Monthly Archives: June 2011

Hello Little Ladybugs

Summer Mondays are not my forte.  Did little gardening today (read: none).  But enjoyed looking out at my little darlins just the same.  I did have a nice moment this morning running into my next door neighbor on the second floor, terraza a terraza.  I asked what she was planting, told her they looked beautiful (and they really do), and was pleased, as I was hearing about all the goodies she’s growing, to learn that she was inspired by my little wooden crate of cucumbers to arrange hers the same.  It was a happy exchange.  As I’ve been gardening more, I’ve been thinking more about neighboring, what it means and how to do it better.  I’ve been a bit of a loner in these Brooklyn waters but, as I mentioned, playing in my front yard has brought out neighbors young  and old, and suddenly I know people, they know me.  I know what’s in their yard and they’re asking what’s in mine (still getting way too frequently the question “what is that?” as to each plant in my little native plant garden — I’m thinking about staging a mock protest by them all with signs shouting “I AM NOT A WEED!”  Since there’s more conversation now growing from my garden, I’m sure I’ll get some of what I consider to be the silly questions – and, yes, there are silly questions. God knows, I ask them all the time.  Stupid answers, on the other hand, I don’t really believe in … there’s offensive, there’s wrong … but there’s not really stupid answers.  That said I invite you to answer today’s …

QUESTION: Has your interaction with your neighbors changed, if at all, by your own gardening?  If so, in what way?  For the better?  For the worse?  If not with your neighbors, how about with friends and family?  Have you ever struggled to have to balance gardening and, well, everything else?  How do you find the time to do gardening and, well, everything else?  What did or did not work for you?  How did you get to being a gardening god/goddess without getting kicked to the curb for blowing too much time, money, everything creating your little kingdom?  Go ahead … gimme the dirt!

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Ew, Gross.

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Since, here, we are kind of starting to drift off beyond the garden and into talking about trying to live responsibly, loosely speaking, I’ve been thinking lately about sponges. These aren’t real sponges but that’s what we pretend they are. And I know they’re filthy yet we pretend to “clean” our dishes with them. Here is the culprit, in the sink next to the dishwasher that rarely gets used because of my efforts, as I said, to try to live somewhat responsibly. That said, how responsible can it be to wash my dishes with a dirty sponge. Of course I rinse it out and squeeze it before using it each time but still I can almost feel the bacteria seeping through its pseudo-pores. My partner keeps a dish of soapy water next to the sink and uses that instead of wasting loads of water each time we need to clean dished. Even with that, I’m sure there’s bacteria that accumulates there as well. I used to put a drop of bleach in it to ward off the little bastards but now that I’m getting into the living somewhat responsibly, the thought of bleach, the plastic it comes in and all its nasty chemicals makes me shudder.

I’ve been on this earth, let’s just say, awhile now. And one of the things that continues to stump me is ….

QUESTION: what tis the best way to clean dishes (in a way that isn’t really just a foolhardy practice of moving germs around), without using nasty chemicals or wasting water? Also, does dish soap really do any dish or anyone else any good? Is a dish soap that’s marketed as an eco-friendly one either eco-friendly or effective? Go ahead (even though I’m sure there’s plenty already on my dishes) … Gimme the dirt!

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What I’m Growing

It occurred to me I hadn’t shared with you what it is I actually put into the ground.  So here goes, by category, only edibles:

TREES/BUSHES:

  • peach tree
  • cherry tree
  • elderberry bushes (almost certain not dogwoods now)
  • Meyer lemon tree (in a container)
VEGETABLES:
  • tomatoes, four plant, purchased at a Saratoga Springs farmers’ market, all heirloom
  • cucumbers, eight plants, don’t remember where I purchased these but I think it may have been Shannon’s
  • pumpkins, from seeds, picked up at a restaurant in New Haven, CT, when we went to see my friend, Bill Demerit, who’s studying theater there.  I planted these and they shot right up.  I now have six plants (confirm).  Unfortunately, these are more the jack-o-lantern variety, but I figure they will give some nice color to the garden late in the season.
  • wild ginger, three plants, purchased from the farmers market in Saratoga Springs from a woman who was the only one with a plethora of native plants
  • carrots, multiple.  These are from seeds, which I didn’t really think would take off, since I’ve had difficulty growing carrots from seeds before but that was straight in the ground.  These are growing in a wooden box (like an apple crate) that I used to have hops from Six-Point brewery growing in (ever want to check out some good looking hops, pay them a visit by going to Rocky Sullivan’s in Red Hook – on the upstairs terrace, they usually have hops growing there).
  • beets, multiple.  These are also from seeds and, again, I planted more than I need, thinking they might not come up for the same reason – I’ve tried planting them from seed in the ground before with no luck.  In contrast, these little seeds [brand], which I put into the small plastic starter containers you get new plants in [name?] sprung right up.  I now have the dilemma of where to make their seasonal home.
  • jalapeno peppers.  These I picked up in a set of three starter plants from Shannon’s.  I had good luck with these plants last year and wanted to try it again.  I have them in a different location (south-facing upstairs terrace) than my north-facing backyard where they were before.  We’ll see if it matters.  They are in a couple planters with some other hot peppers (another jalapeno and cayenne, I believe) that I tried to maintain indoors over the winter but I’m not sure they’re actually going to produce again since they’ve remained essentially unchanged from last fall when I brought them in.
  • new addition: green beans (these seeds just went in the ground from my very most awesome neighbor friend, who is also growing green beans & sweet peas in a self-watering container)
HERBS:
  • sage
  • thyme (three types)
  • rosemary (not doing so great)
  • cilantro
  • parsley
  • mountain mint (got this from the Grand Army Plaza farmers market)
  • (will be growing: basil from the Triscuit box seed card & dill from same)
QUESTION:  what grows in your garden? Who’s happy this season?  Who’s not?
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Oh Yes Friday Din Din

Thank you, farmers, real farmers, for bringing me truly really good food to cook and devour. I made dinner tonight (broccoli rabe & white bean penne) to the silky sultry tune of Krystal Warren, beautiful summer breeze traipsing in, and made a magnificent (yes I do say so myself) broccoli rabe w/white bean penne. Taking it easy this Friday night, kicking back with a glass of wine that found its way with a dear friend here last week to celebrate. A little exhausted from the week now behind us, I am nonetheless buzzing w/all I want to catch up with you on, including what Ted Danson has been doing lately with Oceana.org, and what precisely is aquaculture, and how my little rosebush thanked me for clipping its mildewy leaves and presented two happy flowers this morning, and new uses I’ve found for those pesky wild onions, and what’s growing out there in my still-just-a-baby native plant garden, and all these things and more to come, to come. For now, for you … a

QUESTION: what is one of your favorite ways to spend a Friday night in the summer, and ease (or jolt, depending on your fancy & frequency) into a summer weekend? Feel free to illustrate.  Oh, and now an interlude on our featured artist, just for your

LISTENING PLEASURE … (p.s. I just realized how hard it is to find this song online – Krystle Warren’s “I’ve Seen Days” from her album Diary … copyright stuff I’m guessing b/c it was removed from YouTube from what I can tell.  But the song itself is gorgeous.  Sorry I couldn’t find more than the little clip I’m linking you to here.  I saw her years ago at A Gathering of the Tribes in the LES.  Have it on video.  If anyone has news, post here.  A gem, she is indeed.

blogging resumed …

Also, so we can all be planning, what are some events coming up these sweet summer weekends that you are looking forward to? Invite guests! Send links! Let all the revelers jump in the partay. And, as always, … go ahead, gimme the dirt!

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Hey, Hey, What Do Ya Say?

I am seeking participants for the CSA Challenge. What is it, you ask? (This is why I prefer the written word over the stage – I can make up what you’re thinking rather than suffer your tomatoes or, worse, polite laughter). This being the first summer of doing the CSA thing (a/k/a Community Supported Agriculture, which means getting my groceries from a collective that links willing farmers with committed buyers who plunk down a sum certain for a regularly scheduled haul), I”m curious how one CSA experience compares with another, particularly weighing quality of the items against cost in light of the ever increasing cost of food. Ultimately I hope to answer the

QUESTION: could CSAs be the Foodtowns of the future? Is the price right? What are the benefits of a CSA? Most importantly, if you are a CSA member, would you be willing to share your experience with the rest of us revelers by posting pics and prices, and your own notes on the experience? I’m especially interested to hear from folks outside my CSA or even my city. Go ahead, take the CSA challenge!

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On Deck

The strawberries in that delicious looking ice cream my partner just made are not from the Garden of Eve, the farm home of my CSA. But we’ll soon put them to work.20110608-060959.jpg t

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Hey, Hey, Whatda ya say I just got back from the CSA!

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Garden of Eve Farmer Chris

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Peach Tree Critters

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Here’s a close up on the subject of my question below. This one was taken from up high, where it seems slugs would be unlikely to venture. I’m also not seeing any snails or slugs on the trunk or branches.  I picked up some PBR to lure them away, just in case.

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