i hope you eat good food, grow beautiful things, and have more love than you know what to do with.
This past spring, I bought winecap mushroom spawn for the mulch in my garden. Fungi are an extremely important part of nature’s cycle, playing an integral role in the decomposition of organic matter and recycling it into a form living plants can use. Mushrooms therefore …
My sister came over today much to everyone’s (especially the kids’ who are obsessed with her) delight and of course, being two foodies who love to cook (and one an actual chef), we got to working on shucking a baker’s dozen (plus an extra one) …
Thursday, September 2nd, 2021: I’ve been doing trial runs of the AirBnB and decided I really, really enjoy it. Most of my guests have been very private so I’ve left them alone and in general they’ve been pretty good. However, a big project that I’ve …
Akebia is such an interesting plant, and for those who like bitter gourd (which I really hated as a child but has since begun to miss in my old age), the thick rind is like a perennial version of it. It’s tender and juicy, despite …
I grow nagaimo (Dioscorea polystachya), also known as the cinnamon vine, Chinese yam, or Japanese yam here in my backyard—it’s a beautiful and funny perennial vine, growing little bulbils that you can stick into the ground or steam over rice. It is a pain to …
As I scour the internet for recipes on Akebia shoots, the thin, curling new vines that sprout each spring from last year’s now woody growth, the only thing that I can find is anecdotal evidence of the Japanese eating it as fresh greens, especially in …
My bronze fennel is a reliable plant that has really just kept on giving. It produces beautiful crops of fragrant fennel seed, and its tasty fronds are great in dumplings or salads, or for an accompaniment to seafood. The anise flavor is divine. It seems …
Imagine my surprise when, before even my serviceberries and sweet tree cherries have bloomed, my Korean bush cherries were out in full force. Prunus japonica is a beautiful plant in the same family as regular cherries and plums. However, these grow in bush form (although …
By the end of this lockdown period, I’m probably going to be up to my ears in plants as I spent this time rooting cuttings for fun. So far I’ve done elderberries and currants, with a 90% success rate! This is one of the easiest …
It’s been over 4 years since I started on this journey and it’s had its ups and downs. I thought I’d give everyone an update on my progress as far as my edible landscape/food forest goes. The good thing is, everything is maturing and filling …