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Post by Tucson Grower on Sept 18, 2023 20:43:51 GMT -6
Presently, at last, nearly all of my plants are beginning to load up with flower buds. I expected it would happen, sooner or later. I'm very glad it's not too much later than now.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 27, 2023 11:10:05 GMT -6
I've harvested a little over a thousand Roselle calyces this season as they were coming on gradually, but right now, they are at their loaded peak. I've harvested 1,500 more roselle calyces just this morning and have hardly made a dent in what there is out there to be picked. That was probably 3/4 of one side of the row.
Roselle is an amazingly giving and highly productive plant. They never cease to amaze me.
Thanks, George, for getting us started on growing those.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Sept 27, 2023 11:22:53 GMT -6
It took mine a good while to get busy producing, and I'm sure some will be ready to harvest, soon. It is, however, very tolerant of our heat, and has rarely even wilted between waterings. I'm considering, even planting more of them directly in the ground, perhaps they might persist through our winters -- though uncommon, we have had winters that were frost-free, or nearly so.
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Post by hmoosek on Sept 27, 2023 20:25:03 GMT -6
When is the best time to pick the calyces? I have 1 plant that has over a dozen so far. It’s the only plant that survived.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 28, 2023 6:58:48 GMT -6
Hmoosek,
The calyces of Roselle have a long lifespan. Roselle is a very forgiving plant in that regard. You can harvest the calyces anytime, once they've reached full size and have taken on their burgundy color. If the seed pod inside the calyx is still green in color it is perfectly edible and doesn't need to be removed before boiling to make tea or jelly, but once the seed pod has begun to turn gray or brown, the seeds inside become dark and bitter-tasting and need to be removed.
I use a piece of 13mm or 1/2" inch thin-wall tubing, sharpened on the inside by a rat tail file to remove the seed pods. I Just stab the tubing in the back side of the calyx, give it a twist, and pop the seed pod out the front of the calyx. Then I remove the tubing. The seed pod will fit neatly on the end of the tubing once it is removed. Discard the seed pod and keep the red calyx.
Hank and I processed a little over 1,500 calyces yesterday in about 4 hours. Once the seed pod is removed you can dry the calyces in a dehydrator or freeze them for winter use. I think Hank was going to make jelly out of his. I dehydrate mine and store them in empty gallon jars. I use 3 to 5 fresh or dried calyces per cup of water when making my tea. I add about half a cup of sugar per quart of the tea, just like you would do if making Kool-Aid.
Below is a decent video showing different ways to process Roselle. The tubing method works best, but not if you forget to sharpen the tube on the inside by using a rat tail file. The tubing she used in the video was not sharpened at all. (I think her tubing may have been a stainless steel drinking straw?) It about made me nuts watching her work so hard to core her calyces. A sharp tube will pop the seed pod right out, just as fast as you can stack a new calyx onto the end of it.
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Post by amyinowasso on Sept 28, 2023 10:33:59 GMT -6
It's been a while, but I don't remember using anything to process roselle. Seems like I peeled the calyx back from the top and pulled it off. Might Jane used a knife, but the memory is gone. I know my hands were stained. Of course I never did 1500.
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Post by macmex on Sept 28, 2023 12:19:09 GMT -6
Ron, you've taken the process farther than, I bet most anyone else. I can tell you one thing not to do with Roselle. Don't pull the plants and stack them in a shed, telling yourself you'll process the calyxes later. They dehydrate and become unworkable. Don't ask me how I know this!
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Post by macmex on Oct 16, 2023 11:22:58 GMT -6
I put out some Roselle transplants this spring and then, was unable to do a thing to them, not even weed. Still, they produced something. This is a tribute to this crop's resilience.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 17, 2023 21:57:12 GMT -6
Roselle plants amaze me. Grasshoppers hardly touch them, and drought has little effect on them. My Roselle plants were one of the very few things that survived in my garden this year.
I've had them grow in my blueberry patch from the compost I threw in there the year before. I've never weeded or mowed the blueberry patch before and the Roselle just made its own way. They fight right through the weeds and overcome them, even with the blueberry plants shading them out.
I don't know of any other useful plant which has that ability.
Thank you, George, for introducing us to that plant. It has truly been a blessing to many of us around here. I've probably given away twenty gallons of calyces this year. They just keep on coming!
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Post by hmoosek on Oct 20, 2023 9:52:59 GMT -6
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 22, 2023 19:38:56 GMT -6
Hmoosek,
I use 3 to 5 Roselle calyces per cup of boiling water to make my tea.
It has been my experience that if the tea is too strong, you can always add water, but if it's too weak, you just gotta live with it, so I choose to err on the side of strength.
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Post by FrostyTurnip on Oct 30, 2023 18:17:55 GMT -6
Yaass!! Little Miss and I just enjoyed our first cuppa Rosselle tea. Fantastic!
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Post by chrysanthemum on Nov 1, 2023 6:36:08 GMT -6
Congratulations, Frosty. I know you’ve been working for a while on that.
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