I realize I can use my nifty coir over and over BUT, will that be true for those crops like Tomatoes and Eggplant that should have their planting area changed out each year? I suppose I could just change the coir from one place to another but...?
Coir People...Just asking:
Great question. I await the answer too.
Devota: Yes, that is one I would like the answer to also. As they say you should rotate your crops.
joy
um, I use EBs and I've never rotated my tomato crop....unless you mean by turning the box around so I could reach the watering tube....I did rotate once....but only once....
Cute Miss Gymgirl. Those late night hours are catching up with you. LOL
Seriously...I wondered if the coir made a difference.
Gymgirl, have you raised tomatoes in the same Ebucket of coir more than one year? D in TN
Calling Bob and Tplant. Hello out there. Need your advice.
Devotay,
The past Fall planting would be my 3rd time in the same EBs with the same MG potting mix, and my 2nd time in the eBuckets. This'll be my FIRST season planting in the SAME EBs and eBuckets, using Bocabob's coco coir.
And yeah, I got exactly 2 hours of sleep last night -- got up at 6:00. I'm so tired I could fall asleep and drown in this bowl of spaghetti and shrimp!
This message was edited Feb 21, 2009 4:01 PM
hehe, you crazy girls always make me smile. Bob is selling stuff at the Green Market today, (every Sat) I'm sure he'll see this later tonight.
Oh, yeah, forgot about Bob. Well there isn't any hurry for me since I'm light years away from tomato season here. I like the sound of your dinner Gymgirl. mmm mmm good.
MAKE IT IN 20 MINUTES. I tell you it was a total throw down, done on the fly, and I wasn't sure what I'd end up with. But it is a winner! I'll give you the recipe on d-mail if you want. LMK.
Would anyone object if you put the recipe on here Love shrimp LOL
Tubby
Ok, maybe if I do this in a hurry, no one will notice!
Angelhair Pasta with Shrimp and Clams
1 lb. Angelhair pasta
1 lb. Hillshire Farms Garlic Sausage (or some other spicy sausage you like), sliced 1/4" to 1/2" thick
1/4 to 1/2 medium purple onion, chopped
1 teaspoon diced fresh garlic (or grab a jar of already diced like I did. I used 1 teaspoon)
Garlic Powder
Pasta seasoning
Cayenne Pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
One HUGE can (51 oz.) of Seawatch Chopped Sea Clams (bought 'em in a two-pack at Sam's/Costo to keep on hand in the pantry, just in case -- or some similar chopped clams you can get).
1 cup to 1-12 cup of the clam juice
1 to 1-1/2 cups clams
1 lb. fresh or frozen shrimp (thawed and shelled)
I cooked this sauce in one pot.
Put on a pot of lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, reduce the heat, and cook approximately 17 minutes (or less time, 8-11 minutes? for al dente, if you prefer)
In a deep, heavy pot or cast iron dutch oven (whatever), throw in some olive oil like you're Emeril Lagasse and brown the sausage slices on both sides. Do not burn. Remove the sausage from the oil and reserve. Using the same pot and the remaining pan drippings, sautee the onions and the garlic. Don't burn the garlic. Pour a large jar of Prego Tomato Sauce w/Meat into the onions, garlic and drippings. Return the sausage to the pot.
Grab your seasonings and sprinkle to taste. I used about 1/2 tsb. of Tony Chachere's for some "zip", 1 tsp. garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp. of pasta seasoning (oregano, basil, etc.). I sprinkled some paprika and a little cayenne pepper, too. Not too much. Just a sprinkle or two. Add the sugar to cut the tomato "tang." Use your own taste here. We don't like tangy tomato sauce. If you do, leave out the sugar or use less or more as you prefer.
Open the can of clams, measure 2/3 of the clams and add to the pot, which should be almost boiling. Add approximately 1 cup to 1-1/2 cup of the clam juice to the tomato sauce. Use your taste! Lower the heat, put the lid on, and simmer to marry the flavors (long enough to drain the pasta and go set the table). Fold the raw shrimp into the sauce in the last 5-7 minutes before you intend to plate up. Overcooking the shrimp will ruin the dish!
Pasta should be cooked by now. Drain in a colander and DO NOT RINSE THE PASTA!
Serve in pasta bowls with some nice garlic bread. If you weren't in a true hurry, you could do a simple salad on the side.
Enjoy.
P.S. Do a couple splashes of Tabasco into the sauce or just sit the bottle on the table for the brave of heart....
And, do NOT tell me how you just got out of hand and ate waaaaaaaaaaaay too much......
Gymgirl: Don't you cook your sausage first in water before browning it? I do and then I peel off the skin.
joy
Oh my! Thank you, thank you. I have most everything here with the exception of the seafood. This sounds positively Cajun, girl. My best friend is Cajun. I have to ask her if she's ever done anyhting like this
Joy, why do you take off the skin? Is it a personal preference?
Devota: I always do, don't like to eat it. I usually cook all my sausage in boiling water first, then let it cool and peel the skin off and then brown it, don't want it be uncooked, and if it's pink, it's uncooked, a precaution I use in cooking sausage.
joy
Okay, I see. Joy, did you ever take your trip to south Fla?
Devota: No; put it off for a little while.
joy
Good question Devota, about growing the same plants in the same grow mix year after year. I have often wondered about that but have never saw any info about it. I have noticed that some hydroponic growers who grow in straight perlite flush the perlite with a weak solution of hydrogen peroxide before re-using it. The coir that came with my verti-gro system is now about 4 years old and all I have ever done to it is clean out the roots before reusing it. But I mostly grow flowers in it.
Hydrogen peroxide (weak solution) is supposed to be good for plants so if it would also kill whatever pathogens the tomato's left in the grow mix without harming the next crop, that would be a good deal.
And Gymgirl, my philosophy about cooking is similiar to yours. Put some good old Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning in it and if that dont improve it, it wasnt worth eating anyway.:-)
Jaywhacker: Her recipe sounds delicious but when you buy Italian sausage you need to realize it is made from Pork and needs to be cooked well, or you could wind up very sick, most times if you boil the sausage first before crumbling it and cooking it til all the pink is gone you are fine.
Just had one huge mishap, as the way I have the new grow light fixed I had to move what was under the light propping it up as it was right up to the light, (my maters), well in doing so, I dropped the biggest one and bent the stem. (sniffles). But the rest made it okay. I also had to move my cukes which I had planted in the APS and even though it is self watering, I'd be careful, as my cukes now are starting to get dampening off disease, a problem I think that could have been avoided by A. starting them later as they are huge already B. Using either the bio sponges or the coconut coir as I used the Gardeners Supply germinating mix and with the APS it seems to be way too damp.
Soon as it dries out a bit I will treat it with chammoille tea and hope for the best, worst case scenario, I will be starting cukes again in a few weeks.
joy
I am growing my third crop of tomatoes in the same 5 gallon grow bag with coconut coir. I just dump the bag into a wheel barrel and pull out the big roots, fluff and play with it alittle, put it back into the bag and plant the new tomato plant. So far my new plants are fine. We'll see.
BocaBob
Bob, well that is good enuff for me. Thanks
Jaywhacker, The peroxide is a great idea there, too.
And rt1850nomore, does that help you, too?
rt1850nomore [what a mouthful. tee hee.]
You bet, it helps. Here in the Southwest we have a lot of virus problems in our soil so rotation is very critical and hard to do in a normal sized in-town yard. Using and reusing bags of coir is a real boon.
Corn is the only crop that really takes from the mix but with the
coir I feel that all I'll have to do is clean out the roots from it, re-fertilize and plant all over again because I've noticed so far that the coir does not get mushy and develop a sour odor. However it is really to soon for me to say at this time. All I can say is try it for yourself? That is the only way to learn if you are a skeptic? Bob claims to reuse it over and over and his results seem to be pretty good! What do you think? I must admit his results speak for themselves. I'll bet his wife does not have to buy vegetables and that is a big savings of $$$$.
We haven't bought fresh produce at the grocery store since Dec. 1st.
BocaBob
Thanks for all the info and you too there Tplant. Did you go to the Market where Bob sells his goodies?
TPlant: All my corn is going to planted in coconut coir this Spring, so will let everyone know how that goes from year to year. I think as long as you replace the fertilizer and the lime it should be ok. Coconut coir is just a growing medium I would think, it doesn't have any nutrients or minerals in it unless you put them there, now the JG would have to be replaced as it breaks the mix down.
joy
Devota --- No! I did not go to Bob's market because it was my son's birthday and I almost forgot.. Next time I will...
Tplant,
I understand that "almost forgot" thing, though my forgetter is getting better all the time.
Wish they were finished with the construction here as I would love to start my corn in BocaBob's coir but must wait for them to pave because of the dust. As a matter of fact I'm going to the doctor today as my bronchitis is acting up so I'll be going for the inhaler treatments again. With the lack of rain we have dust all over the place even on the weekends when they are not here. Tried working outside yesterday but it was windy and that is why I'm on my way to the doctor today for a treatment.
Didn't think I needed my surgical mask that Tubby sent me because there weren't any workers? Just can't win!
Joy,
No I do not boil sausage, unless it's a weiner. And even then, I'm inclined to wrap in in a bun, wrapped in a damp paper towel, and nuke the whole shebang for approximately 45 seconds....
Devota!
Thank you, thank you, too! BTW, I just ate the last of the leftovers for lunch Saturday, and, girl, like ALL good CREOLE cooking, of course it tasted better than the day I made it!
Well Gymgirl I didn't know you were a gal after my own heart! I don't skin sausage or boil it neither, expect for hot dogs, and have many times popped a cold one in the microwave in a hot dog bun or bread, zapped for 45 seconds and ate it.
To me it would seem like boiling sausage like that would take all the flavor away with the grease, and I always cook pork until done to eat, period. Kinda like you wouldn't want to boil bacon or breakfast sausage before you fry it. I also can't stand the well used method by many of boiling ribs before they put them on the grill. Blecch....Just a matter of personal preference I think.
boiling? a RIB????? aaaaaaaaaaaaaAAArrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh! :0}
Do you how to cook kidney's..Boil the pi-- out of them..LOL
How did we get to BocaBobs coco coir to the above subjects ? D-mail is really for that purpose besides I hate fatty, greasy hot dogs cooked in the micro wave. LOL
Hot Dogs on the grill Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Good
Now that is more like it Tubby!!!
Tubby: I'll stick with brats and yes you boil them first, as they have pork in them and have skins on them so you need to boil them to get the pink out or you could wind up with botulism.
joy
Sorry Joy, I don't boil Brats, Boudain or hot links either but like I said I guess it's a personal preference, no disrespect intended. You split the skin with a knife before the fry/grill them and it's the same, just cook very well. Even the little Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage links have skin on 'em. Gymgirl, yes, some sadly uninformed people boil ribs to make them more tender and then grill them for the flavor. Blecccchh and double bleccchchhhh!
Okay buddy Ted no more poor pork botulism jokes except by Dmail, hehehe! You know I love you and don't want a whoopin'. Sorry for hijacking the thread.
This message was edited Feb 23, 2009 8:07 PM
Darkmoondreamer: I boil my brats in beer with onions, yummy, ain't you never had brats boiled in beer with onions and top it off with kraut on a bun? The reason people boil pork first is to cook the inside of the pork so they don't get botulism, as when you cook it on the grill you are only cooking the outside of the meat, not the outside; but, if you don't want to that is fine, some people like raw fish and oysters too? They also get very sick sometimes too. Just some advice is all.
Love You
Joy
Please get back to the thread? Please? It is to early for this !