Posted on 02/20/2015 12:51:08 PM PST by greeneyes
Heavy snow fall and cold temps meant no school all week.
This week I planted some Amish Paste tomatoes. Another heirloom seed that I didn't get around to using last year. So far all the seeds have been sprouting just fine. The principe B. has reached 3 inches in height and has had some true leaves for a while. Chadwick Cherry is just now beginning to put out true leaves. Whipper Snapper is beginning to sprout.
I think the Principe B will be ready to repot next weekend, but I have already pressed a jobe spike into one corner for nutrients.
I figured out that my diet had somehow become deficient in potassium. So I added a couple of potatoes a day, and half a banana with my homemade yogurt and made various flavors of smoothie. Reduced the salt and saturated fat a few weeks ago. I am happy to report that my blood pressure is down significantly.
The lovely potato that is so cursed by many (some even have suggested that it should be banned from school lunches)has far more potassium that all the others mentioned as a source.
Not only that, it ranks higher on the satiation scale than other foods, and it's one of the cheapest things to purchase, and easy peazy to grow. If you are going to eat a starch, I think it's a winner!LOL
Anyhow, the basil I harvested is dry, and I packed it into a spice bottle. The plant is well on the way to producing another harvest.
Have a great weekend. Stay warm. God Bless.
Pinging the List.
We grew Amish paste tomatoes last year and were overwhelmed with the taste and volume of fruit these plants produced. We have three kinds of peppers and three kinds of peppers in their little hot houses.
Freezing rain tonight. YUCK !
Got my tobacco seeds from Johnny, which were much appreciated! At present, I've got eggplants, mini-mexican watermelon (cool little cukes for canning), purple cherry tomatoes, german johnson tomatoes, Italian tomatoes and Black tomatoes all sprouting, and I FINALLY got some sprouts from my ghost chile and devil's tongue peppers. Of course, I've got trays of Virginia Gold, Commercial Burley and some nicotiana rustica tobacco sprouting everywhere!
The worst part? Winter is returning, if only for a short time, this weekend/first part of the new week!
My seeds have arrived, but my rolling seed cart is buried under 5+ feet of snow on the deck here in Massachusetts. The low last night was 1 degree.
Iron Dog started today with the Trail Class out on the trail for about two hours - teams just starting to come into the first checkpoint at Skwentna. Pro Class (including Todd Palin) will be starting tomorrow & that’s when I start following the race closely. As cold and snowy as conditions have been around the NE, Iron Dog could have been run in the lower 48!
If you’re interested, here’s the Iron Dog website: http://www.irondograce.org/ On the red navigation bar, just click on “Race Tracking” & from the pull down menu, click “GPS Tracking”. You can also choose to look at the teams in the Trail & Pro Class. From the GPS Map, up at the top you can select “Main Map”, “Leaderboard”,” Race Flow” & a “Mobile App”. You can set the map to refresh every 3 minutes.
No gardening going on, but we have been feeding sunflower seeds from last year’s crop to the very hungry, cold birds that are hanging around the bird feeders (in addition to store-bought seed). We finally got up into double digits late morning and are now around 19 degrees. This should be the last very frigid night - some “warmup” coming tomorrow, i.e. above freezing by late afternoon although snow & sleet might get to about ½ “here before going to freezing rain and then rain. I am not a fan of snow so I won’t be sorry to see it melt away as fast as possible!
In an effort to stay positive, saw this quote today and liked it:
“It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.” ~John Burroughs, “Winter Sunshine”
Glad to hear that! We grew a lot of Romas last year, but I think they needed better soil. They were prolific, but didn’t have the great flavor we have had in the past.
I think hubby got the seeds from Walmart, and he used 5 gallons buckets, and some top soil he had on hand. I know initially he trouble with blossom end rot. I told him to add some bone meal and Epsom salts and that did help to curb that issue.
Time to get a fire going in the fireplace, or wood stove if you have one. Make some tea or hot chocolate, and do a little garden planning/dreaming. LOL Stay warm!
Well for once we beat you with -4 degrees. I hung a sheet over the basement door in the Kitchen to help insulate it. That’s the north corner of the house, and it has a noticeable temperature drop when you walk through the kitchen.
Do the Amish paste tomatoes have the old time tomatoe taste?
We are in for a continued round of freezing temps for the next week. Yuk. I was hoping for a break to take out the trash.
That is so cold! I am really looking forward to spring, but I’m guessing that it will be slow to arrive.
I’ve been pinning biointensive garden plans for out back, and edible landscaping plans for out front. I can gain a lot of space in the back by incorporating more in the front. I have to landscape the front anyway, since we are done with remodeling/adding on. The house looks great, but the yard is a shambles lol!
First post on this thread and looking forward to the spring!
Question about ashes in a garden. We cleared out the old garden area, a 40 x 70’ space that was last used 20 years ago.
There’s a good sized burn pile in the middle of it consisting of mountain grape vines, honeysuckle and several small locust trees.
Is it OK to burn in place then spread the ashes and till them into the soil?
Yes, I’m afraid that it won’t be early this year.
Well, that’s a good plan. I need to do something with the front too. Originally we were going to grow some nut trees, but had zero luck getting anything to grow. Then just tried some easy to grow stuff that all died.
Need to do a soil test I guess.
We think so.
No need to grow the big girls, better boys, etc. Just slice the smaller Amish paste tomatoes for sandwiches, etc. You’ll have plenty of them.
I had planned to start my seeds right around now, but that’s probably not going to happen. One of these days I’ll either have a sunroom, a greenhouse or I’ll be in Florida. :)
Welcome. Well, a certain number of ashes is good, but it can be overdone. Others on the thread are more savy in this regard than I am.
Started my heirloom tomato seeds this past week.
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