Nevadans?

[SunnyDawn]

Great to hear Sunny. Been thinking about you and that ear infection.

I went out to check the nest boxes I gave up and set on the patio. A Jovi baby about 5 months old has tried to become a carry around pet like Baby the bantam Fav. I bent over and she fly up on my shoulder and then when I stood she slide down my back. Tank top and chicken toes don't mix. LOL No broken skin and I think I have an itch I may ask her to scratch.

My itty bitty hoop coops are taking over the yard. I'm going ot work on 2 big ones to get everyone out of the yard and do some gopher distuction. These darn things. I about break my ankles trying to walk through the yard. Only have a small section to turn and then have my SIL put a sprinkler system in for me and hopefully I'll have a nice lawn. The one area that was even half way growing with veggies is now dirt. I forgot to cover it with the poultry netting. Stupid me! I swear, it looks like nothing at all was there. These birds are like locust! And then they had the nerve to chase me with my tool bucket that is just like the ones I use for holding feed. I think NOT! Looks like Berkeley in the 60's and everyone has the munchies.

 

[NevadaRon]

Yes the ones I got from you are super friendly and very curious. Not agressive at all! I do have a problem with them not all going in when it's dark though. Not sure what to do about that other than the flashlight thing.
Yep!
Sorry, no sign of a lavender egg here! POO!!!

However I do have some good news. I feel a tiny bit better today and was able to eat some chicken noodle soup today! YEA! Been on tea, broth and yogurt for 4 days now. Feels good to eat something else for a change. Plus the swelling on the side of my face and neck is down a little and there is no more bleeding in that ear, so I think I'm on the mend! Woo hoo!

Trying to post pics again...

Yay

I'm so glad you're starting to feel better!

Great to hear Sunny. Been thinking about you and that ear infection.

I went out to check the nest boxes I gave up and set on the patio. A Jovi baby about 5 months old has tried to become a carry around pet like Baby the bantam Fav. I bent over and she fly up on my shoulder and then when I stood she slide down my back. Tank top and chicken toes don't mix. LOL No broken skin and I think I have an itch I may ask her to scratch.

My itty bitty hoop coops are taking over the yard. I'm going ot work on 2 big ones to get everyone out of the yard and do some gopher distuction. These darn things. I about break my ankles trying to walk through the yard. Only have a small section to turn and then have my SIL put a sprinkler system in for me and hopefully I'll have a nice lawn. The one area that was even half way growing with veggies is now dirt. I forgot to cover it with the poultry netting. Stupid me! I swear, it looks like nothing at all was there. These birds are like locust! And then they had the nerve to chase me with my tool bucket that is just like the ones I use for holding feed. I think NOT! Looks like Berkeley in the 60's and everyone has the munchies.

ROFL!!!

 

[SunnyDawn]

Yay

I'm so glad you're starting to feel better!

Thanks Ron!

I fell asleep while I was trying to load pics and after 48 mins all it said was "your pictures have started to download" lol. I should consider this progress. It's one step further than I ever got before. Still froze up on me but it's closer to trying before it freezes up now.

 

[NevadaRon]

Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at making pickled beets from my garden. I found a recipe from Alton Brown on FoodNetwork.com, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

ETA: How do I know when it's time to harvest my potatoes and onions? I've never grown them before so I don't know.

 

[chicharomirinda]

glad you're on the mend, Sunny!

Those gophers sound horrendous, Kim. I'm glad we don't have any around here.

I love pickled beets, Ron. My mom used to make them. I don't have her recipe though.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at making pickled beets from my garden. I found a recipe from Alton Brown on FoodNetwork.com, but if anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears!

ETA: How do I know when it's time to harvest my potatoes and onions? I've never grown them before so I don't know.

Good luck with the pickled beets! My mom made them, and I loved them. She sliced them just a few centimeters thick, so they would cook completely through. Beets are something that few people in my family like, so I don't even grow them.

Onions: the top will fall over right above the bulb, and the bulb itself will look like it's pushing itself out of the ground (more than half of the bulb is above the ground.) If it starts to go to seed, cut that part off, so it can put more power into the bulb. When the top flops over, though, it has started to hibernate and is keeping its energy in the ground. But you can pick them at any time before this, and they'll be fine... just maybe not as big as you want. If you let them go to seed, though, the bulb will shrink and get woody.

Potatoes: first, the plants will start to get yellow and look "tired." You'll think they need more nitrogen. Actually, they're putting all of their energy into the ground for the winter... meaning they're building bigger potatoes. Wait until the plant dies. This might happen before frost... if not, then dig them up after the first frost. A light frost won't hurt the potatoes anyway, but will finish killing off the plant part.

These are some of mine, the picture taken today:
Notice how some are getting yellow? Also, the stalks are long and leggy, and slumped over. Some of my varieties are starting to look like this, and some are going strong and green. It really depends on the variety, and when you planted them. These will probably finish dying back within a couple of weeks. I could dig them up now, but it's totally worth it to me to wait until the entire plant is dead, to get the biggest potatoes I can.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

More tired potatoes:




You can tell it's age and not blight because the plant is going yellow from the stalk up, before it turns brown. Blight will show up as brown spots on the leaves before a yellowing. Plus, it's been over 90 days since I planted, so it's the right time to go yellow. The stalks have fallen over. I actually had to rearrange them and tie some back so I could walk around in the garden without stomping on them and ending their lives before they finished making big taters.

 

[NevadaRon]

Thanks Missy! The onions definitely aren't completely ready then but I was thinking about picking a couple anyway to use in the pickled beets - taking a cue from your philosophy of everything from my garden. I planted two types of potatoes and one of the rows is looking "tired" as you suggest and is turning kind of brown. I'll have to take a closer look at them tomorrow. The other row still looks strong.

 

[americanvalkyrie]

I read one article that advised waiting one week after the potato plant is completely dead, not watering at all during that week. But it's ok to eat them at any time before, as long as you don't eat any green parts that have been sticking up in the sun.

After digging, don't wash the potatoes unless you're going to use them immediately, and don't throw them around because they bruise easily before they're cured. Use any that you accidentally sliced with the shovel in a nice family meal that week. Let the others dry in the sun for no longer than an hour, and in that time most of the extra dirt will fall off. Then "cure" them in a warm, dry environment for a week, like in a paper bag in your garage. This dries out the skin so they'll keep longer and not rot as they sit against each other in storage. Store in a cool, dark place NOT in the same closet as onions. Apparently the onions release a certain gas that can spoil potatoes faster.

My potatoes and winter squash are going in the same dark closet. My onions are going in the canning room, but we've used over half of them up in my home canning recipes anyway, so they won't last long enough to sprout!

ETA: I was just on YouTube, watching videos on harvesting potatoes, when I heard a rooster crowing. My heart plummeted. I turned the video off and listened again, but just heard one of my hens laying outside. Then I turned the video back to the point I heard the rooster. I had to play the video a couple of times to be sure the rooster was really on the video! That was good audio!

 

[americanvalkyrie]

Lacy Blues, here's a picture of my andalusians yesterday: