A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

Well, I fell off the wagon. Big time.

I said to myself 'no more tomato seeds'. I already have more than enough for 3 seasons even if I grow 75 a year, PLUS I have plenty of my own tomatoes that need regrowing if I don't want to lose them. And I've lost a couple already by selling the last of what I had, by accident.

BUT. Man oh man, I found somebody who had some awesomely rare and super cool ones. A ruffled pink criollo type, a couple dry farming types, just wowzer varieties. Totally different stuff than what is typically out there. And because so many people in seedland come for a time and then are gone forever, there is always that pressure that 'if I don't get it now...'

So, need to buy some new big pots now and plunk them around the yard to some choice locations.

 

[flowerbug]

I'm a big fan of Sriracha hot sauce.
I put it on alot of things.
Never made any though.

same here. i just scored a large bottle of it after several years of trying others. just not the same. i'm addicted and ok with that for now.

unfortunately Huy Fong really made mistakes that cost him a lot of money in the end.

 

[Dahlia]

I must admit I have gotten fond of a little bit of heat in my food.
Eldest DD (Chef) makes a dinner called, "fancy mac and cheese." Her sister and dad didn't like the heat from the chilis, she and I DID like the heat, SO, she makes 2 versions of same and everybody is happy.

I have been throwing in a couple of those Thai peppers into my stir fries lately and started using Chinese mustard on my smoked salmon charcuterie cracker sandwiches! Heat is yummy!

 

[jbrobin09]

Alrighty then delish recipe handy? Willing to give it a try…
I haven’t had much luck finding recipe’s online . In some cases I have experimented in the past and find going thru several recipe’s before liking one.

I sort of wing it now that I’ve made it so many times (I do a lot of fermenting). I use a 2% brine, and ferment my peppers sliced into chunks along with a clove or two of garlic, for 4 weeks at room temp. Sometimes I’ve thrown in cherry tomatoes (the sugars speed up fermentation). After the 4 weeks, I drain the liquid into a bowl and put the rest into my blender. You can strain out any seeds at this stage if you want- they add heat. Then add a bit of the liquid back and blend into a consistency you like. I usually put it into the fridge for a week or two before trying it. Store in fridge (for a really long time- pH is around 3).

You could experiment with different peppers and adding things like peach or pear to the initial ferment.

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Thank you. Sounds amazing. I never fermented food before or used brine. Sounds a bit more complicated than just a purchase of hot sauce or waiting for sriracha. I like that you added pears and peaches for sweeteners.
After reading up on the fermentation process it was a good way to enhance the flavors of the peppers and preserve the sauce. Very interesting / creative recipe.

 

[ducks4you]

Well, I fell off the wagon. Big time.

I said to myself 'no more tomato seeds'.

Addicts rationalize EVERYTHING!!

 

[ducks4you]

@heirloomgal , you will be SO proud of me!
While checking on last year's asparagus fronds/feathers I broke off several and collected some 40 little orange fruits.
Since I am using a lot of trash to grow stuff this year, I hope to start them in yogurt containers, via winter sowing.
Since they are perennials changes in temperatures should not be an issue.

 

[heirloomgal]

@heirloomgal , you will be SO proud of me!
While checking on last year's asparagus fronds/feathers I broke off several and collected some 40 little orange fruits.
Since I am using a lot of trash to grow stuff this year, I hope to start them in yogurt containers, via winter sowing.
Since they are perennials changes in temperatures should not be an issue.

They definitely will not mind changes in temperatures, they actually prefer it! If I've planted a cherry tomato that has some wild/perennial genes in it (like Matt's Wild, Mexico Midget or Coyote) sometimes they just sit there not sprouting. So I always put them outside for fluctuating temps, even if it's still going below freezing. They always start to sprout!

 

[heirloomgal]

@Pulsegleaner I remember you mentioned growing yellow lavender a year or so ago. How did that go? I actually got some seed for it and am going to try and grow it this year. Curious about your feedback on this plant. I read it's scent is stronger than the purple?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

@Pulsegleaner I remember you mentioned growing yellow lavender a year or so ago. How did that go? I actually got some seed for it and am going to try and grow it this year. Curious about your feedback on this plant. I read it's scent is stronger than the purple?

I honestly don't remember. It got added to the side path flower patch, which I tend to forget about. I don't even know if it's still there or not (apart from the Scotch Broom and some Black Eyed Susans, I don't know WHAT is still there.