Posted on 08/19/2011 5:01:37 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
That makes 2 of us.
The older leaves on the bottom of my tomato plants yellowed over time as well. Didn’t seem to affect the rest of the plant.
Thank you!! I’ll try that this afternoon.
There's a fire in DC?
LOL! Don’t we wish.
I had enough produce to deliver a bag of tennis ball sized tomatoes, a sandwich bag of the sweetest cherry tomatoes, 2 medium zuchini, and 2 cucumbers to the owner of the bagel shop where we often eat.
The veggies are for his dear wife who is undergoing chemo — on her 4th round — for a recurrence of B cancer. I told him that the cukes were likely to be bitter and to just throw them away if that turned out to be the case. But, these veggies have had no sprays and no additives — strictly organic. I think she’ll like that. She’s had no time for her own garden this year.
He wanted to give us breakfast in return, but I told him no. His mom is with them to do the cooking while Debbie is sick. So far, I’ve given away more veggies than I’ve eaten, but we’re not going hungry, so that’s a good thing.
I’m counting on it!
I canned so many vegetables last summer we’re still eating out of our pantry. Maybe the Man Upstairs had a little something to do with last years harvest. It was extremely bountiful, almost unimaginable ;D!
Can’t wait to get back to my garden.
Please enjoy yours! Summer is short in most of the country.
“I harvest a few at a time and dry them on the kitchen counter”
I usually just plant tomatos but this year grew several types of basil. Any hints on properly drying and bottling? Do you just leave it out on the counter? in a bowl? how long? any advice will be welcomed.
BTW, have been canning 5 pints a week of huge grape tomatos. (It’s nice like having freshly grown tomatos in a recipe during a Massachusetts blizzard)
That’s good that you have had such success. I love to be able to eat food that I know has not been contaminated by pesticides. Every little bit helps with the grocery bill too.
The weeds got the better of me during that stretch of 100° temps we had here in Central Missouri, but the tomatoes, peppers, melons and okra don’t seem to mind living in a weed patch.
I just lay the herbs out on trays on the counter and let them air-dry.
Or you can tie them into little bundles and hang them up like the pioneers did.
They are even better picked fresh and crumbled right into the sauce! :-)
Yummmm!
The wheat & barley have been threshed and winnowed, and seed saved out for next spring; and the potato rows tilled for planting winter wheat next month.
Other than jalapenos, not much in the way of peppers; same for tomatoes, other than ‘yellow pear’.
We do have some nice melons starting to ripen; and got about 8 jars of pickles...so far; more cukes coming. Beans are coming along well, except no Limas yet.
Two days ago, I clipped wings, and put a trio of hens, and a cockerel in the garden; showed them the water, and watched them for a while. When we went out after dinner to get them and take them back to the hen house, they were gone without a trace. late yesterday afternoon, they showed up, to watch me working on the tractor. It was a merry chase that finally ended with all 4 back in the coop.
This morning, we woke up to find cows in the front yard! They had managed to ruin the heavy stirrup of the cyclone-fence gate latch, bending it nearly 90 degrees to get in. Totaled the sunflowers, and smashed down all the iris, and broke 3 of the solar lights along the walk, as well as trampling or eating most of the other flowers. Oh, well; at least they pay the property taxes for us...and it wasn't the garden they wrecked. Most of the plants are perennials, and will come back next year; and the iris were ready to be cut back, as well.
In Oregon, it was deer and a bear that took out the iris a couple of times; and a bear wrecked the chicken yard fence once. Here, it's cows.
Never a dull moment!
Speaking of cows I read last night that the DOT has backed off of the asinine enforcement of the farm equipment operators. Farmers hit their congress critters pretty hard they responded by threatening to tar and feather the regulators. Of course you know they will be back so keep the pressure on...
Yeah, we’ll keep it up, because we know they will as soon as we don’t.
Have run; my pitchfork needs sharpening. ;-)
Hi, Red!
I am SO SORRY that I haven’t been around all that much! Between my uber-time-consuming job, and my SECOND job and my garden & farm chores & taking care of my Dad & my new Beau *BLUSH* (He’s the ‘boy’ version of me...FINALLY!) I’ve been a LITTLE busy this season!
My garden has literally EXPLODED. We put up 8.5 GALLONS of Sweet Corn last week. Today I’m tackling the green & yellow beans and Mom is coming out to help me this afternoon. Maybe some Bread & Butter pickles today, too, if I can hold up, LOL! Next week it will be processing the tomatoes. And then?
I QUIT! LOL!
Nah. Never say die! Fall crops will be going in; beets, lettuces, spinach and chard to name a few. I’ll be adding a garlic bed this early fall, and I’m going to ask Beau to till up a row somewhere for me that’ll be spring bulbs (tulips & daffs) for bouquets come spring....Hope Springs Eternal!
My peach trees have given me a bounty this season, but I think ‘The Girls’ are on their last legs as they are 10 years old now, and peach trees in the north don’t last forever...
Wonder where I’ll EVER get new ones? *SMIRK*
http://www.jungseed.com (Yes. Shameless plug for my company; keep me employed!)
Work has been steady/slow. Still a tad behind last year, but all things considered in this economy, I think we’ll all be keeping our jobs. Thank You, God! :)
Fall sales will pick up again when it cools off (we’ve had a REALLY hot summer...) We now have Mums & Asters at our garden centers, so Y’all Come! :)
Several plants have just died since January. I have lost 2 Rose of Sharon and a Wisteria. One of my figs yellowed and lost all of it's leaves last month. This morning, I noticed a Japanese Loquat that has dried out. This problem seems to be very selective and destructive. The Rose of Sharon started sprouting new leaves, then they dried out after a watering and died. They broke off when bent, as if they had been dead for quite some time. The wisteria, which was growing strong for the past 5 years was rotted away at the lower trunk. The fig is slowly sprouting new leaves. Neighboring figs are unaffected.
The plants are in a small area, approxiamtely 20' in diameter. I initially thought that lime was leaching from the concrete of the pad of the house, but that wouldn't account for the growth (house was built in 2006. Plants were put in the ground that year). The soil is naturally high pH. Manure was added around the loquat and fig this year, but not around the Rose of Sharon or Wisteria. The same manure was used around the veggie garden without problems. If I didn't know better, I could swear that an herbicide was at work, but I don't use them, and other plants continue to thrive in the same area.
Any idea's? Fungus?
I’m glad to hear that you have *good* reason to be absent! We’ve missed you, but I knew you were still alive and aware because of all the Wisconsin pings you’ve posted. I really appreciate those, as I do all your posts.
I have a question for all of you: For the last 3-4 years I’ve grown cherry tomatos in 2 urns at the entrance of my rose garden. I replace about half of the potting mix each year with fresh Miracle Grow, or Schultz’ mix and then plant starts of Sweet 100s in the pot. They’ve always done well, even when I forget to water them.
But (here’s my question) they are always a little different. Some years the tomatoes are big and fat, almost the size of a big gum ball. Other years they are tiny. Some years they are sweet. Other years they are not so sweet. This year those little tomatos are very small (marble sized) and as sweet as candy. I have never tasted such a sweet tomato, as a matter of fact. All of the plants have been named Sweet 100s, yet what they produce is different.
Why?
They got no fertilizer this year and irregular watering. Yet, they are the best I’ve grown.
NO clue. Sorry.
I’ve dried basil 2 ways this summer - hanging from my basement ceiling on a clothesline in a room where our dehumidifier runs; took about 2 weeks. And the rest in my dehydrator; took about 2 hours per batch. :) Although spread out on the counter would probably fall somewhere in the middle, maybe a couple days? Herbs dry pretty fast in a dehydrator, and all I have is a relatively cheap one from Walmart. Once dried, I crumble it into small pieces with my hands and store in jars - that’s it, should keep for a long time that way.
Worth mentioning, from my own experience, when drying basil, try to pinch the leaves off the stem as much as possible, not so much the little leaf stem but the larger stem the leaves are attached to, because they dry into very thin sharp needle-like sticks that are hard to hand-crush.
As we all know there is NO comparison between store bought herbs and herbs dried at home. That goes for oregano, dill, basil, thyme, chives, everything but cilantro, which loses all flavor and odor when dried and must be used fresh or frozen.
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