Re: [Biofuel] Garden Produce
Had my first feed of raspberries. The season has been poor so far for the garden. Late May/early June was HOT and dry, so the spinach and lettuce bolted before giving good leafage. Radish all died one weekend I was away - mini-heat wave - they had been doing very well till then. Lost about half the pea vines then too. Latest project is tree pruning (not fruit trees - can't get cherries to germinate - latest batch of pits appear to have been eaten by fieldmouse). Wild spinach doing very well, trying to invade the tomatoes. Squash also appears to be progressing nicely. Tomorrow, I'm ordering the new roofing for the cottage - all metal as part of rainwater collection. Then to complete the cistern this summer as part of the foundation build, and we should finally have a four-season capability. This afternoon, I put in an offer on yet another electric tractor. This is a rescue mission, and a bit of a basket case. But better than letting it go to the wrecking yard. Well, back to Web updates. Darryl robert and benita rabello wrote: Although it's been a pretty lousy gardening season thus far (too cool, a LOT of rain and not enough sunshine) our vegetable beds have been overflowing with produce. I can honestly say that after eating fresh spinach, beet leaves (mmm!!!) and lettuce from our garden, anyone who hasn't had home grown produce like this isn't eating the best food! We also have had a fair quantity of strawberries, despite the cool weather. And the BEST news of all is that my longsuffering sweetheart is now officially convinced that compost is better for plants than the mineral salts she'd been pushing on me for the past four or five years. Now, if only I could get my fruit trees to cooperate . . . robert luis rabello The Edge of Justice The Long Journey New Adventure for Your Mind http://www.newadventure.ca Ranger Supercharger Project Page http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ -- Darryl McMahon It's your planet. If you won't look after it, who will? The Emperor's New Hydrogen Economy (now in print and eBook) http://www.econogics.com/TENHE/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Garden Produce
Robert, Always great to get a garden report from you. We've had plenty of sun, but it's been dry. You're getting our rain. We're getting your sunshine. The garden is doing quite well. Compost enriched soil holds water. Top-down feeding with a thick layer of compost keeps water from evaporating. Although I've been composting for years, your conversation with Keith last year (composting) inspired me to make literally tons of compost. I never had a better, problem-free garden. I now see myself as a grower of soil who essentially selects appropriate varieties of plants to grow in it. I can honestly say that after eating fresh spinach, beet leaves (mmm!!!) and lettuce from our garden, anyone who hasn't had home grown produce like this isn't eating the best food! Agreed. Fruits and vegetables have been bred with more concern for increasing their transportability, even at the expense of taste. Farming practices may well compromise nutritional quality. I sense a growing move towards locally produced food. Restaurant menus and advertisements highlighting locally produced food. Stores selling more local produce, milk and meats. Farm markets are sprouting up again. More air time, at least on radio, is being devoted to the issue. Sustainability is even seeping into the discussion. There seems to be a confluence of things fuelling the move . food miles, quality control issues with industrial food production, but I think for many, it's a simply matter of taste. Local producers grow varieties that grow well in their area. They are more concerned with taste than how well the variety transports. The produce can be picked when it is ripe and at its best. Compare a local strawberry or tomato to one that was designed to be eaten a week or more after it was picked, with added connective tissue so it can be handled and transported, but at the cost of flavor. I grow beets. I've never tried cooking the greens. Can they be cooked like spinach or just eaten as salad greens? I've been thinking about your fruit trees. I had hoped that the arrival of lady bugs (ladybird beetles) was going to solve the problem. I had a flower bed in which I insisted on growing flowers of my choice. No matter how hard I tried the bed always was a disappointment. My wife (sweetheart) took over the bed and she noted which plants did best, which did worst. She then looked at what conditions the ones that did best thrived under and the same for the ones that did worst. A fairly clear picture emerged. She then selected plants that liked or at least tolerated the conditions in that particular location. She turned it into a beautiful flower bed. This may not solve the fruit tree problem. Sometimes a condition exists soil depth, drainage, even obstruction of air flow . making it difficult to grow a particular plant in a particular spot. Good compost and plenty of it may help won't hurt. Best Wishes, Tom - Original Message - From: robert and benita rabello To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2007 4:45 PM Subject: [Biofuel] Garden Produce Although it's been a pretty lousy gardening season thus far (too cool, a LOT of rain and not enough sunshine) our vegetable beds have been overflowing with produce. I can honestly say that after eating fresh spinach, beet leaves (mmm!!!) and lettuce from our garden, anyone who hasn't had home grown produce like this isn't eating the best food! We also have had a fair quantity of strawberries, despite the cool weather. And the BEST news of all is that my longsuffering sweetheart is now officially convinced that compost is better for plants than the mineral salts she'd been pushing on me for the past four or five years. Now, if only I could get my fruit trees to cooperate . . . robert luis rabello The Edge of Justice The Long Journey New Adventure for Your Mind http://www.newadventure.ca Ranger Supercharger Project Page http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/ -- ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail
Re: [Biofuel] Garden Produce
Thomas Kelly wrote: Robert, Always great to get a garden report from you. Thanks, Thomas! We've had plenty of sun, but it's been dry. You're getting our rain. We're getting your sunshine. The garden is doing quite well. Compost enriched soil holds water. Top-down feeding with a thick layer of compost keeps water from evaporating. Something's been funky with the jet stream this year . . . That, coupled with frequent storms of increasing intensity has made for an interesting year . . . The insulating effect of compost is genuine. This summer, however, we've had so much rain that I worry all my plants are developing shallow root systems that won't sustain them when the hot weather finally arrives. We're going away for two separate weeks this month and next, so we depend on a certain drought tolerance in our garden that's been fairly consistent over the past three years. Although I've been composting for years, your conversation with Keith last year (composting) inspired me to make literally tons of compost. I never had a better, problem-free garden. Agreed! Yesterday I pulled some new compost out of my bin. It looked and smelled better than any compost I've ever made, but there wasn't as much of it as I'd like. I think all the rain we've been getting simply isn't good for the process. My sweetheart keeps wondering what I'm going to do with all of that compost, but we've got a fairly large property for a city lot and very little of it is in lawn. I need a LOT of compost to build up the soil around here. I now see myself as a grower of soil who essentially selects appropriate varieties of plants to grow in it. I agree with your assertion, but we're still trying to figure out what grows that I enjoy eating. We can grow potatoes and purple beans like mad around here. The only trouble is that I grew up eating brown rice and red beans and though I like purple beans, I don't really care for potatoes. I'd LOVE to have orange trees, but they'd never survive a winter in this area . . . Fruits and vegetables have been bred with more concern for increasing their transportability, even at the expense of taste. Farming practices may well compromise nutritional quality. I sense a growing move towards locally produced food. Restaurant menus and advertisements highlighting locally produced food. Stores selling more local produce, milk and meats. Farm markets are sprouting up again. More air time, at least on radio, is being devoted to the issue. Sustainability is even seeping into the discussion. There seems to be a confluence of things fuelling the move . food miles, quality control issues with industrial food production, but I think for many, it's a simply matter of taste. Local producers grow varieties that grow well in their area. They are more concerned with taste than how well the variety transports. The produce can be picked when it is ripe and at its best. Compare a local strawberry or tomato to one that was designed to be eaten a week or more after it was picked, with added connective tissue so it can be handled and transported, but at the cost of flavor. I learned this lesson many years ago when I first met my sweetheart. She came down to California while we were dating and complained about our tasteless strawberries. Having never eaten anything other than a California strawberry, I thought she was being a bit of a snob. The following summer, however, I went strawberry picking with her in Whatcom County, Washington. The difference between a fresh berry from the field and the ones I'd always eaten in the supermarket was astonishing! We don't buy strawberries anymore. One of our raised beds is FILLED with strawberry plants, and because we don't spray our produce, we're confident that we're getting wholesome, healthy (and delicious!) fruit from our own property. There's a satisfaction in this that is hard to quantify. I grow beets. I've never tried cooking the greens. Can they be cooked like spinach or just eaten as salad greens? Both. My sweetheart uses the leaves in her beet soup, but like spinach, I prefer them raw. (And like you, my sweetheart is also my wife. We're coming up on 18 years of marriage in September.) I like salads that have a variety of greens so that the flavors mingle as I eat. I've been thinking about your fruit trees. I had hoped that the arrival of lady bugs (ladybird beetles) was going to solve the problem. It probably would have if I hadn't sprayed them with soap! (I didn't know what they were . . . Honest!) I had a flower bed in which I insisted on growing flowers of my choice. No matter how hard I tried the bed always was a disappointment. My wife (sweetheart) took over the bed and she noted which plants did best, which did worst. She then looked at what conditions the ones that did best
[Biofuel] Garden Produce
Although it's been a pretty lousy gardening season thus far (too cool, a LOT of rain and not enough sunshine) our vegetable beds have been overflowing with produce. I can honestly say that after eating fresh spinach, beet leaves (mmm!!!) and lettuce from our garden, anyone who hasn't had home grown produce like this isn't eating the best food! We also have had a fair quantity of strawberries, despite the cool weather. And the BEST news of all is that my longsuffering sweetheart is now officially convinced that compost is better for plants than the mineral salts she'd been pushing on me for the past four or five years. Now, if only I could get my fruit trees to cooperate . . . robert luis rabello The Edge of Justice The Long Journey New Adventure for Your Mind http://www.newadventure.ca Ranger Supercharger Project Page http://www.members.shaw.ca/rabello/ ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
