AI6YR BenGarden beds still holding up against critters. Did find another bed where they had been pushing up against the mesh and popped some staples, will need to put some backing support there. #gardening
Arugula is bolting due to the heatwave; I'm deliberately letting it go to seed for next year's volunteers. The little garlic in the back is... tiny. The variety of garlic does not seem to like this yard/soil. But, it survives, so it was replanted. There is spinach in there (usually gets eaten). Radishes (daikon) there are much larger than usual, they usually get eaten as shoots by the squirrels. Miner's lettuce and sorrel is my son's experiment... growing fine, but no one has eaten any yet lol. I guess I should start thinning it and mixing it with my breakfast/lunch. #gardening #rambling
Katherine WI recall being told as a child that too much sorel has a laxative effect, I didn't eat enough to test that out.
@FiddleSix Noted, lol. I will try not to test that theory!
Art Person CA@ai6yr sorrell soup is easy and delicious
Dan@artpersonca @ai6yr yooo! actually, sorrel soup is an eastern european staple! it's a supposed shortcut to sub spinach and a bit of lemon juice, but it never tastes right.
i can't recommend green borscht enough. if you really want to get slavic you can try making окро́шка with kvass or go hog-wild and make соля́нка with fresh lemon.
@dank @artpersonca Oooh, that looks like an easy one! Will keep that in mind if/when the sorrel gets bigger. (it's kinda small right now, ha ha).
@ai6yr @artpersonca it's super easy, especially if you have stock on hand. actually, now that i think about it, there are a disproportionate amount of cold soups in the eastern european oeuvre, and all of them are what a lot of folks would consider "weird"
Okroshka (Russian Cold Soup): 50% Salad, 50% Soup, 100% Weird
@dank @artpersonca Since we figured out you can put the carcass of any roast chicken in an Instapot and get great stock, we end up with TOO MUCH stock here and we end up diluting it and giving it to the dog to make sure he hydrates in summer, LOL. (lucky dog). It's so easy to do.
@ai6yr @artpersonca if you have chicken stock you have the basis for almost all russian soups 
ol' boy from Kyiv has the goods for окро́шка https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFXCc5PhK8E
and by the way, this is a historian who not only knows the recipes, but also does the work. when he's not making cooking videos he's making food for folks on the front lines
Okroshka - Traditional cold Russian summer soup: Kefir & Kvass | Окрошка
Cat West@ai6yr I’m seeing ads for these balls (Peppermint, cinnamon, Cedar oil) that are safe for pets and birds, but rodents/squirrels are instantly repelled. One me to save you a link?
@ai6yr Nope. They are like mothballs. Some are small, some are the size of baseballs (depending on what you are after) but the repelling lasts for at least 90 days outdoors (gophers, squirrels, etc) and longer indoors (Attics, garage, house, rats, mice, squirrels and larger rodents under the house)
M.S. Bellows, Jr.@msbellows @ai6yr combination of peppermint, cinnamon & cedar oils. (Might be a 4th ingredient, I can’t remember.) No sooner do I look for the ads that had been playing every 10 minutes on my device, then they quit showing up. So I posted a long link to a site that rates these things.
@msbellows @ai6yr and here for you, is that same link: https://bestchoicestech.com/best_mice_pest_repellent.html?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=%E4%BA%A7%E5%93%81%E8%AF%8D&utm_campaign=US-Pest%20Repellent%20(Mice)-pm-ecpc-260306&utm_term=best%20rodent%20repellents&campaignId=487523526&adGroupId=1225956819793137&feedItemId=&targetId=kwd-76622769574334:loc-32&matchType=p&network=o&device=c&deviceType=desktop&campaignType=search&creativeId=76622445380184&keyword=Cinnamon,%20peppermint%20balls%20to%20deter%20rodents&utm_id=487523526
2026 Top 5 Mice & Pest Repellents for Natural & Care-Free Solution: Don't Let Mice Take Over Your Own Home
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