Long Silence = Whirlwind Fall

So a wise woman, and former teacher, reminded me that I'd be busy this fall with teaching...And I thought, surely not! I'm pinch-hitting a course this fall but was given the syllabus, book, and powerpoint dummies (and they were seriously dummies). I thought it would be easy-pleasy. But OH MAN. Prepping 2 weekly 75 minute lectures (and reading and grading and test making) is very different than teaching the upper-level discussion/seminar-based courses I've been used to...Egads.

So yes - a long silence on my end. However, I did have time for a guest blog over at Green Tulsa. I talked about trying to steal little bits of time for myself whenever and however I can and then to use them mindfully...very a propos right about now.

More on gardening, living, and eco-psychology coming as soon as I can take a deep breath...

This is great!

August Eats Stash

• August 23 - yellow tomato salsa; sandwich toppings; roasted peppers
• August 21 - mixed beans with herbs
• August 19 - baked potato toppings; sandwich fillings
• August 18 - jalapeno poppers; lamb's quarters, peppers, onions, tomato stiry fry
• August 15 - veggie burger fixings; additions to chicken stock
• August 10 - salsa; 14 frozen batches of pesto; Island Stew
• August 9 - veggie burger fixings; Spicy Marinara with fresh herbs and angel hair pasta
• August 8 - Dixie Special (yellow squash, (turkey) bacon, onions, tomatoes, peppers)
• August 7 - grilled chicken with pickled okra, habanero pickles, and cherry tomatoes
• August 6 - 9 1/2 pints peach and blueberry jam (didn't grow, but proud I tried!)
• August 5 - veggie burger fixings
• August 4 - green beans and onions
• August 3 - tomato salad with fresh herbs and balsamic vinegar
• August 2 - jambalaya!!!; homemade tabasco sauce

All Quiet on The WidsomBlog Front...

This week: school starts and the madness begins.
Next week: I'm blowing it off to go here.
The week after that: I'm back in black, baby.

Have a good coupla weeks!

PS: the fall beans are off; the shallots and leeks are transplanted; some late tomato seedlings have been set out...the true fall garden goes in Sept 13. Stay tuned for disco!

I heart Al Gore

I loved this so much over at jeneflower's blog that I had to do a repost.

Fall Planting - woohoo!

Well, the weather this year has been down right weird. It rained and rained and rained in June. Then it got normal - hot and scorchy in July and most of August so far but the past week it's been around 80 degrees and overcast with some rain. Portland weather!

In the midst of the cool down I decided to start the fall garden with a first sowing of green beans and romano beans. The spring beans did well until the spider mites nearly obliterated their numbers. I'm hoping the cooler fall weather will spare them of this menace since heat seems to send spider mites into heat (the reproductive kind). I also tucked in some more winter squash (Chicago warted hubbard, black futsu, and jumbo pink banana) since the last round got decimated by squash vine borers. Not sure I'll get anything off of them but I'll try. Today I followed up with a mix of fish emulsion, hot pepper spray, and insecticidal soap to get the heat-oppressed garden back up to par. The peppers till look good, as does the okra, sylvetta arugula (that stuff is amazing!) and cherry tomatoes. Everything else looks sad and will probably come up soon.

Several weeks ago I also started some fall tomatoes (a pink Israeli tomato I received as a thank you from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds - it's a trial tomato not for sale, so we'll see), shallots, leeks, and beets under lights inside. I plan to plant out the tomatoes tomorrow and hold off for cooler weather for the other stuff. I've been trying to decide what and how to plant everything for this fall. I just got a big order of seeds from Pinetree that included three kinds of kale (konserva, dinosaur, and dwarf blue), rutabaga, brussel sprouts, daikon, spinach, collards, cabbage, miner's lettuce, salsify, and some seeds for next spring (banana legs tomato and the bianco lungo cucumber). Garlic should be arriving from Territorial soon. I already had some carrots, broccoli, leeks, favas, turnips, and peas that are relatively cold hardy so we should be good. I need to get a few more frost blankets, though. Between that and some salvaged windows we should be able to make several things last through the winter. Okie winters involve a lot of ice but aren't typically ridiculously cold.

In terms of putting away the harvest, we've been busy on that end, too. I've made 14 large batches of pesto (anyone want some???) which are currently in the freezer. Dried and froze some tomatoes. Dried habaneros and cayenne for Pizza Flakes from Hell. Pickled peppers. Pickled cucumbers. Canned salsa and jam. Made homemade tabasco sauce. Canned tomatoes and green beans. Stewed and froze some tomatoes. Dried loads of dill, rosemary, and cilantro. Tonight I'm canning up loads and loads of chicken stock with homegrown onions and carrots and herbs. Oh, and the crazy volunteer butternut squash has just provided number 17! I've got them stored in an old bread box until it cools down enough to clear a space in the (largely uninsulated) garage. I checked my calendar and I first noticed it had come up on March 29 which is ridiculously early and cold. I didn't bother to cover it when it froze two more times after that, so it was one hardy bitch! :)

And lest it sound like its all roses here, it's not. Absolute failures in the garden included the aforementioned winter squashes and the chartenais melons (nice vines - no fruit!). Largely failures included the broccoli, red onions, and white onions (the yellows did great). Somewhat failures included the damned Opalka tomatoes! I'm so disappointed about them!!! I'm going to do some more research to see if I can clarify the problem...

Well, I suppose that's it. I need to work on the course I'm teaching starting in...10 days...Au revoir summer. You were one belle soeur if only for just a little while...

The journalistic prowess of Martin Brashear and company

ABC did a Nightline story on (mostly) peak oil survivalists last night. Of course the whole thing was sort of like "Look at the crazy monkeys in the zoo, little Johnnie! Aren't they weird? They're saving FOOD!"

Someone, somewhere, on some blog (probably lots of someones) made the point that the green movement/peak oil preparedness movement/locavore movement, etc. is garnering enough attention and short time devoteeship that it might eclipse itself into trendiness (which it has) and eventually passe-dom. I certainly hope this is not the case...but stories like this don't help.

Nightline story on survivalists