Texas Fall/Winter thread!

[Bird]

Charlie, I remember that the best shows; i.e., best time to be at the Fair is in the late evening, but I've become a morning person, get up early and usually run out of steam by noon, then almost never get out after dark.:laughing:

 

[jinman]

Bird, I think if I were going to the Fair, I'd drop down to the N. Carrollton Dart Station and take the Green Line Train all the way in to Fair Park. The Green line departs every 20 min during the week and every 40 min on weekends. All day parking in their lot is around $4. Driving, parking, and getting to/from the Fair are the hardest parts. Seniors have free admission on Thursdays.:thumbsup:

Ron, I agree that the boiling of the pickled peppers takes a lot of crispness and bright colors out of them. I don't know for sure, but I suspect packers like Vlasic and Mt. Olive use sterilized jars and UV light in their packing process. My pickles stay pretty and bright even when I pour the hot pickling solution into the jars. It's the 15 min boiling in the canner that makes them softer. I see some recipes call for less than 15 min at boiling and I have to believe that the higher brine and vinegar content would shorten the time required. Quick cooling might also help. I pre-soaked the peppers in a salt brine bath with alum and turmeric for about 2 hours. The alum is supposed to keep them crisp and the turmeric gives them yellow color (as well as everything else it touches). I have a pretty bright yellow rubber spatula now.

 

[Western]

You guys are talking about the fair and I cant wait just to get home:laughing:. Fixing to leave Ruidoso Downs, finished the job and on to Las Cruces. Hoping to be in by next weekend. Seems the longer I'm gone, the more "chores" I come up with that are needed at home. Been a long month and a 1/2 with my busted back. Thank goodness I finally got an appointment with the Doc too!!

I have gotten word, that my lawn needs mowed! Wife said she may get it today, if the weather holds. I know I have allot of cut wood to split, I'll go till the back say's its quitting time:thumbsup:

Jim, How old is your asparagus plants? they look good. IIRC it took mine a few years to get going, but once they did, it was great.

Wish I had been able to post more Fall photos, been a pretty trip, the few times I was awake in the daytime.

 

[Bird]

Jim, I've no doubt you have the right idea, but like many Texans (and some others), I like to have my own transportation nearby and ready to go whenever and wherever I want. The last time I used any kind of "public transportation" was in 1986 when I parked my motorcycle in the Pentagon parking lot one Saturday and rode the Metro to the Smithsonian for the day.:laughing:

And this morning, we went to see something different; Victorian Era funerals. And since we were the only ones there, we got a lengthy, detailed guided tour by a very nice lady. It was quite interesting.

 

[txdon]

Bird, I hope your getting into the Halloween spirit and not looking into the near future.

 

[Bird]

Bird, I hope your getting into the Halloween spirit and not looking into the near future.

Don, you know we have a son-in-law who is a funeral director; in fact, manager of a funeral home. That was quite an exhibit we saw today. The lady said a lot of the stuff is on loan from the National Museum of Funeral History and I had no idea such a museum even existed.:laughing:

 

[Western]

Never heard of a funeral museum , of course not something I've flipped through the phone book for:laughing:

I see it is plenty cool back in N, Texas, 2* warmer here in Las Cruces, but here, it will get to 82* with sunshine.

 

[Bird]

Never heard of a funeral museum , of course not something I've flipped through the phone book for:laughing:

I see it is plenty cool back in N, Texas, 2* warmer here in Las Cruces, but here, it will get to 82* with sunshine.

NWS says it's now 50 degrees in Denton and going to remain steady with 50 degrees also being the high for today. But they've lowered the 40% chance of rain to 30% today and 20% tonight. I was sure hoping for rain.

 

[jinman]

Don, you know we have a son-in-law who is a funeral director; in fact, manager of a funeral home. That was quite an exhibit we saw today. The lady said a lot of the stuff is on loan from the National Museum of Funeral History and I had no idea such a museum even existed.:laughing:

Bird, I was sure the family connection to the funeral business had your interest a little higher than others. I'm not sure that display is going to be very highly attended. I wonder who was responsible for getting the loan from the other museum? That old Selby house used to be located about a mile south of where it is now on the Selby Greenhouses and Nursery location between Myrtle St. and S. Locust. It was a stone's throw from where I grew up. There was another old house there that was similar, but it was updated while I was in high school.

 

[Bird]

Jim, the "museum" is now 3 houses and they have another one that I didn't pay much attention to, but it's a church building of some kind and looked like a pile of junk that's going to be a major restoration job.

 

[jinman]

Jim, How old is your asparagus plants? they look good. IIRC it took mine a few years to get going, but once they did, it was great.

Wish I had been able to post more Fall photos, been a pretty trip, the few times I was awake in the daytime.

Dennis, I didn't notice your question until just now. BTW: Can you do those parking lots if they are covered in snow?

Our asparagus isn't very old. The biggest plants have had three growing seasons and our smaller plants have had two growing seasons. Those growing seasons include the year they were planted as crowns. This last year has produced phenomenal growth. We had plenty to eat and each plant has at least a dozen stems going up to the fern tops and hopefully storing big amounts of energy in the crowns below. I'll cut them back after first frost and then cover the beds with organic humus. :thumbsup:

 

[jinman]

Jim, How old is your asparagus plants? they look good. IIRC it took mine a few years to get going, but once they did, it was great.

Wish I had been able to post more Fall photos, been a pretty trip, the few times I was awake in the daytime.

Dennis, I didn't notice your question until just now. BTW: Can you do those parking lots if they are covered in snow?

Our asparagus isn't very old. The biggest plants have had three growing seasons and our smaller plants have had two growing seasons. Those growing seasons include the year they were planted as crowns. This last year has produced phenomenal growth. We had plenty to eat and each plant has at least a dozen stems going up to the fern tops and hopefully storing big amounts of energy in the crowns below. I'll cut them back after first frost and then cover the beds with organic humus. :thumbsup:

 

[Western]

Dennis, I didn't notice your question until just now. BTW: Can you do those parking lots if they are covered in snow?

Our asparagus isn't very old. The biggest plants have had three growing seasons and our smaller plants have had two growing seasons. Those growing seasons include the year they were planted as crowns. This last year has produced phenomenal growth. We had plenty to eat and each plant has at least a dozen stems going up to the fern tops and hopefully storing big amounts of energy in the crowns below. I'll cut them back after first frost and then cover the beds with organic humus. :thumbsup:

Got to plant some asparagus, sure miss'em. You do the same thing i did as far as letting them grow out, then mulching. I guess thats the "common" way of growing good asparagus.

As far as painting, if it's snowing or raining, you just have to use a water base paint Weather has been great, to a bit cool. We dodged snow in Frisco/Vail and where fortunate. Right now it's warmer here than SW Wise county! 71* here in Las Cruces today:thumbsup:

 

[Bird]

Columbus Day and 34 degrees this morning with plenty of visible frost in our neighborhood.

 

[jinman]

Bird, it was 31.5 F here this morning with lots of frost on the grass. I'm not gonna admit how late I got up, but it might have been a bit cooler just before sunrise.:confused3:

 

[bindian]

Not much going on with the weather here. Cool, but no rain. Just enough motion to mess with the sinus allergys. Everything is green, but the ponds need more water. Send rain, please.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Western]

Dry at my place too! cool weather though. I need to get my oats planted today, may get some rain Set-Sunday.

 

[genusCastor]

Got to plant some asparagus, sure miss'em. You do the same thing i did as far as letting them grow out, then mulching. I guess thats the "common" way of growing good asparagus.

This is my first attempt at growing asparagus. The plants grew out and started seeding, so I figgered it was time to cut'em back. Soon as I cut them, several spears popped up almost overnight... I just let the plants grow out because it's their first year. Are they supposed to grow out every year? Or should the plants be kept cut to the ground?

Our banana pepper plants have been producing peppers like crazy all summer, wifey sez she's tired of looking at them. :laughing: Only have four plants, but have canned maybe 20 or so quarts so far...and the plants are still blooming...

- djb

 

[Western]

BJB, I always let mine go to "fern", I either cut them down ofter the second frost, or just before Spring growing season, then I would add an inch or two of good mulch. That;s the way my grandfather told me and it seemed to work well.

 

[jinman]

I think mulch with cow manure mixed in is a good row cover during the winter. I use organic humus and cow manure bought by the bag. I don't cut back until the hard frost hits like Dennis does. I only cut spears until I decide to let ferns develop. You can't keep cutting spears all summer. You have to let your ferns grow and put energy back into the crowns. If you let the red seeds drop, you may be able to get some seedlings for transplanting also. Some folks have had success planting them inside in potting soil, but it's hard for me to go to that trouble when the crowns we planted are doing so well.

djb: Do you make pickled banana pepper rings? If you have a empty pickle jar or partially full, you can cut the pepper rings after removing seeds and then let them come to room temperature or warm them under water. Then, put them into the pickle jar (pack it full) and let them sit in the refrigerator for a couple of days. As they chill, they'll draw in the pickling compound and be very good. Use them on sandwiches or salads for a great flavor boost.