When people lived green and didn't know it...

I grew up in a big family (seven girls, Mom and Dad) in a small house.  We had one bath (tub, no shower), one large dormitory style bedroom and no locks on the doors.  Each one of us had on average two children which added to the numbers so Christmas in our house was always a big event.  My parents invited our grandfather as well as a bachelor or two to our gathering.  
There was no dishwasher in our house because Dad said he already had several.  We lived in a small town with no "city" water or sewer so everything went into or came out of the ground our house sat on.  Dad was frugal when it came to lots of things and that included pumping the septic out. We did dishes in dishpans so we could carry the dirty water outside to throw in the garden.  The same went for wash water.  Mom started with whites and worked her way through progressively darker and dirtier clothes because the same wash water was used on all the loads.  She used a wringer washer which was very efficient at squeezing out the water.  She only added additional water and soap as she needed.  At the end of the day, we carried buckets of water out of the basement and dumped it on the lawn.  Everything was hung to dry.  She only used the dryer for socks and undergarments.  I still love a towel from the dryer to this day knowing how stiff one comes off the line.  I do prefer my sheets on the line, though.
We walked to the store, school, swimming creek, and friends' houses.  Mom did not drive and wouldn't until much later in life.  We shared bicycles and rode two and three on them at times. Our parents never bought any of us a helmet.  We went barefoot in summer to save on shoes and would always be excited when the new pair came home for school (Mom traced our foot on paper and bought the new size from that measurement).
We didn't travel much but my dad did like to take Sunday drives.  He liked to get out of town which meant getting on even less traveled county and town roads.  We almost always veered off on to a gravel road which turned into dirt roads and then grassy trails through the trees.  There were always a chorus of voices singing "I'm hungry, I'm thirsty, I have to go to the bathroom, and we're lost".  Bodies were stacked two people deep in both seats as there was cousins and friends along.  We would stop and the picnic basket would produce all we needed to make it through.  The biggest tree would be the privacy point for relief.  Rainy days meant a mobile lunch and some remote church or school would be a welcome sight with the outhouses stationed behind them.  We didn't have wet wipes.  Mom kept wet wash cloths in a plastic bread bag for clean up.
We weren't poor, we weren't rich, we had enough.  
Clothes were handed down, remade, sewn, and then used as rags.  Quilts were cut from scraps and when they wore out the batting was taken out and combined to make a new quilt.  Old pillows that had lost their loft were sent to the dry cleaners and remade into fewer, but larger, pillows once again.  
Bags were reused for garbage, they only made paper ones then.  Grandma had her own canvas bag which she sent with us to the store for her groceries.  I think my love of canvas bags is genetic.  
We ate what was in season and bananas were the most exotic fruit we knew.  Pineapple came in a can and was in jello when we ate it.  Watermelon was eaten in summer as well as any berry we could find in the surrounding woods and fields.  Apples were our fall fruit.  Oranges were our winter treat.  Potatoes were eaten in winter along with all the other root crops that saved well.  Everything that could be canned, was.  Mom did it herself.  We had a storehouse of jars in our basement.
Baking and cooking were not a hobby, they were a skill.  Everyone took home economics.  Later on, we girls even took shop class.  Kids knew how to build a fire and cut the wood for it.  We did not have scouting to learn this, we had parents who taught us.  
I have not even reached the half century mark of age myself, but I still grew up in an age that taught self-sufficiency and self-control.  We are not that removed from a time that meant living with less was just plain living.  
It is time that we take a serious look at how far we have come as a nation and realize that the answer to our problems is not more politicians, more regulation, more subsidies.  It is time to take responsibility for ourselves, our children, our neighbors, our world.  The only ones who can save us, is us.  Learn how to say no to yourself more and live with less.  You don't have to turn off the electricity, just turn off a few lights, a few appliances.  Drive a little less, walk a little more.  Eat out a little less, cook a little more.  Shop in the neighborhood and keep the stores close to home.  I love that I can walk within a mile of my home for so much of what we use on a regular basis.
Make your own resolution to be a change agent in your world.  You might be surprised to find out that less really is more.

Christmas Gifts for a Gardener

Life has been kind of crazy in our house.  Who's isn't at this time of year?  With my husband working on his physical therapy and the extra work of getting ready for Christmas, I haven't had the time to sit and read email let alone write.  I have been thinking about gardening.  I do every day in some way.  After a recent trip into a north side garden center I knew what I wanted to share with those who might care.


What does the gardener in my life really want?


This is what is on my wish list:

• A good watering can, a metal one like you would find in an English gardening catalog.
• New garden clogs, a sturdy pair that can take the wear.
• A sharp folding garden saw.  Not a cheap one but a durable saw that will stand the test of time.
• A new pair of by-pass pruners, preferably Felco.
• A Dramm watering wand 2-3' long, with 2" wide watering head.  The darn things don't last forever and we are always bending the screens on our watering heads which changes the water flow pattern to "crappy".
• Clay pots, 10" or larger, glazed or natural, with patterns or standard design.  They eventually crack so even veteran gardeners are looking to get more.
• Gift cards/certificates to some of the local garden centers for my spring buying spree.  A little here and there to spend is my preference rather than one big purchase at the box store.
• Plant stakes and cages, the really beautiful ones that I would never buy for myself.
• A 6'x9' green house that can be set up and taken down.  This size would fit over one of my raised beds but would also be the right size for spring propagation.  Being able to move it is important for my year round plans.
• If I can't get the greenhouse, a cold frame with thermostatic arms that open and close on warm, sunny days.  I would like this for the side of the house where I could put in some early and late season crops.
• A garden swing built in my backyard.  The kind that I can hang plants off the ends and sit with my sweetie at the end of the day.  I want to be able to sit by the pond and listen to the water and smell the herb garden.
• More time in the garden with my family.

OK. So you can't buy all that in the store and I certainly don't expect to get even a small amount of these things.  I guess the point of this is that a gardener is easy to buy for especially if you buy them quality tools!  Skip the cheap stuff and get one really nice tool that will stand up to the tasks that they put it through.  With tools, you get what you pay for.


Most gardeners don't need another garden knick-knack.  Instead of getting the plastic turtle or ceramic deer, get some nice quality plant supports.  I have even seen some really great items at craft fairs that are made by welders that are more practical than cute.  Of course you have to consider the taste of the person you are buying for, but keep it simple, keep it strong.  A former co-worker of mine made trellis from bent willow which were beautiful as well as practical.  It is worth supporting your local craft people.  If it seems like it costs a lot for such simple materials, remember, you are paying for the time it took them to make it.  Ask them about their craft while you are at it and you may be enriched by learning something new, and you will have a story to tell the gift recipient as well.


This list may to be late for this holiday season, but keep these general thoughts in mind when shopping for your gardening friend on other occasions.  Mother's Day will be here before you know it (hint,hint!).

Real Christmas Trees

Real Christmas trees have been a part of my whole life.  I have never had and artificial tree.  Maybe things would have been different if it wasn't for the man in the green coat, my Uncle Bob.  


Uncle Bob bought a farm after WWII and some time on the road before settling down.  He kept cows for awhile, but soon started planting evergreens for the Christmas tree market.  As long as I can remember, our tree came from a short drive to his farm to cut our own tree and tie it to the car.


Every Thanksgiving I made the trip up north to see my mom and have dinner with the family.  Our hunters stayed in this area, so we were able to have everyone together.  Thanksgiving was my daughter, Elizabeth's, favorite holiday for a long time.  We had a big noisy dinner with people eating in all corners of my sister's house.  The kids would be able to see their cousins and have a good time running around together.  If the weather cooperated, they would be out playing in the snow.


The day after Thanksgiving meant leftovers and a trip to Uncle Bob's farm.  The kids would bundle up and pile in the car.  We would set off through the fields with a hand saw and the dogs would run along with us.  The area was hunted around the farm, so the sounds of rifles would occasionally interrupt the shouts of the kids through the trees.  The tree farm was such an established landmark that we never worried about stray bullets accidentally being fired in our direction.  Many of the hunters would go home with a tree each year even if the deer was not on the car next to it.  


After the trees had been brought up to the barn on the wagon or by manpower, we all would head up to the house where Aunt Marvel would bring out her chocolate chip cookies for all and coffee for the adults.  The visit was a part of Thanksgiving that was irreplaceable as the turkey the day before.

This year was different.  Uncle Bob gave up his license to sell Christmas trees so the tradition has ended.  The trees will grow where they stand and fill in the fields that they occupy.  I could not bear Thanksgiving without the visit, so my sister and I made the trip down the night before Thanksgiving.  We sat with our uncle and aunt and had the same enjoyable conversation and the same coffee and cookies.  My mom was not there with us as we lost her this spring.  My dog was not there as we lost him this fall.  I was not about to lose one more thing this year.

The tree was still coming home with us from up north, regardless.  The day after Thanksgiving my brother-in-law, Howie, and I made a trip to the National Forest office he worked at before becoming a Lutheran pastor.  I purchased two permits to cut a tree off of National Forest lands for $5 each.  We drove around the area he knew very well and ended up finding a little balsam fir for my daughter along the way.

I settled for the top of a 30 foot tree that we thinned out of the stand by their lake cottage.  My husband set up the tree the next week while I was out.  I got a picture text of our skinny tree with the message "Are you kidding?".   I wasn't.  It fit our little living room quite well and I liked the open branch habit for the collection of ornaments we have.  I put on the lights and ornaments the next week while he lay recuperating from surgery in the hospital next week (this was not a side affect from the tree).  By the time I was done I was more attached to this tree than any other I had decorated before.  It may have been all the nostalgia I was feeling about all this year's changes, but this tree made things right for me in the midst of all the chaos.

I grow things for a living and for my life but I have never felt guilty about cutting down a tree for Christmas.  Trees are a renewable resource.  When we would cut down a tree at Uncle Bob's, he taught us to leave the lowest whorl of branches.  As the branches would grow up to reach the light, he could come along and select the best of the bunch to grow into the next tree.  He didn't have to replant where these partial stumps were left.


I had already decided to write this tribute to Uncle Bob and his Christmas tree farm before I got my latest issue of Organic Gardening.  They featured the first article I had ever seen in their magazine on the benefits of the Christmas tree industry.  I highly recommend searching this one out for yourself.  Artificial trees are not as "eco-friendly" as one might think when you take into consideration the petroleum products used to make them as well as the off-gassing they do over time in your home.


When the tree comes down the branches will come off and mulch over the evergreen ground covers in my yard.  The trunk will be cut into lengths to be burned in the outdoor fire pit.  The needles will fall off in spring and add acid to the plants that crave the lower pH in our alkaline soils.  The tree will continue to live in the plants that it nourishes.  Don't just set your whole tree at the curb and let all this good mulch go to waste.  


This is for you, Uncle Bob, and all the other tree farmers out there who make this time of year special for the rest of us.  It is your trees that will be the back-drop for all our Christmas memories.

The Garden is Officially Closed for the Season

My kitchen sinks have washed the last of my garden produce tonight.  I went out in the fading light and cut the last of the Swiss chard and kale.  Both of these are cold loving crops, but the plummeting temperatures and snow in the forecast will not be kind to these crops.  I pulled out the salad spinner one more time to clean up these two leafy crops before tucking them in the refrigerator.

The Red Russian Kale became a part of supper with just a quick toss of olive oil and salt.  I put this in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until it was crispy like potato chips.  A little bit of flake salt and you have good eats.

I forgot to clip off the stems but they made a nice little handle for picking up the kale to eat.  If you make this yourself you will easily tell what is too tough to eat.

I like to make Swiss chard by lightly sauteing coarsely chopped leaves with bacon fat.  I reserve bacon fat from frying in a small 2 cup crock that I keep in the refrigerator for this use.  Just a tablespoon of bacon fat with a healthier oil is enough to add flavor to the whole dish.  I find it ironic that I grow Swiss chard after the first summer's garden of endless Swiss chard when I was 13.  I swore then I would never eat it again.  Mom never cooked it with bacon, though.  Her method was cooking it to mushy consistency.  Thank you, Food Network, for making me see it in a different light.