Charlie Brown Christmas Tree...

We had one of our Bradford Pear Trees die this year. Over the past few weeks we had the dead tree removed. Then, last Thursday, we had the stump ground down. So, I had a big pile of mulch in the front yard, and needed to do something with it. Hmm, well I do have a potted Pine Tree in the back yard. Lets see what we can do with a big pot, a pile of mulch, a pile of clay soil from a post hole, a bunch of stones, and a small Pine Tree...

 and the pile of mulch...

Greenhouse Stub Fence

I've been working on a way to seal the south end of the garden from my little garden glutton.  Given the opportunity Harley will eat everything in the garden.  Yes he is just a walking stomach.  Previously I had an impromptu piece of wood blocking the north side of the greenhouse to the garden.  Well, that wasn't really a good solution, and it was deteriorating.  So, I had a need to replace it, and also one of the fence posts broke adjacent to the spot I wanted to add this stub fence.

Above is the finished stub fence.  Below is where I started.  On the right there is a broken post on the outer fence.  Need to fix that, but also wanted to tie the outer fence into the greenhouse frame to make this stub fence.  The greenhouse has been in this state for about seven years.  It is time to do some renovation.

I cleaned out the greenhouse several weeks ago, and that gave me some ideas about where I wanted to go with it.  At first this was a legitimate greenhouse that I used to start plants.  Then I kept building on it, and the Trumpet Vine grew over it, so it wasn't as useful as a greenhouse.  Then it was repurposed to overwinter plants.  Well, it wasn't sealed very well, and the heater broke, so it failed that mission.  After that it became sort of a garden shed for the power equipment, and garden tools.

So, first I need a new post for the outer fence.  This is a regular thing for me.  The outer fence was built with Cedar posts, and they just don't last very long.  So, when they break I replace them with Pressure Treated Pine Posts.  Also, I use two posts per panel in the middle of the runners instead of at the ends.  This doubles the strength of the fence.

Post holes are tough to dig in this Texas Clay Soil, and it is oppressively hot during the day, so I've been digging my post holes at night.  I did this one at about 10 PM.  It's still hot, but not beat you down, and burn you to a cinder hot.  Also I have added a 2x4 support beam on the greenhouse to support the runners that hold the slats.

Previously I had tried to seal the greenhouse for overwintering plants.  Well, that didn't work too well.  So, now I am going for a flow through design to let the air freely circulate through the greenhouse.  This involves removing that materials that I had previously used to seal the greenhouse.  I've pulled the slats off the sides of the greenhouse to remove the plastic sheeting, and I'll replace the slats with an air gap between them.

Then, finally, the white door has to go.  It was another attempt to seal the greenhouse.  Again, didn't work very well.  I am going to replace it with a gate type half door that can be folded back against the greenhouse on the right.  After cleaning all of this up the last thing to do is to put the slats back on.  This has been a neat project over the last week.  Now I got to hit that Trumpet Vine again...

Saured Kraut

This is the Red Sauerkraut after 6 days.  It is starting to get that "Kraut" smell which I sense as Chlorine Dioxide.  It has a very chlorinated smell.  This may be why Cabbage is a Super Food, possibly a Super Healing Food because it outgasses Chlorine Dioxide.  Cruciferous Vegetables are known to have super health enhancing properties, and maybe also some healing benefits, but what if it is more.  What if Sauerkraut can kill viruses?  I know that the Lactobacillus Acidophilos will take over a culture, and kill off all other inoculations.  What if it also kills off viruses?  I don't know but, I do know that eating Sauerkraut gives me Mega-Energy, and makes me feel like a Super Hero...

Red Sauerkraut

Craving Fermented Food, and I had a head of Red Cabbage.  Hmmm...  Red Sauerkraut?  I have a book called Wild Fermentation that covers all sorts of fermented foods.  Kimchi is one that I like, and made a few times.  Giardiniera is another that I have made which contains a medley of vegetables.

The Red Sauerkraut is much simpler that either the Kimchi, or the Giardinera.  You basically chop the Cabbage, put salt on it, then wait for it to sweat, pack it in a jar, and let it sit around for a while.

It is a little more complex than that, but not much.  You have to take some precautions to keep it submerged.  Also you have to punch it down after you salt it.  Kind of beat it up to hasten the osmosis process that makes the brine.  You have to come back to periodically, and beat it a little with a muddle to encourage the osmosis which pulls the water out of the cabbage to form the brine.  You also need to monitor the water level, and keep it above the cabbage.

It will take several days for the fermentation to kick it.  As it ferments you will see the color change, and brine will accumulate.  Just check it periodically, and punch it some more.Within a week it will start getting that sauerkraut taste.  It is edible already, so try it.  After three weeks, roughly, you can put it in the Fridge, to store it.  It will still ferment,  just a little slower, and get better.  After a few batches you will find a time where it is just right, and it's time to go to the Fridge.  I like simple food, but I think I want to make this one a little more complex, maybe by adding Beets, and Carrots.

Greenhouse and Tomatoes

These are Heirloom Tomatoes, and various other vegetation.  Some of these Tomatoes have very interesting shapes.  I've grown various Heirloom plants before, but these are the strongest ever.

This one has ridges.  I not sure of the variety, but it's looks like it be like a large Beefsteak variety.

 Then this one has Black splotches on the sepal.  I think one of the varieties I got was called Bob's Black.  There are thousands of cultivars of Tomatoes.  You can even cross your own species to make one your own.  Horticulture is a very advanced science, thousands of years old.  Explore it...

Swiss Chard

Swiss Chard is not something I cook very often.  I had a friend offered some Swiss Chard from her garden, and I thought OK, lets give it a try.  I'm going to treat them like Greens, something I do make fairly often.  Swiss Chard is somewhere between Celery, and Mustard, and maybe sort of like Spinach too.  It has thick Celery like Stalks, and big fibrous leaves.  It  wants a slow braise.

First you want to clean them thoroughly, then separate the stalks from the leaves.  I chopped the stalks into large pieces, and the leaves into one inch sections.  The leaves will simmer down to almost nothing, sort of like Spinach.  So you'll need a lot of Swiss Chard to make a batch of Greens.

Like with the other Greens I make, I'm going to start with Butter, Onions, Sea Salt, Red Pepper, and Black Pepper.  Let them saute a while in the sauce pan

Then I add the Swiss Chard Stalks, and keep simmering.  Both the leaves, and stalks of the Swiss Chard are relatively bitter when they are raw.  They can possibly be used in a salad if you like the bitterness, some people do.  But, definitely try them cooked as greens.  They could possibly be even better if I had made them as Southern Greens with a Ham Hock, and Cornbread.

I let those simmer on low heat for 10, or 15 minutes, then added a couple cups of Chicken Stock.  At this point cover the pan, and let the Chicken Stock come up to a simmer.  Then we'll dump in the Swiss Chard leaves, and let the Swiss Chard Greens finish off for about 5 minutes.

I maybe added a little too much Chicken Stock, and the Greens were a little soupy, but I don't mind.  You can add some filler as you are eating them.  I had these with some Garlic and Mushroom Egg Noodles, and a couple slices of Rustic Toscana Bread.  Great for an impromptu Monday Dinner.

Halo Q

I found this November 6, 2018...