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Post by heavyhitterokra on Nov 28, 2017 7:58:21 GMT -6
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Dec 25, 2017 18:22:43 GMT -6
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 13, 2018 21:28:08 GMT -6
Finally, my Roselle has started blooming and putting on small, red calyces, for the Fall 2018 season. It looks like it actually started blooming about the first of the week but I guess I never noticed it with all the other things I have going on out there.
Most of my plants are about chest height so far. It won't be long before harvest begins.
This year, I plan on trying to use the entire, immature, Roselle calyces in tea, rather than using only the sepals.
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Post by macmex on Sept 14, 2018 5:51:14 GMT -6
I only got a few plants out this year, but I already have mature calyxes I could harvest. Based on this year's experience I want to give the plants a bit more space.
Here's one plant, which was given about 6' of space. Currently it's about 4 1/2' tall and 5' across.
This plant was started indoors, March 18 and transplanted into its permanent spot the end of June. It was stalled out, for week, in its flat, before I transplanted it. I direct seeded some Roselle on May 2, and it's looking like I'll get a crop.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 15, 2018 21:23:39 GMT -6
I noticed a resident spider in my Roselle patch this morning. I gave him plenty of leeway. You know Autumn is just around the corner when you start seeing these guys building webs in your garden. To me, they are always a welcome sight. Who needs a guard dog when you have a banana spider? My Roselle is just now getting as tall as I am. I've never had plants this nice before. It has been a great year for Roselle, even though most other plants struggled to survive the heat, and drought, the Roselle thrived and made plenty of headway. Roselle is one of those, "feel good" plants. When all else fails, chances are, your Roselle will still be chugging right along. These calyces will be ripe for harvest any day now. I'll have to make it a point to look up George's Roselle Jelly recipe.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 24, 2018 20:24:28 GMT -6
Today, I made three 12 ounce cups of hot tea from boiling a dozen roselle calyces whole, seeds and all. The tea turned out just right. From now on, I'll probably just boil all my calyces whole (unless I think they have mature seeds inside).
This early in the season, the seeds are all immature and white, like tender okra seeds.
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Post by macmex on Sept 25, 2018 5:51:53 GMT -6
I got my first mature seed last week, from a plant started indoors on March 18 and transplanted into the garden on July 1. I direct seeded some into the garden on on May 2. The direct seeded plants are just now about to produce some calyxes, but no seed for a while.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 25, 2018 21:38:53 GMT -6
May 2nd, was about the same time I direct seeded my Roselle too. At first, I thought they might not produce calyces before frost, but they appear to be doing quite well. Several of the plants are 6 feet tall and very wide, despite the late start. I love learning new things about this plant each season. My Roselle plants are taller than I am this morning! I would guess these plants to be about 6' foot 6" inches high right now. They are beautiful to look at this time of year. The bright colored calyces are really nice to see each morning as I visit my garden. They are quite a contrast to all the other plants that are played out from a long Summer of heavy production. Unlike many garden variety plants, Roselle loves our harsh, Northeast Oklahoma growing conditions.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 17, 2018 9:41:13 GMT -6
Roselle Harvest Time at Last!
I harvested 400 Roselle calyces day before yesterday and hand peeled every one of them to be dehydrated for making tea this Winter. (Since then, I have made myself several pod removing tools, using 1/2" inch copper tubing.) I filed the cutting edge of the tool sharp, by using a rat tail file on the inside and used a flat file on the outside. I drilled a 5/8" hole through the center of a wooden 2x2 to make the handles, then worked them to fit my hand. I can pop the seed pod out of 10 calyces in the time it took me to peel just one. The time it took to make the tools was way worth the effort. I made 6 of them, to pass around to my friends who grow Roselle.
I have a commercial oven, so I was able to spread the peeled calyces over two full-size baking sheets. The baking sheets are 18" x 26" x 1" inch deep. I placed the calyces on top of our Ashley Woodstove, above the top vent to take away the bulk of the moisture. I left them there for about an hour, hand stirring them often to even out the evaporation process. Once the bulk of the moisture was gone, I took the sheet pans full of calyces out to my Summer Kitchen and put them inside my big oven.
The oven has a standing pilot light inside that keeps the enclosure about 90 degrees all the time. It's a built-in feature for proofing bread dough. It also makes a great dehydrator for things like Roselle and mint leaves that need low-temperature drying conditions.
This morning, I went out to check on the progress of the drying calyces. They were perfect! I gathered them up and filled a half gallon glass jar, brim full to the top and secured a screw on lid for long-term storage.
The color of the dried Roselle is amazingly bright. It seems a shame to have to boil them down for tea, but I couldn't resist making a quart size batch to drink warm on this beautifully, crisp, Autumn day.
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Post by macmex on Oct 18, 2018 6:35:42 GMT -6
It will take a while, but Roselle is going to become a popular crop in our region. I'm sure of it!
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Post by glen on Oct 18, 2018 16:05:36 GMT -6
I have a few plants outside. They are making seed now and I need to go thru the calyx's and get them picked so I can have the seed for next season. Real easy to grow plant. They pretty much take care of them selves. Easier to grow than okra! I see roselle growing in folks yards here. I have seen some very large patches of it. You can grow it half-hazardly in huge clumps. It just grows on its own if you have rain.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 22, 2018 7:03:06 GMT -6
A note for posterity:
Our first light frost was on October 15th. It was bad enough to curl the leaves on my Roselle and on my okra too.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 25, 2018 21:18:23 GMT -6
I've lost count of how many pounds of Roselle calyces we've harvested this season (more than 20 pounds). Anyhow, we are now looking for something to use it for, other than tea and jelly. In the past few days, I have run across a few good ideas. Here are a couple of them.
Roselle, Rosemary, and Chicken, Recipe. 2 chicken breasts 1 tablespoon butter ¼ cup onion, finely chopped 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary ½ cup chicken stock ¼ cup Roselle (Rosa de Jamaica) Syrup Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
Season the chicken fillets with salt, pepper, and garlic. Preheat the grill. In a small pot, sauté the onion with a little butter. Add the rosemary sprigs, the chicken stock, and the Roselle syrup. Season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer for about 5 min. Grill chicken according to your own tastes or brown them in a pan with oil and butter. When they are done, transfer them to the pot with the roselle-rosemary sauce and let it simmer for about 5 min longer. Serve with rice.
How to make Roselle syrup:
Homemade Roselle/Hibiscus Syrup Yields about five, 5-ounce bottles
4 cups filtered water 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup (2.5 ounces) dried hibiscus/roselle calyces 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/4 vanilla bean or about 1 teaspoon of imitation vanilla extract
Combine the water, sugar, and hibiscus calyces in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice. Split and scrape the vanilla seeds from the vanilla bean and add the seeds to the pot. Add the bean pod also, or just add imitation vanilla extract. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat. Let the mixture rest or steep for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve; strain again through a cheesecloth or tea towel to remove fine hibiscus debris. Return pot to heat, until barely boiling, keep simmering at low heat to reduce the liquid slightly; until a drop of the syrup placed on a plate and tilted, is more viscous than water. Remove from heat once more and begin bottling process.
Pour slowly, into sterilized jars or bottles, leaving a 1/2" inch 'head space' at the top and close with tightly fitting lids. Let stand at room temperature until cool, about 1 hour. Transfer bottles to the refrigerator.
Syrup will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.
Here are a few uses for Roselle Syrup, made from the recipe above:
Pour over ice cream
Stir into iced tea
Freeze for icy granita
Brush over cake layers
Add to chocolate ganache
Freeze into ice cubes for drinks
Add to raspberry coulis and other fruit sauces
Pour over pancakes
Add to buttercream frosting
Drizzle over yogurt mixed with remaining boiled calyces. After processing the calyces into syrup, try using them in yogurt rather than discarding them.
Pour into carbonated water to make 'Italian soda'
Give bottled Roselle syrup as classy, homemade, Christmas gifts!
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Post by macmex on Feb 19, 2019 16:11:06 GMT -6
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Post by philagardener on Feb 22, 2019 5:28:56 GMT -6
Sounds like a great addition to the garden! Thanks for sharing your post!
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