#which i like to think grow on the same bush with bean fruit | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

covdiggingdeep · 2 years

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Rosie Bolton, Greg Muldoon and Nora, backgarden in Stoke, Coventry. Plot taken on August 2020. Greg: We’ve been out here quite a bit since we last saw you. Over the summer I’ve been managing five different gardens and Rosie has had so much on with work. Rosie: I planted loads of seeds and they all came up really nicely but then they all died because it got really hot. We’ve been away, too. Greg: All things considered we’ve had a lot from here and everything that’s gone in the ground has been successful. The Alys Fowler-esque side of the garden is all thriving. We’ve been getting lots of fresh herbs out of there all the time. Rosie: I’ve got a fancy new apple tree which is still a baby, it was from the apple tasting day at Food Union, it was one of the ones which are red all the way through. That’s my highlight of the season. I’ve got a grapevine in the bathtub over there. Greg: The bathtub has kind of been the main focus, we’ve got the really nice smelling rose bush. Rosie: It’s a really beautiful smell and a proper deep red colour. When I bought it it said it was ‘highly scented, smells like over-ripe pears’ which sounds disgusting but actually it’s really nice. We’ve got a random sweetcorn in there because it didn’t have anywhere else to go. I didn’t think it would even take off. It’s a rainbow corn, a maize one. Greg: I think that’s the thing with a lot of the food growing in this garden is that a lot of it has just been leftovers. It’s all stuff that we couldn’t find places for in other gardens. Rosie: I’ve bought a few things for myself. The sunflowers self-seeded. The ones we planted didn’t do that well but both of the giant ones self-seeded and we didn’t pull them up. Greg: We save the seed-heads for the birds, maybe save a few seed for us. Rosie: I guess because they self-seed they have a bit of a head start. They go along with the season. Greg: Nora helps depending on what mood she’s in. She loves watering and harvesting. She demands beans everyday! She had her first sweetcorn from the garden this morning. How was the sweetcorn Nora? Nora: Good. I feel better now. Sweetcorn! It was hot. Burnt myself. Hot. Greg: I’ve been organising lots of plant and seed swaps and so I’ve been picking different things up. We’ve got some barbecue rosemary here which is really interesting. The sweetcorn we’re growing is black maize, the beans we were growing is a heritage variety called Golden Gate. The parsnips were from the Bedworth Seed Swap which were a heritage variety. Rosie: Carrots are heritage as well. I got some from the Real Seed Company. Greg: We still have an allotment in Rugby. I think going forward, what I’ve learnt trying to tend a lot of these spaces, and also reacting to the way the climate is changing, is that there’s been more reflection on how we do things this year. Maybe typical allotment-ing standards are going to change a little bit. Less mono-cultures. I’m looking more into agro-forestry now - lots of perennials and wild natives and keeping the entire ground covered but with lots of varieties of different plants. Not just rows of beetroot then rows of carrot then rows of parsnip. It’ll be more like soft fruits with different vegetables growing around it. Reflecting on walking through a forest and how you don’t necessarily see the same variety of plants growing in one place. It’s always a mix. I want the allotment space to reflect that and possibly the same in the garden. Rosie: My main thing I have to say since we last spoke is that the weather has just been insane and everything has been getting scorched. Greg: We’ve known it’s coming for a while. Rosie: Some houses are set up so you can see the garden when you’re not in the garden and you’re constantly there. Ours are not so much as it’s down the side, it’s a bit disconnected. It would be nice for it to be more connected to the rest of the house somehow. There are various ways we can’t afford. Greg: We choose low maintenance stuff to plant here, things we can leave, like sweetcorn and squashes, beans, soft fruit. But even that could’ve gone better, which is why I mention agro-forestry. The way we treat the allotment needs to change. Going a couple of times a month isn’t enough. It’s not practical for growing some of the stuff we want to, so we need it to be even more low maintenance and self-sufficient. Self-seeding flowers and lots of herbs and things that can over-winter. Things that aren’t reliant on lots of water.What’s nice about having the side that Rosie’s been focusing on is there’s loads of things to pick, we’ve been making really nice herby salads. Rosie: I can’t remember the last time we bought a bag of salad leaves. We’ve had this lettuce here as a cut and come again. Lots of mint, too. I sow things I like to eat. There’s loads of stuff here popping up that was obviously planted before we moved in, so we still find surprises. Yellow raspberries are self-seeding still from next door’s bush. Greg: The raspberries finished really early this year, last year we were still eating them way into September. They stopped around July this year. We want the back garden to reflect how we feel about our food source. We like to try and source as much food that is as fresh and organic as possible with as little plastic as possible. It’s nice to walk out here and see what you’ve got. Rosie: It’s handy as well. I get into ruts where I’m unimaginative about dinners and if there’s something you’ve got lots of then its a good starting point. I made parsnip cakes the other day. Greg: Often I don’t know what my salads are going to look like but I come out and see we’ve got feverfew, chard, mint, lettuces, carrot tops, beetroot leaves, rosemary, sage, edible flowers, marigold, borage, then all of a sudden it’s like ‘man! This salad is 20 plants deep!’ Rosie: And really intense! Greg: You feel good afterwards. Advice wise, if you’re going to grow food in the back garden, make sure its an aesthetic you’re going to find pleasing. Sometimes allotment spaces just look like work which can feel disheartening. Your garden wants to be a place of sanctuary and a place of peace. Think about plants that are visually pleasing as well as being tasty and edible. Rosie: It’s nice having birds as well. They’re nice to look at. We want to work on that more. Greg: They fertilise the ground, it’s important for biodiversity.

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andromedasstarship · 4 years

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are you free tomorrow?

pairing - spencer reid x gn!reader

warnings - nothing! just a sweet & cliche ‘first meeting’ story :)

summary - midterms are coming up and all the good cafes on campus are filled, maybe the sweet looking curly haired guy in the back will share his table with you?

a/n - for my valentines day oneshot series! 'every table is full, but i really need to study, is there any way we could share?'

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Stressed, was a simple way to explain the current state you were in. The semester had snuck up on you, moving faster than you had ever expected. As the fifth week was coming to a close, you were getting dangerously close to the storm of midterms you had waiting for you in the sixth week. And you desperately needed to study. The only thing stopping you- surprisingly not your own procrastination-, was that it seemed as if the rest of campus was also in the same predicament as you.

This was the third cafe on campus that you had entered that was absolutely filled.

Your eyes scanned around the room, hoping to catch someone in the middle of packing their things. Nope. You considered circling back through the other two cafes you’d just been in or maybe even just going off campus. Except you couldn’t justify wasting more time by circling the same few cafes over and over, nor could your college student budget justify paying for coffee when you could just use your allotted campus cash.

Just as you were about to give up and leave- begrudgingly deciding that studying in your room would have to be good enough-, you spotted a man sitting alone towards the back of the cafe. He sat at a large table with plenty of space; even though he had one of the largest stacks of papers you’d ever seen one individual possess.

You weighed your options, internally debating if it’d be worth potentially hurting your pride by asking him to share the table and getting rejected. Seeing as the other option was definitely hurting your pride by hovering the same cafes like a hungry park bird, you tightened your grip on your tote bag and started walking towards him.

Whatever he was reading must’ve been exciting, as his focus didn’t stray even for a moment nor did he notice you at all until you were right up against the chair across from him. You awkwardly cleared your throat to catch his attention, giving him a tiny wave when he looked up at you.

“Hi!”

“Hello?”

“I’m really sorry to bother you, just every table is full and I really need to study and I know it’s not the best, but could I share this table with you?” You asked anxiously, holding your breath as you waited for his answer.

As he opened his mouth to respond, you quickly added. “I swear it’ll be like I’m not even here!”

He gave you a ‘please calm down’ look and you felt some of the weight dissolve from your shoulders as he nodded his head. “Take a seat, no worry at all.” He told you, adding a kind smile as he looked back down at his stack of papers and pulled them closer; giving you more room at the table.

You let your bag fall off your shoulder and hit the ground with a thunk, relieved to no longer be carrying the physical weight around. You clasped the top of the chair in front of you, leaning towards him just so. “Thank you,” you said, giving your best gracious smile, “let me get you a coffee or something?”

He looked almost shocked- or was he flustered? you weren’t sure-, quickly shaking his head in response. “No! You don’t need to do that at all.” He assured you, but you weren’t so quick to back down.

“It’s the least I can do, please?” You pressed, giving him a very exaggerated pleaaaase look, “with all those papers you must need some serious caffeine.”

You thought he was going to continue this little back-and-forth with you, but you watched as his body relaxed ever so slightly, signs of what you hoped was him conceding. “Just a black coffee.”

"Just black?" You countered, raising your eyebrow, leaving it unsaid that he was just choosing the cheapest drink they had.

"Room for cream? I'll fix it up myself." He replied.

----

From the line, you had your first opportunity to really give this guy a look. The papers in front of him had sucked him back in as soon as you stepped away from the table; meaning you weren’t too worried about him catching you in your little…, creeping moment. The student population was large, but it was still small enough that you found yourself repeatedly seeing the same strangers. Yet, you’d never seen this man before. And you were sure you would’ve remembered this man, had you seen him before. What? He was undeniably attractive. There was something about the way his hair just perfectly curled around his face that made you just want to reach out and ruff- that’s weird. Even his little sweater-tie-button up outfit was doing it for you. Maybe today won’t be so bad.

The line moved quickly and you found yourself carrying the two drinks back over to the table in under five minutes. You set his cup by him, taking care to put it away from the massive stack of papers. You set your cup down next, sliding in the chair diagonal from him.

“You know,” you started, hefting your bag up into the chair next to you, “I never got your name?”

“Thank you,” he quickly got out, holding up his coffee as he did so. “I’m Spencer, uh…, Spencer Reid.” He told you, a faint red creeping up from under his collar.

You gave him your name in return, a bit distracted as you pulled more of your things from your bag. From the corner of your eye, you saw him hold his coffee up again, nodding his head towards the cream and sugar station before walking off to fix his drink up properly.

In his absence, you pulled out the rest of your books, debating which subject you should tackle first. You were glad you were finally towards the end of your college career, meaning the majority of your classes were specific to your interests rather than a four hundred student gen-ed; not that it made you any more excited to study for this exam.

When Spencer came back he set his coffee down with a slightly shaky hand. “Did you know coffee is actually classified as a fruit?” He asked, as he slid back into his seat against the wall.

“I didn’t know that.” You replied, shaking your head.

“The coffee bean itself grows on a bush and they’re actually the pit of a berry, which is what makes them a fruit. They come in two main varieties, green and red.” He rambled, as if reciting from some magic book stored in his brain. As soon as he was done he clamped his mouth shut, remembering how most people reacted to his ramblings.

You raised an eyebrow at him, but your face didn’t show any signs of annoyance. “Big coffee fan Spencer?”

“Big fan of facts.” He corrected, giving you a sheepish smile.

“Oh yeah? Well you seem pretty smart then, which class should I study for first?” You asked, holding up two of your textbooks.

He looked at both books curiously, trying to take a guess at what your major might’ve been. He pointed at the one in your left hand. God’s, Monsters and Mortals.

“Are you an…, English major?” He guessed, wondering if the book was some supplement for a unit on the Iliad. Not to mention the other book you held up was quite literally called ‘Literature Through The Ages’.

You shook your head, putting the book he chose down on the table while you returned the other one to your bag. “Close! Classics,” you said, giving him a sheepish grin, “I know, it’s a bit niche, kinda ridiculous, but there’s something about how we immortalized memories of ancient times through literature that are just fascinating. There’s something about the lessons of the past that I think a lot of people are ignoring today, ya know?” You replied, quickly closing your mouth before you’d go on some incredibly long tangent about your interests and studies. Didn’t you say it’d be like you weren’t even here?

“No, no!” He hurriedly said, shaking his head. “Understanding the lessons and patterns of the past and how they’ve morphed humanity today? That’s cool!” He assured you.

“Well what about you, Spencer Reid? What’s your major, you must have some horrible professors, if that stack of papers is the norm.” You joked, liking the way the corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“I’m uh…, a professor here.” He responded, his face cringing ever so slightly as he watched your mouth drop open simultaneously as your eyes nearly fell out of your head.

“You’re a…, professor?” You repeated, extremely confused as to how someone who looked only a few years older than you was somehow employed to such a degree.

“Just a visiting one!” He clarified, clearing his throat. “I’m on a sort of, uh, sabbatical from work.”

“Isn’t a sabbatical when someone gets away from academia?” You countered, smiling to show you meant no actual aggression.

“Big fan of facts, remember?” He repeated plainly, but you caught the joke in it and you smiled wider at that.

“No offense Professor, but you look a bit young to ya know, be one.” You said, hoping he’d give his age in response.

“I’m 29.” Ah, only four years older than you.

“29 and already a professor at a university like this? What, do you have like 20 Phds. or something?” You asked jokingly, laughing a bit as you said so.

“Three actually.” He replied, a mix of shyness and pride across his face.

Your mouth dropped back open again, trying to wrap your mind around the man in front of you. “What are you? A genius then?”

“By some standards, yes.”

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence after that. Him paying special attention to each paper he graded- you wished all your professors cared about student work the way he seemed to-, while you were busy deciding which parts of the taught units were the most important.

After what you imagined was nothing short of four hours you felt your head begin to throb and your eyes were starting to go fuzzy. In that time, the two of you had downed at least five coffees each, going back and forth over who paid for them. You had managed to create an individual study guide for nearly all your upcoming exams and a quick glance told you that Spencer still had a few papers left. Unbeknownst to you he could have finished those papers hours ago, even with the in depth comments he entered into the computer for each one; there was just something about you that drew him in.

He wasn’t sure whether it was the funny unfiltered comments you’d make sporadically while you worked or the way you actually seemed to be interested in every little tangent he had gone on whenever one of his students brought up a particularly good or amusing point in their papers’. His therapist had recently recommended that he engage in conversations with those not already well acquainted with him and it seemed like the world had lined up perfectly to put you in front of him so soon after.

You loudly slammed your textbook shut with a groan and let your head fall against the table. “Why does academia have to be so boring?” You asked rhetorically, bringing one hand up to pinch the bridge of your nose. “Is it some requirement to get published? Your work needs to put college kids to sleep?”

“The works that you’re reading are quite literally ancient, in their defense. The term ‘academia’ itself comes from the school of thought taught by Plato himself in ancient Athens.” Spencer explained, putting down the paper he had been grading.

“And now, all these years later I have to suffer because Plato was such a bore.” You sighed dramatically, rolling your eyes.

“You said you were studying the downfall of Icarus weren’t you?” He asked, once again unbeknownst to you, he remembered everything you had said today. “It’s one of my favorites of ancient Greek mythology. The power of the mind of man, yet how quickly that very power could be taken away if man oversteps. Really makes us wonder if we’ve overstepped as humans yet, if we use Icarus’s fall, quite literally from grace, as a lens for other devastations we’ve seen across history then-”

“Spencer, are you free tomorrow?” You asked, effectively cutting him off.

He looked a bit like a fish, the way you had stopped him mid sentence and his mouth hadn’t yet closed. His eyebrows turned up, head tilting with them. “Tomorrow? The 14th?”

“Yeah, are you free tomorrow?” You repeated, holding back your nerves.

“Oh.” He said, eyes going wide as you assumed he finally connected the dots, “Oh!”

You were about to speak again, retract your question completely before he could reject you, suddenly wondering why you decided to go out on whim like that at all. But he beat you to it.

“Yes, yes I am.”

------

happy valentines day (almost) i love yall!!

tagging a few people who asked + a few mutuals i think might like this (no pressure!!) - @hqtchner @ssahoodrathotchner @kylorendrip @feverdreamreid @homoose

permanent taglist - @sunflowersandotherthings

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid/reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid/you #vday oneshots 2021 #spencer reid #spencer #reid x reader #reid/you #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds fanfic #'stori writes #are you free tomorrow?#spencer reid x gn!reader #spencer reid/gn!reader #gn!reader

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sp00kymulderr · 4 years

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sweet tooth (Ezra x Reader)

Warnings: NSFW, but no actual smut. food play (chocolate being licked off the body, mainly), mentions of sex, described nudity, weirdly more fluff than intended.

Pairing: Ezra (Prospect) x F!Reader

Word Count: 3,258

Summary: Ezra has a sweet tooth, but is there anything sweeter than you?

A/N: if you’re seeing this for a second time it’s because I accidently deleted all the text in the original post when trying to edit it 🙃. Anyway, here is a fic about Ezra and chocolate. I feel like this is heavily inspired by my love @goldafterglow and some of her Ezra fics, so I hope she doesn’t mind me taking inspiration from her. Enjoy and let me know what you think, your comments are always appreciated!

Ezra has a sweet-tooth. It’s something he’s always had; ever since he was a child and he found himself unable to resist indulging in candies wherever he could find them. Always chasing that sticky, sugary high. Years on and he still finds himself craving that pleasurable rush.

Of course, confectionery isn’t so easy to get your hands on, not these days – transport commissaries sometimes stock the brightly coloured boiled sweets, the ones that crack your teeth and coat your mouth in a syrupy residue. Not unpleasant but not quite the thing Ezra finds himself wanting the most.

Chocolate was always his favourite; dark and bitter, creamy milk or sickeningly sweet white, he’ll doesn’t mind which as long as it tastes like the real thing. There is something about it that fills him with delight. Perhaps because it takes him back to a time when he was young, seeming so long ago, to those few years he had a place that was almost home to him. Where blueberry bushes grew around the farm, and he can still taste the bursting fruits covered in the white chocolate that one of the farmhands used to bring back from the market every few weeks. After the long day of toiling was done, the workers would sit around the pot of melted chocolate and dip in skewers of berries while swapping stories and laughing ‘til the sun went down. Ezra met his first love over those shared fondues, so it is a memory and a taste he knows he will never forget, something so blissful and made only more so by time.

All he really has is the memory of the taste. The only thing mass-produced and readily available is Bits Bars, but even when food is scarce those are a misery – sad and cardboardy, made for nutrition and not enjoyment. Nowadays real chocolate bars are like gold dust; the ingredients are difficult to find on most planets, the climate rarely being right for growing the cacao beans. Occasionally it is possible to stumble upon something homemade, sold in brightly wrapped little bars, on planets with the right resources. That is always a fortuitous moment of delight to Ezra, and as long as he can afford to he will always buy a small amount and make it last as long as possible, savouring the taste and every morsel of a happy memory it brings him.

Truly it makes him only more thankful to have you, his own sweet love. You and your candied kisses with your lips so gentle on his. Your honeyed, tender words intoxicating him. The high is almost the same; that warm, syrupy feeling that consumes him. And yet you have never had the pleasure of trying his other favourite luxury, and Ezra finds it unfair; If anyone deserves that sweetness it’s you.

So when, finally, finally, after too many cycles of searching Ezra finally finds the elusive treat at a small market in some isolated town between jobs, he can’t help but spend an inordinate amount of his credits on two foil wrapped bars of the delicacy. What luck, he thinks, that he finds it now. He is overjoyed, so pleased with himself like he’s just found the most perfect pull of aurelac. He cannot hide the excited smile from you for even a moment once he finds you quickly in a neighbouring alley of the marketplace.

“What’s got you so happy?” you ask, noticing his sunny demeanour straight away, nothing like how you feel trying to barter for parts with unwilling vendors all morning and shivering in to your old, worn coat. It’s cold, and you’re exhausted, just wanting to rest your aching body safe in his arms for a few hours.

And of course Ezra knows you’re tired, that you’re struggling. He’s noticed that your spirits have become more and more dulled over the last couple jobs as the toil of the life catches up with you – he knows the feeling all too well, can spot it a mile off. Truth be told he feels responsible, whether he should or not, and some desperate part of him hopes that the small offering will spark some new joy in you, like it does him.

“I have something for you, moonflower. A rarity almost as perfectly sweet as you” he tells you, moving closer to press his lips to yours, thrilled. Admittedly you’re intrigued, charmed by his enlivened manner.

He seems different to you in this moment. Almost younger; not that Ezra has ever truly seemed old to you but that weariness he always carries with him – that comes with drifting and living from job to job for as long as he has – has practically vanished in the few moments you were separated at the market. His eyes shine like they hold all the stars in them, and it lifts your heart to see him so light. It’s all you want, to see him carefree, and you can sense his good mood breathed in to you like you are one and the same. It’s quite catching and you find yourself giggling at him as he offers you another excited kiss and takes hold of your hand, practically dragging you away from the market and back to the meagre accommodations you had rented for the week.

------

You gladly let him rouse your spirits with increasingly fervent kisses as you make your way back, and find yourself hungry for him quickly. At the lodging he seems to forget about your gift for a moment, as you enter and he’s pushing you up against the nearest wall before the door has even closed behind you. It’s a breathless exchange of ardent, fiery need. Touches that warm you quickly, heat twisting in your core when he palms at you with an eagerness. He always makes you feel like you are so deeply wanted.

“I can never get enough you, stardust” he mutters against your jaw before kissing down your neck and eliciting an excited gasp from you.

“I feel the same way, sunbeam” you respond in kind, using the nickname he had earned because of the lovely tuft of blonde hair you were so fond of running your fingers through. He hums happily at the moniker, burying his face against the crook of your neck almost bashfully.

“So, is this my gift? Not that I’m complaining...” you chuckle, more a breathy giggle as his fingers slide under your shirt and run feather-light up your side. Your mood has shifted entirely, in the last half hour, and you find yourself greedy for more of his addictive ebullience.

“Ah no, I have something even better for you. Your beauty is frankly quite distracting” he answers amusedly after a moment, like he is shook out of some daze and reminded of his plans. He gives you two more soft kisses, making you sigh once he pulls away, before he is picking up the mystery bag and striding eagerly towards the small kitchen.

“Be quick” you beg, already craving the warmth of him crowding you again. Oh, the ways he fills you with life, makes you come to life.

“You have my assurance of that, stardust. I do hate to keep you waiting” he chuckles, turning to look at you as he speaks.

Your eyes meet and you are suddenly transfixed at the notion of him, a man so doting and kind and so giving of himself to you. How did you ever get so lucky? Every time you feel yourself slipping in to displacement and exhaustion it’s like he knows, and he finds a way to pull you from it and keep you steady. He is your sunbeam; and all you need is to luxuriate in his glow.

He is your love, nothing has ever been truer.

And right now you need to feel him, you need your love to touch you any way he wants to. All at once as you muse on his rich brown eyes and his handsome form, you’re overwhelmed with it; the lust he sparks in you, the desire to be his and to make him yours as you have a hundred times before. But still you want it, want him, so badly that you notice your blood thrum in your veins from the intensity of your need. There was never this urgency with anyone else, but Ezra can light a fire burning in your core with a simple look, a word, a single touch. He strikes a match, stokes the fire, and you burn for him.

You make your ways towards him, pressing yourself against his back and your hands sliding down from his lower back. He lets out a low groan, and draws a breath when your mouth meets the skin of his neck and you bite down gently just enough to let him feel the indent of your teeth against him.

“Your impatience is admirable” he laughs, not trying to shuck you off or shoo you away, genuinely sounding entirely taken with your determination.

“Take me to bed, Ezra” you whisper against him before placing open mouthed kisses up his neck and to his jaw, “I want you”.

“Believe me, I intend on taking you to bed. But I have something for you first, remember?”

“Mhhmm” you affirm but still preoccupied with him, teeth scraping against the shell of his ear before you kiss the patch of skin just underneath.

He turns and you let go of him, but stay close enough that you’re pleased you can feel his own arousal against you. Enticed, you make to reach down, want to take him in your hand and feel that pleasurable weight of him in your grip, but he catches your attention and your eyes are drawn to the small square he’s holding between his fingers.

“What’s that?” you query, curious because you know if Ezra used his hard-earned credits for it, it must be something special.

“Open your mouth” is all his says, deep voice sending a shiver of desire through you “Trust me, it’s good”.

You trust him implicitly in everything, including this. And besides when was the last time you ate anything decent, anything that wasn’t some miserable beige gruel?

You open your mouth, interested, and he gently places the little square on the front of your tongue. As you close your mouth and bite down, your eyes widen and Ezra titters excitedly at the way you close your eyes and moan at the delicious sweetness of the food.

It’s unlike anything you’ve ever had before.

Sure some of the nutri-bars that get packed on long-range jobs have vaguely similar tastes but where those are dull and hard, this delicacy has more flavour than you’ve ever experienced previously. It’s heavily sugary but it’s not too much, the right balance of sweet and bitter, and it’s a flavour that fills you with pleasure. And the way it melts on your tongue, so heavenly smooth as you quickly finish it.

Once you open your eyes Ezra is practically beaming at you; bright eyes watching you take in the delicate gift he was so excited to give you.

“Good?” he asks but he already knows the answer.

You surge forward and kiss him hard, opening up to let him taste the trace of flavour left on your tongue. His hand holds the back of your head, not letting you break away until he’s satisfied.

“Incredible” you pant out when he finally breaks the kiss, answering his earlier question. “Ezra, is this what I think it is? Chocolate? It’s so...so…” you mutter out enthusiastically, you can’t think straight; between the devastating kiss, the heady aftertaste of the confectionery, and the way he’s so happily smiling as you talk.

“You should have some” you reach behind him to where a few more pieces have been chopped off the bar. He shakes his head and takes your hand, looking in to your eyes with such smouldering intensity you’re suddenly breathless.

“I have a proposition for you, moonflower. See, I know this will taste divine but I have a theory it will be even more so if I were to sample it on you. Taste is straight from your body. Can I do that?” he speaks slowly but he can’t find the excited lilt to his tone. Searching for any hesitation in your response he finds none, all you can do is nod - dumbfounded by how suddenly hot it is in the small room.

With a smile he kisses you again, quick and light. He’s clearly been thinking about this since the market, that’s what got him so excited, and now he’s so obviously pleased that he can put his plan in to action. You want to tell him he can do anything he wants but all you can do is whimper at the contact of his lips on yours for the mere seconds they are.

“Good. Now, take your clothes off for me”

------

Ezra sits besides you on the bed and takes in the sight of you for a moment; you now naked save for your clearly already soaked underwear, he runs a finger from your inner wrist up and enjoys the trail of goosebumps that form from your anticipation. He leans over and presses his lips to yours lovingly and then he is softly pushing you to lie down. You see that excited glint still shining in his eyes and it makes you wonder if this is something he’s been imaging for a while, or perhaps something he’s enjoyed before. You’ll have to ask him about that another time.

He climbs over you and straddles low on your thighs, reaching over to the nightstand and dipping two fingers in to the small ceramic pot there. He starts with a soft touch of the now-melted chocolate to the exposed skin of your stomach, just to the right of your bellybutton. You relax in to his touch and the feeling of the fluid as he traces lightly. It’s thick, slightly sticky, and enjoyably warm on you, and you can’t help but be reminded of the other way he likes to paint your body. The reminder sets off another heavy wave of arousal through you.

When he’s finished placing his surprisingly intricate design, Ezra brings his hand up and taps two fingers gently to your lips. You take them in to your mouth eagerly, eliciting a gasp once the delectable taste of it hits your tastebuds again. It is so sweet; truly sweeter than anything else you can think of. You let his fingers go, overwhelmed with this second taste. The saccharine confection is almost overpowering, it makes your head spin, it’s so much more decadent than anything you’re used to.

How did he even find this delicacy, this rare sugary bliss? You haven’t seen it at any market for years, it’s a wonder that he chanced upon it in this backwater town. You look down at him, want to ask, but you’re words are trapped somewhere in the back of your throat when he leans down to where his fingers had been gently tracing on your stomach. His tongue flattens against your skin, pressing down until he’s licking up the melted chocolate straight from you.

You could burst, just from the sensation of his tongue laving against your skin. He moves slowly, savouring every moment and every burst of flavour, and it’s easy to see how much he’s enjoying himself in this new way of exploring your body. You feel enthralled by the feel of him like this, his mouth hot against you and his rough hand gripping at your hip to keep him steady.

“Exquisite” he groans out, and you feel your whole body tremble at the deep cadence of his voice. It takes everything you have not to beg him to fuck you right now. The sensual, heady air in the room making it almost impossible to think of anything else.

“Ezra...” you breath his name out, shakily.

Before you can voice your thoughts, he’s reaching for more and this time smearing it in the valley of your breasts, and once again offering you his fingers to clean off. This time you swirl your tongue around the digits, suck on them a little just so you can hear him moan your name. You smile sweetly at him, innocent. And he laughs amusedly before he pulls back, admiring the intricate pattern shining on your chest. He’s quite the artist, and you are certainly his favourite canvas.

“I can’t determine…” he starts before licking a long stripe, “which is sweeter, you or the chocolate”.

And maybe you could think of a smart answer, but he’s reaching up again and of course this time he can’t resist running a circle of the liquid around your nipple, sucking it in to his mouth and then pulling it gently between his teeth and making you cry out in surprised pleasure. You go blank for a moment or two as he gives the same attention on the other side. He always knows how to turn you speechless.

Ezra leans forward, forehead to yours and you whimper quietly at the intimacy of the action.

“But I am certain you are the most delectable treasure on this or any other planet, my stardust.” it’s soft, impossibly adoring, the way he says it. It makes your heart stutter at the pure devotion.

“Kiss me, please” you just about manage, suddenly so overcome, needing to feel grounded.

He obliges immediately, and you wrap your arms around him and pull him down on to you, sticky skin be damned. You stay like that for a while longer, enjoying his heat and weight on you, the haste you felt earlier dissipating as you just enjoy him.

Eventually you reach up to blindly dip an index finger in to the pot while he’s mouthing down your throat, and when he looks up to see what you’re doing you dab the liquid right on the tip of his nose, immediately breaking out in to a fit of giggles even as you kiss it off. Ezra laughs with you, thrilled by your playfulness and he soon joins in; making you squeal when he does the same to you on your nose and all over your face then licking away the mess between giggles and kisses.

You both laugh until your breathless, until you feel light, until he collapses against your side on the cosy bed. Being able to laugh with Ezra, even in these most intimate moments, is one of the things that keeps you going. The lilting, delightful sound of his laughter is like your own personal sugar rush.

When you quiet down to steady breaths again, your heart flips at the beauty of the happy man besides you.

“I love you” you murmur, stroking a hand over his cheek.

“And stardust, I love you more than any other sweet thing in this life” he whispers back, and you want to bask in the words, like sunlight on a cold day. For a moment you do, the two of you just enjoying the quiet paradise of each other until you start to feel the urgency of lust once more. You lean forward and kiss him hard, passionate, knowing exactly what you want to happen next.

Doing your best to mimic his earlier instruction, you climb off the bed and make for the kitchen again, turning to him before you leave the room.

“Now take off your clothes, sunbeam. It’s my turn”

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#ezra x reader #ezra prospect x reader #ezra (prospect)#pedro pascal #ezra x you #fic #fanfic #reader-insert #one-shot

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apatheticwhisperer · 4 years

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Pokemon universe food headcanon post!

1. We already know that Miltank and possibly other pokemon produce milk, so that covers dairy. So no, Vanillite or Alcremie aren’t eaten (though they do like to help in preparation)

2. I headcanon that Slowpokes regularly drop their tails as they mature, as both their evolutions have stronger tails. These tails are then gathered and eaten.

3. It’s canon that Tropius’s fruit come from the fact that they were eating so much it began to grow on their bodies. It is also canon that there are ranches that raise them, and in SwSh we can get a tropical fruit bunch for curry. Sut they’re so similar to bananas, yet we have the nanab berry. My theory is that Tropius ate mostly nanab berries, so much that it started growing on their necks, but because they’re grown on the pokemon and not berry trees and because they also ate other berries, the fruit on their neck is much sweeter and cannot be considered nanab berries anymore.

4. No, neither Exeggcute nor Exeggutor are edible, because Exeggcute are closer to seeds than eggs and there isn’t any food with coconut in it, as far as I remember, in the pokemon series.

5. Pokemon eggs aren’t eaten either, and eggs for consumption are provided by Chansey and Blissey egg farms, (the eggs of the latter being more expensive)

6. Fruit, mushroom, or generally food themed pokemon aren’t eaten, as there are multiple berries, as well as normal apples, leeks and mushroom in the universe, with some of them working as evolution items for a few pokemon. I however think that those pokemon live near those specific plants, and so take on their traits (e.g steenee live near magost berry trees, cherrim and cherubi near cheri berry ones, etc)

7. Honey is, obviously, produced by Combee, on farms or in the wild.

8. Pokemon center cafe time! Roserade tea is, according to the cafe master in SM, made from the finest leaves that Roserade guard. In SwSh, the roseli berry is said to be made into tea. Therefore, Roserade tea must be made from the leaves of a roseli bush, with added roseli fruit for an enhanced taste. Roserade, and their entire evolutionary line, must naturally live among these bushes, which correspond nicely with point #6.

9. All chocolate products, like the sweet heart, Tapu cocoa etc. Are made from the roasted insides of the Occa berry (the cacao fruit) which can be ground into powder, made into bars, drinks, anything. I wouldn’t recommend eating the berry raw (at leasit if you’re not a pokemon) as it is very thick, hard, and spicy-bitter. Only processing mellows it out later.

10. Tapu Cocoa is made from Occa powder, but it is given a shocking twist of spices and a shot of liquor for a taste worthy of the electric-type Totem Pokemon. Skitty cocoa, as we can deduce from other translations, Is a much milkier, creamier, sweeter cocoa than the dark and aromatic Tapu cocoa

11. In the English and many other translations, we have lemonade, while the original Japanese and Korean describe the drink as fruit flavored milk. So, I’ve come up with an idea that the lemonade is sold everywhere and it is a multi-berry flavor drink, while the canned fruit milkshake - like drink is a limitededition flavor from the same brand, sold exclusively in certain shops or regions.

12. We know that the Poke beans are roasted to be made into coffee, but despite their neutrality in the game, I headcanon they do have flavors, and that they can be mixed together for different kinds of coffee, or for sweet bean confections such as the old gateau or rage candy bar. Again, unless youre a pokemon, don’t eat them raw.

13. Komala coffee is only a thing in Alola, both because It’s a special coffee-based beverage recipe invented there, but because Komalas only live in Alola (and climb the bean stalks, hence the inspiration). When the coffee was first exported from Alola to other regions, mostly Kalos, it was favored by the upper class, who often had Granbulls as pets. Hence the name present in other translations, Granbull coffee.

14. The tropical Pinap Juice you can buy in Alola, is, well, an alcoholic beverage, like our real-world pina colada. The kind cafe master came up with an alcohol-free recipe for all young trial-goers.

15. Yes, people used to eat Pokemon in the ancient times, before recognizing their potential for battles and companions. I suspect that, in some circles, they are still eaten, as in the PokeAni Ash and Brock often visualise Magikarp as a dish, in the Thrifty Megamart in S&M you can see fish fillets in the store display, and there are sausages and BBQ and seafood restaurants in SwSh. I do not know how to make that work yet, although the sausages may be made from the Slowpoke tail meat (See above).

16. However, on a positive note, there are many ingredients that can be safely harvested from pokeon, sometimes even for their benefit as well (examples include Miltank, Tropius and Slowpoke mentioned above). These include mostly grass-types, but sometimes, especially for medicine-making, poison and fairy types as well. The parts harvested are usually products their body generates for attacks and naturally expels anyway, such as seeds, poisonous substances or fairy dust. Or the berry juice that Shuckle produce has to be emptied out of their shell regularly, otherwis it will go bad and get too sticky for the pokemon to move. So the Shuckles on berry farms get plenty of berries to eat, andwhen the juice is produced and becomes too hard for them to move, it is bottled and sold. Some Pokemon also need to be trimmed, like Wooloo or Mareep for wool, and the leftover leaves, branches and fibers can be used. That is, for example, how cotton for clothes is sourced, by trimming the overgrown coats of Whimsicott, Eldegoss or Jumpluff. When trimming Swirlix, however, their fluff is much too sweet and sticky for clothmaking, so instead it is packaged and sold as candy floss

#pokemon #pokemon sm #pokemon swsh #sword & shield #Sun &Moon #food #pokemon food

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anamurielveron · 5 years

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Snow

A Short Story

Right when the meteorologists predicted it, the media went crazy. It was the headline of every news station and the front page of every newspaper. Some were excited that a new and extraordinary thing is finally happening to spice up their otherwise humble and boring lives. Some were skeptical and did not believe that such a thing would actually occur. Some were fearful and repentant, claiming that this was yet another sign of the end of the world.

However, one person in particular found this incredible phenomenon truly irritating…

Manuel did not care much for technology, but one aspect of it that he was truly thankful for was the ability to order things online and get them delivered directly to his house. Today, the delivery man brought him a new garden trowel. His current one was rusty after years of use and the handle was starting to bend.

“Sign here, please,” the boy, quite a few years younger than Manuel, said. The boy handed him a pen and clipboard, “The snow’s coming soon, huh? It’s so crazy. I can’t believe it’s actually happening. They say it might even hit this area in a couple weeks!”

“Mhm...” Manuel deadpanned, furrowing his gray eyebrows. After validating that he did, in fact, receive his package, he handed the forms back to the boy, grabbed the box, and hastily shut the front door.

Walking into his dim living room, where only the early morning light shone through the windows, Manuel set the parcel down on the coffee table. He sat on the couch where his dog, Dobo, was lying asleep. He noticed that the dark-furred little puppy was shivering, so he, who felt pretty chilly himself, stood to take a blanket from the lone bedroom upstairs. Once his animal friend was snuggled into the plush fabric, his attention returned to his recently purchased merchandise. Smiling, he began to open the box.

Manuel liked to do his gardening early in the day before too many people had come outside. The sun was shining bright and the smell of the morning air was energizing, but it was even colder outside than it was inside.

In his somewhat spacious backyard, everything he grew bore produce. He had fruit trees that grew papayas, mangoes, calamansi, and saba. He grew plants that yielded string beans, kalabasa, pechay, onions, tomatoes, and lots of other fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The only plant that didn’t flourish in the garden was the rose bush that Manuel had much trouble growing in the tropical climate of Bulacan, but he was persistent in trying to keep the foreign plant alive. It was exciting to use the new trowel, although Manuel felt sad having to throw away the old one.

Today he was transferring the herbs from their mug-sized pots into bigger ones. They were outgrowing their containers and the roots needed more room. Of course, it won’t matter if this absurd snow business is just going to freeze them up anyway.

By the time Manuel finished re-potting the basil, Dobo had woken up. The small beagle was already scampering around the backyard, swiftly avoiding running over any of the plants. He skidded to a stop and sniffed the droopy rose bush.

“Yeah, I know…” Manuel, now cleaning up the too-small pots, sighed, “Still doing terrible, those ones.”

Dobo plainly barked at him.

Manuel knew the little ball of energy was yearning for a walk, so the gray-haired man took off the dirty latex gloves he’d been using and put his new trowel away in the tiny shed in the corner of the backyard. He went into the kitchen to wash his hands then took Dobo’s leash from its assigned hook on the coat hanger beside the front door.

“Dobo!” Manuel called from the living room. The puppy instantly burst through the dog door that opened from the kitchen to the backyard.

With his leash attached, Dobo dragged his human companion out the door into the cold, quiet streets of San Rafael. It may have seemed that he was walking around willy-nilly, sniffing random things on the sidewalk, but Dobo knew exactly where he was going.

Aling Rosa was the lovely lady who ran the local sari-sari store. Whatever Manuel couldn’t grow in his garden, he’d buy from Aling Rosa. Of course, unlike all the younglings, Manuel simply called her Rosa, as he was about the same age as her if not older.

“Dobo!” The cheerful woman waved through the counter as a familiar-looking dog pulled his familiar-looking human towards her storefront.

The dog yapped happily at her.

“Hello, Manuel. What’ll it be today?”

Ahem “G-good morning, Rosa,” Manuel said quietly, not making eye contact. He lifted up Dobo and sat him onto the counter; he knew Rosa loved to pet him.

“Aw, what a sweetheart,” Rosa cooed as she lightly scratched the little dog’s head.

“Just some soy sauce, p-please.”

Rosa turned to the shelf behind her to reach for the condiment. Manuel could see her still dark hair that was twisted into a little bun near the nape of her neck. It had only a few strands of white. She was wearing a red dress today, the kind that most older women wear. Loose, long, and frumpy. (Rosa wasn’t very fashionable.) Manuel found it delightful anyway.

“Here you are,” Rosa smiled, handing him a small bottle.

“Oh, right, yes.” Manuel snapped out of it, “Thank you,” carefully, he counted out some money to place on the counter.

“Yes, yes. You’re welcome. By the way, you’ve heard about the snow haven’t you?” Rosa started as she placed the bill and coins in her cashbox, “You do still get the news in that hermit hole of yours, right?”

“Ahaha…” he strained a laugh, “Yes, I-I do. I’ve heard. You could feel it getting colder already. I-I’m not too happy about it, to tell you the truth… It-it’ll ruin my garden.”

“Oh, you shush,” Rosa swatted at him, “That garden of yours is all you fuss over. Snow sounds wonderful! I’ve never seen real snow before. I can’t wait. In fact, I’ve bought myself a thick new coat, just in case it gets really cold. The children are going to love it, don’t you think?”

“Oh, uh yes. I- I suppose they will.”

“Yes, and it’ll be a nice change. It’s about time something happened in this sleepy, old town. It’ll be exciting.”

Manuel sighed, “Yes, I suppose you’re right.”

He didn’t really think she was right. Not that he was actually going to say it to her though.

In the following days, the whole province – the whole region, really – got colder and colder. Dobo started to feel less energetic. He and Manuel had been using more and more layers of blankets. Air-conditioning and even electric fans became obsolete. Layers of clothing people had to wear were multiplying. In the news, the government had been advising people on how to stay warm. Experts were assuring the public that it would not last long but it’s been predicted that lots of people were going to get sick; pneumonia, hypothermia. It’d become a real predicament.

But there was something Manuel was more concerned about. The leaves of his plants were slowly drooping. Some had been turned white or tinted red and yellow. The fruits were shriveling up. It was a nightmare.

Manuel had been stressing out about trying to keep his plants alive. He’d looked up solutions online, but it was no use. He hadn’t prepared early enough and most of the smaller plants had already withered down. Some of the plants and most of the trees were still holding up though, which is good. Of course, this is still just the cold. The snow hadn’t even fallen yet.

When it did, Manuel harvested what he could and resorted to stress-cooking. He’d made quite a few dishes already. Certainly too much food for just him and his dog. Today, he was making Adobo. As he was frying the chicken, Manuel looked at the window above the kitchen sink. He would’ve looked through it and seen his garden, but he was trying to keep the house warm. (He was already wearing full-length pants and a jacket over his sweater. Filipino houses aren’t insulated for this kind of cold.) Manuel imagined the white snow he’d seen earlier. It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t even all snow. Some of it was just cold, sludge-y water. A tear streamed down his cheek. He wiped it away before it fell into the hot oil.

Manuel prefers to cook his own food. He didn’t like going out to restaurants. Over time, he’d gotten quite good at it. At least, the food tasted good to him. Dobo seemed to like his food as well. (Dobo was probably the most well-fed dog in town.) Other than the two of them, no one else had really tasted Manuel’s cooking.

At least no one else who was still alive. When he was a teenager, Manuel would cook for his father, learning from his mother’s recipes, yellowing index cards filled with lists of ingredients and steps. His dad seemed to like Manuel’s food too.

Of course his parents were both dead now. Dead of old age. Manuel was old enough to have grandchildren of his own. He doesn’t, of course.

Manuel was starting to mix the sauce for the adobo when the doorbell rang. His heart sunk. He turned off the stove and was on his way to the door when it rang again. And again. By the time he got there, the door must’ve rung 5 times.

When he opened the door, the cold air immediately burst into the house.

“Manuel!” greeted Rosa, “Where’s Dobo?” She was wrapped in her new coat and a scarf around her neck.

You could see the long, colorful, flower-patterned socks underneath her boots. Behind her, there were piles of snow scattered around the streets. White dots landing wherever they pleased. The ground was cold and wet.

Manuel noticed that Rosa was smiling. He didn’t understand why. There was nothing to smile about.

“He’s uhm…” Manuel was surprised. Rosa never visits him. He didn’t even know she knew where he lived. “He’s upstairs. He’s not used to the cold.”

“None of us are! Tell him to get down here.” Rosa was rubbing her arms, trying to keep warm, “And let me in, will you?”

“R-right! Of course.” Manuel moved to let Rosa in, “Come in, come in.”

Once Rosa was inside, he quickly shut the cold air out. “Wh-what brings you here? Can I, can I get you anything? Would you like some, uhm, coffee?”

“Yes, that’d be nice. Thank you, Manuel.” Keeping her coat on, she made her way to the stairs, “Do you mind if I go up to see Dobo?”

“Hm? Uhm, n-no… I suppose not. Go ahead.” Rosa hadn’t answered his question about why she was here. Probably because he asked her another question after that, which is what she did answer. Stupid. He wasn’t going to ask again though. He made his way to the kitchen and heated up some water. Rosa still hadn’t come down yet, so he continued to cook the adobo, placing the chicken into the sauce. He was glad he had already been cooking so much food. He had a guest now. He took out two packets of Nescafe from a cabinet and two mugs.

“Milk and sugar for me, please!” Rosa shouted as she was making her way down the stairs, carrying Dobo who was bundled up in a thick blanket.

Manuel complied and added a spoonful of powdered milk and sugar to one of the mugs. He heated up some rice and began to set the table in the dining room. As he did, he chuckled to himself. He and Rosa were going to have lunch together. Not that it was a date or anything. He still didn’t know why she was here.

He peeked through the doorway to the living room. Rosa was playing with Dobo, who was suddenly a lot livelier than he’d been in the last few days. He was also wearing a green crocheted sweater.

“Do you like it?” Rosa said, “I made it myself. It’s a little loose, but I wanted to make sure he’d fit in it.”

Manuel didn’t really know what to think. Rosa was thoughtful for making it. It wasn’t bad and Dobo didn’t seem to mind it, “It’s nice. Thank you. Uhm, I finished making the coffee. Would you uhm... also like to have lunch? I made adobo…”

“Oh yes, please! I haven’t eaten yet. That’s so nice of you.”

Once they were all sat down at the small dining table and Dobo had his food bowl filled with adobo (no rice), Rosa and Manuel ate quietly. Occasionally, smiling at each other.

And in the forgotten garden, in the dark green leaves of the bush in the corner, the roses were blanketed in white snow and were blooming in the cold.

#anamurielveron #fiction #prose #writing #literature #filipino literature #snow #bulacan #philippines #speculative fiction #romance #short story #tagalog #filipino

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thecoroutfitters · 6 years

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Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Three Sisters, Elders, or Iroquois mounds are one of the most common and oldest examples of companion planting to be found. Corn, beans and squash are grown in close association, with each plant filling another’s needs. It’s a proven winner large or small, throughout history, including modern university studies on yields and post-harvest soil.

Succotash gardens are also billed as a survival and a storage all-in-one gardens – pretty fair assessments.

The first in is corn. Pole beans are planted after a delay, and use the corn as a trellis. They also stabilize the corn, removing the need to hill it – which is good, because you’re not going to wiggle a hoe through a thriving Three Sisters mound. The beans also replace some or all of the nitrogen used by the corn and, in trinity plantings, their third sister: squash. The squash helps shade the soil, preserving moisture.

There are now about as many ways to arrange them as there are to use the produce, which we’ll touch on later. We’ll also look at ways we can modify it for the crops commonly grown in today’s backyards, tubs, and big plots, compared to the traditional versions.

Clarification – N

The beans are not boosting the nitrogen for this year’s crop. By the end of the season, the beans will have started producing excess nitrogen if the proper bacteria is present, but it’s toward the end of the season. They’re replacing nitrogen used by their companions, which means less amendment is needed in subsequent plantings.

Sunflowers – Skip It

Subbing sunflowers for corn in Elders mounds regularly pops up. It’s more than possible that somebody’s managed successfully, but nobody I know and I’ve yet to find good results/yield data or late-season and harvest images posted by those who claim it works.

When we hear after-action reports on this experiment, it’s usually “well boogers” or excited growers who have not yet established an on-their-own baseline yield for their squash and bean varieties.

Mostly, like many things, we just don’t hear back on it – which is sad, because some of those gardeners who are just getting started or just branching out are likely embarrassed, and think it’s them.

First: Failures are part of any learning curve. “No” is an option on troubleshooting and decision-making flow charts for a reason. “Well that didn’t work” is part of the feedback loop for everything from permaculture to scientific method.

Share failures. We get more feedback yet, which lets us make better adjustments than we would on our own.

Secondly, don’t believe everything you read online – especially start-off suggestions without final results presented. That’s something we’ll touch on with the planting suggestions, too.

I do grow some of my beans with sunflowers, but I expect the major productivity drop versus a corn planting and I do so knowing that bean production is already lower in corn-companionship stands.

(It’s the total productivity of the space that’s a wowser, versus the same area with a single crop, and usually corn gets a pretty significant boost.)

So let’s understand sunflowers. There is a wide, wide range of sunflowers beyond production types. I plant some of them for tiny bird seed. Plus, well, look how cute!

In production conversations, we’re typically looking at two types. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) are used for oils and most animal/bird feed, and are usually 4-6’ tall. The big 8’ and 12’ “stripeys” (professionals say “confection”) are the human-snack and in some animal feeds.

Both are greedy. Like, way greedy. They just don’t share well. There are weed-suppressing groundcovers that work, but whatever you stick near a sunflower is likely to end up stunted. That’s not great for the yields from companions.

Sunflowers seem like they’d sub in for corn without problems, but in the long run, especially for survival gardens, it’s not effective. You’ll need to plant 3-5x the beans you would to meet your normal harvest baselines from corn-bean mounds or single-crop stands, and if you go for a trinity planting, squash just isn’t going to fair well at all.

*Bonus Tidbit: All sunflower stalks are suitable for drying, burning or chipping, and spreading as potent fertilizer elsewhere because they’re so greedy. They’re particularly potassium-hungry, which makes them a fabulous source of potash for other crops.

Back to Corn…

Natives mostly grew dry corn. Today, backyard and small-market growers are mostly after sweet corn. Thing is, sweet corn is ready 20-60 days before most popcorn or field corn varieties – and most dry pole beans.

This becomes super significant when planning a succotash garden.

If you use a big, multi-vined pole bean, it’s tough to get in there to harvest sweet corn without snagging the drying bean vines. Sweet corn is usually more loosely branched, so you may be able to wiggle harvests out from around lighter, single-vine pole beans, but there is regularly damage to vines.

One solution is to use the pole beans mostly for green beans. We can dedicate lower pods to going to seed for us, limiting the potential damages are limited to veggies with less time invested and faster regrowth.

Another option is to use bush, semi-vining or semi-runner beans with sweet corn, so their max height is lower than the upper ears. At most you might damage tips at 3-4’ harvesting the bottom ear. We can also just declare the bottom ears to be our future seed stock, or let them dry for popcorn/milling so we don’t have to disturb even those shorter vines.

If we’re growing dwarf, compact, bantam, and container corn, shorter-vined and bush beans are definitely superior choices as companions.

Bush Beans

There’s some drawbacks to bush beans, but there’s also benefits. A bush bean won’t typically yield as much as a pole bean, either by the plant or by square-foot.

We have place them carefully, especially with field/dry corn varieties that have denser leafing than sweet corn, or they’ll get shaded out. They’re also a little more likely to be overrun by large squash varieties if we go with a three-species “trinity” mound, so we may have to use bush-type summer squashes.

However, they’re pretty easy to step over for maintenance, and they’re fast-growing and fast-yielding. Packing low-growing bush beans in tightly lets us reap some weed and soil-evaporation suppression from them as well as squashes – or if our squash is in separate rows and mounds.

Bush beans won’t anchor our corn for us – although some bush types will send out a few 6-18” tendrils, particularly the “southern pea” types.

Especially if we’re after sweet corn or working with a bantam, or if we’re working in more limited space, bush beans may be the best option. Instead of traditional beans, we can also consider vining English peas or crowder peas for early and compact corn.

If you really want an old-school, native pairing for corn and don’t have to worry about too much rain, give Bawi a try – https://www.nativeseeds.org/learn/nss-blog/341-celebration-of-tepary-beans-part-1. It’s a prostrate bush type, although it’s a whole different species than the beans most of us know today.

Squash

Historically, a near-pumpkin squash, gourd-like squashes, and small true pumpkins were planted as the third sister in elders gardens. We can use anything we want. Melons, trailing-vine squashes, or compact bush types, and even cucumbers offer pretty similar benefits.

Those options have the added advantage of those spiky vines surrounding the mound, which anecdotally deter pests and critters, but we can even use eggplant. It will do the same soil-shading job as the squashes.

Planting Guides

There are a lot of planting plans out there for Three Sisters now. Some combine all three sisters in a trinity planting per mound, while many have squash on a separate mound. Some use 18” mounds, some suggests 3-5’.

One involves working inside a bucket-sized ring (roughly 12”). If you use that one, consider going easy on densities and fertilize heavily – that’s a lot of biomass in a very small space.

I also give my squash way more than 4-6”, my beans go more than 3” from my corn, and my mounds are usually more than 2-3’ on center, more similar to Wampanoag plantings.

Wampanoag systems also have an arc of sunflowers to the north with separate squash mounds and corn-bean mounds filling in a circle. Others suggest similar, but arrange the beans-corn mounds differently.

In a bed system versus mounds, I tend to max corn and beans through the center and stick whichever squash varieties I want on the ends of short beds, or create breaks with double or triple squash plants every 10-12’ on long beds. Others break up hilled rows and beds in smaller repeating patterns.

Mechanizing is as easy as setting up hoppers with different seed, and a third hopper or a second pass for a much-decreased squash planting 18-36” offset from them, or alternating rows of corn-and-beans with rows of squash.

If we’re using narrow beds/rows or containers, we can easily set up multiple pairs – a few bush beans with that squash, or a squash and a pole bean or two that are going to go up one trellis, and another with our corn and another few beans.

We don’t have to limit our squash to containers or beds – trailing them out to the side or letting small-fruiting varieties drape off a table, bench, or rail is fine (if we can get around them). We do want to make sure the squash isn’t vulnerable to breaking in winds or from fruit weight, though. Those big ol’ stalks are hollow and a little bit fragile.

Three Sisters gardening has a lot to balance just because we do have sooo many options these days. What planting styles work best for us will depend on preexisting soil fertility and the varieties we choose, with our climate and space available playing into cultivar selection. There’s a modification that works for pretty much everybody, though.

It’s a storied, proven winner, regardless of scale, for both beginners and those looking to up their yields or decrease inputs. Tractor- or hand-tended, acreage to balcony, it’s definitely a planting scheme to consider.

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wickedangelblog · 6 years

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I’ve been a bit slow at getting the veggie garden planted this year. It was warmer earlier last year, so I got an earlier start. I’m still trying to get it finished and it’s the 3rd week in May!

I have a lot of it done, but still have a hot pepper garden, the rest of the lettuce and onion garden (planting extra cauliflower in that garden), watermelon, pie pumpkins, corn.

I haven’t been going to counseling. My last appointment, I called to reschedule. They rescheduled it, then cancelled it, sent me a letter (postmarked the same day as my appointment....) telling me I have an appointment with someone else. It’s something they do to basically punish you for either missing appointments or calling in to cancel the day of the appointment. You can’t pick the day or time, THEY choose when you come in and if you are busy and unable to make it you’re not allowed to reschedule, if you can’t make it you’re kicked out of receiving services. I don’t know if i’ll do that and continue there or not. I felt like I was doing well with that counselor, but I am undecided.

Still stressing over not knowing whether we will have to move soon. I wish our landlord would decide not to sell the house. It’s better for her to have the monthly income from rent, anyway. At this point, I don’t know if we’ll be here through the Summer, or just how long.

Great, the lights are flickering. I hope we don’t lose power. It’s not even that bad of a storm yet.

I’m going to make a list of the varieties of plants i’ve planted and plan to plant, and keep it as a list to check back on later in the Summer, so I know which varieties did well. Wish I had thought to do that last Summer.

Anyway, so I remember, this is what i’ve planted...

Lettuce....can’t remember the variety. Green and red leaf.

Green onion - evergreen long white

Cabbage - copenhagen market early

Zuchinni - fordhook

Squash - yellow summer crookneck

Tomato seed - super sweet 100 hybrid

Cucumber - double yield and muncher

Beans - blue lake 274 (bush)

Tomatoes.....I can’t remember all of them. I think supersweet 100, golden jubilee, celebrity, a couple other varieties.

Carrots......not remembering the variety, they are short and thick carrots

Planning to plant.....

Sweet corn - burpees triple crown bicolor hybrid, early sunglow hybrid X 2

Watermelon - crimson sweet

Pumpkin - early sweet sugar pie

Hot peppers... I have seed for Rellenos best hybrid (Mark’s favorite Mexican food is chili rellenos, thought i’d try to grow them/make it), have seed for serrano peppers but I later found the plants, so I may not use the seed. Also have jalapenos and a thai pepper.

I have a kentucky wonder pole bean I might try planting along part of the fence. And large red cherry tomatoes.

So far, the beans are growing super fast. Everything that’s been planted a few days is doing well. I think the super sweet 100 tomatoes are the ones with a leaf disease that I plan to plant in a separate garden. I didn’t notice it, until I quickly bought them and looked at the in the sunlight. It only effects the leaves, not the fruit. But I don’t want all my plants losing leaves.

I still have seeds from last year, left over. I wonder if they would still grow. I know they have a best by date on all seeds, and the best by date is 12/17. I’ve never tried expired seed, may try some and see.

I have a couple new flower seeds I bought this year that i’m really looking forward to trying out. One is an unusual morning glory, called sunrise serenade. It’s very unique! Another is larkspur. Hoping to plant it on the sunny side of the house. It’s really pretty, in the picture on the packet. I’d also like to plant sunflowers on that side of the house. Shade loving impatiens on the other side. And the other is a pretty zinnia, actually 2 similar varieties. Peppermint stick and Candy cane. Very pretty, multi color. Going to plant some in the planters out back. Zinnia did well there last year.

My roses are going well. My scentimental rose has bushed out, a lot! One of my knockout roses needed pruned, and it’s now pruned in the shape of a small tree. Unintentional, but I kinda like the way it looks! lol

I need to plant the planters out back, including the one next to the door and the planters along the steps. Either doing small zinnia or marigolds along the steps and undecided as far as what to plant in the littler planter next to the door. Did a couple petunias and sweet potato vine last year. Wasn’t as pretty as I had envisioned. Maybe morning glories? I did get some colorful ones this year, carnivale di venezia mix.....very pretty. That would probably look nice. Also thinking about planting some morning glory next to the back porch, on the side with the lattice. I wish I had moonflowers, i’ve always wanted to try to plant those.

The entire backyard smells like honeysuckle, I love it! I wish we owned our home or at least knew we’d be here several years. I could plant more perennials. A lot of the better smelling flowers are perennial. I miss being a home owner, and I miss some things about living in Swords Creek.....mainly the fact that I lived in the country with woods all around me. But I hated living so far from everything. I would often go to Bristol and Johnson city to get away from the tiny town living. lol It was a long drive. I’d rather live somewhere around Bristol. It has to be in Virginia, or i’ll lose my insurance. Really, i’d rather just be here. I don’t want to have to move. This place isn’t perfect, but i’m happy here.

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jeninthegarden · 4 years

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Seed List 2021

I want them NOW.

The seed catalogues, the “garden porn”, has begun to arrive. I always have to complete my review of the prior year before I can begin to think about what I want to plant this year. I get interested in different cultivars from season to season; I swear off some, fixate on others, swear off some and then buy lots of seeds anyway because they are inexpensive or just include really pretty pictures, discover some new hybrids that I just have to try, succeed gloriously and re-order the same. But first, there is the momentous decision of whether to order seeds or just order the plants, or hedge my bets and order both, or risk it and order neither in hopes of picking it up locally. And then there are the plants other than vegetables. Since I am now a member of the pollinator pathway and a 3rd year bee-keeper, there are native, blooming plants to be considered, and some non-native, invasive plants that have to be dug out and replaced with something. I also have an orchard, and although I’m full up on fruit trees and berries, there is a lot of space in the fenced, groundhog-proofed orchard that needs companion planting or temporary cultivation. We completed our great hugel – more space for planting native species and anything the deer don’t eat (asparagus, artichokes..). And the lavender patch is thriving, not just with lavender but wildflowers, some of which are perennial and need to be relocated. Now we are contemplating not one, but two rain gardens, one in the front yard and one in the back yard.

The following seed list is comprised of just the edibles I am ordering. For full disclosure, I’ve added the list of seeds I still have in inventory from the past few years. Not all of those seeds will be viable but I’m going to be germinating them because I have extra space. The perennials, herbs, flowers, shrubs, trees, natives, exotics, hardscaping, bee-keeping and chicken-keeping are all detailed in my garden review. Not here.

Beans were a bust, so my fixation has not been fixed! And, as usual when I am thwarted by the elements, I double-down. I’m totally over the squash and gourd bonanza, except that I saved seeds from all the squash I successfully grew, so now I am stuck with the dilemma of either giving the seeds away or planting them. I’m disappointed in the potato crop but the Japanese Yams were soooo delicious I’m going to try those again, and a couple other varieties that are just click-bait. Super aggravated that none of the brassica flourished – doubling down. And tired of waiting for fruiting, so I invested in some quirky, fast-maturing varieties and paid particular attention to standard varieties advertised for abundance and temperature range tolerance.

I was surprised and worried to note, however, that some variety of seeds have already sold out, in January! So, I panicked and ordered somewhat hurriedly, from multiple seed companies, some staples, repeats and favorites. And then, in a more leisurely but not more methodical fashion, ordered everything else.

Legumes:

Peas – The pea crop was lousy last year! And I used all my saved seeds trying for a fall crop, that failed. So, back to the drawing board. Going by the descriptions, I ordered “Easy Peasy” from Burpee (11 peas per pod/2 pods per node -200 seeds) and “Maestro” (9 peas per pod, multiple pickings – 150 seeds). I think I’ve ordered both of these in the past and was satisfied. I also ordered “Alaska Early” (Extra early, 6 peas per pod, multiple pickings – 300 seeds) from Terratorial Seeds and “Knight Pea” (Extra early, 10 peas per pod – 150 seeds) from Pinetree.

Snap Peas: For my first ever attempt at sugar snap peas (no shelling required – but not as thin as snow peas), I ordered “Sugar Magnolia” snap peas from Pinetree Seeds, which have violet pods, and “Sugar Lace II”, the semi-leafless and prolific snap pea.

Runner beans: Last year I ordered Territorial Seeds “Scarlet Emperor” with red blossoms, and Pinetree Seeds “Painted Lady” with red and white blossoms, “Sunset” with pale pink blossoms. And Park Seeds “Stardust”, with white blossoms. I have some of each left in inventory, so this year I am ordering “Black Coat” an ancient heirloom from Pinetree which is a red-blossomed, black bean.

Bush beans: Park Seeds “Velour” which is a proven winner, in sold out already. A compact, bush-habit plant, very heavy-bearing bright purple, stringless pods over a long season. I ordered it this time from Territorial Seed “Velour”.

Pole beans-I want to try the Territoral Seeds “Rattlesnake” beans again since the groundhog and the drought got all the ones I planted last year. Pinetree Seeds “Winged Bean” yielded just two pods so I saved the seeds to try again, but also ordered a fresh pack. I still have a lot of “Violetto” purple pole beans left. They do well climbing cornstalks or sunflowers.

Noodle beans – Never even made it into the ground, so I still have Pinetree Seeds “Red Noodle” and “Mosaic” left over. However, at this point germination is not going to be great.

Soybeans- They are already sold out of Park Seeds “Midori Giant”. So I have ordered their organic “Chiba Green Organic” instead.

Fava beans- Pinetree Seeds “Varoma” was hearty and tasted superb. I made the happy discovery that the stems and blossoms taste as good as the beans. So this is absolutely a spring and fall crop I need to plant a lot more of. I doubled my order. I may also order the bulk, cover crop variety to sew in the fall.

Fruits:

Corn – The “Kandy Korn” from Burpee was delicious, or so say the squirrels! It was a perfect appetizer to all the squash they demolished in the fall. This year I need to regroup on corn. I’m not going to have the space for it for much longer, so seems a shame to give up. I ordered “Blue Jade” a dwarf heirloom sweet corn from Hudson Valley Seeds, to plant in planters on the patio. And I ordered “Dakota Black” popcorn from Territorial Seed to use for the 3 Sisters planting in the orchard. I have grown Dakota Black previously.

Cucumber- Cucumbers didn’t get enough heat last summer. So this time I went with a quick growing slicer variety from Totally Tomatoes called “Green Light”. And a prolific pickling variety “Pick-a-bushel” from Burpee. I have some “Bushy” and “Pickle Bush” (both bush, pickle cucumbers) left, as well as “Marketer” and “Market-More” thin skinned, slicing varieties left over. But I was not impressed with any of these varieties. And then there is “Barese” (from Totally Tomatoes): an “Italian heirloom novelty” that can be eaten young as a traditional cucumber, or allowed to mature into a melon..?

Eggplant – I did so well in the orchard I decided to go with Park Seeds “Black Beauty” large standard, and “Mixed Fingerling” purple, white and green (again). Dan has really perfected his eggplant caponata recipe, and we grill eggplant and stir-fry it, or roast it for babaganoush often enough that we will eat all I can grow. I also have “Hari” (long green of India, but the seeds are several years old), and “Millionaire” (the classic long, purple of Japan, but also several years old) in inventory.

Gourds- I’m done with gourds. We won’t talk about the stack of bushel, bottle, dipper, swan-neck gourds that are rotting on my front porch. No, I said we’re not going to talk about it. The only gourd I want to try again is the Luffa gourd because I still have not grown a single luffa.

Melon- I bought Burpee “Mango Melon” seeds again, for the description of its taste alone because the seeds from last year did germinate but did not produce any fruit. And I also bought “Jenny Lind” heirloom, green melon, and “Sakatas Sweet” a super sweet green with very thin rind, from Pinetree (which is located in Maine, so most of their seed offerings grow well in the Northeast).

Okra – like fava beans, I discovered that the entire okra plant is edible. Leaves can be cooked like collards, and the flowers can be battered and fried like zucchini blossoms. I saved seeds from Pinetree Seeds, giant “Cow Horn” and “Red Burgungy”. I ordered Park Seeds “Rainbow Fiesta” ivory, green and pink okra again because it did not fruit. The “Unicorn” which, although it is eaten like okra, is actually “devil’s claw”, a member of the sesame family and a medicinal herb, also did not germinate. So I bought it again! And then I saw that Territorial Seed had “Simpson”, which is more cold-hardy, and Burpee has “Baby Buda” which is a small, early maturing and cold tolerant variety of okra; so, I ordered those as well.

Pepper – I am trying an interesting experiment of over-wintering my pepper plants that did not fruit their first season. Unfortunately, when I dug them up, I did not label them so, I don’t know if they are hot or sweet. I suspect they are mostly hot. I ordered “Yellow Calwonder” from Totally Tomatoes, a fast growing sweet yellow bell, and “Chablis”, also a fast growing sweet bell that grows from white to orange to red, and “Sheepnose Pimento”, a sweet red cherry pepper, and “Sweet Banana” a long, sweet yellow. Then I got distracted and ordered Pinetree “Tobasco Pepper”. In inventory I have the following hot peppers: Dragon Tongue; Cayenne; Paper Lantern; Habanero; Lemon drop; Chiltepin (fire flea); Portuguese hot red (Portuguese dagger); Early Jalapeno; and Pastilles Bajio. And sweet: Big Red and Corno Di Toro. I promise not to peruse the pepper plant sections of the rest of the incoming seed catalogues. But a member of our local plant swap has a pepper propagating propensity, so I absolutely promise that some of the peppers I am planning to propagate will be proffered in exchange for some of the pepper plants she has propagated!

Tomatoes – Here, COVID fatigue (boredom, tired of waiting) hit me and I started to ask myself why I have to wait until August for ripe tomatoes. Then there was the timely arrival of the seed catalogue from Totally Tomatoes. So I got a little off the rails and ordered “Quedlinburger Fruhe Liebe” that matures in only 40 days! I also ordered “Anna Russian” a red heirloom, “Old German” a yellow striped heirloom, “Black Krim” a purple heirloom, “Independence Day” another very early tomato. And then the Burpee catalogue arrived…They have a 2 lb seedless paste tomato called “Super Paste” and a 3 lb beefsteak called “Steakhouse”, and the bronze colored plum tomato called “Shimmer” I grew a few years ago, and a French beefsteak called “Mama Marmalade” that I’ve been eyeing for a couple years. So I ordered 1 plant of each, except for the Super Paste of which I ordered 30 seeds. I have a lot of seeds left in inventory: Pink Beefsteak; San Marzano; Green Zebra; Big Rainbow; Mr. Stripy; Brandywine; Giant Garden Paste; Mortgage Lifter, Black Russian, Black Seaman and Cherokee Purple.

Watermelon: I chose “Faerie Hybrid” an early maturing (just 60 days), yellow rind with red inside.

Winter Squash and pumpkins: I’m sort of over my fixation, except that I saved a lot of seeds and am still mad about the squirrels eating all my squash and pumpkins. So, although I am not buying any squash or pumpkin seeds, I have the following in inventory: Japanese black pumpkin; Honeyboat; Dumpling; No-ID other than “small winter”; Cheese pumpkin; Queensland Blue pumpkin; Butternut; Honeynut; Spaghetti squash; Giant pumpkin; Jester squash; Cherokee bush pumpkin.

Zucchini- Burpee fordhook heirloom is an excellent staple, but the Burpee’s Sure Thing variety really does well with less sun, and is very resistant to powdery mildew so I’m going with that one because last summer was just not hot enough for zucchini.

Roots:

Beets: Pinetree “Beet Mix”

Carrot: Territorial Seed “Giants of Colmar”, large winter harvest carrots for stew. Park Seed’s “Rainbow Blend” purple-red-orange. Pinetree “Culinary Blend” yellow-white-orange.

Radish: Not interested! So, of course, I ordered some radishes that don’t look like radishes or even have the same growing season as regular radishes: “Minowasa Summer Cross No.3 Diakon” from Territorial Seeds, which looks like a white carrot and grows in the summer.

Potatoes: Pinetree “Pinto Gold”, a medium sized gold potato with violet patches, and “Blackberry” small, jet black potato from Territorial Seed.

Sweet Potatoes: “Japanese Marasaki” from Territorial Seed. Purple skin with white interior that is sweet and pecan nutty, but with a firm, dry texture of a russet potato.

Turnips: “Hinona Kabu Japanese” from Pinetree, these look like pink carrots and are specifically for pickling.

No celeriac, rutabaga, parsnips, radishes, burdock, scorzonera, salsify, milk thistle….until I end up planting them anyway.

Greens:

Arugula: Pinetree Seeds “Astro” quick growing for clipping.

Chard: Pinetree “Peppermint Stick” Swiss chard. I don’t like red or yellow chard because chard is closely related to beets and the red/yellow coloring makes Swiss chard taste like beet greens. I like beet greens but I also like chard that does not taste identical to beet greens. So maybe peppermint stick will be a good, colorful choice that won’t taste too much like beets.

Claytonia: It is a succulent green that looks like a bouquet of little lily pads. Terrirotial Seeds “Miner’s Lettuce”.

Escarole: Burpee “Sugarloaf” This is a very tight-headed, upright variety that looks like a pointy cabbage.

Lettuce: Burpee “Four Seasons Blend”, “Heatwave Blend” and “All Season Romaine Blend”.

Mache: “Marcholong Mache” a super early corn mache from PineTree.

Nettles: “Stinging Nettle” from Hudson Valley Seed Company.

Orach: a violet red, velvet leafed spinach that grows on an 18 inch, upright stalk. Pinetree “Double Rose”.

Spinach: Park Seeds “Space”heat and mildew resistant. “Renegade”a high yielding, weather indifferent variety is sold out! So I ordered “Imperial Star” very cold hardy. And I’m going with “Lakeside”, a failure-proof, everything hardy, spinach from Territorial Seed.

Purslane: Pinetree “Goldberger Purslane”a larger, paler and more succulent variety, with a lovely golden bloom.

“Salad Burnett” a cucumber-tasting salad green from Pinetree

“Saltwort”, a succulent green from Pinetree

“Upland Cress” , a spicy, mountain cress from Pinetree.

Brassica:

Asian Greens: Park Seed “Li Ren Choy” pak choi; Pinetree “Purple Pak Choi” and “Tatsoi Greens” and “Misome”; “Green coin” tatsoi and “Yum Choi Sum” Asian chard, from Territorial Seeds; “Rainbow Tatsoi” and “Komatsuna” tender green, from Hudson Valley Seed Company.

Broccoli: Territorial Seed’s: “Aspabroc” and “Emerald Crown”, I have two rows of winter/spring broccoli mulched with straw in the garden that I am trying to overwinter. And I have plenty of “Homegrown” broccoli mix seed in inventory.

Cabbage: Not a single cabbage succeeded last year. So this year we start earlier and we start fresh. Territorial Seed “Kalibos” a pointy red cabbage, and “Wa Wa Tsai” an early, mini Napa cabbage, Burpee’s “Red Dragon” open leaf, red, napa cabbage. Pinetree’s “Point One” green head super early (48 days) cabbage. I have some “Round Dutch” green cabbage left in inventory.

Cauliflower: Park Seeds “Veronica” which is that weird, green pyramidal Romanesco – Sold Out!, so Pinetree “Romanesco”, and “Snow Crown” - 53 Days to maturity. I have some “Fioretto” open head cauliflower and “Burgundy” purple cauliflower seeds in inventory still.

Collards: I did not order any seeds, yet. I have a row of seedlings mulched with straw that I am trying to overwinter. I have “Champion” collard seeds leftover from several years ago.

Kale: “Portuguese Kale” from Burpee. I have often described it as looking like giant green roses. It tastes more like cabbage than kale. “Amara Ethiopian Kale” (looks like shiny, kohlrabi leaves, and matures in 40 days) and “Kosmic” perennial kale, from Territorial Seed. I have 2 surviving Sea Kale (perennial) seedlings in the orchard. We’ll see if they survive the winter. And “Organic Kale Garden Blend” from Park seeds. I also have a lot of Red Russian Kale seedlings I mulched with straw to see if they will overwinter. And I left some Portuguese Kale standing to see if it will re-sprout (if only to give me some more seed to plant in the fall). I have lots of very old curly blue kale seeds leftover.

And, because they seem to go with the brassicas in planting rotations, the alums:

Leek: Territorial Seeds “Succession Planting” threesome of Zermatt, Tadorna and Bandit (seeds).

Onion: Burpee’s “Sweet mix” for shorter days.

Scallions: Park Seed “Warrior”.

Garlic: I planted garlic in the fall, and it developed green shoots and roots. I mulched it with straw and hope it will sprout in another 6-8 weeks.

#seed list garden zone 5b

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tovonind · 4 years

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On the names of plants

One of my players wants a terrarium-of-holding, and considering that my campaign involves a certain amount of worldhopping, I’m rather fascinated by the idea. It also means that I have to spend some time thinking of (i) how such a thing would work, (ii) reading up the effects of introducing non-indigenous/endemic species into interesting biomes, and (iii) names for fantasy plants. Let’s talk about each of these for a bit:

1. The terrarium itself

Taking inspiration from how incredible terrariums can look, the early brainiac’s obsession with miniaturizing cities to preserve their culture (kandor being a prime example), and the native D&D bag-of-holding variants (the bag of colding, devouring, beans, tricks etc.), I’m taking a stab at an artifact that maintains small pocket-biomes. The item can be found here on D&Dbeyond, where it can be added to character sheets etc. Art for the terrarium comes from this fantastic artist on redbubble (Will Hewitt).

2. The effects of non-endemic plants in fantasy biomes

Before we get into this, let’s first look at some real-world examples (not that we want to be bounded by reality, but still, reality can very often surprise us). For reference, here’s a wiki article on introduced species.

To summarize, when introduced into a new biome, plants can either - die out, - naturalize (affecting the local biome to different extents), - adapt/mutate/hybridize with local flora/fauna, or - become invasive

The fourth has the more interesting consequences, and the prerequisite for this can be summarized by two conditions:

- it has the resources it needs to grow. - it doesn’t suffer competition or predation

From teh wiki,

An introduced species might become invasive if it can outcompete native species for resources such as nutrients, light, physical space, water, or food. If these species evolved under great competition or predation, then the new environment may host fewer able competitors, allowing the invader to proliferate quickly. Some interesting examples of this would be

- introducing sustainable food crops in regions without food can lead to a complete change in the economy and lifestyle of the people in that region.

- a new plant can sometimes carry diseases or pests that are relatively benign to the plant itself, but fatal for other native species.

- Rootless duckweed (see below) can be dangerous almost everywhere it’s introduced.

- Cactacae and Myconids coming into contact with each other can be hilarious or deadly depending on the circumstances.

- Mana-rich plants in mana-poor regions can completely warp the surrounding biomes, since they have no resistance to the glamouring effects of these plants. It is important to be careful while bringing any plants over from the Feywild.

- Some plants (like the fleshy tuberondum carnis) can cause higher level predators to stop preying on grazing animals, since they taste similar. This can lead to an explosion of grazing animals, which leads to the savannah being stripped of edible grasses, and upsets the biome.

- Plants that grow in remote/inhospitable/extreme/space-like locales (that are not used to resource-rich environments) can sometimes go crazy when introduced into normal ones.

3. Names and characteristics of fantasy plants:

All right, let’s take a stab at these. A lot of these are real, with some added flavour. Can you identify which ones aren’t?

‘Bob’ is a variant of the Blackhew (Viburnum prunifolium): Native originally to Karvadam and now other parts of Tovon Ind with trade, the plant is thought to emit a low hum, along with an almost unnoticeable musk that vibrates at the same resonant frequency. Tabaxi, Moogles, Loxodons and other sensitive species can detect this to some extent, but it particularly seems to affect the slakemoths and other creatures of a dark aspect to varying degrees, ranging from mild distaste to complete discombobulation (scribbled in the margins: 'see what i did there?'). It is not presently known if this effect can be amplified, although traditional means like poultices, brews and steeped concoctions do not seem to be effective in this regard. The plant also has certain religious aspects to it, and is sometimes used as an offering during rituals at Dracoperonia (dragon temples) across the land. (updated Jan 6)

Corpse Flowers (also called the Titan Arum, Scientific name: Amorphophallus titanum) - not one big flower, but thousands of smaller ones. grow on corpses in the crystal forest and emit a faint bioluminiscence. folklore suggests that they’re releasing the souls of the fallen from their bodies to wander the forest for evermore.

Dwarvish Wheat / Lithiops (Lithops Hookeri, Lithops Salicola, Lithops Olivieri, etc.): A small, desert thriving rocklike plant of the succulent family that yields flour when processed, and is used to make dwarvish bread. It is thought to be what gives dwarvish bread its characteristic texture and density.

Witches' Butter / Yellow brain / Golden Jelly Fungus (Tremella mesenterica): Mostly extinct in nature but found in many private botanical gardens, this potent herb can sometimes be found growing on recently fallen and dead trees, especially if the trees had any magical essence. Being rich in mana, it has been used as a catalyst in many magical potions and poultices. While edible, it remarkably has no flavor. It is parasitic on other fungi.

Dragonsblood Tree (Dracaena cinnabari): With mana-rich sap that resembles dragons' blood (It’s a deep red, even when dried into resin, and is used for magical ceremonies, and as a stimulant), this rare tree is highly sought after and was even worshiped in older times. It is said that it can not be grown without the blessing of a dragon, and can only be found on the floating island of Caelondia. The canopy looks like an umbrella and acts like one. It shades the roots and reduces evaporation.

Welwitschia / Tumbo / Tweeblaarkanniedood (Welwitschia mirabilis): A living fossil found in the deserts of Tovon Ind, its close relatives have gone extinct and its distant relatives include pines, spruces, larches, and firs. It has one very short trunk and two leaves—only two. It grows only two leaves no matter how mature it is (and it can get very mature - living 400 to over 2000 years!). Wine made from the leaves of this plant are said to induce intense visions, but sometimes have the unfortunate side effects of driving the imbiber completely insane (DC 10 CON).

The dude (Dudanus Principus): A small flowering bush that produces a pungent green-and-black bud that is often smoked as leaf, fermented to make beer, or steeped as tea, depending on the region. Produces a sap that tastes like milk. Grows best in cool climates. Artists in recent times have experimenting with using it as an ingredient in making paint.

Rootless Duckweed / The green death / the ravening swarm (Wolffia Arrhiza): An extremely small flowering plant, normally not dangerous unless it comes in contact with water, in which case it starts multiplying exponentially as long as water is available to sustain it. Once it crosses a critical threshold, it beings leaching moisture from the air. Careless mismanagement of this plant is thought to have wiped out small villages.

The strangler fig (also called the pleasant sleep, Ficus vulgaris): A symbiotic plant found in the forests near the northeastern part of the continent (to be fleshed out), emits a sweet scent that charms prey into coming close (DC12 CON). Small creatures caught unawares are slowly asphyxiated, and animals that come to eat these creatures carry the plant’s seeds to other locations.

Hydnora / Magis’ staff / the seeing Maw (Hydnora Morgana): The Hydnora plant grows almost completely underground, except for its strange, bristly red flower that is shaped like an open pod, or a gaping maw. Traps insects and other small creatures and keeps them until the flower is mature, then releases them to complete the pollination. The fruit takes two years to mature underground, is said to be similar in taste and texture to a potato, yet useful for tanning leather and preserving fishnets.

Mandrake root (Mandragora Vox): Potent magical herb, that has the appearance of a radish-like root. Causes deafness/madness and death in extreme cases if uprooted at any time other than twilight (recent studies show the absence of shadows as a necessary component in controlled conditions). Can be used to revive the recently dead if prepared in appropriate ways.

Tesla trees / Wednesday’s weed (Arborum Fulmenis): Large electrified trees that appear to store up electricity inside their body during certain seasons, releasing all of it in huge arcs of lightning from their crown, burning away all that was growing or walking near them and thus getting fertilizer. Found in the garden of the time-lords in Karvadam and metal sections of the crystal forest.

A lot more fictional plants to cover! See the list here of fictional plants, this list of real but cool plants, and this list of old names for plants, for example.

A few more resources from my player:

- https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/94hpjl/are_there_any_magic_items_to_have_a_portable/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

- https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/1077so/4e_making_a_portable_garden/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share

- [starter item] https://aonprd.com/EquipmentMiscDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Portable%20terrarium

#worldbuilding

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petergiuliano · 7 years

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Five Spices You Should Never Buy if You Live In Southern California.

I love spices. I am fascinated by the fragrance, the lore, the flavors, the history, and the challenge of cooking well with them. I also love Southern California, our history and our climate. Last, I love the outdoors and plants both wild and domesticated. This post is about the intersection of these three things. Due to our mild, dry, climate, there are a few plants that grow well enough here that they grow along roadsides, or are put in gardens, or are otherwise commonplace. These include certain plants that are also sold on grocery store spice aisles. It always strikes me as odd when I see a Californian buying one of these spices- since they probably walked (or drove, Californians rarely walk) by them on the way to the store. Anyway, for the uninitiated, here are five spices you can find easily in the Southern Californian outdoors. Note: I am using the term ‘spices’ broadly here, including what I think would technically be called ‘herbs’, but we’re not being technical, are we? Tally ho.

1. Pink Peppercorns: In 1830, a sailor from Peru is said to have brought the first ‘Peruvian Pepper’ tree to California. The tree- named Schinus molle after the Quechua word for the plant- is perfect for the Southern California climate: drought tolerant and prolific, the tree creates a lovely shade that evokes the haciendas and missions of Spanish-era California. The tree is unrelated to ‘true’ pepper- the black and white pepper we are all so familiar with- but produces little pink berries which, when dried, are called ‘pink peppercorns’ and sold as such by spice traders. Pink peppercorns have a distinct, but similar piquancy to black pepper, along with a little bit of chile-like heat. The trees- known simply as ‘Pepper Trees’ in California, are everywhere: in parks, planted along streets, and in backyards. The little fruits can be collected and dried, and used as a pepper substitute (they are brittle enough to crush with the back of a spoon- you don’t need a grinder) or a unique, fragrant addition to a masala. Use caution, some people have a reaction to the spice, but to me it’s delicious. If you’d like to visit that original tree from 1830, you still can: it grows in the courtyard of the San Luis Rey Mission in Oceanside, CA. Want to get some for yourself? Try Pepper Tree Park in Tustin, or most housing developments. You won’t have to go far.

2. Fennel Seeds: Foeniculum vulgare is indigenous to the Mediterranean, but was brought to many places in the world, including the Americas. It thrives in the mediterranean-like climate of Southern California, and one can find it growing in vacant lots and on hillsides all over the southland. All parts of this plant can be eaten: I use the feathery spring fronds in soups and salads (it’s a traditional part of the Sicilian fava bean soup maccú) and I’ve eaten fennel pollen at fancy restaurants. But the classic use for fennel is its seed, used frequently in Indian dishes and as the classic, distinctive flavor in Italian sausages. I am famous in my family for my vegetarian Italian sausage, blending mushrooms or soy protein, oregano, salt, pepper, and fennel seeds. Adding fennel seeds to meatloaf, meatballs, or ground pork adds beautiful fragrance and flavor to meat as well. Once you learn to recognize fennel you’ll see it all over the place, I see it most in the kind of hard, clay soil found around railroad tracks and on the bluffs that look over the Pacific ocean. My favorite place to gather fennel is on Camp Pendleton in Oceanside (the bike trail off Las Pulgas has a huuuuuge stand of fennel). As an extra bonus, the ocean breezes give a salty flavor to the fennel seeds. It’s easiest to gather the seeds while they are still green in August, but they can also be gathered when dried and dusky-brown in October.

3. Rosemary: This is an easy one. Rosemary is so friendly to the Southern California environment that landscape designers have a kind of addiction to it, planting huge amounts of it as a ground cover. Bees love rosemary, and its purplish flowers and deep green leaves are lovely to look at. Though I grow it in my backyard, I also know about dozens of rosemary bushes in my neighborhood and in neighboring cities, so it’s never far from one’s grasp. A sprig of fresh rosemary inside a roasting chicken is indispensable, and I love to make potato pizza with just slices of potato, a sprinkle of rosemary, pepper, oil and coarse salt.

4. Bay Leaves: Our Mediterranean climate- besides being accommodating to rosemary and fennel, welcomes other Mediterranean plants such as Laurus nobilis, or Bay Laurel. This is the laurel that the ancient Greeks made crowns from, and which therefore became the root of words like ‘laureate’. It grows easily in California, and has been planted in yards, parks, and roadsides all over our golden state. There is another laurel, native to California, called Umbellularia californica or ‘California Bay Laurel’, and its leaves work for cooking too, although they are stronger. Find or plant a bay laurel tree stat: fresh leaves are so good for cooking soups and stocks. And, once you have an abundant source of fresh bay leaves, you can make THE classic Sicilian backyard dish, Involtini Siciliani, in which slices of beef are rolled around a stuffing of breadcrumbs, pine nuts, and raisins, and grilled on skewers with bay leaves and onion slices.

5. Black Mustard Seed: This one is a little more involved. The glory of the Southern California spring is Brassica nigra, or black mustard. Hillsides explode with the glorious yellow flowers and green foliage of mustard every year, particularly if it’s been a wet winter. This plant was another one brought from Europe, and has gone wild in the warm, dry climate of Southern California. It’s very edible, and its seeds are the very same ones you buy in spice stores. After the yellow flowers are gone, the plant turns brown, and the pods along the main stem are filled with black mustard seeds. These pods can be crushed and winnowed to gather the spice, which is hot and great for Indian dishes.

#Cultivars

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benjamingarden · 4 years

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This Month On The Farm: July 2020

July's weather was full-on summer complete with heat, humidity, and lots o' sunshine. And surprisingly, a lack of mosquitoes. Hooray for that! We did receive some rain and when we did, oh boy was it a lot.

Tents - Not Just For Camping

As you can see in the photo above, we decided to make use of a couple of our extra craft show tents and set them up on the upper and lower decks. On the upper deck it's wide open, used just for rain cover and shade (Ollie is afraid of the netting walls so we left them off). On the lower deck we used the netting walls and put our outdoor table and chairs inside so we can enjoy eating or sitting outside without bugs attacking. Ollie, as noted, is afraid of the walls but if he's sitting in his tower with me by his side, he deals with it ok.

gutters and rain barrel installed!

Barrels Of Rain

Woo hoo! Jay was able to get the gutters installed on the outbuildings and the rain barrels are up and working. This has been on our "someday" list for years. Years! We've been able to successfully use the barrels to water the garden through most of the month, only needing to resort to our well water a couple of times.

Harvesting

As I've mentioned (probably too many times), our garden is mostly shaded. We receive morning sun over about 70% of it and afternoon sun for a few hours over it all, and it's fully shaded the remainder of the day. And so, our harvesting starts late. Then, of course, we had the infamous whistle pig debacle that set us back a bit but we are now enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Green beans are coming in by the bushel. I know that many people don't enjoy frozen green beans but we do, so I grow enough to enjoy fresh weekly as well as enough to put up in the freezer for winter and springtime eating. I planted 3 types this year: Blue Lake, Red Noodle, and Calima Bush Beans. The Red Noodle are still small and green but this is the first year we've planted them so, fingers crossed, they are delicious.

We finally have tomatoes!!! Well, we finally have ripe tomatoes! We have a ton, I mean TON, of green tomatoes amidst the 25 plants so we will definitely have plenty for fresh eating as well as for oven-drying to freeze for sauce during the winter.

We are also harvesting onions, cabbage, kale, swiss chard, mixed greens, arugula, microgreens, peppers (jalapeno, ancho, and bell), summer squash, zucchini, the last of the peas, beets, blueberries, blackberries, herbs and radish.

our sweet potato hill

Sadly, our pear and asian pear trees did not do well this year. I've ordered new "partners" for them (and the paw paw tree) so our hope is we will be swimming in their fruits in a couple of years! And our whistle pig took out all of our summer broccoli and cauliflower so we won't be harvesting either of those until fall.

At the start of the season I would grab a big bowl from the cupboard and Ollie and I would head to the garden to harvest whatever was ready. One day, as my bowl was so full the veggies were spilling out of it, Jay looked at me and said "you need a bucket or a basket or something". I said "I know. Someone I follow on Instagram just posted a picture of her harvest basket that her husband made. It was nice - metal mesh and wood sides and handle. You're too busy though, so maybe next year." I didn't give it another thought.

Later in the week Jay comes out of his shop holding the PERFECT harvest basket. He had made it in between other projects he was working on. Such a sweet gift!

So now, Ollie and I take our harvest basket with us to the garden on our daily check-in.

looking up one of our mammoth sunflowers

the 2 mammoth sunflowers that survived the whistle pig feast are on the left

Homestead Projects

We have a list of projects that we are hoping to accomplish before fall. We've managed to check off some of the easier projects, but not so much the larger projects. Here's what we're chipping away at:

paint the dining room (done)

stain the back deck (done)

paint the living room

fix columns and lay new flooring on one of the two front porches (second porch will be done next year)

paint 2 sides of the house (same color, just refreshing it - the other 2 sides will be done next year)

install fence around the garden (temporarily done - permanent fencing will be done next spring)

build and install a new outdoor pole light in the front yard

build a small nesting box area/water station for garden (so when the chickens are tasked with the garden fall clean-up, they have a place to lay eggs)

chop and stack wood for the woodstove in the shop (done although we may chop a bit more)

install gutters on the outbuildings and hook-up rain barrels (done)

create a raised bed hoop house for one of our garden beds so we can grow greens through late fall/early winter (done for now - we purchased/found the items needed to make this in fall)

Animals

We are not going to add any more animals to the homestead for now and that includes chickens. The current flock will get smaller, gradually, as the inevitable happens. We had one pass away this week, she was one of the older girls, and we fully anticipate a few more passing this year from old age. It certainly doesn't get any easier to deal with death, but at least we have developed a bit of a plan now, of keeping them safe and comfortable during the process. We also know more about signs, because with chickens, they usually mask illness. This helps us so we can watch closer and try to make sure they are protected.

Death is one of the parts of having animals that is so difficult. Unfortunately, as birds become sick and/or begin the dying process, some of the others can become very cannibalistic. It's not a pretty sight. So once we see that one of the girls isn't feeling well, we are able to remove them, but not totally, from the flock. They are social creatures, so full removal seems to make them stressed and upset. Instead, we make sure they are separated by a fence allowing them to still feel a part of the flock without getting incessantly pecked at and stepped on. And no, we don't let them suffer. If there's any sign of that, and we've done all we can do to make them well, we step in.

Our overall plan is to get out of the egg-selling business and keep a very small flock (6-8 girls). With a flock of 24 girls, it will take some time for the flock to naturally reduce (we're down from the 32 we had last year), so we won't be bringing in any chicks until we have less then 8 girls.

zucchini chocolate chip muffins

What Do You Do With All Of That Zucchini?

Isn't this the question you ask yourself every single year? I always think I have a plan to keep up with it but I struggle by August. I give it a heck of an effort though. Here's what we've been doing with our zucchini:

slicing it lengthwise and grilling it (alternatively, you could broil or bake it). We both love it. Jay sprinkles a bit of parmesan on his and I like mine plain. It's sooooo juicy and delicious.

cutting it into chunks and sautéing it with onions and corn. I add a bit of butter to Jay's and mine is plain. We just love the combination.

stuffing it. As noted in this weekending post (at the bottom), I always enjoy coming up with new stuffing ideas. The key is to bake, boil, or grill the scooped out zucchini halves before you fill and bake them so they are nice and soft once finished.

making our very favorite chocolate zucchini cake. Even my husband who isn't the world's biggest chocolate fan LOVES both versions. The original version is here. The healthier/reduced oil and sugar version is here.

making Kate's recipe for healthier zucchini bread.

making zucchini and chocolate chip muffins. They are ah-mazing! I just realized I've never shared the recipe here. I'll try to get that on the blog!

making zucchini noodles with homemade pesto. Soooo good!

adding zucchini to grilled kebabs. (everything gets marinated in italian dressing first)

adding zucchini to soups such as minestrone.

making zucchini cobbler. (tastes just like apple cobbler)

making veggie stew. I use zucchini and whatever fresh veg is in the garden to make stew as the temps begin to drop in the fall.

I'm not a big fan of eating it raw (there's a weirdness to it) or as zucchini "fries", so those didn't make the list. We've made zucchini pickles in the past but we aren't huge pickle eaters so I haven't been making them.

I'd love to hear your family's favorite ways to eat zucchini!

Oliver, my garden/kitchen/preserving/everything helper

Preserving, Or, What We'll Be Eating This Winter

Since our garden is now in full swing, the preserving process has finally begun!

Green beans - as noted above, they are being put up in the freezer weekly.

Peppers - so far we've only collected enough jalapeno's to preserve, so those have been made into pickled jalapeno rings.

Relish - our cucumbers are struggling this year. I've never had an issue with cukes, so I'm not sure what's happening. So we purchased some cucumbers from the farmer's market and, along with our bell peppers and onions we'll can enough relish for my husband to enjoy with his occasional hot dog lunch.

Zucchini - I did freeze some grated zucchini (portioned into 2 cup servings) that I can add to muffins, quick breads, etc.

Onions - we are drying quite a few and then I'll chop and freeze the remainder.

How do you figure out how much veggies to preserve? This is a question I receive a lot. For us, this is how I plan it. We typically rotate the same dishes all winter long so I can usually predict how often during the week we'll eat veggies such as green beans, broccoli, winter squash, tomato sauce, etc. I then times that by how many weeks we'll need preserved food and that's how I calculate it. So, as an example, I plan on serving green beans twice a week for 28 weeks which means I will need to freeze 56 bags of green beans (bagged in single-serving sizes).

It gets a bit more difficult with carrots, corn, onions, canned chopped tomatoes, and peppers because I use them on their own as well as in many different dishes. Over time, through trial and error, I've made it so I can get pretty close. For the frozen veggies, I flash-freeze them and then store them in large, gallon-size bags, so I can just take out what I need when I'm cooking.

That's July around the homestead!

This Month On The Farm: July 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

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astriddesign · 4 years

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How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Seed

Starting your garden from seed? It can seem like a daunting task, until you read some simple tips that can provide you with further guidance on your journey. When I first started on this venture, in my community garden in Santa Monica back in 2008, I started with seeds. At the time, I spent more time designing the spiral layout of my garden, rather than meticulously reading the backs of the packets or better yet picking up a local gardening book. Granted I had been attending free gardening classes through Transition Town, but there was still a lot of science to understand. Even experts are constantly reading up on how to best grow and support maximum plant growth.

I had minor success and ended up buying starts. Now, looking back 12 years later and a seed company under my belt, I can see where my shortcomings were and where I clearly failed.

Gardening takes an understanding of some basic principals for optimal success, such as sun hours, soil, what you can grow, when to plant and of course considering the critters that you share space with.

You will find two different kinds of seeds available at most nurseries, they will either be open pollinated (OP) or hybrid (F1). Understanding the two will provide you the option for seed saving. Open pollinated means that any seed you save and plant again, will result in the exact genetic of the parent plant. Hybrids on the other hand are a completely different bag, as they were crossed with many other plants and will not breed true to type. Heirlooms are often considered treasures as they have a name, a place and taste, coupled with compelling stories of their origin. Heirlooms have been passed down and are usually over 50 years old and are open pollinated. Hybrids will always be labeled as a hybrid or F1. Both hybrids and heirlooms can be organic.

Planting from seed provides you with plants that are more disease resistant and hardier. Growing from seed also opens you up to a larger offering of rare and heirloom plants, moreover you save money in the process. Seed packets run about $3.50 and usually provide more seed than you need for a season and in some cases like tomatoes and peppers, you have enough seed for a few seasons. There are small nurseries out there that provide wonderful starts that were grown with good soil and seed, unlike sourcing your starts from larger big-box nursery, where starts were grown in large greenhouses where pathogens can easily linger and contaminate your seedlings.

Understanding that seeds are a living breathing embryo helps you get a better understanding of what you are working with. Seeds, innately have everything they need in order to create life. They are constantly scanning their environment for a queue to begin germinating. That is why temperature fluctuation, light, heat and moisture are detrimental to a seed. Therefore never leave them in a hot car, by a heater or in the blazing sun.

Over the years of owning The Living Seed Company, I have realized that there are some simple tips for first seed sowers to understand in order for an optimal harvest.

Understanding where you live and what you can grow, is the beginning of your journey in planning your garden. Realistically not everyone can grow everything they want, due to a number of different factors such as sun hours, climate, space and critters. Knowing who lives in your neighborhood and how to protect your garden from hungry friends is important. Do you have vertical space you can use? Taking advantage of vertical space is optimal when you are working in tight quarters. Some plants grow vertically and others grow as a bush - knowing how your plants grow will help you plan your garden better. Do not over-crowd your garden. Initially, there will be a lot of room, but that room will quickly be filled up. Plants, competing for nutrients will not thrive and will be more susceptible to disease and pests.

Choose a location that gets optimal sun, vegetables require at least 6 - 8 hours of direct sun. A southern or southwestern exposure is ideal. If you live in a hot climate and your garden receives a lot of sun, that is something you need to also take into account. Using shade cloth can give your vegetables a break, during hot summer months.

What you are going to plant in is a consideration that will determine space and watering schedule. There are many options such as in-ground gardens, pots, raised beds and alternative containers. What you fill those pots with is very important. Vegetables need nutrients in the soil in order to thrive and produce nutrient-dense food. Familiarizing yourself with the many soil and compost options is a key to your success. Knowing that the pots are made of and observe how quickly water evaporates is key to making sure your plants don’t fry in a black plastic pot (which I do not recommend), while you are at work. Don’t forget to label your plants individually and take notes … trust me, you won’t remember.

Once you have figured those key factors, begin by choosing varieties that you enjoy eating. This is the fun part but starting small initially will prevent you from getting overwhelmed later on. It is easy to get excited about all the great things that you want to grow, but gardens take time, energy, weeding, watering and maintenance.

Plan your garden by how many people are in your household. This will guide the quantity of plants and your need for planting in succession. For example if you are a family of two and love eating salads every day, plant lettuce every week, so you always have fresh greens coming out of the garden. The same could be said for the veggies like broccoli, cauliflower beans, herbs, etc. Read the packet for guidance on what should be planted in succession and how often. Once you get the hang of it, you will get into a rhythm.

Begin to understand how much fruit one plant provides. For example, a tomato seed packet usually comes with 25 seeds. You do not need 25 tomato plants, unless you have a very large household that loves everything tomatoes. Usually a few tomato plants will suffice - perhaps a cherry, saladette and a slicer tomato? Do the research, initially to begin to understand what your harvest will look like and how many plants you will need to feed your family.

I usually recommend planting annual plants together and perennial plants together. This facilitates things when you are clearing your bed, at the end of a season and can simply remove all your annuals together (perhaps tangled roots and all) and leave your perennials as is. Annuals are plants that will not overwinter and will perish at the first frost. Perennials, if properly cared for will return year after year. Specific maintenance is beneficial to boast any nutrients that plant is requiring.

Once you have mapped out your garden, what you are going to eat, begin to understand what seeds want to be planted indoors and kept in a warm dome with a heated mat and which ones want to be planted outdoors. Plants such as tomatoes, peppers and golden berries, to name a few, want to be nursed inside, even if you live in a hot climate like Miami. Other varieties like your root veggies, think carrots & beets, want to be directly seeded into the soil. They do not want their roots disrupted and want to be able to send them down as soon as they are planted. For the seeds that you start indoors, it is key that they be hardened off. This is a process that requires taking them outside, during the day, for a period of time before they are planted. This acclimates your seedlings to the world outside, meaning the elements like the wind and sun. One week minimum is recommended. Just do not forget to bring them inside in the early evening. We do it for several weeks to a month as this strengthens their stems and overall plant structure. If you work from home and are able to keep in eye on them and constantly water them, we highly recommend this method.

Knowing your seed source is another key to a healthy garden. Where are the seeds you are purchasing sourced from? Many larger seed companies are sourcing overseas. This means that the seeds are acclimated to a completely different zone. There are family-owned or small seed companies, which usually grow their own seed and/or source it from good growers. Whatever you do, avoid using seed that was taken from your favorite store-bought veggie. Often times, these are hybrids and it may take months of caring for this plant, before you realize it is not what you were hoping it was going to be.

Once you are ready to plant, don’t forget to keep the soil moist while the seeds are germinating. This is a mistake that first time seed sowers make, including yours truly back in my LA garden. Water is important to prevent your plants from wilting and using their energy to survive instead of thrive! They also need even watering throughout most of their life. Dry farming is an option if you are growing in the ground, have a high water table and think your veggies can reach it. Nothing tastes better than a dry farmed tomato!

Seeds are sacred stories. When you begin to unlock the magic of planting a garden from seed, it is hard to go back. There is a mystery unfolding before you and it is the mystery of life. A single seed can reproduce itself hundreds of times over - it is abundant and life-giving. May your curiosity to plant a seed be piqued and may your life never be the same!

#seeds #vegetables #gardening #growing food #kitchen & garden #mystery #gardens

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allenmendezsr · 4 years

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Getting Started In Hydroponics: Expert Tips, Plans & Secrets

New Post has been published on https://autotraffixpro.app/allenmendezsr/getting-started-in-hydroponics-expert-tips-plans-secrets/

Getting Started In Hydroponics: Expert Tips, Plans & Secrets

Buy Now

If you’ve got 5 minutes a day, you can have juicy tomatoes the size of softballs…

without weeding!

You’ve heard how fast plants grow in a hydroponics system. You’ve heard about the huge harvests. Once you have it set up you will only need to spend a small amount of time per day monitoring the plants.

Discover shortcuts that will help you build a hydroponics setup quickly and easily… and cheaply.

Hydroponics is NOT complicated once you understand how to get started. There are five types of hydroponics systems, and this ebook will show you why matching the right system to your situation can save you a lot of frustration.

What’s the difference between hydroponics and an ordinary garden?

“Hydroponics how to” Plants grown in hydroponics have their roots in a clean neutral media such as clay balls or perlite, instead of dirt. A nutrient solution is circulated to the roots via a pump or wick action.

The plants don’t have to waste energy developing a large root system because the food is delivered right to the roots. Since it no longer has to search for its food, the plant’s growth and energy are redirected to lush foliage and abundant flowers and fruit.

Mixed lettuces, Day 9

Day 14

Day 23

My name is Stella. I have 13 years experience with hydroponics, and a little later I will explain my bizarre introduction to this easy way to grow plants. But first…

If you are thinking about getting involved with hydroponics you need to answer these three questions:

1. How are you going to build it?

2. Is there going to be enough space and light?

3. How are you going to maintain it?

Hydroponics How To: Choosing the right system is the 1st step

Before you start gluing pipe together shouldn’t you decide which system is best for you?

This e-book will take you on a journey, almost like going down a garden path, and help match the right system to your situation.

In this comprehensive gardening e-book, you’ll discover…

The quickest, easiest hydroponics system to build. You can get started in hours rather than days and the system is built from common materials so you can save money.

5 ways you can get started in hydroponics on a pauper’s budget. You don’t have to get the most complex system to get incredible results. There are 2 plans that can be built out of common materials you may already have. You can get the rest at Home Depot.

Which crops to grow and which to stay away from. You can grow just about anything with hydroponics, but some plants will take over, stealing light and space from smaller plants. Here you’ll learn which plants are the smartest, easiest… and tastiest.

A Forbidden Hideaway. The last chapter in the book shows you how to create a space in your home to grow plants that nobody will know about. To the outside world you are an ordinary neighbor. But inside “the Grow Box” a different world exists that makes plants grow like crazy.

*And don’t miss the bonus secret to supercharging your grow box with CO2.

Hydroponics How To: So what’s the big deal about lighting?

Give your plants the right amount of space and light and they will grow right before your eyes.

Obviously, you know that plants need light to thrive, but don’t you want a lighting system that will fit your situation and fit your budget? There are a number of different ways to get the right amount of light to your plants.

This e-book will show you where the deals are and also what to watch out for. Lighting can be the single greatest expense… and a critical component.

Too broke to buy lights? How to get around this roadblock. Hydroponic systems do better in a temperature controlled environment, but there is a way to use hydroponics on the patio- if you will obey this one cardinal rule.

The crazy way to get full spectrum lighting. Not only will you save money but your plants will have the closest thing to the sun. Your plants will think the house they live in is actually the Imperial Valley. You will get unbelievable yields- at a fraction of the price.

Plants are all the same and have the same requirements. Right? Wrong! If you are only growing lettuce, you may not even need artificial lighting.

On the other hand, if you want to grow tomatoes or anything that is going to have flowering buds, then you must provide the necessary amount of light and nutrients so the plants will have plenty of buds or fruit.

Hydroponics How To: I’m a little lazy… how much work is involved?

Certainly you knew you would have to do something to keep the plants going. If there were shortcuts that would make maintenance so much easier, would you use them? There are two main things to monitor to ensure a huge harvest.

Our “Hydroponics how to” insider secrets include…

What you must do to avoid getting eaten alive! Believe it or not, bugs can wreak havoc, even in a spare bedroom. Chapter 14 shows you the easiest methods for keeping them away from your crops.

Why organic fertilizers can stunt plant growth. Doesn’t make sense, does it? The trouble with organic fertilizers is they can be wildly inconsistent. If you are eager to use organic, wait till you are a little more experienced. The book will tell you the most potent fertilizer to buy… and where to get it.

How you can pack “extra wallop” into a lettuce growing season by using hydroponics. Once you learn this trick your family will never be late for dinner again. Chapter 5 has tips to keep the veggies coming one after another, month after month.

The magic numbers. Plants will grow best when the temperature is between 65°-78°. If you can keep your plants in this zone, you will have a mind-blowing bounty you can share with friends. The book shows you where heat comes from- and how to get rid of it.

Do you remember your first garden?

Remember how hopeful you were? You prepared the ground, planted the seed, maybe put on a little fertilizer. After a few days the little sprout popped up out of the ground.

What a thrill!

This ebook is like a seed. It is a different kind of seed. Instead of a tiny speck, it is a plan.

The first step to a hydroponic setup is getting the know-how and a good set of plans.

By getting this book you will be planting a seed. And enjoying a bountiful harvest.

Hydroponics How To: Here’s what you’ll get in this giant e-book:

The entire original Hydroponics-Simplified website in PDF form

Complete plans for 5 hydroponic mini gardens

Detailed instructions for the 5 most user-friendly yet prolific full-sized hydroponics systems we know

How to build our original Growbox-Bubbler Unit combo

Bonuses, including maintenance schedules, mixing chart, CO2 supplementation, equipment lists and resources- Read all about the cool bonuses at the end of the page.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction……………………………………3

2. What is Hydroponics………………………6 Knowledge is power!

3. Advantages & Disadvantages…………8

4. What to grow…………………………………14

5. Climate requirements……………………24

6. 4 Simple Systems……………………………41

This chapter will get you started fast… and cheaply

7. Mini Farms………………………………………44

8. U-Build-It (Full-scale farms)…………52

If you want huge yields..these farms can deliver

9. Growing Media………………………………57

10. Hydroponic Solution………………………63

11. Lighting…………………………………………72

12. Seeds & Seedlings…………………………80

13.

Plants & Produce……………………………86

14. Pests & Plagues………………………………94

15. Troubleshooting ……………………………109

16. Cheap Supplies/ Contact Us…………114

This chapter will pay for the ebook many times over

17. MINI FARM PLANS……………………… 115

18. FULL SIZE PLANS………………………170

19. GROW BOX & BUBBLER UNIT ………263

Put this hydroponic farm in a closet!

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Regular Price $27.00

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How I learned Hydroponics

I learned to love gardening during my own back-to-the land adventure in rural Louisiana in the 1980s. There on 5 acres, I raised two children, two horses, two dogs, a goat and some chickens.

Over the next decade, I tried it all…. a square foot garden, a french intensive garden, many large traditional plowed gardens, mulberry bushes, pineapple patches, muscadine grape vineyards; I’ve canned pickles, home brewed beer and made orange wine. I baked bread from scratch, made home-made butter, froze green beans and canned tomatoes.

It was wonderful growing our own fresh fruits and veggies. But the reality of it is, it took a ton of hard work and perseverance to fight the bugs and the weeds! Crop production and quality was always inconsistent… dependent on the soil, the weather, and the pest invasions.

Eventually, life events intervened, as they always seem to do, and by the 90s, I found myself divorced with 2 kids, and living in the city. My Mother Earth Adventure was but a fond distant memory.

My lightning inspiration came at the most unlikely place, Disneyworld! My partner Simon and I visited Epcot Center at Disney World in Orlando and toured the “Living With the Land” exhibit. This is an awesome hydroponics project in action. If you ever make it to Epcot, don’t miss it!

Well, that was it… the wheels started turning, and we were off and running with the hydroponics method of gardening!

At first, we were bewildered. There’s LOTS of conflicting information and product recommendations on Hydro gardening out there.

Since that time, we have experimented, tinkered and learned with the 6 major hydroponics methods widely used today. We have planted garden after garden in different systems, configurations, seasons of the year, and types of crops.

And we have it all figured out. 🙂

Hydroponics How To: Secrets of the Pros…

The secrets experienced hydroponic gardeners use to Turbo-charge plant growth. Use any of these secrets and your plants will grow faster than your neighbors. Use them all and you’ll be bringing home ribbons from the fair.

Why setting up a hydroponics garden in a bedroom can backfire horribly (all that work for nothing.) The book will show you how an adjustment that only takes 20 seconds to perform will transform a certain failure into breathtaking success.

How to whip the problem of “hard water”.

The two requirements for hydroponic success. Just do these two things and you are almost assured a bountiful harvest. HINT: Keep the plants in their comfort zone.

Why plants grown in a hydroponics system out-grow, out-taste, and out-perform ordinary gardens.

Discover the ordinary household appliance that makes bugs cringe every time it is turned on. Some of the safest ways to control pests are also the most effective… and cheapest.

How to turn a coconut into a tomato. Hydroponics is a different world; ordinary soil is not used and one of the best soil substitutes is coconut coir, which is the husk that surrounds the coconut. The book will explain why mixing it with perlite will give you the best results.

The better way to add spice to your cooking. Herbs are one of the crops that do great in hydroponics.

The e-book will show you an easy way to the freshest herbs instantly available- right in your kitchen. (Just like a gourmet restaurant!)

Do this one simple thing on a regular basis and your garden will flourish. Neglect to perform this easy test and your plants will enter a downward spiral they may not recover from. Adjusting the pH sounds like chemistry class, but the book shows a way so easy a five-year-old can do it.

What does car repair have to do with hydroponics?

When the clutch went out on our Toyota, my husband decided to replace it himself. He is handy so I thought it would be a good way to get the car fixed. He bought the parts needed for the job and thought he could save money by doing the work without a repair manual.

When he finished the job, he had a few bolts left over. One of them was for the rear engine mount. The engine shifted and caused the drive shaft to lean against the catalytic converter.

After the spinning shaft had ground a hole in the converter, it started spewing fumes from under the car. However, the most embarrassing thing about this car is it now sounds like a Hot Rod because the converter has a hole in it.

If he had bought the repair manual, he would’ve known how important that one bolt was. He would’ve saved money… and a lot of frustration.

This e-book is your “pre-repair manual” for hydroponics. So you can do it right the first time.

“Grab Your Copy Now”

Regular Price $27.00

Today and always $27.00 [No Fake inflated price, no limited time offer here]

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WYSIWYG… Huh? (What You See Is What You Get)

You saw the Table of Contents. You saw how packed with “Hydroponics how to” information this e-book is. It consists of 320 pages of information and step-by-step plans. If you’re the type of person that takes action once your mind is made up, wouldn’t this e-book help you create a bountiful garden in a very small space?

Included in this giant ebook:

The entire hydroponics-simplified website, converted to pdf version

Simon’s Simple Hydroponic Plans- Worth the $35 alone.

Simon’s Super-Charged Turbo-Cooled Hydroponics Grow Box- Super cool!

THAT’S 320 pages crammed with diagrams, photos, charts, shortcuts and sage advice.

Hydroponics How To: Why THIS Hydroponics E-book?

Just follow the step by step directions and in a matter of weeks you will have huge plants that will feed your family. Those plants will be giving you fresh produce and saving you money every month.

You will be able to grow crops at a fraction of the price it would cost to buy them. And won’t your friends be impressed when you give them samples of your harvest?

Hydroponic kits cost a lot of money but this ebook will show you how to create the same thing for hundreds of dollars less. The money you save by using ordinary materials to create a hydroponic setup will pay for the ebook many times over.

When you have this ebook you will have a source on where to get low cost soil media and fertilizer solution. This will also save you money. You know if you have step-by-step plans it will make it so much easier to build a hydroponic system.

Listen, you can get this ebook now, read it cover to cover, and if you are not completely happy with it you can get a full refund. That’s right, you decide whether this ebook is all I say it is.

You decide whether the book made starting a hydroponic garden easy. You decide whether the book saved you a lot of money and a lot of time. You must be convinced the book has put veggies on your table and money in your pocket… or you pay NOTHING!

I think that’s fair, don’t you?

“Grab Your Copy Now”

Regular Price $27.00

Today and always $27.00 [No Fake inflated price, no limited time offer here]

ORDER NOW:

Wait a minute! There’s bonuses!

BONUS #1- GROWING TIPS ‘N TECHNIQUES GUIDE

A complete but compact and concise guide you can print out and keep right there in your grow room. You’ll find yourself referring to this clever guide every day! It boils down the whole growing cycle and reminds you of steps you need to take at each stage of growth.

This bonus guide includes:

Nutrients: Quick mixing chart, proper ph and EC ranges, the super-simple 50% method, how to top up your reservoir, and when to mix a new batch of grow juice

Lighting: Which lamps for which gardens, how high to hang, when to switch bulbs, how long they last, and a concise lighting chart

Planting Media: How and when to use the most popular hydroponics growing media: LECA, perlite, CocoCoir and Rockwool

Seeds: The best way to start plants for from seed; plus a secret way to kick-start your garden and shave weeks off the growing time

Vines: How to tie up your vining crops for maximum production

BONUS #2- SIMON’S WISDOM-

THE BEST OFs… GARDENING CHECKLIST… AND RESOURCES

Simon’s list of the best trays, best lights, best nutrients, all his best ofs… and where to get them.

A list of helpful hydro supplies for your new hobby… “must have”, “nice to have”, and “luxury items”.

Gardening checklist… when to do what; daily, weekly and monthly.

Hydroponics resources guide. Useful books and magazines for your hydroponics library.

BONUS #3- AUTOPOT® FARM PLANS Build the ultimate lazy man’s hydroponics garden! With AutoPots®, you truly can “set it and forget it”. We tell you how to create a big automated Autopot® farm with this bonus guide.

Hydroponics How To: Pssst! Check this out…

Would you like to see a sample of some of the pages in the book?

Here you go…

If there was an easy way to get started, would you try it?

The first thing you must do is plant the seed. Planting a seed is easy. But it is also crucial. Nothing happens until the seed is planted but once it is, a tiny speck turns into bountiful plants and vegetables.

You have a chance to plant a seed right now. This e-book is a seed that will help you grow and see your dreams germinate. You’ll be able to see them grow from an idea to a super-charged hydroponics garden.

You’ve seen how plants started in hydroponics can grow fast, big and in a small space. Get this e-book now and you will be planting a seed.

You’ve seen how a fresh vegetable garden can save you money every month. But only if you plant the first seed.

You seen the Table of Contents and how much information is inside those 320 pages.

This may be the most important seed you’ll ever plant. This seed will grow into a full-fledged hydroponic garden that will feed your family. Get this book now and you’ll plant that seed.

“Grab Your Copy Now”

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Today and always $27.00 [No Fake inflated price, no limited time offer here]

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Have questions about the ebook? Ask them here. “Getting Started in Hydroponics” giant ebook is simply the best way to get you started in hydroponics for the least amount of money.

Order your ebook today; a pdf file for instant download and use. You will need Adobe Acrobat to view the book, but we supply that for free if you don’t already have it on your computer. It is a quick and easy process.

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davekendrick · 5 years

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13 beautiful ideas for your garden from BBC Gardeners World Live 2019 - The Middle-Sized Garden

13 beautiful ideas for your garden from BBC Gardeners World Live 2019

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I’ve seen a number of really pretty ideas for your garden at

BBC Gardeners World Live 2019

What about trying naturalistic, all-green or cottage garden planting schemes? Do you fancy clever ideas with hard landscaping, some interesting water features and good front garden ideas?

If so, read on!

Planting ideas for your garden

Many of the show gardens at BBC Gardeners World Live 2019 had almost all-green borders, with just one or perhaps two stand-out colours. Instead of mixed borders of flowers, interest came from the different shades and shapes of green leaves. It’s a very calm and natural look.

For example, here in the ‘Argent Front Garden’, designed by Professor David Stevens, much of the front garden interest comes from the differences in leaf shape and colour. ‘You see the front garden more than the back garden,’ says David Stevens, ‘so it needs year-round interest.’ While some leaves do disappear in winter, plants like fatsia and box are there all year round.

Variegated leaves are back

The key to an all-green planting is to use variegated leaves. In moderation!

Around twenty years ago, there was a migraine-inducing amount of leaf variegation in gardens. Every plant was spotted or striped. So variegated plants such as euonymous ‘Silver Queen’ got a bad name. But nothing beats a variegated leaf for brightening up a dull corner.

And if you’re thinking of euonymous ‘Silver Queen’, it adds a bit of sparkle all year round.

Naturalistic planting ideas for your garden

I asked Chris Myers, designer of the Canals and Rivers Trust garden what ideas people could take away from his canal-side design and use in their own garden.

His reply was ‘don’t strim the edges of your lawn – let them grow long.’

It’s a very attractive look. Although I think you would have to embrace it thoroughly and allow the edges to grow properly wild and long. Just a bit shaggy probably won’t have quite the impact. I am not sure that Mr Middlesize would approve, however.

Cottage garden planting

If you want to be on the colourful side of naturalistic planting, then there’s a definite trend towards cottage garden planting. Although it’s not ‘naturalistic’, it is the way people plant their gardens naturally, cramming in every plant they’ve ever fallen in love with.

Cottage garden planting means a lively mix of plants and flowers. You’ll end up with lots of different flower colours and shapes to attract pollinators.

Grow fruit, veg and flowers together

And you can also mix veg and flowers in the same beds in cottage garden planting. The Dahlia Garden, designed by Jon Wheatley, mixed dahlias with vegetables.

Combine planting with industrial or urban reclamation

Someone once told me that the best gardens always looked as if their owners had died three weeks earlier. One or two gardens at BBC Gardeners World Live looked as if their owners had died three years earlier.

You can achieve this romantic look by re-using and reclaiming industrial or urban architecture or items. Think grasses grown to their full height, self-seeded plants in crevices and garden furniture made of reclaimed bits and pieces.

The High Line garden, based on New York’s High Line public garden, and designed by Lucy Bravington, was a very good example of this. It’s very green, with naturalistic planting. And its corten steel fire pit and reclaimed materials bench fit perfectly.

I also loved parts of the Revelation garden, designed by Mike Baldwin. It had lots of ideas in it. One was a pair of huge gates with wilderness planting behind them. It’s as if a great house had vanished, leaving only its walls and gates behind. Very Secret Garden.

And the distressed shed in the Canal and Rivers Trust garden also fitted into this theme. You could probably distress your shed. Or just wait….

Add colour with pots or furniture

There were several gardens which added colour by using bright cushions or pots. This seems like an excellent way of having year-round colour and being able to control it.

And all the better if it’s a vibrant colour. Orange is at the opposite end of green on

the colour wheel,

so add a vibrant pop of colour to the green with orange cushions or pots.

Raised beds in front gardens

Professor David Stevens designed the two front gardens for the Young Landscapers Award competition. Two teams then executed the briefs. Both front gardens have raised beds. ‘They’re easier to look after and you raise the planting up to where you can enjoy it.’

It also occurs to me that raised beds could be a good substitute for a fence or hedge – they delineate your area clearly and stop people wandering across your patch. But they are more colourful and interesting than a hedge.

Realism in water features

Is this the ‘naturalistic’ trend trickling down to water features? If you’ll excuse my pun.

There were alot of ponds and water features at BBC Gardeners World Live. The most stunning was a display of carved wooden horses galloping through a pond. The water swirls around the hooves of some of the horses, adding to the sense of movement. I’m not sure I could quite fit it into my middle-sized garden, but it was very impressive.

There were also a number of trickling streams and water falls.

Hard landscaping ideas for your garden

If you’re laying a path, pond, driveway, patio or other surface, then consider using several different kinds of material. This, too, links to the naturalistic and eco-friendly side of gardening today.

Covering your front garden or back terrace with a swathe of concrete or with continous pavers concreted together is linked to flash flooding in towns and cities. Concrete can’t soak up rainwater so when there’s lots of rain it all floods into the drainage system, over-loading it.

Too much non-permeable hard landscaping also affects soil health, because worms can’t live under acres of paving. But the designs at BBC Gardeners World Live showed that you can have very attractive solutions by varying your paving. It is important to note, however, that some gravel is not permeable, because it has to be set on a concrete base. Discuss permeable paving with your supplier.

Or make paths with gaps

This is related to the above. It’s better for wildlife and the environment if your paving has gaps between pavers. And it looks good too.

In the Revelation Garden, there was a mosaic pebble path, which looked good.

Curves in garden design

It can be difficult to plant around curves in smaller gardens, because you can create pinch points where there is very little room for planting. But curves do look good and there were a number of gardens showing how to have curves in small town gardens.

There was Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, designed by Hana Leonard, combines traditional planting and contemporary materials. It gets round the pinch point problem by having the circle in the middle, with big beds around the edges.

Bean bags in gardens

I don’t know if you’ve got a bean bag for your garden yet? There were quite a few in show gardens at BBC Gardeners World Live. I didn’t try any out, though.

Take a longer look at the gardens in video

You can always see more of gardens in a video, so do have a longer look at some of these ideas here:

Pin to remember ideas for your garden

And if you’d like ideas and expert tips for your garden every week, then follow The Middlesized Garden by email. See the ‘follow by email’ box below and we’ll pop into your inbox every Sunday morning.

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