Thursday Noodles 11/16/23

Horticulture and Chemistry Edition

A Book

“Hey Mom, I have a suggestion for Thursday Noodles.”

Friends, these words. The joy.

They rank right up there with Teen saying, “I’m going to the library, do you want me to pick you out any books?” and “I did the dishes and made the coffee.”

I tried and failed to play it cool (like always). “Awesome. That’s amazing. Lay it on me.”

Teen handed me a library book. “This completely changed the way I think about weeds. And gardening. And carbon.”

Whoa. That says a lot coming from someone whose avocation and intended vocation is horticulture.

The book? Weed Free Gardening: A Comprehensive and Organic Approach to Weed Management, by Tasha Greer.

Weed Free Gardening by Tasha Greer

Note that it’s organic weed management rather than weed eradication. Basically, it’s about making peace with weeds.

The blurb:

Weed-Free Gardening presents a clear and easy-to-implement plan of attack to get even the most tenacious weeds under control without the need for potentially harmful synthetic herbicides.

Let's face it: weeding is far from a homeowner's favorite chore. But not everyone can afford to hire a landscape crew to keep the weeds at bay, and spraying chemical herbicides isn't a smart solution for eco-conscious homeowners or pet parents. If that's the case for you, the weed control prevention and control strategies outlined here by author Tasha Greer will have you growing flowers, vegetables, shrubs, and trees with little to no weed competition. Tasha's organic approach hands you methods for both preventing weeds early in the growing season and managing weedy intruders year-round.

TOC of Weed Free Gardening

It’s a beautiful book to leaf (har har) through: gorgeous and well organized.

And indeed, the book is likely to shift your paradigm about weeds.

Quoth the author:

“WHY NOT USE WEEDS?

“Plants that fall into the weedy category are one of nature’s best resources for sinking carbon back into the earth. Think of all those C4 carbon fixers in your garden in summer. Or of those adaptive behaviors that allow heat-loving plants to start early to establish deep roots before warm weather sets in. Research suggests that weeds are already increasing in number … as a result of all the extra carbon in the air. What niche do you think nature is filling by by making weeds grow even more aggressively in a world where atmospheric carbon is rapidly increasing? … is it perhaps time to take some free help from nature to increase carbon in soil?”

I have a category of book I call “Life-Changing.” (It’s one of the more higgledy-piggledy of my Goodreads bookshelves.) The kind that grabs hold of you and shifts something inside you. And maybe outside of you, too.

This one was life-changing for my favorite gardener, composter, and horticulturalist.

Bonus: he says it’s not one of those books you must own — although if you can afford it, it’s certainly nice to support the author and publisher. It’s enough to read it from the library.

A Show:

Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV.

Based on the book by Bonnie Garmus.

Caveat: I have not read the book (yet - I’m on the library waitlist) and have not finished the TV show. Also, I am intentionally clueless about industry news in publishing and entertainment. Hopefully everyone involved is a lovely human.

Anyway. So far, Husband and I are eating this up. The acting is excellent, the costuming divine, and the writing sharp as the tip of Elizabeth Zott’s pencil.

Great book cover, too. We all know the old saying. But it’s always true that good covers sell books.

But I digress.

My two concerns with the show thus far are:

(1) I very, very, very much hope the Black characters become more rounded out and don’t fall into the “hey man, I’m a one-dimensional quirky but nonthreatening character here to support the white main character’s arc” trap / trope. (Looking at you, The Help and Green Book and The Blind Side and Fried Green Tomatoes and on and on and on.) Eesh. It’s shaky but I have some hope. Fingers crossed.

(2) This dang show has made me cry weepy Snoopy tears twice so far. Booo.

Many people think that this Unruly Quaker would like tear-jerkers and swelling orchestras and movies about human triumph and like, I don’t know, music teachers in poor schools, or whatnot.

Many people are wrong.

I already have so. many. strong. feelings. in real life that mostly I do NOT seek out nor appreciate having strong feelings (other than easy enjoyment) of a show or movie.

Husband, OTOH, appreciates being moved by a show or movie, and specifically in this case, because we talked about, this show. I gather that for him, it’s a nice little box to have some feelings about and feel them and then put them back in the little box of a show, like a contained emotional reaction you can have but then walk away from, which feels helpful while the world is on fire. I get that. It’s just … not the way my heart works. I guess you could say my heart, well it has tremendous leakage.

Anyways. There are some heavy themes in the show but done with a warm touch.

That’s it for this week’s noodles!

What are you watching, reading, or listening to that you’re loving?

XOXO

P.S. Thursday Noodles are brought to you by paid subscribers. This week we welcome Kathy K. to the paid-subscriber fold. Thank you! Paid subscribers are the most beautiful and favored of Earth’s denizens. May The Great Cosmic Echidna bless you and keep you cozy and heart-full.