What did you do in the garden today?

[CNJ]

I got my vegetarian rennet for cheese in the mail today and made a batch of mozzarella with it and citric acid. One gallon of pasteurized/Homogenized milk made 1lbs of mozzarella.

In comparison to the mozzarella I made with vinegar earlier in the day, it came out better with the rennet. The cheese was a lot firmer and had a better stretch to it.

However, the price of milk at Safeway shocked me!!!!!!! I didn't notice until I got home. Three gallons of milk cost $26.07, so that's a shocking $8.69 a gallon, I feel ripped. In comparison to 2lbs of shredded mozzarella at $12, it would cost $17.38 to make 2lbs with milk, its not worth it unless I can get cheaper milk. I'll check the online price at my local Walmart. Its $5.67 for milk at Walmart, I got ripped!

Its official, I thought I was dreaming, but I didn't get a single mosquito bite today. My 3/4 acre Dayna trap is working.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning all. We got nearly an inch of rain just this morning. We're in a lull right now. I got most of my flowers potted up yesterday and pruned the impatiens. I covered the potato plants on Saturday with old hay and today they have already grown an additional 6 inches. Some of them are starting to bloom also. I'm wondering if I just fill in the rest of the bed with straw they would produce more potatoes. The first planting of kale is growing really well as are the chard, lettuces and endive. I may toss some Epsom Salts on some of the raised beds before the rain starts up again later. My roses have started blooming and my daylilies look like they will be blooming soon. 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.

If you freeze things or have dry goods you need to store for a while, it’s a good investment. Much better than freezer paper or ziploc bags. I suggest the food saver brand, mine lasted for years before I had to replace it. I typically don’t put bones in them. When I cook up a batch of chili or stew or whatever, I’ll divide leftovers into individual servings, vac and seal, then just toss the bag into a pot of boiling water to reheat. Super convenient for one or two people when you don’t feel like cooking or need something quick.

 

[Sueby]

Thank you all for the well wishes & prayers - we need them. Dad's still with us but the prognosis isn't great. Kidneys are failing, which is expected, but the bigger worry is brain damage. We should know more in the next few days.

I will never be able to catch up here, unfortunately. But I was able to get the bug netting on the 2 squash hoops before everything happened:

I figure I'll have to pull them off, lol, I won't be able to hand pollinate since I won't be around much. I did see a small female flower on one yesterday. I told the neighbors to pick strawberries so they don't just rot. DH is working (6) 10-12 hour days a week so he doesn't have time.

I saw flowers on the beans! Yay. The lettuce in the new bed is looking good. The first batch of lettuce is about to bolt, been feeding it to the girls. I don't have the time to spend washing it. Or eating it for that matter.

My broody has been broken. I still have an issue with the one laying soft eggs. After a week or so with calcium she laid a few good eggs, then went back to soft shell when I stopped. I have her on calcium again, but this isn't sustainable for me. I'm doing what I can but I may need to cull her since I won't be home much. I was thinking about getting her a bag of layer feed to see if that helps. She's separated with a friend for now, which of course makes more work. Ugh, I hate to cull but...

 

[Sally PB]

Three gallons of milk cost $26.07, so that's a shocking $8.69 a gallon,

The store brand of milk here is $3.39 a gallon. When I make yogurt, I make a gallon at a time. Then I drain about half of it off in whey. So I get 4 pint jars of yogurt, about the same amount of whey for the blueberries.

 

[Sueby]

@Wee Farmer Sarah I have a food saver too. I use it all the time because I buy in bulk & when there are sales. If it's something you want to have access to like a zipper bag, just leave a lot of room at the end when you seal, when you open it just cut the old seal end off & then re-seal it! You can get a way with that a few times.

 

[chickengr]

I didn't know perilla is edible. didn't know the name either. I know it as an ornamental plant only.

 

[WthrLady]

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.

I'm far beyond KT tape. But I thank you anyway.

 

[WthrLady]

We're heading for over 100 humid degrees for the next 4 days. I'm popping out to finish the irrigation system check and repair in the orchard in a few minutes and that will take care of my outdoor chores for the spring/early summer except for watering, checking,mowing, and livestock care.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Sorry to hear that you Dad is not doing well @Sueby. Thank you and @igorsMistress for the information on the food saver sealers. That was clever to be able to reseal a package. Got out and did some weeding in the big garden this morning. Cleaned up the onion bed pretty good. My egg plants are starting to look perkier. I believe a cutworm is taking its toll on my little tomatillo plants. I put collars around the last 2 plants so hopefully that works. I picked another bag of kale and salad greens. I thinned a short row of romaine so these baby “heads” were added to the bag. I suspect the cool temperatures are responsible for the slow growing. I’m hoping the slightly warmer temps will encourage them to grow. Need to run errands today then start working on the grass mowing and trimming.

Potatoes climbing over a 2 foot fence

Onion bed all cleaned up.

 

[WthrLady]

Good morning gardeners. Sorry to hear that you Dad is not doing well @Sueby. Thank you and @igorsMistress for the information on the food saver sealers. That was clever to be able to reseal a package. Got out and did some weeding in the big garden this morning. Cleaned up the onion bed pretty good. My egg plants are starting to look perkier. I believe a cutworm is taking its toll on my little tomatillo plants. I put collars around the last 2 plants so hopefully that works. I picked another bag of kale and salad greens. I thinned a short row of romaine so these baby “heads” were added to the bag. I suspect the cool temperatures are responsible for the slow growing. I’m hoping the slightly warmer temps will encourage them to grow. Need to run errands today then start working on the grass mowing and trimming.

Potatoes climbing over a 2 foot fence
View attachment 3143102

Onion bed all cleaned up.
View attachment 3143103

I like my foodsaver as well. This one is 9 years old and my other made it to 18. And it worked OK, I just wanted to upgrade. The new ones have variable/selectable moisture and vacuum levels as well as the ports for vacuum accessories like the square dish, and jar sealers.
I can take most of the air out of bags without squishing pastry, or sucking out all the soup of a liquid bag.
And the sealer also works on potato chip bags and the like.