Ebb 'N' Flow

Most all of the seeds that we directly sowed into the garden 3 weeks ago are off and running. Peas and beans are reaching skyward with their first delicate twining shoots, while our red romaine, spinach, mesclun mix and kale patches are filling out into dense pockets of leafy goodness. Even though the seedlings stand only an inch tall, their emerging leaves are starting to show distinct characher.
As for our inside seeds... Well, casualties are to be expected whether you're a new or a seasoned gardener, and we are sad to report that we lost a number of little seedy soldiers 2 weeks ago. Due to our place in the learning curve, we were uncertain of exactly how often to water the Oasis cubes, a whole flat of our beautiful Sun Gold tomatoes went the way of the Dodo. A word to those interested in germinating seeds: You want to do two things with the Oasis cubes. One, you want to water them when they're dry. The best way to check your flats' saturation is by weight. A well-watered tray will bow in the middle from the water content. A dry tray will lift evenly. You might hear the scratching sounds of the Grim Reaper if it's been too long. "Watering" means using a hose on a gentle setting or a watering can to soak the roots. The time between waterings can vary depending on the room temperature and the intensity of air circulation. In our case, it was the well-meaning fan that claimed the lives of our Sun Golds. Too much of a good thing.
Two, as we mentioned before, you want to mist your plantitas with a very diluted nutrient solution. Seaweed or fish emulsion are both good organice water-soluble foods for your plants. Misting is important in the morning, because that's when the plants' pores (or "stomata"--not to be confused with stigmata) are most receptive to fluid and gas exchange. No, seriously. It's all about fluid exchange. We don't make this stuff up. Initially, we got a little excited about planting seeds and didn't take into account that melons (cucumbers and gourds are in the melon or "cucurbit" family) like to cut their teeth on warmer temperatures. And so our melons are MIA. We have hope that they could be late-bloomers, but we know they could also be under the soil rotting from lack of heat. Poor little guys... Cross your fingers for our melons!

We Like It Raw!

Part of the inspiration for a supply of fresh vegetables is a recent class we took on raw food preparation. The class was taught by our friend Debbie Bennett, a vegan chef who eats 100% raw, who says that most people are not getting enough raw fruits and vegetables in their diet. In her amazing class we learned specific sprouting instructions, protein myths, and incredible recipes--appetizers, main dishes, drinks and desserts. If you're on the central coast and interested in health, well-being, or changing your diet in some way, track down this woman!


Nuts are an easy way to go raw. (Raw is an easy way to go nuts??) If you don't happen to have a nut tree available to you, your local co-op should have several options for raw, organic nuts. Find some clean mason jars, or peanut butter, like we did, pour in the nuts, and then pour in some filtered water. Make sure to leave a bit of room at the top of your jar for swellage, and don't put on the lid! Do this at night, and by morning you'll have enzyme-happy nuts waiting to be dried. You can use a dehydrator, or just leave them near a window to sun.


At first we thought it would be difficult to replace the happy, full feeling one gets from a big plate of cooked comfort food, but we were pleasantly surprised with the contentness of our bellies. We realized that the value of the raw food diet needn't be an all or nothing approach. We introduced the concept slowly by mixing one raw ingredient into each dish we prepared.
Debbie's rawtip was this: Try to eat something raw with every meal. It sounds alternatively daunting and unappealing, but it's possible, and it's a fun goal to shoot for when you're feeling ambitious. Some of our favorites:
--use leaves as wrappers for your favorite breakfast burritos, egg rolls, stir fries
--use leaves in place of chips or crackers for hummos, guacamole or salsa
--poach eggs and lay them on beds of chopped greens
--squeeze lime or lemon juice on chopped chard or kale, and to make it really extra yummy, add avocado
Massage some of the more fibrous greens like kale, beet greens, or chard with olive oil for a minute or two to break down their coarse texture, making them much more palatable. And they're still raw!

From the Seed

As we said before, different types of tomatoes enjoy different weather patterns. If there were only one variety, this would be bad news. But there are hundreds, so it's relatively easy to find one that will like your neighborhood. Your salads and pasta sauces will be all the better for it, and they're a pretty good housewarming gift. Or, in our case, with all of our budding seedage, it's going to be a "Hey, we like you and we have a lot of tomato plants, so take a couple, okay?" gift.
After we divided our treasured tomato seeds into different piles, we dropped them into Oasis seed cubes, one seed per cube. When starting anything from seed, it's important to consider and try to mimic its ideal conditions, at least for a little while. Since these tomatoes are from tropical regions like Mexico and Peru, they need to live in a warm sanctuary for a month or so. For us this means a closet, complete with grow lights, twice-daily spritzes with a kelp foliar/water solution (for those all-important micronutrients), and a gentle fan-powered breeze to help them grow up big and strong (seedlings that aren't started in enough light or air circulation can become weak and leggy). In short: It's important to coddle your tomatoes, but not too much.
In a previous post we mentioned sex in the garden and everyone got all perky, right? The proliferation of everything around us relies on this pleasurable phenomenon that we tend to think of as exclusive to man and beast. In fact, every time you see a flower, a pine cone, or grind fresh pepper (a seed) onto your food, dynamic copulation is directly responsible. You see, dolphins aren't the only non-human species that enjoy a potent libido. If it weren't for the many buzzing insects and wind currents going 24/7 to make pollen transfer possible, our plant cousins would be hard up with no seed to share. Thus, we are thankful once again that sex is king.

Outside Plantin'!

Back at the house, we transitioned the pea and bean seeds from the safety of their pouches to the beds on the opposite side of the yard. They receive bright morning sun here and the stakes we leaned against the house will soon become their climbing habitat. Only a few days later, shoots were arching their skinny backs into the beaming sun.
The other cold-tolerant veggies (kale, spinach, chard, lettuce mix, cucumbers, gourds) we also planted just under the surface of the soil in the main raised beds. Three diagonally placed redwood panels gave us walking space and sectioned the garden into different planting areas. Tomatoes, the vining gourds, and cucumbers will be along the back fences, with room for 2 of our different greens between each set of boards.
Watering these guys when they're still seeds or just starting to grow roots must be done with a little bit of care. If you like to turn on the spigot and let water pour freely from the open hose, you're going to saturate the garden, but you're going to wash away your seedlets. When they're small like this they need a chance to establish some hardy roots, so overhead watering is best. Get a simple nozzle that separates the spray or jab your handy-dandy thumb into the hose and let the water trickle down. The idea is to soak the soil and its jewels, and not wash them away. We installed a porous soaker hose that circulates through the beds, but until these guys get their earth-legs, gentle overhead watering is best.

Sex in the Garden

It all starts with sex, right?? Before the promiscuous activities could begin, a little bed preparation was in order. We constructed a raised L-shaped bed in the sandy backyard with sweetgum logs from another overgrown landscape. Chicken wire was spread below before we added soil to keep our gopher friends from stealing too much of the harvest. (Notice her matching tin snips and yellow jacket, SO not accidental... Dirt gardening and style go hand in hand.) We are avid fans of sharing, but it's just not possible to work out an agreeable deal with these root-munching rodents. (If you're feeling especially crafty, there are some fun tips out there about barn owls and their fondness for gophers.) Our soil ended up being a choice mix of compost, local horse manure, and Cal-trans select roadsideblend. We layered it into the bed, mixed it, drenched it heavily and allowed it to rest a few days while we picked out our stock for the season. That's the abbreviated version, leaving out barrowfull after barrowfull of heavy dirt that needed to travel uphill, the constant thrust and pitch of the shovel as we mixed layers, the midafternoon sun baking already roasted skin.

In shopping for seeds, we went straight for Botanical Interests. No question, those little packets are pretty. Dinosaur kale, rainbow chard, spinach, mesclun salad mix (oh-so-sassy), Romaine lettuce, Japanese cucumbers, sugar snap peas, snow peas and bluelake green beans all jumped into our cart immediately. After some long looks we found we couldn't pass up the Corsican gords, and they too found their way home with us. Then it was on to the tomato section. Sun gold and a rainbow mix of cherry tomatoes spoke to us right away, but we sadly turned away from larger varieties (beefsteak style) because they need more heat that our little coastal town can provide.