Podcast appearances and mentions of barbara damrosch

#198: Real Organic Project champion Eliot Coleman returns to the stage at Churchtown Dairy to speak about the need to focus our conversations and energy around organic practices, instead of popularizing the reliance on outside inputs. He contends that even commercial-scale growers have all they need on-farm to feed their soil and crops, utilizing green manures, compost, and rotation strategies.  Eliot Coleman is an author, market gardener, and educator. His work on the USDA study in the late 1970's, "Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming" helped lead to the formation of the National Organic Program, setting the very standards that are being ignored by corporate interests today. He lives and farms in Harborside, Maine with his wife, gardening and cookbook author Barbara Damrosch, while he transitions Four Season Farm to his daughter Clara Coleman.https://www.fourseasonfarm.com/To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:https://realorganicproject.org/eliot-coleman-churchtown-2024-we-must-do-it-againThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/

Send us a textWe wrap up October with talk about trees, growing veggies in the winter, apples, and more.For complete info, check out our free newsletter!Some links:Info on SumacsSumac in Purdue's arboretum Grave Landscapes: The Nineteenth Century Cemetery Movement by James R. Cochran and Erica Danylchak (Amazon Link)Four-Season Harvest: Organic vegetables from your home garden all year long - Foreword by Barbara Damrosch (1992)  (Amazon Link)On the Bookshelf:Better Homes and Gardens Special Publication Best Apple Recipes on eBaySouthern Living Best Fall Recipes issueDirt: Chelsea Physic GardenHow the Victorian Fern Hunting Craze Led to Adventure, Romance, and Crime Lost Lady of Gardening Writer and author of Ferns, Grace A. WoolsonNew Apple Variety Needs a NameOur Affiliates (Linking to them to make a purchase earns us a small commission):Botanical InterestsFarmers DefenseEtsyTerritorial SeedsTrue Leaf Market Eden BrosNature Hills Nursery  Book and Amazon links are also affiliate links.Email us anytime at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com  For more info on Carol  visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens. For more info on Dee, visit her website.  Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.Support the showOn Instagram: Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.On YouTube.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee  Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1830 Marianne North, the Victorian Artist Who Painted the World's Flora, is born. 1843 Learning from History: Vermont's Snowy October Surprise 1875 Cora Older, the Horticulturist and author known as the Pink Lady, is born. 2014 Remembering Margaret Owen, the Snowdrop Queen Grow That Garden Library™ Read The Daily Gardener review of A Life in the Garden by Barbara Damrosch Buy the book on Amazon: A Life in the Garden by Barbara Damrosch Today's Botanic Spark 1874 Henry Arthur Bright shares musings on his October garden. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Send us a textTopics this week included refreshing your flower garden in the fall, vegetables you can still grow, a new book by Barbara Damrosch, some amazing plants, and poisonous book covers.For more info and links, check out our weekly newsletter.Links:Hayefield SeedsPeony's EnvyCobrahead ToolsThe Year-Round Vegetable Gardener by Niki JabbourOn the bookshelf: A Life in the Garden, Tales and Tips for Growing Food in Every Season, by Barbara Damrosch. (Amazon link)  Eliot Coleman and Barbara Damrosch's websiteDirt:Plants are amazing!Snow on the PrairieBeautyberry LeavesRabbit Holes:Arsenic and Old Gardening BooksOur Affiliates (Linking to them to make a purchase earns us a small commission):Botanical InterestsFarmers DefenseEtsyTerritorial SeedsTrue Leaf Market Eden BrosNature Hills Nursery  Book and Amazon links are also affiliate links.Email us anytime at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com  For more info on Carol  visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens. For more info on Dee, visit her website.  Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.Support the showOn Instagram: Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.On YouTube.

#160: Organic farmer and Real Organic Project champion Eliot Coleman returns to discuss the role corporations, trade associations, and government policy has had on limiting the amount of real organic food found in the marketplace today. In the second half of the interview, the conversation focuses on growing on-farm fertility and stifling pest pressure by building up organic matter and biodiversity.Eliot Coleman is an author, market gardener, and educator. His work on the USDA study in the late 1970's, "Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming" helped lead to the formation of the National Organic Program, setting the very standards that are being ignored by corporate interests today. He lives and farms in Harborside, Maine with his wife, gardening and cookbook author Barbara Damrosch, while he transitions Four Season Farm to his daughter Clara Coleman. https://www.fourseasonfarm.com/To watch a video version of this podcast with access to the full transcript and links relevant to our conversation, please visit:https://realorganicproject.org/eliot-coleman-they-rob-world-understanding-of-real-organic-practices-episode-one-hundred-sixtyThe Real Organic Podcast is hosted by Dave Chapman and Linley Dixon, engineered by Brandon StCyr, and edited and produced by Jenny Prince.The Real Organic Project is a farmer-led movement working towards certifying 1,000 farms across the United States this year. Our add-on food label distinguishes soil-grown fruits and vegetables from hydroponically-raised produce, and pasture-raised meat, milk, and eggs from products harvested from animals in horrific confinement (CAFOs - confined animal feeding operations).To find a Real Organic farm near you, please visit:https://www.realorganicproject.org/farmsWe believe that the organic standards, with their focus on soil health, biodiversity, and animal welfare were written as they should be, but that the current lack of enforcement of those standards is jeopardizing the ability for small farms who adhere to the law to stay in business. The lack of enforcement is also jeopardizing the overall health of the customers who support the organic movement; customers who are not getting what they pay for at market but still paying a premium price. And the lack of enforcement is jeopardizing the very cycles (water, air, nutrients) that Earth relies upon to provide us all with a place to live, by pushing extractive, chemical agriculture to the forefront.If you like what you hear and are feeling inspired, we would love for you to join our movement by becoming one of our 1,000  Real Friends:https://www.realorganicproject.org/real-organic-friends/To read our weekly newsletter (which might just be the most forwarded newsletter on the internet!) and get firsthand news about what's happening with organic food, farming and policy, please subscribe here:https://www.realorganicproject.org/email/The Real Organic Project Certification deadline for 2024 is 04/15/2024. Please visit RealOrganicProject.com/Apply to guarantee a 2024 visit and inspection!

Our August book of the month is another fantastic choice for the gardeners among us. Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman is a great resource for anyone interested in growing a large portion of their family's vegetables and enjoys cooking with homegrown produce.If you want to become more self-sufficient and grow a garden, or if you already garden and want to learn more about high-efficiency year-round gardening, Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook is a great book to include in your homesteading library. Enjoy 20% off the retail price this month when you use code BOTM23 at checkout plus receive a free Barn-Shaped Cookie Cutter. Happy gardening and cooking!Listen in while Jeff shares all about this great gardener's cookbook!Purchase Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot ColemanAugust's Book of the Month BlogShop all Meyer Hatchery Books of the Month

It's that time of year to start seeds for the garden (for us Northern folk) and this episode features some tips from various folks in the world of farming & gardening like Eliot Coleman, Baker Creek Seeds, Richard Perkins, Barbara Damrosch, Charles Dowding, & Joe Gardener to name a few. I hope your wisdom and seeds grow with this episode learning what approach works best for your context with whatever tools & materials you have on hand. Remember to keep it simple and just start growing more life in your world - it's what mother nature does best so ride the wave & enjoy!“Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance of conformity on all its many fronts.”― Michael Pollan, Second Nature: A Gardener's Education “I want to tell you about the most hopeful thing in the world. It is a seed.”― Janisse Ray, The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food “Giving a damn and doing what is right are rewards in themselves.” ―  Eliot Coleman, The New Organic Grower: A Master's Manual of Tools and Techniques for the Home and Market Gardener“To see things in the seed, that is genius.” — Lao Tzu"Keep planting seeds , you never know what may take the root.”Learn more about the inspiring folks from this episode, watch the videos and read the show notes on this episode here > Get our seed starting guide on SALE for a limited time here >- - -Disclaimer: This is another episode exploring different themes in Permaculture and related fields with audio clips, interviews & anything else we can find. All audio clips are credited and linked on our website. We seek to share content & information which is becoming increasingly hard to find, censored and/or deemed controversial. Opinions expressed by content creators, guests & interviews on Permaculture Freedom podcast do not necessarily reflect the views of Land by Hand. No human holds the whole truth and listening to many different perspectives helps to shape a critical informed opinion. Always do your own unbiased research before drawing conclusions or spreading others' ideas as the truth.  "It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle - - - If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and consider the following: Share it with someone else in your life  Leave a review or rating for the show Submit feedback, episode topic/guest ideas or a question at landbyhand.org/pfp Thanks for listening and your support! Land by Hand Permaculture education & media to live a natural, resilient lifestyle.-Learn more, watch the videos, and read the show notes on this episode here >

Today we celebrate the botanist and doctor who established the nation's first public botanical garden. We'll also learn about the English Victorian author who loved roses. We’ll recognize the inspiring former president and owner of Tulsa Greenhouse and Four State Wholesale. We'll hear an excerpt about pruning from a peach farmer. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book from American garden royalty - it’s part garden book and part cookbook. And then we’ll wrap things up with a story about the only First Lady recognized by The American Horticultural Society with their highest honor, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award.   Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart To listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to “Play the latest episode of The Daily Gardener Podcast.” And she will. It's just that easy.   The Daily Gardener Friday Newsletter Sign up for the FREE Friday Newsletter featuring: A personal update from me Garden-related items for your calendar The Grow That Garden Library™ featured books for the week Gardener gift ideas Garden-inspired recipes Exclusive updates regarding the show Plus, each week, one lucky subscriber wins a book from the Grow That Garden Library™ bookshelf.   Gardener Greetings Send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes, and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org   Curated Garden News Tree ferns are older than dinosaurs. And that’s not even the most interesting thing about them | World Economic Forum | Gregory Moore   Facebook Group I share all of my curated news articles and original blog posts with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. So, there’s no need to take notes or search for links. The next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community where you’d search for a friend... and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group. Important Events December 22, 1835 Today is the anniversary of the death of the doctor and botanist David Hosack. He was 65. In 2018, David Hosack’s story was brilliantly told in the biography by Victoria Johnson called American Eden. David was a New Yorker and he was a leading doctor in America during the early days of the country. David had a fantastic gift: he was able to form incredible relationships with leading thinkers of his time. Doctor Benjamin Rush was his mentor, and England’s top botanist William Curtis trained him in botany and medicinal plants. At the age of 25, David returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, to teach medicine and botany. David’s patients included Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. And if you've watched the musical Hamilton, you know that although David was one of the best physicians available, he could not save Hamilton. David Hosack established the nation's first public botanical garden in the middle of Manhattan. David initially focused on medicinal plants, but he soon added vegetables, grasses, grains, fruits. And exotics collected from all over the world. It really was a paradise. David's medical students used his garden as an extension of their classroom and that was a first for students on this side of the Atlantic. At its zenith, David’s garden boasted of having over 2,000 different species of plants - just incredible. It was David’s pioneering work with plants that allowed him to teach an entire generation of doctors brand-new remedies to common medical problems. Now, unfortunately, David’s vision for the garden way exceeded his financial ability to keep it going. Sadly David was forced to sell off and dismantle his botanical dream. And today, his former garden is the site of Rockefeller Center. Yet David’s garden and his work had inspired botanists all over the world. And although his botanic garden did not survive, David’s dream of a garden of discovery and learning would be carried out through the work of other pioneers like Henry Shaw, Charles Sprague Sargent, and David Fairchild. In the twilight of his life, David’s wife died. After remarrying a very wealthy woman, David built a country estate with an incredible garden (of course) where he enjoyed his remaining days on earth.   December 22, 1880  Today is the 140th anniversary of the death of the English Victorian author George Eliot. George Eliot was the pen name for a woman named Mary Ann Evans, and her many works like Silas Marner and Middlemarch are packed with images from the garden. To Mary Ann, plants were the perfect representation of faith. Like faith, our botanical friends require care and feeding to grow and flourish. On October 1st, 1841, Mary Ann wrote a letter to her old governess, Maria Lewis. She wrote: “Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." My favorite quotes from Mary Ann, (George Eliot), are about her love of roses. She wrote: "I think I am quite wicked with roses. I like to gather them, and smell them till they have no scent left." And, Eliot wrote this little poem about roses: "You love the roses—so do I. I wish The sky would rain down roses, as they rain From off the shaken bush. Why will it not? Then all the valleys would be pink and white, And soft to tread on. They would fall as light As feathers, smelling sweet; and it would be Like sleeping and yet waking, all at once. Over the sea, Queen, where we soon shall go, Will it rain roses?" This concept of raining roses was something Eliot wrote about several times. She loved that idea. This last quote about roses is the one she is most famous for: "It never rains roses; when we want more roses, we must plant more..."   December 22, 1928 Today is the birthday of the president and owner of Tulsa Greenhouse and Four State Wholesale, William B. Arnett. The origins of Bill's greenhouse went back to 1916, when it was founded by Gordon Vernon Voight back in the early days of Tulsa. During the depression, Bill's dad and a partner took over the retail nursery business started by Voight, and they, in turn, developed it to include a wholesale operation. After learning the ropes from his father, Bill officially took over the business in 1966. Bill and his wife Louise ran the business together. While they raised their four daughters, they oversaw five retail shops, three wholesale houses, and one growing facility. Now, the wholesale side of the business created exciting opportunities for Bill. At one point, The Tulsa Greenhouse provided flowers for florists across four states. Bill enjoyed sharing his expertise with others. And in addition to personally training florists, Bill influenced an entire generation of new designers by contributing to design schools every holiday season. A lover of fresh flowers, Bill prided himself on knowing every aspect of the business, including how to grow each of the flowers in his nursery. In his obituary,  Bill's family recalled the time Bill flew on the first jet airliner out of Tulsa. Now, this was no vacation. Bill had brought along a bouquet of fresh roses, and he wanted to see just how fast he could ship them across the country. He was a true floral businessman. At the time of Bill's death, he'd lost his wife Louise (after being married to her for 60 years), he'd served as president of the Wholesale Florists and Florist Suppliers of America, he’d left a mark on the florist industry in the heart of the country, and he’d closed his business in 2005 (after 90 years of operating in Tulsa). And I found out about Bill after I stumbled on his obituary online. In Bill's obituary, one of his daughters said something that I thought was such a beautiful quote and a wonderful tribute about what it was like to grow up with her dad, “We were surrounded by flowers all our lives — there were flowers galore.”   Unearthed Words My thoughts turn to the work of pruning. Ideally, the first blasts of winter have left their mark and strip the trees of leaves. But I've seen antsy farmers prune while lots of leaves still hang in the tree. The work is slow, and it's hard to see. I delay my pruning because, for me, vision is crucial. The art of pruning involves seeing into the future. I can easily spot the dead branches by their dried, dark, almost black wood. But it's hard to envision new growth and the new shape the tree will take two or three or four years from now. When I prune, I have to keep that vision in mind.   Otherwise, I'll hesitate and grow timid and insecure, as I gaze down the just-worked row and see all the butchered trees and fallen limbs lying in the dirt. With each dead limb, there's hope for new growth. That's why I enjoy this part of pruning:  I'm always working with the future.   I'm like a bonsai gardener with my peach trees, shaping each tree for the long term. When working with dying trees, I feel one of the most important and strongest emotions a farmer has: a sense of hope. — David Mas Masumoto ("Mahs Mah-sue-moe-toe"), Peach & Grape Farmer and Author, Epitaph for a Peach, Pruning   Grow That Garden Library The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman  This book came out in 2013, and the subtitle is From the Garden to the Table in 120 Recipes. In this book, America’s most respected gardening couple Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman, share what they’ve learned from growing and eating on their extraordinary Four Season Farm in Maine. This book shows you how to grow what you eat and how to cook what you grow. And this book is an excellent resource for the times we are living through - there’s even a section for what to plant for a yearly cycle survival garden. Barbara and Eliot divide their book into two parts. The first half covers gardening, and the second part is devoted to the recipes. I should also mention that Barbara is a master cook. This book is 496 pages of step-by-step instructions from America’s garden royalty - it's a big book with an even greater value. You can get a copy of The Four Season Farm Gardener's Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman and support the show using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $3   Today’s Botanic Spark Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart   December 22, 1912   Today is the birthday of the American socialite and the First Lady of the United States as the wife of the 36th President, Lyndon B. Johnson, Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson who always went by "Lady Bird". On her 70th birthday, Lady Bird made her greatest contribution to American botany when she gave a financial endowment and a land grant of 60 acres to found the National Wildlife Research Center in Austin, Texas. A non-profit dedicated to conservation and preservation, the Center conducts scientific research on wildflowers as well as other native and naturalized plants. Together with Helen Hayes MacArthur, Lady Bird served as the co-chair of the center. For her philanthropy and love of nature, Lady Bird was awarded the American Horticultural Society's highest honor, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Award.  Although her work as the first lady had brought her incredible experiences, Lady Bird wrote: "My story begins long before that - with a love of the land that started in my childhood."   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener. And remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Dee and Carol discuss picking flowers to honor and share with your kids, Glass Gem Corn, and books that inspire us.  All the quotes are from Tony Hawk and the world of skateboarding. (Because we can relate anything to gardening.)Gluten-free biscuits and wildflower honey, please! 'Bright Eyes' phlox at American MeadowsGlass Gem Corn at Burpee SeedsOn the Bookshelf, Theme Gardens, by Barbara Damrosch. The Great American Lawn. A video from CBS Sunday Morning.Here's a post on Dee's blog where she mused about tupelo honey, Scotts-Miracle Gro and how the perfect lawn should have weeds like tupelo trees and clover. Email us at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com  For more info on Carol and her books, visit her website.For more info on Dee and her book, visit her website.(Some links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link, we may receive a tiny commission. It does not affect the price you pay!)

The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Radio Show from March – Oct weekly Heard on Joy 1340 AM & 98.7 FM Milwaukee, WI Saturday mornings 7-8 AM CST http://player.listenlive.co/41841 Heard on WAAM 1600 AM & 92.7 FM Ann Arbor, MI Sundays 7-8 AM EST https://tinyurl.com/p68cvft Heard on KDIZ 1570 AM Minneapolis, MN Saturdays 4-5 PM and replay Sundays 2-3 PM CST http://player.listenlive.co/57071 Heard on KFEQ 680 AM at 107.9 FM St. Joseph/Kansas City, MO Sundays 10-11 AM CST http://www.680kfeq.com/live-stream/ Heard on WRMN 1410 AM & 96.7 FM Elgin/Chicago, IL Sundays Noon-1 PM CST https://www.wrmn1410.com/ Heard on KYAH 540 AM Delta/Salt Lake City, UT Saturdays 1-2 PM MST Reply Sundays 9-10 PM MST https://www.yahradio540.com/listen-live/ Heard on KMET 1490 AM & 98.1 FM Banning, CA Tuesdays 9 - 10 AM PST April – Oct https://www.kmet1490am.com/ Heard on WCRN 830 AM Westborough/Boston, MA Saturdays 10-11 AM EST https://tunein.com/radio/WCRN-AM-830-Full-Service-Radio-s1112/ Heard on WOGO 680 AM & 103.1 FM Chippewa Falls, WI Sundays 9-10 AM CST https://www.christiannetcast.com/listen/player.asp?station=wogo-am Check out https://thewisconsinvegetablegardener.com/ Email your questions to Gardentalkradio@gmail.com Or call 24/7 leave your question at 1-800 927-SHOW Garden questions answered in segment four by Joey and Holly Q: I would love it if I could be pointed in the right direction for what I can do right now to prepare for spring! thank you so much in advance I am in Wisconsin A: A few things you can start doing now is looking at what you want to plant and either but the seeds for direct sowing when the time is right for those seeds and if you want to start seeds indoors not is a good time to start tomatoes, eggplants, the brassicas, herbs, to name a few. Also you can lay out your garden so you have an outline so where you would like to start plans always change but it will give a starting point. Q: From Instagram I am trying to find out how to use pet ashes from a cremation in the garden. From what I gather it either is or is very similar to bone meal. We want to memorialize our cat this way. He can be a part of the trees in the forest. But I don’t want to over or under do it so I am trying to get my bearings. A: You're not going to overdo it by spreading the ashes in the garden/ forest. There will be a small amount of potash in the ashes. You have a small amount of ashes, it's not a long term feed to the plants it is a short term but there are some nutriences for the plants and it will not hurt them you would also want to mix them in the soil as they ashes can blow away. Q:Any tips for growing tomatoes upside down? A: Well, tomatoes don't do particularly well upside down that said if you are going to try it I would recommend an indeterminate cherry variety as it does not take as long to grow and develop as large fruiting tomatoes. I would try to grow it in full sun and be sure to keep the root system Hydrated and properly fed over the growing season as tomatoes are heavy feeders and will deplete the nutrients in the soil quickly Q: Will there be a problem with some plants crossing with others of the same family/ varieties if planted close together ? A: No and yes. For the current growing season if you are only growing for production and not going to save seeds then you will have no problem. If you are going to be growing for production and seed saving then yes example you are growing 5 varieties of cucumbers there is a very good chance that you will have crossed varieties if you save seeds. Now that could be good and bad as you may have a new type of cucumber that is tastes great or one the does not Q: Can you use a palm cactus fruit soil to put cantaloupe seedlings in? A: You could but I would advise not to simply because palm cactus fruit soil is made to be drain and dry out much quicker than standard potting soil and as those types of plants do not like to have soil that holds moisture. I would use compost of a potting soil that has a slow release fertilizer in it. Q: I’ve never grown beets before. I don't have a yard and I want to do these in a pot. How big of a pot would I have to get to plant these? A: Beets can grow in any size pot. It is best to grow them in a larger container as you can get more plants in it, and it will have more soil which will take more time to dry out. Holds more moisture. You also can mulch the beets as they come up. Do remember to thin them as they are a cluster seed and without thinning them they will not develop large Bulbs We have grown them in grow bags as small as 3 gallons you can get 3 to 4 plants in and they did very well Q: What would you recommend plastic or metal watering can? A: There are benefits to both and also negatives also metal can rust if not taken care of and brought in plastic and break down via the sunlight plastic is lighter and then medal. But the medal is much more durable. We have both the key to any watering can is to get a size you can handle. Just because it can hold 3 gallons if you can’t carry 3 gallons it do no good. Also make sure the sprinkler had can be removed for cleaning. Q: What is required to grow asparagus? I'm considering it, but have no clue about it. Where would I purchase starts (or whatever they're called)? A. To plant asparagus crowns, dig trenches 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep (8 inches in sandy soil) down the center of the prepared bed. Soak the crowns in compost tea for 20 minutes before planting. Place the crowns in the trenches 1½ to 2 feet apart; top them with 2 to 3 inches of soil. Asparagus thrives in slightly acid soil (pH of about 6.5). Choose a site that has partial sun (full sun is not needed). Asparagus does not like to have its feet “wet,” so be sure that your garden bed has good drainage. If you do not have good drainage, consider growing asparagus in raised beds. Yield. In general, plant between 10 and 12 asparagus plants per person for fresh eating. If you are especially fond of asparagus or want additional produce for freezing, plant a few more. The basic guideline is 50 plants for a family of four, advises Barbara Damrosch, author of "The Garden Primer." Buy them seed saver exchange do not carry asparagus crowns you would want a 2 yr old crown and some online site have them your local independent garden center most likely will have them Q: Do I still need to seal pressure treated wood? A: It is not necessary because of the pressure treated lumber but if IM going to invest in lumber and raised beds I would seal it with a wood sealer just to add an additional layer of protection on that would to potentially get another 2,3,4 years out of it After installation, treated wood takes 2-4 weeks to dry. For optimal results, wait until the wood is completely dry to paint and stain. or you could leave the wood out in the sun for that time treat it then make the beds Check out the companies that make the show possible Power Planter of www.powerplanter.com Proplugger of www.proplugger.com World's coolest rain gauge www.worldscoolestraingauge.com Rootmaker of www.rootmaker.com Us coupon code TWVG at checkout and save 10% of your order Tomato snaps of www.tomatosnaps.com Chapin Manufacturing Inc. of www.chapinmfg.com Pomona pectin of www.pomonapectin.com Iv organics of www.ivorganics.com Dr. JimZ of www.drjimz.com Seed Savers Exchange of www.seedsavers.org Waterhoop of www.waterhoop.com Green Gobbler of www.greengobbler.com Nessalla koombucha of www.nessalla.com MI Green House LLC of www.migreenhouse.com Spartan mosquito of www.spartanmosquito.com Phyllom BioProducts of www.phyllombioproducts.com Happy leaf led of www.happyleafled.com Neptunes harvest of www.neptunesharvest.com Dripworks of www.dripworks.com We Grow Indoors of www.wegrowindoors.com Harvestmore of www.harvest-more.com Deer defeat www.deerdefeat.com Blue ribbon organics www.blueribbonorganics.com Bluemel's garden & landscape center www.bluemels.com Milwaukee,WI official garden center of the show Wisconsin Greenhouse company of https://wisconsingreenhousecompany.com/ Chip Drop of https://getchipdrop.com/?ref=wisconsinvegetable Tree-Ripe Fruit Co of https://www.tree-ripe.com/

The Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener Radio Show from March – Oct weekly Heard on Joy 1340 AM & 98.7 FM Milwaukee, WI Saturday mornings 7-8 AM CST http://player.listenlive.co/41841 Heard on WAAM 1600 AM & 92.7 FM Ann Arbor, MI Sundays 7-8 AM EST https://tinyurl.com/p68cvft Heard on KDIZ 1570 AM Minneapolis, MN Saturdays 4-5 PM and replay Sundays 2-3 PM CST http://player.listenlive.co/57071 Heard on KFEQ 680 AM at 107.9 FM St. Joseph/Kansas City, MO Sundays 10-11 AM CST http://www.680kfeq.com/live-stream/ Heard on WRMN 1410 AM & 96.7 FM Elgin/Chicago, IL Sundays Noon-1 PM CST https://www.wrmn1410.com/ Heard on KYAH 540 AM Delta/Salt Lake City, UT Saturdays 1-2 PM MST Reply Sundays 9-10 PM MST https://www.yahradio540.com/listen-live/ Heard on KMET 1490 AM & 98.1 FM Banning, CA Tuesdays 9 - 10 AM PST April – Oct https://www.kmet1490am.com/ Heard on WCRN 830 AM Westborough/Boston, MA Saturdays 10-11 AM EST https://tunein.com/radio/WCRN-AM-830-Full-Service-Radio-s1112/ Heard on WOGO 680 AM & 103.1 FM Chippewa Falls, WI Sundays 9-10 AM CST https://www.christiannetcast.com/listen/player.asp?station=wogo-am Check out https://thewisconsinvegetablegardener.com/ Email your questions to Gardentalkradio@gmail.com Or call 24/7 leave your question at 1-800 927-SHOW In segment one: Joey and Holly ask the question should you till or not till your garden? To till or not to till your garden We are talking ground garden and raised bed You make that decision for your garden here are something to keep in mind for to till or not till 1st the question needs to be asked: Why do people till the garden? A: It is easy, it loosens the soil A: mix organic matter into your soil Tilling too often or deep can do more damage than good to your soil. Rototilling done too early in the season can result in the garden becoming hard and unable to retain moisture. Any heavy tilling when the soil is wet is also destructive to soil structure. The soil will become terribly compacted and dry out too fast. It you till or you do not till never work the soil if it is too wet. How wet is to wet? If you can take soil in your hand, make a ball and then push into it with your other hand if it does not fall apart it is too wet. What is the best way to till your soil? If your garden is medium- or small-sized, a shovel or spading fork is the best way. But if you want to use that rototiller, just remember, not too deep and only when the soil is ready. And no matter how you break up your soil, you’ll want to add in some compost or organic matter to provide plants with more nutrition for better growth. Watch out for worms they are what makes your garden great Should you till your garden? Things to think about, How does nature do it The soil web Spading the garden and or using a garden fork is less damaging on the soil then using a tiller as it keep from turning it into a powered. Think about layering a inch or 2 on top of your grow area each year. Do not mix it in let the water and bugs and worms do it for you. Tilling brings weed seeds up that have been dormant for years. Some seeds can stay dormant for up to 80 years Cover your soil with something natural leave straw, chemical free seed free grass clippings so it does not weather or wash away In segment two Joey and Holly go over 4 fruit tree and 4 non fruit trees you can grow on your property 4 good landscaping trees and 4 great fruit trees for your property 1st thing before we get into the list one, do you have room for a tree on your property. I do not mean right now I mean when the tree is full grown. Look up, Power lines Will it shade out part of your garden? Can you plant it in the front yard or just in the backyard? Can it grow in my grow zone ? How long before I can get a harvest The average bearing age of fruit trees is as follows; apple - 4 to 5 years, sour or tart cherry - 3 to 5 years, pear - 4 to 6 years, and plum - 3 to 5 years. Ok what are four get fruit trees to grow you find find full size fruit trees but also dwarf fruit trees, you can have an attractive landscape suitable for a small property, There is one "catch" that beginners should keep in mind: Some fruit trees are self-fertile, but many others are not. For the latter, you will need to grow more than one tree to achieve pollination. Make it a point to ask nursery staff about this when buying. All of these entries prefer full sun and well-drained soil. There are semi-dwarf varieties Tall these can get wide too Apple tree dwarf 8 to 10 feet tall none dwarf 20 to 30 feet Cherry tree semi-dwarf cherry tree 10ft tall none dwarf up 30 feet Peach tree dwarf peach tree that reaches 8 to 10 feet tall none 25ft Plum some american varieties can grow is zones as low a 4 can grow 15 to 30 feet If you keep them trimmed correctly they will not get as tall 1 Dogwood tree Depending on the species of Dogwood you plant, you may have a short stout bush or a 25 foot tall tree. 2. Sugar maple 60 to 75 feet tall 3.Silver maples as little as five years old, the silver maple tree will transform your backyard into a shady retreat. 4. Red oaks 75 foot tall The dwarf chinkapin oak is a shrub or small tree that typically only grows to 13–20 feet Dwarf Japanese maples are slow-growing, compact trees that grow to about 3 to 8 feet In segment three Joey and Holly welcome their guest author Kim Eierman Kim Eierman is the Founder of EcoBeneficial. She is an Environmental Horticulturist specializing in ecological landscapes and native plants. 1. What is an ecological landscape? 2. Why is it important to grow native plants? 3. What are resources for people to find out what plants are native to their area? 4. Why are pollinators important? Why are they at risk? 5. How can we help the pollinators? 6. Where can our listeners out more about you? Garden questions answered in segment four by Joey and Holly Q: I would love it if I could be pointed in the right direction for what I can do right now to prepare for spring! thank you so much in advance I am in Wisconsin A: A few things you can start doing now is looking at what you want to plant and either but the seeds for direct sowing when the time is right for those seeds and if you want to start seeds indoors not is a good time to start tomatoes, eggplants, the brassicas, herbs, to name a few. Also you can lay out your garden so you have an outline so where you would like to start plans always change but it will give a starting point. Q: From Instagram I am trying to find out how to use pet ashes from a cremation in the garden. From what I gather it either is or is very similar to bone meal. We want to memorialize our cat this way. He can be a part of the trees in the forest. But I don’t want to over or under do it so I am trying to get my bearings. A: You're not going to overdo it by spreading the ashes in the garden/ forest. There will be a small amount of potash in the ashes. You have a small amount of ashes, it's not a long term feed to the plants it is a short term but there are some nutriences for the plants and it will not hurt them you would also want to mix them in the soil as they ashes can blow away. Q:Any tips for growing tomatoes upside down? A: Well, tomatoes don't do particularly well upside down that said if you are going to try it I would recommend an indeterminate cherry variety as it does not take as long to grow and develop as large fruiting tomatoes. I would try to grow it in full sun and be sure to keep the root system Hydrated and properly fed over the growing season as tomatoes are heavy feeders and will deplete the nutrients in the soil quickly Q: Will there be a problem with some plants crossing with others of the same family/ varieties if planted close together ? A: No and yes. For the current growing season if you are only growing for production and not going to save seeds then you will have no problem. If you are going to be growing for production and seed saving then yes example you are growing 5 varieties of cucumbers there is a very good chance that you will have crossed varieties if you save seeds. Now that could be good and bad as you may have a new type of cucumber that is tastes great or one the does not Q: Can you use a palm cactus fruit soil to put cantaloupe seedlings in? A: You could but I would advise not to simply because palm cactus fruit soil is made to be drain and dry out much quicker than standard potting soil and as those types of plants do not like to have soil that holds moisture. I would use compost of a potting soil that has a slow release fertilizer in it. Q: I’ve never grown beets before. I don't have a yard and I want to do these in a pot. How big of a pot would I have to get to plant these? A: Beets can grow in any size pot. It is best to grow them in a larger container as you can get more plants in it, and it will have more soil which will take more time to dry out. Holds more moisture. You also can mulch the beets as they come up. Do remember to thin them as they are a cluster seed and without thinning them they will not develop large Bulbs We have grown them in grow bags as small as 3 gallons you can get 3 to 4 plants in and they did very well Q: What would you recommend plastic or metal watering can? A: There are benefits to both and also negatives also metal can rust if not taken care of and brought in plastic and break down via the sunlight plastic is lighter and then medal. But the medal is much more durable. We have both the key to any watering can is to get a size you can handle. Just because it can hold 3 gallons if you can’t carry 3 gallons it do no good. Also make sure the sprinkler had can be removed for cleaning. Q: What is required to grow asparagus? I'm considering it, but have no clue about it. Where would I purchase starts (or whatever they're called)? A. To plant asparagus crowns, dig trenches 12 inches wide and 6 inches deep (8 inches in sandy soil) down the center of the prepared bed. Soak the crowns in compost tea for 20 minutes before planting. Place the crowns in the trenches 1½ to 2 feet apart; top them with 2 to 3 inches of soil. Asparagus thrives in slightly acid soil (pH of about 6.5). Choose a site that has partial sun (full sun is not needed). Asparagus does not like to have its feet “wet,” so be sure that your garden bed has good drainage. If you do not have good drainage, consider growing asparagus in raised beds. Yield. In general, plant between 10 and 12 asparagus plants per person for fresh eating. If you are especially fond of asparagus or want additional produce for freezing, plant a few more. The basic guideline is 50 plants for a family of four, advises Barbara Damrosch, author of "The Garden Primer." Buy them seed saver exchange do not carry asparagus crowns you would want a 2 yr old crown and some online site have them your local independent garden center most likely will have them Q: Do I still need to seal pressure treated wood? A: It is not necessary because of the pressure treated lumber but if IM going to invest in lumber and raised beds I would seal it with a wood sealer just to add an additional layer of protection on that would to potentially get another 2,3,4 years out of it After installation, treated wood takes 2-4 weeks to dry. For optimal results, wait until the wood is completely dry to paint and stain. or you could leave the wood out in the sun for that time treat it then make the beds Check out the companies that make the show possible Power Planter of www.powerplanter.com Proplugger of www.proplugger.com World's coolest rain gauge www.worldscoolestraingauge.com Rootmaker of www.rootmaker.com Us coupon code TWVG at checkout and save 10% of your order Tomato snaps of www.tomatosnaps.com Chapin Manufacturing Inc. of www.chapinmfg.com Pomona pectin of www.pomonapectin.com Iv organics of www.ivorganics.com Dr. JimZ of www.drjimz.com Seed Savers Exchange of www.seedsavers.org Waterhoop of www.waterhoop.com Green Gobbler of www.greengobbler.com Nessalla koombucha of www.nessalla.com MI Green House LLC of www.migreenhouse.com Spartan mosquito of www.spartanmosquito.com Phyllom BioProducts of www.phyllombioproducts.com Happy leaf led of www.happyleafled.com Neptunes harvest of www.neptunesharvest.com Dripworks of www.dripworks.com We Grow Indoors of www.wegrowindoors.com Harvestmore of www.harvest-more.com Deer defeat www.deerdefeat.com Blue ribbon organics www.blueribbonorganics.com Bluemel's garden & landscape center www.bluemels.com Milwaukee,WI official garden center of the show Wisconsin Greenhouse company of https://wisconsingreenhousecompany.com/ Chip Drop of https://getchipdrop.com/?ref=wisconsinvegetable Tree-Ripe Fruit Co of https://www.tree-ripe.com/

Dee and Carol discuss flowering tobacco (Nicotiana sp.), vegetables that are easy to grow and hard to grow plus a new app to help all gardeners grow vegetables, and a few of their favorite old gardening books.  Here are some helpful links:Flowers:  The lime-green Nicotiana langsdorffii, with a narrow bell-shaped flower is hard to find seeds for but Louis the Plant Geek also grows this flower.Nan Ondra from Hayefield has an entire post on Nicotianas she's loved. She also has a cross between Nicotiana langsdorffii and N. alata ‘Lime Green' called ‘Ondra's Green Mix' which she may have in her  Etsy shop now.  Botanical Interests also sells a flowering tobacco called Indian Peace Pipe.Veggies:Information on a new app for growing vegetables is at From Seed to Spoon.Dirt:A few favorite old books include:Theme Gardens by Barbara Damrosch Mrs. Greenthumbs: How I Turned a Boring Yard into a Glorious Garden and How You Can, Too by Cassandra Danz (1993) Mrs. Greenthumbs Plows Ahead: Five Steps to the Drop-Dead Gorgeous Garden of Your Dreams by Cassandra Danz (1998)Email us at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com and look for us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and now Pinterest.For more info on Carol, visit her website.For more info on Dee, visit her website.We also invite you to join The Gardenangelists Garden Club on Facebook.(Some links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link, we may receive a tiny commission. It does not affect the price you pay!)

My guest this week is Barbara Damrosh. An icon in the world of gardening, Barbara began her horticultural career in the mid-1970’s and has always been driven by the desire to help others get into gardening. To that end, she published her first of many books, The Garden Primer, in 1988; and she’s spent time […] The post 086-Timeless Gardening Principles, with Barbara Damrosch appeared first on joe gardener® | Organic Gardening Like a Pro.

Being a resource for organic growers for over three decades. In This Podcast: In 1988, Eliot Coleman literally wrote the book on being an organic grower and has been an invaluable resource for organic gardeners and farmers for three decades. He only started growing food because it sounded like an adventure; and he learned how through books and making friends with farmers around the world. We learn who inspired and taught him, how he uses livestock on his farm, how he virtually moved his farm 500 miles to the south for the winter, and more. Don't miss an episode! Click here to sign up for podcast updatesor visit www.urbanfarm.org/podcast Eliot has over fifty years' experience in all aspects of organic farming, including field vegetables, greenhouse vegetables, rotational grazing of cattle and sheep, and range poultry. He is the author of The New Organic Grower, Four-Season Harvest,The Winter Harvest Handbook and an instructional workshop DVD called Year-Round Vegetable Production with Eliot Coleman - all published through our friends at Chelsea Green. Eliot and his wife, Barbara Damrosch, operate a commercial year-round market garden, and run horticultural research projects, at their farm called Four Season Farm in Harborside, Maine. Go to www.urbanfarm.org/eliotcoleman  for more information and links on this podcast, and to find our other great guests. 400: Eliot Coleman on 30th Anniversary of 'The New Organic Grower'

It is mid-January. It is deep mid-winter, even in my relatively mild USDA zone 9, Sunset zone 8. While I am fortunate enough to have a year-round Saturday farmer’s market available to me, my own home garden is looking spare. Which is at it should be this time of year, but it could be looking a little less spare while still remaining seasonally appropriate. One of MY New Year’s resolutions is to strive to do a little better on this front. After the calendar year 2016, I would like to feel a little more self-reliant. Call me crazy - I’m starting with adding a few raised vegetable beds to my little home garden. For a little refresher course, I pulled out my trusty-old “The Four-Season Harvest” by Eliot Coleman (Chelsea Green, 1992), which was formative to my first on-my-own adult garden in the 1990s. Today, I am joined by Eliot Coleman, esteemed plantsman, gardener and author based in Harborside, Maine, where he lives and gardens year round at Four Season Farm. Eliot and his wife, Barbara Damrosch (a noted gardener and garden writer herself — perhaps you follow her regular contributions to The Washington Post?) were early proponents and continue to be enthusiastic advocates for growing your own seasonally appropriate, sustainably tended, food year-round — no matter where you live. Eliot is also the author of "The New Organic Grower" and “The Winter Harvest Handbook."

Eliot Coleman raises about an acre-and-a-half of vegetables in Harborside, Maine, with his wife, Barbara Damrosch. With over 40 years of experience in all aspects of organic farming, Eliot is widely recognized as a pioneer in the world of organic market farming, especially when it comes to producing crops year-round in the northern tier of the United States. He is the author of the bible of organic market farming, The New Organic Grower, as well as the Winter Harvest Handbook. Eliot shares his farming history in this episode, including the ways that farming in Maine has influenced his approach to farming, and how trying to make Maine soil resemble Iowa soils has led him to develop the skills of observation that have served him so well in the development of his farm. Along the way, we get into picking rocks, marketing, plant-positive pest control, and Eliot’s views on organic hydroponics. The Farmer to Farmer Podcast is generously supported by Vermont Compost Company.

They might not be the most glamorous vegetable rolling around in the vegetable drawer, but potatoes are the stuff of life. “If there was any vegetable you could survive on totally, it would be potatoes,” said Barbara Damrosch, an organic farmer and author with Eliot Coleman of The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook. “Of all of the great world survival crops like rice or wheat or potatoes, this is the one that a home gardener can grow easily without an enormous amount of space.” Early spring is also an interesting transition period when storage potatoes begin to give way to new spring tubers. At the moment, Damrosch is starting the season off by chitting, which is letting her seed potatoes sprout in a warm, dry, dim spot. Once the potatoes sprout, she’ll plant the potato and sprout in the garden to get an earlier harvest. Eventually, the potatoes will form a hearty, leafy plant that produces pink, white or lavender flowers (depending on the variety of potato). “When you see those flowers, that is the signal that there actually potatoes underground,” Damrosch said. “You can cheat, even if it’s just your one crop, you can get baby new potatoes when you start to see your flowers.” She says the process of harvesting new potatoes is called grabbling. “It means that you take your hand and you just sort of claw away at the outside of the plant and get closer and closer until you feel a few little potatoes,” Damrosch explained. “Those potatoes taste so fresh in comparison to the maybe storage potatoes that you’ve been eating all winter that it’s like a completely different vegetable.” While potatoes are inexpensive and easy to find, growing the vegetable is also comparatively easy and can be done in a deep bucket or barrel. The deeper the soil, the greater quantity of potatoes. Damrosch notes that she once even accidentally planted potatoes in her compost pile. (Photo: Barbara Damrosch/Courtesy of Workman Publishing) “I just threw my kitchen waste on my compost pile with some potatoes, potato peelings, potato discards along with it,” she said. “I was turning my compost pile one day and I kept finding potatoes, and I thought, I must have throw out a lot of potatoes. Then I realized that, no, these are ones that grew.” She ended up with about a bushel of potatoes from the happy accident. For more discerning gardening, Damrosch recommends varieties like red bliss for new potatoes. At Four Season Farm in Maine, she grows rose gold as an early variety but notes that she wasn’t able to to find those for seed this year and had to rely on the seed potatoes she saved instead. As for larger, storage potatoes, Damrosch recommends the Charlotte variety. The term “new potato” is not limited to just one variety, though. “It just refers to freshly harvested young potatoes, although there are certain varieties that are particularly good for that purpose,” she explained, adding that size alone isn’t enough of an indicator for new potatoes. “Now there’s some cheating that goes on in supermarkets. Sometimes you’ll see a little bag of new potatoes and by tasting them you realize that you’ve been duped because these are last year’s potatoes. They’re just the little ones.” In order to be sure new potatoes are on offer, Damrosch recommends a straightforward approach: Just ask a farmer at the greenmarket. Below, Damrosch shared her recipe for Peruvian Potatoes, which is one that she’s particularly looking forward to making with the soon to be had new crop of tubers. Peruvian Potatoesfrom The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook by Barbara Damrosch and Eliot ColemanServes 4 to 6 4 small yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold (about 1 pound total), scrubbed but not peeled, cut in half or in 2-inch chunks 2 large eggs, at room temperature ¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream  1 teaspoon mildly hot pepper flakes, such as Aleppo (or a hotter type if desired)  1 teaspoon ground turmeric (for color; optional)  6 ounces mild, slightly tangy cheese such as queso fresco or Monterey Jack, cut into ½-inch cubes  Salt  ½ head butterhead lettuce  1 small onion, peeled and thinly sliced   10 strongly flavored black olives, such as Alfonso or Kalamata, pitted  2 tablespoons finely minced fresh pepper, either a red, yellow, or orange bell type or a mildly hot type such as ancho Even in Peru there are many ways to make papa a la huancaina, a traditional dish named for the city of Huancayo, high in the Andes. I make a somewhat Americanized version. It is very colorful to look at, and can be enjoyed at room temperature. Make it mild or spicy, according to your taste. Because it requires some artful arrangement, this is a not for a picnic far afield, but it is still good to eat outdoors, matched with barbecued chicken.  1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, until they are fork-tender but still hold their shape well, about 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon, keeping the water at a simmer, and set them aside in a bowl. 2. Drop the eggs into the simmering water and cook for 10 minutes. Remove them with a large spoon and hold them under cold running water for a minute until they are cool enough to handle. Then peel the eggs and cut them lengthwise into quarters. The yolks should be slightly soft and well colored. Carefully set the egg quarters on a plate, keeping them yolk side up. 3. Bring water to a simmer in the bottom of a double boiler. Combine the cream, pepper flakes, and turmeric in the top of the double boiler, and heat the mixture until you see steam rising. Then gradually drop in the cheese cubes and stir them as they melt, 10 to 15 minutes. (This can also be done in a saucepan directly on the burner, but keep the heat very low and stir constantly with a wooden spoon.) Taste, and add a dash of salt unless the cheese is very salty. 4. Rinse and dry the lettuce leaves, and arrange them around the edge of a platter or on individual salad plates. 5. Cut the potatoes into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange them in the center of the platter or plates. Pour the cheese sauce over them. Distribute the onion slices, egg quarters, and olives around the edge, on top of the lettuce. Sprinkle the minced fresh pepper over everything, and serve.