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BS: Gardening, 2009
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: maeve Date: 25 Jul 09 - 05:19 PM I wish you all continued gardening success. m |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 25 Jul 09 - 05:23 PM Rain has been in the forecast all week, but it kept missing my yard. Finally got a good soaking rain yesterday, and for a while this morning. I took a 60-mile ride out to a great local nursery called Arrowhead Alpines , and bought several plants that I haven't been able to find anywhere else. I love this place, so it's a good thing it's a good thing I only go there once a year. If you're ever looking for something unusual, check them out. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Jul 09 - 12:03 AM We are into the dog days of summer, though (knock on wood) we have had no stretches of upper 90 's to lower 100's yet. All-in-all it has been a more moderate summer, so far, temperature-wise, than we have had in several years. It has been pretty dry here since mid to late June, but I am greatful for the adequately wet spring and early summer, after a few years of hard drought and searing temperatures from mid-June on. The past couple of weeks there have been widely scattered showers in the area, and an occasional brief downpour, but mostly high humidity and the unrealized promise of late afternoon or evening showers. The clouds start to pile up, the humidity spikes, there might even be a little wind or lightning in the distance, and then one accepts that a few miles off, it is someone else's turn for a little shower. I await August with curiosity. I always think of August as a time of peril in the Southern perennial garden. If I was going to lose plants to heat, humidity, and drought, August is when it was mostly likely to happen. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 31 Jul 09 - 12:54 AM The lower temperatures and rain here have actually not been very good for my garden. The heat seems to slow down some of the pests and it sure makes the tomatoes ripen in a hurry. We've had rain every day for the last week or more. I cut back a bunch of vines and have pulled a few entire plants and put in several new ones for fall. The powdery mildew is trying to get started, so I'll take a sprayer full of hydrogen peroxide out in the morning. I have had tomatoes coming out of my ears this summer. They've slowed to a trickle of a half-dozen big ones a day, so I can still reach into the fridge and pull out a ripe beauty for my evening salad or lunchtime BLT. A friend brought his steam juicer over a couple of weeks ago, and in addition to juicing mustang grapes, we did a big pot of tomatoes for juice and sauce. As we worked he'd say "I need to inspect this tomato" and out would come the salt shaker after a couple of quick cuts with the paring knife. I think he probably ate the equivalent of a half-dozen tomatoes as we worked. Think about it--would you be tempted to eat a half-dozen tennis-ball sized grocery store tomatoes? One would be plenty. But garden ripe tomatoes are just simply something the commercial growers can't match. Eggplants are now in, and with all of the rain, the plants with the most fruit are beginning to topple over. I'll be propping them with tomato cages and fence posts to keep them off the ground. I picked two big ones today, two yesterday, and I have enough out there to be picking about a dozen a week. Time to start cooking and giving them away (I made a fabulous lasagne over the weekend, with a layer of eggplant. Mmmmm!) I played with a garden toad this evening, trying to photograph him eating Junebugs. He was too fast. Maybe one shot worked--I have to check. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 31 Jul 09 - 07:38 AM Dry, dry, dry here on the Blues Ridge... Less than an inch of rain over the last 30 days... Spend every waking hour running the oscillatours... Wore out one of our older Gillmore's (stripped gears) and the P-Vine called them complaining about them not making parts for it so Gillmore is sending us a new (and improved)one... Actually, I liked the older ones better... The new ones are confusing... Bought a $45 Green Thumb and it doesn't oscillate right out of the box... We'll take it back and hold out for used Gillmores on ebay, thank you... We've been trappin' the heck out of rat-coons of late... 4 in the last week alone... It's time consuming relocating them to an area where they aren't going to become someone else's pests... We take them 15 miles away into the George Washington Nation Forest where there are mountain streams... We are loving our deer fence... We are in the process of buiding gates to replace the makeshift nails that we have to attach the fence to every time we go out or come in which has become real old... Veggie garden is finally coming in... Maybe our first ripe tomato today??? Peppers, eggplant, cukes, squash plentyfull... Hostas in the first garden we enclosed are blooming inspite of being eaten down before the deer were evicted... All in all, gardening is almost fun again... Now if it would only rain... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 31 Jul 09 - 11:01 AM Heavy weather is supposed to move out of here over the weekend, letting our heat return. Maybe it will visit you next. Beautiful couple of eggplants came in yesterday, so I think it's time to make a batch of babaganoush. I picked up a jar of tahini and I have lemons and garlic--we're set! As the season progresses I'm going to formalize the edge of the new garden by picking up some plastic lumber to use as edging and will be filling along it to level this garden. Then when I'm ready to work on it next year I can build in some contours for better drainage. It has been rather haphazard this year. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 01 Aug 09 - 12:22 AM My ginger lilies are doing well, in spite of still being where they were simply heeled in last August. The tall, salmon colored ones (I have no idea which variety they are) have buds on them. There is also a smaller ginger lily that almost didn't make it in the pot I had it in at the old house, and that I have not yet seen in bloom. Some folks I did some gardening for gave me a division. I understand it is white, very fragant, and blooms around Labor Day. Don't know if I'll see blooms on this one this year - it is up close against a day lily that also was simply dumped into the ground when I moved, and neither the ginger lily, nor the day lily are happy with the arrangement-or lack thereof. I'm just glad they are both alive, and hoping to get everyone better situated before winter. The ground here is a fertile but heavy clay - heavier than what I had at the old place, and is too dry and hard to dig. I miss having access to a pick-up truck that I could use to haul manageable and affordable loads of topsoil and compost. I simply no longer have the physical capacity to dig up lawn and maneuver (sp) heavy clay soil with hand tools to do the levelling required before raised beds can be built and set. , and raised beds are going to be a "must" here because of the native rocks and tree roots. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 01 Aug 09 - 08:06 AM SWF seeks SWM with pickup truck... Send pic of truck to #3754... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 01 Aug 09 - 08:27 AM lol! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Aug 09 - 10:56 AM You got it, Bobert! We had heavy weather to beat all heavy weather last night, then it rained again this morning. The creek rose out back--I noticed that while I was on the other side of the yard gate releasing a possum that must have had a hellish night staying out of the reach of my two dogs. They've killed several before, but as it happens, I changed the batteries in their collars last night so they had a definite boundary and they didn't cross it. I heard a yelp this morning that told me something was up so I went out to look and this guy (girl? I didn't look) was staggering along the fence as the dogs barked beside it. No holes in the dogs, though I suspect they had physical contact when this possum played possum for a while because the possum had a couple of holes in its hide where Cinnamon bit it and because Poppy was sniffing Cinnamon's tummy, and I've seen Cinnamon lie beside her prey before. The garden suffered in last night's rain. The corn is kind of leaning (the silks are beginning to turn brown, but I don't think the corn is ready yet, though I saw a couple of worms. What is the mineral oil trick? I think I'll spray BT one more time). The tomatoes are sodden. I pulled out several more plants that were due to come out anyway, and though the cherry tomatoes seem to be in better shape, I may take them out also. They're all kind of ratty from mites, I think. I believe summer blight makes the fruit rot in spots and I just have coarse brownish patches on the fruit skin, not a mosaic, but maybe from mites? The squash and strawberries are happy. I'll do drench BT on the squash, even injecting it into some stems to keep the worms from killing it. It's time to begin the treatments. (I heard about this procedure on the Dirt Doctor program a few weeks ago). SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 01 Aug 09 - 11:15 AM "SWF seeks SWM with pickup truck... Send pic of truck to #3754... " I love it, Bobert. That's me too. I'd even settle for a "Bobcat" if I could drive it. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: maeve Date: 01 Aug 09 - 12:14 PM SRS- The corn probably needs to be hilled to keep it upright. As for mineral oil, it's dribbled down into the center of each ear "tip" into the corn silk. An eyedropper works well. We're picking snow peas, sugarsnaps and lettuce, with cherry tomatoes as they ripen. We are glad to have the potatoes that wintered over for our meals. The spring-planted potatoes will be ready in another month or so. We have one more batch of sprouted potatoes that I'll plant for wintering over. The potato beetles and Japanese beetles emerged late thanks to the rain, and so far I'm able to keep up with them. The biggest veggie garden is about half-way finished in terms of the pathways being mulched with sawdust and shavings on top of newspaper. m |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 01 Aug 09 - 10:13 PM "Hilled" - does that mean pile dirt around it now? Or it should have been planted on little hills? I took a spray bottle with some BT and sprayed the silk on the top of each ear. None of them are very big, but some of the silk is turning brown. Do I wait until they get plumper and then pick it, or is this as plump as the ears will get? (This is my first time with corn!) I had two heavy rain showers today, and I think there is a chance more more overnight and tomorrow. This is really really old. I want the hot days back with the soaker hoses. It's much better for the garden. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: maeve Date: 02 Aug 09 - 05:23 AM SRS- You'll have to check an ear to see if the corn is ready. I look for brown silk and feel for plump kernels. You can carefully peel back the sheath to check an ear by sight, and you can pull an ear off to check it for taste- the kernels should be plump, and the taste sweet and milky. If you need to pick more ears than you can eat right away, store it in the 'fridge with the husks on. Hilling- Yes, if they need extra support just hoe (or dump) extra soil around the base of the stalk. Corn grows extra roots to stabilize the top-heavy stalks. One way some folks handle it is to plant the seed in troughs, using a hoe to pull the higher soil in as the stalk grows. Corn is a heavy feeder, so we also throw in organic fertilizer and compost as it grows, and use squash and legumes as an understory planting to stabilize the corn and make extra nitrogen available. It worked very well when last year's strong winds blew everything else flat. Enjoy! There's nothing like fresh sweet corn. m |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: WalkaboutsVerse Date: 02 Aug 09 - 05:43 AM A year or 2 ago, Gardeners' World (BBC), with Monty Don, went through a pleasing pro-native phase but, with a new head presenter, sadly they've gone back to a pro-exotica stance. Hence, this reminder... "Green/eco-friendly gardening is native gardening, and vegetables, plus other consumables, should be the only exotic-flora we plant - as doing so can help limit food-miles, etc. By filling our other garden spaces with natives, we use less water and other resources, whilst aiding the native-fauna that, over the centuries, evolved with them. (Even high-nectar exotics, such as Buddleia, that are very attractive to SOME native-fauna, should be avoided, because they upset nature's/God's balance – God created evolution, too, that is.) Our green gardens, with their vegies and natives, can be made still greener by the addition of compost heaps/bins; a wildlife pond – for native frogs, newts, and so on, rather than exotic goldfish; bee- and bird-boxes, plus carefully- selected feeders; rain- and grey-water vats; by growing everything organically - including thrifty home-propagation plus species-swapping; and by leaving some lush untidy patches, decaying branches, etc." (from here). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 02 Aug 09 - 11:38 AM Walkabouts, you're preaching to the choir. And I'll thank you to keep your dogmatic god out of my garden. The corn seems to be about ready--a friend said to peel back a little and feel a kernal--it is a little softer now, can be creased with a thumbnail. I think we'll be eating corn for dinner tonight and tomorrow night and Tuesday night and Wednesday night. . . The monsoon season has passed, and over the last week I've pulled out a number of big exhausted plants (lots of dead lower leaves). As the garden dries out I'll hoe in more compost and begin pegging some of the sprawling cherry tomatoes and pulling more of the old super fantastic. I planted three SF a couple of weeks ago and have three more to plant once I've cleared space. This is an indeterminent plant that trives here. I'll try that trough method of planting corn next year. I'm going to build up one side and turn this into a raised bed for better drainage, but I can still contour the planting bed. The ears of corn will probably be smaller this year because I did some extra fertilizer but not as much as it sounds like they could have used. I did keep them fairly wet. Next year I'll start them earlier and water and fertilize more. I have some squash flowering (I try to stagger some of the crops) and I'll be tending to that, but it isn't anywhere near corn. I wonder--canteloup climbs, would that damage the corn if it grew under it? Time for more newspaper and mulch, and since it is hot and sunny, I'll use vinegar on the grass creeping in from the edges. Looks like a good day for gardening! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 02 Aug 09 - 12:00 PM Well, as I have pointed out, God's creatures have since the beginning of time been middle-men in hybridization... Birds, insects, and just about every other living thing has carried polin from one plant to the next and thus there are always new hybrids that are naturally being hibridized all the time... But if I have it correct, Verser, if man does the same then that is some evil thing??? Illogical... And as for natives??? We have lots of "natives" which are indeed harmful to plants and animals... Some are poisonous... Some are water hogs... Some are terribly invasive... Yes, natives... Not exotics... Take a maple, for instance... A 20 foot maple, which is good for very little will spread a very hogish root system out 30 feet in every direction for its trunk??? That maple will suck up enough water to grow a year's worth of food for an entire family of humans??? What's with posion oak and ivy??? They are native... Ilantis trees??? Natives... Virginia Creeper??? Etc... But if I plant a lovely evergreen azalea because the flowers are not only pretty but support the bee population I am an enemy??? Huh??? Beam me up... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 02 Aug 09 - 12:13 PM Now back to gardening... Hooray!!! We have had rain all morning... We're up to 5/10ths of an inch... Best single day total in 7 weeks... Yesterday was a day-off the farm... We hadn't been up into western Maryland in years so off we went... Unfotunately we rescued two box turtles off the road before we could get outta the area and so they rode with us in a cardboard box... I wanted to find them a nice home so when we got to Maryland I picked backroads into the Catoctin Mountains and finally found a place where they will do well but... ...by then we were fairly well lost... Okay, maybe not all that lost... But it took some thinkin' to get where we wanted to be... But we did pass a sighn that read "Sweet Corn, $3 Dozen" so we stopped by this farmer and bought a dozen beautiful ears of corn... We genarlly get our corn from Mr. Clifford but he has had serious problems with the Rat-coons and may not end up with enough for us to freeze this winter but it's nice to have our first corn... Still no vine ripe tomatoes... Red but not ripe... Grrrrrr.... I refuse to buy a tomato with a hundred of them waiting to ripen... Bout it for now... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 03 Aug 09 - 01:19 AM We had a nice rain this morning also, Bobert. Had hoped for some more this afternoon, but it didn't materialize. Still., grateful what we got - no rain guage out, but am going to guess we got somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. Enough, and mostly gentle enough that it didn't all run off into the storm drains. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Aug 09 - 01:32 AM Bobert, I understand perfectly about the tomatoes. Be patient, and you will be rewarded. I have a gallon or so in my fridge now, and this is when it has slowed way down. It is simply the best luxury I can think of to reach into the fridge for a perfect tomato to cut into sections for a nice chef's salad (good for leftover lunch meats, etc.) or to slice for a BLT. Hang in there. Soon, very soon! SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 03 Aug 09 - 07:40 AM Well, we did have an "Early Girl" (ha) ripen in the window and had it yesterday... It was good to be eatin' a fresh tomato but the "Early Girl" ain't like a "Celebrity" for taste... Now that we've had rain, we'll let the garden dry out a little, dig our 3 rows of potatoes, till up that space and be ready to plant fall stuff in about 3 weeks... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Aug 09 - 12:25 PM I'm putting in fall tomatoes now (and pegging cherry tomatoes from existing plants). I'll pick up a Celebrity and see how it does in the cooler fall weather. The Super Fantastic holds up to Texas summers, that's why I go with it. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: WalkaboutsVerse Date: 03 Aug 09 - 02:16 PM To SRG and Robert: we humans can, overall, for better or worse, effect habitats more than any other species, yes? And, wherever your neck of the woods is, the native fauna there has evolved with the native flora there, yes? And native habitats have been harmed by human construction, intensive farming, etc., yes? And our garden space, which may be planted with native flora to compensate for such harm, adds up to quite a lot, yes? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 03 Aug 09 - 06:37 PM Huh??? Yes, native flora can restore an ecological balance but to think that only native plants can do that is incorrect thinking... I mean, one only look at our farm as a prime example... Our farm used to be a hog farm... When we bought it it had been two years since any hogs were here but the effects of the hogs were everywhere... We had no worms, very few bugs and hardly any birds... We also didn't have much in the way of native plants other than the hardwood forest that the hogs didn't live in and lots of burdock and thistle... One of the first things we did was bring in lots of soil and created a 400 long garden on the edge of the forest... The plants weren't native to this area on the Blue Ridge with the exception of amny wild flowers that we brought with us... But we also brought hundreds of azaleas, rhodos, hostas, laurels, grasses, etc. that don't grow here naturally... We also brought in about 30 bales of straw and a couple tons of chicken manure and and plowed that into what would become or vegetable garden... And guess what??? Four years later we have these lush gardens made up of all kinds of plants that whyile no native to the Blue Ridge are hardy and happy... And Guess what, Part B??? We also have hundreds and hundreds of birds... And we have thousands of worms and insects... In other words, we have taken "our choice" of flora and created a completely balanced ecological santuary... Okay, too many deer but when one has a farm that borders a wooded national park that comes with the territory... We had them when we first came, too... Now some folks might think us criminals and evil for what we have done but we understand nature, and balance, and ecology and what we have done is restore those elements in nature... Our way... That's the beauty of being a human being... We have choices and if we make correct choices we can live quite nicely and still be "pro-earth" (a term I have used going back decades, thank you...) B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: maeve Date: 03 Aug 09 - 07:49 PM That's a thoughtful and informed response, Bobert. maeve |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 03 Aug 09 - 08:06 PM Thank you, maeve... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 03 Aug 09 - 08:21 PM eyup..... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 03 Aug 09 - 08:27 PM maeve, How are your wrist and Truelove's lungs faring these days? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 03 Aug 09 - 08:53 PM Bobert, You did post a good response, but you have to understand that there is no answer that you will give that will please WAV unless you kowtow exactly to his god as he worships it. His posts here are the abuse of a perfectly good gardening thread for religious purposes. Logic doesn't work against dogma because he isn't talking about gardening at all, in the long run. (One can wonder if poison ivy is native in his area, and does he hold the same views in the face of that itch . . .) SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: WalkaboutsVerse Date: 04 Aug 09 - 04:47 AM God aside then, SRS, you may have leaned more toward natives than most, Robert, but I still say it would have been better for the native fauna/flora/ecosystem of your area to select all natives: even if some of the exotics you mentioned are PARTICULARLY attractive to SOME native fauna, they are, thereby, still upsetting nature's balance (as with the butterfly tree, here in England). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: WalkaboutsVerse Date: 04 Aug 09 - 05:09 AM Butterfly bush (Buddleia) NOT "tree", above, sorry. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Aug 09 - 01:17 PM You just don't get it, WAV. This is a thread where we share gardening tips. We share our successes and whine about problems. We don't come to this thread to be preached at. Most of us do some, or all xeriscape gardening. That has to do with zones, and a lot of native plants, but also adapted plants from other areas that thrive in our zones. You don't like this, and keep harping your your religious convictions regarding native plants, but all you're doing is annoying the inmates here. No one is going to adopt your dogmatic approach to gardening. SRS (who doesn't gladly suffer crackpots) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: WalkaboutsVerse Date: 04 Aug 09 - 01:28 PM "whine about problems" (SRS)...like the tragic loss of native fauna and flora in many "zones" of our world? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 04 Aug 09 - 01:39 PM We bowed to Gaia on Sunday and came home with a beautiful HARDY, Drought_Tolerant hibiscus and a gorgeous aster which we planted after a proper chant at the moon the night before. We sacrificed all manner of little baby perlites and other nutritious victims probably including, and not limited to, a worm or two, a roly-poly bug or two and even a nasty pincer bug, ALL natives to our area. Oh, my! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Aug 09 - 06:11 PM ()...like the tragic loss of native fauna and flora in many "zones" of our world? This is a gardening thread. There is no tragic loss of anything in my garden. There are other threads discussing global warming, depredation of rainforest, overgrazing, and acid rain. Pick one of those for discussing your topic. Oh, the other thing about WAV, he's also one of those folks who likes to hijack threads so they're all about him before long. It's one of his regular tactics. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 04 Aug 09 - 06:30 PM Well, some plants that are native are also poisonous, invasive and a complete waste of the nitogen in the soil... Burdock is one... It will crowd out natural wildflowers and suck up gobs of rain water in the process... Poison oak and poison ivy, also native, have no sue what5's so ever yet entire acers have been ravaged by this evil plant... What??? God didn't create people??? And He didn't give us the intellegence and curiosities to make us creative animals??? (Maybe the Devil created us, Bobert... Did ya ever think of that???) Well, no I didn't... (Yep, that is the story... God created "native flora" *whatever that is and the Devil created mean. veil people who garden...) Is that yer final anser??? (Let me get back to you...) Ok... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 04 Aug 09 - 07:02 PM veil = evil? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 04 Aug 09 - 08:29 PM Evil... ya' know... gardeners who don't use only the plants that surround them... Well, if ya' only used the plants around you, that wouldn't be gardening... That would be observing, wouldn't it??? I guess that makes gardening evil??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 04 Aug 09 - 11:14 PM August has definitely arrived. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 04 Aug 09 - 11:25 PM You know folks, none of you owe any kind of explanation or defence to anyone. Please post away and ignore as I promise to do, also.:-) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Aug 09 - 01:40 AM I contacted my friend with the steam juicer and will borrow it to do one more batch of tomatoes. By this time of the season they're not much to look at, but they should taste great as juice and sauce. I will hold a few of the better looking ones out for salads and such. I muscled my mower around the yard today. After 10 days of rain the grass was tall and thick. Mower kept stalling. Now it will get hot again and dry things out. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 05 Aug 09 - 06:34 AM Maggie, If you are interested, (and if I can find it), I have a great recipe for green tomato pickles. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 05 Aug 09 - 08:12 AM Well, we are at the point this morning were we cannot possibly eat what has come in... We plant "one" yellow squash plant and it is now pumping out 5 pounds every day... We plant one cuckemeber plant and getting 3 to 4 a day... One banana papper and same as the cucumber... It's not as if we plant too much... It's that we are too good at egtting healthy, productive plants... The P-Vine swears it's from the 6 inches of straw we use to much with... I donno??? Something wrong ('er right)... So this morning I'm going to take 'bout 40 pounds of stuff down the farm coop where, interestingly enough, most of the women who work there are clueless as to where food comes from??? LOL... We got some kind of yellow punkin growing by mistake... It was supposed to be our late yellow squash plant but is making punkins??? Looks like we'll be makin' punkin bread this fall from our own punkins... A couple years ago we got some blue ones that came up mysteriously... Made fine bread and pie... Got another 3/10ths of rain last night... Makes 8/10s in 3 days... Yezzir.... We love that... Mean not having to move the oscillators all day... Noy much else... Hot!!!... Still no vine ripe tomatoes... They will prolly all come in at once... Anyone have a good recipe for "V-8" juice??? Gotta go to work... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: WalkaboutsVerse Date: 05 Aug 09 - 08:50 AM "Oh, the other thing about WAV, he's also one of those folks who likes to hijack threads so they're all about him before long. It's one of his regular tactics." (SRS)...No - I tried to start another native gardening thread (the previous one was hijacked by people who took it well beyond gardening, and it was - I think, through no fault of my own - closed down) but it was deleted; thus, I pop in here now and again, because I genuinely believe native gardening helps re. some of the matters (overgrazing, depredation of rainforest, etc) SRS also mentioned, above. By the way, for what it's worth, I'm interested in and support the home-grown veggie (including exotic veggies) posts on this thread - limiting food miles, etc. (please see my above post). |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Aug 09 - 06:37 PM Bobert, I read a nice recipe for something else that I can't find now, but would provide an interesting list of veggies to try (was in Martha Stewart Living). If I find it, I'll send a link or transcribe it. Earlier this week the same friend who loaned me his steam juicer sent this tidbit from a canning discussion group. I think you could do this to make juice, not just to make sauce. Just don't cook it a long time:
the food strainer to remove the skins and seeds. This year - In my case there isn't a written recipe. My process goes like this: - 1 bushel of washed, cored and quartered tomatoes into my 18 QT roaster oven - add any other veggies (like bell peppers and onions) and herbs (fresh basil, oregano, etc) and spices (black pepper, etc) - roast in the roaster oven at 250°F until the veggies are well broken down (usually overnight) - once the veggies are soft I remove the bulk of the liquid by straining into a stockpot, using a second stockpot to hold the solids. After removing the bulk of the liquid (which I reserve) I pour the solids back into the roaster pan. - I now use my stick blender (boat motor) to puree the mass, skins, seeds and all - Now to a stockpot, adjust the thickness (add back some liquid if needed and the seasonings, heat to a simmer, pack in jars, debubble, cap and pressure can - 15 minutes pints, 20 quarts. I would stop at the strain liquid into crock pot--I would put it in a big pot, bring it to a slight boil for 5 to 10 minutes (or however long the canning recipe says) then bottle it in quart jars with 2 Tablespoons of lemon, a little salt if you want, and process it for 45 minutes. How's that sound? I think you should make the sauce with the rest of it, but the point of this is the get the juice, not just to make sauce. SRS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 05 Aug 09 - 07:51 PM Tomato Juice Cocktail (From the 3rd Addition of Rodale's Stocking Up) Yield: 4 qts. This recipe must be either pressure canned, or frozen for food safety 12 lbs. large, ripe, blemish free tomatoes 4 medium carrots 2 large red or green sweet peppers 4 stalks celery, including leaves, diced 2 onions, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 cup lemon juice 2 tbls. honey, or to taste 1/2 tsp. black pepper 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs fresh basil, dill or thyme (optional) Wash, stem and core tomatoes. Cut into small pieces. Wash and grate carrots. Core, seed and mince peppers. Combine all ingredients in a large, stainless steel or enamal kettle, and simmer over low heat 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft. Pick out the herb springs and strain juice from veggies. Freeze or pressure can. To can, return strained juice to kettle and bring to boil. Pour hot into hot, scalded jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process 30 minutes at 10 lb pressure. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 05 Aug 09 - 07:59 PM My two favorite books on preserving food are: 1. Stocking Up, by Carol Hupping and the Staff of the Rodale Food Center, and 2. Putting it up with Honey by Susan Geiskopf. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 05 Aug 09 - 08:08 PM Both sound great... I don't like nuthin' in my juice... I can't stand orange juice because it has pith in it... I love the V-* at the store... The P-Vine likesw her juice more pithy... She takes mine and runs it thru one of her blenders and I then I can drink it.... She found her V-8 recipe today, thank goodess, so we're back in the game... Mr Clifford, who just last week was gripin' about the rat-coons gettin' into his corn, came thru with his harvest today... 99 ears... I shucked 41 of them tonight and will get the others tomorrow... He only grows it for us... Beat last years 73 ears so we got our corn for winter... We didn't have the heart to tell him about the dozen we got up in Maryland for fear of one of Mr. Clifford's infamous "fallin' outs"... He can be very cranky but we do purdy well with him... Anyone make "cham-wa-set" (losey spellin'...)??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Janie Date: 05 Aug 09 - 08:20 PM Try another spelling...I don't ken ye. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Gardening, 2009 From: Bobert Date: 05 Aug 09 - 08:54 PM I don't have a clue... Okay... It is pronounced sham (as in sham) waaaa (as in waaaa) and set (as in set)... Sham-waaa'-set with the emphisis on the the waaa... It's made from tomatoes and onions and peppers and celery and carrots and things and ya' kinda can them all up together to be used later in sauces, stews, casseroles, etc... Yummy stuff and looks good in the pantry, too... B~ |
