Eek!

Last night, I was super excited when, while checking on the veggies, I saw the purple tops of some turnips poking up through the soil. I pulled up one, then another and another. I ended up with four reasonably sized turnips; one was almost the size of my fist, the rest a bit smaller. They were covered with soil but gorgeous. The bright green leaves so cheery and the purple and white skin smooth under the soil. Ah, dinner...

Then, I rinsed them and noticed some small marks around the root and stem areas...

Then, I cut off the end of the worst marked...

Then, I saw the bugs, the worms, whatever.

What!?!

So, after a good bit of research today, I have discovered that my turnips were infested with cabbage root maggots (at least that's my best guess). The solution? More nematodes. Of course, all this a couple days after I poured the remainder from the milk jug in the fridge onto a patch of lawn.

That leaves me with two options: buy more nematodes and apply them to all of my raised boxes or hope that the worst has passed since the flies should crawl from the ground soon enough (and attack the leaves of everything instead of the root veggies). Decisions.

Oh well for the first big harvest moment of the season... Hopefully I'll have better luck with whatever I pull from the ground next.

Another Year (part two)

I am now 30 years old! Although, that fact may not sink in until someone asks and I have to say it out loud. I did have a great birthday celebration, thanks to my friend, Angi... Definitely a night that I won't forget for a very long time.

And, now back to the regularly scheduled programming...

Today is a perfect June day, sunny, mid 70's, breezy, with the chance of thunderstorms later in the day (of course). It was another perfect morning for a walk though the Mt. Lebanon Farmer's Market. A new vendor appeared today: an Amish farmer selling some produce, meat products and cheese (I got the Goat Farmers cheese after sampling, amazing).

I checked on the veggies this morning. The potato plants have started to flower, the lettuce has started to re-grow (it looks like my bunny fence is working so far) and there were a few deep red strawberries ready to be my morning snack.

There are still some things I need to do as far as building and prep work. I have two more trellises to build and at least one more box... I want to have some more space for extra batches of corn and beans and everything else. I just can't wait till I can start harvesting more things from the boxes. It's especially exciting because all of the plants are so green from the almost daily rain. To see how quickly everything pushes through the loose soil mixture and reaches up and out, it's amazing. The turnips are especially vigorous; I have been pulling off the occasional rouge leaves to leave room for the sun to hit the smaller beet, lettuce and swiss chard plants. Perhaps this week, I'll cook some of them and throw them over pasta with some cheese, instead of depositing them onto the top of the compost pile.

But, for today, I'm just hoping to get that last box built and moved up into the yard (before the rain starts, of course).

Another Year

The farmer's markets, the green, the thunderstorms... It is almost summer, but it still feels like spring. The rain continues, the cool temperatures at night, it's hard to believe that school is letting out and unbearable heat could be right around the corner.

It's been a year since I made the decision to live a less processed life. I've definitely seen some progress but I still have a long way to go.

The Progress:
- I've lost 24 lbs
- I've switched a lot of my household products to naturally based items
- My pantry is full of more organic, less processed foods
- I'm trying to grow more veggies at home, depending less on outside sources for food
- I've been getting more in touch with things that bring me peace: art and yoga

The Long Way Still Ahead:
- I still have about 20-some more pounds I'd like to lose
- I've found myself eating more processed items recently
- My fridge is almost empty, no veggies, nothing fresh, nothing to cook
- I need to find continuity in the things that make me happy, some of which I can't control

But, overall, as I peer out to next week, when I'll turn 30 (aggggghhh!!), I'm pretty content with what I've accomplished. I'm in much better shape, emotionally, physically, etc.

I'm looking forward to see what I can do with the next year.