I planted my onion seeds a couple of days ago. I also planted my Aji pepper seeds. They are in an east window and the tray is covered with a translucent, disposable grocery bag to hold in moisture and moderate temperature.
Onions
Onions grow well around here and are grown commercially on the muck-farms near Eaton Rapids. I have never been very motivated to grow onions in a big way because I could drive down a two-track to a packing house and buy fifty pounds for $10 out the back door.
Onions add flavor to nearly every savory dish and store well.
I planted a variety named "Patterson" which is a long-day onion. That means it initiates bulbing based on day-length and does well in the North but not so well south of St. Louis, Missouri. Eaton Rapids is about 250 miles north of St. Louis so I should be OK.
I am not sure if I am late or early in planting those seeds. My thinking is that onions are cold resistant and I can put them in a cool place to slow them down if they get ahead of me.
Aji Peppers
Aji peppers are a different species of pepper than the common chili or sweet pepper. Aji peppers are Capsicum baccatum and originate in Columbia, Venezeula and Peru.
They are slow, lazy germinators, even by the standards of peppers and chilis. I will plant the rest of my pepper and chili seeds in a couple of weeks.
Donating blood
One of the local organization has a blood drive tomorrow.
Southern Belle needed four units when she brought Quicksilver into this world. I have two more units to donate before I have that paid back. Yes, I know that is not how that works but it still feels like a debt I can help with. Somebody will need that blood.
Bishop in Los Angeles shot
Several years ago one of my friends told me that he had a conversation with his priest/rabbi/pastor and the conversation turned to our fraying social order.
My friend asked "When do we slip the leash? How will we know it was the starting shot of the war?"
I cannot be sure if the answer was partially tongue-in-cheek, but the response was "When they start executing clergy"
Auxiliary Bishop (Roman Catholic) David O'Connell was shot to death in his home on Saturday. There are lots of reasons why people get shot: Robbery, romantic entanglements, drinkin'-n-druggin', feuds, grudges, envy, power, bad-luck....
I hope this is not the start of a trend.
Mom report
Mom was really out of it today when Southern Belle and I visited at lunch.
I wondered if she had a stroke.
The good news was that her hearing aids had not been charged the night before.
Forty-five minutes on the charging ports and mom was back to normal. Amazing things, batteries.
Incidentally, it has been suggested that one reason I am as smart as I am is due to the Lithium batteries in my head.
Before you get too impressed, you need to know that "Lith" is Greek for "Rocks".
The onions can be planted in a patch, very thickly, like grass, in September, and dug up and transplanted into rows, after the first frost. These will be ready mid June or start of July, and will go to seed if you want to save seed. Spring planted onions will produce end of summer or early fall
ReplyDeleteGood to know! May have to try that this fall...
DeleteI donated blood when I was younger. Several family members have needed it over the years. Remarkable thing, the public blood bank. I won't let anyone stick a needle in me for anything nowadays, sucking out or pushing in, get away from me with that thing....
ReplyDeletePattersons work well for me north of 49. I seed mine at two seeds per one cup pot. I transplant when pot is root bound enough to just hold the root ball together. Bare root transplanting doesn’t work as well. I have some trouble with bulbs setting seed stalks but that doesn’t affect them from storing well.
ReplyDeleteLast year was exceptional, I harvested more than 50 lbs from 40 sq ft. A good leaf mulch helps after the soil has warmed. Growing your own is a skill worth learning and doesn’t usually happen in one year. And you know what’s been sprayed on them. Happy gardening.
One generally unspoken reason for violence against Catholic Clergy is the fact that many of them are guilty of molesting young boys...who grow up to be dysfunctional angry men. It's not beyond the realm of possibility that the death of the bishop was a bit of late vigilante justice.
ReplyDeleteA good point. Also, Catholic clergy, and to a lesser extent those of large Protestant churches, are seen as a part of the local power structure in a way that small church staff aren't.
DeleteFather Alphonse Boardway, one of the priests who served in the Diocese of Lansing was "capped" execution style as he sat in the front seat of a car with an open window. That happened in Arizona.
DeleteCredible allegations had been made that he sexually abused minors while he was in Lansing.
I assume that he was sent to training and reassigned to another parish.
The follow-up training with the 158 grain semi-wadcutter was more permanent.
There’s a lot of growing anger out there. It won’t be long before more and more people snap.
ReplyDeleteAnd now the blood supply is contaminated because they refuse to separate vaccinated from unvaccinated. The Red Cross even says it doesn't contaminate the blood and can't be transmitted that way. Yeah, and nobody in the medical community lied to us for the past two years. And the sudden rise in heart problems and health problems in young and healthy people is just coincidence. And...blah, blah, blah.
ReplyDeleteI get paid over $180 per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I just got paid $ 8550 in my previous month It Sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don’t check it.
ReplyDeleteHERE.....................☛ Www.jobsrevenue.com