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Post by woodeye on Jul 7, 2022 21:43:54 GMT -6
My projections have caused dejections unfortunately, but it ain't over 'til the last squash plant or turnip falls over.
Won't plant turnips until next month, so I might get to use some red ink in their column. Squash haven't really started good yet, so if I can nurse them through this heatwave, their column may change, and tomatoes are about 75% done. But the okra and peas are history this year, so those 2 columns won't get updated...
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Post by woodeye on Jul 8, 2022 6:18:52 GMT -6
Agreed. I have a brother that lives in Nampa, Idaho. Spring of the year is always cold and damp there, he can't even set out a tomato plant until the middle of May. He didn't even plant okra this year because of the weather.
I think it was last summer that the heatwaves hit him hard, similar to what we are experiencing right now. But it could be worse, he moved from a suburb of Seattle a few years ago, it was even tougher to garden there.
I'm not saying I'd trade places with him, I like our longer growing season, but c'mon man, we surely deserve a break once in awhile...
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Post by woodeye on Jul 8, 2022 9:59:18 GMT -6
Idaho is a great place to live from what I hear. My brother sends me pictures about every winter, he does get a lot of snow. Oh, there's lots of Bing cherries in Idaho, I've picked those before, they were growing wild like blackberries do here.
Back in the 40's, 3 of my dad's sisters, (my aunts), all moved to Idaho and married men getting out of the service. They lived the rest of their lives up there and when I was a kid, the folks would go on vacations for a couple or 3 weeks and we always stayed with them while we were in Idaho. It was some great times, almost all the long trips I've made in my life were by the time I was a teenager.
One of my uncles in Idaho was a farmer and he grew sugar beets for years. I'm talking acres & acres of sugar beets. He changed crops, started growing mint instead of sugar beets back in the 70's. He was the first man in Idaho, (according to my sources), to build a still that made mint oil. Expensive stuff if you want to buy some now...
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Post by woodeye on Jul 8, 2022 14:18:53 GMT -6
Yes, he did well. He was a very likeable guy. My aunt passed away about 20 years before he did, but as far as I know he never remarried.
He continued to farm as long as his health held out. His daughter, my cousin, came to Oklahoma 8 years ago to visit. First time she had been to OK. I hadn't seen her for over 50 years, she was a little kid last time I saw her...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 9, 2022 7:18:48 GMT -6
I’ve had zero pounds of squash so far this year and probably fewer than five pounds of tomatoes. It has not been a good garden year so far because of the heat and drought that have been ongoing for months. I do have okra and sweet potatoes growing, so I’m hopeful I’ll have something later in the summer. I’ve never grown turnips. I’m hoping to plant a good crop of beets later in the season.
I’m sorry that you had such deer trouble. We have some pretty voracious deer, but they don’t mostly get into our main garden areas because they have high strong fences and are pretty crowded. They did over the winter, though, tear through an enclosure around one of my young olive trees and strip it bare. I was so upset as it was a tree that we planted for my youngest for his third birthday. It had already died to the ground from the big freeze in 2021 and had grown back from the roots, so to have it eaten down again in 2022 was really sad. Thankfully we’ve fenced it again (with fencing with smaller holes), and it is growing back.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 9, 2022 8:28:58 GMT -6
The story about your olive tree is indeed sad. I'm sure glad you have it on the mend, and best of luck in its recovery.
The bigger squash plants that I had trouble with a week or so ago on account of over-watering are making a reasonably good recovery. I just hope the bugs and so forth stay away, and if so I should be having several lbs. to pick in a few days. (fingers crossed)... Oh, I saw a bumblebee working the squash blooms this morning. First bee I have seen this year...
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Post by macmex on Jul 9, 2022 10:56:56 GMT -6
My wife and daughters adore pickled beets. This year it looks like we've got a decent crop too. We planted beets and Swiss chard in straw bales, conditioned for growing. The moisture retention of the straw bales seems to do the trick for us, under our difficult conditions.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 9, 2022 15:40:17 GMT -6
Woodeye, Those were some beautiful photos! Those are the kinds of things that are much appreciated on this website come the long, hard, winter.
George, have you ever eaten any of the pickled eggs from Atwoods that are done up in beet brine? Those things are awesome! My Father-in-Law buys me a jar of them every year for Christmas. I love those things. If a person had bantam hens for pickling eggs, that would be the ticket!
In regard to the straw planting, be care how you do that if using lots of straw. I planted some okra in a big straw pile that was cleaned out of the rabbit's cages. Then, when this hot, dry, spell hit, the okra died from lack of water, due to the straw pile drying out. Next time, I'll make sure to dig a hole all the way to the soil line before trusting the straw to retain moisture in of itself. It was soaking wet the day I planted the seed in there, but that was back in May, when we were getting too much rain. (Live and learn, I guess). I probably already knew that wouldn't work. Sometimes, the trouble with my learning something is actually remembering it later. I think I've forgotten half of everything I've ever 'known'.
Reminds me of one of my old Journeymen back when I was just a cub. He'd take a long hard look at something that we were supposed to be putting together and say, "I been reading up, and to tell you the truth, I don't understand half of what I know about this thing." I miss that old guy.
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Post by woodeye on Jul 9, 2022 17:28:47 GMT -6
Thanks, HeavyHitter. You are right there, it's a fond pastime of mine to look back at the garden pictures, and dream of the coming gardens of another year.
Growing up, my dad would plant beets every year. Of course dummy me didn't pay any attention to how he did it. He always had a good crop and my mom would can pickle beet in quart jars. Some fine eating!
I've planted beets a couple of times, unsuccessful both times. I had best research extensively before I plant them again. If I was to somehow have a crop, further research would be needed to pickle them.
Ooooh, pickled eggs in beet juice sounds terrific. I've made pickled eggs from bantam eggs before, but I used regular ingredients. Beet Juice would be the ticket...
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Post by chrysanthemum on Jul 10, 2022 6:11:55 GMT -6
I’ve never grown enough beets to pickle my own crop. We eat the beets and the greens boiled and topped with vinegar. Pepper vinegar is especially good in my opinion.
I have made both pickled beets and pickled eggs from store-bought beets, using the natural fermentation method for making beet kvass. The taste is different from how my mom makes pickled beets with vinegar and sugar. I’ve never done it her way, but I love her beets. She always grew large crops and put away both beets and greens for the winter.
Some people seem more sensitive to the earthy flavor of beets than others. Most of my kids really like beets, but the youngest isn’t so enthusiastic. He’s coming round slowly, I think. Having him help grow and harvest them earlier this spring helped.
All this talk of beets is making me eager to plant more. I need to wait till we’re closer to cool weather, though. It’s still a long way off.
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Post by hmoosek on Jul 10, 2022 9:38:31 GMT -6
I’ve used beets, but only for juicing. I don’t like anything pickled, because the smell and taste of vinegar makes me nauseous. The one exception is if the pickle juice has a high concentration of alum. I eat a handful of hamburger pickle slices a year, mostly with bbq.
I do like to take a beet and quarter it, juice it with apples and carrots. Now that there is a good drink!
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spike
New Member
Posts: 39
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Post by spike on Jul 18, 2022 18:29:11 GMT -6
I love beets! Pickled, spiced, boiled yum! I also love turnips. Hubs is not a fan and won't go near them.
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Post by hmoosek on Jul 18, 2022 18:36:04 GMT -6
I love beets! Pickled, spiced, boiled yum! I also love turnips. Hubs is not a fan and won't go near them. Smart man.
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spike
New Member
Posts: 39
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Post by spike on Jul 18, 2022 18:44:26 GMT -6
I love beets! Pickled, spiced, boiled yum! I also love turnips. Hubs is not a fan and won't go near them. Smart man. PFFT! One of my Old Uncles used to do all sorts of things with turnips. He cooked them like french fries once and OMG YUM! So do you not like turnips Sir Moose or is it just beets that creep you out?
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Post by hmoosek on Jul 18, 2022 18:52:17 GMT -6
PFFT! One of my Old Uncles used to do all sorts of things with turnips. He cooked them like french fries once and OMG YUM! So do you not like turnips Sir Moose or is it just beets that creep you out? I’ll tell you a little story bout me and turnips. As a teenager, you know you’re always hungry. Late one night I raided the fridge. I found some funny looking potatoes in the fridge. Ummmm. Grabbed the bowl and started eating. Spit them clean across the kitchen thinking I had just poisoned myself. I found out later they were turnips. No Ma’am, I do not like turnips. I don’t want to eat them in the rain, I don’t want to eat them south of Spain. I do not like them!
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