Why Cloth Diapers Matter

For my first two children I used Pampers.  I put absolutely no thought into diapers whatsoever.  Everybody used Pampers, so I used Pampers.  I liked the smell.

I knew that there were people who used cloth diapers.  I met some moms at La Leche League who were using cloth.  Their babies had really big butts and their toddlers looked funny when they walked.  I liked the look of my sleek, skinny babies.

I had signed up for email newsletters from Pampers when Anna was born in 2004.  Occasionally Pampers would send me coupons, too.  Anna was consistently using the toilet or a potty by 26 months old, but since Holly (born just 20 months after Anna) was still in diapers, I continued to subscribe to the newsletters and coupons.  At 18 months of age, one morning Holly yanked off her diaper and never wore one again.  She was done.  So when I received an email from Pampers saying "Anna is 40 months old!  Is she ready for pull-ups yet?" it was both a light-bulb moment and a serious kick in the ass.  Pampers didn't want my children to ever stop needing their products. 

I credit Pampers with making me switch to cloth diapers.  Before Jasmine was born (in 2008) I found a great website run by a mom in the Greater Toronto Area that sold lots of products for natural mothering.  I spent about $400 to get set up with cloth diapers and covers and liners and a diaper pail and natural laundry soap.  About six months later I spent another $250 on larger prefold diapers and covers which I used until Jasmine was diaper-free at about 22 months old.  I've estimated that I spent about $1200 on diapers for Anna and about $800 on diapers for Holly, so spending $650 on diapers for Jasmine that I have subsequently used for Julian has been a pretty good deal.  And it was more effort to find a place to stack my clean diapers than it has ever been to wash and fold them.

There are tons of articles and information on the internet about the benefits of cloth diapers.  I started at Parenting by Nature to learn about why people choose cloth over disposable for environmental or health reasons. I didn't bother trying to figure out the cost of washing my own diapers versus using a diaper service versus buying organic disposable diapers.  None of that had anything to do with the reason why I switched to cloth.

I switched to cloth diapers because I wanted to love my baby with diapers.  That's right.  Love her with diapers.  Pampers gave me a convenient, mindless way to deal with my baby's elimination.  But I am not mindless and my babies have never been convenient.  Wrapping their precious little bums in unbleached organic cotton has given me another way to love them on days when I am tired or sick or tending to the needs of a tired or sick older sibling.  I love it when I pick up the baby and I can smell that he's wet and needs changing--that subtle infant urine smell is actually so much nicer than the perfume smell of a disposable diaper.  And changing his diapers more often (which one inevitably does with cloth diapers) gives him a little more attention in a house where three other children are also needing attention.

Cloth diapers matter the way homemade meals trump takeout.  The way homemade cookies trump Oreos.  The way a walk in the forest trumps watching a movie. Cloth diapers matter because being mindful matters.  The way we mother our children matters even more than the effect of disposable diapers on the environment or on our health.

I choose cloth diapers because the choices we make matter.

Wednesday:  Why Baking Bread Matters


PHOTOS:  Julian in cloth diapers in August 2010.

Go Greener and Simpler {And a Giveaway}

Are you always trying to find new ways to protect the Earth, save money and live more simply and sustainably?  Aren't we all....

Sometimes it's just baby steps toward sustainability, but in the last 12 months I've committed to 10 ways that I will live a greener life.

1.  I wash my hair with baking soda and vinegar.  I've finally arrived at the 'magic formula' that makes my hair look shiny, clean and full of body.  And it only costs about $10 per year!
2.  I hang up my laundry, even in the winter.  I still put kids' clothes in the dryer in the winter, but all of my clothes and Partner-Guy's clothes get hung up to dry.
3.  I use cloth menstrual pads.  Before my 4th babe arrived, I invested $120 in cloth pads.  I love 'em.  I'll never, never, never go back to disposable menstrual products, and I look forward to one day buying pretty cloth pads for each of my daughters.
4.  I use cloth for housecleaning (instead of paper towels.)OK, this one was actually pretty hard.  I now use old prefold diapers for big messes (like cups of soy milk spilled on the couch and floor) and I just use dish cloths for everything else.  We are in the process of assembling an adequate supply of napkins and handkerchiefs.
5.  I make my own laundry detergent.  This one makes me want to say "Yup, I'm awesome!"  1 cup pure laundry soap (grated), 1/2 cup borax, 1/2 cup laundry soda.  Mix well.  Use 1/4 cup per load.  Works better than TIDE, costs half as much, and contains no chemicals.  LOVE IT!!
6.  I clean the kitchen, the bathroom and pots and pans with baking soda. Baking soda is not just for your hair, girls!  It's better on sinks and pots and my glass cook-top than anything I've ever tried.  But don't use it on mirrors and windows.
7.  I have a composter in my backyard.  The city of Toronto has a really good composting program for kitchen waste which gets picked up on garbage day, but we are composting the chicken poop and straw bedding.
8.  I joined a CSA.  Community Supported Agriculture, anyone?  In June I paid $600 to Willowtree Farm in order to receive a share of their harvest for 20 weeks.  It might seem like I am getting just $30/week of vegetables but it is more like a $50 value.  AND I'm supporting the local farming economy.  AND I'm feeding my family some of the most amazing and fresh vegetables we've ever tasted.
9.  I use only reusable containers for food (except for preserving blanched vegetables in freezer bags).  This was also harder than it might seem.  It was especially hard to get Partner-Guy to stop using sandwich bags for his lunch everyday.  But now we've even stopped using plastic wrap--we just cover bowls with a plate before placing in the fridge.
10.  I don't buy any packaged wheat-based foods:  cereal, bread, cookies, crackers, etc.  If I can bake it, we don't buy it.  And I've never fed my kids packaged cereal on a daily basis anyway.  (But we do buy rice crackers.)

Are you still reading because you're looking for the giveaway?

Leave a comment in which you commit to trying just ONE of the suggestions I've given for living a greener life.  You have to pick something that you AREN'T already doing.

On Saturday, October 1 I'll select one random winner to receive:

Do you already read Simple Mom? Last year she wrote this little book.  It deals with organizing and simplifying your time, your money and your home.  She inspired me to write Our Family Mission Statement.

Contest open to readers in Canada or America only.  One winner will be announced on Sunday, October 2.  Winner must contact me by email, providing postal information to claim the prize.

Good luck and Go Green!

Could you Live in a Yurt?

I saw a great little article in The Toronto Star this week about a family who lives in a yurt.  In Kingston, Ontario.

You've got to click on the link and see the pictures of their home.  It's fabulous.

The article says that this family of six decided that their 1900 s.f. bungalow was too big for them.  So they bought 25 acres and put up 2 yurts connected by a centre entrance-way.

The mother of the family is quoted thus:

“People think that we’re . . . ” Labelle-Neven’s voice trails off, searching for the appropriate pejorative word for a family that’s opted for the uncommon. “But we’re . . . just . . . normal.”

They sound like us.

We're normal.  We're just doing doing things in a way that is not common.

Guess what?

Now I want a yurt.

A Week Of Secrets: #1

Psssst...I'll let you in on a little secret.  But only if you promise not to tell anyone.

Our family is growing.

I bet you think I'm pregnant again, right?  Wrong. 

WE GOT CHICKENS!

Yes, once a farmer's daughter, always a farmer's daughter.  You can take the girl out of the country, but apparently you can't take the country out of the girl! 

Here's the story:
One day I was walking down the sidewalk pushing Julian in the stroller and chatting with the girls when I stopped, backed up and stared up someone's driveway in disbelief.  Surely I couldn't be seeing a lattice fence shielding 3 chickens in a backyard?  But, yes, there they were.

A few days later I passed by the house and there was a man outside so I approached him and asked if this was his house (yes) and were those his chickens.  He said that they were his pets.  I pressed him farther:  Do they lay eggs?  He maintained that they were his pets.  I was getting nowhere so I laid it out for him:  I want chickens.  I want chickens that lay eggs.  How do you get away with having chickens?

Sadly, it is against Toronto bylaws to keep chickens in your backyard.  Or in your house, I guess.  Yes, like many cities, people in Toronto are entitled to have massive dogs that $hit all over sidewalks, lawns and parks, but we are not allowed to keep a couple of chickens who quietly earn their keep.

Anyway, the man with the chickens sensed that I wasn't going to turn him over to Big Brother...I mean, The Authorities...so he brought me and the children to his backyard to meet his flock.  Well, I won't bother with all the details but I ran into him one day last week and he informed me that he and his wife had to move and would we like to have his chickens, his coop, his fence and his feed and straw.

Would I?   Yes, yes, yes!

Now (Mom) I know what you're thinking:  Surely there is a simpler way of obtaining farm-fresh organic eggs in Toronto than THIS?  Yeah, I'm sure you're right.  But this is not about simple.  It's about The New Normal.  It's about eating better and learning new skills and accepting a challenge.  It's about Unschooling.  It's about living outside the Mainstream.

The hens lay an egg (each) every day.  And they are The Healthiest eggs imaginable.  I would love it these eggs become a major source of protein for us so that we start buying a little less meat each week.  But that remains to be figured out.  I'd also like to try my Jasmine on these eggs to see if maybe they won't aggravate her severe eczema.

Here they are!

Exploring the yard.

That's Lolo on the left, Tillie in the middle and Ginger on the right.  (And my daughter Holly in the back.)

Here are Tillie and Lolo in their fenced in area beside their coop.

So.  What do you think of my secret?

It's Not Easy Being Green

Green is the new black.

Or if you're a mom who carts her kids to activities all over the city in her gas guzzling SUV, green is the new thermometer by which you measure what a great mom you are. In other words, the more money you can spend on making your kid greener than somebody else's kid, the better mom you probably are.

Being a mom is very competitive. Until recently moms competed to have their kids in the most activities (outside of school) or the most expensive activities or the most obscure activities or the most talent-specific activities. Now everybody is buying into the idea that kids need at least a little downtime outside of school, so instead of schlepping the kids to karate, hockey, pottery class and the math tutor every week, moms are making them wear organic bamboo socks and eat tofu burgers.

It's not that I think being green is bad. On the contrary, I think we could all try harder to reduce our carbon footprint, feed our kids better and make sure our spending power is supporting a sustainable economy.  I just don't understand why it has to be a competition among women to rank ourselves and jockey for position.

One time at a playgroup we used to attend,  there was a mother who seemed to be writing a thesis called "Plastic is Bad" who had all the Grandmas in attendance captivated as she preached about how she has nothing made of plastic in her house. She went on to describe how only glass or stainless steel or ceramic ever came in contact with her children's food and how they only play with toys made of wood or cotton. Right.  I just didn't believe her.

There was another mom at the same play group who I knew was living on a shoe-string budget and one day I offered her a bag of very high quality second hand clothes for her daughter. She declined them because she prefers to make her daughter's clothes from reclaimed fabric. Apparently second hand is not nearly as green or budget-friendly as making a winter coat out of her grandfather's suit jacket that he wore to get married in 1945.  She even said, "My daughter doesn't wear GAP".  Oh.  Kay.


Then there are the vegan/organic snacks these moms brought for their kids. Vegan/organic oatmeal-flax-hemp-carob-chip cookies. Vegan/organic unsalted squash-yam-beet chips. Vegan/organic tofu-millet-mushroom sandwiches. Whatever happened to giving your kids an apple?  Nothing can convince me that these kids have never eaten a Schneiders Hotdog, especially the kids of the moms who can't go anywhere until after they hit Starbucks.

But it really disturbs me that we moms are so competitive that we have to show off for each other that we care about the health of our kids AND the health of our planet. Why can't we just support each other and pat each other on the back? (This from a woman who can barely be in the same room with a woman sticking a bottle in her baby's mouth.)  But seriously, I applaud the efforts of every mother to feed her child in a healthy sustainable way.  I just wish that those efforts would translate MORE into growing community gardens and LESS into bragging about how much money the weekly groceries cost at the local organic health food store.

I want my kids to grow up able to make responsible decisions with regards to their health and the health of the planet. And what I believe is really important is that they see that I live in such a way that shows them that there is one standard that applies to the whole family. This means that I don't eat Schneiders Hotdogs while I feed them organic spelt-quinoa-barley pasta, and vice versa. At our house, what's good for the kids is good for the parents.

And what's good for the planet is good for us all.

An editted re-post from the archives.

Baking Soda and Vinegar

Have I ever mentioned that my mother is hairdresser?

If you keep reading, it's information that will prove to be relevant in a minute.

So today's topic is.....my hair.

In January I decided to stop washing my hair with shampoo and I switched to using baking soda a few times each week.  This is not total insanity and apparently a lot of people are doing this.

The very first time that I used baking soda (about a tablespoon dissolved in 8oz of water) I was totally amazed at how soft and shiny my hair was.  And I was able to comb it while wet without any tugging on tangles!  I was really impressed.

But the sad truth is that in 6 months that was only time my hair felt that great.  You know how they say that a drug addict is always searching for the feeling of their first time getting high?  That's been me with the baking soda for the past 6 months.  Yes, I'm pathetic.

I had read that it takes 2-4 weeks for your scalp to adjust to its natural pH level and for your hair to start to feel normal.  I'm not sure what my 'normal' scalp is supposed to feel like.  Sometimes after I use the baking soda my head feels fresh and clean but my hair feels coated and slimy.  Other times my head feels raw and itchy and my hair feels dry and frizzy.  It's enough to give a girl a headache.

So last week I said to my mother, "I've got to do something with my hair.  It acts like clean hair and it looks like clean hair, but it doesn't feel like clean hair.  Do you think some highlights would help?" 

And my mother said, "Well, actually, Patti, it DOESN'T look like clean hair."

!!!!!!

Well, that was like a splash of cold water on a humid day!  I sprang to action--by which I mean that I jumped to the computer to find out what I was doing wrong.  Imagine!  I had been running around the city with hair that didn't look clean!  The Internet did not fail me and I found the solution--vinegar! 

Specifically, apple cider vinegar.  Two tablespoons in 8oz of water. 

I used it 3 days in a row and now my hair is shiny and clean.  And my scalp feels refreshed the way cucumbers make your tired eyes feel refreshed.  Awesome.

So now I have to figure out the right balance of baking soda and vinegar for my hair and scalp.  Some people only use the vinegar on the ends of their hair.  Some people use the vinegar every day, some only once in a while.  I'll manage.

So now you know why I needed to mention that my mother is a hairdresser.

Although to be honest, her opinion on my hair would matter even if she wasn't a hairdresser.  Thank goodness she said something.

The New Normal

Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Growing in the Outdoors


This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have shared how they encourage their children to connect with nature and dig in the dirt. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
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It might be spring in the Northern Hemisphere, but here in Toronto, Canada SPRING seems to be arriving in slow motion. Last year we were in Ottawa for the Tulip Festival on the first weekend of May and the children were dressed for summer as we ran around Parliament Hill. This year we’re still in coats and hats—and some days, mittens! But April showers bring May flowers, right?

In spite of the continued cold, rainy weather this spring, we are getting ready for our first successful vegetable garden. Hopefully! In February I hired Steve Biggs, a Gardening Coach, to come over and teach me how to grow vegetables in my postage-stamp of a back yard. I had two major hurdles: mostly shade during the middle of the day AND lack of space.



Maybe you’re the kind of person who likes to experiment with gardening and be surprised by what works and what doesn’t? I’m not. I needed to know that all my efforts were going to result in some serious harvest, or I wasn’t going to bother at all. Plus, I saw this as a learning opportunity for my unschooled children and I didn’t want to risk FAILURE because my negativity might rub off on them.

My seedlings are doing great and before long I’ll be transplanting them all outdoors. And maybe, in a few months, my kids will be picking zucchini and cucumbers and eggplants and we’ll be eating fresh pesto made from our own basil plants.

It’s actually a little funny how I’ve had to embrace how ‘important’ it is to feed my children food that we grow or make ourselves and to buy food that is grown locally. Living in Toronto among people who were born and raised here, I am the only person I know who grew up eating home-grown vegetables and homemade bread. Because I grew up on a farm with a mother who worked her fingers to the bone doing canning and blanching and freezing every summer, I am used to seeing where my food comes from and I know a lot about preserving the summer harvest to enjoy all winter. But now that I’ve lived my entire adult life in Canada’s biggest city, I’ve had to figure out how to embrace the ideals of local, homegrown and homemade foods while living in a location that is not easily adapted to those ideals.  And while living with kids who don't seem to embrace the same 'food ideals' as I do.  Yet.

The truth is, my kids are NOT INTO gardening. Not even flowers. I’ve tried. They don’t care.

And you know? It doesn’t matter that they aren’t into gardening NOW. For me, the point is that they will see that growing vegetables in the heart of the city is NORMAL. This is the NEW NORMAL.

And it will be normal for them the way breastfeeding is the new normal. The way home-birth is the new normal (when safe to do so). The way using cloth diapers is the new normal.  The way hanging out the laundry on the clothes line is the new normal.  The way vaccinating mindfully is the new normal.  The way not valuing boys more than girls is the new normal. The way baking our own bread is the new normal. The way not accepting the local public school as the ultimate authority on children aged 3-14 is the new normal.

We grow vegetables in Toronto. It’s the new normal.


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Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Get Out! — Momma Jorje gives reasons she doesn't think she gets outside enough and asks for your suggestions on making time for the outdoors.
• How Does Your Garden Grow? — The ArtsyMama shares her love of nature photography.
• We Go Outside — Amy at Peace 4 Parents describes her family's simple, experiential approach to encouraging appreciation of nature.
• My Not-So-Green Thumb — Wolfmother confesses to her lack of gardening skills but expresses hope in learning alongside her son at Fabulous Mama Chronicles.
• Enjoying Outdoors — Isil at Smiling like Sunshine describes how her children enjoy the nature.
• Five Ideas to Encourage the Reluctant Junior Gardener — For the rare little ones who don't like to get their hands dirty, Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers tips for encouraging an early love of dirt (despite the mess).
• Connecting to Nature — Mamapoekie shares how growing your own vegetable patch connects your child to nature and urges them to not take anything for granted.
• The Farmer's Market Classroom — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction shares how the Farmer's Market has become her son's classroom.
• Seeds — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment's hubby Ken shares his perspective on why gardening with their kiddos is so important . . . and enjoyable!
• Toddlers in the Garden — Laura at A Pug in the Kitchen shares her excitement as she continues to introduce her toddler and new baby to the joys of fresh veggies, straight from the garden.
• Nature's Weave — MJ at Wander Wonder Discover explains how nature weaves its way into our lives naturally, magnetically, experientially, and spiritually.
• Becoming Green — Kristina at Hey Red celebrates and nurtures her daughter's blossoming love of the outdoors.
• Little Gardener — Rosemary at Rosmarinus Officinalis looks forward to introducing her baby girl to gardening and exploring home grown foods for the first time.
• Cultivating Abundance — You can never be poor if you have a garden! Lucy at Dreaming Aloud reflects on what she cultivates in her garden . . . and finds it's a lot more than seeds!
• Growing in the Outdoors: Plants and People — Luschka at Diary of a First Child reflects on how she is growing while teaching her daughter to appreciate nature, the origins of food, and the many benefits of eating home-grown.
• How Not to Grow — Anna at Wild Parenting discusses why growing vegetables fills her with fear.
• Growing in the Outdoors — Lily at Witch Mom Blog talks about how connecting to the natural world is a matter of theology for her family and the ways that they do it.
• A Garden Made of Straw — Kelly at Becoming Crunchy shares tips on making a straw bale garden.
• The Tradition of Gardening — Carrie at Love Notes Mama reflects on the gifts that come with the tradition of gardening.
• Gardening Smells Like Home — Bethy at Bounce Me to the Moon hopes that her son will associate home grown food and lovely flowers with home.
• The New Normal — Patti at Jazzy Mama writes about how she hopes that growing vegetables in a big city will become totally normal for her children's generation.
• Outside, With You — Amy at Anktangle writes a letter to her son, a snapshot of a moment in the garden together.
• Farmer Boy — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares how her son Joshua helps to grow and raise their family's food.
• Growing Kids in the Garden — Lisa at Granola Catholic shares easy ways to get your kids involved in the garden.
• Growing Food Without a Garden — Don't have a garden? "You can still grow food!" says Mrs Green of Little Green Blog. Whatever the size of your plot, she shows you how.
• Growing Things — Liz at Garden Variety Mama shares her reasons for gardening with her kids, even though she has no idea what she's doing.
• Moments — UK Mummy Blogger explains how the great outdoors provides a backdrop for her family to reconnect.
• Condo Kid Turns Composter and Plastic Police — Jessica from Cloth Diapering Mama has discovered that her young son is a true earth lover despite living in a condo with no land to call their own.
• Gardening with Baby — Sheila at A Gift Universe shows us how her garden and her son are growing.
• Why to Choose Your Local Farmer's Market — Naturally Nena shares why she believes it's important to teach our children the value of local farmers.
• Unfolding into Nature — At Crunchy-Chewy Mama, Jessica Claire shares her desire to cultivate a reverence for nature through gardening, buying local food, and just looking out the window.
• Urban Gardening With Kids — Lauren at Hobo Mama shares her strategies for city gardening with little helpers — without a yard but with a whole lot of enthusiasm.
• Mama Doesn't Garden — Laura at Our Messy Messy Life is glad her husband is there to instill the joys of gardening in their children, while all she has to do is sit back and eat homegrown tomato sandwiches.
• Why We Make this Organic Garden Grow — Brenna at Almost All The Truth shares her reasons for gardening with her three small children.
• 5 Ways to Help Your Baby Develop a Love of the Natural World — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama believes it's never too early to foster a love of the natural world in your little one.
• April Showers Bring May PRODUCE — Erika at NaMammaSte discusses her plans for raising a little gardener.
• Growing Outside — Seonaid at The Practical Dilettante discovers how to get her kids outside after weeks of spring rain.
• Eating Healthier — Chante at My Natural Motherhood Journey talks about how she learns to eat healthier and encourages her children to do the same.
• The Beauty of Earth and Heavens — Inspired by Charlotte Mason, Erica at ChildOrganics discovers nature in her own front yard.
• Seeing the Garden Through the Weeds — Amanda at Let's Take the Metro talks about the challenges of gardening with two small children.
• Creating a Living Playhouse: Our Bean Teepee! — Kristin at Intrepid Murmurings shares how her family creates a living playhouse "bean teepee" and includes tips of how to involve kids in gardening projects.
• Grooming a Tree-Hugger: Introducing the Outdoors — Ana at Pandamoly shares some of her planned strategies for making this spring and summer memorable and productive for her pre-toddler in the Outdoors.
• Sowing Seeds of Life and Love — Suzannah at ShoutLaughLove celebrates the simple joys of baby chicks, community gardening, and a semi-charmed country life.
• Experiencing Nature and Growing Plants Outdoors Without a Garden — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now shares some of her favorite ways her family discovered to fully experience nature wherever they lived.
• Garden Day — Melissa at The New Mommy Files is thankful to be part of community of families, some of whom can even garden!
• Teaching Garden Ettiquette to the Locusts — Tashmica from Mother Flippin' (guest posting at Natural Parents Network) allows her children to ravage her garden every year in the hopes of teaching them a greater lesson about how to treat the world.
• Why I Play with Worms. — Megan of Megadoula, Megamom and Megatired shares why growing a garden and raising her children go hand in hand.

How Does Your Garden Grow: A Response from The Gardening Coach

Last week I posted an update on my gardening attempts.  My Gardening Coach, Steve Biggs, wrote back with a response.  His advice is in PURPLE beneath each picture.

ZUCCHINI: The roots on these seedlings seem to be barely attached to the stem. Not sure what’s going on.

 THESE PLANTS ARE READY FOR A BIGGER POT, MAYBE A 4” POT. PLANT A WEE BIT DEEPER WHEN TRANSPLANTING. THESE ARE SPINDLY, BUT IF YOU “HARDEN” THEM OFF WHEN THEY GO OUTSIDE, SHOULD DO JUST FINE. AND YOU CAN ALSO DIRECT SOW ZUCCHINI IN THE GARDEN. ADVANTAGE TO STARTING INDOORS IS SIMPLY AN EARLIER HARVEST.


CUCUMBER: These seem strong although some of the leaves are a little yellow. Probably not getting enough light, as they are often covered by the zucchini leaves.

 YELLOW LEAVES IS VERY OFTEN A CRY FOR FOOD, AND AS THEY’RE IN SMALL CONTAINERS IT COULD BE THE CASE. PUT IN A 4” POT. THESE AND THE ZUCCHINIS CAN BE HARDENED OFF OUTDOORS STARTING ANYTIME (AS LONG AS YOU BRING THEM IN ON COLD NIGHTS OR COOL WEATHER) BUT DON’T TRANSPLANT INTO THE GARDEN TILL AFTER MID MAY


BASIL: The pot on the left has had several seedlings selectively removed. Perhaps the other two pots need the same treatment? And how many basil plants does a girl actually need, I'd like to know.

 YES, THINNING WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO WITH THE POT ON THE LEFT. GROW LOTS IF YOU LIKE DRIED BASIL—OR WANT TO MAKE PESTO AND FREEZE IT. WE USUALLY HAVE A DOZEN POTS OF BASIL

 EGGPLANT: These seeds were planted the same day as the zucchini. Could someone tell me why they are so spindly and pathetic?

 EGGPLANTS ARE ALWAYS PAINFULLY SLOW….IT’S NOT YOU. MINE AREN’T MUCH BIGGER. BECAUSE THEY DETEST COLD YOU’LL PLANT THEM IN THE GARDEN IN LATE MAY, SO YOU HAVE TIME


PEPPERS: I am totally proud of these seedlings. They were all planted in the centre pot but Steve told me they would need to be transplanted once they had 4 leaves each. So far, so good! These babies are so strong I could sell them!....Hmmm, maybe a plan for some income next year....

 LOOKS GREAT! SO AT THIS POINT YOU CAN PUT THEM ONE TO A POT.


PARSLEY: Help! These leaves are ready to harvest and they haven't even gone outdoors yet!

 WAY AHEAD OF MINE, I’M ENVIOUS! NO REASON YOU CANT HARVEST SOME LEAVES NOW. YOU CAN HARDEN THESE OFF NOW, AND TRANSPLANT AFTER YOU’VE HARDENED THEM OFF FOR A WEEK OR TWO.

 Wow, isn't Steve awesome?  If you live in Toronto, contact him.  Really.  And sign up for his newsletter.  You won't regret it.







LEEKS: More water is not helping these little guys. More sun, maybe? Or maybe they were supposed to be thinned out?

HARDEN OFF LEEKS NOW. THEY CAN GO IN THE GARDEN ONCE HARDENED OFF. (MY YARD IS FLOODED…SO MINE ARENT’ PLANTED, BUT I WISH THEY WERE!) THEY COULD EVEN HAVE GONE IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS BACK

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Remember my visit from Steve Biggs, the Gardening Coach?  Read about it here.

Well, my seeds have been growing like crazy!  But I'm a little worried that some of them aren't going to survive the transplant from pot to garden.




ZUCCHINI:  The roots on these seedlings seem to be barely attached to the stem.  Not sure what's going on.




CUCUMBER:  These seem strong although some of the leaves are a little yellow.   Probably not getting enough light, as they are often covered by the zucchini leaves.




BASIL:  The pot on the left has had several seedlings selectively removed.  Perhaps the other two pots need the same treatment?  And how many basil plants does a girl actually need, I'd like to know.




EGGPLANT:  These seeds were planted the same day as the zucchini.  Could someone tell me why they are so spindly and pathetic?




PEPPERS:  I am totally proud of these seedlings.  They were all planted in the centre pot but Steve told me they would need to be transplanted once they had 4 leaves each.  So far, so good!  These babies are so strong I could sell them!....Hmmm, maybe a plan for some income next year....




PARSLEY:  Help!  These leaves are ready to harvest and they haven't even gone outdoors yet!




LEEKS:  More water is not helping these little guys.  More sun, maybe?  Or maybe they were supposed to be thinned out? 

 So even though we are supposedly a month into Spring, the downloading of the season seems to have stalled and may require a reboot.  My raised-bed garden is tilled and fertilized and I am just waiting for the sun to shine consistently and for the temperature to go into the teens (please!) so that I can get these seedlings out there.

I sure hope my kids like parsley....

Let's Make Applesauce!

 

Last week my dad picked up a bushel of applesauce apples for me at the Waterloo Farmer's Market.  Now, I know that there is no variety of apples called 'applesauce', but these just happen to be the perfect apples for applesauce and I don't actually actually know what variety they are.  They have a very soft flesh and they are quite sweet.  And I don't know who grew and harvested and stored them, but they are blemish-free and not even bruised.  Excellent quality.

I washed them meticulously, then I cut them in quarters and cored them.  No peeling required!
 

I filled the pot heaping full and put it on a back burner at a very low temperature.  It stewed for about 3 hours and I stirred it with a bamboo spoon a couple of times.

And now for the fun part:  the applesauce mill!  This little device belonged to my mother and I can't even imagine how many liters of applesauce have passed through it.  My mother probably spun that handle with vigour enough to generate electricity for a small town!  I am honoured to have been the recipient of this fabulous little machine.

No need to peel the apples because the peels stay in the applesauce mill when the sauce passes through the tiny holes.

I filled Ziploc bags for the freezer and I made applesauce muffins and loaves for Anna.

Julian finds the applesauce to be a little bit sour, but he is eating it nonetheless.  I made 3 batches of applesauce and saved a few apples for making an apple crisp tomorrow for dessert.

Are you doing any big batch cooking these days?

I've Gone 'Poo Free

In one of the many ways that my life embraces contradiction (or maybe you'd say hypocrisy?), I have given up washing my hair.  No more shampoo for me!  Yup, I've gone 'poo free.

There are thousands of articles online about how to stop washing your hair with shampoo.  You can learn all about how using shampoo makes you need to use more shampoo by stripping your scalp of its natural oils which makes it produce more oil which makes your hair look greasy which makes you use more shampoo which strips your scalp of its natural oils......You get the picture.

So how to keep my locks looking lustrous?

Baking soda.  One tablespoon in one cup of warm water 2-3 times per week.  I use a squeeze-bottle to apply the solution directly to my scalp with my hair flipped upside-down in the shower.  I rub my scalp minimally before rinsing out.

If you are going to go this route there are two things you should know:

1. Everyone's hair and scalp are different and you have to figure out for yourself how much baking soda to use and how often to use it.
2. It takes about 2 months for your hair to feel healthy and normal and manageable.  Be patient.

At first I was using too much baking soda and rubbing too much and my scalp was raw and itchy.  Then I discovered that putting my hair in a pony tail before it was fully dry would make the area under the ponytail holder really oily.  But now that I've figured it out, I don't see myself going back to shampoo unless major hormonal issues change the pH of my hair so much that I can't figure out how to keep my hair nice.

So why does the cosmetics-loving-mommy stop using shampoo?  Well, I guess I saw it as a challenge--I wanted to see if it would work for me or if only certain types of mommies could have nice hair using only baking soda.  Turns out I am a certain type of mommy.

Just don't call me crunchy.

Unschooling and Unjobbing

Yesterday I wrote about how I hired Steve Biggs, a Toronto writer, horticulturalist and gardening coach, to help me maximize the vegetable-growing potential of  my postage-stamp backyard.

As inevitably happens when an adult notics that my school-age children are at home in the middle of the morning, Steve asked me if they were in school.  I said "No.  We live and learn together all day."  He said, "You homeschool?"  I said, "No, we Unschool."  I'm not sure what he thought of that answer.

At the end of our session I asked him if he was able to do this work full-time.  He replied that he was, in fact, home full-time with his three children (only one of whom is old enough for school) but that he has a babysitter two mornings per week so that he can do home visits.

I said, "Oh, you're an unjobber.  Just like we're unschoolers."

I love that word:  UNJOBBER.  I didn't invent it, although I wish I had.  I've seen UNJOBBING defined as pulling all areas of your life into alignment with your personal values and living more simply and consciously.

I would define UNJOBBING as requiring two elements:

1. Being able to think outside the predefined idea of a 9-to-5 work day and a 40 hour work week.
2. Making money doing what you love to do anyway.

It's interesting how many people have asked us about how we can keep unschooling if our kids want to go to university someday.  I mention that because the question is based on two incorrect assumptions.  First, that you have to graduate from highschool in order to attend university, which is not true.  Second, that the only definition of success is to obtain a degree and use it to make a high level of income. 

Well, that's not my definition of success.  Partner-Guy and I agree that the greatest success we wish for our children is that they will discover what they love to do, find a way to make money doing it, and be content in a lifestyle that they can afford based on following their passions.  We admit freely that neither of us have managed to achieve success on those terms.  When I was an elementary school teacher, I did not love teaching although I did love being a teacher.  (I was great at planning and organizing and doing paperwork, but being with the students actually got in the way of the parts of the job I really enjoyed!)  Partner-Guy goes to work everyday only out of his sense of duty to provide for us at the lifestyle we have become accustomed to.  If we could see fit to adjust to a different lifestyle (read: poorer) he could quit his job and become an UNJOBBER, doing something he actually enjoys.

What really appeals to me about unschooling our children is the way that it leads directly into unjobbing.  People who have been through the public education system are processed to become 9-to-5ers.  From the age of 4, public schoolers are trained to be subservient to a boss.  It's a wonder any of them go on to become entrepreneurs and small business owners.  By contrast, unschooled children will have a life of continuity:  having followed their passions as children they will continue to do so as adults.  There is no graduation day where suddenly they are adults and they have to find a job and earn an income.  They are free to pursue their dreams from the day they are born. 

Degrees don't mean much if you hate your job.  I have dreams of unjobbing in a way that has nothing to do with the three degrees I obtained.  And maybe Partner-Guy will get to follow his dreams too.  It's not too late!

What would you do if you could follow your passion and make money doing it?

Need Help to be a Locavore?

We all know that eating food grown close to home is good for the local economy and the environment.  Often, the food is better because it is harvested only hours before it is purchased.  When I shop at the big name grocery store (OK, I shop at No Frills) I look for produce that is Canadian.  But my family doesn't even come close to being true locavores, and the 100-mile diet is not even on my radar screen.

In January I read the book Locavore by Sarah Elton.  She's a Toronto journalist and her book is about the local-food movement in Canada.  Among other topics, she tells about the resurgence of the family farm in New Brunswick and the efforts of chefs in British Columbia to source local foods for their menus.  After reading it I decided to find out what was going on here in Toronto in the name of being a locavore.

I Googled "locavore garden Toronto" and somehow I ended up here, at The Locavore's Garden.  This website belongs to Steve Biggs, a writer and horticulturalist in Toronto who offers gardening advice to novice-would-be-vegetable-growers.  I've been growing vegetables in my backyard for the last 5 years, but I've never had much of a harvest, so I decided it might be time for some professional advice.

Steve came over for an hour this week.  We explored my yard and I explained that my lack of success in previous years was, I assumed, primarily due to extensive shade throughout most of the day.  Steve had a solution for that:  maximize the rails of the deck by using them to support crops like cucumbers and tomatoes.  He also suggested affixing some containers to the roof of our shed which is the sunniest spot in the yard.  He asked about my gardening priorities and goals.  I said that I wanted vegetables that are easy to preserve, like parsley, basil and beans.  I said that my favourite vegetable is spinach and he suggested swiss chard as a practical, easier-to-grow alternative.

Steve brought soil and seeds and since it was a sunny day we used the driveway as a planting station and he helped my kids to plant seeds for indoor germination:  celery leaf, leeks, parsley and peppers.  He has a young family too and he had great tips for how to involve the kids in gardening.  We created a little greenhouse in the furnace room (it's a garbage bag over the little pots) and I have been faithfully checking and watering every few days.  He gave me an e-book about starting seeds indoors that is practical and easy to follow.

I was already pretty impressed by how much I learned from Steve in just 1 hour, but then a few days later he sent me a 10-page e-book full of advice and ideas specifically regarding my garden with pictures of different areas of my backyard and suggestions for each location.  With this information, I can confidently plant seeds and seedlings in the spring and I may finally end up with a successful harvest.  I can hardly wait!
 
Do you want to grow vegetables in Toronto but you aren't sure how to get started?  I highly recommend the services of Steve Biggs  as a Gardening Coach.  Imagine if even 10 people follow this link and contact Steve to get them started growing their own food in Canada's biggest city!

To get a personal visit from Steve, go here.  To read some of Steve's gardening articles, go here.

Let's grow some vegetables, Toronto!  

Why Cloth Diapers Matter

For my first two children I used Pampers.  I put absolutely no thought into diapers whatsoever.  Everybody used Pampers, so I used Pampers.  I liked the smell.

I knew that there were people who used cloth diapers.  I met some moms at La Leche League who were using cloth.  Their babies had really big butts and their toddlers looked funny when they walked.  I liked the look of my sleek, skinny babies.

I had signed up for email newsletters from Pampers when Anna was born.  Occasionally Pampers would send me coupons, too.  Anna was consistently using the toilet or a potty by 26 months old, but since Holly was still in diapers I continued to subscribe to the newsletters and coupons.  At 18 months of age, one morning Holly yanked off her diaper and never wore one again.  She was done.  So when I received an email from Pampers saying "Anna is 40 months old!  Is she ready for pull-ups yet?" it was both a light-bulb moment and a serious kick in the ass.  Pampers didn't want my children to ever stop needing their products. 

I credit Pampers with making me switch to cloth diapers.  Before Jasmine was born I found a great website run by a mom in the GTA that sold lots of products for natural mothering.  I spent about $400 to get set up with cloth diapers and covers and liners and a diaper pail and natural laundry soap.  About six months later I spent another $250 on larger prefold diapers and covers which I used until Jasmine was diaper-free at about 22 months old.  I've estimated that I spent about $1200 on diapers for Anna and about $800 on diapers for Holly, so spending $650 on diapers for Jasmine that I have subsequently used for Julian has been a pretty good deal.  And it was more effort to find a place to stack my clean diapers than it has ever been to wash and fold them.

There are tons of articles and information on the internet about the benefits of cloth diapers.  I started at Parenting by Nature to learn about why people choose cloth over disposable for environmental or health reasons. I didn't bother trying to figure out the cost of washing my own diapers versus using a diaper service versus buying organic disposable diapers.  None of that had anything to do with the reason why I switched to cloth.

I switched to cloth diapers because I wanted to love my baby with diapers.  That's right.  Love her with diapers.  Pampers gave me a convenient, mindless way to deal with my baby's elimination.  But I am not mindless and my babies have never been convenient.  Wrapping their precious little bums in unbleached organic cotton has given me another way to love them on days when I am tired or sick or tending to the needs of another tired or sick older sibling.  I love it when I pick up the baby and I can smell that he's wet and needs changing--that subtle infant urine smell is actually so much nicer than the perfume smell of a disposable diaper.  And changing his diapers more often (which one inevitably does with cloth diapers) gives him a little more attention in house where three other children are also needing attention.

If this were an article in a mainstream parenting magazine, the mainstream readers would be writing mass letters of protest and fury:  How dare you suggest that I love my children less because I choose disposable diapers over cloth?  I have better ways to love my children than washing poop out of diapers!  I would be forced to retort with What do you do to love your children?  Because love is an action, not a feeling.  When I'm washing and folding diapers, what are you doing with your time that is an expression of love for your children?

Cloth diapers matter the way homemade meals trump takeout.  The way homemade cookies trump Oreos.  The way a walk in the forest trumps watching a movie. Cloth diapers matter because being mindful matters.  The way we mother our children matters even more than the effect of disposable diapers on the environment or on our health.

If we are going to undertake the role of mother then we better be mindful about it.

PHOTOS:  Julian in cloth diapers in August 2010.

In the Spring, the mind turns to Thoughts of......

Not much of a green thumb am I, but yesterday the girls came home from the grocery store with $20-worth of assorted seeds, and I am not going to let them go to waste. Anna's criteria for picking the seeds seems to have been related to the vividness of the flowers pictured on the package. And it seems that Holly grabbed whatever was within her reach. So we'll be planting 3 varieties of sunflowers, some pink petunias, purple violas and multi-coloured sweet williams, which apparently won't bloom until next year. Sigh.

If it had been up to me, I would have bought violets and impatiens, already sprouted and blooming. Much easier to plant flowers than seeds.

I read the back of each little packet to see what kind of sun requirements are necessary, and I think I have a fairly reasonable plan for where each flower will be planted. I want Anna and Holly to see that I will give this my best attempt, and frankly, watching seeds grow is pretty exciting stuff. Science is everything, after all.

So this morning I put Jasmine in a carrier on my back and headed out to the shed to locate the wagon, buried under deck chairs and seat cushions. We walked to Home Depot, selected a few planter boxes to hang off the deck, and found some appropriate soil. I had to ask one of the employees to load up my wagon, which he then pulled up the cash register for me. When he offered to follow me to my car to help me load the bags in, I had to explain that I was only walking a couple of blocks, and he offered his best wishes that my wagon would hold up all the way home. It did.

I have to add here that people of all ages point and stare at Jasmine when she's in the carrier. I think babies in strollers must be invisible, because when Jasmine is up at eye level she attracts so much attention! I'm not sure if it's because she is just SO CUTE, or if people are stunned that I can carry at 20 lb child on my body, or if it's because just the sight of a mother carrying her baby is so unusual, or because the girls and I are just busy doing our thing and Jasmine is happy to be along for the ride. I don't know. But it's interesting.

Anyway, I', waiting for the warm weather in a couple of days before I plant the seeds. I sunflowers are going along the front fence near the side walk so that I can tie them up to fence if they actually grow. I'll also plant some near the fence at the end of the driveway.The petunias are going in the planter boxes on the deck railing and the violas are going in a hanging basket. The sweet williams are going to be planted near the air conditioner and along the front of the house, although those areas don't get much sun, so we'll just have to see how they do. In my raised garden in the backyard I plan to plant some lettuce and some climbing beans. In the past, I've had good luck growing lettuce. Hopefully this year I'll remember to harvest it before it gets big and bitter.

I had hoped to convert my entire front yard into a vegetable garden, but a little research revealed that a garden planted under two towering Manitoba Maple trees is doomed to failure. Too bad, because I was really ready to embrace the 'Food not Lawns' manifesto.

When the East York Farmers' Market opens in May I will be able to buy some basil and parsley plants which will also be planted in containers on the deck. I'd like to harvest and freeze some herbs throughout the summer.

So let the growing season begin!! I'm dreaming of my someday-farm and growing vegetables and (hopefully) having an orchard. Dreaming is so much less work than doing......