Blighted Headlines

My two favorite things!  (Pizza and beer?)

Hmmmm….

Two of my well-liked things found amongst a much larger list of liked things that includes pizza and beer!

Science and gardening.

Actually, in this case, more a perversion of science.  Typical I suppose.

This article in The Hartford Courant gets a few things close to right, but seems to zero in on the drama where it’s not needed.

The headline tells us:

“Fungus That Caused Irish Potato Famine Now Affecting Gardens In New England.”

Holy crap!  We’re all going to die of starvation!  The Irish Potato Famine!!!!  Buy your milk and bread now and then kiss your ass goodbye!

Now. It’s true.  The fungus in question, phytophthora infestans (Blight) played a part in the Irish Potato Famine of 1845 – 46.  And it’s true that blight is about to take a heavy chunk out of potatoes/tomatoes in the northeast.  It’s going to be bad.  Probably.  Given what our weather has been (rain with periods of frequent rain punctuated by rain followed by rain with afternoon rain and 100% chance of rain) and given our temperatures (summer? what’s summer?) of 75 degrees and under, this fungus is most assuredly among us.

As some of you may recall, my crop of tomatoes was completely destroyed last year by late blight.  I was so heartbroken about it (I had an amazing variety of tomatoes going) that I finally decided to do the right thing and skip many years of nightshades.  Because the problem is that blight is here and always has been.

Bunch of irishmen caused the fungus spores in 1845?  Probably not.  Probably somebody in my field.  North America.  New York. Philly. We started the fire (probably from embers in Mexico).

Blight, the fungus and the conditions that support it are New Englandish.  It’s here now, it was here last year and it was here in 1845, 1945.  Expect it in 2045.  It’s never not been a problem, but this year it’s awfully pronounced.  Mosquitoes and blight are what happen after 40 days and 40 nights of rain.

The article indicates that this year’s problem is because of crap plants at crap stores that were brought in.  See? Can’t possibly be the fault of Connecticut!  That stuff was from out of town!

Well, sure. The blight probably is on tomatoes and potato seeds that we bring in from out of town.  But it’s here already.  The stuff overwinters.  That’s the problem with it.  Once it has moved in, it just party crashes.  Give it a host, a cup of dirt and some moisture and it’s ready to stay for the summer.

So what do we do?

It’s not easy, but if you’ve got blight on your tomato or potato plants, dig them up when they are dry, wrap them in plastic (or bury them very, very, very deep) and get them to a nunnery or landfill or whatever.  Don’t plant nightshades again next year.  Or the year after.  Augment your soil with real compost that’s gotten hot and everything.

I suppose fungicide could work to prevent, but not really and why would you?

There are blight-resistant strains of tomatoes and potatoes that can help.

So that’s what we do.

Oh.  And as the paper’s headline suggests, we panic.  Turn on your fellow man.  Loot.  Pillage.  Stock up on smoked meats.  Bring your family to the nuclear shelters, load the guns and fight off the zombie invasion that is surely coming.

Filed under: Uncategorized , blight, late blight

Scape: The Harbinger Of Garlic

Oh great and curly scape! Your pointy end and bulbous middle indicate and amuse!

Scape is the great indicator.  The allium cellular conflagration that says “if I had a flower, I’d be flowering because my cycle is nearly over”.  It shoots out of the leaves of your hardneck garlic plants and curls, curls, curls in a wormy display of bursting resource.  So why do we cut it (aside from the fact that it tastes like garlic and can be used in tons of recipes)?

Actually, you don’t need a better reason.

But okay, okay.  It helps to remove the scape so that the final burst of energy from the plant can go into the bulb formation happening beneath the soil.

So, when do you remove the scape?

Whenever you are hungry for garlic flavor!

Okay, okay. Remove the scape when it is curly and has wound around itself to form a couple of coils.  Or do it before.  Or, really.. later when it is a little straighter.  Whatever.  Just remove it!

Or don’t.

But seriously, remove it because it’s delicious.

Check out this awesome Scape Humus that my friend Chris made.  (On a crunchy homemade pita slice too.)

Filed under: Uncategorized

More Peas Please

For me, 90 pea plants is a lot.  A ton.  With a 400 square foot garden, 90 pea plants means… well it means that I’ve got a lot of peas packed in there.

This year I planted three varities:

1. Cascadia. A very reliable, crisp snap pea.  This variety follows what is emerging as the Compostings Law of Favored Vegetables – it produces a lot.  This variety represents about half of the pea plant population in my proximity.
2. Carouby de Maussane.  A beautiful pea plant with gorgeous flowers.  It’s a snow pea and has been Mr. and Mrs. Reliable for me.  But this year.. hmmm… something has struck the de Maussane and withered them.  The plants look sickly and there are very few peas.  The peas that are growing are gnarly.  I’m going to do a bit of research to figure out what hit them to determine if I can plant these guys again next year or if I should wait.
3. Mr. Big.  In addition to being a horrific 80’s/90’s band, Mr. Big is a fairly popular shelling pea.  The peas are incredibly delicious.  But, shelling peas tend to violate Compostings Law of Favored Vegetables in that, while they produce a lot, you need TONS to make even a bag or two of frozen peas.  (Jim Gaffigan has a comedy routine about blueberry picking.  Work, work, work, and by the time you are done you’ve got enough to make a muffin.)

The peas, especially the Cascadia, are in full effect.  The whole family, including Sean our two year old, loves them.  Oh yeah, Sean loves the broccoli too.

Next year I will lose the shelling peas, heal the Carouby peas, and devote even more space to Cascadia.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Be fruitful and multiply peas

The peas went in at the end of march and now… I’ve got peas!

The carouby are carousing first, but I expect the cascadia soon. I will post more when I eat them!

Filed under: Uncategorized , Peas

Other People’s Gardens: Bryan T

Oh sweet stranger danger!  I have not forgotten you.  I am still operating under your prime directives:

1. Avoid unneccessary social interaction
2. Never EVER make eye contact
3. Seriously, stop looking me in the eye!

However,  I am compelled to understand other people’s gardens.  But don’t fret!  I have not yet truly approached strangers and their gardens.  I’ve started with friends.

My good friend Bryan T (last name removed to protect his innocence) used to work at my company.  Somewhere out there is a movie of the two of us frollicking in the waves of Hawaii.  But I choose to remember him in more manly times.  (I therefore barely remember him at all.)

Tucked away as he is in the obscurist of obscure Connecticut obscurities (truly he probably belongs more to Rhode Island) I have not gotten to his house, but if his fine cooking and fine family can’t lure me, perhaps his first garden can!

Bryan is far, far, far more fastidious than I.  He is well coifed almost always.  Clothes are generally on and generally well branded.  He has an actual sense for aesthetic.  He is clean.  So, yeah.. he’s annoying.

His sense of order and design comes through I think in his garden.  For a first-time gardener, he has done a great job here.  Since he loves to cook he has stocked a working kitchen garden that will likely provide an abundance of greens, squash, peas, beans and herbs.  I’m not sure where he got the idea to build the compost bin right in the structure of the garden, but I think it’s a great plan.  He’ll be able to recycle plenty there and very easily work it into his soil next year.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Busting Out: June

June, June, June!

Things truly begin taking off about now.

The beans are up, the peas are WAY up and even flowering here and there.  The greens are growing in succession.  Broccoli?  A few.

Everything is getting taller, wider, greener.  Buggier.  Boltier. Chanticleer.

I’ve gone loony on the legumes this year with beans and peas as far as the eye can see (assuming the eye can only see about 20 x 20).  I’m hopeful that a staggered planting of bush beans will prevent me getting overrun all at once, but heck.. that’s what the freezer is for!

Beans, peas.. Am I crazy?

Romaine lettuce ready to go

 

Flowering incoming! Pick quick.

Cascadia pea flower

Spicy!

Go beans go!

Filed under: Uncategorized

Lettuce Is For Picking

I don’t know about you, but I often forget just how fast lettuce grows.  I find myself starting to ration picking it… and then I realize that lettuce is pretty much kudzu; it just keeps growing.  And there’s always more of it than you think. Or something…

I have enough successions of greens to last a good long time.  Each night now we can easily have a salad that’s got this much in it:

In the rest of the garden, everything is in.  The peas are going like crazy and the garlic will be ready in a month or so.  Beans are sprouting (sooner than I imagined).  Everything looks healthy, but I do have ants and something that seems to be tunneling… never a good sign.

Here it is from above:

Filed under: Uncategorized

Lettuce – Why Must You Be So Bolty?

Lettuce!  Temporary!  Transient!

Grab yourself some shade and get to it.  Plant some lettuces.  Spinach. Greens. Lots of ‘em.  Get going!  Spring is sproinged and summer is coming with weird sun angles and days full of day all built to make your lettuce bolt.  Good lord!  It’s hot!  Time to throw up some seeds and call it a day.  No, no.. I must be going.  Go on without me.. remember me frondly.  Tell carrot that I love her.

I will be picking lettuce probably through July, but it will get iffy.  Some varieties bolt less easily, but lettuce is one of those crops that’s best to get an early jump on and plant in staggered weeks.  Today I planted more spinach and more head lettuce along with a bit of mustard.

Nothing could be easier.  Here’s a handy video from the Podchef showing just how unfussy lettuce (and radishes, scallions, herbs) can be about planting.  The compost on top trick is a great one and something that I do.  Lettuce typically needs a bit of sun to germinate so you don’t want to cover it up completely and a sprinkling of compost does the trick.

Filed under: Uncategorized

My Favorite Search Terms Part 4

A repeating effort to chronicle the odder search terms people use to find my silly little blog.

Today’s search term: Pole been eatable

I can clear this up right now.  There are lots of people who have been going around saying that, indeed, the pole been eatable in the past.  It has caused many of us to follow that supposition to its obvious conclusion that the pole is also eatable now.  After all, if it’s been eatable what would have caused it to no longer be eatable?  Nobody knows for sure.

The truth is that there are only a few who actually know which pole it was and/or is.  There are more poles in the world than you may realize.  Telephone poles, stripper poles, barber shop poles, people from Poland.  Incidentally, we surely do know that skewed polls from Fox news are eatable and that they taste like the flayed skin of children.  Scrumptuous if you are of that leaning, bitter otherwise.

Before you go eatabling every telephone pole that you see or sampling stripper poles (a very bad idea) you should settle into what is truly known.  The best poles that been eatable are small and taste like mint.

Other search term mysteries:

Part 1 Where Do Eggshells Come From?

Part 2 Blindfolded Honey On Tongue

Part 3 How Do You Get Suckers Off Of Tom?

Filed under: Search terms

Freaky Little Hands On Peas

Seriously.  How do they know to grab on to stuff?  It’s freaky.  Plants vs. Zombies? The plants win.

The peas are going great.  Of the 80 or so plants I’ve got going, there are only 3 runty little runtlings.  Pretty soon they’ll hit their full height and we’ll get some beautiful flowers – especially from the Carouby.

The rest of the garden is going well.  With the beans now in, only the peppers and cucumbers remain.

In the meantime, here’s the guard dog and emasculating cat watching over the earthbox peas.

Filed under: Uncategorized