Susan Mené

gardener

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news 725 Posts 38 Threads

since Sep 16, 2018

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alliums 2068

Biography

I'm a 60 year old adventurous, curious, retired nurse who lives on Long Island, NY. Married to a type A (husband) and I'm a type B. I have a grown daughter and son; we are a close family.
I live my permaculture dream on a suburban shy acre on a glacial moraine, my soil is glacial till. It's half wooded (evolving food forest) and half for the house, garden and dog. I make my own jam and eat the weeds, My vegetables grow in garden beds, pots, nooks and corners, and vertical planters. Permaculture, hiking, and gardening are my current passions.
I don't use alcohol or drugs because I can't handle them. Have one for me!
I've zip-lined and rock-climbed in Alaska, jumped off the 108th floor of a building in Las Vegas and I'm still terrified of heights. I've hiked glaciers and on Mt. Etna, and lot of trails. 15 years of martial arts (mid-life) until I fell on my head. Now I need a new knee and it was all totally worth it.
Everything considered, being at home with family, friends, dog and garden is the best.

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Suffolk County, Long Island NY, Zone: 7b (new 2023 map)

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Recent posts by Susan Mené

What can I do with (surprise!) coco coir?

So, 1/4 block is left. It was great to have for "hilling up" potato plants; I planted some sprouted potatoes in my pantry, and wow, did they take off. I used much of it for the potatoes.
I've been attempting "no till" gardening for years, and did not do well, compacted soil (mistakes by me, not knocking the method). I added some amendments, including the coir and all my beds are thriving.

8 hours ago

gardening for beginners

Observations on Grasshoppers

Interesting.
I have seen zero grasshoppers this year and did not even think of it until I saw this thread. Maybe our Long Island grasshoppers decided there was better "eats" elsewhere
I do hear the harmless katydids at night.

9 hours ago

homestead

Can I save this shirt?

Oh, I can relate to this. I've stopped wearing white & light colors completely. It loos lie you've already washed and dried it, am I correct? If so, the stain may be permanently set.
Rayon and turmeric seems sadly unfixable to me, so try any and all of the above!

1 day ago

clothing

Easy to Grow Perennial Walking Onion and How to Cook with Them

Anne Miller wrote:Riona, did you save the seed heads? Egyptian walking onion are easy grown from them.

After a few years the area planted might get thick enough to suppress grass though I always transplanted mine so that would not work for me.

I received some walking onions from a wonderful permies member, and only one (barely) survived the brutal winter. I saved the seed head. Any advice for planting from seed?

2 days ago

alliums

My first batches of comfrey salve - what worked and what I'd do differently

Welcome! Great post!
I'm not familiar with comfrey and comfrey salve and your post sent me on a quest to learn more. There seems to be many comfrey varieties and (like Anne , poster above) I am wondering if you have a preference or if you combine varieties. or if you just use what you find/forage?

4 days ago

medicinal herbs

Thoughts on what to do with old flour?

Tereza Okava wrote:flour sock war?

(I also generally sift out and use. The weevils are in there anyway. Then again, I am a barbarian.)

Does a flour sock war involve filling socks with flour and beating each other with it? I wish my older brother was alive, he would LOVE it, but in any case I must try this! If this is not what a flour sock war is, it will be soon!
Thank you, Tereza, for bringing me a new joy!

5 days ago

composting

Garlic stems and leaves

So, here's the results:
The upper tough leaves: dehydrated there was no flavor, yuck; when fresh they had a little flavor, but were really fibrous and impossible to chew. In my opinion, fodder for compost or for whatever critter who might be interested.
The lower stems: some were diced up and added to a new batch of cowboy candy. I already sampled some from the jar below (as you can see), and while I can't taste 'em I didn't waste 'em! The most flavorful use was to chop the tough upper top leaves off and use the flavorful lower stems like green onion in scrambled eggs, salads, etc. Sometimes it was necessary to remove the center of the stems if they were woody (in the pics below, the white center), one chop at the bottom tells all, if the center was hard I slit the stem lengthwise, removed the hard white center and used the outer green. If the center was soft and white, I left it in.
Overall, garlic stems are a tasty, useful find for a low-waste cook!

6 days ago

cooking

Ideas for preserving too many hot peppers?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Cowboy candy! Hot peppers pickled in a sweet brine. Fabulous! Lots of recipes online.

I agree! Love that cowboy candy! I add some habanero or scotch bonnet slices or red pepper flakes to bring up the heat level!

6 days ago

food preservation

What's your favorite wild fruit to harvest and eat?

Jay Angler wrote:Wecome to permies, Juha-Matti!

There are so many factors, like temperature and soil that affect how berries taste and how many you get. I do agree that even in my ecosystem, finding a wild strawberries is like finding a gold spec in the river!

We have two species native to Long Island: Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)and Woodland Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) I found one once. I left it for the critters; they get all of them before any human shows up.

1 week ago

wild harvesting

what is this?

Sam Potter wrote:Looks like some sorta long horn beetle. They are harmless to people and critters so no worries. They do like decaying wood and bright lights. Might want to see if any of your trees are getting soft and squishy or if he was just passing thru.

Thanks for pointing the way! Could be brown prionid, too. At least it's not an Asian Longhorn. Will definitely keep my eyes open.

1 week ago

bugs