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  1. Backyard Buddies

    Avatars - LOL

    I love marmalade, especially the sour ones. I bet your still-too-tart kumquats would be great made into marmalade. Let me know how it turns out. OK, so I just went outside and picked an orange to try. I picked it from the south side of the tree, where we get the most oranges and where they...
  2. Backyard Buddies

    Sustainable Growing Project

    Thanks all! Oakland - That's a funny coincidence. I went to HS in NB and my hubby went to HS in the East Bay (Fremont, tho he's orignally from Washington) so we've crossed some paths. Absolutely, if you're ever down this way, let me know and I'll be glad to meet you at the garden and give...
  3. Backyard Buddies

    Self Sustaining Gardening

    Oakland has given you some great advice and I don't have much to add to it, except that an option is that when you transplant the corn, first cut each of the individual egg cups apart, then get the bottom good and wet and *carefully* cut it off. This would be similar to the directions you'd use...
  4. Backyard Buddies

    First post over here, thought the garden folk would like this.

    Nice job!!! Now, make sure you take some garden before and after pix to show what a great job it does in the garden. Can't wait!
  5. Backyard Buddies

    Sustainable Growing Project

    Thanks so much, SoyBean, for your kind words! I will keep posting pix as everything develops. Right now, we're watching one of the peaches get pretty big and can't wait to put that into the offering plate as our "first fruit." You know, other than plots that can be purchased (after a loooong...
  6. Backyard Buddies

    Let the "growing" begin!

    I agree. Newly germinated seeds is one of the most amazing parts of gardening! Perhaps the next best thing is when the first little green tomato appears behind the dying tomato blossom. Congrats on your new garden space! How exiting!
  7. Backyard Buddies

    Advice for Clay Soils

    We also have clay soil here as well as at the church garden plot. The "double digging" method is what will work. Dig down as far as you can go and drop the soil into a wheelbarrow. Take a garden fork and poke it in the hole and work it around to loosen the soil some more. Dig again and...
  8. Backyard Buddies

    Avatars - LOL

    Not yet! I tasted one a couple of weeks ago. It was still a bit on the sour side but it was really, really juicy. I ate it anyway. :D We need some nice heat before they'll be really sweet. Toward the end of the week it's supposed to warm up a bit, so maybe I'll try another on Sunday...
  9. Backyard Buddies

    Pickled Hot Peppers (specifically Sport Peppers)

    You've got quite the supply of peppers, Grow4Food! What do you do with the habaneros? I've never been brave enough to try one. ;)
  10. Backyard Buddies

    Pickled Hot Peppers (specifically Sport Peppers)

    I hadn't heard of those, so I went back to the website posted above. There is one called a Tam Jalapeno. Is that the one you're talking about? If so, perhaps I'll have to grow a few of those. While I love hot (if the nose isn't running, it isn't hot enough! :lol: ) the kids aren't there...
  11. Backyard Buddies

    Husband-4 Gophers-0

    Hey, he's good with a gun AND with a tractor! :lol: Good job!
  12. Backyard Buddies

    Sustainable Growing Project

    Of course we need more manure! :lol: Pumpkins are supposed to like manure. We will be out there this next weekend, so give me a call and let me know! You know, when I look at those pictures it's hard to see just how big that space is. Those rows of prepared beds are 4' X 30'. They look...
  13. Backyard Buddies

    Are compost tumblers a myth?

    There's a ton of info on the Net. The most important thing is to get a proper balance of browns to greens. Too little greens and your pile won't cook. Too many greens and your pile will stink. If you're going to be composting pine shavings from the chicken coop (as I do) you may need a tad...
  14. Backyard Buddies

    Pickled Hot Peppers (specifically Sport Peppers)

    Thanks! I hear this plant is very productive, so I may get a chance to play around with it some. I do have the Ball canning book, so I'll have to sit down and do some serious reading. I'm still new to this canning thing so I have much to learn. I think they're different, but serve the same...
  15. Backyard Buddies

    Pickled Hot Peppers (specifically Sport Peppers)

    As I understand it, Sport Peppers are a regional thing - specific to Chicago. You get an hour outside of Chicago and they become increasingly difficult to find. When you're in Chicago and order a hot dog, it comes "dragged through the garden." That means that it has mustard (no ketchup)...
  16. Backyard Buddies

    Sustainable Growing Project

    Hi. A week late, but here are some updated pictures from the garden. These were taken last weekend (5-3-2008). I was out there yesterday and am seeing more and more growth, but didn't take any pictures. I was too busy digging holes! Last weekend we got more of the fruit trees into the...
  17. Backyard Buddies

    Pickled Hot Peppers (specifically Sport Peppers)

    Thanks Laura! Do you know whether it has to be ACV? Could some white vinegar be used as well? I don't recall a strongish ACV flavor, so I wonder if it was blended somehow??? Oh, and I've been reading about something called Pickle Crisp. What kind of store would carry that locally? I see...
  18. Backyard Buddies

    Pickled Hot Peppers (specifically Sport Peppers)

    After a trip to Chicago this past summer, I fell in love with Chicago Dogs, which included the yummy, slightly spicy Sport Peppers. This is an ingredient I cannot purchase here, so I'm going to order Sport Pepper seeds, grow my own, and pickle enough to last me through the year. I understand...
  19. Backyard Buddies

    Sustainable Growing Project

    Thanks Teresa! I AM feeling blessed, just for having the opportunity to be a part of this great project. The biggest blessing I'd like to see is a healthy harvest with lots of great, healthy food to share with those in need. A bit of strength might be a nice blessing as well. Tomorrow will...
  20. Backyard Buddies

    Sustainable Growing Project

    Thanks! And it's fun, too. I didn't work out there this past weekend (too busy up in LA taking my daughter to the American Girl store where she got to meet Kristi Yamaguchi) but I'll be back out there this weekend. I'll try to take some more pictures for an update. More trees have gone in...
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