I like flawed systems.
They’re puzzles.
Observe. Analyze. Find the choke point.
Fix it and watch everything move better.
Recent Work
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Basil Guild
Last year I had a hot pepper guild — two jalapeños, two habaneros in an enormous pot, and they crushed it. I tried to overwinter the pepper plants — and I killed them. Classic. This year I went on vacation in late June and never got around to replanting the pot. When I got back,…
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Garlic Bulbils
Yeah, I decided to leave some garlic scapes go to flower. (That was totally on purpose!) Now I’ve got a lot of bulbils, and a two-year plan. Yes, Mrs Sandemano is rolling her eyes.
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The Great Lacto-Fermented Pickle Experiment Begins
Every year the Costco mini cucumbers go soft before I get around to pickling them. Not this year. Two jars, two lids, one real question: does a Pickle Pipe airlock actually beat daily burping?
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Garlic Bulbils and Leftover Mint
Two things currently sitting on my counter that Mrs. Sandemano keeps bugging me about (and I’m not entirely sure what to do with.) The garlic bulbils are from my first year growing garlic, so they’re completely new territory for me. Eat them? Plant them? Pickle them? All of the above? And then there’s the eternal…
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Help Papa! You’re this garlic’s only hope!
I planted garlic for the first time, then abandoned it for 24 days. Here’s what I came home to — and how I’m rescuing it. I hope.