Voyage of the Rhubarb

That totally sounds like a 17th century sailing ship, or something from star trek.  Too bad they didn’t name their starships after veggies.  The USS Cucumber has a nice ring to it.

The lovely rhubarb has lived on the true nature roof for about four years now.  It has flowered, literally and figuratively.

Given the fact that the soil medium here is about 3-6 inches deep, the rhubarb had to reach out a bit more horizontally with its roots…

It turned into a monster sea creature and tried to escape to the ocean!  Luckily I am part of the rhubarb catch and release program, so I know how to handle these wiley creatures.  It will be safely returned to it’s native habitat on the ground.  Not that it didn’t thrive in this environment, we’re simply making way for other veggies to thrive up here.

If you’ve never been in the presence of the rhubarb, it’s truly a wonderful plant friend.  It’s a perennial, so it returns every year fuller and more bountiful that the year before (as long as you feed and water it).  It will, however, like many other perennials, take over if you’re not careful…

It’s an amazing local replacement for lemonade.  Just cut it up, add boiling water and some honey, juice if you’ve got some berries and nothing to do with them, and let it steep for a while.  Ice and enjoy!

For the more adventurous, there’s pie and jam.  I have yet to experiment in these arenas, so check out your trusty recipe book for that action.

Garden in the Sky

True Nature Foods isn’t just a health food store, oh no.   In a city hot with chain stores, gentrification, and apathy, it is a bastion of hope. Full of amazing, creative people whose time and energy make it what it is.  I worked there three years ago and that’s how I met the wonderful people of Urban Habitat Chicago, who I have worked with ever since.

First designed by Mike Repkin, of Repkin Biosystems, this system is super lightweight.  Installed in 06, it has evolved from a lifeless planet into a food-producing paradise, wildlife habitat, storm water management tool,

Back in the 40s, when the US was overseas fighting the fascists, people grew an incredible amount of produce in their yards because there just wasn’t enough food to go around.  Unfortunately, that seems to be the case today, partly because so much of our $ goes to the armed forces, but also because most of our land is used to grow corn and soybeans, to feed our cars and cows.  Funny how cars and cows are two of the greatest contributors of gases that are probably heating up our atmosphere…

But I digress…these yards converted to grow food were called victory gardens.  It also raised moral by empowering the population, giving people something to do to help the collective effort and bringing them closer to the earth during a frightening time.  Check out this classy poster, I love her hat.

Bike Trailer Fantasies

About a year ago I bought a bike trailer, one of those kiddie trailers that made me want to throw my dog in it with a pair of doggles on and cruise through critical mass with him howling all the way home from sheer delight.  He’s about 85 pounds, so it’d be exactly like having a little tyke back there, right.  Too bas he has a mortal fear of anything with wheels.

My buddy Andrew (pictured) created the platform, which now sits on the denuded frame.  We took all the nylon accoutrements off the frame and he rocked his woodshop skills.  From used wood, bolts, and bike tires came a trailer worthy of the silver steed, my lovely Schwinn.

Other fantasies: dumpster diving foods and perhaps marvelous furniture for my apartment, pulling a bean bag chair with my pal who would of course be drinking a brewsky rocking a boombox, damn people help me out here…

Compost Love Affair

Kelly and Mickie getting into the compost.

How I love the sweet smell of compost in the morning.  The way it glimmers with morning dew, the fantasies I have about how beautiful my tomatoes will be because it was broken down aerobically by so many billions of microorganisms. I can imagine them in there, multiplying like crazy, having microbe orgies, then fighting to the death for the last piece of leaf litter.  Survival of the fittest, but also cooperation going on, because no doubt if there’s somebody bigger than you the little guys are gonna gang up to grab that last piece in there.  Watch out republicans.

All we reap, so we shall sow!  All the dead plant matter from last year, due to our tiny invisible friends, plus some lovely worms, centipedes, millipedes, and doodlebugs (sowbugs), has been changed into black gold.  That is the true alchemy, not gold that must be mined from miles away, then turned into jewelry to be fought over by humans.  Is that what we’ve turned into, a jumble of  microbes fighting over the last piece of proverbial pie?  Instead of competition, we can work with these microbes to create an environment where we can all flourish.

Spring Days

What a gorgeous day of sunshine, soil, and north winds!  My cheeks and noseare a little sunburnt and my body’s feeling weary; no doubt I’ll sleep well tonight! With the help of some amazing and dedicated people deconstruction from one space entered another.

2613, a backyard garden project with Urban Habitat Chicago, will be brought to an end this year. A number raised beds and coldframes from this project were deconstructed and transported to Sunlight of the Spirit‘s Gethsemane Garden for a work day there.

Gethsemane Garden

Spring planting commenced at Gethsemane, with the sowing of lettuce and spinach,  fava beans and green peas, turnips and leeks. Plant debris from last year was thrown into a compost pile and mulch laid over well worm pathways.  The folks at Sunlight have put much effort and time into the space and it shows.  Chairs and tables outline the space, welcoming people to sit out and enjoy the coming greenery with a beverage from the cafe next door.

I am most excited about a bunch of medicinal seed packets I received from a friend.  Mullein, nettles, ashwaganda!  I see salves and tinctures in my future, and yours too…  Plants possess the power to nourish us on so many different levels, not only nutritionally, but also medicinally and energetically.  So I’ll spit into the ground as I plant a seed to create my own medicine, and say a prayer of gratitude as I cover the tiny seed, so full of potential and life it can’t help but burst forth with the help of mere water and sunlight.

 

Welcome!

There are few things that connect us more deeply that what we eat.  As a basic human need for survival, food, and agriculture, have shaped nearly all cultures around the globe.  What we put into our bodies has the unique power to nourish and sustain us.  As spring slowly blossoms, the earth melts of frost, reminding us of the cycle that also connects us all, to each other and the earth.  As we return to the soil from where we all came, for grain, leaf, and fruit nurtured our limbs from the beginning, I hope to join you in giving thanks for all the sunshine and rain to help these young seedlings grow!