Monday, June 14, 2010

monday's mountain musings


Wow! Where does time go? I swear I need just four more hours of day during the summer months, we can subtract it from the day length during winter time can't we?

The gardens are coming along splendidly with the exception of my ginormous zucchini plant that got broke off due to weight and then got a cut worm in it. Tobacco is finally starting to grow well but as per usual is having its bug issues. Everything else is blooming and growing baby veggies.

The last few days have been extremely warm for these here mtns of Georgia. Getting up and out to tend gardens until the sun gets over the mountain and then we do short stints with multiple breaks through out the remainder of the day. A couple more days of extreme warmth and we will be back to more normal temps. I can not really complain. After all the rain we had, the very warm sunny days has really kicked melons, okra and peppers into full growing gear.

This week we should be having a bit of company for a day or few. A net friends son is stopping by for a bit of R&R in the mtns on his leave from the giant sand box overseas. Hopefully he can chillax n unwind a bit before making his journey to visit everyone out west. It will be nice to have some company for a while.

Our first day lilies bloomed today and as usual are beautiful. Did you know that every part of some of the species of day lily are considered edible? Nutrition wise they are high in vitamin c and are quite high in protein content. They are also  known to be used medicinally through out history and in Eastern medicine but research  and information is limited. While some parts are better than others, very few people know that they are edible at all. I was introduced to eating them several years ago by a dear sister and since her initial introduction of them to me, I have used them several ways. I like to walk around nibbling on the bud just before they open and I enjoy them in a salad or stir fries too. The roots or tuber is edible as well as the flowers and leaves. As per usual use caution when trying them the first few times in case of allergic reaction or tummy upset. For some nice recipes using day lilies go here. There are several other sites with recipes as well  just do a search.
Not all species of day lilies are edible be sure you know  what species you are eating before doing so.