What did you do in the garden today?

[Sally PB]

I've never heard of perilla before. More info please? Will it grow in Michigan? Does it become invasive?

 

[CNJ]

I've never heard of perilla before. More info please? Will it grow in Michigan? Does it become invasive?

 

[igorsMistress]

I finally made mozzarella cheese with a gallon of pasteurized/homogenized milk and vinegar. I threw out the first gallon and nailed it on the second try. The trick is to add 3TBS salt into the milk and heat it to 140F then add 1 cup of white vinegar. Cover and let it sit with the heat off for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes scoop the curd into a fine handle strainer and toss it around to drain the moisture. I let it sit until it was drained, then I stuck the curd in the micro wave for 30 sec intervals, pressing and folding until it was smooth and melted together. Done.

I screwed up the first time when I stuck the curd back in the hot solution, this is where I got miss lead by the youtube videos. The Micro wave method has no waste and can't fail in my opinion.

My first home made mozzarella pizza............

View attachment 3142575

Looks delish!

 

[Acre4Me]

I've never heard of perilla before. More info please? Will it grow in Michigan? Does it become invasive?

Apparently some varieties are invasive. However in a cold climate it may not be - check it out. It is related to mint, and mint can be invasive, so maybe be similar in that respect. I’ve heard it resembles basil in appearance (but not quite).

I think it’s the plant that is used in baked goods in Asian snack foods (I know I’ve seen a Swiss roll type boxed product that was green sponge -pretty sure box said perilla). I think in some Asian places it’s a very common flavor.

 

[Iluveggers]

For those of you looking for slug control…I read that they like Marigolds. This year I planted marigolds in my lettuce, kale, & spinach beds hoping to keep the slugs off my greens. A sacrificial lamb, so to speak. My greens are clear! And…
Best part is, unlike beer traps, they don’t have to be replaced in the rain, and they look pretty while doing their job!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Ok, the war is on. Somehow. Some way. Squash bugs have gotten into my hoop house! I don't know how they did it... Magic. Teleportation. Wormholes. I don't know..... But I found a ton of squash bug eggs on my plants this evening.....

 

[ChicksnMore]

back from the new thumb doc.
Second time in a week a doc has looked at me (xray this time) and said WHOA, does that hurt?
LOL
Surgery in November after haying, harvest, canning, clean up is done. Can't manage it until then. THey asked how on earth I'll manage it, as bad as it is. I said I've done it the last two, one more is no different. I must be able to tolerate crap more than the people they normally see. The xray is ug-LY!
Only way to fix it is to remove one bone altogether and pull a ligament from my wrist and up and through another finger and to the thumb and back. Essentially creating a hinge like for a string puppet. Faboulous. UGH. One thing at a time.

Hope everything goes well between now and your surgery. No idea of it'd help, but want to suggest KT tape. I use it to keep my foot functional. Not sure if it'd be right for your thumb, but might be.

 

[ChicksnMore]

I was serenaded first thing at dawn by teenagery rooster ... uh ... squeaks? Croaks? It's bad, lol.

It's hot out there! I need to go pull grass but I've been running a hardcore sleep deficit this week. Tonight I'm going to mulch a tiny bit, then go to bed early. Tomorrow night I'll pull grass.

This is the turd that bit me.
View attachment 3142493

And here's the darker roo I'm thinking about keeping, turd and an olive egger hen are in the background here as well.View attachment 3142496

At least it's a pretty turd!

 

[ChicksnMore]

I've never heard of perilla before. More info please? Will it grow in Michigan? Does it become invasive?

Perilla is in the mint family but it grows huge. It has a very distinctive smell and taste. I mostly use the leaves like a lettuce wrap and the seeds can be ground up and used in all kinds of cooking. Not sure if it'd grow in Michigan but think it would.
I know some varieties can be invasive. I grow the Korean variety and it's not invasive here. Its an annual so if you live in an area where it can be a problem, then you just don't let it go to seed or bag the seed stalk to catch them.
I love it!

 

[NewBoots]

I'm considering buying a vacuum sealer. Opinions? Is it really worth the cost? I like zip lock bags because you can open and take a small portion of the frozen food.

I use mine for rabbits and chickens mostly. The Geryon I got first lasted about a year with light use. After that is just about never sealed. The second one I got is a Food Saver and I'm really happy with it so far. It just seems more dependable. Thing to watch out for is any bits of sharp bone that can make a hole in the bag.

I sold 6 dozen eggs.. Customer came in with a bucket,
She is going to pickle the eggs.

Nice! Best I've done at once is 4 dozen.

This is the turd that bit me.

Looks like chicken and dumplings to me.

Apparently some varieties are invasive. However in a cold climate it may not be - check it out. It is related to mint, and mint can be invasive, so maybe be similar in that respect. I’ve heard it resembles basil in appearance (but not quite).

I'll have to give it a try, some of it looks like a pretty addition to a bed.

I've got 4 qts of chicken stock in the pressure canner. It's been warm but cloudy today, even the breeze felt warm. Then at about 7 the sky opened up and it was suddenly pouring. And like @pennyJo1960 said, we have a big storm heading our way so no need to water. Yay!