Martin Fisher

When my Father was young, they (him and his brothers and sister) ran to the outhouse, any time of day, any time of year, in their bare feet!

In terms of Appalachian books—I have all the major Foxfire volumes (21, I think.) I'll post more about books in the future. https://www.foxfire.org/shop/category/books/

I didn't realize how much those plates look like paper plates until I started photographing them. It is a glass plate. I got a brand spankin' new complete set of Martha Stewart dinnerware (Made in France) at the Salvation Army thrift store—only $8.00!!!

Finished crankraut that includes cranberries (of course,) red cabbage, the zest of two oranges and a little reduced orange and cranberry juice. I like to slightly back-sweeten my krauts and the like. Not enough to make them sweet, but just enough to take the edge off the sourness—for balance.

Super simple "hard" kefir cheese. This is as easy as it gets, in terms of "hard" cheese. I strained this and them gave it a good pressing. This pressed very well—clear "yellowish" whey, no sign of solids loss. Lightly salted. It's a bit tart, sort of like feta. This would be great grated and added to salads and the like. Basic method here: How to make hard kefir cheese — one of several methods of making hard kefir cheese.

The semi-quick Boerhaave method of making vinegar. I may give this a try using saturated bamboo skewers. "Quickly Make Vinegar: The Semi-Quick Process for Making Vinegar (The Boerhaave Process)"

The Miracle-Gro arrived and the shed door opened!

FWIW, Here Dr. Carolyn discusses her and Dr. Craig's experiences in reviving very old seed. The reason I'm being extra careful in attempting to germinate the above mentioned seeds is that, back in 2016, I sent 150 "Baby Pequin" seeds to a guy in Brooklyn, NY—he wasn't able to get any of them to germinate! But I know nothing of his general prowess in germinating seeds.

I did find a packet of 15 Mountain Magic F1 seeds—packed for 2015! I'll give them a try!

Expanding in what I wrote above: From Growing greenhouse tomatoes in soil and in soilless media Dr. A.P. Papadopoulos Research Centre Harrow, Ontario "Under a cold treatment regimen, place young tomato seedlings in a day and night air temperature of 50-55F/10-13C for approximately 2 weeks, while providing as much light as possible for 9-12 hours. Seedlings should be subjected to cold treatment just after the seed leaves (cotyledons) unfold and the first true leaves start to appear (see below). Shoots kept at low temperatures at this stage of growth produce a small number of leaves below the first flower cluster and therefore flower earlier; roots kept at low temperatures cause branched clusters, i.e., many flowers in the first and possibly the second cluster. Cold temperatures during both day and night are effective. The cold treatment increases the number of flowers but does not influence the setting of fruit. If later conditions for fruit setting are right, a greater number of flowers will set fruit because of the increased number of blossoms. If, however, the temperature for fruit set remains less than ideal, the pollen does not germinate and grow normally, resulting in poor fruit set and cat-faced fruit. When the cold treatment is used, seed 10-14 days earlier than usual to compensate for the slow growth rate during the cold treatment. The growth medium in the seedling trays must be sterile, because when plants are grown at relatively low temperature the danger of damping-off is increased." This is usually quite easy to do when starting seeds late—it's easier to deal with a bunch of tiny plants rather than large ones!

What's really needed is an affordable combi-oven that'll accommodate at least a 1/4 size sheet pan—1/2 size would be even better.

Some were gas, some were electric. Source: https://tinyhousebuild.com/tiny-house-appliances-ranges-ovens/ Source: https://www.amazon.com/Avanti-MKB42B-Temperature-Multi-Function-Convection/dp/B007DS10I8 I'm also well aware of the ovens that go on wood stoves—they're still made by the Amish. I lived off-grid for years.

Anyone watched the documentary "Back To Eden"? "Back to Eden Film shares the story Paul Gautschi and his lifelong journey, walking with God and learning how to get back to the simple, productive organic gardening methods of sustainable provision that were given to man in the garden of Eden. The food growing system that has resulted from Paul Gautschi’s incredible experiences has garnered the interest of visitors from around the world. Never, until now, have Paul’s organic gardening methods been documented and shared like this!" There are also follow-ups on YouTube.

Used to be more common than now. Designed for hunting/vacation camps and the like.

Let me Google that for you.

On reviving the old pepper seeds. I found a heck of a lot of "Baby Pequin" seeds—hundreds!!! I found what I think are the "Baby Cayenne" seeds—the labels totally faded on some of the old saved seed containers. There are no more than 50 seeds. Here's the tentative plan: Surface sanitization with diluted hydrogen peroxide to kill fungi, molds, etc. Aeration in diluted Miracle-Gro, maybe 0.25% to 0.5% for a time. I bought a round air stone and and air pump that's adjustable. I'll place the seeds in a clam-shell tea ball while they're being aerated. I'll attempt gemination in a agar fluid gel in an incubator. I know about germinating in agar, or gelatin, or clear gel cat litter—I don't think the fluid gel thing has been done before—maybe, maybe not! Thoughts, anyone? ETA: Waiting on the Miracle-Gro. It should be here early next week. The shed door is frozen shut, so I can't get to the air tubing!!! High temperature of 53° is forecast for Monday—so I should be able to get into the shed before I receive the Miracle-Gro.

Interesting that the dish pictured on the cover of Victuals is something we ate VERY frequently, in season, at the family farm (and at home) — that or something similar. Raw milk, ham (or bacon), peas, new potatoes, and onions. Or raw milk and peas. Or raw milk and new potatoes. Or raw milk and tender young green beans Or some combination. Etcetera. What she calls "killed" lettuce, we call "wilted" lettuce. The cooking is very much the same. The main differences are things like collards (other greens are used—but collards are not unheard of here), okra (various other things are used instead of okra) and sorghum molasses (It's not unheard of here, but maple syrup and honey are MUCH more common!!!)

Several similar designs already exist. I wouldn't want one. I like the portability of the hotplate(s).

To each his own. Mine doesn't get dirty. It's stored in the most convenient place, it rests mostly under the oven and the silicone clamshell holders sit right beside it—and I'm able to use BOTH hands! It's a great convenience for less than $6.

Not a big deal with a simple, inexpensive push/pull.

Your experience is polar opposite of mine.

I just finished the first fermentation of my first batch of black tea kombucha. It's been bottled in beer bottles topped with crown caps and placed in the fridge for probably what will be a couple months to complete the second fermentation—I want it to be keto friendly. Hope they don't 'splode! I also started the second batch of black tea kombucha—it'll be a full gallon this time. I've asked my SCOBY source to hold off on shipping the new SCOBY until it warms up a bit! When I receive it, I'll start the chamomile kombucha.

They are what I use. Breville BOV845BSS Smart Oven Pro Cuisinart CB-30 Cast-Iron Single Burner I recommend two hot plates, the second need not be as "fancy." The cast iron burner is slow to cool down. so the second hotplate is set at a lower temperature—when that scenario is needed. I often use a 3/8" aluminum plate on top of the cast iron burner so I can use larger pans without it bothering the sides of the hot plate. Not a big deal! Works for me!

Here you go:

IMHO, lots of money is wasted on starting plants WAY too early. What's most important, is soil temperature!!! Tomatoes, for example, aren't going to do anything serious until the soil temperature hits 60 at root depth, and they'll do even better when the temperature hits 65 degrees—above that, they'll take off like a rocket. Having the seeds germinated and ready to go, as tiny seedlings, when the soil temperature hits 60 degrees is enough. One year, I sat out some very tiny Matt's Wild Cherry seedlings on the 26th of June—that's considered very late around here, especially for such tiny seedlings. This was back when I was stacking cages made from concrete reinforcing wire as supports for tomatoes and other stuff. The plants reached 15 to 18 feet before they were killed by frost! Leggy (or spindly) plants can be caused by not only insufficient light, but also too much heat as well as fertilizer issues. Having said that, having leggy tomato plants isn't the end of the world—just pinch off the lower leaves and trench plant them—they'll develop roots along the trenched stem. But, you've created much more work for yourself than is necessary if you've reached the point of having to worry about leggy plants.