We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
We stopped by the marketplace in Venice last week. Marcella Hazan frequently wrote about her daily morning visits to this only fish, vegetable, fruit, and meat market in town.
A gardening pal and I have determined that you have to pick them before ripe. Squirrels will eat them. Do they like them, or just for the water content?
Call me lazy if you want to, but I like these light-weight cordless chain saws for small jobs. Heavy pruning, for example.
Sure, I have regular pruning saws, but those electric things are nifty. I go with Ryobi because I already have all of their betteries and chargers for blowers and trimmers.
For heavy-duty, I do have a Stihl Farm Boss which I love to use, but it is overkill for small jobs. For example, I have overgrown lilacs. Neglected to remove 1/4 or 1/3 of their older main stems annually. 3" thick now.
You can find all of the mini-chain saws on Amazon.
Our friend thinks not. I happen to love the flavor. As with cranberries, use 1/2 the sugar a recipe asks for to get the full flavor. Boil it with a little water and sugar and dump it on vanilla ice cream. I'd go for a rhubarb gelato too, if anybody made it. Or a tarte.
I drove my Smart Car (in photo) over to check the patch and observed that it is happy but has bolted. I chopped off those cool flowers and Mrs. BD put them in a vase.
They go by several other names too (Miniature Watermelons, Mouse Melon), but I never had them until last week in Georgia. They cut them in half and put them in salads at our inn along with the cherry tomatoes, etc. Crunchy, refreshing little cucumber-like things about an inch long. Grow prolifically on vines. Be the first in your neighborhood. I ordered some seeds right away.
Another good thing they grew in their gardens was a tangy peppery green which is new to me, Curly Mustard, or Mustard Mizuna. Use it when the leaves are young.
And lots of Mache, of course. Down there, you must do many sequential plantings of greens, but in summer they must be shaded.
Admittedly, they contain almost no nutrition but when they are good (rarely, unless home-grown varieties), they are great to eat anyway.
Around a week ago I started a bunch from seeds indoors. Odd varieties, yellow, purple, striped, and mico cherry tomatoes. They are already popping up in the potting mix.
The first tomatoes were introduced to Europe from Mexico via the conquistadores. They were mainly viewed as ornamental plants. The fruit was the size of cherry tomatoes, and yellow-green when ripe. I guess that was the real "heritage tomato".
Italian food before the tomato. He is wrong about one thing - peppers came to Europe and to the world via Central America too. Same as polenta (maize meal), beans, and so much else.
I was under the mistaken impression that Pansies could handle freezing temperatures because they had some sort of magic antifreeze in them the way some arctic fish do.
Horseradish is basically Wasabi. It's easy to grow in a garden. It is perennial and, once established, you can take a shovel and chop out a hunk of root with no damage to the plant.
I love fresh horseradish, but I love chili peppers too. Depends on what meat you are eating.
It happens to be part of a Seder, but I have often grown it. It is a perennial in New England, grows like a weed, but does not spread.
When you want some fresh root, you just stick a shovel in and chop some side root out. Then grate it. I love it on almost anything. It will not damage the plant.
Easy to find beginner plants online. It is kind-of like growing rhubarb.
In the northern half of the US anyway. Definitely, before any green emerges because the roots are already growing and hungry for weeks before any green shows.
I fertilized our garden beds last week. It will take some rain to sink it in. A good time to put down crabgrass preventer, and fert your nice lawns too.
I spread Preen at the same time in the flower and shrub borders. It works, sort-of.