What’s in the ground:

I would like to start by saying that even though that nasty Nor’easter just swept through the mid-Atlantic, I was very surprised when I finally left the house to check on my garden plot, my lettuce was still green and vibrant and not burnt due to the cold. So, I’m looking forward to a few more weeks with lettuce before the first real frosts. But, with all of the gloom and doom of ripping out summer plants and getting that cover crop ready, I’m happy to write about some planting to be done. Now is the time for garlic to go in the ground so it can be ready for the summer. It is one of my favorite things from the garden to eat, aside from being one of the healthiest (really reduces cholesterol.) And it’s also very satisfying to cultivate and watch grow over three seasons. You can pick up transplants at local garden stores, or if you’re feeling really ambitious, you can start the garlic by planting already existing cloves in the ground, their points facing up, three inches deep in loose, well drained soil. Plant about six inches apart to get the maximum bulb growth. In a few weeks or so, for a good friend’s birthday party in West Philly, a bunch of us will be cruising around the neighborhood from plot to plot putting garlic in the ground. It may sound like a nerdy gardeners party, but garlic has always been a very important staple to the farm diet and its planting has always been a celebration of the harvest time. So go have fun with it.

What’s going on in sustainability:

The apple pick and press was a success this past weekend, even with the final days of the cold and rain. We are estimating 160 gallons of cider, so please, stop on by the homestead in the spring and enjoy one with me. In the whole process, I also became the proud owner of a 55 gallon french oak barrel. So look forward to many blogs about my adventures as a vintner in the upcoming months.

Today, I’d like to talk about a subject that’s not so exciting and glamorous, but just a mundane and important part of the urban homestead. Today, while hanging my laundry on my line in my spacious urban backyard which is the size of a courtyard for someone in the country, I received a somewhat nasty look from a neighbor as he watched me hang the clothes. Now, although he didn’t say anything, from his face I could ascertain that he was not happy with the “complexion” I was giving the neighborhood. And I do agree that the more ambitious urban homesteader can add an undesirable element to the neighborhood with smelly compost piles, dangerous bio diesel brewing and smoke from wood burning energy. However, any misguided pride someone may have that they got away from the hillbillies of the country and got sophistication in the city does not outweigh the energy saved and the mindfulness gained from hanging your clothes on a line. I have nothing against technology, I’m writing on a computer right now. And when I was building a house in Bolivia with nothing but a hand saw and a hand crank drill, you better believe I missed electricity. However, the beauty of our technology is having the choice of what you can live without and what you can’t. Hanging clothes on a line is a small, but important part of the little energy saving that will allow us to continue to use our computers, have hot showers and cook our food. Appliances account for 17% of our energy usage, with a dryer falling just behind the washer and a refrigerator. The sustainable movement will become just a fashion trend unless people can put aside their class bias and realize that all energy saving is not going to be as chic as energy saving bulbs and electric cars. Sometimes the best steps forward are few steps back, and the more people we can get to realize this the better. So if you haven’t already, take some rope, find a good spot in the backyard to string it across and give the dryer a rest for the warm months when this is possible. Your energy bill and the earth will thank you.

Until next week, this is the note from the urban homestead.