Organic = $$$ = I'm cheap = I'm growing my own!

Day 5:

For those of you who were around last summer you know that I became OBSESSED with spending time in the garden. If you weren't around, I have an old Menards credit card bill for $800.00 I would be happy to email you a copy of. This year in my efforts to save money (and start gardening sooner) I have decided to grow from seed. The benefits to growing from organic seed is that you can ensure the plant has been organic through every step. Menards (I can't stay away from that damn place) currently has 'Grower Starter Kits' for sale. They also carry organic 'Burpee' brand seeds. You can also find Burpee seeds at www.burpee.com. The website is fabulous for heirloom varieties and rare plants. My favorite Burpee plant is the Mr. Stripey Tomato from England. This tomato is not only beautiful and easy to grow, but the best tomato you have ever tasted - no salt necessary. As a gardener my favorite ego boost is having people ooh and ah over my veggies and flowers. Out of the 40 or so Mr. Stripey tomatoes we grew last year I only gave out two. One to my mom and one to my boss (I am such a kiss ass). Ryan and I just couldn't part with them :)

This year we are taking things to a new level. Purple carrots, blue radishes, and edible flowers are only the beginning of it all. I am blessed to have Fridays off from work every week. Today after the gym, I hit Menards, came home, and began the planting frenzy. Here is a good website to walk you through the indoor growing process: http://www.gardenguides.com/3021-starting-seeds-indoors.html

I decided to plant our seeds in an all organic seed soil from Pro-mix. The consistency is just dry enough that you don't have to worry about seed rot. Seeds should be kept away from drafts of doors and windows. I chose the top of my refrigerator (the fridge gives off a nice heat) and a "window seat" area near a heat register to house the mini green houses. At the end of the growing season this year Ryan and I are going to shop around for a medium size green house for the backyard. I think he likes the idea of me having less time on my hands in the winter : ) I will keep you all posted on the growth of things and I would love to hear about everybody's garden.

February checklist:

If you plan on having an organic garden this summer there are a few things you can do to get a jump on the season.

1. Plant seeds soon to allow them to have enough time to root and harden to the outdoors.

2. Begin a compost pile if you don't have one. I like to save all my garden "trash" and mix it with food scraps like coffee grounds, banana piles, etc. Red worms make an excellent addition to this in the spring. Red worms eat paper and leaves. Their pooh is fantastic for plants. Plants LOVE pooh. However, never include dog or cat pooh in your compost.

3. Start deciding what you want to plant this year.

4. Research what plants grow well with other plants. Some annual flowers such as, Nasturtium, are not only edible but will also keep away insects that like to eat cucumber plants. They are also a beautiful and fragrant vining flower.

5. Plot out your garden on paper (this is super fun for me). I have plotted my veggies about 6 times. I am driving Ryan crazy, but the more research you do - the more you have to change it.

6. Decide how you will keep rabbits and other critters away from your plants.

Here is a list of what we are growing this year(I try to grow more than one variety of everything):

Basil

Bush Beans

Pole Beans

Soybeans

Beets

Cabbage

Carrots

Cilantro

Chives (they have a beautiful flower and make a nice border for the veggie patch)

Corn

Cucumbers

Lettuce

Melons

Nasturtiums

Onions

Oregano

Parsley

Parsnips

Peas

Peppers

Potatoes

Radishes

Squash

Sunflowers - if you grow for the seeds make sure to protect them from birds with mesh

Tomatoes

Turnips

Strawberries

Blueberries

I am sure we will add a few things along the way.

I would love any questions or comments - have fun in the soil!

Et Tu Mary Jane?

In my journey to be completely vegan I have began experimenting with different "milk" products. Soy milk tastes great. I love it. I actually have to monitor the amount of chocolate soy milk that I drink because anything with chocolate in it tastes GOOOOD! For the most part soy milk satisfies most of my needs, but I have some concerns in regards to the type of estrogen in soy products. Also, I already use soy to substitute for many things, so if I can avoid it, I will. My "mother in law" (Ryan and I are domestic partners) likes rice milk and I have heard great things about almond milk. Both of which I have yet to try. Not me, nope, I went straight for the hemp milk. I am a huge fan of the idea of legalizing hemp. Before you accuse me of being a pothead (which is none of your business), hemp does not contain THC, which is the really fun ingredient in marijuana. Besides milk, hemp can be used for clothes, ropes, insulation materials, composites for automobiles, biodegradable plastics and even fuel. Hemp grows quickly and can grow without any fertilizer or pesticides. If cars ran on hemp we would have an endless supply of fuel. The only draw back would be that cars would run 10 MPH slower and would constantly need more motor oil for dry motor - ok that was a bad joke. Anyway, back to the milk. After a pleasant shopping trip full of overpriced health food I came home and couldn't wait to try my new products. I don't know if any of you do this, but I like to come home and sample everything I have purchased : ) So, without even chilling this hemp milk, I grab the biggest glass I can find and fill it half up and gulp - mmm tastes good. Might as well have a little more. Two turkish apricots and one sunflower cracker later I decide to read a new book for awhile. Ten minutes later - I can barely hold my head up. I don't know if this is because the hemp milk has made me so tired that I feel like a truck has hit me OR if because now my face is bigger than a pancake at IHOP. Apparently, people with ragweed alergies may experience alergies with hemp milk. Never even crossed my mind. I felt so foolish when Ryan told me that. Makes perfect sense - they all come from the same famliy and here I am calling myself a gardener. After a three hour coma and one red, giant lollipop eyeball later the effects wore off and everything was fine. The bummer is that I can't drink hemp milk unless I want to chase it with Allegra-D. The good news is that if you are someone without allergies then hemp milk is an excellent source of natural Omega 3 and Omega 6 fats, as well as, vitamin B12, which is hard to find in a vegan diet. The moral of the story is if we are at a concert keep that wacky weed to yourself, well, unless of course you have that really good sh!t. : ) -

Becoming Vegan, Step 1 - Toe tapping and flatulence

Disclaimer - some of following posts during my first 30 days as a Vegan are going to be gross, "too much information" and hopefully we can find the humor in it. I promise to be true to you, even when it is embarrassing. I just want to present the knowledge that I pick up on my journey. Maybe you might even try some new foods or stop trying old ones.

Day 4: Well, I would have started with Day1, but you never know if I am going to stick to something or not. This is Day 4 so I figured we were safe (at least for a week or two). Also, I have started to notice some changes that I wasn't prepared for and figured now would be the time to start blogging and sharing that information with other people who may want to try the Vegan lifestyle.

Why: I decided that it was time to go vegan for many reasons.
1. This is the healthiest option for me. I have one kidney so less protein is best. Not to worry - it is an awesome kidney. I have put it through the ringer and it keeps going. Actually, my one kidney could kick both of your kidney's asses, but that is a different blog. Just sayin - no worries.
I also have PCOS. I'm not going to explain that to you, just "google" it if you want to know OR just take my word for it that this is the best eating plan for fertility and health. I am not trying to get pregnant now (don't get too excited mom), but when I do I want to have the healthiest environment possible for my little genius. :)
2. Farms are not what they used to be. If all farms were like the Stackhouse family farm - it would be safe to eat meat, but they aren't and it isn't. I am not preaching vegan lifestyle so again you will have to research the safety of meat and dairy in the U.S. on your own. You can check out http://www.goveg.com/ if you are interested. Most of what I read grossed me out so that depletes the tastiness of meat.
3. I love animals. I love to eat animals too, but it just isn't "jivin" with me these days. It is much different to eat a cow that lives in a pasture his whole life mooing and smelling the open air then killed and butchered humanly instead of a cow that lives in his own caca his whole life and is butchered the way they do it these days. You can read about that on your own too. It made me sick. Grossed out because of what I was putting in my body and saddened by the way animals are treated. Scientists say that pigs have the same intelligence as a 3 year old child and smarter than a dog. I'm not eating 3 year old children or dogs, even though we tell Ralph we will sell him to China for meat if he doesn't stop barking, so it is time to add pigs to the list.
4. Finally, even though it isn't part of my original reasons to go vegan, I am happy to know that this is the most environmental choice as well.

So, it was time for me to start thinking about the things I was putting in my body.

Results: This is the fun stuff. In just four days my energy is crazy. I mean, toe tapping in my sleep, slapping my legs against my desk at work, wanting to run (really weird for me) crazy. I HATE the gym. I like physical activity. Hiking, camping, scuba, bedroom activities, but the gym is so damn boring, so this helps with gym time. Plus: there are some really hot ladies at my gym and instead of being a hater it is a motivator.
Flatulence: Seriously, how I am suppose to be a lady now? For those of you that know me, I am not a lady. I consider myself a 'broad'. Much more Katherine Hepburn than Audrey Hepburn if you know what I mean. With that said, I still don't go around the world farting on everything (I save it for my car). In 5 years I have only let one rip in front of Ryan one time, until now. I hope he is ready for a healthier, happier, gassier girl because that is what he is getting. You cannot expect to eat veggies, fruits, and beans twice as much as before and not go through this stage. I hope it passes quickly. In the mean time, I am getting revenge for every dutch oven that I have been put through. I think I am going to "live it up" and really embrace this farting fiasco. I am also going to stop shaving, start snapping towels, burping, and join a frat. Just kidding of course :)

Thanks for taking this journey with me. I hope to post daily, but like we all know, I never stick to anything. Have a great day.

Next Post - God help me, I'm allergic to weed (hemp milk).