Grow, Girl, Grow!

I know for many of you who are in the midst of the cold snap that’s sweeping across the country, the furthest thing from your mind is getting outside to plant anything, however, the warmer months are on their way and it’s time to get stocked up on all your supplies as 2010 is the year for EVERYONE to get growing! Whether you live in a White House-style mansion (think Michelle Obama!), or a tiny apartment in a city, you’ll be able to grow at least a couple of foods you love and nothings is more delicious than homegrown anything. Did anyone see the latest Meryl movie (It’s Complicated), yet? If you did, Meryl’s incredibly abundant kitchen garden won’t have escaped your attention. The tomatoes that she was harvesting in one scene, were way too perfect-looking, especially as I’d imagine that her character would be the type to grow organic/heirloom produce (which never looks perfect,) but that being said, it’ll inspire you to get your gardening gloves on at at least have one or two edible leaves that you can snip into a salad bowl this year.

I keep calling my mom in England to check up on the horrendous weather situation (everyone’s been snowed in for days,) and I can’t resist telling her how as we speak, I’m swanning around barefoot in a tank and cut-off jeans, while tending to my Earth Boxes. You may well ask what an Earth Box is! I first came across them when I bumped into Jo Anne and Alejandro of Two Dog Nursery at my local farmer’s market. They had a bunch of these boxes all set up, overflowing with produce. They also showed me photos of the corn, broccoli, beets, carrrot, chard, spinach and much much more, that they’d grown over the last year in the magical Earth box. Since I get very little direct sun in the winter months in my back yard, they seemed like a perfect solution. Since they are on casters, I realized that I could push the boxes around in order to follow the small amount of sun as it moved around my yard. My regular raised beds get a pitiful amount of sun until the Spring. So I immediately got myself three of them and now have buckets of broccoli, chard, kale and gourmet lettuces. If you have back problems, you can set them up on a table with no casters, which is also great for older folks. The feature I love most about the box design is the water tank and irrigation system, which saves a tremendous amount of water. You simply top off the reservoir every few days and that’s that. Perfect when the sun’s hot, as it eliminates evaporation.

I took a pair of scissors to them at lunch today and snipped off just the right amount of each kind of leaf for an anti-oxidant packed salad. Just think how much nutrition is in a mouthful of something that is almost still alive. Remember, the moment you pick something, it’s on a ticking clock of its nutrients diminishing. The taste was exquisite and so far superior to those bags of triple-washed-in-chlorine bags from the grocery store; a lot less expensive too!

So if it’s still way to cold to be whipping out your gardening gloves, speaking of which, the most fantastic gloves I’ve found to date are Ethel Gloves. They are soooo pretty, really comfy and durable enough to completely protect your manicure. Now might be a good time to start planning and gathering your seeds. Have a look through the catalogs at Seed Savers and Heirloom seeds to whet your appetite. It’s actually a good idea to order your seeds soon and think about starting some little seedlings on a sunny windowsill that you can plant out as soon as it gets a bit warmer. Also think about ordering your Earth Box. It comes with fertilizers, mulch covers and easy-to-follow instructions. All you need is some organic potting soil and the seedlings you want to grow.

I look forward to keeping you updated on my next round of crops. I’ve also started a medicinal herb garden, which I’m really excited about. This year I plan to harvest and dry all the herbs to use in the many skincare recipes in my new book, Do It Gorgeously, which comes out in June 2010.