Re: [gardeners] Tuesday in the garden
George Shirley (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Wed, 24 Jun 1998 10:09:13
At 06:58 AM 6/24/98 -0600, you wrote:
>
>>The purple okra is really productive this year, I guess due to the drought
>>we're having, and started producing at 12-14 inches tall. It's about 2 feet
>>now and I'm harvesting 2 to 4 pods per plant per day. Gonna make some good
>>gumbo this winter.
>>
>>Gotta bottle the purple basil vinegar sometime soon, it's a pretty medium
>>purple color. The nastursium blossom vinegar is a rosy golden color and
>>smells really good. Also time to put on more vinegars and make another
>>batch of pesto for the freezer. The thyme, oregano, tarragon, epazote, and
>>dill need cutting again. Reckon the dehydrator will run awhile this weekend.
>>
>>Life is good.
>>
>>George
>>
>George, since the cucuzzi seems to be surviving squash borers, maybe the
>lagenaria, another edible squash, would work for you too. If you'd like to
>try it, I'll send you some seeds. It has a distinctive flavor that I
>didn't care for, yet seed companies say Italians can build a whole meal
>around them. It's a climber, and went to the top of my 7-foot A-frames in
>a hurry. Let me know asap, and I'll get seeds in the mail pronto for you.
Sure, I'm always open to something new. Got plenty of summer and autumn
left unless we have an unseasonable cold autumn/winter like we did the hot
winter/spring.
>
>How do you preserve your okra for winter gumbo? Thanks, Margaret
>
I take it off the hibiscus bush (do I get points for knowing this?) with
the shears, rinse it off, slice in rounds and freeze on a cookie sheet.
After that it goes in a ziploc bag until I get a pint gathered up and then
it goes to the vacuum sealer and the Tilia bag. Keeps fresh for up to six
months that way and since I'm cooking it in gumbo you never know the
difference.
George