I finally got the Cayenne hot peppers in the High Tunnel this afternoon. That was in between doing a lot of prep things for the little piggies.
They finally arrived here today on the last boat. They are about 20-25 pounds apiece and are cute little buggers. Going to taste good in December!
Time for the people of this country to rise up and demand that the election process be reformed to exclude any and all behind the scenes, backroom, super delegates, and other forms of manipulation done away with. Go to the one man/woman vote and that is it! Popular vote carries the day! This would apply to all primaries and the general election. The Electoral College is a farce and has been for generations.
Back to more mundane and less stressful things. Got a bunch of Curly Parsley put in the ground as well as some hold over onions from last falls harvest. They will take root, hopefully, and produce all the seed I need for the following years crop. we probably use at least one onion a day in our meal prep and so a good dose of them are needed.
San Marzano tomatoes that I started in the Green House are all up and doing well. They just put out their third set of leaves. If it decides to stay warm they will be off to the high Tunnel next weekend sometime. And then if it continues to stay warm I am going to start the Roma's, Big Boys and Tommy Toes in the ground from seed and see how well that works. You usually don't want to be putting tomato started plants in the ground up around here till Memorial day. If you do they usually just sit there for a couple of weeks before they take off if they do at all, and you are no further ahead than if you did the seed in the ground thingy! But with a whole lot less messing around.
Potatoes finally arrived and I have been digging the furrows for them all. There will be seven rows of them divided up between four types of spuds. Kennebec's, Norland Reds, Russet's, and some generic small white ones I had given to me.
Had to move the patch to a new piece of ground as all the other ones had become infested with late blight. The only way to get rid of that is to cover the plot with clear plastic, well anchored down, and let the summer sun,"solarize" the dirt. This means that the dirt underneath is heated up to about 120 degrees or more and to a depth of five to six inches which kills the little "blighty bastards"! The only trouble is that it takes about six weeks to do the job, and the touts it out of use for the summer.
I am digging the furrows by hand, as I sold my big troy-bilt tiller with the furrowing attachment. It is a chore using 78 year old muscles. I dig one row a day and consider it a day well spent. Those little guys sure taste good when the wind is howling a gale and snow coming down in January !
Spinach in the patio beds by the house is up and doing well. Now it is time for the second planting to keep it coming at a steady rate.
TIME FOR DINNER, It is soul food for white folks tonight---meat loaf and Mac and cheese!--TIFN
Hello Mr. Littlefield,
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed your comments on Mr. Kimball's blog for some time and am glad to see you are blogging yourself. I read your article on your island paper/magazine and was intrigued about the device you use to make holes in your black plastic. I too have trouble bending down. The writer said it was a tin can on a stick. Can you elaborate or put up a picture? I was using a biscuit cutter as Mr. Kimball suggested, but that requires me to be on my knees, which I sadly cannot tolerate for very long.
I just moved to a new homestead and didn't get a plot plowed before the current weather we are having, which looks to be several weeks of daily rain. Guess my garden will be late again.
On another note, this will add some fodder to your recent rants....I will share it with Mr. Kimball as well.
My husband and I are both vets and applied for a VA home loan. We went to close on the property yesterday and brought cash (well a cashiers check from monies we had saved in our little safe at home) and the VA would not accept them as they had no paper trail and could not be validated. Now, we have to have a "gift" of money from my sister put into our account so that it can be used for closing costs. Have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous? Their rationale is that without a paper trail, we could have borrowed the money and that would violate their rules. I guess you can't have cash anymore or expect to use it!!! We call it mattress money as that is where folks used to "hide" it from thieves.
Anyway, I just thought you might enjoy a commenter on your blog. Looking forward to reading about your garden stories. And maybe a rant or two.
Pam Baker
Hi Pam, Just came across this note in a different t spot than usual and can't remember if I answered it or not. Don't know if you'll get tis but here goes.
ReplyDeleteI have four different sized cans. screwed onto a four foot dowel with a screw and a large "fender" washer available at a hardware store. I have a tomato paste can, a tuna can, a #12 can and a #10 can . The #10 is used for rutabagas and turnips etc. All those big root veggies. Then the others wherever and for whoever needed!
Just put up another post about digging in the dirt if you are interested.
Sorry this took so long to get answered. Happy Gardening! Best Regards , Everett