GardenGateBlog

Longing for Love

The Reverend Barbara Crafton sends out almost daily meditations via email - called eMo's.   This one about the cats and love was particularly poignant.

The Cats Prepare for Christmas

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Cynthia

Cynthia McKenna is an Episcopal Priest and therapist in private practice.  You can learn more about her work here

White House Exec Chef and Foodie Nation

Its a chilly Sunday morning and I decided to catch up on some food blog reading.  I read Obama Foodorama (ObFo) and get recipe ideas and important photos like this homage to the president in sushi.  ObFo also covers quite a lot  about locally grown, organic food, gardening and the White House initiatives to get Americans to eat better. 

This week, there are several posts about the upcoming state dinner.  I'm linking to this particular post because, if you follow it to the end, there is a link to a LONG three-part story about the role of public and private with regards to food and the chefs at the White House.  Looks like some people wish the current executive chef, Christeta Comerford, to talk about food issues - and she isn't allowed to because of her position.  These interviews happened before Sam Kass came on the scene and into the spotlight. Kass talks a lot about food, and gets extensive coverage.

I found it all interesting, and thought you might too.  I'll be out in the garden later, transplanting strawberries and finally getting the spinach planted.  Have a great Sunday.

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Cynthia

Cynthia McKenna is a therapist in private practice in the Texas Hill Country.  Find out more about her at www.CynthiaMcKennaCounseling.com

Compost Tea is ready to go into the garden

I am surprised to learn that probably 1/2 gallon or more of the compost tea has evaporated...I don't think Pippin drank that much.  It might be wise to use a lid next time I make compost tea.

My plan was to foliar feed my garden with the compost tea, but the winds are howling today as our first cold front of the year moves in.  So I'm heading out to the garden to harvest all the tomatoes, peppers and those strawberries that decided to fruit in November, then I'll pour my compost tea on the young seedlings.

I will also probably start a second batch of tea, it won't be cold  and windy on Wednesday and that would be a great time to foliar feed after we come out of the little cold snap.  

BTW - if I had been able to use the pump sprayer to apply the compost tea, I would have poured it through one of the paint strainer bags to catch any large particles that escaped when I initially immersed the tea bag int he water.  I did not have the bag tied closed and some debris definitely escaped.  

Happy compost Tea brewing everyone.  I hope you'll try it, its easy and your plants will love you for it.

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Cynthia

Compost Tea - continued

I used an old spoon to stir the compost tea and repositioned the air stones so they were distributed evenly (sort of)  Now we wait 18-24 hours and the tea will be ready.  My compost tea mostly smells like the fish emulsion that I added - but it's a pleasant smell. 

Here is a video of Mr. Pippin checking out the set-up from earlier this morning.

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Cynthia

Cynthia McKenna Counseling

Checking in on the Compost Tea

 

The technical name for compost tea is, "actively aerated compost tea"  That is what the air pump and air stones are all about - putting as much oxygen into the water as possible.  This makes a healthy environment for the bacteria and fungai to grow, and multiply like crazy.

Compost tea should smell earthy.  It might smell sweet like molasses if you added molasses.  It might smell yeasty.  If your compost tea is really stinky, it's gone anaerobic and that's a bad thing.  That means you are growing bad or dangerous bacteria and you don't want to put them into your garden or onto your plants.  Dump it out and start a fresh batch.

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Cynthia McKenna is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Texas Hill Country.  You can learn more about her at www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com

Making Compost Tea - the process

The compost tea is brewing and I want to share the process I used.  I referenced both Bruce Deuley and Bob Webster for my tea bucket and the method.  Thanks to their generous spirits, the plants should be benefiting in about 24 hours

You'll need:

• 5 gallon bucket
• air pump for 50 gallon fish tank
• air stones
• plastic tubing
• T splitter or other splitter to get additional lines in bucket
• paint strainer bag
• water:  de-chlorinate your water or use rainwater (I used pond water)
• 1 quart of good organic compost

 

This is the splitter I used.  Also my pump has two lines so I can get even more air lines into the bucket

Air stones which create lots of bubbles in the bucket of water

Because the bacteria and fungi will need something to eat while they grow and multiply, I added 1/2 t molasses and 1 T fish emulsion, and about 1/3 cup oatmeal to the water. 

Next -fill the paint strainer bag about 1/3 full of compost, tie the bag shut and add your bag of compost to the bucket of water..

  

Tie bag with a string and if you are using multiple lines & air stones, put one line down in the bag.  Here is my final set up:

Special thanks to Mr. Pippin for making sure I did everything correctly.

Now we wait 4-6 hours then remove the bag and let bubble for another 18-24 hours.

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Cynthia

Cynthia McKenna is a psychotherapist in private practice in the Texas Hill Country.  You can learn more about her at www.cynthiamckennacounseling.com

Compost Tea

I am getting ready to make compost tea tomorrow.  I have been watching videos on the internet, and I ran to local stores today to get the supplies.  I am planning on blogging the process so if you are interested, check back over the next two days & watch the progress.

Here is a great set of very informative videos featuring my favorite organic gardening expert, Bob Webster, from Shades of Green in San Antonio, TX.

Compost Tea

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Cynthia McKenna

Therapy for women

Beautiful Day

I have a long list of "to do's" and I am picking away at them, and noticing that I don't procrastinate as much as I did when I was younger.  Maybe I have finally learned to just get on with unpleasant tasks. 

I hope so.  I like the "efficient" me a lot more than the slacker girl...

I hope your week is off to a good beginning.

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna Counseling

November

The summer garden is winding down and the fall plants are growing - in that slow way that seedlings do.  I am making the internal transition from summer to winter in terms of cooking, eating, and productivity.  I love the cooler months and the opportunity to be a little less busy and a little more reflective.

I was just reading about some gardens in the northern states that are already suffering from early frost, freezing rain, and even snow.  Today in Texas, it's warm and sunny.  The house is open and I can hear the water from the pond.  In the heat of summer, I wish I lived where it was cool - but once the heat breaks, there isn't any place prettier than Texas.

November 1st is the Feast of All Saints.  If you were in church this morning, you might have heard a litany of names of people who are deceased, but still loved and remembered.  Its a good time to pause and think about the people who have shaped your life - and offer a little prayer of thanksgiving for them.

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna Counseling

Halloween Pie

 

Happy Halloween!

Got crust?

Roasted pumpkin

Not quite so Gourmet...

Feeling more like Little House on the Prairie as I scrape the flesh out my organic, home grown pumpkins. 

I don't remember Ma having a glass of Sauvignon Blanc while she made the pumpkin pie, but I'm finding it helpful.

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna Counseling

Into the oven

When I grow up, I'm gonna be a pumpkin pie

I'm roasting sugar pumpkins today for a Halloween pumpkin pie for tonight's dessert. It's my first time growing sugar pumpkins - and my first time to roast them.

 I'll keep you posted 

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna Counseling

Um...no thanks.

I bought some sodium free bouillon because I thought needed it for some soup I was making.

Just read the ingredients

sugar, potassium chloride, onion powder, maltodextrin, monoammonium glutamate, gelatin, dextrose, chicken fat, turmeric color, dehydrated parsley flavoring, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate, silicon dioxide,

Finding it tough to find the right words for how much I don't want this chemistry project in my soup or in my body.  If I were home, I'd use the homemade stock I keep in the freezer.  This "stuff" is going in the trash.

Want to make your own stock?  Scrape up those tasty pan drippings after you roast a chicken or other piece of meat, and freeze it.  Then you can cut off little bits to add to soups, beans, etc.  Or you can use your crock pot and add vegetables and the meat of your choice and let it simmer while you are at work.  I generally use:  onion, garlic, celery, carrot, tomatoes, plus chicken or turkey. 

Did I mention how grossed out I am about this stuff?  

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna is a therapist specializing in women's issues - she also loves gardening and cooking.

www.CynthiaMcKennaCounseling.com

Pippin's new toy

Mr. Pippin is 5 1/2 months old now and we celebrated with a new toy.  Pity the sound isn't better because he is purring madly.  He is quite a kitten.

Insight from Barbara Crafton

A thoughtful piece from Barbara Crafton's Almost Daily eMo

Use your words

Garden update - Sept 2009

This has been a challenging year - late freeze, hail storm, then two months of 100 degree weather and 2 year drought.  The Garden did well considering all that.  Here are the photos from this morning.  

Cynthia's Garden

I'll post more in a couple of weeks - I managed to plant lettuces, peas and beans this weekend and will get some more wintery things planted as soon as the seeds arrive.  

Mr. Lolly is looking particularly good in the garden.

Cynthia

Now,

These look like croissants. I bet it's because I played Carla Bruni's Comme si de rien n'etait while I rolled out the dough.

Fingers crossed!

Cynthia

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Cynthia McKenna - making Croissants from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking