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Reply to this post, and have your text chanted in the Trinity College Chapel as part of Toronto's Nuit Blanche!

We start chanting tomorrow (Saturday) at 7 pm, and go until Sunday at 7 am. See my profile for the themes for each hour.

I'll put up another post for reply tomorrow morning, and again tomorrow afternoon.

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From:

loligo

A report on Chinese artichoke (Stachys affinis):

Alas, I wish I could give a better report of this perennial root vegetable, but in three years of growing it, I have only been able to harvest one tiny tuber. For a really useful write-up of this veggie, check out this post at Homegrown Evolution. I guess my post should be taken as a checklist of how *not* to grow Chinese artichokes!

The spot they're growing in is in part shade. We have very heavy clay soil, and I sheet-mulched the heck out of it three years ago when I first planted stuff in that bed, but I think the native clay has succeeded in incorporating most of the mulch by now without much change in its essential clay-ness. We had a bad summer of drought this year. I figured that after 24 hours of rain, the ground might be soft enough now to dig, but getting the fork in there was like trying to ram it into concrete. So, dried-out clay = a big no-no for S. affinis. People who grow it in sandy soil or on pond margins report it as being downright invasive. My plant only expanded to a 2 sq ft patch in three years.

The one tiny tuber was harvested accidentally this spring while I was weeding in that bed. It popped right out, so I washed it off and ate it. Other people have described them as sweet, nutty, or minty -- I would have to describe that tuber as bland. Seriously, it was like water. I thought maybe they would have more flavor by this fall... but fall is here, and there are no tubers! I can't find a one.

Wish me better luck with my Jerusalem artichokes. This is my first year growing those -- the plants look huge and healthy, but who knows what's going on below....

From:

loligo

Goumi (Eleagnus multiflora) is a fruiting shrub that gets praised a lot in permaculture literature because it is so multi-purpose: it is a nitrogen fixer, it will fruit in part shade, and it is nutritious and (supposedly) tasty.

I planted one a couple years ago, and finally had some fruit this spring. Here are my impressions:

(1) The frequent comparisons to pie cherries are somewhat on target. The goumi berries lack that ineffable cherry-ness, but they have the same basic balance of sweet and tart that pie cherries do. They last on the bush for a long time (many people report problems with robins stealing all their crop, but mine were left alone) and they keep getting sweeter the longer they stay there. My kids refused to eat them, saying that they were too sour, and I have NO IDEA what they're talking about. My kids will eat red currants right off the bush, and to me the taste of the goumis was far milder than red currants. But whatever, kids -- more for me! I found them to be a very enjoyable nibble.

(2) The seeds are large, relative to the fruit size. There's a single seed in every berry. Many sources say that the seeds are edible, but I found them a bit too tough and chewy for my taste, so I prefer to spit them out. Supposedly if you make goumi raisins, the seeds are less noticeable.

(3) They are fiddly to harvest and clean. The berries hold fast to the branches, the stems come off with the berries, and the dried blooms often clings to the ends. I put a bunch in the fridge without picking the stems and blooms off, and several days later the blooms had gotten all moldy and I had to pitch the whole mess. I think the berries would have kept much better if I'd picked all that off. Consequently, I did not get to try cooking them, but I suspect they would make good jelly.

(4) The bush is problem free, as far as I can tell, and I live in an area afflicted with many fungal diseases. Practically everything in my yard has some sort of scab or blight or rust on it by midsummer, while the goumi looks fresh and clean. It grows quickly, the flowers are pretty and fragrant, and it really does fruit in part shade, as advertised.

So, in my experience the fruit quality is not so high that I would say "OMG you should plant it no matter what!" but if the plant's other benefits would be useful for you, then it's definitely worth your time.

From:

loligo

I believe some fascinating material about the population genetics of the Pharaoh Cuttlefish may be on its way to you shortly, probably via Facebook, since that is Andy's social media venue of choice.