City Garden update

Well, so far my produce yield this season is eleven cherry tomatoes, and a few tablespoons of dried basil and dill. It's not over yet!

May 30th

June 21st

My butternut squash is taking off with leaves larger than my hand spread. One flower has bloomed and wilted so i'm hoping if it fertilized it'll give me a good sized squash soon. There are about 8-10 more buds getting ready to bloom on it as well. I'm hoping for enough to can a good amount for later use.

Butternut squash leaf

The tomatoes are still ripening, about 40-50 left on the vine getting plumper and some redder every day. I've been harvesting every other day whatever is ripe.


The basil has taken off, though i did buy this as a small plant it has really taken to the earthbox and at least doubled in size since June 13th.


Yesterday I repotted the black mission fig into a large pot and replanted the 3 lavenders to one large pot. These are just regular terra cotta pots I picked up at Ikea for $5.99 a piece, the cheapest I've found for these large pots.


Pumpkin seeds were planted and sprouted within a week and are now about 6" tall. The peppers
that were planted at the same time are just finally sprouting.

Pumpkins - Big Max variety less than 2 weeks after planting

The cucumbers are going great, vining themselves up a few sprial stakes I had. I have a feeling they'll need addtional support in the near future. No buds as of yet. Pretty much the same for the zucchini. Growing well and healthy.


I'm hoping over the next few weeks things will start to pick up in the production of fruits and veggies.

Reuse, Reduce and clean up -homemade wipes

I admit it. I like cleaning wipes. I like to take out the premoisened towels and wipe up whatever is yucky and then toss it in the trash without another thought of the mess I cleaned up. Unfortunately, those wipes hold little secrets. They're expensive. They're harsh on skin. There is never enough.

Logically, these wipes aren't even that great. They're not very absorbent because they're already pre-saturated. They're not very large meaning you'll have to use multiple wipes for each job. They're not safe for kids to use. But, we're subconciously aware of the lady (come on, it's almost always a lady) quickly pulling out a wipe and swiping up that spill/dirt/germ with a smile on her face. Never looking back and never using any elbow-grease. Her kids are happy and healthy because she averted germs with her magic wipe. Then we get the coupon in the mail or paper with a whole .50 or even $1 off! Woo hoo today is the day I'm stocking up on wipes....but wait. The average size of these containers is about 40 wipes at a few dollars a container. On average I use 2-4 wipes to clean which means I have the ability to clean between 10-20 messes before popping out a new tub.

Well, people I'm not doing it anymore. I can't see myself sawing papertowel rolls in half (I have tried this before...) or replacing the premade wipes with disposable alternatives. I have a few of these tubs floating around my house and for the sake of not wasting what I already bought I'll use them up but here's what's going to replace them...

1. Get your empty tub and wash it out throughly. Preferably, with something not as harsh as what was in it. My choice was Dr. Bronners' Castille soap, this is also what I used to replace it.

2. Get some cheap wash cloths. I got mine at Ikea in the kids section. They're supposed to be baby washcloths but they work great as rags. I purchased 10 for $3.99 and got 3 packs giving me 30 wipes, plenty to make up a few tubs of reusable wipes. You could also raid your towels closet and cut up some stained towels.

3. Make a solution for your wipes. I used 1 cup of warm water to 1 cap full of Dr. B's Peppermint Castille Soap.

4. Wrap your towels/rags/cloths up individually. I was able to fit 6 washcloths in a medium size tub folded in half and rolled up. Stick these in the cleaned out wipes tub. Here are the wipes, laid out, rolled up and stuffed in the tub.

5. Pour the solution over the top of the wipes and let it sit to they all get saturated.

6. Congratulate yourself on reusing the tub and reducing your waste both in the trash and out of pocket.

I labeled my wipes with the solution contents. I have a few more tubs out there that will get this makeover after they're empty so I'll have plenty of wipes on hand when needed.

Peace.

Butternut Squash baby food at home

It's really a lot easier than it seems to make your own baby food at home. Here I've made some yummy butternut squash for little Max, who will be starting solids in a few weeks!

2 medium sized fresh butternut squash (I picked mine up at the local farmer's market, while not certified organic, this squash was grown locally without pesticides or herbicides and in organic soil)

I like to bake mine cut in half with the seeds scooped out (I also washed and dried the seeds to grow my own squash!) But you could also chop it up and steam it. It helps to cook it to soften it up for the blending process.

After the squash is lightly cooked and cooled scoop out the meat and discarded the skin. When baby is better able to chew you could opt to leave the skin on and not blend it as much. I add this to the food processor.

I use my Hamilton Beach food processor for this job. I picked it up on clearance at Target for about $20, originally I think it was $60 though). You could also use a high powered blender in small batches or a hand blender. Start to puree the squash and slowly add water in small batches to get the desired consistency.

There you go, you have baby Butternut Squash puree! To make small frozen portions I like to use a mini muffin pan and a cookie scoop. This gives me estimated single portions and is easy to freeze up to 24 pucks at a time. 2 medium squash yields approx 24 pucks.

If you end up with extra pucks save them for later! Add them to soups, stews, sauces, casseroles or other baby food combinations like turkey, chicken, potatoes or a vegetable medly.

Here are the pucks next to a bag of homemade chocolate chip waffles, recipe coming soon!!!