October 2010
20 posts
“Oh! Hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us,
And black are the waters that...”
– The Seal Lullaby (With Recording!)
Not really garden related, sorry, but this is a beautiful lilting lullaby, and should be listened to often, late at night when it’s dark and quiet.
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Monthly Garden Report for October
The pictures in the photoset say it all, don’t they?
October this year was officially the month of having a long list of things to do and me managing that list by ignoring it. Some years this works out, this year, obviously not. Snow in October isn’t rare here, but it never fails to catch you off guard. The skier in me is happy, the gardener, not so much.
Some people are great...
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My new favorite read
I found this pdf, Mountain Plants of Northeastern Utah by Berniece A. Anderson and Arthur H. Holgren. USU published it for its horticulture students and then put up on its extension service site “as a guide for students, amateur botanists and anyone interested in the wildflowers of a rather limited geographic area.” Check and check. And, such good reading! I’ve been discovering...
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California Dreamin'
We had to attend a family wedding in San Diego this last weekend. Not willing to pull my mind from my fall garden, I focused on my plan for a lawn substitute for the front yard, trying to study the native steppe matrix as it whipped by at 80 miles an hour out the window (yes, that is the actual speed limit). I tried to take in as much as I could given my experience with California didn’t...
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This is MY Farmer →
I’ve got to say, I’m busting with pride over my CSA right now. I will eat your collard greens and never complain again!
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No Trick, Just Treat
A conversation I had recently that demonstrates how disconnected we are as a society from the food we eat.
Store Clerk: What a fun fairytale pumpkin!
I&P: Yes. It's called a Galeux d'Eysines.
Store Clerk: Really? Well, it will look so cute on your porch!
I&P: Oh I'm not putting it on the porch. I'm going to eat it. Although, I could leave in on the porch until then...
Store Clerk: Wait—eat it?
I&P: Oh yeah. They're delicious.
Store Clerk: No, really, you're going to EAT it? But it looks so weird...
I&P: Sure. I think they taste better than regular pumpkins...
Store Clerk: You eat pumpkins too? So, do you like, bring them in after Halloween...
I&P: No, I don't eat the ones we carve for decoration. I buy whole pumpkins and cut them up and roast them. I save a few for Thanksgiving and make them into pies.
Store Clerk: Whoa! Like, I didn't think anyone did that. We just make our pumpkin pie from the cans.
I&P: The pumpkin from the can doesn't taste as good. These taste much better.
Store Clerk: I dunno. It sounds like too much work for me! I just think they look cute as decorations.
I&P: «shrug» You don't know what you're missing.
Remember to please show respect to pumpkins this year and eat one.
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THE Guide on Buying A Shovel →
Continuing with Fine Gardening’s shovel videos, this one helped me immensely. I’m the type of gardener that buys the best quality tool I can find. After watching this, I went and got a Corona closed back #2 for a general digging shovel. I’m short and I don’t weigh that much, but I don’t use the shovel that often, and I thought it would be better to buy a general...
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Are You Shoveling Safely? →
Back in the day when I was researching what was the best all-around shovel (it’s Corona’s Closed Back #2 Round Point Shovel with a wood handle, by the way, but that’s another post) I discovered that I wasn’t using a shovel correctly. In fact, I was putting myself at risk of injury or breaking the shovel. Given that I’d broken a couple of shovel handles in my lifetime,...
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Soft
Has modern life made us soft? Are we addicted to “convenience” so much that we couldn’t live without it?
These are the thoughts that crossed my mind yesterday when I picked up my share of veggies from my local organic CSA. Over the summer, I’ve been exposed to various greens that I’ve tried to avoid such as kale and collard greens. Most recipes I’ve tried, even...
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How Bulb Packaging Should Be Done
As most bulb catalogs offerings vary little in terms of rare or species bulbs from year to year, I’ve begun to look at independent rare bulb suppliers for more unusual varieties.
My order from Odyssey Bulbs impressed me. The bulbs came in small brown bags with labels that had specific information about the bulb. Take the Crocus sativus bag for example:
Crocus sativus—Saffron, renowned...
“Unscientific studies conclude that if you were to ask ten Koreans, “What is the...”
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In Korea, the hoarding of cabbage has exacerbated an inflationary spiral that has seen the price of this humble vegetable rise over 400% in the past year. (via theeconomist)
It looks like I need to move to Korea and become a cabbage farmer.
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Sobering Waters →
A candid and rarely heard argument about the consequences of water usage in the West.
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