I did harvest the broccoli. The stuff that had NOT gone to seed is about worth MAYBE one salad topping's worth of broccoli, but if I'm right (which I am probably not) there will be more coming.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Video tour!
Hopefully! I'm experimenting with this. I thought, instead of taking a bunch of pictures...why not video? So let's see if this works:
I did harvest the broccoli. The stuff that had NOT gone to seed is about worth MAYBE one salad topping's worth of broccoli, but if I'm right (which I am probably not) there will be more coming.
I did harvest the broccoli. The stuff that had NOT gone to seed is about worth MAYBE one salad topping's worth of broccoli, but if I'm right (which I am probably not) there will be more coming.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Dandelions are DANDY
I actually have lots to update, but it requires pictures. Suffice it to say the back 40 yards or so looks like one might actually be able to get a meal out of there. Or at least side dishes. Pictures forthcoming.
I need to write this part down before I forget. I got a recipe off the Interwebs for dandelion jelly. Now, my yard has a FINE crop of dandelions in it, so I decided to start ripping their little heads off, for to make some jelly. I sat in the side yard, pulled however many I could reach and didn't look too new or too old. I also tried to get ones that didn't have ants all over them, but that soon proved impossible. Our entire subdivision is built on an anthill. Once I cleared all that I could reach, I'd scootch down a bit and clear another space. I made pretty good progress, but I had no idea how much I had. I needed two cups of petals, which estimated it at four cups of leaves. Eventually I got bored in the side yard and moved to the front.
Janet came out and saw me and gave me that look she does. It's the look Jim and I get when we're doing something that she doesn't recognize as sane. Like when I explained to her why there were bones sunbleaching on the deck, and egg shells in a plastic container waiting to be crushed. (Doesn't everyone do that?) So I explained I was going to make dandelion jelly. That seemed to sort of be okay with her, and she proceeded to tell me about her dad making dandelion wine. And he'd hide it all over the place because her mom (who called it "idiot juice") didn't like that he drank it. And she broke every bottle she could find. And she and her sister found some and drank it and it sat them on their ass, it did.
Then my friend, Misty, came over. Misty is a cool horticulturalist who I've added to my list of "why won't this work in my garden!" calls. Anyway, she stopped by and proceeded to pick dandelion heads and so did Janet.
At this point, I envisioned my neighbors looking out the window, at the weirdo hippies on the curb, peering through their curtain. "NOW what are they doing?"
We discussed harvesting the leaves of that and the two kinds of plantain I have growing in my yard, but I didn't feel like doing that. Janet, with a new person to talk to, told of her father and his dandelion wine, and her mother and the idiot juice, and that it would sit you on your ass. It was the first time Misty heard it all. For me it was the zillionth. No matter, it gets Janet remembering, and that's the important part.
We went around back and Misty gave me composting advice. She actually got me REALLY excited about composting. In fact, we are rearranging our entire kitchen waste disposal system. The big trash can is going to become recycling. The little can (it's probably about a half-gallon in size) is going to be composting scraps. That leaves one of those free grocery bags you get at Giant Eagle for anything not compostable or recyclable, which I believe is not that much in a given week, but would need to be taken out daily.
Anyway, we raked and small talked and composted, the three of us. It was a perfectly lovely afternoon. It's not been exactly smooth sailing in Alzheimer's land the past few days, but that day was about perfect.
I've not made the jelly or the wine yet. (Misty said she had a recipe for the wine which I'm still waiting for *hint hint* :) ) We ended up with about six quarters of dandelion heads, all in the freezer awaiting their fate, and I think that's way more than I need. Hopefully, the freezer doesn't wilt them too much (but will kill any stray ants), but if it does, I have another crop ready to be harvested.
I need to write this part down before I forget. I got a recipe off the Interwebs for dandelion jelly. Now, my yard has a FINE crop of dandelions in it, so I decided to start ripping their little heads off, for to make some jelly. I sat in the side yard, pulled however many I could reach and didn't look too new or too old. I also tried to get ones that didn't have ants all over them, but that soon proved impossible. Our entire subdivision is built on an anthill. Once I cleared all that I could reach, I'd scootch down a bit and clear another space. I made pretty good progress, but I had no idea how much I had. I needed two cups of petals, which estimated it at four cups of leaves. Eventually I got bored in the side yard and moved to the front.
Janet came out and saw me and gave me that look she does. It's the look Jim and I get when we're doing something that she doesn't recognize as sane. Like when I explained to her why there were bones sunbleaching on the deck, and egg shells in a plastic container waiting to be crushed. (Doesn't everyone do that?) So I explained I was going to make dandelion jelly. That seemed to sort of be okay with her, and she proceeded to tell me about her dad making dandelion wine. And he'd hide it all over the place because her mom (who called it "idiot juice") didn't like that he drank it. And she broke every bottle she could find. And she and her sister found some and drank it and it sat them on their ass, it did.
Then my friend, Misty, came over. Misty is a cool horticulturalist who I've added to my list of "why won't this work in my garden!" calls. Anyway, she stopped by and proceeded to pick dandelion heads and so did Janet.
At this point, I envisioned my neighbors looking out the window, at the weirdo hippies on the curb, peering through their curtain. "NOW what are they doing?"
We discussed harvesting the leaves of that and the two kinds of plantain I have growing in my yard, but I didn't feel like doing that. Janet, with a new person to talk to, told of her father and his dandelion wine, and her mother and the idiot juice, and that it would sit you on your ass. It was the first time Misty heard it all. For me it was the zillionth. No matter, it gets Janet remembering, and that's the important part.
We went around back and Misty gave me composting advice. She actually got me REALLY excited about composting. In fact, we are rearranging our entire kitchen waste disposal system. The big trash can is going to become recycling. The little can (it's probably about a half-gallon in size) is going to be composting scraps. That leaves one of those free grocery bags you get at Giant Eagle for anything not compostable or recyclable, which I believe is not that much in a given week, but would need to be taken out daily.
Anyway, we raked and small talked and composted, the three of us. It was a perfectly lovely afternoon. It's not been exactly smooth sailing in Alzheimer's land the past few days, but that day was about perfect.
I've not made the jelly or the wine yet. (Misty said she had a recipe for the wine which I'm still waiting for *hint hint* :) ) We ended up with about six quarters of dandelion heads, all in the freezer awaiting their fate, and I think that's way more than I need. Hopefully, the freezer doesn't wilt them too much (but will kill any stray ants), but if it does, I have another crop ready to be harvested.
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