Silicon Valley Days » Garden

Carnivorous plants happy with the recent rain

Silicon Valley Dazed — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:29:07 +0000

Can’t wait to see the venus flytraps start growing again in the spring. The Sarracenia purpurea looks like it’s doing well this winter.

Fermented Taro in Hawaii

Silicon Valley Dazed — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:32:30 +0000

I read this Organic Gardening article about farming in Kauai, and the most interesting part to me was the information on taro. The taro root serves a similar position to the potato in Hawaiian cuisine. In Michael Pollan’s The Botany of Desire, he describes how there were hundreds of different varieties of potatoes created to adapt to the many different growing conditions in Peru. There were also hundreds of taro varieties created in Hawaii for different environments. A disturbing trend that’s mentioned in the Organic Gardening story is how the many varieties of taro have been supplanted by only one high-yielding modern hybrid. This taro variety produces more, but it needs a lot of fertilization. The problem is that, just as with the potato, this lost of genetic diversity could lead to a wipespread wipeout of the main foodcrop. In addition to disease resistance, there’s also probably a loss of the many different flavors among the hundreds of varieties of potatoes and taro.

Although the only use of fermented potatoes I could quickly find is in the production of vodka, many Hawaiian natives prefer fermented taro. The article has a vivid description of 2-week old poi (mashed taro) with a fuzzy layer of white mold on top which is stirred into the poi. This fermentation provides a source of beneficial bacteria to the Hawaiian diet. I wonder why potatoes aren’t fermented for probiotic reasons.

Built a 4’x8′ redwood garden bed frame with 8″x6″x2″ 8′ and 4″x2″ 8′ boards

Silicon Valley Dazed — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:13:12 +0000

Over the weekend, I purchased three 8″x6″x2″ 8′ and one 4″x2″ 8′ boards to make a 4’x8′ bed. I read off a screw box that one should used stainless steel and not galvanized screws for redwood or cedar since the acids in those woods can corrode galvanized steel. I used 3 inch screws tha required a #2 square bit. For the support posts, I just used one foot lengths of the 2″x4″. Dad helped with the cutting with the use of his rotary saw. Construction was quick with a drill and the screws. The next day, the bed was filled with compost, manure, peat moss, garden soil, and sand. We added sand to the dirt underneath the bed which we had turned over to give the dirt better drainage. Over that, we put a layer of peat moss. Then we added a layer of chicken and steer manure, then a layer of compost, and then a layer of garden dirt. We planted mesculun mix and radishes. We’ll replace this initial planting in the spring with tomatoes and basil.

Citrus trees planted past weekend

Silicon Valley Dazed — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:19:46 +0000

Rangpur Lime – very nice tart taste.

Nagami Kumquat – Evan wanted this – I’m not a kumquat fan. They’re too small for my tastes.

Kinnow Tangerine – A lot of seeds, but not a bad taste.