h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

My fig trees are leafing out. Growing figs in my climate is a bit challenging, so it is always a relief when they make it through the winter. I wasn't worried about it this year, for a change. Our winter was milder than normal.

The first two winters we had them, they died to the ground and came back up. I was afraid that this would be the constant pattern - meaning I'd never actually have any figs. But they are doing much better now. One at least. I have two. One is a nice sized plant but the other one isn't growing very well.

And my rosemary is alive. That is another plant that doesn't overwinter well here.

I love spring.

When we first moved into our current abode, there was a fig tree in the back yard. Not sure how the previous owner managed that. But it does prove that a good gardener can do nearly anything.
(Though we wrapped them up every winter, they died within a few years. *waves brown thumb*)

So, congrats! And good luck !

*Takes notes*

Hahhahh Figs, one of my favoret fruits!


I hav no figs tree's in my garden, but i have a walnut tree, which sadly dos'ent produce walnuts only a mess but my chickens are doing well, the ducks are "ducking" and the pig's are pigging so like you, i like the spring!

yours more sober than before


RJR

Rev., long time ago I learned from a French 'amour' to dry the spring and summer leaves from a walnut tree. You can use them in the food like bay leaves, make tea and other concoctions with them and they are good for almost anything; at least that was what his of a grandmother had told him. I still use the leaves when I am allowed to take them from other people's trees. Very aromatic - and love-inducing if you believe so.

You all aren't referring to black walnuts, are you? We have an apple tree in our yard. Bless its little heart, we had a freeze just as it was getting ready to bloom..........it's blooming a little now, but we'll have a slim crop of apples again this year. The good news is: there will be less windfall to deal with.

I love spring!

Black walnuts poison nearby plants. I wouldn't dream of eating their leaves. Must be English walnuts tartaronne uses.

I love black walnuts, but I'm glad I don't have tree in my yard or the neighbor's yard. I couldn't imagine using black walnut leaves in cooking.

i let the pig's have the walnuts! and they seem to like them! and apples too!

Hey, Lady C. - I mean this one http://www.gudjons.com/Mittel/Juglans-reg.html. It seems that the European etc. walnut is used for many things - even cancer. I put the latin name through a search machine.

The early leaves are very aromatic, and the green fruits are exceptionally good in schnaps to make a (black) extract - and hey presto you can make your own bitter.

The leaves look a lot like the American Black Walnut. The fruit on an American Black Walnut starts out green, but when it is ready to hull, it turns black. Extremely bad for staining the hands, driveway, shoes, whatever the hulls contact!! Do the leaves smell like bay leaves? You indicated that you use them like bay leaves. We cannot plant an American Black Walnut within fifty feet of tomato plants. The roots send out a toxin that kills the tomatoes.

I bought some lemon thyme for my herb pot today. I may not cook with it, but it sure smells nice when you brush up against it.

I don't know a lot about gardening, plants, trees or anything. But I gather from g**gling that the american black walnut is different from this one.

I'll take your word for it that it is toxic. When we make schnaps on green walnuts, the extract turns black. It is a bit like Fernet Branca.

No, the smell is not like bay leaves. How to define smell and taste. Sweeter, more like treelike perfume (musk-ish) but nice. Makes a good cup of tea and rinses the blood - or something .

Lemon thyme. Mine grows like nothing else in this garden. I like it with fish or chicken, soup or with leeches. You can probably mix it into your own herbal tea. Make a potpourrie or put them in those little bags of scents my grandmother used to put in the drawer with her underwear .

Now, I'm all excited about the lemon thyme! You gave me many ideas of things to do with it.

The American Black Walnut is actually my favorite nut for adding to cookies, candies and cakes. The nut meat itself is not toxic, (unless you are allergic to it). It is strong flavored, but not bitter. We also like to cook with pecans.

I have a small retaining wall. On that wall this year will be urns with herbs in them. I planted the sage and rosemary in the ground (I hope my rosemary wintered over), but the rest of the herbs will go into pots. Just within the last five years or so have we discovered the joy of cooking with fresh herbs. They are so much better, for the most part, than their dried counterpart.

Sorry to pop in again, but "leeches"? May I ask to what you are referring???

Leeks, I meant. Good job I didn't write lecherous.

The taste of lemon thyme is quite delicate so it goes well with mildly tasting vegetables.

I haven't tried it with fresh thyme, but another favorite of mine is sliced carrots - good chunks - simmering away in olive oil for an hour with a handfull of thyme. Goes well with lamb - or any kind of meat I should think.

Sometimes I have the English words in my head and don't bother to look them up because I'm almost sure of how they are spelt. Other times a word pops up, from a book I've read, and I have to check if it means what I think it does.

I have a lot of herbs as well. I use them during the summer, but hardly ever get to harvest them. They look nice, and smell nice in the garden and attract a lot of butterflies and usefull insects.

Sage and now lemon thyme survive well in our climate. Russian tarragon (?) thrives. Rosemary I haven't been successfull with, and the thyme struggles.

I'm now going to a coaching session to learn how to sell myself = my products

I had lemon thyme once upon a time. I actually looked for some this weekend and couldn't find any. We don't have the best selection of herbs at the local nurseries.

Lady C, the large raised bed where I had tomatoes last summer is my new perennial bed. Asparagus, rhubarb and perennial herbs.

tartaronne, I'm pretty much starting from scratch in my vegetable garden. I'm getting everything up off the ground into raised beds and planters to save on my back. I can't take care of things the way they were any longer. I built to wery large beds using concrete blocks stacked two high. t looks a bit rough, but is going to be very functional.

Hypatia, I have, somewhere, followed your planning and building of high beds. I think it is a very good idea and I might copy it. I look forward to hear about your progress.

We still have frost at nights and expect yet another week of rain. The farmers are getting impatient. Yesterday some nature-specialist 'proved' that spring is a fortnight delayed compared to last year.

The birds don't care, though. They are programmed by the length of the days and not by temperatures and clouds. I have a busy couple of s building under the cane roof just by my window.

Yesterday I bought potatoes to lay - and as soon as the sun peep through I'm out getting black nails.

Black nails rule in the spring time, don't they?

Hypatia has more garden area for vegetables than we do, but we manage to raise enough for our consumption during the growing season.

I had to laugh about the leeches thing, tartarrone. They are really nasty creatures in the US. I couldn't imagine anyone eating them.
I love cooking with leeks too. I will try the carrot tip you passed along. We are always looking for new ways to cook the ordinary veggies.

It was 80 degrees F. here yesterday and supposed to be warmer today and through the week end.

I have three bird feeders outside my window. I love watching them as I work (or play) on the computer.

Back with an apology--I spelled your name wrong. Sorry about that. I'll try to do better.

80 degrees (28 C) - that is not fair - we have 6 C (42 F) .

I think, when spring finally comes it will go right into summer - 80 F being normal for high summer.

Leeches are the creatures that were used by doctors in earlier times to suck 'sick/bad' blood and the likes...?

I've just written an easter letter for my grandson. We have a tradition with papercut letters, a rhyme and dots or other items to spell the name out. If the reciever guesses who it is from before easter Sunday he or she gets a egg. If not not - the reciever gets a egg.

It is an old Danish tradition that hasn't spread to many other countries, I've just read. Some are very good with the paper clipping. These are ordinary examples.

http://www.detsker.nu/paaske/gaek.htm
http://www.ask-alex.dk/artikler/artikel.php?selection=&cid=8&id=2977

I've made rhymes about the stories in our games we played the last time A. was here, and used h2g2 smileys to illustrate. He doesn't read yet.