Concord Grapes

 

      

               

  Photo by Steve Apps

Fifty years ago, I bought a Concord grape vine.  Just one.  I had put up a split rail fence around my yard and thought a grape vine growing on it might be a nice touch.  I knew absolutely nothing about growing grapes.  My only experience had been with wild grapes that grew on my farm, sometimes with vines that grew to the top of trees.

For the first couple of years, the vine sputtered along, growing a few feet and producing a small handful of grapes.  Each year it grew a bit more, working its way along the top rail of my fence.  One thing I learned was to heavily prune the vine each year, which I did.  To the point that one of my relatives said, “Looks like you killed your grape vine.”

But the pruning served the opposite purpose, the vine thrived.  It requires next to no care, beyond the annual pruning.  One year I had an influx of Japanese beetles, which chewed on the big leaves.  I picked the beetles off by hand, and little damage was done. My Concord grape vine likes hot weather.   This year it produced a bumper crop, more than half a bushel of beautiful purple grapes. 

Always curious, I did a bit of checking on the history of Concord grapes.  They got their start in New England when a fellow by the name of Ephraim Wales Bull collected some 20,000 wild grapes and grew them until he found the “perfect grape.” The year was 1854.  He named the grape after his is home town of Concord, Massachusetts.

For years Ruth has made grape jelly from our grapes—what a great peanut butter and jelly sandwich results from the grape jelly.  Grape juice is also tasty, and I’m told they also make a great wine, which I tried to make once.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  One lonely grape vine, mostly ignored, can surprise you with a bountiful harvest.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase my books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

The goldenrods are yellow

Photo by Jerry Apps 

Many will remember the poem, September, by Helen Hunt Jackson.  The first lines, “The goldenrod is yellow, the corn is turning brown, the trees in apple orchards with fruit are bending down.” The prairie at my farm is a field of yellow goldenrods everywhere.

 Someone said to me recently, when I shared a bit about my goldenrods and how beautiful they were, “You must not have any allergies, you know that goldenrods make you sneeze.”  I had to tell him he was wrong.  Goldenrods do not make you sneeze.  Ragweeds are often found near goldenrods and the pollen from them makes you sneeze, but not goldenrods.  I have no ragweeds in my prairie, so no sneezing when I work there.

Goldenrods are native to North America.  About 20 different species of this interesting wildflower grow in Wisconsin—8 to 10 species are fairly common.  The Canada Goldenrod or common golden rod is most often found in this state.    Besides being a rather beautiful wildflower, it will grow on good as well poor soil and require no care whatever.  Their pollen is enjoyed by bees and butterflies.  Goldenrods along with milkweed flowers are favorites for the endangered Monarch butterfly.

Considerable folklore is associated with the goldenrod flower.  Its Latin name is Solidago, which means whole, and is thought to be a reference to its possible healing powers. Native Americans used goldenrod as an herb to cure various illnesses including respiratory problems and wound healing.  Some people also believe that if you find goldenrods growing near your home, it is considered a sign of prosperity. 

Until I did a little research, I did not know about all the good things associated with goldenrods.  I mostly enjoy their beauty.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS: Be careful about accusing something as being bad, when it really is most beneficial.

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase my books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.

Dog Days of Summer

 

Photo by Steve Apps

I remember as a kid, when our farm dog, Fanny, had a favorite place to rest during the hot, and humid days of late July and August. .If you wanted to find her, she usually was resting under the big elm tree that stood near our kitchen porch.

“Fanny seems to like that spot,” I said, stating the obvious. 

“Yup,” Pa would say.  “It’s the Dog Days of Summer.” 

The other day, when the temperature hit 92, and the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife, as my mother would say, I did a little digging to find more about the Dog Days of Summer. Where and when the phrase originated. To my surprise, originally the phrase had nothing to do with dogs. Ancient Greeks saw Sirius, a bright star they called the “dog star,” which this time of the year was a bright star that appeared to rise alongside the sun beginning in late July and continuing on through August.  According to these Greeks, the combined power of the “Dog Star” and the sun made this the hottest time of the year.

The truth of the matter.  The heat of summer has nothing to do with Sirius, the dog star, regardless of how bright it is. The Earth’s tilt is the cause of the heat of summer.  In the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth’s tilt causes the sun’s rays to hit at a more direct angle.  Also, the days are longer allowing more time for the sun to warm things up. Additionally, climate change is affecting the heat of summer as well, but that is a topic for another time.      

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  The dogs have it right.  During the Dog Days of Summer, they know to find a cool place to rest.

 

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase my books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.

 

 

 .

Let's Hear it for the Zucchini

 

Let’s Hear It for the Zucchini

Zucchini photo by Steve Apps

 

Mention zucchini and you usually evoke a smile.  Who hasn’t heard of wheelbarrow loads of zucchini summer squash?  Well, I hadn’t.  As a kid, we had about every vegetable possible in our big garden.  But no zucchini.  My guess is that Pa thought squash was something you harvested in the fall, and stored in the cellar for winter eating. I’m sure he and my mother couldn’t wrap their minds around eating squash in the summer.

When I began vegetable gardening at the farm I own now, friends suggested I must grow some zucchini.  “It is the thing to do,” these friends said, never as much as hinting about the reputation for this summer squash that I somehow had avoided.

So, I planted a long row of zucchini, and they grew and grew and soon covered their end of the garden with beautiful big yellow flowers, and then long and quickly growing longer cucumber-like, and nearly ax handle-long fruit. I carried an arm load of zucchini to the cabin, hoping that Ruth would know what to do with them.  She didn’t. We were soon nearly buried with zucchini, until Ruth discovered a recipe for zucchini bread, which, according to the grandkids, tastes better than cookies.

These days we grow just a few zucchini plants in our garden.  We have them more under control, mostly.   Ruth makes zucchini bread, Sue makes zucchini cake, Natasha makes zucchini cookies, and we enjoy the occasional casserole that has zucchini in it.

THE OLD TIMER SAYS:  What would a garden be without zucchini to talk about?

WHERE TO BUY MY BOOKS:

To purchase my books, go to your local bookstore, order online from bookshop.org, or purchase from the Friends of the Patterson Memorial Library in Wild Rose—a fundraiser for them. Phone: 920-622-3835 for prices and ordering.
Patterson Memorial Library
500 Division Street
Wild Rose, WI 54984
barnard@wildroselibrary.
www.wildroselibrary.org

If you live in the western part of the state, stop at Ruth’s home town, Westby and visit Dregne’s.  and look at their great selection of my books, including my new ones, or order a book by calling them at 1-877-634-4414. They will be happy to help you.