Weekly Challenge Update

Can you believe it is the 11th week of 2010 already? Things are on track here to be a great year in the garden as long as I pay attention to the seeds I've started. Been very busy with that and diving into dumpsters to find shit to make furniture with, as well as artsy crap. Gave bot puppy and kitty their first flea treatments for the year, Romeo needs a haircut... I need to learn to shear my pup and save $80 a pop! Or $80 a pup! Any way life goes on and so does the challenges:

Sharon's Independence Days Challenge Year 3, week 9 & 10

1. Plant something: Started some sweet pepper, 5 varieties of tomatoes, Butternut squash, Cucumber and onion plants, planted some Chard and planted a lettuce box, planted some Minnesota Midget cantaloupe seeds- suspect they will be long term residents in the greenhouse

2. Harvest something: Some Khol Rabi that wintered over

3. Preserve something: Pickled some radishes I bought at the store- a stretch but it is short term preservation, Pickled some onions as well.

4. Reduce Waste (recycle, reuse, reduce, repair or compost something): Saved a bunch of boxes for gifts for the holidays, made a vase out of an old 300 watt light bulb- more on that Tuesday; obtaining large parcels of cardboard to use as weed block again in the garden

5. Preparation and Storage: Got the stuff to put some shelving up in the Kitchen l set out some Praying mantis egg sacks for the season; Got a book on Foraging in the NW - I am bound and determined to learn to forage for more than Blackberries and Dandelions.

6. Build Community Food Systems: Donated some seeds to New Futures garden; Trying to obtain screening rights to show a screening of Mad City Chickens the Movie (Thanks to Jenna for the idea!)

7. Eat the Food (cook or eat something new): Got off my Chazuke kick. Succumbed to pressure and bought a can of Batter Blaster pancake batter- and my suspicions as far as pancakes go are correct- CRAP! Not only bad packaging but worse pancakes! Give me Melinda’s Pan Crack pancakes any day- but waste not want not attitude tells me to try making churros out of them- maybe useful for something!
　　
Freeze Your Buns off challenge- No problems here, letting the programmable thermostats keep me honest!

One Small Change- I am so loving the soda stream. Found that stainless steel water bottles are excellent for taking pop to work for lunch

Garden Challenge- Starting seeds right and left! Sharing seeds I got from Hometown Seeds with New Futures Community Garden- otherwise I would do a giveaway with them.