big interest in growing vegetables! This is perfect timing since I just ordered my edible plants for the year- hopefully I will get some more insight on where to plant, how to plant, how to maintain, etc.

It's so sunny outside- wooo!!!

Success!!

Next Saturday, I will be the proud consumer of locally-grown meat! 2 lbs. of turkey breast, 6 pork chops, and a dozen eggs. A small, humble order but it feels good. I got a hold of Karl Baer, a local farmer (from Adrian, MI) and he was really friendly and informative.

He walked me through the order, haha, because I am incompetent- when you buy meat from the supermarket, you get it all chopped up where you can't even really tell it was ever alive, and you don't have to mess with technicality. I didn't even know how to go about ordering from him. The conversation went something like this:

Arika- "Hey... can I have some turkey?"

Karl- "Sure, what type? We have smoked turkey breast by the pound, fresh turkey breast by the pound, turkey sausage, spicy turkey sausage, turkey burger, turkey wings, turkey thighs, turkey carcasses etc. etc. etc..."

Arika- "Hey... can I have some turkey?"

Anyway, he was understanding and chatty, which I appreciated. He's at the Ypsi FM every other Saturday, including next Saturday, which is when I will be picking up my first order! He also had whole roaster chickens, but I don't think I can handle that. I did make chicken noodle soup last year from the Moosewood cookbook, with a whole chicken that cooked over-night. Maybe I will have a soup making party and do that soon. Anyone up for an all-night chicken-cooking sleepover?

Who could resist that invitation?

I don't think a former vegetarian has ever been this excited about meat before. I'm missing my Master Gardener class tonight because I have a meeting, which is a little disapointing, but a fact of life. Sometimes, you have meetings. I'll have to shlep down to Monroe in 2 weeks to take the class I'll be missing at their MSU-Ex. office. Oh well- I'll get to see another MSU-Ex office and meet some new folks- that will be an adventure!

Here's to hoping it doesn't snow too much this weekend. My ground is frozen and I can't dig in to get my soil sample! Come on Mother Nature.. can you warm up just a teeny bit?

"Animal Vegetable Miracle" : my winter life-preserver!

I know, I know- it's only January 28th! But I can't help looking forward to Spring. I am really not much of a winter person, although I do know that spring and summer would be a lot less appreciated if we didn't have some cold and snow. However, the sun is shining, the snow has melted a bit, and if I squint my eyes a whole lot, it could start to look like spring outside, right?

At least we gotten to the point in the year where it is not ridiculous to start planning what I will plant this coming season.

The Master Gardener program has been really inspiring so far. I am enjoying hearing a new speaker each week, who is an expert on the topic of the week. So far, we've covered basic plant science, and fruiting trees. I've learned a lot about plant life and plant cell structure, as well as how plants work. The fruiting tree class really provided some insight on how fruit trees are pollinated, and how many cannot cross-pollinate with a like cultivar (who knew? I guess tree experts knew, and I didn't)! Class tonight will be on Plant Soils. Woo!

The only tough part for me is that as a newbie to gardening, most of this knowledge is theory right now, until I can get to the ground and start digging and seeing some of these things for myself. I'm pretty good at retaining knowledge and storing it until I can use it- that was what I did for most of my Masters level social work classes in grad school too. I hadn't worked out in the "field" (of social work) yet so I just had to absorb the knowledge until I had a place to apply it.



I'm also re-reading Animal Vegetable Miracle- a Year of Food Life- by Barbara Kingsolver. I had started it last year but had never quite finished it for some reason- maybe because in my mind, it is also a bit theoretical until I have some plants in the ground. At any rate, AVM is a wonderful, funny, inspiring book, and if you haven't read it, I suggest you do! I love others of Barbara Kingsolver's books, including Animal Dreams, Pigs in Heaven and the Bean Trees, and Prodigal Summer, but I am enjoying AVM extra because it has been a personal motivator to continue the locavore lifestyle I am trying to cultivate for myself. It details Barbara and her family's move to a farm they own in Virgina and the one-year experiment they embark upon to obtain all their food from their community or as close to it as possible. The fact that they have an actual farm to do this on (although much of the group is hilly and not suitable for edible gardening) makes it a bit easier that the 600 square feet I have to use, but really, the whole book is really a fun read and makes you think about where your food comes from, who it comes from, how long it has traveled to get to you, and what kind of quality you might be sacrificing by eating food shipped from thousands of miles away.

So check it out! I actually found out that Barabara Kingsolver was my second cousin's Girl Scout leadera a counselor at the Girl Scout camp some of my relatives went to, which is pretty funny. All these years I'd been reading her books and talking her up and then I found out we're kind of connected!

Until I can plant, the MSU Extension office and Barbara Kingsolver are keeping me afloat, and I am thankful for that!

Don't stop me now...

Happy New Year!!!

I've started working out regularly again, because I need to, and I want to, and it feels good! Also I'm getting back on track to eat in a healthy way, a subject on which I kind of fell off the wagon. I have no more excuses- I know what is healthy and what is not, I know where to find local, seasonal and organic food, and I can afford to do it. I just have to DO IT.

So there's that. It's hard to eat local in the winter because I am pretty much a fruititarian and there is not a lot of fruit growing in Michigan in January :) But I manage, and I suppliment with the occasion grape or blueberry where needed!                                               

I got some great gardening books for Chanukkah/Christmas, including:

Michigan Gardener's Guide

The Michigan Gardener's Companion
                                                             
Of course I devoured them immediatley, and they were really informative. I would recommend them to anyone who is new-ish to gardening in Michigan. The Gardener's Companion is more reading whereas the Gardener's Guide is more pictures and specific plant descriptions, etc. Both great though! I also got a North American Bird guide, which I am excited to check out!

My Master Gardener classes start tomorrow @ the MSU Extension office in Ann Arbor- woo! I still need to finish reading my chapter on Plant Science which is a little baffleing and overwhelming. Now I remember why I tuned out science classes in high school... and college. But this science will apply to something I would actually like to do in life, which is gardening, so I think it will be easier for me to learn than it was the first and second time around!

I think some folks in the neighborhood are going to be meeting in a week or two to talk about sustainability in Ypsi and how to develop a community of folks interested in sustainabile living- I was invited as a result of meeting with Lisa, a neighbor who is a gardening and sustainability guru. I'm really looking forward to the get together!

Lisa told me about this idea that they were thinking about, which is to develop "pods" within our neighborhoods. I understood this to mean "folks who are interested in sharing food, rescources and skills with each other". Example: If my backyard turns out to be a tomato-producing machine (which I hope it will be), and Lisa garden can't grow tomatoes, I could exchange some of my tomatoes for some of her kale or lettuce or something! This could also work with tools, etc. My lawnmower is broken and terrible, so if I could borrow someone elses lawnmower as needed, then I don't have to buy another one, which is really not necesary anyway! It's kind of family-esque in a way, since I would be mooching off of my parents for all these things if they didn't leave three hours away :)

I hope to share cool bits of knowledge as I progress in my Master Gardener class, and hopefully I'll be a badass gardener soon haha. In reality, I know it will take years to develop a green thumb with any talent, but I am just a class person. If there is someone I would like to learn, I always prefer a classroom environment. Sign me up!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I'm very excited for the house things and the sustainability things that are going on in my life right now! It's good to feel like you're making a positive contribution to the health of the world, even if it is in your own small way! And when the things you are doing can also coincide with house projects, even better! Also, when crappy things happen like break-ins and broken water heaters, you have to focus on positive stuff.

We finally replaced our back door today (see above!), with a door from Lowe's, made by Milliken Millworks. Milliken is a fairly local company (factories in Sterling Heights, MI, Cincinnati, OH and somewhere Pennsylvania), which is great, and most of their doors are EnergyStar or at least a lot more energy effiicient than the door we used to have. Lowes really walked me through the whole door-selection and buying process- if you ever need to get a new door for some reason, I would endorse Lowes as a good place to go!

Also got our new water heater in last week... it's not an energystar one per-say, but it will be a lot more efficient than our previous one that was 20 years old! And I set it on medium-low, because we don't need to have scalding water.

Yesterday, I met with a neighbor who is interested in helping me form a Neighborhood Watch group, and he had some great ideas. He also has tech-saavy web skills that I lack, and some mad martials arts skills, which would both be assets to any Neighborhood Watch type of group. This was a timely meeting, because yesterday one of my backyard neighbors got broken into- their front door was kicked in! This is maybe the 8th or 9th recent break-in in this area, which is unfortunate and ridiculous.

Today I am meeting with another neighbor who seems to be really involved in sustainability efforts here in Ypsilanti. Every time I looked up something about recycling or gardening or urban farming, her name came up! I finally just emailed her and said, "Hello! I think you are invovled in everything I would like to be involved in. Can you share with me?" Luckily she did not think I was a huge weirdo, and we are meeting tonight to talk about urban farming, and the Transition movement in Ypsilanti!

I've also continued mapping out what I want my edible gardens to look like in the spring. I'm going to try to put together a price estimate of the total cost to build the raised-beds and get the plants I need, so I can start saving money now!

The Master Gardener program starts in January and I am so so psyched for it. I want to call the MSU-Extension office every day to see if they have our study packets yet. I've really missed schooling and active learning in a classroom setting, and I'm looking forward to returning to the classroom and learning about a subject that is near and dear to my heart: plants, growing things, and the earth!

back in the saddle again!

Wellll,my house got broken into, so that has delayed writing for some time. Basically all my electronics got stolen, so if you're reading this, house robbers, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING OF VALUE LEFT TO STEAL.

That being said, since I still enjoy blogging, I wanted to get back into the swing of things- although now it is winter-ish in Ypsi! It's been harder to eat local because I am essentially a fruititarian (with a lot of pasta and cookies on the side), but the Downtown Ypsi Indoor Farmer's Market has been a big help- it's every two weeks now instead of every week but they have mouth-wateringly appealing selections of local veggies! I bought my "holiday" wreath from the FM, and the Pecan pie and rolls that I brought to Thanksgiving. So Thank You, farmers, for allowing me to bring delicious food to the holidays without cooking!

I applied for the Master Gardener training program put on by the MSU Extension office in A2... I would be so so so psyched to do that program! Here's a link:

http://www.msue.msu.edu/portal/default.cfm?pageset_id=28838&page_id=140178&msue_portal_id=25643

While I don't have a lot of gardening experience, I am really excited about it and I think this program would give me the tools to share my passion for the earth and the enviornment with others, which is what I'd really like to do!

So cross your fingers for me, three people that read this blog :)

ALSO, I have decided to help start up a neighborhood watch group here, because I am tired of all these break-ins, and I want to feel safe and secure and confident when I walk around my neighborhood (and when I'm in my house!). There used to be a Neighborhood Watch group here but I guess it fizzled out. I am determined to re-fizzle it!

I also spent a good 6 hours measuring out my yard in the back to make a gardening plan for next year! I've set some goals and I think all in all, it will be pretty awesome. I will share more soon!

I think that is all for now..

keep safe out there folks.