Tuesday, June 30, 2009

100 Mile Rule? How About 10 Blocks?

I tried an experiment today to see if people are buying into the 100 mile rule for fresh produce. I put out a basket with fresh leaf lettuce in it and added a sign saying "Please take". As of 10:00 tonight, only two out of six bags has been taken. Guess people aren't as green as we have been told!

Off on holidays for a few weeks. Going to Kelowna, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, back to Kelowna and then home. We have booked a cabin on the island and also a 5 hour salmon fishing trip. Yumm! We are going to catch and eat!

After a week of untimely deaths and riots, I want to leave you for a few weeks, with a post that will calm your souls. Nothing calms mine more than gardening and gardens. This year everything is at least 3 weeks behind thanks to global cooling. By now my baskets should have been overflowing with flowers, maybe in the time we are gone they will pick up the pace. Thankfully I have a wonderful neighbour who watches over my baskets for me.

The journey so far:

The sprouts, still being coddled inside.


What I did with them when I booted them outside:

1. Moss baskets, they take a long time to put together, but they are much more natural than plastic baskets.


2. A homemade fountain and various pots surrounding it.


3. This is a very busy place. My old wagon crashed on the rocks, and was abandoned by all but the gnome. The fountain has attracted all manner of animals, from ducks to frogs to ship Captains. It seems everyday I find something to add to the pond.


4. Another gnome has found a home on our bench along with some baskets that are just starting to bloom.


5. I go to garage sales to get my baskets. It just so happened that I collected some baby furniture, and it makes great planters and a fun theme for one corner of the yard.


6. Remember Rigger not being allowed into the veggie garden when we were planting it?


7. Well, this is the garden now, the potatoes are flowering and I am hoping that we will have beans (green and yellow) by the time we get back. New baby potatoes and fresh beans with salmon....Yummm!!


Those are not weeds in the garden, that is dill, and I am taking 32 sandwich bags full of it to my family in Kelowna. It is easy to freeze and it retains most of its flavour even frozen. Dill and salmon and lemon...hungry yet?

Take a break, relax, forget about politics. I will be back soon, hopefully with a picture of a huge salmon I caught!

17 comments:

Southern Quebec said...

You have trolls in your garden. hahahaha

Bec said...

It's hard to take a vacation in the summer when you are an avid gardener. I experimented one year when we spent the summer gutting my daughter's first home.
The veggie garden, perennials and in ground annuals cared for themselves but the pots needed daily care.

We are taking 2 trips this summer so water timers and counting on a neighbour to pull me through, my only option.

SQ's comment is great as I got a giggle out of that too. However you should get a few more, I think!

PS Does your dill not reseed itself?
It sounds like you may love seafood so there are some fantastic spices. For example, Tarragon amazing on King Crab (in the butter baste)
I have a little hot house just for spices and that is my favorite part of the garden.

Have a super time, Hunter! Sounds like a very relaxing time!

Anonymous said...

I thought they were called gnomes.

I have been searching for an all-natural food producer in my area and, at long last, found one which is certified completely natural.

When speaking about human rights, I consider it a gross violation of my rights to be fed chemicals and yet you'll never find an HRC standing up for me and my rights to real food.

The farm which I found uses no chemical fertilizer or pesticides. The animals graze or are fed natural, chemical-free feed. Their animals are not given hormones or antibiotics - they either thrive or they don't - naturally, as God (or nature, depending on your beliefs) intended.

The fruit and vegetables are also all-natural.

The food costs a bit more but since I'm not a huge meat-eater, it won't make a huge difference to me.

I don't have the space for a productive garden but fortunately, I can afford to pay the little extra for natural foods if I cut back a little on other expenses - maybe a few less road trips - not a huge deal.

Southern Quebec said...

Bec: Dill definitely reseeds! I have dill plants coming up in the strawberry patch.

Troll: any of a race of supernatural beings, sometimes conceived as giants and sometimes as dwarfs, inhabiting caves or subterranean dwellings.

Gnome: one of a species of diminutive beings, usually described as shriveled little old men, that inhabit the interior of the earth and act as guardians of its treasures; troll.

ie: basically the same :)

It's so nice that Hunter has a shrine to us.

Gabby in QC said...

Hunter, kudos on your beautiful and imaginative garden corners, and happy holiday.

Anonymous said...

Put some of that fresh dill on your fresh salmon . . . now that is YUM :)

Alberta Girl said...

"Bec: Dill definitely reseeds! I have dill plants coming up in the strawberry patch."

Oh how it does - I haven't planted dill for three years and yet I have little dill plants ALL OVER MY GARDEN!!! Chives are the same.

I didn't plant a garden this year because we are moving and now I am regretting it. All I stare at is my four cornered dirt patch with the weeds, dill and chives popping up.

We are part of a garden tour in August and I am thinking I need to put some fast growing seeds into that veggie patch!

Happy Holidays Hunter

Oh yes - on July 1, 2009, there was frost at the International Airport in Edmonton. Yep Global Warming is definitely here - lol!

Martin said...

Not at all surprised to see the tacky garden gnomes.... you've likely got plastic on the " good " sofa also. I noticed that you've got a rather large ass,crammed into stretchy polyester pants. Again, no surprises.

Anonymous said...

Mrs. Eskimo bakes salmon on a bed of spinach leaves, topped with chopped onion and tomoatoes.

Try this with your next baked salmon: serve it with sour cream and salsa.

Droooool!

wilson said...

Have a great summer holiday Hunter. Love your gnome, my son gave me the exact same one!

Canadians don't often practice what they preach, eh. Rather buy California veggies than get the home grown stuff.

That's my lead into my Iffy rant for the day.

Do Ontarians know that they get 25% of their crude from the dirty tar sands?
Does Iffy not know there is already a pipeline providing the East with Alberta oil? Enbridge.

Iffy says:
"Governments have a role in saying there's energy demand out east; are there ways of moving some of that Alberta oil east to Sarnia for refining?"
he said after meeting 600 Alberta Liberals for a barbecue fundraiser yesterday.'

Do your homework Iffy you fool.
Enbridge has an existing pipeline supplying the East.

In January 2009, Enbridge withdrew it's planned 'expansion' pipeline project to Ontario and Quebec (the Trailbreaker project).
The environutjobs went ballistic over the idea of the East replacing their terrorist country tanked in oil with Alberta's oilsands oil.
Go figure.
The environutjobs would rather tank crude from unreliable sources, across the ocean,
than fuel Canada will Canadian oil.

Iffy can not be trusted.
He 'acts' like he's Alberta's bestest buddy, while he's knee deep into behind the scenes enviro committees.

We can see you coming from 1000 miles away Iffy, father of the carbon tax/Green shift.

We Albertans know that in a battle between us rednecks and your latte sipping environmentalist special interest group, who would win your favour.
Not us.

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/574513

West Coast Teddi said...

O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!

From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

Parade Day in My Town Canada. Happy "Dominion Day "everyone and Canada Day Too Eh

sor said...

My question is - where do you find the time to do everything you do. I thought I was a multi tasker but you have it over me.

As far as holiday's go I just returned from Fort mac. My daughter just started with Syncrude as a mining engineer and what a place. It is absolutely nothing like it is portrayed in the media.

I am going to do a major descriptive of my journey and will email you a copy.

If you are anywhere near Kamloops fell free to stop by and meet the crazy person who is always sending you jokes.

Alberta Girl said...

"Not at all surprised to see the tacky garden gnomes.... you've likely got plastic on the " good " sofa also. I noticed that you've got a rather large ass,crammed into stretchy polyester pants. Again, no surprises."

Speaking of tacky trolls - What an idiot you are Martin.

Bec said...

"Speaking of tacky trolls - What an idiot you are Martin."

Ya, that was truly soooo typical of the definition of jerk, huh.

I think you could throw almost anything in AG. My neighbour planted 2 weeks after me and her stuff is outpacing mine by a ton. Full sun versus me stuck with HER fir trees, ha ha.
Are you moving south? As in Lethbridge or closer to Calgary?

At any rate, it will be an adjustment from the sounds of your garden. We left NS in 95 having 3 acres completely HAND landscaped (only there 2 years) and came back to Calgary. I was soooo depressed starting all over but found a clean slate and finally it is almost there.
What an adventure for you!

Anonymous said...

Martin, I'd call you an ignorant p***k but I doubt you have one and wouldn't know what to do with it even if you did have one. You are one ignorant son of a bachelor.

Hunter - feel free to delete that piece of s**t comment.

Alberta Girl said...

"Are you moving south? As in Lethbridge or closer to Calgary?"

Closer to Lethbridge - let's just say that I will now be able to make all sorts of "corny" jokes.

Anyone want to buy a house??????

Anonymous said...

Well, well, well. Some people will comment endlessly about "experts" and diss me for forming my own opinion on what I know. Some people will accuse me of making up things because "experts" say otherwise. Well, check out Joanne's post, here, and see how this "expert" business works. If experts with the "wrong" view are being muzzled, how can we believe the opinions of experts who are not muzzled. I have long suspected that much of the expert opinion which sees the light of day has been somehow tailored to somebody's specific agenda.

http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2009/07/02/wheres-the-media-outrage/#comments