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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 4, 2017 14:18:14 GMT -6
The blossoms start out as little green buds, smaller than English peas, with tiny sepals that resemble eyelashes.
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Post by macmex on Sept 5, 2017 5:56:42 GMT -6
Here's a picture of the buds. They develop rapidly.
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Post by macmex on Sept 7, 2017 5:41:47 GMT -6
Bon, I took a close look at our roselle planting which is on the North side of our house. Noticed that the plants closest to the house, i.e. the ones receiving more shade, still either have no buds or else only very tiny developing ones. Could that be what's going on with yours? I will send you a link for a 117 megabyte video I did yesterday, showing this. It's a service called Firefox Send. I can upload a large file and send a one time link. Once it's been downloaded the file is erased from Firefox.
George
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 10, 2017 22:37:16 GMT -6
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 11, 2017 13:03:29 GMT -6
I finally have a Roselle plant that is waist high!
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Post by macmex on Sept 12, 2017 5:20:50 GMT -6
Ron, that caterpillar is a Packsaddle. They STING! They sting really bad! I bet it got its name because one got under the saddle of a pack mule, one time. I'll post an enlargement of one of your pictures.
We have these on our Green Ash trees.
One time, when we lived in Mexico, we had one fall into our washing machine and get broken up among our clothes. The next morning was Sunday, and we all got dressed with those clothes. We barely got to church and had to turn around and go home. We were all itching and burning from the tiny hairs!
Here's a link to a blog which talks about these. On Brangus Lane/ Packsaddle worm
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 12, 2017 19:07:34 GMT -6
I'm glad I didn't try to pick him up!
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Post by macmex on Sept 22, 2017 8:38:18 GMT -6
We are rejoicing in this plant's hardiness and productivity! I wish our okra branched like this! Here's a picture of how the plants in full sun are branching. I've noticed that at the base of each new calyx, we not only have buds for more calyxes, but also the start of more branches!
The plants in my main garden are now taller than my shoulder and crowding my okra. Though, the okra doesn't appear to be in danger. I simply have to push through the branches to harvest.
We're making quarts of Roselle tea, almost every day, and then culturing it with water kefir. The finished product is a red, fruiting, sparkling, bubbly drink. I do need to be dehydrating foorgr winter and making jelly!
George
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Post by john on Sept 22, 2017 14:34:22 GMT -6
My roselle is doing very well and I have lots of flowers and calyxes. I like to chew on them when I am in the garden. I have not made any drink, from it yet. I do like the taste of it. Nice and sour. It kind of reminds me of Staghorn sumac berry. Have any of you ever tried them? George how much roselle are you using to brew your juice? I would like to brew some. I am very surprised how well it has done for me. My okra has produced very little this year, but the roselle is much more prolific. I think it can be grown here. We have not had a very warm summer at all, and I still have roselle bushes that are covered with flowers. I am very, very surprised. Thank you again for the seed.
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Post by macmex on Sept 23, 2017 7:26:19 GMT -6
I use 12 calyxes to 2 quarts when I'm making tea to ferment with water kefir. Without the kefir, I'd probably be inclined to make it twice as strong. Ron uses 3 calyxes for a cup of tea. Just be sure to steep it for a good while. Not much comes off the calyxes by the time I turn off the heat. But a lot more comes off while it steeps.
Here's a recipe for jelly. We made it. In fact, as I write, I'm eating a fresh homemade sourdough English muffin with butter and Roselle jelly on it.
Roselle Jelly
1/8 cup lemon juice 5 cups calyxes 3 ½ cups water 1 ½ cup sugar 2 tablespoons sure jell pectin
For my jelly recipe I then add 5 cups of water to 10 cups of the calyxes in the pot.
Boil them for 15 minutes or until they are soft.
At that point I pour the liquid into a sieve to remove the calyxes.
Return the liquid to the stove and cook until the boiling point.
Add sugar and lemon juice.
After it comes to a full boil I then add the no sugar needed pectin and boil for 1 minute and 30 seconds.
Ladle jelly into jars to 1/4” of the top. Wipe the rims and threads of the jars and tightly seal jars.
Set in canner, on rack, 1 to 2 inches below boiling water.
Boil ten minutes
Remove and let cool
LADLE immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lid with finger. (If lid springs back, lid is not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)
Adapted from: texasjellymaking.wordpress.com/2012/12/12/roselle-jelly/
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 25, 2017 13:33:39 GMT -6
I harvested 45 calyces from one plant on Sunday morning before Church. The plant had so much weight on it from all the calyces that the branches were laying on the ground. You could hardly tell that I thinned them out when I was done. Like George said, there are not only more calyces coming on below the ripened ones, but new branches forming also. George, Thank you much, for the Roselle seeds!
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 6, 2017 10:32:23 GMT -6
I use 5 Roselle calyces per cup of boiling water to make my tea. Sometimes, I use 10 calyces with three cups of water and boil it a little longer than usual. The longer it steeps, the better it tastes. Then, you can eat the boiled calyces rather than throw them out. They lend themselves well to Greek yogurt with a little sugar and a few slivers of almond.
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Post by john on Oct 10, 2017 10:39:02 GMT -6
Quick question. Can you leave the seeds in the pod and boil the whole thing to make tea? I am just wondering if I can skip the labor intensive part of taking out all the seeds.
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Post by macmex on Oct 11, 2017 5:16:06 GMT -6
John, I have never tried that. I have read that the seed pods contain pectin, which is not found in the calyx. I read that one can boil them all together when making jelly, and not need to add pectin. If you try it, let us know.
George
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Post by john on Oct 16, 2017 16:58:07 GMT -6
I couldn't find any info on leaving the seed. I didn't want to poison myself or anyone else so I peeled the whole crop. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and do the work! LOL The roselle is currently drying in the dehydrator. I have made a couple of fresh batches to drink and I will put the dried stuff away for the winter. Overall I am very pleased with the plant. I am thinking it will grow anywhere you can grow okra. In fact it did better than my okra. However I started my 7 roselle plants indoors in March. The Okra was direct seeded in the beginning of June. So I am not sure my results mean anything. The plant would look very nice in the back of a flower bed or in landscape plantings. It would add color, height and texture to any bed. The juice is a little bit like unsweetened concord grape juice (the type of home made sour juice you make yourself when making jelly) I can also see why people might compare it to cranberry juice. It even reminds me of the pomegranate juice you can get in the store. I think the pomegranate juice is called Pom Wonderful. Pom Wonderful is very expensive but tastes great and is loaded with antioxidants. I am sure the roselle is too. The only down side to the plant is that it is a lot of work to harvest and de-seed. So in order for someone to grow a lot of it they will have to love it. It would be fun to plant a fifty foot row but I think I would not be able to get to all of it. Our season is winding down here and I don't expect the season to last much longer before a frost. So I cut my plants down and I stood up and cut off the calyxes standing up. (I do my beans the same way) I have to save my back. They pods can be ripped off too, but you will take a sliver of branch. Which is fine. Because you still have to "shell" them all. A good job to do sitting on the couch, watching the TV.
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