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From the Archives
Archive for February, 2010
Garden Book Review: Grow Great Grub
The best books, in my humble opinion, are the ones that make you look at things in a new way. I was excited to read Gayla Trail’s latest, Grow Great Grub: Organic Food From Small Spaces, because I’m a big fan of her blog as well as her first book, You Grow Girl. I’ve been gardening for a long time, so I thought that, at best, the time I spent reading this book would be enjoyable — I’d get to immerse myself in Trail (and partner Davin Risk’s) signature, gorgeous, lush photography, and, knowing her writing style, enjoy a little bit of humor along the way.
What I was not expecting was that this book would make my mind race with the possibilities open to me in my own garden. I’ve been gardening here for seven years now. I have a system! But now I’m looking at the front steps and picturing a staggered row of large olive oil cans planted with herbs, wondering why I waste precious bed space for potatoes when they can be surprisingly beautiful growing in a metal trash can. I’m inspired.
But it’s not all pretty pictures and inspiration. No, there is solid, useful information here, too. From growing microgreens on your windowsill to creating a self-watering container, to cooking and preserving the bounty, you couldn’t ask for a clearer, more enjoyable treatise on how to grow and use the food in your garden. The recipes are unique without being fussy, and I love the fact that each entry for the different types of edibles includes information about which varieties to grow in containers.
As if that weren’t enough, there are the charts. I love charts. Charts are the best! (Yes, I’m channeling “Elf” there…) I love being able to look at a page in a book, and, at a glance, have my question answered. For example, there is a very thorough chart about the different flavor profiles of edible flowers. Looking for a citrusy flavor? Try Tuberous Begonia. Want something fresh or fruity? Shiso will fill the bill. And then there’s the chart on page 43. “Good Contenders for Poor Conditions.” If you’ve ever wondered how you can use the area of your garden in which the soil is depleted, or soggy, or shady, or just too hot for most things to grow — you will love this page. As someone who is struggling to find a few more feet in my own garden to grow edibles, I have been growing in “less than ideal” conditions for a while now. The information in this chart opens up new possibilities for me.
Yes, I’m gushing. I admit it. This book is the real deal, a book that anyone who wants to grow food needs to have on their shelf. If it can teach this “old” gardener a few new tricks, imagine what it can do for someone who’s just trying growing their own food for the first time.
ITGO Rating: Five out of Five Trowels
About The Author: Gayla Trail is a writer, photographer, and graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the creator of the popular gardening project, You Grow Girl (now in its 10th year) and the author of You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening as well as an in-demand gardening personality and spokesperson with a focus on urban gardening, growing food, sustainable living, and community. Her work as a writer and photographer has appeared in the Globe and Mail, New York Times, Newsweek, ReadyMade, Domino, Budget Living, Sierra Club Magazine, Gardening Life, LA Times, Life Magazine, and more.
Disclaimer: I was provided with an advanced review copy of this book by the publisher with the understanding that the decision to review the book, and the contents of that review, were solely my own. This review encompasses my own opinion of the book, and has been influenced in no way by the publisher or the fact that they provided a copy for review.
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Classic ITGO: How the Peony Got Its Name
I wrote this post about the mythology behind the peony back in the summer of 2007. I remembered it a while ago when I was recommending the book Stories and Legends of Garden Flowers, which is the source of this particular story, to another blogger. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it! — Colleen
How the Peony Got Its Name (Or, Why it Never Pays to Piss Off a Goddess)
More than once, I’ve read comments by my fellow garden bloggers referring to peonies as “floozies of the garden.” I can see it. They’re showy, flamboyant, and once they’re in bloom, they demand as much attention as stiletto heels and bright red lipstick. So I laughed aloud when I read one of the many legends of the creation of the peony.
The story goes that there was this cute little wood-nymph named Paeonia, who was very sweet and very shy. One day, Paeonia went into the meadow to gather buttercups. Well, it just happened that as this sweet, shy wood-nymph was standing knee deep in buttercups, Apollo rode by. He saw her, was totally entranced by the sight of her, and within moments the two were making love in the meadow. Shy Paeonia was embarrassed by Apollo’s passion, and turned her head aside. But when she turned her head, she was met with the sight of the goddess of love, Venus, standing there (undoubtedly with her hand on her hip) with an angry frown on her face. Paeonia blushed deeply, ashamed that the goddess had caught her in the throes of passion with Apollo, and in that instant, when the wood-nymph blushed, Venus turned her into a flower that still bears both her name and her blush, the peony.
I came across this story in an absolutely charming old book (published in 1939) titled Stories and Legends of Garden Flowers by Vernon Quinn. I picked this book up from my local library a few days ago, and I am just inlove with it. As someone who loves mythology and folklore anyway, reading this wonderful combination of gardening and mythology has been a real treat. And I know I’ll never look at a peony the same way again. The little floozy….
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Weekend Project: Make Honey Lemon Ginger Tea
I have a cold. Again. And it’s the kind of cold that has my throat so raw it hurts to do anything but drink hot liquids. I lost my voice on Friday. It is not a pleasant situation.
Instead of my beloved coffee, which, though lovely, is not helping much with my throat, I’ve been drinking ginger tea with honey and lemon. It is one of those herbal teas that does double-duty: the ginger helps boost your immunity so you don’t get sick as easily. And the lemon and honey are classic ingredients for soothing a sore throat. Here’s how I make it.
How to Make Honey Lemon Ginger Tea
Ingredients:
4 cups of water
1 2-3 inch piece of ginger
Honey
Lemon
Bring four cups of water to boil in a saucepan. Peel a 2 to 3 inch piece of ginger root and slice it thinly. Once the water is boiling, add the ginger and turn the water down so that it simmers gently. Allow to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.
Strain out the pieces of ginger. Add the ginger tea to a cup, and add a slice of lemon and as much honey as you’d like. You can keep the saucepan of ginger tea on the stove on low — you’ll get several cups out of this one batch.
A few of the sources I researched mentioned that the honey would lessen the immunity-boosting power of the ginger, so if you’re drinking the tea mainly for that reason, you may want to omit the honey. But I can tell you that the honey and lemon is working wonders on my sore throat. I think I’ll make ginger tea part of my regular routine during cold season! (And if you’re interested in growing your own ginger, no matter where you live, this post from The Dinner Garden is full of useful infomation.)
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Remembering Lucille Clifton
One of the best things about majoring in English in college was all of the amazing writing I was exposed to. My sophomore year, I took a class about women and literature. One of the writers we covered was the poet Lucille Clifton. The raw emotion in much of her work, the straightforward way she had of expressing both the most beautiful and most ugly aspects of human existence, were both things that made her an instant hero to me. One of her most celebrated poems, “Homage to my Hips,” is a source of pride for hip-py women everywhere (including yours truly.)
I thought I’d share another of my favorite poems by Clifton (this one about cutting kale and collards, something I’ve done several times, and thought of this poem each time) in memory of her.
cutting greens
by Lucille Clifton
curling them around
i hold their bodies in obscene embrace
thinking of everything but kinship.
collards and kale
strain against each strange other
away from my kissmaking hand and
the iron bedpot.
the pot is black.
the cutting board is black,
my hand,
and just for a minute
the greens roll black under the knife,
and the kitchen twists dark on its spine
and i taste in my natural appetite
the bond of live things everywhere.
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How to Reuse Plastic Shopping Bags in the Garden
Americans use an estimated 100 billion plastic shopping bags per year, and less than ten percent of those get recycled. The vast majority end up in landfills. If you live in an urban area, they’re often observed floating by on a breeze, or, in my case, getting caught in the trees and shrubs in my garden. Besides ending up in landfills, where they take hundreds of years to degrade, they are proving to be a danger to marine life. Animals become entangled in the plastic, or ingest it, mistaking it for food, and suffocate.
Ideally, we wouldn’t use plastic bags at all. When purchasing one or two items, carry them or put them in your purse. Keep canvas or cloth bags in the car for shopping trips. But we all end up with at least a few. There are some ways to use them in the garden.
1. Fill Space in Containers.
Ball up the plastic bags and put them in the bottom of large containers so you won’t have to use so much soil. This will also make the container lighter. To keep the soil from falling down into your plastic “filler,” put a layer of landscape fabric between the plastic bags and your soil.
2. Use them as a “liner” for rust-prone containers.
Use plastic bags to line metal containers that might rust if they were in direct contact with soil. Be sure to poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of the bag before filling it with potting soil, and trim any plastic that would show above the soil line.
3. Make a Kneeler.
Double up the bags and slide a thick newspaper inside. Instant kneeling pad.
4. Get Organized.
Use them in the garden shed for keeping small items like cell packs, tiny plastic pots, or hose fittings and nozzles contained and hung up and out of your way.
5. Store Autumn Leaves.
Fall leaves are a great “brown” to add to the compost pile, so I try to keep some aside for spring and summer, when carbon-rich materials seem to be lacking in my compost pile. Fill a few plastic shopping bags with leaves in the fall, poke holes in the bags to allow for a bit of air flow, and store them in your shed or garage. When you need browns for the compost, all you have to do is dump a bag or two onto your pile.
I’m trying to avoid plastic shopping bags all together, but it is a challenge. It makes me feel a little bit better when I can put them to good use. I hope these ideas help you with any plastic bag guilt you may experience this gardening season!
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