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I forgot about beefheart a really old tomato and a good one. If you like cluster tomatoes bloody butcher is a good one, in spite of its God awful name.

Watch out for it, Sumac spreads fast. A nice lemon flavored drink can be made by soaking the seed heads in warm water and I've heard they can be used in place of lemon in jellies but haven't tried it.

I got some free Reisentraub seeds in one of my orders. I was disappointed in them. The pictures show the whole cluster ripe at the same time like a bunch of grapes (which is what the name translates as) but mine only ripened a few at a time although they did grow in clusters. Picking marble...

Mortgage lifter is a great slicing tomato. They are kind of late starters but the fruit is huge and well shaped for big slices. The flavor is great. My only objection is that the plant gets so huge. It can take over half the garden if you let it.

a well aged pork or beef bone in a planting hole also works wonders. The calcium in the bone slowly leaches into the ground.

Personally I like my blackberry jam with the seeds left in. The taste is stronger with the seeds. They do get under false teeth though.

Hand cranked Foley food mill. They still make them or you can find them at yard sales and second hand shops. They are also great for separating the seed when you are making tomato sauce.

We can get two crops of garlic a year here. We plant one in the fall and the other in the Spring. The Fall planted seem to get a bit bigger. I've tried the hardneck but they don't do as well as the softneck here. The softneck tops can be braided together for a nice kitchen hanging. Just pull off...

That brings to mind a funny but true story. My uncle had four people on his line. Most respected his privacy but one old gossip was always listening in. People would tell her, "Get off the line Addy", when they wanted to speak privately. She never figured out how they knew she was listening but...

I went for years without electricity so it was quite a shock when I moved back to San Diego and bought my first computer. I still don't have TV or a cell phone.

When the tops die back and the stem is brittle. Keep them spread out in a not too sunny place for a few days. If you store them while they are too moist they may mold. In my area I grow the soft neck. They can just be left in the ground. That's what I do. I just dig one at a time as needed. When...

I wasn't aware of that restriction but I thank you.

Here in San Diego favas are a fall and winter crop to plant when the green beans poop out. BTW some people are allergic to favas so eat just a few at first to be sure you aren't one of them.

That's a simple way. I'll have to try that. Be careful to buy dehydrated garlic without salt though.

Great pictures

I'm also a red clover fan but for different reasons. It is a high nutrient forage crop for my rabbits and the extra, if there is any, can be dried as hay that is every bit as good as alfalfa.

If you are having problems with root nematodes annual marigold tilled in just as it flowers is a good way to rid your ground of them. Annual (not perennial) rye makes a good Winter crop to be tilled under as early in Spring as you can work the ground.

There are several ways of making garlic spray. One is to just grind finely, let it sit an hour or so in room temp water and then filter. A coffee filter works well for this. Another way is to chop finely and put it in a jar of water. Place the jar in a warm dark place and wait till it starts to...

You may possibly succeed in zone 6 if you can mulch heavily enough to keep the ground from freezing and if it does not get heavily frosted before it goes dormant. Growing it near a South facing wall may help by creating a warmer microclimate.. It grows with no problems here in San Diego but I am...

Spinosad works over a broad spectrum but is sort of on the borderline between organic and chemical. It is approved as organic though since it is derived from funguses naturally found in the soil. Neem is definitely organic and can even be taken internally with no harm. Pure neem oil is...