A Piece of Ground

The October 29 snowstorm took its toll on many trees in the Lehigh Valley, but none were harder hit than the Bradford pears. Usually planted as street trees for their narrow profile, spring flowers and vivid fall color, they grow with multiple forked branches that leave them susceptible to storm damage.

Bradford pears are despised by many gardeners for numerous reasons, ubiquity first and foremost, but these photos show the ultimate reason why planting a Bradford pear is a bad idea.

The zelkovas in front of the Rodale offices weren’t so lucky, either. Such a shame.

Besides organic gardening, one topic I’m passionate about is sleuthing out good-tasting gluten-free food. I have celiac disease and have been eating gluten-free for more than 12 years. GF has come a long way from those cardboard-pretending-to-be-bread days. There’s been an explosion in the market: All kinds of baked goods are now available that once had to be made at home from scratch, if they could be made at all. GF ice-cream cones, animal crackers, beer (thanks be to God), even tiramisu. Heck, even the big food guns are getting into the picture, with General Mills (Chex) and Kellogg’s (Rice Krispies) producing gluten-free versions of their popular cereals. Anything that puts marshmallow treats back on my menu? Bring it.

So I’m envious that on October 1 and 2, gluten-free folks in Dallas will be sampling foods from more than 80 vendors at the Gluten & Allergen Free Expo (gfafexpo.com), sponsored by Living Without magazine. The local GF organization, the Lone Star Gluten Intolerance Group, will receive a portion of the proceeds. There are also cooking classes to help the newly diagnosed or the easily intimidated (moi) master the peculiarities of baking and cooking without gluten, that springy, elastic stuff that gives regular baked goods their airiness and toothsomeness.

Jen Cafferty founded the Expo in Chicago in 2007, in response to taking her family GF and finding healthy-cooking info scarce. Plans are to bring the Expo to cities around the country (vote for yours at gfafexpo.com), including Chicago on April 14 and 15, 2012. Those of us who can’t make it to Dallas can check out Jen’s blog at gfreelife.com for recipes, videos, and dining and travel tips.

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks at OG. On August 29th we won a number of awards at the Garden Writers Association annual banquet, and tonight the Massachusetts Horticultural Society awards Organic Gardening a gold medal at their 2011 Honorary Medals Dinner, for its “promotion of ecologically sound practices in gardening and farming.” The dinner is being held at the Society’s headquarters at Elm Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and I’ll be accepting the award on the magazine’s behalf.

I had the opportunity to tour Elm Bank today, and even in the soggy leftovers of Tropical Storm Lee, the gardens were absolutely beautiful, inventive and inspiring. They have an All America Selection trial garden (there are some super plants on the horizon, folks), a garden to table program, and one very cool children’s garden. The gardens are open to the public, and I definitely recommend a visit. The Mass Horticultural Society was started in 1829, and is the oldest formally organized horticultural institution in the U.S.

The All America Selection trial garden at MHS

Cleome on trial - shorter than species, w/sturdy stems. Nice!

A terrific double zinnia that doesn't go all brown and crispy when it dies.

On behalf of Organic Gardening magazine, thank you to the trustees, staff and members of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for this award. We are honored.

I’m supposed to be blogging today, but I’m deep in the hoopla surrounding the Scientific American blogger vs. blogger debate on organic myths. Here’s the original piece in Scientific American:

Here’s the rebuttal.

Check ‘em out and add your 2 cents.

This part of Pennsylvania is finally getting the rain it’s so sorely needed the past 6 weeks. This should have meant a bonanza for the new 50-gallon rain barrel we installed on Sunday. It’s by Fiskars, and is well made, and seemed idiotproof installation-wise, but when I went out post-thunderstorm to check its water level, the only agua it held was pooled on top of the lid. Here’s a pic of the setup:

Still trying to figure out what went wrong. The barrel and the diverter are supposed to be level with each other, and appear to be. But the gutter is undersized for my airplane-hangar roof, so there’s a chance that the rain sheeted right past the gutter, leaving it empty.

I’m a big fan of rain barrels; even though I’m on a well and have plenty of chlorine-free water, I believe that rainwater makes plants grow better. It’s what they’re used to, after all.

Organic Gardening is devoting its February/March 2012 We Like This! page to rain barrels. This barrel isn’t one of the ones we’re featuring, though we do have another by Fiskars. There are now dozens of types of rain barrels available; however, the majority don’t have the combination of attractiveness, function, and price that gardeners are looking for.

I found these mushrooms growing in my yard. They looked familiar, and if they are truly what my research says they are (and not poisonous!), then I’ve stumbled on a treasure. And no, I’m not telling you where I live. What kind of mushroom is it?  —Therese Ciesinski

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Here’s a cute Spring display for inside when it’s too cold outside, courtesy of the inventive Judy Doyle at the The Cinnamon Stick gift shop in Hereford, Pennsylvania. The “dirt” is coffee grounds, and the vegetables are…well, it’s obvious.

Judy and her team of crafters make creative and interesting ornaments for Easter, Christmas, Halloween, etc., from copies of old books and newspapers (no real ephemera is harmed, Nancy!), and they’re unlike any you’ll find elsewhere. Check out more of Judy’s projects at her blog at

www.thespicecupboard.blogspot.com

and The Cinnamon Stick’s Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Cinnamon-Stick-Hereford-PA/

The next white stuff I want to see falling are the petals from the apple trees…

Spent the past weekend at the Natural Products Expo at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. That’s where about 3500 exhibitors got together to introduce new items, connect with vendors, and network. Supposedly it was a small affair twenty years ago, but now it is huge – 60,000 attendees – testament to the strength of the organic/natural/health movement.

Two trends that stood out: coconut in everything – water, oil, baked goods, beauty products. And the explosion of gluten-free foods, with an emphasis on healthier ingredients; fewer trans fats, more fiber. Gone are the days when a g.f. food could contain any kinds of fats, sugars or refined flours – or heck, even taste good – as long as it was gluten free. Over 200 vendors hawked g.f. products, and I tried (but failed) to sample every one. Standouts: Udi’s pizza crusts and Pamela’s coffee cake. —Therese Ciesinski