Community Garden Experiment: Unidentified Plants! Help!

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Plants with No Names

I started a lot of seeds at home this spring.  I tried to label everything at first, but when the seeds started sprouting some quickly outgrew the teeny greenhouse and needed more space and light.  In the process, I’ve lost track of their names.

There are times of course, when losing track of a name is no big deal.  I have met many a person I’d rather forget.  But we’re talking innocent and rather lovely plants here people!  I need to know what I am dealing with.  I’m fairly certain these plants are either Squash, Cucumber or Zucchini but until they actually produce fruit, I have no idea if I’ve placed them in the right spot in my garden.  See the fence behind? I intend to strap these babies to it eventually, but without knowing what they are I’m afraid to do anything.

So I thought that maybe you could help me.  

Can you identify these two plants?

What have you got growing in your garden this spring?  Did you start your plants from seed?  

Community Garden Experiment: Photos!

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Things are coming along nicely in my community garden.  I’ve got more radishes, spinach and lettuce than I know what to do with.  Now that I’ve gotten my feet wet with the easy-peasy first crops of the year it’s time to step it up.  I’ve got some space yet in my garden so I’m off to find suitable fare.  In the meantime, here are some photos of what’s going on so far.

I am starting to fill the spaces in now that I feel more confident I can actually grow plants without killing them.  So, I’ve just added broccoli, chocolate mint, lemon balm and carrots!

Kale, cauliflower, swiss chard and other delightful green goodies will be seen soon too.

What have you had success with so far in your garden?  Are you planting something unusual? I’d love to hear from you.

 

 

How Yoga Makes Me a Better Mommie

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In honour of Mother’s Day I thought that I would share how yoga has made me a better mommie.  I could probably find enough material to write a book about the subject.  Hmm, Maybe I should do that.  I wonder if anyone would pay money for that.  Anyway I digress.  Until such time, here’s my thoughts on how yoga has impacted my mommie experience.

In no particular order:

  • Time spent on the mat is time for me.  When I get time for me it is so much easier to do all the things I need to do to keep my family fed, happy and loved.  I am a happier and more pleasant person to be around.
  • Yoga helps me realize the residual strength I can tap into even when I feel utterly exhausted.  There is always a little bit left in the tank, I just have to dig deep sometimes.
  • In a Bikram yoga class it is nearly impossible to tune out unless I want to make the experience really tough.  Thinking about anything else other than what I am doing on that mat is like self-inflicted torture.  It is better to surrender to the heat, the sweat, and the asanas (postures) and be fully present in my body.  I get so much more benefit, which keeps me going back!  This part of my yoga practice helps me in my daily life as a mom.  In those moments that I want to escape, I gently remind myself to stay present and focus on what is good.
  • Yoga has helped me learn to breathe through stressful times, (and postures).
  • After that blasted c-section I was pretty darn weak.  Yoga has improved my core strength tremendously.  I can easily carry my little guy around even though he weighs nearly 30 pounds.  If my hips go out of whack from carrying him around too much I know that session of yoga will take care of it.
  • I haven’t seen the chiropractor in over a year.  This means that I can spend that money on my son’s education, and when he gets old enough, mom and son yoga passes!

There’s so much more I could add, but with a little one time is precious!

What are your thoughts?

How has yoga made you a better mommie?

Namaste

Community Garden Experiment: My Son the Radish Lover

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It’s So Worth It Already

This experiment of mine is really paying off.  One of the biggest reasons I took this project on was to find ways for my son to learn to like, and maybe even love vegetables.  I want him to learn, with me, how much joy and satisfaction that can be had from growing food that can be eaten right from the garden.

Just this morning I walked over to my plot to water the garden.  It was time to thin out the radishes and so I picked a handful and took them home.  They were teeny tiny, but perfect in every way.  I’m sure it won’t be long before some of them make their way into a fresh garden salad.   When my son spied the small bounty in my hand, he immediately wanted one.  And so I cleaned it off and gave it to him whole, leaves and all.

I can’t express how much joy I felt bubbling up inside when my little guy tasted that radish I had just pulled from the garden.  Not only that, but he carried it around with him like his Soo-soo (baby speak for soother) sucking on it from time to time.  He really seemed to enjoy it.

What a happy little guy I have.  I am so lucky.