As usual, I’m a bit late to the party so I am joining in at week 26, right at the halfway mark for the year 
I discovered this challenge, sponsored by Sharon at the Chatelaine’s Keys, as I cruised around some new blogs for inspiration. What a wonderful idea to keep on track and moving steadily forward. Especially during those long, cold Inland Northwest months when it feels like nothing is growing!
Without further ado, here’s my check-in for the week:
Plant Something: I sowed some nasturtium seeds around the perimeter of my perennial herb bed. I also planted some in a hanging basket by the pond. I threw some bargain-priced lobelia in the basket, too, but I’m not counting it since it isn’t edible. Nasturtium flowers and leaves have a pleasant peppery taste — great in salads! I also sowed a few leftover onion sets from spring planting in some empty spots around the yard.
Harvest Something: So far, not much. I didn’t get a spring garden in this year since we were adding the ducks and finalizing the new veggie area so I have to wait on summer crops to start ripening. I did glean a few green onions for stirfry from my onion bulbs. I also cut back the rosemary and saved the clippings for kitchen use.
Preserve Something: As I said above, not much yet! I did dry the rosemary for later use, so that counts!
Waste Not: I canceled our yard waste pickup, which I think qualifies on two levels. First, it saves us $20 a month during the summer and fall. We only filled it up maybe once a year anyway, but now we will have to compost all our yard waste which keeps more of our resources on our property. Other than that, all we did was our basic composting and using up of leftovers.
Want Not: Hmm, the above mentioned drying and storing of the rosemary. We also took a load of unusable wood scraps from my mom for use in our outdoor wood stove. Oh, and a tattered old garden decoration sign. Drew is going to repaint it with something more our style to add some flair to the duck area.
Eat the Food: Well, we do this every week since we rarely eat out! The biggest thing this week would probably be my foray into homemade yogurt making. I did it in the crockpot and it worked exceedingly well.
Build Community Food Systems: I built a second raised veggie bed for my mom, does that count?
Skill Up: I built drying screens and a rack system for them. This has been on my to-do list and the rosemary harvest gave me the impetus to actually do it. I look forward to experimenting more with food dehydration.
What about you? What were you up to this week?
