Art of the Garden http://artofthegarden.net Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:54:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Raised Bed HEAVEN and the DREADED Green Juice http://artofthegarden.net/raised-bed-heaven-and-the-dreaded-green-juice/ http://artofthegarden.net/raised-bed-heaven-and-the-dreaded-green-juice/#comments Tue, 19 Mar 2013 01:38:10 +0000 Jill Plumb http://artofthegarden.net/?p=865 This is the test garden for the M Brace. It feels like heaven on earth to me. Rusty metal meets wood, birds swoop in and out of the trees, all kinds of veggies and fruits ripe and ready. It’s productive and funky and full of life! Here is where all things are possible. Right . . . → Read More: Raised Bed HEAVEN and the DREADED Green Juice]]> Garden with brick path2This is the test garden for the M Brace. It feels like heaven on earth to me. Rusty metal meets wood, birds swoop in and out of the trees, all kinds of veggies and fruits ripe and ready. It’s productive and funky and full of life! Here is where all things are possible. Right now it’s full of chard, spinach, lettuce (5 varieties), mandarin oranges, lemons, broccoli, brussel sprouts, onions, garlic and countless herbs. You would think that a nice salad would be in order, but NOOOOOOO.

Every day at mid-day, I pluck and pull a huge handful of this greenery and blend it up into what I call The DREADED Green Juice. Yep, no fancy juicer, just an old Cuisinart blender on the HIGH setting (sort of) blending all these leaves together to form the bright, bubbly, somewhat un-drinkable DGJ. Any combo works, so I pick randomly, enjoying the snap of each stem, pulling a weed here and there, talking “chicken talk” to the girls (chicken people, you know what I mean) and just generally putting off the time when I will have to return to the kitchen and make the DREADED mixture. But eventually I make my way to the blender and before I know it, there it is…green and waiting. It goes down better if I drink it in the garden. Phyto-nutrients down the hatch!

jill

]]> http://artofthegarden.net/raised-bed-heaven-and-the-dreaded-green-juice/feed/ 0 Julia and the Compost Bin http://artofthegarden.net/julia-and-the-compost-bin/ http://artofthegarden.net/julia-and-the-compost-bin/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:05:05 +0000 Jill Plumb http://artofthegarden.net/?p=830

Julia knows her stuff…when she is out   in the yard, she’s looking for one thing…worms! Chickens do eat lots of foliage (my poor lettuce!) and a wide variety of insects, but the real deal gourmet meal for a chicken is a big fat worm. When I am out digging weeds, all four . . . → Read More: Julia and the Compost Bin]]> compost bin with fork and chicken

Julia knows her stuff…when she is out   in the yard, she’s looking for one thing…worms! Chickens do eat lots of foliage (my poor lettuce!) and a wide variety of insects, but the real deal gourmet meal for a chicken is a big fat worm. When I am out digging weeds, all four of my girls will follow me, stare at my hands as I dig, and make adorable noises, all for the chance to get their little beaks on a juicy, sweet worm. Yesterday I was out in the garden watering, and I noticed Julia and the other girls were hanging out inside the compost bin. They were doing what they do best: scratching, pecking, and, well, pooping!   All these activities will certainly improve the quality of my compost, right? Then Julia stuck her head up just as she was swallowing a long, wiggly worm! My first thought was that she was “stealing” the worms from the compost that I would eventually put in my veggie garden. I NEED those worms! Then it occurred to me: hmmmm… when the chickens are in the compost bin they are NOT digging up my flowers, new trees, and tender veggies. So I lose a few worms…the compost bin will make more!

jill

 

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