WHO WILL WIN THE RACE TO THE FINISH LINE: the cucumbers, or the frost? Andre the doodler emailed me the other day for a pickle recipe, so I’m thinking he’s busy trying to put his money on the cukes, hoping that they all get into jars before the first wintry blast interferes. (And by the way, his rescued pit bull’s name: Pickle. There’s something comforting about pickles, in any shape or size. Woof.)
THE LECTURE that he’s been giving for a number of years is not-so-subtly called “Kill Your Lawn.” Ecological horticulturist Dan Jaffe Wilder knows that starting over and creating an entire native habitat instead of a lawn isn’t for everyone. But Dan just wants to grab our attention and get us to start to make some changes at least in the way we care for the turfgrass we do want in our landscapes. And maybe give up a little square footage of it to some other kind of more diverse planting, too, like the wild strawberries (Fragaria virginiana, inset). Alternative, more eco-focused styles of lawn care, along with some lawn alternatives is what he and I talked about on the podcast. Dan is Director of Applied Ecology at Norcross Wildlife Foundation in Wales, Massachusetts, and its 8,000-acre sanctuary. He’s also co-author with Mark Richardson of the book “Native Plants for New England Gardens.”
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
The frost is coming soon, maybe Pickle can help you out.
We had a green parakeet named Pickles when I was a kid. He lived for years until he met an untimely end with one of our cats.
As for getting things done before the winter, I really screwed up last night. When they said “chance of frost” I replied “oh, no, couldn’t possibly be, not when I have a final batch of basil to pick for winter pesto!” This morning it was all frozen and this evening, growing black.
Any recipes for black basil?
Good Luck with your pickle making! When I had cukes I had no dill. Now I have dill and no cukes. A sad state of affairs.
andre,
in new york we suffered the “late blight” & my beefsteak tomatoes were the size of ping pong balls. this year the only real bumper crop was wisconsin pickling cucumbers.
i tried dan koshansky’s recipe for refrigerator pickles (first time virgin pickler here, btw….) & i got standing “O”s!!! i’m sorry i only made 3 quarts. piece of advice…don’t skimp on the fresh garlic…
dennis r
lagrangeville, ny
zone 5
I made Piccalilli with mine
Welcome, Jane. I like mine the American style: gherkins cut up and other bits, more relish-like. Andre is a Branston Pickle kind of guy, I hear. Hope to see you soon again. :)
Just wanted to stop by and say thanks for telling us about Tomato Junk! I’m making my last batch today…we love it ;)
@Shelly: Talk about a recession-proof recipe, huh? Taking leftovers to a new meaning. Glad you like. :)