Sally's GF3 thread

[NanaK]

Beans are a good fiber choice too. Hubby is diabetic and beans are better carbs for diabetics so I grow 3 types so we eat them a lot. They can or freeze really well.

 

[Sally PB]

They can or freeze really well.

I prefer them frozen over canned. I also found out that you really need to blanch them. A friend told me, "I never do, they'll be fine!" I was very disappointed; they were tough and almost flavorless.

I have a pressure canner, so if I get more than I want to freeze, I'll can them. One of my most vivid summer memories is the SHHHHHHHH-rattle-rattle-rattle-SHHHHHHHHHHH noise of the the pressure canner as my mom canned green beans. Happy days.

 

[NanaK]

I froze beans one time without blanching. Not again since. I thought they had a funky flavor I didn't care for. I will freeze raw bell pepper strips. They thaw soft but still great for cooking.

 

[Sally PB]

We're having a relatively cool spell with the next 7-8 days in the low 80s and even a few upper 70s in the mix. So today was the day to do a mite treatment on our bee hive. The stuff we're using, Formic Pro, needs temps under 85, especially the first few days.

We were both dreading this. We're total greenhorns with bees. It's the first year with our first hive. We have not been stung -- yet.

It went smashingly well! We were in and out in under 5 minutes (nice, because the suits are warm), no stings, and no pissed off bees. They look like they're doing very well. But what do we know...

We have a basswood (aka Linden) tree that bloomed this year; they don't bloom every year. I read that their flowers are the best source of pollen and nectar for honeybees that you can have. The tree has been buzzing every time I've been near, so I think they like it.

In a week or two, the golden rod will bloom. Bees love golden rod, and we have an entire field of it. They also loved the oak flowers we had this last spring. I used to not like golden rod. Or dandelions. Now I love to see both.

But I still HATE brome grass!

 

[aart]

So today was the day to do a mite treatment on our bee hive.

Is this a common preventative, or do they have mites?

 

[Sally PB]

Is this a common preventative, or do they have mites?

If you have bees, you can just about bet you have mites. The issue is, how many.

We did a test for mites a few weeks ago, and found 3 on a sample of roughly 300 bees, so 1%. That's not a lot, but that test only shows phoretic mites, ie, the ones on adult bees. You can't tell how many are in the brood, but you can bet if you have phoretic mites, you have mites in the brood.

Formic Pro will kill the phoretic mites, but the vapors will also kill mites in capped brood cells too. It's considered safe to use when you have honey supers on; we don't, yet. The plan is to put on a queen excluder and a honey super after this treatment. I'd read that you don't want to alter the hive by adding any supers just before putting the strips in.

The other reason we went with this treatment is because it was in with all the "stuff" when we bought the hive. I'm glad they guy we bought the set up from used this, as it's the one I'd pick if I were going to get a miticide.

Yeah, I don't want to use a bunch of chemicals, but Formic Pro is considered an organic treatment. It stinks, but you don't need a respirator like you do with oxalic acid vapor treatments. Formic acid is the only treatment (that I read about!) that kills mites in the capped brood.

 

[Iluveggers]

I harvested my garlic yesterday @Sally PB . As promised, I took a pic of the one straightened garlic scape still attached. A local farmer told me about this method, and it’s always worked. I googled it and couldn’t find anything.

Some of the harvest. Had almost 200 this year.

 

[Sally PB]

@Iluveggers, what a haul!

I had one clove that ended up in an onion bed, so I didn't get the scape. I saw it about the time you mentioned waiting for it to straighten, as a way to tell when they're ready, so I left it. It wasn't quite that straight when I dug the garlic up.

What kind of garlic do you grow?

 

[Iluveggers]

@Iluveggers, what a haul!

I had one clove that ended up in an onion bed, so I didn't get the scape. I saw it about the time you mentioned waiting for it to straighten, as a way to tell when they're ready, so I left it. It wasn't quite that straight when I dug the garlic up.

What kind of garlic do you grow?

I actually left them in a few days later than I had planned, because of all the rain, I wanted 48 hours of no rain to pull them. It sprinkled a few times in that period, but looking at the forecast for the rest of the week it was my best chance to harvest.

I have a few types of hard neck, not sure exactly. I started out buying heads from some farmers market booths, and planting those. First year planted about 25 cloves from 5 heads, and saved a few more heads each year until the surplus of now. I usually save about 30 or so for the fall planting, sell some at the road stand, eat the damaged ones quickly, and store the rest to share with family & friends come winter.

 

[aart]

As promised, I took a pic of the one straightened garlic scape still attached. A local farmer told me about this method, and it’s always worked.

Hey, if it works it works!
Looks like the straightened scape coincides with 3-4 dead leaf sets.
I've always cut scapes off earlier to maximize head size.