Good morning beautiful friends!!! I hope where ever y'all are that the sun is shining and you're enjoying this most glorious day. we are, I even made a second cup of coffee for us this morning. that is rare for us. but we are enjoying it also. it was a cool, nah, it was a cold morning here. hahaha but hey, it is Nov 11th, so it's supposed to cool/cold, right? with all the heat we had this summer, I'm thinking it's kinda nice to wake up to these cool mornings.
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Today is a day of honoring the Veterans and those who are still serving this great country. it's Veterans Day. we've had a lot of great men and women serve and still serving this great country. we have cemeteries all across this land that's full of men and women who have sacrificed their lives for me to live free. so, if there are any Veterans or anyone still serving this country reading this, let me just give you a heart felt "Thank You" for all you have done and still doing for this country and the rest of the world. some of the greatest people who ever walked the earth are American Soldiers. THANK YOU for all you have done, for all you do, and for all you continue to do. may God's blessings be upon one and all. may we as citizens of this country deserve the sacrifice you made, make and keep on making. hugs and love to each and every one who has made a difference in the world!!!
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I can't remember if I had told y'all about my experimental potatoes that I planted back on sept 13th or not. if I didn't, a short recap. I had 4 red potatoes in the kitchen that had sprouts on them. I took them out and got 4 pots ready and I just planted those potatoes for an experiment. I put them in the bottom of the pots on top of about 2 or 3 inches of soil and covered them with another 3 inches. when any greenery poked above the soil, I added more soil and over the course of a week and half, the pots were full of soil and the potato greenery was thriving. under normal circumstances, that was WAY too late to plant potatoes. but it was just an experiment. so when it got cold and we was expecting a frost and cool weather for a few days, I moved them to the garage. after the cold snap, I took them out and let them get some sun. they had been out for a few days, but it was getting COLD again last night, so I moved them back in the garage for the next few says. along about tues or weds, I should be able to move them back out again to get some more sun. I still don't know if I'm getting any taters growing or not, but it will be exciting to dig in them in a few days to weeks. I had read that for red potatoes, it would take 3 months, so I'm closing in on 2 months. monday will be 2 months. I did notice that the vines are starting to turn and that may be just the natural life cycle of the potatoes. I do hope that's what it is.
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sometimes people think salvation comes from something they've done. we, on our own could never do anything to earn, gain, get salvation. it is 100% a GIFT of GRACE from God. because of who He is. when you know that God has saved you from hell, even though you deserved hell, these verses hit you just a little differently and it helps you realize how unsavable you may have thought you were, but God had different thoughts for you. there is nothing we can brag about when it comes to our salvation. I think Paul said that he could only brag about what Jesus has done for him. Paul had the prefect pedigree of the day for bragging, but he said he counted it all as dung. as I was sitting here reading the bible, this hit me again, as it always does. and it helps to go to back to my joy!!! I need reminding that it's not about me and what I've done to earn salvation, because I can't earn it. it's because God loved me, all of us, enough to provide a way to be in right relationship Him, thru the shed blood of Christ. if you ever need to find your joy again, go to Ephesians, you'll find it and so much more.
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this is a former fb post, so if I've share it already, forgive me. but it is filled with good info.
so, let's do another "2 minutes in the kitchen/garden with me" this morning. I don't have pics to share, yet, of what I'm going to talk about, but I will have shortly if nothing bothers my peppers.
y'all know I dehydrate, a lot, because you've seen most of the pictures I've taken of all I do and have dehydrated. I love to experiment. 3 or 4 years ago someone posed the question, "can you use dehydrated seeds to grow a plant?" good question. that spring, I took some seeds from the bottom of a pepper jar where I had dehydrated peppers at 130*. I planted those seeds. nothing came up. by the time fall rolled around, I had some more freshly dehydrated seeds from freshly dehydrated peppers set at 125*. I planted a couple of those. nothing came up. now, I'm not the greatest gardener. I do mostly what I do swinging by the seat of my britches. hahaha that's just how I roll. hahaha plus, I pray. a LOT. God hears those prayers.
the next season, I tried some pepper seeds dehydrated at 120*. well, you guessed it, those didn't come up. but, I am tenacious if not just a whole lot stubborn. I wasn't about to give up and I didn't. so, I lowered my temps down to 115*. up to this point, I haven't told you what kind of pepper seeds I was trying to grow. if you have ever gotten any of those really long sweet bell peppers from aldi, multicolor in a bag, then you know what I'm talking about. some of them are 10 to 12 inches long and very delicious. now we shall proceed.
so back to the first question, "can you grow produce from dehydrated seeds?" well, I personally took that as a challenge to find out, and I did. as I type, I have a pepper plant on my deck, in a pot, that has at least 2 peppers on it and one of them is almost as long as my hand and the other pepper isn't far behind. so, yes it can be done.
I also didn't tell you that I got screamed at on facebook for trying to encourage someone to find out what can be done with dehydrated seeds, if anything. that was all the encouragement I needed, getting yelled at, that made me say "watch me!!!" well, the person that yelled will never see this because I blocked that person. and another thing that I was yelled at about by the same person was for using pepper seeds from a store bought pepper. "they will NEVER grow!!!" is what I heard, from that same person, whom I blocked. they said that seeds in store bought produce is NOT viable, they have been treated, and they are hybrid and will not produce anything.
well, you know my motto, "something is better than nothing". thanks to this person, that has become my motto. so when you see that motto, you'll know the story behind it and the determination that led to that motto. I was bound and determined to grow peppers from the seeds of the peppers from aldi. my experiment for next year will be to see what the second generation pepper will look like. determination always pays off!!!
I said all of that to say this. while being screamed at is what gave me the bullheaded determination to find out for myself what can be done, if you ask me a question, my encouragement will be to "try it". I'll NEVER encourage you to try something that is dangerous, or something that will make someone sick, or something that could hurt someone. I'll never do that and will encourage you NOT to attempt anything that could have a bad outcome. but, I will always encourage someone to experiment. we can all learn from each others experiments. needless to say, I was pretty upset and hot under the collar, but I determined to use that as the fuel to find out what can be done.
people will also say that you can't grow potatoes from grocery store potatoes. I call manure on that too. because I have!!! they also say you can't grow ginger from a store bought piece of ginger. guess what, YOU CAN!!!! turmeric root, absolutely you can grow it!!! if you've ever noticed any of these items, they all get sprouts. that's all they need. pop it in a pot and you can grow it. people just spout off about something they have never tried because someone said it can't be done. "it can't be done" is all the encouragement I need to prove it can be done. I've grown it all and more. and I'm not even a good gardener. but I know the Master Gardener and He helps me!!!
this is my opinion on veggies and fruit. fresh is best, frozen is next best, then I think dehydrated is 3 place. why, simply because it has not been as heated as home canned or store bought canned goods. heating damages some of the nutritional values of produce. and especially dropping my temps from 130* down to 115* will really help preserve more of the nutritional values in the produce, at least until it's cooked. but this all just my ideas. I do know at 130*, some things can change colors from the sugars caramelizing. at 115*, I've not had anything change colors. everything maintains the colors it was when I was washing and prepping. for me, that's a win.
so, this summer, I did learn that dehydrating at 115* will leave seeds viable to grow. I had 4 pepper plants that came up from 4 dehydrated pepper seeds. if you think about it, the soil can be that hot at times and seeds will still germinate. I also learned that seeds from peppers in the store can and will grow. as I said earlier, the experiment continues next year, if I get any seeds from these peppers. I also learned that you don't have to make others feel bad just for asking a valuable question. encouragement goes a long way. I only planted one of those plants and wish I planted all 4.
so I encourage you to try something that you have been wondering about. if it's not dangerous in any way, try it. you might prove to yourself that it can be done. I'll always be the one that says "try it" and then share your results. it's a great learning experience for us all. and as this story continues to unfold, I'll keep you posted on the outcome.
above all, do not hear me say, "trust next years garden to seeds in the bottom of jars that have been dehydrated". that's not what I'm saying. have viable seeds that you KNOW will grow. but if you have seeds from a pepper that you didn't grow, save a few of those seeds. and if they haven't been dehydrated, then more than likely they will come up anyway. but even if they have been dehydrated, if the temp is low enough, 115*, those should come up based on my experience thus far.
just encourage others to try something, don't berate or belittle anyone for asking a question. and remember my motto, "something is better than nothing". encourage those around you to plant a seed.
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well, that's about all I have today. I hope you find some encouragement here today. if you did, share it with someone you know that needs a little encouragement for themselves. we live in a time where it seems everyone is trying to cut each other down instead of build each other up. we can change that with one blog post at a time. I'll always stand up for what's right in the eyes of God and in His Word. make no mistake about that. but even when doing so, I'll try to do that while maintaining my own personal dignity without cutting you down.
may your day filled with bountiful blessings, plenty of sunshine and joy beyond measure!!!! thank God for all He has done for you/us on a daily basis. pray for those across this globe that are living in fear right now. pray for God intervene. hugs, love and blessings to each of you. till I see you back here again soon, take care of yourselves and be an encouragement to someone who needs it. patty
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