It's Not Easy Being Green (But I Love It)
Aha! No, this isn't a post about reducing your carbon footprint or recycling or even not driving Hummers when a Prius or a Volt or even an Echobo -- er, Echo -- will do the job.
The green in the title is green as in "Green Thumb". Because I love gardening.
Now I have a yard that's surrounded on three sides by tall trees and on the fourth by two tall buildings. So sun-loving plants are at a disadvantage here. It's also sloped toward the west, so that the evening sun is intensified. So tender shade-lovers are at a disadvantage, too.
In short, the type of yard I have seems custom made for... well, for weeds.
Luckily I love weeds, too.
The two loves -- weeds and gardening -- aren't as exclusive as it might seem. You see, weeds in my garden are almost always edible, usable, or fragrant. Not that they care or try to be, they just grow there. But there just aren't that many useless weeds in Junon and its environs. (Except maybe for ragweed. UGH.) Any time I find a pretty weed that I haven't identified, I avoid pulling it or cutting it and wait for it to bloom so I can see what it is and enjoy it. Over the years, I've learned enough about weeds that I know which ones I want to grow in my garden and which I don't want. I now know which weed will give the most nitrogen when used for compost and which ones make good "spinach". I know that bugloss, rather like the Watership Down rabbit, is a rather prickly character (that can get under your skin and ITCH).
Which is damn good, because when I try to grow anything OTHER than weeds, it pretty much ends in disaster. For instance: This year I decided I would plant tomatoes! Yay tomatoes! They grow like heck is after them, even in part shade, and then you have bumper crops of yummy juicy goodness to share with your friends. Unless there's blight. Like there is this year.
D'oht!
Strangely, my tomatoes are not acting like they have late blight. The ones that are fading -- and it's just one variety -- are dying from the ground up. (Late blight starts at the leaves and goes to the roots.) Sadly, it's the golden pear tomatoes. Not as sad as it could be because those little monsters were bland bland bland. >_< In my humble opine, that's the ultimate crime for a tomato of any variety. I got the plants at a supermarket, unlike the first batch I got 3 years ago which were from the co-op. It's back to buying heirloom organic tomato plants for me!
Amusingly enough, the tomatoes still doing okay are the "dunno what variety these are" ones that a co-worker grew and brought into work as little starters. I've got one plant loaded down with tomatoes big enough to break their own stems, and one that's growing banana pepper-shaped tomatoes! I love surprises and treasure hunts, so that worked out all right.
Bringing it back to weeds, though; I should note that although my tomatoes are dying, there's a type of weed related to tomatoes (and wolfberries and goldenberries and nightshades) that grows little round tart and tangy seedy fruit in husks like a tomatillo. It's called a "ground cherry" and the ripe fruit is quite edible. You guessed it -- the ones in my yard are doing great.
Maybe I'll make a ground cherry pie this year....
Edit -- (P.S. Does anyone other than me hear GLADoS when they hover their cursor over their own icon? "This is you. That's how stupid you sound...." Or am I just weird?)
(P.P.S. ...Both, you say? Okay. ♥)
The green in the title is green as in "Green Thumb". Because I love gardening.
Now I have a yard that's surrounded on three sides by tall trees and on the fourth by two tall buildings. So sun-loving plants are at a disadvantage here. It's also sloped toward the west, so that the evening sun is intensified. So tender shade-lovers are at a disadvantage, too.
In short, the type of yard I have seems custom made for... well, for weeds.
Luckily I love weeds, too.
The two loves -- weeds and gardening -- aren't as exclusive as it might seem. You see, weeds in my garden are almost always edible, usable, or fragrant. Not that they care or try to be, they just grow there. But there just aren't that many useless weeds in Junon and its environs. (Except maybe for ragweed. UGH.) Any time I find a pretty weed that I haven't identified, I avoid pulling it or cutting it and wait for it to bloom so I can see what it is and enjoy it. Over the years, I've learned enough about weeds that I know which ones I want to grow in my garden and which I don't want. I now know which weed will give the most nitrogen when used for compost and which ones make good "spinach". I know that bugloss, rather like the Watership Down rabbit, is a rather prickly character (that can get under your skin and ITCH).
Which is damn good, because when I try to grow anything OTHER than weeds, it pretty much ends in disaster. For instance: This year I decided I would plant tomatoes! Yay tomatoes! They grow like heck is after them, even in part shade, and then you have bumper crops of yummy juicy goodness to share with your friends. Unless there's blight. Like there is this year.
D'oht!
Strangely, my tomatoes are not acting like they have late blight. The ones that are fading -- and it's just one variety -- are dying from the ground up. (Late blight starts at the leaves and goes to the roots.) Sadly, it's the golden pear tomatoes. Not as sad as it could be because those little monsters were bland bland bland. >_< In my humble opine, that's the ultimate crime for a tomato of any variety. I got the plants at a supermarket, unlike the first batch I got 3 years ago which were from the co-op. It's back to buying heirloom organic tomato plants for me!
Amusingly enough, the tomatoes still doing okay are the "dunno what variety these are" ones that a co-worker grew and brought into work as little starters. I've got one plant loaded down with tomatoes big enough to break their own stems, and one that's growing banana pepper-shaped tomatoes! I love surprises and treasure hunts, so that worked out all right.
Bringing it back to weeds, though; I should note that although my tomatoes are dying, there's a type of weed related to tomatoes (and wolfberries and goldenberries and nightshades) that grows little round tart and tangy seedy fruit in husks like a tomatillo. It's called a "ground cherry" and the ripe fruit is quite edible. You guessed it -- the ones in my yard are doing great.
Maybe I'll make a ground cherry pie this year....
Edit -- (P.S. Does anyone other than me hear GLADoS when they hover their cursor over their own icon? "This is you. That's how stupid you sound...." Or am I just weird?)
(P.P.S. ...Both, you say? Okay. ♥)