|
|
Post by Mumsey on Sept 16, 2019 9:24:28 GMT -5
binnylou, I'm not going to worry about them this late in the game. I thought if I got out there early this morning they wouldn't be so active when everything is soaking wet. Wrong. Just as bad as ever.
|
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on Sept 16, 2019 9:28:17 GMT -5
Maybe I should get in gear an harvest it.
|
|
|
|
Post by tom 🕊 on Sept 16, 2019 10:18:38 GMT -5
Isn't neem oil effective for white flies? |
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on Sept 16, 2019 20:33:09 GMT -5
Yes, tom 🕊 it is along with insecticidal soap. I think I’ll start harvesting tomorrow, then give the remaining celery a soap spray. And the beets and the carrots. |
|
|
|
Post by Mumsey on Sept 17, 2019 4:19:12 GMT -5
I was mowing last night and discovered the whiteflies in the ornamental grasses and Canna. They are literally everywhere. Since they hide on the underside of leaves it would be impossible to spray every single leaf. Ugh. Their eggs do not survive winter, that's a good thing.
|
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on Sept 17, 2019 18:16:41 GMT -5
I harvested some celery today...only three plants. I can't believe the size of them. The biggest of the three was 25 inches tall. I've picked off all the nice clean leaves from those three plants and that filled my salad spinner. I gave them three rinses with the first rinse having some lemon juice added. They are going to the dehydrator. Stalks are going to the freezer by way of food saver bags.
I'd guess that there is at least double, if not triple and amount of foliage as the crop I grew last year. The difference is a raised bed in full sun versus a raised hugelculture bed in the shady area.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mumsey on Sept 18, 2019 5:01:53 GMT -5
binnylou, My first batch this year was huge too. I attribute it to all the rain early on. I have 6 more out there that are doing well, planted in July from starts I found on clearance. Same kind from the same place. I'm going to try to wait a couple more weeks before cutting them.
|
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on Sept 20, 2019 22:46:06 GMT -5
I harvested more celery today. ..five plants this time. The dehydrator is full of leaves, there’s three more soup sized packages of sliced celery in the freezer, and I have a quart freezer bag of celery trimmings. Those are in the freezer for a batch of vegetable broth or chicken stock.
While I was cleaning/prepping celery, some of the inner ribs were much more pale. Normally, I don’t care for my home grown celery for fresh eating...I find it just too strong flavored. But these pale inner ribs were delicious. So I broke out the peanut butter and cream cheese and we had an afternoon snack.
I’ve never wrapped my celery as is suggested...thought it was too much trouble for soup making celery. But, after tasting this celery, I may have to consider it next year.
|
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on Sept 23, 2019 9:57:51 GMT -5
Celery tops are lush this year. I took his picture before I cut. Tops have been dried and reduced to powder for soups.  DSCF0386 by BLou, on Flickr |
|
|
|
Post by desertwoman on Sept 23, 2019 11:11:22 GMT -5
I don't grow celery as it doesn't do well in our dry climate. But you've caught my attention with celery powder binnylou, Hadn't heard of doing that. Sounds like a great idea for getting celery flavor into things. |
|
|
|
Post by tom 🕊 on Sept 23, 2019 11:32:13 GMT -5
Tops have been dried and reduced to powder for soups. How do you powder the tops? Do you powder both leaf and stem? I use a blender for grinding herbs, but some material, like sage, does not grind well in a blender. |
|
|
|
Post by binnylou on Sept 23, 2019 12:02:50 GMT -5
tom 🕊, After drying the celery leaves, he transferred to a large bowl just to contain them when he crushed them with his hands. Then he used a mortar and pestle to grind them. He did sift the powder with a large mesh strainer just to remove any small stems that didn't crush. Some stems were dried, but it was mostly leaves.
|
|
|
|
Post by heirloomfan on Oct 1, 2019 11:24:11 GMT -5
Binnylou my celery looks exactly like yours, very lush tops and thin stalks. I think they might prefer cooler weather but not sure.
In the meantime might have to harvest tops before the frost.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mumsey on Nov 28, 2019 5:37:34 GMT -5
binnylou, Trying to decide which variety to grow from seed. Tango or Tall Utah. Tango seed seem to be pricey.
|
|
