Cabbage Patch |-Doll-| Family Reunion

Stop it, stop making that ugly face. Cabbage and all it’s family members taste good and are good for you. Cruciferous vegetables (cole vegetables) cabbage, cauliflower, collards, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, mustard and turnip greens.

Cole crops will tolerate some shade but full sun is always preferable. Cole crops will grow better in heavier, cooler soils than most warm season crops.
Cole crops are heavy feeders and do best in a deep, fertile soil enriched with plenty of organic matter. Because cole crops can easily become deficient in minor elements, at least part of the fertilizer material should be composted manure or composted vegetable matter to ensure a supply of these nutrients. Cauliflower demands the most exacting soil and fertility requirements to produce large firm heads.

Planting and Culture Most growers grow cabbage(green and red), cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts from spring transplants rather than seeding them directly in the garden. Fall crops may be seeded directly into the garden in June and July for a Fall crop. Quality transplant seedlings are a vital key to a successful crop. To prevent premature flower stalk formation, keep the seedlings growing above 60º F. This is particularly true for broccoli and cauliflower. A good seedling transplant will be 5 to 6 weeks old, sturdy with good color.

Cabbage plants can withstand very low temperatures down to 10º to 15º F for a night or two, broccoli and cauliflower are not nearly so cold resistant.

Harvest Cabbage when the head is very firm. Springy heads are not mature. Harvest Cauliflower heads when they reach a diameter of 5 to 8 inches and before the segments begin to separate. To get pure white heads, exclude light. Tie the outer leaves over the developing head with rubber bands or clothespins and keep them tied until harvest. Do not be concerned if some light gets through and discolors the head the eating quality is not affected.

Harvest Broccoli while the head is still compact and before the small flower buds open up to show yellow. Head diameter will range from 4 to 8 inches. After this center head is harvested side shoots (heads) of 2 to 3 inches will develop.

Brussels sprouts Small, cabbage-like sprouts develop along the thick stem, maturing first at the base of the plant. As the sprouts enlarge, remove the large leaves between the sprouts. Pinch out the growing tip of the plants in early September to hasten maturity. Harvest the sprouts when they are firm and before they open up. A light frost or two improves their flavor.

Harvest kale any time leaves are large enough for intended use. Tender young leaves are best for salad, older leaves are better cooked. Frost improves the flavor of kale.

Don’t over look planting collards, mustard and turnips when you plant your Cole Spring and Fall garden.

Don’t over cook any of the Cole vegetable. No matter what method you choose, boiling, broiling stir frying or steaming, Do Not Over Cook Cole vegetables.

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Home Grown Lettuce – Best Salad You Will Ever Taste

leaf lettuce

Source University of Illinois Extension Lettuce is a cool weather vegetable that thrives when the average daily temperature is between 60 and 70°F. Plant in early spring or late summer. Some types and varieties of lettuce withstand heat better than others.

Leaf lettuce, the most widely adapted of all the Lettuce types, produces crisp leaves loosely arranged on the stalk. Romaine types form a upright, elongated head. Butterhead varieties are generally small, loose heading types that have tender, soft leaves with a delicate sweet flavor.

In my opinion, Crisphead varieties like iceberg commonly sold at supermarkets are tasteless, worthless and a waste of time and space to grow.

Some Recommended Varieties
Green Leaf
Black-seeded Simpson (earliest to harvest)
Grand Rapids (frilly edges; good for coldframes, greenhouse, garden)
Oak Leaf (resistant to tipburn; good for hot weather)
Red Leaf
Red Fire (ruffles with red edge – slow to bolt)
Red Sails (slowest bolting red leaf lettuce)
Ruby (darkest red of all – resistant to tipburn)
Romaine
Cimmaron (unique, dark red leaf)
Green Towers (early – dark green, large leaves)
Paris Island (long – standing)

Northern Climates can plant lettuce in both spring and late summer. Southern climates lettuce planting is best done in late Summer or early Fall. Two or more successive plantings at 7 to 10 day intervals provide a continuous supply of lettuce.

Harvesting and Storage
Leaf lettuce may be cut whenever it is large enough to use. Cutting every other plant at ground level gives the remaining plants more space. Leaf lettuce reaches maximum size (6 to 12 ounces) in 50 to 60 days. Butterhead varieties form small, loose heads that weigh 4 to 8 ounces at harvest (60 to 70 days).

To store lettuce, wash, drip dry and place in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Lettuce keeps best at 32°F and high (96%) humidity.

I planted my lettuce carefully following the seed package instructions.
What went wrong?
Failure of seeds to germinate is almost always caused by insufficient moisture. Take extra care to keep the seedbed moist, but not soggy, until the seedlings emerge.

Formation of seed stalks is caused by warm temperatures. If seed stalks begin to form, harvest your lettuce immediately and store it in the refrigerator.

In overly warm/hot weather Lettuce may become bitter. Harvest wash and store the leaves in the refrigerator for a day or two. Much of the bitterness will disappear.

From my for what it’s worth department.
Nutrition Facts (One cup raw leaf lettuce, chopped)
Calories 9
Dietary Fiber 1.3
Protein 1 gram
Carbohydrates 1.34 grams
Vitamin A 1456 IU
Vitamin C 13.44
Calcium 20.16
Iron 0.62
Potassium 162.4 mg

Don’t ruin the flavor of your garden fresh lettuce covering it with a large amount of strong flavored/tasting supermarket dressings. Try one of these light flavored vinaigrette style dressings.

Red and Yellow Pepper Vinaigrette
1 small yellow bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons warm water
pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients until combined well. This vinaigrette will keep, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for 3 days. Recipe may be doubled. Makes one cup.

Citrus Vinaigrette
1/4 cup fresh orange juice (juice of one small orange)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
Freshly ground black pepper
Combine the juices and salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in oils until incorporated. A blender or food processor may also be used. Pour into a glass jar and seal. Serve over your favorite salad greens. The vinaigrette will keep, tightly covered, for a week in the refrigerator. To warm cold vinaigrette, place jar in a bowl of hot tap water for a few minutes.

Mustard Chive Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon grainy Dijon-style mustard
black pepper freshly ground to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
Using a whisk or fork, in a small bowl combine all ingredients except the oil. Slowly add the oil, whisking vigorously, until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Pour over your favorite salad greens and toss. Store remaining vinaigrette in the refrigerator, in a tightly sealed glass jar, for up to one week. To warm cold vinaigrette, place jar in a small bowl of hot tap water for a few minutes. Makes 1/2 cup.

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Tomato’s In Your Home Garden – ‘Again!’

Baxters Early Bush

It would be a challenge to find one Home Garden in America that does not have at least one tomato vine.
You will find them hanging upside down in pots and buckets, in containers of all sizes and descriptions, on porches and patios. You will find them in raised bed gardens, well and not so well maintained gardens every where.

You can find 700 or more if not thousands of different tomato varieties. Some are heirlooms many are hybrids coming in many different shapes, sizes, colors, bush and vine tomato’s. Some developed for special uses such as making tomato sauce.

The number one question I hear tomato growers ask is, Why are my tomato’s not setting fruit and dropping their blooms? Here are a few of the causes for small crops and bloom drop.

Source Tomato Pollination
Tomato Pollination. Pollen is shed with great abundance between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on dry, sunny days. To ensure better pollination, gently shake or vibrate the entire tomato plant.

Tomato’s like it warm, Not Hot. Optimum fruit set occurs within a very narrow night temperature range of between 60° F and 70° F. When tomato plants experience night temperatures lower than 55° F or above 75° F prevents normal fertilization. The pollen may even become sterile causing the blossoms to drop. High daytime temperatures, over 90 degrees, will cause tomato’s not to pollinate and lead to blossom drop.

Note about tomato pollination. Tomatoes are self fertile, but self pollinating?…only when conditions are ideal…they often need help. “Self pollinating” is one of the myths spread by tomato growers. Always clean pollinating tools thoroughly after use with 95% ethanol or 1/2 table spoon of chlorine bleach in 1 cup of warm soap water.

Source Age-Old Trick Increases Your Tomato Harvest
Use a cheap electric, battery powered toothbrush to pollinate your tomato’s. Turn on the toothbrush and gently and briefly touch it to the top of the petals or stem of the flower, or flower cluster. Do not touch it to the face of the flower. That’s all that is required. Spend a few seconds each time you visit the garden, the results will be worth your time and effort.

Bumble Bees are the best and most reliable insect pollinator of tomato’s. The common European honey bee is almost useless and seldom is able to pollinate tomato blossoms.

Some tomato varieties can handle cool damp weather or hot dry weather better than others. Do your homework and research what varieties do best under your normal weather conditions.

In my Tiny Garden, in Southwest Oklahoma our summers tend to be hot and dry. We have many days at or above 95 degrees and nights staying well into the high 70′ and low 80 degree temperatures. Not idea tomato growing conditions. Porter, improved porter and porter cherry, developed by a Texas tomato grower stands up well to our hot dry conditions as do many of the fast maturing cherry tomato varieties. It seems that smaller is better! Large type tomato’s like beefsteak, better-boy and so on often fail to produce a ‘good’ crop or sometimes any tomato’s in SW Oklahoma’s dry heat.

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The Spice Of Life – Better Than Sex (Well Almost) Growing Peppers

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Source of Pepper picture is unknown.,
Peppers like it hot. Pepper seeds germinate at soil temperatures of 75° – 90° F with 85° F being the ideal soil temperature.

The first thing you must decide is do you want to grow Sweet Mild peppers or Hot pepper types. Then you must select the pepper that is ‘Not’ to hot for your taste.

Jalapeno, Serrano, Cayenne or Tabasco type peppers are hot enough for most peoples taste. However they are down right mild when compared with some of the Habanero or Naga Jolokia peppers.

Below is a pepper chart indicating how hot different varieties of pepper will be at maturity.

Scoville Units

Chile Pepper	Heat Range
Sweet Bell	0
Sweet Banana	0
Pimento	0
Cherry	00 ~ 500
Pepperoncini	100 ~ 500
Sonora	300 ~ 600
El-Paso	500 ~ 700
Santa Fe Grande	500 ~ 750
NuMex R Naky	500 ~ 1,000
Coronado	700 ~ 1,000
TAM Mild Jalapeno	1,000 ~ 1,500
New Mexico 6-4	1,000 ~ 1,500
Espanola	1,000 ~ 2,000
Poblano	1,000 ~ 2,000
Ancho	1,000 ~ 2,000
Mulato	1,000 ~ 2,000
Pasilla	1,000 ~ 2,000
Anaheim	500 ~ 2,500
Sandia	500 ~ 2,500
NuMex Big Jim	1,500 ~ 2,500
Rocotillo	1,500 ~ 2,500
Pulla	700 ~ 3,000
NuMex Joe E. Parker	1,500 ~ 3,000
Bulgarian Carrot	2,000 ~ 5,000
Mirasol	2,500 ~ 5,000
Guajillo	2,500 ~ 5,000
Jalapeno	2,500 ~ 8,000
Chipolte	5,000 ~ 8,000
Long Thick Cayenne	6,000 ~ 8,500
Hot Wax	5,000 ~ 9,000
Puya	5,000 ~ 10,000
Hidalgo	6,000 ~ 17,000
Aji Escabeche	12,000 ~ 17,000
Serrano	8,000 ~ 22,000
Manzano	12,000 ~ 30,000
Shipkas	12,000 ~ 30,000
NuMex Barker’s Hot	15,000 ~ 30,000
De Arbol	15,000 ~ 30,000
Jaloro	30,000 ~ 50,000
Aji	30,000 ~ 50,000
Tabasco	30,000 ~ 50,000
Cayenne	30,000 ~ 50,000
Santaka	40,000 ~ 50,000
Super Chile	40,000 ~ 50,000
Piquin	40,000 ~ 58,000
NuMex XX Hot	60,000 ~ 70,000
Yatsafusa	50,000 ~ 75,000
Red Amazon	55,000 ~ 75,000
Haimen	70,000 ~ 80,000
Chiltecpin	60,000 ~ 85,000
Thai	50,000 ~ 100,000
Merah	85,000 ~ 100,000
Tabiche	85,000 ~ 115,000
Bahamian	95,000 ~ 110,000
Carolina Cayenne	100,000 ~ 125,000
Kumataka	125,000 ~ 150,000
Bahamian	125,000 ~ 300,000
Jamaican Hot	100,000 ~ 200,000
Birds Eye	100,000 ~ 225,000
Tepin (Wild)	100,000 ~ 265,000
Datil	1,000 ~ 300,000
Devil Toung	125,000 ~ 325,000
Fatalii	125,000 ~ 325,000
Orange Habanero	150,000 ~ 325,000
Scotch Bonnet	150,000 ~ 325,000
TigrePaw-NR	265,000 ~ 348,000
Rocoto / Manzano	225,000 ~ 350,000
Caribbean Red	120,000 ~ 400,000
Choclate Habanero	325,000 ~ 425,000
Red Savina Habanero	350,000 ~ 575,000
Dorset Naga	800,000 ~ 900,000
Naga Jolokia “Ghost Pepper”	800,000 ~ 1,041,000
Pure Capsaicin	15-16,000,000

FAQ From Pepper Growers and Want To Be Pepper Growers

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Last Frost – I Hope – Spring Garden Plans Are Well Under Way

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Today using the doddle bug I got him last summer, Ronny {sun-n-law1.0) hauled about a ton more cow manure and old soiled bedding hay from the barn dumping it on this years garden plot. In a day or two the garden will be dry enough to till in all the hay and manure. One final raking and I will start planting this years garden.

Corn, mustard, radish, beet root {maybe}, pinto beans, onion sets and celery will go in first. Followed in a week or so with yellow summer squash and cucumbers. Tomato’s, pepper and okra will be planted the first week of May along with a row or two of black eyed peas.

This morning early I dumped out the 22 long rifle shells and reloaded my 22 rifle with 22 shorts. So far today I have harvested 4 garden eating cotton tail rabbits that I processed {about 5 pounds of fresh rabbit meat} and put in my freezer. Nothing is wasted, I keep all the fresh rabbit meat. Anything I don’t want to keep is put in our fish pond to feed the catfish and crayfish. Grinning, now rabbits are truly a renewable food source! They breed, well, they breed like rabbits!

The newest addition to our tiny farm is a lap goat. Bottle fed and almost 2 months old now. He will be about 65 to 70 pounds at 1 year of age and A mature Boer (2 years old) male can weigh 240-300 lbs.

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Is It Spring Yet?

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spring storm

Spring has arrived – Well Not Yet! Yesterday was 82 degrees and today highs are forecast to hit 80 degrees, but a cold front moving down from the northwest has us under a freeze warning for the next 3 nights we may even get a little freezing rain!

I planted 3 elephant ears a few days past, but they should still be covered with enough soil that a light freeze will not harm them. At any rate I’m not digging them up just to be replanted in a few days. I will just cover the ground with a little grass hay and hope for the best.

My 4 new hens are now laying 24 or 25 large brown eggs a week. I am quickly getting over run with ‘fresh’ free ranging chicken eggs. Between me and my daughters family we eat about 12 eggs a week. Grin …
I may be forced to scramble a dozen or so eggs a week to feed to my chickens or to the pigs or maybe both!
If you won’t tell the chickens what they are eating I promise I won’t tell them either.

Source EPA acknowledges releasing personal details on farmers
Is this a covert EPA attack on American farmers that raise chickens, beef, pork, turkeys and such to feed America?
Or is it just another example of gross incompetence by EPA’s administrators and employees?

Care And Feeding Your Dirt – Garden Soil 101

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Know Your Dirt. These are common soil preparation and soil amendment recommendations. No two places in the world have the same soil conditions nor can you apply the same procedures in the southeast U.S. that work well in Ohio or else where.

A soil test is best. With that said, I know that most gardeners will never take the time nor spend a few dollars to have their garden soil tested. Not knowing what you garden soil really needs means that we must use that shotgun approach to soil care. Almost without fail garden soil is low or very low in humus and nitrogen.

Nitrogen can be added to your soil using a pure nitrogen fertilizer like 20-0-0 but I recommend a better balanced fertilizer like 13-13-13 or maybe something like 10-5-5.
Tilling in a good compost material will add both nitrogen and humus to your soil and most of us need both nitrogen and humus added to our garden dirt.
I do not recommend applying raw manure or livestock bedding in the spring time. Add this type of materials in the fall, till in well, thus giving raw manure and livestock bedding 3 or more months to decompose before planting time.

Caution Tip Don’t over do the nitrogen! To much nitrogen on root and fruit producing crops can cause your vegetables to be all nice green foliage and produce little or no eatable roots or fruits! High levels of nitrogen is fine for leaf crops like leaf lettuce, spinach, arugula and so on.

Container gardening can be a real challenge to get and keep your fertilizer levels correct for the crop(s) you are growing. Having such a small amount of soil to work with and the need to water almost daily quickly leeches all nutrients from your container soil. Mixing in well composted manure before planting is very helpful. Fertilize every two weeks or so at 1/2 the recommended application rate used when fertilizing garden soil.

Source Carl J. Rosen and Peter M. Bierman, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota Using Manure and Compost as Nutrient Sources for Fruit and Vegetable Crops
Manure and compost not only supply many nutrients for crop production, including micronutrients, but they are also valuable sources of organic matter. Increasing soil organic matter improves soil structure or tilth, increases the water holding capacity of coarse textured sandy soils, improves drainage in fine textured clay soils, provides a source of slow release nutrients, reduces wind and water erosion, and promotes growth of earthworms and other beneficial soil organisms.

Fresh vs. composted manure. Fresh, non-composted manure will generally have a higher N content than composted manure. Caution Fresh manure may contain high amounts of viable weed seeds, which can lead to weed problems. In addition, various pathogens such as E. coli may be present in fresh manure and can cause illness to individuals eating fresh produce unless proper precautions are taken. Always carefully wash all vegetables under cold running water. Cook meats and vegetables to a temperature of 160 degrees to kill bacteria like E. coli that may be present on meats, fruits or vegetables.

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Harvesting Winter Squash And Pumpkins

No this old guy hasn’t lost his mind, well not yet anyway. Yes I do know most people haven’t planted warm weather crops yet. I haven’t address planting squash and pumpkins because I am sure you can read the planting instructions printed on the back of your seed packages.

Don’t forget my friends South of the equator living in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa are now entering their Fall and closing in on Winter.

Harvesting Winter Squash and Pumpkins

Squash and pumpkin’s are subject to the same insect pest that attack cucumbers and melons, namely the vine borer.
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vine bore moth

The vine borer bug resembles a wasp and lays its reddish eggs at the base of susceptible plants. The larvae bore into the stems blocking the flow of water to the rest of the plant.
As a last resort, you can destroy the borer by spraying an approved pesticide around the base.

Elevate Your Plants Fruits You can also protect developing squash from soil borne disease and insects by placing them on a flowerpot, tin can, brick or block of wood to get the fruit off of the cool damp ground, they will ripen faster and develop better color and flavor.

Squash needs very little weeding but if you experience heavy weed growth, you should do some shallow weeding with a hoe. Caution Pumpkins have feeder roots near the surface and the roots grow to about the same size as the vines. This makes weeding difficult. Be especially careful when cultivating near the main stems and do not move them after the fruit have formed because they are brittle and can easily break.

Harvest Time Winter squash should be left on the vine until the rinds are hard. Now you want to harvest the squash crop when it is at its peak of tenderness and flavor. Winter squash is ready when the stems begin to shrivel, split and dry. By then the plants usually appear ragged as well.

To harvest the squash, use pruning shears to cut the fruits from the vine, leaving a short 2 inch stub of stem attached. Leave squash in the sun to cure for 10-14 days. This curing sweetens the flesh and toughens the skin for storage.

Guard Skin against Rot Once the squash has been harvested, you should wipe the cured skin with a cloth dipped in a weak bleach solution of 4 teaspoons bleach per gallon of water. Wiping the skin with this solution will help prevent rot. Let the fruit dry and do not rinse until you use the squash.

Do Not pile squash more than two fruits high, this could cause bruising. Bruises will discolor them and cause them to go soft and rot.

Store your squash in a dry, cool and well ventilated place were the temperature is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit, when possible. Winter squash will keep from one to three months, depending upon the variety. You want to place the squash on something soft like thick pads of newspaper or clothes to prevent bruising.

Harvest Pumpkins Later Winter squash matures a lot faster than the pumpkins. You should leave pumpkins on the plants until the vines begin to turn yellow and die back. Again, like with the squash, the pumpkins are ready when the stems begin to split. The pumpkins are ready to harvest when they have reached their mature color, a deep rich orange.

Harvest pumpkins in much the same way as winter squash, cutting the fruit from the vine and leaving a 2 inch stem. Snapping the stems from the vines will result in many broken or missing “handles.” Pumpkins without stems usually do not keep well. Mature pumpkins may be kept outside through light fall frosts, but bring them in before hard freezes come.

Using pruning shears, cut the pumpkin from the vines making sure to leave a 2 to 4 inch stem on the fruit. Next, carefully place the pumpkins in a sunny spot for about a week so that the skins could fully harden. After they cure outside in the sun, wipe the pumpkins down with a clean damp cloth and then store the pumpkins in a cool, dry place. In a garage or basement, pumpkins will keep for up to six months

Do not store pumpkins and squash near apples and pears. These and other ripening fruit release ethylene gas, which will hasten the decay of stored squash. To store squash under refrigeration, it must be cut up and frozen.

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Goats For Fun, Meat And Profit

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Source Boer Goat Production
If you have never raised a goat, be warned, Goats Love to eat your Garden and Trees more than they like to eat grass or hay.

Boar Goat

My grand daughter, that lives in town where they have a no livestock ordnance, has been bottle feeding what she says is a boar billy goat and has discovered that the cute little ‘pet’ kid she has been letting set in her lap and is now a spoiled ‘pet’ and is growing up to be a Damn Old Billy Goat!

I reminded her that I Do Not Have Pet Cows, Pigs or Goats. They are food not pets! I am sure the goat will magically appear this weekend.
I will band him making him a wether. Feed him lots of sweet feed, corn and hay until the first of July.

By that time he will be 100-120 pounds and the perfect size to fit in to our slow smoker/BBQ pit style grill making an excellent 4th of July party goat!
After processing he will dress out at about 60-70 pounds.

We will cook half about 25 – 30 pounds of this goat and put the other half in the freezer.

Spanish Goat

If you are considering raising a goat or a few goats, a really good fence is a must have thing and must be in place ‘Before’ you get your first goat.
Over the years I have raised a lot of goats and it have found that anything short of a 4 foot tall fence will not hold many goat breeds. Some breeds are much harder to keep under fence than others. It seems to me that the heavy milk and meat breeds are the easiest to handle. Even the billies of these breeds seldom become problem goats.

Pygmy billy goat

Some of the worst breeds to fence in and handle have been the smaller ‘Spanish’ type goats and Pygmy goats. Be warned, Spanish and Pygmy billy goats seem to be born with a bad attitude.

No matter what breed you choose they all produce a lean, delicious tasting meat.
Some breeds just get heavier producing more meat per goat than other breeds.
Goats are social and will bond with a human if they don’t have other goats to socialize with.

Goats are fairly disease free, require little space and only need a southeast or east facing shed to provide shade and protect them from harsh winter conditions.
As for food, they can and will eat almost anything.
Small limbs, bark off of larger limbs when you prune your trees and bushes.
Grass and stemmy hay that cows and horses can’t or won’t eat.
They will eat weeds, vines, of all kinds, fresh green or dormant grass.

Roasted Goat – Cypriot recipe
Roasting time: 2 ½ – 3 hours
Ingredients:
2 legs of goat or lamb (about 3 kilos)
2 large onions, peeled and cut into big slices
12 – 14 small potatoes, peeled and slotted with a knife
2 – 3 carrots, peeled and coarsely sliced lengthwise
1 cup of water
3/4 cup of spry (vegetable shortening) or peanut oil (I use olive oil)
Salt
Oregano (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 – 3 ripe tomatoes sliced
Oregano (optional)
1/3 cup lemon juice
A pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Directions:
Wash meat thoroughly and place in a big baking tin.Place the potatoes around the meat, add salt, pepper and oregano.
Peel and cut the onions and well as the carrots and place in between the potatoes.Add the oil, water and lemon. Finally add the tomatoes on top and sprinkle some more seasoning on top, including the cinnamon.
Bake in a preheated at 350 degrees for about 2 1/2 – 3 hours, turning once. If the potatoes seem to be sticking on the baking pan, add some more water.
Roast until golden on both sides.

Note: If you like you may cook it in parchment paper and the baking tin covered with aluminum foil. In this case you will add half the amount of olive oil and after two hours you will remove the parchment paper, so that it may roast.

Ogooglebar my new word for March. Swedish word for “ungoogleable.

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Mustard, Much More Than A Yellow Sandwich Spread

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No herb garden or kitchen should be without a supply of garden fresh Mustard. Mustard is an ancient plant that’s full of appeal for contemporary gardeners. Historical records indicate the use of mustard as far back as 4,000 b.c.e., and it’s believed prehistoric man chewed mustard seeds with his meat from about 2,000 b.c.e. on, ancient civilizations used it as an oil, a spice, and a medicinal plant. It was introduced into western and northern Europe in the early Middle Ages.

Mustard has been imbued with curative powers. It’s been used as an appetite stimulant, a digestive aid, and a decongestant. Because mustard increases blood circulation, it’s often used in plaster form to treat inflammation. Folklore has it you can even sprinkle mustard powder in your socks to prevent frostbite.

Mustard varieties produce black, white, and brown seeds, respectively. The black seeds are used for moderately spicy mustard’s. In West Indian dishes, black seeds are fried until they pop. The black variety produces less desirable greens, and is really intended to be grown only for seed. French cooks use them to make Dijon style mustard.

White mustard seeds are the primary ingredient in traditional American style ball park mustard, and it’s the most common and the mildest of the three. The white seeds also have the strongest preserving power and are therefore the kitchen gardener’s choice for pickles, relishes, and chutneys. White mustard’s are not typically grown for their greens.

Brown mustard, the hottest of all, is used for curries and Chinese hot mustard’s, and frequently for Dijon type mustard’s. If you’re growing mustard for the greens, choose a brown variety or an Oriental variety like ‘Red Giant’.

The plants are easy to grow and produce seed in as few as 60 days. Shoots, leaves, flowers, whole seed, powdered, or prepared is a flavorful, low fat way to punch up any savory food.
Used the whole seed in pickling and cooking, tossed the tender greens in fresh salads (garnish using mustard flowers), stewed mature leaves as a southern style side dish, and crushed spicy seed to make a variety of pungent mustard’s.

Mustard seed contains no cholesterol, only trace amounts of vegetable fat, and about 25 percent protein. Leaf mustard contains calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and Vitamin B. The calories are negligible in most basic prepared mustards, so feel free to indulge yourself.

Mustard will grow well in most soils, but will produce the most seed in rich, well drained, well prepared soil. It will thrive if given constant moisture. It likes cool weather, a light frost can even improve the flavor. Black mustard is the least fussy of the three mustard types. For best results, add a little 5-10-10 fertilizer or the organic equivalent. Thoroughly work the amendments into the top 2 to 3 inches of soil just prior to seeding. Mustard is blissfully free of insect and disease problems, and larger critters don’t seem to like it much either. The hotter and drier the weather, though, the faster the plants go to seed, in as little as 30 to 60 days, depending on the variety and the climate.

Pick leaves for salad when they’re small, young, and tender, or use the larger leaves for sautéing or stewing. Add young leaves to stir fries and salads. Mustard greens add a nice, sharp flavor contrast to mild, buttery lettuces.

Larger mustard leaves need to be cooked. Stew them with bacon or a ham hock, southern style, or shred and sauté them with other greens to make a bed for grilled fish and meats. You can also add mustard greens to long-cooking soups and stews.
Flowers can be used as an edible garnish.

Hint Here are a few things to keep in mind when working with mustard. About ten mustard flowers yield 1⁄4 cup seeds, which in turn yields 1 cup prepared mustard, two or three plants will provide you with this.
Caution Vinegar and the acidic component of mustard will react with aluminum bowls and utensils, giving mustard a metallic taste.
Be sure to use wooden spoons and stainless steel or glass or ceramic coated pans, and always store mustard in glass or ceramic containers.

Some of the good guy’s Syrphid fly, hover fly, flower fly, is a large group of medium to large flies, ranging from 1/4 to 3/4 inch long. Most adult hover flies are black or brown with yellow banded abdomens and body markings, superficially resembling bees and wasps except that they have only two wings that are not held over the back of the body when at rest.

In general, females lay single white eggs on leaves near aphid infestations Larvae or maggots hatch from eggs in about 3 days. Adults emerge in one to two weeks unless the pupal stage remains through the winter. Up to seven generations occur annually.

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