so me dedicating today fe just

[Nylah]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">anyhoo, god is good, cus me just find a brand new packet of callaloo seeds under a pile a clean clothes inna de dresser. </div></div>


and u cant find it in your heart to send me some? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/nahtalktoyuh.gif[/img]

that isnt very god-like of u [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img]

[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">it is stressful to me to see bunch a pods a siddung pon mi bay window wid standard homemade heating pad and o ne piece a stick a keep de sitten dem level but mi like the flowas & tings when dem a bloom doah so mi noh seh nuttin

</div></div> for some reason, seeing the plants a grow pon de window sill relaxes me... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70458-applaud.gif[/img]
I dont like the chaos nedder, but den, just seeing dem grow and florish is wha does it for me..
ezpecially like how me know seh a me, plant dem offa me owna hands...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

Sure, me can send u some..
Just pm me u address and some will be de mail by tomorrow..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]

[Nylah]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just


ahhh, thanks so much 7777's [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img] but I will ge some seeds from a friend in a few weeks. I am just being greedy is all [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

Nyla, u mentioned something about raised beds..
exactly wha does your garden have?

[kia027]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7777</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nyla, did u ever thought of doing a compost pile and creating your own organic dirt?
I have been doing it now for about 3 years, and its wonderful. My plants grow HUGE, and I dont use fertilizer of any sort..


As for the callaloo, me contractor wha did me kitchen, he gave me some young callaoo plants lass year, said something that they should be back up, cus they resow, but a dont see any evidence yet... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif[/img]
anyhoo, god is good, cus me just find a brand new packet of callaloo seeds under a pile a clean clothes inna de dresser. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/bannana_purple.gif[/img] </div></div>

yes they resow and yes they will take over your yard [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

[kia027]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Empress_Nylah</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">anyhoo, god is good, cus me just find a brand new packet of callaloo seeds under a pile a clean clothes inna de dresser. </div></div>


and u cant find it in your heart to send me some? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/nahtalktoyuh.gif[/img]

that isnt very god-like of u [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img]

[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img] </div></div>

dem sell callaloo seeds inna packet? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img] come een like selling bamboo fi plant as barriers [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

yes, if you buy the callallo seeds a jamaica, which I did, they come in seed packets..

In this story that I found on the weeb, seems like calaloo comes in other packets too...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

In late spring, I did the ladylike thing and rode my bicycle over to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden so I could see the tulips blooming. And then I went to the BBG's gift shop and bought several packets of seeds, including shasta daisies:



and black-eyed susans:



Or so I thought.

I planted the seeds in the round beds on either side of the front walkway and waited for them to grow. It seemed to take forever, weeks and weeks. Finally, in late June, a few little seedlings started to pop up, and the next day more popped up, and the day after that even more. It seemed that every seed I planted was starting to come up! I checked on their progress daily, and I could see the seedlings were really taking to the soil--like weeds, practically, they were so strong and healthy. It seemed that only one of the varieties had taken--I wasn't sure whether it was the daisies or the susans--but no matter. Something was growing.

Within a month the flower beds were full of this lush, verdant growth. On walks around my neighborhood, Kensington, I compared the daisies and susans in other people's gardens to mine. Hmm. Something wasn't right. Why didn't my leaves look like theirs? Why did I not see any buds, let alone blossoms, on my plants when everybody else's were in full bloom? Oh, there was something blooming, all right, but it was a crazy, brushy thing that looked exactly like this:
Still, if you've given birth to the ugliest baby in town, that baby is yours and you planted its seed, so you're going to love it no matter how ugly it is, right? That's why I was so upset when I came home from work one evening, checked my flower beds as usual, and saw to my horror that more than half of my big ugly babies had been ripped right off their stalks and disappeared. Why, why, oh why would anybody want to attack my flowers? I felt sick and violated.

The gossip started to spread. I asked my fellow gardening committee members if they knew what had happened, and I talked to other neighbors in our building, who talked to other neighbors on our street. Kensington has a diverse population of people who come from many lands: Park Slope, Williamsburg, Chicagoland (that would be me), Poland, Russia, Uzbekistan, Albania, Israel, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mexico and the Caribbean. It's a lively mix of immigrants, but we don't always understand each other. There's lots of gossip (but don't just take my word for it--there's a good sampling of local gossip on Kensington Blog.)

Finally, I talked to our super, Willie, who has lived in the neighborhood for years and years.

"Joyce, do you know what callaloo is?"

"Calla-who?"

"Callaloo. It's a plant from the West Indies, and they make soup out of it. There were some ladies come by the other night and they took some of your plants to make soup."

Willie and I looked at each other, and we laughed.

I went home and googled "callaloo," of course, and here's what I learned from wikipedia: "Callaloo (sometimes calaloo) is a Caribbean dish that is most popular in Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, and Trinidad & Tobago. Jamaicans are known to use callaloo in a plethora of dishes. The main ingredient is a leaf vegetable, traditionally either amaranth (known by many local names including callaloo or bhaji), or taro or Xanthosoma species (both known by many local names including callaloo, coco, tannia, or dasheen bush). Because the leaf vegetable used in some regions may be locally called 'callaloo' or 'callaloo bush,' some confusion can arise among the different vegetables and with the dish itself."

Oh, there was confusion, all right. Mine. How the hell did my daisy seeds from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden give spawn to callaloo? Once I understood the misunderstanding, though, I went from feeling violated to highly amused, especially after my first-floor neighbor, I'll call her Velma, told me that she saw those West Indian ladies sneak into our flower beds late one night to take the food I'd been growing. Velma and her dog are the self-designated eyes and ears of our building.

Velma called out to the ladies to ask what they were doing, and they explained that it was harvest time. They had been watching the callaloo's growth, too, and figured they should collect some before the leaves and stalks got too tough. Velma chased them off anyway, saying they had no right to steal our plants--and they hadn't even used scissors to cut them, they were just using their bare hands and pulling any old which way. She last saw the West Indian ladies running down the street, callaloo stalks in hand, their heads surely filled with plans for the pepper pot soup they were going to make. Here's a recipe for it on the Jamaica Me Krazy web site: pepper pot soup

I just hope those ladies were wearing fancy hats when they stole my callaloo.. ..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

[Nylah]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7777</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Nyla, u mentioned something about raised beds..
exactly wha does your garden have? </div></div>

my entire landscaping was done from scratch since the bulider only grades your lot and that's it. So, just in front of my deck, I didnt lay any sod and created a 12 foot by 4 foot stretch of garden and have built up with it up with dirt. In front of the plot I laid concrete bricks so that I can eventually put an above ground fire pit and seating.

I have my containers and pots surrounding the edge of the concrete pad.

The problem with the plot in front of the deck is that it isnt as deep as I would like it to be. So, I wanted to add another 2 feet of dirt and elevate the plot above the concrete pad and do brick around it. Give it a border that you can almost sit on. Does that make sense? If I can find a pix of what I mean I will post it.

I then want to do the same thing in front of the garage so I can have more growing room there as well. That spot gets tons of sun so it would be perfect for more vegetables.

[Nylah]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just




Can I change my mind now? [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/blush.gif[/img]

alright Ms 7777's I am gonna take u up on your offer since I dont think I will get my seeds from my friend until mid-May. I'd want to plant them before then. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

not a problem. send me de address..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]

[Nylah]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just



thank god, I didnt plant last weekend..... I have 3 feet of snow in my backyard right now [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img]

[Nanook]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

OH NO!!! I thought it was only me that happened to! I didn't get any this week but it won't surprise me since it's only 30! I feel your pain!!

[Nylah]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just



no Nanook, u are not alone [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crybaby.gif[/img]

the weather ppl said on Friday that we were just getting a sprinkling of snow that night. I thought, okay, the ground can use a bit more moisture".......it hasnt stopped snowing since Friday and most the weekend has been near white out conditions on the road [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif[/img]

last weekend was sunny and hot, and now I can go ice skating again [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img]

no pretty flowers for another few weeks [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: so me dedicating today fe just

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Empress_Nylah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

thank god, I didnt plant last weekend..... I have 3 feet of snow in my backyard right now [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img] </div></div>Considering whe u live, I am not surprised about the snow..
U too Nanny..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]
Beleive me, when I got my 88 degrees lass Friday, and my seventies this week, a gwan to sit back, and chill and tink bout you guys pain..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]

((Nylah and Nanny..)))...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]