Herbalicious!

Baby Gremlin and the added heat of pregnancy have me hiding from the heat a bit.

Today I took advantage of the time inside to make some herbalicious bars of soap!

The weather in Northeast Ohio has left a bit to be desired. While there are many arguments for and against raised beds, it seems that we have stumbled upon the most incredible reason-- mind-numbing downpours for months on end!

Where some are struggling to start their garden, we are thrilled to share that our garden is planted and well underway. Included in this success is our brand new for the 2011 growing season (!!!!) herb garden!

Mr. RC Homestead and I were inspired by our European travels last fall and we decided to model our herb garden after the terraces we saw through-out Germany. Over the winter, we fashioned 18" frames from 2" X 6" 's. We stained them to protect, then set them out in the weather to take some of the chemical residue from the boards before we started planting.

As soon as the ground was soft enough to turn, we organized the boxes in a somewhat chaotic manner on a small hill behind the garage. In each of the frames, we added soil and a variety of herb or two.

The photo above was taken just after planting. I will try to follow-up later this week to show you how incredible the herb garden has done since early spring!

Today I trimmed off some chamomile flowers and decided it would be a good idea to get started on some soap making. I was so refreshed by the scent of the chamomile soap, that I decided to up the 'anty' and I made another set of bars with lemon balm and sage-- refreshing!

*This is not only helpful for household uses, but also makes a great addition to any gift-- seasonal or otherwise!

How to Make Your Own Herb Soap

Supplies:

• Container or soap mold (PatCatan's, Michael's, JoAnne's or Hobby Lobby)
• Soap base of your choice (I L-O-V-E the goat milk base and my skin has had zero issues with it!)
• Glass measuring cup with pouring spout
• Spoon
• Herbs
• Scissors

What to do:

• First, head out in the morning when the essential oils are at their best.
• Trim off fresh leaves from your sage, mint, lemon balm or other fragrant herb (remember that lavender and chamomile will require their flowers!)
• Rinse herbs, if necessary. Blot dry
• Using scissors or herb snips, finely chop leaves. Flowers from chamomile or lavender are sometimes better left whole, but it is nice to experiment, so chop them if you like
• Take the soap base and slice off an inch or two
• Microwave the soap base in 30 second increments, stirring between heating
• Once the soap base is entirely liquid, add your herbs
• Stir the chopped herbs until they are well blended in the soap base
• Pour the soap/herb mixture into the molds
• Let cool
• Wrap with plastic wrap, add a label, if you like

****Alternatively, if you like, pour a thin coat of soap base in your mold. Let it cool. Next add your herbs/flowers. Add another thin coat of soap to coat the flowers. Let it cool. Finally, fill the mold to the top. This will keep your flowers suspended in the middle of the bar.

By leaving bits of the herb or flower in the bar, you offer a bit of texture which always help to clean grubby hands!

Finely chopped herbs

Add to Soap Mixture

Pour mixture into molds

Let cool!

Don't feel like making your own soap? Jump on over to our Etsy page and we'll send some of ours out to ya!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/RubberCityHomestead

Herbs on My Mind

This morning I took a dear friend to the airport and waved 'tootaloo' as she headed back to the Pacific Northwest.

Aaaahhh. The place where cherries and grapes grow!

Aaahhh, the Pacific Northwest. Full of trails, mountains, ocean waves and sustainable-minded citizens. ;) Sometimes I dream of a life where organics are the norm and composting is all the community craze.

Alas, it is good to be on the forefront of this motion in Northeast Ohio! It is a wonderful surprise when the garden center folks visibly share their excitement about a new, organic, sustainable, local idea that they just learned about/discovered/thought up! There is a certain special quality to this sort of enthusiasm.

I got my first taste of this contagious energy over the weekend when the husband and I popped into the Montrose Mustard Seed.  Not only did we find all sorts of yummy things to add to our refrigerator, but I also spied some special treats just outside the front door. Organic herbs! Forgive me, but I didn't realize that the Mustard Seed offered herb starts. Who knew?!
Anyhow, I decided it would be a fun thing to share with my out-of-town guest. We returned yesterday and snagged a few of their delightful herbs to 'jump start' my herb garden. My favorite, I must confess, is a beautiful variegated oregano!

Ooohhh! I feel like making some marinara just looking at it! I really hope it flourishes! 

**The Mustard Seed is offering free seedlings on Saturday, April 23rd. I believe it starts at 9AM and continues until they are out of supplies! ***

So, on my drive home from Cleveland Hopkins this morning, I decided that I should pop by a couple local garden centers to see what else was happening around town. Truthfully, I think the sunshine created a bit of an itch for me. I honestly JUST HAD  to pick up a new plant or two, get my hands dirty and sink my rubber boots into the soil.

My first stop was Dayton Nursery (3459 Cleveland-Massillon Road, in Norton).  They open the gates on weekdays around 8:30. The folks there are busy readying their greenhouses for this weekend's unveiling!

I found a few herbal treasures to compliment my findings at the Mustard Seed and a little pot of forget-me-nots to add around the base of a newly planted tree on the homestead.

The Dayton Nursery staff is incredibly knowledgeable about their offerings. They have recently undergone some new and thought-provoking training on ways to incorporate organic practices into your home garden. Pop over for a visit, a chat, to scope out what they have to offer!

**Dayton Nursery has a wonderful website that includes a 'Gardeners Calendar'-- things we should all be considering on any given week, and a rather extensive plant encyclopedia.**

Finally, I decided I was long over-due for a visit to Graf Growers (1015 White Pond Drive, Akron). This nearby growing center reminds me of the importance of supporting our local, family-owned establishments. Whether it be Graf Growers for Easter Lillies, Dayton Nursery for gardening drip irrigation supplies, Donzelle's for a Christmas tree, Boughton Farm for a bundle of strawberries or Szalay's Market for a feast full of delicious corn... these folks are our neighbors. They bring to Akron what others have been unable to accomplish: Local goodies. Farm raised. Family harvested.

Anyhow, I have gone on.

...Back to my stop at Graf Growers...

I was pleased to find an extensive selection of herbal goodies, all raised in Northeast Ohio. Also, flats of multiple strawberry varieties, tempting rhubarb and refreshing asparagus! The staff at Graf's literally greeted me with a smile and were thrilled to share the Spring activities in-store. Keeping in-mind that Easter is THIS weekend and by my count, Mother's Day is IN TWO weekends, you may need to pop over to grab something special for the hostess with the mostest or the mother of all mothers!

Graf Grower's also has a number of workshops ahead! They invite everyone and anyone to "Join them at the Potting Table" for lessons on fairy gardens, pasta gardens, fixing troublesome spots in your yard and a friendly neighborhood chat. Wow!

Without notice, I was invited on a special tour of the 'house plant' section at Graf's where I smelled some incredible jasmine and other cozy varieties.

mmmmmm. mmmmmmm. mmm.

Take a minute this evening, tomorrow morning, or this weekend. Pop over to Dayton Nursery or Graf Growers. I am quite certain you will not leave empty handed!

Enjoy the sunshine, Akron!

--The Rubber City Homestead

Oh Garden! My Garden!

Oh Garden! My Garden!
by Ms R.C. Homestead




O GARDEN! my Garden! our biting winter is done;
The vines have weather'd every inch, the spring we sought is won;
The sun is near, the birds I hear, the people all chatting away,
While follow the toil of the yearning soil, the trowel clean and ready:
  But O spring! spring! spring!
    O the welcoming drops of rain,
       Where on the deck my rubber boots lie
         Still, uncovered in mud.


O Garden! my garden! till up and ready for seed;
Rise up-- for you the birds chirp-- for you the sun has shown;
For you the boots are donned-- for you the seeds have arrived;
  Here Garden! dear garden!
   This compost amid your layers
     It is some dream that on this day
      You've thawed warm and beckoning


My Garden does not answer, the rows silent and still;
My garden does not know what lies ahead, he asks not what the plan is this year;
The trowel is ready, the new potting shed prepared, the sun has peeked from cloud to cloud;
From spring to autumn, this lovely soil has got em',veggies and herbs begun;
  Exult, O sunshine, and fall, O rain!
   But I, with spring in my step,
    Skip along the yard to where my Garden lies,
     Awaiting fresh seeds, awaiting our labor, awaiting the love from from our garden grow!




Ok, silly spin on a Walt Whitman piece, but I realize it has been a long, long time since I wrote anything meaningful on the Rubber City Homestead.

I thought I would at least return with a smile!

The truth of the matter is not that there has been nothing to do all winter long, but rather that it has been a delightfully busy winter, full of surprises and all sorts of new projects.

To begin, the shed is nearly finished!!!! Roof is one, trim is up, down spouts and a potting shelf outside are all that remains undone!
The garden is stocked with fresh soil!
The Charlie Cherry tree has officially survived the winter (yes)!
The Kristina tree is nearly blooming!
The first of our rain barrels is in place and ready to collect all that the Akron spring time can throw it's way!
And...
   And...
     And...
The newest homesteader is well on it's way...
                   Truly, officially, we are some measure over the halfway mark in our first homestead pregnancy! Aaah ha ha!

Wonderful, wonderful surprise!

We will call the little one 'Gremlin Homesteader' for the time being.
What this new addition has brought to our world is an even greater interest in a sustainable urban lifestyle. A hunt for healthy food, raised locally without pesticide or hormone...  and, of-course, Summit County's best (and open latest) ice cream locals!

ha ha ha!

We are having fun and quite thrilled about what all this 'growing season' will bring!

Sorry for the absence, Rubber City...
            Thank you for your patience.
                  Thank you heavens, for this little homesteader inside ;)

Rock on, Akron!

--The Rubber City Homestead

Random Acts of Gardening... Continued

Hello All.

Do you recall our early chat about 'random acts of gardening'? The general question I was posing was whether or not it is a good idea to randomly plant crops here and there through-out the city?!?!? The food would be available to anyone who may be in need of a delicious something to fill their bellies.

Well...

I just stumbled across a fantastic gardening book:  Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail (Random House, 2010)! In her text she describes 'guerrilla gardeners' who randomly and 'rebelliously' plant a few seeds or entire gardens with or without permission around the country.

I love it! There is an entire movement! ha ha ha!

Trail goes forward to say that communities sometimes establish gardens to support the local food needs or individuals may 'take it to the streets', as she states. Both concepts are appealing.

Her main considerations were 1. whether or not the 'rebellious farmers' desired to return to and tend the crops through-out the growing season and 2. the type of crops that flourish in a given zone or region.

Check out her book: 

Trail also has a hip website that details some of her other work and awesome gardening ideas:

http://www.gaylatrail.com/



Where can you get this book ... FOR FREE???? (at least to borrow)

The Summit County Public library, of-course! Check out their site, so you can 'check out' this incredible book!

Cruise on over to your local branch. You may find some more treasures while you are there! Want to know a great thing about the library? It's always there and it's always free :) Can't beat a deal like that!

More often than not, the books that I could not imagine leaving out of my home library were first discovered on a trip around the library. Sometimes I go with a plan. Other times I roam the stacks and let my creativity take over. Stay open. You never know what might 'pop up'!

Cheers--

The Rubber City Homestead



Random Acts of Gardening

Friends,

Tell me your thoughts. Our nation is in a bit of a pickle in regards to the food supply issue (at least in terms of distribution and balanced availability). We have on our hands a working class poor that cannot afford to feed themselves or their children. Add to this a certain portion of the population that is woefully malnourished.

What are your thoughts on this concept: 'random acts of gardening'???

I'll be honest. After 5 seconds of internet searching, I appreciate that the turn of phrase is not available for copyright... or even a blog title for that matter. But the CONCEPT... well it is one of community, of healthy living and supporting our own neighborhood... in my mind.

While planning my 2011 garden, I was reminded that one particular seed vendor included an extra packet of carrot seeds with my order last year. The packet read, "plant one row for the homeless" (or words to that effect). BRILLIANT, I thought! I would already be working my garden through-out the summer, why shouldn't I include one additional row for those who may need it?!?!  As it turns out the particular area I selected was not the loomy soil that carrots appreciate and there were no discernible survivors in the 'for the homeless' row. Too sad. I took other measures to support the hungry of the community.

What if we, as a gardening, community conscious collective, began planting seeds in abandoned lots through-out the city? Perhaps we could post a small sign at the head of the row stating what was planted and on what date, "please help yourself".

I realize the concept is in the formative stages, but I certainly think it is something worth chewing on.

Open to your considerations.

Warm thoughts--

The Rubber City Homestead

Green, Greens and More Greens

If greens are your fancy, I found something special for you!!!!

Whether it be salads or cooking them down, greens add an array of vitamins and nutrients to our diets EFFORTLESSLY!

And, while I was thrilled to see that my local Acme Store carried kale on a regular basis last season, I can also appreciate that there are a number of other greens out there that deserve our attention (and a spot on our dinner tables). By providing our bodies with much needed vitamins, calcium, iron, fiber, and antioxidants, these leafies provide a huge pack for their punch!

It has appeared to me that many vendors (both locally and catalogue) carry only the standard selections of plants and seeds to incorporate into our garden... UNTIL NOW!!!!

I do not know which seed vendor sold my contact information to Johnny's Select Seeds.... but thank you!!!!!.... because when I received their catalogue in the mail, I was tickled pink!

Johnny's Select Seeds catalougue (also available on their website: http://www.johnnyseeds.com ) offers such an array of leafy greens that my mind was litterally blown away. Quite impressive, as well is that much of their collection is available organic.

The new year is upon us and if you are at all like me, your garden planning is well under way. As you consider adding a new varietal or two to your growing routine, cruise on over to Johnny's Select Seeds and you will have hit a gold mine! Keep in mind a general rule that Grandpa passed along to me:  the darker the leafy green, the more nutrients you will usually find inside.

Happy garden planning--

The Rubber City Homestead

Looking for More Urban Farm Blogs???

If you are in the market for more urban farming blogs, I have a treasure map for you...

Check out this site on Urban Farm Online!

They have urban farming blogs from folks all over the country!


http://www.urbanfarmonline.com/community-building-and-resources/urban-farm-bloggers/default.aspx


Cheers--

Don't Forget the Critters

The winter weather can be particularly hard on the critters in our neighborhood. Consider the birds, the squirrels and all the other little guys who would enjoy something from your kitchen. Just remember... one man's garbage is another critter's treasure!

How can I help the critter's in my neighborhood?

Hidden Treasures in the Autumn Garden

Clearing the Garden

Clearing the garden can mean many things to many people, I have learned. Humbly, I will press on with my tale.

October is well under way and autumn has settled into her gorgeous but chilling routine. For my purposes, it is time to tear down the garden as much as possible.

I slipped on the tall rubber boots of my dreams, donned my rubber palmed gardening gloves and headed to the back yard. First, I trimmed back the low crawlers. Pumpkin vines and squash had wiggled their way over the railroad ties and well into the yard. Though we had encouraged them back towards the garden a number of times over recent months, their path was something we struggled to control (tips on this for next year would be very much welcomed!).

Next, the tomatoes and remaining cornstalks needed to be torn down. I brought a few stalks up to the front porch for autumn décor. (not too shabby) I am told that the tomatoes can wreak havoc in the compost if they are not given the proper opportunity to decompose. I chopped the puppies down and laid them to rest on one of the garden mounds for another week or so. After shoveling a few scoops of dirt over the stalks, I am hoping the decomposition will accelerate a bit. Will keep you posted on that one.

After the vines, tomatoes and corn, I took on the beans. What a wonderful surprise was here for me to find! The bush beans and peas were, of-course, long gone and the vines crumbled at my touch. The black-eyed peas, to my amazement, had continued to thrive over the last few weeks. We had new growth and a few hardened pods, as well. I picked the little beggars and shelled them for drying.

Unfortunately, I had not maintained the lettuce plants as I should have and they were pretty much done for the season. I have read that there are many ways to preserve the greens until Thanksgiving or even Christmas, but I missed the boat on that with the lettuce. The kale (God bless the kale!) is a different story. The kale is thriving like no other!!! I snipped some off for the house and another bundle for a friend. Hopefully, I can keep my kale going for the weeks to come!

 

Enough gardening for one day. After heading in, I decided to make a ‘What’s Left in the Garden + Some’ soup.

What’s Left in the Garden + Some Soup

1 Bunch of Kale

1 Cup of black-eyed peas

1 teaspoon of tarragon

1 teaspoon of parsley

1 white onion

pinch of chive

1 box of Trader Joe’s Chicken broth

Pinch of pepper

1 Cup of Quinoa

Pinch of Penzy’s Cajun seasoning

Finely chop the kale. Next, steam to soften the black-eyed peas. Chop up the chives, tarragon, parsley and onion. Toss the pile of goodness into the slow cooker. I always cook the quinoa before adding it to the slow cooker, as well. Pour in the Trader Joe’s Chicken Broth and you are in business. Add seasonings to your taste.

 

Now, I had the good fortune of cooking for three on the day that I first made the soup. (I hate cooking for two and rarely succeed at proper portions—three is MUCH easier!) We all loved the soup so much that we went for it a second day in a row (rarity at our house). I added some sage seasoned sausage for a twist… much appreciated by the husband and brother! So I would certainly recommend.

Enjoy-- the soup and the season!