Grow Your Own...Mints:

Dear Grow Your Own,

As promised yesterday via Twitter, some photos of the mints growing around here:

All of these guys are pretty recent additions...the garden mint is just starting to find it's way through the multiple openings in this terracotta pot.

The mint basil (I happened to get this plant at Byron Bay Herb Nursery) is a great mint variety to add to your collection when your basil just doesn't seem to do so well (mine is pitiful).  The leaves are a bit softer than regular basil, but this herb is a perfect substitute.

Finally, the youngest of the bunch is this peppermint which I just found out is a hybrid of spearmint; the two aren't as different as I thought.

My theory is similar to yours, it's best to grow your own.

What kind of mint do you having growing in your garden?

- Nick

Welcoming The New Guy

One of the most interesting facets of gardening for me is to witness and keep track of which seeds and seedlings take care of themselves, and which ones you have to struggle with to keep alive.  Sowing seeds directly into my garden has had many different success levels.  Using @Mr_Fothergills has even had mixed outcomes; but by far the best producing organic seed from the best Australian seed provider has been radishes.  And finally, after just four weeks of growing (we've had an incredibly mild, dare I say hot, winter Down Under)...my first radish appears.

Beneath my harvest you'll see just one small bunch of them still left in the ground.  After planting this first group, and realizing how well they were taking off in the garden, I decided to grow through the whole packet of seeds throughout different areas of the garden...looks like we'll be enjoying these for a while.  I separated the planting by about 2-3 weeks, as they take between 4-8 weeks before harvest and I didn't want to get a whole bunch at once, but rather enjoy them over a period of time.

This small chili pepper did really well until May, when I decided to harvest everything to start a collection of dried peppers...and finally we can see some new growth, flowers, and few small chilies scattered about.

Above: Kale and Silver beet, two staples in my cooking
and
Below: Rocket abound, we'll be enjoying this for a while as well...

A whole bunch of different varieties of tomatoes self-seeded the past few months, and they've survived shockingly well for this garden and climate.  We're just starting to enjoy the benefits.

And there you have it, the current state of affairs...

Grow Your Own: From Mint To Much More

Part of the concept of "Profitable Planting" is homegrown fruits, vegetables, and herbs.  Growing your own greens relieves some of the stress of going to the store to purchase all of your essentials, not just monetarily, but also the time it takes to go get mint for that wonderful cocktail you were planning to enjoy, etc.  Wherever I travel, I try to encourage my friends and family to utilize the extra space they have to start their own small herb garden, and that's exactly what I've done here in Paris for my friend Guy.

It started this past November when I came for a three month stay in Paris, and began growing mint (that was purchased) in water for two months to grow some roots.  In January, when I knew the mint was good and ready I brought it to Guy's for him to begin his garden.  As you can see, the collection has grown from there and the mint is still going strong!

Now his collection includes basil, mint, parsley, and yesterday we went to Leroy Merlin to get some additional soil and a chili pepper plant.

As you can see, the air and space around this herb garden is filled with light and more green!  Down below is a courtyard with palms and shrubs (unfortunately not native).

As you can see below, the basil needs some help.  Initially, the basil was planted in the same pot as a beautiful jasmine vine, but unfortunately the roots from the jasmine were suffocating those of the basil...until yesterday when I decided to add some life to Guy's garden by loosening up the soil a bit and adding some new life (and new soil) to the area of the pot that the basil is in.

It's green...but boy would this basil like to be in a veggie bed somewhere warm and sunny!  In any case, we've used these herbs the past few days in different recipes and there's nothing like the deliciousness of homegrown herbs!

Although the jasmine roots are long and invasive for the basil, the vine is currently flowering, so removing the plant simply was not an option...check out the pretty colors!

This small herb garden started just a few months ago (during a cold and wet winter here in Paris), and since then has grown into something great that Guy is able to use on a daily basis.  It's never too late to @addmoregreen and new life to the world around you!

UPDATE

Tuesday 10 September, 2013

As most Parisians do during the month of August, Guy escaped the city for some rest and relaxation.  While gone, most his garden had to suffer the consequences of no gardener.  But, one strong survivor emerged...

Sustainable Singapore

On my recent transit to Paris, I traveled through Changi Airport again and with a 20 hour layover I had no choice but to head downtown to spend the night.  From my last visit to Singapore, I already knew that this city is On The Right Track with its head screwed on tight and a vision towards the future with an understanding of how we must interact with the environment to prepare for the success of future generations.  Once again, I was pleased to see some things that caught my eye and screamed out #sustainability.

This first image, of the side of a delivery truck for mattresses, is a large display that can quickly attract the attention of many people.  Smiling faces are prone to catch the eye of passersby, whether live or on a display.  The message is simple, "Be wise and go green.  Now."  With a world of plants in his hand, this kid is telling us that being more environmentally friendly is as important as a good nights sleep.

This second image, a small green sign, was inside one of the countless bathrooms at Changi Airport.  The small plaque, which was placed above one of the hand dryers, had a simple message as well...STOP WASTING SO MUCH DAMN PAPER, IDIOTS!  One may argue the point that these hand dryers use electricity, but one would also be happy to know that Changi practices some great environmental initiatives that have been recognized internationally.  Travelling through Singapore seems to be a new habit of mine, now that I call Australia home, and I'm happy to take part in and support such a sustainable city.

Name That Vegetable

One of the beauties of composting is that you never know what seedlings and starts will perk up out of the soil on a daily basis.  Sometimes these volunteers are not so good for your veggie garden, like papaya or the rampant lemon grass (both better in the ground or lemon grass in a pot).  But sometimes you get surprised with wonderful veggies that addmoregreen.  Take this peculiar squash-like vegetable for example...

I added some of this greatness to the pizza I made tonight, the only issue is that I have no idea what the vegetable actually is.  When I initially let the volunteer take off, I thought the cotyledons resembled those of a cucumber...boy was I wrong!  So, I need some help on this one if anyone knows what vegetable this is...in any case it was delicious!

On The Right Track

It always makes me happy to visit new cities that have made positive advances to their sustainable efforts.  Singapore is on the path too, and has three of these awesome solar-powered fans along the harbour of the Kallang River.  The giant blades are activated by motion detectors, using only the necessary energy to provide satisfaction when there are users underneath.

Surrounded by enormous high-rises where bankers and accountants spend the day in A/C, Marina Bay is a quiet sanctuary to come enjoy your lunch.  If it's too hot and sticky like it was when I was there, you can take a break under the Breeze Shelter.

A great drawing of what the promenade looks like with the large fans in the environmentally-friendly foreground of the massive skyscrapers in the background.

Dimensions and description of the Breeze Shelter components.  3500 mm across equates to about 1.5 meter blades...they were massive!

Found the perfect spot for a 'pause point' along the promenade.  An 88 degree day in Singapore after three months freezing my bum in Paris called for a fan break.  This city has found a great method to addmoregreen; I was unable to find any community gardens but there certainly was other green space in the city to relax in.

They Wrote The Book

Michel and Jude Fanton started an organization in 1986 that in my opinion could solve billions of cases of starvation if their voice were to reach enough of a global audience.  The couple would have been my favorite professors if they had been employed by Babson College while I was there.  Together they bring about a passion in each other to share their vision with everyone listening and have really found an exciting way to AddMoreGreen.  

I recently had the opportunity to visit their house and incredible gardens when they hosted a Seed Savers' Open Garden Day at their home in Byron Bay.  The morning was comprised of educational experiences to broaden our fruit and vegetable vocabulary.  They also shared their personal takes on making curry powder, made entirely with home grown ingredients.  Pictured below are just some examples of potential combinations and below that is a chalkboard full of ideas.

 Superfoods rock!

Now on to the real inspiration, for me at least.  Their veggie beds were jam-packed with green goodness of all sorts.  After all of these years figuring out what works best they have a soil consistency that makes you want to bathe in it.  No mulch needed here because all of the bad stuff has already been weeded out...literally.  What makes me happiest is that they've found an incredible way to regenerate and sustain their garden season after season...it self-seeds!  What else could we expect from Seed Savers?

Can you figure out what all of these yummy vegetables are?  Maybe you should get your copy of the Seed Savers' Handbook which is also jam-packed with green goodness.  Listed inside are more than one-hundred veggies, herbs, and edible flowers with information on origins, cultivation, usages and more.

 and it goes on...

 ...and on...

 ...on some more...

 ...they @addmoregreen everywhere!...

 ...and finally to the compost!  I know I'm happy with the compost that brought my garden back to life but Michel mentioned that these guys have a five year plan.  When it comes to thinking about the future it's really important to forget all the negativity, and simply focus on what your needs will be in the coming years.  Composting, self-seeding, saving seeds; all of these components add up to one really important outcome...food for the future.  We're going to need it, and with the help of Michel and Jude we will all be a little closer to feeding the mouths of many.

Back To Life

After 17 weeks away from home you can only imagine the state my garden was in.  Although there was a couple renting the house for the better part of 14 weeks, and although they seem to be hobby gardeners, there was certainly plenty of work to be done.  It's now been almost 8 weeks without a serious rain here in Northern NSW and man does the soil tell the story...rock solid. Another surprise I came across were ashes from the fireplace that had been added to the raised beds.  Turns out ash can be used as a great input for compost as it adds valuable nutrients and can deter insects & weeds from accumulating.  I started by forking the beds in order to loosen the soil and prepare all the areas where I planned to @addmoregreen.

Below is a display of how we have the compost setup at home.  On the left are two small trash bins that are used on a daily basis for kitchen scraps such as orange peels and egg shells (only Guy eats eggs though).  When those bins are full we add their contents (usually quite smelly) to one of the larger bins on the right.  The triangle shaped bin takes much longer to process as the contents sit stagnant for much of the time unless you have a compost turning tool.  The tumbler on the right is our greatest piece of compost equipment.  When I go out each day with the kitchen scraps to add to the trash bins I give the tumbler a good six or seven spins which speeds up the process...nearly twice as fast as the triangle bin.

Next, I took the contents from the tumbler which were ready after our 17 weeks away from home and added them to the areas I already forked.  To this mix I added Yates Dynamic Lifter and Searles 5 In 1.  With freshly forked soil and natural fertilisers added to the beds, I stirred it all together using my garden fork again and then gave the beds a nice drink of water to settle the fertilisers in place.  Now that the soil was ready for new plants I spread out the "starts" in an arrangement that would allow each to get an optimal amount of sun while also working off each other in a permaculture sense (basil near the tomatoes, etc.).

And finally, I got my hands dirty...NO GLOVES!

I hope this post has been a great example for turning your old and worn out soil into something more useful and beautiful.  Let us know what you thought about this post in the comments section.  Take a peek at the pictures below to see exactly what I added to the garden.  Also, be sure to check back for upcoming posts as I will be posting more pictures as all of these plants progress!

Lettuce- Mignonette Mixed

Found these vines growing in two different pots when I got home.  Initially, I thought it was pumpkin but a friend added her input stating the vines are watermelon...I suppose we will have to wait and see when these plants begin to produce.

Tomatoes!

Lettuce- Mixed

Roma Tomatoes

Silverbeet- Fordhook Giant

Eggplant