Blogger: Gayla Trail
Bio: Gayla has a compulsion to know how to do everything which will sure come in handy when the revolution comes, but for the time being is more of a "hobby problem."
Email: gayla@yougrowgirl.com
You can collect most vegetable seeds without much fuss. Beans are literally left on the plant until they dry out, while peppers are as simple as scooping out the seeds and setting them to dry. Tomatoes call for a slightly more complex method.
Late summer is my favorite time of year, the slow inevitable decent into the painful depths of winter aside. There is so much bounty about, whether it is from one of my little urban gardens or cheap n’ fresh at my local organic farmer’s market.
Earlier this year, Polaroid’s SX-70 film (aka ‘Time Zero’) left store shelves FOREVER and like most fans of the format I’ve been sitting on that last box holding out for the perfect subject that will be worth the sacrifice. More than 6 months have passed with nothing being good enough for my beloved last box. With old stock skyrocketing on ebay (some are going as high as $5 a picture. How’s that for pressure?), and similar camera models that take available film formats also going through the roof, it looked like my SX-70 love was coming to an end.
With harvest season upon us, and many flowering plants moving past their prime, it’s time to start collecting seed for next year’s crop. While a certain amount of knowledge is handy, collecting and prepping your seeds is pretty darn easy.
Here’s a great way for thrifty film loving photographers to get all the analogue with none of the expense of film. It’s a bit of a balancing act but essentially all you do is use a top viewing medium format camera to focus on a subject and then train the lens of a digital camera onto the ground glass or viewfinder.
Growing succulents in the windowbox on the fire escape portion of my rooftop garden has become a tradition — most likely because they are just about the only plants that can survive the intense sun, heat, and drought.
