i used to believe a lot of stuff. but not libertarianism. maybe it's that i read snow crash. maybe it's that i have a strong moral constitution and am fairly allergic to bullshit (kidding not kidding). it always seemed--and still seems--like libertarianism will necessarily devolve into warlordism. whoever has the biggest guns and the least compunction wins because libertarianism has no structural fibre: it depends on everyone agreeing to a set of abstract principles with no consideration for the 25% of people (estimate based on my own pessimism) who just don't care about rules. some subset of that subset will through luck and determination and birthright enforce their will as they please. then the whole things comes crumbling down.
i think there's a lot of sense in the idea that religion is a memetic technology solving group cohesion and collaboration problems. i do hesitate to state that it's only that of course. but things are what they do and clearly religion does that. in this case i scope religion to organized and hierarchical religions otherwise the category of religion stops being meaningful or useful in this case.
i'm growing zucchini (aka courgette) in a polytunnel this year to prevent the squash vine borer from destroying them like they have every year in the past. this is going to require more work as i'll need to hand-pollinate them though this isn't particularly hard. it just requires a bit more observation and whatnot.
the first of my shishitos is bearing fruit. one of my favourite peppers for their fecundity and tenacity. they bear fruit all year through the hot and the cold. i suspect we're going to have a long autumn and a warm winter this year. i may try covering them in a polytunnel in september to extend their growing season.
this is just a note to myself to plant more peas next year. and more varieties. i don't do shelling peas as those are too cheap and also annoying to make it worth it instead opting for snow peas and snap peas. i've got a fair amount of snow this year but far fewer snap. i'm growing them up a 2m tall x 3m wide string trellis and i feel like the plant density isn't quite there--it could be 2xed easily. additionally i now have 2 more beds that could handle peas. just a matter of building a trellis. and absolutely spamming that soil with seeds.
a gardener i follow on youtube just pops the peas in the ground at the end of the year. then they come up whenever they're ready in the spring and she says this is when she knows to begin planting. i may try doing that. i planted in march this year (peas only; too early for anything else) and it took a good month before germination so it seems like it should work.
as i garden more it starts to become obvious which plants do really well for me and genuinely reduce my grocery bill and which plants do not. a list:
lettuce: i have been stumbling into the varieties i like and grow well. i have 5 different varieties going this year. truchas is my favourite.
kale: 3 varieties this year. one of my "everlasting" plants (out of 5) came back this year (russian type with purple stems). the rest are elephant and more russian. i have in total 9 kale plants. they are already producing well.
tomatoes: genuinely nothing better than a good tomato. i'm doing a combined single leader approach this year for my indeterminates which means that there's one main growing trunk but i allow suckers to get to the point where they have leaves and at least 1 bunch of flowers. the suckers get topped after that. i don't have a tonne of room so this is a pretty sensible approach. had i my druthers i'd let these things go fully fractal which by most accounts produces a lot more fruit. i'm trying to get the best of both worlds.
beans: i'm trying some bush beans this year. i have not had good success with bush beans in the past. almost all my bean production comes from pole beans. i plant them on the same trellis as the peas once the peas have gotten about 30 cm high or so and once the peas die off in the summer heat the beans are there to replace them. i've had fantastic luck with beans.
turnips and radishes: honestly i started growing these mostly because they're so damn easy to grow. i developed a taste for them later and also various recipes they can easily get popped into. there are a bunch of japanese turnip varieties in particular that i love though of course purple topped globe turnips are a classic and grow like weeds. one issue i've had with the japanese ones is that animals (i'm assuming squirrels (death be upon them)) love to nibble at the big ones and pull out the small ones. so next year i'm going to be throwing those in a tunnelled bed. i'm assuming they get predated upon much more because they're quite sweet and don't have that turnip "spice".
tromboncino: the most productive squash i've grown in my life. so much so that we were fobbing it off on anyone who would take them. they're a moschata not a pepo so the borers don't like them as much.
herbs: i've got perennial thyme and perennial oregano. i've got dill. i've got chives. i've got garlic chives. i've got basil. basil in particular is one of the ones where the classic genovese variety works best for me. close second is lettuce leaf which has a more mild and more anisey profile. i've tried a variety of purple basils and thai basils and none grows as predictably and as well as the classics.