Simplifying the Margarita

As I see it, there are two decent recipes for a margarita, at least before one begins experimenting with various fruits, bitters, or specialty liqueurs. One involves triple sec, and one does not. I've made both in the past week, and find them roughly similar. Here is the recipe range:

"Naked"
3 oz. tequila; 1 oz. agave syrup; 1.75 (circa) oz. lime juice (one big lime); dash sea salt

"Dressed"
4 oz. tequila; 1.75 oz. triple sec; 1 oz. agave syrup; 1.75 oz. lime juice (one big lime); dash sea salt

I've tried them on either end of this scale, with splendid results. The key, as always, is fresh lime juice. The latter represents something of a more traditional recipe, but it is a little sweet, which makes it less appealing as an appetite stimulant. Of course, one can omit the agave syrup for an option I might call "nuclear", or (to keep it within the metaphoric aesthetic established here) "Dressed to Kill." Perhaps this is not quite right. After all, omitting the agave syrup is a bit like heading out on the town without any undergarments: the difference may be imperceptible at first, but it eventually gets you into trouble.

Margaritas are all made of stars

In either version of the margarita one can adjust proportions to suit the sweet tooth, the acid lover, and the alcoholic. I have found that the "Naked" recipe above more or less balances the three perfectly, while the "Dressed" tends towards the sweet. Obviously, agave nectar can be adjusted to correct. Or omitted for the young and the restless.

A traditional "Cadillac" margarita substitutes Grand Mariner for triple sec. Grand Mariner is cognac based, and the margarita one creates from this will be heavier than the "Naked" variety. To carry the metaphor still, making this margarita with Grand Mariner might be "Oscar Dress" or "Prom Night." But by now this metaphor is losing its vitality. The point is that you can dress the margarita up or down and make small adjustments based on the relative acidity/sweetness of your limes and the taste of the liqueur. Dress her how you like. Just be careful of letting her undress you.

The tequila I used for all of these was El Jimador, a solid blanco tequila. I'm sure there are better tequilas for making margaritas, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to pay for them. Any suggestions would be welcome, should anyone feel the desire to write them in.

the barrier row

I'm planting a "barrier row" of herbs which had, up until this point, consisted of transplanted silver edge thyme, transplanted cilantro and parsley (both spent and useless), dill, and lemon balm. Today I finished up the row and planted parsley and cilantro seeds in the remainder. There is still room at the end for more, but I can't imagine I will want to continue planting herbs. Rather, I would like to throw down some annuals and follow them with ground cover in a bid to reclaim the lower patch of my front yard from noxious weeds. But in the mean time, I should be able to harvest parsley and cilantro by early Fall.

Transplanting Mortgage Lifters, Juane Flamee, and Golden Pineapple Sage

The cutting

Three different transplantation experiments, one conducted last week, two conducted today. The ones today are more delicate. I took a cutting from my mortgage lifter tomato plant, trimmed it to six inches and two leaves, then buried it in thoroughly soaked potting soil. I took a second cutting from my Juane Flamee plant and put it directly into the soil. The soil is particularly black and rich, but I supplemented it with potting soil and made sure it was thoroughly soaked.

Last week I transplanted two golden pineapple sage cuttings from the back to the front. Although the leaves withered in the sun every afternoon (only to be reborn miraculously the next day), both transplants appear to be thriving. Golden Pineapple Sage is indeed a weed.

the planting

in a pot

Veni Vidi Vici

The Juane Flamee plant is thriving and looks healthy. The Mortgage Lifter appears more sickly, and has been the slowest of all my plants to grow. The lower branches often wither and die, although the top of the plant does look good. It is possible (hopefully not too probable) that the plant has in fact contracted some kind of fungal disease. Or it is just a long, slow grower. I'll find a place for the transplant, should it take.

Faceplanting carrots, soaking seeds, and stopping suckers

He's dead Jim (the carrots)

Yesterday was a big garden day--four and a half hours in both the front and back. Rarely am I afforded such time. The most significant is the planting of new carrot seeds. My first planting was a dismal failure, and I am now convinced that my garden hose watering of the row washed the seeds out and left them undernourished. I conducted an experiment yesterday where I sprayed down the row for a good amount of time, giving time in between to allow the water to sink in. Despite all of this, the water barely penetrated the row. So after planting a new row of carrot seeds, I dropped my soaker hose on the row and let it run for about two hours. I'm resolved to run the soaker everyday for the next week, just to try and keep the seeds moist in the early dog days of summer.

Unpretty Pine Straw

The bulk of my actual work consisted of loading up wheelbarrows of pine straw, laying down newspaper on Maia's patch and then dropping three inches of pine straw down as a weed barrier. I'm tired of the weeds. The pine straw ain't pretty, but I'll drop proper pine straw on it when the time is right.

I noted in the last post that I dropped some compost on the half-ass herb garden and on various backyard plants. I did some weeding as well. Ha. It looks like hell back there, I'm not afraid to say.

Waiting for Godotomato

Today I pruned suckers off of the Orange Blossom tomato plant. It is already growing fruit, so I'm going to try and redirect growth to the fruit to produce some big ones. Not having any basis for comparison, I have no idea if it will work. But it's kind of fun.

fertilizer

Fertilized the garden again yesterday. Fertilized tomato plants, begonias, jethro tull (and whole front bed), and Maia's patch. I also added compost to the half-ass herb garden and to various backyard plants, such as the Lantana.

The Orange Blossom tomatoes are popping. The Sunny Boys are beginning to fruit as well.

a new tomato plant

The white tomato seedling. Bug-challenged Barbarella looking on

A neighbor in Jefferson Park gave me a white tomato seedling which I planted this morning. I mixed potting soil with a little fertilizer into the unamended soil and buried it this morning, finishing it with my dirty mulch and some eggshells around the plant to try and protect it from the bugs. It creates some aesthetic incongruity in Maia's patch, but I can fix that if I just buy some more cypress mulch.

I have no idea what kind of white tomato this is. We shall see.

Maia's patch, aesthetic incongruity and all

"Dirty mulch" is the name I have given to the compost from the vacant lot. My neighbor and I have been composting lawn and yard clippings back there for some time, and I have been composting vegetable and fruit waste there as well. Because of the pine trees that proliferate, the compost is replete with pine straw which does not break down quickly enough. So I've been using it as a "mulch," with the hope that the pine straw will actually help both water filtration and prevent weed growth. I'm sure every amateur gardener has his geek moment, when a small success after months of toil brings joy and anticipation. Utterly incomprehensible to everyone else, such moments are stowed away greedily as treasures. I'm having that kind of geek moment with this compost. I've long wanted to  add truly organic matter to my garden. Now, after months of trudging out with buckets of carrot shavings, onion bits, and lemon rinds to the vacant lot, I am adding organic matter to my garden.

new garden planting

How ya like me now

In an effort to spruce up the dead space around the mailbox, I have planted an assortment of purple sage, Cuphea (Mexican Heather), French Thyme, and Fluted Coreoposos "Jethro Tull". Vinca Major is still growing from transplants, and I've tried a couple of golden pineapple sage cuttings, which don't really seem to be taking root.

The Fluted Coreoposos "Jethro Tull" is by far the most interesting planting so far. A carefree and everblooming new introduction. Compact habit. Bright yellow blooms with unique fluted petals. Spent blooms should be removed to encourage continuous flowering. It sits at one foot right now and will grow another foot before it is all over.

The fluted petals are pretty cool

I have begun laying down my own compost mix in with my flowerbeds. The compost has quite a bit of pine straw in it, so it makes for a good mulch. My hope is that the watering draws down the nutrients into the soil (trickle down gardening?) and the pine straw serves as a weed barrier. It is definitely "dirty mulch," but it could always be covered should one want to go that route.

I also planted BW Pink Begonias along with Coleus "Training Red" in the front planters and Ivy Geranium (Burgundy) and Kuai Rose wishbone flowers in the back planters. Finally, some color...

The Bee Balm finally blooms

garden update: fertilizing

Mortgage Lifters, finally lifting

I fertilized the tomato plants, eggplant, cucumbers, and herbs yesterday. I know I promised not to overfertilize the herbs, but I'm fairly well convinced that my 2-4-1 fertilizer is not going to strip the herbs dead. I did not put too much fertilizer on the herbs. I was much more generous with the tomato plants. In all, I used two gallons of diluted fertilizer, and at least 1 1/2 of that went on to the tomatoes and eggplant and cucumbers.

Juan Flamee looking butch

The sweet olive tomatoes are beginning to flower and fruit. In two weeks the plants have grown considerably and are looking healthy and strong.

Sunny Boy and Cherokee Purple

Da Row

Sweet Olive . . . first fruit of the season

garden update

Today I pruned and fertilized the front rose bushes. I also fertilized the pepper plants and eggplant, as well as the mortgage lifters, which are the weakest of the tomato plants at present. Carrots have done NOTHING, and I'm about to throw in the towel on growing from seed. Maybe a row of flowers.

I've also removed a bucket of compost from the back lot. It is not completely broken down yet, but it is now in a plastic bin and will decompose further before I throw it down somewhere.

Suckers...

Orange Blossom before

 In an effort to take my tomato plants to the "next level" I am going to try to improve both yield and size. One thing that might help would be pruning the plant--getting rid of the "suckers" that take up nutrients and prevent the fruit from growing big. So I have tried some initial pruning.

I didn't really know about "suckers" or anything about pruning tomato plants before a friend of mine mentioned it. My concern was that if too many leaves were pruned they would not produce the necessary sugars through photosynthesis. Walter Reeves confirmed my suspicion here and gave some basic tips on pruning. First, it is important to recognize that suckers are young leaves that exist between the plant stem and the mature leaves. They "suck" up the nutrients that would otherwise go to the mature leaves, so it is good to prune them back. However, it also reduces photosynthesis, so one must be careful not to overdo it.

Orange Blossom after

In general, pruning will produce bigger fruit, but less fruit. The more vines and arms, the more fruit, but the fruit will necessarily be smaller. I did a little trimming of the lower leaves just to think it out and encourage more growth.