Devv's 2014- Stick a fork in me, I'm done....

stickman · Sep 15, 2014

Listen to Scott Trent! My Mom has been doing what he suggests with her clay hardpan soil for the last 50 years, and she has the best garden soil I know of... it truly is black gold.

Scott... love that Texas chili! Thanks for posting your chili recipe! I like the traditional kind with chunks of brisket and no beans. I went to a local chile festival this past weekend where the official chili was made by my buddy J.D. Hairston from Brownsville, TX and it was the best of the 20 or so chilis that were there. I've been supplying him with chiles for his lunch counter, and I was gratified to hear he used my chiles exclusively in it. He didn't use chili powder... just fried up Pequins with the vegetables and floated a couple of slivered Douglahs on top after it finished cooking. Saturday was a cold and rainy day here and it definitely hit the spot!

Devv · Sep 15, 2014

TrentL said:
Thanks guys!

You're welcome!

thirdcoasttx said:
I made chili today also

Yeah, this weekend just put some fall temps out there and we had to do it. This is the first time we've ever made any from scratch. I was pleased at the robust flavor. Mary who sent me the recipe is into chili cook off's.

RocketMan · Sep 15, 2014

That plots looking good Devv, I'll have to go back and see what your planning on putting it there. Ummm, chili, it's about that time of year

Devv · Sep 15, 2014

stickman said:
Listen to Scott Trent! My Mom has been doing what he suggests with her clay hardpan soil for the last 50 years, and she has the best garden soil I know of... it truly is black gold.

Scott... love that Texas chili! Thanks for posting your chili recipe! I like the traditional kind with chunks of brisket and no beans. I went to a local chile festival this past weekend where the official chili was made by my buddy J.D. Hairston from Brownsville, TX and it was the best of the 20 or so chilis that were there. I've been supplying him with chiles for his lunch counter, and I was gratified to hear he used my chiles exclusively in it. He didn't use chili powder... just fried up Pequins with the vegetables and floated a couple of slivered Douglahs on top after it finished cooking. Saturday was a cold and rainy day here and it definitely hit the spot!

Yeah soil work is ongoing, I'm the guy who will stop and load leaf bags into my truck when I see them

I gave the groundsmen at the school a ton of veggies this year, and leaves will be coming soon from that source real soon. It took me around 12-15 hours just to grind them this season.

Glad you liked the recipe Rick!

It came out really good, although a tad hot for LB. Much better than using store bought mixes. I was going to add some Habanero powder, glad I didn't or she wouldn't go near it. The chopped meat we used is a 50-50 venison-brisket grind we make. Cooked it down some more when I got home and it thickened up nicely. Supper tomorrow with buttered corn bread!

RocketMan said:
That plots looking good Devv, I'll have to go back and see what your planning on putting it there. Ummm, chili, it's about that time of year

Thanks Bill!

The Clover is sprouting nicely, now I have to fix the fence to keep the rabbits out. I had a calf break into the garden a while back, she just went through the fence like nothing. This winter the dirt's getting a rest and rebuild. But I can assure you it will be full of goodness come spring

Yep, chili season is upon us

So I've been asked in the past why I have cattle panels in my raised beds.

The answer is below:

I thought I could leave the panel off just one day, until I came home and raked in some store bought cow manure...lucky for me they just tilled it and very little went over the sides.

In this case they actually helped me...LOL

Made Turkey Jerky yesterday.

I buy the seasoning here:

http://www.dziuks.com/

I use 1/3 a cup of their jerky seasoning to 5lb's of meat, and make a brine with just enough water to wet the turkey pieces. We let this sit overnight in the fridge, then add more ground peppercorn. LB did this batch and slacked on the pepper some

I then throw it in the smoker and set the temp to 150°, once the meat dries (so it's not wet) I add Mesquite and smoke it to get some color. Then it gets cooked at a very low temp (150°) until the meat is fully cooked. One had to test it every so often as you don't want to dry it out.

Good eating!

Jeff H · Sep 15, 2014

So much goodness in here.

Question for you on the comfrey. Do you know if/what the difference in Blocking 4 and 14 are? I have 4 which seems to be doing fine and I have no complaints.

Trent, for your soil building escapades, growing some comfrey is great for soil building. The deep tap roots get every scrap of nutrients they can salvage and store them all in the leaves. Put the leaves in your compost pile.

On the soil building topic, I have been seriously thinking about doing a no till garden for my raised beds, but your results with the constant tilling and amending has me thinking twice. <<although we have a ton of worms here which I understand you don't in Texas, so it is still up in the air.

Sawyer · Sep 15, 2014

I found this on one website selling Bocking: "Bocking #14 is more frequently used as a garden fertilizer because its stalks are a little thinner than #4 so it decomposes faster. Bocking #4 is used more as an animal fodder (feed). However, either variety can fulfill your needs if you only want to grow one type. The differences between the two are small."

I'm trying both, too, so it will be interesting to follow everyone's experiences.

Devv · Sep 16, 2014

Jeff H said:
So much goodness in here.

Question for you on the comfrey. Do you know if/what the difference in Blocking 4 and 14 are? I have 4 which seems to be doing fine and I have no complaints.

Trent, for your soil building escapades, growing some comfrey is great for soil building. The deep tap roots get every scrap of nutrients they can salvage and store them all in the leaves. Put the leaves in your compost pile.

On the soil building topic, I have been seriously thinking about doing a no till garden for my raised beds, but your results with the constant tilling and amending has me thinking twice. <<although we have a ton of worms here which I understand you don't in Texas, so it is still up in the air.

Here's a quote from Coe's:

Because the Bocking #4 is so deep rooted, it will thrive in drought where most other plants are helpless. We do not sell the Bocking #14 strain of Comfrey as “it is shallow rooted and subject to drought,” and “it is disliked by rabbits and chickens — as being too bitter” according to Lawrence D. Hills, the world’s foremost expert on Comfrey. - See more at: http://www.coescomfrey.com/grow.html#sthash.TVmbRjT4.dpuf

I had already bought the 14, and then decided on trying the 4 after reading it's more more drought resistant.

They say tilling breaks down the soil. But if you're adding materials to the soil, AND growing a cover crop, I can't see how I would get around it. Last season I only tilled deep enough to kill the rye, which was about 2"s.

Sawyer said:
I found this on one website selling Bocking: "Bocking #14 is more frequently used as a garden fertilizer because its stalks are a little thinner than #4 so it decomposes faster. Bocking #4 is used more as an animal fodder (feed). However, either variety can fulfill your needs if you only want to grow one type. The differences between the two are small."

I'm trying both, too, so it will be interesting to follow everyone's experiences.

Now that it's ordered I have to decide where to plant it

I ordered 3 2 year old plants from Coe's

Cover crop is coming up nicely and we have a cool down in a week. High's in the 80's are forecast, right now I'm having to water every day for 30 minutes to keep things damp.

Some real rain would be saweet!

stickman · Sep 17, 2014

Devv said:
They say tilling breaks down the soil. But if you're adding materials to the soil, AND growing a cover crop, I can't see how I would get around it. Last season I only tilled deep enough to kill the rye, which was about 2"s.

Cover crop is coming up nicely and we have a cool down in a week. High's in the 80's are forecast, right now I'm having to water every day for 30 minutes to keep things damp.

Some real rain would be saweet!

I think the reason they say tilling breaks down the soil is that it disturbs the soil-dwelling organisms, but if you're adding food for them at the same time and watering after, I think their situation would be minimally affected at first and greatly improved afterwards. Glad to hear the cover crop is taking hold nicely... I'd trade some of our rain for some of your warm temps. if I could...

OCD Chilehead · Sep 17, 2014

Playing catch up. The garden prep looks amazing. Glad to see you've got the cover crop planted. The chili and jerky looks delicious. That chili would be great Winter food.

Thanks for sharing

romy6 · Sep 17, 2014

Looking most excellent Scotty Mcgee !!!! I whirlwind of info that is motivating( my brain is tiny ) to be absorbed slowly but surely .

Who knew turkey jerky could look so tasty

capsidadburn · Sep 17, 2014

Wow, cattle tilling up your raised beds? Crazy. I have plastic mesh to keep cats from doing their thing on mine. They've had time to learn work arounds so maybe I have to step up!

Your prepped garden soil sure looks great and clean!

Hope your enjoying the woodworking!

Sawyer · Sep 17, 2014

Devv said:
I ordered 3 2 year old plants from Coe's

You're gonna get a kick out of the extra's that come with that. I planted 15 root crowns and 5 root pieces from Coe's today. Only ordered 10 root crowns. But those aren't the extras I'm talking about.

Devv · Sep 17, 2014

stickman said:
I think the reason they say tilling breaks down the soil is that it disturbs the soil-dwelling organisms, but if you're adding food for them at the same time and watering after, I think their situation would be minimally affected at first and greatly improved afterwards. Glad to hear the cover crop is taking hold nicely... I'd trade some of our rain for some of your warm temps. if I could...

Yeah, that's what I read too. But it has till Feb. to regroup and I'm just doing a light till in the spring to uproot things. And me too on the trade! However, we did get .2" this afternoon. Every little bit helps!

Here's a shot of the clover, looks like good germ rates to me...

OCD Chilehead said:
Playing catch up. The garden prep looks amazing. Glad to see you've got the cover crop planted. The chili and jerky looks delicious. That chili would be great Winter food.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks Chuck!

We had some chilli for supper last night. I can honestly say it was the best chilli I've ever eaten. The recipe is a keeper

romy6 said:
Looking most excellent Scotty Mcgee !!!! I whirlwind of info that is motivating( my brain is tiny ) to be absorbed slowly but surely .

Who knew turkey jerky could look so tasty

Thanks Jamie!

Perhaps in January it will be cold enough to ship some your way?

capsidadburn said:
Wow, cattle tilling up your raised beds? Crazy. I have plastic mesh to keep cats from doing their thing on mine. They've had time to learn work arounds so maybe I have to step up!

Your prepped garden soil sure looks great and clean!

Hope your enjoying the woodworking!

Thanks Mike!

Nah, that was the dogsters. They did the same thing to the Asparagus bed the night we planted it. I should have known better.

I do my best to not let the cows in the yard, they can mess up most anything they choose to with out even trying

Sawyer said:
You're gonna get a kick out of the extra's that come with that. I planted 15 root crowns and 5 root pieces from Coe's today. Only ordered 10 root crowns. But those aren't the extras I'm talking about.

LOL! I saw the materials he sent you on your glog. Gotta give him credit for trying! I'm sure my Dad and him would get a long just fine

Dave (cone9) sent these wonderful looking peppers. Note the bleed on the BB7's

Thanks Dave!

We went to Rocky's Grill for lunch and he sent me home with some pickled Jals his Father made

OCD Chilehead · Sep 17, 2014

Those pods look great. Is that Tepin x lemon drop I see? If so, those are fantastic. One of my all time favorites. Great looking jar of pickled pods.

Devv · Sep 18, 2014

OCD Chilehead said:
Those pods look great. Is that Tepin x lemon drop I see? If so, those are fantastic. One of my all time favorites. Great looking jar of pickled pods.

Thanks Chuck,

Below is a copy paste from a PM where Dave ID-ed the peppers...looks like you hit it right!

Rain Forest, BBG7, TS Yellow CARDI, Jamaican Gold
Fatalii x Red Savina, 7 Pot White, Urfa Biber, Seasoning peppers
Brazilian Starfish, Tepin x Lemon Drop plant #2, Aji Omnicolor x unknown bacc.
Tepin x Lemon Drop plant #1, Cream Fatalii, Mako Kokoo

Devv · Sep 19, 2014

Well both orders of Comfrey came in this morning. I planted them in pots immediately after getting home. They'll get planted in dirt once they sprout and the garden dries out some.

Oh Yeah! 1.7"s of unexpected bonus rain last night! I heard from 2 other coworkers, 1 got 3.4"s and the other 6"!

I'm going to plant the Comfrey 18"s from the fence in a long row and make a sunshade from ripped strips of treated lumber. I read up today on Texas Comfrey growing and full sun during the summer here is hard on them.

And yes, I too received the propaganda CD's...LOL

Essegi · Sep 19, 2014

Devv said:
Cream Fatalii

I didn't knew that kind existed!
Nice varieties!

HillBilly Jeff · Sep 19, 2014

Everything is looking good. I think about the only thing I could plant as a cover would be winter wheat here.

PaulG · Sep 19, 2014

Hey Dev - things are looking good in your garden - it looks ready for the next round!

We're just into final harvests here, then time to pull a few plants. Good luck getting
the Fall/Winter garden going.

Sawyer · Sep 20, 2014

Devv said:
I'm going to plant the Comfrey 18"s from the fence in a long row and make a sunshade from ripped strips of treated lumber. I read up today on Texas Comfrey growing and full sun during the summer here is hard on them.

My #14 wilted in the dry mid-90s we had here back in August. If I kept them watered adequately, they did all right. I can see where your summer heat would be rough on them.

HillBilly Jeff said:
Everything is looking good. I think about the only thing I could plant as a cover would be winter wheat here.

I'm not certain, but I think rye is even more cold-hardy than wheat. And if you can get some hairy vetch started soon, it should hang tough for a burst of nitrogen-fixing growth in the early spring.