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By feral, on August 28th, 2011%
The wind and rain just picked up again here in Canaan, and power went out. So, now it’s officially a storm, I suppose…
There was a brief period of calm before though, during which I ran out into the garden to see how things have weathered the storm.
Predictably, a bunch of sunflowers are down, and a few other plants, including the taller Brussels sprouts bent to the ground, but — knock on wood — there’s no visible damage. The winds knocked down a lot of small green apples from the tree in front of the house but tomatoes held on (I only found 3 little greenies on the ground). As a precautionary measure, yesterday I ordered a mandatory evacuation of all near-ripe and ripening tomatoes. Firstly, they continue to ripen very fast off the vine, and secondly, according to my Joy of Pickling book, half-ripe tomatoes that are just beginning to show a hint of color are actually ideal for pickling.
Here are the largest 3 of the evacuated tomatoes, 2.8 lbs together…
And pickle I did, following Michael’s (you know him as *husband* on FG) recipe. . . . CONTINUE READING → Irene in the garden
By feral, on June 27th, 2011%
Behold the first dawn of my blog’s second year!
(This morning I witnessed the sun rise in the sky over Midtown Manhattan for the first time — it was precipitous, dramatic, and almost immediately blinding.)
That’s right — only a year ago, on June 26, FeralGardener saw its first post. And today I would like to take a moment to thank its 2,125 “absolute unique visitors” from 74 countries across the world for their 3,926 visits and 11,289 pageviews. I realize that a significant percentage of you are mere spammers and bots, looking to corrupt the feral purity of my baby; nevertheless, thank you for driving up the traffic statistics!
Just like gardens depend on sunshine and water, blogs, even the most feral of them, need their readers’ interest and attention. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for all the comments and kind words of support. Special thanks to the wonderful Amateur Gourmet, Afternoon On the Hill, and FishWatch for introducing Feral Gardener to their visitors! I’m honored to have you as my top referring sites (other than facebook and . . . CONTINUE READING → FeralGardener turns 1!
By feral, on June 22nd, 2011%
Now I can proudly say that we live in the very heart of the historic Hell’s Kitchen; moreover, right by the butcher block! . . . CONTINUE READING → There once was a kitchen in hell…
By feral, on March 16th, 2011%
What is your antidepressant for a cold rainy morning, like the one we’re having here today? You don’t have to answer this question if it’s too embarrassing. As for me, I have nothing to hide. Today, it’s 5 things.
(1) Fame. I just got a shout-out from our friend Anna‘s friend, The Amateur Gourmet, whose blog I follow and whom I met last Friday at Katz’s Deli under the circumstances described here. There, over some half-sour pickles, we discussed the possibility of using The Feral Gardener’s produce in The Amateur Gourmet’s kitchen and I’m extremely excited about this prospect. And this gives me hope that one day my basket’s fame will measure up to that of a Katz’s Deli hot dog or even of Jane Eyre’s.
(2) The snow is melting! This is how the garden looked yesterday. I scattered around some ashes from the fireplace (black spots on the snow), hoping that a darker shade might facilitate faster thawing. Luckily, today’s rain is also contributing to the process.
(3) . . . CONTINUE READING → 5 happy thoughts on a rainy day
By feral, on March 14th, 2011%
“It’s been snowing since early morning here. Thank heavens, because I was just beginning to worry that we might run out of snow soon.” (@feralgardener, tweet #106, 3/14/11 12:50PM)
Can anyone be expected to garden under such conditions? Judge for yourself:
 I refuse. During my spring break week last year the snow was almost gone and I was able to accomplish so much… Oh nature!
So, what am I to do instead? Read by the fire? Perhaps I’ll make some borsht… I happen to have all the ingredients. Also, we brought our bread recipe book (Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads) and will try baking some potato bread this afternoon.
PS: To be fair, there’s no wind and the falling snow looks very serene and beautiful. Besides, tomorrow will be sunny and the temperature is supposed to rise to 58 in a few days.
By feral, on March 13th, 2011%
There are so many good uses for our weekend subscription to The New York Times! Yesterday, for instance, I used it to make a bunch of seed starter pots. If you subscribe to any gardening magazine, chances are, you are already familiar with this technique. However, you might be unaware that you don’t need to invest $20 into the high-tech gadget called paper pot maker (although it does look very aesthetically pleasing, as evidenced below) in order to master it.
 If you are as cheap as I am, you can probably probably find something in your trash (I mean, recycling) to wrap an old newspaper around. I used an empty light bulb box with a 1.75″ x 1.75″ base for this demonstration. To make 6 pots, I used 1 full newspaper sheet (seen folded in the photo below), some adhesive paper tape and scissors.
Let the fun begin! Start by folding the newspaper to get 6 equal-width strips.
 . . . CONTINUE READING → new use for old news
By feral, on February 27th, 2011%
A large deposit of frozen blueberries was discovered in the upstate downstairs freezer last weekend. Remember last summer’s blueberry rush? Well, we have somehow forgotten about the loot we had frozen in ziploc bags to sustain us through the winter.
Now the winter is almost over (I keep insisting on that) and we have barely made a dent in what was meant to be a year’s supply of vaccinium cyanococcus. So, we brought one bag back to the city and I just used a few handfuls to make a smoothie for breakfast. (both are pictured, left an right, respectively) With some soy milk, banana, almond butter, raw honey, a little maple syrup and some frozen açai pulp that’s been waiting for its moment in our urban freezer for about 2 years now.
Now waiting for all the health effects to kick in. Wikipedia promises alleviation of cognitive decline, lowering of brain damage, enhanced memory (all very pressing concerns), prevention of urinary tract infections and cancer, reduced blood sugar, cholesterol and symptoms of depression, as well as lower blood pressure in . . . CONTINUE READING → frozen blueberry smoothie
By feral, on February 22nd, 2011%
We didn’t really want to go back to the city today, and neither did Jackie, our VW Jetta. She dug a little hole in the snow with her front wheels and refused to move. Can you see her, hiding between the snow pile and the Lexus? 
After almost an hour of team building exercises with the family, we abandoned our attempts to push her out and called AAA.
40 minutes later Jackie’s prince on a white tow truck appeared. It was a charmingly unfriendly young man with bleached yellow hair and unseasonably, yet fashionably, lowered pants that exposed a fair percentage of his rather large buttocks. Without wasting any words, he hooked up Jackie and freed her from her icy bondage.
It was a nice little adventure, and quite an educational one at that! And now we’re safely back in New York.
By feral, on February 21st, 2011%
Not a lot of activity here but LOTS of snow. See the tips of what used to be tomato tepees? That’s how much snow! The garden looks so peaceful and cozy….
I dug a hole in the snow in an attempt to do some winter composting, and got rid of two rotting pumpkins I discovered in the basement. Have a snack, little bird friends!!! 
By feral, on February 5th, 2011%
Several people asked me last summer what would happen to the blog once the happy days of sunshine and harvest are over. Now we know. Blogs also hibernate.
I have been really neglecting my poor feral blog since the end of August — due to many important circumstances, of course: first we were apartment hunting (which, once again, proved to be a truly miserable experience), then the Fall semester totally ambushed me when it started the week BEFORE Labor Day, then we were moving (not a picnic either, and we only survived it thanks to my dad’s unsurpassed packing skills). When I regained my ability to breath (hyperventilation doesn’t count), it was already November, and the garden went to sleep…
A garden left to its own devices quickly overgrows with weeds. I learned that blogs are very similar in that respect. When, after months of abandonment, I gathered up the courage to check on FeralGardener a few weeks ago, I could hardly see it under a thick brush of spam comments. All kinds of them. ED solutions, fat loss, body part growth, man and . . . CONTINUE READING → on feral blogging
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