I know, it's the weekend and I said I wouldn't be posting, but last night a town was wiped out.
Greensburg, Kansas was taken out by a tornado last night. so many people hurt, and the town, well is gone.
My area is ripe for the same storms today. And I know that some of you watch the national news, and I wanted to let you know that I am taking precautions today.
If storms should pop up in my area, I will check in with everyone after they have past. I do have family that reads my blog, that live out of state. Calm thoughts to you, we will be fine. My father is in a great place at the VA hospital and they will take care of him. I have lived my entire life with tornadoes, I lived through the Haysville/Andover tornado that came within a half city block of my home. So remember, I can handle this, and we will be safe.
No worries.
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Saturday, May 05, 2007
Friday, May 04, 2007
One more thing on tomatoes
I was out in the garden earlier and realized I forgot to mention something, and it is important.
When you water your plants, you do not want to use a sprinkler. Instead you want to water at the base of your stalk. Leave the hose and allow it to soak for about 30 minutes at least every other day.
If you use a sprinkler you run the risk of damaging the fruit. Ever found a tomato that literally split at the seams? That would have been cause by water falling onto it.
When you water your plants, you do not want to use a sprinkler. Instead you want to water at the base of your stalk. Leave the hose and allow it to soak for about 30 minutes at least every other day.
If you use a sprinkler you run the risk of damaging the fruit. Ever found a tomato that literally split at the seams? That would have been cause by water falling onto it.
Another meeting
Yesterday, I took all 3 of my boys with me to meet the KSmilkmaid. My boys had a ball! The KSmilkmaid and I talked for a long time, while our children ran amok in the muck. When we got into the truck to leave, my three-year-old pretty pleased me.
"please, for what?"
"BUNNYBUNNYBUNNYBUNNYBUNNY!" I heard that until he fell asleep.
It looks like my oldest son, and one of The KSMilkMaid's boys of the same age, has already discussed a sleep over. I love it! This fun, this play, this instant friendship is something I wish we could find a little closer to home. But I am willing to drive up there for them.
I am planting peppers today, but I am curious, what vegetable do you want info on? If I have successfully grown it I will write up a post about it on Monday.
"please, for what?"
"BUNNYBUNNYBUNNYBUNNYBUNNY!" I heard that until he fell asleep.
It looks like my oldest son, and one of The KSMilkMaid's boys of the same age, has already discussed a sleep over. I love it! This fun, this play, this instant friendship is something I wish we could find a little closer to home. But I am willing to drive up there for them.
I am planting peppers today, but I am curious, what vegetable do you want info on? If I have successfully grown it I will write up a post about it on Monday.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Tomato talk
Before we talk tomatoes, I wanted to let you all in on something. I am now a moderator over on the boards at The Modern Homestead.
The federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can't eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as 'progress', doesn't spread.
~Andy Rooney
Mr Rooney knew it, but progress doesn't have to be all bad. Selective cross breeding of heritage tomatoes can also be considered progress, one that I feel comfortable eating.
Some of you have said some things to me that make me wonder if I am being too preachy. Yes, I think that you should plant heritage tomatoes rather then GMO's, but that doesn't mean I am going to look down on you if you buy your tomato plants from a popular store. The point is your trying your hand at something. And that's what I enjoy seeing. So run out, now is a great time in the Midwest to get those tomatoes plants into the ground, and buy your tomato plants. Once you find that growing your own is enjoyable and taste so much better than store bought fruits, you'll be hooked and want to try different fruits. And nothing beats the flavors that come with the different types of heritage tomatoes.
Before you buy your plants, you need to take a moment to think about what you want them for. Snacking, slicing and dicing, canning whole, making ketchup? This is important because different tomatoes are better for certain things. Once you have that figured out, it is just a matter of reading the tags on the plants, most the time they will say what the produced fruits are best used for. Even the names will clue you in on what they should be used for. Roma's are my favorite for sauces.
Soil prepping will not take most of you 10 hours to do. I have a large variety of tomato plants, because we need to have enough canned sauces, stewed and cut tomatoes to last a year. Most of you will only eat your tomatoes seasonally. One or two plants will be enough, so prepping soil will be simple. You will want lots of hummus in your soil, it needs to be porous and fairly light. If you, like me, have too much clay in your soil, add peat moss or compost to lighten it up. I live by the Garden Claw, have had it for years. This thing has out lasted all my potato forks, and I do suggest using one to break up and mix your ground soil with. If your soil is poor, it is important to feed them with compost.
Your location is also important, you do not want an area that is poorly drained, this will promote disease. You will also need full sun and an airy area.
Staking seems to be the most popular way to train the tomato plant. I trellis mine on field fences. Training your plants will produce larger fruits than allowing them to grow naturally. If training them, the plants should be about 2 feet apart. You will need to drive a 5 foot stake into the ground next to the plant, tie a piece of soft yarn or cotton cloth tightly around the stake and loosely loop it around the stalk. This will help reduce any damage to the rapidly growing plant. Pinch off all but two of the stems, these will be the main stems. This will help keep your plants off the ground.
I cheated this year, and placed a weed barrier around my plants. And have filled the path with straw. If using straw to insulate or as weed barrier, you need to be warned that you will have a carpet of green on top of the straw. Not to worry. It grows only on the straw and will not compete with your plants for food and water. The green grass will die before reaching maturity.
If allowing your tomatoes to spread out naturally, you need to give them about 4 feet from each other. Here you will need to use straw or dried grass to keep the fruits from coming into contact with the ground.
Cut worm damge and weeds grown too close
You need to mulch around your plants well. This is important to help keep moisture in and weeds out. Be careful when weeding, you do not want to weed up against your stalks. Pulling the weeds that grow right against your plants can cause root damage.
Harvest is simple, most the time the fruit will pull away cleaning from the plant. Either eat or preserve your harvest.
I do hope that answers all your questions, if not, feel free to ask away. If you have a suggestion that makes tomatoes grow better/easier, please, I am always open to ideas.
The federal government has sponsored research that has produced a tomato that is perfect in every respect, except that you can't eat it. We should make every effort to make sure this disease, often referred to as 'progress', doesn't spread.
~Andy Rooney
Mr Rooney knew it, but progress doesn't have to be all bad. Selective cross breeding of heritage tomatoes can also be considered progress, one that I feel comfortable eating.
Some of you have said some things to me that make me wonder if I am being too preachy. Yes, I think that you should plant heritage tomatoes rather then GMO's, but that doesn't mean I am going to look down on you if you buy your tomato plants from a popular store. The point is your trying your hand at something. And that's what I enjoy seeing. So run out, now is a great time in the Midwest to get those tomatoes plants into the ground, and buy your tomato plants. Once you find that growing your own is enjoyable and taste so much better than store bought fruits, you'll be hooked and want to try different fruits. And nothing beats the flavors that come with the different types of heritage tomatoes.
Before you buy your plants, you need to take a moment to think about what you want them for. Snacking, slicing and dicing, canning whole, making ketchup? This is important because different tomatoes are better for certain things. Once you have that figured out, it is just a matter of reading the tags on the plants, most the time they will say what the produced fruits are best used for. Even the names will clue you in on what they should be used for. Roma's are my favorite for sauces.
Soil prepping will not take most of you 10 hours to do. I have a large variety of tomato plants, because we need to have enough canned sauces, stewed and cut tomatoes to last a year. Most of you will only eat your tomatoes seasonally. One or two plants will be enough, so prepping soil will be simple. You will want lots of hummus in your soil, it needs to be porous and fairly light. If you, like me, have too much clay in your soil, add peat moss or compost to lighten it up. I live by the Garden Claw, have had it for years. This thing has out lasted all my potato forks, and I do suggest using one to break up and mix your ground soil with. If your soil is poor, it is important to feed them with compost.
Your location is also important, you do not want an area that is poorly drained, this will promote disease. You will also need full sun and an airy area.
Staking seems to be the most popular way to train the tomato plant. I trellis mine on field fences. Training your plants will produce larger fruits than allowing them to grow naturally. If training them, the plants should be about 2 feet apart. You will need to drive a 5 foot stake into the ground next to the plant, tie a piece of soft yarn or cotton cloth tightly around the stake and loosely loop it around the stalk. This will help reduce any damage to the rapidly growing plant. Pinch off all but two of the stems, these will be the main stems. This will help keep your plants off the ground.
I cheated this year, and placed a weed barrier around my plants. And have filled the path with straw. If using straw to insulate or as weed barrier, you need to be warned that you will have a carpet of green on top of the straw. Not to worry. It grows only on the straw and will not compete with your plants for food and water. The green grass will die before reaching maturity.
If allowing your tomatoes to spread out naturally, you need to give them about 4 feet from each other. Here you will need to use straw or dried grass to keep the fruits from coming into contact with the ground.
Cutworms are your enemy. To help prevent them from damaging your crop, place a thinly messed wire or a paper cuff around the base of the stem.
Cut worm damge and weeds grown too closeYou need to mulch around your plants well. This is important to help keep moisture in and weeds out. Be careful when weeding, you do not want to weed up against your stalks. Pulling the weeds that grow right against your plants can cause root damage.
Harvest is simple, most the time the fruit will pull away cleaning from the plant. Either eat or preserve your harvest.
I do hope that answers all your questions, if not, feel free to ask away. If you have a suggestion that makes tomatoes grow better/easier, please, I am always open to ideas.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Busy
I know I said I would post about tomatoes, and tomorrow I will give you a nice wordy post about them.
I spent 9 1/2 hours in the garden yesterday and i am very sore this morning.
Also my father went into the hospital late last night with many problems. Good thoughts for him please.
If I feel more awake and up for it I will try to get tomato talk up later today.
I spent 9 1/2 hours in the garden yesterday and i am very sore this morning.
Also my father went into the hospital late last night with many problems. Good thoughts for him please.
If I feel more awake and up for it I will try to get tomato talk up later today.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
It might just work
Yesterday right after lunch, I took my oldest son's project to school. They knew I was coming in a little late because of the chicks, actually they told me to come in later than everyone else to set up. Once there I helped move around other projects so that all the classes could fit on the tables. I was told that this year was the largest turn out for this fair, 2 of the 16 teachers made it a homework assignment and were giving out grades. My oldest son's class didn't do that, and only 4 children participated.
I stood behind the project to insure that the children didn't go nuts and try to hurt the chicks. There was a few finger in cage sticking, but other than that it was fine.
Half the female students were cooing over the chicks, asking who's they were. I think things went well, most of the kids loved the chickens, and half of those took time to read the poster board.
That evening when it was time for the parents to walk through, many kids could be seen dragging a parent or both through the gym to see the live chickens. These kids have never seen a live chicken before, and for many this will be the only time they ever do.
As the night went on, most of the kids came back to our display over and over again. The very young, preschool age, were content just to stand there and stare at them.
My oldest son wanted me to bring the Cornish game birds, but I thought that the frizzle chicks would make more of a statement, the adults found it interesting that the birds feathers grew in that manner and that they would stay a very small bird. Lots of questions to answer about them. Some of the mom's looked down at us, but the dad's enjoyed it, and most importantly the children did to.
Maybe we should think about doing something with the school.
My oldest son and his project
Today will be a very long a tiring day, I have to put in the tomatoes.
I thought I had a post hidden away about planting and caring for tomatoes, I can't find it if I do. If you want, I will post one tomorrow, just let me know.
I stood behind the project to insure that the children didn't go nuts and try to hurt the chicks. There was a few finger in cage sticking, but other than that it was fine.
Half the female students were cooing over the chicks, asking who's they were. I think things went well, most of the kids loved the chickens, and half of those took time to read the poster board.
That evening when it was time for the parents to walk through, many kids could be seen dragging a parent or both through the gym to see the live chickens. These kids have never seen a live chicken before, and for many this will be the only time they ever do.
As the night went on, most of the kids came back to our display over and over again. The very young, preschool age, were content just to stand there and stare at them.
My oldest son wanted me to bring the Cornish game birds, but I thought that the frizzle chicks would make more of a statement, the adults found it interesting that the birds feathers grew in that manner and that they would stay a very small bird. Lots of questions to answer about them. Some of the mom's looked down at us, but the dad's enjoyed it, and most importantly the children did to.
Maybe we should think about doing something with the school.
My oldest son and his project
Today will be a very long a tiring day, I have to put in the tomatoes.
I thought I had a post hidden away about planting and caring for tomatoes, I can't find it if I do. If you want, I will post one tomorrow, just let me know.
Monday, April 30, 2007
The weekend and a little education
We did not fix the field fence, instead I pulled a half acre of fence and T-posts. And now I have man arms, or so say I to my husband who thinks that is hilarious. We also unloaded all that lumber we bought. Needless to say that I am sore.
More of the garden was tilled, but we did not get to some of the other project that are needed. And Killi, to heat a goat pen, in my lingo, is to put up an electric fence. Something else I didn't get to. But containing the hens seems to be working.
My oldest son is doing the Art, Lit and science Fair today. He picked a visual science project. The Complete Egg Cycle; from hen to hen. I will be taking 2 of the frizzle chicks to school today. I don't know if this will be good or bad with how the children treat him. He wanted to take the Cornish birds, but I thought the uniqueness of the Frizzles would score a few points. We shall see. He did a great job though, he has the entire process and two possible outcomes for the egg, hatching or eating. I will take photos and tell you how it went. Keep your fingers crossed for him, not to win, but that the kids act better towards him.
A few of the images on his presentation;
More of the garden was tilled, but we did not get to some of the other project that are needed. And Killi, to heat a goat pen, in my lingo, is to put up an electric fence. Something else I didn't get to. But containing the hens seems to be working.
My oldest son is doing the Art, Lit and science Fair today. He picked a visual science project. The Complete Egg Cycle; from hen to hen. I will be taking 2 of the frizzle chicks to school today. I don't know if this will be good or bad with how the children treat him. He wanted to take the Cornish birds, but I thought the uniqueness of the Frizzles would score a few points. We shall see. He did a great job though, he has the entire process and two possible outcomes for the egg, hatching or eating. I will take photos and tell you how it went. Keep your fingers crossed for him, not to win, but that the kids act better towards him.
A few of the images on his presentation;
Close-up of immature Ova and mature Ovum
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