probably the only place where i can easily find my yearly tomato plan lists.
So i haven't put together the lineup for this year, but i'm thinking about last year's list and editing out a few that were just "ok" and putting in some high yielders. I'll be honest, this year i'm going for production not novelty, prices are painful and since i already have the seeds and soil and don't really need to invest anything more in the garden it will be cost effective for us.
Grape/cherry tomatoes: "Egg Yolk" a big fat yellow cherry, never cracks and is pretty meaty for a grape type, really good mid-summer when others are flagging. "black cherry" very reliable in my garden, probably the best tasting. and finally "Sungold" and orange small cherry tomato, cracks after rain but is both the earliest and latest you will have in the garden w/ great sweet flavor and super big yields.
old favorites: "Jersey devil" paste type, not much yield but what you do get is super meaty and heavy and large with very few seeds. "Thorburn's Terra-cotta" a mid-large orange/brown and very tasty, grew it last year with good results. "White Tomesol" really nice yields and flavor for a white, it sets well in the hot weather for us. "Black Beauty" a true black tomato, mid-size with good production. "Paul Robeson" takes forever to grow, you get very few fruits but they are a good size and it's the most yummy of the big tomatoes to my taste-buds. "Pineapple" big, showy red/gold bicolor with a great taste. "Crimson Carmello" a French medium sized tomato w/ great production. "Watermelon Beefsteak" yes another big beefsteak.
OFF the list: "Brad's Atomic" crazy grape-shaped bicolor that sometimes throws plum-shapes - very unstable but tasty and looks amazing. last year we just didn't get enough of them though - they are neat to look and and tasty enough but the other small fruited types win out ... Dutchman & Bloody butcher beefsteaks.
So with 3 off the list i'll be replacing them with "Big Zak" for a late season beefsteak, and probably 2 basic hybrids: Early Girl and Big Boy (or an Italian paste possibly).
The Greenstalk will be lettuce and onion and nappa cabbage only. 2 kales (lucinato) is plenty in the ground along with the thai eggplants (4) green-beans in pots. peppers will be in the ground, 1 habanero, several jalapeno, a poblano and maybe an ancho. 2-3 Jimmy Nardello frying peppers. 3 Italian basil plants. 3 kinds of zucchini in buckets. 2 kinds of cucumbers along trellis. hopefully the rhubarb and fig survive the winter, new zealand spinach self-sown.
in pots (seasonal) oregano, thyme, peas, radishes, parsley
Hanging planters: Nasturtium (mini), orange and cream. ornamental: snapdragon, cerinthe
So there was recently a fun type of "getting to know you" post on Mastodon about the kinds of game consoles you used over the years (all of the major ones lol, but we never owned a Game Cube). And it got me to thinking about the first game that ever developed a CHOKE-HOLD on me which was Tutankham for the Atari. And it wasn't even a really good game but i was absolutely obsessed with all things Egyptian - like there is a concept of a "horse girl" and i think i was a version of that only with Ancient Egypt. If that's an archetype then i fit it :)
Getting my (adult) brother a huge Lego castle set has been the absolute highlight of my early "black friday" Christmas shopping experience. Oh. also finding out that when you get your husband that "Feck Off you Fecking Gobshite" Father Ted memorial coffee mug that the company will put that on the international label as "Fecking Gobshite" >___
My kitty, he don't meow back He ain't got much to say But he loves me, loves me, loves me I know that he loves me anyway And maybe he don't act fine But I don't really mind 'Cause when he purrrrs in my ear I just wanna cheer
Let's hear it for the cat Let's give the cat a hand Let's hear it for my kitty You know you gotta understand Oh, you know his name is Romeo and he's my lovin' one-cat show Oh, whoa-oa-oa Let's hear it for the cat!
My kitty is not house-trained Litter’s a mysteryyyyy But he loves me, loves me, loves me And he’s getting better with the pee And maybe he sings off key But that's alright by me, yeah 'Cause what he does, he does so well Makes me wanna yell
Let's hear it for the cat Ah, let's give the cat a hand Let's hear it for my kitty You know you gotta understand Oh, you know his name is Romeo And he's my lovin' one-cat show Oh, whoa-oa-oa Let's hear it for the cat!
I honestly haven't seen either movie in a smooth decade, but i do recall that Hackers was directly responsible for the worst haircut i ever managed to give myself (in the middle of the night).
(also update - i finally found my poblano seeds in w/ the tomatoes where they should not have been - ugh)
Grape/cherry tomatoes: "Egg Yolk" a big fat yellow cherry, never cracks and is pretty meaty for a grape type, really good mid-summer when others are flagging. "Brad's Atomic" crazy grape-shaped bicolor that sometimes throws plum-shapes - very unstable but tasty and looks amazing. "black cherry" very reliable in my garden, probably the best tasting. and finally "Sungold" and orange small cherry tomato, cracks after rain but is both the earliest and latest you will have in the garden w/ great sweet flavor and super big yields.
old favorites: "Jersey devil" paste type, not much yield but what you do get is super meaty and heavy and large with very few seeds - this is the only paste i'm growing this year. "Thorburn's Terra-cotta" a mid-large orange/brown and very tasty, grew it last year with good results. "White Tomesol" really nice yields and flavor for a white, it sets well in the hot weather for us. "Black Beauty" a true black tomato, mid-size with good production. "Paul Robeson" takes forever to grow, you get very few fruits but they are a good size and it's the most yummy of the big tomatoes to my taste-buds. "Pineapple" big, showy red/gold bicolor with a great taste. "Crimson Carmello" a French medium sized tomato w/ great production. and "Bloody butcher" a good big tasty red, a bit basic and it's a "backup" in case any of the others die.
NEW in the garden: "Dutchman's" a pink beefsteak, "Watermelon Beefsteak" yes another big beefsteak.
So i have to brag about this - our compost that we worked on all last year. It's fucking AMAZING. K did the first turn of the year and we got what would have been maybe 2 bag's worth and top-dressed the areas of our yard we use for vegetables. We actually have quite a lot more mature compost still in the bin but the weekend wasn't enough to work it all in (and now it's snowing, lol). but i just have to say the compost looks and feels INCREDIBLE. rich, loose, dark, loamy and smells clean. I have a plan for including some bone-meal in the mix next year but other than that i'm proud and satisfied.
We planted our crocus bulbs (the ones we harvested our saffron from) so hopefully the return of the snow won't hurt them too badly, they had started to sprout. idk, despite the snow it's actually not terribly cold. 10/10 ready for spring though. I'll be starting my kale and chard indoors this weekend and i think the peppers next weekend, then the tomatoes.
So as a person born in Poland this has been REALLY nerve-wracking for me honestly. I'm one quarter Ukranian (my mom's dad was a Ukie, but we don't really have any connection to that side of the family). As of today it sounds like Poland has taken in about a million refugees, mostly women and children. Such a huge influx in what is really a pretty small country and such a FAST influx is really straining Poland to breaking though and i'm very concerned.
And honestly, i'm also sorry for the Russian soldiers that were told this was going to be a training exercise and now are doing all this shit, dying and killing ... I have to believe nobody wants this shit. And a lot can get much worse, so sorry about being a bit doom and gloom but WHEW.
It's snowing out tonight, and everything is windy and cold and white. Beneath the snow though, the earth is working. the microbes, the leaves decomposing, the seeds freezing their protective coating off so it can break and let the water and sun in when it comes. The Earth is doing her shadow-work .... the hard growth where everything looks the bleakest but where the REAL preparation happens. The gestation before birth, the earth is busier than she looks, underneath everything. This is the time holding the greatest potential, my fellow-gardeners ... before the seeds are planted, when only plans are being made. this is when the magic starts, the true beginning of the growing season that will culminate in harvest. Don't waste it. "Men who look on nature, and their fellow-men, and cry that all is dark and gloomy, are in the right; but the sombre colours are reflections from their own jaundiced eyes and hearts. The real hues are delicate, and need a clearer vision." -Charles Dickens
I'm wondering how long the Facebook/Instagram outage would have to go on before people check if LJ is still around?
Spoiler! it's still around.
fact: in the past year i have really perfected a method for making a perfect boule, crispy dark golden crust, lovely bake etc. It took a good bread flour and a proving basket though ::wink::
i'm already dreading work on Monday, ugh. this vacation (staycation) has been so incredible and ... well i just hope it's not as terribad as i think it will be. ::DEEP BREATHING::
I did manage to accomplish a few things yesterday and today though: I put all of the bulk spices i purchased recently into recycled spice bottles and shaker bottles, labeled everything, put away the bulk spices and then cleared out and/or consolidated the spice cabinet. A few things were tossed (since i had much fresher versions) but for the most part i managed to clean and organize things better and now my spice cabinet looks great and the spices i use the most are close at hand while the holiday baking stuff is on the upper shelf and stacked. I still have a lot of the overflow in the pantry but things are BETTER and i'll take it.
So on FB it turns out that either due to the instability brought about by Covid or by the current political or a rancid combination of the two, people are more interested in "prepping" than they used to be. Here is a quick and dirty rundown of the most common prepping advice (minus shit about guns and ammo and the zombie of Obama coming to take your guns or whatever).
You can start out with the FEMA Guide to personal preparedness which is a great place for beginners to start. I also highly recommend reading the LDS prepper manual from 2011 if you want to get into safe and effective long-term storage. If you don't have the time to read that, at least:
Make sure you have 3 days of shelf-stable food and 3 days of water on hand. Assume you need at minimum 1 gallon of water per day. Consider food you don't have to cook: prepared soups (i like Amy's Organics and Campbell's "Well Yes"), fruit cups, crackers, juices, cereals, breakfast bars, etc. or things that are shelf-stable and quickly prepared (like Hormel "Compleats" meals, ready in 60 seconds). Consider what you could eat if the power/electric/gas goes out. ONLY buy things you like to eat and will eat! These items expire and will need to be eaten within a year or so, then you should replace them.
Medical: Have a backup for all of your regular medications if possible and any over-the-counter medications you might need (tylenol, mydol, mucinex, theraflu, allergy meds etc.) and a basic first-aid kit.
Sanitation: Have a backup sanitation plan for if the sewer backs up or your plumbing goes out (as little as a bucket w/ trashbag liner - or more fancy stuff), as well as backups for toilet paper, kleenex, shampoo, soap, dental floss, toothpaste/toothbrush, moist towelettes, deodorant, feminine hygiene etc.
Prepare for emergencies most likely in your area (floods? earthquakes? Tornadoes?) have an evacuation plan that your whole family knows. In Chicago the likeliest disasters are winter storms and power outages, with a small chance of flooding or wind damage. Of course fire can happen to anyone, anywhere.
Here is what we have chosen to keep on hand ( Collapse )
Here is a list of online shops where you can buy long-term, long storing food (fine to store between 10 years and 30 years depending on the item) which has been Freeze-dried and stored in either sealed mylar bags or #10 cans. These need to be kept in a relatively cool and dark place to retain their full shelf-life. I've omitted places like Honeyville who currently do not really have stock.
The best tasting and most easy to make of the "good for 30+ years" storage food is generally considered to be Mountain House. It's backpacker's food and generally higher in sodium than most others so it's not recommended you eat it for more than a few days. I recommend a 3-day supply per person, you can buy a 3-day kit on the main site or sometimes it goes on sale here at Midway, they often have free shipping codes as well. if you DO NOT want to make a donation to the NRA you need to click the ticky-box so you don't inadvertently do that upon checkout.
If you have room to store items like rice, beans, sugar, flour, pasta etc. The most cost-effective option is buying cases of 6 #10 cans each from the LDS Store. No you do not need to be a member of the church to buy but you do need to make an account. Most things are out of stock BUT if there is a price listed you can order and you'll probably get it shipped in 2-3 weeks in my experience. this is the most cost-effective source in my opinion (unless you want to store your own rice/beans in buckets in mylar bags - for me i'd rather let the experts do the work and be 100% sure my food is properly preserved).
you can also buy long term food "buckets" from the following( Collapse )
So we live in the "Hermosa" neighborhood of Chicago, in the "Bungalow Belt" of houses built around 1918-1920 that is sometimes called Belmont Gardens. Which sounds really nice. But we are *also* on the Northwest side of Chicago which is not North enough to be in a "good" neighborhood but not quite WEST-west enough to be really bad i guess ... still there has been a lot of gang-tagging and gang-related shootings recently. A few people got shot maybe 5 or 6 blocks away recently, and we hear gunfire at night. Last night it sounded like semi-automatic and this morning it's a report that 5 blocks away another guy got shot in the leg. there are bloody footprints in front of the building where he tried to hobble away (a neighbor posted pics).
Who the fuck starts a gang-war during a Pandemic?? This is some "... and then the ice-weasels came" level shit, even for Chicago.
also i'm having a really crap time at work and things are mentally kind of hard, but i'm fighting to get something positive done every day. Yesterday i put some rhubarb seeds in a small pot to try and start that for my mom since she has mentioned wanting a plant.
also, yesterday there was an 8-car parade w/ balloons for someone's 40th birthday and i thought that was fun and cute and a responsible way to celebrate, until those cars parked and all those people filed into the apartment building at the end of the block O_______O,
and then ...
and then ...
THEN ...
(you will not believe this shit but i swear to God on my life this is true)
THEN!!
A Mariachi guy got out of a car w/ his guitar and went in. a motherfucking Mariachi. this pack of morons was celebrating someone's 40th motherfucking birthday with goddamn mariachi band. during a pandemic.
and that, in a nutshell, is why we are all going to die.
in general, my money is solidly on the Mormons (LDS community). Apparently preparing for disaster/famine is a part of their practice (i did not know this until a few days ago) and they seem to be prepared with food, water and and sanitary necessities for up to a year. Like, the average pantry has enough shelf-stable provisions for a year or more and the stuff (freeze dried) can last between 15 and 25 years :D
I'm in AWE. Because i thought i was a nutter having a second pantry and that i knew how to deal w/ shortages due to being born and raised in Communist Poland but i have to doff my cap to these guys, going through the LDS blogs i actually picked up some great tips!
LDS recommended items also seem to be more economical, more practical (in terms of stack-ability and storage), and have a shorter shelf-life. On the other hand survivalist stuff tends to come in cool ammo crates ::finger guns::
so a friend posted a question today "name 5 Things you loved when you were younger and now you can't quite figure out what the fuss was about." and i could only think of two. 1) Strawberry Quick (i used to have it with Frankenberry cereal, i never liked milk and Quick made it palatable and i REALLY loved the silt that developed between the cereal and the strawberry milk. Now i couldn't drink it if you paid me, REVOLTING!!! 2) Mosh Pits. I can tell you at the ripe age of 45 going on 46 that if i can live out the rest of natural days having never stepped a foot in a mosh pit ever again i will be thankful. The very thought of some 300 pound Yob taking me out at the knees or backhanding me with a gorilla-swing is too much. oh, and i thought of one more thing 3) The A Team. That was actually a fucking terrible show, but it was my JAM when i was a kid
so being a human being humaning in the world with other humans is hard. It's hard for everyone to some degree, and it's made harder by imperfect understanding and imperfect communication methods. Even when interactions involve Good People, things still go sort of pear-shaped from time to time.
Now i say that to say this ... if you see me out here saying something out of pocket, something inadvertently racist or inadvertently trans-phobic or classist or ableist or ageist or anything like that and you think to yourself, "WOW, yuck, did she mean to say that? that's gross" and like i have really swerved out of my lane and you are wondering if you should say something or not, here are two things to consider:
1) i recognize it is not your responsibility to educate me. if you need to protect your good mental space or your good energy and you don't want to get into it, i totally understand that.
2) I will appreciate it if you say it to me. You know, preferably privately if it's going to be a little harsh, and maybe i will not fully appreciate it in the moment because my feelings might be a little hurt because i did not MEAN to be out of pocket ... but i will appreciate it and hopefully i will be able to thank you for trusting me enough to tell me the truth. If i don't get it, i will still try and thank you, and maybe ask for a little time to think about it and sit with it so i can understand where i went wrong ... again, i will do my absolute best to manage my feelings in the moment.
In the end, i hope you see it as not just having to educate me, but investing in me as a friend. the more i get it, the better a friend i can be to you. I can only hope that any learning /teaching moments will pay big dividends in our friendship and in the good friend that i can be to others.
we are all works in progress. we all should be working to make ourselves better day by day. but yes sometimes a little hand up (or a wee bit of a slap-down! lol) is necessary.
thoughtful
pleased
amused
accomplished
sad