Annie's 2014 Glog: FINAL Grow List before new 2014 glog

Sawyer · Apr 3, 2013

Never too old to splash in a puddle.

I've been breaking down and saving cardboard pizza boxes for a couple of years (didn't get around to using any last year), so those are going into service as weed barriers this year. I'll have to weigh them down with something, but I'll figure it out.

annie57 · Apr 3, 2013

stc3248 said:
Looking great Annie! It does rain in TX...but Devine, well not so often. When it does rain down there its the kind that makes the news with folks on the roof of their grill-guarded VW's floating down a "Dry Wash" that ain't so dry anymore. Weeds however...worst nut-grass ever! I hope you don't have that trouble Devv!

Yeah, Shane, I only know Austin well . . . and uh, had close call with a flash-flood "event" up near Lake "Buck." Cloudy, roar, zoomed the truck at native Texan's insistence, big wall of water across road bed ya . . . hmm :shocked:

Fun times, fun times

Devv said:
And believe it or not it rained .8 last night and .6 today! As dry as it's been you're liable to see old timers splashing around in puddles (I was tempted). Puddles! I saw one today!

Ah it's the damn Bermuda grass at my place, but I have my ways of punishing it.

Annie we're ready for Stevie Ray's song to ring true! Can you say turd floater? Bring it on!

Garden's "hanging", I'm out there trying to keep the tomatoes in their cages, can't miss a single day.

We used to do the same thing when we lived in Magnolia Tx. with the newspapers very effective, at the end of the season till em in.

Two more days work days left.

Take care,

Scott

Scott, how do ya punish bermuda grass? I think it likes torture . . . feels like a victim and wants to come back harder. Only way for me was to pull and pull, burn, and smother the crap. Like the mud puddle! :party:

We got in inner-tubes and splashed down Guadalupe (Austin) to Capitol, then further south . . . but then, other 11 months, nada. smh. Still miss, however!

Sawyer said:
Never too old to splash in a puddle.

I've been breaking down and saving cardboard pizza boxes for a couple of years (didn't get around to using any last year), so those are going into service as weed barriers this year. I'll have to weigh them down with something, but I'll figure it out.

Too true about splish-splash in mud puddle . . . I imagine where Scott's from in Texas, female mud wrestling is a serious fantasy! Arkansawyer, if you wet/saturate those boxes in a wheelbarrow they weigh themselves down. Kind of PIA, but easier than weighing them down and worms tend to love that stuff! Just my .02, hon!

Sawyer · Apr 3, 2013

You know, that's an idea. I bet if I could get them wet enough and keep them wet long enough, they'd stick to each other even after they dried out. It certainly wouldn't blow away any easier than the straw I (try to) use. You're right about the worms for sure. Corrugated cardboard is one of the best bedding materials for worm farming.

annie57 · Apr 4, 2013

Sawyer said:
You know, that's an idea. I bet if I could get them wet enough and keep them wet long enough, they'd stick to each other even after they dried out. It certainly wouldn't blow away any easier than the straw I (try to) use. You're right about the worms for sure. Corrugated cardboard is one of the best bedding materials for worm farming.

And they break down so well . . . best deal might be weed stoppage and worms, however. I absolutely adore straw. It has to be about a foot thick :rolleyes:

to work but . . . I keep some on sides, baled, to continue to break down and suppress weeds that want to sneak in. Then when it's "safe" just add more straw before rain. Also, last year I had the other half (much to protests and grunts of discontent, use a quart jar) . . . male urine on wet straw makes GREAT bene fungal! Hit that with some kelp, about have compost. Nitrogen, carbon, kelp . . . works. Also great for fungal compost tea. :party:

I suppose this should be in "growing other" but not going there. THP police? I'll seek forgiveness rather than ask permission

Spent all night potting up maters and more maters . . . some nice blurry shots (?). I'm so jack-hammered dog feces tired. But I kept hearing my grandmother talk about going home to "play in the dirt." And she did! Home with her Maker who made "the seed that with the sun's love . . ." :party:

I think this tray has Lemon, Genoa basil, Kosovo, Prue, Earl's Faux, and some hybrids like Brandy Boy, since I tire of begging Brandywine to yield. Just me. YMMV. Also, all paste-types, Viva Italia, San Marzano Gigante 3, and my jury will be out on Super Sauce from Burpee. Looks like a really big paste type so far. Let's see if it lives and does anything worthy of mention.

One of my absolute fav toms: Red Boar. Sucker gets TALL and wonderful eating, medium size, striped, red/black tomatoes! Balanced taste.

I didn't get my grandmother that "German Johnson tater leafed mater" she wanted . . . but bet she has some by summer! :dance:

I think I potted up way too many in her honor . . . but the ladies across the street from parents in retirement home would love to have some.

Look at that fast basil! Dang things stand still, could shoot them . . . feel the pesto love!

Arial view of Kellogg's Breakfast, Black Krim, which I prefer over Cherokee Purple, Peacevine Cherry, Sungold Cherry, Black Cherry, Ananas Noir . . .

Terrible shot of a Pink Berkley Tie-Die, another amazing eating tomato! More acidic than one would think and so nice on a burger . . . or just by itself with salt or not . . .

Salsa verde, yes, yes! Potted up ton of tomatillos as they need "others" to fill the husks.

In front of it's Luck Cross, which I went with this year rather than VA Sweets for bi-color. And beside the tomatillos are Bella Rosas. Best tasting sauce . . . DAYUM. Yum.

Almost hard to remember (trauma's like that) what's potted up here . . . more pastes, Solar Flair, Big Beef, Rutgers, and Better Boys :rolleyes:

. I feel genetically compelled to plant those things every year but give most away. Nurture wins over nature, sometimes. (Accept a miracle :rofl:

) Also have couple pots of dill that looks like surviving me from yesterday's quick pot-up and have prepped seed beds for gazillion varieties cukes, zukes, of various colors, applications, will keep those, along with yellow summer squash going all summer, direct seeded, but just getting a jump with indoor starts. Also starting that insane neck pumpkin winter squash that would run X-country if allowed, different hubbards, butternut etc. types, along with some course sand in watermelon seed soil. Cantaloupe works but have hard time with watermelon in clay-based soil. Butternut and neck pumpkin make great bases for certain hot sauces, like chocolate hab or any smokey tasting pepper. Before I totally lose it and begin typing John Keats' "Ode to Autumn," thanks for looking!

JJJessee · Apr 4, 2013

Lotza Maters! I wanna try those Black Krims someday.
My lighting space is sorely taxed but I'm gonna end up with almost as many maters as peppers plus maybe 40 eggplants.
Nightshade fever I guess.

annie57 · Apr 4, 2013

JJJessee said:
Lotza Maters! I wanna try those Black Krims someday.
My lighting space is sorely taxed but I'm gonna end up with almost as many maters as peppers plus maybe 40 eggplants.
Nightshade fever I guess.

I just like the BK over the CP for yield purposes, babe. And tends to get less mushy lest ya ferget to pick for couple days. Sounds like we got the "mountain" covered. We should go into business together! (Why do people always insist ya make money off something ya just love, damnit?) Chris Phillips, who's not been on these boards in while, told me to use mylar and not fret too much about overlap, so almost all my peppers growing nice and well, nearly ready for plant-out OR hardening off, are in 4 trays on lower shelf. Roomed light shelves up for maters, cukes, which for life of me can't get to come up from direct-seed inground. So, going the transplant route. Gotta bunch of ole timey seed from my well, grandmother, a white pickling grown near here, "Evelen's" or some name. Will post the name they use later.

My two living uncles (I had a lot of uncles) cornered me at dinner after funeral. "Plantin' any cucumbers, kid?" One of them said, "And maters are green before they're red or whatever color, ya know." And "Boy, them green 'tomatas' ya pickled me last summer with them hot as hell peppers, lord that was heaven with my homebrew and a porterhouse. That was about about heaven wadn't it, John." "Surely was, brotha. Truly was." They were grinning, looking hopeful, like kids wanting candy. Damn con-artists. I said, "Ya know boys, I never get quart jars back from y'all." There were 2 stacks of new quart jars at my front door when I got home. Carl, I blended Carib Red, Choc Hab, copiously, with red nagas in those pickles and pickled green tomatoes that I canned for them . . . they've already gone through "Roy's Tabasco," a hell-hound puree I made in honor of my grandfather, their father. Runs in fam, and the cute way they did that with me, I see how Mawmaw "got over her mad" at them. Consummate sweet-talkers, full of shit as Christmas turkey, but I treasure them while they're alive. But got good sense because they bought jars!

Ya know, I "think" in music, Carl. "Nightshade Fever" immediately brought to mind a blend of Seger's "Night Moves" and Peggy Lee's "Fever." Guess since dedicated glog to my grandmother, gotta have dedication song . . . so might post this as throw down, "What's your glog song theme?" I'm torn between "Fever" and "Love Stinks" by J. Geils :rofl:

Or "Addicted to Love" or George's "Corvette Song"--"She was hotter than a two dollar pistol . . . she was built for fun to handle, son . . ." I'm not ready for self-commitment or to steal "Nightshade Fever" for a song, just yet so

Have a good one, sugar. I'm sorry for long responses but I need to talk about stuff related to my grandmother as healing takes healing and time just passes. Much peace!

JJJessee · Apr 4, 2013

Talk you heart out.
"Fever" is definitely a classic.
I guess my glog theme music should probably be the Pathetique since I've put so many seedling through such suffering and having just stripped about 2 trays they look kinda pathetic

Quart Jars

Sawyer · Apr 4, 2013

All this talk about stripping plants has me very interested. Especially after watching the Nature episode last night on plant "intelligence".

Edit typo.

annie57 · Apr 4, 2013

JJJessee said:
Talk you heart out.
"Fever" is definitely a classic.
I guess my glog theme music should probably be the Pathetique since I've put so many seedling through such suffering and having just stripped about 2 trays they look kinda pathetic
Quart Jars

Know what ya mean by their "suffering." FWIW, I suffer with them my inflictions upon them . . . which just makes me compassionate and not a sadist. (I think.) Thanks for sharing link! One of my fav Romantics, musically :dance:

. I suppose my next fav is my nephew. If you PM me, send email addy, will send you some of his stuff or you can go here, listen and if want to, buy latest CD, Portraits, for 4 bucks. Alex Powell's Portraits Good stuff to listen to while potting up, planting out, or just being. "Just don't do something, sit there" type deal

. Oh yeah, una pregunta: are you going Cherokee P this year? Peace, hon.

Sawyer said:
All this talk about stripping plants has me very interested. Especially after watching the Nature episode last night on plant "intelligence".

Edit typo.

Still watching that Arkansawyer and yes! amazing!

PIC 1 · Apr 4, 2013

I stop here and I always leave with a ............... :woohoo:

And you probably thought I was going to say a..................

There's just to much............ :cool:

... ..... stuff happening here.

Ok enough with the........ :censored:

...

......

Hey Annie, I'm glad to see spirits up and you're back in gear with the grow. Although, you probably didn't skip a beat.

The maters look better than mine, and the peppers are making a strong run for the outdoors .I'm anxious to see your outdoor happenings.
Keep piping the tunes.....

JJJessee · Apr 4, 2013

Alex has some good stuff, Annie -talented family you have there. I like the genre. Used to listen to Ray Lynch pretty regularly.

meatfreak · Apr 5, 2013

Nice variety of maters, Annie. It's a lot of work, I know

annie57 · Apr 5, 2013

PIC 1 said:
I stop here and I always leave with a ............... And you probably thought I was going to say a.................. There's just to much............ ... ..... stuff happening here. Ok enough with the........ ... ...... Hey Annie, I'm glad to see spirits up and you're back in gear with the grow. Although, you probably didn't skip a beat. The maters look better than mine, and the peppers are making a strong run for the outdoors .I'm anxious to see your outdoor happenings. Keep piping the tunes.....

Greg, you are so, so, so sweet, dangit! But my spoiled plants told me I "skipped" more than "a beat," saying when fed/watered them, "Why did you leave us Mommy? What did we do wrong?!" They got licks and promises, felt like orphans until last Sunday.

My minister-nephew's funeral officiation on Saturday pointed in the direction of Matthew 7. "You'll know their character/heart by their fruits . . ." and then directed us to poems/letters my deceased uncles wrote to Mawmaw, some freakin' hilarious, some contrite, all based in love; Jacob (that particular nephew, son of another brother) basically said, "Look around you at her diverse family . . . our family is a buffet rather than an ordered meal, like my grandmother; and the fruits of her tree extend." He talked about her love of flowers, growing plants, his first memories as a boy on the way back from swimming with his aunt--he smiled at me (or glared)--picking beans with his grandmother and his dry, "She wanted a 'mess' and let me tell you who don't know how much a 'mess of beans' is, especially to an 8 year old: a lot! But she didn't tear them off the vine, after she'd worked all day. How can one reverently pick beans in gratitude when one is so tired? She did, because she was grateful to the earth, to God, for those beans. I was grateful when she told me to go in the house and wash my hands for 'supper.' And that was some good fried chicken . . . I didn't want any, umm, beans." We laughed. (I only know what he said, verbatim, because he recorded it to remember; gave Mama, me, his dad, my many other brothers, etc., copies on CD. Burned those night before he flew back home . . .Thoughtful young man. Yep: her "fruits extend."

So, maters look okay in spite of me, Greg! I've taken a leave of abscence for the rest of the semester--for my mother; think she might have shot somebody had she carried a gun: yesterday at my grandmother's bank they told her that the funeral home's death certificate, notorized, etc. and my mother's proof of executor of estate was not enough to close my grandmother's account, so LIFE INSURANCE will be taken out of g-mother's account for April and maybe MAY, as they need the offical death cert from RALEIGH to close the account and stop payments. Thought Mama was gonna stroke out on phone telling/yelling about that--I asked a colleague to finish it out. Gave him edited drafts of their final essays, nothing's gonna change much with their status but it could with my mother's; just have to put on "the garb" and show up for graduation. :party:

Wish the "kids" well.

Nice thing is, I have some time now to care for plants, harden-off, seeding cukes, etc. today, and help my mother finish . . . "stuff."

Soaking some danged winter squash seed my grandmother gave me about 2 years ago and the seed is about as large as a cell. Big cell. Most stuff in cucurbit fam will let ya know if gonna live or die by seedling so . . . just an experiment, rather than direct-seeding in hill. Glad to assist your :woohoo:

And again, I apologize for so much about my grandmother but a pretense of "all-okay" . . . for me that would be inauthentic, is not healthy, bla, bla, bla.

JJJessee said:
Alex has some good stuff, Annie -talented family you have there. I like the genre. Used to listen to Ray Lynch pretty regularly.

Yep, Carl, kid's self-taught on piano. "Officially" educated on horns, guitars. I remember Lynch, something about "Oh of . . ." I listen to a lot of Greig, all that "Nationalism" crap aside, and Liszt. . . by virtue of him hanging out, and me giving him a lot of, well, middle-Romantic composer's works, and the kid is a Romantic sans tragedy-crave, so . . . pretty astounding production work he does: Ales loves digital recording . . . gadgets. Me? "And the blank reels are where?"

Hey-hey! We're having highs at night next week in 60's!!!!!!!!!??????!!!!!!!!! smh The babies gonna be introduced to a little real sun during day :clap:

! I see you've already done that . . . I was afraid mine might be as shocked with this weather as I've been. Act like addicts and demand warm sun, when there was none.

annie57 · Apr 5, 2013

Long, productive day! Unrelated, sorta . . . "owe" my uncles (and friends) some hot/sweet pickled cukes, so "curcubit and sundry update."
:party:

2 Boston Pickling 6 packs, 2 White Wonder, 1 mix of Aunt Ruby Wallace/Evelen's ole timey white cuke seeds, National, WI, and Lemon cucumber seeds. Along with yellow straight-8 summer, black beauty, white, and gray zukes. Thinning to one seedling per cell as while they might hate transplant, provided germination, going into much larger 3 x 3.5 deep 6 packs, until ground . . . wow: to think weather could be that warm

Used 4 packs on most of these, Acorn winter x 2, Butternut x 2, Sugar baby and Crimson sweet H202melon, Cantaloupe, ole timey Neck Pumpkin that goes by a gazillion names around here, Sweet Meat, another gazillion different names, Blue and Red Hubbard, some sort of butternut which translated means "rough violin joy"? :rolleyes:

. Provided these germinate, rather than sand, am gonna try a 5-1-1-1 container mix per hill, with lots and lots of organic nutes inground. For watermelon and cantaloupe which prefer sandy soil. I figure if it drains well, with big chunky perlite and composted bark, heck, maybe approximated sandy soil. Just an experiment. Not going that way with the winter squash as they love this clay-based, amended soil.

And dang, got that riser right on! 1/2 inch plywood stripped off 6" each side, 2x4's supporting it, under:

The little greenhouse . . . holds 16 1020 flats . . . time to start thinking some flowers here too :dance:

. The side view, struggling to get it on:

Tomatoes and peppers gonna get some "play period" outside next week on portable tables but eventually with highs at night in 60's, maybe next end of next week . . . if weather forecast is accurate, they'll get used to a new home. By no means too fast but . . . introduction to elements (or elephants, whatever one hears), survival of fittest, but I did smother the underside of this before ripping the 4 x 8 with Sluggo Plus. Let nature wet it yesterday. But check out the sunshine and I am so barefoot!!!! :dance:

Thanks for looking! Annie

Devv · Apr 5, 2013

Dang Annie I miss a day and what like 4 pages? LOL

Glad you took the time off. Isn't working in the education system grand? Well time off wise

I see you're making progress and that's cool, liked the story about your uncles.....see they have some smarts

Hmmm J.Geils...my granddaughter 'bout spit up her milk when she heard "piss on the wall".

Scott, how do ya punish bermuda grass? I think it likes torture . . . feels like a victim and wants to come back harder. Only way for me was to pull and pull, burn, and smother the crap. Like the mud puddle! We got in inner-tubes and splashed down Guadalupe (Austin) to Capitol, then further south . . . but then, other 11 months, nada. smh. Still miss, however!

The garden is surrounded on 3 sides by coastal. During the grow season I just don't give it an inch, pull it, dig it, just don't let it grow. I don't spray it in the garden but keep a 2' perimeter sprayed outside the fence. The best time to attack it is after the spring garden is done. It's mas caliente here by then and dry. Dig it, till it and throw it over the fence. I have less and less in the garden each year. In fact I dug some up today..

We moved from the Houston|Magnolia area to here 24 years ago because of the rivers ~~and deer hunting~~. The Guadalupe and Frio are about an hour from here. The drought's taken it's toll, last year is the first year we missed ever. I love to people watch, you know crash and burn on the rough stuff (hey I do too), too loaded to stay on the tube...hahah.

Have good one,

Scott

PS and a +1 on #290

annie57 · Apr 5, 2013

I LOVE that song by J. Geils! Dunno, my grandmother had a bunch of old blues, motel stuff. She says, "They talkin' 'bout smokin' pot right thar." I was a tad shocked that 1. she knew that and 2. she said that but then, it was not as if my grandfather hadn't come in really hungry after eating a lot of "supper." She figured it out and just shrugged it off. 'Bout spit up her milk, huh?

Yeah, my uncles are smart and even more, smarta's.

I caught a Guad bass once. And very quickly released it . . . never did that tube ride down near Canyon but this was "Canyon-Lake-related." :rolleyes:

Another time . . . never mind, small wonder I'm not in Mountain View: naw, nuttin that bad.

I don't know much, that I know of, about Magnolia area of Houston. I just know we always played H-town by way of Bastrop, just to go through La Grange, which has gone to Hades in hand-basket (and let's not even talk what they did to Canyon Lake = a crime), but ya can hunt in Houston. It's called driving on I-10. Hell, I had band van floored at 90 mph and some fool passed me on right, pointed a Glock, I think. Drummer, from Houston was not impressed. She shot him bird; he seemed to appreciate it. smh. I knew a LOT of people from H-town. But however much we tried not to, we always got lost in Sharpstown. Yep. Of course, I got a bit of my uncles in me and can usually con or slide out of . . . "stuff." Probably a good deal that you moved where you did. I used to like Seguin: that danged pecan cracks me up! Not had chance to get back there in long time. Used to have great auction on Sat. nights. Not for sake of buying stuff but just for the experience of it! And PARTS of Lake McQueeney-area, but hearing some stuff about it. Coastal and all, you probably got a good thang going on, Scott.

#290 +111111111111111111111 Greg's a sweetie! As are you, m'dear!

Just potted up a few "extry" maters. My other half tells me that staying busy is gonna kill me . . . but from sounds of him, being on a golf course this afternoon, all that pollen, lol, uh, I'm alright, comparably. Yes; I am immensely athletic and can play any sport but golf; if folks value their woods and irons, they need to not ask me to do that. Driver still up in a tree where I slung it 10th+ time I sliced upon his insistence that he teach me :rolleyes:

.

Gonna go sift some more Promix Bx and listen to somebody sneeze, I suppose. Have a good one! :party:

Jamison · Apr 5, 2013

Annie awesome glog! Ill stay tuned!

annie57 · Apr 6, 2013

Jamison said:
Annie awesome glog! Ill stay tuned!

Thanks, Jamison! Gifts come to "tuners" who wait (unless I kill everything, esp. beginning process of hardening-off in next while: the season is young, lol. I might not ought to laugh 'bout that . . . :pray:

)

stc3248 · Apr 6, 2013

Jamison said:
Annie awesome glog! Ill stay tuned!

You found a good one here Jamison...never know what will happen...or she's gonna say next!!! Always fun at Annie's place! Nice update lady!

annie57 · Apr 6, 2013

This is my boy! Harvey!

Something or whatever killed off his family 2 springs ago; so this tiny danged rabbit shows up . . . gave him some milk, water, carrots--he only eats baby carrots now--not the whole--never mind. Went out this morning to see how cool soil was to plant some lettuce/argula since FREEZING temps are supposedly past, and there he was, fed him his carrots, he was eating some Henbit at this time. Throw some straw and blanket :rolleyes:

under wood pile every winter . . . kid's never touched lettuces, anything.

Walks with me through garden, thinking about trying a tomato, but he tried a hot pepper one day

; thus, he's afraid of what I grow! Finishing up compost teas late last summer, dark o'clock, went to waterhose to wash out AACTea buckets with some H202; I fell over something. In the dim light, I saw that it was Harvey, lying in grass, munching on clover. I tripped over this rabbit; he didn't move, just kept eating. :rolleyes: