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Jamming and Jelling – no not like Dr. Scholl’s – that would be Gelling
August 25, 2010
Uncategorized blackberries, jelly, port wine, rosemar, strawberry jam, wine Leave a comment
I have been catching up on the canning – two batches of my home grown blackberries, one batch of my strawberries and now a little treat.
I made a batch of Shiraz Rosemary jelly. What a wonderful pairing of flavors. I can't wait to try it over cream cheese as a dip and maybe on some lamb as a glaze while grilling. The last batch is a Port jelly with orange, cloves and cinnamon sticks blended, soaked and strained through cheese cloth to help keep the jelly clear and flavorful.
Hmmmm,. how about some Chardonnay Jelly with a little orange zest and a dash of cloves. Send me a suggestion…. I love to experiment. The best suggestion gets a jar and a surprise treat…. help me out.
A How To Lesson – Compost Bin Basics
August 22, 2010
Uncategorized compost bin, environmentally friendly, gardening, grass clippings., soil, worm poop, worms Leave a comment
This is my compost bin built primarily from remnants of my blown down fence after Hurricane Ike visited my neighborhood. It is about 75% recycled wood and wire screen, the remainder is store bought. Foot print dimensions are 30 X 36 inches and about 40 inches tall. On the left side you can see some wood slats drilled with holes for air circulation. The slats fit in a groove to allow access to the bin for turning and removal of material. At the base I installed access doors for removal of material – good idea but has not been real practical. I need to trim about an inch or so off the bottom edge to make it easier to swing the door open. I am still looking for a "round to it" to get pushed off center!
Why two bins? Well, originally I thought I would need two during the summer to keep up with the massive amounts of grass clippings we grass we generate in this God awful hot and humid climate. The nice surprise is that the grass heats up and decays so quickly that it never fills up. My son Joe came in the house one day after mowing and said the bin was too full. I suggested he look again in three days and see if it was too full. Three days later, plenty of room for the next week's mowing. I now use the other bin to hold the brown material needed to keep the ratio of green to brown material in a close to correct balance.
Training folks to use the bin – this is the tough part. I go back a few years to our Midland, Texas days. As always I had a bin in our Midland yard. I was coaching my wife to take the kitchen scraps, no meat, fat or bone – just veggies and bread, out to the bin or let me or one of the kids do it. Well we had a lesson learned experience. Kathy was making mashed potatoes and had a sink full of potato peelings. Instead of gettting them out to the bin she attempted to process them through the garbage disposal unit. Potatoes are very starchy and stick together – they plug up the disposal discharge line -SOLID! The repair is just some minor plumbing work easily enough done. I received a promise to never try that again. Well – the promise did not last long and I was under the sink again to remove the starch bound mass of peelings. The lesson has now been learned – that was probably 10 years ago and I have not been under the sink for that repair again.
What goes to the bin – most kitchen scraps over and above what goes to the worm bin, grass clippings (the green stuff), leaves (the brown stuff), mulched up yard waste (chopped up through the mower to increase surface area allowing quicker rotting) and anything that will decay.
A definitive guide is found in the book titled " Let it Rot" can't remember the author's name but it is a great source of composting info. I have misplaced my copy. My beds are healthier and more productive, the soil is easier to work and I have an abundance of large worms to take to the lake – cat fish love my worms!!! PS – not the little guys in my worm bin…… I need them doing their job of making wonderful worm poop.
TTFN
Bishop
Worms Need a Reward
August 8, 2010
Uncategorized darwin, evolution, melons, strawberry, wallace, worm poop, worms 1 Comment
I have not been very diligent with my worms this summer and was afraid they would succumb to the Houston heat. Jim's Worms, my supplier, indicates that they don't do well when the temperatures are above 85 degrees F. Well the garage, home for the worm bin, has been up near 100 deg F for a good chunk of the summer. I think I may be validating Darwin's work on natural selection( pushed a little by Alfred Russel Wallace) because I have a wiggling mass of red worms surviving/thanksgiving in this heat happily chomping away at the excess cucumber scraps, newspaper and an apple core or two.
These guys/gals – I think they are both – well read this clip "Although earthworms have both female and male sex organs, they still need to mate in order to reproduce." Probably more than you needed to know, but now you know! Their hard work has produced about 12 pounds of luscious and rich worm poop. The cantaloupes love it and they are the biggest I have ever seen - 7 to 8 pounds. We cut up a "Frankenmelon" tonight for us and the scraps went to the worms and compost bin.
Well I decided tonight that the little guys/gals deserved a treat so I tossed a mix of strawberry trimmings and cantaloupe scraps into the bin. I pulled back the newspaper litter covering the worms and tossed in the gourmet meal. The were dancing, twisting and wiggling all over. But, they tend to do that every time they are exposed to light. I think they will appreciate the change in diet…. they really do prefer fruits over other veggie scraps. They tend to congregate in those areas of the bin.
Well TTFN
Bishop
About the last of the Summer Harvest
August 5, 2010
Not really the last harvest but it will be a while!
It has been quiet on the blog for a little while. Kathy and I went off to Australia for a couple of weeks and a few days with family in California before coming back to lovely Houston. It was only 108 with the heat index today….. in the shade. We don’t need a sauna here – just step out and think about moving and the sweat glands shift into overtime.
I ripped out the fading cucumbers and tomato plants yesterday. That was a three t-shirt job! Found quite a few cucumbers hiding in the foliage.(see photo) I made 8 jars of strawberry preserve tonight and made 7 jars of Blackberry preserves a couple of days ago. It is satisfying that all the berries came out of my yard!
I replanted some fall tomatoes hoping for a break in the weather. They look pretty good today so they may give me a good fall crop. I waited until the sun went down to plant and gave them plenty to drink.
I have a couple of monster cantaloupes that will be ready in a few days. My asparagus ferns are huge and I am looking forward to next year’s picking. The peppers are still fruiting and giving me some color for salads and roasted vegetables on the grill.
Let’s just hope it cools off soon.
Sunflowers and Veggies
July 6, 2010
Uncategorized cucumbers, garden, peppers, storm, sunflowers, tomatoes Leave a comment
My sunflowers came down during last week’s storms. The heads were so large and 10-12 feet up in the air that the roots could not hold in the saturated soil. This photo was on a better day – June 19th. It is hard to picture how big the heads are but I would guess most are 12-14 inches across. I harvested today and have spread the heads out to dry. Ate a few damp and raw seeds and they were pretty tasty.
The little tiny cherry tomatoes are a nice surprise. We had a volunteer plant show up in the flower beds and I suggested we pull it but Kathy said let it grow and see what comes of it. Well,……… It is doing well and is putting out the sweetest and prettiest cherry tomatoes. I will have to save the seed because it tolerates the heat and humidity very well. It is not staked and just trails out in the flower bed. I am still getting cucumbers, (some hide well and become very large and/or too large) peppers of all sorts and an occasional slicing tomato. I do love to see them grow. Enough for now! Bishop
A Distant Garden Surprise
June 18, 2010
Too hot for much in my garden – cucumbers and the sunflowers are loving it! I will share some pictures of the sunflowers soon. I will need a ladder as some are above the roof line of the garage.
So what is going on in a distant garden? My wife Kathy was off in California visiting family and friends. It seems every year there is a hummingbirds nest built on one of the outside light fixtures. This year the hummingbirds were back and my wife discovered another nest in a Ficus in the yard. She took a ton of pictures and this one was so funny seeing their little beaks poking out from the nest,
The hummingbirds from the nest on the light fixture fledged while she was there and she snapped a couple of the mother feeding the fledglings.Look closely and you will see the youngster perched and the mother hovering near the open beak of the youngster. They are fun to watch and I can't wait for our own local migration in September. Hope all is green and growing. Bishop
Freshen up the Pizza
June 10, 2010
Uncategorized fresh, garden, pizza, tomatoes Leave a comment
Brought in some fresh tomatoes this morning. The Juliet tomatoes are making a statement – using a President Obama term – this one plant wants to "Kick some Ass" and is loaded with tomatoes….. was that a bad political joke? Yes it was- just couldn't resist.
So, back to the freshened up pizza. I am a bachelor for another week – I do have my 15 year old suffering through my attempts to keep him fed, the dishes washed, floors swept, laundry done – Kathy I sure do appreciate ALL that you do for me…. wink, wink! It does not seem to ever slow down! So, Joe went off to soccer tryouts at 5:00 PM and I had to fend for myself.
I had a California Kitchen frozen pizza – they are thin crust, pretty tasty and relatively low cal! This one was spinach and cheese – BORING! – I had some turkey pepperonis in the fridge but I looked over at all "them maters" – those Juliet tomatoes when sliced are pepperoni size and probably better for me. Looks pretty good doesn't it. Well it surely was!
So, what can I freshen up tomorrow? – I have a ton of cucumbers – hmmmmm – Google recipe search coming up!
Bishop – TTFN
So, back to the freshened up pizza. I am a bachelor for another week – I do have my 15 year old suffering through my attempts to keep him fed, the dishes washed, floors swept, laundry done – Kathy I sure do appreciate ALL that you do for me…. wink, wink! It does not seem to ever slow down! So, Joe went off to soccer tryouts at 5:00 PM and I had to fend for myself.
I had a California Kitchen frozen pizza – they are thin crust, pretty tasty and relatively low cal! This one was spinach and cheese – BORING! – I had some turkey pepperonis in the fridge but I looked over at all "them maters" – those Juliet tomatoes when sliced are pepperoni size and probably better for me. Looks pretty good doesn't it. Well it surely was!
So, what can I freshen up tomorrow? – I have a ton of cucumbers – hmmmmm – Google recipe search coming up!
Bishop – TTFN
I am back limping into my garden.
June 5, 2010
Uncategorized berries, cucumbers, herbs, tomatoes, vacation, vegetables 2 Comments
I am back limping into the garden and enjoying the veggies. The weeds got a little ahead of me but the Gecko is keeping most of the bad bugs scared off.- I wish LOL. He still looks good even if he does not eat much.
Everything is growing so well! My Roma and Juliet tomatoes are kicking butt. Unfortunately my Brandywine plants are green, healthy and tall – but won't set tomatoes. They taste so good but I may not get any this year.
At least the blackberries are doing very well. Lucky for me that my wife Kathy is out in California because she loves fresh berries. I do too but I really like to gather enough to make jam. I have a gallon in the freezer, have snacked on the fresh ones and will probably get another gallon or two before we head off to Australia. The strawberries have slowed down but there is an increase in blossoms so I should have another round of the luscious red delights very soon.
A cluster of green Juliet tomatoes. They do incredibly well in the Houston heat. One plant will overwhelm a family so that's all I plant. They are so tasty and look a lot like a miniature Roma tomato. I hope the Brandywine's will at least set a few for me!
Now another bounty! The cucumbers are kicking in and as always I have planted more than we can eat. So friends and neighbors bet to share in the bounty.
My experiment in my friends backyard is doing OK. It was doing very well, his dog was ignoring it until …….. until I added some fish emulsion. Well, his Golden Retriever Pismo dug up the spots where I placed the fish emulsion several times but now the scent is gone and the plants are undisturbed. John has used some of the Rosemary and we have a few tomatoes setting as well as the cucumbers beginning to stretch up toward the supports. Salad components soon!
I'll be back!
Repairing a Bad Wheel
May 2, 2010
The garden is calling my name and I can't go out and see her. I am relying on my wife and son to do the picking and I hope they are doing it right!!!!!!
I finally got to the point where I could not put up with the pain and the limitations caused by the knee grinding itself up. I went in Tuesday the 27th of April. Wow! It is not easy but they all tell me it will be worth it. Here it is, Saturday and I think I am seeing some progress. But just to add to the challenge the weather is turning warm…… good for the tomatoes and others but the Decker household has lost the downstairs AC unit. It is comfortable upstairs but I am definitely confined to the lower floor and feeling it!
I can see just a wee bit of the garden through the entrance trellis. The plants are very green and have jumped up many inches in the short week I have been horizontal. I am glad the plants tolerate the heat and humidity as well as they do….. At least I hope they like it.
I just put Joe to work to feed the worms….. Hope they had enough to carry them over for a few days. I will try to get my walker out into the yard this next week and share some pictures.
TTFN
Bishop
From My Backyard 