Strawberries Acclimating

It's taken all summer but the strawberry plants are finally starting to feel at home. Some of them didn't make it but with the heat, even though it has been a mild summer, took half of the plants. The rest seem to be liking the location we selected and are starting to get bigger. Hopefully we'll have a few berries before the summer is over.
Our trip down south just reminded me of how much I wish we had more rain. We were caught in a sprinkle, not a downpour or a barely nothing few drops. It came down softly and cooled things off a little. Of course after that the sun came back out and turned it all to humidity you could feel. Kind of like when you have a hot shower, you just stepped out, and the mirror is fogged up so thick you think it's just part of the wall.

Summer Rains

The rain  this summer has been keeping our July nice and cool this year. It's still been a little too warm for some of my tomato plants to produce well but they're looking healthy and I have hopes for a nice fall tomato crop.

They say it probably hit 100 degrees for a short bit one day so far but I don't think it quite made it where I was so I'm refusing to count it. The rain and warm weather has gotten my cucumbers to produce really well this year. We've eaten several of them so far and there are still more growing. Likewise the pepper plants are loving the weather. They would grow in hotter weather too but with the rain and nice temperatures there are plenty of peppers for making tasty meals.  For some reason the zucchini isn't doing so well though. They made some fruit and then began to die back. I thought people always talked about the plentiful zucchini but maybe I need to redo the soil. There's always next year.

The potatoes made little bitty potatoes after the tops died back. If there's anything else down there I haven't found it. It's possible that it's really deep though and I want to wait to dig any deeper so as not to disturb any neighboring plants. There are still onions in the ground nearby as well as some herbs.

Making Bread - Demystified

I was reading in the paper and there was an article about the hassle of making bread. It talked about how we don't know how to do the simple things anymore and instead rely on store bought loaves that really don't give you the same satisfaction as if you got them fresh.

In this article they also gave a recipe for what they called the easiest bread ever.  Sure they made it look all fancy and plugged specialized equipment that no one really ever needs to even know exists, but the for got to loop back to the real problem we're facing. It takes time to make bread and they gave one of the worst recipes I can imagine to start with.  They said to use yeast, and yes they recommended quick rise yeast, but they insisted that you don't have to kneed it and that it takes three hours to rise.  This is the part that bugged me.  At this point you might as well have thrown the ingredients into a bread machine or gone down to the store and gotten some of their bakery items. You'd have the same experience.

To make a good loaf of bread, and really feel more a part of the process, you have to get your hands dirty. Knead the crap out of that dough! This isn't just a way to mix the dough. First off this really makes you appreciate the bread and what goes into it. Second it actually makes the bread rise better. Your body heat gives the yeast a better environment to thrive and thus makes it rise quicker and better.

Another thing they didn't seem to want to do, and I can understand that there are a lot of people out there who might agree, is add sugar to the ingredients. We're not talking about a cup of sugar or even a quarter cup. All you need is a teaspoon or so to feed the yeast. This will wake those buggers up and help them multiply. Even with quick acting yeast I would add sugar.  This doesn't affect the taste of the bread since the yeast eats nearly all of it up during the process.

As far as the tools you need, you just need a bowl, some measuring cups and spoons, and a loaf pan or two. You might even decided to make it a round loaf which just needs a flat pan to bake on.  Get used to making bread first and if you decide later you want to get fancy then go explore the world of breads and see which kinds you like. In general they are easy to make and will make you feel accomplished.

Recipe Coming Soon!

Office Ants

Sometimes, even three stories up, you run across the problem of ants.  Ants of course live in dirt and when you have many plants sometimes they get the idea that it would make a nice home. Apart from removing the dirt you have few options.  What I recommend is taking the plant out and soaking the dirt to drive the ants out. After you are sure the ants are out and have fled for their lives you can then let the water drain out and put it back where it came from.
To prevent ants from returning you need to try to find out what they've been eating that makes the dirt such a convenient home. In my office's case it seems to be crumbs left over from having food in the conference room a little too often. Once the food source is removed all you have left to do is a little preventative spraying and you should be fine. If they return then something else is wrong. Maybe the floor under or over you is providing plenty of food for everyone and the problem you're having may just be run over from theirs. In that case you would need to discuss this with your neighbors.