Vinegar time!
With peach and blackberry season approaching, it is time to decant my artisanal vinegars and start afresh. I have making my own vinegars for nearly a decade after meeting Brother Victor-Antoine d’Avila-Latourrette, a Benedictine monk, at his monastery in Lagrangeville, NY. After he gave us a ‘mother starter’, which has its origins in Paris, I […]
Clinging carrots
“You have to put this on your blog,” says Juana. Pulling some carrots (Daucus carota ssp sativus) I find a pair entwined in a tight embrace. I think of the set as a pair of clinging or cuddling carrots. Juana thinks it cute also though it doesn’t stop us from cutting them up into the […]
Picking berries
It is finally blueberry picking time. Juana and I head out to the netted enclosure that a singular catbird has been visiting. I have not been able to find its entrance, but the losses to this avian predator have not been too great (I think). Many of the berries are still unripe but we have […]
Summer salads
Summer salads are always special and a surprise. I never know what I will find that is ready in the garden but tonight there is lots to choose from. As a base, I pull deer-tongue lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and purslane (Portulaca oleracea) and then add carrots (Daucus carota ssp sativus), two types of radishes (Raphanus […]
Bountiful bulbs
For me garlic (Allium sativum) has the best bang for the buck in terms of harvests and ease of planting. In late October when I am planting other bulbs, I pick a space in my raised beds to plant each clove from garlics I have saved and then place at least six inches of straw […]
Drink up!
When it is a sunny day and I am not in the garden I can often be found on my bike. One of the things I love about riding is that it gives me the ability to see plants along the road that I would normally miss. And right now the chicory (Cichorium intybus) is […]
Berry time
As the harvest of strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) is about to end, other berries are teed up to take their place. Our low-bush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) will start to ripen in the next week or so with minimal overlap. Protected by bird netting, we have a great crop coming with three different cultivars that deliver […]
Rose hips
I have never seen rose hips this big. The largest are 1.5 inches in diameter, looking more like a tiny Granny Smith apple (to which they are related) than the pollinated flower of a native rose. Given their size and number, this might be the year to make rose hip jelly. I will have to […]
To weed or not to weed
With increasing amounts of wood sorrel (Oxalis) and purslane (Porulaca oleracea) emerging in the vegetable garden, I am torn between pulling them out to plant rotational crops or letting them be. They spread rapidly, but are delicious. They can form a thick mat choking out delicate seedlings, but they make great salad toppings. Such is […]
Asparagus ferns
Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) season is over. Not that we are complaining. About a week ago we started to tire of asparagus this and asparagus that as the near daily vegetable or salad topping that were part of our dinners. After a month plus of harvests, it’s time to let the patch rest and recharge itself […]