Growing Sweetgrass

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Ann Lovejoy
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Sweetgrass holds fragrance but loses ground without help

Preserving By Propagation

President Biden proclaimed today as the second national celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day and a lot of people are wondering just how to celebrate. There are a lot of good ideas floating around, from attending readings by Tribal writers and poets, shows of local Native artists’ work, and/or performances of music by Native composers. If you can’t find anything local, there are plenty of websites that offer similar experiences, and many libraries now offer both books and music recordings by Native artists too, but for gardeners, I’m thinking about something a bit different.

In Robin Wall Kimmerer’s beautiful book, Braiding Sweetgrass, she talks about the mystery of why wild sweetgrass thrives where it is regularly harvested and falters where nobody is gathering it anymore. She quotes an elder speaking about gathering sweetgrass, saying, “If we use a plant respectfully, it will stay with us and flourish. If we ignore it, it will go away.” If you don’t give it respect, it will leave us.”

Vanishing Or Replenishing

A few years ago, several elders asked Dr. Kimmerer to look into that mystery; what is making sweetgrass disappear from places where it used to be abundant? There are two main traditional ways to harvest sweetgrass; by pulling up or carefully pinching off half of established clumps. Seeing long established sweetgrass stands dwindle, the gatherers worried that perhaps the way it was being gathered was somehow beginning to harm the plants. As a botanist, Dr. Kimmerer was able to develop scientific ways to investigate the problem and found a graduate student willing to test them out.

Despite extensive pushback from established (male, white) scientists, Dr. Kimmerer and her student set up the study literally in the field. Along the way, the graduate student admitted that she recognized that although her scientific methods were sound, she didn’t have the relationship with the plants that Native harvesters do. Without that relationship, might something important be missing? Though she was unable to replicate that deep relationship, she found herself fall unscientifically in love with the plants as she worked closely with them, day after day. After several years of work (including while very pregnant), the graduate student was able to show that no matter which gathering method was used, sweetgrass stands that were being harvested regularly were clearly doing better than nearby stands that were not touched.

Love It Or Lose It?

It turned out that, like many range grasses, sweetgrass responds positively to harvesting, as long as it isn’t overdone. As sweetgrass has become less frequently harvested, it also turns out that it has become to a degree a domesticated plant that needs human help to thrive. Range animals don’t graze on it, so unless humans help by respectfully harvesting it, sweetgrass starts to die out, even in areas where it has grown abundantly for hundreds or even thousands of years. It also turns out that there are still many stands of sweetgrass throughout in the Pacific Northwest. Around here, true sweetgrass, Hierochloe odorata (which means fragrant holy grass), is most often found in moist meadows and slopes and along stream banks and rivers. It is not to be confused with an invasive reed sweetgrass, Glyceria maxima, which can also be found in similar places but is aggressive and weedy looking, unlike the supple, shiny stems of true sweetgrass.

There are a few places to buy sweetgrass plants, but if you like to hike, another good way to grow your own is to collect a few ripe seeds from an established patch. They must be sown quickly or they won’t germinate, but if they are really ripe, they’ll sprout in a week or so. The seeds aren’t viable until they turn brown, no longer green, and the top of the stem should also be brown (though the lower stem often stays green longer). Keep a pot of soil next to your plant so you can plant the seeds as soon as they ripen, barely covering them with fine soil. Once the first shoots appear, wait until they’re a few inches high before potting them up in small clumps. If you get a good crop going, consider gifting some plants to local Tribal weavers and/or planting them where sweetgrass has become less flourishing. Harvest them carefully, never taking more than half and letting plants rest a year before harvesting again. Donate the harvest to local Traibes and/or braid your own for gifts.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnVTpWV8R10

Looking for a lasting way to celebrate? Listen to Calina Lawrence singing her amazing song, Lushootseed Is Alive (Lushootseed is the native language of the Suquamish people that’s being taught again in schools and homes). It’s so beautiful it makes me smile and cry at the same time. If for some reason the link doesn’t work,  look for YouTube Calina Lawrence Lushootseed and spend a riveting 3 minutes listening. Calina is an extremely talented person, a member of the Suquamish Tribe, a musician, an advocate for foster kids, an actress, and much more.

Also, here’s an excellent book for the family to read together and discuss, not just today but over time, perhaps a chapter a month. There’s an adult version too but this one is better for multigenerational reading.

Onward, right?

Posted in Care & Feeding, Gardening With Children, Health & Wellbeing, Native Plants, Plant Partnerships, Planting & Transplanting, Social Justice, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Teaching Gardening | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Generating Generations

Posted on October 3, 2022 by Ann Lovejoy
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It’s so sweet to have a baby in the garden

Making Tomorrow’s Gardeners And Learning From Yesterday’s

Last week I facilitated a fascinating conversation on becoming elders. My community may be especially rich in wise elders but I suspect that many other communities are too, depending perhaps on how we define ‘elder’ and who gets to be one. I’m including the link to a video of this conversation because so many excellent points were raised about various cultural roles and expectations put on elders. Not too surprisingly, many of us grew up with fairly rigid elder roles and sometimes they were exclusively held by males. Some elder cultures tend to be more punitive and judgmental than kind and loving. Where’s the attraction there, except longing to be one the dishing out side rather than the receiving side?

On the other hand, some cultures are very respectful of elders, notably the island’s neighbor, the Suquamish Tribe, a group in which all elders are highly respected and cherished. At community events, elders get seated first, and at community meals, they are fed first. When housing is built, elders are invited to live there and assisted as need be. Elders are invited to share stories, history, traditions and wisdom with everyone, from family and school students on up to Tribal councils. Here are great examples of an elder culture based on kindness and generosity, one that builds community and helps preserve history and teachings. That’s the kind of elder I want to be, and that’s the kind of elder culture I want to help create and nourish.

Growing Gardeners

I was honored to be joined in the pea patch garden yesterday by dear friends and their adorable daughter. If there’s anything more fun than making baby clothes, it’s seeing an adorable baby wearing things you’ve made. This little treasure is growing up with gardening parents who love their wild, unruly, pollinator friendly garden and feed themselves from it as much as possible. She’s been in gardens pretty much every day of her life, as have been my own grandkids, as were my own children. It seems probable that people who are exposed to gardens and to nature from an early age will be ore comfortable and at home in natural settings. It also seems likely that gardening and gardens may bring them peace all their lives. I was reminded about this when, during the conversation on becoming elders, my friend Lilly talked about how all her life gardens and plants comforted her and continue to comfort her. As one of the few remaining survivors of the concentration camps for Japanese Americans during WWII, she gets called on very frequently to be the local expert on that exclusion and incarceration.

When asked how it feels to be the load bearing local Japanese person, she talked about the responsibility to tell the true stories, even though she’s by nature a rather reserved person. She also said that gardens and plants have always comforted and nourished her and continue to do so all these years later, good news for those of us entering our elder years. The idea of being the load bearing person clearly struck a number of participants in last week’s conversation, as many spoke out about being the person identified as THE local Black activist or THE local transgender person, just as Lilly has become THE local Japanese concentration camp survivor.

Get Up Stand Up

We talked about others in our community who have been similarly categorized, how exhausting that is, and how important it is for each of us to stand up and speak out. We can’t rely on a handful of people to be the designated issue spokespeople for many reasons, not least because we need to hear many voices and because it’s simply not fair to expect one person to carry so much for so many. It’s heartening to see and hear students of all ages speaking up so knowledgeably and confidently about racism, classism, and equity issues. My grandkids and their friends are already speaking out when they see injustice and also when they see awesome things that bring joy into the world.

That makes me think of Lilly yet again, having lived through so much injustice and pain and still finding the strength to speak truth and still finding solace and joy in her garden. That’s the kind of elder culture model I’m so grateful for! If you take time to listen to the conversation, I think you’ll also find some amazing role models among the brave and beautiful spirits who participated.

Becoming Elders

Here’s a link to Monday’s rich discussion about Becoming Elders.

Please feel free to share the link with anyone you think might benefit and enjoy it.

Onward, right?

Posted in Gardening With Children, Health & Wellbeing, Plant Partnerships, Social Justice, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Teaching Gardening | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

New Life For Old Potting Soil

Posted on September 26, 2022 by Ann Lovejoy
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Refreshing weary soil (or medium) benefits plants indoors and out

Waking Up Worn Out Soil

As autumn arrives, many of us clear out planters and containers, tossing dead or aging plants on the compost heap or into the green waste bin. Some people also toss out the spent soil every year or even every season, but unless the plants were actively diseased, that’s not necessary. Indeed, many green waste collection services specifically limit or ban used soil. In part, that’s because dirt is very heavy, and even just adding lighter-weight potting soil (especially in large quantity) can make the carts difficult or impossible to empty. Also, some shredding equipment can get clogged or damaged by an excess of soil; the amount clinging to a plant’s roots isn’t a problem but adding the whole planting container’s soil might be. If you have a compost heap or system already in place, tired out potting soil can be layered in a few inches at a time, along with the usual layers of brown/green plant materials. As the compost matures, the potting soil will add body to the compost and gain new life and nutrients from its biotic companions in the composting process.

Where there’s no room for a compost heap, old soil can still be reinoculated with healthy soil biota by mixing it half and half with compost and layering it on dormant vegetable beds. Sow a cover crop like fava beans, field peas, or annual clover and by late winter, you can chop up the cover crop and let it rot in place. Scatter on some granulated humic acid, then top off the bed with more compost before setting out spring starts. You can also layer old potting soil at the back of beds, or anywhere you plan to build up soil for new beds. It’s also a good base layer for areas where you’ve removed turf and want to start a pollinator patch come spring.

Refreshing Soil & Cleaning Pots

In really tiny yards like mine, you can use a wheelbarrow or even a huge tree pot as a mixing bowl for renovating old potting soil. If the pot that’s being emptied is very deep, the upper half of the used soil can be blended with a mixture using a third by volume of old soil, a third of compost and another third of fresh potting soil. Wet it thoroughly, which may take quite a while. Especially if most of your pots are on the smaller side, the necessarily frequent watering schedule has probably stripped out nearly all the nutrients in the soil. Once the re-mix is evenly moist, blend in some slow release dry fertilizer such as Dr. Earth All Purpose before using the mixture to refill cleaned or new pots.

When plants have died for mysterious reasons, and/or when pots have crusty mineral deposits, especially on the inside, cleaning is in order. For really suspect pots, recycling is the best option. To restore good ones that are just grungy, soak them overnight, then remove the crusts and stains with a stiff wire brush. Now soak and rinse them once more before refilling and planting. If you have a large number of nursery plastic plant containers, this is a good time to prep them for re-use by you or local growers. Knock out any dirt, spiders, old leaves, etc., the sort them by size and color/type. I can always give away quarts, gallons, and even 4-inch pots that are clean and sorted, and some local growers who sell starts at the farmers market will even accept clean 6-packs or pony packs.

Aerating The Airless

The soil at the very bottom of large/deep pots tends to be compressed and airless, and may even get smelly, in which case it should be spread on a tarp and wetted down before doing anything else with it. Once it’s aerated, add it to your compost system or put a few gallons at a time in the green waste bin. To keep the soil in very large containers sweeter, add a cup of activated charcoal (the kind used in fish tank filters) to every gallon of potting soil. You can also use a 1-2 inch layer of activated charcoal on the bottom of large containers before adding the base soil. Fill the upper portion of the container with fresh potting soil mixed half and half with compost, then mix in some fertilizer as described above.

Houseplants also need periodic repotting, which is best done before the plants start to struggle or fail. Repotting is harder on a plant that’s in bloom so it’s also best to do it when a plant is finished blooming. Potbound plants are often super dry as well, so put the potted plant into a bucket of water and let it soak until it doesn’t bubble anymore. While it soaks, prepare a pot at least a few inches wider and deeper than the one the plant is already in, keeping the drainage holes clean of soil with a few bits of broken pots or washed rocks. Put in a few inches of moistened soil mix, gently tamped down, set the plant in the new pot and gently tamp fresh potting soil along the sides. Put a little fresh potting soil on top (like about half an inch) and set the pot in a deep saucer. Pour on water until it seeps out into the saucer. Let it stand for 15-20 minutes, empty the saucer and add a little liquid fertilizer. Within a surprisingly short time, your plant will rebound with new vigor. What’s not to love about that?

Posted in Care & Feeding, composting, Health & Wellbeing, Houseplants, Planting & Transplanting, Recycling Nursery Plastics, Soil, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Capturing The Essence of Tomatoes

Posted on September 19, 2022 by Ann Lovejoy
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Slow or fast, red or green, roasting captures those essential flavors

Saving Summer To Savor In Winter

After such a long summery stretch of dry heat, it’s startling how quickly autumn arrives. Though the days are still warm, the nights are already dipping into the 40s and since the air quality has improved enough to open the windows at night, it’s fun to snuggle under blankets again. This morning I sorted through my summer clothes and started bringing out the sweaters and even a woolly hat or two. In the garden, even as I pull out the last of the faltering elders, eager young starts are building quickly into productive plants. This year, we’ll be enjoying several kinds of cole cousins, including my favorite Purple Sprouting Broccoli and red Brussels sprouts, colorful kin that taste great and can really brighten up a salad or veggie plate. Of course there are lots of kales, from Dazzling Blue to Black Magic and Lacinato. The most heavily textured kales seem especially inhospitable to Cabbage White butterflies, especially the really frilly types, but the butterflies finally disappear in fall so we can enjoy the tenderest smooth types too.

As summer wanes, the late tomatoes are finally ripening and we’re eating the cherry types by the bowlful, knowing they’re the last of the sun ripened ones we’ll taste until next year. Though some plants are still going strong, those cold nights are already nipping the leaves of some of my tomato plants as well as the outdoor basil. Along with the big reds, I’m harvesting green tomatoes of all sizes as well as the semi-ripe ones from the saddest looking plants. All are heading to a glorious future as roasted remnants of that pure summer flavor. Once roasted, they go into 1-cup freezer containers to await their higher destiny. Some get initially frozen in a dedicated ice cube tray that has a heavy cover flap to keep out funky freezer flavors (the same tray I use for freezing pesto without garlic, as garlic doesn’t improve with freezing). Once solid, you can pop out the cubes and pack them into longer term containers, then add one or two to add depth and richness to winter soups, sauces, and stews and give off season salsas a livelier homemade quality.

Slow Down And Savor The Subtleties

I don’t can big batches of pasta sauces anymore, but any decent store bought sauce can be juiced up nicely with the addition of sauteed onions, peppers, etc. to boost the usually bland, rather heavy flavor. (For a big umami boost, add quartered Kalamata olives to the onions and peppers while sauteeing.) However, adding a few cubes or even a cup of thawed roasted peppers, whole or pureed, can transform a dull bottled sauce into a rich one that doesn’t tasting stale or stodgy. I don’t bother to remove seeds or skins when cooking tomatoes down for sauce or soup because they bring a lot of flavor to the party. If anyone objects to the textures, a quick buzz of a stick blender will take care of that. If tomatoes will be cooked, whether for canning or roasting, I just quarter tomatoes, removing the stem ends if the scar is tough, and pureed or not, the results are better than anything you can buy.

Roasting is definitely the simplest way to deal with a lot of tomatoes. When it’s still too summery to hang over a hot stove, roasting is the easiest way to deal with the bounty without getting heat stroke. You can mix reds and greens or roast them together, but while ripe ones can benefit from faster roasting at higher temperatures, green tomatoes taste far more delicious when roasted low and slow. The idea is to allow them to caramelize a bit without drying out or burning, so low temps are important. And here’s a hot tip: if you line the baking sheet with parchment paper, cleanup will be much easier(!).

Low-Slow Roasted Green Tomatoes

8 cups green tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil
1/4 teaspoon basil salt or kosher salt
1-2 teaspoons rosemary sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Lightly rub each tomato, (skin side only) with oil, then place them cut-side-up in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt and rosemary if using. Bake at 225 degrees F until soft and edges are lightly caramelized (2-4 hours or more, depending on size and ripeness). Pack in freezer containers as-is or puree first. Makes about 5-6 cups.

Posted in preserving food, Recipes, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Tomatoes, Vegan Recipes | Tagged | Leave a comment