So my parsley plants are just about ripe now, and I will soon go about harvesting them. Parsley, you see, is more than just a garnish to go atop meat dishes. Parsley is both a culinary herb and vegetable. “What!?” you exclaim. I’ll explain it. Parsley is known to impart a somewhat spicy, savory taste to certain foods, but it also possesses an edible root, not unlike its relative, the carrot.
Parsley roots are not as large as carrot roots, but they make an excellent addition to soups, salads, casseroles, and stir-fries. The flavor of parsley root is somewhere between a carrot and celery. It’s a bit hard to describe, but if you like either of those vegetables, you will enjoy parsley roots. Some seed companies will try to sell you “rooted parsley” but don’t be fooled; all parsley is rooted. Some parsley plants have larger roots than others, but this depends as much on your soil type as it does on the variety. Sure, you can buy rooted parsley and it won’t hurt anything, but don’t think you’re getting anything unique. Also, it’s my opinion that curly-leaf parsley is a waste of time; they have virtually no flavor, and the texture is unappealing. They’re really only bred for decoration. Flatleaf is the way to go. Parsley leaves can be preserved by drying and freezing (though I’ve found drying is generally better) and the roots can be easily frozen. According to Healthline, parsley has a number of health benefits. It is rich in antioxidants, promotes bone health, and has anti-cancer and anti-bacterial properties. Probably something you should consider adding to your diet. In general, parsley is easy to grow. The plants prefer full sun and will grow in poor soil. They are not susceptible to many pests; rabbits and deer will sometimes eat them, but I’ve only had that happen a few times. Plant them with marigolds and you probably won’t have to worry about it. Insects tend to leave parsley alone. In general, I’d recommend parsley to any gardener, regardless of experience level.
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This past April, my one source of free fertilizer, my sister’s rabbit, died. While it was an emotional blow to all of us, I had to find another source of fertilizer for my garden. Initially, we talked about just getting another rabbit, then an idea hit me: a worm farm. Several years ago, I watched an episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, where he visited an industrial worm farm. Organic waste goes into the worm farm, the worms eat it, and then they poop it out. Worm castings (poop) is one of the best, purest sources of fertilizer there is. The idea of turning garbage into usable compost was captivating. Worms are cheap, easy to raise, extremely low maintenance, and useful for a lot of different things. So, with the help of the stimulus money graciously given to me by Uncle Sam, I purchased a worm farm and some worms to put in it. It wasn’t quite as easy as they made it out to be in the brochure. My first mistake was buying a worm composter over the internet. While this wasn’t the worst idea I had, I would’ve saved myself a lot of time, money, and aggravation if I had just made a worm composter myself out of some tote boxes or a couple of five-gallon buckets, which is what I eventually ended up doing. When my first worm farm arrived, I assembled it wrong. Thinking that the lid was part of the base, I put it on the bottom, which was a terrible mistake, as it caused the whole thing to mold. The mold was toxic to the worms, and I awoke one morning to a mass of dry worm corpses on the floor, as they had crawled out during the night to escape the poison fuzz. But even after I’d assembled it correctly, I still had at least three escapees a week. That’s bad for business. The thing did its job okay once I assembled it correctly, but it was way more expensive than it was worth. After a couple of months, I just took two five-gallon buckets, which you can buy at any hardware store, drilled drainage holes in one, and put it inside the other. It cost me almost nothing, and I’ve had no escapees since. My second mistake was buying two different species of worms. Now, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t just go out in the yard and dig up some worms. Well, composting worms and wild worms are two different animals. Yard worms don’t survive in captivity. Usually, buying two different species would be a good deal, but no! The two species I ordered were red wigglers and European Nightcrawlers. Nightcrawlers are deep burrowers, while red wigglers generally stay closer to the surface and eat leaf little and things of that sort. If you want nightcrawlers, you should have an established worm bin.
The third and final mistake I made was that I mistook food and bedding. I ordered a sack of worm food, thinking that “oh, worms just eat their bedding, so it’s the same thing.” WRONG! Wormfood and worm bedding are two totally different things. Typically, you make worm bedding out of old newsprint, or shredded leaves, something that doesn’t ferment. Wormfood, on the other hand, is much higher in nutrition and will ferment. This particular type of worm food was grain-based. It started to turn into beer in a matter of days, and then vinegar a day or two after that. This is bad, as worms can’t live in anything acidic. There were many escapees, which I don’t have to tell you is also very bad, and the smell was horrible. Worm farms should have no odor, so I knew something was wrong. I hope all you folks who are thinking about worm farming will learn from my mistakes and not make them yourselves. Until next time, happy gardening. |
AuthorI'm Ian Wilson, a slightly eccentric amateur horticulturist bumbling his way through the garden. Archives
October 2021
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