The Blessings of Mama Earth...

Bitsy baby watermelon...I have about 3 now...

I think I mentioned a couple of months ago that my son and I started a garden. I just don't think it makes sense to not be able to feed yourself if things got hard - plus I LOVE gardening. I think I have a green thumb although I am not sure where I got it from - secretly - my mother has silk flowers everywhere in her house... Anyway, I asked her in May if my son and I could have a small plot in her backyard and to my surprise she said yes. So, my son and I went to work -turning over soil adding more soil- going to the horse farm for manure - taking out rocks. It took a little time to get it together- even my wise friend came over to help.


My son turning over soil in May...

We planted tomato seedlings and a bell pepper seedling and the rest we planted from seed. Wow, to see those seeds pop with sprouts and then to see those tiny sprouts just take off into a full grown plant! I am in awe of Mama Nature. She is sooo generous and so nurturing.


a tiny, itsy bitsy cucumber growing in my garden...

Today, I had my first salad from my garden! I harvested the leaves of the lettuce and they were so beautiful. I am just coming off of a 10day fast and I just loved the ability to go out back and pick my dinner. It was so liberating. I then went to the farmer's market and got some fixins to add because my garden is in a second cycle of production and I have some things and not others.


lettuce greens from my garden...


my first "garden" salad...


I know but I love this tahini dill dressing I made from scratch...yummy...

I took pictures...I am so proud. When I get my own place I plan to have a huge garden -if not a mini farm. I am a green hippie SistahGoddess!!! For the next few weeks I will be eating raw. Today I made some spicy flax seed crackers that I have in the dehydrator right now. I will use those to eat with my guac or nut pate'. Anyway, food, food, food...it is amazing how much I love natural food after a fast...it just feels right.

Peace,
Sistah C

Some Resources for Gardens...

My future garden will look like this...

After some real toil my son and I finally got the garden planted this week! It was like our house was built on a rock quarry! We had to wait for the rains, then shovel, remove rocks and shovel again. My wise friend came over and helped even it all out. Thanks WISE FRIEND!!! A few weeks ago I put an ad on craigslist looking for free top soil and the nicest woman answered from a horse farm with compost. She just gives it away - well, the horses make it all day! We slapped some of that on top the dirt and got a couple of bags of soil from Home D and we were ready.

Now, I remember last year there many varieties of seeds and seedlings. This year is sparse. I did find enough for my little space but I am resourcful. Ever heard the expression, "I make a dollar out of fifteen cents!"...I know somewhere in maybe Santa Cruz, CA there is sweet hippie couple that gives away organic seeds...I know there are people out there who want to see the earth heal and gardens of delight everywhere - so I looked online and I found several addresses for FREE SEEDS:
Winter Sowing
American the Beautiful

TomatoBob
Ed Hume Seed Gardens

Also, I found an interesting article that was titled, "How to get "Free" Seeds From Your Grocery Store. The basic premise is that you can sprout some of your dry beans and seeded veggies. You can also take a sprouted potato and bury it for a potato plant. I would check your growing zone to see what would work. I assuming some of our food is not GMO - that might be a big assumption...Here is the article.

It is critical to start growing some food. Get into the practice. Again, if you only live in an apartment try growing in pots or on the rooftop. I remember there was a small space next to my apartment building in Oakland and one day my elderly neighbor turned over the soil and planted us all a garden. He show us a few things and even left us fresh veggies hanging on our doorknobs.

Tip: I remember back in the day would we give my friend's mother our dying plants and the next time we would visit her the plant was growing like it was part of wild rain forest. I finally asked her what she did and she said that she would add egg shells to water and let them soak then use the water on the plants. She also would add the blood from raw meat to water for the plants. It works...Contraindicated for vegans:)

Hope this helps...
Peace,
Sistah C