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  1. RidgebackRanch

    Dehydrating Peppers

    The garden took a good hit from hail a week ago and many of the chili peppers were damaged. I am still planning on getting a food dehydrator but read that chilies should be left whole and on most units available that means you could only use the top tray. I was going to dry the peppers and...
  2. RidgebackRanch

    Preserving Chili Peppers

    We have some chili peppers that need to be harvested this weekend to encourage a second harvest. Normally I would roast them and make hot sauce but we are under a local open burn ban so that is not an option. Does anybody know what would be the best way to preserve them for later use for the...
  3. RidgebackRanch

    First Time Turkeys

    It's time for a new flock of chickens this year as the current flock is four years old. Although they are beautiful and still laying we need more production. A local farm store chain that we used to buy chicks from is now selling them for $5.49 straight run! Since we don't need roosters I...
  4. RidgebackRanch

    Ground Kung Pow Chilies

    Finally got around to grinding up the Kung Pow chilies hanging in the garage. After picking off the best ones I put them through a small cheap food processor. This being my first attempt ever I got lucky and it turned out very well. After grinding the whole dried chilies I took about half and...
  5. RidgebackRanch

    Named Winter Storms

    Does anybody know why winter storms are now given names likes hurricanes? I have noticed this on The Weather Channel. :hu
  6. RidgebackRanch

    Next time I'll be more careful...

    Yesterday while putting up a bunch of salsa and hot sauce I got a small blob of Habanero sauce in my eye while filling the last jar of the day. After doing a lot of tasting during the seasoning of three batches it really wasn't as bad as it sounds, but it did sting for a while. The funny thing...
  7. RidgebackRanch

    Lots of pickles!

    I've meaning to post our pickling process lately so here goes. So far this season we've put up 6 qt. of DW's famous garlic dills, 5 pt. of spicy pickle relish, 7 qt. bread & butters, 8 qts. sandwich slices and 4 qts. of peppers The garlic dill recipe is a family standard that DW makes and I...
  8. RidgebackRanch

    A potato from a tomato plant?

    This popped up when I stuck a finger in a tomato bed checking on moisture level. If we don't get a good crop of tomatoes maybe there will be a few more of these. Very strange indeed.:)
  9. RidgebackRanch

    Bug ID please

    I have several of these critters under leaves of a tomatillo plant. Does anybody know if they are good or bad? :hu
  10. RidgebackRanch

    Growing Shallots

    We got hooked on growing shallots a few ago and this year I think I learned some interesting facts about growing them. Finding good sets at garden centers varies every year and wholesale prices vary even more. I planted sets from a garden center because they looked to be of better quality than...
  11. RidgebackRanch

    I guess it's time to harvest...

    Time to go get those pumpkins and butternuts. Even the owl agrees!:(
  12. RidgebackRanch

    Relish Questions

    I know that when making dill pickles etc, you have to wait a couple of weeks before eating. Is the same true for pickle relish? Also since getting the canning bug and large pickling cukes are in short supply in the garden, can large slicing cukes be used? I figure since the cukes get, chopped...
  13. RidgebackRanch

    Tomato eating bugs

    Found these litle creeps eating my tomatoes yesterday. I tried to identify but they were not on any list of common pests to tomatoes. Anybody have any idea what these are? :hu
  14. RidgebackRanch

    Beautiful Snake

    Saw this beauty in between the garden and the garage. It's a racer that is fairly new to this county. We estimated the length at just over 3'. It's interesting how calm larger snakes can be, it gave us plenty of time to observe it. What a treat!:)
  15. RidgebackRanch

    Very Tall Sunflowers edit 9-9 picture reposted

    I have been on the road quite a bit lately, and the sunflowers have really taken off. Next year I won't wait until it's too late to thin them out. There are a few too many and they are shading the pumpkins a bit too much. I never imagined this happening when I planted the seeds! :weight
  16. RidgebackRanch

    Hot Pepper Sauce

    I have more jalapenos, cayenne and habenero than I can eat fresh. I searched the internet but could not find recipe for a hot sauce like Tabasco? Thank you in advance!:)
  17. RidgebackRanch

    A surprise apricot!

    We have two apricot trees in the garden that came with the property. Most years the blooms get zapped by frost at just the right moment or if they survive, the blackbirds eat all the fruit when it is still the size of a BB. Well saturday morning I found this on the ground under the tree. It had...
  18. RidgebackRanch

    Pickle Trellis... She couldn't wait!

    We were planning on making a new trellis for the pickling cukes the other day. DW couldn't wait for me to get home and did it herself. It's a good thing because they are ready to start climbing. It's a sister to the one on the right side of the picture. Gotta love a woman who can handle her...
  19. RidgebackRanch

    Good or Bad ??

    Saw this today on the Lovage plant. It looks like the little critter laid the eggs with what looks like some silk on them and died soon after. Never seen anything like it before, any clues? Thanks :idunno
  20. RidgebackRanch

    Sick Beans

    Does anybody know what this is, I just noticed it this morning? The whiteish spots are on the other leaf as well, did not see it on the other plants but I want to treat it asap to keep from spreading. Any thoughts?
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