Gardening Quote: Thomas Jefferson

In 1793, Martha Randolph wrote her father from Monticello and complained of insect damage in the garden. Jefferson’s response summarized a basic philosophy of gardening:

“We will try this winter to cover our garden with a heavy coating of manure. When earth is rich it bids defiance to droughts, yields in abundance, and of the best quality. I suspect that the insects which have harassed you have been encouraged by the feebleness of your plants; and that has been produced by the lean state of the soil. We will attack them another year with joint efforts.”

I love this quote! He was a true gardener, growing the soil. This is exactly what I try to do here at Chiot’s Run, I try to build good soil so I can grow healthy plants and pretty much let nature run it’s course after that.

How do you handle pest problems?

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Pearsins or Something Like That

All those pears we picked at my mom’s house are finally getting made into pearsauce, pear butter and my personal favorite, pearsins. What are pearsins you ask? Well, dried pears of course.

This is one of the easiest ways to process pears. Simple wash, cut in half, core and then cut in half again and place skin side down on a rack in the oven. Set oven to 170 and dry until they’re leathery and dry, but not crispy. I sometimes dry them for 3-5 hours then turn off the oven for a few hours, and keep doing that until they’re finished. Periodically check them and remove the ones that are dry and store in a cool dry place.

What kinds of fruits do you like dried?

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Book Report: A Homemade Life

I read about A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table on another blog. I can’t remember which one, sorry. At first this book didn’t seem all that interesting to me and I almost didn’t read it, but I’m so glad I did.

It’s a wonderfully entertaining book, part cookbook, part biography. Each short chapter is comprised of a brief story about a specific dish some are quite funny others sentimental and sad.

It’s quite fascinating to read the history of the recipes and how each recipe became a part of Molly’s life. The recipes are also fantastic, I tried several of them and I’d highly recommend the pancakes! It’s the perfect book to keep on your nightstand so you can read a chapter or two each evening, although you many end up dreaming of delicious food all night long.

Have you read any good books lately that you’d recommend?

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I Heart Tomatoes

Tomatoes come in all shapes and sizes. This tomato was a surprise when I picked it yesterday.

Zapotec pleated tomatoes are deeply pleated and quite wonderful. My vines are covered with fairly large fruits. They’re quite dry inside, which is a plus for making sauce. I don’t particularly like them for eating plain, like I do other tomatoes so I happily throw them in the saucepot with many other heirlooms.

Any interestingly shaped veg in your garden?

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Joe Pye Weed

I particularly love Joe Pye weed. It’s such a lovely plant, so tall and commanding in the garden and along the edges of the roads. My mom has a particularly nice patch growing in her beneficial flowerbed. Our soil is a little too dry around here, but I think I’m going to try to start some from seed next spring and see if I can get some growing. I’ll have to amend the soil and keep it watered to keep it at it’s best. Perhaps a rain garden would be a great thing to add to the gardens here at Chiot’s Run.

I particularly want to add this plant to my garden because the bees and the butterflies love it. My mom’s is always buzzing with activity.

What’s your favorite weed, I mean wildflower?

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