latest posts

growing spring greens

Sprouts and microgreens are a healthy addition to the early spring menu, especially as the veggie supply frozen from summer dwindles. My favorites — and the easiest to grow indoors — are pea shoots and sunflower greens. Soak the seeds for a day, rinse and drain them for a couple of days until they’re sprouted, and spread the sprouted seeds on an inch of good soil in a container. Pea shoots and sunflower greens easily root themselves. Mist with clean water 2-3 times per day to keep the soil moist, but not too wet. I add 2 tablespoons of food-grade 3% hydrogen peroxide to 1 liter of filtered water in

March 8, 2015

winter – pruning time

Couple weeks of rain and relatively warm weather have cleared most of the snow. Now that the trees are dormant, it’s a perfect time to prune untended trees that came with the property. The scraggly plums from summer got a serious haircut. I have hopes the lone maple “bush” will start looking more like a proper tree after a few years of clearing suckers, sawing off thin trunks and deadwood, and pruning waterspouts and weak branches. Here’s the after shot: Brush pile from a single tree… Nice to have Tika helping clear branches.

sesame bagels, homemade

My first try at homemade bagels was a success. While they take several hours to make counting rising times, the recipe is easy and hands-on time is just little over an hour. I got the original recipe from Munchies, and made some minor adjustments. Here’s the skinny: 5 cups bread flour (you can use all-purpose flour as well; I like the chewiness bread flour gives them) 1 tsp yeast 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp buckwheat honey (barley malt syrup could also work) 1.5 tbsp salt 2 cups water 1/2 cup raw sesame seeds *** Put water, yeast, sugar, salt, and honey in stand mixer (like a KitchenAid) with dough hook. Mix

February 8, 2015

leftover yarn project

Cold Monday night is a good time to crochet a beret. Still yarn leftover for a pair of mittens.

spring garden planning

Playing with ideas for the spring garden. There are several cool garden planning programs online. I tested a few and settled on GrowVeg.com. I like the ability to put in structural elements like walkways and raised beds, pergolas, and irrigation (not yet in the plan above). You can also plan for crops in succession and filter by month to see what will be in ground at that time. You can also filter fruits, flowers, vegetables, and herbs to show only those that are typically easier to grow in your zone. 2015 will be the first year with new gardens at Planet B, no doubt accompanied by a huge learning curve. Will keep

January 26, 2015

winter crochet project

Several unplanned days being snowed in off and on over the last couple months makes for lots of time to finish lingering projects. I started this sampler square crochet wool afghan almost three years ago. Admittedly, most of that time it’s been stashed in a craft closet. Each square is a different pattern. I knew I’d get bored doing the same stitch over and over. Before connecting the squares, I soaked them in a diluted solution of hair conditioner and water, rinsed, and blocked them. I pinned the damp squares to an interlocking rubber floor mat. Blocking makes the squares flat and even, and helps the pattern show up better. Once the squares were dry,

January 26, 2015

Planet B Gardens

growing spring greens

winter – pruning time

sesame bagels, homemade

leftover yarn project

spring garden planning

winter crochet project

after big snow, the big melt

happy new year!

snowbound

christmas quiet