Ketchup!

Katherine and I are making ketchup with the Mrs Wages mix tonight.  Judging by the looks of the tomatoes we will be caught up maybe until the weekend - that is to say, the tomatoes that are left are still pretty green.  Canned about 7 pints of ketchup (actually 8 - but didn't can one pint).  NOTE: Mrs Wages ketchup is not very good!

Couldn't find the squeeze-o tomato juicer gadget.  We suspect it may be in the old chest in the living room, but I will order one anyway so that we have one for the PA house too.

I ordered the Victorio strainer instead - $55 versus almost $200 for the squeezo!  Also, I ordered extra set of strainers to handle berries and pumpkins!  I also ordered a glass turkey baster to use as a wine thief and a agitator for carboys for my next step in wine making!

cover crop research

I was reading about taproot radishes (or sodbuster radishes, etc) and Nitrogen fixing crops like rye of alfalfa.  Some companies sell seed mixes so you only have to sow once.  Here are some inks:

Hancock Seed Company

Not very informative, but I think they sell seed! : Seed Ranch

Urban farmer

Sustain Seeds (specifically check out their Hardpan drill mix!

and Cover Crop Solutions (I think they are related to Sustain somehow)

Here is a link to a blog of a guy with similar notions on self-sufficiency and farming

Double Homestead Blog

Racked wine

Finally hit back from Pennsylvania and was able to rack the wine. 

Now another 10 days !

Smells good enough to drink now!

Vegetarian Chili

28 oz diced tomatoes (undrained)
30 oz beans (drained)
1/2 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup uncooked bulgur
1 cup frozen corn
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
2 bell peppers

FDA guide to pH of produce and pH of heirloom tomato varieties

FDA guide to pH levels in produce

This is a big pic from an Excel file but there's a lot of popular heirloom varieties on the chart, as well as some lesser knowns & OP's, see the last column showing pH.

9/1/2013 update

Harvested the 3 gardens.  Got some tomatoes. 

Jay (Harold) Knepper stopped by and asked if it was ok if he could mow my old pasture field! Since I was planning on doing that myself, but running short on time, I said sure! He just plans on using the hay-bine and not collecting the hay. I warned him about swamp and tree debris. He said if he had to he would get his Bush-hog after it.  He said he wanted to do it because the deer weeded posing a hazard by hiding in those high weeds near the road.

Attached quick spade to forks on tractor and began digging out old tree stumps.  Lots of work! Stumps are in there good and tight!  It's hard on hydraulics too.