We grew them as shade and to see if we could. Now we know we can! Maybe John will decide to make some beer next year. We didn't get around to making anything from them this time. What's your goal?
Steve brews his own beer and has been experimenting alittle with herbal and/or medicinal beers. It's hard to find organic base ingredients for a home brewer, at least here. So he's been limited in the range of what he can produce. He'd love to do dark beers, for example, but can't find an organic dark malt. (And it's unlikely he'll have the time or inclination to malt his own grains anytime soon!)
As for the hops, he prefers an oldschool British flavor profile for his bitters, not the American style craft brewing profile (which has caught on here too) which tends to use citric flavors in the hops. Problem is, the hop he most adores, called Fuggles, is hardly grown anymore commercially because it grows about 30 ft tall and needs to be harvested by hand. (Those were the days.)
So last year he decided to try growing his own. The vines were in the wrong place and didn't thrive, so this spring he dug them up and transplanted them. They took off like crazy, despite having lost a fair number of roots in the move. We even got a lovely little hop crop going this summer, way up at the top of the support structure. But like I said, the harvesting window got away from us. Oh well, next time.
On the medicinal note, I did a very intense nutritional program for a few years way back when, and at one point she had me taking hop extract. I forget what for. It was disgusting, I've never liked beer, but I made a mental note at the time for all the interesting things I might do with it (after the nutritional program was over!) Like hop-infused nut brittle. Extreme bitters to cut the extreme sweetness. Things like that. I never got around to it, but maybe I will someday.
I ordered seed potatoes from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine this year and got two varieties, Butte and Carola. They both gave beautiful big potatoes that are creamy and delicious, one white, the other yellow. They did much better than any others I've gotten locally but that could be due to a lot of factors. I will definitely be ordering from them again. I picked varieties rated as "easy to grow". I also planted Greek gigantes beans for the first time this year. They grew amazingly and although they could probably use a little longer season I am going to get a good harvest from them.
Your popcorn looks great! My grandfather grew it for years and I remember having to shell it off the cobs and how it hurt my hands - those kernels are so spiky. I planted some this spring but my geese got to it and it was gone in no time. Love hearing what you are learning because I go through the same process. Grew potatoes successfully for the first time this year (after several unsuccessful attempts) and learned a LOT while doing it. My drying beans (Good Mother Stallard, etc) did nothing until about July/August when it apparently got hot enough to suit them. They are now covered in pods that will not fill out and ripen before our first frost. I consider it a win if I at least learned something through it. I, too, don't feel like I grown nearly enough but every gain is good. Something is better than nothing. And done is better than perfect!
Absolutely! Better to have something fail than not try at all... and then, too. every year is different. I'm celebrating your potatoes! What kind did you plant this time? BTW, I only got about a handful of pole beans. My borage crowded them out. Live and learn. :-)
How odd! Sounds like your teacher had a child labor scheme happening! :-) I wonder if anyone from your class, to this day, can smell popcorn without thinking of that.
By the way, that picture is from an old Christmas card I made a few years ago. It's my version of the American Gothic painting. I started making little "paper doll people" for our wedding (I used them as table place cards at our reception) and I've just kept on doing it. :-)
How long have you been gardening in that same area? I've wondered whether the cycles come in any particular pattern, but we haven't yet been here long enough to know. For instance, last year we barely got any peppers or basil because it didn't even start to get warm until late July, although I had loads of tomatoes. This year, we got loads of peppers and basil, but hardly any tomatoes. Curious to see what next year will bring and whether I can see any pattern shaping up. What about you?
I really like those lean-to sort of greenhouses that are attached to the house. We've thought about that, too, but the wind turbine pole is attached to the southside of our house so there just isn't room. :-(
You're growing hops! They're beauties. For brewing, or for medicinal purposes? (We're growing a few kinds too, but missed the harvesting window.)
We grew them as shade and to see if we could. Now we know we can! Maybe John will decide to make some beer next year. We didn't get around to making anything from them this time. What's your goal?
Steve brews his own beer and has been experimenting alittle with herbal and/or medicinal beers. It's hard to find organic base ingredients for a home brewer, at least here. So he's been limited in the range of what he can produce. He'd love to do dark beers, for example, but can't find an organic dark malt. (And it's unlikely he'll have the time or inclination to malt his own grains anytime soon!)
As for the hops, he prefers an oldschool British flavor profile for his bitters, not the American style craft brewing profile (which has caught on here too) which tends to use citric flavors in the hops. Problem is, the hop he most adores, called Fuggles, is hardly grown anymore commercially because it grows about 30 ft tall and needs to be harvested by hand. (Those were the days.)
So last year he decided to try growing his own. The vines were in the wrong place and didn't thrive, so this spring he dug them up and transplanted them. They took off like crazy, despite having lost a fair number of roots in the move. We even got a lovely little hop crop going this summer, way up at the top of the support structure. But like I said, the harvesting window got away from us. Oh well, next time.
On the medicinal note, I did a very intense nutritional program for a few years way back when, and at one point she had me taking hop extract. I forget what for. It was disgusting, I've never liked beer, but I made a mental note at the time for all the interesting things I might do with it (after the nutritional program was over!) Like hop-infused nut brittle. Extreme bitters to cut the extreme sweetness. Things like that. I never got around to it, but maybe I will someday.
I ordered seed potatoes from Wood Prairie Farm in Maine this year and got two varieties, Butte and Carola. They both gave beautiful big potatoes that are creamy and delicious, one white, the other yellow. They did much better than any others I've gotten locally but that could be due to a lot of factors. I will definitely be ordering from them again. I picked varieties rated as "easy to grow". I also planted Greek gigantes beans for the first time this year. They grew amazingly and although they could probably use a little longer season I am going to get a good harvest from them.
Well done! That sounds wonderful.
Your popcorn looks great! My grandfather grew it for years and I remember having to shell it off the cobs and how it hurt my hands - those kernels are so spiky. I planted some this spring but my geese got to it and it was gone in no time. Love hearing what you are learning because I go through the same process. Grew potatoes successfully for the first time this year (after several unsuccessful attempts) and learned a LOT while doing it. My drying beans (Good Mother Stallard, etc) did nothing until about July/August when it apparently got hot enough to suit them. They are now covered in pods that will not fill out and ripen before our first frost. I consider it a win if I at least learned something through it. I, too, don't feel like I grown nearly enough but every gain is good. Something is better than nothing. And done is better than perfect!
Absolutely! Better to have something fail than not try at all... and then, too. every year is different. I'm celebrating your potatoes! What kind did you plant this time? BTW, I only got about a handful of pole beans. My borage crowded them out. Live and learn. :-)
i have a deep history re popcorn.
Not because I have grown it ever but
because I had to give a talk on the history
of popcorn in 6th grade. It had pictures.
My 6th grade teacher had our class become
a corporation, a popcorn company.
It was weird, because suddenly the room
always smelled of buttery popcorn, and the mom's
of the students were inducted to make various
goopy syrup treats, all in the name of this
corporation of 6th graders. Kids got those
popcorn maker burns on their hands.
The whole thing was themed around
'cannonballs' and 'muskets' being
popcorn balls and long bags of popcorn.
I remember meetings about what products
we would make. Then the teacher made it happen,
which seemed cool but now I am a bit...puzzled by
it all. Yes, this really happened.
Eventually the principal put a stop to it, b
but by that time it had been going for at least
5 or 6 months..... I was treasurer but I kept
eating the profits. It was too easy.
How odd! Sounds like your teacher had a child labor scheme happening! :-) I wonder if anyone from your class, to this day, can smell popcorn without thinking of that.
I was wondering how your garden fared after the fire.
You did a marvelous job!
That picture of you two at the end is hysterical and true..
Keep on farming. Keep on homesteading. Keep on keeping on. You've got a faithful reader here.
Best wishes
Thanks so much, Sue! That's really nice to hear.
By the way, that picture is from an old Christmas card I made a few years ago. It's my version of the American Gothic painting. I started making little "paper doll people" for our wedding (I used them as table place cards at our reception) and I've just kept on doing it. :-)
How long have you been gardening in that same area? I've wondered whether the cycles come in any particular pattern, but we haven't yet been here long enough to know. For instance, last year we barely got any peppers or basil because it didn't even start to get warm until late July, although I had loads of tomatoes. This year, we got loads of peppers and basil, but hardly any tomatoes. Curious to see what next year will bring and whether I can see any pattern shaping up. What about you?
Do you have a greenhouse?
Thank you for writing!
Greta , Mark is a garden wizard 🧙♂️🪄
Of course my love 😘
Ya'll are sweet <3
I really like those lean-to sort of greenhouses that are attached to the house. We've thought about that, too, but the wind turbine pole is attached to the southside of our house so there just isn't room. :-(