Now I know who to call when there is a fresh covering nuts all around the tree and laying nut to nut. lol
Yeah now I have to go to the freezer and get a bag of strawberries out, so I can make a SSC also. not the same as fresh but mine were June bearers and I had to pick them before taking off in July. Course they also go great with the rhubarb I froze too.
General Discussions - 2011 - Chapter 36
Y'all just keep on .
Hey Digger, I'm gonna prune my grape vine this winter, Want any cuttings to root? I'm gonna try rooting a couple dozen and start some out in the garden.
I planted some rhubarb so I hope that I will have some next year. They were good starts and have a few leafs. How long does it take before you can expect a good harvest of rhubarb. They are perennials aren't they? Aren't they like Asparagus
I think the main thing with rhubarb is not to plant it too deep. If you do it will either die or not produce for several years.
Yes Rhubarb is perennial. Not sure about the 2nd year for any amount of harvest. There should be enough for a good taste though, depending on how much you planted. 3rd or 4th year should be plentiful. We have a row that I started from 1 old clump that wasn't doing very well. Now we can't use it all, so we give a lot away.
It needs a cold winter to do well as it needs a period of rest. Hope yours does well.
Thanks , Russ , But no , I don't need grapes . Too much upkeep and I can't keep up with my stuff now . I live in the middle of a wine grape growing area , and that pruning is work . Don't have that much sun either .
Sally; I plan to give most of the cuttings to one of my nephews as his dream is to have a vineyard for his retirement. Many years down the road yet as he is still in his 30s. However I will be putting in at least one row. I may have to start drying them for raisins. And yes I could also make some red wine ERRRR for health benefit, ya know. LOL
Speaking of dried: LOl
Sally, you got me dehydrating last year and I did apples. Well, the other day I called into the kitchen and asked Bob what he was doing and he said he was hydrating the apples to make a pie. I was shocked. I had forgotten all about them.
Anyway, it turned out real good.
I took and sliced several apples into thin slices then sprinkeled them heavily with spices and let them dry out. Then I strung them and the are hanging in my kitchen.
Do they have much aroma in the kitchen? For how long I wonder.
I've put cinnamon and brown sugar on them , good !
Russ , of course . Also , now is a good time for him to plant . The older the vines get , the better the harvest , I've heard . I know they live forever and just get bigger stems .
Not too much aroma but they look pretty with an Autumn flavor so to speak. I tied cinnamon stick slivers inbetween the slices.
LOL, those stems are trunks and branches eventually.
Yeah, I have a trunk on the south side of the attached garage. I'm going to put some poles up and string wires up and over for that one to double as a shade and if it still continues to produce as well as it has been that will be another plus. Just think it would be better to have them out in the garden.
Took a break and went fishing, come home with 8 large bluegill. Had to throw a bunch back, in order to get all large ones. But that's a couple meals
Oh that sounds good Russ, are they anything like crappie? We get some big crappie's here about 14". I had never seen any that big until moving here. We had always caught small blue gill, crappies, sun fish, etc. what we called garbage fish before, but never this big. Also Perch. Do you get those? We normally throw them back but other people like them. We used to scale them when we were kids. But, I think my mom planted them with her roses when we weren't looking. Do you skin them? Fillet them? And then bread, or batter? Really sounds good. Talking about the Blue Gill you caught now.
Jeanette
They make good bait for catfish on trotlines .
Russ can tell you how they fix them , but one way is de-head and gut them . then when they are the small 5" or so , saute them in butter with seasoning , On the plate , use your fork to peel skin and scales off and push to the side . Eat the flesh . Small trout , same way .
We got the big crappie (white perch ) in southern Ark . It's legal to use YO_Yo's there . The string unwinds on a spool with a spring in it , bait it with minnows , set the trigger . that's after you tie it to an overhanging limb or a nail on a post out in the water Fish comes along bites , pulls , pops the trigger and the line snaps up and catches 'em . In the spring , when they are bedding up , you can get enough to put a few meals in the freezer . They , and catfish are my favorite freshwater fish .
Digger, we don't peel the small trout. The skin is the best part, just pan fried when they are dipped in flour and use bacon grease. ALWAYS take the head and guts out of all fish. For me anyway.
Have never heard of fishing with yo yos. Pretty cool. It is illegal to use any live bait other than worms in this state. But, I can see how you do it. Followed that line I did.
Think I told you that they are selling "farm raised" seafood like shrimp, salmon, etc. that they have shipped from India, Thailand, etc. here and it is not flavorful at all. It is not good. I will not buy it. If it doesn't say "wild caught" on it forget it. Think they are growing them in fresh water.
About the small trout . I just can't get around the tiny scales . I know , I know , can't tell they are there , but I know it. I will use a spoon and scrape under running water, outside . Done tried scaleing in the house , clogged sink , scales in the darndest places for three months . LOL
I'm with you on the imported seafood . Besides , who knows if those people have sanitary work conditions . In other words if they even wash thier hands after potty . At least here you're supposed to . We catch most of our fish and can buy a lot of it right off the boats . (shrimp & oysters ) some of the oysters we gether ourselves .
Yes the big ones are similar to Crappie. I don't bother filleting them as only the rib bones would give any problem and you can just use your fork and wipe the flesh from the bones. or just break the whole rib cage off and slide the bones out and you can even lick your fingers if you wish. LOL
I like them saute' ed in butter. I scale them first. We have all those others too.
If they are less than 6 or 7 " they go back to grow up. one of our friends caught a 13.6" Bluegill
I'd rather have catfish but they didn't seem to be biting at the time.
I need to check for myself but my brother tells me that it's illegal to use bluegill as bait in IA. They do make great cat bait though. Put them on a jug line at night and you get the big cats. It seems like the DNR is quick to put a stop to any easy way to catch fish. We can still use a trot line with a limit of 15 hooks. It has to have a tag on it though, name and address and so on. Same with bank lines( ditty lines )
When Nephew and I went on our little excursion we had rock bass for breakfast just cooked in water then seasoned after done.
Yeah jen I think anything shipped in from elsewhere, we get the cr- -p, they keep the good.
As far as fresh water shrimp, it might as well be crawdads.
Sorry Kent does it count as subject if we sit on a bale while fishin. lol
All yo-yo's have to have name, Add written on them > I think you can still have 50 per person .
We are limited to 2 lines. Don't know anything about Yo Yos but could probably use them.
Sally;
Took a ride today, checking out a few more river accesses, Took samples from a couple sand bars home. Haven't checked them yet. Let you know later. I really want to try a dredge. lol
You have the talent to make one .
I'm calling it a night , G night .
Hi Kent,
I haven't been on the site for a while, been busy moving to a new shack.
On 26 May, you wrote:
1. I do think the frames are saving some water because the sides of the bales/soil/compost mix are not exposed to the sun/air. Less evaporation. But, the bales do a great job of retaining moisture even when exposed.
2. Other than last year's blight, I have been pleased with the way the plants have looked in the bales. As you can see by my pics, this year's garden is coming along well, too.
3. Last year I recycled my old wheat straw into the frames and packed it in as far as they would go. I then took new bales and finished filling in the remaining space. This year I added some commercial 50/50 compost/soil mixture, some sphagnum moss, and commercial manure compost to everything, plus added some new beds.
4. I've never used any grass/hay/alfalfa bales. Way too expensive in my area.
Kent
When you add the old straw, I know you remove the strings and pack the loose straw in the frames.
When you add the new straw do you add it loose or do you add a complete new bale on top of the old straw?
If you do add new bales, do you orient them with the strings down or sideways?
Do you add the compost/manure and such on top of the straw?
I am asking these questions so I can get ready for the next year. As I mentioned above, I just moved into a
new shack and want to spend the winter getting ready.
Paul.
Welcome back, Paul.
Q: When you add the old straw, I know you remove the strings and pack the loose straw in the frames?
A: I do remove the plastic strings. That's why I like the old-fashioned twine. It rots and you don't have to worry about it.
Q: When you add the new straw do you add it loose or do you add a complete new bale on top of the old straw?
A: I pitch-forked all the old straw within the frames up to the depth I wanted. Whatever space was left over in my frames, that's where I placed my new bales directly on the ground inside the frames.
Q: If you do add new bales, do you orient them with the strings down or sideways?
A: Strings up (ON the ground) so I can cut them and pull them out easier (for plastic strings only). The water also trickles a lot slower through the bales with the strings ON the ground.
Q: Do you add the compost/manure and such on top of the straw?
A: You betcha!
I bought a sawz-all today on sale to cut back some of my frames. I had them 3 boards high, but I'm going to cut them down to 2 boards high, and use the extra to make some new frames under some trellises where I'm going to grow my cukes next year. I'm tired of reaching over into a double row for cukes.
Kent
Hi all,
I will start this again, my computer decides to kick me out at the most in-opportune times. I only had about 3 sentences completed.
Longview, where our new home is located, has beautiful tree-lined streets. In all seasons this makes for a very picturesque scene.
One problem; these trees are deciduous, with tons of leaves to be disposed of each year. I have never raked leaves in the past so
this is a new, very strenuous task; unless I go and join hundreds of neighbors and buy one of those infernal, obnoxious, leaf blowers.
This year I decided to spin off of Kent's practice of using old straw in his grow boxes. I raked up all leaves on the sidewalks and
driveway and pack them into some of these plastic tubs you find at Lowe's and Wallmart. It is surprising the amount of leaves you
can pack into one tub. I have 4 tubs and will have to borrow some leaves from the neighbors to finish filling.
I plan on letting these tubs, "cook," over the winter, then next spring I will top them off with new grass clippings and planting soil.
I drilled a series of holes around the base about 2" up from the bottom of the tub to let excess water out.
I hope the leaves don't get too hot as they cook and melt the tub. I thought about working a vent pipe down in the middle to let in/out
hot air.
We complain about the cost of hay/straw bales and let a free resource be hauled off to be composted. Then we pay big bucks to buy
back the compost to use around our flower and shrub beds. I hope you picked up on the fact that I mentioned I only raked the leaves
off the sidewalks and driveway above. Any leaves that fall on the lawn, flower and shrub beds will stay as mulch.
I looked and things were a little slow here so I thought I would chime in. I know that this isn't exactly strawbale gardening but it might be
a way to use a resource we have around us.
Thanksgiving is upon us. I hope everyone has great plans. This will the first Thanksgiving in our new home. We are so Very Grateful for Everything Our Lord has bestowed upon us.
His and Your Very Grateful servant, Paul.
Sounds like a winner idea to me Paul. If you could chop them up a little with a mower first they would decompose faster though.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family also.
Doug
I have to admit, I haven't tried to decompose (COOK ) the leaves. but I have been gathering all the leaves I could and spreading them on the garden and till them into the soil.
Doug you are right, they do decompose much faster when chopped up. One year I didn't get them tilled under in the fall. They were still mostly just a leaf cover in the spring, even though there had been several feet of snow cover during the winter. I will give the leaves another home this year, as I have several large tubs, and a leaf shredder. This gives me another plan for a raised garden. Pack the leaves in the large lawn paper bags and force them into a wood frame and poke holes in the top side of the bag and you would have a bale you could work with.
Paul; I will start on this and give it a go round and try to keep a record and take photos. I have mostly maple leaves and some Chinese elm. I should have enough for a couple bales this year.
I can still get some loose straw and dry horse manure for the hauling away. I can try packing that straw into the same kind of frame. It is just a little more work than getting bales and setting them in a row but why let something that is free pass you by. lol
Russ
Happy Thanksgiving Russ!
LOL, Russ, that year that you didn't do anything but put them on the garden you just put them in the freezer. With the snow all over them. Just preserving them. :0)
Have a good Thanksgiving everyone!!
Russ , I filled a frame about 8' circle , 2' high last year with mulch from recycle plant . Tree and plant material . I watered good and put 30/0/0 on it as I filled it and now have reduced it to one foot high .It got good and hot . I used a whole bag of fetertilizer and kept it damp until I left the last of March . I'd say , invest in a bag , makes it a lot faster .
Edited to add , I made the frame out of that plastic lattice two foot wide and wired together with a small overlap .
This message was edited Nov 23, 2011 2:27 PM
"Freezer" was right on, for that year Jeanette.
I have made a couple trips to the river, " where I can get to the sand that has washed up in big piles. and loaded up the pickup. I will mix that in with what I get from my compost bin, to amend some of my flower beds. That sand is almost white, with no dirt in it. That sand probably came all the way down from Montana this summer with the flooding. Who knows!!!
Sally, I'm trying to make my raised beds about 2 rows wide so I can reach at least half way across for ease in picking the fruits and veggies. And I will use some FERT to get it going.
Happy Thanksgiving to ALL
Russ
my time is up. not going to renew. its been good to know you. so long . jlm cv45.
Oh please reconsider . You can at least use some of the open forums . Let us know where you are .Sure enjoyed your posts , even if we don't hear from you often .
Jim; How much have the dues for DG gone up, I may have to re consider too. They will be hitting me up too in a couple months May have to just use Email
Have they gone up ?
I don't know digger! I just know every thing seems to go up except money in my pocket.
You know the rich get richer. Those who aren't get left behind.
Hi all,
I don't know how much the dues have gone up or are going up.
The way I look at it, 2 or 3 visits to Starbucks and you have your
dues paid. Do you realize that if you were to visit Starbucks once
a day, you spend $350 to $500 a year? We all spend a great deal
of $ on a lot of stuff. The info I get from this and other forums is well
worth the $; not to mention the entertainment value. Where else can
you chat with and see pictures of what people are doing all around
the country and world? What would I do at 3:00 in the morning when
my bladder wakes me up and I can't go back to sleep? I sure wished
I had the capability to do this when I was young and just starting out..
It sure beats staring at the tube for hours on end or sitting at the end
of a bar, sucking suds.
Paul.
This message was edited Dec 21, 2011 8:12 PM
Hi again,
I was really low when I said $300 to $500 if you stopped at Starbucks once a day for a year.
The lowest priced cup of coffee is $1.50. Some of the drinks you can buy run $5.50 or higher.
So if you just bought a cheap cup of coffee it would cost about $550 a year. And $1.50 is cheap
for a cup of coffee. In a restaurant it will cost you from $2.50 to $3.00 for a cup of coffee.
They sure have learned to cash in on we Americans thirst for coffee.
Paul.