How to get your kids to eat broccoli. Seriously.

1. Grow your own broccoli. I kid you not, it's like a different food group altogether. My kids scarf this stuff down, including much of the stem, which is juicy and sweet, unlike the chunks of bark you get attached to the broccoli you buy at the grocery store.

2. Need I say it? Dip! I was incredibly surprised to watch my children chow down on slices of raw zucchini with dip yesterday. Wow. Dip is one powerful tool. Use wisely.

3. Chop up really small and add a judicious amount of sesame-ginger dressing. I watched my kids literally FIGHT over a bowl of broccoli I prepared this way a couple weeks ago. 

4. Chop up really small and put into quesadillas with a bit of mozzarella cheese. Drooling now...and it's a great way to use up some of that dense grocery-store broccoli you accidentally bought before your good stuff gets big enough.

That's about it. My kids generally refuse to eat any sort of cooked veggie, so for right now in our house, delicious broccoli-cheddar soups and even steamed broccoli with cheese sauce is all in the "yuck" category. But really, when you have broccoli fresh out of the garden, who wants to cook it! 

pictures and ponderings

I mowed the lawn this evening and greatly enjoyed myself. I never would have pegged myself as someone who would enjoy yardwork, yet here I am! And I have to say, I have newfound respect for those who wield weed-wackers all day - what an arm workout!! 

Here's just a few random shots that I took while I was outside, enjoying the warm evening.

The view from the gate.

Lupines!

My first happy zucchini plant EVER. And it's mere feet away from the front sidewalk!

What is this? I have no idea but it's very cute.

My favorite corner of the deck - surrounded by raspberries, tomatoes, haskaps, and cukes.

Things are growing!

I've been struggling recently with how much time I spend cleaning or gardening when I'm with the boys. I'm generally still interacting with them but not actually playing with them. Sometimes I justify it, but there's always this niggling in my conscience, and here is someone who states it perfectly. Thanks for providing just the words I needed today, Ann Voskamp. :) Time to start making more of my evenings and naptimes, and building real relationships with my sons again.

oh summer, how we love you!

Now this is summer. I'm going to try to keep track of how many strawberries we pick this year, just for price comparisons. But nothing compares to the joy on a little face who gets to enjoy a REAL strawberry for the first time in his remembered life. Despite record amounts of rain, the strawberries are still sweet and satisfying. Yummy!

Broccoli buggers

Ok, I have a million post ideas and not enough time to type them up! I've been asked a couple questions recently, and thought others might be interested in reading the answers. 

Top Question? "What do I do about the holes in my kale/broccoli/cabbage?"

Basic Answer? "If you've got holes, you're too late!"

Better answer?

The cabbage moth has laid its eggs on your plants, and they have hatched into some adorable little worms that use your veggies as their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Unfortunately, they don't like to share and tend to not leave much for you. Case in point, this is last year's decimated second crop of broccoli:

Bonus points: How many worms do you see?

So, we obviously hate the little buggers. And sometimes pulling them off individually isn't an option because there are JUST TOO FREAKING MANY. Can you spray on something that's not harmful to the environment? 

I've heard people say that rotenone is a "safe" pesticide, but after reading this book (which is mostly pro-organic), I've discovered that even so-called organic pesticides are not really safe. Rotenone in actually particularly toxic to fish, so if you live near a body of water where your pesticide might wash into, please don't use rotenone!

A better option if you've already got the worms is BTK insectide - it is a bacteria that destroys the stomach of a caterpillar, and only a caterpillar. It will not harm the beneficial insects in your garden or you.

Your best option, if you don't yet have holes but anticipate the plague of worms to descend on your crops very soon, is to COVER THEM UP! Get a lightweight row cover from your local greenhouse, and make sure there's no cracks or holes. Pack down the edges with rocks, dirt, or pieces of wood, and you've got yourself a moth-proof little home for your brassica veggies. Yay!

Here's what it looks like:

Note to self: don't grow tomatoes on the north side of the broccoli unless you want to seriously stunt the plants!

And here's what they look like under the cover. So much happier than last year's skeletal broccoli!

paving over more farmland

I went to a community meeting tonight. The county in which I live (Strathcona) is preparing to start a brand new city  within the confines of the county in the next few years, to accommodate for growth. The small city will, of course, be on top of what is now excellent agricultural land. 

Tonight I chatted with a woman whose land will be subjugated by this new city, whose farmland has been in the family for 100 years. I am frustrated by her loss, and yet, this evening was very exciting for me. 

I went to the "visioning meeting" tonight to put in my two bits about sustainability, and was pleasantly surprised at what I heard. Of course there were a few community folks at the meeting who were pushing for larger lots and further-away neighbours, but there were also the people who desired a greater community feel, to maintain natural parkland, and to allow only light industry. 

Those who are actually designing the city are planning to make it more grid-style to allow for an excellent and usable transit system and easier walk/bike-ability. Here's a quote from their 'citizens bulletin':

"Bremner offers the opportunity to shrink our ecological footprint by using land and infrastructure more efficiently. Planning interconnected neighbourhoods and mixed-use centres within walking distance from homes will reduce dependency on the motor vehicle. Building energy-efficient homes and infrastructure that minimize storm-water run-off are also ways to be more sustainable."

This city will not be another suburb. This will be a high-density city - hoping to fit twice the population of Sherwood Park into a town slightly smaller than Sherwood Park's general boundaries (Henday to Hwy 21, Hwy 16 to Wye Road). A few people were disappointed that this wasn't going to be another suburb to build another, bigger home when the current 3000 square foot home is no longer enough. 

But I'm encouraged by the fact that, if we're going to pave over farmland, we are at least going to maximize it into what will hopefully be an environmentally innovative, beautiful little city. 

And if it all pans out the way it's supposed to, I may even want to live there one day.


~~~~~~~
PS. If you live in Strathcona County and are interested in getting involved in the visioning process, there's another Community Visioning Session on Saturday, June 15 from 9-12 in the Community Centre. Register here.

Psalm 23, Gardener's Edition

The Lord is my Gardener,

I shall not want.

He fills my soil with nutrients,

He waters me to perfection.

He restores my health.

He trains my vines upward

for my fruitfulness and his glory.

Even though I am vulnerable to pest and disease

I will not fear,

For my Gardener is with me.

Your keen eye and protective hands, they cover me.

You prepare a deep, fertile place for me

in the presence of many that wish to hurt me.

You transplant me when I am root-bound

so that I can experience new growth.

Surely your goodness and mercy will be with me

all the days of my life.

And when I am done producing fruit in this garden,

I will dwell in the garden of the LORD forever.

Gardening is slow. Gardening is work. But in many ways it is similar to the process that God is working in our lives. He plants the seed of our life in our mother's womb, in the darkness, allowing us to grow as he causes us to grow. When we become root-bound in our pots, he removes us from a cozy, fruitless situation and transplants us into a new place, a place where we can spread out and grow to our full potential. He gives us food, water, and air.

Sometimes we feel like the conditions are not ideal. Isaiah 58:11 says that “The Lord will guide you always; 
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.' Notice that God doesn't say he will remove you from the sun-scorched land (or the shady place or the bog), but that he will satisfy your needs in the midst of them, and he will strengthen you so that you become like a well-watered garden.

I read an article the other day that noted that when you transplant shrubs into a shady area, they will thin out and become weaker. But if you transplant them with several of the same species nearby, eventually they will grow together, indistinguishable from each other but showing themselves off as something beautiful. It's only when the gardener embraces the fact that his garden is shady that he can work with the plants to create something that is strong. Some of us have been planted in less-than-ideal situations. But God has given us others to lean on, and when we choose to live in community, our lives become a thing of beauty.

Behind the fence in my backyard is a very large poplar tree. It has shallow roots growing far into my backyard, with a very large one growing along the edge of the grass into my garden. We might find ourselves in similar situations, where something comes along and wants to take the life out of us. It tries to siphon off the subsistence the Lord is pouring into our lives. Sometimes he has to pour extra blessings into our lives because they seem to be drained away at a record pace. But the other day, my husband took a hatchet to that root growing into my garden, and someday God will do the same to the root that is draining you.

Did I mention that gardening is slow? Not only that but it's a lot more work to garden than to fill the backyard with asphalt or just let it go to weed. It may seem to take an eternity for God to work something beautiful in our lives. Often the soil we have to work with is rocky and weedy. But slowly, ever-so-slowly, God brings in load after load of compost and manure to make the garden bed fertile. Did you know that some gardeners have built productive gardens on top of bridges, old parking lots, and rooftops? No matter how hard you feel like your childhood soil was, God can redeem it.

Every day he pulls out a few weeds. Sometimes the weeds have just germinated and are just beginning to send down roots. When God pulls those baby weeds out of our lives, we sometimes don't even notice because there are always more weed seeds germinating in the garden. And yet, he is working. Sometimes the weeds are so large that when they are pulled, they leave a gaping hole that then needs to be filled. When their large roots are close to the desired plant, they may even tear some of our roots as they are coming out. But the Master Gardener knows how to heal all wounds.

My prayer for you is that you would be like the metaphorical tree mentioned in Psalm 52:8. “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.”

May the Lord bless you

and keep you

May he make his face to shine up you

and be gracious to you

May he turn his countenance toward you

and give you peace.

honeysuckle monsters!!

SOMETHING IS EATING MY HONEYSUCKLE LEAVES!!! 

I just noticed tonight that the flower buds on my ornamental honeysuckle are almost completely decimated, but I took note of the holes in the leaves of both the ornamental honeysuckle and the haskaps last week already. I just put it together tonight that the only plants being affected are in the honeysuckle family. 

My first guess was caterpillars, given the big holes in the leaves, but the loss of the flower buds makes me wonder if there are also aphids on the big plant. Sigh. 

It had a serious aphid infestation a couple years ago, which I combatted with several sprays of insecticidal soap. Looks like I'll be at it again. As for the caterpillars, should I leave them be or blast them with some BTK? [which is a biological control specific for caterpillars] I bought some last year so that I'd have it in case I have cabbage worms in my brassicas again, but haven't used it yet. I'd prefer to keep it as a last resort. 














But seriously, that honeysuckle is a major showpiece and therefore it must be saved! It has these incredible orange/pink flowers that attract hummingbirds, and it looks phenomenal growing up the side of the house. See that giant vine on the right side of the house? Yes, I want to keep that. Anyone have any ideas as to what I might be dealing with?

2014 EDIT: I believe the culprit is some sort of sawfly. I sprayed with Safer's "Trounce" and it took care of whatever was eating it. It's not an organic product but but I'm willing to go non-organic occasionally, and for non-food plants (I only sprayed it on the honeysuckle vine). The spray also worked on my columbine which was being decimated by little worms. Again, I think it was a sawfly variant.