Guest guest Posted June 12, 2008 Report Share Posted June 12, 2008 I don't even know if I could calculate how much I've saved by raising my own veggies. I've been harvesting since literally almost the first day we planted our garden-spinach, lettuce, chard, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, kale, radishes, beets, carrots, herbs......it's really amazing. :-)Cyndi June 11, 2008 Banking on Gardening By MARIAN BURROS CASSANDRA FEELEY prefers organic ingredients, especially for her baby, but she finds it hard to manage on her husband’s salary as an Army sergeant. So this year she did something she has wanted to do for a long time: she planted vegetables in her yard to save money. “One organic cucumber is $3 and I can produce it for pennies,†she said. For her first garden, Ms. Feeley has gone whole hog, hand-tilling a quarter acre in the backyard of her house near the Fort Campbell Army base in Kentucky. She has put in 15 tomato plants, five rows of corn, potatoes, cucumbers, squash, okra, peas, watermelon, green beans. An old barn on the property has been converted to a chicken coop, its residents arriving next month; the goats will be arriving next year. “I spent $100 on it and I know I will save at least $75 a month on food,†she said. She is one of the growing number of Americans who, driven by higher grocery costs and a stumbling economy, have taken up vegetable gardening for the first time. Others have increased the size of their existing gardens. Seed companies and garden shops say that not since the rampant inflation of the 1970s has there been such an uptick in interest in growing food at home. Space in community gardens across the country has been sold out for several months. In Austin, Tex., some of the gardens have a three-year waiting list. George C. Ball Jr., owner of the W. Atlee Burpee Company, said sales of vegetable and herb seeds and plants are up by 40 percent over last year, double the annual growth for the last five years. “You don’t see this kind of thing but once in a career,†he said. Mr. Ball offers half a dozen reasons for the phenomenon, some of which have been building for the last few years, like taste, health and food safety, plus concern, especially among young people, about global warming. But, Mr. Ball said, “The big one is the price spike.†The striking rise in the cost of staples like bread and milk has been accompanied by increases in the price of fruits and vegetables. “Food prices have spiked because of fuel prices and they redounded to the benefit of the garden,†Mr. Ball said. “People are driving less, taking fewer vacations, so there is more time to garden.†Each spring for the last five years, the Garden Writers Association has had TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, a polling firm, conduct a national consumer telephone survey asking gardeners what makes up the greatest share of their garden budgets. “The historic priorities are lawns, annuals, perennials, then vegetables, followed by trees and shrubs,†said Robert LaGasse, executive director of the association. This year, vegetables went from fourth place to second, which Mr. LaGasse called “an enormous attitude shift.†People like Rita Gartin of Ames, Iowa, are part of that shift. Last year she kept a small garden. This year it has tripled in size into a five-by-seven-foot plot because, Ms. Gartin said, “The cost of everything is going up and I was looking to lose a few pounds, too; so it’s a win-win situation all around.†Ms. Gartin, who fits gardening into her 12-hour workday as an interior designer and property manager, is not intimidated by the 20 kinds of vegetables she has planted: she was raised on a farm with a giant garden. A fence has been erected to keep the deer and people out, and it’s where the pole beans and snap peas are already climbing. She is ready to take a stab at canning, but reserves the right to freeze everything instead, she said. “I probably spent maybe $50 for everything and that’s less than a week’s cost of groceries or the price of a gym,†she said. Seed companies and garden centers say they didn’t see the rush coming. There wasn’t any buildup last year, said Barbara Melera, the co-owner of the D. Landreth Seed Company in New Freedom, Pa., who takes the pulse of gardeners at the 13 garden shows she attends around the country each year. “We pack for all the shows and bring 16 different beans, 10 packets for each kind,†Ms. Melera said. In earlier years, by the time the shows end in March, she said, “we are lucky if we have sold two of the 10 packets.†“This year,†she said, “we sold out the first show and literally sold hundreds. We never sell any corn; this year we sold out of corn by the end of the season. We saw the same thing in the mail order business.†She said the greatest demand was for what she calls “survival vegetablesâ€: peas, beans, corn, beets, carrots, broccoli, kale, spinach and the lettuces. “It was so different from what it has been in prior years,†she added. Randy Martell, one of the owners of the Garden Factory in Rochester, says it isn’t just vegetables. “The potted fruit trees were sold out by the first week of May,†he said. “Blueberries, raspberries and grapes are sold out. I think those sales have doubled. Overall sales are up about 30 percent.†Dottie Wright, greenhouse manager at one of the Dammann’s Lawn, Garden and Landscaping Centers in Indianapolis, said she talks to people every day who are starting their first vegetable garden. “If they don’t have a yard they try containers for tomatoes and herbs. We can’t keep the herbs in this year.†Thrilled as gardening experts are about this phenomenon, they know that many first timers don’t have any idea how much sweat equity is involved. “Many people I sold seeds to have never gardened before,†Ms. Melera said, “and we have to find a way to educate them so the experience is successful. They have got to be taught.†Mr. Ball of Burpee knows some of the new gardeners won’t stick with gardening beyond the first year. “Some people can’t get with the idea of digging a hole; getting buggy, sticky and hot,†he said. “Gardening is an active hobby; it’s a commitment.†Doreen G. Howard, a former garden editor for Woman’s Day and now a writer for The American Gardener, is one of the committed. She has had a vegetable garden for most of the last 25 years. This year she has quadrupled the size of her vegetable plot in Roscoe, Ill., because of the economy and because she thinks the quality of store-bought produce has deteriorated. Once vegetables were just 5 percent of her garden; now they are 20 percent. “Food prices have gotten to the point where we are seeing the difference,†she said. “It’s pushing our budget and we are a two-income family. It was never a concern before.†Ms. Howard said her grocery bill for two went from $100 a week to $140 a week this year. She has chosen many vegetables that freeze well, investing in a secondhand freezer to store the bounty. She plans to dry the herbs that grow on the back porch next to boxes of mesclun, and to make pickles from the cucumbers and raisins from the grapes — her newest addition. And she is looking forward to a cellar full of Peruvian blue potatoes. Some of Ms. Howard’s increased harvest will also go to food pantries through an organization called Plant a Row for the Hungry, which encourages gardeners to plant extra vegetables to share with the poor. “I’m hoping to take $20 a week off my grocery bill,†she said. This is in the low range, according to Mr. Ball, who says a $100 investment will produce $1,000 to $1,700 worth of vegetables. Ms. Gartin, now in her second year, says gardening is worth the effort. “I got soft calluses from hoeing and digging,†she said, adding cheerfully, “but my fingernails are still pretty — long and not chipped. I probably spent 30 hours putting the garden in, and when I’d come into the house I’d be covered in sweat. But now it’s pretty easy because of all the rain we’ve had.†And the vegetables, she said, are “awesome.†“It’s a totally different flavor from what you buy in the store. It’s exciting to go out and pick the fruits of your labor.†Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 On 6/12/08, cyndikrall <cyndikrall wrote: I don't even know if I could calculate how much I've saved by raising my own veggies. I've been harvesting since literally almost the first day we planted our garden-spinach, lettuce, chard, snap peas, tomatoes, zucchini, kale, radishes, beets, carrots, herbs......it's really amazing. :-) Cyndi I haven't had much to harvest yet-it's been a wierd cold, , cloudy, wet spring, but I have a variety of volunteer lettuces and chervil for salads. My peas are doing well but they are still small-if it ever turns hot I think they'll fry before they bloom. My kale never came up this spring-I'll plant some for fall later. The tomatoes, eggplant and peppers haven't taken off yet either (I had them covered against frost last night!). The potatoes and shallots are flourishing. This weekend I'll put in the corn, beans, squash, carrots, fennel and other stuff. It's a bit late, but the weather hasn't cooperated and then I was out of town last week. I have a few tiny pears on my young tree. This will be the first fruit off this tree. In a year or two I should start getting apples and grapes. I don't count my garden expenses-water, irrigation supplies, plants, seeds, organic remedys and fertilizers- as food expense. I count it as general yard care. The fruits and veggies are frosting on the cake. If I did count the costs I might not save much or any money, but I know my produce is solar powered and worm-friendly, healthy and sourced from small seed suppliers and growers and that I am not exposed to chemicals to grow it, and that I process it in a way that isn't prone to salmonella. I probably am exploited as a worker, but that's my choice. I do hope the weather shapes up soon, much as I enjoy the cool rainy weather. I want to put up a lot for winter eating. I'm going on a noon to nine pm work schedule the week after next, through about the end of August, so I am looking forward to having mornings free for keeping up in the garden. The downside this year is I miss having my cats join me in the garden. Elliot hit a car one evening last month. She's fine, but that was too much a scare, so now the cats are now strictly indoor cats. I might try training Ellie to a leash and harness, but then I think about what a tangled mess that would make around the pea trellis and tall plants. I'll put up lots of bird feeders and try to cultivate some avian company instead. Ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 I keep my cats indoors too. I've lost too many of them over the years, and if anything happened to my current cats, it would kill me. Too bad the weather is not cooperating with you this spring. But congrats on the baby pears! I'd love to have room for a real orchard. We did spend some money to get our raised beds up and running, but we can almost garden all year round here, so it was well worth the expenses. We all are exploited workers for our gardens, lolol, but I agree, it's worth the price we pay. :-)You do need garden bird friends! Here is a link to some pics I took of birds at my feeder and birdbath. I enjoy them so much. :-)http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn318/cyndikrall/Rebutia%20Show%202008/Critters/Birds/?start=0 Cyndi In a message dated 6/12/2008 4:17:57 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes: I haven't had much to harvest yet-it's been a wierd cold, , cloudy, wet spring, but I have a variety of volunteer lettuces and chervil for salads. My peas are doing well but they are still small-if it ever turns hot I think they'll fry before they bloom. My kale never came up this spring-I'll plant some for fall later. The tomatoes, eggplant and peppers haven't taken off yet either (I had them covered against frost last night!). The potatoes and shallots are flourishing. This weekend I'll put in the corn, beans, squash, carrots, fennel and other stuff. It's a bit late, but the weather hasn't cooperated and then I was out of town last week. I have a few tiny pears on my young tree. This will be the first fruit off this tree. In a year or two I should start getting apples and grapes. I don't count my garden expenses-water, irrigation supplies, plants, seeds, organic remedys and fertilizers- as food expense. I count it as general yard care. The fruits and veggies are frosting on the cake. If I did count the costs I might not save much or any money, but I know my produce is solar powered and worm-friendly, healthy and sourced from small seed suppliers and growers and that I am not exposed to chemicals to grow it, and that I process it in a way that isn't prone to salmonella. I probably am exploited as a worker, but that's my choice. I do hope the weather shapes up soon, much as I enjoy the cool rainy weather. I want to put up a lot for winter eating. I'm going on a noon to nine pm work schedule the week after next, through about the end of August, so I am looking forward to having mornings free for keeping up in the garden. The downside this year is I miss having my cats join me in the garden. Elliot hit a car one evening last month. She's fine, but that was too much a scare, so now the cats are now strictly indoor cats. I might try training Ellie to a leash and harness, but then I think about what a tangled mess that would make around the pea trellis and tall plants. I'll put up lots of bird feeders and try to cultivate some avian company instead. Ellen Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 On 6/13/08, cyndikrall <cyndikrall wrote: I keep my cats indoors too. I've lost too many of them over the years, and if anything happened to my current cats, it would kill me. Too bad the weather is not cooperating with you this spring. But congrats on the baby pears! I'd love to have room for a real orchard I have always wanted a secret garden room, so I planted 20 apple trees (well, 18, I need to replace two), in a 20 by 20 foot space. They form a 'fence' around an open center and are being trained to form a lattice on a trellis. They're all on dwarfing rootstock-the two that died are on a less hardy stock. And oh my, picking out just two replacements is proving nearly impossible-way too many to choose from. So I'm looking for a place to put two more in another espallier pattern that is really cool. They are all different varieties, most of them old stuff-Ashmead's Kernal, Newtown Pippin, Chestnut Crab, Esopus Spitzenberg, Arkansas Black. I planted them as unbranched whips a foot tall and let them grow out the first two years-though I should have done more training. This is their third summer and they are really taking off and I need to do some serious work on them this weekend, then I'll take a picture. So anyway, you don't need a lot of room. If I do a good job with training this year I might have fruit next year, but more likely the year after that. There's a guy here in town who has 50 apple trees espalliered in his backyard. It is fantastic. And another orchard near here has many of the varieties I planted, so I have been able to taste them. Oh Glory! The uglier the apple the better it tastes. Applesauce made with a blend of Arkansas Black and a few Ashmead's Kernal, E spitz and Liberty is unbelievably sweet and complex. Some melt away to sauce, some stay chunky. It is fabulous, and has no added sugar-just apples and a half cup of cider (from the same orchard) My pear is a four on one tree-four varieties grafted onto one trunk. One of them died, but the other three are doing well. I have pears on two of them this year, including Comice, my favorite pear. I want to put plum, peach, quince and asian pear along the west side of my vegetable garden. One way to get the pollination needs met without using extra space is to plant two trees in one hole and then train them up as if they were on one trunk. We did spend some money to get our raised beds up and running, but we can almost garden all year round here, so it was well worth the expenses. sweet. I want to put in a hoop house someday so I can extend my season under plastic. For now I'll put up what I can from my own garden and from local produce. I can generally harvest something from April to November. We all are exploited workers for our gardens, lolol, but I agree, it's worth the price we pay. :-) my dad taught me early to garden for the produce-I didn't enjoy it then, but I learned from a master and love it now. You do need garden bird friends! Here is a link to some pics I took of birds at my feeder and birdbath. I enjoy them so much. :-)http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn318/cyndikrall/Rebutia%20Show%202008/Critters/Birds/?start=0 great pictures! Ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 Ellen, do you have a large lot or acreage, that you can put in all these fruit trees? I'm envious! I can see how it would be easy to get totally carried away with them. When we lived in PA, one of my husbands extended relatives grew white peaches. I've never tasted anything that good since. it was probably an old variety that is not is cultivation any more. None of the commercial varieties I've tried have even come close. I wish I know what kind it was! You can definitely put together a hoop house very economically. The thicker the plastic, the more the cost, naturally, but it'll last you for years. You'll be very happy you did it when you can extend those tomatoes and peppers! Glad you enjoyed the bird pics. I never go out there without my camera, they are so fun to watch. :-)Cyndi In a message dated 6/13/2008 9:10:16 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes: I have always wanted a secret garden room, so I planted 20 apple trees (well, 18, I need to replace two), in a 20 by 20 foot space. They form a 'fence' around an open center and are being trained to form a lattice on a trellis. They're all on dwarfing rootstock-the two that died are on a less hardy stock. And oh my, picking out just two replacements is proving nearly impossible-way too many to choose from. So I'm looking for a place to put two more in another espallier pattern that is really cool. They are all different varieties, most of them old stuff-Ashmead's Kernal, Newtown Pippin, Chestnut Crab, Esopus Spitzenberg, Arkansas Black. I planted them as unbranched whips a foot tall and let them grow out the first two years-though I should have done more training. This is their third summer and they are really taking off and I need to do some serious work on them this weekend, then I'll take a picture. So anyway, you don't need a lot of room. If I do a good job with training this year I might have fruit next year, but more likely the year after that. There's a guy here in town who has 50 apple trees espalliered in his backyard. It is fantastic. And another orchard near here has many of the varieties I planted, so I have been able to taste them. Oh Glory! The uglier the apple the better it tastes. Applesauce made with a blend of Arkansas Black and a few Ashmead's Kernal, E spitz and Liberty is unbelievably sweet and complex. Some melt away to sauce, some stay chunky. It is fabulous, and has no added sugar-just apples and a half cup of cider (from the same orchard) My pear is a four on one tree-four varieties grafted onto one trunk. One of them died, but the other three are doing well. I have pears on two of them this year, including Comice, my favorite pear. I want to put plum, peach, quince and asian pear along the west side of my vegetable garden. One way to get the pollination needs met without using extra space is to plant two trees in one hole and then train them up as if they were on one trunk. We did spend some money to get our raised beds up and running, but we can almost garden all year round here, so it was well worth the expenses. sweet. I want to put in a hoop house someday so I can extend my season under plastic. For now I'll put up what I can from my own garden and from local produce. I can generally harvest something from April to November. We all are exploited workers for our gardens, lolol, but I agree, it's worth the price we pay. :-) my dad taught me early to garden for the produce-I didn't enjoy it then, but I learned from a master and love it now. You do need garden bird friends! Here is a link to some pics I took of birds at my feeder and birdbath. I enjoy them so much. :-)http://s307.photobucket.com/albums/nn318/cyndikrall/Rebutia%20Show%202008/Critters/Birds/?start=0 great pictures! Ellen Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 On 6/13/08, cyndikrall <cyndikrall wrote: Ellen, do you have a large lot or acreage, that you can put in all these fruit trees? nope, I have about a 1/5 acre lot.. but a tiny house that doesn't take up much space and a tinier lawn, which I'm whittling away at until I have almost none. The apple fence is a square behind the house in the backyard. The other fruit trees will go in a narrow strip between the vegetable garden and the west property line, about 10 by 80 feet. Growing them as espallier saves a lot of room since they are flat. I'm envious! I can see how it would be easy to get totally carried away with them. When we lived in PA, one of my husbands extended relatives grew white peaches. I've never tasted anything that good since. it was probably an old variety that is not is cultivation any more. None of the commercial varieties I've tried have even come close. I wish I know what kind it was! I knew someone that had a white peach like that. You'd be surprised what varieties you can still get. I'll keep an eye out for you for white peaches, since that is what I'd like to get. I'm borderline for growing peaches here, and there are many peach orchards just over the mountain with really good peaches, but a lot of that land is being developed, so who knows how long the supply will last. You can definitely put together a hoop house very economically. The thicker the plastic, the more the cost, naturally, but it'll last you for years. You'll be very happy you did it when you can extend those tomatoes and peppers! I'd mostly use it for winter harvest of greens and carrots. By the time I have frost kill on tomatoes, I'm pretty well ready to be done with them. But I can't get enough of kale, mustard greens and mixed salad greens in the winter and spending $3 for four wilted kale leaves is simply rediculous when I can grow them. However, I have found that kale and mustard dry beautifully and reconstitute and cook just like fresh. There are some pretty strict rules about greenhouses in my town, I doubt I can get away with a hoop house-no room to hide it around back. ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 13, 2008 Report Share Posted June 13, 2008 here you go, this could be the peach your relative had BELLE OF GEORGIA (25 days after Redhaven, 3 days earlier than Elberta) The classical white peach, dating back to the 1870s. .... probably not hardy enough for me, but they have about 8 white peach varieties here. I bought my apples from them and will get the next batch of tree there. http://www.cumminsnursery.com/peach.htm Ellen On 6/13/08, Ellen <stringweaver wrote: > > > On 6/13/08, cyndikrall <cyndikrall wrote: > > > > > > > > Ellen, do you have a large lot or acreage, that you can put in all these > fruit trees? > > nope, I have about a 1/5 acre lot.. but a tiny house that doesn't take up > much space and a tinier lawn, which I'm whittling away at until I have > almost none. The apple fence is a square behind the house in the backyard. > The other fruit trees will go in a narrow strip between the vegetable garden > and the west property line, about 10 by 80 feet. Growing them as espallier > saves a lot of room since they are flat. > > > > > > > > > > I'm envious! I can see how it would be easy to get totally carried away > with them. When we lived in PA, one of my husbands extended relatives grew > white peaches. I've never tasted anything that good since. it was probably > an old variety that is not is cultivation any more. None of the commercial > varieties I've tried have even come close. I wish I know what kind it was! > > I knew someone that had a white peach like that. You'd be surprised what > varieties you can still get. I'll keep an eye out for you for white > peaches, since that is what I'd like to get. I'm borderline for growing > peaches here, and there are many peach orchards just over the mountain with > really good peaches, but a lot of that land is being developed, so who knows > how long the supply will last. > > > > > > > > > > > > You can definitely put together a hoop house very economically. The > thicker the plastic, the more the cost, naturally, but it'll last you for > years. You'll be very happy you did it when you can extend those tomatoes > and peppers! > > I'd mostly use it for winter harvest of greens and carrots. By the time I > have frost kill on tomatoes, I'm pretty well ready to be done with them. > But I can't get enough of kale, mustard greens and mixed salad greens in the > winter and spending $3 for four wilted kale leaves is simply rediculous when > I can grow them. However, I have found that kale and mustard dry > beautifully and reconstitute and cook just like fresh. > > There are some pretty strict rules about greenhouses in my town, I doubt I > can get away with a hoop house-no room to hide it around back. > > > > ellen > > > > > > > > > -- " If you want to see the heroic, look at those who can love in return for hatred. " –Bhagavad Gita Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 In a message dated 6/13/2008 3:26:47 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes: I knew someone that had a white peach like that. You'd be surprised what varieties you can still get. I'll keep an eye out for you for white peaches, since that is what I'd like to get. I'm borderline for growing peaches here, and there are many peach orchards just over the mountain with really good peaches, but a lot of that land is being developed, so who knows how long the supply will last. I'd rip out half my yard to grow a peach like that! I'd mostly use it for winter harvest of greens and carrots. By the time I have frost kill on tomatoes, I'm pretty well ready to be done with them. But I can't get enough of kale, mustard greens and mixed salad greens in the winter and spending $3 for four wilted kale leaves is simply rediculous when I can grow them. However, I have found that kale and mustard dry beautifully and reconstitute and cook just like fresh. There are some pretty strict rules about greenhouses in my town, I doubt I can get away with a hoop house-no room to hide it around back. Oh, that's too bad. It would really help extend your season. What about some simple coldframes? They would not be large enough to annoy anyone. You might be able to freecycle some old windows and construct a few. i didn't know you could dry kale and mustrd greens. Did you use a regular dehydrator? I have a cheapy one that might be suitable for this. Cyndi Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 COOL, I will check it out! Cyndi In a message dated 6/13/2008 3:42:48 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes: here you go, this could be the peach your relative hadBELLE OF GEORGIA (25 days after Redhaven, 3 days earlier than Elberta)The classical white peach, dating back to the 1870s. .... probably not hardy enough for me, but they have about 8 whitepeach varieties here. I bought my apples from them and will get thenext batch of tree there.http://www.cumminsnursery.com/peach.htmEllen Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife. City's Best 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 2008 Report Share Posted June 14, 2008 > Oh, that's too bad. It would really help extend your season. What about some simple coldframes? They would not be large enough to annoy anyone. You might be able to freecycle some old windows and construct a few. > My plan now is to build a starplate dome: http://www.strombergschickens.com/starplate_building_system/starplate_index.php and cover that with panels of rigid greenhouse plastic. The really complex version of my idea has the panels removable so I can replace them with lattice in the summer. I might get to that later this summer. When I dry the greens I wash them and chop them up to bite sized pieces, then spin them in the salad spinner and spread them out on the dryer. They take about 8 hours on my dryer, until they get nearly crispy. I pour them into a big white food storage bucket. If I'm going to saute the greens I reconstitute them in hot water for an hour or two. If they're going into a long-simmering soup, I just toss them in at the start. Ellen Ellen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 16, 2008 Report Share Posted June 16, 2008 Very interesting, I've never seen that type of pre fab structure before. It'll make a dandy greenhouse. Thanks for the tips on drying the greens. I'll definitely try this! Cyndi In a message dated 6/14/2008 12:50:13 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, stringweaver writes: My plan now is to build a starplate dome:http://www.strombergschickens.com/starplate_building_system/starplate_index.phpand cover that with panels of rigid greenhouse plastic. The reallycomplex version of my idea has the panels removable so I can replacethem with lattice in the summer. I might get to that later thissummer.When I dry the greens I wash them and chop them up to bite sizedpieces, then spin them in the salad spinner and spread them out on thedryer. They take about 8 hours on my dryer, until they get nearlycrispy. I pour them into a big white food storage bucket. If I'mgoing to saute the greens I reconstitute them in hot water for an houror two. If they're going into a long-simmering soup, I just toss themin at the start.EllenEllen Messages in this topic (10) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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