Duck's New Ragtag garden, Version 2020

[ducks4you]

I have a zip bag on my desk from my DD's pumpkins. I love baking them and then snacking. Good fiber!

DD tasted the dehyrated pumpkin seeds and said that they have a little bit of pumpkin taste, which she never tasted in store bought. What you do think?

 

[ducks4you]

Worked on getting my coop ready. Getting my 11 new hens on Saturday!!!

Also, processed one orange pumpkin for dehydrating seeds and freezing.
Horses were Fighting over the leftovers!
Also, made chocolate chip cookies on Tuesday.
I accidentally improved on the Toll House recipe, by accidentally adding 3 eggs instead of two.
Btw, you bake for 9 minutes FLAT at 350 degrees F, let cool, transfer to a dish, let totally cool, then store.
Took me for E V E R to learn to bake a cookie that I don't care to eat.

 

[ducks4you]

I uncovered the beet bed (with it's complimentary chickweed) and the turnip bed. Warm spell, low 51 tomorrow morning, no freeze until Monday morning.
Hoping to harvest for Thanksgiving. Oat cover crop is Still growing, bless it's hearts and little roots!
Funny what a little bit of work in the garden will do. This area was a big, fat, weed infested Mess in September, now looks tame and under control.
After I harvest beets I will stop covering that part of the bed, but I may see if I can extend the turnip season a Little bit longer, since there are SO many of them in it.

 

[flowerbug]

I uncovered the beet bed (with it's complimentary chickweed) and the turnip bed. Warm spell, low 51 tomorrow morning, no freeze until Monday morning.
Hoping to harvest for Thanksgiving. Oat cover crop is Still growing, bless it's hearts and little roots!
Funny what a little bit of work in the garden will do. This area was a big, fat, weed infested Mess in September, now looks tame and under control.
After I harvest beets I will stop covering that part of the bed, but I may see if I can extend the turnip season a Little bit longer, since there are SO many of them in it.

it won't hurt to leave any turnips you don't want to eat through the winter as they can make something of a cover crop and those that survive will regrow and flower in the spring. i love their yellow flowers (we like yellows, pinks and purples here in general). i wish i could get Mom to tolerate cover crops. i've tried so many times but it hasn't worked yet.

 

[ducks4you]

RE; the turnips, that is what I intend to do, keep them going for maybe a month covered when necessary, then leave them as a cover crop. Thx.

 

[ducks4you]

WAAHHHHH!!!!
White pumpkin seeds weren't dried out and rotted!!!
My friend is bringing me Her pumpkins, and I think she has a white one, so I hope to try again.
The orange pumpkin seeds are dry, along with the pie pumpkin seeds AND the 2019 blue doll seeds.
Not like I won't Have any, but I was putting together a planting plan for 2021 pumpkins and was hoping to not have to buy any. Man, some seeds are unreal expensive, when you consider how many seeds are in one pumpkin. I also noticed that all of them are the same size regardless of the expected growth size of the fruit.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When drying any seeds I usually go at least a couple of weeks longer than I think I need to to make sure they are really dry. You are not the only one that has done that.

 

[flowerbug]

When drying any seeds I usually go at least a couple of weeks longer than I think I need to to make sure they are really dry. You are not the only one that has done that.

a few months at least here. i doubt it really hurts them.

 

[baymule]

I dry seeds on paper towels or saucers. My table gets covered up, my husband gets frustrated with all my mess. I don't know why, we eat in our recliners in front of the TV.

You are having so much fun in your kitchen! So what does 3 eggs instead of 2 do for chocolate chip cookies?

Chickweed is full of nutrients and makes a good pesto.

 

[Zeedman]

When drying any seeds I usually go at least a couple of weeks longer than I think I need to to make sure they are really dry. You are not the only one that has done that.

My seeds get a lot of drying time, on used cafeteria trays. I allow them to dry until the indoor ambient humidity gets low enough that I start getting "sweater lightning", which is usually about 40% humidity. At that point experience tells me that the seeds have reached the proper dryness for storage. That point usually arrives around the beginning of December, so not long now.

Up until now, I've just cross-stacked the trays to save space. But a couple weeks ago, I stopped by a kitchen supply store (to buy masks & gloves) and scored big. They sell some used equipment, and I found this:

This rack will hold 2 small trays per shelf, for a total of 40 trays. It won't hold everything most years (14 more trays didn't fit), but it will offer easy access for seeds while harvest is still ongoing.