I found another good site for browsing through
-- here is their bread making page healthbanquet.com/homemade-bread.html
2 years ago
get your food storage - rising prices
There are so many reasons to make the right choices, but do we have to be compelled? No, we DO need to make the choice NOW to go and do.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/18/news/economy/rising_prices/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
If you want to look into cloth diapers, I can give some recommendations for the ones that I love and the little things that make it all so easy. (I'll never go back to disposables! even though I do keep a few on hand for the 'just in case' day)
http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/18/news/economy/rising_prices/index.htm?source=yahoo_quote
If you want to look into cloth diapers, I can give some recommendations for the ones that I love and the little things that make it all so easy. (I'll never go back to disposables! even though I do keep a few on hand for the 'just in case' day)
Order Closed/Complete
The varieties of apple trees to choose from this year are: No longer available for this year.
See chart for characteristics and criteria.
Note: Pale Yellow showing bloom and harvest times
The purple rows showing pollination needs.
page 1 has the same information as page 2, but also has the blue row with description of characteristics.
For additional pollination compatibility see these chart, for your apples of interest.
See chart for characteristics and criteria.
Note: Pale Yellow showing bloom and harvest times
The purple rows showing pollination needs.
page 1 has the same information as page 2, but also has the blue row with description of characteristics.
For additional pollination compatibility see these chart, for your apples of interest.
- Anna
- Arkansas black
- Bramley
- Dorsett Golden
- Enterprise
- Fuji
- Gala
- Pink Lady (Cripp's Pink)
- Red Boskoop
- Sierra Beauty
- William's pride
- Some people are also trying Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp
orders in by the end of the week.
Apple trees in your yard
We are doing an apple tree group order. (For more information than here, see earlier post)
and this video at 5:50 shows just how easy it is to train a tree branch to the shape and direction you want.
- They are 10$ plus 1$ for shipping = $11 each.
- They are varieties that are great for our Hot climate and heavy soils.
- They are young and have all of their original roots so they will acclimate and grow very quickly, soon bear fruit, .... (superior to the method used in those sold in local sources)
- Space is not a problem since keeping an apple tree small is actually easier than maintaining a large tree - as well as the benefits to the apple crop. Many, many options including IN A VERY SMALL SPACE ... see here and 'google' the word "espalier" on images, youtube, etc..
- The Majority of apple tree varieties will produce apples all on their own (one tree), but the majority of those will produce up to 80% more apples of higher quality if they are planted in the vicinity of another apple tree that has 'compatible' pollen (which would also benefit from the sharing as well as your neighbor's trees.)
and this video at 5:50 shows just how easy it is to train a tree branch to the shape and direction you want.
Apple Trees in Your Yard
I've been hearing rumors of successful apple 'testing' somewhere in Hot Southern Calif. And it looks like I found (one of?) the nursery(s). And they are pretty neat! 
I'm assembling an order, http://www.kuffelcreek.com/appleorder.htm
This month is the only month of the year for orders - which is great since now is perfect for here! -- so get it now while the gettin's good.
They have a minimum order of 10 trees (which we have almost reached already), and a flat shipping fee, so ordering as a group is beneficial.
For those just looking to see which ones are recommended here's a list (not necessarily all, I'm just quoting from the kuffel creek):
Anna, Arkansas Black, Cripp's Pink/ Pink Lady, Fuji, Gala, William's pride,
Bramley, Dorsett Golden, Red Boskoop, and Sierra Beauty
(references also here, here, here, ...coming soon, Australian sites are great info sources, but remember winter=summer and summer=winter because of the southern hemisphere)
Reasons why these trees are desirable (and more desirable than the local stores)
I'm assembling an order, http://www.kuffelcreek.com/appleorder.htm
This month is the only month of the year for orders - which is great since now is perfect for here! -- so get it now while the gettin's good.
They have a minimum order of 10 trees (which we have almost reached already), and a flat shipping fee, so ordering as a group is beneficial.
For those just looking to see which ones are recommended here's a list (not necessarily all, I'm just quoting from the kuffel creek):
Anna, Arkansas Black, Cripp's Pink/ Pink Lady, Fuji, Gala, William's pride,
Bramley, Dorsett Golden, Red Boskoop, and Sierra Beauty
(references also here, here, here, ...coming soon, Australian sites are great info sources, but remember winter=summer and summer=winter because of the southern hemisphere)
Reasons why these trees are desirable (and more desirable than the local stores)
- varieties specifically tested for our hot desert climate
- great price $10 + $1 shipping = $11
- correct time of year (unlike most nursery suppliers - which leads to ....'other' problems)
- form the tree comes in: bench graft (again, unlike any big nursery I've seen, but is something that is great)
- the rootstock (the portion of the tree/ the variety selected for the ground) is good for our climate and soils
- They share their knowledge freely
- and keeps giving it
- and has more if so desired.
- upstanding efforts/motives
- small family owned,.... and all that goes with that....
- plants that have roots rock ;)
- They are testing 100s apples in the heat (and very mild winters) so we don't "have too": Part one of two videos of Dave Wilson Nursery interviewing KuffelCreek at their nursery in Riverside Calif - note also, the wide range of ripening seasons: Part 2 starts with honeycrisp.
- Because just like people, apple trees need friends too. Many apple trees will bear fruit without another apple tree, but
- most apple trees will bear much more and better/bigger fruit if there is another tree they can cross pollinate with (share pollen via the bees, etc)
- so, If you only want one tree, but your neighbor also only wants one tree, then now there are two
- however, if you get the same variety/type or (too) close relative of apple, cross pollination doesn't happen. So have a peak at the charts 1 and 2 and talk to your neighbor or just get two+ compatible trees.
- In a place that allows it to be flood watered or deeply watered, (don't want just surface roots, although most feeder roots are near the top, but going far out from the trunk)
- In a place that allows it the room to grow, possibly to full potential size without damaging houses, etc..., but certainly accessible so that a manageable size is easy to maintain. Some people refer to this method, but I'm not interested in this method, a forum may be a place to search for success of this method (or not successful results) OR
- In a place that doesn't have the room and is pruned in an obvious, simple way, such as cut to be espalier. Which is what I am excited about trying. link, link, link, link, link, link, link, link,... so many beautiful pictures for inspiration and directions.
- As soon as it comes! Have the hole already dug with the dirt pre-watered and soft, but not still muddy. (roots need oxygen to breath in the ground too!)
- (Assuming you don't have some seriously large equipment and plan on doing a gargantuan hole and tilling in organic (dead) matter,) then just....
- keep it simple, don't add any 'extra' dirt, potting soil or anything. - our dirt is surprisingly suitable for growing - and the extra stuff in the whole may coddle the roots into staying and not reaching out for strength. (although unlikely with this particular type of rootstock and deep/wide watering)
- However, spreading that stuff out on top of the soil everywhere around it (think those mulch circles you've seen in 'wet' parts of the country) even if it is then covered in rocks, then water and worms will take it down with time to where it will help.
- Keep generally moist, using a probe (metal rod that goes as deep down as the roots (2 ft+) make sure that you deep soak the tree, but not so wet that the roots are starved of air and rot.
- Don't fertilize a baby tree at all - they don't want to be thinking about bursts of green growth until their roots are re-established. (see below), However; a truly wonderful and appropriate fertilizer, folar-fed, would be good as a well balanced support. Putting the fertilizer in water and spraying it on (the underside of) the leaves increases absorption by ~80%. (more bang for your buck)
- Don't use synthetic fertilizers such as Miracle Grow -They have that quick burst of results, but (especially when overdosed) will be shortening the life of your soil/life of your plants. And without a "whole food" concept in both the soil and plant, it is actually weakening them, leaving them susceptible to the Planet's cleaners (like predators that take out the weak = the bugs/diseases search out, eat the weak plants).
- We're doing a bulk buy of fertilizer (hopefully) this month ....Its- like- totally- the- coolest- and like- way- awesomest- fertilizer- ever (really!)
- But I'll give info regarding plant nutrition and frugal, effective ....and ... stuff ... in that email/post.
Frozen produce?.... Grow/Buy Local !
Copied and pasted from Sprouts Newsletter:
Depending on the availability from their contracted suppliers will determine what that store's/chain's offers and at what price (except for what they swallow to buffer). Sometimes there are other buffers - such as those rooms or crates of chilled gassed fruit that stores for months since they were harvested.
So what's a person to do? Well survival instinct says stick with the most nutrient dense, but I mean besides that :)
Buy local. This will also have the least amount of petroleum/gas prices worked in. Lucky/Blessed for us, we live in a great climate for food production. Besides having four growing seasons (all year!) it is dry enough to prevent a great many of the problems that other climates have to spray chemicals for (which doesn't always save the crop anyway).
and of course.... Grow your own! Again our climate blessed us with so many options. And generations of people before us have succeeded in producing here. As well as that, but the recent revival of interest in self sufficiency and locally & home grown foods and nutrition has made for an increase in Farmer's markets, and just plain shareable knowledge gained from experience.
How many of us have been 'meaning to get to that', but haven't worked out the kinks yet. I really hope that the year I finally try growing our favorite foods isn't the year that the learning curve makes my tummy growl. The price of seeds is low, but the law of the harvest demands effort to turn that tiny pack of seeds into a satisfying amount of food.
Here's a new link to the Low Desert Gardening Calendar, it is the same as previously referred to.
Since listing EVERYTHING that grows here would be silly and would take ALL night, I'll limit myself to notes regarding the Frozen vegetables:
Tomatoes can be grown here with ease up until the peak of summer, if you shade them, they will survive and continue for another year or more. (obviously they freeze, so protect from frost and freezing.) I learned a great tip recently: Tomatoes stop producing when summer go above 90ish degrees because the pollen dries out before it can set fruit. If you get out in the morning and spray a mixture of 1 tsp baking soda and 1 Quart of water (and some organic fertilizer) into the blossoms, then they will all set fruit.
Count your "days until harvest" accurately : Tomatoes take from 50 days - 80 days from the plant's first blossoms to begin producing with Beefsteak tomatoes typically being over 70 days (the larger they are then the longer they typically take).
Tomato plants take ~10-12 weeks from germination to reach that first blossoming which is about the size and age of the 6 pack to single pack size that is sold in nurseries. Cherry tomatoes These have been easier to grow in my experience because of their more wild nature - they seem more resilient to abuse, obviously however, they still freeze. Only vine-on tomatoes seem to have fared well and remain in strong supply.- These fared different because they are likely referring to greenhouse grown, which are climate controlled.
Vegetables: green and colored bell peppers, Pepper plants can grow year round here (protect from the extremes) and produce nearly the whole year.
cucumbers (80-90% lost in shade houses, 100% in open fields), Cucumbers are a spring crop, with armenian cucumbers working as a summer crop
eggplant (a major loss, and it is too late to replant for this season) this is a summer crop and you can still plant it here. (with some crops this is because we don't freeze in the fall - super long growing season if they don't mind the sun.)
and squash (85-90% lost). all squashes are great here and even though they probably also mean zucchini and summer squash, I suppose this also means a shortage in canned pumpkin again this fall.
Just how much damage did the freezing temperatures in early February cause? Well, a report from the growers we use at this time of year was pretty, um, chilling:That's some serious losses! Especially at a time when prices were already climbing. I talked to a neighbor whose occupation is in grocery/produce and he expressed that produce is at the highest prices he's ever seen with demand far surpassing supply.
Tomatoes: The open-field beefsteaks, vine-ripes and romas were a complete loss. (About 60% of the beefsteaks and vine-ripes are grown in open fields, and about 85% of the romas.) Grape tomatoes and cherry tomatoes were also a total loss. Only vine-on tomatoes seem to have fared well and remain in strong supply.
Beans: Nearly 95% of the crops were lost.
Vegetables: Among the hardest-hit were green bell peppers (70-80% lost), cucumbers (80-90% lost in shade houses, 100% in open fields), eggplant (a major loss, and it is too late to replant for this season) and squash (85-90% lost). Alone among the vegetables, colored bell peppers seem to have done pretty well, although there will still probably be a little spottiness in their availability.
Depending on the availability from their contracted suppliers will determine what that store's/chain's offers and at what price (except for what they swallow to buffer). Sometimes there are other buffers - such as those rooms or crates of chilled gassed fruit that stores for months since they were harvested.
So what's a person to do? Well survival instinct says stick with the most nutrient dense, but I mean besides that :)
Buy local. This will also have the least amount of petroleum/gas prices worked in. Lucky/Blessed for us, we live in a great climate for food production. Besides having four growing seasons (all year!) it is dry enough to prevent a great many of the problems that other climates have to spray chemicals for (which doesn't always save the crop anyway).
and of course.... Grow your own! Again our climate blessed us with so many options. And generations of people before us have succeeded in producing here. As well as that, but the recent revival of interest in self sufficiency and locally & home grown foods and nutrition has made for an increase in Farmer's markets, and just plain shareable knowledge gained from experience.
How many of us have been 'meaning to get to that', but haven't worked out the kinks yet. I really hope that the year I finally try growing our favorite foods isn't the year that the learning curve makes my tummy growl. The price of seeds is low, but the law of the harvest demands effort to turn that tiny pack of seeds into a satisfying amount of food.
Here's a new link to the Low Desert Gardening Calendar, it is the same as previously referred to.
Since listing EVERYTHING that grows here would be silly and would take ALL night, I'll limit myself to notes regarding the Frozen vegetables:
Tomatoes can be grown here with ease up until the peak of summer, if you shade them, they will survive and continue for another year or more. (obviously they freeze, so protect from frost and freezing.) I learned a great tip recently: Tomatoes stop producing when summer go above 90ish degrees because the pollen dries out before it can set fruit. If you get out in the morning and spray a mixture of 1 tsp baking soda and 1 Quart of water (and some organic fertilizer) into the blossoms, then they will all set fruit.
Count your "days until harvest" accurately : Tomatoes take from 50 days - 80 days from the plant's first blossoms to begin producing with Beefsteak tomatoes typically being over 70 days (the larger they are then the longer they typically take).
Tomato plants take ~10-12 weeks from germination to reach that first blossoming which is about the size and age of the 6 pack to single pack size that is sold in nurseries. Cherry tomatoes These have been easier to grow in my experience because of their more wild nature - they seem more resilient to abuse, obviously however, they still freeze. Only vine-on tomatoes seem to have fared well and remain in strong supply.- These fared different because they are likely referring to greenhouse grown, which are climate controlled.
Vegetables: green and colored bell peppers, Pepper plants can grow year round here (protect from the extremes) and produce nearly the whole year.
cucumbers (80-90% lost in shade houses, 100% in open fields), Cucumbers are a spring crop, with armenian cucumbers working as a summer crop
eggplant (a major loss, and it is too late to replant for this season) this is a summer crop and you can still plant it here. (with some crops this is because we don't freeze in the fall - super long growing season if they don't mind the sun.)
and squash (85-90% lost). all squashes are great here and even though they probably also mean zucchini and summer squash, I suppose this also means a shortage in canned pumpkin again this fall.
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