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The Kerby's Nursery E-Newsletter
June 9, 2022
An Oyster I Didn't Like
by Joey Bokor
by Joey Bokor
I've never met an oyster that I didn't like. Raw, chargrilled, fried, Rockefeller, Ainsworth . . . however you want to cook (or not cook) them, I'm game. On our recent trip to New Orleans, we were determined to eat our way around the city, and we dutifully worked our way through our list of must-eats. More specifically, for my mom and I, we were set on sampling as many types of oysters as we could. Abby was our resident food photographer. They were all yummy.
But, as we ate our way through the city, I recalled a time I did meet an oyster I didn't like. My friend Steve was my partner in crime throughout college and at various times, we embarked on hair-brained trips from snow-camping to waterfall climbing, and one of our trips found us canoeing in the Everglades. We rented a canoe, bucketed our gear (protection against raccoons) and headed out into the area known as Ten Thousand Islands. As over-confident kids in our early twenties, we also had a streak of self-sufficiency and wild adventure that lived in us and we decided that one of our goals was to harvest our own meal. You probably see where this is going. We could have brought fishing poles and cooked up some fresh fish over an evening fire. That would have been the smart thing to do. Nope, we decided to harvest oysters. In the Everglades. I vaguely remember them being pretty tasty. I think we cooked them up in some pasta or something like that. We were smart enough not to eat them raw.
Needless to say, they didn't agree with us. Fortunately, I think we ate the oysters on our last night out in the wilderness. On the ride home from Everglades City to Seffner, I'm pretty sure we stopped at every rest area.
But, without risk or some trouble, there is no adventure. I've learned from my younger years. I'll let others harvest and prepare oysters for me, and as New Orleans learned on our visit, I will always be there to try them.
But, as we ate our way through the city, I recalled a time I did meet an oyster I didn't like. My friend Steve was my partner in crime throughout college and at various times, we embarked on hair-brained trips from snow-camping to waterfall climbing, and one of our trips found us canoeing in the Everglades. We rented a canoe, bucketed our gear (protection against raccoons) and headed out into the area known as Ten Thousand Islands. As over-confident kids in our early twenties, we also had a streak of self-sufficiency and wild adventure that lived in us and we decided that one of our goals was to harvest our own meal. You probably see where this is going. We could have brought fishing poles and cooked up some fresh fish over an evening fire. That would have been the smart thing to do. Nope, we decided to harvest oysters. In the Everglades. I vaguely remember them being pretty tasty. I think we cooked them up in some pasta or something like that. We were smart enough not to eat them raw.
Needless to say, they didn't agree with us. Fortunately, I think we ate the oysters on our last night out in the wilderness. On the ride home from Everglades City to Seffner, I'm pretty sure we stopped at every rest area.
But, without risk or some trouble, there is no adventure. I've learned from my younger years. I'll let others harvest and prepare oysters for me, and as New Orleans learned on our visit, I will always be there to try them.
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Happy Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family 
p.s. Keep an eye out for details about our upcoming Plants and
Pets event, scheduled for 9am to 1pm on August 20th. During the
dog days of summer, we'll have a Saturday where you can bring your pets to the nursery, and we'll have some refreshment
stations for them, as well as learning stations for you about which plants are pet-friendly, both indoors and outdoors.
We're hoping it will be lots of fun for you and your furry friends.
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Dead-heading doesn't mean hanging out at Graceful Dead concerts. It means making your flowers really pop. And it's simple. A little snip here, a little trim there and voila, your flowers will put out a fresh set of new blooms.
1. When to Dead-head - Do it anytime. In the heat, we avoid heavy pruning, but there is not a wrong time of year to dead-head. Whenever something is blooming heavily, wait a few days and go out and trim.
2. Which Flowers to Dead-head - Blooms that are completely finished, mostly finished and even almost finished can go. Here is what happens. Plants have flowers to make seeds. It's for reproduction. So if a flower blooms, pollinates and closes, it will begin the process, as we say of 'going to seed'. At this point, energy from the plant is directed to this process of making seeds, and away from making new blooms. So if you prune a flower when it is past its peak beauty, but before it begins to go to seed, the plant continues to use its energy for blooms instead of seeds.
3. Plants to Dead-Head - There isn't anything you can't dead-head, but the ones that are the easiest are plants whose flowers are single-stemmed, not ones with clusters or long spires of flowers. Additionally, plants that only bloom once a year (think azaleas, camellias) don't need it. Short-lived flowers like petunias, hibiscus etc. aren't usually good candidates either. Roses, bush daisy, salvia, coreopsis, and blanket flower are just some of the many flowering plants that really benefit from dead-heading.
4. Use Liquid Fertilizer - A liquid fertilzer such as FoxFarm's Tiger Bloom used on a weekly basis, will help plants re-bloom. Since you want your plants to bloom as much as possible, give them the nutrients they need to do it.
5. Get Outside - What are you waiting for? You know there is something in your yard that needs dead-heading. So grab the clippers and clean away the old blooms. Pretty soon the new flowers will have you smiling at your handiwork.
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New Arrivals |
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Silver Dollar Eucalyptus Fragrant Foliage |
Floriglory Heather Perfect for Pollinators |
Summerific® Perfect Storm Rose Mallow Big, Brilliant Blooms |
The Kerby's Houseplant Shop
Send a living gift to your favorite plant person anywhere in the lower 48 states from the Kerby's online houseplant shop. Want your favorite person to be able to pick out what they'd like? Then you can also purchase a gift card to the online store. Happy Planting!
SHOP NOW
Follow us on: Instagram or Facebook
Send a living gift to your favorite plant person anywhere in the lower 48 states from the Kerby's online houseplant shop. Want your favorite person to be able to pick out what they'd like? Then you can also purchase a gift card to the online store. Happy Planting!
SHOP NOW
Follow us on: Instagram or Facebook
