Urban Almanac

Urban Almanac: September 2022

By Greta Belanger deJong

1   In 2019’s Urban Almanac, we wrote that the average temps for September 1 were high: 86º, low: 61º.  For this date in 2022, the high was 99º, with a low of only 79º. Sunrise 6:55 am, sunset 8:00 pm.

2    Labor Day now means mostly back-to-school sales. The back story: it began in the streets as a critique of capitalism, growing out of decades of labor unrest during which 19th-century industrial workers protested 12-hour workdays, seven-day workweeks, child labor and dangerous work conditions. Rallies-turned-riots resulted in the round-up of labor union organizers and European-born radicals, four of whom were executed. This set off a wave of xenophobia throughout the country and people took sides. Eight years later, President Grover Cleveland set 10,000 Army troops upon 150,000 striking train workers. Amidst that turmoil, he signed the Labor Day Act as an olive branch, it is said, to American workers.

3    Head to one of the many farmers markets this week for apples, beets, Brussels sprouts, carrots, collards, corn, cucumbers, kale, pears, peppers, pumpkins, raspberries, squash, strawberries and tomatoes.

4    September is National Preparedness Month. Maybe for date night, or as a school project, take a look at https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan. Then make your own plan and put together your kit. Consider including a hand-crank smartphone charger with LED flashlight (around $20). Reviews: https://electriccharge.me/best-hand-crank-charger/

5    Here’s a fast easy way to peel tomatoes for sauce or canning: Place the ripe tomatoes on a cookie sheet or in a plastic bag and freeze overnight. Then hold each one under running hot water, rubbing gently. The skin should slide right off the flesh.

6    National Read a Book Day. I’m devouring many more books these days, thanks to Libby, a free app that enables me to borrow Audible books with my Salt Lake City Public Library card. You can download e-books and magazines as well. Here’s how: https://help.libbyapp.com/en-us/6103.htm  And if you want to know more about this Libby business: https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/an-app-called-libby-and-the-surprisingly-big-business-of-library-e-books

7    Plant some fast-growing root vegetables and leafy greens. Beets, radishes and turnips, as well as kale, tatsoi, spinach and arugula, do well now, but be prepared to strategically stake some shade cloth if extreme heat continues.

8    The Liberty Park Farmers Market, which is now managed by Urban Food Connections, runs Thursdays through the end of this month. You’ll find all the produce as well as the grass-fed meats, eggs, dairy, honey, baked goods and more that you’ve come to expect from the big Saturday downtown market. https://www.slcfarmersmarket.org/liberty-market

Photo by Yang Yu on Unsplash

9    Thinking of buying one of those bushy chrysanthemums that are in all the big box stores now? Choose the healthiest looking plant, preferably still in the budding stage. When you get home, immediately set it in a dish of water for a few hours. Then transplant it into a slightly larger container using good potting soil. Give it a day or two to recover, then place it in a spot outside that gets at least four hours of sun each day. You can water it from the top from now on.

 https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/chrysanthemum/growing-mums-in-containers

10    Full Harvest Moon, 3:59 am. The Tomato Sandwich Party is back! Come to the Wasatch Community Gardens’ Campus (629 E 800 S, SLC) 11 am – 2 pm, for a great sandwich made with locally grown tomatoes and basil for pesto. There will also be self-guided Campus tours and live music. Bike racks are available. Free. No pups, please. https://www.facebook.com/events/1448284685690667?ref=newsfeed   Also, today is the Avenues Street Fair, held this year on 2nd Ave. between G and L Streets, 9a-6p. https://www.facebook.com/AvenuesStreetFair/

11    Word nerd alert: The Merriam-Webster website has word games and quizzes that are pretty fun. Take the Great British Vocabulary Quiz, Name That Animal, Slang Through the Ages and more. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-games/see-all

12    Some things to love about bugs: Spiders catch flies. Flies clear waste and pollinate food plants. Slugs make soil. Ants aerate soil and clear away debris. Locusts are vital sources of protein and insects are eaten by two billion people globally. Earwigs pollinate fruit. These are just some of the benefits from insects, spiders and worms. — from Rebugging there Planet: The Remarkable Things that Insects (and other Invertebrates) Do — And Why We Need to Love Them More, by Vicki Hird. (Chelsea Green, 2021)

13    It’s not just my imagination: Some shishito peppers are much hotter than others. Apparently this lovely green, wrinkly Japanese variety is more susceptible than other peppers to the vagaries of its growing conditions, including heat, humidity, soil fertility, and how late into the season the peppers are picked. It’s nice to know that there are some things in the world that defy standardization. That said, unless you’re spice averse, even the hot ones are pretty mild. https://www.bonappetit.com/story/why-are-only-some-shishitos-spicy?

14    Plant garlic from now into November for harvest next June! Garlic is one of the easiest and most delicious edibles you can grow. The Red Butte Garden Plant Sale (see September 23) will offer a selection of garlic bulbs. Here’s a terrific tutorial to inspire and instruct. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgbWxSqpqws&list=PLiie7K8ZgA_IL7MjHVD3bKgGFl_aF6WKC&index=5

15    “Humanities in the Wild: Finding Solace in the Soil.” In this Utah Book Festival conversation, Lily Havey, author of Gasa Gasa Girl Goes to Camp, and Dr. Bonnie Clark, author of Finding Solace in the Soil, discuss the historic gardens created by Americans of Japanese ancestry who were incarcerated during WWII in the western desert. They transformed these hostile landscapes through intensive gardening, a testimony to their skill and resilience. Tonight at Red Butte Garden, 6:30 pm. https://www.facebook.com/events/2135441023294957

16    Pears (excluding Asian pears) ripen from the inside out. They go weird if left on the tree. To harvest, pick them when the lenticels (pores) on the skin darken and, when you lift up and twist the pear, it easily separates from the stem joint. For Bartletts, refrigerate for a day or two, then keep at room temperature for another day or two. This allows the starches to convert to sugars. To ripen a lot of pears at once, place the pears in a box and cover with a blanket or newspaper. Winter varieties such as Anjou, Comice, and Bosc should be chilled for at least two weeks. Then ripen at room temperature. The fruit is ripe when you press your finger into the flesh near the stem and it gives slightly. The seeds are brown. And it tastes delicious!

17    Hemp was being used for clothing fiber 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. It’s waterwise, too: Growing and processing cotton requires two to five times more water than hemp does.

18    There are more viruses in Earth’s oceans alone than there are stars in the Universe. And yes, they’re alive. An estimated 700 million of them fall from Earth’s virosphere onto each square meter of the planet’s surface every day. They come from other parts of the world, where they’ve been swept up by sea spray and dust storms. Fear not; mostly they are beneficial to other life forms. 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/there-are-more-viruses-earth-there-are-stars-universe

19    A lot of people think a dead-looking summer lawn is just fine. If that’s not you, consider reducing the size of your lawn and plant drought-tolerant ornamental grasses (see 9/23 entry for info on where to shop). Plant appropriately sized trees (which create shade, which keeps your grass greener). and drought-tolerant ornamental grasses. 

20    Now that the weather is cooling down, let’s have a yard sale! My best advice is to attend as many sales as you can before holding your own, to get a sense of pricing, signage and types of goods that sell. Start planning early. Advertise it (KSL.com, social media). Make clear signs and post them strategically. Price sensibly. Choose your date wisely. Don’t hover over your shoppers. Make new friends! https://www.bobvila.com/slideshow/10-tips-for-a-money-making-hassle-free-yard-sale-47937

21    Start your spring flower garden now! Many flowering annuals, biennials and even perennials reseed themselves if you allow the seed heads to ripen and split open. (You can also pick the dried heads and plant the seeds where you want them.) They often enjoy the chill of winter (called stratification) in order to sprout next spring; make a note to look for them then. Some plants that self-sow: calendula, poppies, cleome, alyssum, bachelor buttons, portulaca, coreopsis, foxgloves, hollyhocks, Columbine, pansies, lupine, echinacea. Here’s a more extensive list that also specifies USDA planting zones (Salt Lake’s zones are historically 4 to 6, depending on altitude and microclimate, but some charts now put us at 7): https://empressofdirt.net/sow-fall-flower-seeds/#seed-list

22    Autumnal equinox. The summer of 2022 officially ends today, as light and dark are about equal — the same as the vernal equinox. By contrast, solstices occur when daylight is the longest (summer)  and shortest (winter).

23    Red Butte Garden’s Annual fall bulb and native plant sale begins today and continues Saturday, 9/24, Look for fall and spring flowering bulbs; organic garlic bulbs; native and waterwise plants; ornamental grasses of all sizes, heights, colors and textures; flowering perennials for sun and shade; own-root roses and more. Allow enough time to also browse the garden so you can see these plants in action. Before you go: Visit website for sale highlights, plant lists, deciphering their plant I.D. cards and parking. 9am-4pm. Free entry through the amphitheater gates. Registration not required.

 https://redbuttegarden.org/events/fall-plant-sale/

24    When I cut into a watermelon, whatever’s left over gets pureed in the VitaMix and then frozen (with a dash of salt and some fresh basil) for a delicious beverage snack or meal another day. According to Ayurveda, for maximum nutrition and comfort melons should be consumed alone on an empty stomach. That’s because they are quickly digested. When combined with other foods, digestion slows. Sugars ferment and gas and bloating result.

25    New Moon, 3:54 pm. New moons are considered auspicious for new beginnings. What will you begin today?

26    At sunset today, as Jupiter rises in the east, it’s the closest it has been to Earth in 70 years. “Through binoculars: Jupiter reveals a bright disk. If you look closely, you’ll see the Galilean satellites appearing as pinpoints of light, arrayed in a line that bisects the giant planet.” https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/jupiter-at-opposition-closest-brightest-best/

27    To benefit from garlic’s reputed medicinal effects, chop or press the garlic and then let it rest for 10 minutes before exposing it to heat. The main healing nutrient, allicin, develops when two components in the garlic commingle.

28    Go easy on the fall garden cleanup. Most perennials can remain uncut till early spring. Native bee species like small carpenter, mason, and leaf-cutters nest in hollow stems. Also, the seed pods of coneflower, sedums, black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye weed, and marigolds provide food for finches and other seed-eating birds during the winter. Some plants do better when they are trimmed back in the fall, however, including clematis, bee balm, columbine, catmint, coreopsis, delphinium, daylily, peony, phlox, Shasta daisy, Veronica and yarrow.  https://www.almanac.com/how-cut-back-perennials-fall

29    Want a fluffy omelet? Use eggs at cool room temperature. And add a pinch of cornstarch before beating.

30    Av. high: 73. Low: 50. Sunrise: 7:23 am. Sunset: 7:11 pm. Chance of precipitation: 14%.

This article was originally published on September 1, 2022.