Last of the Leeks

I took the opportunity of a nice afternoon yesterday to harvest the leeks remaining in the garden.  I had piled up leaves around them to prevent them from freezing.   I could have left them in a while longer, but with rains today and tomorrow, to be followed by some very cold nights, now was the time to get them out of the ground. I used my CobraHead Long Handle to clean away the leaves packed around the leeks.  It works well for that task, much easier than trying...

Compost Mountains

Geologists tell us that Wisconsin was once a land of huge mountains with crests as tall as the Rockies.  That Precambrian topography has since gone through quite a few changes.  While the state still has some gorgeous and impressive hills, spectacular snow capped ranges are not part of the scenery.  I’m working to change that.  Here are two mountains of compost covered  by our first significant snow of the winter. Just last year, the smaller pile – elev. ...

Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca

I recently had the privilege of spending the month of November in Oaxaca, Mexico. I was there to work on improving my Spanish, but I also had the opportunity to do a bit of cultural exploration. Right in the heart of the city is the Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca (Ethnobotanical Garden of Oaxaca). The garden is located on the grounds of a former Dominican monastery, but for many years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the site was used for military...

Sweet Potato Black Bean Avocado Salad with Lime

Since we had a record harvest of sweet potatoes this year I’m trying to make a point to serve sweet potatoes once a week.  This salad was an experiment based on a magazine recipe I tried a couple of years ago.  The only thing I remembered was that the sweet potatoes were peeled and roasted along with the onions, and I was wishing that the onions were raw.  I also thought that the flavor of the potatoes would be more intense if roasted in their skins. So here goes...

Cold Frames Ready for Spring

These two cold frames should be in production right now, but as can happen,  I never got around to seeding them this September.  If I had, we’d be eating salad greens, right now.   I’ve had several plantings  with some excellent  production out of my one frame:  Greens Under Glass,  and the second one was give to me this summer by my friend Dave Peterson, who was the primary instigator in getting them built.  I discussed the construction of them in a...

Pin It on Pinterest