Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

We’re having a baby!

Baby Peace Lily Flower

A baby Peace Lily flower, to be exact.  I am very excited about this development because I was beginning to think that maybe peace lilies did not flower in real life, only in artificial greenhouse conditions where they get lots of chemical fertilizers.  But no, this is a for real peace lily in our apartment.

My husband (then boyfriend) gave me this plant, separated from a larger peace lily he had, for Christmas in 2006 (in a very pretty Fair Trade ceramic pot).  It had about six leaves at that point.  While I managed to keep it alive for the past 2 1/2 years, I would not exactly say it has thrived, as evidenced by the fact that it now has 8 leaves (it has grown more than 2 new leaves, but some of the older ones have passed on).  I have celebrated each new leaf as a big accomplishment, but this, the flower?  This is huge.  I may name my first born child “Peace Lily Flower.”  Has a nice ring to it, huh?

Aside from the excitement, I’m trying to evaluate what the flower means.  It either means the plant is quite happy or is extremely distressed.  Since the weather has warmed up, it resides on our sun porch, our VERY HOT, non-air-conditioned sun porch.  So while I hope it is quite happy, if it were me, in those conditions?  Extremely distressed.

Commuter Gardening

This garden I talk about?  It is, sadly, not here where we live because we live in an apartment in the city.  We have one small plot in a community garden that’s within easy biking distance, but that is not nearly enough space for our food production aspirations.  So, for now, we are commuter gardeners, driving out to my mother-in-law’s in The Suburbs, to fulfill our planting desires.

The Garden

I cringe at the fact that we are driving to do it (we could bike, but since the drive is >11 miles and takes 20+ minutes using interstate, the time cost would be prohibitive), but compared to the thousands of miles that most grocery store food travels to get to consumers’ plates, it seems somewhat justifiable.

My dream about one day living somewhere with space for a large garden in the backyard.  I think about this with great longing every time we are working in the garden, putting in multiple hours at a time to justify the drive to get there.

With a garden in my backyard, I could do little bits of work at a time, choosing the coolest, least sunny parts of the day, instead of the crazy, exhausting gardening blitzes of our current situation.

Last night was one of those blitzes.  We went out after dinner and worked in almost 100 degree heat until it was dark, and we had to stop or risk crushing innocent young plants that we couldn’t see anymore.

Straw mulch and sweat are an interesting combination. By the time I called it quits, I looked like either 1) I was seeking employment as a scarecrow or 2) I had just had a good roll in the hay.  Take your pick.

Sucking it up

I don’t do heat well, so after surviving mid-90 degree bike commutes last Wednesday and Thursday, I wimped out and took the bus on Friday.  You can imagine my dismay Sunday night as I looked at the weather forecast for this week: 100 million degrees every day (and humid, don’t forget about that).

I like my bike commute because it means that I don’t have to think about fitting in exercise at some other point during the day.  And ever since I dropped my YMCA membership, biking is my main form of physical activity.  So, despite my total lack of excitement about the scorching heat, I was back on the bike this morning.  If I allow the heat to stop me, it looks like I would be biking again, in approximately . . . never.

One day down, four to go (or about 100 if you count the rest of the summer).

If you don’t have a yard . . .

Digging the rooftop gardens.

Green roofs are great because they turn an impermeable source of run-off water (i.e., a conventional roof) into a permeable surface that makes use of rain water.  Urban green roofs, like other green spaces, can reduce the urban heat island effect.  Finally, if you plant edibles, you have a source of healthy, local food!  Definitely a win-win situation.

‘Shrooms

There are three main options for eating local: grow it yourself, buy from local farmers, or go all hunter-gatherer.  I don’t know much about cultivating mushrooms, and some varieties can be pricey to buy, so we’re learning about the third option.  Foraging.

The interest began with a successful morel foray while camping in southeast Iowa in 2008.  This year, we joined our local mycological society to learn more about edible mushrooms in our area: where to look, when to look, and how not to die.

At this time of year, morels are long gone.  The heat and humidity of summer mean chanterelles around these parts, and rumor has it they’re just getting started.  Did I mention the heat and humidity?

On three separate occasions, we’ve foraged enough for a nice meal.  We saute them in butter and/or olive oil with garlic chives.  We’ve eaten them on toast, over couscous, and in scrambled eggs.  Of the three, my vote goes to the couscous con chanterelles.