2011 Garden Wars: The compost pile, week 4

Ah, the compost pile: where gardeners go to die, so that they may live. In this week’s compost pile we’ve got the continually wonderful submissions from Jason Guard as well as a bonus picture from Scott Pharr. Jason Guard Here’s a homegrown Japanese eggplant that’s just a little suggestive with its exotic second appendage. You […]

July 13, 2011; 6:00 AM • by RVANews staff

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Jason Guard

Here’s a homegrown Japanese eggplant that’s just a little suggestive with its exotic second appendage. You can probably find something like this at Priscilla’s, but this one’s edible. Even more embarrassing than the previous two sentences is my confession that P.F. Chang’s Stir-fried Spicy Eggplant is one of the tastiest eggplant dishes I’ve ever had. The trick is to deep fry the eggplant slices first, and then… aw, heck. Here’s a knock-off recipe.

A little less lurid is my first okra of the season. In the foreground, there’s one ready to pick. The middle-ground features a baby okra getting eaten by bugs. And in the background, my Tuscan/dinosaur kale is actually in focus (darned iPhone camera). One okra doesn’t make a whole lotta gumbo, so I’ll be heading over to Louisiana Flair, because I heard they’re going out of business soon. Boo.

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Scott Pharr

This little bug (called a “Squash Bug”) has made its inhabitants in my garden for another year, had lots of fun with his female friends, and BOOM! made a colony, a community, a metropolis!

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The Community Garden

Tired of seeing all these rich and famous internet-type celebrities going on and on about their gardens? Got a garden of your own that could kick those guys’s gardens’ asses? Well, here is your chance. Just upload a couple pics below and we’ll include them in next week’s Compost Pile.