The First EarthBox Planting Of 2013

by A.J. Coltrane

The first planting of the year. According to the Sky Nursery gardening calendar all of these should work out.

The left side of the photo is the “front” of the “garden”.

From left to right:

Left Box: Bibb Lettuce (left), Romaine Lettuce (right)

Center Box: (left row, back to front) Parsley, Scallions, two Spinach. (right row) two Romaine, two Spinach

Right Box: (left) Brussels Sprouts, (right) Bok Choi

Shortly after these were planted it rained. Everything perked up.

The old memory card on the camera finally filled up. So I needed to check the new memory card:

and

The Earthboxes Are Here

by A.J. Coltrane

Continued from here.

Twelve days later and the Earthboxes have arrived. That seems to be about par for the course as far as these guys go and delivery time. (5-7 days to ship, 5 days for shipping.)

Dog toys in the foreground for size reference. I'm reminded of my dad always sticking a ruler next to stuff he'd photograph. — Dog toys in the foreground for size reference. I’m reminded of my dad always sticking a ruler next to stuff he’d photograph.

Of course, that means 24 cubic feet of potting soil to fill them up. 10 of the big bags of the stuff.

It's taller than it looks. I had to make two trips and fill up the back of the car each time. — It’s taller than it looks. I had to make two trips and fill up the back of the car each time.

Right now I’m leaning towards:

3 boxes of tomatoes (6 plants)

2 boxes of assorted peppers (12 plants)

1 box of zucchini (2 plants)

1 box of cucumbers (4 plants)

1 box of lettuces (8 plants. Hopefully something that can be continually harvested all summer.)

4 boxes of herbs (24 total plants. At least 6 basil, 4 parsley, 4 chives.. maybe some beans along the back of the boxes.)

I’ve got the Mother Earth News Almanac off of the bookshelf. (12th printing, March 1977. I paid $1.15 for it used, many years ago.) Maybe I can mix in some companion planting somehow..

Justin Upton and His No-Trade Clause

By Blaidd Drwg

I honestly believe the Mariners are trying to get better, just not trying as hard as they should. Once again they don’t do anything in the free agent market (although I still think they are going to ultimately sign Michael Bourn to a Chone Figgins like contract and get Chone Figgins like production) and their big trade this off-season was Jason Vargas for Kendrys Morales, which succeeded in making the logjam at C-1B-DH even worse.

I read recently that they made a pitch for the D’Backs Justin Upton. They supposedly offered a “substantial package” to the Diamondbacks (I am guessing at least one of Paxton-Walker-Hultzen and probably Nick Franklin and some other prospects) for the 25 year old OF, who is under contract until the end of 2015 at an average salary of $13 million per season, but the trade was rejected by Upton, who currently has a no-trade clause to 4 teams – Seattle, Toronto, Boston and Chicago Cubs.

Ok, I can understand the not wanting to be traded to Seattle or Toronto, but Boston and Chicago? Two of the biggest markets in sports and two of the better hitting stadiums in the league – I would think that he would jump at the opportunity, but I guess not.

Meanwhile, we will just have to sit in Safeco field enjoying Jason Bay and Raul Ibanez do their best to show us how not to play left field.

The Great Cheese Steak Search: Philly Boys

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Philly Boys was a food truck located on 4th Ave in Sodo in the parking lot of an auto repair shop. Philly Boys is now a physical location just past the said auto repair shop on 4th Ave. in Sodo. This is a much preferable location just because you won’t be standing out in the rain to get your cheese steak fix. I had the pleasure of venturing down there on a nice, sunny weekday to sample their wares.

I just ordered a steak, with onions and whiz, I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry and my was stuck behind a massive order that the staff was trying to get finished, so I ended up waiting about 20 minutes for my food. I can’t believe I am saying this, but it was definitely worth the wait. The steak came out perfectly cooked and seasoned, a hint of salt and pepper and slightly greasy which mixes in perfectly with the cheese whiz creating a cheesy/meaty sauce that lubricates the sandwich. The amount of whiz was just about perfect, it probably could have stood just a touch more to properly lubricate the sandwich, but there was enough that I did not end up with bites that were all meat. The roll was a great combination of soft and chewy, durable enough to maintain its integrity while the sandwich sat, but retained enough of its original form to give the sandwich more than just one texture with each bite. The onions really made the sandwich though. They were perfectly cooked and seasoned and lent a slight sweetness and toothiness to the sub, heck, I probably wouldn’t mind ordering just a grilled onion sandwich. The steak cost $8.50 and was worth every penny.

The menu is pretty much limited to a couple of cheesesteak variations, fries, and drinks, but you really don’t need anything more from the place.

Two words of caution – they are cash only, so you need to bring some greenbacks with you if you want to enjoy your steak, and because of the location, the place is LOUD. There is a ton of truck traffic on 4th, so if they have their doors open, you really won’t be able to have a conversation sitting in their small dining area. That being said, you should still make the trip down to visit them. They don’t have a website, but they have a Facebook page.
With only Hey Piason left to try, Philly Boy’s takes the lead for the best “authentic” Philly steak in Seattle with 4 Betsy Ross’s out of 5.

1969 Seattle Pilots Photos

By Blaidd Drwg

This is really cool – the Seattle PI/MOHAI uncovered some photo negatives from the Seattle Pilots 1969 spring training and some game images. Below is my favorite photo of the bunch. It amazes me how something like this can just disappear into an archive and get discovered some 43 years later. You can see all of the photos here.

628x471 — Photo: MOHAI/Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection / SL

The Mariners and the Second Half of the Season

By Blaidd Drwg

Remember a couple of months ago when there was all the excitement about the Mariners having one of the best records in baseball since the all-star break? Well, I am here to tell you my friends that the record was completely built on smoke and mirrors. The Mariners managed to build their momentum against possibly the 4 worst teams in the AL – Toronto (who lost 4/5 ths of their pitching staff to injury along with their best hitter), KC (who has no pitching anyway), Cleveland (ditto) and Minnesota (the worst team in the AL, period). If you toss in the Red Sox, the only other team they played with a losing record, they have a stellar 23-4 record. The problem is you eventually have to face teams with a winning record – The Mariners managed to go just 16-33 against those teams, capped off by ending the season with 18 straight games against Baltimore, Texas, LAA and Oakland. The gritty details:

Team	July	August	Sep/Oct	W-L
Texas	1-2		3-3	4-5
KC	7-1			7-1
TB	2-1	2-1		4-2
NYY	1-2	1-2		2-4
Toronto	2-0	1-0	2-1	5-1
Baltimore		0-3	1-5	1-8
LAA		2-2	3-3	5-5
Minnesota		6-1		6-1
Cleveland		3-0		3-0
CWS		0-3		0-3
Boston			2-1	2-1
Oakland			0-6	0-6
Total	13-6	15-12	11-19

	July	August	Sep/Oct
Record Vs Winning	4-5	5-11	7-17
Record Vs Losing	9-1	10-1	4-2

While their record against losing teams in encouraging, this team is still way of from being a contending team. There are still a ton of holes in the lineup and questions surrounding the future of Felix Hernandez. The addition of the Astros to the AL West next season means the Mariners won’t be the worst team in the division, but if the A’s turn out to be for real, the M’s would be a longshot to make the playoffs as they would still only be the 4^th best team in the division.

Top Chef: Seattle

By Iron Chef Leftovers

The new season premier has officially been announced for November 7th. Bravo also announced the contestants. It is a somewhat underwhelming lineup, especially after the firepower they brought out last season, but the real kick in the groin; not a single Seattle chef in the lineup. I know that the 3 they had last season were complete busts, but really, not one home town (or even Portland or Vancouver) chef? Makes me want to not watch the show just on that principle.

The Great Cheese Steak Search: Tat’s Deli

By Iron Chef Leftovers

Tat’s Deli, located in Pioneer Square is heralded as the best “authentic” Philly cheese steak in the city. The great cheese steak search brings us to this busy hole in the wall to see for ourselves.

Tat’s is generally pretty crowded, so even going on a Tuesday after 1 PM yielded a wait for a seat. Fortunately, service is quick although the staff is not always quick to wipe down the tables. I put in my standard order – cheese steak, with cheese wiz, no onions and cheese fries, which at Tat’s is about $12.

Everything came out on one platter, which presented an issue. The fries, with nothing to contain them, released a greasy mess onto the platter, which meant that it ended up in contact with half of the sandwich. As a result, eating the cheese steak was like eating 2 different sandwiches – one half was a soggy mess where the bread practically fell apart; the other the bread maintained its integrity and was actually pretty good of containing the sandwich itself. The meat was pretty pedestrian – they typical chopped steak, seasoned with enough salt but too much pepper (I love pepper, so for me to say it was too much, says something), to the point of it being the dominant flavor on the sandwich. The amount of cheese wiz also seemed a bit lacking, causing the sandwich to seem drier than it was. On the plus side, the sandwich itself was not overly greasy, which made for a more pleasant eating experience. It was still a messy sandwich to eat, but you did not fell like you needed a shower afterwards,

The fries were a standout, crispy and hot, even after a cheese wiz bath and Tat’s gets bonus points for carrying Tasty Cake products, an east coast favorite.

Overall, the cheese steak was pretty pedestrian, but on a great roll. If you go, stick to the regular sandwiches, which they do really well and save the cheese steak for when you are having a craving and find yourself in Pioneer Square.

Tat’s cheese steak gets 3 Liberty Bells out of 5.