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Old 19-07-2017, 02:16 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Okra

Okra is coming to maturity so fast we can hardly keep up with it. Looks
like we will run out of space in both freezers rapidly. Wash it, cut off
the bottom, slice into rounds, put on cookie sheets, freeze for an hour
at 0 degrees. Take it out, put it in vacuum bags, seal, put a date on
it, back in the freezer. Looks like a lot of deep fried okra and/or gumbo.

Tomatoes are about played out due to the heat, the little marble toms
are okay as they're big bushes are shading the fruit. The plum and other
tomatoes aren't that lucky.

We're hitting 90+ degrees daily now. Weather folk are saying we have
really good chances for rain for the next ten days but we can only hope.

Nothing else going on garden wise but we can hope for a decent winter
garden some day not to far away. No figs, one pear, maybe get some
kumquat come fall. Got to pull up the Old Maids flowers from around the
pear tree. Finally got through to dear wife that pretty flowers growing
around my fruit trees means no goodies to grow the fruit coming up from
the roots.

Local free newspaper throws one for each house on our area but no one
picks them up. We starting picking them all up and then run them through
the paper shredder and then into the composter. At least they aren't a
eyesore anymore and the shredding helps them ferment and turn into
decent compost when all the kitchen stuff goes in and the dead plants in
the garden.

Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt" in
the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all the
stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer and use
that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds. Beats trying
to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and shoulders to get a
good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.

George
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Old 19-07-2017, 02:46 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 678
Default Okra

On 7/18/2017 7:16 PM, George Shirley wrote:
Okra is coming to maturity so fast we can hardly keep up with it.
Looks like we will run out of space in both freezers rapidly. Wash it,
cut off the bottom, slice into rounds, put on cookie sheets, freeze
for an hour at 0 degrees. Take it out, put it in vacuum bags, seal,
put a date on it, back in the freezer. Looks like a lot of deep fried
okra and/or gumbo.

Tomatoes are about played out due to the heat, the little marble toms
are okay as they're big bushes are shading the fruit. The plum and
other tomatoes aren't that lucky.

We're hitting 90+ degrees daily now. Weather folk are saying we have
really good chances for rain for the next ten days but we can only hope.

Nothing else going on garden wise but we can hope for a decent winter
garden some day not to far away. No figs, one pear, maybe get some
kumquat come fall. Got to pull up the Old Maids flowers from around
the pear tree. Finally got through to dear wife that pretty flowers
growing around my fruit trees means no goodies to grow the fruit
coming up from the roots.

Local free newspaper throws one for each house on our area but no one
picks them up. We starting picking them all up and then run them
through the paper shredder and then into the composter. At least they
aren't a eyesore anymore and the shredding helps them ferment and turn
into decent compost when all the kitchen stuff goes in and the dead
plants in the garden.

Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt"
in the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all
the stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer
and use that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds.
Beats trying to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and
shoulders to get a good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.

George


Cement mixer ! Geez , I've been wearing myself out turning that
compost pile with a shovel . I bought a HF mixer to mix concrete for the
cellar slab and mortar for the block walls , now it just sits awaiting
the next masonry-type project . Not any more !

--

Snag

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Old 19-07-2017, 03:01 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 851
Default Okra

On 7/18/2017 7:46 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/18/2017 7:16 PM, George Shirley wrote:
Okra is coming to maturity so fast we can hardly keep up with it.
Looks like we will run out of space in both freezers rapidly. Wash it,
cut off the bottom, slice into rounds, put on cookie sheets, freeze
for an hour at 0 degrees. Take it out, put it in vacuum bags, seal,
put a date on it, back in the freezer. Looks like a lot of deep fried
okra and/or gumbo.

Tomatoes are about played out due to the heat, the little marble toms
are okay as they're big bushes are shading the fruit. The plum and
other tomatoes aren't that lucky.

We're hitting 90+ degrees daily now. Weather folk are saying we have
really good chances for rain for the next ten days but we can only hope.

Nothing else going on garden wise but we can hope for a decent winter
garden some day not to far away. No figs, one pear, maybe get some
kumquat come fall. Got to pull up the Old Maids flowers from around
the pear tree. Finally got through to dear wife that pretty flowers
growing around my fruit trees means no goodies to grow the fruit
coming up from the roots.

Local free newspaper throws one for each house on our area but no one
picks them up. We starting picking them all up and then run them
through the paper shredder and then into the composter. At least they
aren't a eyesore anymore and the shredding helps them ferment and turn
into decent compost when all the kitchen stuff goes in and the dead
plants in the garden.

Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt"
in the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all
the stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer
and use that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds.
Beats trying to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and
shoulders to get a good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.

George


Cement mixer ! Geez , I've been wearing myself out turning that
compost pile with a shovel . I bought a HF mixer to mix concrete for the
cellar slab and mortar for the block walls , now it just sits awaiting
the next masonry-type project . Not any more !

--

Snag

If you weren't so far away Snag I would try to borrow it. I've actually
found one on line that someone wants to sell cheap. Guy says the
electric plug is blown but I can fix that easily. Going over to look at
it tomorrow at mid-day. If the guy is smart he washed it out after every
use, if he isn't he might as well throw it in the dump. You ever try to
beat the cement out of one of those things with a hammer?
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Old 19-07-2017, 04:11 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 678
Default Okra

On 7/18/2017 8:01 PM, George Shirley wrote:
On 7/18/2017 7:46 PM, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/18/2017 7:16 PM, George Shirley wrote:
Okra is coming to maturity so fast we can hardly keep up with it.
Looks like we will run out of space in both freezers rapidly. Wash
it, cut off the bottom, slice into rounds, put on cookie sheets,
freeze for an hour at 0 degrees. Take it out, put it in vacuum bags,
seal, put a date on it, back in the freezer. Looks like a lot of
deep fried okra and/or gumbo.

Tomatoes are about played out due to the heat, the little marble
toms are okay as they're big bushes are shading the fruit. The plum
and other tomatoes aren't that lucky.

We're hitting 90+ degrees daily now. Weather folk are saying we have
really good chances for rain for the next ten days but we can only
hope.

Nothing else going on garden wise but we can hope for a decent
winter garden some day not to far away. No figs, one pear, maybe get
some kumquat come fall. Got to pull up the Old Maids flowers from
around the pear tree. Finally got through to dear wife that pretty
flowers growing around my fruit trees means no goodies to grow the
fruit coming up from the roots.

Local free newspaper throws one for each house on our area but no
one picks them up. We starting picking them all up and then run them
through the paper shredder and then into the composter. At least
they aren't a eyesore anymore and the shredding helps them ferment
and turn into decent compost when all the kitchen stuff goes in and
the dead plants in the garden.

Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade
"dirt" in the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure
plus all the stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small
cement mixer and use that to mix up all the goodies and then back
into the beds. Beats trying to rock a tarp back and forth with our
old arms and shoulders to get a good mix. Need to add another bale
of peat moss too.

George


Cement mixer ! Geez , I've been wearing myself out turning that
compost pile with a shovel . I bought a HF mixer to mix concrete for
the cellar slab and mortar for the block walls , now it just sits
awaiting the next masonry-type project . Not any more !

--

Snag

If you weren't so far away Snag I would try to borrow it. I've
actually found one on line that someone wants to sell cheap. Guy says
the electric plug is blown but I can fix that easily. Going over to
look at it tomorrow at mid-day. If the guy is smart he washed it out
after every use, if he isn't he might as well throw it in the dump.
You ever try to beat the cement out of one of those things with a hammer?


No , I rinsed mine out after using it . There is a thin skim of
mortar/concrete around the lip . but not enough to have to beat it out .
If you were near I'd be happy to lend it .

--

Snag

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Old 19-07-2017, 04:12 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 3,072
Default Okra

George Shirley wrote:
....
Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt" in
the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all the
stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer and use
that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds. Beats trying
to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and shoulders to get a
good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.


just put it down on top and it will get mixed in
when you plant new things in and if your worms are
working...

i think many people are really wrapped up in
gadgets and techniques more than common sense.
for some reason they forget that nature has
figured out how to rot and reuse stuff that
just falls on the surface as is.

if you're worried about bugs and smells it
does help to bury some things under several
inches of soil to keep the flies off and to
make it available to the worms.

i turn my worm buckets out into the gardens
once a year. otherwise i only disturb the soil
in them to put new things in that need to be
buried. in rotation through the buckets it means
i may do something once or twice a month in
each bucket (depending upon how many food scraps
we have).

keep it simple.


songbird


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Old 19-07-2017, 02:36 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Posts: 851
Default Okra

On 7/18/2017 9:12 PM, songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
...
Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt" in
the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all the
stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer and use
that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds. Beats trying
to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and shoulders to get a
good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.


just put it down on top and it will get mixed in
when you plant new things in and if your worms are
working...

No worms here, in five years I've found two worms and I suspect they
came in pots dear wife had bought. Remember, we have two inches of sand
on top of several feet of gumbo clay.

i think many people are really wrapped up in
gadgets and techniques more than common sense.
for some reason they forget that nature has
figured out how to rot and reuse stuff that
just falls on the surface as is.

Years ago we had good dirt on the old home place and lots of earth worms
and good bacteria. I have four generations of "gadgets" and other tools
that have been passed down to me. One of my great granddads was a
blacksmith and his tools were made by him, including the wood drills,
etc. I oil them once a year and put them back into the home made tool
box from more than a hundred years ago. All of those go to my middle
grandson when I'm gone.

if you're worried about bugs and smells it
does help to bury some things under several
inches of soil to keep the flies off and to
make it available to the worms.

We both grew up in the country with critters of all sorts and all the
manure went into the compost heap and got turned frequently. On this
6500 square feet of property with driveway, sidewalks, and a 1960 square
foot house we barely can grown anything. At least all the fence line is
growing something pretty or edible and we have three fruit trees. Every
other house has a live oak in the front yard. Our front yard tree is a
pear. G

i turn my worm buckets out into the gardens
once a year. otherwise i only disturb the soil
in them to put new things in that need to be
buried. in rotation through the buckets it means
i may do something once or twice a month in
each bucket (depending upon how many food scraps
we have).

keep it simple.


songbird

I tried growing worms a couple of years ago, they all died, probably due
to the heat here.

Looks like we're going to get more rain in dribbles but it's still free
garden water.

George
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Old 21-07-2017, 06:56 PM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Okra

George Shirley wrote:
songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
...
Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt" in
the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all the
stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer and use
that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds. Beats trying
to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and shoulders to get a
good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.


just put it down on top and it will get mixed in
when you plant new things in and if your worms are
working...

No worms here, in five years I've found two worms and I suspect they
came in pots dear wife had bought. Remember, we have two inches of sand
on top of several feet of gumbo clay.


earthworms will live in clay, it's the composting
worms (red wrigglers and others) that might not do
well with the heat.


i think many people are really wrapped up in
gadgets and techniques more than common sense.
for some reason they forget that nature has
figured out how to rot and reuse stuff that
just falls on the surface as is.


Years ago we had good dirt on the old home place and lots of earth worms
and good bacteria. I have four generations of "gadgets" and other tools
that have been passed down to me. One of my great granddads was a
blacksmith and his tools were made by him, including the wood drills,
etc. I oil them once a year and put them back into the home made tool
box from more than a hundred years ago. All of those go to my middle
grandson when I'm gone.


and i bet none of them were made of plastic?

another reason why our current society is
more full of trash. a lot of plastics just
crumble too easily when they age.


if you're worried about bugs and smells it
does help to bury some things under several
inches of soil to keep the flies off and to
make it available to the worms.


We both grew up in the country with critters of all sorts and all the
manure went into the compost heap and got turned frequently. On this
6500 square feet of property with driveway, sidewalks, and a 1960 square
foot house we barely can grown anything. At least all the fence line is
growing something pretty or edible and we have three fruit trees. Every
other house has a live oak in the front yard. Our front yard tree is a
pear. G


we have one fence that is being held down by
wild grapes. it's a major project but i sure
would like to get those out of there. the grape
vines shade out the grasses and those grasses
hold the soil in place along that ditch. when
the water runs hard it is going to move over to
scour the bare soil (easiest path) instead of
through the area that has grass growing in the
center. it'll be a messy job too if i get in
there and move some of that grass back from the
center to along the sides again. none of it
makes sense if i can't get the shading shrubs
and vines removed and keep them out of there.
the trees i've kept after so they've not had a
chance to get too big that i have no way to
remove them. one of them i took down with a
hammer and chisel.


i turn my worm buckets out into the gardens
once a year. otherwise i only disturb the soil
in them to put new things in that need to be
buried. in rotation through the buckets it means
i may do something once or twice a month in
each bucket (depending upon how many food scraps
we have).

keep it simple.


I tried growing worms a couple of years ago, they all died, probably due
to the heat here.


likely if they got much over 90F and/or didn't
have enough water.

i have had the buckets in here do ok with some
spells of 90+F and not running the AC, but i do
make sure they have plenty of water in them.


Looks like we're going to get more rain in dribbles but it's still free
garden water.


i hope we get some this evening or tomorrow. the
forecast has been calling for some rains, but as usual
many storms go either south or north of us.


songbird
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Old 22-07-2017, 12:02 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
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Default Okra

On 7/21/2017 11:56 AM, songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
songbird wrote:
George Shirley wrote:
...
Hoping this fall that we will be able to take all the homemade "dirt" in
the raised beds and mix in a lot more composted cow manure plus all the
stuff from the composter. I intend to rent a small cement mixer and use
that to mix up all the goodies and then back into the beds. Beats trying
to rock a tarp back and forth with our old arms and shoulders to get a
good mix. Need to add another bale of peat moss too.

just put it down on top and it will get mixed in
when you plant new things in and if your worms are
working...

No worms here, in five years I've found two worms and I suspect they
came in pots dear wife had bought. Remember, we have two inches of sand
on top of several feet of gumbo clay.


earthworms will live in clay, it's the composting
worms (red wrigglers and others) that might not do
well with the heat.

In all my life all I've ever found in solid gumbo clay are fire ants.
Crawfish will go through a small layer of clay but never through five
feet of the stuff. I've tried to get earthworms to work here but they
will only stay in the raised beds. Fire ants will drill down in clay but
I never see any on the top of the soil with a few exceptions.

The builders of this community came in, checked the level of land and
hauled in many tons of Houston gumbo clay, red, white, yellow, and a dun
color. We live on what used to be an ancient ocean probably a million
years ago and not to far from the Gulf of Mexico. On top of the clay
they put in a few inches of sand, laid down San Augustine grass with a
little bit of dirt on the roots and called it a lawn.

Every year I use a hand held seed spreader filed with ground gypsum and
go other the front and back yards and the edges along the side of the
house. Gypsum, over a period of time, will start turning gumbo clay into
a little dirt. We do that here and we did that in Corpus Christi, TX
back in the early eighties, where we had the same problem. Learned that
from the folks who had been living there for years.

George
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