Plants in the Heat

Do NOT attempt to fertilize your plants when it's hot!
These guys are just trying to survive, and to add fertilizer to their menu adds the stress of trying to grow, when they're already giving 100%.
If it's a new planting you're dealing with, the addition of ice cubes around the drip line will be welcome to the plant's need for thirst, as well as
providing it a bit of elementary air conditioning. The ice slowly melts, cooling down the soil, and keeping it moist.

Watering at night is a good idea, too, unless you're dealing fungus in your garden. At night, the water soaks into the soil better, and isn't lost thru
evaporation. You'll note that in the morning, your soil will still be damp, whereas if you water it in the monring, that dampness will only last a few hours
at most.

If your garden's prone to fungi, then water well in the morning.

Happy Gardening!
w

Chores

Gardening:
It's time in our area to clip the pansy blooms. Don't worry, they'll rebloom in the fall. If your snap dragons have finished blooming, cut the stalks off, too. Again, they'll
re-bloom in the fall.

Water consistently. Damage can be done by watering well, then allowing the plants or trees to dry out. Keep the water coming regularly. Otherwise, veggies split, or can develop all kinds of problems.

We're gathering beets, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, basil and other herbs. The season for sugar snap peas has ended, and we've pulled the vines. As we gather cabbages, we also pull up the plants. I don't want them to continue taking nutrients out of the ground when I don't intend to use the little cabbages this year.

Enjoy the season!!

Gardening Info/Household Info

In our area, the cherries are ripe, so this morning the birds of the neighborhood were much disturbed when I began picking their buffet. Ed's favorite pie is cherry, and fresh cherry pie is hard to beat!

Now is the time to start tying up your tomato plants. The selvage edges of fabric make wonderful ties. When I sew, I cut off these edges, about 1/2" wide, and save them for gardening season. They're soft enough they don't cut into the tender plant.

When you tie up your tomatoes, or stake them, or whatever you do to them, now's a good time to start removing their suckers. What are suckers? Where the leaf attaches to the stem, there'll be a sprout. Remove that sprout. Later in the season, after the plant has some good growth, I let the suckers grow, but for now, the plant needs to put its strength into growing a healthy stem and leaves, in order to support the tomatoes.

Now, don't throw away those suckers! Particularly the larger ones. Those little ones, you may discard with abandon. The larger ones, place in a glass of water. They'll root and you'll have more tomato plants.

It's also time to dust with Sevin those cole crops: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, etc. The white butterflies didn't die over winter and they're particularly a nuisance in our area.

IN THE KITCHEN:

Buy a shaker...a large one, like your kitchen salt and pepper come in. Mine has a screen top, which I greatly enjoy. Put your flour in it, and when you need to dust a cake pan, flour a dough board, etc., it puts a nice even coat on it. Saves flour. Saves time.

When you are using a hand mixer, place your bowl in the kitchen sink. Most of the splatters will fall on the sides and bottom of the sink, thereby saving cleanup time and mess.

Let's talk about that hand mixer again. When you're mixing cake batter, and scrape the sides of the bowl with your spatula, don't rake the last of it off on the edge of the bowl, scrape it against the beaters. Then, when you put the beaters back in the batter, to finish mixing, it will get mixed in, too.

MY CURRENT FAVORITE GREEN SALAD:
Various salad greens-fresh sugar snap peas-quartered strawberries-Feta cheese-slivered almonds, sauteed in butter
This is yummy just as it is, with your favorite dressing (at the moment, mine is Girard's White Balsamic); but if you want to make this into a meal, add sliced fried or grilled
chicken.

CHICKEN:
We like chicken, but not the breading. When you fry your chicken (yes, even boneless, skinless breasts) get the shortening hot (Crisco, I think, works best) season your chicken and place it in the pan. Sear it on one side, uncovered (I place the cover slightly on, in order to keep the thing from spattering all over the kitchen!), turn, sear on the other side, then turn the fire as low as you can get it and continue cooking, COVERED, for 20 minutes. Your boneless, skinless chicken breasts will be fork tender, have a heavenly flavor and if you like gravy, the drippings make it best.

Enjoy your weekend!!
w

Rose Rosette Disease is Prevalent This Year

Folks,

The information below has been received from the Jackson County office of the MO Master Gardeners' Association.

Pay attention here.  

Rose rosette disease is a fatal virus-like disease of the Genus Rosa.  The host plant is the Multi Flora Rose which is an invasive plant in many of our open lands.  It is vectored by a very small eriophyid mite which can be blown by the wind. Prevention is not a viable option.  Typically infections occur in May with symptoms appearing in July.  With our accelerated season this is being seen earlier.

The symptoms of RRD are:

Sudden elongation of a stem or stems 

Vivid red leaves some of which can be distorted or curled

Yellowing leaves with a mosaic pattern

An abnormal amount of lateral stems referred to as the "Witches broom"

Abnormally large amount of thorns some of which are smaller than normal

This is ually present on one or two stems of the plant only and is taller than the remaining branches

Control

There is no control.  The plant should be dug up as soon as possible and put in the trash. Do not compost.  Pruning of the affected stem will not cure the disease.  

If you suspect this, cleanse all tools that touched the affected plant with rubbing alcohol or a 10% bleach solution.  

Making Your Own Deodorant

Folks,
Wendy sent me this from a personal website, so rather than copy the recipe, let me just give you the website:

http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2009/03/quick-stick-deodorant.html

Wendy made this and gave it to me when I visited. Instead of tea tree oil, she used lavender and mint oils. This stuff
is wonderful! The one she made is very light, and refreshing (I'm not sure I'd use the tea tree oil...it has a rather antiseptic
odor).

Thought you might want to try this.

Enjoy today! Each moment is God's gift to us...what we do with it is our gift to Him,
w.

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

I keep forgetting this blog thing! :-)

Would you like to be free from supermarket soaps? You can make your own laundry detergent for less, and it has none of the perfumes of the commercial detergents.
Jen downloaded these recipes, so I'm sharing them with you:

Powdered Laundry Detergent
8 c. baking soda-8 c. washing soda-8 c. grated bar soap
Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub. Use 1/8 c. of powder per full load. (This is a coffee measure. Just get one
of those little coffee scoop thingys and use it! It's the same as you'd use for your HE washer)

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe #1:
2 gallons hot water-1 bar soap, grated-2 c. baking soda (yes, baking soda!)
Melt grated soap in saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently till soap is melted. In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well. Add baking soda, stir well again. Use 1/2 c. per full load, or 1 c. per very soiled load (I'm a little hesitant about this
amount. This is an online thing, and I don't know if it applies to HE machines or not. I'd start with a smaller amount, and
if it doesn't clean your clothes, progress up from there.)

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe #2:
2 c. bar soap, grated-2 c. washing soda-2 to 2 1/2 gallons hot water
Melt grated soap in saucepan with water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir will soap is dissolved. Pour hot water in large pail. Add hot soap and washing soda. Stir very well. Use 1 c. per full load (See usage suggestions for Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe #1)

RABBIT FOR DINNER ANYONE??

Happy Spring!!
I've been scrambling to catch up...as my mother used to say, "The hurrier I go, the Behinder I get!" I understand that sentiment completely!
Finally, finally, I thought I was actually about to get my garden all planted! Yesterday, I planted broccoli, cabbage, collards and onions.

This evening I went out to water them, and half the row of broccoli has been eaten down to the ground, and one of my cabbages is missing too!!
I've seen a rabbit in the yard, but never connected the two. Hmmmm.....whaddaya think??

Does anyone have a remedy (yeah, it's fenced, and no, cayenne doesn't work, nor does human hair) for rabbits?? If so, please share it with me before I have to plant
the entire patch again!

In the whole scheme of things, I can't get too upset. Varmints do what they do, and we humans do what we do, and the two are sometimes in conflict.
On the other hand, I should have planted all that in the raised beds, for I've not had a rabbit problem there. One of these years, I'll remember that before planting time. :)

How to Grow Onions

Onion planting time is here!  Below is taken from a video my sweet husband had seen, and forwarded to me:

How To Grow Onions  3/7/2012

• Begin with seeds. They make stronger, more adapted plants.  OR buy the onion plant, not the bulb

• Transplant to a larger container (or to the garden) when the plant is 5" tall.
• When Setting in the garden (when they're about the thickness of a pencil), plant 1" deep in ground.  
• Plant in rows 1 ft. apart.
• Trim tops to 4" high.  This forces the strength of the plant to go into the roots.
• They need at least 1" of water each week
• As the bulb begins to develop, push away the soil, leaving only the lowest part of the bulb, and the roots.  This helps prevent rot, and helps the onion cure as it grows, prolonging storage time.
• Continue pushing back the soil whenever you see it washing back upon the onion bulb.
• Onions should be gathered in mid-late September, depending on the weather and where you live
• Brush the main soil off the bulbs and lay in a shady, dry place for about a week, to dry.  
• At this point, you may cut the top back to about 1".  (I don't cut mine back.  I braid the tops, and hang them up.  Then, when I need an onion, I simply cut the bulb out of the braid. w.)
• Store in a cool dry place (if you haven't braided them, that is)

Making Berries Last Longer in the Fridge

Folks,

Rita sent me this info this morning.  Buy those berries, and enjoy them, for now we know how to keep them longer!

Berries are delicious, but they're also kind of delicate.  Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market.  There's nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on their insides. 

 

Well, with fresh berries just starting to hit farmers markets, we can tell you that how to keep them fresh!  Here's a tip I'm sharing on how to prevent them from getting there in the first place: 

 

Wash them with vinegar.

 

When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider probably work best) and ten parts water.  Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted you can't taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge.  The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit, and voila!  Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft.  So go forth and stock up on those pricey little gems, knowing they'll stay fresh as long as it takes you to eat them. 

MAKING YOUR OWN CORNED BEEF BRISKET

Thought I'd share this with you.  I made it once when we lived in Mena, AR, and it was fun to do....takes a long time...but is delicious.  I'd thought to do this again for our 3/11 gathering, but the thought came too late...I only have 10 days.  :-)  PLUS, corned beef briskets are $1.20 per pound cheaper than regular beef brisket.  Go figure.  :-)

Enjoy today!  You're still alive, which means God still has a plan for you.  :-)

HOME-CURED CORNED BEEF (JEWISH METHOD)

I corned a beef when we lived east of Mena, Arkansas.  It was delicious, and fun to do...took a long time, but the experience was worth it!  The friend that gave me the recipe says it's the Jewish method, so I'm taking her word for it...what would I know, right?? :-)

In a large kettle, bring to boil:  4 qts. distilled water-1 1/2 c. salt-1 T. sugar-2 T. pickling spice-1/2 oz (3/4 T.) salt peter for color (we can no longer get this, but Morton's Tender Quick or Morton's Sugar Cure Mix is a good substitute)-8 large bay leaves

Boil for five minutes.  Remove from heat & allow to cool to room temperature.  Very important!!

In a large enamel, earthenware, or plastic container, place:

Beef brisket (5 lb. or smaller)-8 cloves garlic, peeled-Brine solution from above (including spices)

Put something heavy on brisket to keep it submerged (large dinner plate with a brick or other weight on top of the plate) and cover with a large cloth.  Set in a cool (not refrigerator) place for 12 days.  

After 12 days, remove from brine and wash under cold running water, thoroughly.

TO COOK:

ROAST:  Place fat-side-up in a roasting pan, add small amount of water, cover with foil and roast at 300* till tender (about an hour per pound).

SLOW COOKER:  Cover with water, 2 onions, chunked, 2 stalks celery (I omit) cut in large chunks. Cover and cook 6-8 hours.

STOVE TOP:  In large kettle, cover beef with water, 2 peeled and chunked onions, 2 stalks celery, chunked (again, I omit).  Bring to a boil, skimming any foam that comes to the surface.  Lower heat & simmer for appx. 3 hours, or till tender when pierced with the point of a knife.