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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 18, 2013 11:53:30 GMT -5
We make biochar every time we have a BBQ. So we save the bones from all meat eaten in the freezer. I start a BBQ of last harvested corn cobs or bean shells and fruit wood from trimmings and the old bones. When our food is cooked, I close all the vents on the Weber. Next day, I have clumps of charcoal and smallish bones.
I take all of these and add them to a bucket. These buckets are tucked away in bushes. As the urge takes someone, they administer their urine into the bucket. When the buckets are 1/3 full of urine, I drag them to an "old garden bed", add 1/3 of a bucket of water and then dump them on the ground.
I keep doing this through the season. It takes about 4 buckets to do one 25' bed.
Since I started this project, I've done 8 beds.
That bed is then left to sleep until the following season. So the ones I've been using all summer will be planted to favas this fall. (which is hard upon us).
I like that everything from the farm is being recycled and put back into the field.
The burning of the corn cobs and bean shells also have eliminated much of the pesky weevilish type bugs that sometimes arrive at the farm.
We also can't burn in the open, but BBQ's are allowed just about everywhere.
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 16, 2013 19:20:25 GMT -5
I'd love to post a picture, but the system says it's full. Ferdzy, you are right that they are confused. They are one of those beans that with a long enough season, they produce twice! Yes, twice! I got a full crop, then in late August they began to flower again and made more beans. Now my Sicilian friend was finally able to come and pick greenies, which she shells and makes pasta fagioli with. And, she brought me 2 pounds of Parmesan! Yeah, now that's a trade. Joseph, is there anything that can be done about the photo thing?
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 13, 2013 15:46:02 GMT -5
Walk, What Joseph said about adding this corn from other suppliers is true. One of the "corny experts" I spoke to told me that when you take a corn from where it's been growing for a number of years, you can't take everything with you. You lose some of the gene pool, and some symbiotic relationships.
I have been working with Florianni Red Polenta Corn. I wish I could post a picture but the site is still full. I have talked to everyone I know who's grown this corn and pretty much everyone says the same thing. The yield is not great. Not all the cobs fill out, even though there were 200 plants in the field. Most of the plants do not make 2 ears. Some make one and a half.
When I started this project I got seeds from 2 sources. I wish I could find more folks that are growing this so that I could get more seed from them to mix in with mine.
I don't want to add another variety to make this one better. I just want to make this one better. This corn does not do well in plots bigger than a 1/2 acre. It defies cleaning up by back breeding. Anyone who sees a listing for this seed, let me know.
So, if you can find someone else who is also growing Midnight Snack, it may be worthwhile to occasionally add their seed to yours.
It's verra purdy corn. Looks like pinecones...another dentato from Italy.
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Water
Sept 13, 2013 15:14:47 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Sept 13, 2013 15:14:47 GMT -5
Plan B - Move... far far away.
Steev's on Plan T (Way past Plan B).
Basically, if you don't have water tanks and rainwater collection, your land paid for, and solar to run the pumps, you won't be farming in California much longer.
My neighbor has 4 acres of grass which he waters every other day. He pays less for his water than I do as a small farm and I'm only farming 1-2 acres. Because we all know you can't eat grass. Therefore, it is important to keep people growing it.
Wake up, drought is coming to a small planet near you.
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Melons
Sept 10, 2013 11:03:55 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Sept 10, 2013 11:03:55 GMT -5
Really, you want a pig?
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 10, 2013 11:02:08 GMT -5
I was reading a cookbook Bottega by Michael Chiarello and he mentioned male and female eggplant. The females have a slit on the bottom and the males a dot. My big butted girls are really girls.
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Melons
Sept 6, 2013 12:40:31 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Sept 6, 2013 12:40:31 GMT -5
Although it's hot, I have also stopped watering melons, otherwise they just split or taste bad. Joseph, I find the same thing with tomatoes.
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 6, 2013 12:37:52 GMT -5
Tim, I harvested a half of a hotel pan yesterday from the Schwartzenbeeren. There are zilch recipes for dealing with this on the net.
Please, post a recipe. Pretty please, with berries on top.
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 6, 2013 12:14:34 GMT -5
Good God man, No. Send no seeds, Leo will toss me out on my ear. The seed fridge had begun to occupy both the freezer and the house fridge.
I forgot to say, the number of female to male eggplants also seem to have increased. I forgot to mention this. However, as the season continues, it looks like there are more males.
Have any of you ever noticed this?
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Post by 12540dumont on Sept 4, 2013 23:45:45 GMT -5
Okay, Now you've heard from the brains behind the machine (The Wizard of Oz's, so to speak). So here's my 2 cents worth.
Eggplant is a crop that I love. However, more and more I have trouble find OP eggplant.
So a 2 years ago I appealed to everyone here on the forum to send me eggplant. I traded like a madwoman for every eggplant I could find. To round it out, I bought a few as well.
So, I planted them in two groups Asian/long vs. Italian/Spanish/Indian big bottom girls.
I saved about 50 fruit from each group and mixed them into a grex. I put the fruit in the food processor and whirred them with water and saved any seed that sunk and fed the rest to the chickens.
1/4 pound of seed in fat bottom girls and 1/4 pound of seed from Asian.
This year I planted out 25 from each.
The gophers ate 20 or so plants of each. I was left with 5.
I had the biggest, earliest eggplant I have ever had. I have done no more selecting. I plan to continue to plant the original grex for a year or two just to observe it.
For years the Rosa Bianca and Udmalbet have been these puny little eggplant. This year, they were 1 pound fruits. Beautiful big bottom girls.
However, my Asian eggplant is very small, like fat little fingers.
Oh my goodness you should have seen the black Italian type eggplant, it was huge! Instead of little fluted plants I had huge butts. (I'd post pictures but I can't).
Anyway the harvest continues. I've had 4 weeks of eggplant. In previous years I haven't had eggplants till September.
My plants are bigger, bushier and the fruits are bigger.
So, go figure.
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Melons
Sept 3, 2013 0:48:39 GMT -5
Post by 12540dumont on Sept 3, 2013 0:48:39 GMT -5
Holly's just frantic. It's harvest time.
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 27, 2013 14:51:49 GMT -5
Zippy Green Beans, I got the recipe from the Pickle Lady in NYC.
Green Beans (Topped and tailed)
Per Qt Jar: 2 garlic cloves 1 scalliion 2 strips red bell pepper A fresh dill head or 1 tsp. dill seed/weed 1/2 t. pickling salt 3 hot peppers (This year I'm using Joseph's yellow paprika peppers, last year I used Ancho's and 1 Habanero) 1/2 t. mustard seed 5-6 pepper corns (or if you don't have mustard seed and pepper corns substitute 1 T. pickling Spice)
Vinegar (don't mess with this ratio) Bring this to a boil 5 cups red wine vinegar 4 cups water
Put all the spices in the bottom of the jar, vertically pack the green beans and peppers (I do these in pints, not quarts, so I get 2 jars per recipe). Pour the vinegar brine on top the green beans, run a knife around to release the bubbles).
Process pints: 10-15 minutes (depending on your type of green beans/French Filets 10 - fatties at 15). Process Quarts: 20-25 minutes. ADJUST for Altitude (not attitude). These must be done in a rolling water bath if you intend to store them on the shelf.
The more colorful your peppers, the prettier this looks. One member of my CSA says that they sat down to lunch and ate the entire jar. We use these in winter, with pickled beets on top of a bed of chopped cabbage. I reserve the liquid from the jar and make dressing from it. You can add up to 10 peppers without screwing with the pH. I advise caution depending on how hot your peppers are. Dar has some that I think you could just pass lightly over the jar and you could still end up with a 2 alarm fire in your mouth. John in Florida's Aji's make this recipe eye watering and not for sissies.
I'm a chili wimp, so I'll stick with Zippy and leave actual Spicy to someone with bigger muscles.
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 27, 2013 11:53:14 GMT -5
I know! I saved this onion for them yet again! When a green house collapsed last year, I guess I was the only grower still with onions. So I sent them a box of whole onions for seed.
Don't know how they did. I'll check. I know they probably won't offer them again until they have a plethora. I only sent them 50 bulbs.
However, if you have an empty onion package laying about, I could help you out. xxoh
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 20, 2013 17:23:37 GMT -5
It's the onion sitting on the scale. I didn't label it as I don't want google to steal my images. Let them go take their own photos.
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Post by 12540dumont on Aug 19, 2013 23:58:50 GMT -5
Ox, I will send you a whole one Only way to get those seeds by Leo, who's still grumpy that I didn't plant him any LGS. I sent out half to the CSA, and think I'll keep the rest. HARD? HARD? Are you kidding, this is axe material. Flesh about 1 1/2 inches, I didn't get out the calipers. Squash bugs are gruesome here this year. They are ruining many of the winter squash. All of my zukes are already destroyed. My "helper" and I use this term very very loosely, picked my seed zuke and put it in my kitchen. I discovered it this morning...there was subsequently a loud shrill noise. The best laid plans of farm wives are often driven to chaos by help. 500 pounds of grapes to pick and she picked the ginormous zuke. Well, I can only hope that it was on the vine long enough to make viable seed. I have a large orange tape over another variety.
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