by Geoff | Apr 24, 2012 | Gardening, Recipes
Driving around Austin during the past couple of weeks I have seen hundreds of loquat trees, Eriobotrya japonica, loaded with ripe fruit. Here the trees are mostly planted as an ornamental, in part due to their tropical looking foliage. The fruit, however, is delicious. Loquats are originally from China and are distantly related to apples. My friend Bianca says that growing up in San Antonio, they referred to loquats as ‘Chinese plums’. I find the...
by Noel | Apr 23, 2012 | CobraHead, Gardening
I tried something new (for me) this year in planting my potatoes. Geoff mentioned this method to me years ago and I never got around to trying it. I kind of forgot that it was he who told me, but he was quick to remind me when I showed him what I did. The logic is simple. Plant your potatoes at the bottom of a trench, then hill up the dirt from the ridges of the troughs around the plants as they grow. Potatoes only grow up, that is, their tubers won’t...
by Geoff | Apr 11, 2012 | Recipes
I still have sweet potatoes from my fall harvest. I made this soup a couple of weeks ago for some guests. Easy and filling. 3-4 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ chunks 1 medium onion, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed Olive oil Fresh ground black pepper 1/2 tsp Caraway Seeds Vegetable stock Rice Milk (or soy or dairy) Fresh Mexican oregano or other fresh herb for garnish Sauté the onions and celery in olive...
by Geoff | Apr 3, 2012 | Gardening
We are pleased to announce the two winners of the Botanical Interests’ Seed Collections! Janiece won the Basic Bounty Veggie Garden Collection. Her favorite vegetable to grow is the Sugar Snap pea. Chris McDiarmid won the Heirloom Tomato Seed Collection. That’s good, because her favorite vegetable to grow is the tomato. We picked our two winners at random from the 94 entrants who all left a comment on our blog naming their favorite vegetable to grow. Tomatoes...
