Weekly Gardening Thread – 2010 (Vol. 32) September 10

Free Republic | 09-10-2010 | Red_Devil 232

[Red_Devil 232]

Good morning gardeners. This is the first year that I will have a fall garden. I have decided to try few broccoli and cabbage plants. I decided to visit our local County Co-Op a couple of days ago and they had starts of both and I bought a nine-pack cell of each. I hope they do well because we are still having 90 degree days with overnights in the mid to high 60’s. They also had starts for various types of tomato plants which kind of surprised me.

If you are a gardener or you are just starting out and are in need of advice or just encouragement please feel free to join in and enjoy the friendly discussion. Our Freeper community is full of gardeners, each with varying interests and skill levels from Master Gardener to novice.

[greeneyes]

I use a spray made of garlic, onions, cayenne pepper and a couple of drops of dish washing liquid to combat bugs. I saw a bug right after I had made it and squirted it directly figuring I could slow it down till I could squash it. Instead it ran like crazy for a few seconds, then rolled over dead less than 30 seconds.

The smelly garlic and onions wards off some bugs and confuses others. The hot pepper discourages squirrels. I was able to get through most of the season just using this. When my last batch was used up, I was really busy and did not get a chance to make any more. That and the dog days of August led me to use a little sevin on my beans.

My main reason for gardening is to be able to eat food that is mostly pesticide free, or at least applied carefully. Not to mention the better flavor and nutrition.

Next time I will try to remember to try a quick mix of soap and water.

[greeneyes]

Thanks for the beautiful pictures. You have a lot of really nice plants on the vast bender estate!

[greeneyes]

Nice pics. I am definitely going to try sugar baby melon next year.

[rightly_dividing]

I knew that some peppers would ward off bugs, but have not tried that yet. I have thought that maybe put some hot pepper, onion, or maybe a little Tabasco in some water, boil it to extract the active ingrediants, then add some soap after it cools. Just an idea.

[greeneyes]

Beautiful bounty as usual. Great pics. Love the one of the dog. LOL.

[greeneyes]

I used AFTR’s recipe for yogurt last week, using whole milk. I did not use any gelatin, and it was just fine as is. I used some of it to make spinach dip, some mixed with chives for baked potato. I also used some flavorings and juices which made it a little thin.

Hubby ate one of the vanilla/honey flavors, which is usually my favorite. I have also tried lemon and orange juice with a honey or maple syrup. When I add these juices, the yogurt is a little thinner, so sometimes I just drink it like a smoothie, some times I add a little whipped cream for a dessert-like treat.

Since I eat yogurt daily (usually as a before lunch snack) the recipe made about the right amount for 1 week, but I find myself craving it way more often than that.LOL.

I will make 2% or 1% next. My main objection to the yogurt I buy is that the low fat kind always also has aspartame, which I do not want to eat.

Thanks AFTR. for the recipe. One more item in my diet to get rid of unnecessary chemicals!LOL.

[greeneyes]

Oh man you are sooooo right about color.

[greeneyes]

Yeh, that should work. I have several very similar recipes. The one I used this year, I actually took an onion, and a garlic bulb in water, and whirled it in the blender. Then added the pepper and a few drops of liquid soap.

I kept it in the Refrigerator in a quart jar. I just decanted a little of the liquid to the sprayer, and added more water. Later on, I also added a couple of teaspoons of cooking oil, to the mix.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

He’s my Bestest Buddy Ever. No day is EVER boring with Rufus around. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

FAN-tastic! Is there anything we can’t do? LOL! It continually amazes me that we need to pay top dollar for any product when home made is so easy and so yummy! :)

I have a very hard time enjoying a restaurant meal. I just never feel I get value for my dollar. But my one exception is breakfast. Man, I’ll eat breakfast at ANY greasy spoon all across America...and I have, LOL! :)

[Red_Devil 232]

The reason your garlic mix works is the sulphur compounds found in garlic. They are deadly to some insects. Rember the old time pump sprayers and sulphur dust?

[tubebender]

I survived but the next time I’m hijacked I’m choosing the door marked Water Boarding...

[Red_Devil 232]

Does that include grits along with sausage gravey and biscuits, a couple of eggs over easy?

Vinny Gambini: Regular. Instant grits?
Mr. Tipton: No self respectin' Southerner uses instant grits. I take pride in my grits.
Vinny Gambini: So, Mr. Tipton, how could it take you 5 minutes to cook your grits when it takes the entire grit eating world 20 minutes?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know, I'm a fast cook I guess.
Vinny Gambini: I'm sorry I was all the way over here I couldn't hear you did you say you were a fast cook, that's it?
Mr. Tipton: Yeah.
Vinny Gambini: Are we to believe that boiling water soaks into a grit faster in your kitchen than anywhere else on the face of the earth?
Mr. Tipton: I don't know.
Vinny Gambini: Well, I guess the laws of physics cease to exist on top of your stove. Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?

Vinny - Magic Grits

[afraidfortherepublic]

I used the gelatin with the whole milk. It still was soft, especially those containers where I added fruit. I forgot about the gelitin when I made the 2% variety and didn't add it. It was softer and actually a little “weepy” until I stirred it. I guess I'll have to do 2% over again and remember to add gelatin to make an accurate appraisal. As soon as I got over the idea that this was not store bought, I didn't care how thick, or thin, it was -- it tasted so good. I do add Splenda to mine. I also think that it is probably better to add the fruit just before you serve it. That way it keeps its texture. Pears are tricky. THey seem to be either too green, or too ripe. It's hard to catch them at just the right time. I have some at home that I bought to make jam, and now they are too soft.

[afraidfortherepublic]

We had a guest priest at church today because our Pastor is recovering from knee surgery. He was elderly and quite a card. A big football game was slated for this afternoon — Packers vs Eagles.

At the end of Mass he called an altar boy to go to the sacristy and bring out a Packer hat. The priest put it on his head, bowed, took off the hat and said a silent prayer for the Packers. Then he stepped to the front of the altar and told a story.

He told us that when he was young he was assigned to a church on the East side of Milwaukee. At that time the East side was the best side of town and the center of everything. Everybody who was anybody went to church there. There were always a lot of celebrity guests at his Parish, vistors, entertainers who were in town for a gig, etc.

One day the Packers were scheduled to play the LA Rams. In those days the Packers played half of their home games in Milwaukee and half in Green Bay. At the end of Mass, he spoke to the congregation and commented that it was pitiful that they were playing the Rams that Sunday afternoon.

“What kind of team calls themselves the Rams?”, the priest asked. “Rams are animals and belong in a zoo”, he declared.

Afterwards the head usher caught up with the priest and said that three members of the Rams team were in the congregation that day.

“They told me to tell you that this whole town is crazy, and so is your priest.”

He got a big laugh, and I thought Diana would be amused at this story.

[greeneyes]

I do remember those old time sprayers. Hate to admit I AM that old. LOL.

[rightly_dividing]

I had meant to take my camera to church to take some pics of the landscaped backyard there yesterday but forgot to take it. During the break between SS and the morning service, we were looking out the window and saw 6 deer casually wondering through the churchyard. They were looking for a breakfast buffet, I suppose. Gotta learn to keep a camera with me at all times.

[afraidfortherepublic]

In HOUSTON? I don’t believe I ever saw a wild animal (except for alligators) in the 10 years I lived there. My Schnauzer and my kids were sort of wild sometimes, but I never saw any natural wildlife beyond birds and alligators, or the occasional feral cat.

BTW, your farm market pictures were fabulous. Where was that market located?

[tubebender]

I keep a old Canon A540 in my pickup for those photo opportunities you are speaking of. I have a file of photos of our Church and will post a few later. I go in to see my Doc for my annual physical at 9:00 and he better not tell me I have been dead since the 4th of July. That reminds me to take my camera in with me and take some photos of the rocking chair and tables he built out of old horseshoes...

[afraidfortherepublic]

Check out THIS thread County Sues Farmer for Growing Too Many Vegetables especially post #7. Appalling and he's had to put out thousands of his own $$$ fighting this oppression.