Making an Outdoor Stove Cover. 7.16.22.

 The outdoor cooking station is almost done.  Ning did most of the work, although I did the framing.   The old concrete patio needed some leveling compound, and we had the stone tiles in the garage.  It still needs a backsplash so the house siding isn't splatter stained.

I ordered some oil cloth and made a cover for the range.  No pattern, just measurements.

I've been calling this a summer kitchen, but that might be an exaggeration.  Cooking station seems more accurate.  Still, now baking and range too cooking can be outdoors, and not heat up the house.   With the roof, we can cook if there is light rain.  

Next, I'll make a cover for the propane tank, and side shades so the wind doesn't blow the stove top flames too much.  The stove cover was a test - I've never sewn oil cloth before.  It's a learning curve but went OK overall.  I used denim-strength polyester thread on the old Morris sewing machine.

Cherry Pie. 7.16.22

 The pie cherries ripened.  There were almost no sweet cherries this year, and fewer pie cherries.  Still, there were enough pie cherries to make filling for three pies.

I used the outdoor stove this time.  It worked perfectly.  I think it needed less gas to heat compared to inside cooking, because it was a hot afternoon.  Also, baking it didn't heat up the kitchen.

I like glass pie plates.  I think they make a great crust.  You can also look to make sure the crust browned properly.

This time I used Clear Jel starch instead of flour.   The filling is more clear, and redder.p instead of pink.

I made two batches of pie filling and froze them.  They will keep a year in the freezer.  It's much easier and faster to make a pie from a frozen filling, instead of fresh.  I think the flavor is the same.

More Container-Grown Potatoes. Planting Bush Beans. 7.16.22

 This is the second batch of container-grown red potatoes. 

Compared to the same starts, grown in the ground, the container grown potatoes had nicer, finer skin, no scabbiness, were a bit oblong instead of round.  The flavor is the same.   Size is similar.  I think the container grown made for more potatoes, much easier harvest.  Photo:  grown in ground, on the top.  Container grown, on the bottom.

I have other varieties that I can do the same comparison.   We'll see how those turn out. 

Meanwhile, I thought the soil mix in those containers was too water retentive.  The bottoms were soggy.  I found an unused partial bag of cactus soil and another of perlite, and mixed those into to soil in the bags.  That should improve drainage.  Then I planted bush bean seeds in the modified soil mix.

This is the variety "Blue Lake".  I grew them last year, good bean with good yield.

With beans, peas, corn, a cover is needed so birds so up all of the seeds and eat them.

Pollinating Squashes. 7.23.22

Squashes are one of my favorites.  They are bee pollinated, and it seems like there are few bees this year.  Especially honeybees.  I hand pollinate anyway. 

Here is the big squash patch, with Burgess Buttercup, Saffron Summer Squash, and Costata Romanesco Summer Squash (zucchini).  That last one is monstrous in size.

I want at least one of each to be pure, so that I can save seeds for next year and have them predictable.  I seek male and female flowers about to open, and cover them with organza gift bags.  Then tomorrow I can use the males to pollinate the same variety females.  That way, I don't have to worry about the few bees that are there, cross pollinating different varieties.

The squash plants are interesting.  Fordham Zucchini and Galeux d'Eysines so far have made only male flowers, and Burgess Buttercup and Dakota Dessert Squash made only females until today.  The Costata and Saffron made both, but initially Saffron made only female flowers.  So just for eating, I cross pollinated Saffron squash with Costata pollen (They are the same species), which worked fine.  Later in the summer, I want to save seeds from those too, so will isolate those flowers in a month or so.

There actually are some native pollinating insects, as seen on these cilantro flowers.

Here are the other squashes, among fruit trees and other plants.

Today's Harvest, Raspberries, Spuds, and Summer Squash. 7.13.22

 I really like it when the summer squashes start bearing.  I planted less this year so I won't be overwhelmed.

The potatoes were from sprouted grocery potatoes I planted late winter in a fabric container.  Not a massive harvest, three pounds and a few ounces from one container.  Still, not bad.

Star Quilt Progress. 7.13.22

 So far I surprised myself with the first four star blocks.

As with two other quilts, these are made from fabric from second hand men's 100% cotton shirts.  Some features are fabric left over from previous quilts.  Those were fabrics I especially liked.  I have to be creative in their use because only small amounts remain.

These took longer because of the white backgrounds.  I have a crinkly white fabric that I used, to add texture.  However, it's so thin I was concerned the batting would show through.  So I used spray basting to bond them to a heavier white fabric.  The spray basting will wash away when the final quilt is laundered, leaving the two layers much softer but with the nice crinkly look on the surface.

Now comes a bit of a dilemma.   Each fabric is in a limited amount.  I have to vary it so I make the best use of each.  The shapes are irregular, so it's difficult for me to decide how far each piece will go.  I thought I might alternate these with the darker blue, with lighter blue stars.  Here is a comparison.  The light blue one isn't sewn together yet, so it is larger.

I don't think I like the lighter color for the star.  The other fabrics - the grey and the background - are in short supply, but I think I have enough of the dark blue for at least the next four (out of thirteen total) blocks, and who knows, maybe all thirteen.  The grew and white parts will have to be more diverse, which I think will add variety.

I will play with it and see what happens.

Apple Grafting Results So Far. 7.9.22

 This year I only did three grafts.  That was in March.  The scion was from Maine, varieties that are historic or disease resistant.

The first was the disease resistant variety "Freedom".  Freedom was released by the New York Ag Experiment Station in Geneva, in 1958.  It is multiple disease resistant.

Here is how the graft looks now.  It has healed nicely.  The leaves had an aphid infestation and are sad looking, but I think that is over.

Today I pruned a lot of new growth on the lower tree, including any new growth occurring below the graft.  I also pruned the graft to make it make branches for the espalier arms.

This was the graft when I did it.  I'm using Freedom for the top two tiers of a four-tier espalier.  The lower two are the red flesh RedLove Odysso. (TM)  It was a difficult graft.  The wood was very hard, my knife was dull, and I wasn't doing well at the time.  Still, apple trees are resilient, I had it wrapped tightly, and it took.

The second on was a graft of the ancient, historic variety "Blue Pearmain", on another red flesh espalier "RedLove Era" (TM).  I don't think Era is turning out that well, but the Blue Pearmain might give me something to look forward to.  Again, the intent is top two tiers will be "Blue Pearmain", bottom two will be the red flesh variety.

That graft was similar to the first, except I was able to do a Whip and Tongue graft this time, which I like better.  This one took too.  I also pruned this one to force branching and remove some competing growth from the understock.

The last one was the variety "Mutsu".  I had a rootstock that had survived a lot of neglect and mistreatment, and I used that.  The rootstock was the variety "Geneva 222", a highly dwarfing type.  So far, it's still in a plant container.  The scion was tiny and flimsy.  I was only able to match up the cambium on one side.

Here is the Mutsu now.  Only the side with matching cambium has healed so far.  But, if that side healed, it's promising that so will the other side later.  This tree will need a lot of TLC.  For one thing, it needs to go on the drip line, for consistent watering.

The bad side

The good side

A Zucchini and a Saffron Summer Squash. 7.9.22

 The first Costata romanesca Zucchini, and the first Saffron Summer Squash, but today.

Pawpaws, Persimmons, Plums, Peaches. 7.9.22

 Those little pawpaws continue to swell.

The persimmons are beginning to swell, too.

Lots of plums this year.

Genetic Dwarf Peach, Garden Gold

"Figcam". 7.9.22

 Not a live cam, just photo updates.

Desert King.

Lattarula.  Not only are the early summer ("Breba") figs continuing to grow, but buds are growing for the fall ("Main Crop") figs.  I counted about 50 figs on this tree.

Yes those sneaky, evil, mean, ravenous yellow jackets have been sending out scouts.   Back at the nest, the platoon is asking ("Where are Bob, and Steve, and Fernando?  They've been gone to two days").  Maybe I should put out more traps.  I don't like killing things, but yellow jackets are vicious and not only have stung me but also Rufus.  And they occupy and destroy every fig on the tree, if not trapped first.

Petite aubique.  Or as I call Monsieur Heartbreak" because he promises the most tasty, delicious figs, then they all too often ripen too late and become moldy during fall rains.  Will Monsieur Heartbreak break my heart again this year?