State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Kitchen Garden

  • Week 15 — Garlic Harvest

    I was late getting out of the house to the state park trail on Sunday. The challenge was how to photograph the expansive patch of invasive lilies, and I had no good answer. I was distracted by the need to return home as quickly as possible to harvest the garlic crop I planted last fall.… Read more

  • Long Dance to the End

    Leaves on the Red Delicious apple tree I planted more than 30 years ago began developing spots, yellowing, and falling in late June and early July. In addition, a type of slime mold rooted in the large scar where the 2020 derecho blew down a main limb. Called dog vomit slime mold, it feeds on… Read more

  • Week 14 — Summer Harvest Ramps Up

    We had some good rain this week and that boost growth in the garden. There were cucumbers, zucchinis, and squash aplenty. I checked garlic by digging six plants and decided to give it another week or two before harvesting the main crop. After pulling a couple of onions, I decided to harvest the whole crop… Read more

  • Fennel: A Summer Vegetable

    I learned to grow fennel while working at Susan’s farm beginning in 2013. It is a remarkable plant with its entirely of bulb, stalks, and fronds being edible. I grew eight or so plants this year and have begun to harvest them. Pretty soon there will be too many to use in the kitchen so… Read more

  • Grinding it Out — Taco Tuesday

    Three weeks into summer, the average high temperatures are running a few degrees higher than average. This is the hottest time of the year for Eastern Iowa, and people born here can get used to it. That doesn’t mean we particularly like it. Exercise and gardening occupy a narrow morning window from sunrise until 8… Read more

  • Week 13 — Gardening Under a Heat Dome

    Week 13 was characterized by dealing with the heat dome that descended over the Midwest. I established a durable routine to protect the garden for what will likely be repeated heat domes in this geography. More kale for the food pantries in Week 13 and we are not close to being done with the crop.… Read more

  • Harvest Chopped Salad

    Using a large language model chatbot for cooking strips away a layer of emotional attachment to food, leaving chemistry and physics behind. Sometimes a cook wants that. In the chat box, I listed all the fresh garden vegetables in the kitchen with a question of what to make with them. Within seconds, the machine responded:… Read more

  • Surviving a Heat Dome

    Heavy rain that delayed planting tomatoes and peppers is now helping those crops survive the heat dome. Rain over several days deeply moistened the ground, and plant root structures have been drawing on that reservoir. Despite the heat, the garden is growing and producing vegetables. My daily heat dome process is to wake early, read… Read more

  • Invasion of Japanese Beetles

    This Lodi apple tree was my earliest ripening variety. Once Japanese beetles discovered it, they released pheromones that drew in more of their kind and aggregated, as in the photo. The problem was made worse by a neighbor placing two Japanese beetle traps within 75 feet of my small orchard. These traps attract more than… Read more

  • Week 12 — Here Comes the Heat

    I donated crates of kale and bags of garlic scapes to the food pantries this week. They get produce from the local grocery store and had a large stack of seedless grapes waiting for customers. Our pantry is small, however, anyone who is eligible, can participate. If fresh fruit and vegetables are leftover at day’s… Read more