Remember when I wrote about my volunteer papaya tree? How about them tasting like vomit? Blech! Well, as my papayas grow out and ripen, I’ve been cutting, smashing, or busting them open for the chickens to eat. The seem to like it, and that’s fine with me! At least I’m getting something useful out of […]
Category: plants
Hickory Bark Syrup
My step father has family in Canada that makes maple syrup on a commercial basis. Every year, I get a can or two from my mother. I love the stuff. Unfortunately, there aren’t many maple trees in Florida, and whose never really have the weather to get a true sap run to enable us to […]
Mammoth Basil
Writing yesterday’s article, and reading all of the comments, our household was inspired to put our lovely basil to good use for dinner tonight. In particular, I received quite a few comments regarding the Mammoth variety of my basil. So today, I’ll be expanding a bit on what to do with your basil once you […]
Learning to Garden – Basil
I want to start with this – I’m no professional. This is what works for me. And this is the point I want you to understand, you have to find out what works for you. The only way to do that is to try something. Thomas Edison, when queried by a reporter about the seemingly […]
When I was a Kid in WV: The Mystery Monster in the Cave Part I
This is a true story from my childhood. Collecting ginseng was a way for us to raise a decent amount of money for what appeared to be very little effort. In the mid-80’s it was selling for around $200 per pound, if memory serves me. Whatever the price, it was a way for “the Boys” […]
Rat Tail Radish, or Edible Radish Seed Pods
Last year, my garden went crazy with radishes, not a bad thing, but we had more than enough to eat, so I left some to go to seed. I was trying to get seeds for the following season, in an attempt to duplicate my success in saving yard-long bean seeds.
Prepper ‘Fast Food’
My household is a hurricane-ready one. We have plans for food, water, and several options for providing power in the event of another hurricane hitting this area. We went through several before, so have some idea what the aftermath is like, so can plan for many things we know may occur. As to the food […]
How To Remove the Husk from a Coconut (And Respect Your Elders)
I’ve covered getting the water out of a green coconut, and how to open the nut itself, but recently realized I never showed how I get the nut out of the husk in order to get to the meat of an older, more mature coconut. A friend that works with my wife recently sent some fresh […]
Garlic Chives, a Florida replacement for Ramps
Let me start with explaining what ramps are. Ramps, Allium tricoccum, also known as wild leek, wild garlic, and ramson (though ramson is actually a European cousin, and probably the source for the name “ramps”). Ramps grow mostly in the mountains of the eastern North America, from South Carolina to Canada.