Sunday 6 May 2012

A Challenge---want to play along?

On my last post, I mentioned I would be setting forth a challenge.  This is a challenge for myself, but I more than welcome anyone who wants to come out to play with me.

So here we go...I am going to try my hardest to eat something I grew myself every day for a year.  Now, I know that there are many out there who are darn near self sufficient, and this might seem like a no brainer for many of them...and in the summer, we do eat from our garden a lot...but I want to see just how much actually comes out of our city yard.
Here are my self imposed rules.
I am going to start May 15th just because I have to pick a date.  I have noticed that we have actually been doing it already all month so far but I just want an official starting date.
I will update (hopefully) every 15th of the month with progress and will welcome any comments, suggestions, stories, links, etc.
Any thing consumed will count...even a cup of mint tea.
If all the produce we eat one day comes from the yard, it does not accumulate if we don't eat anything from the yard the next day.
If anybody eats something from the yard, it will count...the boys each ate a rhubarb stalk today, but I did not...so if my challenge had officially started, I would check today as a successful day.

Now, I invite everybody to come along for the ride, on any level they see fit.

If you have a garden, try growing something new.
If you have a little patch of herbs, try drying a few for tea through the winter.
If you already preserve, perhaps you might try something new.
If you don't have a garden...maybe grow a pot of lettuce, or a pot of strawberries on your balcony.

Let's just see if we can motivate each other and learn something new.

In preparation of my challenge, I have been reading a few books on preserving and have ordered one of them  (this is the book I ordered), and I have bought a few plants from our farmers market this past Saturday.
 I have found cardoons at the market which I hadn't heard of until this past week.  I will update once I know what they taste like and what I can do with them.  I bought 2 to try them out.
The Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes) which I have been looking for for a couple of years...I found some at our nursery and this one has decided to finally peek it's head out of the ground...the other two are still waiting.
In order to clear out more growing space in my veggie patch (in the back behind the bales of straw and right by the compost) I have am digging a new garden bed which is being planted with the strawberries that are currently in the veggie patch.  I think I might have enough strawberries this year to freeze what I normally freeze and maybe make my first ever strawberry jam.

So, what do you think...want to come along for the ride?  I will welcome any and all comments and if there is enough interest, I might even try to figure out one of those mister linky's.

I'll be linking this one up with Homestead Revival for Barn Hop


5 comments:

  1. This sounds like fun! Does it count if it came from your garden last year and has been in the freezer? I am still using some squash from last year's crop.... And thatnks for gdding in the 'anything' clause = I think I will be cooking quite a bit with sage and chives as that is all that is edible from the garden right now.
    blessings
    Karen

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  2. This is a great idea!
    I just responded to your comment on my blog, regarding lambs quarters. . . yes that little plant is lambs quarters, and it is edible, and very good- very much like spinach- you can use it in all the same ways you'd use spinach. :) Try it!

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  3. This sounds awesome! I am definitely in, although my start date is going to be a bit later than yours. I have rhubarb growing right now, but it isn't quite ready yet. Maybe after Memorial Day I can start. I am hoping to have a lot this summer/fall/winter, but waiting for it to actually come in is the hard part! Maybe I should start eating the dandelion greens...that would count, right? :-)

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    1. I don't have a whole lot growing right now either, but hopefully by next week there will be enough for a sprinkling of this and that in my salads or meals. At the very least, the mint is growing so I know the boys can enjoy a cup of herbal tea. I will welcome you whenever you are ready!

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  4. Natalie - this is a great idea, and I suspect become more of a challenge in the winter. I think I may participate, but won't be able to start right away... I'm hoping to get my garden in on Sunday, so it will be a while before we have anything that we can eat... although I do have fresh thyme and mint (grrr) right now.

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