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March 04, 1982 - Seeds of Things to ComePage 14 Zfje iiouffotk ZimtS Seeds of Things to Come Everyday when I go down for the mail, the dog goes with me. He is rewarded with a biscuit when he carries back a piece of mail. Most of the mail is junk mail and bills. Seems there has been an unusual amount of this kind of mail in the past year or so. Everything from offerings for silk stockings to a chance to win a million dollars is there. Yet as you sift through this mass of slick advertisements, every once in a while there will be something that catches your eye. Seed catalogs in our house are pulled out and placed in a special spot. Looking through them seems to satisfy some inner desire. Perhaps it is the hope of what is to come. Something like a child's anticipation of Christmas. Remember the tattered "wishing books" years ago from Sears and Wards we spent so many hours thumbing through. We buy very little from these seed catalogs but gain an awful lot of information about new varieties, early bearers, a blight resistant strain of apples or pears and a hundred other things that makeup the world of gardening. Seems to me people who have gardens are a special breed. They have certain qualities that seem to knit them together. They have a sensitivity not always found in the hustle and bustle of today's world. They have patience and that all- important sense of caring. I feel comfortable with most of them for our heads always seem to be turned in the same direction. Seed Lists Made Ready All over the country seed lists are being drawn up. Minds are thinking ahead to what and where to plant. New varieties will be tried and the old faithfuls reordered. The over - zealous will start his seeds too soon. The over -busy will wait too long. But the wise, with his years of experience, will plant at just the right time. Instead of long leggy seedlings or a late sprouting, his will be green and healthy. A good friend of mine, with years of experience behind him, has that ability to plant, fertilize and water exactly at the right time every year. As a matter of fact there are some things I've given up on and will get from him. There's no better supply. Outside there's much to do. My raspberries, that should have been pruned earlier, still have to be done, and so do the apples, pears, peaches and plums. One of March 4, 1982 our problems is that we hate to cut back. It takes so long for a tree to grow and then to cut it back almost seems sinful. Yet it is this very pruning that will stimulate the tree and give better and bigger fruit. When I'm out there amongst the trees and raspberries and look around, it is difficult to think of that mass of dead and brown rubble in the garden will ever again be green. The old dead squash vines are evident, along with the tomato poles that still hold the remnants of now dried and twisted stalks. One thing we have learned about tomatoes is that you can keep the green ones and have them through the fall. They aren't anything like a fresh picked tomato from the garden but they equal or are better than the store - bought ones and they're mine. Ours kept right up until Christmas this year. There were enough for a salad every day or so and now holding green tomatoes will be one of our standard procedures. First Produce From the Garden As soon as the ground thaws completely I'll be digging up horseradish. The long white carrot -like roots will be washed and scrubbed and brought into the house. Then they will be ground up in the old meat grinder, mixed with vinegar and salt and put in jars for future use. Here's a taste that can't be beaten for cocktail sauces on shellfish and cream sauces on cold meats that I remember so well as a boy. Every garden should have its patch of T E NORTH FORK'S MOST POPULAR YEAR -ROUND PLACJ 'r^•TO ENJOY EXCELLENT FOOD, REFRESHING, DRINKS " :•." AND ALSO MEET THE NICEST PEOPLE For February & March... At Inflation Fighting Prices!!! ), LUNCHEON SPECIALS I DINNER SPECIALS EVERY MONDAY: Open Hot Rost Beef Sandwich or _ Fresh D. Fried Flounder EVERY WEDNESDAY: Broiled Ham Steak or Shrimp Scampi EVERY TH U R S DAY: Open Hot Turkey Sandwich or Fresh Flounder Scampi MONDAY Small Steak (Plain or Marinated) WEDNESDAY Stuffed Flounder EVERY FRIDAY: Fresh Broiled Flounder or Deep Fried Shrimp THURSDAY Steak and Crab Legs EVERY SATURDAY: Brian'sSpecl.l Sizzler Platter with Fried Onions All the above served with French Fries, or Rice Pilaf and Cole Slaw, Salad and Coffee. ALL FOR ONLY 50 EACH BAR SPECIALS LATE NIGHT MENU Thursday through Sunday Till 1 A.M. Sundays Open at 4:00 P.M. LUNCH 11 :30 - 2:30 DINNER 5:00 - 10:00 FRIDAY Shrimp Scampi SATURDAY Fresh Roast Prime Ribs of Beef au jus SUNDAY Broiled Flounder $ 8.25 $ 8.50 $10.50 $ 9.50 $ 9.95 $ 7.75 All the above served with Cup of Soup, Bread and Butter, Salad, Potato and Coffee ea`+ LOCATED ON ROUTE 25. 4 MILE WEST er� OF GREENPORT VILLAGE. KITCHEN CLOSED TUESDAY 477 -2021 horseradish, but let me forewarn you to put it in an out -of- the -way place or it will take over. Ours grows beside the horse trough out in the pasture where it gets ample water and sun. Besides the trees that need pruning, we'll have to do the grapes and roses. We don't have too many roses, just enough along our fence to supply us with an occasional burst of color and that never- to -be- forgotten scent. Often a single rose with a bit of fine greenery around, is all that is needed. Also there's nothing nicer than a basket of vegetables or fruit from the garden with a handful of flowers on top for the lady in the kitchen. It's still too early for raking the leaves that have accumulated on the lawn and around the bushes, but when the time comes they'll not be wasted. Some will be chewed up in the mulcher and put around the acid - loving trees and shrubs, while others will be swept onto a canvas and pulled out into the garden. They'll be used to mulch the raspberries. Don't Waste the Leaves Years ago I started this and it worked wonders. We have no weeds around the raspberries and it always seems to be rii'oist beneath them. In the town of Brookhaven all leaves are brought to one place, mulched and made into rich compost. They've had this program of creating valuable mulch from leaves for years. It seems wrong to take bags of leaves to our town dump and bury them when they could be converted into useful compost for both town and public use. Slowly we are all learning -- whether it is from reading a new seed catalog that just came in the mail telling us about a blight - resistant apple or learning from other towns how they handle their leaf problems - - we're learning. The important thing here is to put this knowledge into practice. PAUL STOUTENBURGH HORSERADISH - -The first reward from the garden this spring will be horseradish that seems to taste better after a long winter's freeze. Photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh ELIH Accredited GREENPORT —The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals has awarded Eastern Long Island Hospital a two-year certificate of accreditation. "This is a fine tribute to the entire `wspital staff, and to the community we erve who made improvements possible through their generous donations," de- clared hospital president Joseph G. Riem- er Jr. "We have been receiving accredita- tion since 1965, proof of our continuing reputation for established leadership in health." The hospital was evaluated during an on -site visit by a team of JCAH surveyors who conferred with the professional staff. From January through June 19, 1981, only 80 percent of the hospitals evaluated received the two -year certificate.