by angela@diggingbliss | Dec 13, 2006 | Uncategorized
Here are a few things that caught this gardener’s eye…
Stocking Stuffers
Oooms Wooden Memory Stick
A memory stick that actually is… a stick.
In Vitro Orchid
Test tube baby orchids… awwwwwww.
Under the Tree
WMF Expandable Flower Trivet
Colorful Birdhouse
A birder friend tells me this birdhouse is probably bird-friendly (i.e. easily cleaned and predator-resistant). It’s very bad karma to buy a birdhouse that wasn’t designed with birds in mind and it’s sad to see so many out there. You can always call Gardener’s Supply to confirm that it’s safe for birds. It sure is inexpensive and cute!
Duck Bill Knife
This should be great for ripping open bags of soil, etc. Raise your hand if you stick your grubby fingers through those tiny bag holes and strain and stretch the thing until it gives.
(typing with one hand now)
Reform your gardener friend, S.O. or yourself with this tool.
Books
ohmmm…
Amy’s book is so new it’s not even out yet, but fear not because you can pre-order it, print the book cover from amazon, roll it into a scroll and tie a pretty ribboon around it. Show that special flower-lovin’ someone that only the freshest, most fabulous books will do.
First update in several years; Also on the verge of being published. Remember that gift scroll idea? You know the armchair gardener in your life won’t already have this one because no one does.
Give Your Gardener a Little TLC
After working in the garden, warm those cold tootsies with microwavable booties
This gardener’s hand soap with pumice is the best! Scrubs away the dirt, but leaves your hands feeling soft and hydrated, not greasy or dry. If I owned a nursery, I would sooooo carry this product.
Say It With Flowers
If you need to order holiday flowers, wreaths or gifts, consider ordering through Organic Bouquet.
A little Merry Christmas to farm workers, organic farmers, and that great big ball of dirt we all call home.
Also be sure to check out last year’s Practical Gifts for the Avid Gardener, as well as Impractical Gifts for Garden Goofballs
by angela@diggingbliss | Dec 5, 2006 | Uncategorized
Anyone found a good online company selling custom seed packets where you upload your own photo and graphics? The ones I’ve found so far have high set-up costs and/or high minimum orders.
There has to be at least one company catering to home gardeners who want to share their seeds in a cute commercial-looking packet…
Here are a few top results from Google:
EarthlyGoods.com
American Meadows
Earl May
Alternatively, does anyone have a nifty recipe for hand-designed seed packets using little blank envelopes/packets? Thanks.
by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 16, 2006 | Uncategorized
(photo from Wikipedia)
I wanted to share a recent revelation about the baked potato. All my life, I’ve been told “russet potatoes” make the best baked potato. Fine. All my life, I’ve thought a russet was a russet and the baked potato was a nice, bland meat accompaniment that is always improved with a little salt, pepper, sour cream, chives, bacon and cheese.
But when you’re making an earnest (though not always perfect) attempt to avoid sour cream, bacon and cheese, that potato had better make an equally earnest effort to impart some flavor without having to get all tarted up for you. It took 41 years for me to find a potato that tastes delicious completely naked (the potato, not me, you perverts) and I want to shout it to the world!
Drooling with anticipation about where to find this earthy gem (that’s a hint)? You need go no further than your local Whole Foods. That’s where I found baked potato nirvana. On my last visit, pumped with endorphins from a ride on the bike trail, I mustered up the courage to ask the produce guy why their russet potatoes were so sweet and flavorful.
First, I pointed to the bin where I always found the special russets. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was pointing at because they now had what appeared to be two different potato types in one stack. One was mottled looking with a smooth, glossy skin and the other had a dusty, netted brown skin.
He pointed to the dusty, netted one and said, “That’s what you’re looking for.”
“Is there a special name for this type? Is it a particular variety of potato? Where is it grown? It’s-so-sweet-I-love-it-Please-don’t-ever-stop-carrying-it.”
“It’s called a netted gem and these are from California.” He relayed that several customers had commented on the flavor, and that a group of elderly ladies told him it was “too sweet for mashed potatoes.” I beg to differ, ladies, and I say that with the utmost respect. Still, isn’t it remarkable that we’re discussing the flavor of a potato and we haven’t even gotten to the toppings yet?
I bought some, repeated the name “netted gem” several times out loud and not at all like a crazy person and finished my shopping.
Later that evening, I Googled “netted gem potatoes”, which appear to be synonymous with Russet Burbank potatoes, and were discovered by a man named Lon D. Sweet. Ok, so, um, shouldn’t it be named the Russet Sweet instead of the Russet Burbank? I mean, c’mon, he discovered it and it’s so sweet and his name is Sweet.
According to Luther Burbank the Russet Burbank was originated by a man in
Denver, Colorado, who evidently selected a chance sport out of Burbank. Burbank
stated that, “These Burbank potatoes raised by Lon D. Sweet of Denver, Colorado,
have a modified coat in a way that does not add to their attractiveness. It is
said, however, that this particular variant is particularly resistant to blight,
which gives it exceptional value.” Read more.
Oddly enough, I didn’t come across any mention of the netted gem’s superior flavor. Well, I have been accused of being a bit of a “super taster“, so maybe I’m picking up this subtle sweetness when to many, russets all taste the same. But wait, remember the elderly ladies? They found the netted gem too sweet for mashed potatoes. I’m not imagining this! I’d love more people to try the potato and report back. Any chefs or potato farmers or foodies reading this?
This being a gardening blog, you’re probably expecting me to encourage you to grow your own netted gems. Nah. You can’t grow everything and potatoes seem like a lot of work. Is Sacramento lovingly referred to as Sacrapotato? No, it is not. It’s Sacratomato. Live with it. Plus, the netted gem is reportedly difficult to grow in the home garden. Just buy them at Whole Foods and ask around for them at your local farmers’ markets.
I’m also guessing there’s more to this potato story than one produce man and Google can provide. If anyone is more up on their potato history than I, please feel free to comment. And were these potatoes really grown in California and not Idaho?
If you decide to make mashed potatoes out of netted gems, please let us know how you like them and what recipe you used. Can you taste the difference? Might want to test drive a batch before Thanksgiving. I’m betting your potatoes will be the talk of the table. Rats, I’ve been asked to bring green beans this year.
Dec. 13 edit: Check out the Cooks Magazine Potato Primer. It’s a PDF download.
by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 13, 2006 | Uncategorized
… coming soon! Oh, the anticipation… I feel just like Steve Martin in The Jerk, when the new phone books arrived.
* Hardcover: 768 pages
* Publisher: Sunset Pub Co; 8th Rev&Up edition (February 2007)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0376039175
by angela@diggingbliss | Nov 11, 2006 | Uncategorized
And when you do, what will be left? Nothing a cloud of brown dust and you, standing on your front porch in your bathrobe, blades of grass stuck in your teeth, foundation plantings missing, and your belly swollen like a rabbit’s in a carrot patch.
Blueberries make a nice substitute for azaleas.
Edible weeds
Ordinance
Group protesting
http://dateline.ucdavis.edu/dl_detail.lasso?id=9049
The Edible Schoolyard
Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Garden Into a Garden and Your Neighborhood Into a Community
