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Post by steev on Apr 18, 2013 21:00:32 GMT -5
Got 35 varieties of melons in the hot-box; more to do as fast as those sprout; haven't even started on watermelons or squash.
Enough recuperation! I must weed-till this week-end, not only because I've got to plant out runner beans before they come strangle me in my sleep, but because all signs point to an early end to frost this year, so I need to start getting Summer crops in the ground. Must get the drip lines back in place, and the system programmed and ready, if not up. I need clonal remote-units, younger clonal remote-units.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 20, 2013 4:58:42 GMT -5
Seems to me that clonal units don't come to full function until the guide unit expires... LOLOL
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Post by steev on Apr 20, 2013 10:36:11 GMT -5
I don't expect the guide unit to expire very soon, but I seem to have mislaid the operating manual.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 20, 2013 16:04:59 GMT -5
"mislaid" huh... oh the things that spring to mind....
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Post by templeton on Apr 20, 2013 18:22:48 GMT -5
Just returned from a visit to a mate who lives in the damp Otway ranges, with a big box of old variety apples - He has a wild home orchard of 30 foot high trees, leaves most of the fruit for the parrots and silvereyes, but so much this year they couldn't eat it all. Apple butter, today, I think.
T
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Post by steev on Apr 21, 2013 22:06:12 GMT -5
Saturday, I waltzed the tiller around ~4 hours, destroying weeds. Going west, I saw a vole skitter across the planting bed; I thought it foolish to be out in the open like that; coming back east, I saw a 3' king snake crossing the same place; I think the vole may not have been as stupid as I'd thought; nevertheless, I hope the snake got it.
Today, I looked into a commotion in some weeds to find a 1' king snake trying to strangle a 2' brown racer. While admiring it's ambition, I thought the king was biting off more than it could chew, so I broke up the tangle, preferring two live snakes.
Spent much of the day digging holes for pots in which I planted runner bean transplants; planted out a little garlic, weeded a bit, and got more drip tubes in place.
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 23, 2013 18:49:00 GMT -5
Slaughtered & dressed 3 chickens. One was a year old rooster for stewing that will fetch $5, the other 2 were 8 week old Cornish X. One will fetch $7 tomorrow, the other turned into dinner. I made an Indian dish that started with frying a mixture of onions, garlic, ginger, cilantro, mint, and spinach. I threw in a few peanuts just because. The greens all came from the garden. It also had some chopped tomato and yogurt added before the chicken went in. DELICIOUS! I have FINALLY gotten a decent bed of cilantro naturalized and I'm conscientiously increasing it when I can. Some of the plants are bolting already and I'm looking forward to casting the seed about!
Also, when the new raised beds were first built I made a habit of breaking off pieces of thyme and lavender and putting them into the beds. Seems like it was a decent idea as every one of the pieces is taking off and visibly growing.
The corn field was mowed yesterday. The remains of the brassicas lie in a fine chop over the soil. Layer one of the mulch that will protect the corn.
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Post by davida on Apr 24, 2013 9:56:03 GMT -5
Slaughtered & dressed 3 chickens. I need to make some chicken and dumplings with a rooster or two. I just dread the process. Did you pluck the chickens? I am thinking about skinning them and taking them right to the pressure cooker. Do you think that I would loose to much flavor by skinning? |
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Post by mnjrutherford on Apr 25, 2013 8:30:30 GMT -5
Weeellll.... now that is a very good question. A year old rooster has tougher skin and harder bones than an 8 week old Cornish X. Therefore, it's easier to pluck nice and clean in a fairly short period of time (about 30 minutes). That was with a 1 minute dunk into 150 F water. The Cornish X skins tore with even a 30 second dunk, so I ended up skinning BOTH of those birds. Ya know, I don't think you'll suffer THAT much flavor loss with the skin. The time difference will make up for it in the end. I would rather have the skin on the fryers. Here is a page I found about scalding birds. I'm using it for future reference. www.foodtechinfo.com/FoodPro/GasTechnologies/Scalding_-_Poultry.htm |
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Post by davida on Apr 25, 2013 12:57:06 GMT -5
That was with a 1 minute dunk into 150 F water. Jo, thanks for the information. I read that dipping the birds seven times in 150F water worked the best for them. They said that 7 dips seemed to be the perfect number. I like anything with 7 so that seemed good. I remember that we would take the pigs in and out of the hot water as a youth but I do not remember about the chickens. |
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Post by 12540dumont on Apr 25, 2013 22:23:11 GMT -5
Davida,
Wear a nose cone (face shield) when doing this. Otherwise the smell of scalding feathers (especially when you have to singe the hairs of the legs, will linger in your olfactory system for a week. Yuk.
I hate killing roosters. I'm secretly trading them down the street for shavings. I don't know why anyone would want my old roosters. Shhh Steev, don't tell me. I don't want to know.
This weekend, Stewie 1, 2 & 3 will be making the journey. I'm sending them off with my blessings. They've been fighting non stop, and I'm tired of their teenage b.s.
So, today I took the day off and worked on a quilt. Yeah, photos someday. I'm trying to finish one quilt each member of my closest family. I normally work on these during the heat of the day, but I didn't sleep last night, and I don't like working in the fields without sleep. That's when I do something dumb for lack of fresh brain cells.
So tomorrow will be twice as busy! Squash to plant, corn to plant....yawn.
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Post by davida on Apr 25, 2013 23:05:30 GMT -5
Davida, Wear a nose cone (face shield) when doing this. Otherwise the smell of scalding feathers (especially when you have to singe the hairs of the legs, will linger in your olfactory system for a week. Yuk. I hate killing roosters. I'm secretly trading them down the street for shavings. I don't know why anyone would want my old roosters. Shhh Steev, don't tell me. I don't want to know. This weekend, Stewie 1, 2 & 3 will be making the journey. I'm sending them off with my blessings. They've been fighting non stop, and I'm tired of their teenage b.s. So, today I took the day off and worked on a quilt. Yeah, photos someday. I'm trying to finish one quilt each member of my closest family. I normally work on these during the heat of the day, but I didn't sleep last night, and I don't like working in the fields without sleep. That's when I do something dumb for lack of fresh brain cells. So tomorrow will be twice as busy! Squash to plant, corn to plant....yawn. Holly, I still remember the smell from over 50 years ago when we had to help Mom process 20 or 30 chickens for the freezer on a hot July day. We started early but did not finish until it was really hot. So the stink has lingered in my mind for over half a century!!! Because of our heat and drought, I am trying some Naked Neck (Turken) chickens. They are suppose to have 1/2 the feathers or regular chickens and survive the heat better without being bothered by the cold. They are slowly being killed and I think that the two roosters are to blame. Please post pictures of the quilts. I still cherish the quilts from my youth. Hope you rest well tonight and have a productive day tomorrow. |
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Post by 12540dumont on Apr 26, 2013 19:59:41 GMT -5
This is the first one. Attachments:
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Post by davida on Apr 26, 2013 22:07:03 GMT -5
Beautiful and fun. Just what a quilt should be. |
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Post by circumspice on Apr 26, 2013 22:16:40 GMT -5
How freaking awesome looking! You're so talented Holly! We never had a family tradition of quilts, probably because it's so hot down here. But my mom did make a baby quilt for each of her grandbabies.
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