Moolie - Happy Thanksgiving :)

[Denim Deb]

We could actually use some rain. They called for it, but I haven't seen any.

 

[moolie]

Thunder and lightning at dinner time last evening, but only about 3 drops of rain--it missed the city and hit a small town about an hour north pretty hard--they commented on the radio this morning that it got pounded.

Sunny/hazy/cloudy today but supposed to rain later--we'll see.

Trouble is that we're still getting night time frost warnings so I'm having to cover all my plants every night. Been hardening off my tomatoes to get planted out, and I'm lowering my patio table umbrella over them at nights to keep them safe.

Actually went and bought two packages of (3) "kozy koats" wall-o-water thingys the other day so they don't die when I do get them planted out. I would do Wifezilla's redneck version, but we don't drink pop and thus have no 2L or any size plastic bottles hanging around.

Hope my seeded raised beds sprout soon! I planted carrots, radish, beets, lettuce, romaine, onions, peas, yellow and green wax (bush) beans, cukes, sage, tarragon, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and dill on Sunday.

 

[Icu4dzs]

We could actually use some rain. They called for it, but I haven't seen any.

My dear Denim Deb...you can come get ALL OF OUR RAIN since you aren't getting any. It seems that we have been getting it all for quite a while now... There are places I have to go and can't get there because the road is under water for a mile in any direction and the detour is 40 miles or more!
Let's invent a pipeline system for water...they got one for oil and that only makes a big mess when that one breaks. Water won't do all that much damage if it leaks a bit and folks need water to survive. Water is mandatory, Oil is optional.

//BT//
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[Icu4dzs]

That's too bad, I love tomato plants--the smell is just part of summer to me.

Have you given up, or can you still get a plant or two from your nursery? Our nurseries still have them, but our season starts later.

Just a thought while you guys are on the subject of tomatos. Does anyone actually realize that tomatos are really perenials? Most of the time, they just die back because they don't tolerate the winter but in truth, they are perenials. You could (should you be THAT ambitious) dig up the entire plant (the roots are NOT that deep), put it in a pot and bring the whole plant inside where the temperature is tolerable for them. I did this once and had a tomato plant live 4 years. I let it get stringy though and ended up letting it go, but I did get little tomatos from it all 4 years. you have to prune them at the top and they will grow really well indoors.

Just thought you'd find that interesting...

//BT//
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[moolie]

That's too bad, I love tomato plants--the smell is just part of summer to me.

Have you given up, or can you still get a plant or two from your nursery? Our nurseries still have them, but our season starts later.

Just a thought while you guys are on the subject of tomatos. Does anyone actually realize that tomatos are really perenials? Most of the time, they just die back because they don't tolerate the winter but in truth, they are perenials. You could (should you be THAT ambitious) dig up the entire plant (the roots are NOT that deep), put it in a pot and bring the whole plant inside where the temperature is tolerable for them. I did this once and had a tomato plant live 4 years. I let it get stringy though and ended up letting it go, but I did get little tomatos from it all 4 years. you have to prune them at the top and they will grow really well indoors.

Just thought you'd find that interesting...

//BT//
Trim sends

Four years for a tomato plant is awesome

I actually did know they were perennial, but don't really have the space for whole tomato plants indoors.

But I have been reading quite a bit about plant propagation lately and will be taking and rooting cuttings from my tomatoes this fall to keep indoors over the winter. Cuttings are smaller than the whole plant (mine grow really huge, I always grow indeterminate varieties and they just go bonkers even if I pinch out most of the suckers and root/plant those!)

I figure if I can keep at least 6 cuttings going over winter (will probably take more) then I'll have a huge head start on next spring

 

[Denim Deb]

I have thought of either digging one up, or trying to root part of it for the winter, just haven't had time in the past. Maybe this year. And, we may get some rain over the weekend. I hope they're right

 

[moolie]

Well it's raining here and has been since yesterday afternoon. And it's cold! Only about 45F this morning! That's crazy.

Supposed to warm up today though, I hope they're right that it will be sunny this afternoon and around 70F!

 

[moolie]

Well, we did end up with a sunny weekend with temps around 70, so hopefully the garden will sprout soon!

Today at church the service was run by the Youth and Sunday School kids--we honoured our High
School grads, my older daughter's Youth Band led worship, and the Kids' Choir sang. A great morning.

All the recent talk about canning baked beans had me take a look at my pantry to find that I only have
one jar left, so I set some navy beans to soak yesterday to can up today:

I heated the beans into a large pot with the sauce ingredients (water, onions, brown sugar, molasses,
salt, tomato sauce).

Then I fried up some bacon and divided it among the jars while the beans and sauce were heating:

Then I used a slotted spoon to fill the jars 2/3 full with just the beans:

And poured the sauce in, leaving 1" headspace:

I quickly put on the lids and rings and got them into the pressure canner:

And just took them out about half an hour ago, once the pressure had subsided and
the canner had cooled down:

While I was busy with the beans, hubs set to baking bread for the week. He took some photos
so his efforts could make my journal!

Dough rising:

Punching down!

Forming loaves:

Loaves ready for the oven:

Finished loaves!

 

[framing fowl]

I can smell the bread from here!

 

[moolie]

Lol! It's nummy, especially when it's still warm and slathered in butter