Posted on 07/01/2016 2:29:24 PM PDT by greeneyes
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I don’t grow iceberg, but that sure sounds more like a romaine or something. I am having great success this year growing endive in a pot.
I go and harvest it about 3 times per week, and there’s always more that has grown. It is doing so well, and lasting so long, that I am thinking on planting a pot this fall to bring into the house for fresh endive during the winter.
I have been wanting a grow box to grow a pepper and tomato plant indoors during the winter, but so far have not wanted to spend the money, and just make do with big pots that I have on hand.
Yes, I agree - hate that rotten smell. I was just watching a video on storing potatoes. The first thing is to get them out of the bag from the store.
Sort through them, and spy the ones with bruises or bad places to eat them first. Potatoes should be stored in a single layer, not touching, and stored in a cool dark place.
One guy had wooden trays with slats that he used, and he sprinkled lime on them, which he said would inhibit whatever cause the rotten places, and also cuts the smell.
However, I haven’t had a chance to research the lime thing, so I won’t be using that, as I like to eat the skins of my homegrown taters.
I also sometimes go ahead and make hash browns for the freezer. Just wash the potatoes and steam them in a pot. Let them cool, peel the jackets off, and shred put in a vaccum sealed bag.
I am also going to try to can some potatoes this year, and maybe make some homemade vegetable soup to can at home in my pressure canner.
“I have been wanting a grow box to grow a pepper and tomato plant indoors during the winter,”
I use an old acrylic aquarium as a grow box. Works great.
Most likely rot, but could be Anthracnose. If it is rot, that is often associated with nutrient deficiency that is inhibiting calcium uptake or lack of calcium in the soil.
When hubby’s tomatoes in buckets had the rot, I had him use a mixture of bone meal, Empsom Salts, and crushed egg shells(use directions on the packages). You can also use tums for calcium-quicker, as the eggshells are for long term and slower break down. It worked.
Walmart and other stores also carry a product made specifically for this purpose. EnzRot or some such.
If you go to this website, they have great pictures of plants and diseases etc. which could help you to identify problems and of course, they sell products and tell you which one to buy:
www.GardensAlive.com
I have lots of old stuff I use too. It ain’t pretty, but gets the job done. That’s why I haven’t purchase a grow box, but I’m putting it on my wish list, in case anyone checks to see what they might want to get me for my birthday. LOL
Normally I don’t have problems with potatoes but the grocery store I go to has different people managing the produce section now and since they came on board the produce has gone downhill.
Thanks for the storage tip. Normally when I get home from the store, I immediately wrap everything in paper towels. You would not believe how much longer things last when you do that.
If you come to the conclusion that it is a lack of calcium causing issues with your tomatoes, dry milk is a great source of calcium that is in a form the plants can easily use. I plant my tomatoes with a small handful of calcium (2-3 tablespoons) & Tomato Tone in the hole, covered with a thin layer of dirt before I put in the plant.
If your plant is already growing in the garden or in a container, you can mix some powdered milk in the top layer of soil & water it in, or make up the milk into liquid form and water them with it. Once I started using dry milk as a calcium source, no more blossom end rot problems.
Yes, I do that too for some things. In the fall, I will take some green tomatoes and wrap them in newspaper or paper towels. They ripen slowly and last a long time that way.
I have also taken limbs that have green tomatoes, and flowers on them slashed them off and stuck them in a pot of dirt, and brought them inside. They finish ripening on the vine. Some of the tomato plants will form roots, and continue growing and blooming through the winter.
It’s been rainy here all day today-no idea how many inches. My little Dixie cups of san marzano starts got totally drenched and are laying down, so I moved them where they can dry out, hope that works and they pull out of the slump.
It’s cool here today too. It was 60 degrees this AM, and it’s only 70 degrees right now. Went to Walmart and got a 17.5 inch square grill on sale for less than 20 bucks. Been looking for one that size for a couple of years.
My grill is absolutely still good, except the bottom is almost totally burnt out. By my measurements, this grill should fit perfectly inside the old one, with a lip over the top of the old one so it’ll be suspended that way.
My old BBQ grill has a slated wooden table on each side, is on wheels, and has a bottom shelf made of metal, and I couldn’t find one like it to replace it. So I am happy to get this grill and fix the old one up.
Hope to get it all fixed and try it out this weekend, when the rain stops.
I also picked up 20 lbs of chicken @ 89 cents per lb. Will process a batch for home canned chicken to add to the pantry - replace some of what we have used this summer so far, since the temps are so low.
Those of us in SoCal would like to know what this “rain” is that you speak of.
I’ll just bet you do! I’ll put SoCal on my prayer list for rain. Last time I prayed for Texas Rain. Eventually, they got quite a bit.
It really makes my garden grow, and the rain barrels are almost full again.
Sounds like you have been able to “re-purpose” your old grill!
Bravo! :-)
Thanks for your advice greeneyes. I have Johnny Jump Ups everywhere. They are ‘snaky’ by this time in the summer.
I have a huge planter box I decided to steal the annual grasses out of to plant elsewhere. The dragon wing begonias are incredible! Four tiny tubers I kept over the winter. They are Yuuuuge! Much like Trump is going to ROLL in November
With the 4th coming up, I need to start watching my figs daily. The first batch should be rippening this week. Usually I just toss them in the freezer and use in smoothies, but this year I’m thinking preserves. Maybe mixed with the blackberries that have been rippening the last few weeks.
Almost lost the fig tree to the tropical storm a couple weeks ago. Fortunately my neighbors’ fence was there to keep it from falling completely over.
Learned a new lesson this spring, all marigolds are not created equal. I planted some companion plants in between my peppers. Turns out one of the varieties of marigold I’m trying for the first time grows a lot bigger than I expected, and grows faster than the peppers. Poor peppers never had a chance.
BTW, looking at the yogurt link I would advise that what works well in her crockpot may not work the same in yours. You want to heat the milk to 180-185, and then when you add the starter yogurt you want the resulting mix to be 110-115 and you want to hold it in that range for several hours (I’ve used my oven with the light on and the door propped slightly open in the past, but recently I noticed my dehydrator has a yogurt setting so I’m going to try that next).
There is a youtube video showing how to prepare the egg shells so the calcium is accessible. I've used it. It seems to work The plants love it. Epsom salts too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwCWFpwJfqM
I know you grow a lot of stuff inside over winter.
I wish I could but we don’t have enough sun at our place.
Yes, indeed a similar one not as sturdy, cost almost $200.00. So for about twenty bucks. I got something that works, and has almost as much grill space.
Now I could spend a little more, and get some grill paint and it would look brand new except for the wooden tables on each side.
I do love the look of begonias as well. I don’t mess with them any more though. I used to have some inside and outside.
Love the flavor of grilled meat! ;-)
OOPsie on the Mariglolds. LOL I actually have used this recipe and process on the yogurt several times. I have a specific crock pot that I use. It is good to note that crocks do have different capabilities.
I use my powdered milk from my rotating pantry supplies that I keep stocked up on, and this process is so easy and has worked well for me.
Thanks for adding the degree requirements, that may be very helpful to anyone else interested in the process. I have experimented with this recipe, and put portions in a coffee filter with salt and seasonings to make a spreadable type “cheese”. It’s quite good that way too.
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