[greeneyes]

Good afternoon from our little acre in eastern Missouri. The weather is great - sun is shining and it's 70 degrees. Most of the gardening is done and harvested. Garlic is well on the way. Lettuce spinach and carrots are hanging in there and trying to get going.

From the almanac: "One generation plants the trees and another gets the shade".

I was notified that Arrowhead1952 needs prayers urgently. He had an accident,was in intensive care, and has a long recovery even if he gets better. Please say a prayer for our FRiend.

Have a great gardening weekend. Godbless.

[greeneyes]

Pinging the list.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Question for you experienced gardeners:

How do you wrap up an asparagus bed? Leave the died-down foliage in place? Or clear it out?

Mulch with tree-leaves, or not? I've read both suggestions but don't know the rationale so I can't evaluate it.

I'm in round-about USDA 6B or 7, have already had light frosts but my asparagus fronds are still green and upright with just a little bit of yellowing/slumping, so I have time to decide what to do.

[HopeandGlory]

Prayers going up. God be with you and yours Arrowhead.

[sockmonkey]

I was notified that Arrowhead1952 needs prayers urgently.

Thanks for the heads up. Prayers will be offered for my fellow Central Texan.

My greenhouse is about winter ready. I have tomatoes and herbs in there. Outside, I still have about ten cucuzzi babies. I wish they would get big before the first freeze which might be next week.

My sweet potatoes are fingerlings..ugh. I still need to move them into the greenhouse. We've had about 3 inches of rain this week, but today the sun is out. My lettuce, broccoli, asian stuff, spinach, etc really loved the rain.

[5th MEB]

Alright Folks; I have made dried apples, apple pie filling, apple sauce, pickled apples, apple cake,(which I froze to eat later)and I am running out of ideas for canning and preserving.
I have glutted the local food bank with everything from apples to prunes, and I think they would rather I didn’t come back.
So I am open to any and all recipes for apples, pears, cherries, prunes, and berries as long as they will preserve the harvest.
I have cooked, canned, dried and froze all the above fruits; now I am ready for any recipies for cakes, pies, turnovers or any thing else ya’all can think of that I can make up and freeze for later cooking.
I know you folks have all those old fashioned recipes that your mom's and grand mom’s passed down to you; PLEASE, PLEASE share with a needy bachelor.

[sockmonkey]

Just saw this on the TX board re: Arrowhead1952. I will definitely double up on the prayers:

Arrowhead (John) fell off a 20’ ladder at work, onto his head, and has a severe brain injury!

Broke all the bones in his face and skull, broke his shoulder blade and some ribs.

His last post was 10/20 in the morning. He fell about 2pm that same day and was LifeFlighted to the hospital; then, after about 6 hours of surgery, he went directly to ICU. It was touch and go for days in critical condition.

After 2 weeks in ICU he has been transferred to a Specialty Neurological Rehab center in Austin, as of 11/3.

He can move his arms and legs, so no spinal injury, but he is not cognizant. Sometimes he can respond to “can you squeeze my hand?”, sometimes not. His daughter is getting ready to go back home.

The nurses are calling them every day. Small improvements are noticed, such as he sat up for 10 seconds today, but no one has a prognosis. Brain injuries heal how they heal, when the heal, if they heal....3 to 6 months at least.

PRAY HARD, please!!!! And spread the word to your prayer lists.

[texas_mrs]

So sorry to hear about Freeper Arrowhead1952. Have always considered myself to be his ‘neighbor’, though I’m probably a hundred miles or more from him. Please send my regards and keep us updated as to his progress.

Too dark to check the garden when I get home after work each day, so look forward to the weekends, still have ripening tomatoes and peppers and need to get going on planting some cold-weather crops - just too many things to catch up on during the weekend.

[tob2]

Praying for FRiend.

[left that other site]

Praying for our dear brother Arrowhead. Thank you for posting this prayer request!

[matthew fuller]

Does anyone have any favorite sweet heirloom peppers they can recommend? I am considering trying Jimmy Nardello, Corno di Toro and Napoleon.

[matthew fuller]

I just realized, while researching heirloom peppers, that I most likely accidentally created a hybrid or crossbreed pepper last year. I had two Santa Fe Grande plants, that put on several peppers that were completely mild, sweet peppers. I grew the Santa Fe Grande plants in containers, in proximity to an Anaheim and a Red Beauty Bell. I still have three of the crossbred SFG peppers frozen, and I will plant some of the seeds next month. They were very good prolific sweet peppers.

[tubebender]

We are having some of the best late fall weather I have ever seen here. The Pacific Ocean is 5 to 6 degrees warmer due to unusual wind currents this year. I got 2 beds planted to a cover crop of Common Vetch but have several more to prepare and plant. The Doc says my heart is not as efficient as it was just a few years ago so my getup and go has done got up and went. I work a bit and rest a lot. Lady Bender's hip joint replacement is fully healed and she is able to walk a mile a day plus all the miles she walks in the house. I think I'll pull the cucumber plants Monday even though they are still healthy but are not setting up new cukes and also have to dig the old corn plants. I think 90% of the Garlic is up and healthy

A link to Joe Bastardi's weather forecast…http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3224851/posts

[tubebender]

One of the beds I planted to Common Vetch…

I pulled the row cover off the 3 rows of Chinese early red garlic…

[ApplegateRanch]

Everything left-leeks, onions, chard, and cabbages-comes out tomorrow, when we'll have a high around 60, because all next week our HIGHS will be in the 20s, with single-digit lows.

[tillacum]

oh ME! Prayers up for Arrowhead 1952.

[Augie]

Mrs. Augie and I are recently home from a badly-needed week on the beach in Sunny Florida. The weather was a bit on the cool side but it was better than a sharp stick in the eye.

I got my garlic planted the day before we left. Last fall I only planted 75 cloves, which was a bad idea. I’ve got a feeling that we’re going to run out before this batch is ready to harvest. I forgot to count how many I planted this time, but I basically doubled the row-feet from last year so I should be good to go.

My green beans were freeze-killed while we were on vacation. Still have lettuce, radishes and carrots looking good.

The old smokehouse soon-to-be potting shed still hasn’t arrived. Maybe this week.