The return of Sustainability Sundays!

Does anyone else remember Sustainability Sundays, here on my blog? I haven't done these posts for about a year and a half; the garden ended up pretty much fallow (that's a nice word for 'neglected and messy') last year, and the only sustainability post I wrote, at all, was on making pizza. By this time last year, I knew I was packing in the day job to run Yarnscape full time. (In case you're wondering, that takes up most of my brain.) In addition, my most local partner-in-sustainability, Geodyne, had recently moved to the other side of teh world, and then (ugh!) we had a long, cold winter. Spring arrived late, and suddenly, and threw all my usual planting strategies into a tailspin. We did plant garlic, onions, potatoes and jerusalem artichokes (see below!), and a few other things, but really, not much gardening took place at all. Anyway: these posts are inspired by Sharon Astyk's "Independence Days" challenge, over at The Chatelaine's Keys. Her focus, in this challenge, is to help people break their reliance on agribusiness and supermarkets for their food needs. My interest is similar, but different: I am interested in the sustainability of my lifestyle, concentrating (in these posts, at least) on food. That's enough intro! The rest of the post is broken down into categories. The idea is to do something - anything! - in each one, each week.

1. Plant Something

• I've started a new mushroom growing kit! I didn't have much (any!) success with the last one; if I can't get to grips with this one, I'll throw out the kits, and just try again with spores...
• Not so much planting as transplanting: volunteer garlics and shallots are being moved to better beds for the summer. they might not survive, but in their current position, they certainly won't, so it's this or nothing.
• Also in the transplanting category, I've moved my rosemary, thyme, chives and sage into a large, decorative planter. They were due a 'potting on', and this way, they will look better (and take up less total space) on the patio, compared with their earlier cheap, plastic pots.

2. Harvest something

• Jerusalem artichokes! The four weedy little tubers I planted last year have made a bucketful of harvested veg. It feels amazing to be harvesting anything from the garden in February!
• Chillies from some of the plants that have been overwintering indoors.
• Basil from an indoor pot plant.
• Rosemary (pruning and repotting)

3. Preserve something

• I'm drying the rosemary that was pruned off the plant. Not a big contribution - but it's something!
• The Jerusalem Artichokes will be stored cool and dry for future consumption (by me. J doesn't seem keen...)

4. Waste Not (reducing wastage in all areas)

• Composting kitchen scraps
• I split a couple of the jerusalem artichokes with my fork when I dug them up - so I cooked 'em and ate them for lunch.
• Freezing dinner leftovers for future meals

5. Want Not (preparing for shortage situations) Nothing this week!

 

6. Build/support Community Food Systems Nothing this week - apart from this here blog post!

 

7. Eat the Food

• Jerusalem artichokes!
• The garlic and potatoes from last year's harvest that are still with us.
• A chilli or two from our plants..

8.What I bought

• Pretty much all our food is bought in right now. As I said above, I didn't grow much last year - and this is not a good time of year to be living off your own reserves, anyway. I'm actually quite pleased to realise that there are a few small things - herbs and spices - and at least one staple - potatoes - that we are still providing for ourselves, despite 'not really doing anything' in the garden last year.

9. Looking forwards

• My dwarf nectarine has been flowering abundantly, and it was absolutely mobbed with bees earlier today. Will we have fertilisation?
• I need to start tomato seeds this week or next.
• I could put a first round of broad bean seeds in now, too...
• ...and it's time to start chitting (some) potatoes.