Mother

Wow, Annarchy. That is wonderful to hear and encouraging to us all. I could envision the shimmering heat and dryness you talk about being followed by precious rain and the unfolding growth and flowering. Famine turned into feast. For the reminder. This year really has been a trial to so many people in so many ways but there is always hope the healing rains will come.

That is super, Miki. My ‘garden’ looks a bit ratty but is producing haphazardly. It’s supposed to be cooler this week so hopefully things will take off. I fertilized today. That might help. How are the challenges going for the rest of you?

That looks so appetizing. Thanks for the great recipes!

Thanks PW. I’ve looked at quite a few of those. Unfortunately most of those they show are not also seniors or are fairly strong yet. That said though, there were a lot of good tips and ideas I was able to adapt for my use. They are also very encouraging. We got a new addition to our ‘garden’ recently. I stopped gardening in our original tub garden a few years ago because the ground was full of mole holes and tunnels we couldn’t eradicate and because the areas trees had so shaded the spot very little would grow. Knowing we hoped for more growing space our grandson found several old rubber farm conveyor belts and installed one as a walkway in a sunny spot in our lawn. He laid it along an existing large raised bed and moved 14 tubs onto the edge of it. It makes the perfect solid walkway for my wheelchair to be able to work both the bed and the tubs. It also keeps the tubs from being undermined by the moles. It has a water faucet close by. It is not as convenient to the house as the deck so DH will mostly be working this area but the mat allows me to enjoy being out there with him. He already has yellow beans, peas, cucumbers, and tomatoes out there. It is so amazing what God encourages DGS to provide.

And it says her birthday is today along with Skagitgal. That’s okay, just more reasons to celebrate! .

I was thinking of her too. Hope she is just busy and all is fine!

Thanks, Ann. You always take such good care of us! 😁

Oh my goodness. That is wonderful. Finding the fabric would be fun!!. Euphrasyne

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALL. Hope your day was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Very well could be hops. Be fun to find out.

I’m not positive but they look like young green pine cones. Some have edible nuts inside but they can also be candied or used to make a syrup or a decoction to use medicinally. My guess!

Been missing her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TMC. I hope you had a super day! 💐🎂🍨

I love Home Free. We were lucky enough to see them locally when they were first getting started umpteen years ago. They have had a few member changes but remain, in my estimation that is, one of the best groups there are. It’s good to see how far they have come. Thanks for the music, MM!

Happy birthday, Ambergris. I hope you had the best one ever.

EVERYONE,

Hi, Kimba. I am not a food safety expert so this is just what I would consider doing with them. If the vegetables do not appear spoiled it would probably be similar to not storing them in air tight containers. People have been air drying vegetables for centuries and leaving them to hang from rafters. The old fashioned Dutchmen Britches are just green beans strung on a cord or thread and hung up to dry. All manner of fruits and vegetables have been and still are air dried on racks or even sheets in a warm airy place. If we have a grid down situation that is how we will have to dehydrate foods. You could likely use them soon the way they are or consider re-drying them but then when you store them keep a check on them for smell or mold. Whichever use them as soon as possible instead of trying to keep them long term. Perhaps another member will have some suggestions that might help as well.

Happy Birthday, Mare. I hope you have a wonderful day. 🌹💐🥀🌺

Happy birthday, Blessed. I hope you had a WONDERFUL day. !

Thanks, Mt_R. I think you might have been just a mite too busy to have tomatoes this year . It’s not too late for a small pot of lettuce or radishes though in case your green thumb is itching! 👍

I believe they are using % off because it looks better than ,10 off. If you compare the actual prices to prices a couple months ago you will most likely find that the % off doesn’t nearly cover the raise. Most people don’t know what they paid “before” so are lulled by the % off. Do the math before you buy. Compare the price off with another regular priced one to see if it really is a savings.

You are welcome, Jeepers. We have a lot of deer here also. They come to the yard and bring their fawns. Last year, however, was the first year they nibbled on things. This year they ate the strawberry plants and we had no strawberries. I’m convinced they come for the same reason the bugs do. Organic goodies.

I really hope you had a wonderful day and are up to celebrating with us again today. Two for one birthday but not any older.

Thanks, Jeepers. I’ve tried the lights both ways, with and without them, and so far I can see no difference. The bugs are still chewing, mostly at night, and other than killing a few Japanese beetles, the greenish metallic chewer ones that also love my roses, I cannot find the other culprits. It is not just on the deck. The yard plants, even tree, leaves have been decimated by something. The holly hock leaves look like lace though they did flower first. I can only assume that because fields all around us are sprayed with insecticide and we grow only organic the various insects that survived the chemicals have taken up residence in our yard. As for animals and the lights they soon get used to them so it doesn’t bother them. Blinking or color changing lights, which some of mine are, stop them for a bit longer but that is all. We have a yellow insect type bulb in our porch light and a solar motion light there as well. I’ve seen animals, including deer, pause when the motion light comes on, stay still a bit to assess the threat, and when they find none continue what they were doing. Most animals living around humans adapt very well and very fast to that environment. We also have an abundance of snails, or as permaculturists would say a lack of ducks, I had thought they were the culprit but I see no signs of them on the deck. I’ve been looking into copper strips as Kappy uses but as yet can’t figure exactly where we’d need to place them for maximum effect. (BTW Kappy, where did you get yours?) Stevia leaves are different to use than commercial stevia. Like those, however, using too much can leave a bitter aftertaste. Some people don’t notice it but I do. There are lots of sites online about using stevia. I like fresh leaves in teas and will use one or more per cup when steeping it. I especially like to use them in sun or cold brewed tea and I often add them fresh to a smoothie. In fact, when I make up my smoothie ‘kits’ for the freezer I sometimes, depending on if it’s something that needs sweetening or not, add the leaves in them so all I have to do is dump the whole thing into the blender. I sometimes finely chop stevia leaves and freeze them in water in ice cube trays for later use as I would fresh. I dry and finely powder the leaves to use in various ways. I use one or two teaspoons of dry powder to substitute for one cup of sugar in a recipe but it doesn’t cause browning in baked goods like sugar does and you have to adjust for less bulk in the batter or dough. I use honey or maple syrup almost exclusively but have substituted stevia in puddings, gelatin deserts made from pure juice, ice creams, and etc with fairly good results. Stevia is variable in its taste from plant to plant and from person to person that you almost have to experiment with what works for you. Start out by tasting a fresh leaf from your plant and progress from fresh use to dried powder and don’t be afraid to experiment with it. The one thing about stevia is it makes a great secret garden plant. It can be grown inside or out from seed and most people have no idea what it is.

Here’s a couple pictures of how my deck ‘farm’ is doing. I had trouble with a digging critter early on but since we’ve trapped and removed several raccoon that stopped. I do have an insect pest (or ten) eating the leaves on many of my plants and have had to place netting over them. I’ve been able to harvest meal sized portions of bok Choi, chard, yellow beans, tomatoes, nasturtiums, and pea shoots so far. I’ve also been able to dehydrate two types of basil, stevia, French tarragon, lemon grass, parsley, rosemary, oregano, calendula, and two types of mint. I am pleased how well these beds have produced so far even with the insect problem.