Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Sourdough and Planting

My sourdough breads, whole wheat and white flour were just too dry. I need to make some bread crumbs or dressing out of the bread.
 Remember the start, that hadn't been fed as often, well I've given up on it. It is really tart and it isn't getting any better with feeding, throwing part of it out, and cooking. I made rolls with it yesterday and baked them last night. Kirk took one bite and said to feed it to the chickens. I threw out the start today. I've wanted an excuse to just have one start anyway and I've got one now.

The other start, I made pancakes with and the next plan is for pumpkin muffins. I'm determined to learn to become skilled with sourdough. Yes, I've made English muffins, bread, biscuits, and pancakes some but I wouldn't say I'm skilled.

I hope it won't be as challenging as the hat band I'm doing for the knit along. I've ripped out one-fourth of the length, three times and smaller sections more times than I'd like to count.

Why is it that I'm such a sl...o...w learner? Good thing the Lord blessed me with extreme stubbornness. If it weren't so, I'd never learn anything.

I also have some Kamut wheat sprouting in the kitchen waiting to be dried and ground into flour. It is going in to an oatmeal cake. So... many projects, so.... little time.
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I started some tomatoes and some peppers a little while back. Most have sprouted, all but the Washington Cherrys, my favorite cherry tomatoes. Oh how I love those cherry tomatoes. I'm not sure that you can call them a cherry tomato they are so... huge and yummy. I opened a newer package and started again last weekend when I added some lettuce and broccoli to new pots. But I spent most of my planting time separating sprouts and replanting them. 
My favorite tool to play in the dirt is a spoon, just like when I was a kid. It helps to spoon the dirt that is around the tender roots without touching the even more delicate stem. If the stem is bent, the plant most of the time dies.
I've run out of small, traditional containers, so I opened up some Dixie bathroom cups I'd bought for another occasion and never used. I poked holes with a pen in the bottom for water to drain out and air to circulate in. 
The plan is to sell the extra plants on our local town's Facebook page, just started recently. The page has turned out to be really handy. I'm hoping to sell a few chicks  on the page also. I've a few people already interested, so I'll try and put in as many eggs in the incubator as I can this weekend. I'm going to even try sexing the chicks when born. Wonder how hard that is?

 But until then, I've lots of transplanting to do and watering.

 Tomatoes and peppers aren't all I started. I put in broccoli, some spices to go along with the sage and oregano, that have sat in our living room window all winter along with some lettuce. 

Part of the onion seed, I took from an onion plant last year, I planted also. It is part of a three year experiment since you have to put onion bulbs back into the garden the second year and save seed. Then the third year you grow the seed. Onion seeds are only good for one year so I'm going to have to repeat this experiment this year with putting bulbs back into the ground once again.

I've never put lettuce transplants in the garden before and I don't know how it will work out but I'm going to give it a try. Yup, spring is in full swing.

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