03 April 2024

Pot Roast

Not My Photo of Pot Roast!!!

Serve it with a big pile of mashed potatoes!
I did this recipe for Easter Sunday (I know not traditional) but it was very very good! Next time I might go a little lighter on the rosemary and maybe try it out with the red wine. Oh and I forgot the black pepper which in my option would make it better even if my wife disagrees!

Yield:
10 Servings
Prep Time:
20 mins.
Cook time:
4 hours
Total time:
4 hours 20 mins.

26 January 2024

Seeds 2024

From TomatoFest we have:

Blue Berries
Tomato
Blue Berries
Fruit Punch
Tomato
Fruit Punch
Gary Ibsen's Gold
Tomato
Gary Ibsen's Gold
Homer Fike's Yellow Oxheart
Tomato
Homer Fike's Yellow Oxheart
Indigo Rose
Tomato
Indigo Rose
Super San Marzano
Tomato
Super San Marzano

From True Leaf Market we have:

Blanket Flower
Gaillardia
Blanket Flower
Super Parfait Series<br>
Raspberry (Crimson w/Eye)
Dianthus
Super Parfait Raspberry
Shiso Herb (Perilla) Purple
Shiso Herb (Perilla)
Purple (Red)
Pequin
Hot Pepper
Pequin
Avatar
Snapdragon
Madame Butterfly Mixture
Avatar
Petunia
Daddy Series Mix
Easy Wave Series Plum Pudding Mix
Petunia
Easy Wave Series Plum Pudding Mix
Double Cascade Series Mix
Petunia
Double Cascade Series Mix
Magic Fountains Series Mix
Delphinium
Magic Fountains Series Mix
Habanera Mixture
Bellis (English Daisy)
Habanera Mixture

31 December 2021

Garden 2022

So… yeah, a garden. This last year I didn't do anything but let the weeds grow. Probably a mistake but things just weren't happening, not evening conditioning the soil. Speaking of which I need to bring the soil ph down a few points (like from 8.5 to 6) and add a bit of fertilizer. Anyway, the following is what I'm thinking about for this year, could change, may get scraped all together. Guess we'll see.

What I'm Planting 2022

Artichoke
Green Globe
Imperial Star
Violetto
Beans
French Filet (Bush)
Beet
Bull's Blood
Chioggia
Cabbage
Golden Acre
Tropic Giant Hybrid
Carrots
Danvers Half Long
Mignon
Rodelika
Corn
Glass Gem, Popcorn
Golden Bantam
Cucumber
Wautoma, Pickiling
Spacemaster
Melon
Crenshaw
Melon, Cantaloupe
Hales Best Jumbo
Onion
Patterson
Red Mountian
Utah Yellow Sweet Spanish
Red Candy
Tokyo Long White (Scallion/Green)
Pea
Lincoln
Pepper, Hot
Carolina Reaper
Early Jalapeño
Ghost Pepper (Chocolate)
Greek Pepperoncini
Habanero (Chocolate)
Pepper, Sweet
Cal Wonder
Grand Bell Mix
Yolo
Radish
Cherry Belle
Shallot
Conservor
Zebrune
Squash, Summer
Black Beauty (Zucchini)
Early Prolific Straightneck (Yellow)
Squash, Winter
Blue Jarrahdale (Pumpkin)
Kabocha (C. maxima)
Tomato
Brandywine Black
Gary Ibsen's Gold
Golden Gem (Cherry)
Rose Quartz (Cherry)
Turnip
Purple Top White Globe
Watermelon
Charleston Grey

03 November 2021

Propagation by Stooling

Stooling or a Stool Bed is used for propagating rootstocks.

This is a good way of using up failed grafted rootstocks from the previous year. If you do a lot of grafting it may be worth setting up a stool bed. The method is shown below.

  1. In Feb or Mar, plant the rootstock in the ground. If the failed graft is still attached, remove it, also any unhealthy-looking shoots. Make sure the ground is kept kept clean and free of weeds, and keep aphids off. They spread virus and stunt the plant. You are aiming for lots of growth before winter arrives.
  2. The plant should be relatively large and vigorous by Oct-Nov.
  3. A year after planting, cut the plant to near ground level.
  4. A cluster of small shoots should form in the spring. Again, watch out for aphids. When the shoots reach a height of about 6 inches, probably during July, earth them up with fine soil or compost, pressing it down firmly to a depth of about three inches.
  5. Continue to earth up the plants for the rest of the season, but do not swamp the shoots, and don't earth up to more than about 6 inches in total.

At the end of this time, Oct-Nov, the stools can be dug out. The rooted shoots can be broken or cut off, and planted elsewhere. The larger ones may be graftable after the winter; the smaller ones have to be left until they're big enough. The stool is replanted carefully. It should send up a cluster of new shoots in the following year,when the process can be repeated.

If you set up a bed, the stools need to be about a foot apart in each row, and the rows about a yard apart.

Note that some rootstocks may have protection under law: individuals intending to propagate rootstocks for commercial purposes should check the regulations for their own country.

ND / Diversity website


A saved draft from 2017, not sure where I coppied the info from but here it is.

12 February 2020

Happy Chinese New Year! Some Time Later!

Well, it's the first week of January second week in February and going along with the traditions a new year brings it's time to begin planning the garden. Now isn't typically when I start planning, the anticipation usually kicks in around november shortly after pulling up everything dead and frozen from the ground. I don't know why or that I can help it, the anxiety just builds until I'm waiting eagerly by the door for the post to deliver the first of the spring seed and plant catalogues. I guess my biggest worry is what am I going to plant, because the sooner I know the more prepared I can be for when I need to start planting. And honestly I'm already running behind.

Update! er… finishing the post!

Okay so I got an idea/list of things I want in my garden this year (I finally did that last month,) but I'm really struggling with getting anything done. Not necessarily the garden idea part but just the getting up, get going and get things planted/started part; You know, the important doing it part. Anyhow, here we are and it's mid February and I'm running even more behind. Onions and garlic should have been started last fall, or onion seeds indoors in January because they can take at least a month to sprout and be ready for planting out early spring. As for the tomatoes I've had the most luck starting them about now, which isn't bad except getting the "planting shelf" ready feels like an uphill battle and I'm already exhausted just by looking at it.

I'm slowly coming to the realization that maybe just sitting down in the fall and planning it all out would be better. The energy is there and it's not like I don't have a good variety of seeds to choose from (i.e. I don't need to wait for the "New!" seed catalogues.) Then I can have a post actually ready for the new year and update it if needed.

Anyway, here's my list/plan, hopefully something kicks in and I can get it done. Wish me luck.

What I'm Planting This Year

Beans
French Filet (Bush)
Beet
Bull's Blood
Chioggia
Cabbage
Golden Acre (Only 1 of the 6 has germinated)
Tropic Giant Hybrid (planted 12 in 6cells 9 have germinated)
Carrots
Danvers Half Long
Mignon
Corn
Golden Bantam
Cucumber
National Pickling
Spacemaster
Melon
Crenshaw
Melon, Cantaloupe
Hales Best Jumbo
Onion
Utah Yellow Sweet Spanish
Red Candy
Tokyo Long White (Scallion)
Pea
Lincoln
Pepper, Hot
Carolina Reaper
Early Jalapeño
Ghost Pepper (Chocolate)
Greek Pepperoncini
Habanero (Chocolate)
Pepper, Sweet
Cal Wonder
Yolo
Spinach
Bloomsdale Longstanding
Squash, Summer
Black Beauty (Zucchini)
Early Prolific Straightneck (Yellow)
Squash, Winter
Blue Jarrahdale (Pumpkin)
Small Wonder (Spaghetti)
Tomato
Brandywine Black
Gary Ibsen's Gold
Golden Gem (Cherry)
Rose Quartz (Cherry)
Turnip
Purple Top White Globe
Watermelon
Charleston Grey

24 May 2018

Irish Lamb Stew

Irish Lamb Stew

This is a thick hearty stew with a lovely flavor and texture. But I felt some improvements could be made with the technique. And it was missing something, I did leave the wine out so that may have been it. I however did not get a chance to remake it so I will be revisiting it next winter to update things.

Irish Lamb Stew

Yield:
10
Prep Time:
20m
Cook time:
2h 25m
Total time:
2h 45m

03 January 2018

Christmas Soup

Image info

I pinned this recipe from Alton Brown a few years ago and just this year got around to making. The two changes I made are, first using cannellini beans which are also known as white kidney beans, and as always I used a homemade chicken broth. I have to say it is a great soup but I probably should have stayed with the red kidney beans (in the original recipe) as the two varieties do have a different flavor.

Christmas Soup

Yield:
6 Servings
Prep Time:
30 mins.
Cook time:
1 hour 30 mins.
Total time:
2 hours