Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[Raiquee]

Whew! I moved my HUGE squash plant out of my side garden and chucked it into a hole in the "weed garden". Hopefully it won't die, but I perfer eggplant to squash anyday. I need to come up with a clever idea of growing squash. Hubbers brought me this awesome steel horse waterer (I think) it's maybe 2 ft x 2ft? I think next year I will find a few more and plant a squash per bucket. Then if it wants to get crazy and out of control, it can. I seem to be the squash whisperer I swear.

My fairytale eggplant has 3 baby eggplants on it!! I am way happy with my eggplant this year. Last year, I only got 1 eggplant. This year, I got at least one eggplant per plant, and SO many more blossoms per plant. I wonder if they do better in pairs? (As you can tell, I'm a plant one of everything gardener because of small space.) I never have good luck with bell peppers, which sucks because they are SO overpriced! I get peppers maybe the size of a lime, and that's it.

One thing that I didn't plant one of was tomatoes!!! I'm Sicilian, and therefore we eat a lot of tomatoes, garlic and eggplant

I planted 11 plants, mostly heirlooms. 2 Black Krims, 1 Black Prince, 1 San Marzano, 1 Green Zebra, 1 Lemon Boy, 2 Cherokee Purples, and 3 mystery tomatoes I got from the sitter. Well I was weeding the weed garden, and lo and behold...there's a tomato plant! And another! And another! And after we counted we found another 16 tomato plants!!!!

They are tiny, most only have their first set of true leaves and a handful have their second. I'm weeding around them to help them explode, waiting until the smaller ones get a few more true leaves, and then transplanting them in a row in the weed garden! I told hubby that if I got enough pasta sauce put up, we won't have to plant but 2 plants next year!!

We assume these volunteer tomatoes came from a tomato in the compost, or possibly a tomato that rotted before we found it, and when hubby tilled they got placed everywhere.

This weekend my bestfriend is coming over to learn how to can. I can't wait to share with her, she also has no one in her family to teach her. She got pectin from work (She works in a food plant) but it's the liquid type? Does anyone know the ratio from powder to liquid? I asked her if she was able to grab more for me, as pectin is the most expensive part of jams! (if you are growing food yourself that is)

Annarie) those cochins are sooooo cute!!

 

[babylady4]

Raiquee, you can check sure-jells web page for conversions of powder to liquid I bet. Good luck passing along the info about canning and what a great idea!

Today feels like Friday the 13th; just a bad day. I have already put my cell through the wash so I am thinking there must be more on the horizon...... since I have to go to work this is not a good thing.....

My tattoo looks amazing, I will post pics of it soon. It is a very nice mahogany color at the moment but will darken to a nice coffee color I bet in a day or two.

FM you are more than welcome; we all need a break once in a while! I am just sorry that store was closed..... you would just love it.

 

[Sweetfolly]

Headed to the Sauk County Fair after work this afternoon - I have a friend volunteering at the Habitat for Humanity booth, so I might end up sitting with her and working the booth while my sisters do the rides and carnie-food.

I just hope there are no birds for sale, because I have absolutely NO self-control at all when it comes to buying birds!

Oooh, and I put in an order for some new legbands for all the birds last night - I'm going to try a different kind because I decided I hate plastic spirals, and I don't like metal bands with the winters here because they get cold. I got 150 plastic bands in 3 different sizes (from Call duck size to Magpie duck size for my Stanbridge Whites), and 5 different colors in each size for $13.75 shipped. They're wide like the numbered bandettes you see, but I didn't get the numbered ones - I have 10 or fewer birds in each breed right now, so I can band males on one leg, females on the other, and identify them all with 5 different colors.

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
pectin is not interchangable, you just need to find a recipe the uses liquid, sure-jell has them and Ball

 

[Terri O]

Quote:
pectin is not interchangeable, you just need to find a recipe the uses liquid, sure-jell has them and Ball

Really? I have found a conversion from powder to liquid and used it in a recipe that called for liquid and it was fine...it was a jelly if that makes a difference. I just thought pectin was pectin. You can also make your own pectin from the apple cores and skin from making applesauce. It is in my "Encyclopedia of Country Living." If anyone wants the recipe PM me, I will be happy to share.

Decided not to go back to the fair tonight...man, it sure gets you tired pushing a wheelchair in lots of gravel for 4 hours two days in a row! DH was not pleased but I figure I am better off staying home if I am a little crabby and tired know what I mean?

I was thinking about taking my horse out but I am just plain pooped I guess! I am kicking back and having a Cap and Coke and will make some popcorn for dinner! Uncle Kraker at the fair tonight...too bad--I will listen on the radio.

All the baby ducks did fine for the night even though they did not go back into the hole and the nest. SHe is a good Mama....I really want to let her out to free-range with them but the door is on the wrong side of the kennel and they would be in the yard and if I put them in the chicken area I am betting that the ducklings would go through the chain link and give the mom fits! I guess they can stay where they are and I will put baby guineas with them!

I am picking up newborn puppies and their Mom from the shelter on Monday and am not sure where I am putting them! I have ducks in two pens and a sitting goose in another...hmmm--which one is easier to move? On the other hand I scored some "good trash" today! (DrH, Pay attention! Good stuff!

) It is 3 sections of plastic fencing and a gate! I am hoping to get it to attach to one one of my buildings so I can use it for a run for? (probably puppies...) I really should put on some repellent and go and check out where I might put it...the other idea I had was that it would make a great garden fence around my garden shed that has yet to be built...I think I need to win the lottery!
Well, I guess I will go and lock up the critters...going to see the neighbors new pygmies tonight or tomorrow...he said that they are pretty cute...good night! Terri O--anybody coming to the Jefferson County Fair this weekend?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

what did you make in to jelly when you converted it, a high pectin fruit? that could be why it worked. or you where very lucky, even using pectin from the store it doesn't all way work, I've got recipes that don't use pectin at all. The reason switching isn't a good idea is if you have a low pectin fruit you might not have the ratio of sugar/fruit,juice right and it will not jell up, or have a soft spread

plus there are a lot of recipes for the liquid you really don't need to substitute, more for liquid than powder

 

[whippet128]

Hey Big Z
how are the bucks and the javas doin?

 

[Amyable]

Quote:
Ahhh, I was just talking with Julie about that. Both our flocks are growing at an exponential rate; I wondered if any local farm stores would stock those? Do the plastic ones get brittle and break, or are they pretty durable? I figure it will be a good idea to mark the pure breeds right from the get-go. And since I am hoping to hatch Ancona chicks next spring......hear that Terri?

And Terri and pongoid, it's more like hot as Hades right now

One can never have too much Monty Python.

Raiquee, I had volunteer tomato plants this year too, I even know what kind by their location: White Currant cherry. They were my best tasting tomato last year. Aside from those I planted 22 other plants

I have no self control when it comes to heirlooms and birds, ack! I like your selection, would you like to swap seeds next year??? Good luck on your garden!

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
Oh, how fun! What breed/mix are they? Our shelter hardly ever gets in puppies (thank goodness), but the kitten situation is out of control.

My five foster kittens go back to the shelter to have their spay/neuter surgeries the first Friday of next month. They're getting big (they need to be at least 2 pounds to go under anesthesia), except for one little runt I'm worried about - he weighs half of what the rest of the kittens do right now, but he eats, and he's active. He has a little eye infection right now, but I'm dealing with that.

I'm just going to throw this out there - I'm headed down to Illinois on the 18th to get a really nice little pair of White Call ducks from BYC user duckluck. If any of you are interested in a pair of Butterscotch or solid Black Calls, I can pick them up while I'm there. The Blacks are soooo tempting, but I'm going to stick with my Whites. You can PM me (or duckluck) for more details.

amyable - I'll post how the new legbands work and how they hold up. I got them here:
http://www.foyspigeonsupplies.com/catalog/bands.html

Most of the bands they carry are pigeon or cagebird size, but I'm trying the "Large Bird Snap-On Marker Bands". Maybe they'll fall off, maybe they'll get brittle. The prices were so good I figured I'd give them a try! I might still order some of the "E-Z Lockrings with Numbers" too...we'll see how the plain snap-on ones work.

 

[Raiquee]

Amyable) I would LOVE to swap seeds for next year, I have no cherry varieties and was kicking myself in the bum for not getting any! I love heirlooms, and I plan on learning to seed save this season. To help cut costs next season. I gotta sit down and overhaul what I am having, and what i'm not having next year! How many volunteers did you end up with? What varieties did you plant this year?

So I think I totally killed my squash plant. R.I.P. crazy monster. Watch...it will raise from the dead in a few days.

Well I believe my phone interview went well, so hopefully mid next week they will call me asking for an interview. Blanched some green beans, broccoli that I picked up from the farmers stand. Also Kohlrabi which...I never used before. Diced it up and chucked all of that to freezer camp.

Thanks for the info on the pectin guys! Terri after googling it, I did realize that it is advisable to not convert it. That's ok, I can find recipes for liquid pectin online anyways.

Making another white slicing loaf of bread, we chowed through the first one!