MY GOUT WEED PROBLEM

     The small patch of green Gout Weed (aka Bishop's Weed) in one shady corner of my flower garden at first delighted me because it brightened up that area and it appeared to keep weeds away. Several years later when it was becoming apparent that the Gout Weed was galloping destructively straight through the garden, I could only grind my teeth in regret in not destroying it while it was yet possible.
     Gout Weed is not only highly invasive but it is notoriously difficult to get rid of because even a tiny bit of its complicated root system left behind from digging will quickly regenerate more plants. The only thing that seems to work is to mulch the area in which they grow.  A tarpauline mulch worked well in an open section of the garden last summer but was impossible to use in shrubby areas unless I was prepared to destroy a row of lilac bushes.
     Wood chips seemed like a possible solution but I knew that I needed a massive amount to have it thick enough to kill the Gout Weed. When the Hydro crew came by in the fall and asked if I wanted some wood chips I was delighted. Four huge truck loads of wood chips have since been dumped on the infested areas and hope is high that at last this dreadful plant has been conquered.

     It will be interesting to see what will happen in the spring... 

COOKING DINNER ON THE WOODSTOVE

    I commonly cook my meals on top of my woodstove in the winter. Black bean, lentil, and pea soups do not take long to cook and somehow seem to taste better for having been prepared over wood heat. Legumes are an economical and highly nutritious food -- and if prepared with imagination, very tasty. I typically add a lot of bay leaves and dried mushrooms (great buys from the reduced shelf that I dry) for flavour -- the house smells great while the pot simmers.
    Tonight I will have pea soup;  tomorrow the thickened soup will be perfect for breaded patties broiled along with my organic CSA vegetables.
    My little house has to be heated anyway at this time of year, so putting a pot on the woodstove is no trouble. Not having to use my electric stove during the high daytime rates is very satisfying. 

photo:  My older Vermont Castings woodstove with an cast iron Jove's head in the foreground to store and radiate heat.... newly oiled (with olive oil) snowshoes in the background await first use. All are second-hand.