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re: 2019 Garden Thread
Posted on 7/9/19 at 1:31 pm to gumbo2176
Posted on 7/9/19 at 1:31 pm to gumbo2176
Another okra question - how do you guys store okra in the short term, and how long does it stay fresh? Open air in kitchen? Refrigerator?
Asking because I've only got 4 okra plants that are mature enough to be producing right now and I don't know that they're going to produce that much at one time.
Asking because I've only got 4 okra plants that are mature enough to be producing right now and I don't know that they're going to produce that much at one time.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 3:49 pm to bluemoons
quote:
Another okra question - how do you guys store okra in the short term, and how long does it stay fresh? Open air in kitchen? Refrigerator?
I pick it, bring it inside and give it a rinse off in the sink under cold water and then place it on a towel on the countertop. After it dries I'll put it in one of those plastic grocery bags and put it in the fridge. It really doesn't do well left out and will wilt quickly. Once in the fridge it will last 4-5 days before it starts showing its age.
With only 4 plants you are not picking more than 3-4 pods a day max. I have about 50 plants in my garden and average about 35-40 pods a day now that they are almost 5 ft. tall. Next year you will know to plant more okra. It grows very well planted pretty densely. I have my plants no more than about 15 inches apart in rows about 3 ft. apart and they can be planted closer if you don't have the space.
Your work will come by seasons end when you need to pull them. They can be a bear to remove by then with stalks 3 inches across and about 8 ft. tall.
This post was edited on 7/9/19 at 3:52 pm
Posted on 7/9/19 at 4:03 pm to gumbo2176
Roger that. Appreciate the info. I actually have 10 plants total, but planted the others later, and they're a good 20-30 days from producing. I also planted pretty close at about 13"-14" apart.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 4:28 pm to bluemoons
quote:
I also planted pretty close at about 13"-14" apart.
They will do well at that spacing. I don't know how you plan to use it, but do yourself a favor and grill some. Get your grill hot and right before putting it on, sprinkle the pods with a bit of olive oil and hit it with some salt, pepper and garlic powder------or whatever flavoring you like.
Grill it just like any vegetable and if it starts to split at the seams, it is just past where I like it to be, but still delicious. Everyone that has tried this loves it.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 7:29 pm to gumbo2176
I have pickled some of my okra and they came out amazing. Tastes just like store bought. I have also been cutting and freezing some. Plan to use those to cook with. I’ve also eaten my share of them fresh off of the plant. I really like fresh okra. Wash them and put them in a bag in the fridge and they’ll be good for a few days. Just like gumbo said.
Posted on 7/9/19 at 9:18 pm to PillageUrVillage
Just got finished doing some inventory. Here’s what I have canned so far. Keep in mind that I’ve already given about 18-20 jars of pickles to friends and family and consumed at least a few. I also had 2 jars of spears left over from last summer. Decided not to do spears this year cause we didn’t eat them as much as the slices. Also, I have 3 more gallon bags of tomatoes in the freezer that will either become salsa or sauce. Probably salsa, because I have family members requesting some. The hot sauce was made with a recipe that someone posted here, and it came out great! Don’t remember who posted it, but I had taken a screen shot of the recipe. It’s pretty hot, but tasty.
I also have a bunch of dehydrated peppers that I plan on crushing to try to make a seasoning blend. Haven’t messed with it yet.
Not too shabby for my little garden. Still making cucumbers, peppers, and okra.
I also have a bunch of dehydrated peppers that I plan on crushing to try to make a seasoning blend. Haven’t messed with it yet.
Not too shabby for my little garden. Still making cucumbers, peppers, and okra.
This post was edited on 7/9/19 at 9:21 pm
Posted on 7/10/19 at 2:36 am to PillageUrVillage
quote:
Just got finished doing some inventory.
Looks like my house. I've got a large wire shelving unit where I keep canned stuff and on it I have jars of pickled beets, okra, green beans, Brussel sprouts, bread & butter pickles, dill pickles and also hot sauces, pepper jelly, freshly canned green beans and corn without the brine.
I go through a lot of canning jars a year.
Posted on 7/10/19 at 9:18 pm to PillageUrVillage
Can you repost the hot sauce recipe?
Posted on 7/11/19 at 11:39 am to PillageUrVillage
Picked about 2lbs of tabascos yesterday, will probably start fermentation tonight to make hot sauce.
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:12 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
Holy shite. I'm assuming that plant is more than a year old?
Posted on 7/11/19 at 2:38 pm to nerd guy
Yeah, I overwintered it from last year and it had a lot more time to develop, but I can't really take much credit for the way this plant is. You can see my jalapeno to the left of it that was overwintered too and it's nothing special.
I was stumped as to why it grew so much faster and bigger than my other peppers and learned that tabascos are a cultivar of c. frutescens where bells, jalapenos, cayennnes, etc are c. annuum. Tabascos are adapted to a hot, humid environment (I'm in nola) and apparently it's not uncommon for them to get really big. They're also much more perennial by nature. My belle was sluggish in early spring where this plant just took off and sent shoots out everywhere.
I actually think it could be more productive if it got more direct sunlight (gets about 6 hours now), and I had known more about topping and selective pruning to encourage branching. I am probably going to plant several of them next year from seeds off this plant, so we'll see if they all turn out like this one.
I was stumped as to why it grew so much faster and bigger than my other peppers and learned that tabascos are a cultivar of c. frutescens where bells, jalapenos, cayennnes, etc are c. annuum. Tabascos are adapted to a hot, humid environment (I'm in nola) and apparently it's not uncommon for them to get really big. They're also much more perennial by nature. My belle was sluggish in early spring where this plant just took off and sent shoots out everywhere.
I actually think it could be more productive if it got more direct sunlight (gets about 6 hours now), and I had known more about topping and selective pruning to encourage branching. I am probably going to plant several of them next year from seeds off this plant, so we'll see if they all turn out like this one.
Posted on 7/11/19 at 3:48 pm to TheDrunkenTigah
I wouldn’t know what to do with that many peppers. But that’s quite a beautiful and productive pepper plant.
Posted on 7/11/19 at 4:10 pm to PillageUrVillage
Each pepper is small, so it's not quite as much as it looks like, plus they're thin walled. In terms of actual mass it takes a lot of these to make sauce. I'm gonna document the process for those who haven't seen it.
Posted on 7/11/19 at 9:36 pm to PillageUrVillage
Have mushrooms growing in my raised bed - freak out? Doesn't matter? Somewhere in between?
Raised bed installed this year. Bagged dirt and compost from big bag store. Mainly around my cucumbers that are on ground (too lazy to build trellis)
Raised bed installed this year. Bagged dirt and compost from big bag store. Mainly around my cucumbers that are on ground (too lazy to build trellis)
Posted on 7/11/19 at 10:35 pm to Stateguy
Mushrooms aren’t bad in your beds. Leave them there
Posted on 7/12/19 at 8:39 am to TheDrunkenTigah
Wow! your tabasco plant kicks my tabasco plant's arse. Mine is probably less than half the size and my peppers are a lot smaller. I think I overcrowded my plants this year.
Posted on 7/12/19 at 9:02 am to Delacroix
They definitely need leg room. I had to learn about overcrowding the hard way myself. That plant last year choked out a jalapeno planted beside it in a longer container. No matter how much I fertilized the tabasco got bigger and the jalapeno just turned more yellow. I joke that it stole it's life force. With so much vegetation it drinks a lot of water and needs regular fertilization, but it's a very hardy variety if the basics are covered.
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