country n news-a peck of peppers...

COUNTRY N NEWS-A PECK OF PEPPERS...

each spring i plant my peppers around the lst of april
since usually the last frost has happened here
usually i say
since some years the cold sneaks in and wipes out
what i planted

this is the story of our country n peppers shown in
the above picture

first i prep the garden bed
which usually i have done weeks before
i add 2-4 inches of our chicken generated
country n compost
mostly from the leaves that many of you gave me

then
i add a sprinkling of cottonseed meal
this provides nitrogen quickly to the new plants
then
i add a sprinkling of an organic fertilizer
like lady bugs 8-2-4 or medina growin green
this adds nitrogen that can be slowly accessed over
several weeks for the new plants
then
i water in a mixture of molasses and humates
to provide goodies for the soil organisms
that are the lifeblood of soil health
then
when i plant my peppers
i use a bit of earthworm castings in the planting hole
to boost the young plants growth
then
after planting i add liquid seaweed to boost new root growth

all i do after that is keep them watered when needed
keep insects off them
they actually rarely have a problem with insects
except
out here in the country
we get the infestation of grasshoppers which are worse
as the summer goes into the fall
i control them by scaring them into the chicken run
around the garden
adding an organic bait called nola bait to the garden
and surrounding property
this all seems to keep them under control
usually

now usually is a common word thats used
when gardening around here
sometimes things just arent usual

so
we look at what peppers we like to eat
so we chose these four
bell peppers used in salads sandwiches pasta sauce grilled veggies
banana peppers rarely make it inside the house since i eat them
while working
jalapeno peppers used in poppers in margaritas grilling soups grilled veggies
poblano peppers  used in cooking and in chile rellenos

the peppers grow slow in the spring into the summer
now we do get to harvest some as we go
but
the real burst comes in the fall
i keep them watered and cover them with a solar screen
during those hot dog days of the summer
then
when the fall rains come
the weather cools
the peppers
well
they just explode in growth and fruit production
so much
that we cant eat all of them
so
right before the first severe freeze
i go out and pick all of them
like i did last week

i saved enough for the next weeks use
then
we freeze them
by
washing them well
placing them in ziplock freezer bags
zipping it almost closed
sticking a straw down in the bag
sucking all the air out of the bag
leaving the bag looking like this

we will use these peppers
bell jalepeno poblano
in cooking this winter

the heat from these jalapenos and poblanos
makes you feel warmer in the winter

this is more than enough peppers to last us until
next summer

so thats how we do peppers
here at the
country n

the organicgreen doctor

the dirty six

THE DIRTY SIX
this morning i was going to write about
two dirty words
if you hear a politician say them
vouchers and privatization

loosers
they dont mean well for us the medicare aged group
and
future medicare recipients
uh thats all of you
its going to cost us a lot of money out of our pockets

winners
drug companies insurance companies lobbyists
no swamp draining going on here

all i can say about these dirty two words
is
dont let them do it

it has nothing to do with which political party you support
if we arent careful we will end up like those folks below
sick

what caught my eye this morning
was a report that 3 folks died and several was sickened from
eating a thanksgiving meal at a veterans hall in san francisco
a charity meal that gave a little too much to the eaters

then
i ran across this from the consumer guru
clark howard

there is a lawyer that has made his living over the years
on food poisoning cases
to the tune of 600 million dollars+

so he generated a list of 6 foods he wont eat
since they have generated most of his income over the years

here they are

now first let me say
my wife she is the queen of leftovers
i have to keep a close eye on our frig
looking for growths on our food that could be used
to make an antibiotic
like penicillin mold
once i ate it and cured my strep throat

many a time over the years i have found
deep back in the frig
some unidentifiable substance in a container
oh i say
wasnt that the leftovers from thanksgiving
its now the ides of march time

sorry sweetie

here are the ones the lawyer will not eat

1   rare meat
uncooked meat can yield e coli or salmonella
also parasites

2   raw oysters
not a problem for me i wont eat them
it seems global warming has caused the oceans to be warmer
yielding more bacteria and viruses in the oyster
plus there is more sewage in the water

3   raw sprouts
there have many outbreaks from these mostly e  coli and salmonella

4   precut prewashed veggies and fruits
the more folks that handle these the higher risk of contamination
avoid them
remember the prewashed organic spinach contamination a few years
ago that made so many sick
if you buy prewash just pretend it says
you just gotta wash em good

5   unpasteurized milk and juices
these thing are pasteurized for a reason
thats not an issue with me since i dont ever drink either of these

6   uncooked eggs
can you say cookie dough
even sunny side up eggs
well that used to be my favorite not anymore
results
salmonella

now i am sure some of you will poo-poo
no pun intended
this list
but
remember this guy has made millions and millions of dollars
off these infections
he knows
he wont eat any of these

so i went back over the list
i dont think ill get sick from these
since
i dont eat raw meat or raw oysters
i dont eat precut veggies or foods
besides the risk of contamination they cost a lot more to buy
i dont eat raw sprouts
i dont drink milk or juices
i dont eat uncooked eggs

the only thing i have to worry about
keep an eye out for
is
my wife shes refrigerator stews

the organicgreen doctor

dear ms b-farmher

DEAR MS B-FARMHER

ms b
there is a tv channel that we get on our dish tv
called
rftdtv

it is one of the channels that i upgraded to a higher level
just to get it

why
we watch two shows
california bountiful
texas country reporter

now the california bountiful is all about
agriculture in california
gardening cooking raising animals making cheeses
farmers markets lots of agriculture cooking etc
restaurants many we have gone to on our visits
to california

ms b two weeks ago
on the tail end of a dvred california bountiful
there was a new tv show called
farmher
farmher
why did they misspell it like that

so
i found a show and watched it
now its on my regular dvr shows

it is a show about women in agriculture

there is something about a young girl young student
who is involved in agriculture in some way
commonly in the form of ffa in the schools
even in urban schools they have these programs

having to be responsible for the care of an animal
a garden
promoting it like they do with
animal shows and with farmer markets to sell the produce
or
like some do donate the veggies to a needy group

there is this character building that occurs
that cant seem to be gained being a cheerleader
being an athlete being in the band etc

maybe its the tie to the land
that
well its sort of i think incorporated somehow into our
dna

i have lots of nephews and nieces now great ones
that have been involved in the ag programs in schools
or
in some form of agriculture at home

its well its made them a better person
they appreciate i think things more

so i recently watched a farmher program
which is about females who are involved in agriculture
in some way

this last episode a young adult a college ag graduate
and her husband raise cattle to sell as breed stock
raise grains
raise their own hay for feed
she does a blog about her experiences
but also blogs about fashion stuff that seems to be
clicking with rural women who are in ag
and
some not in ag

so i guess ms b
you already have a duck and a rabbit
granted they well they are real to you
but
now
dont read this
they are just stuffed animals

i would like to see you go dig in the dirt
scratch around
plant something
let it grow
eat it
then
do it all over again

so ms b
hoping to rub some ag exposure into your life
here is your
christmas present


twenga.com

go for it

the organicgreen doctor