Regrets: wish I'd never planted that.....

[thistlebloom]

So lucky, if you dead head them before the seed matures you'll be fine.

I think Mary is just making that up about hers not spreading!

 

[ninnymary]

So lucky, if you dead head them before the seed matures you'll be fine.

I think Mary is just making that up about hers not spreading!

Now Thistle, you know our climates are totally different. I wish I could take a picture of my yarrow which is totally contained just like it should be. You must have unruly children!

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Now Thistle, you know our climates are totally different. I wish I could take a picture of my yarrow which is totally contained just like it should be. You must have unruly children!

Mary

Yep, it's so true. Mine were planted in the "wild" side of a dry creek bed that runs along one side of the lawn. I don't tend that area like I should and they virtually never get dead headed.

 

[Teka]

I'd guess that yarrow is great along creeks and other waterways that might flood, as the dense root mass would prevent erosion during high water times. But, maybe that situation also helps to carry the seeds somewhere else!

Back to amaranth! I tilled up an old garden area, once part of our garden but abandoned when the trees overshadowed it; now we've cut back the trees a bit and are desperate for more space. My son suggested that we grow flax, with his (history major) logic that it grows universally and we could use the seeds. (I mean, really ---- I buy organic seeds fairly inexpensively.) We tilled up the area, and I am now seeing 892 amaranth sprouts, maybe a few more, that have been laying in wait for a chance to sprout.

But, the flax is beautiful. You cannot imagine what"flax blue" means until you see these beauties.

 

[Teka]

Yikes! Mowing my grass tonight I noted that there is a 10' x 10' section that has been taken over by yarrow, maybe more.

I'd have to add veronica to the list. That small mound in the big flower bed has become a huge area of new plants.......

Rattlesnake master is also sprouting in weird places. Could it be a new regret????

 

[The Mama Chicken]

Right now I'm wishing I had never planted okra. Hubby was sure he liked it...but he doesn't. I thought pickling would make it taste good...but it doesn't. AND every time I harvest the stuff (for the goat, who's the only one who will eat the stuff) I get terribly itchy from the plant itself and get bit by the fire ants that hang out on the pods.

 

[JimWWhite]

Right now I'm wishing I had never planted okra. Hubby was sure he liked it...but he doesn't. I thought pickling would make it taste good...but it doesn't. AND every time I harvest the stuff (for the goat, who's the only one who will eat the stuff) I get terribly itchy from the plant itself and get bit by the fire ants that hang out on the pods.

Well, then if you don't mind please pick what you have, put it in a UPS or USPS box and ship it to me. I love okra just about any way you can fix it. Fried, of course, but steamed, on top of a pot of peas, in gumbo, or anything creole. I've got a 70-foot long row of it that's starting to jump up now. I use the Clemson Spineless seeds which aren't nearly as itchy as the other kinds and it tastes the same. I even planted some red okra on one end of the row this year too. Can't wait to see that. It's also a Clemson Spineless variety.

 

[The Mama Chicken]

Sorry Jim, I just fed about 25 pods to the goats. They love it. I have the Clemson Spineless but it still makes me itch, I can't imagine what the other stuff would do to me. Apparently some people are more susceptible than others, and I'm one of them. Give me you're fried okra recipe and I'll try it, because I really want to like it. It grows so well here that it seems a shame not to have it in the garden. Plus, my family is Southern, I'm supposed to love okra.

 

[JimWWhite]

Sorry Jim, I just fed about 25 pods to the goats. They love it. I have the Clemson Spineless but it still makes me itch, I can't imagine what the other stuff would do to me. Apparently some people are more susceptible than others, and I'm one of them. Give me you're fried okra recipe and I'll try it, because I really want to like it. It grows so well here that it seems a shame not to have it in the garden. Plus, my family is Southern, I'm supposed to love okra.

Simply pick the pods, rinse them off and slice them into 1/4 - 3/8" cuts. Then bread them in cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper. We use grapeseed oil to fry with but anything you like other than olive oil should work. I like to put enough in the skillet (and it has to be a cast iron skillet at least 30 years old and never washed with detergent) to make two layers. Teresa usually adds some chopped onion when she makes it. Then just fry it on medium-plus heat so it browns evenly. Even if you scorch some that's just OK with me. Only turn it over once or twice. I sometimes add sliced green tomatoes to mine when I make it. Ummmmmm!!! And yes, your Southern heritage requires you to be able to cook and eat okra. It's a Southern thing.

 

[The Mama Chicken]

Okay Jim, just as soon as I have a few pods ready to pick I'll try it out. I'm supposed to be picking the pods when they're less than 4 inches, right? I have the cast iron pan (from my mama) but I don't use veggie oil, so I'm gonna hope lard will do for the frying.