Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Shut up, hissy kitty!

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

“And when the Committee says to “report your income,” that could mean anything!

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

It’s a doggy dog world.

Even though I know this is a bad idea, I’m off to do it anyway!

Russia bombs Ukraine’s maternity hospitals; Republicans in the House can’t sort out supporting Ukraine.

… riddled with inexplicable and elementary errors of law and fact

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

I was confident that someone would point it out and thought why not me.

It’s a good piece. click on over. but then come back!!

Let’s finish the job.

Stop using mental illness to avoid talking about armed white supremacy.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

I also would like a pony to improve my balloon juice experience.

I really should read my own blog.

We won’t go back.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

He really is that stupid.

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Moulding the Future (Veggie)

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Moulding the Future (Veggie)

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.

This actually makes sense in a culture, like Japan, where individual perfect fruits are considered an essential gift for business clients or social visits — the way Americans treat wine or flowers. I suspect it would be difficult or impossible to make them profitably here, since we’ve been so conditioned to treat ‘unprocessed’ food as something that should be cheap. Although, given the upswing in “artisanal” every-damn-edibles, maybe that’s changing?

There are cheaper, no doubt much less durable versions of some of the simpler moulds available from American companies. I remember seeing an ad for an “ugly old man potato” mould from a Midwestern company some years ago. Which reminded me of the ending of a particularly unpleasant villain in Terry Pratchett’s novel The Truth…

So I checked out the website referenced in the video. Sure enough, an American contacted them about producing pumpkins in the likeness of a certain American politician, but the kickstarter to fund wider production failed rather spectacularly. I still like the idea of growing little ugly-dude potatoes, though: “That’s not the right type for boiling, it’s a fryer!”

***********
Apart from gearing up for the Thanksgiving Experience, what’s going on in your garden(s) planning, this week?

Reader Interactions

126Comments

  1. 1.

    raven

    We’re headed for the Emerald Coast for our 10 day vacay. The Bohdi’s wound is healing well but the vet doesn’t want him in the water for at least a week so the poor old dude will have to abide. Look for some sunrise and sunset pics.

  6. 6.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Among the things I did when I had the skid loader for a few days was scrape the ground in front of the carport clean of all the creek gravel that had walked that way over the years and dug up the old flagstone walkway. The first because it was eating up my lawnmower blades, the 2nd because it was a mess after years of settling in an improperly prepared bed (sand? sand??? wtf were they thinking?) and besides, it’s impossible to shovel snow from flagstones. I put in landscape timbers for a 3′ wide flower bed in front of the carport and poured a new 3′-6″ sidewalk which certainly did not fill the 6′ wide scrape left by the skid loader. Today I’m going to set some more timbers for flower beds along the sidewalk. I’ll pick up some topsoil in a couple weeks and then figure out what to plant in them. The bed in front of the carport is mostly shaded. The beds along the sidewalk go from mostly shade to full sun.

    Any pollinator friendly suggestions?

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Raven: Not for this. These are pressure treated timbers shaped like this:
    ___
    (___) (you get the idea… I hope)

    Varying in width but usually 4-4 1/2″ wide and milled to 3″ thick. They are a lot easier to handle and my shoulder needs every break I can give it these days. A single timber at the edge of the cut should give an effective depth of 6″ for the flower bed.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Beginning to rev up the gray matter about Thanksgiving preparations. Going non-traditional this year – bought a large bag of frozen shelled langostino tails at Costco for a special holiday treat.

  26. 26.

    MomSense

    @raven:

    Have fun!

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Any way we could see the space? There are so many sun pollinators and some really nice shade plants. The trick is blending the two, knowing what kind of shape you are trying to fill, not interfering with the walkway or giving you maintenance headaches, and seeing what will work with your house. It sounds like you are making a raised border so that hopefully means tree roots in the shaded part won’t be a problem.

  28. 28.

    JGabriel

    Anne Laurie @ Top:

    Sure enough, an American contacted them about producing pumpkins in the likeness of a certain American politician, but the kickstarter to fund wider production failed rather spectacularly.

    The urge to mock was outweighed by revulsion at the idea of having to look at the thing. Both the pumpkin and the model.

  30. 30.

    JGabriel

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Any pollinator friendly suggestions?

    For some inexplicable reason, I first scanned that as “Any pollwatcher friendly suggestions”, and my first thought was: liquor.

  34. 34.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Waratah: Sage grows like a weed for me. I have tried to grow lavender a number of times and failed. Still I like that suggestion so what the hell, I could try it again.

  37. 37.

    zhena gogolia

    Cole doesn’t seem to have noticed that his friend Wiley Cash has a positive review in the NYT Book Review this morning. I e-mailed him the link but I guess he doesn’t pay attention.

  39. 39.

    Patricia Kayden

    @raven: That’s sounds great. Have a wonderful vacay. Looking forward to your photos.

    @OzarkHillbilly: Onions everywhere. That is such a sweet story. France 24 featured a story about how the government of Turkey pays to take care of feral dogs this morning as well.

  44. 44.

    tybee

    @OzarkHillbilly: if those are “landscape timbers”, they don’t hold up well in contact with the landscape. or at least they don’t down here. in two years, they’re worthless.

  49. 49.

    MomSense

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Monarda -firecracker like blooms in lots of colors. It’s leggy so it needs planting’s around it. Yarrow. Sedum – lots of options from tall to almost ground cover. Blooms late in the summer Salvia. Coneflower. A butterfly bush may be too wide. Lots of annuals like marigolds and nasturtium. Shasta daisies, black eyed Susan’s, coreopsis, Nepeta (cat mint) is one of my favorite plants. Lots of size options. Lavender spiky flowers all season and tolerant of drought, heat, lots of rain. It’s in the mint family. Just cut off the spiky flowers when they turn and you’ll keep getting more.

    One important thing is not to mulch in your pollinator garden. Some bees dig holes and mulch prevents it. Flowering plants need lots of food so I dress the beds with really good organic compost and use fish fertilizer when needed.

    You can plant herbs, too but if you are using pressure treated wood you may not want to eat them.
    For shade you can’t beat hostas. Astilbe, ferns, some heuchera (coral bells) do well. The almost metallic purple foliage of “blackberry ice” with white astilbe and some of the chartreuse hostas makes a striking border and brings some “sunshine” to a shady spot. Bleeding hearts are a favorite but they will look scraggly early in the summer so maybe just one in a spot a hostas will fill in after the bleeding heart fades.

  53. 53.

    OzarkHillbilly

    This is interesting.

    SEATTLE—The world doesn’t stop spinning. But every so often, it slows down. For decades, scientists have charted tiny fluctuations in the length of Earth’s day: Gain a millisecond here, lose a millisecond there. Last week at the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America here, two geophysicists argued that these minute changes could be enough to influence the timing of major earthquakes—and potentially help forecast them.

    During the past 100 years, Earth’s slowdowns have correlated surprisingly well with periods with a global increase in magnitude-7 and larger earthquakes, according to Roger Bilham of the University of Colorado (CU) in Boulder and Rebecca Bendick at the University of Montana in Missoula. Usefully, the spike, which adds two to five more quakes than typical, happens well after the slow-down begins. “The Earth offers us a 5-years heads up on future earthquakes, which is remarkable,” says Bilham, who presented the work.

    Most seismologists agree that earthquake prediction is a minefield. And so far, Bilham and Bendick have only fuzzy, hard-to-test ideas about what might cause the pattern they found. But the finding is too provocative to ignore, other researchers say. “The correlation they’ve found is remarkable, and deserves investigation,” says Peter Molnar, a geologist also at CU.
    …….
    At the equator, Earth spins 460 meters per second. Given this high velocity, it’s not absurd to think that a slight mismatch in speed between the solid crust and mantle and the liquid core could translate into a force somehow nudging quakes into synchrony, Molnar says. Of course, he adds, “It might be nonsense.” But the evidence for some kind of link is compelling, says geophysicist Michael Manga of the University of California, Berkeley. “I’ve worked on earthquakes triggered by seasonal variation, melting snow. His correlation is much better than what I’m used to seeing.”

    One way or another, says James Dolan, a geologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, “we’re going to know in 5 years.” That’s because Earth’s rotation began a periodic slow-down 4-plus years ago. Beginning next year, Earth should expect five more major earthquakes a year than average—between 17 to 20 quakes, compared with the anomalously low four so far this year. If the pattern holds, it will put a new spin on earthquake forecasting.

  56. 56.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Baud: Atrios and Stoller can go stuff themselves. I miss everything about the Obama years, including having an intelligent, articulate dignified President.

  57. 57.

    debbie

    @JPL:

    I follow him on FB. He’s been getting a great reception at all the bookstores on his book tour. I’m about a third through the book.

  58. 58.

    Kay

    Julian Assange ?‏

    @JulianAssange
    Follow Follow @JulianAssange
    More
    The recent spate of Congressional committees demanding privileged legal & journalistic communications is unacceptable. Such actions infringe on both press freedoms and the right to fair & effective legal representation. @WikiLeaks will litigate aggressively to protect its rights.

    Oh, bullshit Julian. If it’s privileged Wikileaks asserts the privilege like everyone else. They demand – you answer. That’s how this works.

    This holier than thou act from what is a far Right political operation has to stop.

    More
    Replying to @JulianAssange @wikileaks
    Mr. Mueller is already running a comprehensive investigation. These increasingly bizarre committees serve no investigative purpose, abuse important rights for shallow grandstanding, and foster an atmosphere of persecution.

    The ” transparency org” now decides what should and should not be investigated. Instead of a demand where Julian gets all the protections of legal process Congress should just steal his communications – follow Wikileaks “law”. The Clinton campaign didn’t get any process or an opportunity to assert privilege- why should Wikileaks?

  59. 59.

    Baud

    @Patricia Kayden:

    I don’t disagree. But I also watched in horror for 8 years as many people supposedly on my side took him and the opportunity he presented for granted. So I’m ittle jaded about the whole “please come back” thing. Let’s work instead on fixing our own house ourselves.

  62. 62.

    Kay

    @Baud:

    Everyone knows he’s not coming back, though. It’s a compliment. They want to draw the distinction. All presidents care about legacy and I bet Obama does too.

    After a couple of weeks of Trump my daughter wrote in Facebook- “when the Obama’s get back from vacation they’re gonna be so mad!” – like they were the parents :)

  65. 65.

    The Simp in the Suit

    @Baud:

    So I’m ittle jaded about the whole “please come back” thing. Let’s work instead on fixing our own house ourselves.

    Yep. That sentiment is one of 44’s central tenets: The President is not a dictator, autocrat, or your daddy (or shouldn’t be any of those). It is up to The People to effect change. The candidates who the people elect are just PART of that change.

    It does suck, though, that the people who elected Trump will never, ever suffer as much as they should for that. Hell, half of Alabama is set to elect the mini-me Southern version of that asshole.

  66. 66.

    debbie

    @Baud:

    Just listened to Ta-Nehisi Coates on On Being. It’s worth listening to (or there’s a transcript):

    Ms. Tippett: I experience you to be — so Ruby Sales, who is one of the great — one of the civil rights leaders, said to me last year that a central quality of this moment we inhabit is a crisis of whiteness. You have this quote from James Baldwin that really stuck out at me: “White people in this country will have quite enough to do in learning how to accept and love themselves and each other. And when they have achieved this, which will not be tomorrow and may very well be never, the Negro problem will no longer exist or will no longer be needed.”

    Mr. Coates: No one will need it. No will need it. When I read that, that was like getting hit by a truck. It was so profound, because what he was saying was that there actually — there is no “Negro problem.” [laughs] And that’s how it’s always historically been talked — even that: “the problem of the color line.” No, there’s no problem of the color line. The problem is over here. It’s not us. We actually are quite human. It is — and I think what he is referring to: all of the things that a group of people do to remain in power, to hold that boot on somebody’s neck — as Jefferson said, “hold the wolf by the ear” — that’s how he talked about slavery, enslavement.

  67. 67.

    The Simp in the Suit

    Sort of a bummer that neither the Post nor my hometown newspaper is running a prominent story on the tax bill for billionaires.

    I hear that a special part of it is the proposal that grad students will now be taxed for tuition waivers. Makes sense. Let’s suck blood from the turnips that are working hard to maybe discover ways to cure cancer, mitigate effects of climate changes, and hell, just learn stuff about reality.

    Hm. I guess I can see how this makes perfect sense to Republicans.

  69. 69.

    MomSense

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Can you bury some chicken wire around the perimeter – just inside the timbers? Have it go down 6 inches or so below the ground and see if that deters the hungry critters.

  70. 70.

    satby

    The entire Obama family has more than earned their private citizen status, and though I do miss him as President, I can barely enjoy even skits like SNL’s about him coming back. He’s not. A single saint isn’t saving us.

  72. 72.

    Jackue

    @OzarkHillbilly: I have had great results with anemone in a bed under trees. They bloom late and my butterflies and bees swarm them.I second astilbe, Jacobs ladder, hosta and huchera,I have some ground covers that have done fine but they haven’t bloomed much if at all. So haven’t been pollinator attractions

  74. 74.

    Immanentize

    @Baud:

    Not a big deal, but I am jaded.

    Which is why you hang out here with fellow travelers.

    @raven: have a wonderful an well deserved vacation! Body surfing and fishing?

  75. 75.

    satby

    On gardening, the high today is supposed to be 33° with snow forecast. It was raining all the times I wanted to finish planting my daffodil bulbs, so I still have about 20 to go. Luckily, tomorrow will be in the 40s and sunny, it feels like my last chance!

  76. 76.

    Kay

    I have next week off because we had planned to take a trip to Los Angeles. I love Los Angeles. But my son doesn’t want to miss school because he will miss an orchestra concert so we’re going to Chicago instead but just for 3 days. He plays the electric guitar in orchestra – they have an “electric strings” section of the program – you have to audition and since he auditioned like 15 times over 2 years to get in we feel like he has to play his first gig :)

    They’re letting him be in both the marching band and orchestra which is a “special”- they usually have to choose but he lobbied and bugged them enough they let him do it. He’s persistent.

  77. 77.

    oldgold

    Gosh, I thought it was dangerous to eat moldy fruit.

    The fruit molds I am most familiar with are not known for their shapes, but do come in nice shades white and green.

  78. 78.

    Gelfling 545

    Local Wegman’s had pumpkins this season grown in a mold of a Frankenstein monster head. Seemed pretty popular.

  80. 80.

    Immanentize

    @OzarkHillbilly: @MomSense:

    Well I think MomSense gave you a great list! I want to give a hearty “Second” to certain hostas for your very shady area. Especially the chartreuse and the ivory/dark green variegated versions.

  81. 81.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @MomSense: First, it’s bugs eating it. 2nd, I’d have to rent a trencher to dig down 6″ in a feasible amount of time. Lastly, I really don’t want chicken wire fencing around my stuff so I try to plant stuff that doesn’t get eaten. If it does, I don’t plant it again.

  82. 82.

    Another Scott

    @MomSense: Thanks for all the info. I’ve got a maybe 10’x10′ plot in part of the backyard that I’ve let go “wild” – it’s in an area with lots of tree roots that would be too much work to turn into something else. It seems to have something like Queen Anne’s Lace taking root – it’s fine, some bees and other things seem to like it, but it’s very “leggy”. I’ve thrown some other wildflower seeds in there occasionally, but haven’t actually been systematic about trying to actually grow something else. This will give me ideas for next spring.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  83. 83.

    Immanentize

    @satby:. Hmm. Now you have me wondering. Saints are not saints because they save anyone. They are saints because they walk a righteous path and encourage others to do likewise. God doesn’t have to figure into that at all. By that light, the Obama’s are both fairly saintly people. “Live as I have tried to live”

  84. 84.

    debbie

    @Immanentize:

    Someone in the neighborhood planted hostas along the back of their garage on an alley. They grew to more than five feet high (but nowhere near that vertically). They flowered most of the summer in a really nice shade of orange.

  85. 85.

    Patricia Kayden

    @Baud: Agreed. The Obamas have done enough for this ungrateful country. Let them enjoy themselves now. But I still miss them.

  86. 86.

    Immanentize

    @debbie: Wow. I have one variety that frows maybe 3 ft high. Freezes back and comes again every year — leaves are almost blue (green). But it flowers light blue and white. I’m gonna look for that orange variety.

    I should add, there are some crappy hostas that are like weeds. My neighbor gave me some that I planted on a fence line and now I have to take out big bunches every spring to let my pretty hostas grow.

  87. 87.

    Spanky

    @Kay:

    They’re letting him be in both the marching band and orchestra which is a “special”- they usually have to choose but he lobbied and bugged them enough they let him do it. He’s persistent

    After 60+ trips around the sun I’ve concluded that persistence may not be the only* attribute needed for success, but without it success will not just happen.

    But … electric guitar in marching band?

    (* – It in fact may just be the only attribute needed for success, but I haven’t lived long enough to find out,)

  88. 88.

    bemused

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Lamium and Astrantia. It was cool and rainy here in zone 3-4 into July. Humans not happy with that but my shade plants loved the weather, never seen them so lush.

  90. 90.

    Kay

    According to reports, the former president shook hands all around and signed books for several of his 168 fellow jurors. “This looks like Chicago!” he told them. Sonal Joshi, a court clerk, told reporters, “He’s gorgeous!”
    Maybe it was the red JUROR sticker Mr. Obama put on his lapel.
    Obama was dismissed from the jury pool, along with about half of the other jurors, by a random draw before lunch time.
    Former President George W. Bush reported for jury duty in Dallas in 2015, and former President Bill Clinton was called to serve in New York in 2003. They were quickly dismissed, too, but made the point that they were ready to do their civic duty.
    Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans said, “If the former president of the United States takes his time to come, anybody ought to be willing to come.”

    I was on one jury in a muni court (we convicted on one of 3 charges- misdemeanors) and I’ve been called 2 other times but was excused both times.

  92. 92.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Sigh. Just once I’d like to post something that I don’t screw up.

    Horizontally. Horizontally.

    I was hoping the homeowner would be around whenever I walked by, but no luck. Next year, I’ll have to get a photo of them. I can’t find anything similar online.

  94. 94.

    Kay

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    He plays electric guitar in orchestra and the baritone in marching band. They usually make them pick but he gave up study hall so they’re letting him take both classes. He had the electric players here last night to practice. They’re nice- 3 boys and a girl. One of the boys has an ancient BMW which must just be the coolest thing to have in high school :)

  96. 96.

    MomSense

    @Another Scott:

    Queen Anne has the best lace! You can buy clover seeds. White, red, and purple clover will make the bees holler! Id also be tempted to establish some lupines there. They have a nice low, broad leaf and once the flower dies, it can even be mowed.
    Calendula is another beauty.

  97. 97.

    oldgold

    When I read about the 5 foot vertical hostas, I was reminded of the opening to each telecast of The Outer Limits.

    “There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to… The Outer Limits.”

  101. 101.

    MomSense

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    Hmm, if you can identify the bugs there are some “one weird trick” remedies that work pretty well. Vegetable or canola oil (the cheap stuff) with ivory soap or mild dish soap and water can keep certain insects from munching. I’ve gotten some good tips from farmers and the extension service over the years. They get wicked excited about insects and love photos or samples.

  103. 103.

    ThresherK

    Form-fitting produce while it grows?

    I know that was mentioned as one experiment by Caractus Potts in the book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But only Toot Suites made it into song form for the movie.

  105. 105.

    Immanentize

    @Kay: I played the baritone in high school! At out school you HAD to be in both the marching band and the symphonic band unless you played fall sports. The orchestra was entirely it’s own creature (no horns or winds).

  106. 106.

    Immanentize

    @Gvg: good point. I am now thinking it might be a crinum variety? They leaf at the bottom like hostas and have leafless flower stems too.

  111. 111.

    debbie

    @MomSense:

    Google tells me Ohio is 6A. Whatever it is, it’s a hardy breed. Mostly shady, more than a fair amount of car exhaust. I’m really ticked at myself I didn’t think to get a picture of it while it was blooming.

  118. 118.

    Another Scott

    @Sab: We spooked some turkeys during a winter camping trip at Dolly Sods, WV a couple of decades ago. They can fly quite vigorously and strongly when they want to (breaking dead branches on pine trees, etc., on the way up). It’s kind of amazing that they do so well, given how heavy they are.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  119. 119.

    Kathleen

    @debbie: Baldwin got to the root here. I need to reread his books. I think W.E.B. DuBois also made that point in Souls of Black Folks.

  121. 121.

    J R in WV

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I love the blue spiderwort, which blooms all day in clusters of blue bloomw, which then close up at night, only to reopen the next day when the sun hits them. Good in shade, early spring bloomers. Coexists well with hostas and coral bells, which are naturally occurring around here. Why someone eats them, an old family favorite !!

  122. 122.

    Marvel

    @OzarkHillbilly: Re pollinator-friendly plants: dunno if you’re familiar with a fuzzy tall herb called borage (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borage) — it’s our pollinators’ go-to plant. Hardy & self-spreading, its small purple flowers are a months-long early-Spring/late-Fall resource for all manner of buzzing friends. I bought one small packet of seeds nine years ago…and have had small forests of it scattered about the garden ever since. Lovely stuff.

  123. 123.

    J R in WV

    @Sab:

    I’ve seen huge wild turkeys flying full speed through the forest, leaning right and left to slide between trees. It was like seeing a B-52 flying like an F-15. We had a welder generator running on the truck and grinders running to trim square tubing to fit the railing to the deck out back, and this giant tom turkey flew right over the construction site.

    Probably 10 or 12 feet above us. A Beautiful Sight !!

    I think they fly really well after seeing a few, especially if they have some downhill run to accelerate. Being as big as they are, they don’t build up speed going uphill that well. But very maneuverable in the forest, dodging trees and all.

  125. 125.

    Gvg

    @debbie: I don’t know cold climate plants well. I don’t think cannas or parlor maples survive that. Not sure about ligularia or leopard plant. Now I really want a picture. The puzzle is intriguing.

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