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Post by heavyhitterokra on Mar 13, 2019 11:25:08 GMT -6
It's already time to plant Roselle seeds indoors again!
Last year, I just sowed my Roselle seeds directly into the garden in late-April or early-May. They grew out and produced plump, red calyces but were not old enough to produce any mature seed before frost, so for 2019, I had to rely on George and Hank to supply more seeds through our seed savers' exchanges during the Winter months.
This year, I'm hoping to plant early enough to get seeds from my own plants, so I looked through some of George's old posts to see when he planted his seeds last year. That information wasn't recorded, so I had to go all the way back to page 2, in order to find out when he planted, back in 2017. According to those records, it was March 17th, 2017 when George planted seeds in a dishpan. There was a note from my posts, that I had planted Roselle in seed trays in February 2017, but decided that was too early in the season because it was nearly May before our last frost date.
Last night, (March 12th, 2019) I planted 72 Roselle seeds that I got from George, and Hank, into seed starter trays and placed them on a heating pad.
~I can hardly wait to see the results~
...Thanks, for the seeds, guys...
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Mar 20, 2019 11:34:25 GMT -6
Today is March 20th, the very last day of Winter! YEAH!!! Twenty-five of my Roselle seeds have sprouted so far. Some of them are large enough to need potting up soon.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 16, 2019 23:48:39 GMT -6
Extra Special Roselle Report!!!
I am very happy this morning to say the least.
The Roselle plants that Hank shared with us, this year, are already blossoming heavily and producing quite beautiful, deep, burgundy Roselle calyces!
I don't remember having Roselle plants blossom this early before, though I may be mistaken. I've already harvested enough calyces to boil several cups of Jamaica tea.
I stopped and took a few photos this morning, while harvesting my okra and tomatoes.
By the way, whoever shared those wonderful, black cherry tomato transplants with me, at one of our seed swaps this Spring, really deserves my deepest gratitude. Those are very prolific and richly flavored cherry tomatoes! They will be a much welcomed color combination to go with my Yellow Pear Tomatoes, my coyotes, and my one inch red cherry tomatoes. They will look good along side my Juliet and my Heidi tomatoes as well! No to mention they have become my favorite morning snack while pulling weeds or picking okra each day.
The Black cherry tomato plants are exhibiting absolutely amazing vigor and are already well over 7' feet tall. I have begun to braid the vines above the top of my 5' foot tomato cages, along the support cable. They are so heavily loaded with fruit that they resemble clusters of grapes hanging from the arches that form between cages at eye level.
Hardy and healthy Roselle plants ... See that little, pink, spent blossom laying on top of the leaf there on the left? My geese absolutely love those things! It's comical watching them as they search all over under these bushes trying to find more. These photos were taken at 6:00 am this morning, before the sun came up to open the blossoms fully. Beautiful, early morning calyxes. Thank you, Hank! Thank you, George! These things are so prolific; they are definitely my-go-to-plant when I want to feel good about gardening again ... They're a good 'pick-me-up' when the other plants start looking like the last roses of summer. Not to mention they are almost a pretty as a rose when they all turn red at once. They've been a much appreciated gift.
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Post by macmex on Jul 17, 2019 4:04:35 GMT -6
Hank has blessed a number of us with lots of transplants this year!
I shared the black cherry plants. Well, Hank might have too, but I know I had Jerreth give you a flat of black cherry when I was away, visiting in NJ.
Black Cherry is our favorite cherry tomato.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 17, 2019 8:14:48 GMT -6
Thanks, George.
Those are beautiful tomato plants. I've had vigorous cherry tomatoes before, but nothing that matches the vigor of the black cherry tomato plants that you sent me. The Heidi tomato plants are doing great as well and are loaded with good size, green tomatoes. I've got some great looking Sioux, and Baker's Family Heirlooms, that you offered at the swaps too.
I haven't had a tomato year as good as this one in recent memory. Even, the little Coyote tomatoes are already maturing. I harvested some of those yesterday evening.
I really appreciate the effort that you, Jerreth, and Emily, put into gardening and homesteading. If all our neighbors were like you guys, our world would certainly be a much better place to live! Your whole family is so busy all the time, just making the world a better place, for everyone around you.
The Roselle plants this year, are excelling beyond compare. I don't remember harvesting calyces in July ever before. When I saw their little, 'Betty Boop' eyelashes forming in late June, I thought to myself, "I don't remember seeing these form so early in the year, maybe, I've forgotten their bloom cycle?
From looking at archived posts from years back, I see they never have blossomed before September for me, previous to this season. Maybe, it was all the cloudy weather?
Who knows?
Unless, maybe, Hank sowed his seed over Christmas break or something? Those were impressive potted plants that he shared with us; he must have a super green thumb!
A person who could grow transplants as healthy and as vigorous as those were, certainly has my seal of Approval! I could never pull off anything as nice as those were.
I'd like to see his set up some time. I would enjoy sharing some of the enthusiasm for what he does. (Sometimes, I get kind of burnt out after so many years of Market gardening).
After this season, I might actually get my tractor paid off though ... That would be a heavy burden lifted off the farm!
Growing enough produce to meet those steady, equipment bills, 12 months of the year has been quite a challenge. I'll admit though, I do function better with a good challenge, but this one has had no let up in sight for three solid years.
Which reminds me, "I'd better get back to my picking. This very hot afternoon, starting at 4:00 pm, will be the start of another Market day, and my things are not ready to go on the truck yet."
Talk at you later ... Post Script was added here later, on February 6, 2020. I did get my tractor paid off at the end of the 2019 gardening season, much in part to the sale of Roselle calyces at the Tahlequah Farmers' Market. Many thanks, to all those folks out there who made that possible.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 22, 2019 7:38:29 GMT -6
I looked back through the archives this morning to try to document the first bloom on our Roselle plants in years past. Back in 2017, George noticed first bloom on August 2nd. We spotted our first calyces on August 9th, that year.
There was a huge skip in the reporting of any Roselle activity, for nearly 9 months, between the dates of December 25th, 2017 and September 13th, 2018.
Apparently, September 13, 2018, was the first reported Roselle calyx that year, though George reported harvesting mature seeds by September 25th, so there must have been calyces earlier than September 13th, that went unreported.
This year, I started harvesting my first calyces by July 17th. I wonder what was done differently this year, that they were so early?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 3, 2019 17:28:09 GMT -6
My Roselle plants are in full tilt production mode right now! I harvested a straw hat full of calyces just from the first two or three plants, to bring to my step-mom's house for her and her grand-kids to try. They were excited about getting to try it for the first time. I wish I had picked some for me too because now, it's pouring down rain outside and I can't get into my garden for the mud.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Aug 7, 2019 8:05:47 GMT -6
This morning, out of curiosity, I counted to see how many Roselle calyces I could fit inside my plant watering tub. (I think it holds 4 gallons of water?) I'll have to measure it later.
It held 427 calyces to bring it brim full, to the point that I had to carefully carry it by the bottom, to keep any of the Roselle calyces from tumbling out.
427 Roselle Calyces weighed 8 pounds.
These were all questions I had in my head, concerning the volume of the Roselle product as I am picking in the future. The smart thing to do would have been to mark the tub at every increment of 100 calyces, as I went along, so I would know that for next time, but no one has ever accused me of being very smart. (If they did, I'm fairly confident I would be found innocent of that charge). These are the best and largest calyces I've ever grown. There is something to be said for our recent 'June in the month of August' Weather ... Actually, today, it's more like 'April in the month of August' it's been raining most of the day. This water tub holds 4 gallons. There are 8 pounds of Roselle caylces piled in there. That means each gallon weighs two pounds. (What a Happy Making Plant Roselle is)! Thank you, George, for introducing us to this plant. Thank you, Hank, for your hard work in growing the transplants that you gave us this Spring. (The thorn-less blackberries you gave us made fruit this year too). Thank you, God, for taking such good care of us. We have so much to harvest here, that we cannot keep up. I still have wild plums that are just falling on the ground because I have so many other things to harvest all at once, (including honey). We truly live in a land, flowing with milk and honey. George and I know that to be especially true! We often have more of both of those two things than we know how to use to their fullest extent. Once, Again, "Thank you, God!" We appreciate those things that you provide to us.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 7, 2019 16:57:54 GMT -6
I made 3 gallons of Roselle Tea, last night, to take with me to the Tahlequah Farmer's Market this morning. I chilled it in the refrigerator all night long, then poured it over ice, at the hospitality table, to serve to our guests as they came in out of the hot sun.
Man! Did they ever love that stuff! I sold out of Roselle calyces before 10:00 am. I had only taken enough Roselle to fill a 5-gallon bucket. I should have taken twice that amount!
I only saw two people there who actually knew what it was that they were drinking; they were both women. One woman recognized it as the Red Zinger Tea she always buys in the Grocery Store; the other woman was from Mexico and recognized it as Jamaica Tea, just like they used to make back home! She was so happy to see it again!
Today was her Mother's Birthday, so she bought enough Roselle calyces to make a gallon of Jamaica Tea, to take to her Mother as a Birthday surprise. I sent her several whole, mature seed pods, as a Bonus Birthday gift, so they could plant Jamaica in her mom's yard garden next Spring. That was a very happy-making thing. I really enjoyed seeing her expression of glee, to have found such a special gift for her Mom.
Thanks, George, for the use of your plastic jugs to transport the Roselle Tea to Tahlequah. It was a huge success!
Tuesday, September 10th, I'll be doing it again, over at Cherokee Elementary, for Farm to School Day. We will be serving Roselle Tea there, from 1:00 pm until 3:00 pm, or until we run out of it, which ever comes first.
I'll be writing a 5th Grade, Science Lesson Plan, using Oklahoma PASS Objectives, for a summer long, home gardening experiment and handing out free Roselle seeds to the children to plant in their home gardens next Spring. Hopefully, some of them will actually remember to do it.
I'll make up a special packet for their Teachers to use as a Classroom Project starting on Saint Patrick's Day of 2020, so they can grow starter pots of Roselle at School to send home in April to transplant out into the children's flower beds and gardens at home. Their objective will be to identify all parts of the flower, calyx, and seed in an illustration that I will provide. There will be extra points awarded, for anyone returning next August or September with a finished Roselle Calyx. (Hopefully, I'll remember to do an update at that time).
Maybe, someday, most everyone in Tahlequah will know what a wonderful plant Roselle, is and what it's capable of being used for. (Hope, hope)... George, Hank, and I, sure have been working on getting it out there to folks.
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Post by macmex on Sept 8, 2019 4:26:40 GMT -6
That's fantastic news, Ron! I'm especially excited about the teaching opportunity. If we can get some people started on actually growing it, it may well take off.
I gave some seed to some Mexican friends of a friend, a couple years ago. Haven't been back to check, but I am pretty sure they were going to grow it. The lady of the house was quite a good gardener as evidenced by all the beautiful plants she had, tucked away, in every nook and cranny of her yard.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 8, 2019 20:31:06 GMT -6
George,
Your post about the Lady gardener friend reminds me ... Do you think the workers over at Sunshine Nursery would enjoy some Roselle seeds to take home this Autumn? They're all pretty good home gardeners too. I enjoy trading with them but I haven't been there since last Spring. That might be a good excuse to stop by and visit them sometime.
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Post by macmex on Sept 10, 2019 5:37:57 GMT -6
I bet they would. I wonder if we might not convince the folks at Sunshine Nursery to grow some for sale in the spring?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 13, 2019 21:00:52 GMT -6
George, sounds to me, like we need to plan a road trip to Sunshine Nursery this Autumn. I've got lots and lots of seeds from all the calyces I've been harvesting. I've harvested about 1,200 of them, just today. Even that didn't hurt their numbers too badly. There are plenty more out there, where those came from, just waiting for someone with enough gumption to finish what I got started.
(I only harvested one side of the row), from end to end, then played out from sore knees, a hurting back, and the poor circulation that comes from squatting for too many hours.
I'd be more than happy to donate those seeds to a worthy cause ... say, like getting Roselle established at the nursery or at the homes of some of their workers.
All we need to do now, is set a date and go do it.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 22, 2019 19:04:57 GMT -6
This season, I've dehydrated enough Roselle (so far) to make 14.3 gallons of Roselle Tea. That's only enough for one cup per day, for seven and a half months.
I guess that means I need to harvest some more Roselle, to make that an even 15 gallons, just in case it's an extra-long winter.
On a side note; I've had more than one customer at the Farmers' Market ask me if I'll be selling Roselle transplants next Spring ... That's a good question.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 14, 2019 11:46:35 GMT -6
Bon,
You can also eat the leaves of the Roselle plant. They lend a good lemony flavor to stir fry, to baked fish, or to chicken dishes.
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