update from the urban farm

The end of May is here and my garden is thriving. I have countless variates of edible plants growing, many of which I acquired for free! My vegetable garden is producing enough salad greens for salad every night. The beets should be ready to harvest soon and the sugar snap peas are very tall. I bought Luke a blueberry bush the other day and planted it in a large pot. For the first year, those blueberries will be the most expensive blueberries we ever ate- but it is an investment in fruit. Here are some pictures of life on the farm:

my farm in brighton

Yesterday was sunny and not too cold, so I went for a stroll through the hood when my clothes were at the LMAT. I live on the outskirts of Boston, but still definitely the city. To my surprise I stumbled across this picturesque Greek Revival style farmhouse and barn. I'm obsessed with having my own farm in the city so this place has now become my dream property. I'm using all my brainwaves to lure it into my future....someday this will be my home:

sprouts

A miniature field of herbs and veggies has sprouted under the lights in my kitchen. We had a scare when I forgot to water the babies one day. They all shriveled up and looked so sad, but they revived. The arugula and lettuce also sprouted out on the porch, which really brought a smile to my face because I had my doubts. The spinach in the raised garden bed I planted a few weeks ago now has not sprouted. I guess I was too anxious to get some food growing. The peas planted around St. Patty's day have not pushed through the dirt, but I still have hope for them.

that's fresh!

I'm marrying an Italian boy.   I made fresh homemade vegan tagliatelle for the first time tonight.  He ate 2 helpings.  Big success! 

garden astrology

Gardening by the moon is a method of starting seeds based on the phases of the moon.  As the moon grows full, plant seeds that grow up and out of the soil.  Today the lunar calender reveals we are about a week away from the full moon, so I planted a few rows of cold hardy sugar snap peas.  If all goes according to plan, I'll be eating fresh peas by mid May.  In another moon related story, I saw this billboard....is it real?  Has the advertising world really sold its soul?

Root vegetables that grow down into the earth follow the opposite schedule.  I was looking forward to planting some early carrots, but it seems I should wait till the beginning of April for the dark of the moon.  

On my porch I started arugula and mixed lettuce.  The greens need to be harvested before our other herbs are ready to move outside because I pretty much stole Luke's real estate.  He is in charge of the herbs.  

Some of the seeds we started last week are peeking through the soil!  I've read that seedlings actually need to be "pet" so they grow strong stems.  I hope someone stops by to find me petting my seedlings!

porch makeover

I am so pleased with the way our shelves came out! I covered the storage area with an extra sheet I had laying around. A few squeezes of the staple gun later and I've got a totally functional, clean, organized space! I can't wait to get the herb garden going.

Here are the pictures:

BEFORE: really messy and disorganized





DURING: room for all of our gardening supplies and grease storage for the car.







AFTER: now I just need to spruce up the space with chairs, pillows, plants, and maybe a lantern.

brunch fit for a vegan

Every weekend we roll out of bed to get to work on our favorite part of the week- brunch. Sometimes it's vegan cinnamon french toast, or banana pancakes. Today we made a spicy and savory version of a vegan brunch staple, tofu scrambler. The best part about scrambler is you can throw in whatever veggies or spices you have on hand. This week I used onion, portobello mushroom, and banana peppers.






Luke took control of the potatoes and made them crispy and spicy as usual. Cayenne pepper is the new heat source of choice.








After brunch we tackled another big project. A three season glassed-in front porch provides the perfect spot to grow herbs. It's also a comfortable sunny place to play guitar or have breakfast. This year we will grow more herbs than in years past so we had to come up with a solution for all the gardening supplies that collect in the porch. We designed a custom greenhouse style shelf that is the same height as the window sill and added storage underneath. Soon, I will add some curtains to conceal the odds and ends. "Before and after" pictures to follow.