Bearded Iris Update. 26 Oct 2023.

 These are the bearded irises that I planted early to mid Sept. in containers.  I've kept the containers on the walls of the cement block raised beds, where they get the most sunlight and also are very easy to pick out tiny weed seedlings before they establish.

These are the rhizomes that I cleaned up from my old iris plantings, which had become weedy and I could not care for the last couple of years.  So far, I think they look excellent.

I don't know if it's good they are putting on so much growth before hard winter begins.  Just have to wait and see.  Irises are rugged.  I don't know that they are even as prone to rot as some writers state.  My main challenge has been fungal and bacterial leaf diseases.  I hope that growing them in a well draining, fresh, potting soil helps with that.  

A couple of those rhizomes are quite large.  Fingers crossed for blooms next Spring.

These are the new varieties that I bought, which I planted in mid Sept.

They haven't grown quite as much as the old rhizomes that I cleaned up, but they seem to be establishing nicely too.

I've also been removing all of the old leaves as they turn brown and soften.  Maybe that will help with disease prevention.

Red Hot Pepper Pepper Sauce. 26 Oct 2023.

 Here's the hot peppers sauce.  I filtered it through a sieve for liquid hot sauce, like Tabasco sauce.  I like this better,  It's hotter and richer due to the added garlic and fermentation.  Fermented hot sauce contains lactic acid (like yogurt and sauerkraut), whereas the commercial version has acetic acid (like vinegar).  

This time it was mostly Serrano peppers (especially the hybrid variety, Altiplano) with some Thai and Tabasco peppers for extra heat.

The pulp is also good for cooking, so I saved that too.

This is a really rewarding project, from starting seeds to making sauce.

Progress On Renovated Raised Bed. 26 Oct 2023.

 Today I installed about 90% of the plastic lining for the renovated raised bed.

My helper poured two buckets of good garden soil in the trench on one side.  I smoothed it.  That will get some trench composting of kitchen scraps for a few weeks, before fully covering.

If one is going to use this type of slotted cornerstone / 2x6 structure, the higher rebar with drilled 2x4s for strengthening are necessary.  I learned the hard lesson, without those strengtheners it will gradually splay outward and fall apart.  Then it's a LOT of work renovating it.

I do want to stain the 2x4s and maybe the sides, but that has to wait for dry season, maybe April or May.

Winterizing The Music and Lorz Garlic Bed. 26 Oct 2026.

 Today I raked red maple leaves and spread them on the Music and Lorz garlic bed.

Before spreading the leaves, I scattered coffee grounds on the surface.  I usually throw the paper filters into the compost, but why?  They are just wood cellulose, which is most of what is in the leaves.  So I laid the coffee filters on the ground before spreading leaves on top, so they would not look untidy.

This year, I kept the leaf mulch on the garlic bed until harvest.  That meant, zero weeds.  Great garlic crop, too.

Planting German Red Garlic. 26 Oct 2023.

 This year's supply of garlic is already getting low.  I decided to plant another four rows for next year.

German Red is described as pungent and highly flavored, which we would like.  The bulbs in the package had about 9 cloves each, so four bulbs made almost exactly four rows of nine cloves each.  

German Red is a hard neck, Rocambole type.

This being German garlic, maybe it should be called  "Knoblauch",  but I'll probably forget that.

This half of this raised bed had tomato plants until I cleared them out today.

I gave them organic vegetable fertilizer, but no other soil improvement.  I'll save coffee grounds and eggshells for a surface treatment, before covering with tree leaves for the winter.

Fig Harvest. 21 Oct 2023.

 The fig trees have produced a lot of figs to dry, over the past two or three weeks.  Oven the Brunswick and Smith varieties.  The Brunswick figs are larger and have tan centers.  The Smith are richer flavor, red centers, but both are very sweet.

I'm dehydrating most of them for use this winter.

Final Post, Overwintering Chili Pepper Plants. 21 Oct 2023.

 The pepper plants that survived the winter, did go on to produce peppers.  There was "good" and "not-so-good".

The Thai peppers did the best of all.  They were much larger and much more productive than my first year Thai peppers.

The Tabasco peppers also did well. Also better than first year plants.

The Serrano did not do well at all.  First year Serranos did better  (No photo).  Similar for the Jalapeño, below.  Not bad, in the end, but no really better than new plants.

I'll have to see if the Cayenne labels are legible.  I'm not sure which is which.

In the end, it was fun seeing if the pepper plants would overwinter.  More than half survived.  Some did really well, and others just "OK".  I wont do it this winter, opting instead for new plants.  

Also, one first year plant that was unlabeled looks like it might be another Tabasco.  Or maybe, Thai.  It was a very pretty plant, and made lots of tiny peppers.

The large growing bag containers, contained in a planter and with drip irrigation, worked out nicely for the peppers.  I think the really small ones - Thai and Tabasco - might do equally well in a container flower garden.  

Fermenting Hot Peppers for Pepper Sauce. 21 Oct 2023

 I harvested enough hot peppers to make a couple of batches of hot sauce.

That's good, because that's the main reason I grew them.  Most are a hybrid Serrano type called "Altiplano" but there are also some non-hybrid Serranos, Thai, and Tabasco peppers for more hotness.  Also some red-ripe Jalapeños, which sweeten when red.  The hybrid Serranos are much larger and more productive, than the non-hybrids, and have good flavor and hotness.

These are in a brine, with some crushed garlic, a touch of sugar to feed the fermentation, and a sauerkraut juice inoculum (1 tbsp) for lots of lactic acid bacteria.  After three days, there are lots of bubbles.

Soon I will process them and filter for liquid hot sauce and save the solids for cooking. 

Raised Bed Repairs. 21 Oct 2023

 This is another of the raised beds built with tinker-toy-like method.  I think the corner stones are a product called "Old Castle" stone planter blocks.  The center has a hole, for rebar to make them stay in place.  The sides have slots for the boards.

Unfortunately, the blocks tend to settle.  I think moles undermine them.  I don't think they are intended to be stacked three-high, but that's the height I want.  After a few years, the sides were sloping outwardand soon at risk of falling over.

Above photo is after repair.    Below photo is before repair.  I dug out the soil on one side, so I could move the blocks and boards.  Unfortunately, I wound up having to dig out and move all four sides and corner stones.

Here is a corner after digging it out.   I flattened and raised the soil a bit, pulled out the 2 foot rebar and replaced with three foot rebar.

The longer rebar goes a little deeper, but also sticks out the top.  I cut 2x4, preserved boards (upcycled from fencing) to make braces.  After drilling holes for the rebar, they look like the top photo.  They won't let the corner blocks lean outwards, and wont allow sideways movement either.

Next, I'll replace the plastic liner so wood is not against soil, to delay / reduce rotting.  Then add a few buckets of soil to replenish settling effect.  Finally, I want to stain the 2x4 braces so they last longer, and because I like the look better, lime the bed in the foreground of the top photo. 

The 2x4's give a nicer finished look, and I can also sit on them for so e garden tasks.

Green Bean Crop. 9 Oct 2023.

 This is a bit delayed.  Last week I harvested green beans, the last of the sauce tomatoes, and some nore figs.

I cut, blanched, and froze the green beans.  I spread the beans on a sheet pan to freeze, then transferred to a freezer bag.

I didn't weigh them, but I estimate the green bean yield as about 15 pounds this year, spread over a few harvests.  It was a lot of beans.

Nemagon Mustard Cover Crop. 9 Oct 2023

 Last week I harvested all of the green beans, and cut up all of the plants.  Then I added chopped marigold plants to the soil, covered by leaf mould from last fall.  

I should add, the rhizobium inoculant carried over from a bean crop, grown two years ago.  The roots all had nice nitrogen-fixing nodules.

This area will have tomatoes next year.  The soil level has dropped, so I added about three inches of soil from a fallow atea that has nit grown to atoes or potatoes for several years.  Then I sowed Nemagon mustard seeds, for green manure crop / winter groundcover / soil benefits for tomatoes. I watered them in, and in a week there are mustard seedlings germinating.

If I can, I'd like to do the same for the other tomato bed for this year.  So far, I'm half way through adding soil and sowing mustard seeds there.

Completed Tropical Shirt Quilt, with Flannel Backing. 9 Oct 2023

 Here's the completed tropical shirt quilt.  I'm pretty happy with the result.

The backing is cotton flannel.  I found a good quality, unused flannel fitted queen size sheet at the thrift store, for $6.  It seemed thicker than flannel fabric at the fabric store, softer, and I was able to use one large piece instead of piecing narrower ones together.  After starching, cutting off the elastic and seamed parts, it was large enough for this quilt and a little left over.

I think the starch helped a lot.  It was fairy stiff and didn't stretch and deform while sewing.  On the other hand, my newer Brother sewing machine didn't work for this quilt - the tension settings were either too much or too little, and it skipped stitches.  I tried denim needle and titanium quilting needle.  I switched to the old Kenmore machine, added the titanium quilting needle and walking foot, and it went very smooth and fast.  Also, no bunching up of backing, no creases or pleats.  

After washing with an extra rinse to get out all of the starch, and drying to fluff up the batting and flannel, this quilt is very warm and comfortable.  

Since the pattern was much simpler, and I did not have to piece the backing, this quilt came together much faster than most.   Plus, instead of taping each line to quilt, I mostly used the guide on the walking foot - set at two inches - the quilting went a lot faster too, with fewer challenges.

Pawpaws and Chestnuts. 9 Oct 2023.

 The chestnut trees are making some nice nuts now.  I planted the trees about six years ago,  They are grafted varieties, hybrids of Japanese with European species.  They are disease resistant, and can pollinate each other.

The pawpaws surprised me by making a nice crop.  I did hand-pollinate them.  All of the grafted tops died off, and now they are multi-trunked trees of the rootstocks.  I put protective mesh bags on the fruits this summer, and thinned them to a few per bunch.

The pawpaws have a nice flavor, mild, sort of like mango.  The texture is like avocado.They are nicecto have as a treat.

The chestnuts are starchy, like potato.  Roasted in the air fryer with some oil and salt, they remind me a bit of French Fries.

Tropical Shirt Quilt. The Top is Completed. 19 Sept 2023

 Here's the completed quilt top.

I'm actually kind of pleased with the result.

First I combined squares into pairs, and sewed those together.  I left out 2 of each type, for row ends.

The seams are ironed toward the darker square, so the nest when sewn to the next row.  The other seams were ironed open so they will be flat.

I questioned whether I left enough un-sewn, so I laid them all out on the sunroom floor.

Well, they were OK.  So I sewed together the pairs, building up to eight rows.

At this point, I'm ironing all seams toward the darker squares.  I'm also checking my photo of the layout that I liked, so I get it right.

Then U sewed together the rows, this time ironing the seams open.  Result is at the top.

Next step, batting is ordered on Amazon, USA grown and manufactured.  The Chinese imported is cheaper, but there's the slave labor issue, so I paid more for a US small company product.

Also, the flannel backing.  I'll starch, press, and sew that in the next few days.

Tropical Shirt Quilt. Squares Are Ready. 18 Sept 2023.

 This went pretty fast.  All of squares are completed, each consisting of two rectangles.  Since this was different from my original plan, each square needed just a bit of trimming in order to have true squares.  That gave me a chance to even up some irregular edges, so it was a good thing.

I'm using my trusty pre-digital, 1990s (I think) Kenmore sewing machine.  I enjoy sewing in this machine, more than any other.

I printed out a photo of the lay-out, to help me assemble the squares.

Fig Harvest. 18 Sept 2023.

 There were a few ripening figs on the Hardy Chicago Fig tree.

I sliced them into halves, and put them in the dehydrator to dry.

Some New Bearded Irises For A Container. 18 Sept 2023.

 These are rhizomes that I bought via mail order.

The varieties are "Seward", "Frimousse",  "Twist of Sheree", and "Lemon Cloud".  The rhizomes are healthy looking, but I imagine that 2024 will just be a year of growth, preparing to bloom in 2025.  Who knows what will happen by then?  It's a bit on an act of faith, planting them.

Depending on how well they grow, they will probably need more room in two years.  Wait and see.

Transferring Seed-Grown Echinacea "Cherokee Spirit" to Container. 16 Sept 2023.

 This is one of the Echinacea "Cherokee Spirit" that I grew from seeds late last winter.  It's interesting, the plants grown from seeds that I did not stratify, are blooming earlier than the ones I did stratify.

I liked the color of this one the best so far, so I dug it up and transferred to a container with potting soil.  Before planting, I washed off most of the garden soil.

It was a little stressed.  I knew I was taking a taking a chance, possibly killing the plant.  The daytime temperature high has been in the mid to high eighties, although nights drop into the sixties.  But so far, just minimal wilting and that perks up in the evening.  I'm keeping the plant in the cool shade on the north side of the house, so far.  I also pruned off the oldest flower.

Tropical Shirt Quilt. 16 Sept 2023.

 I changed my idea about the layout for this quilt, and changed a couple of fabrics.  Now, this is the layout.

The top row is a bit off, which I will correct when sewing together.  Also, with this layout, I need to piece together blocks from two fabrics, in order to have enough.   I think they are busy enough, it won't show.  

This quilt is eight shirts for the top, and will be one more for the binding.   The blocks are all 5" by 10".

My original idea was a brick pattern, similar to this -

I think the new arrangement looks much better.  The blocks are the same, except no 5 inch square pieces for the ends.  With the new arrangement, the blocks will lose 1/2 inch due to paired 1/4 inch seam allowances on the other end, I think.  That's a decrease of two inches in total length and width, I think, which is OK.

Saving Tomato Seeds. 16 Sept 2023.

 I saved seeds for Rona VF and Dwarf Eagle Smiley.

First, I chose the nicest looking tomatoes.

Halved them.

Scooped out pulp with seeds.

Transferred to a jar, covered with labeled coffee filter.

These will ferment for a few days, then I'll rinse off the seeds and let them dry on the coffee filter.

Freezing Roma Tomatoes. 16 Sept 2023.

 I blanched and skinned a batch of Romas, then quartered them.  Each package is two cups.

I made eight bags.  I think this will be the plan for the final crop, too.

The Supremos seem to hold their shape better, while the Roma VF seem to release more juice.  Mixed together works out nicely.