Posted on 12/27/2013 12:25:05 PM PST by greeneyes
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Not much to report from here. Turnips are getting ready for harvest. Leaf lettuce is nice and fresh for sandwiches. I got a few late season tomatoes as well.
rightly said: “Need to do something different to keep interest alive, same old, same old kinda gets old.”
Stick with me, rightly, since I don't know all the rules of planting/growing, I'm not hemmed in by rules, so I do weird things and some of those may temp you to do them, too. You will enjoy the Tromboncino Squash and it grows so fast you can sit outside at night and watch it grow. I want another Stevia plant and have to get a Meyer Lemon dwarf tree AND NOW:
I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CUCUMBERS.
The short version of this story is I am self locked in my house as people are dying of H1N1 in this county - four have already died and I don't know how the other four are. I can't take the vaccine and being 80, I will die if I get that. Here is my problem:
I am eating my food storage. Yesterday afternoon, I was going to make tuna salad and discovered there was no pickle relish in the fridge and it took me cleaning out the pantry to find one small bottle of relish. Rats. When that is gone I will have NONE. I do have two bottles of sweet “Stackers” which are thinly sliced Bread and Butter sweet pickles and can make relish out of that.
I have stacks and stacks of canned chicken for an emergency, but I have to buy bottles of relish. Now, I need to plan for growing cucumbers to make sweet pickles so I got my big “The Joy of Pickling” book and found a fast recipe for sweet pickles. Other types of sweet pickles in this book take three to four days but these can be prepared and put in the canning bath in one day.
I would need cucumbers that are 3-4 inches long. Is there a cucumber you grow that is resistant to insects and cans well? That may be a dumb question but I don't know if some cucumbers are better canners than others.
You slice these cucumbers 3/16 inch thick. To make 3 1/2 pints, you do this (IS THERE SUCH A THING AS MAKING ACTUAL RELISH, THEN WATER BATH CANNING IT? There probably isn't.):
QUICK SWEET CUCUMBER SLICES
1. Toss the sliced cucumbers (3/16 inch thick) with 2 tablespoons pickling salt. Empty an ice cube tray over the cucumbers and let them stand for 3-4 hours.
2. Drain the cucumbers , discarding any ice cubes that haven't melted. In a nonreactive pot, bring to boil the 2 1/2 cups of sugar, 3 1/2 cups cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp. whole fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp. whole coriander seeds, 1 1/2 tsp. whole allspice berries, 1 tbsp. whole yellow mustard seed.
3. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add cucumbers. Over medium heat, bring to a boil again. Pack them unto pint or half pint jars leaving 1/2 inch headroom. Close with two piece lids and process in boiling water for 5 minutes.
When I needed relish, I would cut them up along with a bit of the sweet juice to make relish.
I must have relish in an emergency situation. I asked greeneyes on another thread earlier today to drive here from Missouri and bring relish to my door so I don't have to leave my house, but she hasn't driven here.
What cucumber seed should I get to grow cucumbers - remember this is hot Texas so they have to endure heat and be strong to keep insects from killing them.
There are 10-15 decent-good sites there with growing/propagating info and tips, so I posted the full search results so you could browse them. Depending upon your USDA Zone in TX - 6, 7, 8, or 9 - some of the sites are tip-specific, so indoor/outdoor cultivation varies somewhat. Some species are perennial; down in TX, you should have an easy time with it. I grew it up in 6b, in and out of GHs, easily. It’s worthwhile for culinary usage, and not invasive.
I've cooked with lemon grass since culinary school, so it will be a welcome addition.
Thanks again.
/johnny
What do you think about this? I've got the tobacco seed and could punch holes in the fabric over the dirt I have and let it grow in the ground. Is there some insect that would attack it? Could tobacco be grown in containers? I would need so much, wouldn't have that many containers. Do you know how many plants could grow in say, a four ft. square plot? If you could estimate that, I could figure my ground as to how much I could grow.
Am I nuts to think of using a pipe?
Had Air Farce One flown over prior to the browning of the plants?
The only insect I have problems with on tobacco is the tobacco hornworm. Twice daily going over the plants and squishing the worms works for me.
You might squeeze two plants in a 4 ft square plot. Roughly 50-100 cigarettes can be made from one good mature plant.
I'll let you know on container tobacco in a few months. I transported my rebel tobacco plant into a one-gallon container this afternoon. It's doing fine in a pot (see pic upthread) so far.
/johnny
/johnny
I’ve been reading up on sprouting lemon grass. Can’t say I’ve ever eaten any but it sounds interesting. I forgot to ask the Christmas city crowd to bring some. Keep us updated on yours.
/johnny
I saw a youtube of an Australian (?) guy who divided his lemon grass just like you’d divide anything else. Separate the roots and put 2-3 plants into small pots (he was potting it up to sell) and give them haircuts. Eventually they ended up in 5 gallon buckets. Rinse and repeat.
Ok, that sounds doable. I’ve got a couple neighbors/friends who want some lemongrass. Mine is a hunk of blades about 1’ in diameter now. Definitely big enough, IMHO, to divvy up 3 or 4 different ways. And the resulting hunks would be bigger than the one I started with last April.
See #51. When the lemon grass starts to get dry leaves, divide like you would anything else.
What a shame.
I found a few recipes for lemon grass tea. I may try that later tonight after my special friend takes her leave.
/johnny
I’ve seen a recipe that uses lemongrass and mint.
I remember thinking at the time that it would be a great ‘sun tea’ recipe for summertime.
Good to see you on this thread CH. When you told me you were going to join I wasn’t sure if you were just “humoring” me or not. :) Now all we need is Mags and Adguy on here to really stir the puddin’
Me neither.
Fresh lettuce AND TOMATOES. I am jealous.
/johnny
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