Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #16   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2015, 07:43 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,072
Default what's up

Steve Peek wrote:
....
You might want to check with local beekeepers, most honey from mint plants is not palatable or saleable. It's alright if you can segregate the honey and leave it for the bees to eat. Buckwheat is pretty much the same. It's the darkest honey you ever saw with a medicinal aroma and taste. However it is popular with the modern "hippie" types who use it like medicine.

Not trying to be a know-it-all here, just trying to prevent some of the mistakes I made 40 or so years ago.




i've never noticed anything medicinal about buckwheat
based honey, tastes could vary? i'm not sure it matters
anyways as what Snag asked about was feeding his bees
with flowers instead of having to feed them using sugar
water.

if you read back in my suggestions you may notice that
i suggested other plants in the mix, the buckwheat was
the gap filler for the rest of this season... the other
plants would help provide food for next year and years
after.

anyways, how is your blueberry season shaping up? are
your beans doing well this year?

i did not plant any of the greasy beans this season as
i was late and i knew they would not finish very well as
compared to the many other shorter season varieties i have
(which look to be doing great). also, i didn't have the
back trellis set up yet for more climbing beans so i did
not want to put anything back there. with the many
groundhogs around i wasn't sure i'd have much of anything
outside the fences actually surviving anyways...

today i went out and picked beans for making some three
bean salad tomorrow and there's plenty of cucumbers ready
to make some more pickles. we sampled the bread and
butter pickles (made a week ago) today to see if they were
edible before we started giving some away and they were
deemed good.


songbird
  #17   Report Post  
Old 10-08-2015, 07:35 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Oct 2012
Posts: 105
Default what's up

On Sunday, August 9, 2015 at 1:43:58 PM UTC-4, songbird wrote:
Steve Peek wrote:
...
You might want to check with local beekeepers, most honey from mint plants is not palatable or saleable. It's alright if you can segregate the honey and leave it for the bees to eat. Buckwheat is pretty much the same. It's the darkest honey you ever saw with a medicinal aroma and taste. However it is popular with the modern "hippie" types who use it like medicine.

Not trying to be a know-it-all here, just trying to prevent some of the mistakes I made 40 or so years ago.




i've never noticed anything medicinal about buckwheat
based honey, tastes could vary? i'm not sure it matters
anyways as what Snag asked about was feeding his bees
with flowers instead of having to feed them using sugar
water.

if you read back in my suggestions you may notice that
i suggested other plants in the mix, the buckwheat was
the gap filler for the rest of this season... the other
plants would help provide food for next year and years
after.

anyways, how is your blueberry season shaping up? are
your beans doing well this year?

i did not plant any of the greasy beans this season as
i was late and i knew they would not finish very well as
compared to the many other shorter season varieties i have
(which look to be doing great). also, i didn't have the
back trellis set up yet for more climbing beans so i did
not want to put anything back there. with the many
groundhogs around i wasn't sure i'd have much of anything
outside the fences actually surviving anyways...

today i went out and picked beans for making some three
bean salad tomorrow and there's plenty of cucumbers ready
to make some more pickles. we sampled the bread and
butter pickles (made a week ago) today to see if they were
edible before we started giving some away and they were
deemed good.


songbird


Apparently there are at least 2 types of buckwheat honey. The eastern variety is as black as can be with an aroma and flavor somewhere between old vitamins, cough syrup and strong blackstrap molasses. The local "tofu/granola" types think darker and stronger is healthy and good for you similar to dark greens being more healthy. I agree that buckwheat is great bee fodder especially at that time of year when little else is available.

Blueberries are pretty much a bust for this year. We've been hit with a fungal disease called "mummy berry". Spores are released at blossom time and are wind distributed to the blossoms. The affected berries grow to nearly normal pre-ripening size then begin to shrink and dry basically mummify. We have about a 90% crop loss this year. The county Ag agent has no organic means of control other than picking up and burning all the affected berries. With over an acre of berries this is not physically possible. I've found a source of elemental copper that I'll try next Spring at blossom time. If that doesn't work I guess I'll have to give up on the blueberries or loose my organic rating.

I've started picking the Maine yellow-eyed beans, looks like a bumper crop this year. A neighbor and I disposed of 4 ground hogs last fall and aarly spring so no damage this year. Cucumbers and squash have died and the second planting has started to bloom. Chili peppers are tall and loaded and tomatos are producing about a bushel per week so we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They look like watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green balls on them. They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or cucumber beetles, so they may become my new pickle plant.

I'm preparing ground for the fall crops this week. I'll be planting daikon, beets, spinach, turnips, mustard, and maybe some kale, collard and mustard..

Steve
  #18   Report Post  
Old 13-08-2015, 01:17 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,072
Default what's up

Steve Peek wrote:
....
Apparently there are at least 2 types of buckwheat honey. The eastern variety is as black as can be with an aroma and flavor somewhere between old vitamins, cough syrup and strong blackstrap molasses. The local "tofu/granola" types think darker and stronger is healthy and good for you similar to dark greens being more healthy. I agree that buckwheat is great bee fodder especially at that time of year when little else is available.


i happen to like molasses so this description just makes
me think that someday i'll have to find some and give it
a try.


Blueberries are pretty much a bust for this year. We've been hit with a fungal disease called "mummy berry". Spores are released at blossom time and are wind distributed to the blossoms. The affected berries grow to nearly normal pre-ripening size then begin to shrink and dry basically mummify. We have about a 90% crop loss this year. The county Ag agent has no organic means of control other than picking up and burning all the affected berries. With over an acre of berries this is not physically possible. I've found a source of elemental copper that I'll try next Spring at blossom time. If that doesn't work I guess I'll have to give up on the blueberries or loose my organic rating.


wow! that's a tough hit on a major crop. i
hope it can be controlled, but i'm not familiar
at all with that disease. does it stay on the
plants or is it only on the fruits after they
drop?

considering what it takes to get an organic
certification i sure hope you can get this under
control without resorting to extreme measures.

i'm wondering if some kind of ground cover
planted to prevent splashing spores up from the
ground might help? a large hoover to suck up
things would be interesting, but burning the
hooverites would be a challenge.


I've started picking the Maine yellow-eyed beans, looks like a bumper crop this year. A neighbor and I disposed of 4 ground hogs last fall and aarly spring so no damage this year.


i plant some yellow-eyes each year because we both
like them but i don't have enough space to grow a lot
of them. i plant so many other bean varieties that
it's hard for me to get more than a few pounds of any
one variety other than the staples (pinto beans for
me and lima beans for Ma). this year i made the
exception to build up a stock of a cross-breed that
did well last season and looks to be doing good this
year too. finishes early enough, about the size of
a red bean but it is black and a nice blue/purple pod
when dried (and the flowers are purple).


Cucumbers and squash have died and the second planting has started to bloom. Chili peppers are tall and loaded and tomatos are producing about a bushel per week so we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They look like watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green balls on them. They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or cucumber beetles, so they may become my new pickle plant.


you must have a large area if you can plant more than
one round of cucumbers and squash. as much as i like
cucumbers i'm also glad that they can finish early.


I'm preparing ground for the fall crops this week. I'll be planting daikon, beets, spinach, turnips, mustard, and maybe some kale, collard and mustard.


all sounds great, i hope they do well. i think the
bunnies ate the diakons i planted last year -- or perhaps
it was me. i found out i really liked radish sprout
greens.


songbird
  #19   Report Post  
Old 13-08-2015, 01:53 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Sep 2012
Posts: 678
Default what's up

songbird wrote:
Steve Peek wrote:
...
Apparently there are at least 2 types of buckwheat honey. The
eastern variety is as black as can be with an aroma and flavor
somewhere between old vitamins, cough syrup and strong blackstrap
molasses. The local "tofu/granola" types think darker and stronger
is healthy and good for you similar to dark greens being more
healthy. I agree that buckwheat is great bee fodder especially at
that time of year when little else is available.


i happen to like molasses so this description just makes
me think that someday i'll have to find some and give it
a try.


songbird


If the buckwheat I just ordered actually sprouts , I'll let you know . Not
sure which variety I'm getting , but it doesn't matter much . This time of
year the focus is on getting the hives up to weight to winter well and have
the resources (bees + food/pollen) to build up in time to catch the spring
flows . Without swarming ... it's a fine line !

--
Snag
4 hives and growing ...


  #20   Report Post  
Old 13-08-2015, 02:41 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2014
Posts: 149
Default what's up

Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop
this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart cucumber
flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They look like
watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green balls on them.
They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or cucumber beetles, so
they may become my new pickle plant.


Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)




  #21   Report Post  
Old 13-08-2015, 03:52 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Oct 2012
Posts: 105
Default what's up

On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 8:41:27 PM UTC-4, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop
this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart cucumber
flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They look like
watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green balls on them.
They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or cucumber beetles, so
they may become my new pickle plant.


Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)



that's them, same family, different genus. Mine don't seem to be that large without getting inedible seeds. They're very tasty similar to cucumber but more tart.
  #22   Report Post  
Old 16-08-2015, 02:33 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2014
Posts: 149
Default what's up

Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 8:41:27 PM UTC-4, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop
this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart
cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They
look like watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green balls
on them. They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or cucumber
beetles, so they may become my new pickle plant.


Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,


that's them, same family, different genus. Mine don't seem to be that
large without getting inedible seeds. They're very tasty similar to
cucumber but more tart.


I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much easier than
lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind wandered, as it
does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely need more tart in my
life.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)


  #23   Report Post  
Old 16-08-2015, 03:13 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2014
Posts: 851
Default what's up

On 8/15/2015 7:33 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 8:41:27 PM UTC-4, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop
this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart
cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They
look like watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green balls
on them. They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or cucumber
beetles, so they may become my new pickle plant.

Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,


that's them, same family, different genus. Mine don't seem to be that
large without getting inedible seeds. They're very tasty similar to
cucumber but more tart.


I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much easier than
lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind wandered, as it
does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely need more tart in my
life.

You left the s off tarts. G
  #24   Report Post  
Old 16-08-2015, 08:56 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2014
Posts: 149
Default what's up

Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
On 8/15/2015 7:33 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 8:41:27 PM UTC-4, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop
this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart
cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They
look like watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green
balls on them. They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or
cucumber beetles, so they may become my new pickle plant.

Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,

that's them, same family, different genus. Mine don't seem to be
that large without getting inedible seeds. They're very tasty
similar to cucumber but more tart.


I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much
easier than lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind
wandered, as it does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely
need more tart in my life.

You left the s off tarts. G


LOL! Good to see I'm not the only one who thinks like that. I Left the
's' off in case I was.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)


  #25   Report Post  
Old 16-08-2015, 04:28 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2014
Posts: 851
Default what's up

On 8/16/2015 1:56 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
On 8/15/2015 7:33 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 8:41:27 PM UTC-4, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me) crop
this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a tart
cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to cucumber. They
look like watermelon plants with dozens of little spiky green
balls on them. They don't appear to be susceptible to mildew or
cucumber beetles, so they may become my new pickle plant.

Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,

that's them, same family, different genus. Mine don't seem to be
that large without getting inedible seeds. They're very tasty
similar to cucumber but more tart.

I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much
easier than lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind
wandered, as it does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely
need more tart in my life.

You left the s off tarts. G


LOL! Good to see I'm not the only one who thinks like that. I Left the
's' off in case I was.

Nope, there's lots of us out there. My tart chasing ended 57 years ago
but I can still remember those days. G


  #26   Report Post  
Old 17-08-2015, 07:46 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2014
Posts: 149
Default what's up

Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
On 8/16/2015 1:56 AM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet George Shirley wrote:
On 8/15/2015 7:33 PM, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:
On Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at 8:41:27 PM UTC-4, ~misfit~ wrote:
Once upon a time on usenet Steve Peek wrote:


[snipped]

we have lots of preserving going on now. I grew a new (to me)
crop this year called "West Indian Burr Gerkin". They have a
tart cucumber flavor but are supposedly not related to
cucumber. They look like watermelon plants with dozens of
little spiky green balls on them. They don't appear to be
susceptible to mildew or cucumber beetles, so they may become
my new pickle plant.

Is this them?
http://www.worldcrops.org/crops/Maxixe.cfm

Because they *are* cucurbits, in the same family as cukes.

Cheers,

that's them, same family, different genus. Mine don't seem to be
that large without getting inedible seeds. They're very tasty
similar to cucumber but more tart.

I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much
easier than lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind
wandered, as it does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely
need more tart in my life.

You left the s off tarts. G


LOL! Good to see I'm not the only one who thinks like that. I
Left the 's' off in case I was.

Nope, there's lots of us out there. My tart chasing ended 57 years ago
but I can still remember those days. G


Mine ended a while back too but I never married or 'settled down' so I can
still dream.
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)


  #27   Report Post  
Old 18-08-2015, 02:58 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,072
Default what's up

~misfit~ wrote:
....
I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much easier than
lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind wandered, as it
does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely need more tart in my
life.


we make crumbles (fruit on the bottom topped
by a mix of sugar, oats, whatever else that will
bake ok) and that can also reduce the amount of
sugars/fats while still giving it a bit of crust
on it.


songbird
  #28   Report Post  
Old 22-08-2015, 08:34 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Nov 2014
Posts: 149
Default what's up

Once upon a time on usenet songbird wrote:
~misfit~ wrote:
...
I was just making a rhubarb tart last night (lidless pie - much
easier than lidding it and lower pastry to fruit ratio) and my mind
wandered, as it does... I came to the conclusion that I definitely
need more tart in my life.


we make crumbles (fruit on the bottom topped
by a mix of sugar, oats, whatever else that will
bake ok) and that can also reduce the amount of
sugars/fats while still giving it a bit of crust
on it.


Yes, I've made many a crumble in my time. When I was a kid, back in the days
before food processors I used to rub the butter into the flour for Mum.
However I do like a good semi-sweet shortcrust pastry (my secret is to add
lemon juice to the pastry mix, it really picks it up and adds a new
dimension to it).
--
Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long way when religious belief has a cozy
little classification in the DSM*."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)
(*Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)


  #29   Report Post  
Old 23-08-2015, 07:19 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Feb 2008
Posts: 544
Default what's up

In article , says...
songbird wrote:
Terry Coombs wrote:
...
I've been trying to get borage (and other stuff) started here ,
supposed to bloom later than most of the stuff here . I need
something that blooms into the summer heat , we have a dearth of
nectar sources after about mid-July , and often no nectar flow in
the fall . Bees gotta eat , and feeding them sugar syrup gets
expensive .


if you don't have meadowland/open areas i'm not
sure how well most flowering plants i can think of
will do.


I have power line easements about 60-80 ft wide thru the woods , they get
pretty good sun .

bee balm and the related bergamot are later
blooming.


I planted some bee balm , never came up - maybe next spring .


Ask around.

People with an established patch will likely divide it and share.

My wife is a gardener and she's always ...'sharing' one colour or another of
monarda with new clients.

....She just passed by and said that once you 'get the borage started it'll just
seed, and that'll be good.'

We've planted perennial herbs that are supposed to be good in zone 5 and
they've not reproduced for years... 'thought we'd never plants for harvest and
then they seem to figure our climate out and we're away.

---
This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus

Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 08:38 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 GardenBanter.co.uk.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Gardening"

 

Copyright © 2017