WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD VOLUME 6 FEBRUARY 7, 2014

Free Republic | February 7, 2014 | greeneyes

[greeneyes]

CONGRATULATIONS AFRAID FOR THE REPUBLIC 55 YEARS OF MARRIED BLISS

[Marcella]

“In some circles squirrels are considered “good eatin’”. Got pellet-gun?”

Yes, I have a pellet gun. If the SHTF, then I shoot and eat squirrel. I put up a “net room” in the dirt garden to put plants in and they can’t get into the net room.

[Silentgypsy]

Wow—your doves would flummox our bird feeder!

[Sarajevo]

If you like spicey food, kimchee will be a favorite! Of course, you can cut back on the chili paste for a milder flavor. The ingredients can be found in any supermarket, and since the ingredients aren't written in stone, they can be substituted. I've used a Thai curry paste instead of chili paste.

My recipe-

1 large Chinese or Napa Cabbage
1 gallon (4l) water
1/2 cup (100g) coarse salt
1 small head of garlic, peeled and finely minced
one 2-inch (6cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce
1/3 cup (80ml) chili paste or 1/2 cup Korean chili powder
1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch (3cm) lengths (use the dark green part, too, except for the tough ends)
1 medium daikon radish, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon sugar or honey

1. Slice the cabbage lengthwise in half, then slice each half lengthwise into 3 sections. Cut away the tough stem chunks.

2. Dissolve the salt in the water in a very large container, then submerge the cabbage under the water. Put a plate on top to make sure they stay under water, then let stand for 2 hours.

3. Mix the other ingredients in a very large metal or glass bowl.

4. Drain the cabbage, rinse it, and squeeze it dry.

5. Here’s the scary part: mix it all up.

Some recipes advise wearing rubber gloves since the chili paste can stain your hands. BTW- don't pick your nose, rub your eyes, or go to the bathroom until you've thoroughly washed your hands

6. Pack the kimchi in a clean glass jar large enough to hold it all and cover it tightly. A 1-gallon pickle jar works great. Let stand for one to two days in a cool place, around room temperature.

7. Check the kimchi after 1-2 days. If it’s bubbling a bit, it’s ready and should be refrigerated. If not, let it stand another day, when it should be ready.

8. Once it’s fermenting, serve or store in the refrigerator.

Storage: Many advise to eat the kimchi within 3 weeks. After that, it can get too fermented.

[rightly_dividing]

Thanks for the recipe. I will copy it to a new Word doc and save it to my cookbook. It sounds like something I might would like.

Is the chili paste an asian chili paste? Or would a Tex/Mex version work?

Now to find a source for gallon glass jars.

Thanks

[rightly_dividing]

Found source for 1ga glass jars new. Do they require a plastic cap or metal? Either is available.

[bgill]

There was a 20 car pile up in Round Rock today.

We complain because just yesterday it was 81 and today it’s freezing. Then it’s raining one minute and turning to slick ice the next. It can’t make up it’s mind.

[bgill]

Hubby had to reinforce the bird feeders. He attached a tray below a couple and it worked for the smaller birds but he had to go back and reinforce them with wood strips for the dove. Lazy things usually just walk around to eat what’s been dropped onto the ground but during this cold weather nothing is being dropped so they have to fly up to feed.

[bgill]

What do you use kimchee in? How do you eat it?

[rightly_dividing]

My wife fills a gallon ice cream bucket with seed and fills her main feeder, the scatters the rest around the area. It is all just outside if our large dining room windows. An area of about 12ft x 12ft with birdbath and sitting bench. We can tell “our” birds by their girth, and the visitors by their slim builds. Same for squirrels. They go through a 50lb bag of seed in about two weeks. She’s almost like Ellie Mae with her critters, except for no racoons allowed.

Its entertainment for us at mealtime. A dozen squirrels, and maybe a dozen species of birds during winter.

My dad would love it at our house if he were still alive. He could name each bird.

[sockmonkey]

What do you use kimchee in? How do you eat it?

It's a salad type side dish.

[bgill]

Yeah, hubby woke me up refilling the feeders. I don’t know what kind of birds they all are but they’re fun to watch - sparrows, dove, titmouse, cardinals, verio, warblers, finch and hawks today. Some redwinged black birds came through a few days ago. I’ve watching heron, gulls, pelicans and brown ducks feeding out in the water for the past 30 minutes. There’s a heron who likes to taunt the dogs by sitting just outside the fence going neener-neener. There are eagles here this time of year but I rarely see one. Last summer we had a woodpecker who would hang upside down on the feeders and crank his neck around to eat. Funniest thing ever.

[Silentgypsy]

Yay for Hubby!

[dearolddad]

Thanks much for your advise. I have just put some Snapdragon seeds in. Next week I will start half a flat of Sweet peas.

[Sarajevo]

Found source for 1ga glass jars new. Do they require a plastic cap or metal? Either is available.

I use 1 gallon glass pickle jars from the supermarket. The same cap will work if it seals normally.

Is the chili paste an asian chili paste? Or would a Tex/Mex version work?

I've used kimchee base, which is a mild chili paste. I've used home-grown ground tabasco peppers as a paste, and I've used Thai curry paste. It all depends on your personal tastes. The Thai curry paste is hot, and the tabasco pepper paste is REAL HOT. I share my kimchee with my neighbors and they like the milder tasting kimchee.

[Sarajevo]

sockmonkey already answered in post #290, so I will only say:
Do not eat kimchee and drink beer!

[Marcella]

“Next week I will start half a flat of Sweet peas.”

I want pea pods for stir fry dishes. Around March 1, I will start Masterpiece Peas, Snowbird Peas, and Peas in a Pot, all seeds, under the grow lamp. Based on which produce the best for stir fry pods, will use that one in the future.

Most of what I plant this spring is multiple types of the same veggie to determine which I will use for the future. Numbers of types of peppers both sweet and hot, numerous types of tomatoes and onions and cucumbers.

[rightly_dividing]

This is my quickie, thrown together replacement for my usual seed starting rig. The old unit works just fine, but is getting pretty rickety due to the screws being used in the same old holes, year after year. It really needs a reconditioning or replacement. As usual, I am running a bit behind schedule, but it really is not that big of a deal. The real goal is not to be so quick into the ground, but to have a bountiful crop of fruit before the 100* temps hit.

All I did was to drag into the garage, an old set of shelves that my wife sometimes uses as a plant stand or to hold potting supplies in the warm weather. I set up two grow light fixtures of two bulbs each, and placed a clamp on fixture and a light that I used under cars changing oil underneath, add one power strip, cover with leftover plastic sheeting, and instant seed starting tent with heat. The square item on the seed shelf is the temp sensor for the indoor display. This was about 10min of time to construct. The temps stay in the 70's - 80's, depending on the temp in the unheated garage.

The temps are warmer than the house, so it works out better than starting in the house without a sunny window.

You can't see any life in the pictures, but about 25%-30% are up, with more every day.

[rightly_dividing]

—The Thai curry paste is hot, and the tabasco pepper paste is REAL HOT—

I suppose using my Ghost Peppers would be off the scale hot, huh?

[Marcella]

The little green spots of tobacco are now individual teeny, tiny, plants. I have four cups of those.

Every seed cup of all those different seeds had seedlings come up. I need to put the intermediate size pots with cucumbers and tomatoes outside in the small greenhouse to acclimate NOW as they are outgrowing the intermediate pots. A few days in that greenhouse, then they need to go in their permanent home pots. I CAN’T DO THAT DUE TO THE FREAKING FREEZING COLD THAT KEEPS COMING BACK.

It better be warm by March 1 for sure, no more freezing temps. I have to get more potting soil mix to be able to get the large pots ready for plants. I’m waiting on that until it warms up and my foot can handle walking a good distance. I can wear my shoe and walk right but the foot is still touchy sore and I don’t want to set it back by walking too much.

I hurt that foot and my hand/wrist by falling outside. I tripped on a piece of row cover - always keep row cover out of anywhere you would walk. I have no idea where that foot was when I landed on the deck but it was pretty much crushed so maybe it was under me when I hit the deck. Being right handed, I must have automatically put my right hand down to break the fall and instead, almost broke my wrist. If I weighed more I would probably have broken my foot and wrist.

Do you know where your row cover is? Get it out of your way. :o)

[dearolddad]

We have rather limited garden space here, so I am restricted to a few tomatoes, some squash, and a few peppers. Plus the soil is so bad here I have to plant everything in raised beds.