Started germinating early this year. The seeds are at least 3 - 5 years
old, and were stored in the refrigerator. The peas came on so fast that
I need to find my soil thermometer to see how close I am to transplant,
or re-pot. I almost totally lost a few lettuce potting cells to neglect,
but they have bounced back with watering. Brandywine, Green Zebra, and
Stupice tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers have shown themselves from last
Sundays planting. The peppers, typically, will take another week to show.

I may have walked myself out on a limb with germinating so soon, but as
we all know, there aren't any mistakes, just experiments.

Week-end work: prepping the lettuce bed, and replacing a Washington
orange tree that hasn't even flowered in the last 5 years, and replacing
it with an apricot. Maybe I can pot the orange and see if that works.

In any event, the jihad begins.

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Next time vote Green Party

Billy wrote:
Started germinating early this year. The seeds are at least 3 - 5
years old, and were stored in the refrigerator. The peas came on so
fast that I need to find my soil thermometer to see how close I am to
transplant, or re-pot. I almost totally lost a few lettuce potting
cells to neglect, but they have bounced back with watering.
Brandywine, Green Zebra, and Stupice tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers
have shown themselves from last Sundays planting. The peppers,
typically, will take another week to show.

I may have walked myself out on a limb with germinating so soon, but
as we all know, there aren't any mistakes, just experiments.

Week-end work: prepping the lettuce bed, and replacing a Washington
orange tree that hasn't even flowered in the last 5 years, and
replacing it with an apricot. Maybe I can pot the orange and see if
that works.

In any event, the jihad begins.

I am starting my winter stuff next week. The summer veges are still
producing well. I will have to give away beans this week.

We have had heavy rain, a torrent was running through the garden and it's on
a hillside! As of this morning up north a bit at a little place called
Dorrigo they had had 393mm of rain in 24 hours, that's 15 1/2 inches for
those who use ells, fathoms and other archaic measures. My river is
flooding, where I pump water from is about 8m (17 cubits) under, the pump is
of course in the shed, the ends of the pipes will be floating through the
tops of the trees.

D

Rick wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Billy wrote:
Started germinating early this year. The seeds are at least 3 - 5
years old, and were stored in the refrigerator. The peas came on so
fast that I need to find my soil thermometer to see how close I am
to transplant, or re-pot. I almost totally lost a few lettuce
potting cells to neglect, but they have bounced back with watering.
Brandywine, Green Zebra, and Stupice tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers
have shown themselves from last Sundays planting. The peppers,
typically, will take another week to show.

I may have walked myself out on a limb with germinating so soon, but
as we all know, there aren't any mistakes, just experiments.

Week-end work: prepping the lettuce bed, and replacing a Washington
orange tree that hasn't even flowered in the last 5 years, and
replacing it with an apricot. Maybe I can pot the orange and see if
that works.

In any event, the jihad begins.

I am starting my winter stuff next week. The summer veges are still
producing well. I will have to give away beans this week.

We have had heavy rain, a torrent was running through the garden and
it's on a hillside! As of this morning up north a bit at a little
place called Dorrigo they had had 393mm of rain in 24 hours, that's
15 1/2 inches for those who use ells, fathoms and other archaic
measures. My river is flooding, where I pump water from is about 8m
(17 cubits) under, the pump is of course in the shed, the ends of
the pipes will be floating through the tops of the trees.

D

I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately. Being
a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a fondness
for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have a pint of
beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml) g. When
cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench, grams and
microliters...

It is no problem for me to convert either. I suspect that all countries,
including those where metric has been well adopted, keep remnants of
traditional measures in odd places. Here real estate is almost always
measured in acres as well as hectares but rods, poles and perches have gone
for good unless you are consulting old plans. My daughters who grew up on
metric have no problem knowing what is meant if somebody says 'about an
inch' or 'a foot' and they might occasionally use such themselves. I agree
that beer should be served in a named vessel, whether it be middy, pint,
schooner, jug, pot or whatever. I see no reason to abandon such quirks but
that has nothing much to do communicating things like rainfall.

Where I have the problem is those who can't be bothered to learn _anything_
about metric measure and who, on international forums, act as if metric
measure is some kind of weird thing used only by the minority and geeks,
when the reality is the reverse.

But back to gardens, the flood is gone and the veges have drained, the fig
tree is now out of the river and the sun is shining. I will go down after
breakfast and see if my irrigation pipes were fastened as strongly as I
wanted. The grass will leap out of the ground this week and all is right
with the world.

David

In article ,
Rick wrote:

On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

Billy wrote:
Started germinating early this year. The seeds are at least 3 - 5
years old, and were stored in the refrigerator. The peas came on so
fast that I need to find my soil thermometer to see how close I am to
transplant, or re-pot. I almost totally lost a few lettuce potting
cells to neglect, but they have bounced back with watering.
Brandywine, Green Zebra, and Stupice tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers
have shown themselves from last Sundays planting. The peppers,
typically, will take another week to show.

I may have walked myself out on a limb with germinating so soon, but
as we all know, there aren't any mistakes, just experiments.

Week-end work: prepping the lettuce bed, and replacing a Washington
orange tree that hasn't even flowered in the last 5 years, and
replacing it with an apricot. Maybe I can pot the orange and see if
that works.

In any event, the jihad begins.

I am starting my winter stuff next week. The summer veges are still
producing well. I will have to give away beans this week.

We have had heavy rain, a torrent was running through the garden and it's on
a hillside! As of this morning up north a bit at a little place called
Dorrigo they had had 393mm of rain in 24 hours, that's 15 1/2 inches for
those who use ells, fathoms and other archaic measures. My river is
flooding, where I pump water from is about 8m (17 cubits) under, the pump is
of course in the shed, the ends of the pipes will be floating through the
tops of the trees.

D

I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately. Being
a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a fondness
for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have a pint of
beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml) g. When
cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench, grams and
microliters...

You'll have to excuse David, he never had the disadvantages of an
American education. The least educated illegal immigrant has a better
grasp of the metric system than your average American bigot.

Know what you mean about pre-metric. I far prefer un Distingue (fr.), or
eine Mass (de.) to a pint, but when you go to party, you go with the beer
you got, not with the beer you want.

Sounds like you need one of those assault pipettes that can hold at
least 100 ml.

Remember,
He is not drunk, who from the floor
can rise again and drink some more,
but he is drunk who prostrate lies,
and cannot drink, and cannot rise.

- Stiles Tavern, 1778

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Next time vote Green Party

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Rick wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

David, those were lemons you were trying to preserve awhile back,
weren't they? How'd you ever make out with them?
I'm on my way back to zesting and juicing.


Billy wrote:
Started germinating early this year. The seeds are at least 3 - 5
years old, and were stored in the refrigerator. The peas came on so
fast that I need to find my soil thermometer to see how close I am
to transplant, or re-pot. I almost totally lost a few lettuce
potting cells to neglect, but they have bounced back with watering.
Brandywine, Green Zebra, and Stupice tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers
have shown themselves from last Sundays planting. The peppers,
typically, will take another week to show.

I may have walked myself out on a limb with germinating so soon, but
as we all know, there aren't any mistakes, just experiments.

Week-end work: prepping the lettuce bed, and replacing a Washington
orange tree that hasn't even flowered in the last 5 years, and
replacing it with an apricot. Maybe I can pot the orange and see if
that works.

In any event, the jihad begins.

I am starting my winter stuff next week. The summer veges are still
producing well. I will have to give away beans this week.

We have had heavy rain, a torrent was running through the garden and
it's on a hillside! As of this morning up north a bit at a little
place called Dorrigo they had had 393mm of rain in 24 hours, that's
15 1/2 inches for those who use ells, fathoms and other archaic
measures. My river is flooding, where I pump water from is about 8m
(17 cubits) under, the pump is of course in the shed, the ends of
the pipes will be floating through the tops of the trees.

D

I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately. Being
a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a fondness
for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have a pint of
beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml) g. When
cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench, grams and
microliters...

It is no problem for me to convert either. I suspect that all countries,
including those where metric has been well adopted, keep remnants of
traditional measures in odd places. Here real estate is almost always
measured in acres as well as hectares but rods, poles and perches have gone
for good unless you are consulting old plans. My daughters who grew up on
metric have no problem knowing what is meant if somebody says 'about an
inch' or 'a foot' and they might occasionally use such themselves. I agree
that beer should be served in a named vessel, whether it be middy, pint,
schooner, jug, pot or whatever. I see no reason to abandon such quirks but
that has nothing much to do communicating things like rainfall.

Where I have the problem is those who can't be bothered to learn _anything_
about metric measure and who, on international forums, act as if metric
measure is some kind of weird thing used only by the minority and geeks,
when the reality is the reverse.

But back to gardens, the flood is gone and the veges have drained, the fig
tree is now out of the river and the sun is shining. I will go down after
breakfast and see if my irrigation pipes were fastened as strongly as I
wanted. The grass will leap out of the ground this week and all is right
with the world.

David

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Next time vote Green Party

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Rick wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

David, those were lemons you were trying to preserve awhile back,
weren't they? How'd you ever make out with them?
I'm on my way back to zesting and juicing.


I used several ways:

- Morrocan preserved lemons these are really nice as a garnish but you only
need one jar a year so it doesn't use up many;

- frozen juice cubes and frozen zest sausages, roll the zest in plastic film
and freeze, keeps for ages, open the end cut some off and re-seal;

- lemon cordial, I love this, lemonade at any time of year, so much more
flavour than the commercial stuff and cheap, the recipe is simple if you are
interested.

D

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Rick wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

David, those were lemons you were trying to preserve awhile back,
weren't they? How'd you ever make out with them?
I'm on my way back to zesting and juicing.


I used several ways:

- Morrocan preserved lemons these are really nice as a garnish but you only
need one jar a year so it doesn't use up many;

- frozen juice cubes and frozen zest sausages, roll the zest in plastic film
and freeze, keeps for ages, open the end cut some off and re-seal;

- lemon cordial, I love this, lemonade at any time of year, so much more
flavour than the commercial stuff and cheap, the recipe is simple if you are
interested.

D

Thanks, David. I looked at recipes for the above. I'm supposed to avoid
salt, which leaves out the very interesting Morrocan preserves, and I've
opted for limoncello, instead of the cordial, because only the "bottle
in use" has to be in the fridge. Otherwise, it's ice cubes, and frozen
zest, as you say. I'm a bit pressed to process the lemons (one 5 gallon
bucket), because I harvested 2 weeks ago, and I've already lost half a
dozen to mold. Another option I found for a few of the lemons is candied
lemon slices.

Candied Meyer Lemons

4 meyer lemons, sliced thin

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Bring the sugar and water to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat to simmer
and drop in the lemon slices. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until slices
turn translucent. Drain and cool on wax paper before storing in the
fridge.

Not sure what to do about the seeds. I'll just swallow them I suppose.

How have the frozen cubes of lemon juice worked out for you? Do they
stay separate, or do they eventually fuse into one giant blob? It would
be great to have them when the hot weather finally arrives, in about 4
months. My wife is already making plans for them, and some of the mint.

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Next time vote Green Party

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Rick wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

David, those were lemons you were trying to preserve awhile back,
weren't they? How'd you ever make out with them?
I'm on my way back to zesting and juicing.


I used several ways:

- Morrocan preserved lemons these are really nice as a garnish but
you only need one jar a year so it doesn't use up many;

- frozen juice cubes and frozen zest sausages, roll the zest in
plastic film and freeze, keeps for ages, open the end cut some off
and re-seal;

- lemon cordial, I love this, lemonade at any time of year, so much
more flavour than the commercial stuff and cheap, the recipe is
simple if you are interested.

D

Thanks, David. I looked at recipes for the above. I'm supposed to
avoid salt, which leaves out the very interesting Morrocan preserves,
and I've opted for limoncello, instead of the cordial, because only
the "bottle in use" has to be in the fridge.

My cordial does not require refrigeration, the low pH of the juice and high
osmotic strength of the sugar allows it to keep indefinitely at room
temperature.

Wash and dry lemons. Zest them collecting only the yellow, then juice them.
Measure the juice into an enamel of SS pot large enough to hold the juice
and sugar. Add zest and bring to the boil. Add the same volume of sugar as
juice, return to the boil and boil gently 10 minutes stirring. Bottle hot
in clean dry bottles with a good lid, I use washed PET softdrink bottles.
The bottle in use doesn't require refrigeration either.

To serve add one finger to a tall glass with ice, fill with soda water,
stir, garnish with a fresh lemon slice if you like.


Otherwise, it's ice
cubes, and frozen zest, as you say. I'm a bit pressed to process the
lemons (one 5 gallon bucket), because I harvested 2 weeks ago, and
I've already lost half a dozen to mold. Another option I found for a
few of the lemons is candied lemon slices.

Candied Meyer Lemons

4 meyer lemons, sliced thin

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Bring the sugar and water to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat to
simmer and drop in the lemon slices. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until
slices turn translucent. Drain and cool on wax paper before storing
in the fridge.

Not sure what to do about the seeds. I'll just swallow them I suppose.

How have the frozen cubes of lemon juice worked out for you? Do they
stay separate, or do they eventually fuse into one giant blob?

They merge but are not difficult to separate.

It
would be great to have them when the hot weather finally arrives, in
about 4 months. My wife is already making plans for them, and some of
the mint.

David

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Rick wrote:
On Sat, 23 Feb 2013 14:47:30 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

David, those were lemons you were trying to preserve awhile back,
weren't they? How'd you ever make out with them?
I'm on my way back to zesting and juicing.


I used several ways:

- Morrocan preserved lemons these are really nice as a garnish but
you only need one jar a year so it doesn't use up many;

- frozen juice cubes and frozen zest sausages, roll the zest in
plastic film and freeze, keeps for ages, open the end cut some off
and re-seal;

- lemon cordial, I love this, lemonade at any time of year, so much
more flavour than the commercial stuff and cheap, the recipe is
simple if you are interested.

D

Thanks, David. I looked at recipes for the above. I'm supposed to
avoid salt, which leaves out the very interesting Morrocan preserves,
and I've opted for limoncello, instead of the cordial, because only
the "bottle in use" has to be in the fridge.

My cordial does not require refrigeration, the low pH of the juice and high
osmotic strength of the sugar allows it to keep indefinitely at room
temperature.

Wash and dry lemons. Zest them collecting only the yellow, then juice them.
Measure the juice into an enamel of SS pot large enough to hold the juice
and sugar. Add zest and bring to the boil. Add the same volume of sugar as
juice, return to the boil and boil gently 10 minutes stirring. Bottle hot
in clean dry bottles with a good lid, I use washed PET softdrink bottles.
The bottle in use doesn't require refrigeration either.

Good to know. Thanks.

To serve add one finger to a tall glass with ice, fill with soda water,
stir, garnish with a fresh lemon slice if you like.


Otherwise, it's ice
cubes, and frozen zest, as you say. I'm a bit pressed to process the
lemons (one 5 gallon bucket), because I harvested 2 weeks ago, and
I've already lost half a dozen to mold. Another option I found for a
few of the lemons is candied lemon slices.

Candied Meyer Lemons

4 meyer lemons, sliced thin

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

Bring the sugar and water to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat to
simmer and drop in the lemon slices. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, until
slices turn translucent. Drain and cool on wax paper before storing
in the fridge.

Not sure what to do about the seeds. I'll just swallow them I suppose.

How have the frozen cubes of lemon juice worked out for you? Do they
stay separate, or do they eventually fuse into one giant blob?

They merge but are not difficult to separate.

It
would be great to have them when the hot weather finally arrives, in
about 4 months. My wife is already making plans for them, and some of
the mint.

David

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Next time vote Green Party

David Hare-Scott wrote:
....
We have had heavy rain, a torrent was running through the garden and it's on
a hillside! As of this morning up north a bit at a little place called
Dorrigo they had had 393mm of rain in 24 hours, that's 15 1/2 inches for
those who use ells, fathoms and other archaic measures. My river is
flooding,

glad to hear you are getting some rain down there.

you know me, i'm always up for a water diversion
project.


where I pump water from is about 8m (17 cubits) under, the pump is
of course in the shed, the ends of the pipes will be floating through the
tops of the trees.

haha, cubits, ...


songbird

Rick wrote:
....
I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately. Being
a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a fondness
for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have a pint of
beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml) g. When
cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench, grams and
microliters...

pint is a varied measure. isn't it the Brits who
use 20fl oz for the pint?


songbird

songbird wrote:
Rick wrote:
...
I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately.
Being a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a
fondness for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have
a pint of beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml)
g. When cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench,
grams and microliters...

pint is a varied measure. isn't it the Brits who
use 20fl oz for the pint?


songbird

Yes but their fluid oz is a different size so all is right with the world.
Of course if we had been talking about a pint of beans the volume would have
been different from beer.

To show that serious drinkers have it sorted out across the atlantic a
traditional whisky bottle in the US is the same volume as in the UK, being a
fifth of a gallon and a sixth of a gallon respectively. To make things easy
the former is called a fifth, the latter would be a sixth, right? No the
latter is a reputed quart.

Strangely a litre is the same anywhere in the world whatever you measure
with it. How weird is that!

David

Rick wrote:
On Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:31:34 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

songbird wrote:
Rick wrote:
...
I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately.
Being a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a
fondness for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have
a pint of beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml)
g. When cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench,
grams and microliters...

pint is a varied measure. isn't it the Brits who
use 20fl oz for the pint?


songbird

Yes but their fluid oz is a different size so all is right with the
world. Of course if we had been talking about a pint of beans the
volume would have been different from beer.

To show that serious drinkers have it sorted out across the atlantic
a traditional whisky bottle in the US is the same volume as in the
UK, being a fifth of a gallon and a sixth of a gallon respectively.
To make things easy the former is called a fifth, the latter would
be a sixth, right? No the latter is a reputed quart.

Strangely a litre is the same anywhere in the world whatever you
measure with it. How weird is that!

David


Actually, it depends on the temperature and atmospheric pressure. A
liter is only a liter under standard conditions.

This applies to any liquid measure regardless of units, I was talking about
the oddities of traditional naming of units.

Interesting about
thw whisky bottle sizes. However if the British really get 1/6 gallon
they get over half a ml extra (under standard conditions of course)!

Can any of the Banterers confirm if the rep quart is still in use in the UK?
It hasn't been used here since metrication. I would expect it has now been
rounded to 750ml, or if originating from the continent 700ml.

D

"songbird" wrote in message
...
Rick wrote:
...
I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately. Being
a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a fondness
for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have a pint of
beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml) g. When
cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench, grams and
microliters...

pint is a varied measure. isn't it the Brits who
use 20fl oz for the pint?

An Imperial Pint is 20 oz so it's not just the Brits who use that measure.
I can't even recall what the 16oz Pint system is called.

In article ,
Rick wrote:

On Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:31:34 +1100, "David Hare-Scott"
wrote:

songbird wrote:
Rick wrote:
...
I've seen a lot of "pro-metric" posts in various places lately.
Being a scientist I readily convert back and forth. Still I have a
fondness for pecks, bushels, quarts and pints etc. I'd rather have
a pint of beer than 475 mls (well OK a pint is only 473.176473 ml)
g. When cooking it's cups and teaspoons for me- at the bench,
grams and microliters...

pint is a varied measure. isn't it the Brits who
use 20fl oz for the pint?


songbird

Yes but their fluid oz is a different size so all is right with the world.
Of course if we had been talking about a pint of beans the volume would have
been different from beer.

To show that serious drinkers have it sorted out across the atlantic a
traditional whisky bottle in the US is the same volume as in the UK, being a
fifth of a gallon and a sixth of a gallon respectively. To make things easy
the former is called a fifth, the latter would be a sixth, right? No the
latter is a reputed quart.

Strangely a litre is the same anywhere in the world whatever you measure
with it. How weird is that!

David


Actually, it depends on the temperature and atmospheric pressure. A
liter is only a liter under standard conditions. Interesting about
thw whisky bottle sizes. However if the British really get 1/6 gallon
they get over half a ml extra (under standard conditions of course)!

It would vary less than the "fill" in the bottle from your friendly
giggle-water producer, and even less than the "pour" from your
neighborhood publican.

--
Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg
or
E Pluribus Unum
Next time vote Green Party