The Ether Garden knew long before we did it seems. It was last winter when we started discussing the possibility of getting a small urban flock, but we figured we’d best wait until we’d been in the new house for a while before starting down that road. Then one morning I looked out the kitchen window which overlooks the garden and what did I see? A small garden statuette which must have been hidden first by the masses of Daylillies and then by the snow. There it was, the sign that the Ether Garden knew better than we did what was to come- a small hen. She’s remained in that very spot since the moment I first saw her, but thoughts of an urban henhouse have expanded and moved to the forefront of our minds

Fast forward to last month when I received notice that the woman from whom my parents have been getting organic free-range eggs. She was selling off a few of her young laying hens, as she simply had too many and couldn’t properly care for them all! This was amazing news, as I was busy trying to figure out where to find started pullets in breeds we found appealing, without having to rear an order of 50 chicks and hope we could sell the surplus later. I quickly conferred with Lumin about the chicken opportunity and a decision was made- we’d get one each of the varieties she was selling, but we’d build space for four in the hopes of adding one or two more in the future.

So that’s that- we will be getting two lovely ladies very soon, too soon almost! One Rhode Island Red and one Black Star (also known as a Black Sex-Link). Now it’s crunch time, I and must say I do feel a bit like Chicken Little at the moment. There is a coop to build, waterers to make, feeders and feed to buy, bedding to obtain, and a myriad of other things to take care of before the ladies arrive. Having spend my younger years raising backyard chickens (a few of whom my mother captured beautifully in a watercolor study) I’m probably a little better off than some, but there has certainly been a large chickenless gap in my life in which to forget a great many things.

There were dozens upon dozens of large white tents set up across the Phipps Garden Center’s rolling lawn, mostly representing local suburban gardening clubs, each selling their plants, vegetables, herbs, trees and bushes. There were also a few odd companies hawking garden paraphernalia — things that look like stones but are actually speakers, things that look like stones but are actually drainage systems, things that look like stones but are actually very special kinds of stones which you should pay hundreds of dollars for. Construction Junction had a tent too, as well as a couple people selling various sorts of garden junk — wire twisted up to look like giant bugs, a slightly larger than life-size mossy statue of a golfer, and of course garden gnomes, garden cats, and garden saints.

In general, everything was overpriced. Some guy wanted ten bucks for a single shoot of bloodroot — a native plant I could find for free anywhere. People were selling tiny dogwood trees for nearly $100. And of course tropical plants abounded. Some lady tried to push a hibiscus bush on me for half-price because they were closing up their tent. When I found out that I would have to take it inside every winter, I balked. That prospect sounded way too much like work to me. And I don’t think we’d even have a spot for it indoors anyway.

The event planners decided to have the May Market on a rainy weekend outdoors in a hilly spot covered in mostly grass, which means that after a hundred people trampled the grass down, it was a muddy mess. I had to occasionally carry my friend, Olga, around, who wore cloth high-heels, assuming that an high-class event at the Phipps Garden Center would not actually be Woodstock ‘94.

The theme of the show was “An Eco-Friendly Garden Fair.” The thing is: I have no idea what was supposed to be so eco-friendly about a bunch of people loading up plants into trucks and driving them from the suburbs into the city, only to load them up a couple days later and drive them all back to the suburbs again. I’m sorry ladies, but your geraniums will not save the planet. They’re still the same geraniums they were five years ago before you thought that appearing eco-friendly would be clever.

I suppose keeping a vegetable garden is eco-friendly, but I noticed fewer than five tents which featured vegetables. The rest of it was mostly tropical plants, annuals, and shrubs, most of which are invasive anyway.

If I weren’t so cheap, I would have bought a sundial on a pedestal for $75. Instead, I walked out of there with a pot of Hot & Spicy Oregano (O. vulgare ‘Hot & Spicy’) for three bucks. I noticed it on some guy’s table, and having never heard of that particular variety of oregano before, he let me taste a sample. It in fact tastes like oregano, but also hot and spicy — totally worth having.

Am I glad I went? Sure. I wouldn’t have this Hot & Spicy oregano if I had stayed home. Was it a ridiculous greenwashed show of empty “environmentalism?” Yup. You’ll need more than a concrete Saint Jerome and some overpriced marigolds to fix our dirty water and our broken atmosphere. From the muddy lawn to the utter lack of effort towards changing anything they’ve been doing for the past fifty years in regards to our environment, the entire May Market was a pink flowery celebration of a gross lack of planning ahead.

The notorious Bindweed, which plagues our city of Pittsburgh, has begun to sprout vinelings in our garden. Bindweed, also known as Creeping Jenny and sometimes mistakenly as Morning Glory, is a real pest. It’s a viney plant that is hard to kill, and will wrap itself around anything it can find, especially plants that you actually want to keep alive.

So, what do we do? You can’t just pull it out like other weeds due to its extensive root system. Established infestations of bindweed are known to have twenty to thirty lateral feet of roots, and taproots have been excavated to depths of thirty feet. While ripping out the shoots may seem satisfying, the real monster continues living happily underground, and you’ll end up feeling like Kevin Bacon in Tremors.

So, the only option we can really think of is to use an herbicide such as Roundup, which stinks because the Monsanto company itself stinks, and Roundup isn’t exactly organic. Nonetheless, what we’ll probably end up doing is pouring concentrated Roundup into a cup and using a paintbrush to paint the bindweed leaves with it. That plan should help manage things, and with luck in a few years could possibly rid ourselves of the infestation.

Are you not sure if that horrible thing taking over your garden is bindweed? The Idaho Weed Awareness Campaign has some good photographs, and even a nice little slide show which might help you figure it out.

We wish there were a way to handle bindweed without using Roundup. How do you handle bindweed?

This weekend was the Western PA Mushroom Club’s annual Morel Madness Weekend. The weekend consists of two days of forays, slide-shows, and camping. Morels can be quite expensive at the market, largely due to the fact that they do not cultivate well. They have a unique texture, much more al-dente than most mushrooms, and have a very distinct flavor. Many who do not like most fleshy-capped mushrooms such as portabello or traditional button mushrooms enjoy morels, so give ‘em a try.

This year we might have been a bit early for the morels, it was hard to say. Most of us didn’t find a whole lot, and though one guy seemed to know the secret spot in the park where the morels were flourishing he wasn’t sharing his secret with anyone. Oh well. We might go back in a week and see what we can find.The outing wasn’t a complete bust though as we did find some rather tasty Dryad’s Saddle mushrooms, and were privy to the glories of spring in South-Western PA.

Throughout the wood were signs of spring oft missed by us city dwellers. Lovely white and red Trilliums made carpets through the forest, accented by the occasional patch of Jack-in-the-Pulpits. A few of our varieties of Trillium, including most of the reds, are classified as either at-risk or endangered, so it was quite a treat to get to see those. I was glad to see the deer hadn’t eaten them all up yet, as they are prone to doing. We also saw all manner of Violets ranging from white to yellow to purple, wild onions, garlic-mustard, and a few ramps.

Urban gardeners often think of the signs of spring as the crocuses, tulips, and daffodils we have planted into our yards. While I didn’t come home with even a single morel this time around, I did come home with a reminder of what spring looks like in our native forests. Maybe we can put in some trilliums for next year, to bring this reminder a bit closer to home.

Tonight I attended a delightful little food tasting event as part of the Farm to Table Conference. There were about a dozen exhibitors there tonight, and everything I tasted was simply lovely. There is so much to talk about from the conference earlier today as well, but I’d like to save that for a little later. A few vendors stood out in particular tonight for me. Local sprout farmer Chris Wahlberg of Mung Dynasty was there serving some of his wonderful soup. Tonight’s offering was a lovely sprouted sweet- and english-pea soup garnished with mustard sprouts. It was a lovely take on the traditional split-pea soup and the sprouted peas gave a nice toothsome texture.

There was some wonderful locally raised turkey and chicken, raw milk cheeses, hydroponic lettuces, local hormone-free cottage cheese, and some local cheese from Emerald Valley Artisan Cheeses. Not quite so local but still tasty was some smoked salmon and fish chowder from Alaska Wild Salmon Company. After all that cheese it was time for a little wine, and lucky for me Joseph Skocik of Plum Run Winery brought along a delightful array. I sampled a few of his varieties earlier today, and added one more to the list tonight. Among my favorites were his Elderberry, Mulberry, and Honey Mead for the sweets, and the Pinot Noir and for something drier.

What better to go with my wine than some locally made chocolates? I couldn’t think of anything- so chocolates it was. Taste of Chocolate is located in Saxonburg PA and makes all of their chocolates by hand in-house. While their Amaretto decadence is one of their best selling confections, I was partial to the chocolate covered dried cherries. While I was tempted to get Jeremy a packet of chocolate covered local bacon, I decided that one chocolate-bacon candy was enough for the year. I think we’re over the bacon fad anyhow.

I finished off the night with some simple yet savory mushroom toast. All night I’d noticed everyone carrying these delightful looking canape type toasts, but hadn’t seen them. Turns out it was hiding by the cash-bar by the second entrance. A lovely two-tiered dish of minced sauteed mushrooms with baguette toast and grated cheese. I only wish I knew who made the lovely mushroom dish, so simple yet so perfect.

Tomorrow morning they are having an organic local breakfast for those of us attending the early-morning demonstrations and speakers. The flyer boasts organic fruits, raw milk yoghurt and kefir smoothies, buckwheat pancakes (my favorite!), local raw honey, and a myriad of savory breakfast goodies. I’m excited as this makes getting there by 9:30am for the fermentation workshop much more bearable.

So, what did I win? A wonderful “green” package of home-cleaning goodies! There’s a re-usable sturdy bag of durable dual-layered rip-stop nylon with a handy zip pocket inside to keep your wallet while you’re shopping, or whatever. Then, inside the bag are even more goodies! All in the great spring-fresh Cucumber scent are bottles of All Purpose Surface Cleaner, Cleaning Wipes, Hand Wash, and Dish Soap. Also included is the DVD Simple Steps to a Greener Home by Danny Seo

All this just in time for spring cleaning! Method is one of my favorite cleaning supply companies, and they actually just release a few new products which have me quite excited. They recently announced the release of a soft-scouring creme for scrubbing our tubs and sinks, as well as a new toilet bowl cleaner. I’ve been wanting a less chemical means of toilet cleaning and this seems to be just what I’ve been looking for! I can’t wait for it to hit the shelves.

The article opens with the tag-line “A person would have had to eat three apples in 1991 to supply the same iron content as one in 1940.” It continues on to illustrate how, through the pursuit of our beautiful and high-yield crops, that we have lost a significant amount of nutrition over the past 50 or so years. For example

• “Spinach’s potassium content dropped by 53 percent, its phosphorus by 70 percent, its iron by 60 percent and its copper by 96 percent.”
• “The iron content of meat products declined by an average of 54 percent.”
• “The higher tomato yields (in terms of harvest weight), the lower the concentration of vitamin C, levels of lycopene (the key antioxidant that make tomatoes red) and beta-carotene (a vitamin A precursor.)”
• “High production dairy cows produce milk that is less concentrated with fat, protein and other nutrition-enhancing components and are also more vulnerable to a range of metabolic diseases, infections and reproductive problems.”

Guess I’m not so crazy about growing my own food the good old fashioned way. Guess I’m equally not crazy for wanting to grow heirloom varieties over hybrids. A lot of comments on the article are about eating organic fruit and veg, which I think are missing the boat. Just because something is grown organically doesn’t mean the seed isn’t a hybridized or GMO variety. If you look at what was being grown prior to 1940, you’ll see that it was primarily that which is now known as heirloom. WWII is when most of the hybrids were created in the name of increasing yield for the victory gardeners.

Think back as far as you can. Do you remember eating strawberries as a child? Have you eaten one lately? Do you notice a difference? I do. I’m hunting high and low for a good heirloom or similar variety of strawberry for my garden. I’m sick of the gigantic glossy mealy tasteless fruit you find in stores these days. Even the seedlings from my favorite garden centers are depressingly bland. I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve let the succulent and juicy, if somewhat more seed-filled, fruit of our childhoods die out.

I remember when such items first came out onto the market- I was in my science experiment phase of life and decided to test the effects of cleaning products on paramecium (which became a three-year multi-phase undertaking). Turned out that good ol’ 409 was less detrimental to my local waterways, at least at the time. I’m tempted to re-run the tests using some of our new ‘green’ cleaning products- but that’s a project for another day.

I will say I’m partial to certain items of each ‘green’ brand. I like the mopping fluids from Method, plain ‘ol white vinegar for many things, and the scouring powder from Mrs. Meyers. If you’re like me and get email notifications when there are promotions and such, you might know that Mrs. Meyers has released two new fragrances: Basil and Rhubarb.

I’m quite pleased by this- the lemon verbena and geranium scents are quite nice, though a bit too floral for my liking when doing kitchen chores. I’ve been using the lavender lately, but it has the unfortunate effect of making me quite sleepy. I’m excited about the basil scent, it should be perfect for kitchen chores! 

Alas- as seems to be the case with all the best things in life, the rhubarb fragrance is a limited edition spring release. This means that it only comes in a “handy” caddy containing miniature bottles of the All-Purpose Cleaner, Counter Spray, Window Spray, and Dish Soap. No scouring powder, and they’re all only 8oz each. I’ve never seen the limited edition fragrances turn up in brick-and-mortar shops either, so I guess I’ll never know if rhubarb is wonderful or terrible for my purposes. Ah well.