Living In A Local Zone

Week 6 report for the Independence Days Challenge.  It was a little difficult this past week since I was feeling sick, but here are my efforts:

Plant something: Nope.  I’m waiting for the rain to let up so that I can get these okra outside.  Even in the cold-frame I think it’d be too much for them.  But they are vining beautifully (and deserve their own post later this week).  Luckily the weather forecasters say this weekend should be warm and sunny (well, starting on Thursday actually) so I am once again planning to get them out there.  Maybe next week’s IDC report will actually have them planted!

Harvest something: More lettuces and green garlic scapes…. Also my strawberries! One patch is doing really well and yielding quite a few new berries each day, enough for a good couple handfuls as a snack or with dessert.  Another patch, however, seems to have been traumatized by the wet and cooler weather.  Not sure what is going on, since the leaves look very healthy, but they are not flowering.   The eggplant also seems in shock, they aren’t flowering even though the leaves and stems are strong.  I guess this is something out of my control.  Or is it? Any way to help them?

Preserve something: I froze about 15 lbs of peas (with another couple pounds for eating straight or using now).  The shelling was a lot of fun, as my parents came over for the weekend and we just put out a huge tray of the peas and went to it.  I saved the shells, pureed them, and froze that as well to use for stock.

Reduce waste: Cloth bags to the farmers’ market, recycled paper.  Still haven’t received the compost gizmo, but it is on track for delivery this week.

Preparation and storage: I worked on replenishing my cleaning supplies.  I’ve been using a lot of homemade cleaners, so that’s a bit of learning (prep?) there, and then the making of it.

Build community food systems: Nothing.  I planned to go to Varney Farm to help weed…. its one of the gardens for Foodshare.  Unfortunately, the weather had other plans and I was rained out on Saturday.  Sigh.  This post is a lot of weather complaints.

Eat the food: Still here with the lettuces, chard, kale, collards, radishes, hakurei turnips, cucumbers, and strawberries from the farmers’ market and my CSA farm.  This week I added fresh peas into the mix too, and they are really addictive.  Still eating down my stores, particularly the umpteen pounds of potatoes and apples I froze not trusting that they really do keep through the winter in the cool dark place It helps that I am now also putting things in the freezer, as it becomes more clear what needs to make room for what, and what I can keep through next winter and not worry about preserving.

So that’s the IDC Week 6 roundup.  I wish it would stop raining.