I have been on vacation/Volleyball camp for my daughter for a week. Busy Busy Busy! I need to garden fast, lol!
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Examine It For Yourself!
Well Said!
I have been on vacation/Volleyball camp for my daughter for a week. Busy Busy Busy! I need to garden fast, lol!
I have been on vacation/Volleyball camp for my daughter for a week. Busy Busy Busy! I need to garden fast, lol!
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Simple Canned Pickles, for Dummies!
Simple Canned Pickles for Dummies like me, lol!
I canned pickles today! Two types, Dill and just pickles and onions, I also canned a couple jars of Jalapeno peppers! This is something I really enjoyed doing with my Grammie and Mom growing up. It was kinda like the icing on the cake for a gardener. See what you have grown being preserved. Its fun and its very easy, Its also a dieing art that needs to be taught to our children.
Here is the Basic Recipe, you can customize it to your tastes and likings:
 |
| The Redeemed Gardener |
4 lbs any vegetables (harder ones work better)
2 3/4 C Vinegar
3 C Water
1/4 C Sea Salt or Canning Salt (make sure it's not iodized)
When everything is set up and prepared, mix your pickle juice ingredients - salt, vinegar, water - and heat them up in a pot on the stove. Stir until salt dissolves.
Spices commonly used in pickling spice :
Coriander, Fennel, Dill, Black pepper corns, Dried red peppers, Mustard Seed, any spice you want!
Rather than using commercial pickling spice, play and blend the spices! Put a fair amount of the spices at the bottom of the jars, but save some to top them off.
For sweet pickles, add sugar. For smoky pickles, add black cardamom, chipotles, etc. After you add the spice, pack the vegetables into the jars ( the tighter the better or as we say in West Virginia "the Fuller the Better"). Pour the hot pickle juice over the pickles, leaving 1/4-1/2" head space at the top. Use the corner of your clean towel to wipe off the band mouth of the jar before you put the lid or the band on, so that there is no solids blocking the seal. Put the lid and the band on and tighten finger tight. Note: we always put the lids in boiling water right before we put them on for a few minutes (this kills bacteria and helps make the rubber softer for a better seal) .
Caution! Make sure to load the hot jars on the clean towel, and to use hot pickle juice, because the heat differential between jars, the juice and the counter can cause the jars to explode! Trust me I have had it happen and no matter how careful you are you will as well.
Put the jars into a hot water bath. Make sure there is at least 1" of water covering the lids, and bring to a boil. Boil for 10-14 minutes (add 5 min for every 1000 feet above sea level you are). If boiled for less time, there is a greater risk that it won't seal or kill the bacteria, but your pickles will be crisper! Longer times will result in greater safety, but softer pickles.
When done pull jars out of Hot water bath and set on towels to cool and seal. Listen for the pooping sound. Then do the push test on the lid to make sure they are sealed. It doesn't take long!
Have fun and make it a family project!
Thursday, July 4, 2013
How to Grow Pumpkins Successfully
I have had a question asked that is post worthy so her we go with the answer and I will try to keep it "Jethro Simplified"! It was a three part question. (1. I didn't get any female flowers..why? 2. How do you keep the bugs off
the pumpkins? 3. How often do you feed and water the pumpkins.)
First things first, this may help with a lot of things. Did you know that cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins are all in the same family? Usually the same problems you have with one you will the other and usually the same solutions! I grow "Cinderella" variety and have much success!
You can go back and read "Great Soil Foundation, Parts 1, 2, and 3"
Soil, Water and Planting Spot:
Pumpkins love good rich composted soil that drains well but also hold moister (Loamy soil), lots of organic matter should be worked into the soil. The perfected soil pH is between 6.0-7.0, so check your soil before planting.
Pumpkins love lots and lots of sun, so pick an area with 8 plus hours of direct sunlight a day.
They require heavy and even watering (because of shallow roots), mulching around them will help hold moister in those hot dry times, Trickle irrigation is best, but soaker hoses also work well. Overhead sprinklers are effective; however, wet foliage increases the chance of disease, especially mildew.
If you have amended the soil right you shouldn't have to fertilize more than once a week and just an multipurpose fertilizer will work.Giant pumpkin vines require approximately 2 pounds nitrogen, 3 pounds phosphorous and 6 pounds potash per 1,000 square feet of growing space.
Planting and Growing:
Pumpkins have a very long growing season, some verities up to 120 days (4 months). So start them indoors 3-4 weeks before YOUR last frost or wait til the soil is 70 degrees to direct plant seeds.
Pumpkins are very sensitive to temperature, so always be prepared to cover them in the early season to protect from cold night or even cold days. They grow best when days an nights are above 70 degrees.
Insects and Diseases:
The planting site of your plants should be rotated each year to reduce the incidence of insect and disease pressure. An insect and disease control program must be initiated at transplanting. Insects are the primary reason for transmitting disease. Once a viral infection has occurred, there is no way to stop it. But if you start at the beginning and give them lots of soil preparation, water and a control program, this will help drastically. If you need pesticide help, Bonide has many good things to use! Remember if you grow cucumbers and have succeeded then you already have a great foundation for pumpkins!
Insect pests of pumpkins include spotted and striped cucumber beetles, which can transmit bacterial wilt disease, which causes vines to collapse and die. Treat adult beetles with neem or pyrethrum. Be aware, however, that these are toxic to all insects, including beneficial predators and bees. Make applications at dusk to avoid harming bees. Other insect pests include squash bugs, which must be controlled early or they can be devastating, and squash vine borers.
Pollination:
Although hand pollination is the preferred method to fruit setting, natural pollination by bees will work well. Hand pollination allows for a more controlled genetic cross.But don't begin pollinating until the plant has approximately 200 leaves. Some experts even say pull the first female flower on each vine to allow your vines more time to grow stronger? Initially it is recommended to allow only 4 to 6 pumpkins per plant but the more you reduce the competition for nutrients, the greater your success rate will be for achieving a giant size pumpkin.
Male and Female Flowers:
Pumpkin vines are going to produce male flowers long before it produces female flowers. Because female
flowers need to be pollinated,
there is no point of them blooming first because the male flower needs
to be present in order to pollinate it.
I wont go into the scientific ways to know the difference, just the way Grammie taught us! To figure out the gender of the flower just look underneath of it. The female flower will have a pea-sized lump underneath the base of the bud. As the bud grows and prepares to open, the lump will gradually get bigger until it is about the size of a doughnut hole. If pollination occurs, this lump will develop into your pumpkin! The male flower is lacking this lump.
Why do I have NO female flowers?
If you follow all of the soil preparations, watering, fertilizing and give them lots of sun the should always give you female flower but some years, some crops just fail, its part of the process! So depending on conditions, the female flowers may bloom long after the male flowers. The plants should continue to produce flowers all season, so patience is in order here and lots of patience.
Again, Be patient. Pumpkins can take a long time to set and develop, especially in shifting weather conditions, i.e. too hot, too much rain, etc. They are very sensitive!
Harvest Time:
As pumpkins form, you can slip a piece of cardboard or folded newspaper beneath pumpkins to prevent contact with soil and possible rot, especially if you are growing a precious few. Toward the end of the season, remove any leaves that shade ripening pumpkins.Harvest pumpkins before frost. Fruit is ripe when it is fully colored, skin is hard, and the stem begins to shrivel and dry. Pumpkin vines are often prickly, so wear gloves and long sleeves when harvesting to keep from itching. To harvest, cut stems with a sharp knife, leaving at least an inch of stem on fruits (more stem is better). Lift pumpkins by slipping your hand under the bottom of the fruit. Never lift a pumpkin by its stem; if the stem breaks, the pumpkin won’t store well.
Tip: To protect the pumpkin from direct sunlight, construct a shade out of burlap or other lightweight material. This will prevent premature hardening of the outer skin and will allow the pumpkin to reach its full genetic potential in terms of physical size.
Nutritional Facts:
Did you know that Pumpkins are full of nutrition, dishing up vitamin C, beta-carotene, fiber, and potassium. One half cup of cooked pumpkin provides a day’s supply of vitamin A.
 |
| Cinderella Pumpkins and Squash |
First things first, this may help with a lot of things. Did you know that cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins are all in the same family? Usually the same problems you have with one you will the other and usually the same solutions! I grow "Cinderella" variety and have much success!
You can go back and read "Great Soil Foundation, Parts 1, 2, and 3"
Soil, Water and Planting Spot:
Pumpkins love good rich composted soil that drains well but also hold moister (Loamy soil), lots of organic matter should be worked into the soil. The perfected soil pH is between 6.0-7.0, so check your soil before planting.
Pumpkins love lots and lots of sun, so pick an area with 8 plus hours of direct sunlight a day.
They require heavy and even watering (because of shallow roots), mulching around them will help hold moister in those hot dry times, Trickle irrigation is best, but soaker hoses also work well. Overhead sprinklers are effective; however, wet foliage increases the chance of disease, especially mildew.
If you have amended the soil right you shouldn't have to fertilize more than once a week and just an multipurpose fertilizer will work.Giant pumpkin vines require approximately 2 pounds nitrogen, 3 pounds phosphorous and 6 pounds potash per 1,000 square feet of growing space.
Planting and Growing:
Pumpkins have a very long growing season, some verities up to 120 days (4 months). So start them indoors 3-4 weeks before YOUR last frost or wait til the soil is 70 degrees to direct plant seeds.
Pumpkins are very sensitive to temperature, so always be prepared to cover them in the early season to protect from cold night or even cold days. They grow best when days an nights are above 70 degrees.
Insects and Diseases:
The planting site of your plants should be rotated each year to reduce the incidence of insect and disease pressure. An insect and disease control program must be initiated at transplanting. Insects are the primary reason for transmitting disease. Once a viral infection has occurred, there is no way to stop it. But if you start at the beginning and give them lots of soil preparation, water and a control program, this will help drastically. If you need pesticide help, Bonide has many good things to use! Remember if you grow cucumbers and have succeeded then you already have a great foundation for pumpkins!
Insect pests of pumpkins include spotted and striped cucumber beetles, which can transmit bacterial wilt disease, which causes vines to collapse and die. Treat adult beetles with neem or pyrethrum. Be aware, however, that these are toxic to all insects, including beneficial predators and bees. Make applications at dusk to avoid harming bees. Other insect pests include squash bugs, which must be controlled early or they can be devastating, and squash vine borers.
Pollination:
Although hand pollination is the preferred method to fruit setting, natural pollination by bees will work well. Hand pollination allows for a more controlled genetic cross.But don't begin pollinating until the plant has approximately 200 leaves. Some experts even say pull the first female flower on each vine to allow your vines more time to grow stronger? Initially it is recommended to allow only 4 to 6 pumpkins per plant but the more you reduce the competition for nutrients, the greater your success rate will be for achieving a giant size pumpkin.
Male and Female Flowers:
Pumpkin vines are going to produce male flowers long before it produces female flowers. Because female
 |
| Female Flower |
I wont go into the scientific ways to know the difference, just the way Grammie taught us! To figure out the gender of the flower just look underneath of it. The female flower will have a pea-sized lump underneath the base of the bud. As the bud grows and prepares to open, the lump will gradually get bigger until it is about the size of a doughnut hole. If pollination occurs, this lump will develop into your pumpkin! The male flower is lacking this lump.
Why do I have NO female flowers?
If you follow all of the soil preparations, watering, fertilizing and give them lots of sun the should always give you female flower but some years, some crops just fail, its part of the process! So depending on conditions, the female flowers may bloom long after the male flowers. The plants should continue to produce flowers all season, so patience is in order here and lots of patience.
Again, Be patient. Pumpkins can take a long time to set and develop, especially in shifting weather conditions, i.e. too hot, too much rain, etc. They are very sensitive!
Harvest Time:
As pumpkins form, you can slip a piece of cardboard or folded newspaper beneath pumpkins to prevent contact with soil and possible rot, especially if you are growing a precious few. Toward the end of the season, remove any leaves that shade ripening pumpkins.Harvest pumpkins before frost. Fruit is ripe when it is fully colored, skin is hard, and the stem begins to shrivel and dry. Pumpkin vines are often prickly, so wear gloves and long sleeves when harvesting to keep from itching. To harvest, cut stems with a sharp knife, leaving at least an inch of stem on fruits (more stem is better). Lift pumpkins by slipping your hand under the bottom of the fruit. Never lift a pumpkin by its stem; if the stem breaks, the pumpkin won’t store well.
Tip: To protect the pumpkin from direct sunlight, construct a shade out of burlap or other lightweight material. This will prevent premature hardening of the outer skin and will allow the pumpkin to reach its full genetic potential in terms of physical size.
Nutritional Facts:
Did you know that Pumpkins are full of nutrition, dishing up vitamin C, beta-carotene, fiber, and potassium. One half cup of cooked pumpkin provides a day’s supply of vitamin A.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Q&A Time! Ask Away and Lets Have Fun
I want to open up a line of Question & Answers; from you the readers on the things that we talk about here at "The Redeemed Gardener". If you have followed for a while you know the 3 Topics that I really enjoy talking about: 1) Gardening 2) Things of the Bible and 3) Family! So if there are any questions that I may answer to do with these 3 subjects please feel free to leave a comment or email me at cbfom3@ymail.com. If the answer is short I will just reply to comment in this thread. If it is article length, I will post it in an article. I hope this is as fun as I think it will be, so here we go!!
"Salvation is
the exchange of all that we are for all that He is" ~ John MacArthur
Crazy Summer for this Family and updates
It has been a crazy Summer school break and really past year and a half. As you remember I asked for prayer for my son about a year ago. He is doing wonderful (Thank you Jesus), his problem is on the mends, he lives a state away now where he works and the best part is, the Lord Jesus found it fit to save his souls!!!! I stand in awe in the work that God has done in his life.
As for my daughter she keeps us hopping with her interests. She is 13 and had her first vacation with another family, without out us. She is growing up way to fast! When she returns, which is today, we start many weeks of volleyball camps/clinics before school starts. It will only get busier!
We have had three deaths in on my wife's side of the family since the first of the year, among other things! As for me, just trying to hold everything together and keep a trusting faithful eye on Jesus! Well the next two months will be very very busy indeed for this group. So be patient with me with my blog. If you have any questions that I may answer please email me at cbfom3@ymail.com.
God Bless you all,
As for my daughter she keeps us hopping with her interests. She is 13 and had her first vacation with another family, without out us. She is growing up way to fast! When she returns, which is today, we start many weeks of volleyball camps/clinics before school starts. It will only get busier!
We have had three deaths in on my wife's side of the family since the first of the year, among other things! As for me, just trying to hold everything together and keep a trusting faithful eye on Jesus! Well the next two months will be very very busy indeed for this group. So be patient with me with my blog. If you have any questions that I may answer please email me at cbfom3@ymail.com.
God Bless you all,
Monday, June 24, 2013
"When do we harvest potatoes?"
 |
| The Redeemed Gardener |
Well, it all depends on what you are wanting. If you want “new potatoes”, small, immature potatoes, you should harvest them before their vines die or earlier in the summer (around the first day of summer). They will be about 1 to 2 inches in size.
If you want mature potatoes, or “late potatoes,” (as Grammie called them) you should harvest
them in late summer/early fall. Just wait for the vines and the flowers to
die, and then harvest the potatoes at full maturity.
Here's another method we used, If you have a lot of plants, you can harvest some of the plants
earlier in the summer and get “new potatoes” and leave the rest to dig
up later. Just experiment and try digging some at the end of July, some at the end
of August, and some at the end of September. Then next year, you’ll have a better idea about how big they are at
what time of the season.
When you go to harvest your potatoes, here is an article that I posted a while back on a cheap Mini Root Cellar. "Cool, Cheap, Mini Root Cellars"
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Dad Passed this story on to me, Now I am to you!
The story of Grace!
 |
| David A. Baker Sr. |
A Fathers Son was brutally murdered by one of the must
vicious and sadistic persons in the world.
(Here are 5 endings to the story you
pick)!
1) The Father goes and gets a gun and shots the murderer
dead in the streets. (That's Revenge)
2) The Father helps the authorities track down, convict
and sentence the murderer to death by electrocution. (That's Justice)
3) The Father helps the authorities track down and
convict but before the judge passes down the verdict, the Father asks the judge
to lighten the sentence to life in prison, with no parole, so he does. (That's
Mercy)
4)The Father helps
the authorities track down the murderer but before the trial the Father asks to
talk with the judge privately. The Father tells the judge he wants to forgive
the murderer, and drop ALL charges on the murderer and let him walk free. The
judge allows the murderer to walk free!
(That's Forgiveness)
5) The Father helps the authorities track down the
murderer but before the trial the Father asks to talk with the judge privately.
The Father tells the judge he wants to forgive the murderer, drop ALL charges
on the murderer, have the murderer move into His house, take care of the
murderer and live in His custody the rest of the murders life. The judge agrees! (That's Grace)
Which would you do if you were in the Fathers shoes?
If you are saved
and reading this, you were NO different from the vicious and sadistic murderer
before
God provided you with His grace through His Son Christ Jesus!
This Story my dad passed alone to me and know I am going to pass it on to you. Continue to pass if you wish!
Happy Father's Day!
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