sustainable living – Page 3

diy fermentation setup

Fermenting vegetables are a great way to preserve extra harvest through the winter, with lots of healthy probiotics, vitamins, and minerals. I don’t have huge quantities of any one vegetable right now, so want to be able to preserve small amounts. From what I’ve read, fermenting in mason jars using an airlock is a great small-batch option. When I checked into buying airlock mason jar fermentation lids, though, they averaged $10 per lid — which would quickly add up given the number of batches I’d like to ferment. I figured I could make them myself much less expensively. I started with six lids to see how it would go. I bought 6

August 22, 2016

first honey harvest

Honey is in good supply for my two hives that are thriving, so decided to harvest one frame of my Montana forest wildflower honey from the strongest hive. The frame above is one of the foundationless frames I added to the hive. The girls did a beautiful job building it out! As a kid in coastal California my mom sometimes bought us honey in the comb. One taste brought back memories. My bees forage from wildflowers and flowering trees in the surrounding forest — lupine, dandelion, St. John’s wort, purple thistle, and a bunch of other flowering plants I’ve yet to identify. They also gather nectar and pollen from the garden — broccoli flowers, nasturtium,

August 21, 2016

hummingbird training

Reading on the deck this afternoon, a baby hummingbird with her downy feathers still present kept landing near me with her wings splayed, tongue darting in and out slowly, and generally looking distressed. I decided to make her some hummingbird food to see if she was just thirsty. She was, and drank appreciatively. After her drink, she ruffled her feathers and took a 10-minute nap on the table next to me. I fed her a bit more food when she woke up, and moved the glass toward the hummingbird feeder. She caught on quickly. Last I saw she was drinking from the feeder successfully. I suppose I can add hummingbird trainer to my

July 3, 2016

early summer

Garden is off to a good start for the brassicas, tomatoes, and chilies. Broccoli is looking pretty and should be ready to start harvesting in the next couple weeks. Cabbage will be a while, as will the cauliflower. Purple jalapenos are starting to ripen nicely. Summer squash it appears will be ready to harvest soon, too. I’ve been letting one of each species of weed grow in the garden to see if there are any the bugs like more than the vegetables. So far I haven’t had to deal with pests destroying my edible crop. They seem to like to eat some weeds better, along with sunflowers that popped up

July 2, 2016

wild forage

Freshly harvested local morels…

earth day fun

If you’re local or happen to be in the Whitefish, Montana area on April 23rd, drop by the park by Whitefish Depot between 10 and 1. We’ll be doing a grow-your-own sunflower greens demo for kids (and adults). We’ll also have grow-your-own sunflower greens kits for sale so you can take the fun home! Here are the details: Earth Day in the Park. Hope to see you there!

garden beds getting ready

Decided to do a mix of straw bale and in-ground garden this year. The sheet mulching we did in the fall resulted in a nice, loamy compost. I put 750 lbs of organic soil on top of the sheet mulch today, and will add some more tomorrow. Straw bales are creating a border around the in-ground beds. Next week we’ll be conditioning the straw bales and creating the garden beds. Apple, peach, and cherry trees arrive Monday. They’ll get planted in the new orchard area beyond where you see the far straw bales. I’ll also be planting blackberry and blueberry bushes, as well as installing irrigation, fencing, and tree cages.

April 9, 2016

on food and gardens

Ruth Reichl’s memoirs — Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, and Garlic and Sapphires — are among my favorite foodie reads. If you’re a fan of hers —or just someone interested in food culture, gardening, and changing the way we eat — Ruth Reichl’s Commonwealth Club podcast interview is worth a listen.

spring joy

Today feels like the first real day of spring, and the forecast is for warm weather this week. Time to put the tomatoes I started in January into the sunshine! Some are still in blossom phase. Others are full-on green tomatoes — a bit bigger than ping pong balls at this stage. They’ll go back into the hothouse at night — nights are still pretty cold here in NW Montana. Got the beehives set up outside as well, ready to be populated with new bees in a few weeks. After the dark and cold of winter, it’s pure spring joy here at Planet B.

organic gardener podcast

Jackie Marie Beyer of the Organic Gardener Podcast interviewed me about Planet B Gardens and my first year as a farmer’s market gardener with Planet B Harvest. We talked about how to grow sunflower greens indoors year-round, how to get started as a new gardener, the importance of localizing food production, plus food preservation tips. You can download the Planet B podcast interview here. To subscribe to the Organic Gardener Podcast, search in iTunes for “organic gardener” under Podcasts, or go to Jackie’s episodes page to download the latest.