[gardeners] Saturday in the garden
Shirley,George (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sat, 04 Nov 2000 09:40:45 -0600
A local cement company has given me lots and lots of test cylinders. These
things are solid cement, no rocks or rebar, just sand and cement and about 12
inches long by 6 inches in diameter. Guess what I'm doing today. Laying these
things end to end down the west strip garden to replace the wood that is there
now. They tell me they do about 50 - 100 a week and I can have them all. Need
about 400 to replace old landscape timbers and remnants of railroad cross ties
so, sooner or later, there will be no more wood borders on the place.
The radishes are bulbing up so I'm anticipating tasty little red morsels by
mid-week. Sprayed Bt on the cabbages, broccoli, and cauliflower today and also
on the lettuce, chard, and Florence fennel. Trying to keep ahead of the cabbage
loopers and their ilk. The two hundred or so bunching onion sets I planted
recently are about 12 inches tall now and are about ready for a little gentle
picking.
The chiles have been outdoing themselves as usual. Picked two quarts of sweet
and another quart of hot ones yesterday. The sweets are chopped and in the
freezer for hard setting prior to vac bagging. The hots are in a two gallon bag
in the freezer and will be made into additional hot sauce when the bag is full.
Also have three quarts of hot chiles, NM Hatch, Long Thai's, Lemon Drops, and
Hot Cherry in the freezer for the DIL to use after the birth of their latest,
and probably lastest, child. She has enough indigestion now but wanted me to
save some good chiles for later use so I'm saving them up for her. My son
partakes of them sparingly so reckon he will get some of them too.
Later today I am going to use the food mill to get the seeds out of my latest
batch of hot sauce and then will bottle the stuff. It has a fiery taste on the
initial tasting but a good after bite and flavor. Used sparingly it should go a
long way in soups, stews, chilis, gumbos, etc. Just hope I have enough sauce
bottles on hand as it takes a while to get them in after ordering.
Miz Anne is off to the school district media center making big folders for her
students art work and some other stuff she wanted to do. I'm going to buy a
decent color printer Monday so I can scan some good art onto transparencies for
her to use in class. She's not only trying to teach 700 children how to draw and
paint but how to appreciate good art. She's reaching many of them but the
majority don't want to learn about art. To bad, as they would be better people
and citizens for a little art education, a bit more rounded.
Back to the salt mines while we have some cool weather and the possibility of
rain.
Life is good.
George