I’m not sure what happened this year, but something got into the peas…They are aboutthree times taller than any of the neighbors’ peas, with giant groping stalks that wreak havoc on trellises. The original trellis, made of 1×2 strips of wood drilled with holes and strung up with cotton twine, lasted for much of the growing season. By mid-July, it was bowed in pretty severely, and the peas were severely overhanging the rows. By late-July, it was beginning to crack. Thinking the peas were almost done, I was decided to let it go.

The Mother Tree has collapsed.

My bionic peas must have been like the BALCO to my Barry Bondsian tomatoes, fixing enough nitrogen into the soil to transform the tomatoes into monsters. The weight of these monsters was the straw that broke the ill-advised trellis’ back.

I heard a crack around the corner while stacking some wood, and looked over in time to see the north hald of the third bed of my beautiful garden smashed and wrecked. It looked like that scene from Avatar when the big tree that the blue things live in got knocked over by the thinly-veiled critique of America. Or was that Fern Gully?

I tried to fix it. I really did. With rope and wire and zipties and 2x4s and the neighbor’s come-along and any variety of other things. End result, the trellis came crashing down three more times, each time sending pea plants and yellow tomatoes flying and breaking and smashing into other plants, each other…oh the humanity. By this time, I was stomping and swinging 2x4s and gushing out incongruous compound profanities that would have made my father proud…if I remember right, I yelled out compound curses that involved words like “Pope, burglar, and pork”.

Eventually, the situation was fixed. I thought the damage was pretty bad, but it looks like I only lost about half of the peas, which had pretty much run their course anyway, maybe 10 major tomato branches, and big parts of neighboring yellow squash and cucumbers in the next bed over.

Next year, carbon fiber reinforced steel trellises with kevlar ropes.

What edibles might I be neglecting in my summertime garden? I see at least five in this picture that are new to me this year…

<ranting>The modern corporate-industrial-government machine has built a diet that concentrates food even further, by refining, adding sugars and fats, and generally transforming what we eat from food into products made from food.  Strange that the government of a nation that pays massive subsidies to farmers of grain officially recommends eating a metric buttload of grains every day.   Furthermore, our diet has become increasingly dependent on fewer species of plants. </ranting>

Most of us ignore some of the most nutritious and interesting foods in our garden…much has been written about using weeds such as purslane, dandelion, and dock…There are many great recipes for green tomatoes.  But what the parts of plants that most of us don’t typically think about?  Here is a partial list, ranging from some pretty obvious/well-known examples to a few more obscure/less palatable ideas.  Please chime in if you have some other examples.

Beet greens – Taste like swiss chard.  Extremely high in vitamins A, C, K.  Also, strangely high in sodium.

Strawberry leaves – Dry them and use them in tea.  They may help with digestive issues and joint/arthritis pain.

Raspberry leaves - Dry them and use them in tea.  I think they taste a lot like regular black tea.  It has been used traditionally for ailments of the mouth.  And as a uterine relaxer.  Fortunately, my uteruses are already extremely relaxed.

Broccoli/cauliflower/kohlrabi leaves – In many ways, the leaves are more nutritious than the part we usually eat.  They are wonderful prepared like collard greens.

Pumpkin/squash flowers - The male flowers (usually higher up on the plant, identifiable by the lack of an ovary or mini-squash at the base) are best suited for this purpose.  They add intrigue to many dishes, although the traditional cooking techniques of stuffing and frying are not the healthiest…but mozzarella-stuffed zucchini flowers are probably healthier than breaded mozzarella sticks.

Pumpkin/squash leaves/stems - I haven’t tried these yet…but apparently the stems can be peeled and steamed and they taste something like green beans.  The leaves would probably need to be cooked for a long time, and drained, as the spines always irritate my skin when I am picking zucchini.

Carrot greens – There is some debate over this one…most sources claim they are quite edible and healthful, but a few sources claim that they are unhealthy.

Pea shoots - I think I like these more than the peas.

Sweet potato leaves – I am waiting for my sweet potatoes to vine out enough so I can try these – like pumpkin leaves they are a staple in some African countries.

Arugula flowers/seedpods -  The flowers are a beautiful addition to a salad or as a garnish.  I wish I hadn’t pulled my bolted arugula, as I hear the pods make a wonderful caper-like pickle.

Sunflower buds/stems/sprouts - Most sprouts are delicious and nutritious – these are great.  The stems can be peeled and used somewhat like celery.  I had to sacrifice one precious bud and stem today to try.  The stem was crunchy and kinda celery-like.  I cooked the bud like an artichoke, and it tasted like an artichoke with a bit more of a floral edge.  Good to know, but I think I like my sunflowers more the traditional way.

What other hidden edibles do you enjoy?

Remember to used discretion in category choice and to be specific and keep an open mind when you search for “wood” on Craigslist.

The last time I looked for wood on Craigslist, I didn’t get what I was expecting.  But this time, the wood was more appropriate for my needs – western redcedar mill ends.  Mill ends are scrap pieces of wood left over from lumber sawing.  Some people refer to slab, or the D-shaped pieces of log left over along the bark surface as mill ends – these mill ends were actual 24-inch end trimmings from 2×4 lumber.  The guy wanted 15 cents a piece.  With run-of-the-mill 8-foot 2×4 cedar going for $5+, this seemed like a good option…8 cents a foot instead of 63 cents plus a foot.  Cedar is a good choice for raised beds because it is rot-resistant without being treated, it is attractive when weathered, and it is local (to me).  So I bought several hundred of them, loaded them in the front seat and the back and the dashboard and under the seat and in my lap in the trusty 1994 Explorer, and stacked them in the backyard.  I wasn’t even abducted in the process.

Obviously, I set myself up to do an awful lot of work. fastening these pieces of wood together to make a sturdy, attractive, and efficient raised bed.  But, if you can find mill ends or some other short product, I think there are a few potential benefits:

• Price.  It is often much cheaper to buy scraps or smaller pieces of lumber.
• Replacement.  If one board rots or breaks, it is much simpler to replace a short section than a long one.
• Sustainability.  If you are using something that is potentially a waste product, you are conserving natural resources.
• Appearance.  I think the smaller pieces of wood look pretty cool together.

My homemade jig for accurate screw placement. Above is a countersink drill bit, an essential tool for many basic construction projects.

The first step in construction was building a jig to accurately place screws for sturdy construction and consistent appearance.  I modified a galvanized 2×4 bracket for this purpose and drilled holes about 1 inch in from the end and one inch down from each side.  I placed this jig on the end of each piece of lumber (of course choosing the more attractive side to face out) and used a hammer and punch to mark my holes for countersinking and screwing.  A countersinking drill bit is a must for much wood work, drilling a pilot hole so the wood doesn’t split and a recess for the screw head, allowing the screw head to sit flush or beneath the surface of the wood.  Invest in a quality countersink drill bit set if you don’t have one already…most are made of three parts – the larger cutting bit that cuts the recess, a drill bit that cuts the pilot hole, and a tiny allen screw that holds the bits together.  Cheap ones like to break.  And buy extra drill bits for the pilot holes.  They will break.

My plan was to build four raised beds that were 12 feet by 4 feet, and from 12 to 16 inches deep.

The first wall of a raised bed. I later decided to go only four boards high.

To assemble the walls for the raised beds, I decided to stagger the boards, so they looked kind of like mortared bricks, and so there was more strength in my design.  I went four boards high, giving me a total height of 14 inches (remember that 2×4 lumber is not actually 2×4 but 1.5×3.5).  Not every piece was exactly 2 feet long, so I had to fit the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle.  I used additional cedar 2×4 pieces every foot behind the face board to have something to screw into.  Obviously, with the staggered design, two pieces on each end had to be cut into one foot sections.  Once I got into a rhythm, these went together pretty quickly.  Usually with these kinds of projects, I find it most efficient to stick to a step a time – i.e. mark all the wood with the jig, drill all the necessary countersinks, then construct at least one entire side of a raised bed.

I used self-tapping, Torx-headed, coated, exterior-grade screws for this project.  These things are expensive, but I think the cost is justified because:

• The Torx head is efficient.  It has a very positive connection with the driver bit.  It never cams out, and it is difficult to strip.
• The self-tapping point provides double insurance against splitting when combined with pilot holes.  Wood like pine and cedar loves to split.  It rarely happens with these self-tapping points, even without pilot holes.
• Cedar and redwood contain enzymes and other substances that can react with most kinds of screws to create streaking and staining and corrosion.  Whatever cancer goop they spray on pressure treated wood does the same.  Coated screws most often used for decks make the project look nicer, and last longer.
• I can’t buy a Lamborghini, but I can buy the Lamborghini of screws.  It is very rare in my life that I decide to buy the “best” of anything, because I am cheap was instilled with a Strong and Sometimes Crippling Protestant Work Ethic with Catholic Guilt.  These things seem to be at odds.  They are.

The raised beds, unfilled, looking a bit crooked.

When it came time to put them together, I attached the sides to pressure-treated 4x4s that were sunk into the ground.  Of course, I placed the posts perfectly the first time.  Of course, I didn’t have to move all of them when I realized I had measured incorrectly.  Of course, the consumption of a couple imperial IPAs had nothing to do with the errors.

Regarding pressure-treated wood…you probably shouldn’t use it.  It’s not treated with nearly the nasty stuff that it used to be, but I don’t think it’s very good for you.  Even if it isn’t that bad for you, the point of this whole gardening exercise (for most of us) is to create delicious food that is free of the general corporate-industrial chemical smegma that Monsanto et. al. want us to believe is OK for us to ingest.  That being said, I used pressure-treated wood for my corner posts.  I covered them with plastic below the soil surface.  I’m not sure that the plastic helps.  Maybe the plastic is even worse.  I used the materials that were on hand.  My earlier pontificating might lead me to replace them with some more environmentally friendly alternative, like some beam constructed entirely from kale, organic patchouli incense ash, and recycled hemp clothing.

Topsoil and garden mix, delivered the easy way.

When the 2-foot cedar pieces were used not only for face boards, but also for backing supports, I was left with 10 inches of board sticking up every foot.  I had thought this might be useful for attaching trellises or other supports, but really, it just looked stupid.  I did want to put boards along the top of the beds for a nice little rail for sitting.  Rather than measuring each support and cutting it carefully, I wanted a more reckless and sloppy method.  Chainsaw, chainsaw, chainsaw (right now, I might be yelling these words just like the guy on TV that yells “MONSTER TRUCK, MONSTER TRUCK, MONSTER TRUCK!”, advertising one of those events where some guy in an American flag jumpsuit shotguns a Keystone Light, and drives a pickup with 300-inch super swamper tires over a bunch of old Subarus and Hondas and Toyotas)… … …

I’ve added my drip irrigation system to the mix, and am very pleased with the results so far.  I’ll discuss easy drip irrigation layouts and designs in another post.

My first plan to combat the rocky soil was to build a rotary trommel screen – a kind of mesh-paneled barrel driven by belts, chains, or gears, that rotates and sorts rock from soil.  Once the ground was thawed enough to dig, I found our soil to be about 80% particles larger than sand (rock) and 20% particles smaller than sand…so that plan was out…I didn’t want my garden plot to be several inches below the surface of my yard prior to augmentation.  Besides, with up to 100 freeze-thaw cycles every year, new rocks have a way of heaving their way up through the “soil” on the prairie.

My obsessive over-organized side likes to draw little boxes and to fill in the little boxes with plants. This is why “Square Foot Gardening” appealed to me…sorta.

Plan two was to build raised beds using cinder blocks and the square foot gardening technique.  In square foot gardening, gardeners use a grid system to intensively plant in raised beds.

The organized, plan-drawing part of me was very excited for this technique.  That’s when I read about the recommended soil for this technique, “Mel’s mix”, a kind of soil that is  pieced together like Frankenstein manufactured by gardeners.  Mel’s mix is composed of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 coarse vermiculite, and 1/3 blended compost of at least 5 varieties.

Despite the obvious advantages of growing in a manufactured soil (less compaction, good water retention, few or no weeds initially), I couldn’t bring myself to manufacture my own soil in this fashion.  Environmental concerns of peat harvest aside, I don’t like the idea of building my garden soil from plastic bags full of stuff.  In my readings on the technique, it seems like some square foot gardening aficionados tend to be pretty focused on following the posted blueprints canonically, to the point that several of them became angry at me on an online forum for asking about departures from the published techniques.  I decided to adopt some parts of the square foot gardening technique and dump the rest.  That is, I am intensively planting and using a kind of a grid.  But no Franken-soil.

I dumped the cinder block idea, too.  I think cinder blocks are ugly.  And heavy.  And I don’t feel like they fit into the aesthetic whole of something as flowing and alive as a garden.

The final plan was to build raised beds from surplus/cheap wood, preferably cedar, trucking in top soil and garden mix to fill them, using drip irrigation to water them, and slowly building up my soil with organic amendments over time.  Four raised beds, about 16 inches high, four feet wide, and 12 feet high.  The beds are now a reality – I will have more about the construction techniques, materials, and costs in a future post.

Having come into possession of a cooler full of delicious bluegill from a productive evening slinging balsa-wood poppers into lilly pads with a fly rod, I was excited to eat fish, but the typical breaded/floured/baked/fried applications left me uninspired.  Why not make ceviche…hold the tapeworms?

I filleted the bluegill in the standard fashion and buried the skins and carcasses under a couple rather puny looking San Marzano tomato plants in the garden (everything in the garden is looking rather puny, after a June that was psuedo-biblical in terms of rainfall).  The fish was quickly poached in salted water and chilled while I prepared a lime-vegetable marinade.  After mingling for a few hours, the dish was refreshing, light, appetite-inducing, and completely unlike most of the typical treatments for panfish fillets.

Here is my recipe:

• 1 lb. fresh fish fillets (newly caught bluegill, crappie, bass, perch, or catfish, or substitute some corporate-raised scum-sucking bottom feeder like store-bought catfish or tilapia or a member of Congress)
• 4-8 limes, depending on size, ripeness, intangible limy factors
• 3 jalapeno peppers
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 Walla Walla sweet onion
• 3 tomatoes
• several sprigs of cilantro
• cayenne pepper
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

  Poached, flaked bluegill, ready for seasoning.  Imperial IPA generally helps with the cooking process.

1. Poach the fish.  I used lightly salted water in a large skillet.  Do not overcook, you will know it is done when it has turned a whitish opaque throughout and flakes easier than the starting lineup of the 2012 Seattle Mariners.  Let drain and flake the fish into small chunks, chill in a covered bowl.
2. Roll, bruise, and juice the limes.  Devein and deseed the peppers, core the tomatoes, peel the onion.  Mince all of the vegetables into fine dice from 1/8 to 1/4 inch.  Combine minced vegetables with lime juice, stir well
   

   Fish, limes, and veggies ready to be gently folded together.  Black lab aids with kitchen floor cleanup.

3. Combine vegetable-lime mixture with chilled flaked fish.  I recommend gently folding the vegetables and fish together as the fish is not terribly sturdy and we want to maintain some texture to the fish.
4. Cover and chill for two hours or more, mixing occasionally.  I like to lightly press down the chunks into the marinade to make sure they are being well-seasoned.  Season with cilantro, cayenne pepper, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
5. Eat faux-viche, relish maintaining ostensibly parasite-free status.

Suggested accoutrements include corn tortillas, avocado, and beans.

Wine pairings could include crisp chardonnays or bone-dry rieslings – choose something with a good amount of acid to stand up to the acid in the fish.  A clean lager or a West Coast IPA would balance this dish well.

“He’s not really going to try to haul that old dock home, is he?”

From Lake Coeur d’Alene flotsam to productive workspace.  Over-exposed sub-hipster photography courtesy of Instagram.

Of course he is!  While on a Mother’s Day walk along Lake Coeur d’Alene after a most excellent breakfast at Michael D’s Eatery, the dock tantalizingly half-bobbed in the water, half rested on the black rip-rap boulders.

To be honest, it wasn’t a whole dock.  It was just part of a dock – probably a walkway.  It was however, covered in crud, mostly water-logged, and bespattered with goose business.  I recruited help to drag it up the boulders to the Centennial Trail, where we blocked the sporadic traffic of ultra-serious runners and bikers for long enough to fit at least half of the dock into the back of the Explorer.  A bit of rope, easy on the gas and brakes, weaving around on back roads, and it was home.  

When we got the bench home, a bit of scraping and sanding showed that the dock had been built from some lovely cedar.  We opted to lightly finish the dock in order to keep the gray veneer that old cedar gets after being in the weather (contrast with the cedar mill ends below the bench).

A good hosing, a few screws removed, a good blast with the sander, pressure-treated 4×4 legs, and we have a rustic western redcedar outside workbench.  It is the perfect height for arranging plant starts, working on lawnmowers, etc.

Tender plant starts in late May, ready for exposure to temperatures in the lower 30s and intermittent snow showersbecause of my terminal impatience.

Sometimes, I think all it takes is keeping your eyes open in order to find something that can be repurposed to fit a need.  The lumber for this work bench would have cost at least $200, and it wouldn’t have been as funky or interesting, and it would have used all new materials that had an environmental impact. 


I might make a few improvements to make it a bit more attractive – if I find weathered posts or pieces of log, I think I could make much more attractive legs for the bench that would fit into the gestalt I am trying to develop for the productive part of my yard.  I have also considered attaching the bench to the shed with some kind of chain/pulley system so it could be extended and retracted, and would no longer need any legs.  In the meantime, we have a useful and sturdy new part of our landscape.

My name is Jake Smulkowski. I teach in the public school system to make a living (selfishly) and to make myself feel like I am making the world a better place (selfishly). I am striving to better understand my connection with the natural world through a variety of activities such as gardening, fishing, hunting, and cooking. This blog is a semiformal avenue for me to vocalize (and potentially share) some of the ways that I purposefully connect with the natural world while living in one that is ostensibly artificial.

Back to the apologia. The term is perhaps best known as the platform from which Christian scholars have defended their beliefs and tried to convince others that they are correct in their worldview. Traditionally, the term was used to explain why a person held a position they believed in strongly.

My position: my life is best when I am somehow connected with nature (whatever that is).

I am blessed in my life with a relatively unfrail body, a relatively unfogged mind, a relatively good childhood and upbringing, a relatively fulfilling job, relatively normal pets, and an uncompromisingly amazing wife.  We have very recently purchased a beautiful new home, and the bank is kind enough to let us stay in it and modify it.  These things, in themselves, bring me joy.  However, I find myself more content, more focused, more…myself, when I am somehow connected with nature.

There is not enough room here to express what I mean by “nature”.  In unfounded figurative language, I can express what I mean better.  When I eat a meal that comes in part or in whole from my garden or from the woods or the stream, it tastes better.  When I wake up with frost in my facial hair on the side of a mountain, I slept better.  This blog is about finding ways to connect with nature through authentic experiences, many of which directly or indirectly revolve around food.  For me, nature is sustenance, in a physical and metaphysical way.  That is what I am writing about.