Dear Vigilant Watchman:

...Chard, unlike lettuce can take the
summer sun and can keep marching into winter.  One can have chard most of
the year, and if inside all year.  It is a nutrient dense cultivar with a
lot more nutrition than and iceberg lettuce.  I do not know how it
compares with Romaine.  Chard can be cooked.  Last year I tried it baked
with oil and cheese, and though it has its own unique taste, I can see how
a person could consider it delicious.  .

I want to try swift-growing beans with the chinampas method.  I knew a man
who sells greens in front of his house. He starts the greens in his
backyard in cups and then takes them to the field and plants them in long
rows.  This will allow me to give them close care and keep up my slug
hunting efforts before putting them in the ground.  Next month is slug
hunt month.  I find that if you can collect a bunch of slugs, your problem
is minimal.  They hate eggshells because they are sharp.  I had a hosta
that they tore up every year with big ragged holes, they love hostas--you
don't want them near your garden.  I read about putting smashed eggshells
around and there was no more more problem for the season.

I keep my eggshells in a container on the counter, let them dry out and
smash them and use them.  I've started keeping my bones too (calcium). 
All of this is sprinkled on the ground near plants that like these things.
 These are nutrients that come back to us.  As plants grow, the soil is
depleted.  We are feeding the soil and the plants.  I put my bones in a
cast iron skillet in the oven.  While I am baking, so are the bones (I got
this idea from Amos 2:1 where the king of Edom's bones were burned to
lime).  Not all plants would want much of this.  I don't even remember
what does [may help with root development],
but I chop up the oven-dried bones with a "bone crusher" from Lehmann's
and keep them in a nice looking clear container on the counter.  
Pruning shears may work as well.  An idea
came to me last year to decorate with what I am doing, e.g., the pine
needles on the hearth can be picked for tea at anytime.  The big glass jar
of brown rice on the counter is ready for service.

I've been keeping my glass containers with metal lids (mayonnaise, etc.)
because I want to experiment with George Washingon Carver's canning
method.  His method cannot be used with our current set up with Mason
Jars.  Linda Runyon focuses on drying which is something I want to do this
year.  One year her canning efforts exploded in the cold and it seems
from that point on, she focused on drying.  I want to focus on drying this year, 
especially wild edibles (potatoes, etc. can also be dried).  Potatoes store well 
so I am not too concerned about them.  I may plant them at different stages--
the later potatoes will primarily be for winter storage.  I haven't done this 
before but it is just a matter of planting a second or third crop at the right time.

I want to develop some sort of rough cistern system with what I
can find or make around here like a hole.  I also want to make a "twig
bench" from branches in the yard.  Plenty fell with this last heavy snow
(green wood was recommended for this project).  We keep a heap of branches
near the back of the wooded area.  I want to expand our cattail ("supermarket
of the swamps") stand by putting them, and wapatto, in tubs or holes.  Cattails 
grow fast, can eat bottom white portion in salad or cook it (peel off outer layers).
The root is full of carbohydrates and can be dried and made into flour (the same 
with acorns, etc.  I've even read about tree flour, but do not know how to make it) 
but Linda Runyon says they are hard to get too.  The pollen can be made into 
pancake flour.  I once saw an online list giving 25 uses for cattails.

Mephibosheth