Joy and I decided to get some fresh air and test out her little umbrella stroller today.
I'm sure the fact that it's blue will lead to lots of questions how old my "son" is, but since the price was right (we happened to buy our Jumperoo when they were giving strollers away), I won't quibble about the color.Are those cute toes or what?
We decided to go check the progress of one of my favorite front yard gardens. Why plant boring grass on your roadside patch of property when you can grow something vastly more interesting? Like corn, squash, and the occasional bean plant.This may have been planted as a "Three Sisters" garden. Some Native American groups used to grow three plants--corn, beans, and squash--together because the plants helped each other. Beans nourished the soil for the nutrient-hungry corn, the corn provided natural "poles" for the beans to climb, and the squash shaded the soil so it didn't dry out as fast.
From a nutritional perspective, these plants also provided a fairly balanced diet. Corn and beans (being a grain and legume, respectively) provided the full array of necessary amino acids*, and squash provided vitamins in a veggie that stores well.
Looks like these folks are all set for Halloween. Sigh - that's one plant that just doesn't lend itself to container gardening. Someday.
*This grain/legume pattern repeats itself in the cuisine of many cultures: rice & beans, rice and peas in Uruguayan "ensalada rusa", pita bread & hummus (made from garbanzo beans), and even peanut butter sandwiches. Eating grains and legumes together provides all necessary proteins if you lack the means or inclination to eat lots of meat. It's also the reason grains and legumes always appear on suggested food storage lists.
*This grain/legume pattern repeats itself in the cuisine of many cultures: rice & beans, rice and peas in Uruguayan "ensalada rusa", pita bread & hummus (made from garbanzo beans), and even peanut butter sandwiches. Eating grains and legumes together provides all necessary proteins if you lack the means or inclination to eat lots of meat. It's also the reason grains and legumes always appear on suggested food storage lists.
4 comments:
This is interesting stuff to know, maybe I'll try it for next years gardening.
Wow, I learned quite a bit in this post! I will have to remember this next time I am grocery shopping.
The nutrition course I took in college was one of the most interesting and useful classes I attended.
I also learned that Vitamin C increases iron and calcium absorption, which is why it's good to drink OJ with your breakfast cereal, add tomatoes to your chili, and eat potatoes with your roast, etc. A potato has about half the Vitamin C of an orange.
So, I'll be honest... When you said you were a compulsive gardener I didn't envision you meaning you were encroaching into the public domain to do so. Well done sis.
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