Posted on 08/15/2014 12:26:58 PM PDT by greeneyes
Well, baking soda is certainly better than the chemicals in the stores.
I will definitely keep that in mind.
I had to have a bunch of electrical work done here last month. The electrician, saw my juicer, and told me that two years ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. The urologist told him surgery, radiation, etc. His wife convinced him to try juicing..He said that two months later when he went back to the urologist, there was no cancer. The doctor thought he'd gone to another physician for treatment. Told him, he went from having the prostate of an eighty year old, to that of a 27 year old.
He's been juicing for two years, fifteen eight oz. glasses a day. He said it is a total lifestyle change from the Mexican foods he grew up on, and ate as an adult. He also said that he can now go up into 120 degree attics all day, and it doesn't bother him, and he feels better than when he was 25.
I think he initially watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross. His wife followed the juicing thing, too in order to support him. She looks totally transformed from when I remember meeting her several years ago. Has the skin of a 25 year old, and lithe figure to match.
They are in their late forties, and both are hispanic. I told them they should write a book because the rates of diabetes, heart disease, and other health problems among hispanics in Texas is through the roof from all the delicious Mexican food they eat.
Okay, I will now return to the regularly scheduled garden thread.
Squash and other curcubits don't transplant well beyond the seedling stage. Chances are , it wasn't competition, it was the transplant process.
POTATOES - they don't like lime (sweet soil) unlike most other garden plants .
Some folk use a small quantity of wood ashes to gently acidify the soil , and increase cellulose and fiber in the soil .
Potato HARVEST Sequence : plant prepared eyes in trench , cover ,allow growth, hill the rows, allow more gowth,hill the rows ,
plants will flower , last hill the rows , plant die back , harvest.
Grasshopper Control :
ENTOMOPHAGY : In third world countries they Learn how to roast/ toast and eat well. Add Tobassco and close your eyes. Considered by many to be Mexican delacacy
High value in Chitinin Excellent protein source known in 3rd world , and highly reccomended by the UN as a food source.
CHEMICAL : Ortho’s Bug-B-Gon, For grasshoppers, use products containing diazinon , or dibrom
ORGANIC : #1 encourage birds and wildlife with a bird feeder (sunflower seeds, cracked corn, millet) which will gladly eat the grasshoppers ,
provide roosting bushes to encourage birds in the yard.
#2 crushed tomato leaves, made into a tea , strained , and sprayed on victimized plants will repel. Apply as necessary. YMMV
See my post #103 , and #64 about curcubit family and difficulty in transplanting.
TEXOKIE’S POTATO HARVEST 2014:
The good news:
I HAD ONE!!!!
The bad news:
None of the potatoes measured over an inch! Out of the two plants, I had a handful of these tiny toy potatoes! I just put them on my food scale: they were all together exactly one ounce!
All in all, I consider this, my first white potato experiment to be a success! TIKilt made some good suggestions for making them happier in the future. I was just tickled to see the things live and grow and flower and then, wonder of wonders, produce these tiny little roots when I didnt think I had ANY! Maybe we’ll do better next time!
Greeneyes, your recipe sounds wonderful! Thanks!
“We need to point Marcella in the direction of your grasshoppers and let her loose—they’ll never know what hit them!”
Yo Marcella! SIC ‘EM!! LOL!
LOL! I can certainly relate to the tempermental squashes. Sounds like your priorities were in order though! Your puppy is probably the best deal out of the bargain!
You are welcome! Darlin’ will love hearing that! [As do I!]
I do so very much appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge about the various plant friends I had in my garden this year, TIK...including the grasshoppers!
While I have understood for some time that grasshoppers are indeed edible and highly nutritious, and are considered a special delicacy in many cultures, I am not quite ready yet to eat them. But if compelled, I know I likely would be pleasantly surprised. I imagine what I would do first would be to dry them, powder them, then add them to a soup for the protein content. “What you do know....” etc.
I know people who swear that roasted grasshoppers taste like shrimp.
To which I always answer “But I don’t like shrimp.”
I’d rather let the chickens eat them. Too bad I don’t have chickens.
Yikes! I can believe that.
Random trivia fact: Jimsonweed cannot grow in soil that is low in selenium.
You are a whirlwind Marcella. Continue enjoying your life to the max...
LOL! Well stated! At least you didnt say they are said to TASTE like chicken!
Well, as I mentioned before, the big tractor is back from the shop so bush hogging could commence. We have a “back corner” on our farthest field that gets very wet in the spring. We usually can’t bush hog it without getting stuck so we wait until July or later, after it’s all dried out. By that time, the weeds are waist deep - very clumpy & rough, tough job to bush hog.
I had to go to a picnic yesterday afternoon, so I asked my brother to come over and bush hog that corner - it’s a little more than I want to tangle with. He got it done, but in the process, he ran over a ground bee (yellow jacket) nest and got stung 10 times! The bees chased him about 75 yards all the way up to the front pasture fence. Fortunately, he didn’t have a bad reaction, took a Benadryl to help, and had a pretty good attitude about ‘taking the hit’ from the bees instead of me. After dark, we got some gasoline and went down to the approximate spot of the attack and despite some clumpy grass, we found the hole. The bee nest is no more. I hate to kill them, but this nest had a lot of bees in/around it & the dogs run through there, too - don’t want any more stings, human or dogs.
The sad thing about bush hogging that corner - it had a lot of Ironweed - beautiful purple blooms and the butterflies are all over it. I would take the camera and go down to get pictures and just watch them - very peaceful & I could feel stress falling off like scales. This year, we needed to get the grass cut - a couple of does that hang around the farm have fawns and we were afraid the fawns would hide in the grass and the dogs would find them - this happened year before last with a tragic result and we didn’t want a repeat.
Less dangerous, and less toxic is 1 cup of Dawn to 1 gallon of water
Pour down the hole after sundown , and the bees/wasps will sufficate as they breathe thru their exoskeleton .
Applicable in all areas, except sandy soil where you will have to increase the volume of mixture.
Ironweed is native to Georgia, and is a form of veronica which is difficult to erradicate.
It will return but I'm not sure flowering will be in time for migrating butterflies.
If you have deer in the "back forty" or 'back corner' be aware of possibilitiy of ticks as a vector for several viral diseases (ie. : Lyme Disease).
Best control is prevention : rubber bands on long pantlegs, don't wear shorts , be aware with full body check when showeing.
Pyrethrins is one of the most common chemicals found in flea and tick elimination products.
Derived from the chrysanthemum flower, pyrethrins kill fleas and ticks by attacking their nervous system.
Yes , I am aware , and dutifully wash my hands before and after working with the plant. It is a solanaceous family member ( tomato ,potato, etc.)
I am aware that the plant, leaves , and seeds are toxic in consumption , although it makes for a beautiful low flowering shrub. It is pot bound and will not spread.
Medicinal in that it is psychotoxic , can cause hallucinations, is a diuretic and causes diarrhea, depending on quantity.
It is known as Jimsonweed, Jamestown weed , thornapple, etc.
It also had an historic usage in that local women cooks, hired by the Hessians ,cooked a stew with Datura leaves, prior to the Battle of Yorktown.
Incidently , it was the only significant battle of the American Revolution that the colonials won , and was the turning point of the Revolutionary War .
But yes , I handle plants with care, and conduct frequent hand washings. The upright lily-like blooms are beautiful .
Thanks for the info - knew the gas fumes suffocate them, but very glad to learn there is a much less toxic way to do it.
As for deer ticks, we are well aware of Lymes and take precautions (and having chickens does a good job keeping ticks & other bugs out of the yard!). I know of several severe cases (through friends) where Lyme’s going undiagnosed for several years has caused terrible health issues - in two advanced cases, antibiotics had to be administered via catheter (P.I.C.C. or Hickman line) near their hearts. The docs, in general, are finally starting to test more frequently for it without the patient having to fling a fit to get it done. A cousin (lives about a 100 miles from where I am) contracted Lymes and had it for about a year before getting it diagnosed - he’s doing well after a course of oral antibiotics.
As if deer ticks aren’t bad enough, there is now an issue with the “Lone Star Tick” causing meat allergies and I have a friend who has this problem - here’s a link:
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/06/red-meat-allergy-likely-caused-by-tick-bites/#.U_DzcYavNiE
On a more cheerful (and beautiful) note, I’m going to post some butterfly pics a little later - I’ll copy you on the post. I also finally got some cucuzzas to grow - batch of cucuzza stew in the crockpot right now and the house is wonderfully redolent with the smells of garlic, onion, thyme, etc. :-)
Good to hear from you. If my house in Springfield, Mo. had that many weeds, the health department/city hall would have served me notice and threatened fines.LOL
Sounds like you surely did get some rain, since the maters survived. Hubby is growing several varieties of blueberries. When we first got started in earnest, he planned to grow peppers and blueberries. Glad he decided to expand.
I love this time of year. The grocery list for the produce section is sooo much shorter. I harvested some red bell peppers and pimento peppers today and dug up some more potatoes.
The left over supermarket potatoes had a better yield than I expected. I got the biggest potato so far from that patch. Washed it off and had a great baked potato skins and all.
Yep, I hate moving worse than anything. Probably why we have stayed here so long. I am totally convinced that food is a great source of medicine. Good nutrition and the body’s own resources can be a powerful combo.
The leftover supermarket potatoes didn't cost much, so I didn't trim them down as much as the ones I had bought, and they had larger tubers along with some smaller ones.
Last year, I saved all the small potatoes that were about the size of half an egg to use for seed potatoes this year. They all worked out pretty good. Some teensy ones, good sized ones, and some about right for planting.
All in all, I have to say that potatoes are my favorite to plant. You get to get them out early, cover with straw, and add a little more, but basically forget about them for at least two months, before you have to worry about watering.
No pressure on digging them up immediately, as they will last a good while in the dirt. Taters, beans, maters, corn and peppers. a little lettuce and spinach. Not much else needed when you consider the perennial fruits and nuts we have.
Biggest thing we can't grow, is watermelon and cantaloupe. The vines just die before they can mature. Not sure why.
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