Turning Brown Thumbs Green...

The daily harvest pics that I post are to show you that if I can be a successful gardener, you

can, too. :) 

I gardened for years with very little success. We did a traditional garden, raised beds, lasagne gardening and other assorted methods that people swore by (and I swore at. ;) ). The same thing would happen each  year. By July, my garden would die because I did not want to go out in the heat and weed the garden. Plus, I would either over-water or underwater, never seeming to get it just right. 

I don't know if it was Oklahoma or just my ineptness in the garden, but I could not harvest much at all. People have told me that they could grow anything...until they came to Oklahoma. I don't know about that since I've only ever gardened in Oklahoma. I only know that for me, it was a challenge...until we started gardening in boxes.

We tried Earth box and had success for the first time in a really long time. Larry wanted to try to make his own boxes. After working out a few design flaws and trial and error plans from the internet, he fine-tuned his boxes to be done to his satisfaction. I was a happy gardener because I had more boxes to grow veggies. I didn't have to weed the garden because the boxes were weed-free. I also was not over-watering my plants. I would fill up the watering tube daily and when the reservoir was full, water would come out the little drain hole. This truly was an easier and successful way to garden.




Here are some pictures of our early GAB garden. GAB on the left and Earthbox on the right. Thirty four tomato plants in seventeen boxes. We put the boxes right in our old gardening spot. We also discovered as the tomatoes grew, that we did not space them far enough apart.  

The pictures are of the tomatoes at planting, at four weeks and one days harvest of tomatoes. We harvested LOTS of tomatoes that summer. 

 

The problem arose when I was watering 20 boxes by hand. What started out as a few containers for a garden turned into...WORK. I asked Larry if he could come up with an easier way to water. Yes, I'm that lazy...lol.

Again, through trial and error and very little plumbing knowledge, Larry came up with a solution. He figured out a way to water all of the boxes at once and Garden Anywhere Box was born.

We felt that we had something useful to share. Surely, I could not be the only person who hated weeding a garden in the heat of the summer and who also

had two brown thumbs. We thought that other people might be interested in this easier way to garden. We are not the first ones to garden in a box, but no one else has a watering system like Garden Anywhere Box. The "no-weeding" part is the best, but the self-watering aspect of GAB is amazing. 

Now, when I go out in the morning (before it gets hot) to (not weed my garden) harvest what's ready, I can say that I really love gardening. I love being successful. I love planting new veggies that I've never tried. I love taking pictures of my harvests. I never did that before when I gardened in the ground. I was too hot from pulling weeds to even think about lingering over my plants to take pictures. Plus, there wasn't much to take a picture of. Garden Anywhere Box has changed all of that.

While we were talking about the boxes this summer and brain-storming about how to get the word out about GAB,  Larry came up with a slogan,

 "Garden Anywhere Box...

Turning Brown Thumbs Green."

I had come to accept my brown thumbed-ness in the garden, but now realize and am trying to accept that I AM a successful gardener. No more brown thumbs!

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I share my harvest pics to show others that if I can be a successful gardener, you can, too. :)

Made in Oklahoma

It was Larry and Lane's turn to man our booth at the state fair. While they were there, a woman from the Department of Agriculture who was working the MIO (Made in Oklahoma) booth stopped by. She had heard from the Valley View Pecan Co. people to check out our "MIO" product.

She said that she liked our product and invited us to have a booth at the Department of Agriculture farmers market. It is held each Tuesday in the DOA parking lot from noon to 5:00.

By the way, I loved the MIO booth at the fair. There are some really great products that are exclusive to Oklahoma. Plus, I love how the booth was decorated. I love the old plaid thermos bottles, picnic baskets and wooden ice cream makers. It brings back good memories from my childhood.

Anyway, we had some errands to run today and decided to stop by the DOA to check on attending the farmers market next Tuesday. One thing led to another and we were able to meet with the lady that Larry met at the fair. She is over the Made in Oklahoma products at the DOA. She introduced us to the head of the Farm to School program, the head of the Ag in the Classroom program and the head of the Plasticulture farming program. We were able to spend some time with Micah, the head of the Plasticulture program and learn about how he farms. He said our product certainly qualified as plasticulture...lol. It's made of plastic. 







As we were leaving the building, Micah showed us his garden in front of the DOA building. There were impressive stands of okra, a thick row of kale, tomatoes, corn and sweet potatoes. He was even growing cotton. I couldn't help but think of the lady that bought boxes from us at the fair who wanted to grow cotton in a GAB.

We hope that through the contacts that we made today, we will some day be able to share Garden Anywhere Box with students and teachers and show them a different way to garden. We still have a dream of our Garden Anywhere Bus and traveling around to schools with our portable garden. Garden Anywhere Box-No Weeding. Self-watering. Portable. 

We plan to be at the DOA farmers market next Tuesday. Stop by and say hi. 

Health Benefits of Okra...

I wanted to share with you the health benefits of okra. Last year I learned that okra leaves are edible. You can cook with them just like other "greens" or add them to smoothies. 

Now I'd like to spotlight the benefits of eating okra. If you are not consuming this powerhouse daily, you are missing out. 

Do some research and see what you think. 

History of Okra


Your BEST method is to use fresh Okra. Frozen Okra is nearly as good and much more convenient. Fresh (or even frozen & thawed) Okra gives you ALL the benefits of the vegetable. Water soaking it isn't very effective and takes much longer for the benefits. There simply isn't enough of the Okra in the water to do much good. It will work but takes a rather long time. It's just not very efficient.


All methods or okra preparation have some benefits, but the best way, imho, would be to consume it raw in a smoothie. 

Don't let your fear of okra stop you from trying it raw in a smoothie. You can't taste it. It's not slimy or fried AND you get all of the health benefits. 

My Basic Smoothie Recipe

Almond Milk

Frozen Fruit: Banana, Strawberries, Blueberries, Pineapple, Peaches,etc.

2 cups of greens: spinach, kale, beet, okra leaves,etc.

2-3 small okra pods, tops removed

Coconut Cream Concentrate

Boku Superfood

 (optional)

Directions: Make almond milk. I included a recipe, but mine is really basic. I use 1/4 c. soaked almonds to 3 cups of water. It makes plenty of rich milk with less pulp left over. I don't add dates or vanilla, but you could. Strain into a measuring cup with a strainer. No need to use cheesecloth and squeeze.

I take the few almond pieces that are left in the strainer and add back into my blender with another cup of water. I blend again and get another cup of almond milk to use later.

Pour the amount of almond milk you want into your blender. I use three cups since I'm making smoothies for three. Add frozen fruit, greens and other additions. You can add flax seeds or other seeds if you want. I sometimes add frozen juice cubes like beet, cucumber, carrot or other juices. If I have fresh cucumbers, I'll cut up a whole one and add it to the mix.

Blend until smooth. Drink your smoothie slowly, like you are eating a meal...because you are. Think of all of the goodness concentrated into one drink and be happy that you are nourishing your body with good foods.

Btw, I don't get paid to endorse products that I recommend. These are brands that I use and like and wanted to share with you. 

Famous Faces at the Fair

You never know who you will meet at the fair...

It was so nice that Santa was able to stop by our booth this year. He is getting ready for his busy season. He does not have time to be hoe, hoe, hoeing his garden. Not a problem with Garden Anywhere Box. 

Mary Fallin, the governor of Oklahoma was in our building, saying hello and taking pictures. Larry invited her to come over to our booth. We met Governor Fallin earlier this year at a luncheon at the Governors Mansion. Brent, a friend, suggested that we submit an application to be considered for the Oklahoma Venture Forum award. We did.

We got a call from someone on the committee letting us know that we didn't win...our company was a really small business and just beginning...but, they did like our product. The fact that they even called us to let us know that we didn't win was a big deal. They poured over hundreds of applications, weeded out most, but kept coming back to ours.

We did not win, but we were invited to the luncheon. We were the only business invited to the luncheon that did not win. (Excited and humbled)

We met Governor Fallin, got to listen to and learn from Tom Love, billionaire and owner of the chain of Love's Country Stores and we were recognized for our budding new business in a room full of doctors, lawyers, scientists and other people outstanding in their fields . It was a good day.

As if meeting Santa and the governor were not enough, Larry also caught up with Derrick, the mascot of the OKC Barons hockey team. 

The Fair and Catching Up with Friends

Last year, because Garden Anywhere Box is portable, we took a 5 foot jalapeno pepper plant off of our back deck to the fair. It sat in the corner with a light shining on it to show off.  People would look at it and not believe that it was real. It started out as a six-pack of peppers and grew into a bush. 

We also met Jacob. He was in charge of our building. He would see to everyone's needs. At the end of the fair, we asked Jacob if he would like to have the pepper plant. He said yes.

We were setting up our booth for the fair on Wednesday and Jacob came up to us. (He is back for another fair). He told us that he still has the pepper plant. He brought it in over the winter. One of the pepper plants died, but the rest are going strong. He planted a tomato in the place of the pepper. He said that the tomato did great and had a slight hotness to it.   I WANT PICTURES!!! 

It has been fun to catch up with friends/customers from last year’s fair. We heard about their GAB experiences this past summer. Most experiences were good, but some had issues with Mother Nature...and other things.

We heard about harvesting LOTS of tomatoes and peppers. We heard about squash bugs and vine borers. One tomato plant got blight.One  box had an unfortunate weed-eater encounter.  Another story was about over-planting the box. That is tempting and easy to do. When you get your GAB, with the hope of having success, it is tempting to want to "plant everything" in one box, but don't. Less is more when it comes to GAB. The less you overload the box, the more room the plants will have to grow. The solution to the problem is...get more boxes.

Garden Anywhere Box IS an easier way to garden, but there may be a learning curve. Every year you will learn a bit more than the year before. GAB works! We know it. Once you realize that you can be a successful gardener and can no longer claim “brown thumb” status, it is up to you to become the best gardener that you can be.

There are not many rules about gardening, but there are a few. I wrote a blog post about this earlier.

Learn about gardening. Read books. Educate yourself. Learn what to plant when for your zone and for the season. Learn about companion planting. GAB is the means to becoming a successful gardener, but the journey does not end there. It is only the beginning. 

Green Smoothies and Wild Edibles

Almost every morning I make green smoothies for breakfast. The pink color in the smoothie is from frozen beet cubes. I like to juice some veggies, preserve the juice in ice cube trays and add Juice cubes to my smoothies. Last year, I froze cucumbers, beets and carrots. I still have a few small freezer bags left to enjoy.

I usually add a handful of spinach, Romaine, kale or whatever greens I happen to have. I also add a couple of scoops of Boku Super Food. I really like Boku. I've used it off and on for years. It's full of green goodness. Another good thing to add to smoothies is wild edibles. These are "weeds" from your yard that are free for the picking. They contain valuable minerals and nutrients that your body needs.

I was out foraging for wild edibles this morning to add to our green smoothies. If you don't know the difference between a good weed and a bad weed, here is website with pictures and descriptions. Granted, it's for Oklahoma, but you will probably find some familiar weeds to your area. 

If you've never tried a green smoothie, you really should. It does not taste as bad as it sounds. I think it tastes pretty good. It might be an acquired taste, but your body will benefit from the added greens.  I add frozen fruit to mine and make my own almond milk. I also add coconut cream concentrate.  A green smoothie a day is an easy way to add greens to your diet.

I learned about green smoothies 8 years ago after reading a book called, "Raw Family" by the Boutenko family. It opened my eyes to a new way of looking at food. While I do not embrace a totally raw diet, I believe that raw food should have a high priority in our daily diet.

That is one reason why I am so passionate about Garden Anywhere Box. This way of gardening allows you to grow at least some of your own food. You can provide your own greens for green smoothies and the vegetables that your family needs to stay healthy. GAB gives you freedom. Freedom from weeds and freedom to garden without tilling the ground. With our exclusive watering system, GAB also gives you freedom of a self-watering garden. You don't over-water or under-water. GAB also uses about 70% less water than a traditional garden. If you don't have a yard, if you have poor soil, if you have limited time or energy, you can still have a garden with Garden Anywhere Box. 

Tomato Paste...A recipe and review

Tomato Paste

I posted a recipe for Tomato Paste last night on the GAB FB page. I made tomato paste this morning. I am returning to report. 


I love it! If you've been on here a while, you know that a recipe, for me, is just a suggestion. That being said...

I did not cut and chop my tomatoes. I did not use Roma tomatoes. I did not use sea salt or citric acid.  I used the tomatoes that I had on hand from the garden.

The way I fix my tomatoes is by cutting off the tops and putting the tomatoes cut side down in a jelly roll pan. I load up the pan. I usually just use my big tomatoes, but since I've had so many cherry tomatoes, I add some of those to the top. I might add a cut onion, bell pepper, herbs or figs or whatever strikes my fancy. Then I pour a little olive oil over the top. I pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and slide in the full jellyroll pan of tomatoes. 

I've learned that it can be helpful to have another jellyroll pan on the oven shelf below to catch any tomato liquid that might boil over.

Roast the tomatoes for about 20-30 minutes until they "smell" done and the tops are slightly blackened.

Take out and let cool. Blend all in a blender, juice and all.

Now you can chose what to do with your tomato sauce.  I used this batch to make tomato paste.

After I blended it, peels, seeds and all, I poured it back into the jellyroll pan and put it into the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes. That is all it took to reduce and start smelling done. Watch your tomatoes and make sure that they don't overcook.

Scrape the tomato paste away from the sides and store it. You may choose to can it, refrigerate it or freeze it for later. 



I really like this recipe. It's easy and takes up less storage space. I don't like to can, so I have a freezer full of containers of tomato sauce. It's much easier to process the sauce through to paste in the beginning.

Looking forward to lots of homemade soups and stews this fall. Use some tomato paste and cream for a delicious and easy homemade tomato soup.