November 3, 2010

Meade uses a Japanese digging knife — a hori hori — to plant a lot of allium bulbs really quickly.

He laughs at my "city girl" questions a couple times, and we discuss the results of a local election here in Madison, which demonstrated a Madisonian level of conservatism by picking the Democrat over the Green Party guy.



ADDED: All those tiny bulbs....



I only helped by looking admiringly and taking photographs...



As Meade planted 2,000+ bulbs....

57 comments:

Trooper York said...

Jeeez, this is bad enough but please no video of Meade planting any of his Demon seed. OK?

Trooper York said...

I mean those kind of tapes never work out.

Trooper York said...

Well except for the Pamela Anderson
one.

Earth Girl said...

That knife is my favorite gardening tool and it is the perfect gift for gardening friends.

Deborah M. said...

so where can you get one of those knives?

wv: moloi

traditionalguy said...

I suppose planting your bulbs in fertile soil gives them purchase. I know that they keep on coming back every year, like they they purchased the territory they grow in. These flowers will be lovely in late spring. Film today. Photos in five months.

Deborah M. said...

answering my own question: many places. here is one:
http://www.amazon.com/Joshua-Roth-1516-Landscaping-Stainless/dp/B0007WFG2I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1288831807&sr=1-1

Christy said...

In Baltimore one year I had a choice for Congressman between a man with 5 illegitimate children scattered about and a man who stood on a street corner preaching the Gospel. In the habit of being a Flannery O'Connor fan, I voted for the preacher. He lost.

roesch-voltaire said...

Ah even while enjoying tending to their garden, as so many of us are doing, Mead and Althouse can't help but complain about living in this horrible left leaning city of Madison, as though that attitude hasn't help build one of the most livable cities in the country.

DaveW said...

What...Meade doesn't have an Awesome Augur? Billy Mays was selling those for years. And if you ordered in the next 20 minutes you got a set of Ground Augs too, and a Weed Aug which could also be used to mix paint and concrete, and a power extender, and you even got a rechargeable power drill too! That's $120 worth of stuff you got for only $19.95 (plus shipping and processing).

Now that i think about it, it sounds just like a lot of Obama's and dim's sales jobs.

Michael said...

Very few wives permit their husbands to dig hori hori right before their eyes. But I like it and good for the both of you.

Irene said...

"There's 'our' Manski sign."

Haha.

Chip Ahoy said...

How come no bonemeal?

You know, that thread down there ↓ was very civil. Here, have a biscuit.

Meade said...

I thought of you, Irene, just as soon as I heard her say that. Ha!

Anonymous said...

Hey Trooper -- Some dude here the other day thought you and I were the same person. Did you see that? I was so honored.

chickelit said...

R-V wrote: Mead [sic] and Althouse can't help but complain about living in this horrible left leaning city of Madison, as though that attitude hasn't help build one of the most livable cities in the country.

Having grown up around there and having a parent still living there, I can say with some authority that the city didn't go "horrible lefty" until the late 60s when the hippies bloomed and then in the '70s when they elected Soglin. Most of this was imported from Chicago.

Madison seems to be slowly recovering and rediscovering that its Progressive roots weren't really left-leaning at all.

Ann Althouse said...

""There's 'our' Manski sign.""

Well, there you see a real puzzle. Who's the bigger lefty, my neighbors with their Manski sign or me, viewing my neighbors' things as mine?

Meade said...

Yeah but I'll bet if our neighbor wants to borrow your cute shoes to wear for a special lefty occasion, you'd tell him "no."

Meade said...

Chip, thanks for the biscuit! No bonemeal because 1. bonemeal often contains heavy metals and 2. nothing beats leafmold.

chuck b. said...

Note that the true gardener does not rake away the leaves. Or does he, later? I don't.

Meade said...

If there are three private gardens I'd love to get tours through some sweet day, they would be Peter Hoh's, Bissage's, and Chuck B's.

Btw, here's an American version of the hori hori that I would buy today if I didn't already still have the one I bought 30 years ago.

chickelit said...

Meade: That knive looks just like my old scuba diving knive from the '70s.
It even has a nice strap-on scabbard.

chickelit said...

"Strap-on scabbard" sounds kinda kinky if you think deeply about it.

Unknown said...

I'm glad Meade cleared up that Conservatism in Madison is a relative thing.

And, though a city girl, the Mary Janes give you a decidedly country girl look.

PS Tell Meade to be careful. I'd hate to hear he accidentally committed hara-kiri with a hori hori.

(I know, but I just couldn't help myself...)

WV "demend" What happens when the skirt pops a seam.

Meade said...

chickelit of the sea... hunt.

edutcher: that's right - we're all liberals here in Madison. It's just that more and more are becoming like me: conservative liberals.

Irene said...

Meade, ha!

Althouse, the real question is whether you think the neighbor's cat-that-bites is yours, too.

MadisonMan said...

I'm sorry Manski lost. The winner is the type of guy who puts his bike on his Prius, drives downtown to Concerts on the Square, parks a block away, takes his bike off the car, and then bikes a block to make it look like he biked the whole way there.

Pathetic.

Unknown said...

Meade said...

chickelit of the sea... hunt.

edutcher: that's right - we're all liberals here in Madison. It's just that more and more are becoming like me: conservative liberals.


Then there may be hope for them.

Fred4Pres said...

They will look great in the spring.

Fred4Pres said...

I have a great Japanese scuba knife. I was diving in Palau and some Japanese tourist must have dropped it.

I really like my knife. It is stainless and is a very good knife to have around. I keep it strapped in its rubber and plastic sheath on my visor of my truck.

Irene said...

Link to place where one can purchase those shoes, please?

michaele said...

For some reason, I got a Glenda the Good Witch vibe from the view of Ann's shoes.
Hope you take a picture when the bulbs are in bountiful blooms and wear the same adorable shoes.

kjbe said...

Thanks, Meade - didn't know that about the leaf mold. A new box of bulbs came today and there are still leaves falling. We don't really know what we're doing, but maybe it'll work out ok.

About the city girl questions - been there done that, too. Hubby's from Richland Center and the questions usually involved corn or cows. The answers were always sweet, with a slight grin...

Ann Althouse said...

@Irene You can buy the shoes at Shoo on State Street.

Irene said...

Thank you!

Ann Althouse said...

But they only have one pair left, and they're size 10.

They have great shoes there. People need to patronize that store. It's got beautiful things. I also bought these.

Irene said...

Oh no!! I am no size 10 (not until the arthritis gets worse).

If you can provide the make/model, I will order a pair from Shoo.

bagoh20 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

I'm sure you're quite good with your whip, but I think it's risky to allow the help to have knives.

Bob said...

I've seen these tools for years at the Garrett Wade Tools website, but haven't got around to purchasing one. I have to think that, in addition to gardening duties, it would be a good tool to have along when doing treasure hunting with a metal detector, especially at old farm/home sites.

Ann Althouse said...

"If you can provide the make/model, I will order a pair from Shoo."

The first link goes to the shoes, but you can see only size 10 is available. Maybe some other mail-order place has them. You can see the brand and other details there.

Irene said...

Got it!

AST said...

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/horihoriknife.html

chuck b. said...

Meade said, "If there are three private gardens I'd love to get tours through some sweet day, they would be Peter Hoh's, Bissage's, and Chuck B's."

Flattery! Will get you invited to visit the garden anytime you want to come see it. Hell, bring the wife.

My garden is a study in restraint, specifically the need to have some. But I do enjoy it.

Methadras said...

I assure you that the Awesome Auger is faster than Meade's Hori Hori.

Kirk Parker said...

Christy,

Your 8:00pm comment is, not just the best off-topic comment on this thread, but probably the best off-topic comment EVER. LOL and I can't stop...

Kirk Parker said...

Meth,

I somehow misread the device you're touting as Awesome Anger, but I have no doubt that's faster, too.

Issob Morocco said...

Squire Meade, were any of the bulbs Globemasters or Schuberti's?

amba said...

Love your socks.

amba said...

The vw word there was "hoepi."

Kind of like a hoepi-changi Moebius strip that takes you to the back side of where you thought you were going.

Original Mike said...

That's my favorite gardening tool.

Peter Hoh said...

I'm flattered, but my garden went to hell this summer. I've got to take a machete to parts to get it tamed again.

Do I spy ajuga under those leaves?

Allium bulbs -- not on the menu for squirrels or deer. Tulip bulbs, on the other hand, are considered quite yummy by those beasties.

Ann Althouse said...

"socks"

tights.

Ann Althouse said...

Thanks, though. I love blue, when it's the right blue. I wore blue tights in celebration of my newly red state.

jungatheart said...

You two make a cute couple.

Meade said...

@Issob Globemasters, yes. Schuberts, no.

@chuck b. Thanks kindly! Can't wait!

@peter hoh. Ajugas - Bronze Beauty, Chocolate Chip, and Burgundy Glow

Thanks, deborah!

Peter Hoh said...

I've got Chocolate Chip. Not sure of the other cultivar I have.