Posted on 07/01/2025 5:32:22 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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I have since seen crows land up there on the transformer, they just haven’t gotten fried yet. It looked like the power crew guys pulled off a carcass (wings/feet) & there was a big pile of black feathers at the base of the pole. The murder of crows that hangs around here was very disturbed for a couple of days - extra noisy, cawing, etc. I think they were missing their ‘friend’!
Yes, the garden is about half the size at least but manageable. I have had to water a lot but everything is doing well. West Michigan. No ripe tomatoes yet.
And this is what I get for complaining about the heat. My three days off next week will be mid to high 90s.
We've got some regular household trash to burn so I guess we'll set it across the top of the leaf pile to help them burn. Soon too because the first storm is already in Springfield, 80 mi away. I'll reburn to finish it up next week.
I'll be able to drive that full circle around the house in about an hour. Will need gravel before I do it too much.(or a long spell of dry weather;~)
Swedish researchers have determined the reason why mosquitos do not like Catnip (catmint). (
https://www.acs.org/molecule-of-the-week/archive/n/nepetalactone.html
MOTW update: May 3, 2021 cis,trans-Nepetalactone is the primary psychoactive ingredient in catnip (Nepeta cataria). In 2009, it was the starting material for synthesizing (+)-englerin A, a promising kidney cancer drug candidate. It has long been known that catnip repels mosquitoes; but until this year, the repellence mechanism was unknown. Marcus Stensmyr and co-workers at Lund University (Sweden) discovered that nepetalactone activates a receptor in mosquitoes that makes them feel pain. Cats, among many other animals, have the same receptor; but clearly the effect is different for them."
What did Robert Browing say? "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"
Yes, true! This is my little slice of Heaven on earth.
Early smaller varieties are usually more heat tolerant. Super Sweet 100, Homestead, Black Krim and Arkansas Traveler which I have tried and are good. Determinate Yakui Hybrid does well in heat and produces large blocky canning/paste type tomatoes on a 36-40 inch bush. Productive and better for canning and sauces than eating.
Look at Dixie Red, Solar Fire, SuperSioux and Summer Set which I have not tried.
Now that the threat of severe weather has passed (two dry days in a row again!) and I now have enough Cucumbers to weigh in at 8#, I am making a batch of Pickle Relish, today. I am down to my last two jars, so it’s time!
Cukes are all ground up and mixed with Kosher Salt, then they sit for 2 hours, then I drain them, then I add all the other spices, sugar and vinegar and cook them all down together. Then can them in 1/2 pint jars - which I still need to dig out!
This makes enough to last us for a good 2 years. I don’t do cukes in a big way unless it is Pickle Relish Season. Additional cukes will become Bread and Butter Pickles, which are our favorite.
The two varieties I grew this season are doing really well. I am growing ‘Tasty King’ and ‘Burpless Supreme’ both from Jung’s. The ‘Tasty King’ looks more like a traditional pickle with the bumpy skin and some prickliness. The ‘Burpless Supreme’ is long and slender and smooth, but not as long as the English Cucumbers. It is nice and sweet and is pretty much ‘burpless.’ We had some on our salads with dinner last night. It stays nice and straight, so would make good spears if I end up motivated to can some.
I usually grow ‘Diva’ and ‘Summer Dance’ or ‘Sweeter Yet’ just for eating but I knew I was using these for specific products this season, so that prompted the change.
Same reason I planted TWO pole supports of Pole Beans - it’s a Dilly Bean Season, too.
Weather? Temps have dropped like a rock - into the 60’s and 70’s - and no sun for the next week or so, either. Not good news for the tomatoes. :(
Never did rain here. Slid past North of us.
I successfully drove around the house, barely. Moved a few things further back and took out a couple of small trees to make it a little less barely. I’ve wanted a wrap around driveway for several years now. Won’t be wide enough yet for UPS/Fedex but will work for me, the mail carrier and visitors in cars.
Still got a long ways to go on clean up around here and it’s something that just doesn’t go all that fast. Doesn’t help that I brought a bunch of mostly junk back here when I cleaned out the neighbor’s barn and offloaded it right up here near the house until I could go through it.
Pulled a few things out of the shop, up out of the goat manure. Nothing of any real value because I already got that out of there a long time ago. Need to get everything I can find so I can start scooping more manure out of there. It’s 5-6” deep on the sides.
Every week of 3 days off just needs to become 2-3 days of cleanup and work on the tunnel soil for a while. Virtually free and needs to be done.
I have 2 red Jalafuegos!! The plants shot up suddenly & are 18 - 24” tall. They are loaded with peppers & falling over, especially after the big storm that blew through yesterday. All my ‘stakes’ are at the old house so I will have to come up with something tomorrow.
I can ‘hold’ peppers until I have the 3/4 lb. I need for a batch. I clean them, chop into chunks & put them in a quart canning jar in vinegar. It takes about a dozen peppers for a batch. One of my friends who visited last Saturday brought me a bag full of jars that I gave her with jelly the last couple of years - always nice to get jars back.
Surprise call from FL this evening. A cousin is stopping by Saturday morning for a visit. He’s on his way to a camp in the NC mountains so he’s going quite a bit out of the way to swing by our place. It’s 6-7 hours from our place to camp so we’re planning on having lunch handy & I’m sure they’ll be leaving shortly after that.
The weather looks so bad for tomorrow that we told my brother not to come - he was going to be here tomorrow around 11 & cut dead limbs with his pole saw, then leave Saturday morning. There’s a 60% chance of rain & it’s likely going to be severe storms (yet again!) with torrential rain & flooding. I’m beginning to think I should start building an Ark!!
I know. You have a large lake that gives you a later summer! (Which makes it a good place for blueberry and fruit orchards!)
It’s been a crazy weather summer, hasn’t it?
We finally got some much needed rain, just over an inch yesterday, which was more than they expected but I was praying for. Thank you, God.
Another couple questions on saving pea seeds.
Should the pods on the plant be completely dry? Mine are mostly beige but the pods feel leathery. Also, some of the plants look diseased with what I’m guessing is black spot, So I’m going to want to pull those up and just cut my losses with those plant’s seeds I guess, unless the seeds can still mature on the vines even pulled up. If that’s the case, I can put the pulled up plants under a roof and let them finish curing naturally like that.
Yes Michigan is rich in fruit, blueberries especially. My paw paw trees are in an enormous growth spurt and lots of fruit from what I can see.
Just leave your peas on the vine until they are dry and crispy - just as you would for drying beans. If you want the space for something else though, pull the vines or just the pods and put them in an open cardboard box, or a mesh bag so that they continue to dry on their own before you shell them. Air circulation is the key when you do that.
I don’t think the black spot will effect the pea seed. That disease needs moist plant tissue to grow on, not the seeds themselves.
I could use the space, and if pulling the whole plant and letting it continue to dried that way will result in mature seeds, I’ll do that.
“I’m beginning to think I should start building an Ark!”
This has been a difficult growing season for so many of us. Grrrr!
Clear today, rain Saturday. Clear Sunday when I will mow AGAIN! Then rain, rain, rain, rain, rain every day going forward with temps in the mid-to-high 80’s.
Mom is coming to stay Monday/Tuesday so I’ll ‘Tom Sawyer’ her into making pickles with me. ;)
My pantry is going to be nothing but pickles this season as the cukes are producing like crazy in this rainy weather. I’m glad we like pickles, but I think it may end up being overkill, however. Everyone gets a jar of Pickles in their Christmas Stocking this year, LOL!
So, make sure the seeds ARE fully mature before you yank them! They won’t ‘mature’ once the plant is dead.
Quick question on pawpaw trees. Do you need to have a male and female in order for the trees to bear fruit?
The original owner of this home told me that she has pawpaw trees on one section of her current property, but that they don’t bear fruit. She said I may have some, but I would need to come dig them up with her. It sounds like they’re in a very wooded spot.
I think it may be my only chance to get my hands on a pawpaw tree, but I’m hoping to find one that will bear fruit for me.
OK. Probably what I’ll do is pull the most non-productive ones and leave the ones with the most seeds on them to dry completely.
OK.
Thanks. I didn’t want to harvest them too early and have the seeds not viable.
Has anyone here ever heard of or tried Bacon Jam? The orchard market had some for sale from a local supplier, called Midwest Fresh. It’s like a marmalade with bacon in it. It sounded interesting so I picked up a jar to try. It’s wonderful!!
So far I’ve tried it on a bacon cheeseburger (divine!) and last night I used it on Brussels sprouts that I had parboiled before cooking them (stovetop) in the bacon jam. What a great twist! I’m going to keep experimenting with this. I’m sure it would be delightful on cheese and crackers.
I’m sure you could make this on your own. There must be a recipe somewhere online. Anyway, an exciting new find for me!
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