Raised Beds
- Thread starter Wannabe
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Bob, next year, plant seeds to grow planks. Aim the pinecones in the right direction, so the planks are long, not wide. Maybe, post pictures, with dimensions included, so the planks know how to grow properly. Maybe put some epoxy on the seeds too? That way, the planks would grow up all sized, sealed, and ready!
Boy! I'm glad I thought of this while you still have time to get stuff ready.
Boy! I'm glad I thought of this while you still have time to get stuff ready.
I do tabasco peppers pretty much like they do at Avery Island (Tabasco Factory).
Salt down whole, ripe peppers in a sealed containers for a year or so. I use about 25% salt so ten pounds of peppers get 2.5 pounds salt.
After fermenting, I pass the mixture through a blender and add vinegar to get the viscosity I want.
Trying to ferment other peppers with just salt will give you a jar full of moldy peppers
Salt down whole, ripe peppers in a sealed containers for a year or so. I use about 25% salt so ten pounds of peppers get 2.5 pounds salt.
After fermenting, I pass the mixture through a blender and add vinegar to get the viscosity I want.
Trying to ferment other peppers with just salt will give you a jar full of moldy peppers
Try salting down the other peppers after you opened them up fully so they dry out. Dried peppers shouldn't mold or rot. After they dry, then try processing a batch. May be worth a try.
If all else fails - go raid JD's cupboard. He has plenty of Tobasco. ;-)
If all else fails - go raid JD's cupboard. He has plenty of Tobasco. ;-)
I had a few mustard greens left that were trying to bolt so I stripped the stalks clean and processed the greens, pulled the stalks and planted four butter nut squash. Another two or three weeks I'll plant another tub and then another one after another two or three weeks. I need to check and see when I should plant the Sugar Snap Peas. Probably getting about time.
Bob
Bob
Butter nuts are good squash. Julie and I had squash and sausage every week last fall and winter. JARVIS good eatin!
I have an old Ronco dehydrator I bought at my pawnshop many years ago. It has made a lot of jerky and assorted other things. I've already did a couple of loads of basil and rosemary and when figs started coming on it ran 24/7 for three weeks straight. right at the end I would have to rotate the trays 180 degrees to get every thing dry. It's about gone so yesterday I built three 20" X36" drying racks. I picked a bunch of basil a little earlier and came in to cool off. I need to go finish before it really heats up. Today is supposed to be hotter today than yesterday and it was hot yesterday. Ya'll don't ler the heat hurt you today.
Bob
Bob
Finally got enough okra to have a pot of okra and tomatoes today. Been saving okra for a week. That's getting one and two a day, then two and maybe three a day, then three and four a day. They are starting to come on in a big way(I hope). They are a good month behind where they should be. They should have been planted in May but it was raining so much and so often I could not get the ground ready. I finally started the seeds in starter cups and as soon as I could work the ground to smooth it flat I planted them. That was at the first week of June. Can't wait for a pot of boiled (I call it slimy) okra.
Bob
Bob
"Slimy" is the operative term. I understand that Standard Oil refines it, and sells it for axle grease. With the disclaimer of, "Does not taste as good as real axle grease." ;-)
Jack,
Put on a pot of black eyed peas, throw a jalapeno pepper in with a handful of okra and you just made Good Better. Truth be known, you are sour on okra just because you can't grow it up there. :mrgreen:
Bob
Put on a pot of black eyed peas, throw a jalapeno pepper in with a handful of okra and you just made Good Better. Truth be known, you are sour on okra just because you can't grow it up there. :mrgreen:
Bob
Well, it isn't the local growing conditions, Bob. Can't grow bananas or papayas here either. (But - I do have a line on a tree that grows Hershey bars!). Beans with jalapeno are good. Add hickory smoke and garlic to get some JARVIS good eating.
I inadvertently went to the first post, where you bought expensive lumber that you expected to last a long time. What kind of wood was that? Appeared to be just common pine boards. Didn't look like spruce, cedar, or redwood.
I inadvertently went to the first post, where you bought expensive lumber that you expected to last a long time. What kind of wood was that? Appeared to be just common pine boards. Didn't look like spruce, cedar, or redwood.
Plain pine 2x12 w/cedar fence pickets screwed to the bottom. Any lumber is high so I was probably squalling about the expense of it. Sometimes I'm so tight you would think I was a Scotsman born in Monterrey, Mex.. In retrospect it would have been cheaper to pay more for cedar 2x12's as they would last for many more years.
Bob
Bob
Or don't use boards at all, Bob. Don't know how much rain you get in your part of Texas, but I've read that raised beds dry out faster than unbordered, shorter row heights. Water seeks it's own level and naturally wants to migrate to the bottom of the bed. No real experience in the matter but might be something to consider.
To keep the lawn grass from creeping in, a sharp drop at the garden edge helps keep the lawn grass from sending roots and runners out. A pass along the edge with a trimmer now and then should keep the edges crisp.
To keep the lawn grass from creeping in, a sharp drop at the garden edge helps keep the lawn grass from sending roots and runners out. A pass along the edge with a trimmer now and then should keep the edges crisp.
You are right about drying out quicker. You just about have to water everyday if you have a loose mix like I did. If it rains everyday for a month it doesn't kill the plants because of standing in water. They stay drained. Sometime that is a good thing and sometime that is a bad thing. I did some differently. I put cinder blocks on the ground as borders and put my mix on top of the ground. The beds were 4 ft. wide and about 30 ft. long with partitions about every 4 ft. making 4x4 ft beds. Built another next to it 2 to 3ft wide and 15 to 20ft. long. I only used them a couple of years because the ground had a bad infestation of nematodes and I haven't taken the time or trouble to kill them. I could see using blocks with your method.
Bob
Bob
I assume the harvest season is over now? And, you're planning next year's cornucopia? Did you consider a vine crop like, say, squash (buttercup, buttercut, acorn, Hubbard)? Planted in a corner of the raised bed, the vines could be out on the lawn.
Julie and I love a supper of just baked squash and sausage. She likes her sausage as it comes from the package. To mine, I add sage, garlic, sage, onions, and fennel or anise seeds. And, maybe some extra sage.
Julie and I love a supper of just baked squash and sausage. She likes her sausage as it comes from the package. To mine, I add sage, garlic, sage, onions, and fennel or anise seeds. And, maybe some extra sage.
Kayak Jack said:Julie and I love a supper of just baked squash and sausage. She likes her sausage as it comes from the package. To mine, I add sage, garlic, sage, onions, and fennel or anise seeds. And, maybe some extra sage.
Try some sausage with cabbage , Cook the sausage then in the same pan add cut up cabbage and some water ( Not a lot ) , steam or fry it till it wilts. Occasionally give it a stir since the bottom layer will cook faster then the top one. A lid over the pan will speed the process up. Add some salt and pepper to taste and have a slice of warm cornbread with it.
.....And, when that cabbage is just about done, add a bit if thick cream. Stir until all cabbage is covered. JARVIS good eatin!
My raised bed boxes are history but I am planting in syrup tubs that I have been using for years. I will put in several more this year. I will be planting a few Amaranth plants. Amaranth is an ancient grain plant from Mexico and Central America I think. I am not planting them for the seed head but as a catch plant. Bug pest Love Amaranth and it is supposed to keep bugs off you other plants. If that works or don't work the young leaves are supposed to be very good in salads and stir fry. anyway it will be another interesting plant that everyone driving by will wonder what it is. The freeze killed my Dragon plants. I will install a Martin house on top of the pole and replant two different strains so they will pollinate.
Bob
Bob
My new Dragon Fruit has not arrived yet. I have five plant on the way. The Amaranth is doing fine and seed heads are developing nicely. Been getting a lot of Chinese long beans. Everyone seems to like them so they will be in the mix from now on. My longest ones are 23 inches l0ng. They are excellent stir fried. Found out that Chinese cabbage is Waaay different than regular head cabbage. Got a few carrots growing and Malabar Spanish. In peppers, I have Chinese five color peppers, a Marconi Red sweet pepper. Rhaza Macedonian pepper, Anaheim pepper, and several different colored sweet bell peppers. I also have Patty pan , yellow crookneck and zucchini squash. Then there is the tomatoes. Early Girl, Better Boy and some kind of cherry tomatoes that I have picked five off of and there is over 120 more tomatoes on it in different stages of growth. Guess I had better add the multiplying onions. rosemary, and basil.
figs are looking pretty good. Little peach tree is dead from freeze and a lemon tree will replace that. There will be nothing from the pear or plum trees.. Almost forgot that it looks very promising for the Bird House gourd plant that I planted at the base of a big tallow tree. If you do not know what a tallow tree is You Do Not want to know. Trying a bit of new stuff this year.
This might not be boating but it is something.
Bob
figs are looking pretty good. Little peach tree is dead from freeze and a lemon tree will replace that. There will be nothing from the pear or plum trees.. Almost forgot that it looks very promising for the Bird House gourd plant that I planted at the base of a big tallow tree. If you do not know what a tallow tree is You Do Not want to know. Trying a bit of new stuff this year.
This might not be boating but it is something.
Bob
Ohhh, I forgot this. Jack is probably waiting for this tidbit with Baited Breath. I have from now to the 27th of this month to plant my okras. I think the full moon will be on the 27th so I need to plant it before then or I will be in a decreasing moon which is for root plants. I need to get off my lazy a$$ and get my okra bed ready which I will do if I can keep from taking naps.
Bob
Bob