{This Moment}

{this moment} from Soulemama- A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

 

School Garden

For about a year,  I have been working on creating a school garden with a few other dedicated teachers at my school.  It is fun work, but keeps us busy.  We have transformed an unused balcony located off of the Kindergarten classes into a real gym.  Here are a few pictures of the garden from early on.

We are currently growing cabbage, radish, pumpkin, tomato, broccoli, mint, basil, rosemary, lemon, and a few other goodies that are escaping me.

Tiiiiiime is on my side

Not really. We are in very short supply of time around here lately. My school work has really kicked off.  I'm also launching on reading about a new subject that keeping me awake at night thinking. Fun, exciting, exactly what I wanted, but no time. 

I'm doing my very best not to be too caught up in my own head. We have lots of fun projects around the yard with Mr. J. Last weekend we planted broccoli and Mr. J demanded that we plant flowers. We also had Joey make the garden markers for the Fall. Good projects all around.

Plants in Boxes

Best little gardener in Texas

Current Garden Score: Squirrels - 150 Team Human/Dogs - 0. Back to the drawing board. 

The big fancy coop Chuck built for the chickens was essentially a six foot tall 12x12 box. It was simple to build and I thought it would be perfect for protecting our fruiting produce. We plan to put all veggies that the squirrels would want inside the netting and use the outside planter boxes for herbs and less "at risk" veggies. We can add a large 4x16 box on the back edge next Spring if we decide we need more garden space. Right now, we have 128 sq. ft. of gardening space. This is not near enough for our long term plans, but I'm trying to tamp down my over ambitious nature and move slowly to expand the garden over several years. 

Pondering

Chuck and my Dad built the frame and planter boxes on Saturday morning. Not bad. 

We planted two late season tomato plants and several herbs. We planted bush beans, kale, pumpkins, and various squash from seed. Joey was really into pumpkins last October. He was so excited to plant the seed that he was shaking with joy.

We're late in the season to plant pumpkins, but we figured we'd give it a try. We've never planted veggies from seed before and a tropical storm blew through on the Tuesday after we planted everything. I'm not sure if all the seeds drowned or if they with thrive with all the extra rain. If the seeds don't grow, we'll just plant lettuce or spinach in that planter box.

Laboring for Labor Day Weekend

In honor of labor day, we spent the day in the San Antonio heat building a new vegetable garden.  And it all started with 4 cubic yards of dirt...

Jenny came up with the overall design of the garden and I figured out how to build the planter boxes.

The inner portion is within a six foot enclosure measuring 12x12.  The inner planter boxes are protected from squirrels, birds, and other pests by the netting.  On two sides there are 2x12 planter boxes for heartier plants.

Mr J was extremely helpful in building the structure.  Here is a photo of him with some of his favorite tools.

SUPPLY LIST
1   2x12x16 (for back board)
7   2x12x12 (for planter boxes)
10    2x4x12 (for enclosure)
1 6ft scrap board (for enclosure door)
bed liner (under planters)
lightweight netting (for enclosure)
staples for staple gun (for netting)
1 bazillion screws

What We're Reading: Rainwater Harvesting Manual

 My school is adding a school garden next year, and one aspect of the garden will be water collection.  We plan on collecting rainwater runoff from the roof and condensation from the air-conditioning units.  In theory I know exactly what I want, but I have never designed a system of this scale (or ever) before.  I have put in a few calls and have been told that the Texas Water Development Board has written the definitive guide for rainwater collection systems. 

Why do I keep giving myself homework over the summer?

We Made: A Squirrel Proof Garden...we hope.

Just to recap, we have a thief afoot in the garden. 

A thief we caught red pawed.

A thief our two big dogs are too lazy to chase. You can see the fluffy tail on the right.

A thief who brazenly busted one of the stakes setup to keep him or her out.

*Sigh*

Ever since the garden started really producing, more than half our harvest has ended up being stolen from the garden and left out in the open with one or two bites. When my parents first moved into the house I grew up in, we all woke up one morning to a shotgun being fired next door. The neighbor was shooting the squirrels that had eaten her tomatoes. I thought that was extreme. I'm reconsidering. 

But since I don't really believe in shooting the squirrels (hardly very eco-friendly if I kill the wildlife to save my produce), we have locked up the garden tighter than a safe. We spent the weekend re-staking and re-netting the garden. We haven't really figured out how we will get the produce out, but the squirrels will also be thwarted. It's now a test of wills. 

This afternoon we watched two unsuccessful attempts by the squirrel to break into the garden. Chuck ran out in the yard with the dogs to scare away the squirrel, but the dogs were totally bored with the idea. Useless. 

We're Eating: Hoppin' John

From the Farmer's Market on 5/28/10

Pretty purple okra

Sweet yellow and red onions, garlic, eggs, tomatoes, crookneck squash, and mushrooms.

From Our Garden:

A tiny green bell pepper

A few tomatoes that are almost ripe

And so with the bounty of the garden and the Farmer's Market, we made Hoppin' John. I originally started making Hoppin' John from a recipe adapted from The Gift of Southern Cooking. The Gift of Southern Cooking was co-authored by Edna Lewis, the grand dame of Southern Cooking, and Scott Peacock. I love the story of the two unlikely friends and the care and compassion they each showed for the other. However, they both cook with LOTS of pork. Since we don't eat pork and I don't eat any meat, most of the recipes in the book are more interesting reading the really something I would make. However, Hoppin' John is in heavy rotation at our house since Chuck loves Black Eyed Peas and I love rice and beans in any form.

1 T olive oil

1-2 small yellow onions

3 cloves garlic

1 green bell pepper

1ish pound okra

4 cups cooked black eyed peas

1-2 large tomatoes

1/2 C veggie broth

Optional: 2 C green beans

1/2 t crushed red pepper

1 T ground thyme

salt to taste

3 C cooked brown rice

Crystal Hot Sauce or Tabasco

Chopped green onion tops for garnish

Cook brown rice before you start the rest of the meal.

Dice onion. Wash and chop okra. Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the onion and okra. The key to cooking okra without it getting gooey is to sear the heck out of it. Cook until the okra starts to brown on one side or the other. Add in the diced bell pepper and chopped garlic. When the bell pepper is soft, add in the diced tomato, spices, and veggie broth. Turn down to a low simmer and add in black eyed peas. Cook until everything looks well combined ~20 minutes.

Serve over hot brown rice and garnish with hot sauce and chopped green onion.

White House Garden

Last week, I was visiting Washington DC with the 8th Grade class from my school. It is an annual trip that bring excitement, experience, exhaustion, and tears for parents, teachers, and students. For the past few years we have been lucky enough to experience The White House tour. This year, I had to sprint around the grounds to take a quick picture of the White House Garden. It is the first garden on the grounds since the victory gardens of World War II & FDR.

I enjoyed seeing the garden and loved that my students got a chance to glimpse it, too. It gave me a wonderful opportunity to explain why someone who could afford to buy groceries from the store would choose to grow their own food. I love having a presidential family that understands conservation and leading by example.

Scenes from a weekend

Taking pictures like Mama

A morning chat

Most awesome chicken

Tomato in progress

Tomato filched by a squirrel and left half eaten to taunt me.

Feathered friends

What are YOU lookin' at?

Jumping for joy when the coop is opened