A few miscellaneous Tuesday updates.
Regarding the hand hoe, I was pleased to receive a comment from Mr. De Wit of the De Wit hand tool company indicating that my hand hoe is indeed a De Wit brand hand hoe. He also provided information on the Tierra Company of Jasper, Indiana as a source for these tools in this area. I checked out the Tierra Company website, and they have all kinds of tools for gardeners, including several different hand hoes. My same disclaimer, I can’t vouch for this online merchant, having not ordered from them, but I do know I have one very fine hand hoe!
It was a nice surprise to receive Mr. De Wit’s comment, and it just goes to show, you never do really know who is reading your blog and who will surprise you with a comment.
Regarding the Garden Bloggers’ Book Club, I am still finding some reviews on various blogs, so it isn’t tool late to write something up if you read The Essential Earthman by Henry Mitchell, and send me a comment to let me know about it. I’ll do a wrap up post at the end of the week. I was so sad to get to the end of the book that I decided to get his other two books of garden columns, Henry Mitchell on Gardening and One Man’s Garden. That ought to tied me over for the winter. Oh, I’ll still be reading the December Garden Bloggers’ Book Club selection, My Favorite Plants edited by Jamaica Kincaid, but in between I’ll read more of Henry Mitchell’s columns. And remember, if you don’t have time to read the December selection, you can still participate by just posting something about your favorite plant, if you can pick just one. I personally am having a little trouble narrowing down my choice of one favorite plant.
I have noticed some chatter here and there on several blogs about buying books used from Amazon or other favorite sources. I’ve ordered a lot of used (and new) books through the secondary sellers on Amazon and only once had a problem. And that seller immediately took care of it. So overall, I’ve been pleased with buying books this way at generally a much lower price. In fact, I always check the secondary sellers to get the best deal.
In other gardening news, I am saddened to report that I’ve had some misfortune in the sunroom. My Meyer lemon tree had ONE lemon on it, and it was just starting to turn yellow at the top. I was already dreaming about how to use it. One little glass of lemonade? Perhaps mixed in with some guacamole? Maybe sliced and served with iced tea? But, it is not to be. This evening I found the lemon laying on the soil, dropped from the tree before its time. Does anyone have an idea of what to do with an unripe lemon?
But, as you can see in the picture above, the narcissus are coming along nicely, and I should hope to have blooms in a few weeks. The amaryllis are also growing well, and they, too, should be blooming “before I know it”.
So I am not in complete despair over the lemon, just a little disappointed. Hopefully it will bloom again in the spring and I’ll maybe have another lemon (or two) next winter.
And for those of you who just had to see the lone lemon ‘cut down in its prime’, here’s a picture of it, too.
I have no idea what to do with that lemon, but I have to say that it looks beautiful. Maybe it will taste like a lime.
Condolences, Carol! We’ve used the ripe ones for a few things… one cool idea was to slice the lemon and lay it on top of chicken or fish. This was partially baked, then finished under the broiler. The Lemon juice became one with the meat, and the broiling turned the white part of the lemon into a sort of curd, slightly crispy and edible.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
That lemon looks ripen to me. I had a lemon tree last year but the state cut all the citrus trees in town. Something about Canker diseases and protecting the famous Florida orange juice
It’s funny that you mentioned being a little sad that you were done reading “Earthman.” I just ordered “One Man’s Garden” through my library co-op yesterday. Henry has definitely found a place in my heart and on my bookshelf 🙂
You could probably make some sort of asian chutney with the unripe lemon. I love Indian Lime Pickle. I bet you could make something similar.
Would it slowly ripen by itself, like some fruits do?
I think it’s ripe, too! (Even if it’s not, you have been so patient, I would go with that story!!)