we have a dozen tomatoes on the counter top left from
before the frosts came along and we were able to get
the rest of the green tomatoes off the plants before
they were damaged.

they may not be as good as a sun ripened tomato, but
they are perfectly acceptable. we've had sandwiches
with them the past week a few times and will finish
them off soon.

the other day i was checking some plants out in the
north garden and found some decently sized turnips that
were planted mid-summer. i was rather surprised at
how large they had gotten. since i can't cook them
here i ended up picking them to give to someone else
the next day and she was very happy to have them along
with some garlic to eat and plant.

i'm still finding acceptable dry beans to pick and
shell, but most are done and already somewhat sorted.
have yet to combine and weigh them. nor have i quite
figured out what to do with all of the crosses that
have shown up. some rather nicely decorative and
worth keeping and seeing if they will breed true or
if they will wander into different types yet before
settling down. garden plots next year will be
interesting to lay out and keep track of what is
planted where.

the largest project is at a holding pattern now as i
have finished most of the digging of the temporary
trench:

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_8354_7062_CPE.jpg

180ft of enjoyable exercise, a shovel at a time. the
long pile of dirt is over the trench i put in for the
drain tubes (down 3-5ft for 110ft), those tubes provide
drainage for the fenced gardens and the other low area
to the west of the fenced gardens. the long pile of
dirt will get added to and reshaped next season to
become the berm. until then i hope the trench and berm
will be enough to avert any more floods for the winter
and spring.


songbird

On Thursday, October 31, 2013 7:50:50 PM UTC-6, songbird wrote:
we have a dozen tomatoes on the counter top left from

before the frosts came along and we were able to get

the rest of the green tomatoes off the plants before

they were damaged.



they may not be as good as a sun ripened tomato, but

they are perfectly acceptable. we've had sandwiches

with them the past week a few times and will finish

them off soon.



the other day i was checking some plants out in the

north garden and found some decently sized turnips that

were planted mid-summer. i was rather surprised at

how large they had gotten. since i can't cook them

here i ended up picking them to give to someone else

the next day and she was very happy to have them along

with some garlic to eat and plant.



i'm still finding acceptable dry beans to pick and

shell, but most are done and already somewhat sorted.

have yet to combine and weigh them. nor have i quite

figured out what to do with all of the crosses that

have shown up. some rather nicely decorative and

worth keeping and seeing if they will breed true or

if they will wander into different types yet before

settling down. garden plots next year will be

interesting to lay out and keep track of what is

planted where.



the largest project is at a holding pattern now as i

have finished most of the digging of the temporary

trench:



http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_8354_7062_CPE.jpg



180ft of enjoyable exercise, a shovel at a time. the

long pile of dirt is over the trench i put in for the

drain tubes (down 3-5ft for 110ft), those tubes provide

drainage for the fenced gardens and the other low area

to the west of the fenced gardens. the long pile of

dirt will get added to and reshaped next season to

become the berm. until then i hope the trench and berm

will be enough to avert any more floods for the winter

and spring.





songbird

Where are you gardening? Doesn't look like any garden spot that I
would find as ideal.

===

In article ,
Roy wrote:

On Thursday, October 31, 2013 7:50:50 PM UTC-6, songbird wrote:
we have a dozen tomatoes on the counter top left from

before the frosts came along and we were able to get

the rest of the green tomatoes off the plants before

they were damaged.



they may not be as good as a sun ripened tomato, but

they are perfectly acceptable. we've had sandwiches

with them the past week a few times and will finish

them off soon.



the other day i was checking some plants out in the

north garden and found some decently sized turnips that

were planted mid-summer. i was rather surprised at

how large they had gotten. since i can't cook them

here i ended up picking them to give to someone else

the next day and she was very happy to have them along

with some garlic to eat and plant.



i'm still finding acceptable dry beans to pick and

shell, but most are done and already somewhat sorted.

have yet to combine and weigh them. nor have i quite

figured out what to do with all of the crosses that

have shown up. some rather nicely decorative and

worth keeping and seeing if they will breed true or

if they will wander into different types yet before

settling down. garden plots next year will be

interesting to lay out and keep track of what is

planted where.



the largest project is at a holding pattern now as i

have finished most of the digging of the temporary

trench:



http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_8354_7062_CPE.jpg



180ft of enjoyable exercise, a shovel at a time. the

long pile of dirt is over the trench i put in for the

drain tubes (down 3-5ft for 110ft), those tubes provide

drainage for the fenced gardens and the other low area

to the west of the fenced gardens. the long pile of

dirt will get added to and reshaped next season to

become the berm. until then i hope the trench and berm

will be enough to avert any more floods for the winter

and spring.





songbird

Where are you gardening? Doesn't look like any garden spot that I
would find as ideal.

===

Anybody can garden in an ideal spot. You have to be more creative in
marginal terroirs. I have about a week before my direct sun disappears
altogether until early Feb. It all works out. Rain expected on Monday.
I need to pick the last of the tomatoes, peppers, and herbs. Then I'll
need to make a decision on what to do with the green tomatoes.
--
Palestinian Child Detained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzSzH38jYcg

Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

Roy wrote:
....
Where are you gardening? Doesn't look like any garden spot that I
would find as ideal.

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/Way_Up.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...ntral_2013.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...ntral_2013.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...ntral_2013.jpg


songbird

On Wednesday, November 6, 2013 4:49:37 PM UTC-7, songbird wrote:
Roy wrote:

...

Where are you gardening? Doesn't look like any garden spot that I

would find as ideal.



http://www.anthive.com/flowers/Way_Up.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...ntral_2013.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...ntral_2013.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...orner_2013.jpg

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_7...ntral_2013.jpg

songbird

Very nice...but what State or Province or Country? Looks
like you have an abundance of sunlight but may lack
sufficient natural water resources.

Roy wrote:
....
Very nice...but what State or Province or Country? Looks
like you have an abundance of sunlight but may lack
sufficient natural water resources.

ah, see, i've posted that here before so i figured you
at least knew. i'm in Mid-Michigan, USoA, Saginaw
River Valley.

and no, not lacking water, we have two ditches through
the property that run year round (the one is obvious on
the Way Up picture as it cuts through the property, the
other is hidden under the hedge to the north), a high
water table and plenty of clay. we are also right in
the middle of the watershed flow pattern (from SW to NE).
we do have periods of drought, but the well is good to
hold us over when that happens for watering the gardens.

at some future point i'd like to collect and hold rain
water for garden use and redo some of the rest of the
areas to hold and run water in patterns to build up frog
and toad habitat, but that is long term tinkering with
the site i'm not ready to do yet. when i get the berm
finished along that south edge then i can decide what to
tackle next.


songbird

Friday i finally finished up the last of the fenced
area gardens, seeded them in, hoped for rain. today
we've had some and a bit of snow too.

only two gardens left to tackle before winter prep
is done. should have them done by this next weekend
if the weather warms as predicted in the forecast.

the past few weeks we've spent a lot of any extra
time making apple sauce and apple crisps for us, and
for others. many gallons worth. and i still don't
mind the smell of baking apples.

as it will be cold and windy tomorrow i'll be
inside working on various projects. since i could
not find a color chart of the sort that i'd like
i'll be making one. should be fun to play with
some paints, i've not done that in quite some
time. the worms could use some new food now that
the apples from last week have been digested and
i'm still staring at piles of beans, plus i have
a few buckets of garlic to clean and sort through.

good thing for rainy days, besides the gardens
i planted could use a good shot of moisture.


songbird

In article ,
songbird wrote:
the past few weeks we've spent a lot of any extra
time making apple sauce and apple crisps for us, and
for others. many gallons worth. and i still don't
mind the smell of baking apples.


Drying apples fiendishly here. Also made a pie tonight, with a crust not
up to marriageable standards (I don't do them often enough to stay in
practice) and I adjusted the "juiciness" down a bit by running the
peeled/cored/sliced pie apples in the dehydrator for a while as I was
(badly) making the crust. Well, most of the pie apples, as it turned out
I ran a couple more apples through the peeler/corer/slicer to have a
pile I was happy with at filling time. The apples were not dry after
such a short time, but it shifted the balance enough that the filling
was a bit less sloppy than it tends to be with all-fresh apples. I can
see doing the same thing in a different way by mixing fresh with fully
dried later on in the year.

Need to find time and energy to plant garlic, pronto. Where from, I have
no idea.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

Ecnerwal wrote:
songbird wrote:

the past few weeks we've spent a lot of any extra
time making apple sauce and apple crisps for us, and
for others. many gallons worth. and i still don't
mind the smell of baking apples.


Drying apples fiendishly here. Also made a pie tonight, with a crust not
up to marriageable standards (I don't do them often enough to stay in
practice) and I adjusted the "juiciness" down a bit by running the
peeled/cored/sliced pie apples in the dehydrator for a while as I was
(badly) making the crust. Well, most of the pie apples, as it turned out
I ran a couple more apples through the peeler/corer/slicer to have a
pile I was happy with at filling time. The apples were not dry after
such a short time, but it shifted the balance enough that the filling
was a bit less sloppy than it tends to be with all-fresh apples. I can
see doing the same thing in a different way by mixing fresh with fully
dried later on in the year.

pie crust is not a thing we like here much at all,
instead we mix flour, sugar and oats in equal proportions
and then add cinamon and a little melted butter. starting
at the bottom with a thin layer of the mixture, then pile
the sliced apples on top, then sprinkle more of the mixture
on top and dribble the butter over. bake for an hour to
hour and a half with a foil cover, might bubble over a
little if you put too many apples in. that is the basic
apple crisp we make and eat by the ton when apples are
inexpensive.


Need to find time and energy to plant garlic, pronto. Where from, I have
no idea.

farmer's markets? co-op? they may not have any but they
might know someone who does.


songbird

In article ,
songbird wrote:

Ecnerwal wrote:
Need to find time and energy to plant garlic, pronto. Where from, I have
no idea.

farmer's markets? co-op? they may not have any but they
might know someone who does.


Heh. I HAVE the garlic (harvested in August) - I need to FIND the time
and energy ;-)

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by
Please don't feed the trolls. Killfile and ignore them so they will go away.

Ecnerwal wrote:
songbird wrote:

Ecnerwal wrote:
Need to find time and energy to plant garlic, pronto. Where from, I have
no idea.

farmer's markets? co-op? they may not have any but they
might know someone who does.


Heh. I HAVE the garlic (harvested in August) - I need to FIND the time
and energy ;-)

good luck. the weather is supposed to get warmer the rest of
the week so that may help a bit. i'll have several hundred lbs of
shredded wood and leaves and the last few gardens to contemplate.
i'm not sure i'll do a thing until i actually do it these days.
all of my plans for yesterday went out the window and tomorrow is
now scheduled... good thing none of this is critical.


songbird

gardens mostly put up other than weeding one small
garden (saving that for tomorrow).

the last two rounds of planting of winter wheat and
winter rye are unlikely to amount to much (it's been
very cloudy the past few weeks). still i'll keep an
eye on those gardens and see what happens. the birds
have discovered the grains and are picking at them.
enough is planted deeply enough that they aren't going
to get all of those seeds. in the gardens i planted
earlier they look so nice that Ma is very happy with
them, nice green grassy cover. wish i hadn't gotten
so bloody sick as then all would be at least up and
sprouted and green instead of fairly bare. i guess i
will have to mulch them for the winter instead if i
get more goodies brought by.

in the realm of very good news, every garden was able
to support worms for the entire season (for the first
time since i started working on them several years ago).
the clay is certainly improving. making sure that
there is some organic materials buried down deeply also
helps to make sure the worms have a place to be during
the hotter and dryer periods of weather.

all of the worm bins inside are chugging along --
right now they are finishing up the last of the apple
cores from the two car loads of apples we processed.
there was no way i could get all of those through the
bins. a half dozen buckets of cores went into the
gardens down deep to keep the worms happy, but what i
could stuff into the bins here in my room seem to have
made the worms very happy. plenty of chompers going
at it now. i have a mid-winter snack of chopped dried
greens from the green manure patch on hand to mix in
with whatever other veggie scraps. they'll also have
a good supply of squash innards and peels this winter.
i could easily expand to 30 bins with the population
of worms now on hand, but i have no place to keep
them.


songbird