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Waging War on the Ants
Fire Ant Colony 4, building their nest this afternoon before I attacked (The attack was like a really moving Pasodoble on SYTYCD… one that brings Nigel to tears and has the angsty pre-teen audience on their feet screaming when they should be sitting in awestruck silence): The thought crossed my mind this afternoon that it was possible that my entire back yard is one giant fire ant nest and what I thought were separate colonies are really just the various…
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Saffron Rice Stuffed Peppers
Last summer my bell peppers were sad due to the failed “Pillar of Peppers” experiment, but this year they have been growing large and fleshy and great for stuffing. We’ve already have two dinners with plenty leftovers, and it looks like we will get to have them again tonight! Last summer I posted a recipe for Three Cheese Stuffed Peppers which used bread crumbs and mushrooms, but this summer I have been enjoying using Mahatma Saffron Yellow Rice. This recipe…
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Okra Seed Saving
Saving okra seeds is as simple as letting an okra pod grow until it has dried on the plant, breaking it open and pouring out the seeds. Seeds that are ready are greenish-black and hard. Seeds that are not ready are soft and white. However, if you are growing more than one kind or have neighbors that are growing a different breed, cross-pollination is very likely. Cross-pollination can lead to pods whose seeds won’t be the same as the parent…
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The Walk of Shame
This morning I went to the farmer’s market to buy the things that I tried to grow. Yes, this is probably a gardener’s greatest walk of shame. However, for $20 I came out with 6 lbs of peaches, 7 ears of silver queen, a pint of blueberries, three squash, two zucchini, and four sweet potatoes. Twenty dollars would not have covered my water bill to grow all of that successfully. Backing up a bit, I first went to school to…
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Ugly Tomato
If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, never make pretty tomatoes your strife. So from my personal point of view, let ugly tomatoes grow for you! I just ate a really ugly tomato that tasted AMAZING! Based on the flavor and its inside appearance, I think this was a “Red Kiss of Summer” that came from the harvested seeds of a different tomato. Last summer I had labeled one tomato as red and one as pink…
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Fall Gardening
Remember how last year I made a big hoopla about fall gardening? Well I missed the planting dates for most things other than broccoli and garlic, my spinach refused to sprout, and then bugs ate up all my broccoli. I am determined that this fall will be better, but first I must go ahead and clear some space! Here are some fall planting dates for North Carolina, taken straight from this leaflet provided by NC Cooperative Extension Services. I’ve highlighted…
