Tag Archives: Vegetables

Andean Vegetables

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

The first frost arrived a couple of weeks ago, damaging the leaves of the Bolivian sunroot (also called yacón) – no surprise there.  I’ve grown this plant for years – I like the tubers, which have a subtle flavor that … Continue reading →

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The Great Rhubarb Divide

Posted on October 27, 2011 by

I’m especially fond of plants that are easily propagated, either by seed or division or cuttings.  Rhubarb (Rheum x hybridum) is just such a plant, and one of my fall chores – not every fall, mind you, but every 3 … Continue reading →

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Jerusalem Artichokes – Neither from Jerusalem, nor Artichokes

Posted on October 18, 2011 by

Jerusalem artichokes (Helianthus tuberosus), also called sunchokes, grow really well in my garden, and I’ve planted some in the food forest as well. I’ve grown them for a number of years – they don’t require much care, just a sunny … Continue reading →

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Adventures in Open Pollination

Posted on September 21, 2011 by

These are mustard seedlings that I’m growing to donate to the El Dorado County Master Gardener plant sale.  I have them in a little covered wagon sort of structure, over which I drape floating row cover to keep the grasshoppers, … Continue reading →

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All Today’s Peppers

Posted on September 18, 2011 by

The season is changing around here.  Nighttime temps in the fifties, slanted sunlight, and light breezes all herald the return of autumn. It’s been a terrible year for tomatoes, but the peppers seem happy to pick up the slack.  Pictured … Continue reading →

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Of Claimers and Disclaimers and Wild Plants

Posted on August 24, 2011 by

I’m reading Samuel Thayer’s excellent guide to edible wild plants, Nature’s Garden.  Not only is it a lovely book, full of wonderful photos and informative text, but the very first pages, consisting of a Warning followed by a Claimer (as … Continue reading →

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Seeding Fall and Winter Vegetables

Posted on August 21, 2011 by

Seeds planted today: Broccoli (Calabrese) Mustard (Gai Choy/Giant Red Mustard) Collards (Georgia) Kohlrabi (Early White Vienna) Arugula (Rocket Salad/Coltivata Do Orto) Egyptian Spinach – Molokheiya (Corchorus olitorius) Lettuce (Black Seeded Simpson, Paris Island Cos, Bibb and Red Oak Leaf) Ruby … Continue reading →

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Foraging vs. Harvesting

Posted on August 20, 2011 by

I like foraging (which here I’ll define as wandering around the garden, picking this and that and eating it) much better than I like harvesting, which usually is usually a hot, mosquito-ridden endeavor that involves a bowl, bucket or some … Continue reading →

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Of Butterflies and Bulbils

Posted on August 16, 2011 by

Instead of making seeds, shallots, like some other Alliums, produce bulbils – essentially tiny little shallots – at the end of their flower stalks.  The heavy cluster of bulbils at the end of the long flower stalk will eventually fall … Continue reading →

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Potato Manatee

Posted on July 29, 2011 by

This little fellow emerged from the garden this morning.  It’s a potato of some kind – I keep terrible garden records – and I harvested a fair amount of its brethren, to be offered up to the gods of potato … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Vegetables | Tagged , , | 2 Comments