Media Green Exchange

What a beautiful fall day it was yesterday. And what a great turn out and a great variety of swapping goodness! There were some new faces and some new items to be swapped and even given. Morning Glory and 4 O’clock seeds carefully packaged,counted, and labeled were a big hit thanks to Gabe! Beautiful leaf mulch and moss brought such beauty to the mall thanks to Steph! I walked home with Echinacea (purple comeflower), and a perrenial variety of Ageratum. Thank you Amy!  I also got some Bee Balm that I have been wanting from Shannon. Meg brought yummy Lemon Balm. Can’t wait to make some tea. And Susanne brought a beautiful bouquet of basil. Hello Pesto!!! I again brought Black Eyed Susans and some herbs and flowers. I also had harvested some Hollyhock seeds to share as well as some eggs. What a fun way to start a Saturday!

We’ll be having our weekly swap again, Saturday at 10am sharp on the Plum Street Mall.
Last week I made a delicious thai red curry with the butternut squash and lemongrass that I swapped for my bee balm and hosta.
What have you got in your garden this week?

Maybe some seeds?

Norah and the wagon

I had to miss the first swap today for something as equally as important and fun but I did enjoy packing up the wagon with rudbeckia, a half dozen eggs, mint, oregano, parsley, and a bucket of string beans. I sent the family off to the swap.

And came home to hear tales of fun had by all. Raspberry plants, swiss chard, butternut squash, cherry tomatoes, jalepenos and bay leaves adorned my kitchen and porch.

Chris and the girls had a blast swapping and catching up with friends.

And the best part of all was that Norah wanted to make something with the bay leaves, so she and Papa made a huge batch of tomato sauce. When I got home I was just in time for the taste test. YUM!! What a great day.

Can’t wait for next week’s swap!

I used to go back and forth between wanting to live on a “farmette” and staying where I am in a small town. I do have the luxury of having a farming career and it is always nice to come home to our tiny space. I love our house, and our community and the fact that we can walk or bike everywhere. We have over the years turned our little urban space into our own custom built farmette with chickens, composting, rain barrels, fruit, herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Sometimes I kid with everyone and say “if only we could fit in a sheep or goat.” I am very inspired by Food Not Lawns and other movements which encourage the use of under utilized space for food production. I have been slowly getting rid of most of our grass and turning it into growing space. I have been focusing on even the grass strip between the street and the sidewalk as a place for growing. I have a combination of shade, part shade and full sun so it allows me to grow a bit of everything. I love inter-planting vegetables with perennials and flowers. My goal has been to turn our home and garden into a demonstration plot to show others what one can do with a tiny space. Since we live on a corner, we have many people stop and ask us about backyard chickens, vegetable growing and more. On days when I am wishing for a bit more land and a bit more privacy, I remind myself of what we are teaching others. I love the challenge of trying to fit it all into a small space. I may not have room for a goat, but I am still thinking of roof top gardens and maybe even a small greenhouse!

I’m excited to get together with others interested in sharing the bounty of the season.  It’s great that this is happening in our town!