And the Little One Said

"Too hairy". My youngest niece, a la goldilocks-style, declares the Edamame too hairy to eat and cannot be convinced to eat it even by squeezing out the beans with her hands and avoiding the offending excessive hairs altogether. What's an aunt to do? I imagine we'll have to try out another variety next year and see if they meet her approval. I know this kid likes Edamame, so there has to be a variety with less conspicuous hair that she's used to. I can't really blame her though. I don't think I ate a peach until I was an adult. Too fuzzy.

In Your Own Time

Just because you live hundreds of years past the Age of Exploration in an urban region utterly transformed by man, it doesn't mean you can't go out botanizing in your own time. The plants have already been named, but not necessarily by you. You could spend a long time just exploring the weeds you find by the side of the road in Brooklyn on a late summer day. Plus you won't have to raise any money for a ship to go out sailing to a new land.

Some Limas, 1,2,3

After the sowing and growing and staking, there is...the harvesting.

And the shelling. Plus composting. Easy as 1,2,3,do re me. Don't be fooled by my photos. The vine is a monster and prolific. Just watch out for hurricanes and Mexican bean beetles.

Of Farms and Food, GrowNYC blog link

CSA farm sign passed along the road on bike trip to Saratoga from Brooklyn.

Searching for news on how area farmers are faring post-Irene, I came upon GrowNYC's blogpost about assisting Greenmarket Farmers effected by Hurricane Irene.

Over at Edible Manhattan, there's the same link and some information about one Greenmarket Farmer who's struggling with farm damage.

Yesterday's Wildflower

Daisy Fleabane, Erigeron annuus, Brooklyn.

It likes fields, roadsides and waste places and apparently so must I, because I keep seeing it. I've seen it described as a native weed, which may or may not be an oxymoron. Now I hope I have the species of Erigeron right, because it seems like there are many, but I've been trying to distinguish this species based on the fact that it doesn't have clasping leaves like some others and seems to be flowering at the right time. According to Brooklyn Botanic's New York Metropolitan Flora project, I see at least four species listed in the genus for the area, so it's not like I can be certain. The funny thing is that when I saw the plant, I thought I knew what I was seeing and yet again, I was on the hunt.