Badge bits, seeds and oh my now what?

What, you may ask, is a badge bit?  It is a step towards earning a badge from the permaculture forum I have been hanging out in lately.   They have a list of skills you need to demonstrate(pictures or videos) to earn different badges at different levels.  Many requirements are designed for folks actually living on acreage but they recently started a new badge track for folks living in apartments.  Their PEA track has given me goals to work towards.   

So I want to get some badge bits for the PEA gardening sand level badge (ie the first level)  Some of them are simple like grow sprouts, or grow micro greens.  Others take a bit more planning like grow a polyculture of 5 plants (3 different species) in a pot/container that is NOT  plastic, cement, porous terracotta or Styrofoam  pots/containers. 

This same restriction on pots/containers extends to all their seed starting/ plant growing which makes it a bit harder.  All my seed starters are plastic or they are plastic trays with peat pellets in them.    So I am hoping putting my peat pellets in a metal or glass tray will be acceptable.  Edit: I asked in the forum and was told this was acceptable for my badge bits.

I want some herbs so my first badge bit will be Grow a table herb garden from seeds  So remembering the constraint above on pot material... 

I must start my garden from seed

It must include 4 different Herbs and they can be in different pots. 

To qualify my plants must at least 2 inches tall or showing true leaves. 

I picked Greek Oregano, Greek Dwarf Basil, Summer Savory, and Thyme for the project but I will also plant some Rosemary and hope it grows.  Rosemary is notorious for not growing well from seeds which is why I didn't include it in my set of four for the badge bit.  

Other bits are Grow a vegetable(this is easy it will be a micro tomato), Grow a fruit (thinking strawberries but... ) Grow a vegetable protein (thinking tom thumb peas), Grow a tuber (this can be flowers or vegetables, and I have lots of potatoes) Grow a grain (I can use my Einkorn to grow "wheat grass" for this one)

After looking at those badge bits I pulled out seed packets for the herbs,  micro tomato, and  Tom Thumb peas for the badge bit and set them aside. 

However I do have many garden plants I need to start that don't have to meet badge bit requirements.  Those seed packets have also been pulled and my regular seed starters have been gotten ready for planting.  For this week I have 2 kinds of onions (one eating & one storage), leeks, Diverse Shallots (swap seeds), 2 kinds of sweet peppers and an eggplant.  Those will go in my regular seed starter either today or tomorrow.  

More seeds will get started next week and then again the week after.  Even with close to 30 inches of snow on the ground I am starting to feel like spring is here. 

More snow!?

Yes the forecast is for 2 to 3 feet of snow over the next 3 days.  So indoor projects are in the works.  

My first attempt at sprouting grain in a jar got started last night.  I am actually not growing big sprouts like for radishes or alfalfa but rather I am just growing these until a small tail appears, something like malting barley.  Once those appear I will spread the grain on a cookie sheet to dry.  Once totally dry I can store it like any dry grain and use in soups, stews, etc for more flavor OR even cook it into a whole grain porridge.   I only used about a cup of einkorn wheat last night but that should be enough to let us decide if we like the flavor... 

Also later tonight I will set up my first micro greens!  I found a little kit complete with dirt, trays, seeds and instructions at Home Microgreens.  I also ordered a couple of other types of seeds while there so I could try them.  If all goes well in the next few months I should have Sunflower, Lettuce and Mesclun micro greens... 

And yes I am still fiddling with the garden plan. I have 4 Asparagus plants to start my little bed with.  I know I really want more but 4 is better then none...  I also paid some attention to the varieties I got.  I have two Martha Washington and I hope at least one is a female plant as that would mean I could get seedlings that could be used to expand my bed.  I also got 2 Purple Passion plants.  These are a mostly male variety so the chance of seedlings are slim... 

Mushroom spawn was ordered for us to try growing them in a bucket.  Later I will order a different species of mushroooms to grow in the garden as a soil amendment.  Yes you read that right.  By adding mulch (straw or aspen chips or hardwood chips) and inoculating it with mushroom spawn I will get it broken down in record time releasing nutrients into my soil AND giving us yummy edible mushrooms at the same time.  Sounds like a win win situation :)

Wednesday will be seed planting day so I am still rearranging and making room for all the seedlings I need to raise.   

Herbs that I should be getting started soon... 

Thyme, Rosemary, Oregano, Sage, Chives Garlic Chives 

 These need started or actually should have been started last month.  

• 8 Dakota Tears onions 
• 4 Elisa Craig onions  

The good news is these will go out about mid April when I need to be starting the third batch of seedlings...  

These are a bit more problematic as they need started now but have to stay in until mid May... 

• 10 leeks  
• 2 sorrel

These are just hitting best days to plant and need to be kept inside until mid May..

• 2- 4 eggplant
• 3-4  sweet peppers

These can wait until the first part of April and notice that this is my big batch.  I will be starting 50 plants that will need to be raised until mid May... 

• 3 or 4 leaf broccoli I got in the swap- have to try this
• 6 Kale 2 per variety 
• 8 collards
• 4 swiss chard

AND then come the tomatoes

10 bucket tomatoes for the front yard, 16 tomatoes for the backyard, 

and umm I think that is it what has to be started.. how many plants is that? Besides too many I mean... 

Dreams on a winter day...

 Seeds are ordered, and more were ordered and even more arrived due to a seed swap...  somehow 7 varieties of micro dwarf became about 100 varieties of tomatoes, plus broccoli, beans, squash, greens, and somethings I had to look up.  I can say that I am set for seeds for this year and possibly the next few years.  So many seeds I had to make a database for them...  and I am still filling it up and filing seeds away...  

Then I stumbled into "permaculture" oh boy now I really want out of the city... but on part of the culture is bloom where you are so I have been looking around my lot and deciding on a few small things I can do this year.   One of course was to rearrange my garden AND to move to the front yard for some of my growing. 

Current plans for this year include starting that asparagus bed I have constantly nixed because I felt I had no room for it.   Well, well, well, look at that it won't be a big one but yep we can squeeze in a bed right there. Oh and put some strawberries that bed also. Lets put an arch over the gate way and grow cucumbers up one side and tomatoes up the other.  Peas grow up and look there is room next to the peas for some of my runner beans.  Potatoes in grow bags make use of space that is still too compacted or trashed to grow directly in the soil. Herbs and flowers along the fence line.  OH I almost forgot the most important part.  Everything will be covered in mulch which will be used to grow mushrooms :) Not only will I get better soil quicker I will get yummy mushrooms to eat fresh or dry for winter.  

So how does this look? 

Yes hopefully there will be lots of potatoes and dried beans, plus snap beans, greens and tomatoes to can or freeze.  Cucumbers for pickles and fresh eating.  Not actually a lot of onions, collards, etc that are all new plants or varieties for us but enough to let us decide yea or nay for next year.  No asparagus this year and not much if any next year but it will be in the ground and getting established. Same with the strawberries. 

Now to design the front gardens... 

WOW has it been that long!

 Lots has happened since 2017.  We found a way to pay off the balance of the balloon payment on the mortgage in payments.   Some things are still being done to the inside of the house but with much less pressure. And much less money since I have joined DH in retirement this past year. 

DH had more back surgeries.   We have dropped from 4 standard poodles to 2 poodles and a small terrier.   AND my weakness in my hands, lack of feeling in my lower leg and foot are finally being investigated. 

More importantly we have both had the energy and desire to get a garden put back in.  Actually we started last year.  First we pulled out of the the rotting mismash of boxes I had put in many years ago.   Made new boxes that actually increased my space and were set up in a fairly nice manner... 

This worked well last year but as you can see we have a bit of a shade problem...  So this year we are making some changes to get our plants more sun... 

Times Up

So after years of  dabbling at renovation attempts and getting the house refinanced to cover the balloon payment due in a month or two we are left with a house that is can't be re-financed in the current market..  AND DH has suddenly gotten serious about doing something to the house...  and feel like I should have his same urgency...  sorry but I have used all that up in the other "hurry lets get things done before the appraiser comes"

BUT he has been working.  New refreshed areas are the hall which I have to admit looks lovely. 

The stairs have handrails after nearly 10 years without them, this area and the mudroom also have holes patched and new paint plus the mud room has a new vinyl floor. 

He is now tackling the kitchen, ya know the room I started work on back in 2012....

I do have to admit he is making progress.  Most of the old floor is gone and he has new underlayment  down in half the room PLUS surprise my unfinished cabinets are in.   Plans are for a butcher-block counter top, green cabinets and stone patterned sheet vinyl floor.  The small area where the cabinets are also has a new paint job and LOOK that green window trim is gone.   

Still on the list to do:

1. Small bedroom - new paint to cover the hole patches (some of those holes were made back in the 90s)
2. Bathroom - needs new floor, walls replaced/painted, Tub surround or something that is more waterproof then the current paint
3. Basement needs new ceiling in the large finished area and walls painted.  Walls we can't reach until point number 4 is done. 
4. Trash/clutter removal -  this is the huge sticking point.   The house is full to the brims of stuff/junk from his hoarder years.  It is still nearly impossible to get him to let go of things

And the count down is under 2 months.   Sigh yes tensions are running high and feelings are being hurt and I am so sick and tired of this house I would rather sale it and find some small place outside of town to move into... 

hmmm I may have found a name for my poodles...

A friend and I were talking about rabbits, yes I have a few and my rabbitry name that is registered with ARBA is Kismet Rabbits. I mentioned that I would use it for my poodles also except it is already taken.. So she started brainstorming for names meaning about the same but that are not used for poodle kennels already. She came up with Moirai poodles :-) I like the sound.

I think they do also ;-)

changes, changes and more changes

I am starting to think I am crazy for making this trip but I am making a lot of folks happy with the number of animals I am moving around.