Starting a Kitchen Garden Cart
My Pronking Year, June; CSA Bounty; Bug of the Week
I had what I thought was a great idea. Looking at the forecasts of shortages in farm workers, cuts to the USDA, and economic uncertainty, I wanted to grow more produce at home. But, it was the dead of winter, a reminder of how short our growing season is in Colorado. I looked at the strong sunlight beaming into our kitchen, and thought I could start a little garden cart in there, growing herbs, some greens, and maybe even peppers and cherry tomatoes. Paired with the hydroponic garden I’d received for my birthday the previous year, I thought that I could supplement the fresh produce we buy during the cold months.
So, I bought seeds and started greens, mini sweet peppers, a few varieties of hot peppers, small eggplants, and cherry tomatoes. I was also trying to cut non-essential spending, so I bought a little cart for the kitchen, but tried to make do with containers I already had. I am good with houseplants, so I thought it was worth a shot.
I meant to do more research. Really, I did. But, as the seeds germinated, I got distracted by one project after another. The research got dropped, and as the seasons shifted and the trees leafed out, the sunlight in our kitchen dimmed to something more like the understory of the forest than a bright greenhouse. The garden cart stalled. It has been six months, and look how little these plant babies are. I bought potted herb plants to add to the cart, and that helped. I have also been taking the cart outside for more sunlight.
In a way, this was the perfect slow project for My Year of Pronking. I planted seeds and waited and waited and waited. It also, so far, has been a failure. I finally did some research and here is what I found.
Even indoors, it is hard to cheat the seasons. If you want to grow produce from flowering plants (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) during the winter, you likely need a fairly serious light/heat situation. Julio and I are mulling over getting a small light tent contraption for indoors.
Peppers have extensive root systems, which means it’s best to keep them in their own container. When I started peppers in my hydroponic, one plant basically took over the whole thing and everything else shriveled.
I should have tracked the light in the kitchen for a longer period of time. Real face-palm moment for me when those trees started shading the kitchen.
I restarted my hydroponic garden and actually read the instructions for the plant food, and that is going better so far.
If you have insights, I would love them. I’m not giving up, but obviously this system ain’t it. I feel like a real dummy, but at least this project was low-expense and effort so far.
CSA Bounty
Fortunately, Julio and I predicted that I would struggle with this project and also bought a large veggie share in a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). We are a month into our 21-week share. Each Tuesday, I pick up our veg for the week. The shares have mostly included greens, some root veggies, and then little extras that I would not normally find at the store, such as onion blossoms and garlic scapes. I also picked up some locally grown mushrooms last week.
When I was in grad school in Ohio, a few of my classmates got these CSA boxes through the summer. The idea of not knowing what produce I would get and paying for it all upfront was intimidating to me, but I wish that I had asked them questions and tried it out. For the summer, I have been cooking new-to-me recipes under the umbrella of a vegetarian Mediterranean diet, and it has been pretty simple to sub in items from our CSA for other produce. I have still bought peppers, onions, and tomatoes at the store, but the veggie share has covered our needs for herbs and greens. I look forward to future pickups.
Mid-Year Pronking Update
I am halfway through My Year of Pronking. I did not post a May Update because I was working on my book draft, which I sure am counting as my slow project for that month. The link above lays out what my plan for creative recovery was, and I looked it over to review my progress.
I finished The Artist’s Way. It was just not for me. I know some people love it, and I found some insights valuable. For example, I do think I fall into scarcity thinking, worrying that I will run out of ideas. I do have an inner critic, but I also am pretty aware of that and try to tell her to eff off as best I can. Mostly, however, the practice of Morning Pages was disruptive to my ongoing notebook practice.
I think I got more out of The Artist’s Way for Parents, and keeping up with the field trips with my daughter has been the easiest and the most fun part of My Pronking Year.
I will admit that I forgot about the Creative Side Quests, probably because I failed to internalize how they differ from the field trips and slow projects.
I also have not kept up with reading lit mags because reading submissions for Kitchen Table Quarterly took up a great deal of my lit mag time. I need to get back in the habit of reading lit mags, though. I find that doing so helps inspire new writing ideas.
To recap my slow projects:
January: “Goblincore and Making Moss Art”
April: “Did you know sourdough starters sometimes smell like barf?”
May: finishing a draft of my book
Things I will be working on in the months to come: embroidery patterns, crocheting, learning to needle felt, and fairy doors. I want to make a terrarium in a vintage gumball machine. The slow projects have been nurturing to my inner child and filled my cup, so to speak, so in that regard, the last six months have served their purpose, but there is plenty of room for growth.
Have you been pronking? How? Let me know in the comments.
Bug of the Week
Trying out a new feature, highlighting a bug, plant, etc. I encounter each week. If you’ve read my work elsewhere, you might know that I have accidentally gotten very into insects. 8-year-old Kasey would not be at all surprised, but the version of me that spent her 20s locked in the library is. If you want to see this section more regularly, please let me know!
Saturday night, I was watering the garden and spotted this big ole thing on the side of the beehive.
It’s a Bee Assassin Bug (Apiomerus crassipes). I had seen assassin bugs at the Butterfly Pavilion, but never in the wild. According to my quick research, these ambush predators hide on the underside of flowers and catch pollinators. This behavior is similar to crab spiders, although they usually rely on camouflage on the flower itself. Assassin bugs prey on bees, but do not eat enough of them to threaten a healthy hive. I know this is all natural, but it bums me out to see my bees get captured. Their sweet little faces! Humans are unlikely to get bitten by an assassin bug (unless you go out of your way to harass one), but reportedly, their bites hurt a lot as they are mildly venomous.
Not Bug of the Week: the tapeworm my dog, Rory, caught by eating a rabbit some predator left last month. She got treatment from the vet, and I vigorously cleaned everything. Barf.
Further Reading
“How a Box in the Woods Taught Me to Write About Nature.” The Brevity Blog by me
“On the Vine.” Write or Die Magazine by me
“In Defense of Spiders.” Longreads by me
A little advice for beginner gardeners by Cecilia at the Kitchens Garden
Climate Change and Home Gardeners by Amy Bauer at Front Yard Veggies
“So You Finished the Artist’s Way, now what?” at Answers in the Pages