The Urban Carrot

hold up with that next episode.

2008-07-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Amanda last night about the future of the Urban Carrot. The space has been as fantastic as the name but I ain't so sure the co-operative movement of a few should sputter into the amusing dregs of time. Planning is not my strength but I can scheme and make something out of nothing with the best of them.
Maybe it was harvesting beets the other day or maybe it's the accumulated experience of the garden that has made me feel this way but I do know we had the best of times gardening with good people and someone will have to convince me why I should let it skulk away.

Long Live the Urban Carrot

2008-07-10T15:29:00.001-07:00

We always knew we were running on borrowed time. Garden plots on rented property just have shorter lifespans. And our time finally has run out.

While we still have the space free and clear for another month or so, likely a new tenant will be moving into the duplex associated with the garden, and this incarnation of the Urban Carrot will pass into someone else's hands, to nurture or neglect as s/he will.

It's been a marvelous two seasons of planning and trying new things, making mistakes, learning, and caring for the space. Based on the silly gardening schlock purveyed by Lillian Russell catalogues and the like, as a young girl I always thought the cheesy sentiment that gardening and growing food allows you space, time, and knowledge to grow and nurture your soul as well was just that-- a cheesy sentiment shared by middle-aged ladies in gloves and gardening clogs, with mass-produced "God Loves a Garden" signs in their yards. Well, count me in your ranks, ladies! This garden has been soul-food for me-- more than just a place to grow stuff to eat-- it's made me feel more connected to the ground, to my roots. It's given me a place to come read, reflect, weed, recreate with friends, reconnect.

So, the Urban Carrot grows, and having growed, grows on. Despite cross-town, cross-country moves, brand new old houses, changes and dramas, I think all of us will continue to spread the Urban Carrot love wherever we are.

Oh, and hey BIRDS! Stay the heck away from my tomatoes! I'm tired of finding pecked-out holes in the lovely red ones.

Super Big Hugs

2008-06-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

Big, big thank yous to RJ and Joe for their mad grass-hacking skills! RJ actually rolled her mower all the way to the Urban Carrot to cut our picnic area grass, and Joe borrowed a weedeater from his folks in order to clear the pathways that had become choked with weeds.

The shaggy garden is now the well-trimmed garden thanks to these two.

Supa big hugs!

Few and Far Between

2008-06-07T14:10:00.000-07:00

My garden posts have been woefully few and far between since I've spent the last several months computer-less. I am currently mooching from a friend to post this.

I have many photos to share of the progress this year as soon as I can get a computer long enough to upload them.

Today, I simply wanted to share that the garden looks shaggily beautiful. We could definitely use some sort of grass-controlling device to help maintain the area around the beds. I weeded two beds, turned dirt in one, and Joe helped me put up a lattice around the tomatoes. I have another lattice, but I'm not sure how the lattice will work, so I figured I wouldn't put it up till I consulted with the other girls. I actually thought I was buying plain old twine.

The girls and I may decide to take it down-- it looked like someone already caged the tomatoes pretty well.

I bought two seed packets for cukes; hope to plant them tomorrow. I got a Tendersweet burpless variety and a "Pickle Bush" which is supposed to be good for small spaces.

I guess after that, the last thing I'll put in for awhile will be my Jubilee tomatoes.

I took a couple of Anaheim pepper plants and a tomato plant home to try in containers.

love.

save dough, eat green

2008-04-24T17:49:00.000-07:00

Since I don't live in the lowlands, I'll remain pleased with the glorious amount of rain we have been getting. The salad greens couldn't feed a mouse on Saturday, now y'all best come and get some roughage UC style.

Behold the glorious tomato patch in its wee stages. We have some peppers interspersed for pest control.

between now and soon

2008-04-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

We should make another journey to the North for pint-sized produce to plant in our plot. I'm not sure if it is supposed to freeze this week but it will be close so we should perhaps postpone our planting but expedite our planning.

Oh yeah, Amanda was unawares that I have another and far more useless blog. I might as well pimp my shit to those I know so they can say "back in the day" stories about me when I blow up like a wet bottle rocket.

Rainwater Collection

2008-04-04T15:20:00.001-07:00

http://www.wikihow.com/Build-a-Rainwater-Collection-System

check it out :)

Seed Burst

2008-03-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

It was a cold and rainy day here in Memphis, and as such was a great day to go to Home Depot. No crowds, no hassles, lots of seeds.. and they have Bradley pinks!!

I finally saw one of my products on the cloud at Home Depot- my Discovery fan was displayed and I was pretty tickled. That's a first for me.

I bought some bell and pimento peppers, a cherry tomato pack (jellybean), Jubilee tomatoes for the garden, and some herbs for home. I started the seeds today, so hopefully soon I'll have baby plants.

PS- It's 8 PM, so I just turned out my lights for http://www8.earthhourus.org/!

Earwigs

2008-03-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

-Image from Snopes
-Info from Wikipedia and links

While in the garden last weekend, I saw at least two rather evil looking insects in various beds. I thought the bugs were probably earwigs, and we all agreed that they looked particularly vicious and must be very destructive. As shown in the image here, they probably can crawl in your ears and eat your brain, or so we assumed.

Though we don't have to worry about brain-eating, they do, according to Harvard's Insect Fact Sheet and Wikipedia, pose a threat to seedling peas and beets, lettuce, and strawberries. So we may need to figure out some way to deter them from feasting on the fruits of our labor.

Some interesting earwiggy facts:
-they also eat other insects, which can be good for gardens
-females have straight pincers while males have more curved pincers
-they really like damp stuff
-some rare earwigs are blind and feed on giant rats in Africa (? this actually from Harvard's bug page..)
-their pincers, though formidable in appearance, cannot break human skin and so pose no stingy-bitey threat to humans

Input Sequence

2008-03-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

The spring weather has me running hot. I just can't seem to wait to get good stuff in the ground.

Although it is totally possible for the weather to turn deadly cold again before winter quits for good, we have hopes that the stuff we've planted so far will withstand all but the most extreme killing frosts.

This weekend Allison and Daniel and I set off to a local grower's operation (Bayless? Bayliss?) in hopes of securing some veggie plants. It was still a bit too early for the veggies to leave their incubators, so we enjoyed the calm greenhouses full of early flowers and some herbs. We got a bang-up bunch of strawberry plants for cheap, so now the only issue is where to plant them. I got some thyme, parsley, and oregano for home use, and we also got a couple of Lantana plants and some fruity mints (pineapple and orange) for the garden.

After we got back, we used our newly acquired soil to punch up and loosen the clay-dirt in mine and Michael's old patch, and then planted a bunch of strawberries, peas, and a section or two of broccoli there. Surprisingly, the broccoli I planted there last winter still has beautiful frosty-blue green leaves and is producing florets, but no large heads. We left them in, but I think they should probably come out soon as at least one plant is trying to bolt. Broccoli plants are quite decorative.

We decided to forego the brussels sprouts this time, as they are not good bedfellows with peas, and they have a very long growth cycle. We totally should have planted them in the fall.

We also skipped the onions for now, but have plans to maybe try them with early tomatoes. Don't know if that will work.

By this time, Allison had been up over 24 straight hours, and it was getting cold, so we called it a day. A very good day.

--

Hopefully I will get a new camera soon, so that I can post more garden pics. I really miss having one handy.

--

-mildly melancholy j

Bitch ass dogs.

2008-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Before any intriguing night of emotional conversation, I cut a piece of plywood and was set to mount it on the gate so the dogs don't jump over it (a mighty fine piece of crap, I tell you) and enjoy freshed turn urban dirt. Dogs love dirt. That's probably why I love them so.

Spring Pics!

2008-03-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

Spring planting

Today Allison and I turned the soil in two beds, and planted peas, lettuce, spinach, beets, and radishes. Tomorrow she plan to add some broccoli and Brussels sprouts to the second bed.

URBAN OH ATE!

2008-01-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, the girl Carrots met at Sweet for dinner and our first official 08 planning session. Many exciting discoveries were made, including but not limited to "Decorate your Own Martini Glass" night, Pig Candy, and this intriguing tangy tomato sauce called 'Ketchup'. Or, as it is sometimes more enigmatically spelled, 'Catsup'.

Also, some important decisions were made. We each prepared and compiled a list of must-haves for the coming seasons.

Starting and focusing on early plants-- things we can purchase, plant, or start anytime in the next few weeks-- here are the most likely candidates for our cool Spring garden.

lettuce mix (possibly Mesclun, Arugula, and Spinach)
cabbage
carrots
radishes (breakfast? varieties from Seeds of Change)
peas
beets
potatoes (possibly a whole bed-full)
brussell sprouts
snow peas or sugar snaps
garlic
'zipper cream' peas

We have not finalized our warmer-weather harvest, but it will most likely include the following plants.

peppers (chili, thai hot, jalopeno, poblano, bell-- some varieties from Seeds of Change, some from local sources)
green beans
tomatoes (several varieties including Caspian Pinks (?), Arkansas Traveler, Brandywines, cherry tomatoes, and possibly others from local sources)
okra (possibly a red variety)
strawberries (should get berries this year, as we started on these last summer)
cucumbers (salad variety and mini-pickling variety)
pumpkins (as last year- maybe the small variety)
zucchini squash
sweet corn (possibility)

We also plan to devote some space to an herb bed that includes the following tasty and medicinal herbs.

basil (mix from Seeds of Change)
borage
oregano
yarrow
french marigolds
nasturtiums (maybe-- I think they spread a lot...)
lemongrass (in tubs)
mint (in tubs)
pineapple sage (should return from last year)
lemon balm
thyme

Amanda brought up the idea of a cut flower bed. We all enthusiastically agreed that would be very nice.

zinnias
cosmos
sunflowers (pg 67 Seeds of Change)
hollyhocks

We also discussed the layout of our garden, which I will scan and post here in a couple of days.

Winter Carrot

2007-12-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

Haven't done a garden update in awhile.

We have been busy scurrying around, prepping for holidays, having birthdays, trying to make green peppers turn red.

Apparently my broccoli is budding but I haven't yet seen it.

Next year should bring some changes in the garden-- we plan to reorganize the beds into a more communal arrangement, grouping veggies according to plant/water/sun needs as opposed to who planted them. We have talked about getting the soil tested and getting seeds and plants that will jive well with the type of soil and nutrients we can provide. I'm getting interested in rain gardens and rain collection, so we're going to explore that and see if it's feasible to install something this year that will a)work b)discourage or at least not encourage mosquito breeding and c)not cost much.

We've also discussed adding more of a community component to the garden outreach, possibly helping others to create vegetable beds or construct rain collection devices.

Should be a fun spring.

Fall-ing Update

2007-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

A new season approaches.

Our plot still contains massive, overbearing, completely obnoxious, but completely tasty cherry tomatoes. We have gotten a few chili peppers, and the mystery plants that Michael swears up and down are peppers are finally producing small, green, spherical fruits that may swell into something resembling an edible vegetable. But for the most part, the "harvest" is starting to taper off, and we pulled out everything in the front of the bed, moved a basil plant, and sowed seeds for fall plants.

The past two or three weekends have been hectic, and while we've been away, those seeds have sprouted, and we now have baby purple-hulled peas climbing the spider web, and rape, spinach, and broccoli shoots peeking through the soil.

The peas look great so far. The broccoli is being munched on by some very hungry caterpillars. Maybe some pepper spray is in order.

Party on Saturday, August 4

2007-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

So, the "i'm single/housewarming" party will begin around 8ish. Feel free to bring a friend or two! There will be some tasty snacks and beverages, but my selection is limited, so please feel free to bring supplies for your preferred drinks.

My address is
2301 Madison Avenue #1
Memphis, TN 38104

You can park on the street or in the lot behind the apartment. Call/email if you need expanded directions.

If you get lost, call me at 274-3626.

Hope you can all make it!

New Look

2007-07-25T19:41:00.000-07:00

A small effort to make our blog more personalized. I think the header graphic is a little large, so I'll probably scale it down a bit tomorrow.

Enjoy!

In the beginning

2007-07-21T16:49:00.000-07:00

Adventures at the Cannery, plus some more.

2007-07-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Canning... and more

Enjoy!

Canning Photos!

2007-07-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

Canning is fun.

We are such novices. We came through the whole adventure relatively unscathed, with the exception of Michael, who nearly dropped a vat of boiling brine on himself, Lily, Allison, and possibly me when his potholder fringe caught fire from the gas flame. Instead, he burned the holy hell out of his middle (birdie) finger and managed to prevent anyone having to endure the unspeakably painful ickiness of a vinegar scald. Despite the excitement, all our jars sealed properly, which is great, but I have absolutely no idea how the pickles will turn out. It puts me in mind of a song...

"Will the pickles be unsquishy, by and by Lord, by and by? Will the pickles be unsquishy, in the jar Lord, in the jar?"

So far today, everything looks fine, though the second batch of pickles has some strange crystallization of salt suspended in the brine.

Pictures of the process at the photo album site. Note my screamin' green kitchen and homemade ventilation (tabletop fan)...

Canning

2007-07-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

After a great deal of dilly-dallying and daydreaming of better ways, we got around to putting up some pickles and cherry tomatoes. Hopefully the tomatoes are as good as Michael and Jannell's last batch. They make for a mean martini or the slip and slide to drunksville, as I like to call it.

Micheal is at work on a weed eater and so we may not have to pull the nasty clumps of grass out by hand. Apparently, not only do cucumbers love this Delta climate but the weeds are fond of it as well. Garden cleanliness is good for good plants because it is ridding the area of bad plants and bugs. Being young urban quasi-professionals is bad for garden cleanliness. That and the fact that it is fucking hot out there. Nothing like the smell of dog crap marinating in the sun.

crazy cucumbers

2007-06-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks, I thought 4-5 cucumbers every two days or so was a lot.

I picked 4-5 at lunch on Tuesday. Last night, I picked 12.

That's right. TWELVE cucumbers in 2.5 days. Whoa.

Yurt Painting Party

2007-06-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

We have finished one wall of the yurt, and should be finished with the other one by next weekend. We would like to host a get-together potluck, jam session, and yurt painting party. That way we can have cool personalized "khana" (walls) with the stamps of friends on them! Location is TBD, might be in the garden, or might be at the apartment. We'll see. Party will probably be a Saturday night.

Fire Poi Lessons

2007-06-22T07:30:00.001-07:00

So I'm considering experimenting with teaching poi. It'd be nice to know if anyone or how many people might be interested. Then I could start picking up supplies and start playing with it. Maybe I could start with a test group that would just pay for supplies and then start charging a little bit for lessons/exercise stuff. And then it would be awesome to start up my own little troupe. That would be really hot. haha.

Midwest Burns

2007-06-19T15:24:00.000-07:00

Interfuse already happened in early May, but HullaballU is a one night event that occurs in October. I think HullaballU might be members only, though, and maybe it might be better to just plan for next year's Interfuse.

Doesn't look too far away though: Booneville, MS

I may look for other burns close by, but I think this one and maybe Transformus are the closest.

Flowers

2007-06-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

flowers 6/18/07 10:00 PM

Garden Dinner

2007-06-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Also-- Yummy yummy stirfry: I got a really good sauce recipe from Real Simple magazine at work today. It consists of soy sauce (we used a mixture of Bragg's and regular soy), a couple tablespoons of lemon juice, lots of minced garlic, some sugar, and a handful of chopped herbs-- basil and cilantro (we also added half a jalopeno, some lemon thyme, and some lemon balm).

Along with some storebought bell peppers, chicken, and onions, we were able to use squash, zucchini, and our entire harvest of sugar snaps (2 pods) fresh from the garden in the meal. We also grew the herbs and the peppers! Yum!

Wind Damage

2007-06-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of wind damage last night... lost several large branches off our oversized tomato plants. Michael went in this morning and wrapped the entire garden in twine to help support the heavy branches. It looks a little like what might happen if a careless spider got bored during its lunch preparations!

Things to Remember for Next Year

2007-06-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

-Don't construct bed and sow seeds during manic phase

-Label plants

-Consider wagon-wheel shaped herb bed

-Zucchini and squash grow BIG

-Maybe we don't need to plant lots of cucumbers in every bed

-Huns' idea: Plant all tall veggies around fence line. Divide interior space into separate beds according to vegetable.

Garden of Eatin'

2007-06-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Our tomato plants now measure at least 6 feet tall, and they seem to be growing taller everyday. The harvest is slowly cranking up; we got about 8 or 10 squash from our squash plant, and as many greens as we could eat from our lettuce/mesclun/arugula/etc. bed. That stuff is starting to peter out as the tomatoes get round and red, and as more and more yellow blooms appear on the cucumbers.

Note to self: Don't plant potatoes and tomatoes in the same bed.