Our Mission:

Our Mission: To enable individuals and communities to take an active part in the cultivation of systems that provide the highest quality fruits, vegetables, herbs and other yields, in a way that benefits themselves, cares for the land and environment, and provides a surplus to use, share and reinvest into the system.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Happy Easter 2016!

Happy Easter from Abundant Design!

Here are a few pictures from last weekend's Seed Exchange and Grafting Workshop
Photo: Jennifer Miller of ClarionSage.com

"Sweet Tater" TeRonde provided the music, and picked up a new fan.

Some of the seed traders and their loot
 


Fruit tree grafting workshop was a hit!
Photo: Julia McGuire of JulieCache.com


Thanks to all who came and made the event a success!

I hope you all have a blessed day!!!
 

Friday, March 18, 2016

Exhibitor Spotlight

This story appeared on the MarketPlace Events website just prior to the opening of the Home and Outdoor Living Show. 

Read the full article here:
 
Also WOI-TV Channel 5's Sam Shreier stopped by Abundant Design's feature garden to do Friday's mid-day weather forecast and tape this interview that played in the evening.

Saturday morning I made a stop at the Channel 13 WHO studios for a quick interview with Jannay Towne before heading back to the Iowa Events Center.

 
Congratulations to the following winners!
  •   Donna J. of Des Moines
  •   Alison K. of West Des Moines
  •   Nick O. of West Des Moines

Enjoy your new compost bucket and children's garden book packages!

The Little Gardener and Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth are also available on our Amazon Store!


The show and lead up was super exciting, especially since "Have Your Lawn and Eat It Too" won "Best in Show" but now it's time to get back to business! 

As this article posts we will be conducting a Community Seed Exchange and Grafting Workshop at the Waukee Library.  Then work will begin shaping the land, building soil and planting edible landscapes for the 2016 season. 
Are you on the list? 
Do you want an Abundant Design for your property?
Contact us today to make it happen! 

Monday, March 14, 2016

Best In Show!

As you know Abundant Design was invited to do a feature garden at this year's Des Moines Home + Outdoor Living Show.  Here are some pictures from the garden and the event.

Moving in!

Pieces coming together...

Getting closer...

Finished!
 
Elements in the design included:

A small food forest including a pollinator bed and honeybee hives, fruiting wall, stepper access path through the apple, pear, peach & cherry guild that ended near an arbor with trellised grapevines.



Continuing around the yard you came to the compost bins, herb spiral and annual garden.  There was even a bean tipi for the kids.











The edible oasis patio was where you could gather to enjoy the fire ring with privacy provided by the elderberry hedge on one side and evergreens on the other.  Blueberries were placed near these.

Don't forget to stop at the "Eat Your Weeds" display.


Back to the house, which was accented by an Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry specimen tree, you could find nasturtium and lupine mixed in the foundation planting.  The rain barrel from Rain Barrels Iowa was nestled on the other side to collect and store rainwater, and the overflow would be diverted to the food forest or maple tree ring.  Hostas provided the ground cover under the maple with tulips planted to hold nutrients through the spring rains.  A tree tapping mock up was nearby along with a recipe for hosta shoots.



On the deck behind the house were herbs, a salsa pot and bucket growing system provided by Forest Avenue Outreach to promote their new mentoring initiative.  You could register to win a growing system and also one of three kitchen compost bucket gift packs.

 

 The big news though is that the feature garden display

WON BEST IN SHOW!

 
Thanks everyone who has supported Abundant Design, and Market Place Events for inviting us to the show!

If you were unable to make it enjoy the pictures, copy the ideas in your landscapes.  Contact us if you want help with the design and installation.

Welcome to the great new friends and customers we met down at the Iowa Events Center this last week.  We look forward to working with you and helping you enjoy

Having your lawn and eating it too!
 
See you soon!

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Gardening Today

I took a break from show prep this morning to visit with Aaron Steil and Jessica Krupicka on Gardening Today on AM 1040 WHO.

We had fun talking about gardening, edible landscaping, food forests and the Home and Outdoor Living Show.  If you missed it or want to listen again, here is a link to the recorded podcast.  While you are there you can browse the other past shows.

There are many links on the Gardening Today show notes that we talked about.  We also mentioned The Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen.  If you would like to get involved with the Ames Food Forest join the Central Iowa Foodscaping Facebook group.  If you want to build a seed starting rack, here's the how-to video.


I also got to attend a mushroom growing class at McFarland Park put on by Story County Conservation. 

Adam Wilke lead about thirty attendees through the ins and outs of mushroom cultivation, benefits and science.  We all got to drill our logs, insert the spawn and seal them.  We also got to take home the log we inoculated with shiitake spawn.

For more information and registration for other classes put on by Story County Conservation go to their calendar.







I also got a few pictures of things popping in the back yard.


But show prep continues...

 

I can't wait to see you there!

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Leap Year Happenings 2016

Lots and lots going on currently,
so I am glad to have the extra day this year!
 

Preparation mode is in full swing with the Home and Outdoor Living Show fast approaching. 

Have you gotten your tickets yet? 
Follow the link in the picture to discounted tickets.
 
Plus, there are still a couple FREE ones left if you check the original post or Facebook...

 

Here are a couple teaser pics of what you'll see.


Don't forget the Seed Exchange is coming up, too!  RSVP on the Facebook event to get the latest updates.

If you listen to WHO 1040AM's Gardening Today Show next Sunday morning, you'll get to hear me talk about bringing more edibles into your landscapes!





I did get take a break from it all and got out in my own backyard today.  Although cooler than yesterday I took advantage of the decent weather and grafted some pear trees onto rootstock that I started from seed two years ago.



With all of this going on...
I am quite blessed to get suppers made for me!  My wife, of 13 years this week, found a great new way to prepare radishes.  Cooking mellows their strong flavor creating an almost potato-like addition to dishes.  With about 1/4 the calories and carbohydrates of potatoes they will keep your blood sugar from spiking the way it does with white potatoes.

Radishes are a great root crop that will mature quickly in your Spring gardens, with an early harvest allowing another warmer season crop in its place!  This Succession Planting increases your productivity in the same growing space.


Radish Sausage Skillet
 
Ingredients
4 chicken sausage, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1/2 yellow, red or orange bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
1 lb of radishes, quartered
olive oil
salt and pepper

Instructions
In a heavy bottomed skillet, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the radishes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Fry until cooked through, stirring often, for around 15 minutes.
In a separate skillet, brown the chicken sausage for around 5 minutes in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat.  Remove the sausage from the pan and set aside.  Add the peppers and onions to the skillet and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.  
Add the cooked radishes and sausage to the skillet with the onions and peppers and mix everything together.  Serve nice and hot!


Radish vs Potato