Planting Season Begins

Last year was an interesting experiment. I placed starter plants and seeds in the ground in May and by the end of the summer had quite an overrun little deck. My cement garden worked well though I was really concerned that my plants wouldn't get enough sun. I arranged the plants by their need for sunlight and in the end the biggest issue was not having enough soil or big enough containers for the crops I tried planting.

I ambitiously attempted a couple of deep-root requirement plants like zucchini and cucumbers, as well as some serious sun-lovers like Brussels sprouts and peppers and I think I'll need to rethink those for this year. Of course, this year, instead of purchasing our produce weekly from our farmer's market, we will be driving out to our local family farm to pick up our bushel of fresh picked organic vegetables, herbs and flowers for our CSA portion. This alone will drastically reduce what I'll want to plant on my deck, since I know I'll be getting great quality deep-root vegetables, I can have fun planting I-can't-get-enough-of [fill in the blank].

I have so far been at a loss of where I was going to purchase seeds. I already know that I will be purchasing locally produced organic soil from New Earth Farms. In previous years, I purchased starter plants from local gardening shops (like McDonald's Garden Center) or family farms in the area (like Stoney's Produce - they sell really great "standard-items" but also fantastic varietals like lemon balm and eggplant. I love browsing around to get great ideas for the garden!). This year though, I'd love to use up all the unbleached egg cartons I've been saving up and teach Aoife about growing our own plants.

I bought some seeds last year from one of our farmer's markets but really wanted this year to use heirloom seeds only. Fortunately this morning while I was on Etsy, I found a great store that sells heirloom seeds - and I am so excited about it! I love Etsy - it's a great entrepreneurial start-up for home mamas and it's completely homemade, which means my items aren't made in a factory in China (which I love).

On my "for-sure" list to be planted this year are:

• tomatoes: cherry or pear
• summer herbs: basil, dill, Italian parsley, rosemary
• greens: lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach
• herbal flowers: chamomile, echinachea, and Virginia mountain mint

Just browsing around to find seeds makes me excited to get my hands in the dirt - it is always therapeutic! On a closing note, I found this super great remedy from an heirloom seed seller on Etsy, The Bear Foot Shaman:

"Recipe to alleviate almost anything that ails: First get some sunlight - and not behind sunglasses, next drink a big glass of water, and if you are all cooped up reading this, get out and get some fresh air, if when you do go outside the air is not fresh - find a way to get to some fresh air! Last, while you are out getting your fresh air, find a rock that likes you and carry it around for awhile."

Green Holiday: Anniversary

Joshua and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary this last weekend. We talked about a lot of options on where we wanted to go, but the consensus was ultimately that we wanted to try a "Stay-cation"... a Be a Tourist in Your Own Hometown idea (Google it, it's huge). Heading out to the oceanfront during tourist season is something we haven't done in the five years we've lived here, but heading down in the beginning of spring seemed like a fair idea.

Joshua and I usually see our anniversary weekend as a great way to put our feet up, relax, eat great food, soak in a spa, get a massage, enjoy a celebratory drink and take it slow. Of course, with a toddler, all these things are not usually possible, but since Aoife is so much a part of our family and a part of our love we thought it would be great to make it a family getaway. Our prayers were answered as we woke up Friday afternoon to a weekend forecast of mid-70s and all sun.

The Accommodations:

• We really love the attentiveness and individual personalities of small business bed and breakfasts. We decided on the Beach Spa Bed and Breakfast, an eco-friendly B+B just three blocks from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. It won awards from B+B.com as the #1 spa in America. We can totally see why after we experienced such fantastic customer service, delicious breakfasts, lovely room and amazing spa shower (not to mention extreme graciousness with us for travelling with our toddler)!

The Food:

• We wanted to eat at local small businesses that were tasty and close to our B+B so we could leave our car parked all weekend. Here's what we came up with: We ate Friday night at Pi-Zzeria, where we shared a great huge salad and a small pizza (sans pepperoni and mushrooms, of course). They brought out a little lump of pizza dough for Aoife to play with while we waited for food since it was so busy, but the wait went quickly and the company was fantastic (as always).
• Saturday afternoon we picked up curried chicken sandwiches from Taste Unlimited for a picnic on the beach (that was the plan anyway... we were too hungry to walk any further so we gobbled it up on site!).
• Saturday night, Joshua and I enjoyed a really amazing intimate dinner at Zoe's. A girlfriend came by to watch Aoife so we could enjoy our anniversary dinner alone. Steaks, Scotch, edamame hummus and chocolate souffle were the orders of the night and we had a wonderful time in their really funky and comfortable dining room.
• Sunday afternoon we stole our first taste of frozen custard for the season at Kohr's at the beach. Unfortunately, Aoife missed the taste since she was already napping, but we were too happy to be driving in the car with the windows down eating custard to notice!

The Entertainment:

• Friday evening, we went to the Virginia Beach Convention Center to check out the sports expo for the annual Shamrock Marathon. The marathon took place on Sunday, but on Saturday they ran some shortie fun races, including an 8k. Our B+B was only two blocks from the race route, so runners and family members and friends were jogging up our street both Saturday and Sunday morning, making it exciting to sit back on our deck and enjoy our coffee.
• Saturday morning, Aoife got to dig her little shovel in the sand and make sandcastles at the oceanfront with her favorite friend, Amanda, while Joshua and I enjoyed a couples' massage in our suite. The married couple that performed our massages made us melt into the spa tables and completely soothe away all our stress and knots. It was completely delightful.
• Saturday afternoon, after we got Aoife all cleaned up from her beach excursion and we nibbled a bite to eat, we headed out for a round of putt-putt at Jungle Golf, just three blocks from our B+B. We loved showing Aoife the elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, giraffe and gorilla! Of course the sunny weather drew out huge crowds of people, but it was fun playing around with the family!
• After loading up Sunday, we enjoyed a little picnic in a local park and decided we weren't quite ready to head back home, so we called up our local family farmers at Pungo Naturals to see the newborn baby sheep and baby goats. There's nothing quite so sweet as newborn animals!

Our Local Family Farm

Last year I frequented several farmer's markets. I learned a lot about the need for local family farms after reading Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food and after seeing them week after week, I became rather familiar and friendly with them. It was a really beautiful routine: every Saturday, we would throw Aoife on our back, grab a couple of bags and walk through the farmer's market. Sometimes we would buy a fresh pastry from a local baker or a locally roasted cup of organic coffee, but it almost always included buying our eggs, dairy, (sometimes) beef or chicken, fresh herbs and browsing the farm tables for that week's produce that was picked fresh that morning.

One little stand I particularly liked was that for a goat's milk soap offering. Tasha's Own was the name of the sign in front and week after week I would walk up and smell the really amazing essential oils that came from the neat stacks of bars. One week there was a stack of newspaper articles and following the encouragement of the lady standing at the table, I put one in my bag to read later.

Having located my farmer's market late in the season, I was too late to invest in their CSA, but the article detailed about the goat's milk soap, their goat share, the beginnings of their organic farm and investing the time to teach our children about food and raise a community of people who want to do likewise. I was hooked.

The next week, I put my name on their CSA waiting list. I thought that was the end of it.

The summer ended and fall came, winter came and then my phone rang. Did I still want in? Yes: to the organic CSA, the goat share, and a large stack of really fantastic smelling soap. They had just opened up their CSA list for the season and as Joshua and I had just found out we were expecting, we were only too delighted to know we were going to be getting organic local produce all summer long!

Since we signed our CSA and goat share contracts, we've fallen in love with our local family farm. Joshua went up to hold milk bottles for the newborn sheep and goats, help mend horse fences, and learn about modern homesteading. Aoife loves the animals, especially the dalmatian Great Danes, the guinea hens, the barn kitty and lots of running room! I love the long drive into the country to pick up the creamiest milk imaginable, the warm hospitality and the incredible sense of community.

The hardest part of being connected to our local family farm is driving away. Aoife can't bear the thought of leaving the "puppies" behind, Joshua loves getting his hands dirty and doing work he can actually see the results of and I am still wanting to sit, drink tea and learn all the incredible knowledge that can be gleaned from a mama with eight children who makes her own cheese, homesteads her own farm, homeschools her sweeties and still looks lovely doing it all. (I would move into the barn if they'd let me!)

Don't know where to start finding your local family farm? Check out Local Harvest to jump start your search for farmer's markets, farms, locally-sourced restaurants and co-ops.

Live in Tidewater? Check out Pungo Naturals, Mattawoman Creek Farm, New Earth Farm, and Weeping Radish Eco-Farm for organic favorites!