Posted on January 1, 2023January 1, 202301/01/2023 new year frolic at Lexington Liverworts near the parking area! Briar is always blinking when she gets her picture taken. We saw some very green fine stuff covering the Sandy loam. Some obvious moss nearby. Then the green stuff with moss capsules! When I got home I saw Mom’s blog post from today. The very fine green coating appears to be the protonema life stage of the moss! Thanks Mom! Guess ‘tis the season. Dog eyes open this time. A big cluster of dead ants. No idea why. A mystery plant on the edge of the path cut. The leftover seed heads of the mystery plant. A second smaller individual of this mysterious plant. The habitat of the mysterious plant. Paula spotted this gorgeous greenbriar leaf! Briar leaps from the water. It was warm out! Bounce bounce bounce! miraculously she wasn’t muddy. Good clean water. Enjoying some last smells before we head home. The Chef made Hoppin’ John for dinner. The green is chard from our garden, frozen from a previous season. The black eyed peas were from the farm share. Paula made cornbread from scratch.
Posted on November 13, 2022November 13, 202211/12/2022 frosty Marigolds are done. Photo by Paula. Winecup rosettes are fine for the winter! Photo also by Paula. We went to look at Saxon park. It was fun. Then we went home. Having dog thoughts in the backyard. Catctus Tom kha (Thai coconut chicken soup). Has garden lemongrass in it. Lemongrass is not frost hardy so Paula divided the stems to keep a few indoors over the winter, and froze a bunch of stems to use.
Posted on September 3, 2022September 3, 202209/03/2022 popcorn testing again The tiny bowl on the left contains popcorn from a deeper container. The tiny bowl on the right contains popcorn from a shallow bowl. Both are stored near an air vent. The sample on the right had nearly all kernels pop. The sample on left did not. We have decided we need to at least stir that container.
Posted on August 21, 2022August 21, 202208/21/2022 15/22 test kernels popped We think the popcorn is almost ready! Remember the extension service website said 13-15% moisture and most kernels should pop.
Posted on August 13, 2022August 13, 202208/13/2022 shucking A full range of glass gem popcorn corn ears! Some kernels started to pop in the hot dry shade which is what prompted us to bring them inside. Not sure if this is popping or fungus or something else. Some kernels appear scratched up but we’re not sure why. A few ears did not get fully pollinated and were not covered with kernels completely. These ears had several kernels that popped open. Natural lighting shows off the colors best. Everyone’s thumbs are sore from removing kernels. I used the colander to sift out a bit of chaff. I think Paula has plans to do more later. Two bowls full. 1,146 g total including our earlier test.
Posted on August 6, 2022August 6, 202208/06/2022 POPCORN Glass gem popcorn in all its glorious colors! One cob down, two to go. Paula just used her hands to remove the kernels. The kernels are such a beautiful mix of colors! Three ears of popcorn made 147 g of dried kernels. We let the ears dry on the stalk and then have been keeping them in the hot dry shade on the porch. About half of the kernels Paula tried did pop. According to this extension service article we found, this means they’re probably still too moist. More should pop and be fluffier too once they dry more. However, we’re still quite pleased!
Posted on July 27, 2022July 27, 202207/27/2022 pesto progress A blender full of garden basil, olive oil, garlic, parmesan, and pine nuts.
Posted on July 27, 2022July 27, 202207/27/2022 All the basil, five varieties. The Chef has committed to pesto tonight. The green striped cushaw squash just gets noticeably bigger every day!