THE OFFICIAL GARDENING AND PRESERVING CHALLENGE

[FarmerJamie]

We've had good luck with the Amish paste in the past. I think the polish are my favorite though.


Would you like some chocolate mint, FJ?

more details, please....I am the only one in the house that likes that combination.

I have a chocolate mint plant. It smells divine and is wonderful with fruit desserts. Like all mints, it grows like a weed.

That sounds great! You can toss a bunch out the window as you pass by on your next trip to QA's!!!

Wait, I'm picking strawberries tomorrow, need to rethink the timing.

 

[Farmfresh]

I second the vote for crows. :/

They say they will wait just long enough for the tops to be up and tender and yet the corn husk is still under the ground attached to the stems. They will pull up the corn seed husk and then eat the tops for dessert.

I read a study one time and the BEST crow deterrent was 3-4 foot sections of old garden hose placed around in the garden and moved a couple of times a day till the "danger time" is past. It resembles snakes to the crows.

 

[moolie]

That's a beautiful sight Dace--my tomatoes are still a long way off but I'm looking forward to seeing them look like that in a month or two

Sorry to hear about your corn FJ

Crows are smart and very sneaky, they case the joint and watch for patterns before they make their move. There was a cool episode of Nature on PBS back in the fall all about crows that was very enlightening about their behaviour.

In our neighborhood they know when garbage day is, and what time the truck hits the various streets--we get crazy amounts of crows picking at bags (why can't people put things into a bin rather than leave bags all over the street?) and making a huge mess every week. Fortunately we're getting new bins from the city by the end of the month so that will hopefully mean less mess every week.

 

[Dace]

what a beauty!

Yeah Dace, cool!

WBF, that is what a picture of a tomato looks like.

Yeah jamie..mine is in the dehydrator :/ TOTALLY forgot the dang pic. It was small so I just decided to dehydrate the silly thing this morning with some other things that I needed to dry, like some of my thyme and oregano and a few apples that were on the verge of going bad. So..sue me I guess

Wait....your first slicer and you DEHYDRATED it?

 

[FarmerJamie]

Yeah Dace, cool!

WBF, that is what a picture of a tomato looks like.

Yeah jamie..mine is in the dehydrator :/ TOTALLY forgot the dang pic. It was small so I just decided to dehydrate the silly thing this morning with some other things that I needed to dry, like some of my thyme and oregano and a few apples that were on the verge of going bad. So..sue me I guess

Wait....your first slicer and you DEHYDRATED it?

Thank you, Dace!!! I didn't have the guts to ask her that

 

[Dace]

That's a beautiful sight Dace--my tomatoes are still a long way off but I'm looking forward to seeing them look like that in a month or two

Sorry to hear about your corn FJ

Crows are smart and very sneaky, they case the joint and watch for patterns before they make their move. There was a cool episode of Nature on PBS back in the fall all about crows that was very enlightening about their behaviour.

In our neighborhood they know when garbage day is, and what time the truck hits the various streets--we get crazy amounts of crows picking at bags (why can't people put things into a bin rather than leave bags all over the street?) and making a huge mess every week. Fortunately we're getting new bins from the city by the end of the month so that will hopefully mean less mess every week.

The crows converge on our neighborhood on trash day as well....actually the afternoon before as people start rolling out their trash cans. They have a big ol crow party and leave behind a big ol mess!

 

[Dace]

Yeah jamie..mine is in the dehydrator :/ TOTALLY forgot the dang pic. It was small so I just decided to dehydrate the silly thing this morning with some other things that I needed to dry, like some of my thyme and oregano and a few apples that were on the verge of going bad. So..sue me I guess

Wait....your first slicer and you DEHYDRATED it?

Thank you, Dace!!! I didn't have the guts to ask her that

After waiting this long to pluck a red beauty off a plant you can bet I am going to savor each and every bite.

Dehydrated. ......Sheesh!

 

[FarmerJamie]

Okay, found another packet of early sweet corn - 64 days, so we'll try again.

Bought my VERY LAST pepper plants for this year - two Thai Chili peppers. Love them in salsa.

Off to replant the corn...

 

[tamlynn]

Yay for the first tomatoes! I have one that is orangey, but the rest are still bright green. Huge, but bright green.

waiting.......

 

[Wannabefree]

Wait....your first slicer and you DEHYDRATED it?

Thank you, Dace!!! I didn't have the guts to ask her that

After waiting this long to pluck a red beauty off a plant you can bet I am going to savor each and every bite.

Dehydrated. ......Sheesh!

It was a small one, and I have to refain from tomato sandwiches because I'm not supposed to be eating mayo It STINKS!! But, I did have a little slice of it, and it was delicious! I know there will be bigger ones coming, and I have to make me some more mayo so I'll be ready for it Ours are ripening too fast, it has been so hot and dry with no rain in 3 weeks until this afternoon, they just aren't getting big.

Anyway, we had hail come through a while ago :/ Squash got hit pretty hard, lots of holes in the leaves, okra is smaller, but damaged, as well as the cukes. Everything else seems to be okay though. The corn stayed standing this time We had 60 mph wind gusts. The tops of the trees were swaying about 12 feet out to the side at one point and I thought surely the corn was a goner this time...but it held up well!