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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 20, 2013 11:15:36 GMT -5
Minnie, your garden looks great. I wanted to tell you that I bought a Greenhouse tarp last year. It's a plastic with mesh imbedded in it. This stuff took a whole winter of beating and still looks great. You can get them in custom sizes. Just don't be tempted to buy their tarp holders...they are not worth a damn and whatever elastic they used on them was not suitable for the sun. Leo's Idea for putting them over the conduit is to zip tie them on one end and use clips or bricks on the other. This stuff is way easier to deal with than row cover, but the rain and snow won't go through it, so you have to make certain that you deal with the weight if the snow really starts being Minnesota Snow! I have never been able to get row cover out of the field without tearing it. Something about wind and a 50 foot long row cover is just about ridiculous to deal with. Hope your new market works out.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 20, 2013 10:51:26 GMT -5
Happy Happy Rain Dance! Yeah, okay it's only a sprinkle but it sure smells good.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 13, 2013 11:18:30 GMT -5
We had good Cortona melons over the weekend, one good Winter King and Queen Watermelon as well. I also had a couple of Cortona melons picked too early that were more like cucumbers. They have these nematodes at Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, which has prices like Whole Paycheck, I mean Whole Foods. I'm sure you can find them cheaper on the web.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 12, 2013 11:41:24 GMT -5
And Joseph's walnuts were yummy!
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 11, 2013 22:23:34 GMT -5
Blue Jay, I see that you have caught bean mania...The many beautiful shapes and colors. I see that you do not have enough beans to maintain. It took me 3 years to track down the Bamberger Blue. It still didn't make enough to share this year. I never send out beans till I have a quart jar in the freezer. Then I transfer them to pints. Anything in a half pint, there just isn't enough of. I used to plant anything that was just beautiful. Now I've gotten fussy and they have to be: 1. Superior nutrition 2. Drought tolerant 3. Prolific. 4. Or practically extinct. When I took on the Badda Beans, it was all about making sure that they got a real home, and out in the world. When I find that only a few farmers are maintaining a bean, it just makes me crazy. Of course, my head is still turned by a pretty face. PM me your address. Thanks for posting. Holly
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 11, 2013 22:04:21 GMT -5
To avoid the cross with GM corn, you need to plant earlier than those folks planting dent/field corn. You also need to maintain enough distance from GM corn to keep from crossing. Also, you have to start with GM free corn, so buy certified seed. I'm lucky in that none of the farms that I'm even close to EVER plant corn. I've got a guy about 3 miles away, he always plants sweet corn. Hardly seems to be worthwhile for me to plant sweet corn, as he puts in 80 acres over a period of time.
I've been planting sorghum for my chickens, camelina, wheat, barley, oats, and gosh they'll eat anything green. This week they're eating melon rinds and green tomatoes. They are happy right now as I move them over rows that are done for the season, and they bat clean-up.
I got my chickens from Sandhill Seeds. I have been very happy with my rooster. I crossed Glenn's chickens with our Marans. Glenn sent me Flame Favorelle and his own version of the Maran. From which King George the Rooster came. Until he got et by the Mountain Lion this year, he was the best rooster I have ever had. I lost 40 chickens. I suspect my farm help was feeding the lion, since she didn't like cleaning up after the chickens. Anyway, I'm down to 6 hens and one of George's sons. (Charles Stewart - the pretender to the throne.)
I hope to get new chicks from Glenn this year. Most of my hens go broody in the Spring, so they'll start 5 new batches of chicks. For the last several years, I have not had to buy new chicks in the spring. One of those hens is not broody. Go figure.
We had one year where those dreaded diabolical dibrotica pretty much wiped out the entire greens and flowers. Leo brought home Preying Mantid larvae and wow the population plummeted the following year. And! I keep finding larvae of these. It has helped that we put in a real row of beneficial insect plants and leave it be. The squash bugs this year were so horrible, that we are putting in Parasitic Nematodes. In particular this year we are looking at
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Nematodes
Still so much to do, just to wrap up the season. I still have to plant favas! Yikes
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 10, 2013 15:37:45 GMT -5
Thanks Dar, I'm glad I asked for the whole story I'm pretty sure if anyone goes through my freezer and finds 100 qt jars of beans and corn, they are going to give them to the food pantry and never think about them again....
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 7, 2013 18:20:56 GMT -5
Now, my entire farm is an experiment in entropy or chaos...depending on which side of the equation you are on. My next farm I'll call the "Entropy of Chaos".
I too have pony radish. Since planting it 20 years ago, it's gone from one plant to 5. At that rate, I figure I can harvest one every 5 years. My neighbor put one in and has it everywhere.
Me, I have unrelenting bind weed. Evil stuff, not edible. I just get rid of it in one area, and it comes back. (Kind of like relatives).
I have bamboo in a 15 gallon container, as Leo was afraid of what I'd unleash if I planted it. I was kinda hoping for a forest, but in a container, it's a wee forest.
Minnie, I saw a place with old bathtubs in Minnesota, might be just the thing. I have an old horse trough that I'm planning on transplanting the bamboo to.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 7, 2013 18:06:55 GMT -5
This afternoon I'm beating luffas! Man, talk about a LONG season...this went into the garden from transplants in May, and I'm harvesting now. Leenstar and I split a package. I wonder how they did in IL?
No bugs or pests in my garden. Of course, cleaning them is really fun. Whack, trample, peel and wash. Sponge Bob, move over, make room for Sponge Girl!
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 7, 2013 18:00:12 GMT -5
Okay Dar, I wrote to NCtomatoman and thanked him. Hey, I didn't know that he was the source of Cherokee Green. One of my favorite green tomatoes! nctomatoman.weebly.com/from-the-vine---2013-plants.html For you tomato heads, some interesting tomatoes, not rated as to cold tolerance.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 7, 2013 17:43:04 GMT -5
Okay who was Grandma Roberts? www.rodgersheirlooms.com/beans.html There's a really good photo here of Dar's Grandma Roberts Bean. Which I'm not sure is really Dar's Grandma. In case it is, tell her I'm sorry. I didn't grow Trionfo this year so I couldn't compare them head to head. I guess it was the color and shape of the vine that really got me thinking they might be the same bean. Today I harvested all of the dry beans. Whew, what a beautiful day. Not many fall days like this in November! I'm in a rush to get all the seeds out of the field because rain is predicted for Monday...I'll believe it when I see it. Joseph didn't send me any pintos. Yes, I have pintos in the seed fridge. If I grew out just beans, I'd have enough room for everything. It's that darn corn, squash, cukes, etc. that take up so much room! Not to mention all those tomatoes, tomatillos, celeriac, parsnips, potatoes and greens! What's a beaniac to do? That Turkey Craw is one pretty bean. I'll post a photo when everything gets shelled.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 5, 2013 15:58:11 GMT -5
Okay, so it's not true frost, at 34 last night, but at about 41 degrees F in my garden most tomatoes start getting black spots.
Tomatoes that were wonderful all year, suddenly taste icky (yes, that's a technical term for spitter).
So there were three tomatoes, that still looked great this morning, and tasted just as fine as on a lovely day in July.
Steev, get that tomato off the end of your nose and pay attention.
Dar's Piennolo del Vesuvius Lieven's Teardrop and Picardy!
The Sioux Cosmo cross which kept me in cherries all season, made a bonus picking of late tomatoes, but at 41, was no longer edible...but the birds are enjoying them.
I got 2 pickings of Piennolo. One in July and one October/November. I'm just finishing up the first batch that have sat on my counter since July! I hope these ones last as long, because I can't abide store bought tomatoes.
As for Picardy, it stopped producing right about in the heat of August and came back to finish the season beautifully. It's a yummy tomato and the compact vine is terrific.
I picked Lieven's all summer. You wouldn't believe how many new green tomatoes were on this! However, I can't abide green tomatoes...at least uncooked...shudder. I got one more half tray today of perfectly ripe delicious tomatoes. These vines are huge! They outgrew there 6' cages and would have continued getting taller, if there was anything else to grow on....trellis tomatoes?
So, normally I get frost on Halloween.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 5, 2013 12:32:17 GMT -5
Well, last night hit 34. So today I will pick the last of the tomatoes and eggplant and peppers. So, that's a wrap for the season. Go in peace.
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 1, 2013 14:02:28 GMT -5
So, I was looking at the Southern Exposure Seed Site and Sandhill and boy there's a lot of dent corn out there.
Anybody have a recommendation for a dent corn that they really like..as in ground and baked?
I have great flint corn,and great flour corn...I'll post about flour corn later, when I'm through baking...
I have never grown dent corn, probably because we've always referred to it as chicken food. But is there a great dent corn? Native Seed Search even has a Mayo Batchi that is DRY farmed corn! (But is it edible?)
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Post by 12540dumont on Nov 1, 2013 13:13:32 GMT -5
I didn't really use a recipe. here is how I make kefir bread: 1, strain off your kefir grains (I use milk kefir but I have plans to see if I get the same results with my water kefir next time). 2, To 1 cup of thick kefir milk add 1 cup of plain flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar. 3, In 24 hours (maybe a bit longer if it is cold) your dough should be about double. Add another cup of plain flour and another tablespoon of sugar and whatever flavourings you like - I use cinnamon and nutmeg. 4, wait about 4-6 hours then tip the wet, sticky dough into your cake pan. It won't look like much at this stage but it will rise when the oven heat hits it. 5, bake at 200 c for a bit over half an hour or until the crust is golden and hard. It is really easy because it needs no kneading, just a lot of waiting, and tastes devine. Well, I knew I was going to have to start those kefir grains. Thank you.
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