Random Happenings

With the weather being what it is, I've been away from the garden lately but keeping busy nonetheless. Here are a few random things I've been getting into lately. In no particular order:


A few weeks ago, my Ball canning kit arrived. I got my first chance to use it this past weekend after harvesting the remainder of my Meyer lemons.


It worked like a charm and made canning this batch of marmalade a breeze. From four large lemons, I ended up with more than 8 half pint jars of the good stuff. I've accumulated a stockpile of marmalade at this point and will be slowly unloading a few during the holidays.


Another seed catalog has arrived in the mail. For those of you who enjoy growing Asian vegetables, Kitazawa Seed Company has an amazing selection of both popular and rare varieties. Is it odd that I enjoy reading seed catalogs from cover to cover?


I finally got around to finishing Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, by Novella Carpenter, which I would have to give 3 out of 5 stars purely based on its entertainment value. I would recommend it if you enjoy reading memoirs and have an interest in urban sustainable living or farming. Then earlier this week, I decided to pick up a classic - One Straw Revolution, by Masanobu Fukuoka. Feeling the desire to be inspired lately, I thought this book would be just what I needed.


Finally, I decided to enter Brighter Planet's Mastering the Art of Sustainable Cooking Contest a couple of weeks ago and submitted two entries, which you can read here and here. One of them garnered this weekly prize - a sustainable bamboo utensil set, which I received in the mail last week. Entries with the most "likes" will move on to the next round to be judged by Alice Waters and other notable food advocates. Hopefully one of my entries will make it!