by Noel | Jan 21, 2021 | CobraHead
We’ve foraged a lot of wild mushrooms in our yard over the years, and we’ve also purposely grown shiitake on logs several times, but we’ve never grown mushrooms in the house before. The mushroom is closely related to more familiar Lion’s Mane – Hericium erinaceus. It’s a beautiful fungus that looks like coral. It has a little sea-food taste and it easy to work with. The stem part is quite chewy, but if it’s chopped small, that’s not an...
by Noel | Nov 23, 2020 | CobraHead, Gardening
I’m ahead of the game! At least for the moment. All my open beds are weeded and shaped up, and I’ve put them to bed for the winter with the thickest leaf covering they have ever enjoyed. I reap huge benefits by covering the garden with leaves. The soil remains softer as the leaves act as an insulator and protector from winter weather. Weed growth is almost non-existent, no sunshine – no weeds. In the spring, many of the beds will be ready to...
by Noel | Oct 26, 2020 | Gardening, Vegetable Growing
Fall Garden Cleanup Putting the garden to bed for the winter requires a little work. If things went perfectly all the beds would get cleaned of weeds and spent plants, compost would get worked in, the beds reworked and reshaped as necessary, and the whole garden covered with a thick layer of leaves. Most years I get most of that done. This year, I’m only a little behind, but trying to catch up. I’ll be planting garlic within a week, but I’m not...
by Noel | Sep 17, 2020 | CobraHead, Garden Tools, Gardening, Vegetable Growing
Potato Bed. Cold and soggy weather deterred gardening for nearly a week. It’s warmer now and drying up, a good time to finish digging up a potato bed that was already mostly harvested. Digging Potatoes. About a third of the bed was left to dig. Harvesting was not difficult, I used a broadfork to loosen all the edges, and then down on my hands and knees with my CobraHead Original to do all the digging. A Seam of Potatoes The potatoes had been planted in...
by Noel | Aug 22, 2020 | CobraHead, Gardening, Vegetable Growing
This small bed has 5 wire grate trellises. It’s planted with cucumbers, smaller squashes, small melons, and tomatillos. The wire mesh is a concrete reinforcing insert which is readily available and not expensive. Like the T-posts to which they are attached, they last indefinitely. Jute Connection Everything is tied together with jute twine which I much prefer over plastic twine or plastic wire ties. Jute twine is inexpensive and biodegradable so there is no...
