Archive for October, 2008
Well, the summer squash actually, because that’s all we plant in Maine.
cousa squash plant hit by frost
The winter squash is – or more accurately was – down in the much larger Hudson Valley vegetable garden. Bill got it all harvested before frost descended, reminding me yet again that the (once) well-known poem, The Frost is On the Punkin, by James Whitcomb Riley, makes absolutely NO sense unless “squash” means “squash vines.” If you let frost land on the fruits themselves, rot will spread from the frosted part and the squash won’t keep. Click here for more about winter squash, including recipe tips, here to read the poem, relic of another time in many ways yet not without its virtues. The second stanza gives you the flavor:
| They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere |
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| When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here— |
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| Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees, |
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| And the mumble of the hummin’-birds and buzzin’ of the bees; |
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| But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze |
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| Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days |
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| Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock— |
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| When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock. |
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But before we get all excited and start spending zillions on gorgeous new ones, it’s peony cleaning up time. The fungus diseases that plague peonies overwinter on dead peony leaves and flowers, so getting rid of all traces of same is the best defense against future infection. There is no applied control, organic or otherwise, as effective as simply being tidy to the nth degree.
Cut stems down to an inch or so above ground, preferably while the leaves are still firmly attached. It’s always a wrench to remove a whole bush full of beautiful fall foliage, but snipping off all of this year’s growth before it falls apart makes the subsequent raking of leftovers far less of a chore.
Making bouquets helps; peony leaves and fall flowers are pretty much foolproof
Needless to say, none of the detritus should go on the compost. Sending it to the landfill is ungreen. Burning it is against the law in many places. Fortunately, there is almost always some dumping spot – in the woods for instance – where peonies will not be planted in the foreseeable future.
It doesn’t hurt to get rid of the mulch, too. Very small bits of former peony are undoubtedly embedded in it. And as a side benefit, mulch removal exposes the plant bases so you can get a good look at them. Everything is probably fine, but if you see humped up crowns you know it would be wise to divide and reset the plants.
Breaking news: the three people left on the planet who didn’t know kid’s sweetened cereals are almost as much sugar as grain have now been clued in, thanks to a study just published by Consumer Reports.
But the spin that makes MY head spin is this, from a Kellogg’s spokeswoman quoted by Reuters:
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This post is coming to you because reader Lennie recently asked for the caponata recipe from Good Food, a syndicated column I wrote in a former life (from 1976 to 1994). Hadn’t used the recipe in years. Had to go back and look though hard copy. While looking came across a column that’s scarily relevant – and the cookies are delicious.
Excerpted from Goodies to Win or Lose By, Good Food, October 29th, 1980
“ I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.” – Jonathan Swift.
…Watching TV is notorious for inclining one to munch, and there is something about a quadrennial spectacle based simultaneously on inanity and calamity that just about forces the more nervous among us to eat. Something, anything – fingernails even, all else failing. But more often something fattening.
With Gingerfingers , you can have both. (Plus Halloween is coming. Giving homemade treats seems to be out, but kids do have fun making these….)
walnut gingerbread finger cookies
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