What A Bear?

What a Bear?  You ever think of all of the phrases that use the word "bear"?

...grin and bear it...have one’s cross to bear...bear the burden of..bear the brunt of...

My at-work BFF, Michele, was in need of some greenery for her office so I built her a terrarium.  I bought a moss medley from TeresaB123 on Etsy here and a bear figurine from DoodleBirdie. She helps me bear my rough patches at work...it's the least I could do for her.

bear arms 1 carry firearms. 2 wear or display a coat of arms.

bear the burden of suffer the consequences of.

bear fruit figurative yield positive results : plans for power-sharing may be about to bear fruit.

bear someone a grudge nurture a feeling of resentment against someone.

bear a hand archaic help in a task or enterprise.

bear someone malice (or ill will) [with negative ] wish someone harm.

bear a resemblance (or similarity) to resemble.

bear a relation (or relationship) to [with negative ] be logically consistent with : the map didn’t seem to bear any relation to the roads.

bear the stamp of be clearly identifiable with : their tactics bear the stamp of Soviet military training. bear witness (or testimony) to testify to : little is left to bear witness to the past greatness of the city. bring pressure to bear on attempt to coerce : they brought pressure to bear on him to resign.

bring to bear 1 muster and use to effect: : she had reservations about how much influence she could bring to bear. 2 aim (a weapon) : bringing his rifle to bear on a distant target.

does not bear thinking about is too terrible to contemplate.

Close Up

For this reason and because I call her the Momma Bear, I included the figurine.  Turns out that's also her family's nickname for her...I love it when a plan comes together. ~ksp

How Does Your Garden Grow?

So, I have been gardening this season and it's been a real blast.  There is a local-to-me community garden at Oakeside Bloomfield Cultural Center.  My two-plot nirvana has been a blast to work.  I did some inter-planting, companion planting and succession planting all at the same time (more on all of that later).

Here one of plots at the beginning of June



Here is the other

 

And again at the beginning of July...can you say "weeds"?

One of my many rows of cabbage...and a fair amount of weeds

 

A Cabbage Close Up

This year I had particularly great luck with cabbage which is a good thing because I love cabbage in many forms...Think Bubba (from Forrest Gump talking about shrimp...steamed cabbage, boiled cabbage, kimchi, sauerkraut, sauteed cabbage...)

I used bone meal and a slow release organic fertilizer (nothing really special) coupled with some good rains and full sun, I ended up with a bumper crop. I grew lots of other things like tomatoes and potatoes and lots of onions, swiss chard, and even some herbs...

I really enjoy gardening and this was a really good season so far.

Anyone else gardening this summer?

Wordless Sunday.

Being Neighborly

I live in a rather quirky little neighborhood in a quasi-suburban college town. Nothing demonstrated this more than my neighbor "Paul". He's a bit high-strung and frankly can be annoying...but hes my neighbor nonetheless.

My boxed "garden plot" is just outside of his bedroom windows, and although I've never actually heard him complain, I am often at the garden early in the morning and sometimes with a chatty assistant.  Thus, I thought it would be a good idea to throw some fresh produce his way.

Organic Cornucopia O'Goodness

He loved it and later in the week complemented me on the "tastiness" if the peppers.

Winning neighbors, one cornucopia at a time. ~ksp

Random Sunday

I've got a lot to share with you but there is no central theme:

1.  I finished a quilt top for one of my guys.  He's had his first child and is very excited about it.  Here is an "in progress" shot of the top.  I used a Moda jelly roll purchased here in a colorway tag that is long lost.  It is crib sized and has a simple mitered border in cream.   All I have to do is schedule time here to get it all quilted.  I am waiting for several tops to be done and then I'll make a day of it.

A very pink simple jelly roll pattern

2. The NJ State Fair is over and I entered 4 delectables for judging.  I'll be sharing recipes shortly.

Left to right: golden mint jelly, spice currant jelly, watermelon rind jam and cracked pepper cranberry chutney.

3.  I got some of the last fiber that the Sanguine Gryffon was selling before discontinuing dyed roving.  Fiber Content: 65% merino 35% silk.  Colorway: Tea Estate.  These 8oz are marinating in the stash until this humidity goes away..it's been a way sticky summer.

8oz of fibre goodness

4.  My much neglected garden is beginning to give up her gifts.  It seems this summer I could not adequately keep up with the watering  between the extreme heat and the near drought-like conditions. On a recent maintenance visit, I lost a tomato (I plan to fry it up green).  Also there are some thai hot peppers and habaneros and more rouge mint.  More stuff to get mixed into the daily cooking.

Small bounty

Garden 2010 Update

This year's garden got off to a late start,

My early garden photo (June 20, 2010).

So imagine my complete glee when on a recent trip to the garden for regular chores that same box looked like this.

The list of chores included pruning, weeding and re-securing of these supports.  While I was toiling away, I heard a distinct buzzing sound.  I got up and stepped back and witnessed two bumblebees also "working" in the garden on their glorious Flight of the Bumblebee....not this one...this one

Bumblebee in the tomatillo plants.

I assume this is what it looked like from their perspective.

Blossoms, glorious tomato blossoms.

I stepped aside and watched the pair of bees travel from plant to plant.  I was do excited especially because I thought I was going to have to pollinate them myself.

I then moved on to pruning.  Given the recent heat wave, I have been careful to water the garden regularly but did not had not have time to prune.  I've been reading up on pruning and like this article very much.  Because I plant in boxes in rather close quarters, it's important to commit to judicious pruning I got to breaking suckers and thinning the plants.

Who says gardeners have a hard time pruning?

It looks like the heat is coming back just in time for this week's business trip.  My garden helpers will be pressed into service and hopefully when I return, the plants will continue their happy journey to veggie production.
--
It's nice when your friends know you.  I collect refrigerator magnets, and a truck-driver friend of mine, sent these to add to my collection.

How divine!

Clockwise from upper left: California, Graceland, Nevada, Illinois, Georgia, 

Grand Canyon, Nebraska, Utah and Kentucky.

Urban Gardening - Chapter 1

I live in a rental community in Montclair, NJ. The neighborhood buts up against a regional university and has lots of great amenities, except community gardens.

Last winter, when looking for a new place, community gardening space was one of my criteria. I was both surprised and disappointed at how scare they are here in the "Garden State" I was able to secure several planting boxes on the property for use in gardening.

When I started the boxes had been well neglected and were covered in weeds.

Step 1: Remove weeds.


Upon closer examination, I noticed that the "weeds" were in fact mint plants. An overabundance of mint plants.

Mint is a weed with invasive roots...trust me when I tell you...more info on the mint on a later post.

Step 2: Condition soil.

A combination of new potting soil, hummus and nutrients were added to the dirt and mixed well. Did I mention it was approaching 90 degrees outside with crazy humidity?

Step 3: Plant vegetables and set-up tee-pees


I planted a great crop of heirloom tomatoes, hybrid tomatoes, hot peppers, cucumbers and beans.

Heirloom tomatoes include: Mortgage Lifter, Aunt Ruby's German Green and Cherokee Purple.
Hybrids include: Rutgers (I felt obligated as an alumnus).
Peppers: Thai hot and habanero
Cucumbers: various vining

I am also trying a new-to-me support system this year the garden teepee. I built mine with lengths of bamboo from the local hardware store. I will train the plants to climb up them. I've set-up a (several times a week) watering system...so now it's time for mother nature (and some organic fertilizer) to do her thing.

Here's to the "Home Garden 2010"! May the good earth (dirt) produce nature's bounty. ~ksp

Apples and Trees

I took a short jaunt north of my home to Demarest Farms and boy does it pack a punch. There were hay rides and a corn maze...lots of kiddies with lots of exhausted-looking parents.

They had fresh-baked goodies...

...a farmer's market with great stuff...

...chocolate is the lesser-acknowledged food group but those in the know know that if it's sold at a farm stand, by definition, it's a vegetable.

...folks could pick their own pumpkins...

...I spent a small fortune on apples...

...when I returned home, I harvested the ripened veggies from the garden and...

Made a huge vat of apple butter...delish! ~ksp

Just in Time

Because this year my garden featured heirloom variety tomatoes, I had an interesting fall. For weeks I regularly watched the weather projections for the predicted first frost.

The summer months were too humid for tomato blossoms, but the unseasonably warm fall gave the garden new life (and me new hope).

This past weekend, my trusted Garden Laborer (AKA Damien) went about the business of digging up the remaining plants and preparing the tools and ground for a long winter.

All of his hard work produced this...and just in time. ~ksp

Fried green tomato anyone?

In These Tough Economic Times

I know, I know, it has been a long time since I last posted. It's totally my fault. Sometimes I take the whole "hyperactive thing" too far and completely over-extended myself. Let's see...I have a list...I owe you gals/guys a few posts on the following topics: a trip to Philadelphia (still uploading photos), a canning bonanza, some knitting/quilting, the 2008 US Open tennis Championships, a recently-released moving documentary and some garden shots.

But today, as we focus as a nation on the upcoming November elections, and as we stand in the time between the DNC and RNC conventions, I bring you my effort towards restoring fiscal responsibility to this nation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Created in West Virginia in the 1930's and planted in NJ in May 2008.
Weighing in at 13.2oz in a beautiful rosy pink, I present to you...

The Puryear Garden 2008 - Mortgage Lifter!

[Wait for applause to end.]

Gardeners, I imagine, are a lot like parents of multiple children. You love all of your plants/children the same (at least that's what you say), but deep in your heart of hearts, you know you have a favorite. (This is complete speculation on my part as I do not have any kids.) The mortgage lifter is my favorite.

I first came to know of this heirloom variety tomato at the 2008 Philadelphia Flower show. It caught my attention first because I was looking for non-red heirloom fruits; second, this plant, like my mother, hails from Wet, Wild, Wonderful West Virginia. According to its lineage, it was created in the 1930's in Logan, West Virginia by a radiator repairman trying to ease the impact of the Great Depression on his family.

This has been a rough summer in the garden. NJ had a cool spring, so I got off to a late start transplanting my seedlings. When summer did finally arrive, it was a wet and humid one (not the best conditions for growing tomatoes). in mid-summer my non-gardening life necessitated some neglect-method gardening and one morning I discovered the damn plant toppled over.

Despite these many setbacks, my (intentionally) low-yield, organically grown tomatoes are coming along nicely. As each of us pays more and more for fuel and food, I am so happy to organically grow local food that is tasty to boot. More garden photos to follow in the coming weeks.

Happy Labor Day to everyone in the US. ~ksp

I Love Trash

And now Oscar and I have more in common than you would have thought. I too love trash (of the food variety). I must say that I have become most obsessed with my compost heap. I first thought of composting when Jessica included information about the vermicompost that lives in her basement. Since that sparkle, I have become quite intrigued. I collect neighbors lawn clippings and brown leaves. I get excited when it's time to clean out the "past-its-prime" veggies from the fridge. I get sawdust from the neighborhood lumber yard and manure from the horse stables.

I have enlisted the help of my trusted mentee, Damien, and together we check temperature and moisture content, examine the species of bugs, and quantity of worms. We mix and water and mix some more. The temperature has yet to break 95 degrees and I am finding that frustrating. Not that I have a problem with the worms doing most of the work, I am just trying to attract beloved micro-organism which exponentially speed up the process.

This was the pile this weekend with fresh grass clippings on top. Browns and water will be added to it later today and it will be turned...hopefully we can get above 100 degrees...oy! the pressure...



Damien won't admit it publicly, but I think he likes composting. He calls me regularly to inquire as to the current temperature and to see what items my father has added to the post (he thinks my dad tinkers with it when no one is looking)...a little paranoid he is...

Any other composters out there with pointers?