Posted on 11/18/2011 5:11:32 AM PST by Red_Devil 232
Good morning gardeners. Thanksgiving is next week and I hope all Freepers enjoy a bountiful feast with family and friends. Don’t forget to give thanks, it can turn a meal into a feast.
A reminder for those of you who have a frozen turkey, for every 4 pounds of turkey it will take a day to thaw in the refrigerator. A 20-pound turkey will take 5 days so you need to start defrosting it tomorrow. If your turkey will not fit into your fridge defrost it in an ice chest with ice.
If the turkey is allowed to thaw at a temperature above 40 ºF, any harmful bacteria that may have been present before freezing can begin to grow again unless proper thawing methods are used.
You can also thaw it in a cold-water bath. Allow about 30 minutes per pound when thawing a turkey in cold water. A 20-pound turkey will take 10 hours using this method. Be sure to change the water often. Turkeys thawed by the cold-water method should be cooked immediately because conditions were not temperature controlled.
Ok Freepers this means no thawing of the turkey on the back porch or in the trunk of your car!
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.
Good morning gardeners. Thanks for the thread RD. I never have to worry about thawing Turkeys. My oldest daughter wanted this job, so long ago she took over the Turkey baking. I make a ham and the veggies. Easy for me.
While gone on a short trip, we had high winds and freezing temperatures. The row covers were partially blown off of the tomatoes, so that part of the garden is now finished.
Winter garden of greens is still doing well. Indoor spinach, herbs, and tomatoes are all doing well. I have received 1 seed catalog so far.
My citrus has produced a bunch of blooms, and 1 lemon is almost ripe. The leaves are turning yellow and then are dropping off. The yellow seems to begin along the veins. I don’t think it will survive the winter at this rate. I have researched the problem and tried various things, but nothing seems to have helped.
For anyone that missed the link I posted to last week’s thread, here it is again:
Free tomato seeds with a SASE. Also other seeds and exchanges. All are open pollinated. Instructions on how to sow seeds in the winter.
Have a great weekend. God Bless.
To JackS ...
When it comes to soil, the most useful site I’ve found is www.soilminerals.com.
Please read the interview with the author of “The Ideal Soil.” There is a bit of chemistry and math, but even I could understand it!
One discovers “The Law of Minimums,” in that your plants will do as well as the least present micro-mineral available.
I hope this helps ... it is really helping me. My soil in N Arizona high desert starts at around 8.5 pH and goes up from there! Egad.
I was grinning when you talked about using a D-10 to stir and clear the soil. Way too cool. PM me if you have any more soil questions.
Adding some beans will help the corn with it’s nitrogen needs. Google 3 sisters planting for more information.
First thing I would do is get the soil tested. Look up your local State University’s Extension service they will usually have samples of the forms you will need to fill out and also instructions on how to sample your soil.
I am pinging JustaDumbBlonde to your post. She and her husband do some big time farming including corn and the other veggies you mentioned.
Thanks for the link to that web site. where is the interview located?
The “Ideal Soil” interview is found at: http://www.soilminerals.com/AgricolaI.htm
Or, click Interview with Agricola on the right of the home page.
Everything in the garden is dead. It's very depressing.
Plant a winter cover crop if it is not too late.
What would you suggest?
Tested at 5.5
Beans, rattlesnake OK?
Thank you. I will visit www.soilminerals.com. Ya, a D-10 is pretty handy.
The Foster Farms Turkey hotline is open again this year. Give them a call 800 255-7227. As a side note, we bought a fresh bird this year just like Mama would have done. Lady Bender says Butterball also has a hot line...
Speaking of mustard...just bottled a batch of beautiful mustard habanero hot sauce to help keep close friends extra-warm this winter...
I am not familiar with eastern soils but a soil test will tell you. If it lakes nitrogen you would plant nitrogen fixing plants like Bell Bean, Clover or Austrian Field peas. The Dolomite lime was a good move. Gotta Run...
Great site.
Still have some greens in the garden that I’m still pulling off of. We’ve had a nice gradual fall with no hard spikes to shock the plants and kill htem. We’ve got down to 27 a couple of times which makes them real good for taste. No super hard freezes predicted for a couple of weeks so I’ll have salad at Thanksgiving!
Not the best year though. One time we didn’t dip below 26 until Christmas Eve. Fresh salad at Christmas - it don’t get any better than that.
If one were looking to grow the vegetables that you've listed, they would also look to trace elements like zinc and calcium.
In general, corn being a grass, loves and needs nitrogen. You will probably have to side-dress your corn rows with a dry product, unless you are working with standard farm equipment and have a fert applicator.
Tomatoes, on the other hand, don't need high nitrogen or you will get all foliage and no fruit. You are going to want to feed phosphorus at key times, and keep your calcium levels up to avoid blossom end rot. Phosphorus will benefit the squash as well.
Theoretically, you would be on the right track though, because if the soil pH is off significantly in either direction, you can apply all of the fert you want but the plants will likely be unable to utilize it. Trust me ... I learned that the hard way. :)
I am not just talking about a pH test but a complete soil analysis for NKP and mineral content. The results of the test should provide you details on how much of each to apply to your soil per acre or sq. ft.
Sounds good. I like peppers a lot.
You have good taste. :-)
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