Banana Sammiches and Living in Alignment

An awesome vegan sandwich I created for dinner last night

Just want to share this awesome vegan sandwich I created last night. Cashew butter, sliced organic banana, drizzled with a little agave, on vegan pumpernickel bread. This was dinner. It was delicious and completely satisfying. It was so good, I’m having it again for lunch today.

We walked the garden last night, and sprayed an Epsom salt/water solution on the leaves of all the food plants that are flowering or nearly flowering. Dousing the leaves  with this Epsom salt compound gives the maturing plants a fast, concentrated dose of magnesium, and some sulfur, both of which vegetable plants love. A vegetable crop reaching maturity is hungry; extra fuel is needed for abundant flowering and fruiting. Well fed, lovingly nurtured plants also carry greater resistance to disease and insect damage.

I’m guiding the watermelon vines up trellises. If and when fruit forms, I’ll encase each developing watermelon in a cheap nylon women’s knee-high stocking and secure it to the trellis. The porous nylon mesh allows the watermelon to breathe, stay dry, and grow: attaching it to the trellis keeps the weight of the watermelon from snapping the vine.

Ermegherd – the Meyer lemon tree is putting out lots of fresh new growth! I’ve had it for just a week and a half, have been giving it plenty of nitrogen, and potted it up in a loose, light potting mixture. It really likes its new home. I’m already reading up on how to successfully overwinter it indoors. That will be the test. Thanks Mom for the tree - yay for homegrown citrus!

The peach trees are fattening up. I expect a good crop this season. Our apple trees, however, are not too great. Since we don’t spray, insects are already having their way with the leaves. This pretty much keeps the trees from developing. We might have to write them off as a loss, and stick with peaches. I won’t take the trees down, but I don’t expect any fruit from them.

Birds are really hanging around the food gardens. There they are each day, perched on the tall trellises, swooping back and forth, singing their songs. I don’t know why they’re inhabiting the garden this season, but it’s great. I love it. A garden that bursts with life is like a piece of heaven at your feet every day.

I’m still psyched about that banana sandwich. Veganism is teaching me all new ways to live on Mother Earth and create great food, and it’s incredible. I’ve eaten more flavorful, satisfying, and nutritious food in the past month than in my entire life. And bringing kindness back into the story of my food has been wonderful. It's a beautiful way to live. It feels good. It's in alignment.

Live in peace.