Here it Grows!

This will be a short post, but I promised that I would keep you all updated on the progress of our little garden. guess what?? It is growing pretty well! It really had no choice considering all of the rain we have been getting! The tomato plants are flowering and it looks like everything else is beginning to also. Woohoo! New to straw bale gardening? Visit my original post on planting the straw bale garden here,  As always, feel free to share your thoughts, questions, best practices, and suggestions!

The zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and tomato plants have taken off! 

I am sure the watermelon and pepper plants aren't too far behind. 

Olive's 1st Crunchy Experience

Olive is our two year old child  dog. We most definitely do not view her as a pet, but a member of our little family. Because of this, it only makes sense that we stop bathing her in commercial pet shampoo and use a natural alternative!

I have been using soap nuts to do our laundry (post coming soon) so I figured that these amazing little nuggets of nature could be used for more! Guess what? I was right! I found sooooo many household uses, including pet (and people) friendly shampoo!

First of all, What is a soap nut? These are not nuts at all, but actually a dried berry. They are the fruits of the soap nut tree and the dried shells contain Saponin,which is a 100% natural alternative to chemical laundry detergent, soaps, and cleaners. When mixed with water, they create mild suds, which is similar to soap.

The recipe:
15 soap nuts 
6 cups of water

Bring the water and soap nuts to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour, or until the shells turn white and soggy.

After cooling, I poured a cup of the soap nut liquid into a small spray bottle (labeled). I poured the remaining liquid in a mason jar and stored in the refrigerator to use later.


Bath Time!
I filled the bathtub with warm water and bathed olive as usual, substituting the soap nuts liquid for her normal pet shampoo (making sure to keep it out of her eyes to prevent the stinging that would occur). In the end, she was clean and her smelliness was neutralized. Great success!

Side note: We have been brainwashed into thinking that there has to be a rich, sudsy lather to get clean, so do not be disappointed when this mixture is lacking in the suds department. I assure you, it is doing its job!

 

                                      
She got a haircut on Monday, so she isn't quite so fluffy. I should also note that her beard and front paws aren't dirty, they are stained from digging around in the back yard.

Meatless Monday!

When cooking for others I try to accommodate all food preferences the best I can. I am vegetarian, Tim is a carnivore, and our friends are everything in-between. Tonight I needed a gluten free recipe so I decided  to try pasta-less vegetarian lasagna! Let me preface this by saying that I don't like "other people's lasagna" not that I am a food snob or anything, I just don't like ricotta cheese! So I developed my own recipe a few years ago, and adapted it for dinner tonight.

Ingredients:
Zucchini (4-5 small)
Squash (1 small)
Chopped carrots (about 1 1/2 cups)
Chopped onion (1 med.)
Broccoli (about a cup)
1 1/2 jars of your favorite tomato sauce, or homemade
Mozzarella (3 cups)
Dried or freshspices/seasoning (garlic, oregano, parsley, basil, pepper)

Directions:
-The zucchini will take the place of the pasta. Cut each lengthwise and boil until tender.
Drain and set aside.
-boil the carrots and onion in water for about 7 minutes, add the other vegetables and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Drain water and retur the vegetables to pot.
-add your sauce and spices/seasoning. Mix and cook until heated throughout.
- layer zucchini"pasta", sauce and mozzarella twice in a large baking dish. Bake on 350* for 25-30 min.
Serve and enjoy!

Tackling BO, the Natural Way!

Tim gave me the idea to make a natural deodorant. A month or two ago he changed from a commercial antiperspirant to just deodorant. Surprisingly, he found that he was sweating much less than before (and cutting down his exposure to some nasty chemicals)!

The main, active ingredient in antiperspirants is aluminum. It works by clogging the pores under your  arms to prevent sweating. Studies have argued that exposure to aluminum via antiperspirants has been linked to cancer (especially in women), Alzheimer's disease, and other health concerns. Although these claims haven't been 100% proven, is that something you would want to take a chance with? For me, the answer is a huge NO! Our bodies were designed to sweat as a way to cool us down. also, if there is an effective natural solution, I would much rather go that route ( I am going crunchy, aren't I?)!

Making homemade, natural deodorant was second to trying the No 'poo method (see that post here). All of the ingredients were already in my kitchen, and it literally took about 5 minutes to make...win!

 I used a basic recipe to start with:

-6 tbsp coconut oil (antibacterial properties/nice fragrance)
-1/4 cup baking soda (soaks up moisture/ deodorizes)
-1/4 cup arrowroot powder/ or cornstarch (soaks up moisture)
-Clean, dry jar with lid, or recycled deodorant container.

Mix the baking soda and arrowroot/ cornstarch together, add coconut oil. After mixing for a few minutes,  the ingredients will come together to form regular deodorant-like consistency. At this point you may add in a few drops of essential oil (I did not do this because I didn't have any on hand, but I will add Tea Tree Oil in the next batch!)

Ingredients 

Keep stirring until all ingredients are well blended.

Transfer your deodorant to a dispenser or jar.

As you can see, I used an empty, clean deodorant dispenser. If you do this, be careful in warm temperatures. Coconut oil melts around 77-80*F. If this happens, place in the refrigerator and it will solidify again. If you use a jar, apply a small amount with your fingers.

The BIG question.... Does it actually work?
I was skeptical at first, but I quickly discovered that it totally works as a deodorant! I ditched my commercial antiperspirant/deodorant and I still don't stink! I prefer it to anything I have used in the past.

This recipe is not an antiperspirant, but as you read above, sweat is a good thing. I have been using my homemade deodorant for about three weeks now and I have found that I am sweating less than I was on the commercial stuff. The antibacterial properties of the coconut oil mixed with baking soda/ arrowroot(or cornstarch) keeps me fresh all day (even at the gym)!

I will be experimenting with other recipes in the near future because there have been reports of people's sensitive underarm are having a reaction to the baking soda. This did happen to me the first two days, but I adjusted my recipe to add more cornstarch and the rash went away, leaving me with smooth, tropical smelling underarms.

Have you tried this recipe, or a different one? Let me know how it worked for you by commenting on this post.

Disclaimer: I have spent the past few weeks researching the subject of antiperspirants and only briefly shared the facts that I gathered. That being said, I am not a scientist or doctor, so I encourage you to do your own research in order to come to an educated decision about what products you and your family are comfortable using.

Learning Curve

In my very first post, I wrote that there would be many trials and errors during my transition to all things crunchy....yep, the first big (ish) error happened and it involved my hair. Well, not really big, just time consuming and slightly annoying. I will stick with big(ish)!

I gave up shampoo and switched to no 'poo 17 days ago ( yes, I've been counting). I thought it would be difficult to lose the squeaky clean feel and lather of conventional shampoo, but surprisingly it wasn't. Until last night.

Let me explain.... I have been trying to transition my hair/ scalp quickly to the no 'poo method by waiting at least five days between washes. I was fully prepared to go out in public with my hair a hot, greasy mess. To my surprise, it looked great for the fist three days, by the fourth day my hair was starting to look a little gross, but by using a natural, boar bristle brush, I was able to blend the oils into the dry ends of my hair. Win. Yesterday was the fifth day and at this point my hair was looking pretty bad. Again, I didn't mind because I expected this to: a. happen much sooner in the week b. it was mainly my roots/bangs c. I was planting my garden and had no plans to leave the house last night. I knew I was going to wash my hair (baking soda/ACV) later that night anyway, so I decided to try something new. I would attempt to deep condition my hair using coconut oil. I rubbed a palmful around in my hands until it melted and  applied it to my hair(avoiding the roots). By the time I finished it looked like I had just gotten out of the shower....but I was still optimistically excited that my new favorite, use it for everything, amazing gift from above, coconut oil would be the cure for my over-damaged hair. I left it in for a few  hours (that should be long enough to soak in and work its magic, right?) and got in the shower thinking, " I really just want to use some shampoo and feel clean!" I resisted the urge and washed using the recipe from my No 'Poo post. It was glorious! I haven't washed my hair for days and now it felt clean! After the final rinse, I got out of the shower and left my hair to air dry. The problem came when it didn't dry. The  coconut oil didn't come out! At this point, my conventional shampoo was calling but I continued to resist because I had come too far to just go back to the cycle of washing my hair everyday. So I came up with a solution....

1. Covered my hair in corn starch and turned on the hair dryer to heat the oil to melting point. The goal was to have the corn starch soak up the oil.
2. Get back in the shower and wash with double the amount of baking soda( 2tbsp./1cup water) and scrub, let sit for a few minutes, and rinse under hot water
3. Spray a mixture of 3tbsp. ACV/1cup/water and let sit for a few minutes, rinse under hot water.
4. Use a towel to dry some water off of your hair.
4. Blow dry

This process  took almost all of the coconut oil out, and I did it without harsh chemicals and stripping my hair! It will be a very, very, very, very, very, long time before I "deep condition" my hair with excessive amounts of coconut oil (or any oil for that matter) again!

Our no dig, no weeds, garden!

I grew up on garden food (thanks mom!) and have always been a veggie lover. Seriously, as a small child, I preferred salads over any other meal option! One of my dad's favorite stories to tell people happened when I was about four years old. My daddy and I were in a truck stop  (He is a truck driver and sometimes I got to go with him). When the time came to order, my daddy asked me what I wanted. I responded, in my little southern drawl, "A salwad, just a salwad." . What can I say? I love vegetables!

When Tim and I got married I thought the days of fresh garden food were over. We spent our first summer in an apartment. By the second summer we were in our current house, but instead of soil, we have red clay. On top of it all, we had no clue where to begin! Late last summer I started looking into other options and came across container gardening. I decided against this option because I am not a huge fan of clutter and felt like containers and pots everywhere would drive me crazy. Tim liked the idea of building raised beds but before we could do that, a friend suggested something else...

She suggested that we plant a garden using straw bales. The more they explained, the more excited I got!  No digging, no weeding, and lots of fruits and veggies :) 

We ended up using hay bales because I found some for half of what straw bales were being sold for at local garden stores. Either one will work, just know that hay bales have grass/weed seeds in them that may sprout when you are preparing the bales for planting. This happened to ours,  but they pull out incredibly easy. 

There are many variations to growing a straw bale garden, but I am going to share what I did.

1. Once you have the bales, place them exactly where you want your garden to be (once wet, they will be almost impossible to move around) make sure the bales are in a place that gets 6+hours of sun each day. There are two ways to lay the bales: straw parallel to the ground or straw perpendicular to the ground. I placed our with the straw parallel because, the string around the bales is synthetic(won't decompose/break), they will hold water much better, and when the time comes, it will make it easier to plant. 

2. The next step is to help the inside of the bales decompose and compost so they will be the perfect environment for growing plants.  If you plan ahead, you just have to soak the bales with water for four weeks before planting. I did not get an early start so here is what worked for me:

  Days 1-3, water the bales until soaking 

  Days 4-6, added 1/2 cup of blood meal to each bale and soaked with water.

  Days 7-9, added 1/4 cup blood meal to each bale and soaked with water.

  Day 10, just soak with water.

  Day 11 place your hand inside the bale and if it is cooler than your body temperature, it is safe to  plant.

3. Planting! 

Use a garden trowel to separate the hay/straw, put a small amount of potting soil in the hole(do not use dirt from your yard, it may contaminate your bales with diseases or weeds) soak with water, then put a plant in, letting the hay/straw close in around it. Once finished planting, water everything thoroughly and you're finished!
(It you are using seeds, you can sow them straight into the bales or germinate and plant the sprouted plants.)

Starting off small, perfect for two!

I discovered that the inside of the bales were already starting to compost and look like soil!

Olive photo bombing  :)

In 60-ish days we should have squash, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, and peppers! I will post an update as the garden grows. 

Are you straw bale gardener? Have any tips/suggestions? I would love to hear from you!

Delightful Deliveries

I just have to boast of my husband's greatness today (and everyday)! I mean, really, he is amazingly sweet, patient, kind, understanding... (Are you gagging yet?) Anyway, I come home from work to find a package at the door. I got excited thinking it was the Soap Nuts that I ordered last week, but when I checked the mailbox, the Soap Nuts were in there(I will post about those very soon). So now I am thinking that Tim has just ordered some math related book or study manual and leave it on the table for him to open when he gets home. In the meantime, I send him a text telling him that something came for him in which he replies, "Yay, it finally came. It is safe for you to open, if you want :)" Well, of course I opened it because I have a serious issue with being impatient (I don't like surprises all that much either, but mainly because I'm a bit of a control freak). Inside the package is an earth friendly, all natural soy candle from Diamond Candles (every candle has a ring in it)!!! Not only do I get an eco friendly, deliciously clean smelling Lavender Lemon candle, I also get a  ring when the candle has burned down to reveal it. While I (im)patiently wait for that to happen, I will be enjoying the scent. Yay for being a girly girl and having such a thoughtful husband!