DAN'S PAPERS, October 2, 2009 Page 55 www.danshamptons.com
Earthly Delights
HOMELIFE
By April Gonzales
Let Us Eat Lettuce! We had a wonderful salad from the vegetable garden recently. The lettuces all have interesting names like blush Batavians, deer’s tongue, Valentine, oak leaf, frisee. These and the wild arugula are all ready for picking and enjoying. I ditched mesclun this year, instead opting for full heads of different varieties. This was the year I was determined to make my vegetable garden a continuous harvest. The asparagus plants need another year to really begin to produce. I let the long ferny fronds grow without harvesting the slim spears so that more energy can go into the roots to produce a better crop next year.
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I also took on Belgian endive – another two-year project. The harvest from this tasty salad addition comes in the year following the original planting. I have to figure out how to keep the straight tight clusters of leaves blanched as I don’t think I want to mound up the soil around them. Of course, I could read the directions. I changed fertilizers because I think that I have had too much nitrogen in the soil in years past. I applied a liberal helping of cock-a-doodle doo, also known as poultry manure, a few weeks before planting. But I won’t be using quite as much rooting hormone and fish
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homes or residential settings. It is a disproportionate number, considering that 10% of general population is gay/bisexual. In addition, gay teens are four times as likely to attempt suicide compared to the teen population as a whole. Drug abuse, homelessness and incarceration are also at disproportionately high levels in this population. “My goal is to make foster families more stable for these children and teens by providing community-based support to parents,” said Elia. A Thousand Moms recruits people from all walks of life to offer support to the parents of gay children in foster care. “The goal is to help the parent, who can then help the child,” he said. “We’re creating a statebased network where people agree to dedicate anything from an hour a week to an hour a month to help support and counsel foster parents. We also provide training for social workers.” Elia realized the importance of such a network when he considered taking on a foster child – namely, the kid who made his own clothes. Elia knew he needed an extended support group – because even though he “knows gay” as he put it, he didn’t know parenting. “I grew up with a traditional loving mom who did
all those mom things,” said Elia. “Like, I don’t cook. But I’d want a kid to come home to a good meal. I called a friend and said, ‘If I were to do this, could you help me?’ and I got many responses to the positive. I called another friend who’s an accountant, and told her about the issue with the kid redoing his clothes. She said, ‘this kid doesn’t need a psychiatrist, he needs a sewing machine!’” Anyone can be a “Mom,” and all support is welcome. (To find out more about how you can help, visit www.athousandmoms.com.) To further support this organization, Hamptons resident Walter Donway is hosting the kickoff fundraiser for A Thousand Moms at the Children’s Museum of the East End (CMEE) in Bridgehampton on Saturday, October 10, from 5-7 p.m. Elia will speak, as well as representatives from You Gotta Believe, a gay adoptive center, and Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan, the Poet Laureate of Suffolk County, who will read a poem she wrote for the occasion. There will be a wine and cheese reception and a silent art auction. Donations to attend the event start at $25. To purchase tickets, call (518) 355-0967, or go to www.athousandmoms.org
emulsion. I need a different formulation – one that gives me more bud and bloom – or more potassium and phosphorus to produce more vegetables. There are very scientific ways of going about choosing your fertilizers, like getting a sample of soil to Cornell Cooperative Extension for a nutrient analysis. But I could tell by the height of the tomatoes in the last couple of years that I was going in the wrong direction. The tomatoes have been wrapped in cloches made of plastic wrapped around their tuteurs. They need heat, as do peppers and eggplant. In several vegetable gardens that we work in there are either blue stone pathways or brick walkways to help increase the heat even in sunny areas. Weeds thrown out on that hot surface dries up quickly into a small light pile. I did a second sowing of lettuces and the delicious French Filet string beans. The edamame has popped up, and old potatoes that I failed to dig out completely last year have sprouted up everywhere So I’m off to a good start but have made the same mistake I always do when it comes to the squashes. I neglected to label what I planted and precisely where. So I had to weave my way through the weeds to find the small emerging cotyledon leaf pairs of my spaghetti squash...or was it butternut? And in the meantime, dill has seeded itself in everywhere and I am loath to take the cultivator to it as it only lasts a short while. I also err on the side of sentiment when it comes to the delightful Papaver somniferum, which is eqally omnipresent but I cannot bear to rip it out. This makes weeding a precise chore versus a quick pass with the scuffle hoe. I should banish them to the front garden, but their beautiful double pink flowers will make me happy even if they don’t feed me. Because truly, having a vegetable garden is not a cost-saving measure by any means – it is a true labor of love. In some ways it’s an intellectual exercise as much as a physical one – with tasty benefits.
Kid’s Calendar Harbor. 631-725-0904. KIDS KARAOKE – Mondays, 5 to 7 p.m. Regulars Music Café, 1271 North Sea Road, Southampton. 631-287-2900. SOUTHAMPTON YOUTH SERVICES – Kids’ programs daily in sports, dance and more. 631-287-1511. HAMPTON LIBRARY STORYTIME – Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Children ages 4 to 7. Stories and music-making. Registration required. Hampton Lib., Bridgehampton. HAMPTON LIBRARY RHYME TIME – Thursdays. 10 a.m. 6 mo.- 3. Stories, rhymes,songs. Registration req’d. ART AT THE GOLDEN EAGLE – 14 Gingerbread La. East Hampton. 631-324-0603. GOAT ON A BOAT – Puppet shows, programs for young children. Rte. 114 and East Union Street, Sag Harbor. 631725-4193. goatonaboat.org. LIL COWPOKES PONY CLUB – Every Sat. from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. for ages 3 and up. Learn about animals and how to ride a pony. Amaryllis Farm Equine Rescue, 93 Merchants Path, Southampton. 631-537-7335. MOMMY AND ME – Mondays, 10 a.m. for pre-school chil-
dren and their parents/caregivers. Montauk Library, Montauk Highway. 631-324-4947. MUSIC TOGETHER BY THE DUNES – A music and movement program for children 0 to 5 years old. Mon. and Tues. mornings at the Dance Centre of the Hamptons, WH Beach. Thurs. mornings at the SH Cultural Center. Fri. mornings at SH Town Rec. Ctr. on Majors Path, Southampton. 631-764-4180. Send all events for the kid’s calendar to events@danspapers.com by Friday at noon.
For totally complete, up-to-the-minute listings, go to
danshamptons.com click on: Calendar
Music c Togetherr By y the e Dunes Music Classes for Newborns to Age 5 AND THE ADULTS WHO LOVE THEM! Enroll Now-Classes in:
• Southampton • Westhampton Beach • Center Moriches
Call for more information & registration Ina Ferrara, Center Director (631) 764-4180 www.mtbythedunes.com REGISTER R NOW W FOR R FALL L SEMESTER R
1195827
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9 KIDS KNEAD CHALLAH – 5:30 p.m. Challah breadmaking, songs, Kiddush juice-making, and grand children’s raffle. Free, no affiliation necessary. Chabad of Southampton, 214 Hill St. 631-287-2249. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10 CMEE, NEW ACTIVITIES AND PLAY AREAS – New LEGO table and improvements to the general store. There is a new sand table and a new art area in the permanent gallery, plus great interactive exhibit. $7 for non-members, members are free. 376 Bridgehampton/Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton. 631-537-8250. POTTER’S FESTIVAL – Water Mill Green, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free Admission. Exhibition/sale of more than 20 East End potters along with children’s pottery activities. Demonstrations of hand building and wheel throwing. HAMPTONS BASEBALL CAMP – For children of all experience levels, ages 4-13, who want to play baseball in a safe, fun, positive and organized learning environment. Emphasis placed on effort over talent, team concepts, core fundamentals.Come for the day or for the season. Located at SYS Youth Services in Southampton. 631-907-2566. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11 PETTING FARM AT AMARYLLIS SANCTUARY Love animals? Especially rescued animals? Visit with Octaveous and Sir Lancelot, the pot-bellied piggies, and others. Learn about the mission of Amaryllis. Every Sunday 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. 93 Merchants Path behind Wolffer Vineyard, Sagaponack. Cost is just $5. 631-537-7335. MONDAY, OCTOBER 12 AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS – The Parrish Art Museum is offering a selection of After School Art programs and Toddler Workshops started October 5. Call 631-283-2118, ext. 30 for availability. 25 Jobs Lane, Southampton. ONGOING SHABBAT SHABOOM – Fridays. Singing, story telling and celebration. All ages. 5 p.m. Havens Beach, Bay St., Sag