OurLand in Philly: Soil Kitchen

Looking for some urban gardening inspiration? Then I have the video for you--thanks to OurLand, a web series about eating from our great green Earth.

This is episode one, and it's based in my home of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group OurLand focuses on Soil Kitchen, a temporary group that tested soil samples throughout the city and gave out soup to those who brought the samples in. The focus was to encourage Philadelphians to help clean up our brownfields, and learn to feed ourselves on local food. How do you not love that?!

Check it out:

Doing it white

 OK, what's different in this photo?

Do you see it? There's a pretty significant change from the last time I showed you the hallway, but I'm not sure anyone but my husband and I could tell you what it is. In fact, if he wasn't involved, I'm not even sure he could tell you.

I'll give you a hint: it involved me, a couple of hours, and a raging hatred for the old wall color. That's right folks, I painted. But only someone who's obsessive (and that'd be me) will be able to tell. The old color was a beige with a healthy dose of yellow as the base. It changed based on the lighting, and sometimes it was tolerable. Other times it made my eyes beg for forgiveness for whatever crime they committed. Did I mention I hated the color? You can see it in its full on mustard glory here:

I hate that color so much it bothers me even looking at that photo...

Anyway, after two and a half years of loathing the paint, I finally broke down and tried out swatches. I gave four different colors a try, from bright white to a cream to blue and grey. The winner was the cream, called Sandstone Cove by Behr. It's much brighter, and it makes the space feel a little more alive (and way, way less jaundiced). 

Truth be told, I've always been partial to crisp white spaces--the kinds of rooms you find in Dwell. Going light in color seems to be having its moment right now, which shouldn't really be a surprise if you consider how many people are renting instead of owning these days. Rentals = white walls. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that this is an example of design following the way folks live.

Anyway, enough of my philosophizing. Here's another photo for you to enjoy:

Soothing and serene, even according to Dixie, our house guest for the weekend. There's more painting to come, and you can kind of see where in this photo. But I'll save that story for once it's finished...

How to transfer potted plants

It's a tough year for gardeners. Entire crops have died--and they're saying food prices are going to sky rocket since we can't keep any plants in the ground. Fortunately, there's a little respite for those who don't have to rely on the ground, per se. Gardens based out of containers--like the one I have on my itty bitty balcony-- only have to hold enough moisture for the roots inside. And since there's less area to water, keeping plants green doesn't take as much work.

Of course, it can be hard to get yourself started, or worse yet, what to do once things start to take root. Fortunately, here are some tips from Peter McAllister from SGM (which makes garden tools and equipment like second hand lawn mowers).

One of the most common issues faced by container gardeners is how to move a plant from a small to large container safely. This may seem like a simple task, but it's delicate work. One mistake can leave your plant in poor health while slowly deteriorating.

The most important thing to watch out for is root damage. If the roots are broken during transfer, it can spell tragedy for the plant as a whole. One way to protect root health is to transfer when the soil is dry. Wet soil tends to collapse and pull on the roots when suspended in the air between pots.  Dry soil will hold together better and cause less strain.

The new container should have a shallow layer of fresh soil in the new container. Keep this shallow so that you can place the transferred plant on top. When taking the plant out of the old container start by placing your hand over the base of the soil. Be careful not to pull on or disturb the branches or leaves. Now upturn the pot so that the plant will come out into your hand. If it doesn’t come out easily, a good tool is a blunt knife. Run it around the edge of the pot to loosen the soil--but DO NOT dig it out.

Next carefully place the plant into the new container on top of the shallow layer of soil. Fill in the container with new soil so the plant is surrounded and has room for growth. Water the new container to bind the old and new soils together.

That is pretty much it! It’s mostly common sense, mixed with a few tried and true techniques. Try not to put your plant through too much strain while it adjusts to a new environment. An example of this is to try and keep the soil consistency the same in both containers.

Say, what's up, doc?

It might be the hottest year on record in the US of A, but I've still got a little garden growing. My peach tree is still green, and so is my rosemary. My oregano is browning up a bit, but I'm pretty sure it just needs a week or two of cooler weather to get back to normal.

But the pride of the garden is this:

They're not huge, but the sure are pretty. And since this was my first time trying out carrots, I'm pretty pleased with the results. Next time they're getting deeper pots, but I'm counting this as a pretty good first attempt. The thing I'm most impressed with is how little room they take. These are not strawberries, which need lots of room and give you weak results. As long as they have somewhere deep to take root, these seem pretty hardy. They did withstand caterpillars and the most significant drought of my life, after all.