Mark

hi Mark,

I’m afraid the weather that brings mushrooms is also the weather that brings slugs. They’ve been discussed here more than once, and although my indexing skills aren’t great, entering “slugs” in the search field on the upper right would have brought you to several posts, including the reasonably comprehensive http://leslieland.com/2006/07/slug-city-with-remedies. Meanwhile, I’m happy to hear that your winecaps are taking off and hope you can get a decent crop in spite of the competition.

Thanks for telling about the sighting, Judith. Wish I were enough of a frog expert to discuss these little guys in some kind of detail, but I AM heartened to hear about them showing up in unexpected places! I don’t think they’re “endangered,” except insofar as all frogs are very vulnerable to the assorted insults people have visited on the environment, but the more the merrier all the same. If your spring is being (suddenly) as wet as ours, that could be bringing them out.

Hi Mary Ann, and many thanks for bringing your problem to my attention. To address it, I followed the recipe using commercial ingredients, just in case my home-grown/non-standard ones were at fault, and have updated the recipe to reflect my results.

Vexingly, the custard was fine, if anything firmer than usual. So I’m at a loss. Extra juicy rhubarb could be to blame, in which case more flour would indeed be the way to fix it.

Thanks for clarifying, and I would like to do the same. The Ms. Favreau who did the interview with NPR was not me but my daughter Meg. It’s been so interesting to see how one comment (for some taken out of context) can stir a huge debate!

Good heavens, thanks again! Too funny … Or should I say too embarrassing? Reading carefully is obviously as important as listening carefully, so I get double demerits. Right now,though, I’m sorry to say there isn’t a huge debate, only a multiple much-deserved correction of yours truly. So far all the commenters both here and at NPR are in complete agreement about the analogy; I’m still waiting for the super-tidy housekeeping gardener(s) to weigh in.

Hi Lynne, I’m pretty sure they’re sold – at least occasionally – at the Union Square Greenmarket, and they may well be at other greenmarkets as well. Other than that, I don’t know, but if they’re at a semi-high end grocery in Poughkeepsie it seems likely they’d be at the tonier groceries down there, too.

Thanks for visiting, Suzanne,
And for what is, under the circumstances you describe, a very mild response! I should indeed have listened to the whole interview (or at least laid the remark at the feet of NPR’s synopsist), and, ironically, I would have if I hadn’t understood Bill to say the comment was what might be called “the real thing.” Thank goodness at least I provided the link so others have been able to be more diligent than I, and now I have provided an update, which I hope will increase everyones’ understanding

Commercial storage is something I know very little about, Kailash. If I were you I’d write to the folks at Filaree farm (linked in the post). Being commercial traders themselves they may be able to advise you.

Hi Jerry, Thanks for the report. Ohio!!

I couldn’t agree more – control freaks in the housework department probably aren’t really gardening material!

Hi Deb,

Glad to have you at the party! Last time I checked, everyone who has commented on the interview, not just here but also on the piece itself at NPR, has agreed with us.