for the birds

It's been quiet around here, I know.  I've been really busy, still working full time and I'm currently in rehearsal for Chicago (which opens in February).  Plus I can't garden yet, so not much to talk about there.

But - I did order a clear plastic birdfeeder from Amazon for less than $10.  Here it is, installed on my porch window -

I don't have much in the way of visitors yet, but I did notice after the first week that the birds are consistently stealing the sunflower seeds.  So at the grocery store yesterday I picked up a whole bag of sunflower seeds for birds.  We shall see if the higher sunflower content brings more birdies.  :)

I also ordered a little thing off Etsy - it's a suet feeder stuffed with alpaca fiber.  So the birds can grab little bits of alpaca fluff and line their nests with it.  It's also a great way for me to use yarn and fiber scraps without just throwing them away.  It's hanging on the wall next to the door.

I wanted to attract birds for two reasons - one, the cats go nuts over them.  :)  I hope to someday get a video of Elly or Murphy doing their chittering thing they do when they see a bird.  Sometimes I feel guilty for keeping 4 cats in a 600 square foot condo, so I like to give them lots of toys and distractions.

I also wanted birds on my balcony because it's sort of a dead area in my house as far as feng shui goes.  I think the garden will help with this too.  If you looked at a floorplan of my condo, the bedroom wall actually sticks out further than the living room wall, making the porch still part of the floorplan.  But because I never use it, it's kind of a dead area.  And unfortunately, it's in the relationship area of my house.  So, in theory if I get some plants growing and some birdies visiting it'll get the energy going.  Or something.  :)

buying seeds!

So I got a tip that Home Depot carries seeds sooner than Lowe's.  This weekend I went over there and picked up some seeds!

First of all, my gardening book arrived.

I picked this up from Barnes & Noble online since I had a gift certificate from Christmas.  I picked this one because a) it was focused on vegetables (vs. flowers) and b) it was about growing them in containers (vs. in the ground).

So, after reading the book I made my list of what I want to try growing.  The main thing is I can either grow from seed, or I can buy already started plants and transplant them to the porch.  But starting inside and then transplanting is not an option.  I have four overly curious cats who will devour anything green they find, and nowhere in my small condo to keep baby plants that they would be both safe from kitties and also get sunlight.

Here's my haul from Home Depot -

The beets were a given.  The carrots I got are shorter and fatter so hopefully will be good for a container.  The mesculin is a lettuce mix (I looked at a few before choosing this one - it has some kale mixed in there too, which I liked).  The cucumbers were sort of an impulse thing.  Apparently cucumbers do better if they have a trellis to grow on.  Well, I don't have a trellis but the walls of my condo balcony are this great metal grate stuff that I think would be easy to climb.

So we'll do these, and then I am also planning on buying some tomato plants and also some herbs.  I have tried growing basil before but was lazy about it and never actually repotted it, so it usually died pretty quickly.  Now I will have one herb pot with basil, dill, and maybe something else that I'll buy, and another one with catnip.  Because obviously catnip is required in my garden.  :)

Now the shift goes to containers.  The book I bought is really big on self-watering containers, but looking through inventory at Lowe's and Home Depot didn't reveal any of these.  I may just go with regular pots and be religious about watering them.  The second part of that is figuring out how many containers I need and how deep they need to be.  I figure I'll do two long skinny ones, one for the cucumbers and one for the lettuce.  Everything else will be in regular pots.

I also need to figure out frost dates and when I need to start planting.  Knowing my busy schedule, I will have to set aside time for it so I want to know way ahead of time so I can fit it in.

beets are tasty

No, seriously.  Next time you are at the store, go grab four or five beets.

These are golden beets - they look orange on the outside, more yellow on the inside.  I like them and they are a good first place to start if you are intimidated by the dark red beets (which will stain your hands but will wash off plates, etc).  Also, FYI but also maybe TMI, beets will stain other stuff too.  As in, you will know you have eaten beets when you go to the bathroom.  Maybe start with the orange ones.  :)

So grab your beets.  If they are dirty, wash them off.  I usually cut off the tops and the main big roots (which tend to poke through the foil) and I also usually take a carrot grater to them and grate off any residual root thingies.  All are optional (except the washing part).

Put your beets on some aluminium foil and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with some kosher salt (or regular salt, or sea salt, or whatever you have on hand).

Fold them up in a little packet and pop into the oven on a baking sheet.  I usually do somewhere around 400 to 425 on the oven for around two hours.  Note: this will caramelize (actually, sort of burn) the parts that are touching the foil, but to me that just adds to the tastiness.  If you are not fond of caramelized stuff, just cook at a lower temp or keep them in there for a shorter time.  You know it's done when you can easily insert a knife into the cooked beet.

So.  Tasty.