All posts by Monna

Jun 10
0

Meet Jill at The Sweet Life Garden, part 1

By | Organic Gardening, Uncategorized | No Comments
The beautiful weather these past few months has lured my girls and me out into nature lately. And, last week, we had the opportunity to check out a garden I’ve been admiring online for a while. We learned via Facebook that the peaches at the Sweet Life Garden were ready to pick and would only be available a few more days. So, Tuesday morning, we headed over as early as I could bundle the girls into the car (hint: not before 9!) and headed to Arcadia. I just had to share with you some of the sights we enjoyed. Today’s post will be some of the more traditional aspects of her garden and tomorrow, I’ll show you some of the more creative things she’s done in her garden.
Organic Mama will be regularly featuring some of the amazing gardens around the Phoenix area. Hopefully, it will encourage those of you who are new to gardening to jump in and get started. Don’t worry if your garden area isn’t as large as Jill’s. Check out some of the creative ways she tucks plants into different spaces and go for it! For more on Jill’s garden, check out her blog.
What a magical entrance to the garden!
Photo Credit: Daughter No 1
First, meet Jill, the lovely lady behind this garden. She and I posed so my five year old could practive her budding photography skills. She did ok, didn’t she? You can see some of Jill’s handiwork – peaches hanging from the tree above us. Yum. They were delicious.
Of course the first thing my girls noticed was the hen house. Though my older daughter was a little uncertain about these creatures, my youngest (who’s two) couldn’t get enough of them. She talked to them like they’d been buds forever and informed Jill, “I think they like me!” Imagine her thrill when Jill actually let her go inside to collect eggs!
She is, I might add, very efficient at egg gathering, if just a tad inclined to toss the eggs into the basket. Oops!
Aren’t they pretty? So colorful!
This guy was sure I was there to feed him.
The trumpet vine climbing this date palm tree is truly breathtaking in person.
I had to give you a closer look at these gorgeous flowers! Now to figure out where I can add a trumpet vine in one of my growing spaces. I have a couple of palms. Hmmm…
She has the traditional raised beds. See anything you recognize? She has tomatoes, onions, peppers and more. Notice she plants nasturtiums and marigolds with her veggies. Not only do they add color, they are great for discouraging pests.

Recognize this plant? See the tell-tale white flowers and brilliant red color peeping through those pretty rounded leaves? You’re right. They’re strawberries. This bed was an incredible sight. Real strawberries from the garden are nothing like what we buy at the supermarket. They are bright, sweet, usually a bit smaller and smell divine. Jill’s strawberry bed reminded me of my Grandma Verna’s strawberries. They were always such a treat!

The Sweet Life Garden, part two.

Jun 01
0

Die!! Die!!!! DIE!!! One Mother’s Battle Against the Creatures of the Night (or How to kill Cockroaches naturally)

By | Natural Health | No Comments

Summer in Arizona is a beautiful time filled with lazy summer days, swimming pools galore, desert mountain views, golf courses and one more less attractive thing…cockroaches. Ladies and Gentlemen, a few weeks ago, I discovered more than one roach in my house within a week. If you missed this exciting installment, you can read it here. It is not an exaggeration to say I completely lost it when this happened. Then, I returned to my senses and realized that freaking out over a bug (even a creepy, hairy legged sewer monster with long antenna- aaaahhhh!!!!) is not the kind of strong womanhood that I am trying to teach my girls.

Obviously, being an ORGANIC mama, I have personal beliefs about not wanting to spray chemicals all over my house. But my aversion to roaches is so strong, I confess I went to the hardware store and bought a fogger. You must know I have never sprayed my house with pesticides in the ten years I’ve lived here (and, we’ve never before had bugs!). But the creepers had to die, right? Before spraying, I looked up the primary ingredient in the fogger, Permethrin. I discovered it is a nerve agent considered carcinogenic by some sources, depending on who you ask. See the EPA’s assessment.

I weighed the risks of a possible carcinogen against the dangers of the germs cockroaches can spread, like salmonella. And, I chose the chemical-free route, which means I did NOT fog or spray my house or call the city to ask them to bomb the sewer (though I’m sure they did anyway). The natural route takes a little longer but in the end it’s safer and create an environment that’s unfriendly to the long term habitation of creeper crawlers.

Here’s why I chose to go chem-free.
1. Immediate safety – Why would I purposely expose my kids to carcinogens or neurotoxins?
2. Immediate and future environmental concerns – Spraying more poison into our water (even the sewer) seems like a bad heritage to leave our kids. Poisons do not just dissipate in water like in a super hero movie. Their effects can last for years and unless you’re Harold Camping, you should probably assume you’ll be here to experience the ramifications.
3. Chem’s don’t guarantee the absence of bugs. Even if I did choose to spray, another roach could just crawl up the drain or through a crack I missed and we’d have to start all over again. And, if the spray is strong enough to keep killing roaches, chances are it’s affecting my family’s health as well.
4. Bugs are a natural part of life and they even touch our food. Real food (fruits & veggies) are grown in fields where little bugs and animals travel and live. Oh, and they poop and urinate on or near the plants so…I’m thinking a roach that might touch one of my dishes is not the end of the world. Does that mean I don’t wash my food? No. Not only that, I also wash my dishes before putting them away and before I use them. I’m a little psycho that way… Bwahahahahahaaa! (evil laugh)

After I returned the fogger, I turned my attention to researching my intended victims. First, I learned there are different varieties of  roaches and the type can determine the approach. We found American Roaches, which are basically sewer roaches. These suckers are big – often 2″ or more and they are stinkin’ fast. They truly deserve the name, vermin.

Here are a few facts about roaches.

1. Having them doesn’t mean your house is dirty. In Arizona, they live in the sewer and come up through the drains. But, keeping your house clean will minimize any reason for them to stay!
2. They tend to live in moist places and some can live for weeks without food. They just need water.Great.
3. They can eat all sorts of things – including glue. Ugh.
4. Their eggs can contain 14-28 babies. So, if you get one female in your house, you can end up with a crowd. This is why you always hear the comment, “If you see one roach, there are hundreds more nearby.”

If chemicals can’t guarantee the absence of roaches, how can more natural methods possibly work? So glad you asked!

Natural methods of pest control use mechanical means (rather than chemical) to destroy a roach’s body and make your home an inhospitable place for them to live.

Never fear, you are not powerless! 

Here are some great, natural roach fighting ideas.

1. Close points of entry.

  • Cover drains & overflows – particularly at night. We just keep our drains closed all the time now.
  • Caulk around toilets and drain pipes.
  • Look for openings near doors, windows or outside walls and caulk or spray foam them shut

2. Eliminate any standing water inside or outside your house. This is just good advice in general – to
maintain your home and keep other little critters like mosquitoes or scorpions from finding a refuge in your space.

  • Dog bowls
  • Look for leaks around toilets, sinks or drains.


3. Make your home inhospitable to bugs by eliminating food sources and hiding places.

  • Eliminate food sources by washing dishes immediately, wiping down counters and keeping floors clean. And don’t leave food on the counters.
  • Eliminate clutter around the house – like piles of papers, toys, cardboard boxes, laundry etc. All of those things give bugs like cockroaches (also silverfish and crickets) a place to hide.

4. Utilize mechanical means of killing roacheslike dusting the powders below in the corners of cabinets, under the fridge and in the cracks by the dishwasher or oven. Be sure to use only a fine layer or they’ll go around it. Roaches like to travel the edges of walls, so concentrate there.Although these are safer means of pest control, be careful not to puff them into the air. They can irritate the lungs.

  • Food grade Diatomaceous Earth (DE) – This ground fossil powder slices through the exoskeleton and kills them within a few hours. It will also kill silverfish, crickets and ants. Only buy food grade. It’s often fed to farm animals to kill parasites. It is NOT the same as what you’ll find at home improvement (these contain chemical bait) or pool supply stores. I found mine at The Western Ranchman Store. It was a huge bag for only $5 or 6.
  • Boric acid – as creepy as they are, roaches constantly clean themselves. After getting this powder on their legs, they ingest it and die. The kind at home improvement stores contain chemical bait – so try buying at a pharmacy instead. It should be pure there as it’s used to create eye wash. Also, Boric acid is not the same as Borax. These terms are often (incorrectly) used interchangeably on the internet.

5. Keep a big spray bottle of soapy water handy. Big sewer roaches have been around the block, so to speak. Consequently, they are super fast and seem to know you’re after them! There is nothing I hate more than finding a bug in my house, only to have it run into a crack before I have time to grab a shoe. So, I keep a spray bottle filled with water and 1/4 c dish soap for such occasions. This concoction covers the roach and suffocates him in under a minute. The bigger ones take longer but they’ll definitely die. It’s much safer than keeping Raid around little children and faster than a shoe.

6. Consider helpers who eat or kill roaches like, cats, geckos and chickens. While you might only want cats inside your house, chickens and geckos are natural enemies of this creepy crawler. Apparently, the little white mediterranean geckos that live by our porch lights here in AZ eat roaches. Two drawbacks are that they tend to drop kamakazi-like onto lower surfaces at times (including people) and they too can carry salmonella. However, I’d rather clean up after a gecko than a roach any day.

Using most of the methods above has really helped. It’s great to know that it’s possible to tackle a pest problem without resorting to poisoning our space. I am sleeping better at night now though I am still considering adopting a baby gecko to live in my house – just for good measure.

If I missed any great natural methods of roach control (besides a shoe and a big man), feel free to comment below!

May 26
0

This Little Light of Mine

By | Spirit | 3 Comments

This morning, I’m relishing the beauty of my crazy life. Two of my nephews just drove away with my sister after spending 4 days and nights rockin’ our household while their parents enjoyed a well-deserved vacation, alone. (something we parents need on occasion!) I’m just now sitting down for the first time this morning – to appreciate the fun it was.

Housing four kids, age 7 and under, is rather an amazing feat in a townhouse that’s not set up for it. And not only did I have four kids for the last few days, I actually had some extras running around too. Monday, a our little two year old buddy (another girl) was over to play. That night we enjoyed an evening with our four – plus some dear friends (in from out of town!) who brought their three over as well. You can imagine the noise level with 7 kids in a small space. It was mostly happy noise. Tuesday, I packed us all up and headed to a friend’s house to watch her 6 and a 4 year old while she headed to work. So, I got to try my hand at 6 kids. Whew! They played pretty well together. Outside play is the key!!

It would probably be easier to gradually build up to having four kids around all the time but I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was. The biggest challenge was probably food prep. I found myself channeling my mom and my Grandma Verna – who had five and seven children respectively – and who cooked nearly everything from scratch. I remember my mom telling stories about growing up on their family stock-farm. The girls (mom and gram) woke up and started cooking for the boys. The boys would come in from chores, eat breakfast and head back out to the fields. Meanwhile, the girls would clean up the mess from breakfast and start cooking dinner (lunch). After lunch, they’d start all over again for supper! That’s pretty much what it felt like for me the last few days!

After the boys left today, I surveyed the small explosions of toys, clothes, laundry and other remains of the experience around the house and decided to walk away and head out to my latest little garden experiment. As I worked on my new compost pile (more on that later!), I found my heart sort of swelling up with a sort of joyous glee.

Not only did I survive four days with four kids under seven – I enjoyed every minute! We laughed when the three and two year old had sweet little conversations with each other and shared their toys. I nearly cried when my oldest nephew fell and took it hard in the knee – and felt pride when he bravely soldiered through the cleaning and bandaging. We fed my nephew’s pet tortoise and let him walk around in our yard, marveling at his tiny size and his perfect design. Watching a baby tortoise eat is an amazing thing!

We weathered little arguments and temper tantrums between the youngest and erupted in laughter at the crazy giggles of joy that emerged from the two oldest as they stayed up late to play old school Nintendo with my husband. We ended our visit with a trip to In ‘n’ Out Burger last night (yes, even Organic Mama breaks down to eat fast food on occasion), and the kids were in heaven, laughing and making up ridiculous jokes while slurping down their hormone-filled chocolate shakes (see, I still think about it!). And…I managed not to freak out when my two year old decided to destroy her sister’s tea party set because she liked the sound of porcelain smashing on the tile.

As my nephews drove away, we chatted with a few neighbors and a friend stopped by to bring me some kitchen scraps for my compost. She checked out my small garden and we visited for a few minutes before she left. Then, as I watered my garden after she left and touched a few of my lovely little plants, I thought back on this week and felt an almost overwhelming joy at the way my life is unfolding before me.

My life is nothing like I planned and yet – so much better than I imagined it. I haven’t achieved the kind of career I intended. I am not living in the little (single family) house with a big yard I thought I needed. Instead we have a multi-family house with a big yard (more about our house here)! I still count every penny and sometimes worry about how we’re going to meet our financial obligations – though we’re super frugal and our only debt is our mortgage.

But, in all the ways that count, I think I just might be the richest person I know. The rooms of my small home, two upstairs and two down, echo with the sounds of real life, laughter and tears, fights and making up. The person I admire most in all the world loves me (me!) and thinks I’m beautiful and wonderful. The prettiest, sweetest and smartest little girls I’ve ever met are my little daughters and think I hang the moon (as long as I’m not telling them to pick up their toys). My four sisters – strong, brilliant, beautiful and opinionated – are amazing women who I’m proud to call family.  Some of the most incredible women (and men) I know – call me friend.

Lately, this gratefulness has become a regular thing with me and I believe I know why. I think my near death experience in February, when I said goodbye to the baby I was so longing to meet, served (for me, anyway) a medium that makes the blessings in my life stand our in brilliant relief against the pain. It reminded me – rather dramatically – that life is like a brilliant flash of light that can be extinguished far too easily. And, unlike when my mom, dad and brother died and I first faced my own mortality and responded with a kind of life-paralysis, this is different. While I miss that little baby with physical ache at times, I am grateful for the gift he gave me of living NOW.  

Going through pain and loss only makes life’s moments of wonder and joy that much more precious. I haven’t always felt this way. It is a lesson that I’m still learning – after multiple opportunities. But, I’m determined to be IN LIFE. Messy and loud and crazy as it is (at least in our house!), I’m enjoying every minute. Every visit, every laugh and cry, every stinking diaper that my two year old takes off (yes, still doing that!), every dear friend (or potential new friend!), every challenge and moment of ease, every chance to house 4 kids in my small house – I’m going to take it and have fun doing it!

Funny that this post went a direction I didn’t expect today. But, the truth is, it’s what I’ve been thinking about lately. The light I have a chance to be. The light we all can be to those around us.

My flash of light will be something worth seeing. My goal is to blaze so brightly – that when I’m gone, those around me still glow with a residual light.

What about you?

May 18
0

Easy Plants for the Newbie Arizona Gardener

By | Organic Gardening | 4 Comments

So, a few weeks ago, I talked about how gardening might just improve your sex life. Today, I’d like to introduce you to some of my garden friends who just LOVE growing in the Arizona climate. Want to try your hand at edible/herbal gardening in AZ but don’t know where to start? Here are some beautiful and fairly easy options for the newbie gardener.

Before you start, you two basic things to create a successful garden – good soil and regular water.

These plants all enjoy fairly fertile, well drained soil. Since Arizona soil is largely hard rock clay, I add compost and sometimes a little sand if the soil isn’t draining well. You may have to wet your soil down to add these other components. When you’re finished, the dirt should look rich, dark and fairly crumbly. These plants will grow well in the ground or in a pot. But if you plant in pots, don’t use anything smaller than a 5 gallon pot. In the summer, plant roots will steam in anything smaller.

As for water, if you want to have healthy plants, it’s better to water deeply (soak rather than sprinkle!) and infrequently (every 2-3 days) to develop a strong root system. I actually plant my plants in little ditches so I fill them with water and the water soaks about 6-8 inches down. While it seems like a lot of water at the time, since you water less frequently, it’s a more water conservative option.

Ok, now that you know how to successfully prep for these garden stars, let me introduce them!

Aloe Vera
There are a couple hundred varieties of Aloe Vera. Aloe is an absolute essential in sunny Arizona. There is no substitute for it when dealing with a sunburn. Those bottles of gel in the store are not as effective. When I was growing up at my parents’ house, my mom devoted a flower bed lucious green variety of aloe. The leaves were bright green with pretty white spots and they produced a flowering stalk every year. If I, or one of my sisters, managed to get a sunburn, we simply smoothed this on the burn and it minimized the damage considerably. I have also read that some people use it as a sunburn preventative.

While some people use aloe internally as a laxative or for other ailments, our family primarily uses it topically for sunburns or in lotion making. It is wise to consult an herbalist when considering using aloe internally. Pregnant women should not use aloe internally.

Aloe reproduces by means of a little shoot that creates another plant. If you don’t want the shooters, give them away as gifts!

Mint
Spearmint, peppermint, applemint, chocolate mint! There are a ton of mint varieties. Mint is colorful and delicious in tea or salads and creates a bright spot in any garden. It is cooling for feverish babies and energizing for those who are a bit tired. This is a great plant for beginning gardeners because it’s a weed and will survive almost any abuse and return year after year. I, myself, have left my mint to die by not watering it many times but it just keeps on going! Though, a friend swears she has killed 3 mint plants. I think this is more of a unique accomplishment than a typical mint experience.

Mint is one of those plants that reproduces pretty fast. Unless you have time to keep in check, plant it in a pot. On the other hand, if you have an area you need to cover, mint will take it over.

Rosemary
What a lovely smell this plant has! It loves the hot weather and is seriously hardy. I have always loved rosemary because when I was a young, romantic girl (as opposed to a grown, romantic girl), I remember reading a story about a young hero giving his lover rosemary so she would remember him as he embarked on an epic journey. Of course, as an adult, I have also learned to love rosemary for the fragrant flavor she adds to savory and sweet recipes. One of my family’s favorites recipes is a rosemary shortbread I make on rare occasions – mostly because I want to eat the whole pan! Mmmm….

Full sun is just fine for this mediterranean herb.

Thyme
Like rosemary, thyme is a hardy friend in an Arizona garden. Also a mediterranean herb, the hot climate agrees with it. However, thyme does seem to appreciate a little afternoon shade in the summer. One of my thyme plants is in a pot so I just move it when the temperatures rise.

I recently planted some creeping thyme and I’m really pleased with how beautiful it looks. I am hoping to do a project on my patio soon which involves planting it in between paving stones. I’ll post it when I find it.

Lavender
Not only does lavender produce lovely blooms, it smells amazing in the garden all year ’round. I have this planted on my back patio and in my front flowerbed. I love how its gentle fragrance just wafts through the air as I’m watering it. It’s surprisingly hardy as well. The back porch version gets full sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon and it is just thriving.

The best thing about these plants is that they are also great companion plants for the veggies you’re wanting to grow in the garden. These herbs all repel pests and seem fairly resistant to disease so you may find you success with these plants that you haven’t previously enjoyed.

Another plus is that you don’t need a big plant to start. Just buy a small plant from a nursery – or better yet scavenge from a friend’s garden and get going! If you do go to a nursery, try a locally owned one like Baker’s, The Style Nursery or Whitfill. They will know more about Arizona gardening than big box store employees and you’ll feel good that you’ve supported your local economy.
Ok – Get out in that garden!!