Naturally Sept/Oct 2017

P. Allen Smith's

NATURALLY Sept/Oct 2017

Gather Friends by the Fire

Forget Foliage!

DIY Fall Feather Wreath

Make Your Favorite Comfort Foods Low-Carb 1

Let Go & Simplify

The official start of fall is just around the corner.

There’s still some work to be done in the garden, but for the most part, it’s time to shift my focus. I’ve always liked this quote by Samuel Butler: “Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits.”

For me, that quote is about more than the dying off of summer blooms and the abundance of fall fruit.

Often times, we resist mellowing out. We work ourselves up over decorating the house, hosting parties, or whatever it may be. But, we need to take a lesson from nature. Let things take their course, and don’t force what is failing.

Like the leaves that fall from the trees, we must learn to let go of the things—material and otherwise— that are holding us back. This fall, I challenge you to simplify your life. Clean out your closets, simplify your meals, and find relaxed, easy ways to entertain.

You may be surprised to find that less really is more.

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P. Allen Smith's

NATURALLY PUBLISHER

P. Allen Smith ACCOUNT SERVICES DIRECTOR

Jessica Jones ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Alexandria Cantrell EDITOR

Stephanie Matthews DESIGNER

Katherine Laughlin SOCIAL MEDIA

Emmaline Epperson PHOTOGRAPHERS

Beth Hall Mark Fonville Jason Masters Steven Veach STYLIST

Lori Wenger Contributor Kelly Wilkniss

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Table of Contents

Bonfire Hangout 6

DIY Fall Wreath 20

Cauliflower Comfort Foods 24

School Gardens 32

The Right Tools for Fall 36

5 Plants to Grow Now 38

CONTACT For advertising inquiries, email jjones@pallensmith.com.

For editorial and general feedback, email smatthews@pallensmith.com.

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round

gather

You don’t have to go any farther than your own backyard for a fun fall night with friends. Build a bonfire, make some mulled wine, and put together a platter of s’more fixins. Grab some pillows from the couch and blankets off the bed. They don’t even have to match! This kind of get-together is all about the company and enjoying crisp fall evenings together.

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mulled wine

(Click on photo to view recipe.)

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s'mores

Think outside the box when it comes to making s’mores. Use white chocolate instead of traditional milk or dark. Incorporate fruit using apple slices or jams. Using fresh pumpkin with spices could be a hit! Go through your fridge and pantry and pull out some ingredients to put a spin on your s’mores.

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Click here to listen.

1.

WISH I COULD The Wandering Hearts

2. MYKONOS

Fleet Foxes 3.

SHAPE OF LOVE (FEAT. BOY & BEAR) Passenger, Boy & Bear

4. LAY BY ME Firekid 5.

CHIN UP, CHEER UP Ryan Adams

6. JACKIE AND WILSON Hozier 7.

HEAD FULL OF DOUBT/ROAD FULL OF PROMISE The Avett Brothers

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AWAKE MY SOUL Mumford & Sons

9.

RIPTIDE Vance Joy

10. THAT’S HOW STRONG MY LOVE IS

Otis Redding 11. THE JOHN WAYNE

Little Green Cars 12. THE BOXER

Jerry Douglas, Mumford & Sons, Paul Simon 13. I’M AMAZED

My Morning Jacket

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s

cheer

love

roasting 14

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friends

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"Autumn...the year’s last, loveliest smile." — William Cullent Bryant

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"In summer, t

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the song sings itself." — William Carlos Williams

"By all these lovely tokens September days are here, "By all these lovely tokens With summer's best of weather September days are here, And autumn's best of cheer."

With summer's best of weather — Helen Hunt Jackson And autumn's best of cheer."

— Helen Hunt Jackson

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DIY Fall Wreath:

feathers & flowers

Our friend Kelly Wilkniss of My Soulful Home created this fun autumn wreath that allows beautiful natural elements to take center stage!

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SUPPLIES 2 grapevine wreaths, 18 inches in diameter 1 small bundle of wheat stems 2 packages of feathers (approximately 5 to 7 inches in length) 1 bunch of dried yellow craspedia flowers Hot glue Thin wire Bow (optional)

STEPS: 1. Wire the two grapevine wreaths on top of each other in 3 spots. Cut off excess wire in two spots, and make a loop on the third for hanging purposes.

2. Trim the wheat stems to about 3 to 4 inches and tuck the stems into the vines. Point the wheat in a clockwise direction at varying intervals around the wreath.

3. Repeat with the longer feathers.

4. The wheat and feathers should stay put without glue, but, if you feel the need, add a drop or two to hold the wheat and feathers in place.

5. If you are using a bow, position it on the wreath and attach it with wire or a length of twine.

6. Create 5 feather “flowers” evenly spaced around the wreath. Tuck the smaller feathers into the grapevine in circles to create the “flowers.”

7. Add a drop of glue to the center of the “flower” and let dry. This will help to hold the cluster of feathers in place.

8. Repeat the above 5 times if you are not using a bow, for a total of 6 feather “flowers.” If you are using a bow, you will need to create 4 more feather “flowers.”

9. Once dry, glue a craspedia bloom to the center of each feather "flower."

10. Embellish the bow with a few feathers and blooms (optional).

11. Once all glue is dry, hang and admire!

Kelly Wilkniss is passionate about sharing beauty, design, and humor through her blog, My Soulful Home, podcast, Decorating Tips & Tricks, and now her first book, My Soulful Home: A Year in Flowers. Kelly lives in Pasadena, California with her husband, two girls, and their dog Emmett. She is lovingly restoring an 1886 Victorian farmhouse, which you can see on her blog.

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First Love "Chickens were my first love. I give them care and protection, and they give me joy and laughter in return. I trust HomesteadÂŽ Poultry Feeds by HubbardÂŽ Life to provide the safest and highest quality protein, minerals and nutrients to meet the growth, performance and health needs of my birds."

NUTRITION FOR LIFE.

it's in our nature.

BY

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Finally.

A planter that works for you.

/Crescent Garden

/CrescentGardenT

www.crescentgarden.com

cauliflower swap Fall’s cooler temperatures alert us that winter is on its way.

That doesn’t mean that it’s time to carbo-load and prepare to hibernate like the bears, though. You can enjoy some of your favorite comfort foods without going overboard on starches.

It’s simple. By swapping cauliflower for pasta in mac ’n’ cheese or for potatoes in tater tots, you get the great taste without the guilt.

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Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce

(Photo credit: Joyful Healthy Eats)

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Cauliflower Tots

(Photo credit: FoodFaithFitness)

(Click on photo to view recipe.)

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Cauliflower Mac ’n’ Cheese

(Photo credit: Vanilla And Bean)

(Click on photo to view recipe.)

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust

(Photo credit: Ambitious Kitchen)

(Click on photo to view recipe.)

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Mashed Cauliflower

(Photo credit: Garlic and Zest)

(Click on photo to view recipe.)

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LUNCH TOURS

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GET TICKETS MOSS MOUNTAIN FARM IN ROLAND, ARKANSAS

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Good Dirt

gives back

(Photo credit: Elena Caron)

When we teach children to garden, it’s about so much more than playing in the dirt. They learn about where their food comes from and how gardening is good for their bodies and their minds.

Soil is the building block of any garden. Our friends at Good Dirt consider it part of their company’s core mission to teach children how to love the ground they walk on, nourish it and grow their food by planting gardens.

When little hands dig in the dirt, children gain a deeper understanding of the entire growth process and the connection between humans and nature. With the “Good Dirt, Good Deeds” program, Good Dirt teaches kids how to plant seeds and so much more, like how precious water is in nurturing the garden and how to take care of our natural resources.

In ways that books can’t convey, a teaching garden can impart endless wisdom and lessons in community, tenderness and sustainability. Good Dirt supports these gardens with their all-natural, nutrient-rich soil and plant food.

Working closely with St. Timothy’s School, Marbles Kids Museum and Chatham Central High School, Good Dirt helps children of all ages find out how their food grows and how to take care of their physical and emotional health. In the process, they learn to appreciate nature and to be connected and kind to all living things.

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“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.”

— Lauren DeStefano

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Tools for Sustainable

fall gardening

Whether you’re new to gardening or you’ve been at it for a while, the right tools make all the difference. You want to make sure you’re using the right tool for each task, and you want tools that are going to last for a very long time.

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For the last of the tomatoes, use clippers to remove

For sweet potatoes, parsnips and other root

them from the vines. This helps protect the plant and

vegetables, the best way to get them out without

also comes in handy for getting off the tomatoes that

damaging them is using a digging fork. Locate the

grow in clusters. I like to use these ARS Small Hand

crown of the plant you want to dig up and, with your

Shears for cutting herbs too.

digging fork, loosen the soil around the plant, creating a circle about 18 inches in diameter. Then you can pull

It’s time to get your fall vegetables into the ground.

up the sweet potatoes or parsnips by the crown.

For broccoli and cabbage, I recommend that you use transplants. You’ll need a handheld trowel to get these

I like to keep my Garden Glide handy, especially during

in the ground. This one with a gel grip is comfortable

harvest season. All those cabbages, sweet potatoes

to use and durable, and the polished aluminum keeps

and broccoli really start to get heavy to lug around!

soil from sticking.

Whether I need to haul soil, fertilizer and tools to the garden or all my produce back from the garden, pulling

When it’s time to harvest that broccoli and cabbage,

it all around on the Garden Glide makes all these

a knife will come in handy for cutting through the

chores much easier.

broccoli stalks and cabbage heads. I have this soil knife, which has been useful not only for harvesting these fall vegetables, but also for plenty of other garden chores like dividing perennials and digging out rocks and debris.

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5 Plants to Grow in Your

fall garden

Even though you may still be harvesting tomatoes and

WHAT TO PLANT

squash, it is time to start thinking about replanting

your vegetable garden with cool season favorites such as lettuce, radishes and broccoli.

Before you get started—the average date of the first killing frost in your area is the most important thing to know when it comes to fall vegetable gardening. Your local garden center is a good source of information for this date. To determine when to start planting, find out the number of days to maturity for the vegetable.

Next, count back the number of days from the first

Broccoli – Broccoli seedlings should be planted 10

average frost date. Some people add a week or so to

weeks before the first frost date in your area. This

allow for a few extra days to harvest the produce once

means planting them during the last hot summer days

it’s mature. You will find maturity information on seed

so it’s important to mulch around them to help keep

packets and some plant labels.

the ground cool and moist. Feed the broccoli plants 3 weeks after transplanting into the garden. Use a low nitrogen fertilizer. 70 days to maturity

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Cabbage – Plant seedlings 6 to 8 weeks before the first frost. If the heat of summer is still intense when it’s time to plant in your area, give the young plants protection from sun. Cabbages are heavy feeders that require fertile soil rich in organic matter and consistent moisture. 70 days to maturity

Radish – Sow seeds for radishes 4 weeks before the first frost. Winter varieties, such as ‘China Rose,’ mature slower, grow larger and store longer. They should be sown about 6 weeks before the first frost.

Sow the seeds evenly so you don’t have to thin them.

No feeding necessary, but soil should be fertile and well drained. Radishes are quick to mature, so check them regularly. They are ready to harvest as soon as they are of edible size. 25 to 50 days to maturity, depending on variety Spinach – Sow seeds 5 weeks before first frost date.

The short days and cool, moist weather of fall is even better for spinach than spring. An established spinach crop will last well into winter and can survive temperatures down into the 20s. Spinach prefers very fertile soil to encourage rapid growth and tender leaves. 45 days to maturity

Lettuce – Sow seeds in late summer. Provide the seedlings with consistent moisture and shade from the afternoon sun. 45 to 60 days to harvest, depending on

To see what other vegetables you can grow in the fall, click here.

type and variety

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MEET Henrietta Henrietta, wife of Amos, is the queen of the hen house. She’s a beauty,

and she knows it! Henrietta is not usually in a hurry and goes about her

day with ease, but if there’s a treat in sight, you can bet she’ll be the first one to it.

Henrietta loves visitors and will happily grace you with her presence. She would be thrilled to have you hold her and give her some attention.

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