Archive for the ‘Garden’ Category
If You Love Potatoes — Here is a Cool Picture of Harvest Today from Twitter
From Twitter, 8 September 2009 by @spcochenour -- "Harvesting potatoes. Hoping to get 1500 row feet harvested for storage today. http://twitpic.com/gzbch"
DoT’s Thot: Sometimes I wonder about the farmers and who will be growing our food in the future. When I was a child, I had uncles and aunts and cousins who farmed back in Hawaii — growing banana, truck farming vegetables, hot-housing orchids, and even making charcoal. Gradually that is fading away….
Potatoes Just Being Harvested
If you love potatoes or even merely consume them, haven’t you sometimes wondered about the source and the seasons? I was onTwitter this morning and found this from @spcochenour — “Harvesting potatoes. Hoping to get 1500 row feet harvested for storage today. http://twitpic.com/gzbch“
Long ago, I remember a fellow engineer telling me about growing up in Idaho and harvesting potatoes. He remarked that there was nothing as sweet as a potato fresh from the harvest — crunchy and sweet — that is how he described it — more like an apple….
My Garbage Can Potatoes
I’ve never really grown potatoes — only once did I try that leaky, recycled garbage can trick — more because I was curious — got tiny harvest of tiny taters. It made me appreciate the bags and bins of potatoes I take for granted at the super market.
In the garbage can potatoes approach, you plant the little potato starters in a shallow layer of potting mix and keep adding stuff on top a layer at a time until the potato plants top the can and die off. Finally, when you tip the can over, you can harvest potatoes that have grown out of the stems and rooted — fascinating, but I’ll leave the growing to the experts.
Better Potatoes and Review an Interesting Blog I Read for Fun and Info
Anyhow, seeing Stephen’s tweet drew me over to the picture and gave me a data point — it’s September and a farmer in Colorado is harvesting potatoes. Something is really right when you know that. So, here is his photo and you know how to find him on Twitter.
I also looked at his blog called Field and Table and now that I am blogging about his stuff, I can always go and look to see what’s up over there in Fort Collins. His blog is an interesting read for us backyard gardeners. For example, he markets heirloom tomatoes locally and grow my own, because of the scarcity and cost of those in my local market.
I used to fly out to Denver to work in Aurora periodically and would drive past the sign pointing to Fort Collins. Now I will think of farming, too, when I think of Fort Collins.
I don’t know Stephen (yet), but thought that some of us out there would find his stuff interesting and so I am sharing.
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
- Neem (in Wikipedia)
- Temperature Affects Pakalana Blooming
- Wikipedia: Alpinia zerumbet
- Flowers of American Samoa
- Wikipedia: Prosopis pallida
- Growing Bougainvilleas
- Prosopis pallida: kiawe, keawe, algaroba, mesquite by Kim and Forest Starr
Related Posts:
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- Scene in Hawaii: View from My Mother’s Hospital Room
- Scene In Hawaii: Rooster at the Shopping Center
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- Cooking in Hawaii: Manoa Lettuce, My Favorite Salad Greens
- In My Mother’s Garden: the White Hibiscus Dad Gave Mom
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ginger Oil Chicken
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ahi Sashimi with Shiso, Chili Pepper, and Shoyu
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Grow Tomatoes Review: Chinese Purple Tomato Fried Rice Recipe
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In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
Neem Tree in My Mother's Garden in Hawaii
Dot’s Thots: I love plants as sources of health, nutrition, sustenance, beauty, awe, and a faith in a higher states of existence. Sometimes I feel one should aspire for the purity of return that a plant gives you for nurturing, feeding, and loving it.
Close Up Look at Neem Leaves, Honolulu, 31 August 2009
Neem, Herb from India: My Husband’s Toothbrush and Tongue Cleaner
Just a short note — when I got back to California, I found that I had not posted about the neem tree in my mother’s garden. For years I have heard about the miracle of neem as a powerful antiseptic aid and had heard about how my husband used to use neem twigs for dental hygiene. He used to chew on the bitter stems of this herb from India until he got the fiber softened, rubbed his gums and teeth clean and split the twig to get a slender tongue cleaner with which he scraped the gunk off his tongue. All his life he had told me that teeth were like stones to him — toothaches were an unfamiliar and therefore frightening concept.
I have also seen neem shampoo, soap, and ointments in the Indian shops.
Scene in Hawaii: Neem at a Nursery
One day I found this plant in a nursery in Hawaii and since I could not have it shipped back to me in California, I bought it for my mother. She is infinitely curious about plants and has fostered this in her garden. When I can get the hubby over there, I am going to ask for a demo on the neem toothbrush and tongue cleaner. Hope you enjoy the photos.
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
- Neem (in Wikipedia)
- Temperature Affects Pakalana Blooming
- Wikipedia: Alpinia zerumbet
- Flowers of American Samoa
- Wikipedia: Prosopis pallida
- Growing Bougainvilleas
- Prosopis pallida: kiawe, keawe, algaroba, mesquite by Kim and Forest Starr
Related Posts:
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- Scene in Hawaii: View from My Mother’s Hospital Room
- Scene In Hawaii: Rooster at the Shopping Center
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- Cooking in Hawaii: Manoa Lettuce, My Favorite Salad Greens
- In My Mother’s Garden: the White Hibiscus Dad Gave Mom
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ginger Oil Chicken
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ahi Sashimi with Shiso, Chili Pepper, and Shoyu
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Grow Tomatoes Review: Chinese Purple Tomato Fried Rice Recipe
In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
Pakalana Blossoms on the Vines Found Among the Red Ginger
NOTE: DoT has been posting from Honolulu since late July when she left California to help her mother through some medical procedures. She will be doing so until she can return to Orange County.
DoT’s Thots: They say that the sense of smell is perhaps our most evocative sense. I do know that the scent of certain flowers affect my sense of well-being in a deep way. Pakalana blossoms always makes me feel refreshed in a gentle way.
Pakalana Bud Details
Fragrant Vining Flowers Make Lovely Scented Leis
While looking at stalks of red ginger, I was so very pleased to find some pakalana blossoms on vines twined around the red ginger stalks. The modest pale green and light orange blossoms are so pleasantly scented as to invoke freshness, light and pleasant, never cloying nor heavy-handed.
My father, who died in 1996, loved these blossoms for their fragrance. He tended to like blossoms for their scent rather than for their colors or shapes — yellow and white ginger, gardenias, jasmine, and these pakalana blossoms. These fragrant little blossoms make a very pleasant lei to wear, one that is quietly dignified and smells fresh and refreshing.
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
- Temperature Affects Pakalana Blooming
- Wikipedia: Alpinia zerumbet
- Flowers of American Samoa
- Wikipedia: Prosopis pallida
- Growing Bougainvilleas
- Prosopis pallida: kiawe, keawe, algaroba, mesquite by Kim and Forest Starr
Related Posts:
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- Scene in Hawaii: View from My Mother’s Hospital Room
- Scene In Hawaii: Rooster at the Shopping Center
- Cooking in Hawaii: Manoa Lettuce, My Favorite Salad Greens
- In My Mother’s Garden: the White Hibiscus Dad Gave Mom
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ginger Oil Chicken
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ahi Sashimi with Shiso, Chili Pepper, and Shoyu
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Grow Tomatoes Review: Chinese Purple Tomato Fried Rice Recipe
Cooking in Hawaii: Manoa Lettuce, My Favorite Salad Greens
Shredded Manoa Lettuce Next to a Head of Manoa Lettuce
NOTE: DoT has been posting from Honolulu since late July when she left California to help her mother through some medical procedures. She will be doing so until she can return to Orange County.
DoT’s Thot: Living in various places exposes to new foods, tastes, and enjoyment. I have enjoyed all the different exposure to Indian food, various Chinese cuisines, even Muslim Chinese cooking. Italian, French, Swedish food all give their own special experiences. Mexican food in California is varied and interesting. However, there are some things uniquely Hawaiian. One of these is the salad greens that are the ultimate for me — Manoa Lettuce.
Manoa Lettuce, a Tender, Crispy, and Refreshing Salad Green
I grew up eating Manoa lettuce and remember growing it off and on throughout my life. Manoa lettuce has a combination of tenderness and crispy, juicy texture that has been unmatched by all the other greens that I have eaten — mache is a special tender French salad green that has the tenderness, but not the combined crispy, juicy stem texture.
Iceberg is crispy, but does not have the tender green leafy quality of Manoa lettuce. Romaine lettuce is a lot hardier, but is a lot more to chew than Manoa Lettuce. I remember seeing this lettuce also labeled Green Mignonette and ordered some of those seeds, but have never grown “Manoa lettuce” from such seeds in California. Growing conditions are different and my lettuce was never as tender as that which Mom and I grew back home in Hawaii.
Ahi Sahimi On a Bed of Manoa Lettuce
Manoa Lettuce is a Bonus for the Elderly Who Still Enjoy a Raw Salad
I prize this lettuce now, especially, because at 92, my mother does not chew as well as she used to. With Manoa lettuce, she can munch her way through a salad like she has always done before and thoroughly enjoy it. Just about any oriental dressing (ume dressing, sesame dressing, even somen dressing for noodles works) makes for a delicious green Manoa Lettuce salad.
Any of your favorite salad fixings would enhance the salad. I also use Manoa lettuce as a shredded bed for her sashimi and she can eat the lettuce along with her sashimi, another added nutritional bonus. These are the reasons that Manoa lettuce is my very favorite salad greens. I have only been able to buy it here in Hawaii and always try to eat my fill of Manoa lettuce salad before going back to California. If I am here at the right time of year, I have planted seedlings for my mother to enjoy after I leave. I love this lettuce that much.
Aloha, DoT
Related References and Articles
Related Posts
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- Scene in Hawaii: View from My Mother’s Hospital Room
- Scene In Hawaii: Rooster at the Shopping Center
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- In My Mother’s Garden: the White Hibiscus Dad Gave Mom
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ginger Oil Chicken
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ahi Sashimi with Shiso, Chili Pepper, and Shoyu
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Grow Tomatoes Review: Chinese Purple Tomato Fried Rice Recipe
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In My Mother’s Garden: the White Hibiscus Dad Gave Mom
White Hibiscus Pair of Blossoms 22 August 2009
Single White Hibiscus Bud 22 August 2009
White Hibiscus In My Mother's Garden
NOTE: DoT has been posting from Honolulu since late July when she left California to help her mother through some medical procedures. She will be doing so until she can return to Orange County.
DoT’s Thot: Depression kids without much, there were few material luxuries; no fancy gifts, but Dad once gave Mom something she treasured, a white hibiscus cutting.
The White Hibiscus, Dad’s Gift to Mom
In a large pot, there is a hibiscus bush that sits near the garage in my mother’s garden. The blooms are a small, single white hibiscus. The blooms are pure white, rather dazzlingly so. The yellow pollen is the only contrast and the very simplicity of the flowers appeal to me. In a way, they reflect the direct sincerity that my parents have always had. They committed to their beliefs and whether I always agreed with them or not, I respect that straightforward characteristic.
Back View of the White Hibiscus with Buds
In My Mother’s Garden: a Memory
My father is gone now, but this white hibiscus plant is a good memory for mother. Dad’s gift keeps blooming in its pot and I look forward to seeing the white hibiscus on every visit.
Aloha, DoT
Related Articles and References:
- Wikipedia: Alpinia zerumbet
- Flowers of American Samoa
- Wikipedia: Prosopis pallida
- Growing Bougainvilleas
- Prosopis pallida: kiawe, keawe, algaroba, mesquite by Kim and Forest Starr
Related Posts:
- Vegetarian Recipes: Star Anise Flavored Boiled Peanuts
- In My Mother’s Garden: Neem Tree; Miracle Herb from India
- Scene in Hawaii: View from My Mother’s Hospital Room
- Scene In Hawaii: Rooster at the Shopping Center
- In My Mother’s Garden: Pakalana, One of My Favorite Fragrant Vining Flowers
- Cooking in Hawaii: Manoa Lettuce, My Favorite Salad Greens
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ginger Oil Chicken
- Cooking in Hawaii: Ahi Sashimi with Shiso, Chili Pepper, and Shoyu
- In My Mother’s Garden: Shell Ginger Hidden Among the Red Ginger
- In My Mother’s Garden: Red Ginger in Hawaii
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Kiawe Tree Revisited
- Scene in Hawaii: Monarch Butterfly Caterpiller in a Supermarket Garden Shop
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Bougainvillea “Dragons”
- Scene in Hawaii: Hawaiian Snowflakes, Rainbow Shower Tree Haiku
- A Note on Monarch Butterflies in Hawaii
- Grow Tomatoes Review: Chinese Purple Tomato Fried Rice Recipe
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