Most of you know that I grew up in the country. And loved it.Now being a forced resident of suburbia, I find I'm lonesome for the freedom that owning land can bring. Since our backyard is fenced in, I'm all primed to attempt planting a garden in our rock-infested yard next year. But what to do in the meantime?
Enter brilliance. Not my own, unfortunately, but I shamelessly stole the idea. No rocks. No weeds. Just good nutritious soil and yummy greens in... my gutter garden.
It took only one evening for Matt and I to purchase our vinyl gutters and other materials. Easy-peasey. I back-ordered the seeds and in late July I put in a crop of baby spinach, gourmet greens and Simpson lettuce. Both have done really well and we had some of the lettuce in salads a night ago. Yum, yum! (Sorry the picture is blurry.)
I know you're probably as taken back about the brilliance in suburbia gutter gardening as I am. You're thinking: Man, this gal's got it going on. Or maybe not. Perhaps you think I'm crazy, and you might be right...
Last week our little family (read: me) decided gardening didn't quite fix our back-to-nature cravings so we pulled out all the stops and... joined a raw milk club. :Gasp: Now you really do think I'm crazy, don't you?
Best. Decision. Ever. Despite the multiple health benefits I was a little apprehensive about the switch, but I'm so happy we did it. And let me tell you, once you join the little raw milk community you find your fellow raw-milk-drinking-friends start popping out of the woodwork. Who knew?!
So anyway, we've been purchasing (yes, purchasing... even though it's against the law. As if it's the government's place to regulate what I drink... it's just MILK people, come on!) about a gallon and a half a week. From that amount I'm able to skim off quite a bit of cream and make my own butter (all-in-all about 3/4 cup) using my kitchen aid mixer. Simple and tasty.
Wow. So there's the good, bad and ugly regarding my back-to-nature cravings. Well, not totally. Would you believe in the same time period I also made the decision to switch Morenna over to cloth diapers?! I blame my pregnancy hormones. More on that later. The diapers, I mean, not the hormones. :-)
So anyway, we've been purchasing (yes, purchasing... even though it's against the law. As if it's the government's place to regulate what I drink... it's just MILK people, come on!) about a gallon and a half a week. From that amount I'm able to skim off quite a bit of cream and make my own butter (all-in-all about 3/4 cup) using my kitchen aid mixer. Simple and tasty.
Wow. So there's the good, bad and ugly regarding my back-to-nature cravings. Well, not totally. Would you believe in the same time period I also made the decision to switch Morenna over to cloth diapers?! I blame my pregnancy hormones. More on that later. The diapers, I mean, not the hormones. :-)
Actually, it's technically not illegal to *purchase* raw milk, just to *sell* it. ;-) I would definitely think about doing this if I knew where to get it in NC. I'm a little afraid, though... I've heard that people with milk allergies or lactose intolerance (like my girls) can handle raw milk, but I'm a little afraid to try it with them and have them break out in hives or something. I suppose trying a little wouldn't hurt too much, though, if I can ever figure out where to get it. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYour lettuce "fields" look amazing, BEAUTIFUL!, and I'm so jealous...and dreaming up possibilities for next growing season.
ReplyDeleteJessica, it is actually legal to buy and sell raw milk in SC, so we've been doing it for Piper and me. Piper *always* breaks out in a face rash (not hives, just a scaly sort of rash) if she eats any pasteurized dairy, but when she has the raw milk or raw milk products (we buy raw milk cheese too), nothing. She's had no bad reactions whatsoever. I have dairy allergies too, and it makes a huge difference for me - my face doesn't itch, and my own milk rash clears up. Seriously, you should try it!
ReplyDeleteIt used to be illegal in SC to sell it about 10 years ago ... but my family found a nice libertarian dairy farmer anyway :-D
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