WORMS!!

We are now the proud parents of, um.....LOTS of eisenia foetida, otherwise known as red wiggler worms!! My mom was the inspiration on this one actually. She almost couldn't go on the chocolate factory tour a few weeks back because a friend of hers was coming over to help her set up her very own worm bin. I thought, hmmm......worm bin...... and said, well, gosh....as long as you're going to get worm bin construction supplies for yourself, might you pick up some extras for me?? And of course, being the ever-selfless supermom that my mom is, she provided me with the instructions, the bins, and all the necessary parts - right on down to the teflon plumbers tape!! Now all I had to do was find the initiative to put it all together. So....after a few weeks....I read up on the directions, realized I would have to use some power tools, and called in for reinforcements. Usually, at this point, I would just give the job over to the power tool guy, but this time I was determined to do it myself (mostly). Once Paul helped me decide which of his three drills I should use, showed me how to put the drill bit in and how to hold the drill, I was READY. The 1/4 inch drainage holes were pretty easy. The 1 inch hole for the spigot thingy didn't go quite as smoothly. I guess you have to pull the trigger ALL the way back even though it makes a loud and scary noise. :) Paul pinch hit for the two 2 inch holes on the lid, but other than that, my first ever drilling experience was a success! Now I just needed to find some good bedding material and some worms! After way too much research, I settled on a combination of soggy newspaper, cardboard, straw, and a couple handfuls of sand and compost. Now for the worms. Turns out that Kurt Hawley 's mom lives right up the road from us, so instead of having to drive out to Sumas, we got our worms hand-delivered right to our doorstep. Thanks, Kurt! Thanks, Mom! Here's a picture of Paul giving them their first PJ's Patches meal! Mmm mmm good!

The Fun Guys

So the other night, in between episodes of "The Wire", in the waning light of the evening, we made ourselves be productive. What on earth are they, you say?? Why, they are mushroom towers of course! Layers of wood chips, straw, and mycelium (courtesy of Jerry, of course!) all wrapped up in tall hoops of plastic! My innate landscaping senses told me they would be a unique eye-catching addition to the "side garden". Plus, mushrooms need shade and water, so there weren't many other places for them to be. These better be some tasty fungi!

Baby Food

Here's our most recent additions to the family. We have 26 baby bean plants now and the squash kids are mostly thriving on their little squash mountains. Our little hazelnut has made it through an entire year of being cramped in a black plastic pot, moved twice, and left unwatered an unmentionable number of times. And yet....here it is....looking as lovely as ever. The potatoes....what can I say....they're getting so big! And even starting to flower now. But the real champ of the garden seems to be the arugula. It's a veritable cornucopia of luscious peppery greenery goodness. Yum.

Farm Firsts

We had our first garden harvest today - fresh leaves of delicious arugula and nasturtium!! Out in the front yard, our dahlia and crocosmia had their first blooms of the season. In the kitchen, I made my first-ever batch of hazelnut milk. Pretty tasty, but a little tough to sift out all the hazelnut bits. :)