I picked a ton of spinach tonight... well not a ton, to be scientific the dry weight would weigh in multiple ounces. I could probably salad a party of about 15 if we were having a dinner party right now... but we are not, it's just me drinking in front of a computer screen... so i say's to myself, since there will be plenty more spinach tomorrow from the home garden, how do i deal with this influx?
On the way home from the garden i had a chat with a local and we discussed the idea of "blanching" the spinach before freezing it. That would be throwing it in boiling water for about 20 seconds before freezing it. Once you freeze spinach it's good for lasagnas and curries and such, and not much good for "fresh salads". I might juice some if it tomorrow with carrot and beets, but then i will have those red shits... maybe that was way offside, but it's true. You drink a beet juice (fine stuff) and then later you have a movement, and you are for a moment alarmed... do you have some intestinal bleeding? Oh no it was the beet juice... sorry it's not my intention to talk about certain body functions but it is what it is. Apparently beets have been used for dyes, and a good choice they are... beets are great, but we were talking about spinach before my unfortunate yet noteworthy diversion occurred.
Yes how to freeze spinach... a quick google search will pull up many pages of advise. I have always just washed it dried it and frozen it and it's good for a few months, but i think i will blanch this batch and see what happens. The Gardens are full of lettuce and spinach and it's time to eat... don't be a fool and let it go to seed and develop a bitter taste, it's time is now.
Choice and life are everything... people are often stuck on the path of choice, which can be unfortunate. I think i terms of fate... this is what is available now, use it or lose it, some years are good and some are bad, sometimes a garden doesn't do what you want, but it does what it does, and you as the caretaker needs to harvest the potential. You grew those nutrients for your body, now make sure you use them. I love the fact that my dinner plans are dictated by what is coming fresh in the garden... it's life in a nutshell. This is what we have, so this is what we are doing rather than ask what do i feel like tonight? The less decisions one has to make, the better.
My big key this year is giving each plant space... i started a lot early indoors and then placed them into the garden rather than quickly funneling a pile of seeds into a row, and now my reward is big healthy plants dominating their zone rather than a tight row of plants fighting each other. Like these people that plant a row of squash plants... do they know that one squash plant can take over a whole garden and produce many squash? Let's call it an error of the willing...
But seriously, to let your plants thrive they need space. Look at it this way... say you plant a beet... think about how big you want that beet to be, say 3 or 4 inches in diameter, well then that beet needs that room to grow, so don't plant another beet 1/4 inch away from it... now i feel a bit treacherous writing in imperial and not metric,, but you can do the conversion if you give a damn and catch my drift... for what it's worth i was doing a job today and we went and bought a bunch of 8 foot 2x4's and i was cutting them at 78 1/4 inches. As a pure scientist obviously the world would be easier if we were all in metric, but that ain't the case, old habits die hard.
Plant a beet every 7 centimeters should be about right if you happen to be from Canada... let them be.
And water... i think it's the big thing people don't get about gardening... don't just spray your plants for a second... soak that fucking ground... put moisture deep into the soil.
Did i tell you about my neighbour who started a little garden in front of his house? I might have, it's late and i'm on a roll so no need to check on the facts now. He kind of giggles when i scold him for not watering the carrots i planted for him properly, not only that but he has lettuce ready to eat and it is just sitting there about to go to seed... of course I'm on him like white on rice and i believe that generally he is impressed that i would take the time out of my day to pound on his door and scold him for garden neglect... i have noticed a recent fear... he sees me and he starts watering. My mere presence has him on high alert, and fear of a scolding prompts him into action. I do what i can for the neighbourhood, if indeed you don't have it in your general conscience to tend your garden properly let it be up to your neighbour to shame you into proper protocol. He tends to be giddy, happy and easy going, while i try to be the stern influence... don't just grow food, eat it.
It tends to be the main problem... your plant looks great, now eat it, rather than marvel in it's glory and watch it turn to seed. You garden for your body, to grow food to give you good life, when the time comes the time comes, eat the damn food, or store it appropriately.
On the way home from the garden i had a chat with a local and we discussed the idea of "blanching" the spinach before freezing it. That would be throwing it in boiling water for about 20 seconds before freezing it. Once you freeze spinach it's good for lasagnas and curries and such, and not much good for "fresh salads". I might juice some if it tomorrow with carrot and beets, but then i will have those red shits... maybe that was way offside, but it's true. You drink a beet juice (fine stuff) and then later you have a movement, and you are for a moment alarmed... do you have some intestinal bleeding? Oh no it was the beet juice... sorry it's not my intention to talk about certain body functions but it is what it is. Apparently beets have been used for dyes, and a good choice they are... beets are great, but we were talking about spinach before my unfortunate yet noteworthy diversion occurred.
Yes how to freeze spinach... a quick google search will pull up many pages of advise. I have always just washed it dried it and frozen it and it's good for a few months, but i think i will blanch this batch and see what happens. The Gardens are full of lettuce and spinach and it's time to eat... don't be a fool and let it go to seed and develop a bitter taste, it's time is now.
Choice and life are everything... people are often stuck on the path of choice, which can be unfortunate. I think i terms of fate... this is what is available now, use it or lose it, some years are good and some are bad, sometimes a garden doesn't do what you want, but it does what it does, and you as the caretaker needs to harvest the potential. You grew those nutrients for your body, now make sure you use them. I love the fact that my dinner plans are dictated by what is coming fresh in the garden... it's life in a nutshell. This is what we have, so this is what we are doing rather than ask what do i feel like tonight? The less decisions one has to make, the better.
My big key this year is giving each plant space... i started a lot early indoors and then placed them into the garden rather than quickly funneling a pile of seeds into a row, and now my reward is big healthy plants dominating their zone rather than a tight row of plants fighting each other. Like these people that plant a row of squash plants... do they know that one squash plant can take over a whole garden and produce many squash? Let's call it an error of the willing...
But seriously, to let your plants thrive they need space. Look at it this way... say you plant a beet... think about how big you want that beet to be, say 3 or 4 inches in diameter, well then that beet needs that room to grow, so don't plant another beet 1/4 inch away from it... now i feel a bit treacherous writing in imperial and not metric,, but you can do the conversion if you give a damn and catch my drift... for what it's worth i was doing a job today and we went and bought a bunch of 8 foot 2x4's and i was cutting them at 78 1/4 inches. As a pure scientist obviously the world would be easier if we were all in metric, but that ain't the case, old habits die hard.
Plant a beet every 7 centimeters should be about right if you happen to be from Canada... let them be.
And water... i think it's the big thing people don't get about gardening... don't just spray your plants for a second... soak that fucking ground... put moisture deep into the soil.
Did i tell you about my neighbour who started a little garden in front of his house? I might have, it's late and i'm on a roll so no need to check on the facts now. He kind of giggles when i scold him for not watering the carrots i planted for him properly, not only that but he has lettuce ready to eat and it is just sitting there about to go to seed... of course I'm on him like white on rice and i believe that generally he is impressed that i would take the time out of my day to pound on his door and scold him for garden neglect... i have noticed a recent fear... he sees me and he starts watering. My mere presence has him on high alert, and fear of a scolding prompts him into action. I do what i can for the neighbourhood, if indeed you don't have it in your general conscience to tend your garden properly let it be up to your neighbour to shame you into proper protocol. He tends to be giddy, happy and easy going, while i try to be the stern influence... don't just grow food, eat it.
It tends to be the main problem... your plant looks great, now eat it, rather than marvel in it's glory and watch it turn to seed. You garden for your body, to grow food to give you good life, when the time comes the time comes, eat the damn food, or store it appropriately.
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