Posted on 09/01/2024 6:06:00 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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My Mom used to make home made tomato soup...it was SOOOO acid we kids could barely eat it...but still liked it.
Gets to me, too.
I still have a few odd tomatoes coming in, too.
We’ve been VERY dry with more on the way. My turnips and beets were actually starting to wilt.
I just gave everything left a good drink and they’ll get another one later tonight.
I harvested my potatoes and what a mixed bag.
Some plants produced beautifully, some did fair, and some produced NO potatoes at all. I have never seen that happen.
I’m suspecting the dry as I could not keep up with the watering.
I guess there’s a website for just about everything. I was surprised straw was not on the natural filler list. Our leaves are nearly all oak, too acidic.
My hose connectors order came in a couple days ago, but I was running around most of the day getting things put up and / or ready for for our expected 2-3 days of rain from Francine. Plus clear out the little drainage ditch on the west side of the house / garage, which had accumulated a lot of small branches and hickory nut shells when the last gully-washer washed them that way...
On one “run” “east” I did drag the damaged-end 75’ 3/4” hose out to the garden, from the fish cleaning table (splitter). The length is perfect. That’s great, and will eliminate the collection of 3 pieces of old, stiff, 5/8” hose spliced together to run out there. That 5/8” mess is a failure just waiting to happen...
I also ran a new 100’ 5/8” rubber hose all the way out to the driveway on the west side of my shop. That’s where we usually wash vehicles. It’s also the sunniest part of the property, and I may well establish a small garden area out there beside the driveway for heat tolerant, sun-loving veggies.
Said running around was at about 2/3 efficiency: Wifey came down with COVID last week, and then I got it too. It’s a bizarre disease: Most of her symptoms were different than mine or much worse than mine, even tho’ she’s several years younger and in better shape, slender, yada-yada. Plus, my symptoms were largely different from or subdued from my last round with COVID. With one exception to “subdued”: This time I’ve had sporadic periods of rather extreme muscle and joint aches. If I kept moving they were not quite as bad, and this morning they seem to be about 50% diminished from what I expected when I woke up. So, hopefully I’m over the worst of it. Wifey is still coughing and fatigued though. (I had relatively little of the coughing, lots of the fatigue.) At least, again, neither of us got it “bad” in the lungs. Wifey has still been coughing some today though. :-(
Eh, they could be hickory and walnut, like most of ours. :-(
(Juglone content.)
We got lucky with Francine: Nothing too outrageous, just rounds of 1/2” or less rain. Maybe 1-1/3” total so far. My Opo plants, which have been struggling, responded very well, but something is getting into them and chowing down leaves and the few developing fruits. (There were bite marks on the two fruits - I’m not sure if the bites are from opossums or squirrels.) I may have to spray some repellent around them once the rain(s) quit.
I put a trap out there baited with eggs, but no luck - which also has me thinking “squirrels”.
And... I’m fairly sure some of the damage occurred in the morning, well after dawn. Raccoons and opossums are rarely very active then,.
Could be woodchucks, too.
That was last Saturday. Did a second tray too and then I forgot all about them until yesterday. Can you say leggy? Pulled the humidity domes off and have 3-4" sprouts with tiny first leaves on top. OOPS. Going to start over and sow the same things again and set a daily alarm on my phone to check them.
Got the tunnel closed in with cattle panels & pallets and the first two "successfully" seeded trays are in there along with the elderberry bushes in pots. Brought the RV/marine battery out there and rigged the drip & micro-sprinklers up and started wetting a strip down the middle where the seedlings will go.
Gonna fluff up that spot, amend with composted manure and get those in the ground today and then I will officially be growing in the tunnel. Long time coming.
“Gonna fluff up that spot, amend with composted manure and get those in the ground today and then I will officially be growing in the tunnel. Long time coming.”
You have certainly EARNED it! And remember, it’s still all uphill from here...until you’ve gone through a few seasons, experimenting.
Since I’m down to two puppies running loose, I am getting more inspired to clean out the greenhouse and do a refresh for fall. Problem? It’s high 80’s until NEXT Sunday, so that may have to wait.
Today into tomorrow I am getting the grape juice canned, and making one more batch of Tomato Soup and probably one more of Salsa, and then I am scrubbing my kitchen from top to bottom and putting away all of my ‘canning stuff’ that is littering the dining room table and calling it a SEASON!
Oh, wait...I still haven’t picked APPLES yet! Ugh! Applesauce (crock pot saves the day!) and Apple Maple Jam and lots of frozen apple pie filling for future pies and apple cake, etc.
Will it ever end? Stay tuned! :)
Quesdadilla Sauce
Creamy and a bit spicy, recipe is quick and easy and extremely versatile. A dipping sauce for quesadillas, french fries, chicken nuggets, and even carrot sticks, the ultimate topping for tacos, burrito bowls, burgers, and even as a salad dressing. Sure to become a family favorite.
Mix 2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup sour cream, 4 tsp McCormick Taco Seasoning, 1/2 tbl McCormick chili powder, 1 tbl green Tabasco. Great on quesadillas, a topping for tacos, or drizzle over nachos.
Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte
For tea lovers. A delicious and refreshing iced pumpkin cream chai tea latte (like Starbucks)
with this easy recipe. Includes recipe for the delectable Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam topping.
Ing Pumpkin Spice Cold Foam ¼ cup heavy whipping cream 2 tablespoons 2% milk 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree 2-3 tablespoons vanilla syrup ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Iced Chai Latte 1 ⅓ cup chai tea concentrate (Tazo is good) 2/3 cup milk
Steps Place cold foam ing in a mixing cup or bowl and froth for 20 sec til thickened. Set aside. Combine chai tea concentrate and milk; pour into a glass filled with ice. Top with pumpkin spice, the cold foam, and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
My favorite gardener on youtube puts a video out every Sunday and the last two have been about a guy who runs a nursery for native fruit trees including pawpaws, persimmon, figs etc. He uses pots like this. Never seen them before. They come in many shapes and sizes but all generally tall and thin like this.
I missed the state nursery sell starting day by a few days again and as usual, all the good stuff is gone. Been wanting to get some hazelnut seedlings for a few years now. I was lucky enough to get the elderberries last year as they tend to go fast too.
Many years ago - 15? maybe I ordered 4 paw paw seedings and they came in pots just like this. Paw Paw seedling have extremely long tap roots and planting the goes well with the tap root not being disturbed.
Something I could really use is a very portable supply of compressed air. By very portable, I mean something in the neighborhood of a gallon or less capacity. Even a repurposed (used) 1 lb. propane bottle would likely do the trick. This is mostly for blowing dust / debris out of INDOORS equipment. Menards has been selling an airgun kit for under $7 (after rebate) which has fine tips. It is great, but my smaller compressor with a 6 gallon tank is still way too much of a pain to cart around a lot for small “blow-out” jobs. (I’m trying to stay with polite terminology here!)
“Canned air”, however, gets used up way too fast and is expensive.
Looking online, there seems to be very little available at a reasonable price. Harbor Freight has a pretty decent 5 gallon tank, but, that’s much more than what I need...
https://www.harborfreight.com/5-gallon-portable-air-tank-65594.html
???
Wally World in my area is blowing out potting and garden soil. I think every bag I’ve bought in the last 10 years was on such a “fall clearance”.
Good idea about the pine cones though! :-)
Yes, I’ve not seen any woodchucks around for a couple years at least, but they are a “possible”.
I have plenty of downed wood for them to chuck instead - hahaha!
Suggested trap bait for a woodchuck?
Milton makes a conversion kit but it's more expensive than the HF air tank.
Plenty of youtube videos on converting them.
I probably have most of the fittings laying around to do it. Schrader valve stem with pipe threads for filling the tank, I'd have to buy.
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