dcarch
-
Posts
4,608 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by dcarch
-
-
7 hours ago, heidih said:
I've been watching too much Sue Thomas FBI. You will have fun also with the fig leaves. They have a coconut smell - great for wrapped streamed or grilled. And yes squirrels, raccoons, possums - and the oh so colorful fig beetle in my area https://nhm.org/stories/when-fig-beetles-attack. Good to know no explosives Still watch .your back - don't overdo.
That's bad news! I hope they don't visit NY.
I built a large bird feeder. I am very happy that it is attracting a lot of birds. May be birds are not vegetarians.
dcarch
-
1
-
-
3 hours ago, haresfur said:
I'd consider just planting the tree over top of the rock. Figs can have pretty aggressive roots. The larger varieties can benefit from being a bit root bound so I don't think the rock will do any harm.
When I first discovered the boulder, letting it stay option was considered. However, I have very poor muddy soil which does not drain well. I also want to plant decorative (may be edible) flowering plants under the fig tree. So I need to go really deep and re-mix the soil with lots of compost, sand and crashed charcoal from the fire pit.
dcarch
-
1
-
-
13 minutes ago, heidih said:
Well at least you will have a big hole. What makes that spot fig appropriate? The couple in my life have not been picky. Be careful! Tell me I am not looking at explosives
That's a good spot visually in my garden, besides, it's not far from my electric fence system. I think squirrels like figs too.
No explosives used. Those are Rock splitting wedges.
dcarch
-
2
-
1
-
-
There is a spot in my garden where I feel will be perfect for a fig tree. So I started to dig for the fig. About 18" down, I found this huge boulder. I estimate it weights about 500 lbs. I really like this spot so I need to fig ure out how to get this monster out from the deep pit.
I decided I need to split the boulder into many smaller pieces.
Today, I managed to split it into two. It got too hot. I will try again tomorrow.
dcarch
![PXL_20230714_191654989.MP[1].jpg](https://forums.egullet.org/uploads/monthly_2023_07/PXL_20230714_191654989_MP1.thumb.jpg.a89a2527808dcfbaf2f0bcfce8032e60.jpg)
-
4
-
1
-
1
-
-
ScottyBoy, long time no see!
dcarch
-
I was visiting my sister in Canada.
I asked her, "Sister, are you wearing contacts?"
" No, I don't have contacts."
"And you are reading news paper without eyeglasses? What happened to your reading glasses?"
"After I have been eating goji leaves and berries for a while, I discovered that I could read normally without eyeglasses."
Still I don't consider that a proof. I eat goji because I like the taste, and it's free. 🙂
dcarch
-
3
-
-
5 minutes ago, liuzhou said:
Hmmm. Another "superfood" scam. There is no evidence.
"“Placebos are extraordinary drugs. They seem to have some effect on almost every symptom known to mankind, and work in at least a third of patients and sometimes in up to 60 percent."
The Placebo effect works on me very well. 😆😆😆
dcarch
-
5
-
-
23 minutes ago, Dejah said:
I usually get the Gogi leaves from our "Chinese elders". Love the soup, a memory of my childhood in Hong Kong when my Grampa would take me out for dinner if Gramma was feeling poorly. When I make it at home, I always add one salted duck egg to the soup.
I get huge supplies from my garden. You can buy them from Chinese markets, but they are not cheap and they are too old and tough. Not like the ones from the garden.
Gogi leaves and berries are supposed to be very healthy, medicinal.
dcarch
-
1
-
-
9 hours ago, Senior Sea Kayaker said:
I've been at it for forty plus years and I'm always learning something new.
I learned that I am stupid.
I had not been able to find a sprayer that I like. I don't have a huge garden, but my garden is big enough that spraying on a hot summer day is not a pleasant task. Also, I need a sprayer with a long wand, and an adjustable spray head that can spray upside-down (bottom of leaves).
So I made my own, very proud that a motorized sprayer which can do everything I want. I filled the 2 gallon sprayer with Daconil and gave all my (80?) tomato seedlings a thorough shower.
Well, a day later, all the seedlings died. I didn't realize the sprayer had some weed killer solution leftover from last season.
Good thing it was early enough. I was able to redo everything.
dcarch
-
1
-
2
-
5
-
-
On 6/11/2023 at 9:39 AM, KennethT said:
Since it's the season, I got a box of Nam Doc Mai Thai mangoes from a Vietnamese farmer in Florida. All tree ripened but shipped hard.
In storage waiting....
On the counter. The on one the right has been a couple days, on the left from last night.
For the first time, they are available in NYC Chinatown. The big ones at $9.00 a lb.
I bought a few to taste, pretty good. Not so good that I will pay $9.00 a lb. I am sure the price will come down.
Interesting about these mangos, you can eat them even when they are not fully ripe.
dcarch
-
When I make head on shrimps I also take out the digestive tracks, like Winoo's picture.
dcarch
-
1
-
1
-
-
Just when asparagus season is winding down in my garden, garlic scapes are showing up.
Made smoked ribs, grilled pine apple and watermelon rind, on garlic scapes.
dcarch
-
10
-
3
-
-
I am truly sorry for many of you, those in all parts of the world who have to deal with this problem for now and for a very long time to come.
I feel very lucky, before the pandemic, in trying to be environmentally sensible, I focused in making my garden more efficient; I compost 100% waste to minimize the use of fertilizers, I home-built a 3,000 watt solar system, and a 1,000 gallon rainwater system. This is helping to minimize the inflation pain somewhat.
With food price not coming down soon, I am thinking of raising chickens . Here not far from NYC, hunting is not a good idea.
Shelby, please help!!!
dcarch
-
2
-
-
Eye opening!
Thank you.
dcarch
-
Finally I was able to find some fiddlehead fern. Made pan fried Bronzino with black garlic sauce to go with this dish.
dcarch
-
15
-
3
-
3
-
-
On 5/17/2023 at 2:27 AM, pastameshugana said:
A beautiful presentation and photo. Sounds delicious, too!
How did you like the mochi coffee ice cream?
Thanks. The mochi coffee ice cream tasted nice. My challenge was to fine a way to make mochi shaped into a little spherical ball. That was not successful because the dough was sticky and the ice cream was melting fast. So I took a shortcut and made mochi ice cream sandwiches instead.
dcarch
-
3
-
-
A quick and easy Mother's Day dinner.
dcarch
Sous vide pan seared prime rib beef, home grown shiitake mushroom sauce
Home made mochi coffee ice cream
-
18
-
1
-
-
It's that time of the year, hosta shoots poking thru garden soil, even before asparagus appears. Tender, crispy, delicious delicate flavor like a happy marriage between asparagus and endive.
Made hosta with ravioli.
dcarch
-
13
-
3
-
-
6 hours ago, liuzhou said:
I must admit that I think Himalayan Pink Salt is a bit of a con trick. For a start, it isn't even from the Himalayas but nearby.
It tastes exactly the same as any rock salt you can buy at a tenth of the price. The pinkness comes from impurities. Looks pretty, but that's all.Agree. Pure table salt is a very good seasoning for all animals. The so called Himalayan pink salt tastes exactly as regular table salt.
dcarch
-
1 hour ago, chromedome said:
It came with a couple of corkscrew ground stakes and cords, but they're about the size of a kid's twisty-straw and probably not much good in a gale.
I'm going to pick up four or six (maybe eight) larger ones, the kind people use to stake out a dog on a lead, and use those instead. In the interim - and for my main form of stabilization - I've filled a few of my hoard of feed sacks with stone, and draped those over the bottom of the frame. I figure if they weigh 50 lbs when filled with rabbit pellets (ie, pressed alfalfa) they're probably a couple of hundred at least when filled with stone. Improvised small-scale gabions, if you will.
Between those to hold the frame down, and cords over top between the anchors to hold the cover in place, I think I'm good until late fall. Reinforcing it well enough to withstand snow load is a whole other project, of course, and I'm undecided between doing that or simply removing the cover for the winter and storing it. We'll see how ambitious I am as the year draws to a close.
For snow load, my suggestions:
1. The one top pipe at the peak of the curve, go to HD and get a larger diameter pipe to replace it. Shouldn't cost too much.
2. Get 5 2"x 2" lumber, cut post length to the height from ground to the underside of the top pipe. When heavy snow is forecasted, just pop up the posts inside the greenhouse right under the 5 cross points of the pipes. the will take care very heavy snow falls. Remove the posts after you clear the snow. BTW, snow is a very good insulator.
It's a lot of work to remove and reinstall the plastic cover.
You may want to consider also, a small solar panel for 12V LED lights, winter gets dark very early. The 12v, and you may want to have a 12V electric fence around the greenhouse.
dcarch
-
3
-
-
On 4/16/2023 at 7:36 AM, chromedome said:
Yesterday was gloriously hot and sunny, and I finally blocked out a day to assemble the greenhouse I'd purchased last autumn.
First I laid out sheets of cardboard to suppress weeds and serve as a temporary floor (there'll be gravel, later).
The rest of the sequence more or less speaks for itself:
Nice work!
How are you anchoring it down? Did they provide parts for anchoring?
dcarch
-
1
-
-
Many years ago, I was invited to a friend's house for dinner. Sheraton and her husbands were one of the 8 couples invited.
Food was not the main topic of conversations that evening. I was not much into reading food reviews and didn't start a conversation about food with her. The only thing I remember about that dinner was her husband made a few comments about she being overweight, and she seemed not offended by him.
RIP.
dcarch
-
13 hours ago, KennethT said:
That is back breaking work... been there!!! Hope you had a nice hot epsom salt bath afterwards.
Thanks, I did need a good soaking. I smelled terrible.
dcarch
-
5
-
-
What is the weight of one cubic yard of :
Solid rock? up to 4,500 lbs
Compacted wet clay dirt? up to 2,500 lbs.
The pandemic taught me to expand my garden. After a lot of planning and preparation, solar panel system, electrical system, plumbing system, etc. I discovered a huge boulder, size about 1/2 cubic yard under where I planned to have the new growing area.
I learned from youtube how to crack boulders using hand tools.
So, I removed one yard of dirt to get to the boulder, 1 1/2 day to crack the boulder into manageable sizes, relocated all the cracked boulders, replaced 1 1/2 yard of dirt where the boulder was.
Gravity makes gardening a pain. Thanks Mr. Newton! 😒
dcarch
-
4
-
![PXL_20230714_191654989.MP[1].jpg](https://forums.egullet.org/uploads/monthly_2023_07/PXL_20230714_191654989_MP1.jpg.5a15beeb53f2d431ee0c9dd50f74778c.jpg)
Gardening: (2016– )
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Done! Cracked the boulder into 5 sections, made a tool so I could grab the heavy pieces out from the deep pit without breaking my back.
Moved the dirt back into the pit and planted the fig tree.
dcarch