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w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Here you go Mr. Yan:
  1. Wash/scrub the carrots in cold water.
  2. Cut the tops off & slice them 1/4" thick cross-wise into disks .
  3. Blanch carrots for 2 minutes (this is kill any bacteria & keep them a bright orange).
  4. After blanching, plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
  5. Drain well in a colander & spread in a single layer on a dehydrator tray.
 
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ksk

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Next Arctic front is forecast a week from tomorrow.Hopefully I will get one more mess of mustard greens.Fried chicken,cabbage, and chocolate pie for supper.
 
wolffman

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Onions are almost back to normal. Granex got hit the hardest by the ice followed by the 10-15's. The Reds are doing really well and were largely unaffected.

Gave all of them another shot of micronutrient right before dark.
 
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w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Went to town to get our hair cuts.

Put out the molasses tubs for the cattle.

Bottled up all the dehydrated carrots.

Started pulling the leftover plants from the garden & gave them to the cattle.

Got a pot of pinto beans seasoned up & soaking for tomorrow.
 
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wolffman

wolffman

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I redesigned the flag badge this morning because I thought the first was a little bulky. Here it is with a quick coat of black paint (not the best paint job). I intend to use epoxy flat black for the finished product.

I need some help from my fellow gardeners who own firearms! How much would you expect to see this product sold for at a shop??
Honest responses are appreciated.

​
DSC_0718a.jpg
 
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ksk

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Continue to build planter boxes.Started prepping last years boxes for Spring garden.
 
w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Watered all the trees & the asparagus bed. There are 4 asparagus spears that came up overnight!!!

Put out another suet block for the birds.

Sprayed Flex-Seal on the interior of the porch pots. Will spray another coat tomorrow.

Put out 3 more rolls of hay & mineral blocks for the cattle.

Septic tank guy came out & replaced the timer & one sprinkler head, so we're good to go.
 
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w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Picked up additional bags of topsoil this morning so I can continue planting the remaining Lirope after I enlarge the front flowerbeds.

Received my Roku Ultra today, so I can finally try streaming (which I wanted to do for over a year). I'll hook it up sometime this weekend since starting my veggie seeds is my priority.

Received the leek sets & hope to get them planted this weekend as well.
 
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ksk

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Finished seven planter boxes and placed them in place.Bought lumber for six more.Watered onions [1.3 in January].Tomorrow I plan on cutting the last of the mustard greens and start prepping boxes for potatoes.Next week I plan adding a few more fruit trees and ordering a load of garden soil.
 
w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Hooked up & configured the Roku Ultra last night after Mrs. Ranch went to bed. We're in business!!! Watched a documentary on the making of 'The Bomb', LOL!!! I'll show Mrs. Ranch how the Roku box works & turn her loose while I start planting seeds.

Made bread.

Planted the jalapeno & green pepper seeds in the starter pots. Watered them in & put them in the greenhouse.

Started the beginning -of-the-month chores.
 
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Mr_Yan

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@whistech how do you like the fingerling vs traditional size potatoes? I need to plan my rows for this season and could switch to a fingerling for a row or two. One year I did a Russian banana fingerling but the whole potato crop was a bust.
 
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Mr_Yan

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These long weeks have to end soon. Didn't even see my kids Thursday or Friday.

Have a small hyrdoponic system in the basement. Think I should expand it to a wall based vertical system then I can move it from the garage wall for the summer to the basement wall (with lights) for the winter.
 
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whistech

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Location
Spring, Texas
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9a
Mr_Yan said:
@whistech how do you like the fingerling vs traditional size potatoes? I need to plan my rows for this season and could switch to a fingerling for a row or two. One year I did a Russian banana fingerling but the whole potato crop was a bust.
Click to expand...

I started growing fingerling potatoes about 4 years ago. I started with the Russian Banana fingerling because I read it would grow pretty well where I live. What I found was when canned, the fingerling potato remained firmer than the normal red potatoes I had grown before. Last year, I saw an advertisement at a seed company named Seeds and Such that had the Austrian Crescent fingerling seed potatoes on sale for half price and free shipping (came out to about $4.00 pound) so I ordered 5 pounds and planted them. I believe I harvested around 60 pounds of potatoes from the 5 pounds I planted. Since potatoes do not keep well where I live I canned what I thought I wound not eat fresh in a couple of months. Again, the canned potatoes stay pretty firm (I had a jar of them last night for supper along with a jar of green beans).

I saved about 7 pounds from last years harvest in the crisper drawer of my garage fridge for planting this year and they kept extremely well. That is what I planted last Thursday. As far a what I like better for fresh eating, I would prefer the traditional red potatoes because that is what grew up eating and I think they have a much richer, buttery taste but after being canned I prefer the fingerling potatoes because they hold up better and provide a firmer, better tasting product. Mr. Ranch here dehydrated some of his potatoes last year and I'm going to try that this year with some to see how I like them.
 
w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Planted the 'Heatmaster' & 'Health Kick' tomato seeds in the starter pots. Also planted the basil & all the flowers (angel trumpets, anemones, & marigolds). Watered them all in & put them in the greenhouse.

Watered the rest of the stuff in the greenhouse.

Spray the final coat of Flex-Seal on the interiors of the porch pots.
 
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Mr_Yan

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Shoveled about 2" of snow but I could have used a leaf blower to move it just as easily as it was really fluffy and being driven around by the wind. Forecast calls for 3 to 5 tomorrow (Monday) evening into the night.

Knitting a mitten to test out a new yarn for a sweater I want to make.

Made a pot of soup -- loosely based on minestrone but I added three chicken leg quarters.
 
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w_r_ranch

w_r_ranch

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Location
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Kind of chilly here (50 degrees) so I put off planting the leeks until tomorrow.

Research replacement security doors for the house.

Caught a gray fox in one of the traps unfortunately (not one of my targeted pests). Grays are good guys in my book.

Gray_Fox.jpg

(reference picture - not one of mine)​
 
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