Garden Fuss

The MDA Muscle Walk is just a few short days away and my team the Myositis Steppers is at the halfway point. In a last ditch effort to meet or exceed my fund-raising goal for this cause I would like to offer up a challenge.  If I get a t least 10 people to give $20 dollars between now and this coming Friday, the 7th of March by 10:00PM cst; I will snow dive in my brand new swim suit the evening after the walk and post it to my YouTube and fb page. That is how much I believe in this cause! It is predicted to be a high of 26° and a low of 0° that day. brrrrrrr!!!! The MDA hosts walks all over the country to raise money for research and awareness campaigns for people dealing with muscular diseases whether they are old, young, or in-between. For those who want to know, each donation is tax deductible.  The dive won't happen without your support so please help me achieve my goal today!  The link below will take you to our team page. No amount is too small.  http://www...

Happy New Year to you all!!! Shhhhhhh.... I know I'm a couple of months late with that but greetings to you and best wishes for your happiness and your health anyway. If you have missed me on blogger I assure you that I have been online enjoying the world of facebook, twitter, tumblr and what not. I haven't made the time to update you all Since October [*gasping*]  WOW, I have not updated this blog since October? Well, my whereabouts include lots of bed rest, school visits, shoveling, shoveling, classes on coding, and that other past time of most of the country this year shoveling.  When I wasn't WD40'ing the edge of my snow removing device, salting, and traction gritting everything down; I have spent many a day thinking about Gardenfuss 2014 and what plants to grow, what gardens to visit, what new restaurants to try, what classes to teach this year, fun activities for families, and all that good stuff.  Tomato-gate took a lot out of me last year and I so...

Hubs Appreciation Event 10/17/2013 Food, future, family & fun! Door prizes too! It seems like just yesterday when the family and I with other hubs members came together to pack seeds for this past growing season [ in chilly January brrrr ].  Autumn has now kicked into gear and as you know we've been in the thick of the harvest. That means we've come full circle in this process and it's time to come together with our new found friends and community for the 3rd Annual Fall Gathering, and guess what? You are invited to attend too!  Come out, celebrate, & reflect on the 2013 growing season while providing vital input to Gardening Matters for the 2014 season.  Seriously, even though I'm still a little stir crazy from picking the last cherry tomatoes and long beans; I have a few ideas about plant varieties I'd like to try out next year. How about you all? Are there any new trellising ideas you have for your veggies that climb? What are your weed control i...

It all started off so easy.... Our 1st Indigo Rose  I mean, look at the blush on that Indigo Rose for God's sake! I never expected to come across such a beautiful specimen in my garden. This is truly an unusual piece of fruit. Seriously, if it has access to full sun its skin is like a marble made of onyx. Can you tell that, I am totally procrastinating by getting into the nuances of the Indigo Rose? That's because basically I came to the realization that I may be a glutton for punishment. Just whispering the word easy around this place is just crazy talk, let alone trying to fool myself by writing it. What am I not remembering? Oh yeah, this spring was far from easy. It was a wet / cold / feverishly busy / sweat filled mess ! [ could have just been me ] Starting with my bright idea of downgrading to a one bin compost system from two and expanding out my garden. From that experience I ended up overworked and with my beautiful helpers [ sis-inlaw, son, and daughter ] a...

I recently responded to a post on Facebook about how I felt about the first official day of Autumn. Here is a excerpt for you: ~    "Feeling stir crazy! So much to do... Help me understand, why do I love tomatoes so much? Do I really need to let the volunteer ground cherries continue on this way? Is this Swiss chard too large for a salad? Why is the basil acting so crazy? What's up with this asparagus bed? Will the Jerusalem melons make it through another cold spell? Okra? Why did I plant Okra again? Will I remember to shade the cilantro again next year like I did this year? ..... I could go on and on some more but I won't. Feel free to chime in and remind me to be thankful and/or schedule a time to save me from my self imposed garden madness."    ~ Whether you refer to this time of year as Fall or Autumn, for me it is a symbol of the hardest work I have to do all year. I have tons of ideas on food preservation and putting food by for the seemingly perpetual win...

The Southside Local Food Resource Hub will be joining the very warm and welcoming folks at Transition Longfellow for their monthly movie night. [ new movie every 3rd Friday of the month ] This month's movie will be The Power of Community . I have had the opportunity to watch this before and I must say that there are some great take-away points for all. I can't wait to experience this with a group such as this! If you are planning on joining us there will be a potluck which will include a tomato tasting!  So please bring a dish to share and get ready for some tomato talk. When:  Friday, September 20, 2013 What: Potluck at 6:30 PM, movie at 7:15 PM Where : Bethany Church, 3901 36th Ave S. Minneapolis, MN 55406 For more information on Transition Longfellow click here or visit: https://sites.google.com/site/transitionlongfellow For more information on the Local Food Resource Hubs please visit the Gardening Matters website at  http://www.gardeningmatters...

Then it was September As a blogger there can be a little bit of guilt for not posting as regular as one would like... Speaking for myself that is. If there was a way to upload directly from my mind to this page you would experience all of the beautiful images and stories from past events I've attended starting with Community Garden day, to Open Streets Minneapolis, Food Truck Tuesdays & Movie in the Parks, the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington, and then to the Minnesota State Fair. Besides these events children around the country have gone back to school including my own which has given me more or less " the time " to grab a few moments to recap and catch you all up on my urban Ag Adventures. So I'll give it a go and start where I left off with my Community Garden Day 2013 experience and in between my food preservation efforts you will get a glimpse into some of the ways Minneapolis grows together.... COMMUNITY GARDEN DAY 2013 John Ghizoni, Ajan...