Yes Men

Not one of my usual posts but I wanted to share and I dont know what other outlet to broadcast through. I just returned minutes ago from the Hammer Museum in LA where they screened the debut of the film in the courtyard. Whats also really cool is the directors (actors, pranksters :) were there for a Q&A. There was also a performance, full bar, and DJ till 11 but I didnt stay past the film. Gotta love LA.

The film was drop dead funny and really showed the corporate word in an unsavory light. I give a lot of credit to Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno for their audacity and wit. I hope it inspires more people to stand up and say something when big companies act in a profit over people method.

Link to site here.

Today's Lunch

Nothing too much to say here ... just showing off the reaping of my reward. Lunch was lentil soup with organic red leaf + romaine lettuce and organic cherry tomato from the garden. The onion and avocado were from the farmers market and the sesame seeds, Gloucester cheddar cheese, and tuscan vinaigrette dressing were from the every wonderful trader joes. If I could grow it all and avoid going to the market I totally would.

* footnote on trader joes ... I have boycotted purchasing produce from them because of their heavy duty use of packaging materials on simple items like onions and bell peppers. But I was in today and apples, onions, and bell peppers are finally offered in bulk and plastic / styrofoam free (!). Letter to the manager, you no longer have to be written (stay in the drawer until I bring up monsanto).

- Paul

Garden Update : new plants to experiment with

Well, we're about 6 months into our urban gardening experiment, or the "sargeant homestead" as I like to call it. I think we've had some great success our first venture. The cherry tomato provided no less than 300 tomatoes throughout the summer. The italian kale, swiss chard, thai basil and sweet basil, garlic chives, broccoli, german chamomile, zucchini, rosemary, peppermint, cabernet grape vine, red sails lettuce, arugula, speckled romaine, spinach, cilantro, serrano pepper, pepper, floral gem pepper, and jalpeno all grew (and tasted!) remarkably well.

The only real problem children were the green onions (new crop doing better), big boy and champion tomatoes (didnt grow at all ... crowded growing space?), and the golden bell pepper (the plant looks healthy but the peppers are small and usually get destroyed by bugs :(.

Not bad for the patch of crab grass below our front windows. Next step ... ask my landlord to remove some (or all :) of the 600+ square feet of grass in our yard.

See below the photos for more specific info.

Starting out in the pots. Super seedling power!

Container sunflowers, doing well, the first batch were eaten (birds?)

Red speckled romaine lettuce ... mmmmmmmmmm.

Leanne building a trellis out of old raffia and left over canvas bars. For the sweet peas and climbing peas.

Bum Cat!!! I want to keep him, but Mickey loses his marbles when he comes by. He can be our "garden kitty"

Grape vine (notice how its changed since our previous postings)

Cherry tomato seedling ... from seed! The flowers mean the tomatoes are coming soon :)

Swiss card in recycled container, from seed

Thai basil. The purple flowers are quite cool and the bees love them, but the flowers come when the plant matures, so not much time left for grandpa basil

mmmm ... broccoli !!

Forgot what these are. No marigolds for sure so I hope the keep the bad bugs away

Green onions from seed. Third time is a charm! I think they'll take

Serrano on the left, cherry tomato and basil on the right

Two recently installed raised beds. Zucchini, swiss chard, and kale

Leannes trellis and peas. Whut whut!

Some creepy little mutants I found while digging up old plants. I looked them up online and found them to be white grubs ... which I guess are pretty destructive to roots. So these bad boys got evicted and the others will have to be eaten by nematodes (yet to be introduced to my soil).

You Grow Girl

Probably a post for Leanne to moderate, but I found this blog a few months ago and keep up with it as often as possible.

Gayla Trail is an extremely accomplished an respected rooftop gardener in her hometown of Vancouver Canada. She covers everything from seedlings, disease, pests, her failures, events, and even canning / recipes! So if you're following us and found anything remotely helpful ... she'll amaze you.

Check it! :

yougrowgirl.com

-Paul

Currently Reading

These are but a few of many books I am drudging through right now ... all interesting reads but I am just a slow and attention deficient while reading. I especially recommend "Food not Lawns" by HC Flores! She starts the book off by stating that growing your own food is radical. We've been told to follow along and listen to the corporations and industrial farms because they have the investments and technology to keep everyone fed and happy. But we know that is not true. Agribusiness and contemporary farming practices pollutes our water, creates bland and nutrient deprived food, destroys topsoil, favors mono cultures over diversity, and clearly supports the consumption of fossil fuels, causing a large carbon foot print and great environmental detriment.

So growing our own food makes a statement. Its an assertion of willingness to fight the powerful status quo. Its extremely radical. Flores says it far better than I, please read it if you can ... even if you dont have a lawn, there are ways to successfully creat a container garden or patio / balcony garden. Along with garden creation, she teaches how to collect and reuse water, manage healthy soil, and most importantly ... how to engage with the community (ex, plant sharing, seed swapping, community garden, etc). I'm inspired :)

-Paul