What Did You Do In The Garden?

[Zeedman]

Spent some time today helping to repair DD's lawn mower, but the rest of the day was spent in seed processing. Opened & de-seeded all the peppers that still needed to be done; I always do at least 2 separate lots in case of spoilage. In the case of the smallest peppers ("New Orleans") that means cutting them open, spreading then out to dry, then breaking the seeds loose from the dry peppers. The remnants of those ripe peppers will be ground for a pepper powder mix; but I actually prefer the nearly-black powder made from the immature peppers, which has a unique flavor. And to be honest, I just love looking at the plants. I'll be pulling & hanging the plants soon.

"New Orleans" pepper

The last batch of cucumber seeds had fermented long enough, so I cleaned that seed yesterday. Today I split & scooped out the 2nd lot of seed cukes, to again ferment until the seeds are free of their clinging membranes.

I drove out to the rural garden to start wrapping things up there. Picked almost all the remaining peppers, whether ripe or green. Some of those were cleaned for seed, the rest will be given away to friends tomorrow. The cowpeas & mung beans have re-bloomed & are producing a second round of seed! It looks like MN 13 in particular will be adding significantly to its total.

Still picking a few bitter melons & gherkins... and hoping the gherkins let go for seed ripen soon. There are eggplant let go for seed there too, and I'm waiting on those too. I suspect that both are already ripe enough, but am giving them as much time to mature as possible.

Did I say beans were done? The "Fortex" beans were ravaged by Japanese beetles all summer & only produced a couple hands full; but now the beetles are gone, and the vines have begun re-blooming. DW picked enough today for our supper, and there are a lot of small pods developing. The "Jembo Polish" beans produced a small second set as well, so we will be eating several meals of snaps & shellies before frost.

 

[flowerbug]

yesterday:

picked the squash, did some weeding while i was in the squash patches.

worked on the north garden. transplanted some more Creeping Thyme and buried a bunch of bean plant debris and skimmed the surface clear of weeds and buried them along with the bean plants (a well balanced slow compost the worms will enjoy) in most of the area.

i still have more to finish up but i also have to move some dirt to even out the whole thing as now the middle part has settled (i buried a lot of stuff in there a few years ago when i had to clear it back from being overrun with weeds and the cover crop i'd planted in there). so now that it has all rotted enough for the ground to subside a big puddle forms in there any time it rains very hard. i also need to move some of the very dark topsoil and exchange it for some of the soil in the other end which has a lot more clay in it, i'll just do rows for that because it will otherwise take me a lot more effort and i don't want to move dirt any more than i already am doing. after a few more days of puttering around in there i should have it all set for the winter and also have it mostly ready for spring planting (other than whatever weeding i'll need to do).

a part of the dirt moving was to make enough of a trench so that if we get enough rain i'll be able to mark the levels across the whole area now that i am able to put it all one level at last. yes, i know i could rig up a water level if i needed to do that or an A frame but i'm a big fan of keeping things simple and letting nature do it's thing.

the booger deer trampled some thyme i'd already moved so i fixed those up as best i could (speaking of nature doing it's thing - at least the big one pooped and left me some presents).


today:

looking out the window at the mist and rain. not enough rain yet to make any puddles or show me what i want to know. ok, at least the thyme is getting some water again.

we were going to go shopping today, but i have no enthusiasm at all for going out in the rain and running around today.

 

[digitS']

I could post this in "what are you eating". DW made some broth for noodles and put 1 Super Chili pepper in it. Problem was, she didn't take it out after cooking. Last night, she cooked noodles and my bowl had that one pepper. It was cooked down to nothing, another problem was that "nothing" was too much for digitS'!.

I wasn't expecting to eat it. Didn't really think about the noodles being spicy, they weren't. Suddenly, dinner was all over for me! Some advice: don't try lowering the effects of hot peppers with a cough drop. It doesn't work!

last batch of cucumber seeds had fermented long enough

A cucumber might have helped! Fermenting, eh? So, about the same as tomato seed? Do cucumbers like to cross?

I'm so appreciative of the Lemon cukes this year. Because of the heat and smoke, the right time to pick Beit Alphas was almost completely missed. There were Talladega but then they grew too big and seedy. The Lemon showed up about their usual time - after things began to cool down. Done now but one was found, Friday.

the booger deer ... -

He can't help it if he sneezed while he was out there, flowerbug. Probably threw his stride off and he stepped on some things. Can you imagine how subsistent farmers living in villages with distant gardens dealt with wildlife?. Yes, it's time that your hunter gatherer tendencies to take over and you move into that garden shelter for the growing seasons.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

I could post this in "what are you eating". DW made some broth for noodles and put 1 Super Chili pepper in it. Problem was, she didn't take it out after cooking. Last night, she cooked noodles and my bowl had that one pepper. It was cooked down to nothing, another problem was that "nothing" was too much for digitS'!.

I wasn't expecting to eat it. Didn't really think about the noodles being spicy, they weren't. Suddenly, dinner was all over for me! Some advice: don't try lowering the effects of hot peppers with a cough drop. It doesn't work!

haha! oops! nope, you need fats (whole milk, cheeses, yogurts, breads with butter) to help cool that off quicker, but it will eventually fade out. cold water is just a temporary distraction for it.

He can't help it if he sneezed while he was out there, flowerbug. Probably threw his stride off and he stepped on some things. Can you imagine how subsistent farmers living in villages with distant gardens dealt with wildlife?. Yes, it's time that your hunter gatherer tendencies to take over and you move into that garden shelter for the growing seasons.

my goal is a better perimeter fence eventually if i stick around longer term. only a few hundred more feet would be needed to finish up what i've already started and then i get a much larger area to consider safer from those varmints. the biggest other improvement from getting that done to me would be reducing the chances of deer ticks. i hate those things even if they are a part of life, they can go be a part of life someplace else...

 

[digitS']

In the backyard yesterday, I cleaned up the potatoes and carried the first 1/3rd (I'm guessing) down to the basement. Yes, it would be easier to have a shute and, right you are - it would make more sense to have semi-subterrain homes in this area. But, here I am dreaming of living high above a garage and utilities ... with an elevator!

Here’s the production of one garden plant:


This is one of those Red Norlands cleaned up and resting comfortably with the Super Chilies:


24 ounces! Good potato season for all varieties.

Potato Soup for lunch and we will try the new-to-us Zebrune shallots. They had a good year, too!

Steve
oh and, A whole bunch of stuff was buried in a backyard bed, including all amaranth and lettuce plants. will keep some bok choi for awhile and some kale through the winter

 

[flowerbug]

one thing that made me sad yesterday, when working out in the north garden i was moving some dirt and there was a toad under the dirt. i thought it was a very strange spot to hide out for the winter (a spot that sometimes floods and stays boggy). i don't know if i hit him/her with the shovel, but i was sad to have disturbed it at all as i love the toads and froggies around here and we don't have enough of them. i set him/her off to the side under the comfrey and hope it was ok. i didn't see any broken skin, but i dunno if i hurt it or not or if disturbing it was going to kill it. i sure hope not.

it is raining enough out there now that i should go see how things look in a few spots.

 

[Zeedman]

A cucumber might have helped! Fermenting, eh? So, about the same as tomato seed? Do cucumbers like to cross?

Yes, I use almost the same fermentation process for cukes as I use for tomatoes - for the same reasons. It helps to break up the gel sac which clings to the seed. A brisk beating with a wire whisk then dislodges debris from the seeds. And when fermentation is done & the 'goo' poured into a tall container of water (I use the blender container) the bad seeds float & are poured off with the debris, while the good seeds sink to the bottom. You end up with almost all good seed.

I could post this in "what are you eating". DW made some broth for noodles and put 1 Super Chili pepper in it. Problem was, she didn't take it out after cooking. Last night, she cooked noodles and my bowl had that one pepper. It was cooked down to nothing, another problem was that "nothing" was too much for digitS'!.

I wasn't expecting to eat it. Didn't really think about the noodles being spicy, they weren't. Suddenly, dinner was all over for me! Some advice: don't try lowering the effects of hot peppers with a cough drop. It doesn't work!

Been there, done that - but not at home. Some of the countries I visited cook dishes that way, with a hot pepper added to the pot that is not really intended to be eaten. The problem is, some of the hot peppers in other countries are not easily recognizable. While visiting Hong Kong, I was once served something which came with what looked like a tiny green tomato on top... which I promptly popped into my mouth. The waiter's eyes got big, and he left abruptly. I was just beginning to wonder why when the burn kicked in... and grew... and grew. I was coughing & my eyes were watering by the time the waiter returned with cold water. The meal (which I ate) was forgettable; the hot pepper burned its way into my memory. As did a similar incident in Thailand several years later (that hot pepper looked like okra).

Although I grow several hot peppers, I seldom use them for anything but salsa and chili - and then, only in moderate amounts. Some I only grow to give away to those who like intense heat (and to whom I am a pepper wimp). I do sample some of those peppers though, so I can gauge & describe their heat level. Chocolate and/or cheese helps a lot with the burn, so I make it a point to have some on hand if testing something which I expect to exceed by comfort level.

 

[flowerbug]

@digits' too hot story...

Been there, done that - but not at home. Some of the countries I visited cook dishes that way, with a hot pepper added to the pot that is not really intended to be eaten. The problem is, some of the hot peppers in other countries are not easily recognizable. While visiting Hong Kong, I was once served something which came with what looked like a tiny green tomato on top... which I promptly popped into my mouth. The waiter's eyes got big, and he left abruptly. I was just beginning to wonder why when the burn kicked in... and grew... and grew. I was coughing & my eyes were watering by the time the waiter returned with cold water. The meal (which I ate) was forgettable; the hot pepper burned its way into my memory. As did a similar incident in Thailand several years later (that hot pepper looked like okra).

this reminds me of a meal with my best friend and his wife at a Chinese place none of us had been to before. we get the plates set in front of us and my friend thinks it is cool to take the small chili pepper and toss it in his mouth (i yelled NO! but it was too late) and starts chewing and then swallows it. a few moments later he excused himself from the table and went to the bathroom. he came back about 10 minutes later. said he had to throw up and drink water and then throw up again before he could finally calm down his stomach. i like hot foods and have some tolerance but i don't even go for that kind of heat, just a bit is enough for me.

 

[Zeedman]

this reminds me of a meal with my best friend and his wife at a Chinese place none of us had been to before. we get the plates set in front of us and my friend thinks it is cool to take the small chili pepper and toss it in his mouth (i yelled NO! but it was too late) and starts chewing and then swallows it.

Yup, that sounds familiar. I think the pepper is placed on top for a purpose... either to prevent you from eating it accidentally, or as a dare.

 

[flowerbug]

Yup, that sounds familiar. I think the pepper is placed on top for a purpose... either to prevent you from eating it accidentally, or as a dare.

we can always tell when they get a new chef at the place we normally go to because of how things are cut up or different, it takes a while for the people to get the chefs to do things how they should be. one of those issues is if the hot chili peppers are beaten up or abused so much when frying that they fall apart. i can handle them somewhat so it doesn't bother me. sometimes i'll even squash them with my fork to squeeze out more juice that has been soaked up. since they are hot fried and dark it is a smoky chili flavor that i really like (i'm drooling now just thinking of it lol).

they don't put them on top, they're mixed in, you have to find them as you eat. normally there are a few but sometimes they run short and there is only one and other times there might be up to five. i don't think i've ever had more than that.

Mom is such a wimp if she gets that dish she has to order it with no spices at all.

every time they get a new cook it is an adventure to find out things that she can eat.