Species

by | Jul 11, 2013 | Talk Dirt to Me

Carolus Linnaeus, an eighteenth century Swedish botanist, promulgated the “binomial” naming system that egg heads use to distinguish species. Linnaeus didn’t dream the system up, but he popularized it through page-turners that he cranked out...

Peas Please

by | Jul 11, 2013 | Talk Dirt to Me

The first fruit I harvest each year is usually some sort of edible-pod pea. Lettuce, spinach, chard, and radishes come in earlier, but those are vegetables. Snow peas and sugar snap peas have real star-power in our food. Snow-peas stir fried with rice, onions, eggs,...

Beans and cocktails

by | Jul 18, 2013 | Talk Dirt to Me

At some point in the distant future I will be able to sit on a beach and read a book. Right now a day at the beach is more like extreme child-care: if the children aren’t endangering their lives or the lives of others why bother going? In that far distant future...

Weeds and the dog days

by | Jul 25, 2013 | Talk Dirt to Me

July breaks the spirit of many gardeners. We fill the garden with seeds and seedlings in late May and June and wait enthusiastically for the first signs of life. In June we harvest greens and early vegetables. The beginning of July usually means fruits: peas, beans,...

Sustainability and sharks

by | Aug 8, 2013 | Talk Dirt to Me

At the end of June I spent a few days on the south coast of Rhode Island. Those of you who might be tempted to look at a map would be forgiven for thinking that Rhode Island is in fact just a coast and not a very long one at that. The southern and northern bits are...