Gardening | The Ben Franklin Follies

Browsing All Posts filed under »Gardening«

Garter Snake

August 16, 2011

I found this little critter in my back yard today. Welcome, garter snake. Consumer of rodents and all manner of insects and such that I probably don’t want in my yard or garden. You’re certainly a pretty, fashionable thing, neon green stripes and all. I’m not generally snake-phobic so I left it alone. I like […]

Rain Barrel Filled to Overflowing…

July 13, 2011

My new rain barrel filled to overflowing in less than 20 minutes this afternoon.

Making A Rain Barrel

July 8, 2011

I spent a couple of hours at the Lauderdale County Extension Office on Wednesday, July 6, making rain barrels. Mom and I learned a great deal about how to use the rain barrels to catch water and, more significantly, how to use the rain barrels in a systematic way to run a drip irrigation system […]

Grilled T-bone Steak (Grassfed Beef) & Grilled Veggies

July 4, 2011

I have a steak about once every three to four weeks, preferably grilled. For the past few years, I’ve pretty much limited my beef consumption to grass-fed beef, buying as “local” as possible. More and more ranchers and farmers are raising grass-fed beef and selling it directly to consumers at farmers markets. Some producers offer […]

My Food History: On Restaurants and Home-Cooked Meals: The 1960s & 70s

June 28, 2011

I was always an adventurous eater. I ate olives as a toddler. By the time I was 6 or 7 my Dad was giving me $1 for each jalapeno pepper I ate. I’m confident about the age of my jalapeno fixation because of where we lived at the time. We moved when I was 7. […]

Making Fried Okra

June 23, 2011

I love fried okra. But I’m not a fan of the heavily-breaded, deep fried stuff that’s passed off as “fried okra” at most southern restaurants. I learned to make fried okra from my mom. Every batch she makes is perfection. I’m not there yet, but mine is pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. […]

Making Squash Casserole

June 22, 2011

Inundated with yellow squash? There are many ways to take advantage of the bounty of yellow squash that’s coming in right now. Boiled or steamed, raw in salads, pasta salads, fried alone or with zucchini or okra. One of my favorite dishes is squash casserole. I learned to make squash casserole from my grandmother, who […]

Where Food Comes From: June 16, 2011 Edition

June 20, 2011

I grew up in a rural area. Many of my relatives were active farmers and cattlemen (or both), full or part-time. My parents and grandparents always had large gardens during those formative years. Summers included lots of time spent planting, hoeing, picking, shelling, washing, peeling, canning, freezing. I was never required to do hoeing or […]

Spring Park Farmers Market: Tuscumbia, Alabama

June 18, 2011

Thursday evening (June 16, 2011) my parents and I paid a trip to the Spring Park Farmers’ Market in Tuscumbia. Only five vendors were selling Thursday evening. In Northwest Alabama, it’s still a week or two early in the season for the full range of produce but I was surprised at the low number, compared […]

Playing in the Dirt: It’s Good Therapy

May 15, 2011

Saturday evening I played in the dirt. More precisely, I dug Bermuda grass and weeds from a couple of small sections of my flower gardens. It was just the therapy I needed to deal with a bad case of melancholy that had set in earlier in the day. The simple act of pulling weeds and […]