As a mom, multitasking is not an unfamiliar concept. I see just how extreme it's become when Arienne is playing with her dollies and has a calculator (pretend phone) pinched between her shoulder and ear while putting her dollies in their pram! Imitating Mommy's multitasking to the max, ha ha! These past few weeks have been no exception as we have been changing roles all day from speech therapist, to painter, to plasterer, to cleaner, to gardener, to delivery person, to baker, to parent, and so it goes on! We have been busy little worker bees converting a section of my folks' house to be a new home for the Davels. Moving is no easy feat, and adding renovations into the mix, we've been super grateful to let our paint-flecked little heads smoosh into the pillow each night. This week has seen the Davels moved in, woohoo! A few more licks of paint and mountings of curtain rails and we'll all breathe a sigh of relief as they get a chance to settle in!
In between the renovation dust settling, our next patch of carrot seeds have sprouted! It gives me such joy to see these tiny pops of green, interspersed between our spinach plants. We're interplanting to maximise on garden space and help deter pests by camouflaging the outline of the plant's leaves amongst a bed of other types of plants, so that the hungry spinach-munching beastie gets confused as he flies over and can't identify his favourite snack amidst the myriad of leaves of the other plants. Our spinach plants will probably mature just before our carrots, which will mean they can get out of the way just in time for the carrots to have more space to flourish.
On the planting list for today is Marigold flowers in between our veggies plants. These are pest deterrents and pollinator attractors, so we consider that a win-win! Strictly speaking, we should only be planting these in spring, but we've managed to rig up some really good frost protection for our veggie babies, so we're taking the chance! In my own home veggie patch, the Marigolds have self-seeded and are blissfully unaware of the July temperatures, blooming in all their glory, much to the bees' delight! If you'd like to add these beauties to your garden, be sure to include a pack of seeds in your next Rooted Herbivores order! They're really easy to grow and even the most inattentive gardener will struggle to kill them. A great home activity for the kids who will be stranded at home (again) amidst the latest school closures.
We have had such positive feedback on our jar return policy! For those who missed our announcement, we are able to sterilize and re-use your empty jars to refill with yummy goodies for a R5 discount per jar on your next order. This way, we save the environment production of new bottles, and we bypass an energy and water intensive recycling process AND we save our clients money. We're humbled by some of our clients who even refuse the discount and return the jars because they feel a responsibility towards the environment. We love that we're getting to the hearts of budding environmentalists through their tummies!
Since we've begun our Rooted Herbivores journey, we haven't had the need to buy any commercial bread. We've been spoiled by eating high quality, preservative free, tummy friendly sourdough. It occured to me that each loaf we don't buy is one less plastic bag going to a landfill. We were buying an average of two loaves per week. That's 8 plastic bags we've avoided per month. Yay us! Same goes for our fresh carrots and lemons. Not only do we avoid the unnecessary production and (lack of) disposal of packaging, these are grown without using harmful pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Here we're saving precious soil (an undervalued and fragile natural resource) and our garden acts as part of the natural ecosystem, providing a place for birds to nest, covering soil and protecting it from erosion, feeding the occasional caterpillar, which in turn feeds another critter higher up on the food chain.
Other new developments include a few failed (or shall we rather say "in progress") experiments in fluffy, gluten-free bread. Arienne has a wheat allergy and we know there are many others who'd benefit from some yummy wheat-free tummy hugs. We're not happy with the consistency yet, and being the perfectionists that we are, we'll launch this product to our customers when we've achieved the same gold standard we have for our wheat-based breads.
Our East Rand customer base has grown and we'd like to send a big THANK YOU for all the support! It has become worth our while to do a twice monthly East Rand run, so if you'd like a delivery there, be sure to place your order before this coming Wednesday for delivery on Friday. We are considering including a Fourways area delivery as well this month, and will keep our customers posted!
Through our tired muscles and paint stains and broken nails (gardening is not for sissies) these crazy past few weeks, we are as always, ever grateful for the unwavering support from our growing client base. It's a privilege for us to pour our talents and passion into bringing you yummy treats and being kind to the earth in the process.
Claire
Construction worker
Mom
Hippie