Growing our own

Last week we picked (or rather cut, as I've been told they'll grow back) the first of the food from our garden. These spring onions went straight into a potato salad, after Ivy had tasted them, pulled a face, and told me that they are "bicey" (spicy). Chives from the garden also went into the salad, which Ivy picked herself.

Growing our own started off as being functional, why buy something you can produce yourself, for free? Last year was a huge learning curve, including learning that it's not actually free! There's potentially a lot of stuff to buy: seeds, compost, pots, saucers, canes, cane toppers, tomato feed. Then you can't just sew seeds and let them get on with it, you have to actually do stuff to them. Which is where I fell short last year and despite planting all of my tomato seeds and ending up with about 80 seedling, I only got three tomatoes from three tomato plants. And then there are all the potential pests. Lots of lessons learnt.

This year it hasn't felt like a chore or work, and I actually seem to "get it". It's hard to explain what it is that is so satisfying, and it's a bit of a cliche to say that it's about feeling close to nature. But to observe the process from seed to plant to food is incredibly grounding, and has deepened my respect for life.

Ivy is enjoying it too. I was surprised recently when someone asked her what was growing and she correctly named the tomato plants and lavender. She got stuck naming the others, but could point them out when I asked where the spring onions and carrots were. I like that she knows what things look like before they are ready to eat. We recently spotted the little orange tops of carrots sticking out from the soil, even I found it exciting (and reassuring!) that there really are carrots growing under there. Ivy will often point our plants out to visitors "Lookat our PLANTS!", which is pretty much what I want to say too.

And as for all that stuff you need to buy, I have found ways around some of those. Plant pots borrowed from my Dad, or improvised out of containers that would otherwise be recycled. My workplace collects large tins for me, and I use a nail and hammer to punch holes in the bottom for drainage. The little tins are a good size for herbs or seedlings, and plastic containers like those that hummus comes in work well as saucers for small pots and tins.

As well as all of the lessons I have learnt about gardening, I've also learnt something pretty usefull about myself; that I can figure stuff out myself.

Garden

Found photos that show all the bits of our garden, all taken this month.

The things I dislike:

- Scaffolding at the end of the garden which has been there since before we moved in. Other people kept commenting on it being still there, and are they even working on that house, etc, and it didn't really bother me until they started taking the scaffolding down and for the first time ever I imagined it not being there and got really excited. Then they stopped taking it down, and it's still there, but at least there is no longer a pole in our garden! Looking forward to that not dominating our view, one day, maybe...

- The mismatch walls and fences. The bare breeze-block walls are just so ugly and so very grey.

- The unpainted pebble-dash finish on the house. It's just so grey!

The things I like:

- The deck! It's so much nicer to walk, sit, play on wood rather than the concrete that was there before. It's so much softer to touch and to look at.

- The grass! It's pretty unusual in our area to have grass, as the gardens are so small that the grass doesn't get enough light to thrive.

And my plans to change:

- We're getting some raised beds put in the sides, and climbers planted to try to cover up some of the breeze-block and fencing.

- I want to have the trees at the end taken out as the grass towards the back of the garden is dying because they block too much light. And instead...

- A living willow or bamboo pole (with climbers, maybe beans?) teepee at the end of the garden to play in.

- To cover up some of the pebble-dash with boards for painting and boards with blackboard paint on.

First "boon" of the year!

While playing in the garden I spotted this in the sky. When I pointed it out to Ivy she gasped. In Bristol I think seeing a hot air balloon is to summer what crocuses are to Spring. So if summer is coming then it MUST be spring !





She watched and pointed and waved. And she no longer says "boon", the L is making it's way in there, but she's a bit funny with L's and kind of overuses her tongue to say them so it sounds a bit like "bleh-oon".

6th

This morning was my morning off parenting and on Getting Stuff Done, this morning sewing Christmas presents. So here is what I am working on and have finished recently...

All that sewing is hungry work. I finally ate one of the three tomatoes I harvested from my plants. All that work and love and nurture and only three tomatoes! Well ok, I was actually pretty slack and was a bit of a rubbish tomato parent if I'm honest, so I'm lucky I got as many as three... I had to pick them in September when there were still green because it was getting frosty. They took a while to ripen on the kitchen windowsill but have been red for a couple of weeks now. I kept looking at them and thinking I need to eat them before they rot, but that it needs to be special. I finally just got on with it, grilled one and had it with my eggs. It was good.

Today was a no-nap day, so Ivy and I spent the afternoon at Bubbahub, playing and reading and having our photos taken by Alice. It was really lovely, at one point Alice was showing Ivy which button to press to set the flash off, which was fun. I'm looking forward to seeing this years photos! Here are some she took this time last year...

Advent

We are lucky enough to have two advent calenders in this house, one reindeer with drawers from my Mum, and one sewn pocket bunting by me. And they are both for all of us! each day is a little something for someone, but not for everyone everyday. We decided that we didn't want Christmas (and advent) to be about Ivy getting lots of presents, so hopefully she will realise that it is about everyone else as well.

Yesterday in our bunting calender Ivy opened her first little gift. She was cautious at first, and kept giving it to me to open, so I showed her how if she slips her finger under the paper then she can tear it open. So she shredded it! She was very pleased with her spoon and fork set.

And this morning the drawer with a number 3 on it contained a little something for Ivy. Two felt balls! Yesterdays had a mysterious tea bag for Kwojo, and the day before a little chocolate for me.

We also watered the water. Fill the watering can from box of rain water, pour into box. And repeat. Also, Ivy thinks that all watering cans are called elephants.

One sunny Sunday afternoon in the garden

Inspiration from an empty dish of roasted veggies.
I made paint from things in my kitchen.
I resisted the urge to tell her to be careful not to spill it.
She painted paper, table, self. Using brush, spoon, hands.
Ivy is so happy when she has water to pour.
And no need for clothes on a day like this.
Some curly chilli's are growing.
She found a "bee" then remembered it's called an "ome". An empty snail home.
A sunny Sunday afternoon in the garden.

Free stuff and sun

Yesterday I picked up some stuff that had been left outside various houses round here, free to a good home. Sage sprigs, a wooden shelf/rack that will be perfect for our out-of-hand tea collection, and a baby bath to use as a paddling pool (inspired by this blog post). It was not easy carrying all that while pushing a pram!




Ivy did not nap AT ALL yesterday. She usually naps for three hours! That is one tired little face.








When she concentrates she sticks her top lip out like a beak. We call this duck-face.



Adding soil. Hmmm.




Ivy's shirt got wet, and cold. So I took it off and she asked to put Kwojo's t-shirt on, and used it to hide from the sun. Although she loves being outside, all that sun can be a bit much. She signs 'hot' to let me know.





And the seeds we sowed on Mother's Day started to make an appearance yesterday! One day, these will be tomatoes.