[DoctorEldritch]

Hello Legion Gamers!

June the Environment Month has started, and today is Gardening Exercise Day! Though it is not intuitive to think of gardening as an exercise, it can actually be quite effective in keeping you in shape, depending on the size and types of plants. Though in the modern age of big cities and urban living, personal gardens are not as easily accessible for many people. Are you one of them?

Currently, I do not have a garden. And I am not good at keeping houseplants. Scratch that, I am actually good at keeping houseplants, it is the keeping them alive part that is challenging for me. Even cactuses can't survive my Green Thumb of Doom.

But my parents have a big yard with flowers and trees and berry bushes, so when I visit them in Summer, I get my share of exercise. In those times, I am into grass mowing, there is something meditatively relaxing about that activity.

What about you, got a garden, or maybe just a houseplant? Maybe a digital one?

[DoctorEldritch]

@DracoTarot, I think we had a conversation about this a long time ago if memory serves. How are your onions in bags doing?

[DracoTarot]

@DoctorEldritch Yes we had a discussion a while back about gardens and planting some greenery.

I do not have a harvest yet. Winter has arrived and usually, I'll plant a few onions to see what happens.

[DoctorEldritch]

Onions usually grow fast. Can you remind me how long it takes from planting to harvest usually?

[Saka]

I am renting a small allotment where I grow potatoes. Last year's harvest was nice, I had some fancy purple potatoes that looked really nice in the dishes. Unfortunately, I was not able to buy thise this year.

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka potatoes sound nice, and purple variety sounds interesting. Do they taste the same as the brown potatoes?

I like potatoes, but we never grow them in our yard. The reason is, you usually need a lot of space to get a decent amount of potatoes, and the harvest window is a bit small. We usually go for cucumbers or zucchinis, something that gives you a lot of harvest continuously. Do you prefer potatoes over other types of plants?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch There was some difference between the potatoes I had, but I think it's mostly down to the starchiness and texture, and not so much about the colour itself.

Potatoes are easy to grow, not very picky about the conditions and fairly low maintenance. Right now I can't commit to having more whimsical plants. So they work, and even though you just harvest the potatoes once, nothing prevents you from storing them for a good while.

[itsMahdy]

I don't have a garden but I like to see people grow plants in their property areas and take well care of it
it's fun habit that gives you more knowledge about plants and comfort your eyes and mind

[DoctorEldritch]

@Saka So the taste is about the same, but the texture is different? Still, it is nice to add some unusual color to your potato dishes. Are they purple all the way through, or just the skin?

Indeed, potatoes are good for storing. Though my parents still prefer vegetables that give you a bit every day. Cucumbers are nice this way, you take a couple for salad and it can go on like this for months on end, even. And you can pickle them after. And zucchinis seem to prefer the soil and climate of my homeland, for 2 years now we've had so many of them that we did not know what to do with them all, ended up giving many as gifts to friends, and even used some to compost. They are the gift of nature that keeps giving. 😉

This talk of potatoes reminded me of yet another Russian pun. Goes like this:

The farmer is explaining what crop he likes to plant best:
-My favorite crop to plant is the potato.
-Why?
-I just like how reliable and trustworthy they are. Like, this Spring I planted a sack of potatoes, and now this Autumn I harvested a sack of potatoes. Not a single one went missing!

Couldn't quite fit it into the Trex comic, but still, potato puns, eh?

[Saka]

@DoctorEldritch Indeed, potatoes are simple and reliable. 😂

The potatoes were purple all the way through. I tried to look for a picture on my phone, but couldn't find any on quick glance.

All the potatoes taste like potatoes, but even the simple yellow variants have different kinds of texture, some are recommended for soups, other for mashed potatoes and some for eating boiled.