Weekly Gardening Thread
Posted on 10/07/2011 5:03:50 AM PDT by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners. Wow the first week of October! The garden has been officially put to rest and my compost pile has been tilled into the garden and is now depleted. It’s going to need a lot of leaves, grass clippings and other plant materials to build it back up for next years garden. The leaves on the trees here in East Central Mississippi have awhile yet before they turn color and start to fall in quantity so I am letting about half of my grass clippings turn brown before adding them to the compost pile and mixing them with the green clippings.
Now it is time for a “Blast From The Past”. Thanks to Freeper SunkenCiv for the lead to this news story. It is an article about how a Food archaeologist in Arizona is saving plants that were used as a food source thousands of years ago. Not only is he saving the seeds and plants, “he also has made his academic work edible, encouraging home cooks and award-winning chefs to actually use these culinary archaeological finds.” Read the article here: Food archaeologist gives new life to nearly extinct grains, veggies
If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.
I hope all your Summer gardens did well this year and your Fall gardens prosper.
Weekly Gardening Thread
I hope all of you will stop by.
This is typically a low volume ping list. Once a week for the thread and every once in a while for other FR threads posted that might be of interest.
If you would like to be added to or removed from the list please let me know by FreepMail or by posting to me.
Good morning, Red_Devil 232! A definite thanks to SunkenCiv for posting that article. I find it amazing in a way that many foods common in my youth (okay... definitely dating myself here) are unheard of by many younger folks. I know a lot of people who don’t know what rutabagas, turnips or parsnips look or taste like. The idea of keeping “alive” seeds of ancient foods is brilliant to me. What nourished ancient people would certainly nourish us today.
Looks like we may be in for a wet weekend for a change. It has been a long hot dry year. I don’t think we have had over five inches since Sep 2010. We are over 20” behind normal rainfall.
Thanks for the link. I passed it on to the Dutchess and my Mom who lives in Las Cruces, NM.
The Dutchess now has moved the dinner table into a corner to create space for a 6' by 2' X-pen for our five Maran pullets. They are growing like weeks and have attitudes. She says that they plan to either spend the winter in our dining room or the local Holiday Inn. I ask all of the pullets if they are ready to either make a contribution to breakfast or a committment to supper!
Long weekend coming up. I need to finish the expansion on the coop. The duck hens are now producing large duck eggs.
After nine straight days of cold rain, I’m now in the process of tearing the garden out. The tomatoes are destroyed along with almost everything else except the hot peppers. The kale is okay too. I’ll have hubby till up everything so that I can get garlic in. Anybody know a good place to order shallots from?
Do you eat the duck eggs, or are you going to hatch them?
I used to raise peacocks and peahens. Never got any of their eggs to hatch, but we used a lot of them in baking. I don’t have a lot of (any) experience eating eggs from other fowl, but I’m told that peaacock eggs are mild, like chicken eggs, but duck eggs have a “strong flavor”. Since I’ve only tasted chicken and peacock eggs, I can’t tell you what I think of duck eggs.
But, peacock eggs are terrific for baking (they are big). They make a nice, high, cake and make terrific zucchini bread. I suppose you should actually measure them if you have a sensitive recipe.
So far I've potted up
I'm tempted to dig up some mint, too.
Anybody got any other ideasof smallish plants one can bring inside for the winter? How about greens on a southern windowsill: lettuce? Asian greens?
I don't have money for grow-lights, but I'm thinking I could put reflective white or aluminum-foil covered cardboard panels behind the plants to increase the daytime light exposure. Anybody got any ideas on that?
I hope so, Arrowhead. The cracks in the pasture are huge. Our whole little town sits on a mound of blackland and right now it’s like concrete. The lake in front of our place is really low. In fact there’s a dozer out there working the dried area and making it deeper. I hope it fills up this weekend.
Oops, I listed rosemary twice. I meant to say parsley. I’ve got 4 parsley plants potted up out back.
Maybe this weekend, however.
Here is hoping those rains are long and steady ground soakers and not deluges with lots of run off.
Mark for later! Gotta pick tomatoes while it’s still cool.
I personally think your idea of bringing the herbs inside is great! I’ve done it with parsley and thyme. I use the t.v. tray stands (the ones you would normally use to set up by a chair to eat in front of the television or for a sick person). I have them by any window with Southern exposure... I am not a type to be overly concerned that a room is out of order so it doesn’t bother me. Fresh herbs make everything taste so much better!
It’s been raining here since about 7:30. Sure is looking good for a change. I forgot to clean the gutters and one is running over. Looks like almost .5” already.
since the time for planting and growing conventional garden crops is winding down, I have a video that illustrates the rearing of a rather unconventional crop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9tgAA85OUM
Try them in something like zucchini bread, or a bundt cake. She won’t be able to taste them, but she’ll be impressed with how high the bread rises.
With the cost of bread, I might try baking a couple loafs this weekend and use duck eggs.
So far we have had a steady rain this morning. I thought it was .5”, but it is just over .25” now. I’ve got to clean out one gutter before it starts again.
The audio of your You Tube was both funny and disgusting. The video was just a bunch of green streaks! But, thanks anyway. ;^)
You use eggs in your bread? I think that yeast raised bread is tricky, unless you have a sure fire recipe. I’d try them in a “quick” (raised with Baking Powder or soda and eggs) bread first.
LOL-I wonder if they also have jelly roll and cream-puff seeds?
I thought the video was a hoot! When he grabbed the cleaver and called it his “pocket knife”... I LOL! Thanks for making me laugh!!
In South Florida, The Growing Season is just beginning. It is taking DAYS to clear the weeds out of my planting beds to start my Napa, Bok Choy, Arugula, Green Beans, and fresh new Herbs.
However, the banana trees, Mango Trees, and Avocado Trees have been flourishing all summer and are taller than me now. I expect some magnificent tropical fruits in the spring!
I have several new trees I have planted from seeds and they are over a foot tall now. Fig, papaya, grapes, kiwi, and more mango and avocado (From the seed in the middle of the fruit).
I have a compost pile too but it is getting very big.
Ah well, some of the tribes built mounds that are HUGE, but mine is famous for having 27 words for SNOW. LOL
Last week was cold and rainy, so I pulled all the tender ornamentals from the shade garden. Calidium and elephant ear bulbs are drying in the sun room.
Been finding a bunch of praying mantis and their nests in the backyard. If those things grew six more inches, I'd be very afraid. Found a youtube video of one eating a snake alive! Yikes!
Benderville had a unusual 3+ inches of rain from Sunday to Thursday morning and the deer hunters and river fishermen are probably calling in sick this morning and heading east. Still getting Diva Cucumbers and the pumpkin vines are still healthy. I pulled the last of the cornstalks yesterday and will pull the rest of the Marigolds to shred after we get back from Costco. We have fog right now but it should burn off by noon. The Dahlias took a beating from the rain but we will prune them and we will get more flowers before they are completely gone...
I think my gardening is over for the year. It snowed yesterday and got down to 28F last night. It will be colder tonight and more snow today and Saturday.
The recipe I use for bread calls for one egg per 3 cups flour (one loaf). If anybody has problems with bread falling or not rising in the second stage rise period, I have learned that the first rise that usually calls for the doubling of the dough is critical. Don’t exceed the doubling of the dough at this stage I use a clear plastic measuring cup - 8 cup capacity for the first rise. When I put my dough in, it always reads 750ml (one loaf) and once it rises to 1500 ml it is doubled. Ready for the punch down and a second rise in the bread pan. The info on the first rise came from King Arthur Flour company. I had called their troubleshooting hot line after I was having a problem with my bread not rising in the second rise and collapsing in the oven. That is when I got the 8 cup measuring cup. Have never had a problem since I started using it.
We have had great weather this week. Perfect fall days. Unfortunately, I had to spend a great deal of time indoors ensuring that my granddaughter got caught up on her school work. Monday, the teacher sent home a note that 14 books and tests were due by Thursday, and she only had finished 2.
Well, long story short, we got it done.
Back to gardening: I got the winter lettuce planted. Covered it with a row cover for protection. Next morning all kinds of sunken in places, guess the squirrels played tag on it. We finally have a bunch of green tomatoes. I check every morning, and pick any that have a slight blush, wrap them in paper, and let them ripen.
The persimmons are starting to ripen, but most are still hard. Still, I have learned how they look and feel, so every day I am able to get a few to eat. I found a recipe for persimmon candy that I will try this week or next.
Green beans are still putting out like crazy. This was our best crop this year. Hubby's corn is nearly ready to harvest. Soon I will begin putting my gardens to bed, and plant some winter wheat in some for harvest next spring.
If anyone knows how to process persimmon seeds for coffee, would you please let me know? I have done a search, but so far, no success on how to, just lots of articles saying you can, and confederates did it during the civil war. I can't seem to get the gel off the seeds, it's just like glue, but won't wash off. LOL. Have a great weekend. God Bless.
Roasting persimmon seeds is similar to roasting pumpkin seeds. Place the seeds on a cookie sheet. Roast the seeds for 30 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring them every 10 minutes. Then grind them up in the coffee grinder and use as you would ground coffee. Can’t help you with the gel.
My mother in law made a yeast & egg bread every family get together for the last 30 years. It was great. We called it coffee can bread because she let it rise in 1 lb coffee cans and cooked it in them. It was also quick, because you just let it rise once.
You might try the trick used with tomato seeds to clean them up quickly use some Oxi-Clean in water and put the seeds in. I would start with just a couple of seeds to see what happens. Might work to get that gel off.
Thanks. I’ll try that -I was thinking that maybe if I put them in the oven at a low temp, till the gel dried, that maybe it would come off with friction. The seeds are so hard, I am not sure that a coffee grinder can process them without breaking.
I just read this week that the leaves make a great tea too. All these years, and who knew? Breakfast from a Persimmon tree! LOL.
Thanks for the tip, I'm going to get a container just for rising bread. I struggle with it every time it seems, so I'll take any help I can get.
For awhile last year I wasn't getting any rise at all. At one point I thought it was the yeast, but when I switched to a new jar the trouble remained, so that couldn't have been it. Or so I thought. Turns out I got two bum jars of yeast in a row.
The amaranth sounds interesting. I had looked it up on Wikipedia earlier. It certainly is a multipurpose plant, from the leaves to the seeds and the roots, with lots of healthy benefits.
Here is a link to the King Arthur 8 cup measuring cup I bought. I knew in this small town I would never find something like this.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/acrylic-measuring-cup-8-cup
My garden made it through some frosty nights (with a bit of help). The cold seems to have sent the tomatoes a clear message, though, they’ve grown more in the last few weeks than the entire summer up till now. Still trying to figure out why everything was so stunted this year. I wonder if it’s as simple as the paper and cardboard I used to line the bottom of the grow bed. If that didn’t break down as quickly as it was supposed to, the plants’ roots would have had trouble reaching the rich soil underneath. The dirt I filled those beds with was good, but it wasn’t meant to be the only soil they had.
I picked all the bean pods I could find after I noticed that the ripe one were going moldy because of all the rain. They’re supposed to stay on the vine until dry, but that isn’t happening this year, so I spread them out on newspapers inside. We’ll see how well they sprout next year.
My raspberries just don’t want to quit! It’s a tiny patch, but producing about 3/4 of a cup of berries every other day. I haven’t been able to pick them all due to my back acting up, but the ones that grow in easy reach are very sweet and tasty!
My strawberries are still covered in blossoms and unripe berries, but I found out why they never seemed to ripen. As soon as the berries get even the tiniest hint of pink to them, the local wildlife is eating them. A pity. When i transplant those to my land and have good fencing around them, I’ll have fresh strawberries from June until winter! I might even put a few in the greenhouse for a treat during the cold months.
I almost wound up being adopted by a dog this week. There was a huge racket that made it sound like someone was trying to break into the house, and when I went to investigate (armed, of course) I found a black lab in the backyard. He seemed young, but blind. He had somehow gotten through the fence, but couldn’t find his way back out, and he kept walking into the wall hard enough that the aluminum siding would rattle. That was the sound I’d heard. He didn’t react at all when I whistled to him, so I think he was deaf too. His face was all scratched and bleeding, but when he realized I was there (he bumped into me and could tell I wasn’t a wall) he just wagged his tail and let me pet him. He seemed really nice. I went in to get a bowl of water and some leftover chicken for him, but when I came back out he was gone.
I was more concerned with the actual measurement of the duck eggs. Probably should take a liquid measurement and use a guide (often in the back of better cookbooks) to compare with the chicken eggs. You can also find those equivalents on the carton of egg beaters at the grocery store.
The big eggs (duck, goose, peahen) are larger. It doesn’t make much difference with quick breads. I don’t know how critical that measurement is with yeast breads.
I just finished checking the weather for the next 10 days. Only 3 days of rain, days in the high 70’s, nights in the 50’s so no frost in sight! Great gardening weather, and we'll be able to eek out a few more crops.
I love this time of year for outdoor work.LOL.
Good to know, thank you!
Could you all SEE that video? I just had lots of static, green lines, etc. A big blur. I’ll have to try again on a different computer. Perhaps I don’t have the right tool o this one..
I’d just roast them with the gel still on, then winnow after roasting.
That dog’s behavior sounds like he may have had an epileptic attack. My male Irish Setter has Canine Epilepsy and when he has an attack he basically goes blind and will run into and over any thing in his way. It is scarey for him and us. If anyone who did not know him were to be around when he has an attack they might think he was going mad with rabies as he foams at he mouth and just randomly runs into things. He is basically looking for me or my wife to help him out and keep him safe.
He is a good obedient pup and it has become our job to keep him safe and unharmed.
Yeh, that’s what I’m going to try.
J I Rodale, the founder of Organic Farming and Gardening Magazine was a pioneer in the research of Amaranth grains starting in the 1940s when my Mother became a early subscriber. JI traveled the world looking for different varieties and wrote extensively on them...
Yet well I ken the banks where Amaranths blow,
Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.
Bloom, O ye Amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,
For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!
_ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.