Edible Gardening Plan Step One: What to Grow?



This is our first attempt at planning a legitimate garden, so we're no experts. But as usual, we've done our research and found a plethora of resources on the U of I Extension website. In my opinion, the first step in planning a garden should be determining what veggies will grow well in the area. I have a feeling that there are guides like this for many states in the US, likely provided by a public university or agricultural organization.

 

My goals in this endeavor were to figure out 1. which veggies grow well in containers 2. which grow well in Chicago (or northern Illinois in general) 3. when they should be planted. This was a (mostly) straightforward process. There was a guide for Making Herb and Vegetable Containers in additon to an Illinois Vegetable Garden Guide.

 

The first guide indicated proper container sizes and outlined which varieties of veggies would grow well in containers. The second guide provided complete instructions for when and what to plant in central Illinois. But we don't live in central Illinois, so this was mildly confusing. I did some research on climate zones, and it did appear that Chicago is in the same zone as central Illinois. There are, however, slight differences that are actually noted on the second guide. Thank goodness Shane can read or I wouldn't have figured this out so easily. It mentions:

"For southern Illinois March-June plantings can be made approximately 2 weeks earlier and July-September plantings 2 weeks later than for central Illinois. For northern Illinois March-June plantings should be about 2 weeks later and July-September plantings about 2 weeks earlier than for central Illinois."

 

So my guide below has adjusted dates specifically for northern Illinois (just be aware that I did the math in my head, so if you're someone who likes to do things by the book, be sure to double check that my numbers are correct).

 

I went ahead and combined the information from those two pages, along with the adjusted planting periods, into a spreadsheet and turned it into the image below: 

 

 

Based on our chart, we've decided that we'll plant on two different weekends:

• April 27 - Spinach and Parsley
• May 26 - everything from Lettuce to Eggplant

This means our next action item is to find seeds and plants. I used to plant with my mom in Wisconsin, we would buy plants from my high school's agriculture department. Students in the ag classes would plant in the greenhouse and have a sale each spring. But that's not going to be the most convenient thing for us this year.

 

We have a few ideas about how to tackle this step, but would love your help. Have you planted a garden from seeds before? Or only from plants? Or maybe a combination? We want to hear what worked for you.

Balcony Gardening: the beginning

Yes, it really has been over a year since our last post. And honestly? It was kind of a crazy one. One that included new career pursuits, a decision to live on a smaller income, and a move into a new apartment. There were a lot of changes to adjust to, and we are finally feeling comfortable and settled into the new-ness of it all. Now that our elephant is out of the room: welcome to our first adventure in balcony gardening!

So far, it's only consisted of research. Until today, that is. We have a few planters that we've stored from past endeavors, but not enough for what we hope to grow this summer. I'm constantly on the look out for deals, and although I don't shop frequently, I subscribe to a lot of e-newsletters so that when I am in the market for schtuff, I can easily find out which stores are having sales on what I need.

This week, West Elm had up to 75% off new markdowns. SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT OFF! I think I had dollar signs in my eyes. So naturally, I started browsing the sale, and I couldn't believe what I found: planters! Eco friendly, too, which is even better. I added four to my cart right away (we figured out they're just under 3 gallons) and waited until payday (today) to check out. But before I did, I also found smaller planters, and went ahead and added two of them to my cart as well. The best part of this sale: all of my items were free shipping. So, after tax, all of this came out to $25 and some change. Score!

Here's a preview for you:

Snagged two of these @ $4.99 ea

and two more of the same in ebony



and two of these little guys @ $1.99 ea


We want to know: are you planning a garden this year? Will it be in-ground, or the container variety (like ours)? Share your stories with us!

Stay-cation week!

This week is my spring break, so I treated myself to a REAL break! I used some vacation time this week to recharge. I did cover some work related tasks on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, but it didn’t require going into the office. This is how my week began:

Monday was my 25th birthday, and Shane surprised me last week by telling me he’d be taking the day off AND had an adventure planned for us! Here’s what we did:

Cycled over to a local food pantry to help with produce distribution
 

Look at those HUGE carrots!

Between the bike ride and heavy lifting we had an excellent workout!

Before the surprise adventure began, we made a stop at Chicago Bagel Authority for some delish bagel sandwiches: egg, cheese, and avocado - yum!
 

Then we hopped on the brown line and headed into the loop, and as soon as we got off the train I just KNEW this must be where we were headed, and I was right: The Art Institute of Chicago

Shane succeeded in making this a budget day: we used our work IDs to get a student discount PLUS we got Chicago resident discounts. Total savings of $16!!


Afterward, we made our way to a nearby starbucks so that I could redeem my free birthday drink: Venti Cinnamon Dolce Latte!


Then we headed to dinner... since Shane had told me that my birthday adventure had a “theme” to it, I had my guesses where we might go, and as we headed in the right direction, I knew I was right: Yu Shan Yu Choy Restaurant (we ate here the first time we visited Chicago together, after a visit to the Art Institute! And it apparently changed its name)
 

It was a gorgeous day, the first time I can remember wearing shorts on March 19th! To take advantage of the last bit of sunlight, we decided to head to Hackneys for some outdoor seating ½ priced wine bottles (their Monday & Tuesday night specials)!
 

Then it was off to our last spot, dessert! When Shane told me we’d be heading north for this stop, I had a feeling I knew exactly where. But the real surprise was WHAT we’d get: Oreo Ice Cream Pie!!! OH. MY. YUM.



It was a great day. I am truly surprised at how much we were able to squeeze into one day! If only the rest of my week could have been so productive ;) And thanks so much for all of the birthday wishes via facebook, text, email, phone call, and cards. They made my day that much better!

On Tuesday morning, I made this to-do wishlist:

• Recipes: hummus, peanut/almond butter, salsa, shampoo, deoderant
• DIY Projects: Spray paint picture frames, order some photos to fill said frames, super-size our Christmas card image to 8 x 10 (for a new welcome sign!)
• Thrift Shopping
• House Keeping

Making that to-do wishlist was my biggest accomplishment on Tuesday, haha. I fully intended to write this post that day, too. Clearly, this task was put off!

Stay tuned for an update on which tasks I actually accomplished.

We want to hear what you're up to! Do you make to-do lists? If you had a week (or day) off, what tasks would you like to tackle?

Oh! Hey again... and a recipe!

Hello there!!

Let’s just dive right into the awkwardness and admit that we have no real explanation or excuse for our “disappearance,” which has actually delayed our reappearance because we just weren’t sure whether or not we should address it.

So now that it’s been addressed, I'll dive right into a new project that we’ve started. It’s a food project! I’m sure you’re not surprised, I’m aware that I talk about food a lot.

In an effort to try and maintain our unusual food budget (which we actually re-vamped at the end of January: $150 bi-weekly, to align with our paydays, instead of $300/month) we wanted to challenge our creative minds in the kitchen. And the best way to do that is to center each week around a main ingredient. Last week, our main ingredient was pinto beans... and most of our meals ended up being Mexican inspired (tacos, nachos, quesadillas + refried beans etc) plus a re-vamped pasta + beans recipe from a blogger I admire (we subtracted the pancetta and added a can of rinsed, diced tomatoes).

This week is chickpeas! We have so many favorite recipes for chickpeas, so I hope we have chickpea week often. Unfortunately, we had to narrow down our options to things we could consume in a week, here’s our list: pasta + beans (very similar to the one from pinto week, but we used chipotle black bean tagliatelle pasta instead), PPK’s chickpea cutlets, PPK’s chicpea picatta, a crockpot veggie satay (plus chickpeas, of course!), and an impromptu, new recipe!

Now, let me just say in advance that I don’t really measure my spices when I toss a new recipe together, and here’s why: I don’t really plan ahead. I worked funky hours yesterday, and decided at the last minute to cook some brown rice and saute chickpeas to take with me for dinner. So once the rice was done I ran to the pantry, grabbed my favorite spices, and dove right in. Here’s what I needed:

Rice:
1 C Brown rice
2 C Water
A splash of olive oil
A dash of salt

Cook according to the package directions

Sauteed Chickpeas:
Butter/margarine (I used Earth Balance, and I’m not sure how much, but enough to provide a thick layer to coat the skillet)
2 Garlic cloves
Spices: Chili Powder, Curry Powder, Onion Powder and Cumin
Flour (I used whole wheat)
Water
1.5 - 2 C Chickpeas (I didn’t actually measure, but it almost filled a 2 C Tupperware so...)
Handful of baby spinach

Forgive me again on not being too accurate with measurements, I just eyed it. So I heated my skillet then tossed in my “butter.” Next, I sauteed the garlic for a bit, just to get it lightly browned. Then I doused the skillet in my spices (I use them so often that I don’t need to measure, I can tell by looking if I’ve used enough). At this point, I noticed that it wasn’t really runny enough to add flour, so I put more butter in the skillet. I just reached into my flour canister and added flour to the skillet until I had a pretty thick paste. Then I splashed water into my skilled until the past turned into a nice smooth, but a slightly thick, sauce. And finally I poured my chickpeas on top along with my spinach and stirred until they were coated and warm. Serve chickpeas on top of the brown rice, YUM!

I took this picture with my phone at work, please excuse the poor quality



I promise that next time I make this dish I will try to have REAL measurements to provide, AND photos from along the way (not phone photos either!)

So tell us about the way you cook. Do you follow recipes, or make your own? Or do you use recipes as more of a guide/suggestion, and take creative liberties?

Sustainable Haps... and an Etsy discount!

One thing Shane didn’t mention in yesterday’s post was that all of our “local haps” were accessible by foot, bus, and/or train! Especially with all of the snow dumped on us Friday night, city driving would have been worse than usual, but in general, we try not to drive at all. We’re a one car family, which is wonderful when we leave the city or take large-item shopping trips. For the most part, however, we prefer to walk (healthier) or take public transit (we have monthly passes through work that are deducted from our paychecks, pre-tax, saving us about 30%). And in months of better, warmer weather, we love taking advantage of our bikes.

On Sunday, we made a stop to B3 on our way home from Trader Joe’s. Oma (my grandma) redeemed the rewards from her credit card for gift card and sent it to us! She asked first whether we’d prefer Olive Garden or Bed Bath and Beyond, and although OG is TASTY(!!), it’s likely not going to help us with the healthy eating habits we’ve been practicing lately, but I honestly don’t know where the nearest one is. B3, on the other hand, is 4 blocks away. And we already knew what we’d use it on: a new drying rack for laundry. The kitties helped us decide what else to use it on :)



This vinyl table cloth was NOT meant to be anything fancy, but it was cute and protected the glass... until now. The new one we picked out is made from recycled bottles (along with matching napkins)! 

Look! We re-purposed 31 bottles!

We also bought a new vinyl pad to put under it to protect the glass in the table. And as I was typing (and thinking how it wasn’t very sustainable to buy a white vinyl sheet that’s meant to be cut up anyway) I realized how unnecessary it was... we’re going to re-purpose the one the cats chewed up instead! For the most part only the edges were demolished. 



The small nail marks and fading found all over won’t really matter once it’s covered up by the new, pretty cloth! Our spray bottle now goes with us everywhere (do they make holsters for this type of thing?) to let the cats know not to go near the table.

As for the drying rack, we weren’t looking for anything in particular except sturdiness, plenty of drying space, and a low price. We prefer to hang dry the majority of our clothes. It saves on laundry money (we have coin-op machines on the first floor), the clothes last longer, and it saves energy by not using a machine. We’ll keep the old one, despite its lack of support. It works for lightweight clothes and the cats enjoy climbing it (if they weren’t so quick, I’d include a photo). But this new one is metal rather than wood so we’re hoping that it holds up a bit better. On a  related note, we “sustainably declined” a second, larger shopping bag to carry the rack with because it seemed unnecessary. Then I thought, great for the environment, but an awkward walk home... this thing should come with a handle. So I made one! I’m probably more proud of this innovative, quick thinking than I need to be :)

In resolution-related news, I finally opened my Etsy shop last Monday! (Take note of my fancy, self-promoting banner over there --->) I decided to turn this into a side project after creating our holiday cards this year. It was a lot of fun to design them, so I started on a few samples for other card themes. I’m currently searching for photos of families, babies, kids, couples etc to feature in samples in order to expand my “inventory.” As much as I’m sure prospective buyers LOVE seeing me featured in each item (har har har!) I’m feeling the need for a little variety. I already have a couple birth announcement templates, but no babies to display! If you have photos (or know someone who does) that I can use for a new sample, please let me know - I’m happy to work out some sort of a deal on a future order. 

Source: etsy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

And for YOU, our dedicated readers, I have a special offer good through Feb 29!

Discount code: LGC25 for 25% off any design and FREE customization if I’m not currently featuring a theme you’re interested in.

What old items have you re-purposed? What are some small ways that you try to be “greener” in your every day routine? We love knowing that every person doing something small makes a BIG impact :)