Thursday, August 27, 2009

Urban gardening for the extremely lazy...

I found a growing kernel of corn peeking up from the moldy dishcloth that holds my drying rack in place.  A perfectly healthy and strong shoot hiding out just behind the glasses and bowls... I seriously thought I'd just dropped a scallion back there and for a few days I didn't look twice at it.  A scallion!  Even though last time I checked scallions didn't grow straight up and greener every day, 8, 9, 10 inches higher.........  I hope it transplants to a real planter okay.  

Why is mold so awesome to me?  It's so unpredictable and almost never makes me sick.  In the beginning stages it can just indicate pretty accurately how your produce is doing, or your planting soil, or your pita bread, or your... dishcloth.  So alive, and a little bit fuzzy, much like tarantulas!

Maybe it's because looking at a patch of rot makes it easy to imagine the micro universe in a real way.  It's like a magnifying glass on what's really no worse for being visible, all these microbes and cultures and things.  Something vital... something just a little bit gross.  And real!  Pineapples taste best of all when they're starting to ferment and the flesh tickles the tongue with a bit of carbonation.... there wouldn't be mushrooms without fungi.  Kimchee and kombucha and natto and beer!

I'm allergic to penicillin.  

Maybe... the ability to placidly accept the appearance of white fuzz on your food supply will be a deciding factor in determining who survives longest when the world changes forever.  :O

3 comments:

The Voracious Vegan said...

Hahaha great post! I love that brave little fledgling!

Theresa said...

I love your theory on mould. When things go mouldy in our house we just cut off or scoop out the offending bit and keep on keeping on... a lot of people think that's gross, but they are just precious about their food! Love your corn growth as well!

tofu and potatoes said...

That is hilarious and awesome. The only things that have ever grown in my kitchen have been undesirable.