Posted on 06/09/2017 8:05:20 PM PDT by greeneyes
Jrandomfreeper was a big believer in bio-char. He would make large amounts of charcoal, mix it with a manure tea that he made by steeping rabbit poop in water with an aquarium pump constantly oxygenating it, then use the mix on his garden. He survived on what he grew, so he knew to test things and only keep what worked.
He is greatly missed.
Those trumpet shaped flowers do fall off in July and start transforming into bean shaped green pods by August. A month or so later, they turn brown, ripen and, about the time of the first frost, split open and scatter their flake shaped seeds into the four winds. Some of the bean shaped pods will remain mostly intact through much of the winter and even until the following spring when the winds deliver another performance of seed spilling.
Prior to 4 years ago we raise dairy goats for over 20 years. Hubby liked to make manure tea and watered the garden directly. We always had the best tasting tomatoes. Still have a bit of manure left in a pile, we add it to our patio pots mostly.
I meant as rabbit bait. Take some beans, grow them in a pot until they’re about 3-4 inches tall, then use the plant as rabbit bait. They can’t resist.
Sorry, I forgot to quote the question I was answering.
Would bean sprouts work if I don’t want to wait 3-4 weeks? Do they like green beans or have a special favorite? Thanks for the tip.
Thanks to all. The LED plant lights apparently use less electricity than the old grow lights; but the Aerogarden is also running a pump. Ours is one of the medium-sized ones and is not supposed to use much electricity. We’ll see. Buying fresh herbs is super expensive, so things will probably even out.
They also make an LED plant light that you can use for regular plants, and that looked interesting for things grown in soil. You can set it up on a counter, or hang it.
Lately we’ve been making Tabbouleh with quinoa instead of bulgur; it’s different - doesn’t soak up the dressing the same. But it’s very good, and quinoa is a seed, not a grain, so it’s a substitute in case you’re trying to get away from wheat/gluten.
Lovely, as always. I’m swimming in lettuces, snap peas and broccoli right now. I have a few radishes, but not too many, LOL!
Sprouts might work, I’m not sure. Or, if you have a bean plant already growing, try a sprig off of that.
Around here, any bit of bean plant that gets too close to the fence gets eaten by rabbits. They never leave them alone.
I got a good stand of sunflower and millet in the wildlife food plot. There's also quite a stand of volunteer turnips.
Funny; I’m eating quinoa tabbouleh right this minute, due to getting a really, really good deal on clearance’d quinoa. I adore it for lunch, because all I have to do is make a batch on Monday and then nibble throughout the week. We live in the South, so *everything* strenuous has to be done before 10 AM, so I’m usually pretty wiped out when lunchtime rolls around.
Most of my herbs live outside - my go-to peppermint survived six months under black plastic, so I’m not terribly worried about its survivability. :)
You do good work Augie...
Quinoa seems to be one of the few non-animal foods that are complete protein in themselves.
It also seems to be very shelf-stable, with up to a three year shelf life; and you can freeze the seeds.
I want to grow quinoa SO BAD. But I live in Zone 7, so it’s likely going to stay a pipe dream until and unless I can get an underground greenhouse put in.
Toying with the idea of growing it over the winter, though; I’m thinking if I put some transparent walls up around one of my beds, I might be able to grow some for an April harvest. Might.
I’m not real smart about this. I’m in the Zone 7 range, but elevation seems to matter with quinoa; and you apparently need particular varieties to grow it in the US:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa#United_States
Pictures of the garden, etc., that I took this evening.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1350499918369479&set=pcb.1350506855035452&type=3&theater
There’s a wild form of quinoa that grows in most of the US. You’ve probably seen it a hundred times. It’s called lambsquarters.
Or, Bountiful Gardens has a fast-growing variety that ripens in most zones.
Ohhh, I have lambsquarters. Tons. (Mockingbirds brought in a small stand last spring, and then the dogs spread it to a sizeable patch, and I am very happy with this.) I love almost everything about it, but I can’t sweet-talk the seeds into forming any sort of palatable porridge or stir-fry base, which is mostly what I use quinoa for. They do make darn good muffins, though, and I’m planning to experiment with crackers in the next few weeks. AND they give me usable spinach-type greens all the way through September, when here in the South my spinach usually gives up the ghost...substantially earlier. :)
But I will definitely look into the Bountiful Gardens thing! I love harvesting grain, but don’t have the space to grow enough to actually impact the food budget. (As opposed to squash. The squash are going to be terrifying in another week or two.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.