Sponsored Content




Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!



Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups

NoVaMoMe 2024: 06/08/2024
Arlington, VA
Details to follow


Texas MoMe 2024: 10/18/2024-10/19/2024 Corsicana,TX
Contact Ben Had for info





















« Fundamental Concepts : A Melting Pot, Not a F****** Salad Bowl [Weirddave] | Main | Open Thread »
December 06, 2014

Saturday Gardening Thread: Granola Edition [Y-not, Weirddave, and KT]

Welcome to the Saturday Gardening Thread! Today we'll be doing some exploring in the West, home of fiddlers, preppers, and Christmas tree farms.

Today's thread is brought to you by the Hippy Dippy Weatherman:

Pop quiz, courtesy of Mental Floss: Name the top states in terms of Christmas tree production. My first guess was Oregon. (We'll be learning more about this lovely state in KT's section down below.)

There are many types of Christmas trees, some are favored in one part of the country more than others. I'm sure part of this is owing to availability and local climate. Here's a handy selection guide for those of you in the U.S. (There's also a link to a guide for our friends in the U.K.)

First, a poll:


Here at Casa Y-not we tend to go for firs, either Balsam or Fraser, depending which trees look best when we get to the lot. In years past, we got a few Blue Spruces. We've never gotten a White or Scotch Pine. My impression is that that's more of a Southern thing -- feel free to correct me. Fortunately, out West fir trees are widely available:


PacNWtrees.jpg

We always go to a lot or local nursery to get our trees, but choosing and cutting your own tree is also popular. Here's a handy reference for self-cut tree farms. Over at Better Homes and Gardens I found this helpful tree selection guide. And our friends at Popular Mechanics offer this How To Guide on finding, harvesting, and maintaining a Christmas tree.

Or you could grow your own, in which case you might find this Pocket Guide to Christmas Tree Diseases a helpful reference.

If you're interested, maybe we could do a show and tell of our Christmas trees (or Hanukkah bushes!) and other holiday greenery (wreaths, garlands, Christmas cactuses, and the like) next week. If you'd like to share a picture of your holiday greenery with the horde, contact me at my Twitter account moxiemom or by email at bailesworth AT g ma il DOT com.


Take it away, KT:

GARDENING IN HARMONY WITH HUMANS

People sure have a lot of different ideas about how and why to grow a garden. We have a lot to learn. As cold descends upon the nation, I thought it might be nice for us to take a little virtual trip to some relatively mild Western climes for a little farm and garden history. First stop is Oregon.

There have been some challenges to civil society lately. If you're thinking of distancing yourself a little from the madding crowd, Oregon is a pretty good place to start learning whether or not this is a good idea - and if it becomes a good idea, how to do it. A few decades ago, quite a few people made a serious effort in Oregon to separate from the larger society.


Hold your horses, Oregon -- here comes The Horde

Oregon is also the home of the nation's only winter vegetable catalog, produced by Territorial Seed Company. Territorial's catalogs are quite pricey, but provide excellent information for growers, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. They cater to the organic gardening crowd, but also feature seeds from conventional, Big Ag sources (though they're trying to phase out Monsanto-acquired companies). They are very aware of the concerns of preppers. Featured prepper veggie: open-pollinated, disease-resistant pickling cucumber Wautoma.

The founder of Territorial Seed, Steve Solomon, sold the company a long time ago in order to return to a simpler life. He has written a new book of interest to preppers (and others): Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times. (Y-not: If you can, try to use Ace's Amazon link.)

This book has revealed some culture clashes among the proponents of "sustainable gardening". Check out the Amazon reviews to see what I mean. He recommends wide spacing of plants where water is in short supply. This goes against the grain of the "intensive gardening" theories that dominate the sustainability movement.

I tried the wide spacing idea for this year's poor, drought-stricken winter garden. I'll report back on it later:

KTwintergarden.jpg

Now on to western Idaho for a little personal, sort-of-related history: Long ago, my parents took our family to eastern Oregon, then into Weiser, Idaho. This farm town is just across the border from Oregon, in Idaho's mild-weather "banana belt" near the Snake River (not that you can grow bananas there). My sister was competing in the Junior Division of the National Old Time Fiddling Contest.

This was during the heyday of the "back-to-the-land" Oregon Hippies. Many of them came across the border to "experience" the fiddling contest. It was not much like Woodstock, perhaps to the disappointment of some. These were genuine hippies, complete with makeshift trailers. Some of them really fit the "dirty hippy" label. Trust me.

It was interesting to see how the contest organizers minimized culture clashes between the hippies and the more conventional farming community natives who were part of the "dominant culture" among the fiddling contestants and other musicians. Harmony was maintained primarily by setting up public-venue entertainment that the hippies could attend. This kept them from disturbing the serious jam sessions and other events favored by contest participants and their families. The "circus" part of "bread and circuses" worked well in this setting, especially given that the "alien culture" was pretty mellow.

The Oregon Hippies are mostly not exactly hippies anymore. Many of them learned a lot during that time about things like the importance of public health measures, how to get along with other people and growing food in difficult circumstances. Their influence on gardening remains. So does the influence of Oregon's earlier pioneers. Steve Solomon's focus on gardening during hard times may resonate with some in The Horde at this particular time, whether or not we agree with his methods.

If you're not quite ready for a book like that, I have a suggestion for some pleasurable garden-themed reading for this winter: Principles of Gardening, by Hugh Johnson. It is out of print. This book includes some fascinating history regarding ornamental and edible gardening. It also covers principles that help explain how gardens work. Some of those Oregon Hippies should have read it before returning to the land.

This book is beautifully written. The author became famous writing about wine. I had a copy years ago, but someone borrowed it and never returned it. So irritating. I may pick up a copy so I can read it again. I think it could help provide some balance to the "what is happening to the world?" thoughts which intrude lately.

And in recognition of the importance of maintaining some harmony with others, here is some Twin Fiddling from Weiser, Idaho.


Y-not: Thanks, KT! And now heeeere's Weirddave:

Hippies.

There is a solution:

I have little to say on Christmas trees, as mine are now of the artificial variety. Gingy is allergic to real trees, and she's more important than my nostalgia, so it's plastic and wire at Casa Weirddave. I did buy a real nice 10 footer this year, dark green, really fits well in the living room with it's 12 1/2 foot ceiling. We'll be decorating it tonight, which is always a blast. I hope you and yours have a similar wonderful family moment soon.


Y-not: Thanks, Weirddave!

To wrap things up, here's Ronald Reagan lighting the national Christmas tree:


What's going on in your garden this week?


digg this
posted by Open Blogger at 02:30 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
Moron Robbie - If this is how Georgia hires attorneys, imagine how they manage elections: "I think it was grump928 who made an outstanding po ..."

Don Black: "is everyone over on the main page, slapping f5 lik ..."

JackStraw: ">>The long-shredded pretense to impartiality is su ..."

Moron Robbie - If this is how Georgia hires attorneys, imagine how they manage elections: "Wakandyass it is! ..."

Don Black: "NYR 0 COL 0 end 1st p 🏒 ..."

Alberta Oil Peon: "If the Wakandians hadn't been isolationists then t ..."

Puddleglum at work: "[i]173 167 I’ve often speculated that the re ..."

Moron Robbie - If this is how Georgia hires attorneys, imagine how they manage elections: "If the Wakandians hadn't been isolationists then t ..."

Ciampino - Bloody 'experts' again ...: "158 For being the alleged "birthplace of civilizat ..."

sock_rat_eez - these lying bastardi e stronzi have been lying to us for decades [/b][/u][/i][/s]: "got to have a spread of alternatives, amirite? ..."

Bulgaroctonus : "167 I’ve often speculated that the reason th ..."

Hairyback Guy: "Anita Bryant > All Other Female Crooners ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64