Content related to Plants, Animal Visitors, Stormwater Management, and Sustainable Horticulture
My knowledge of the Eastern Orthodox church is limited, aside from their fantastic food festivals and some basic history about their split with Catholicism in 1054. Given their continued practice of strict fasts throughout the year, countries with ties to this church have developed some delicious (and even indulgent) vegan-friendly dishes. I happily produced a delicious Georgian recipe in my own kitchen.
We discovered a new garden-related nuisance this year: artillery fungus. It shoots tiny cannon ball-like spores up to 20 feet, where they stick to siding and cars. While some people clearly care more than others about the damage this fungus can do, it is not hazardous – just annoying. With that in mind, it’s important to consider a solution that matches the scale of the problem.
There are clear benefits to organic gardening, but are there situations in which an organic solution can do more harm than the chemical alternative? As much as I hate to say it, there may be some grey area when it comes to the best course of action for eradicating my tenacious thistle. I found a safer alternative to glyphosate, though safer doesn’t mean safe.
Another summer has gone by, and I am woefully far behind on my pollinator garden. Once again, life events kept me on the couch and out of the garden for the second year in a row. While I was upset that I wasn’t more productive, the garden is starting to take care of itself, which was – honestly – part of the plan all along.
Foraging can be risky business, especially when the ingredients in question contain toxins. With that said, I generally have fun cooking with invasive or aggressive plants from my garden, and milkweed was no exception. I recently learned more about this versatile plant and its historic medicinal applications while learning how to cook the seed pods that start to appear mid-summer.
After several years of trying to replace my turf lawn with clover, I’m no longer sure clover is what I want. Native alternatives to turf grass can require a massive amount of time, effort, and maybe some unsavory chemicals to ensure a successful conversion. While I won’t be doing that any time soon, I still hope that what I have is “better,” if not “best.”
Every homeowner has to battle termites at one point or another, in one way or another. The only thing notable about our situation is the stubborn public health professional and organic gardener who refuses to allow bee-killing pesticides on her property. After some research and a couple informed conversations, we revisited a method we tried several years ago — with better results after following the instructions.
Cooking with seasonal ingredients helps me feel like I’m getting the most out of what the Earth has to offer, and cooking with invasive ingredients helps me feel like I’m doing some good to balance the scales. After a few years of talking about it, I tried my first garlic mustard recipe, which I enjoyed while pairing with some other flavors of May.
During our time in Japan, we had the opportunity to meet with government officials, reporters, and residents of Tokyo, all of whom are responding to climate change in different ways. Because Japan has the ability to mitigate its emissions but also must adapt to more severe weather, it was interesting to explore what has been effective (or not) from the standpoint of shifting a hard-to-shift culture.
Whether you love it or roll your eyes, the annual weather prediction from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has its roots in European traditions marking the halfway point of Winter. Cleaning the house, burning candles, and observing changes in nature are all part of the holidays of Imbolc, St. Brigid’s Day, and Candlemas – a time when we remember that the dark days of winter will not last forever.