WEEKLY GARDEN THREAD JUNE 30, 2017

freerepublic | June 30, 2017 | greeneyes

[Black Agnes]

Good for you. I’ve heard they are like cats if caught and tamed while very young.

Sorry about your peach tree. If you know anyone who grafts they might take some scionwood to work with?

[Augie]

I got up early this morning and dug my garlic. I'm very pleased with the how that stuff did. Whopper heads most of them the size of baseballs. Also dug up a row of yukon gold taters. That's all I had the gumption to do. It's hot out today. Heading out in a little while to catch another sprint car race at Lake Ozark Speedway.

[MomwithHope]

You eat them!?!?!?!

[trisham]

She’s so cute!

[MomwithHope]

Did you give her a name? What is it? Inquiring Freeper minds want to know.

[who knows what evil?]

EVERYTHING kicking it here in East Tennessee...tomatoes, sweet and super-hot peppers, 10 varieties of popping and sweet corn, several melons and watermelons, candy roasters for PIE, 90 types of pole and bush beans, cucumbers, squash...NO junk like eggplant, okra, or collards...ick.

[Augie]

Yes we do eat them. Roasted, then finished over hot coals on the grill. Delicious.

[MomwithHope]

You’re the only person I know who has eaten them and liked them. Hubby’s uncle said long time ago he had some but they had to parboil them a long time and did not taste very good.

[Augie]

Parboiling is a horribly wrong way to prepare raccoon. Ech. And if they didn’t peel the fat cap off the back... Double Ech.

The meat is very greasy, so it needs to be roasted at a fairly low temp - high enough to render the fat, but not so high as to dry out the meat and make it tough.

When done properly raccoon is tender, juicy, and delicious.

The Optimists Club here holds a coon supper every year as a fund raising event. Most years they will also have some beaver and muskrat on the menu. Good stuff!

[Augie]

I took some cuttings yesterday and put them in the cloner. They all looked happy when I checked this morning so maybe I’ll get lucky and some of them will start making roots.

I’ve long been interested in learning how to do grafts. This might be a good time to give it a try. I’ve certainly got plenty of material to work with.

[Black Agnes]

Keep us updated. I’d like to take cuttings from a peach tree at a friends house.

[MomwithHope]

You should write a cookbook and educate people. I guess I would try it if cooked properly.

[Augie]

Daughter named her Rocket. Rocket the Raccoon.

[Jamestown1630]

I really don’t know about baking soda, but I’ve used Barkeepers Friend for a long time, and it is very gentle, but does a great job - especially on a stainless steel sink.

[Jamestown1630]

(See warning below!)

It’s used in a lot of ways - appears to have a kind of antibiotic effect. You can make a tea of the leaves, but the most potent is the essential oil which has gained a lot of popularity lately for various uses. Here is the Webmd page; but Dr. Mercola and Dr. Axe both have videos on it:

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-644-oregano.aspx?activeingredientid=644

On Saturday I still had a lingering soreness in my jaw/neck; I took a couple of drops in a shot of OJ, and the next day the problem was entirely gone. Some people put a couple drops on their toothbrush, then the toothpaste, and brush with it, for gum problems; and others swear by it as a way to ward off colds and ‘flu - they take it at the first sign, and many claim that the illness is cut short or never develops. I have found that just sniffing the stuff helps with my sinus/allergy issues.

WARNING: This stuff is Very Powerful! If you try it, you don’t want to take more than a drop or two at a time. It really burned my lips, so I take it in a shot of OJ, through a straw, and it’s fine - I don’t even taste it. Other people can’t take it at all. If used externally, you want to dilute it with a carrier oil - it will burn! Also, it’s not something I would recommend taking all the time, if only because your body might become too used to it and it might have diminishing effect (that’s just my intuition, and I am NOT a doctor, and don’t play one on TV! so this is not medical advice :-)

[MomwithHope]

This is what happens when you add - Augies kindheartedness, cuteness overload, and me with extra time on my hands.

[CottonBall]

Thanks for the info on oregano. Yeah I figure the essential oil would be strong, since the herb itself is crazy strong. It’s awfully easy to put too much in a dish.

[CottonBall]

I’ll have to check out the barkeepers friend. I always use Bonami, and have never scratched anything. I’m sad to hear baking soda isn’t as fine. I thought it was touted to be, on all the survival websites. I’ll have to do a bit more searching.

[Jamestown1630]

CottonBall, I made a big mistake - the product I use IS ‘Bonami’, which company makes two formulas, and I use the ‘Powder Cleanser’; and it does appear to have baking soda in it. I haven’t used Barkeeper’s Friend, but it seems to be very similar.

I found this info on each:

http://www.bonami.com/index.php/products/powder_cleanser/

https://www.barkeepersfriend.com

(It was interesting to me that you can use the ‘1886’ Formula of Bonami, to keep mirror glass from fogging - I was thinking yesterday of buying shaving cream which is supposed to inhibit fogging; but I have no other use for that, being in possession of an inveterate Bearded Husband ;-)

[pigsmith]

Bfl