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Post by meemo on May 20, 2010 9:49:18 GMT -5
I made this up. You dont have to use pork chops. Any pork will do. Most of the time I make it with the country ribs. I dont have amounts. Just make however much you need for your family. Brown the pork and put in a deep roaster pan. Slice a large onion in thick slices and put over the pork. Peel and slice potatoes in thick rounds. Or I've used small new potatoes. Put that over the onions. Then put a qt of whole tomatoes with the juice in a blender. Add either 2 or 3 cloves of garlic or 1 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp onion powder; 3 Tablespoons dried basil. If you have fresh use more. And a tablespoon of parsley. Salt and Pepper to taste. Pulse it a few times to break up the tomatoes and garlic. Pour over the stuff in the roaster. If it doesnt cover the potatoes add wateror tomato juice until they are barely covered. Cover the pan and bake 325 degrees for 2 hours or until the taters are tender. We always have a lot of the tomato stuff left over. Its really very good over rice the next day. If by some miracle a piece of pork survives the hogs around the table I cut that up in it.
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Post by Granny Smith on May 21, 2010 16:39:26 GMT -5
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with hogs around the table! This sounds good. I put up my tomatoes last year by just whizzing them in the food processor till they were liquidy, heating them on the stove, and canning them. They'd be perfect for this recipe. I would just have to stir the seasoning into it.
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Post by BigM on May 22, 2010 8:19:36 GMT -5
This sounds great! I wish I didn't have a black thumb!
Me
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Post by Granny Smith on May 22, 2010 20:46:51 GMT -5
Bigm, do you have a place to make a garden? If you do, we can help you learn to grow things.
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Post by Valerie on May 24, 2010 7:42:54 GMT -5
BigM you don't need much room. Gayle's doing square foot gardening this year (4' x 4' beds) and I'm growin stuff in buckets on my porch.
Oh yeah, whereabouts in FL do you live? I lived in Sarasota as a kid, then the Kissimmee area, then Jacksonville until '06. We live west of Jax in the GA bend, now.
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Post by BigM on May 25, 2010 8:10:20 GMT -5
I'm just outside of the Sarasota/Bradenton area. Myabe we could meet up in the middle some time?
As far as gardening goes, I have 4x8 boxes to do the Sq Ft Garden, but most everything grows, but doesn't produce, and what does get produced the bugs get to.
This year I have to make a chicken tractor first and DH is dragging his feet about the cost. I don't think he realizes it will be $50 or less. Honestly I'm just really frustraited with the whole ordeal right now. lol
Me
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Post by Granny Smith on May 25, 2010 9:23:40 GMT -5
I can imagine how frustrating it would be to have to have expenditures approved. Dan never said anything about what I spend. Heck, even if I want to take out a loan, he just swings by the bank on his way home from work and signs the papers (after I had everything filled out). Just last night, I found a camper I want to buy. I showed him the pictures of it. He told me to find out if it's still available and, if it is, to go apply for the loan and he'd sign it, borrow his friend's truck, and go pick up the camper for me. (His won't haul something that big) He trusts my judgement and, basically, lets me make most of the money decisions. I make sure he has everything he needs and most of what he wants (like money to play golf every other weekend) He doesn't like having to concern himself with money.
Have you tried using floating row covers to keep the bugs off your plants? Or planting things to repel them? (for instance, marigolds with tomatoes to keep the hornworms away)
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Post by BigM on May 26, 2010 6:53:07 GMT -5
It's partly me partly him and both of our up bringings. I think it would be nice if he were "hands off" but alas, it isn't so.... (heavy sigh)
I wanted to try companion planting this year. I've got the whole thing worked out on paper. lol
What are floating row covers??
Me
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Post by Granny Smith on May 26, 2010 9:13:54 GMT -5
Floating row covers are simply lightweight fabric that you lay over the plants and pin down along the edges, so they don't blow away. You can, also, lay them over a frame. Some people make the frames out of arched pvc pipe, stuck in the ground at both ends, some make them out of pieces of arched wire fencing, such as woven wire or chicken wire.
My biggest complaint about using covers is that you have to pollinate by hand, since it blocks out the bees, too. Of course, if you're growing non-fruiting vegetables, such as carrots, cabbage, or lettuce, that isn't a problem.
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Post by BigM on May 27, 2010 7:38:20 GMT -5
I got the wood yesterday for the chicken tractor so we can hopefully get that done and the garden "set up" by the end of the weekend. [FC]
Me
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Post by Valerie on May 27, 2010 11:51:39 GMT -5
Keep in mind, Big M, that gardening in FL is like no where else in the world, except maybe Australia. Whatever you read in the books, mags, websites, back it up about 2 months. My Grandpa lived in Sarasota for years and when we moved down, he gave my mom a book called Florida Gardening Month by Month. If you can find a copy, maybe on eBay, it will save you a lot of hassle.
Oh yeah, if your stuff is growing but not producing, you're probably lacking in pollinators. We had that problem in Jacksonville. There just weren't any bees left. In that case, hand pollinating would be your best bet anyway.
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Post by Granny Smith on May 27, 2010 12:28:36 GMT -5
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Post by BigM on May 28, 2010 6:47:00 GMT -5
Thanks ladies!! It's just so frustrating to put all that effort into it to get nothing, kwim?
Me
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Post by Valerie on May 28, 2010 7:43:41 GMT -5
Oh yeah, I know. It happens to me a lot! Last year, I started over a 100 plants from seed in my spare bedroom, under lights. I spent weeks getting the garden ready, tilling and removing every weed and piece of grass by hand. I set them all out in late March and early April, planted my seeds, and then it started raining. And it didn't stop for about a month and a half. We got NOTHING from the garden last year. 4 beds of potatoes, all rot. Everything else died. It was sick. This year, since I'm in school and working now, I went small with buckets on the porch. I figured at least we would have good drainage. So now, it hardly rains, but I have a hose, and am actually picking stuff, so this has been a good year. Sure can't grow enough to put up this way, though (not that I have much time for putting up, but it only takes a few minutes to load up the dehydrator).
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Post by Granny Smith on May 28, 2010 20:43:37 GMT -5
I didn't have a garden last year, either. My garden spot is STILL not dry, since spring of last year! I ended up tilling a few strips of the backyard and putting in a few tomatoes, beans, and squash. It wasn't enough to put up, but it was nice to have something fresh. With gardening, it's always a gamble because there are so many variables. I'm hoping to improve my odds by moving my garden uphill this year. Dan got it all ready to plant tonight. I hope to be able to plant it this weekend, if it doesn't rain. I just plant what (and when) I can, try to keep the weeds and animals out, then hope for the best. That's about all we can do - well, that and try again next year. Hope springs eternal.
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