July 29, 2009
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Published Stuff Veggies

Grow Great Grub

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

As I mentioned earlier today it’s been a L O N G year. Actually, it’s been a long year and a half. Or two years. Where am I?

I’ve mentioned it briefly here and there but was finally given the go-ahead today to speak freely(ish) about the main project that has been taking up so much time over the last… very long while.

A NEW BOOK!

I’ve been busy making a new book and this time it is all about my biggest gardening love, growing food in small spaces. The book is called “Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces” and is published by Random House/Clarkson Potter.

I’m really excited about this one. Not just because the topic is so specifically near to my heart and where I most find joy in my own small garden spaces, but because I’ve changed and grown in the years since I made “You Grow Girl” and I think this book reflects that.

This new book has lots of pictures, most especially lots of BIG pictures, all taken by me with a few exceptions. It also has a much more gender-neutral design, which I think will take away the small embarrassment some felt in carrying book number one out with them in public. HA! As a funny aside, when the first book came out many people asked if that was me illustrated on the cover. I replied many times that while the woman sort of looks like me back when I had long hair, it wasn’t really meant to be me.

Besides, I would never garden in a crop top. EVER. The end.

This time it really is me on the cover. And my real plants. And my pickles. Delicious pickles. I can’t wait for you to make those pickles. Why is this suddenly reading like a euphemism? I swear, sometimes pickles are just pickles.

Unfortunately, the wait is long. Grow Great Grub will be officially released in February 2, 2010 (I keep joking that the aliens will have arrived by the time this thing sees the light of day), but it is available for pre-order from several online booksellers (and at sale prices too!) in the meantime. Once I’ve had some time to decompress from the long and harried writing/making portion of this endeavor, we’ll begin work on rolling out the details. My sweet, patient, and also very exhausted partner Davin (also my partner in designing and illustrating the book) has put together a quick micro-site and will be helping me build a bigger site soon.

Serendipitously, the book launch will coincide with You Grow Girl’s 10th anniversary so I’ve also got some fun events and whatnot in the works for next spring. Stay tuned and thanks for riding it out with me!

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July 29, 2009
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Daily Botanical Flowers

Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris)

Photo by Gayla Trail All Rights Reserved

It’s been a difficult year and every cell in my body has been craving simplicity and play in an effort to rebound. When I’ve had some free time lately, I’ve found myself reaching for box cameras that I haven’t used in years rather than my usual mainstays. These cameras are as simple as they come: no light meter, focus, and no aperture. It’s just a box that holds film with a lens and a shutter. The viewfinder barely functions. Hold the box, point it, and click the shutter.

Oddly enough, this simplicity actually opens things up to a certain amount of complexity and fun experimentation. Most box cameras like this one can’t focus less than 2m. I took this close-up photo by holding a magnifying glass in front, juggling a ruler to be sure I got the distance right.

This photo was taken with an old favourite, the Ansco Shur Shot. I love the smell of the old leather cover. Unfortunately, it appears to have sprung a leak somewhere, which you can see by the numbers and dots from the paper backing that have burned into the film. Of course, some people would see that as an advantage that adds something to the image.

On the plant: Bladder campion (Silene vulgaris) aka cowbell is one of my most-loved edible weeds. I’m not a huge fan of the eating part but I do love those bloated flowers. I’ve secretly come to associate the plant with a favourite director, Jane Campion. But given that it’s alternate name is cowbell, I think you could make a case for calling it the Christopher Walken plant. More cowbell!

You can’t eat the leaves at this stage since the leaves are tough and bitter this far into the season. Instead, pick the tender shoots when they first emerge in the spring. Like most edible weeds, it tastes kind of like spinach.

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