Tag: Kitchen Garden

This fellow may look cute, but I caught it approaching the trays of seedlings set near the front steps. Celery, peppers and broccoli were within inches and moments of rabbit consumption when I pulled up in my vehicle after returning from the newspaper. There were three of them frolicking in the long, wet grass last night.

As long as they stay out of the garden, I don’t mind. There is clover to eat, and little human contact toward the back of the lot near the mulberry and Blue Spruce trees.

I’m no Elmer Fudd, and won’t go hunting rabbits. Other natural predators almost always take their toll and reduce the population. By mid-summer there are usually no noticeable rabbits.

That said, it wouldn’t take long for a rabbit to decimate certain crops, so I train a wary eye on them when they are out and about in the habitat we created— one that suits them so well.

A lot is at stake during the 2014 midterm elections. Some of us would say there is always a lot at stake– with every legislative session, with every local initiative, with every city council and school board meeting, and with every encounter with a neighbor, friend, relative or stranger. Just about everything matters on the Iowa prairie. There is plenty to write about.

At the solstice, moving into my second of three months of summer editorship of Blog for Iowa, it is important to get the lay of the land politically. There is no way to do it other than from a ground view, and that means a few things are worth mentioning… in addition to rabbits.

First, there are only two political campaign subjects that people I meet in daily situations are talking about: Hillary Clinton and Terry Branstad.

Copies of Clinton’s recently published memoir are available everywhere books are sold and people are talking about her. The conversation goes something like, “what do you think about Hillary Clinton?” The question is both probing and indicative of the asker’s interest in her. I have little response, except to say “we’ll see if she runs.” She has become such a superstar that the idea of getting up close and personal with her is a dream (or if readers are wingers, a nightmare).

Regarding the governor, people say they have had enough of him. With his political barn signs dotting the landscape, extensive name recognition, and a well-funded campaign war chest, he holds the advantage going into the summer campaign. Many people won’t decide on the gubernatorial race until late October, so there is time for Jack Hatch to close the gap if he works smart.

Something else noticeable at the ground level is how intent most people seem in their lives, to the exclusion of concerns outside their immediate sphere of influence. All of the busy-ness precludes action on solutions to global problems and is more of a concern than whether people are ready for Hillary or tired of Branstad. As Marshall McLuhan’s global village failed to take root in the U.S., it is needed more than ever.

LAKE MACBRIDE— Yesterday was a muddy morning in the garden with dirt getting all over. When a gardener says he is close to the earth, that is it means. Using the hose, I washed off my legs and shoes, and took a shower after processing the vegetables.

I harvested turnip greens for soup stock and this morning there are more than four gallons processing a batch at a time in the water bath. In late July I hope to plant more for fall harvest, and supplemental stock. Considering a cost between $3 and $4 per box at the store, soup stock is money.

Despite the general disaster in the first garden plot, the kale looks nice, and there is spinach between the weeds. The lettuce and arugula grew, but are past picking. The space needs replanting, but it will be a different crop.

The tomatoes look fabulous with luxuriant leaves and many flowers.

Apples are coming along and it will be a small crop.

Four trays of seedlings remain to be planted. As soon as the ground dries out a bit, it shall be done.

Already it is solstice, and the days get shorter from here. It won’t be a great gardening year. It will be good.

LAKE MACBRIDE— The tomato plants are doing nicely, with flowers beginning to form on some of them. A man who claimed he had two-inch fruit already, without a greenhouse— I don’t know about that. What has been planted in the garden is doing well.

That’s really the trouble. Not enough has been planted, causing me to re-think the garden.

It may be time to put aside some seeds to wait until July heat passes. Too, the greens must be picked before they go past prime. This week will be a period of finishing the first wave of seedlings, and regrouping.

Combine that will a full slate of other work, and there will again be a lot to get done.

LAKE MACBRIDE— Lawn clippings are a money crop and the harvest has begun. Waiting until the grass gets long with spring growth, I cut it once at the highest deck setting, then again at 3-1/2 inches, bagging the result as mulch for the garden. This year there is an abundance.

Once the garden is mulched, the bagging attachment is removed from the tractor and stored in the garage until next year— it’s better to mulch the lawn during the hot, dry season.

That’s not to say I am caught up with gardening. Far from it. There have been greens and radishes lately, but there has neither been enough time to weed what I planted, nor plant all that needs to be. Gardening will be far from perfect this year working in fits and starts in between outside work.

Last night I attended the Solon City Council meeting, and the setting in the new city hall is spacious, but a little weird. The mayor, councilors, and administrative staff sit at a crescent moon shaped table table arrangement, and I sit front row, center, facing them with my camera and recorder. Last night, after the Alliant Energy discussion, I was the only other person present.

While it is important for the media to cover governing bodies, it is a sad statement that so few people are present at their meetings. Of course, if I wasn’t being compensated, not sure you’d find me there either.

The Iowa primary elections were Tuesday, and my publicly declared candidates all won. Because I worked as a campaign consultant on the 2012 Iowa House District 73 race, there was a particular interest, but I kept my mouth shut about it. What we did then, and I suggested both 2014 candidates David Johnson and Dennis Boedeker do, is predict turnout, and then identify voters until one half plus one needed were confirmed. It doesn’t appear that either followed my advice.

Turnout was 1,064 in the race with Johnson winning by 30 votes. This was pathetic. The district had 1,361 primary voters in 2012. The comparative numbers were Wilton (2012 = 45; 2014 = 33, Johnson County (2012 = 748; 2014 = 569), and Cedar County (2012 = 568; 2014 = 462). Partly this is due to the midterms being less interesting for voters, but mostly it has to do with the amount of work in the form of shoe leather, phone calls and mailings being done by candidates.

One of the myths about the campaigns was that high interest in Johnson County court house races would drive higher turnout there. In 2012 it was the Slockett v. Weipert race for county auditor. In 2014 it was the Lyness v. Zimmerman race for county attorney, plus a competitive four way race for two seats on the county board of supervisors. Overall, turnout set a county record for primaries in 2014. The District 73 numbers show that what mattered more than overall trends was the amount of work done by a campaign (ours in 2012), or the lack thereof (by either candidate in 2014). Some additional things about the race contributed to my analysis but are not appropriate to share on a public blog.

What I know more than anything is the incumbent is smart, politically savvy, and hard working. Since he was sworn in, I have gotten to know him better than I know most legislators. Now that Johnson has a clear shot to November, he should gear up his game if he hopes to win. A surer bet would be on the tomatoes I mulched with my grass clippings, if the primary results are any indicator.