What does your Armageddon garden look like?

[Meadowlark]

A coupe of thoughts, yes, "fish poo" should be effective but the costs (time and money) to gather it, move it, apply it etc. would seem to me to be far exceeded by other natural sources like the black kow. If its in a pond of any size, you will need a track hoe/back hoe to gather it and something else to move/apply. I've cleaned out several stock ponds and that stuff is very, very difficult to work with. Hard to describe how difficult that material is to work with. Secondly, yes it will completely muddy the pond in the process but they usually clear pretty quickly.

I'm talking about stock ponds now but if you mean to take it out of a small ornamental puddle (pond) then not as much work but still not enough material to make it worthwhile, IMO. I use Tilapia to keep my ponds clean...and they do a terrific job while at the same time providing forage to grow big bass and bluegills and keeping filamentous algae under control. Works for me!

 

[DirtMechanic]

Are they like yazoo clay?

 

[Meadowlark]

Much much worse, from what I know about yazoo clay.

 

[karstopography]

These gardens change a lot based on climate, soil and latitude. I lived in New England for a while and there Blue Hubbard squash was a big thing. Keeps a long time. There were some long keeper tomato varieties, same for apples, and other crops that were known for being able to be stored in a basement for months. But, not much in the garden could hang in there through a New England winter, kale for a while, maybe a few carrots. Here on the Texas Gulf of Mexico coast, most winters offer prime time for growing lots of things in the cabbage family, plus other greens like spinach.

Fermenting food was what a lot of people once did to preserve food. Some still do. A little brine, a jar, a dark corner, some time and we get things like sauerkraut, kimchi and Tabasco sauce. I‘m assembling some fermenting supplies so I can make some shelf stable pepper sauces and other things with my produce.

I wonder if any of y’all have tried growing peanuts? They are grown commercially throughout the south into New Mexico. What a great source of calories and nutrition and a long keeper.

 

[DirtMechanic]

These gardens change a lot based on climate, soil and latitude. I lived in New England for a while and there Blue Hubbard squash was a big thing. Keeps a long time. There were some long keeper tomato varieties, same for apples, and other crops that were known for being able to be stored in a basement for months. But, not much in the garden could hang in there through a New England winter, kale for a while, maybe a few carrots. Here on the Texas Gulf of Mexico coast, most winters offer prime time for growing lots of things in the cabbage family, plus other greens like spinach.

Fermenting food was what a lot of people once did to preserve food. Some still do. A little brine, a jar, a dark corner, some time and we get things like sauerkraut, kimchi and Tabasco sauce. I‘m assembling some fermenting supplies so I can make some shelf stable pepper sauces and other things with my produce.

I wonder if any of y’all have tried growing peanuts? They are grown commercially throughout the south into New Mexico. What a great source of calories and nutrition and a long keeper.

My wife was born in New Hampshire, grew up in Maine. She does not share my love of boiled peanuts, nor understand the depth of my enthusiasm for boiled green peanuts. I would not care to grow them without access to a plow. I use a shovel enough already. I would like to grow them for my own use now that you have mentioned it and made me hungry!

I understand lactobacillus is commonly available in stores as a probiotic, though its in the air as well. What other agents work for fermentation? I know acetobacillus is common in the older breads like sourdough, and assume something similiar would be at work in fermenting veggies like peppers?

 

[Meadowlark]

...

I wonder if any of y’all have tried growing peanuts? They are grown commercially throughout the south into New Mexico. What a great source of calories and nutrition and a long keeper.

Goodness yes, Goober peas, aka country cavair, homegrown make the best boiled peanuts you ever tasted. Its difficult to find them at just the right stage of "greenness" for boiling thus you need to grow your own for the ultimate in taste. An important benefit is that they are a legume and add significant amounts of N2 to the soil and make a pretty good choice for a rotational summer cover crop. Easy to grow but long growing and worth the time and space. I could grow them commercially on my ground if I was so inclined...but I use them for rotational cover crops....and for the great taste of boiled peanuts.

000

 

[karstopography]

I love boiled peanuts and I’ve only had canned. My wife lived in SC and they had roadside stands with boiled peanut... yum!

 

[karstopography]

I understand lactobacillus is commonly available in stores as a probiotic, though its in the air as well. What other agents work for fermentation? I know acetobacillus is common in the older breads like sourdough, and assume something similiar would be at work in fermenting veggies like peppers?

From what I’ve read and understand, it’s lactobacillus just from the air or on/in the vegetables. There are formulas on the salt to non chlorinated water ratio for the brine and different methods like special lids and weights for excluding organisms that aren’t desired. The lactobacillus bacteria thrives in the brine and under the mostly anaerobic conditions then drops the ph and that makes it more stable, plus people often add vinegar at some point to offer more shelf stability.

 

[Meadowlark]

... I would not care to grow them without access to a plow. I use a shovel enough already. I would like to grow them for my own use now that you have mentioned it and made me hungry!
...

Actually DM I found them to be relatively easy to grow in comparison to other things. My only complaint was the growing time...from spring all the way to late September ties up the ground.

 

[DrMike27]

I understand lactobacillus is commonly available in stores as a probiotic, though its in the air as well. What other agents work for fermentation? I know acetobacillus is common in the older breads like sourdough, and assume something similiar would be at work in fermenting veggies like peppers?

I use Red Star DADY and it works great. Usually get my full mashing done in about 5 days (around 7-10 if I do a step fermentation) and I'm yielding about 12-18% EtOH/5 gallons...we are talking about booze, right?

 

[karstopography]

Booze sounds good. You must taking it up to three or four times that number at some point, probably making your own hand sanitizer. Maybe the Cv19 has trouble with elevated blood EtOH numbers, I have a hypothesis I’m testing, so far, so good.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I use Red Star DADY and it works great. Usually get my full mashing done in about 5 days (around 7-10 if I do a step fermentation) and I'm yielding about 12-18% EtOH/5 gallons...we are talking about booze, right?

Oh I hope so. I am here to learn.

 

[DrMike27]

Booze sounds good. You must taking it up to three or four times that number at some point, probably making your own hand sanitizer. Maybe the Cv19 has trouble with elevated blood EtOH numbers, I have a hypothesis I’m testing, so far, so good.

A typical run will yield ~1 gallon of shine from a 5 gallon mash and I am typically around 100-120 proof. So, unfortunately, I haven't had success reaching hand sanitizer strength. However, my foreshots and heads are in the 140-150 proof range, but seeing as though it's mostly MeOH (you don't want none of that s***) it could be a viable hand sanitizer if I could turn it into a superficial liquid. I got my chemistry degree 11 years ago, used it for 1 year, and haven't done anything with it since.

 

[DirtMechanic]

A typical run will yield ~1 gallon of shine from a 5 gallon mash and I am typically around 100-120 proof. So, unfortunately, I haven't had success reaching hand sanitizer strength. However, my foreshots and heads are in the 140-150 proof range, but seeing as though it's mostly MeOH (you don't want none of that s***) it could be a viable hand sanitizer if I could turn it into a superficial liquid. I got my chemistry degree 11 years ago, used it for 1 year, and haven't done anything with it since.

Lol looks like a family tradition from over here.

 

[roadrunner]

My wife was born in New Hampshire, grew up in Maine. She does not share my love of boiled peanuts, nor understand the depth of my enthusiasm for boiled green peanuts. I would not care to grow them without access to a plow. I use a shovel enough already. I would like to grow them for my own use now that you have mentioned it and made me hungry!

I understand lactobacillus is commonly available in stores as a probiotic, though its in the air as well. What other agents work for fermentation? I know acetobacillus is common in the older breads like sourdough, and assume something similiar would be at work in fermenting veggies like peppers?

I also grew up in the north and knew nothing of boiled peanuts, until I did a bike-touring ride up and down the east coast (I was about 30-y/o) and got a bag somewhere in SC. My first thought was, "Boiled Peanuts, that doesn't sound too good..." However, after my first bag I was hooked...got a bag every time I passed a road-side stand.