Author: Simon

Posted on

Look at My Hard-y Banana

Musa basjoo, to be specific.

These things are cool, and they’ve been appearing with more frequency in the area. Maybe some sneaky horticulturists are embarking on a suburban gardening campaign to introduce more exotic species, or maybe climate change is simply expanding the range of some previously incompatible species to the USDA zone. Whatever the reasoning, I decided to give this guy a go last year.

Supposedly they can survive as perennials down to zone 5, so here in zone 6a/b it would normally be a tad too chilly. But, I used strategery in my micro-climate. I planted it in the hottest part of the yard: against the concrete driveway and asphalt road, above the heated oil pipeline. The ground never freezes very deep there. It was an experiment I kept from my sister, knowing that she’d tell me I was gardening wrong and it wouldn’t survive.

But lo! Here it is on year two! And with the constant rain, it’s very happy with the temporal climate facsimile of its native habitat.

Supposedly they bloom, but I don’t know if the season is long enough here. Still, it’s cool.

–Simon

Posted on

Refrigerator Pickles: AKA, We Can Pickle That!

What do second stage ethanol fermentation and metabolic detoxification have in common?

Vinegar! Acetic acid. Good for excreting into the toilet and preserving produce. Except probably don’t use urine for the produce part. Too many other things in that for a good pickling medium.

Fortunately, it’s easier to just buy vinegar than to rely on the above in-home methods of production. And much easier than attempting the lactic acid route (though I’ll totally try that one day). But for now, it’s refrigerator pickles, sans-Orléan method. Standard grocery store vinegar for this one. Here’s the recipe I used:

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 1/3 cup white vinegar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. kosher salt

Seems a tad sweet, but I’ll give it a week to settle and adjust accordingly.

We have cucumbers (there’s an abundance from the garden right now and the kid wanted to make some after learning about it at summer camp), serrano peppers, and red onions. So far, the red onions are pretty good. One of the most ridiculously up-charged items to buy, by the way. More street tacos in the future!

We can, indeed pickle that.

–Simon

Posted on

Milkweeds and Monarchs

Despite my sister’s and hairstylist’s grumblings at my continued use of synthetic fertilizers and inorganic pesticides (hey, I still live in the suburbs, all right?), it is possible to strike a balance with desirable native species. And after several failed attempts to germinate milkweed seeds, I instead bought a plant, which then proceeded to spread by seeding itself throughout my hosta patch. Life finds a way, right?

And with it came the monarch butterflies. Always happy to see them.

After stripping this particular plant of leaves, it disappeared. Try as I might, I can never find their chrysalises…chrysali? Whatever.

So I’m doing my part, okay!? More pollinators!

–Simon

Posted on

Attack of the Arcus

It was a dark and stormy…afternoon. Such is the whim of the Midwestern climate gods. I’ve seen worse, but I’m never one to underestimate the atmosphere.

Especially when its associated cloud formations are so dramatic.

Behold the arcus!

Fortunately, no tornadoes accompanied it this time.

–Simon