365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Farming The Wasteland
Day 307: Some of you are undoubtedly thinking, "Oh, boy...you're going to regret that!" and you may well be right, but I like mint jelly on sourdough toast. I'm talking about real mint jelly, not the mint-flavoured apple jelly available commercially. After paying extortionate prices for two measly four-ounce containers of fresh mint last year, I decided to grow my own. The stuff is a weed; there's no call for it to cost almost $8 per half-cup! In the Barren Wasteland, there are two concrete pads. One covers the pit where my water supply's captive-air tank lives and measures about four feet on a side, but the other one (roughly 3' x 4') remains a mystery even after thirty years. Between them is a foot-wide patch of poor soil, a strip which seemed perfect for a mint patch since the concrete bounds it on the two long sides and theoretically, should prevent the roots from infiltrating the rest of the area. If I am diligent about cutting it before it goes to seed, I should be able to keep it domesticated and producing plenty of leaves for delicious mint jelly and tea.
Labels:
Barren Wasteland,
gardening,
mint jelly,
peppermint
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