Biography of Lettuce

Being a vegetarian until a more sustainable meat source is viable, the majority of my meals comprise of salad in some capacity.  Thus!  A little story about one of my favorite greens. 

There once was a seed.  His name was lettuce, and he was getting tired of waiting around in a dark pocket with other seeds.  He wanted dark, thick, nutrient-rich soil in which to grow.  He wanted a home. 

One day, a light appeared at the top of the pocket, and two long fleshy things reached down and grasped Lettuce and some of his brothers and sisters.  Lettuce was on his way up in the world.  Up, of course, until he was deposited in the damp, brown earth.  

As soon as he was nestled in his new home, Lettuce began to grow.  He stretched up, and up, and up, unfurling as he looked for that light he had seen the moment of his drop from his mother plant, and the moment he had been lifted from the pocket.  Finally, Lettuce poked out of the soil, and took a deep breath of fresh air.  I was a sprout, he was green, and he was ready to see the world 

I suppose you can guess what happens from there, I wouldn't want to completely write a biography, because then I would have to cite it, and that is a pain.  Long story short, Lettuce is plucked and happier than a pig in mud on my plate into my mouth.  

I'm writing this now, at the end of September because we are just planting our fall greens.  I fully recommend getting some seeds in the ground, in pots that you can put outside on your steps that act as ornaments as well as food.  Seriously!  Get on it people!  These lettuces are lovely in more ways than one! 

Composting! Not just for hippies!

It’s an excellent alternative to trash.  It’s called compost.  First, a definition.  Compost is “decayed organic material used as fertilizer.”  It really is just that.  It’s all the vegetable food detritus from your kitchen, all the pulled weeds from your garden, and all the manure you can acquire from local farms.  It’s so much better for your plants than any NPK fertilizer you can find it’s almost laughable. 

When the organic movement started some 20 years ago, there was a distinct outcry against all things artificial—this included fertilizers.  The boycott led to a need for new forms of fertilizer.  Enter compost.  The communes in California would use their food waste along with the weeds that they pulled to make a decaying heap of vegetation that would release their nutrients back to the soil as it decomposed. 

Compost allows for the food to be grown by the soil (the plants take the nutrients), and for the soil (the plants are composted after they’re done growing). 

One of the more common fears about composting is the odor.  It’s a heap of decaying matter, doesn’t it smell?  I promise it doesn’t smell that bad!  Really, as you don’t put any meat-material except eggshells in the heap, it doesn’t take on the pungent rotting smell that is so expected with detritus.  It’s not a trash pile!  It’s a compost.  It does not waft like the garbage trucks. 

I suppose you’re wondering about the how.  There are many different types of compost actually.  My family uses two.  We have one pile that all our food detritus, our plants, and any other organic material is tossed in, and the other is a barrel of organic matter that houses worms.  The worms eat the material, and turn it into loamy soil matter that spreads nicely. 

For those of you looking to start a compost, the easiest manner is to set aside a small area of land, just a square, then ring it with a wire fencing, and toss stuff in it.  Grass clippings make the best start up for compost, as the clippings tend to be rather numerous.  Then keep a bucket on your counter (we have our buckets from berry picking), or a large bowl, and chuck the detritus in there instead of the trash.  Remember though, that meat products do need to be thrown in the garbage, or they attract flies, maggots, and all sorts of nasties that you don’t want to spread on your garden. 

Once you’ve gotten a compost that has been, for lack of a better word, fermenting for a season, it’s ready to be spread on your beds.  If you aren’t totally up for the idea of straight compost on your plants, you can always mix artificial fertilizer with compost.  Some is always better than none!

Also published on The Herndon Environmental Network Blog

Waste not want not!

The other day, my mother sent me some pictures from her Facebook.  Now, while this doesn't seem like sustainable agriculture, it is absolutely sustainability.  SO!  I'd like to put a plug in for these ideas, especially as we are also attempting to eliminate waste in any way we can.  Please, enjoy, giggle, then ponder, as you digest (no pun intended) the possibilities of these lovely ideas! 

This actually works surprisingly well.  You'd think that a bottle would work better, but with all those hungry people at a barbecue, well, it does wonders.  

I love pancakes.  I am also OCD.  This little invention allows me to cover all my bases, and end up with not only perfectly shaped circular pancakes, but also letter pancakes.  

Just pure genius, this avoiding of waste! 

A decent idea.  I've found that it depends on the bread type.  Some breads need top down, like soft bread.  Those with crusts, go for it! 

It's almost too good to be true!  Now, while you don't get to lick the scoop, this is really the best way I've found to eliminate birthday tears.  

Never again will all the goodies fall out either end and go straight into the trash!  Now we have the ability--dadadada--to eat all of what we cook!

I won serious brownie points with my elders on this one.  Seriously, who likes watery wine? 

When I switched from my preferred holder (scotch tape) to this brilliant beyond brilliant idea, I saved so much plastic, they're erecting a statue for me in the park!  

Now, while this did not apply directly to gardening or agriculture, it applies to waste, which is always an extension of agriculture.  I'll soon talk about the industrial food waste, but for now, take a minute to delight in the simple ways to make that trash can, that compost, and that recycling a little lighter! 

Carrots, Beets, and Deer! Oh My!

Well, they're cute right?  The deer, or some herbivore, pulled a Mr. Rapunzel and stole into our garden to commit thievery.  AND to top it off, the varmint ate only the tops of our root crops.  Our poor beets were half eaten by the time they made it into our kitchen!  Oh well, I suppose it wasn't a tragedy.  We were still able to cook all our harvest.  There are worse things that can befall a garden.  

We ended up boiling our beets, as there wasn't enough of each one to pickle.  My dad calls beets the HFCS-less candy.  My mom calls them delicious.  I don't call them anything; I just eat them.  

This doesn't mean, however, that I don't have words for them!  In fact, I would like to compose a haiku about beets for you.  

Oh beets, you are fine

You make me wish spring lasted 

Forever, oh beets.

Ok, so not my finest.  I save my best poems for my books.  

Since summer has been so cool, we've actually had beets for a good long time into the "hot" months.  It's been lovely!  The flavor actually intensifies with the heat, until, I suppose, it would get too nutty to eat.  We've never let beets go that far (nor have our ruminant friends) so I don't know exactly... 

Each beet is different, just like a person.  Wherever the beet has grown, the soil shapes the taste.  Every vegetable is like wine, nature trumps nurture in the taste department.  Nurture does play a part in the living department though.

While beets are our veggie desert, carrots make up the main course.  There are so many lovely things to do with carrots, from stewed cinnamon carrots to plain dipped in hummus.  Our neighborly herbivores seem to feel the same way.

While our garden enters peak harvest season, I still spout about our spring crops.  They're just that delicious.  Fear not, a plethora of tomato posts are on the way, as well as squash, but as the kitchen gods were against me lsat night, I haven't a tomato recipe for you... I'll share that-ah-explosion with you soon.  

Boiled Beets 

Ingredients 

As many beets as you like

1. Add beets to enough water to cover the tops.  There's no need to wash the beets first, unless you feel there might be pesticide on them.  
2. Bring water to boil, let simmer for 12 minutes.  
3. Peel and serve. 
4. Savor.  

Cinnamon Carrots

Ingredients 

Water

Carrots 

Cinnamon

Nutmeg 

Honey*

1. Add 1/4 cup water to a small saucepan. 
2. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar to the pan to make a syrup, simmer two minutes.
3. Add carrots and let sit for 10-20 minutes depending on how soft you want the carrots. 
4. If you like, you can mash the carrots to make a sweet mash.  

*feel free to use agave nectar, brown sugar, maple syrup