Dried Up Garden? Try some free eats

We prayed for rain on Saturday, but the storms passed us that night. Now we wince thinking of the watering bill, since the rain barrels have long since dried up. We're paying for the water to rescue our plants.

It seems like a good day to share two good blogs linked from NPR's "The Salt": Sustainable Eats and Fat of the Land. That reminds me, we picked up a couple of plums, plopping from a city tree yesterday, and noshed on them to distract from 93 degree heat.

Lamb and Morel Recipe

Why should you read from Fat of the Land, a blog about finding free wild food in the Northwest? Some species do grow here-- like morels he uses in the recipe pictured left. I'm not a meat-eater, but the recipes he posts look intriguing, and tasty. He posts loads of links. You'll learn a ton, like what NOT to eat. I cringed thinking that I tasted a 'wild' parsley 'tree' in my back garden bed the other night. Some foods are slightly poisonous!

He's got a book and the blog.

Sustainable Eats has a 10-month challenge right in line with what we're doing here in the good ole' Midwest. Urban Farming. Take this challenge.

We've missed out on some great stuff, including February's Soil building, March's Home Dairy, April's Seedstarting and Gardening, May's Foraging, but there is time to jump in on the herbal infusions of June. Follow this blog for more challenges. Go back to learn more about good soil, free wild food, how to start seeds, etc.

So, we're renaming the blog to make it easier to find. Someone gave me handy feed-back this week. I need to post early and often.

Help us rename the blog by taking the poll through July 20th.

Tell us how often you'd like to read posts. We know you are busy!

Coming Soon! Book Review of Seedfolk from Young Adult author

Reading about gardens is as much fun as playing in them. When my student Jennifer asked me to critique an essay for Sylvia K Burdock Award, she introduced me to another book about gardening. In a few days, the award should be announced and we've agreed that would be a good time to publish her essay here.

In the meantime, NPR's Backseat Book Club promoted Seedfolks by Paul Fleishman. Check out an excerpt here.

Then, think about how gardens grow even where unbidden. I am enjoying the prospect of scavenge gardening, even as the rabbits have threatened my tomato, bean, pea and carrot starts. I lost most of 8-ball and melon starts in this wonky spring that turned warm, then snapped windy and cold. They were not in ground yet. They might have been safer there, where their lusty root system, pushing out of the pots wanted to crawl out. I was worried about the cold snap. I left in them the portable greenhouse which tumbled in gusty winds.  They were weary of their confines and gave up their lives in that last hurdle. Now we shall have to buy starts and plant seeds in a week or so for late rounds.

Care to make the most of your local plants? How about this. I learned Stinging Nettles, blanched in water, become delicious pesto. I think the economic downturn has made us all be a bit more creative. No dumpster diving yet, though I've thought about it. Instead, the growing season brings hope for yummier days.  Enjoy this link to NPR's "The Salt" blog for an affordable spring pesto.