thanks Kathryn,
Yes I suspect I am being a bit impatient - the little loofas are not falling off just not getting any bigger - I had a good look yesterday. The vine grows quickly so imagained the fruit woudl as well. I have little control over the water levels at the moment it is wet season so they are getting lots of watering, but I heard they like that. I have a few seeds left so am going to plant another vine in another area alongside a wire fency where they will get lots of air around them.
Hi Kathryn,
thanks for the info about luffa - all I have ever heard is how easy it is to grow! My vines are doing fine - growing against the neighbours wooden fence, but she has a passsionfruit vine that is overtaking it and so the vine is often in a bit of shade. Anyway they are intermingling with each other. I thought I might start some more luffa on a chainlink fence that is clear of any other growth for now. My question is that the vine is covered with little yellow flowers but I see a tiny luffa like fruit forming and then they seem to just wither and drop off. do they need maybe more sunshine than they are getting? I have lots of insects bees and birds so think pollination is not a problem. Then I also read that they take quite a long while to harvest so maybe I am getting a bit impatient. cant wait to start making soaps :)
It's below zero Fahrenheit here now. My kitchen sink drain is frozen solid. I don't know if my car will start this morning. I HATE WINTER. What's it like in Turkey? I visited with an archaeologist who returned from Armenia recently, closest I've come to someone seeing your part of the world recently. My friend Jonathan spent time in Turkey years ago and loved it. Seed catalogs are arriving in the mail. It's hard to imagine warm soil and seedlings.
Hi Kathryn,
Yes we are right on the edge of the rainforest. We often drive up over the Daintree river (there is a ferry) into the rainforest. the beaches there are amazing - miles and miles of empty flat white sand. there are also lovely walks through the forest, all so well maintained. We are blessed to be living here! the humidity in the wet season does get a bit tiresome, but it does pass...
Thanks Katheyn, Goats are like our babies, we drink their milk and enjoy their company. Eating is little difficult... How is everything at your end. I was away from the network for some time, Dis lots of things during this period. Will update all that info within days.
Take care.
nadeem
No Katheyn! I am not a potter.My ancestors might have been.
This pic is of potters of Saidpur village in Islamabad.The village is famous for beautiful pots.
The art of making pottery dates back to the glorious era of Indus civilization 8000 years BC when the first village was found at Mehargarh in the Sibi District of Balochistan.
This civilization expanded and flourished along the Indus river Valley, which is the modern Pakistan.
People from this era not only specialized in painting different designs of pottery, made varieties of pots and used cotton and wool but also made terracotta figurines and imported precious stones from Afghanistan and Central Asia. This civilization spread out in the countryside of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
The pots in the picture is made in Saidpur village in Islamabad a craft handed down for generations from father to son.
Hi Kathryn! I write in Urdu so far.But I have a plan to translate them in english too.I am writing a novel in english but it will take some time, As my work ARARAT is very lengthy and time taking,I have spent 8 years on it and still it will take some more months.I will contact you to share many things.Thanks a lot stay in touch.
Hi, we had a bit of snow, but it melted and now we have pleasant sunny afternoons, but below freezing temperatures at night and in the morning. It's 21F right now. I've been weaving and sewing little bags. Once I get all my papers graded, which should be before the week is out, I'll take some photos and put them on my web page: www.waitingforodysseusweavings.com I added a few things to the page a couple of weeks ago. I'm getting ready for our Christmas sale.
How is your new place? Are you enjoying it? Any new recipes? My friend Jonathan made a curry last night, a bit too hot for me, but the flavor was good. I made crab cakes from canned crab which were pretty good with the lime flavored sauce.
I haven't posted anything up there yet, but I need to! We just bottled the Rhubarb wine and it turned out really well. It is quite sweet, but has a very rhubarby scent. Definitely a dessert wine :)
The cherry, blackberry and concord grape are still in progress. The cherry wine tastes surprisingly similar (to me, at least) to a merlot, and the blackberry is strong but sweet. I haven't tasted the grape in a little while, but last time I did it was incredibly potent. ;)
Yes, it's very cold, Kathryn. I expected a light frost (32) but it was 20! So nothing I covered in the garden survived. What is frustrating is that it will warm after this, but to no avail for the dead plants. Oh well, I have preserved a lot and the rest is compost. How is it for you?
Pomegranates and Figs. How luxurious! I have apples and grapes -- made pie and apple crisp. Grapes didn't do so well this year, but we've been eating some of them. I will harvest my beets and carrrots this afternoon and put them in bags and store them in the fridge. I don't have very many. I think I'll make a few green tomato pickles for Jonathan, who seems to be working out ok this past month. He's easy to have around, as is his black cat named Prozac :-)
How's the weather in Turkey? It's at freezing here. I picked my tomatoes last night, brought in my potted herbs and cut the basil. I'll make pesto after work today and put it in the freezer.
Thank you so much for the recipes. The pictures are just gorgeous. Harvest is such a marvelous time. Though I can't say I'm terribly sorry it will freeze tonight for the first time. I'm getting a wee bit weary.
Wow Sandra! You've asked for an awful lot of information! Start by checking for your "predicted" last frost date.
There are frost charts online, but the quickest way for you, I think, is to call your county extension agent. He'll be listed in the ph…
Hmmm... we are having lots of sacred snow these days in Baltimore... can't wait for some of it to melt down...
can't wait for spring to get my fingers back in the soil...
Oh gosh, that is rare to get humidity that far south! That is where all our moisture went - we havnt had any rain for over a week :) I started that gemsquash group as I discovered a new member (Margaret Flett) who had gemsquash as her favourite vege…
Yes it's hot but very humid which is unusual. We are having a spell of days in the low 30s but tropical air is being pushed south by the weather systems up north and we are getting rain and humidity. The rain we love - the humidity we are not used t…
yes - the pods are quite tough. We only ate the peas inside and we always ate them green although many Indian people dry them. They are known as toovar dhal in Gujerati or tuvaram in Tamil and there are lots of recipes for them dried. Just google to…
Mary,
so you always shell them? I am entirely in the dark with these, and no more flowers :(... Did you only cook the peas fresh or did you leave some to dry?
I posted a photo of the HUGE luffa I found, and there are lots more making an appearance -…
Hi i just wanted to ask, I know it is still cold and i want to know what i can grow in the garden that would be organic and as close to the original foods? How do i find seeds for these foods? When do i start growing? Can i start seed in the house?…
Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....
First type the text you want to appear.... ie IAN'S PAGE
Then go back and highlight the link text.
Then hit the hyperlink button...a pictogram of a chain link.
Your browser may intervene and request permission to allow temporary scripting or some similar message. Allow it and go back and highlight the text again
Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.
I would be happy to hear any comments you may have. This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.
I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.
Hi Everyone, I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.
If you have a recipe you want to add on here, just post it on the site and leave a comment on my page telling me where it is and I'll go and fetch it back here.
They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!
AK - Alaska AL - Alabama AR - Arkansas AZ - Arizona CA - California CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut DC - Dist of Columbia * DE - Delaware
FL - Florida GA - Georgia GU
Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.
KATE’S ADVICE
I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but
Kathryn's Comments
Comment Wall (129 comments)
You need to be a member of Kitchen Gardeners to add comments!
Join this Ning Network
Yes I suspect I am being a bit impatient - the little loofas are not falling off just not getting any bigger - I had a good look yesterday. The vine grows quickly so imagained the fruit woudl as well. I have little control over the water levels at the moment it is wet season so they are getting lots of watering, but I heard they like that. I have a few seeds left so am going to plant another vine in another area alongside a wire fency where they will get lots of air around them.
thanks for the info about luffa - all I have ever heard is how easy it is to grow! My vines are doing fine - growing against the neighbours wooden fence, but she has a passsionfruit vine that is overtaking it and so the vine is often in a bit of shade. Anyway they are intermingling with each other. I thought I might start some more luffa on a chainlink fence that is clear of any other growth for now. My question is that the vine is covered with little yellow flowers but I see a tiny luffa like fruit forming and then they seem to just wither and drop off. do they need maybe more sunshine than they are getting? I have lots of insects bees and birds so think pollination is not a problem. Then I also read that they take quite a long while to harvest so maybe I am getting a bit impatient. cant wait to start making soaps :)
Yes we are right on the edge of the rainforest. We often drive up over the Daintree river (there is a ferry) into the rainforest. the beaches there are amazing - miles and miles of empty flat white sand. there are also lovely walks through the forest, all so well maintained. We are blessed to be living here! the humidity in the wet season does get a bit tiresome, but it does pass...
Take care.
nadeem
This pic is of potters of Saidpur village in Islamabad.The village is famous for beautiful pots.
The art of making pottery dates back to the glorious era of Indus civilization 8000 years BC when the first village was found at Mehargarh in the Sibi District of Balochistan.
This civilization expanded and flourished along the Indus river Valley, which is the modern Pakistan.
People from this era not only specialized in painting different designs of pottery, made varieties of pots and used cotton and wool but also made terracotta figurines and imported precious stones from Afghanistan and Central Asia. This civilization spread out in the countryside of Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and North West Frontier Province of Pakistan.
The pots in the picture is made in Saidpur village in Islamabad a craft handed down for generations from father to son.
I grow it every year to use its sponge in kitchen and as exfoliate.
www.waitingforodysseusweavings.com I added a few things to the page a couple of weeks ago. I'm getting ready for our Christmas sale.
How is your new place? Are you enjoying it? Any new recipes? My friend Jonathan made a curry last night, a bit too hot for me, but the flavor was good. I made crab cakes from canned crab which were pretty good with the lime flavored sauce.
--Penelope
The cherry, blackberry and concord grape are still in progress. The cherry wine tastes surprisingly similar (to me, at least) to a merlot, and the blackberry is strong but sweet. I haven't tasted the grape in a little while, but last time I did it was incredibly potent. ;)
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Notes
HOW TO - ADD A LINK
Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....
First type the text you want to appear.... ie IAN'S PAGE
Then go back and highlight the link text.
Then hit the hyperlink button...a pictogram of a chain link.
Your browser may intervene and request permission to allow temporary scripting or some similar message. Allow it and go back and highlight the text again
… ContinueCreated by Ian Jun 7, 2009 at 7:28pm. Last updated by Ian Jun. 8, 2009.
Forum Policy
Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.
I would be happy to hear any comments you may have. This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.
I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.
Administration
You can refer any que
… ContinueCreated by Ian May 23, 2009 at 1:55am. Last updated by Ian May. 25, 2009.
Climate maps
Hi following recent discussion I have put climate maps of the USA, Australia and Europe on here for reference..
Climate map of the USA
Climate map of Australia
Climate map of Europe
… ContinueCreated by Ian Sep 12, 2008 at 6:20pm. Last updated by Ian Apr. 14, 2009.
Recipes, Recipes, Recipes
Hi Everyone, I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.
If you have a recipe you want to add on here, just post it on the site and leave a comment on my page telling me where it is and I'll go and fetch it back here.
They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!
BEVA'S RECIPES
… ContinueCreated by Ian Jun 2, 2008 at 9:54am. Last updated by Ian Apr. 13, 2009.
US STATES ABBREVIATIONS
US STATE ABBREVIATIONS
AK - Alaska AL - Alabama AR - Arkansas
… ContinueAZ - Arizona CA - California CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut DC - Dist of Columbia * DE - Delaware
FL - Florida GA - Georgia GU
Created by Ian Jan 27, 2009 at 4:27pm. Last updated by Ian Jan. 27, 2009.
HOW TO - MAKE COMPOST
Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.
KATE’S ADVICE
I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but
1 you have to fill it up all at once
2. it seemed mostly
… ContinueCreated by Ian May 30, 2008 at 5:29am. Last updated by Roger Jan. 15, 2009.
Notes Home
Welcome to Notes.
To view notes that are in the system hit the "all notes" button above.
ContinueCreated by Ian May 28, 2008 at 12:10pm. Last updated by Ian May. 30, 2008.
A Note about Notes
I have just written this note so that I can see what we can achieve by using this new feature.
If you read this and have any suggestions then please leave a comment on my page or email me.
Ian
ContinueCreated by Ian May 28, 2008 at 6:19pm. Last updated by Ian May. 28, 2008.
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