dcarch

Actually, Googling "perlite growing" will lead to many ways of incorporating perlite, not only growing in pure perlite. Mixing perlite with compost is still much lighter than growing in soil. BTW,. a couple of months ago, by pure chance, I had an opportunity to visit a huge commercial roof top growing operation at lower Manhattan. I don't remember the address and name of that operation. They use a lot of perlite. dcarch

1. Google "grow plants in perlite". 2. Show your rental agent a planter with perlite, it weighs nothing. Enjoy your first tomato. dcarch

Yes you can. I think you should start seedlings indoors. If you plant the beans outside, there is a chance those beans may become dinner for garden critters. dcarch

Do you like Royal Corona beans? Not cheap. I am growing them. Seems to be doing very well. I will have a good supply this year. dcarch

Yes it can be a bomb, if you use an air pump without a pressure regulator. This is a self-priming water pump. No pressure buildup. dcarch

If you garden, organic or non-organic, you will need to spray. Do you find it fun to have to spray? Most of the sprayers you buy only work for a couple of seasons. On a hot humid summer day, pump pump pump pump --- take a shower, change underwear, more pump pump pump again ----more showers ------ more pump pump pump. I can't believe everything in our life is so advanced and we are still gardening with 100 year old technology. So I bought a $17.00 12v pump, and a $5.00 old MacBook rechargeable battery, changed the "plumbing" of a defective sprayer. Awesome! this simple electric sprayer can get a much better spraying job done in one fifth the time and without the sweating. They do sell motorized sprayers, but they are expensive, not reliable, and too big. I highly recommend making one yourself. Really worth it. It is not impossible to hookup an electric pump with a battery and a switch. dcarch

For folks in cold zones, it's kind of a waste of time to try to grow artichokes. Not enough time for them to set blossoms. But don't give up. Look up 'Vernalization' for growing artichokes. It works. I did (my zone 6 area ). Artichokes are better if you grow your own, because you can pick them young while they are tender. You can pick them with long stems (the best part). You can pick them with young leaves (also nice tender and tasty). They are also very decorative in your garden landscape. dcarch Artichokes from the garden, SV salmon

Here they come! 4 other plants also have chokes coming. The other 4 shouldn't be far behind. dcarch

May not be a rule, but you don't have to wait until Wednesday to eat spaghetti, unless, of course, your name happens to be Anthony. dcarch

Last year I found out the trick to get artichokes to blossom in my zone 6. This year with my DIY high power LED grow light, I am hopeful that I will have even better results. As of today, things look promising. dcarch

Happy Father's Day to all! Some more garlic scapes to harvest. Made SV rib eye steak with garlic scapes for Father's Day dinner. dcarch

First class sophisticated simple cooking, made even more appetizing by First class plating . dcarch

But did you see that the casters are lockable casters? ( I have an eye for details )? A very important consideration even for 100 % level floors. dcarch

Garlic scapes are a gourmet early summer treat. But I have been disappointed buying them from farmers markets. Because the scapes are sold buy weight, so the sellers tend to pick them late and the scapes can get fibery; unless you grow your own. dcarch Shrimps on garlic scapes from my garden.

You will go gaga over peri peri mahi mahi on couscous recipes. dcarch

Are you sure you are talking about soot? I am not sure your can get soot from burning gas. I could be wrong. What you may be getting is grease/fat dripping down on the fire and vaporizes. The vapor gets condensed on the bottom of your cookware and gets carbonized. I don't know soot can get caked on bottom of cookware. If it is soot, you can wipe it off with a paper tower. What you are describing sound more like carbonized accumulation of cooking oil/fat. To tell if your gas burner is adjusted properly: if the flame is blue, you are OK. If the flame is orange, it needs to be re-adjusted. Soot and smoke are airborne microscopic particles. If they create problems for you indoors, you may be able to get your doctor to write you a prescription to buy an electrostatic sir cleaner. dcarch

Thanks! I used pork belly, with fat and skin removed. dcarch

Roasts are red, Violets are blue, Authentic recipe, Without Red Dye #2. Made Chinese Char Siu. Used beet juice for the red color. dcarch

Happy Memorial Day! Happy indeed! Succeeded in Zone 6 to have ripe tomatoes before Memorial Day! Last year's goal was to have tomatoes before July 4th. With my DIY high power LED lights, Memorial Day is the objective for this year. Next year Mother's Day? :-) dcarch

Exactly What I was trying to say. Except for sushi preparation, which requires the right kind of knife used the right way for a specific kind of meat. dcarch

Only if you are a sushi chef. dcarch

Thank you! The green stuff is wasabi squeezed from a tube. The white wafers are ultra thin, thinner than paper slices of Jicama. Also finely julienned jicama is in the crab rolls. I like that better than cucumber. dcarch

I hope you all had an enjoyable Mother's Day. I don't believe in fighting the crowd going to a restaurant for MD. So I made sushi. Tuna rolls and crab meat rolls. dcarch

Goji plant is super easy to grow. Go to a Chinese store, buy some goji greens on branches. Eat the greens, and stick the branches in soil. The branches root quickly and you will have goji greens year round from now on, every year. I think they will grow in climate zones much colder than zone 6. Make sure you re-do your retirement planning. Because you will live to at least 145 years old. dcarch

This is about cooking, but also about gardening, and a little about medicinal food. Its always a challenge to plan your garden for early harvest, if you are in a cold zone. I am happy that I have been able to enjoy a steady supply of fresh goodies from my garden (zone 6). First, I got asparagus, then hosta shoots, now I am enjoying goji plant greens. Goji comes early in cold weather. It is a perennial that gives you a supply of delicious early greens and goji berries every year. Goji greens and berries are a common vegetable in Asian countries. They are believed to have very beneficial medicinal effects. It may not be acceptable for me to discuss anything medicinal on this forum. But you can Google if you are interested in this "super food". dcarch SV crispy salmon on goji greens.