BLACKBERRIES, A KITCHEN AID

This is not an article about raising blackberries, nor is it about cooking with them.  There are lots of articles on the internet sharing that information with you.  It is also not about using a "Kitchen Aid" brand mixer, although I am the proud owner of one of those since 1981. 

 

It is an article about using the berry's remains when you think they are ready for the compost pile.

 

There is an attachment for your "Kitchen Aid" which would be a help with your black berries.  They have a sieve which fits inside your bowl with a wooden beater which fits in it.  This is great for removing the seeds and peelings from the blackberries.  If you don't have a "Kitchen Aid" there are very good counter parts.  My favorite is the cone shape colander.  I call it my "China Man".  It has a wooden "rolling pin" to mash the contents in its cone.  Second best is a "Foley Mill".  For me, the seeds always get stuck under the plate of this kitchen appliance. 

 

We do not like the seeds in the berries so the above equipment is of supreme importance in our house. Now for the purpose of this blog:

 

 

1.  When you are looking at the bowl of seeds and peelings, reconstitute them before destroying them.  Add water to them till, when you stir they move around (you don't want to float them, you want them about the consistency of boxed pudding when it is cooked and ready to pour into bowls (thinner than cooked oatmeal, thicker than cream gravy).  Heat this to almost simmering, stirring constantly (I use a silicone spatula ).  This is very important, the contents will scorch and scorch very quickly. 

 

When you are finished put the seeds back in your "China man" (colander), and mash the seeds again till no liquid runs out.  The resulting liquid can be measured out and used with "Sure Jell" dry pectin. Following the directions for Jelly (not the Jam) you can make you several pints of very good jelly.  If you have never made jelly before using the instructions in the box it's a breeze. BTW, instead of boiling the jars, I put the dishwasher cleaned jars in the oven at 225 and keep them there till I take them out one by one, when I am filling them.  You want those jars hot when pouring in the jelly.  You don't want to break them with the boiling liquid jelly.

 

2.  Your seeds are still not ready for the compost pile (Or the bird feeder). This is where they become a "Kitchen Aid".  I am very fortunate to own several very nice copper pans.  The care and feeding of these is an arduous process.  Several years ago while processing blackberries I filled the sink with pots and pans and one of those was sitting in another which had been used to process the berries.  It had about 2 inches of water in it.  When I removed the pan to wash it (a couple of hours later) It had a bright copper water line on it's bottom. 

 

My wheels began turning and I took the seeds which were destined for the birds and turned the pan upside down and packed the seed mass all over the pan. I wet it a little (not enough to run out on to the cookie sheet I had it on).  I left it for 1 hour and then went to scrape off the stuff.  Voila! a clean copper pot with no effort and no expensive caustic cleaner.  BTW..I bet I could have frozen the seeds and reused them several times.

 

I've been picking berries for a week now.  It doesn't look like I have even touched the canes.  There are tons on the ground because we have a squirrel with a very purple muzzle.   Yesterday I saw a site I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it.  We had a Hummer with his beak enjoying blackberry juice direct from the berry.

 

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,
cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,
New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.
 Check out "A MYSTERY IN THE MAKING"
A mystery quilt designed with the novice in mind. 
http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-mystery-in-making.html

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/
Not a garden blog.
There are articles which have nothing to do
with creating or gardening.
There are blogs on the new born baby kittens
we found and mothered.
It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.
Please do not use without permission.

SPARTAN ARROW BUSH BEANS

I have noticed I have quite a few people interested in these beans.  When or should I say if we plant them I will be updating this blog with information.  (The reason I say if, is winter seems to be hanging on interminably.  We haven't even been able to get in to pull weeds.  The ground is frozen 2 inches down and on the top is muck.)

 

If in our searches we find a source of the seed we will put the information here.  Please book mark this page if you are interested.  Information will be added with color coding.  The date will be at the top of this page and each new addition will be added to the bottom of the article.

 

Thank you for reading.

 

I have added new blogs on my site about Peppers, Eggplants, Tomatoes and Broccolli.

 

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,
cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,
New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.
New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/
Not a garden blog.
There are articles which have nothing to do
with creating or gardening.
There are blogs on the new born baby kittens
we found and mothered.
It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.
Please do not use without permission.

EGGPLANTS RE POTTED

THIS BLOG WILL BE EDITED AND UPDATED ON THE PROGRESS THE PLANTS ARE MAKING. THE DATES WILL BE COLOR CODED.  NEW COLOR CODED INFORMATION ADDED AT THE END OF THE BLOG.

MARCH 22, MARCH 31

2013 EGGPLANT SAGA continues.
My Eggplants have out grown these homes.  Today I am moving them to larger quarters.

I don't know if you recognize the plants, they're the seedlings I potted on March 2nd.

This is 19 days growth.

The picture on the left is the March 2nd potting.  I was very pleased with the results using the Activia containers.  The roots did not get root bound.  The soil did not dry out quickly like it does in peat pots. The above picture is tattling on me.  It is telling  you I don't use sterile potting soil for my plants.  Some people would condemn me for it.  In fact when  we first started gardening we religiously used sterile potting soil.  We had the fear of God put into us that every plant would die of damp off.  The only thing I like to use sterile mixture for is when I am seeding.  I also am very particular to use a soil less mix.   The soil I used was from our compost pile which was left over from the year before.  It was laden with weed seeds.  Needless to say we have to weed our potted plants.

This is the root system which has developed.  They should not suffer much transplant shock.  (Eggplants are supposed to hate being moved from pot to pot).  When I put it into the new pot, I put it just a little deeper than it was originally.  It is not like tomatoes.  It will not grow roots on its main stem.  I put it a little deeper so that it will be able to support the growth of leaves which will be happening.  

The following picture shows the depth I put the plant at.   I bury it up to where the cotyledons are.

  You will notice I am reusing a pot that has not been scrubbed out.  This is another NO-NO. (It was rinsed out before it was stacked and put away for the winter, just not scrubbed).  As you can see the soil looks wet.  I water all plants well, the night before I plan to re-pot them.  It helps them to plump up in case they have trouble taking up water after they are transplanted.  Something to "tide" them over.

After the plants are settled in, they get a huge dose of Fish emulsion water.  Not only does it give them a nutritional boost it settles the dirt around the roots. 

I didn't mention it before, to my dirt mix which is the same as the first potting, I add ground  up eggshells.  Calcium helps with the growth of the plants.

Today all our egg plants went to their new quarters.  I did lose one.  Its stem had a weak place and when I picked up the plant it snapped at the weak section.  Of the above Melanza plants we ended up with 17 plants. 

We also have 9 Aswad plants, and 10 Diamond plants.  I am hoping for only one more move but think because the cold is hanging on here, I will be doing this job at least 2 more times before they finally get to the garden.  

These are our eggplants in their new homes.

Look closely at the base of the eggplants, the dirt is covered to the cotyledons.

 

MARCH 22:  It is very important to make sure your eggplants are in a consistently warm environment.  Chilling, stresses them and sets back their development.  Our eggplants are still on their shelf where they are closed in at night to keep the heat in through the night when the lights go out. We are prepared with a heating pad if needed (a person's heating pad, not a special mat for plants).  This is set on low and the plants are set on racks about 1 inch above it.  The temps stay at or around 75 degrees

They receive 16 hours of light.  (We have a timer).  The plants are 2 inches or less from the light source.  The picture on the left, is the day before the eggplants were re-potted.  you can see how close the plants are to the light source.  Our light source is an inexpensive "shop light" set up with two fluorescent bulbs. (We have a bank of 3 units for each shelf).  We try to keep one grow light and one regular bulb in each fixture.  But grow lights are expensive so if they burn out sometimes they are not replaced immediately.  We have seen no detriments to their growth.

 

Water or the lack there of, is extremely stressful to the plants.  They need to be consistently damp.  This needs to be checked twice a day, especially when the plants are nearing filling their pots with roots.  They consume lots of water and dry out quickly. 

 



 MARCH 31,
The above tray is the same tray as in the picture above.  It is just turned around to the other side.  The Dannon container is the only thing handy that I had for size comparison.  They have really grown the last 8 days.  They are still under the lights in the nice warm furnace room.  They are given a feeding of fish emulsion once a week.  Their roots are rapidly filling the pots.  I was hoping to have some reprieve before I had to repot them again.

Tomorrow I will pull one out of the pot and take a picture of the root systems.
 



Previous blog on the beginning of these plants: 

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/03/eggplant-transplanting.html

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,
cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,
New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

 

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/
Not a garden blog.
There are articles which have nothing to do
with creating or gardening.
There are blogs on the new born baby kittens
we found and mothered.
It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.
Please do not use without permission.

TOMATOES

This is a blog which will be updated with each of the changes in the lives of the tomatoes.
BLOG EDITS:
March 24, March 25, March 26, March 28, March 31,  April 1

The color of the date of the edits will be changed.

 Information added on that date will be typed in that color. Scroll down for updates.
 

Finally it is the day to start my tomatoes.  I have been nervous that maybe I shouldn't have waited till now to start them.  I started the eggplants and peppers over a month ago.  The eggplants are ready to go into their second potting and the peppers are poking along. The following links are their blogs:

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/03/eggplant-transplanting.html

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/sweet-peppers.html
 

I have put the seeds in the dirt and they are ready to go into the propagation chamber.  The moon is coming up to the full phase I hope it pulls these seeds right out of their "shells".  I use exactly the same dirt and methods I use for the peppers and Eggplants.  (refer to either blog)

 

This is the 16 varieties ready to go into the chamber.

I normally use the  Activia containers  cut in half to start a few seeds (they are slipped in a plastic zipper bag), but I was rummaging in a drawer today and found these larger size sauce containers (used for take out).  They have plastic lids which will keep in the moisture.  They are large enough, when half filled, there is room when the seeds sprout to grow for 24 hours. (There are holes poked in the bottom for drainage.  We keep the chamber about 72-76 degrees for sprouting the tomatoes.

 

THE VARIETIES WE PLANTED

 

DATE

MARCH 20                MAR 24     MAR 25     MAR 26     MAR 28      MAR 31

 

AUNT RUBY'S                                 2/6             3/6              4/6                5/6

GERMAN GREEN

Pinetree 2010  6 sds

 

BIG MAMA  HYB                                               4/12          5/12                5/12

Burpees 2008 12 sds

 

CHADWICK

CHERRY

??   ??              9 SDS      5/9              9/9               9/9             9/9               9/9

 

CHEROKEE                                       3/6               3/6             4/6              4/6

PURPLE                                                    

SowTrue 2012 6 sds

 

COMPOST GOLD

Mine OP  2009 6 sds

 

DELICIOUS  12 sds      3/12                7/12        7/12            7/12              8/12

Henry Fields 2010

 

FLAMINGO HYB         1/8                   1/8           1/8            1/8                2/8

Gurneys ??  8 SDS

 

GERMAN OLD                                                     2/12          4/12              5/12

TIMERS  12 SDS

MineOP 2013 12 sds                                

 

GOLDEN RAVE                                   1/8            1/8            1/8                2/8

HYB Gurneys  8 sds

2010

 

JELLY BEANS HYB       1/ 8                1/8          3/8              3/8                3/8

Gurneys 2010  10 sds

 

JUBILEE                                                                                                         1/10

Ferry Morse

2009  10 SEEDS

 

JULIET  HYB                 8/10                 9/10        9/10            9/10              9/10

Jung 2012  10 sds

 

ORANGE HYB                                                     1/8                 1/8              2/8

WHOPPER  8 sds

Gurneys 2013

 

SUN SUGAR HYB        5/9                    8/9          8/9                9/9              9/9

Pinetree 2012 9 sds

 

I have two other packages of Jelly Bean tomatoes and I want to start a few of each just in case the others don't sprout.  I also want to start some more of the "Compost Gold".  We will be saving seeds from two of our tomatoes.  They each have a story:

 

COMPOST GOLD:  This tomato was found growing in the compost pile.  It is a jawbreaker size yellow cherry tomato (we have never grown yellow cherry tomatoes). The skin was thin.  It continued to flower and produce after the first frosts. The flavor was outstanding even for a yellow tomato.  The color was a brilliant gold.   Hence the name Compost Gold.

GERMAN OLD TIMERS has a wonderful story behind it, albeit long one.  I was on a trip to buy hay for my goats, cows and sheep.  I drive past a state park named "Babler Park". On the way there is someone who always has a small kitchen garden.  I noticed he had a veggie stand and could see squash on the table.  I stopped to buy some (my squash plants had been inundated with the borers.)  Also on the table I saw these green tomatoes.  They were on the medium size and I commented it was nice of him to pick his tomatoes green so people could make fried green tomatoes.

"Lady, Dem's ripe." He volunteered.

"They are still green, where did you find tomatoes still green when ripe?"  I replied incredulously in 1998.

"Da Ole guy, don the street, brung dem from Germany, gived me the seed."

"Do you know the name of the variety?" I asked.

"Nope, I din forgot, was long time ago.  Can't ask him, he dead."

I bought a pound of them, thinking it was a mistake.  When I got home I examined them and they felt ripe.  I cut into the softest one and cautiously took a bite.  Taste sensation moment.  If I closed my eyes it was the reddest tomato I had ever tasted with lemony overtones. 

The closest I can guess, is it is probably kin to the zebra tomato.  I have been saving my own seed from it since that day.  We named them German Old Timers because the original seed came from an old man from Germany.

MARCH 24:  I picked red because it is a red letter day.  I couldn't wait to get on the computer to write this update.  Last night seconds before I went to bed I remembered I hadn't checked the seeds for the evening.  I really did not expect anything being it was only 3 1/2 days since I put them in the chamber.  Much to my surprise there was sprouting just starting in two varieties.  Four plants, just unbending, in the Juliet's and 1 plant in the Sun Sugar. If I had left them, in the chamber in the dark, till this morning they would have become gangly.  This morning they were already an inch high and they had developed their first leaves.  The picture on the left is our first tomato sprouts.  I didn't realize until I took this picture I had put the wrong date on the labels.  They were started on the 20th, not the 21st.

 It is snowing very hard right now.  It didn't start till about 6 this morning after raining all night.  We are due for lots of snow today, who would have thunk!Normally I am picking lettuce outside, but the only thing growing in my garden is last years lemon thyme.  I have covered and uncovered, (with two large plastic buckets inside of each other for insulation)  to keep it from freezing.  It worked too.  It has been growing, albeit slowly and I have been harvesting all winter. 

Another herb that definitely says get growing tomatoes is basil. When I set the seed for the peppers I also planted Siam queen basil and sweet basil.  This week when they move to larger homes,  I will be able to pinch the top set of leaves off to have with chicken sandwiches..or even on pasta . These basils left their nursery tray on March 7th.  They weren't even a 1/2 inch tall at that time.  This picture was taken March 22.

MARCH 25:   It is still snowing and we have at least 11 inches on the ground.  The snow is real fine (like a mist that is frozen).  There is a wind today..Not a gusty one, it is steady about 10 mph.  Inside though me and the seedlings are doing just fine. 

In the last 24 hours we have had a population explosion.  I find myself getting anxious for the ones which have shown no sign of life.  I proofed the "Compost Gold" seeds and on the one set I had 80% germination.  They haven't shown they are "in the dirt"yet.  I just checked the dates and it took them 6 days to germinate.  Today is only 5 days.  I guess I need to be patient.  The other tomato "German Old Timers" I didn't proof because it was seed I collected last fall  and it wasn't old and it was processed properly when I collected it.  Of the older seeds I know to be patient, they do need a longer germination time.

This is the blog I wrote when I proofed some of my seeds.
http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/proofing-seeds.html

Something I need to mention for those reading who are beginners;  When your tomatoes sprout don't be alarmed if they look extremely skinny and fragile.  I don't know why, but the tomato seedlings are terribly thin compared to their pepper and Eggplant cousins.  They also seem to take an interminable length of time before they set their second leaves.  Place those seedlings as close to the light source as possible.  Mine are no more than an inch some are almost touching.  (Do not let the leaves touch the bulbs).

MARCH 26:  A couple of more varieties sprouted during the night.  I am getting a little anxious about my newest seed from Gurneys.  The orange whopper has just sprouted one and I only planted 8 seeds because it was fresh seed.  

I have had a large percentage of "trapped" seeds.  Where the shell doesn't pop off.  some of them have not grown enough for me to pinch it off like I did for the peppers and eggplants.   There are pictures in the pepper blog how I "un trap" a seedling.
 http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/sweet-peppers.html

The snow has stopped and what melting which did occur froze over making heavy ice.  Walking to the barn will be treacherous this morning.  Something a little off topic but note worthy, we had a Towhee show up at the bird feeder yesterday.  They are normally a very shy bird but he stayed around for half the day.  I hope we weren't his truck stop on the way to somewhere else.  Last year we didn't have towhees..but previous years we have always had a resident pair.

Today I will be potting more tomato seeds just in case and I will probably start some more basils and some lettuce.

MARCH 28:  Getting more anxious about the germination of some of the seeds.  I know it is only 8 days.


MARCH 31:  It is Easter Sunday, the end of Passover is tomorrow.  It is the season of renewal.  Today it is just that in our household.  The tomatoes are finally ready to do it in the "dirt".  They are ready to make the transitions to real pots.  For us it is the activia containers, using the mix they have come from mixed with My special potting mix.  It is also time to begin another blog on this stage of their lives.  I will post the link here when I post the blog.

I am very disappointed I have two varieties which didn't sprout. I know it  only 11 days and am still hoping more will sprout.  I will plant more of these and hope the seed isn't bad.  The biggest disappointment is the "Gurneys Orange Whopper".  This was new seed and to have only two sprout.  I will be calling the company.  If the viability is this poor in the fresh seed, It certainly won't grow next year. (I still have the other 2/3 of the packet to use). 

The "Compost Gold", I am wondering if I got the labels mixed up and this was the wrong seed that I proofed.  I had two sources I saved seed from.  One was the fruit which was fresh which I refered to as "wet"  and a fruit that was dried on the vine "dry".  This is the blog about proofing seeds:
http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/proofing-seeds.html

APRIL 1:   I haven't finished the blog for yesterday "Moving Day".  I did want to put a note about the pots I used for starting the seed.  The larger "take  home sauce" pots were the absolute perfect container.  I will buy a product if it is in a container I can recycle for the garden.  The reason they were perfect is they had enough room when 1/2 filled to plant the seed and if it sprouted before you got there, there was room between the soil less mix and the lid.  The lid held the moisture in till sprouting (no need for plastic bags, sliding containers in and out).  They were small enough you didn't have a lot of mix used.  You could plant 4 seeds and extract the seedlings without damage.  (I did put nine seeds in a couple and they did fine.  I just had to soak the plants to loosen the medium from around the roots).  Then there was the coup d' gras.....they have outwardly sloping sides.  This made it easy to wet the root ball and slide it right out of the container. 

The containers I am referring to are the ones in the opening picture of this article.  As you can see we also use cut down activia containers.  These work well but they have to be put in a plastic bag to keep moist in the propagation chamber. 

The following blogs are blogs I've written about previous gardening of tomatoes:

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2012/03/from-seed-tomato-grows.html
http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2010/07/perfect-tomato.html
http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2010/08/more-on-quest.html

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,

but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.

There are articles which have nothing to do

with creating or gardening.

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens

we found and mothered.

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

 Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

 Please do not use without permission.



 

 



WHEN TO START SEEDS

This is a question which is answered by multitudinous sites on the Internet.  It varies from region to region, and person to person.  It is also predestined by the things going on in your life. 

 

How do I decide when to plant.  I use all the tables I find and then I throw in the moon cycles.  We have discovered planting by the moon signs is very beneficial. 

 

We found we had no luck growing radishes and root crops if they were planted close to or in the coming up of a full moon. The seeds energies seemed to be pulled into making leaves.

 

Another thing that upsets a planting regimen is the weather.  The moon may be just right to plant the potatoes on March 16, but the ground may be frozen solid.  Or you can't prepare the site because you've had a torrential down poor.  You have to be flexible and plant when you can.  I can also counsel you, from my own experience about thinking about when your plants are due to mature.

 

Example:  If you are planting peas, the weather is still great, but you had to plant them over 6 weeks late because it was too muddy to work the garden at the proper time.  These peas are going to mature just as it gets real hot.  You won't get much of a harvest for your work.  The plants will burn up and the peas are on the plants will be tough.  Wait till summer is on the wain and plant your peas for a fall crop.

 

Tomatoes and peppers (Nightshade plants): you can start the seeds anytime just remember the date on the package is how long before the first fruit happens.  I started my eggplants the first of February.  They take a long time before they are big enough for the garden.  Peppers are also slower growing so I have started them too.  They are still in the propagation chamber.  They haven't sprouted yet.  Tomatoes are a faster growing plant and tend to get leggy quickly so I have delayed planting them until the next full moon.

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/sweet-peppers.html

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/eggplant.html

 

 

Brassicas:  We already have ours started and they are being transplanted this weekend.  I hope I haven't started them too early.  We are having colder temperatures than normal with snow.

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/broccoli.html

 

Happy gardening and please try you hand at raising your own plants.  You will have so many varieties available to you that are not sold on the open market.  Read all you can to decide what methods work well for you.  There are not any garden police running around and telling you what to do.  Remember if you are a new gardener to start small.  I know this is hard because there are so many new and exciting plants.   Remember what you plant will need weeding and watering.

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,

but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.

There are articles which have nothing to do

with creating or gardening.

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens

we found and mothered.

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

 

 



EGGPLANT: TRANSPLANTING

BLOG EDITS:    

MARCH 6, MARCH 7, MARCH 9,  MARCH 19

You will find the edits shown in the colors of the dates.

 

Our Eggplant seedlings were in desperate need of new living quarters.  The picture on the left is not eggplants, it is just to show you the tools of our trade.  (The seedlings are Broccoli which were transplanted yesterday.)  The picture is to show you, you do not need fancy store bought pots to start your seeds in.  The clear plastic tray is from Chocolate Covered Graham Crackers.  An Activia cup gets the collar cut off.  I used  6" fiskars squeeze handled scissors.  Then I used my printer to make the labels and glued them on with a kids glue stick.  I used a fondue stick to poke two holes, in the raised section in the bottom of the activia cup, for drainage.  I was now ready to transplant any of my seedlings. 

ALERT:  WHEN YOU REMOVE THE RING ON THE ACTIVIA CUP PLEASE CLIP ONE SIDE SO IT IS BROKEN.  PLASTIC RINGS, IN LAND FILLS, STRANGLE WILDLIFE.  (DON'T FORGET THE ONES ON TOP OF YOUR MILK CARTONS.)  THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING THOSE WHO CAN'T PROTECT THEMSELVES.

 



 

We have three varieties of eggplants this year. 

You can find information on starting the seed in the following blog:

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/eggplant.html

 

There is information about proofing of seeds here:

http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/proofing-seeds.html

 

We proofed a very old package of eggplant seed.  The Romanesco.  The last time I grew it we were impressed with the production and the taste.  We wanted to make sure it had some viability.  If it didn't we wanted to buy more.  If it was low we would just plant more seed than we needed.  Instead the test came back with 50% viability.  The one thing we noticed is the seed took longer to sprout than the newer seed did.  So I planted lots thinking maybe my testing was flawed.  What did I get?  I got 50% again.  I planted 40 and 20 sprouted.

 These are the Romanesco seedlings which "hatched".  They are in a shallow dish of luke warm water.  They are soaking to loosen the soil less mix from around their roots.  You don't want to tear any of the entangled roots from each delicate plant.  These plants are so crisp it takes nothing to snap their stalk.  When you are handling them do it gently.  I do not recommend using tweezers or any instrument to hold them with.  It will cut into their "skin".  Eggplants are very sensitive to temperature and to how they are handled.  Stress sets them way back. 

We use the Activia cups because they are deep and narrow.  They do not require a large amount of our soil mix.  What is our soil mix.  We mix one part soil with one part peat moss, with 1/2 part sand, 1/2 part of our dried manure from goats/sheep/cow and one part rice hulls.  When this is well mixed we add a quart of Epsom salts and a quart of bone meal to a large wheel barrow of the mix. This is then stored to use for potting. 

 

We take equal amounts of this and our soil less mix  and mix them together.  This is what we use for the first transplanting.  We fill the cups half full and then tamp it down and hold the transplant over it while we gently put our mix around the Seedling.   The cup with a seedling in it is put on a tray and watered with fish emulsion.  We use 3 Tablespoons of fish emulsion to 1 gallon of water. 

 The photo above is the eggplants in their new homes.  You can see another recycled item we use.  This is a Styrofoam tray from raw Chicken.  BTW, Looking at this picture reminded me of something.  Do not try to remove the Activia paper from the cups.  There are two reasons:  One, the cup is very flimsy without it.  Two, it is very difficult to get your labels to stick on the plastic with the glue stick.

 

Through the years we have found, you should give each of your pots ID, even if the tray is all the same variety.  You never know when someone will move a pot and set it with another variety.  Another hint, a red sharpie on white plastic labels washes off or fades worse than any of the colors. 

 

The above eggplants are now under lights and are covered in a plastic tent to keep in the heat from the lights.  They like to be kept at 75 degrees or warmer.  Our house is chilly and I don't want them to get chilled. (Now I need to think of where all the extra plants are going.  I really only wanted less than a dozen)

 

POTTED:

 

MAR 2   Melanzana  Roamanesco 20 plants

http://theitaliangardener.com.au/products/EGGPLANT-tonda-bianca-sfumata-di-rosa.html

 

MAR 3  Diamond 10 plants

http://rareseeds.com/diamond-eggplant.html

 

March 3 Aswad 9 plants

http://rareseeds.com/aswad-eggplant.html

 

The Aswad and Diamond are eggplants we have never tried before. 

 

MARCH 6:  The Transplanted plants are hail and hearty.  We haven't had any expire. 

 

MARCH 7:  I watered the plants this morning and can't believe how they love the transplanting.  They have doubled in size.  The ASWAD has trippled in size.   I just checked the statistics and the plants can be from 24-36 inches in height.  They are racing to get there.

 

MARCH 9: 

I took this picture this afternoon.  Look at the size difference between the two varieties (which were planted the same day and potted the same day).  If the growth pattern stays the same, the Melanzana will be at least 1/3 smaller than the Aswad.  You can see the lights above them.  I put the transplants within an inch of the light sourse.  The picture of the tray of Melanza, it was taken March 2, this is the 9th.  the plants have literally jumped up in a week. 

 

This blog will be updated with each change in Plant growth.  I will be forwarding any information I have found beneficial to us.

March 19:  The shelf the eggplants are on to keep them warm.  I don't know if you can tell the White plastic under the boards but that is keeping cold from coming up.  There is a heating mat on it for times when it is too cool for the plants.  The plastic also surrounds the whole shelf.  There is a flap to pull down to keep the heat in through the night when the lights are off.  The boards are to raise the plants to the proper height to keep them close to the lights without touching them.  They will not get leggy if they are close to the lights.  (the small plants on the right are red cabbages in the front and some pepper plants in the back.)

This picture is some of the Aswad and Diamond eggplants.  The Breyers container is there to show the size of the plants.  We use the ice cream containers to measure our soil supplements with and to collect eggs.  As you can see we use the styrofoam trays for drain trays.  The plants in this picture were potted in these containers on March 3.  I slid one out of the container and they are not root bound but they have plenty of roots.  I will be moving them to new homes this week.
 

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,

but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.

There are articles which have nothing to do

with creating or gardening.

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens

we found and mothered.

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own.

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

SWEET PEPPERS

BLOG EDITED:
MAR 4, MAR 6, MAR 8,  MAR 10, MAR 14
You will find the blog edits shown in the colors of the dates.
 

If I had a favorite vegetable in the garden it would probably be peppers.  They can be a dual purpose plant. They make a fabulous foundation planting (they are a beautiful plant).  They don't mind the heat reflecting off the house.  In return they repay your care by producing bountiful crops of edible produce.

This year we are working on cleaning out our seed stash and peppers are on this list.  We did order two new peppers on our seed order (we only ordered from one company this year). We are going to miss a favorite pepper because we are out of that seed.  We will re-order next year.
 

Next year we will be adding at least one more pepper to our repertoire.  "Yum yums".  Burpee's Big Daddy will be on our repurchase list, this year they will be missed.  The pepper on the left is Burpee's Big Daddy.

 As you can see this is a very prolific pepper. The soil in these two beds is not up to snuff.  (The organic matter ratio is off and they are too well drained.  It is very difficult to keep adequate moisture in the beds.)  They are still  performing above and beyond expectations.

This year's list of pepper varieties:
 

FOOLED YOU: Pinetree 2012. This is a jalapeno pepper with no heat.  They are extremely extremely prolific.    I have found these freeze fantastically.  We chop them in quarter inch dice and freeze on a cookie tray and dump into a plastic bag.  I had some in the freezer for two years.  When sauteed in oil I could tell no loss of flavor or change in texture.
 

GURNEYS DOUBLE DELIGHT:  This is a new addition to our seed stash.  We ordered it because we  were out of our favorite "Big Bertha".  The description sounded similar and Gurneys doesn't handle Bertha seed. 2013
 

GURNEY'S DOUBLE DELIGHT:  Another  new pepper for us.  It is described as a thick walled bull horn. It seems like a good substitute for the Big Daddy we won't have this year. The only draw back is it isn't yellow.

 MARCONI ROSSO:  Henry Fields 2010. This is another of the bull horns.  It is three lobed, I don't know if it is thinner walled.  We will be comparing these plants and the other bull horns for production, size, taste and thickness of walls.

GIANT MARCONI:  Totally tomatoes 2010.  This is a blockier version of the bullhorn pepper but is like the bullhorn in size, length and taste.

CORONO DI TORO-GIALLO:  Scheeper's 2010.  Another bull horn,  This one has a plus, it is yellow.  Hopefully it will fill the space of the Big Daddy Pepper.  Last year it did not perform well but so many things in the garden didn't because of the weather.   It looks like we'll be testing a few plants of each, and giving away the seeds of the ones that don't perform to our liking.  Where did we get all these, LOL.  If I had taken time to proof seeds in December this year I would not have ordered seeds I already had.       http://organicinstlouis.blogspot.com/2013/02/proofing-seeds.html

QUADRATO D'ASTI ROSSO:  Scheeper's 2007 , a thick walled large bell pepper.

ACONCQUA:  Saved seed,  Original seed was purchased through Pinetree seeds. These did real well in the greenhouse this year.  They are very prolific.  They are an extremely large cubannelle type.

PEPPER SEED PLANTING
The seeds were planted in a soil less medium.  I used "Activia cups" to plant them in.  These were put inside a plastic bag inside our propagation chamber.  The temperature will be kept at 72 degrees.

PLANTING LIST:   GERMINATION TIMES

FEB 26, 2013                      DATE     DATE     DATE    DATE         DATE
                                           MAR 4    MAR 6    MAR 8   MAR 10     MAR 14
FOOLED YOU                                   5/12         5/12         7/12           10/12 (2 MOVED)
12 SEEDS 2012

DOUBLE DELIGHT          1/10        2/10         5/10          6/10           8/10  (2 MOVED)
Gurneys 10 seeds
2013

GIANT II                            1/10         6/10          7/12         8/10           9/10 (5 MOVED)
Gurney's 10 seeds
2013

MARCONI ROSSO                                                               1/6          1/6
H. Fields  6 seeds
2010

CORONO DI TORO                                            1/5             1/5         1/6
GIALLO Scheepers
5 seeds 2010

QUADRATO D'ASTI                                                                           0/6
ROSSO Scheeper's
6 seeds  2007

GIANT MARCONI
T.Tomatoes 4 seeds                                                                   1/4      1/4
2010

ACONCQUA                 1/12          3/12         5/12                   6/12    8/12 (2 MOVED)
Mine OP 12 seeds
2013

MARCH 4:  Finally, I have just been over anxious for them to germinate, to see some form of life.  The 3 are just peeking the surface.  I pulled them out of the propagation chamber and put them under the lights.  These were all 2013 seeds.  I will have to be patient, I know the older seed will take longer to sprout.

MARCH  6:  Boy are these slow. I am so glad I started them ahead.  The thoughts in the back of my head was I was going to have to babysit these far too long.  It looks like they are right on their sprouting schedule.  

MARCH 8:  While checking for new sprouting I noticed two of the seeds had sprouted and were turning green but they had not "POPPED THEIR SEED CASINGS OFF".  If these are not removed the plant will not mature.  These beginning "leaves" are called cotyledons.  I take my fingernail and clip the seed casing off.  You will loose the points on these cotyledons but it will not harm the development of leaves.  (btw wait till you can see that there are two cotyledons at the base before you remove it.  Sometimes, a day later the seed casing will pop off itself.) The photo on the left is of the trapped cotyledon.

 


The picture on the left is the cotyledon after I pinched off the seed casing.  The casing can be clipped off sooner.  You must remember to not pinch below the "Y" of the "leaves".  Make sure there is enough growth so that you are not disturbing the base where the new growth will happen.  If the remaining 3 pepper varieties have not sprouted by the time I plant my tomato seeds I will plant some more of them.  Two of the varieties are from 2010, they should still be viable.  I am also going to plant the last of the "Giallo".  I have decided I want more of this variety(and they aren't sprouting well either)

MARCH 10:  Two of the last three varieties sprouted.  One of each, will be enough to tell me by the end of the year if I want to purchase more of that seed (bar no unforeseen accidents like ground hogs or tornadoes.  Yes, we have had a tornado plow through our plants and our Green house.).  I do hope the Giant Marconi will show at least one plant, too.

 

Giallo has not shown any more life, I will plant the remainder of the packet of seed when I plant my tomatoes next week.  I want to save seed from this variety if it does well and produces the type of

 

pepper we enjoy.  The first three varieties in the sprouting chart are hybrids.  I won't be saving seed from them  but the rest we will.

 

This morning in the propagation chamber, I found this crawling around a newly emerged seedling.   It had to have hatched in there because the plants were in a sealed plastic bag.   I was wondering how a soil less mix harbored insect eggs.  What I have is an off-colored Asian Lady Bug.  The bane of my existence on my living room east/south windows in January.

 

I went to check several sites and deduced it was what I thought it was. The following site gave me some information that is extremely useful.
     http://www.insectidentification.org/beetles.asp

 

In my blog on using newspapers, recycling them as mulch:

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/2013/03/recycling-re-using.html

 

I cautioned about mealy bugs (roly poly/sow) loving to nest in and eat the papers.  I did not know there was a predator for them.  Perusing I found this:

 

http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Mealy-Bug-Destroyer-Larvae

 

I literally thought it was a bug that had grown some kind of mold and I dispatched him. I now know, I should have saved him. 

MARCH 14:  Today is moving day, most of the seedlings have grown large enough to handle being put into their own apartments.  Finding enough Activa cups for them all is hard.  I can't eat it fast enough to supply the demand...LOL 

 

TRANSPLANTING THE SEEDLINGS

Some of the seedlings were not quite ready to transplanted. 

We had to work to gently remove the larger plants from the trays.

First thing we do is get all the "necessaries" together.   Once we begin we don't want to have to go looking for items to work with.  Clockwise:  Hershey's syrup bottle with luke warm water, Drinking water bottle for me, Cat litter box of mixed dirt for transplanting, gallon jug with the fish emulsion mixed in the water, (scissors, pens, glue stick, note book, labels, paper, phone, TV gizmos,  eye glasses).  Plants, tiny instruments for transplanting, Pots, paper towels.

 

HERSHEY'S BOTTLE:  This holds luke warm water to water the seedlings in when we have to disturb them to remove a friend.

 

DRINKING WATER FOR ME (Self explanatory)

 

KITTY LITTER BUCKET:  We re-use and re-cycle lots of items.  This oval one was perfect for mixing our soil for transplanting in.  What is our soil mix.  In a large wheel barrow we mix one part soil with one part peat moss, with 1/2 part sand, 1/2 part of our dried manure from goats/sheep/cow and one part rice hulls. When this is well mixed we add a quart of Epsom salts and a quart of bone meal to a large wheel barrow of the mix. This is then stored to use for potting. We take equal amounts of this and our soil less mix and mix them together. This is what we use for the first transplanting.

 

GALLON JUG OF FISH EMULSION:  We mix 3 tablespoons of emulsion with the gallon of luke warm water. 

 

SECRETARIAL GROUPING:  The TV gizmo's are for listening to programs while I am doing what can be a repetitive dull job (did you notice they are in a plastic bag?  this serves to keep them clean. They still work through the plastic).  The phone is in case I receive a call.  Glasses..I am at an age where things are very blurry.  Glue stick to apply those labels to the containers.

 

PLANTS: They are why we are going through this.

 

POTS:  The infamous Activia cups prepared for use.  (notice the re-used Styrofoam trays from the meat department.

 

SMALL TOOLS:  I keep an eye out for things that will work for transplanting.  A hibachi fork, a small butter knife, a tiny fork used for ordourves, and a tiny spoon (I think it used to be a artificial sweetener scoop).

 

PAPER TOWELLS

 

HAND PROTECTION:

 

I forgot to mention one important necessary for me.  Plastic gloves.  I cannot stand to touch dirt. The feel of it under my nails or drying on my hands is very uncomfortable.  Writing about the idea is giving me the chills....LOL.  I get my box of gloves every year from my dentist. They seem to be heavier than the regular doctors gloves.  I always request them in my favorite color and they are silicone and talcum free.  I can wear them quite a few uses before they have fatigue.  I just turn them inside out and give them a wash and let them dry.  Then when I need them I just turn them back to right side out  and happily work in the dirt. 

SQUIRT BOTTLES:

 

Another item which is recycled not trashed.   The Joy bottle is for applying the fish emulsion to the newly planted plants.  Using the small bottle with a nozzle gives control and you don't flood the plants or wash them out of their pots.  Watering in with the fish emulsion instead of water gives the plants a boost which is much needed to help them over the transplanting shock.

READY TO BEGIN

Remember the plant which had the trapped cotyledon?  This is not the same one, but the plant on the left (see the leaf that looks stunted) is one I pinched off the seed casing.  You can see the growth of the new true leaves

This crowded pot on the left,  has one over grown candidate to extract.  For demonstration I will use another pot where all the plants need new homes.  The picture below is the pot with the peppers gently removed.  I do not water for 12 hours before so the loose medium will fall apart.  If it is stubborn and too rooted together, then I set the in a bowl of luke warm water until the medium is loosened up.

 

These are the plants in their new apartments.  I used the seedling tray for the smallest seedling since we are low on activia cups.  I will probably have to transplant it again sooner than the other plants. 

We have already started our eggplant and broccoli plants.  

Check this blog's directory under the label "seed starting".  

For more blogs by me, visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,

but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.

There are articles which have nothing to do

with creating or gardening.

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens

we found and mothered.

It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

 As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

 Please do not use without permission.