Saturday, May 22, 2010

Open Thread:

The garden is in and now we are waiting to start eating good. The boys help me out a lot this year. And my youngest son is a brilliant gardener. I doubled the size of my garden this year because I'd like to put my land to feeding my family and the poor. I planted a dwarf honey crisp apple tree this year because the flavor is what it's about with me. From summer on we are eating out of our own yard. If you don't have a garden now is a great time to learn. You will never buy a better tomato then you grew yourself. And some of the dark red,purple and black tomato's are in a class their own. It is coming up on farmers market time now too. If you want to do something good for the environment buy local foods. And if you cook or grill you will taste the difference. Have a great weekend my friends and enjoy the open thread.

16 comments:

  1. Glad you joined the crowd!

    One question: What time should I arrive for dinner?

    LOL,,Enjoy!

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  2. Chris Dont Have Couple "ANGUS" There Do Ya? Tried The Growing Garden Couple Times Failed Badly! Farmers Markets Are a Good Thing For Me!

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  3. Chris, the boys in my house love the "Better bioy" but for sauce and BLT's the "Black Krim" is superb.

    moving to pots because the house i got now has no good spot to get full days sun. Got some biker billy hot peppers and some Caribean reds too. Probably go with purple beel peppers again this year.

    One thing we agree on nothing taste better than homegrown. From raw to part of the dish you make homemade is the way to go.

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  4. Al, you should try some container gardening. just buy a few 5 gallon buckets and a couple plants and your off. You can do bush Cherry tomatoes and some of the hybrid patio size tomato varieties and they are still better than store bought.

    good idea to share them with the food pantries around the way Chris. the homeless could use all the extra vitamins and minerals that home grown have over store bought. All the work you put into the soil shows up in the food.

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  5. The Black Krim and Purple Prince from Siberia are the best tasting. I can't wait for the BLT's. If you do container gsardening you need to use the right potting soil. Do not use the moister lock stuff as it will make your food taste like plastic. JoeC I have a tomato that is the smallest tomato in the world. It is 2 years old and only 12 inches tall with tons of mini tomato's. Joe you seem to know your gardening. I add a lot of organic matter and minerals. I also like to do folier feeding with kelp tea,fish imaltion and malasis. And if you have ashes from a fire use them on all your fruits. It sweetens them up. I also make a lot of salsa and hot sauces. I also love all the different greens that are starting to get bigger now. Maybe next week I will be able to start taking leaves. I grow enough leaves to have a small party with grilled chicken breasts over a mixed green salad with fresh raspberries on it. And as a fail safe the farmers market in downtown Mt. Clemens is a fun way to spend time with my family shopping from the farmers. And believe me the taste is worth the trip. My sons love being able to see it all so raw and dirty. And these farmers take pride in what they are selling you. Even the mushroom farmer has the best mushrooms he picked the day before. And if you you want to do something with any extra food drop it off at your local Church. Most churches are in need of food. Our Church feeds a lot of people with our pantry. 30% of children in Wayne County live under the poverty level. Don't waste food when their are people hungry. And if you are in need of food or know anyone that is in need we will feed them.

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  6. Joe you need to find tabasco peppers. I grow and have grown a lot of different peppers. Tabasco has a flavor like no other pepper out there. And they make a great container plant that does well indoors in the winter. I have to get some of the biker billy and I have the Caribean. I got some purple celery this year. They look so cool. I love the dark vegies the best. And they are better for you.Phytonutrient packed.

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  7. Wish I could join the conversation, but I don't know beans about gardening...

    Got home from work Saturday, the wife and my son were finishing putting the garden in. I sat on the deck and drank beer and grilled.

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  8. Silver,
    Your plan sounds just dandy! May I inquire as to what brand of beer you enjoy to consume?

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  9. I like your plan. I was at my boys baseball games. What a great time that was. I'm thinking I have to go up to the fish store and the Amish meat store. If you have a chance to get some Amish meats get them. Everyone will think you are the best griller ever. I go to the place in Mt.Clemens. And I drink good old American made Budweiser or a Jack Daniels and Coke. I only like to drink is summer. We should plan a conservative/liberal Metro Beach get together. We can never forget that we all have more in common then not. If you want to make a great burger. Try grilling and eggplant and put it on the burger.

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  10. Dont Know What Im Worse At Grilling Or Gardening. Family Says Its a Tie So I Sit Back At Get Togethers And When Foods Done Im Number One In Line. Its Called Seniority.

    Joe Ill Give That Bucket Thingy A Whirl. Got Tomatoes Last Year,Not Many But What I Got Were Good. Still Waiting For Bell Peppers To Come Up I Fear Its To Late Now!

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  11. Try Sonic Bloom. It makes my stuff so good. I found out about it from a pot grower. www.sonicbloom.com

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  12. Al, in containers don't use regular soil. i use a simple peat moss/potting soil mix. little bit of coffee grounds in the bottom.

    Chris, i got the black krim sauce recipe off the "splendid table" NPR show one Sunday a few years back. Simple sauce goes well with the little bit of smokiness that blacks have. you might like to do them on the grill a few minutes too. Little olive oil on each side and a minute or two on the grill.

    tabasco would be a good idea. I like heat but i love flavor. alot of people make salsa with alot of heat, but little flavor. biker billys have both.

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  13. Christopher, your going to find it an amazin coincidence, but my summer beer of choice on hot days is Sol. Its a Mexican import. A blond pilsner its light and easy to drink. way better than something like Corona. I skip the lime.

    Great now i want to go sit on the back porch with a box of bavarian hard pretzels and a six pack of Sol or Labatts blue and let the warm night turn into the early morning hours, but the 4 am wake call ruins that.

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  14. john, if you happen across this thread, i met Rocky last night at the Homes for Our Troops fundraiser. Pretty impressive guy even for a conservative.

    Charismatic and impressive looking in his Army Blues. Good speaker too.

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  15. and taller than i'd expect a Flying squirrel to be...

    the "rocky" nickname is hard to swallow though. Between the cartoon and "yo rocko" its alittle silly sometimes. makes me chuckle.

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  16. Biker Billies sound like my kind of pepper. Thanks Joe I'm going to try it.

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Please keep it clean and nice. Thank you for taking the time to post you thought. It means a lot to me that you do this.