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Too many green Beans!

May 7, 2011

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Too many green beans.

I returned home to my garden, my refuge, my place of calm and inner peace after two weeks in California. My wife took very good care of the veggies and berries in my absence, save for the green beans. The beans went wild.

I had planted poles in such a way as to lean forward from the fence to the front of the raised bed. I had hoped it would make picking a lot easier. In theory it looked like a success in the days before I left. I had lots of blossoms, a good number of early beans and many more on the way. In my absence the growing conditions must have been ideal. The vines hit the end of the 7  foot poles and still wanted to reach for the sky. The result was a mass of twisting and twining vines that drug the support poles down and snapped several off.

I picked a load of beans my first day back, had tons that went well beyond the stage to eat or can. I also had some bush beans planted in the area. They too were loaded. I have more beans than I can possibly eat fresh. I hope my worms can process large tough bean pods.

 I was thinking back to what my gardening friend Jane had told me about fresh green beans…….she got $8.00 per pound for them. I probably had 8-10 pounds, excluding those that were no longer tender eating size. I can see how a market grower could have a great cash crop with beans…….as long as they manage them well.

So, why the picture of my son Joe holding a nice fresh caught Speckled Trout? Last night I grilled the trout after marinating in a mixture of olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, fish rub with garlic and some sea salt. We had the grilled filets with my wonderfull fresh green beans and broccoli. A simple yet an elegant meal. I paired my meal with the Imperial Stout Ale I recently brewed.. I was joined for dinner by my daughter Lisa. We had a nice visit and spent the evening watching the Mavericks put the Lakers into a deep hole. Kathy was off to New York City and Joe won’t eat what he catches.

I am planning a new technique for a bean tower. Last year I made a teepee structure and it worked well. So, why mess with success? I guess I have a need to know firsthand what doesn’t work so well! Hmmmmmmm, what can I come up with next? Maybe I need to consider the concept of “design of experiments” and use a control to test against…..the teepee? No that would take the fun of failure away!

TTFN Folks

Bishop

April 20, 2011

Bishop berrries, Canning, Gardening, jam and jelly, Mason bees , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I think my wife really does love me. I was out of town on a job in the Midland and Lubbock areas of West Texas and unable to tend to my gardening chores. I flew home early last Saturday morning and she surprised me with a big basket of my home grown strawberries. Wow, what a gal!!!! I finished filling one of the 1 gallon freezer bags already partially filled in the freezer and started a new bag. I need to make another batch of jam this week and may fill the next bag by the end of the week….. I will be swimming in my heavenly strawberry jam – Yum!!!!

Today was a partial day in the garden and I only sweated through one T-shirt. I weeded, watered and finished pulling up the last of my Detroit Red beets. I still have a very beautifully leafed beet variety that I forgot the name of yet to harvest. Very nice looking tops and we will see about the beet taste soon. I made a pickled beet recipe today to eat like a cold salad – it is pretty tasty.

 I used about 3 + cups of skinned and sliced up roasted beets. FYI – drop the hot roasted beets in ice water and the skins nearly remove themselves. I boiled ¾ cup of cider vinegar and ¾ cup of beet juice….. I poured almost a cup of hot water over the beets in a bowl to make the beet juice. Once that mixture was boiling I added 2 tbs. sugar, 2 whole cloves, 3 whole black peppercorns, a bay leaf, about ¾ tsp. of sea salt and about a cup of chopped red onion. Brought it back to a boil and poured over the beets. Refrigerated for a couple of hours and man, they are pretty darned good! Recipe is almost exactly like one I found in allrecipes.com. Great recipe resource!

Updates;

The Mason Bees. They are rapidly depositing eggs and filling the tubes. I have about 11 of the tubes filled and sealed. Should have quite a few more next season.

The worms. I checked on the poor guys Saturday when I returned and they were trying to escape. I had neglected both the food they need and the bedding necessary for their comfort. I was able to feed them a big a big batch of strawberry parts and tops – see the comments about my lovely wife above, some old bread, beet cuttings and other veggie scraps….. They seem to be back to work and not complaining now.

My Green Beans. The Kentucky Pole beans are leaping and now blossoming. The bush beans look to be on the same time table.

Asparagus. Slowing down and will let them fern out. I put some Martha Washington in a few weeks ago and they are sprouting.

Tomatoes. Slow but setting fruit….except my Brandywine – I do have a few blossoms on one but I have my fingers crossed. The Juliet tomatoes and Creole tomatoes are doing well.

Cucumbers. I put up twine to let them climb this morning….part of the sweaty shirt stuff. My cucumbers in my friends backyard ( I put a 4×4 patch in his yard) are blossoming and way ahead of mine! Grrrrrrrrrrr.

Enough for now, hopefully blackberry news soon!

Bishop

Jammin’ with my Jam

April 9, 2011

Bishop berrries, Canning, Gardening, jam and jelly , , , 1 Comment

Over the first few weeks of my strawberry season I have been able to gather and freeze enough of the berries that weren’t eaten fresh to make some jam. The first picture show the beginning of the process – the thawing of the berries. I just love how they smell as they begin to thaw and give off the wonderful aroma of “real” Strawberries.  They may not look quite as pretty as those in the store but they make up for it in flavor.

Last night – Friday the 8th of April was my canning night. It takes 6 cups of berries to make the jam and I had thawed a bag containing about 7.25 cups. It is very important to accurately measure when making jam so I scooped out the excess and added it to the bag in the freezer being held for the next batch. Can’t hardly wait to make more jam!!!

  I use “Sure-Jell’ powdered pectin labeled for less or no sugar jams. I use the” less” sugar  recipe, 4 cups of sugar vs. 6 used in regular jams. Not a lot of difference in sweetness but a noticeable improvement in the fruit taste. It gels nicely and is oh so good on my toast in the mornings. I may get frisky on the next batch of strawberry jam and try using a complimentary spice for some variety ……. any suggestions …… drop me a note and I will give it a try.  Look for  report back in a future installment.

A peek at the future – my blackberry vines are beginning to set berries. I have 3 varieties and the season should be a good one. I should start picking at the end of this month and stop near the end of May…… Blackberry jam is my favorite!!!!

TTFN

Bishop

Where HAve All the Bees Gone????

March 28, 2011

Bishop Gardening, Mason bees, pollination , , , , , , 4 Comments

The honeybees are taking a break. I was down at my local nursery a few weeks ago and was asking about flowers that I could plant to attract honey bees for pollinating my blackberries. I picked up some great advice from the folks working at Kingwood Nursery. Rather than count on the honey bees, as they are having problems, they recommended ordering some Mason bees. It jogged my memory and reminded me of an article I read a few years back recommending the use of Mason bees.

I bought a bee house and was sent 6 males and 4 females from http://www.masonbeesforsale.com/

A week after I installed the bee house I see that the females are gathering pollen and laying their eggs. My early blackberries are being serviced and pollinated. I have blossoms on my Meyer lemon, tons of strawberries, tomatoes and other ornamentals to keep the bees busy. I think my tomatoes and strawberries are self-pollinated but I think the help won’t hurt. A little Google search confirms that strawberries are primarily self-pollinated but respond to help from the bees. Oh, by the way, I have a few blueberry blossoms but I am a year or two away from having enough to pick.

The female Mason bees are fun to watch as they lay eggs and move forward in the tubes before they seal them off. I am amazed at how quickly they do their work! I spent a few minutes observing this evening and saw probably 3 of the  females working three different tubes. Four tubes are plugged at the end already. They lay the female eggs at the rear and the males near the front opening. I wonder how they know the difference? The males exit first and eat their way out thus preserving the females. The bad news, from a guy’s perspective, is that the males emerge first, mate and then die!!!! I was hoping they would get to fool around for a season but it just doesn’t work out for the guys!

The bees aren’t cheap but it appears that they are preparing to multiply in a big way so it is an investment with multiple returns.

TTFN

Bishop

The Harvest is Ramping Up!

March 25, 2011

Bishop Composting, Gardening, Vegetables , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Well the harvest is ramping up and it appears I may have some competition. My wife snapped a picture of a night raider hanging out by our backdoor. We have seen him, or a relative, making regular treks out from the garden area near the midnight hour on several occasions. I see the tracks but no evidence of thievery yet.

I have had some brussel sprouts off the crowns and now the side shoots are plumping up, yummy  beets and beet greens, asparagus for the first time, the strawberries are really producing and vey sweet and my dwarf Meyer lemon is blossoming and producing.

The green beans are really starting to crawl up the poles and the bush beans are 4-6 inches tall. My swiss chard is a little slow this year but 2 or 3 plants will overwhelm us (really just me… Kathy won’t eat it) Cucumbers are really slow this year…. may have to replant the armenian variety as well as the pickling variety. It is still pretty early in the season so I am not worried. My tomatoes are in the ground –  the Brandywine tomatoes are absolutley the best tasting but they do not seem to be responding well. Fed them some fish emulsion today to help them along.  The Roma, Creole, Mortgage Lifter and Juliet are doing well as are the peppers and eggplants.

I made a cold pasta salad with roasted beets, beet greens and penne pasta last week and it was pretty good. It was my made up  recipe but lacked a little for seasoning/complimentary flavors so I will experiment again. Just picked some very nice beets this morning while bringing in the morning’s strawberries and asparagus harvest. I will try again over the weekend if I just don’t eat the roasted beets as they come out of the oven.

Kathy took excellent care of my green babies while I slaved away in Dallas this week. She won’t pull weeds but she does a nice job of watering and picking….. even froze a bunch of berries so I can make jam a little late this springr. My blackerries are beginning to leaf out so the May harvest may be a very good one.

The worms were fed today and they said hi to all y’all!  ; )

TTFN

Bishop

Spring is Really Here

March 11, 2011

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I found a use for the other half of the wine barrel. I have been wanting to plant some sort of citrus for quite some time. After reading about a Meyer Lemon tree, as they are hardy down into the teens, safe enough for the Houston area, I decided to give it a shot. Placed rock and gravel in the bottom of the barrel, a double handful of worm poop and potting soil. Looks pretty good. I decided to top it off with the remaining escapee strawberry plants. Hope they are compatible!!!!

One benefit of strawberries in the barrel may be the absence of slugs that just love to eat the berries right before I pick them. A friend gave me a jar of Lemon curd made from Meyer lemons…. very good – so hopefully my dwarf tree will reward me with enough fruit to make my own!

I added the penthouse to my worm bin. The bottom  bin was looking pretty wet and nasty so I will let them migrate up and I will work to keep the penthouse in better condition. The last batch  of worm poop  I harvested made about 3 gallons after drying. If you want to get some worms to eat your garbage look for Uncle Jim’s Worms…..

Stuff is popping up in the Garden….asparagus has sent up some shoots, beets, carrots, beans and a small patch for cut flowers. Go get your hands dirty!!!!!!

TTFN

Bishop

Spring is Springing

February 24, 2011

Bishop Composting, Gardening, Uncategorized, Vegetables , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment


Had a week free from travel and got the spring work under way. Not much growing through our winter but I did manage to get a huge pile of leaves for mulch. I am trying something new to stay ahead of the Bermuda grass invasion of my beds. In one of the photos shown I have put down a heavy paper barrier. I covered it with my leaf mulch to hold it in place and to help conserve moisture. As I was prepping the soil I was amazed at how many earth worms I disturbed. I added a bunch a few years ago and added some vermipods (encapsulated worm eggs) a year ago. Looks like it is paying off. My composting worms, earthworms and vermipods are all from Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm. http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/

I have planted my tomatoes in this bed….. just cut a small hole and dug down a little ways. I am trying Brandywine tomatoes again but I am placing them where they will get more sun this year. If this year is a bust with then I will look to find another heritage style that tastes as good and holds up in our Houston weather. I also planted a Mortgage lifter, a Celebrity and my prolific Juliet tomato. The pole beans are in the ground but have not broke through. Some chard is up and I just thinned a couple rows of carrots. The beets look healthy and adjacent to them is my Asparagus bed……. I am getting anxious to harvest this year. Also put out swweet banana peppers and a couple of eggplant plants – is that redundant????? or is it alliteration????
I harvested worm poop today. They are just as busy as ever and multiplying like crazy. I may need to make a convert and share my worms with some like-minded person. It looks so rich, no odor and is so good for the plants. While I was in the mood I rounded up a bunch of wayward strawberry plants that had escaped the bed. I may look to fill in some bare spots in my other beds or …… get some started in a friend’s yard.
I finally got a “round-to-it” and cut the wine barrel that my daughter Ashleigh brought home. I have it out on the patio and I planted a – go figure – a patio tomato surrounded by a couple of marigolds. Looks pretty good!

TTFN

Bishop

After the Winter Hiatus

January 31, 2011

Bishop Composting, Gardening, Vegetables , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Not today’s image!!!!

This is in my dreams for later on this spring and summer. Reality is much more grim!!

 
The garden is pretty bare right now – a few Brussel sprout plants made it through the freeze along with some of the sugar snap peas and an abundance of the beet varieties planted this past fall.
 
I have pretty well filled the compost bins with leaves and shredded leaves to be used for mulch in the near future.
 
I did transplant some lettuce plants yesterday but the labels have faded and I have no clue which variety will grace my table. The small half long carrot seeds planted last week have yet to show their tops. I will plant another round of carrots this week and continue some staggered plantings into early spring.
 
My friend John is allowing me to continue working the 4X4 plot I placed in his yard last year. He loved the abundant returns from the Juliet tomato plant. He had a good number of cucumbers as well as a handful of Texas A&M sungold tomatoes. We may even add another 4X4 adjacent to the first one. Making backyard gardening converts one by one. He has some beets poking up and I planted some chard for him last week.
Checking on my worms – the bottom bin looks done. Almost all of the little guys have moved up to the penthouse for the fresh food. Will probably sort the bottom bin this coming weekend and feed the plants. Speaking of plants – the strwberry plants are full of blossoms and I noticed a few berries that are a week or so away from taste testing. Can’t wait-  but I must!!!!!!
TTFN
Bishop

Garden Winds Down – Maybe????

December 5, 2010

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Last of the Fall Garden

The garden has not officially gone to bed because the weather has just been flirting with being chilly. In fact, yesterday, December 4th I was working outside and soaked with sweat because it was so warm. The tomato plants still have lots of green “maters” and only the tops of the plants were frost burned two weeks ago. I have been hoping that my asparagus ferns will die back but they continue to look green and healthy. The Serrano pepper plant is not flowering but is still loaded up.

The winter plantings are taking off. My progression of beet plantings is looking good. I have baby lettuce ready to go in the ground and a few sugar snap peas ready to start climbing the poles. I have been working out on the road and my time home has been too little. I need to really do a thorough cleaning before the Spring starts…. That may be January this season…

I rescued the worms and put the new super on top. They are beginning to migrate up into the penthouse. My early conclusions that an opossum was the guilty party have been put to question. We are seeing a small raccoon late in the evening coming out from the garden where the worms were located. So, I may need to review the forensic evidence, the paw print, and verify the animal.

For backyard vegetable gardeners – Global Warming may not be such a bad thing ?????????

TTFN

Bishop

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Carelessness Leads to Death of Thousands – CSI on the Scene

November 21, 2010

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The yellow tape is out marking the crime scene. Evidence, death and destruction scattered across the area. First real piece of hard evidence was in the walkway leading up to the crime  scene. Due to a recent rain there were a number of footprint impressions. Close examination of the imprints pointed the investigation to a certain class of culprit, the Didelphis virginiana. Now I knew the class of the culprit but I knew identifying the individual would be very difficult unless he or she was caught in the act.

I realized that it was my fault that lead to the tragic loss f life. I had to take precautions to prevent another crime like this from occurring. I gathered up the scattered evidence, survivors and the housing structure for relocation. It was my original relocation efforts that lead to the devastation.

It all began with cleaning and organizing my garage. Noble projects in itself, but it lead to the tragedy. I had safely and productively housed my worm farm/bin in the garage for nearly a year without a problem. As we worked on the garage the weather began to ease up and I decided to relocate the  bin to a suitable site outdoors near my garden. The move went well and the little guys seemed to be doing well. They were about 6 weeks into the move when I left town to do a consulting job. When I returned I did not immediately  go out and check on both the garden and the worms. Now Kathy has accused me of always going out to the garden before seeing her upon my returns from trips, but not this time. It has happened in the past but I am making an effort to shift priorities. (it was after 9:00 PM and dark so it was easier to do the right thing)

Friday morning I saw the scene…..it  looks like an opossum(based on forensic evidence) was drawn to the scent of kitchen scraps and managed to open the bin. Now these worms work just at or  slightly below the surface under a layer of bedding material – usually shredded newspaper. The top layer and most of the worms were slurped up. A few tend to be deeper in the worm poop so they survived but the majority of the worms were sacrificed to my carelessness. They will reproduce but it will take a little longer as the cool weather sets in and they slow down a little. I was just at the point of splitting the bin as the population was really crowding the space.

Lessons learned  – never trust Didelphis virginiana and do a better job on the relocation efforts – consider the local thieves in the night may be and plan appropriately. May need to give my supplier a call – http://www.unclejimswormfarm.com/

TTFN

Bishop

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