Ground Hog Day 2011-Phil Predicts an Early Spring -Fierce Battle Takes Place Before Ceremony

Phil predicts an early Spring amid turmoil at Gobbler's Knob

Just in from US national media: Phil the Groundhog from Gobbler’s Knob doesn’t see his shadow predicts an early Spring!

Phil the Ground Hog narrowly escapes overthrow!

What wasn’t viewed on the US media but was reported by BBC was what really happened just minutes before his prediction.

A fierce battle took place before the ceremony.

Bobbi was about to enter Gobblers Knob with his militia intending to overthrow Phil when…

Daa Lee Lamba attempts takeover at ceremony

Bobbi and Phil’s handlers got a secret message from Phil of an impending danger for all of Groundhogdom.

The Daa Lee Lamba, a sheep from the Baaalands of Lakota, (who coveted the groundhog title) and exiled to a Kiddie Petting Farm, intended to overthrow the existing groundhogs and take the title for himself. He and his masses of groundhogs (whom he had converted by hypnotizing them with his stare) had infiltrated the huge crowd of humans who had come to see Phil’s annual prediction. One of Daa Lee Lamba’s groundhog followers, being blind, wasn’t hypnotized and sent a message to Phil warning him.

Now the handlers when they heard of this dilemma, didn’t want this to happen as they have a good thing going with this Groundhog Day thing and Bobbi wasn’t going to stand by and let some outsider sheep take over. When the handlers were notified, they noticed a huge group of other groundhogs at the event that were guarding this lamb-the Daa Lee Lamba who had just entered.

Phil's little brother-Bobbi, fights in battle

Upon seeing that, they briskly wisked Phil away for awhile to protect him while Bobbi’s militia entered the event and  joined forces with Phil’s troops to battle the Daa Lee Lamba’s troops. When Bobbi stood up and exposed the Daa Lee Lamba’s real intent to all in the crowd, the followers of Daa Lee Lamba’s split into 2 sectors and some started rioting against the Daa Lee Lamba, fighting along with Phil’s and Bobbi’s troops.

Many of the humans being alarmed about being in a ground hog riot, fled in fear of being bitten by the ground hogs or shot by Bobbi (who was the only one in the crowd with a gun).

The fighting was intense with much biting, kicking and knawing going on between the groups but in the end, the Daa Lee Lamba’s groundhog followers refused to turn against their own kind.

Daa Lee Lamba, with tail between his legs, was last seen fleeing the event with only a few loyal followers.

The US media reporters, having a blind eye themselves, being controlled by corporate interests, only saw Phil come out and do his prediction.

For helping to save Groundhogdom, the handlers promised Bobbi major reform in the Groundhog Parliament and promised to meet Bobbi’s demands of better housing, lower taxes, and Secret Service Protection (for the groundhogs who felt threatened by some humans who thought they were gophers).

They also made Phil, King of the Ground Hogs, and henceforward would ask Phil to come out and not force him to come out of his royal home to do the predictions.

Bobbi became a hero amongst his fellow groundhogs and Phil knighted him, made him Prime Minister and gave him the highest rank of General of all of GroundHogdom to ward off any future intruders. In the end, blood was thicker than water-Bobbi came to the aid of his brother.

Thus Groundhogdom and Phil were saved and the future of Ground Hog Day protected… for now.

To read the other earlier posts about Bobbi, Phil and Ground Hog Day, scroll down.

Phil the groundhog continued..

Phil's 'servants'

Special Wikileak Release: 12:15 am, Tuesday, Feb 1, 2011

This will be a special anniversary for Phil the groundhog. Phil has been coming out of his bed for 125 years! The anniversary is called the quasiquicentennial. What he doesn’t know is what is going to happen tomorrow. What an old fart! No wonder Bobbi, Phil’s little brother is sick of him and his seemingly aristocratic ways! What Bobbi, doesn’t know is that Phil’s been forced out of his bed, not voluntarily coming out on his own for all those years and hopes some other groundhog will someday rescue him. The picture you see of him and his so called ‘servants’ are really his handlers who force him out every year. He wants to retire and let some one younger take his spot in the limelight but on Phil’s terms.

Phil's little brother-Bobbi

So while Bobbi is planning his coup on this Ground Hog’s Day with his militia (to depose Phil and get more rights for groundhogs), and Phil has gathered his troops to at least defend his title (so he can leave honorably), a third character has been quietly waiting in the shadows hoping for both to destroy each other so he may take over Phil’s title. This character is Daa Lee Lamba, a mild mannered lamb that wants to take the title for himself. He too was exiled from his native land, (the Baaaaaad Lands of  South Lakota) to a Kiddie petting zoo in England for cross dressing as a ground hog. He was always considered the black sheep of his family and rejected by his family with his radical sheep fantasies of being someone other than who he was- a common sheep. He says he only advocates

Daa Lee Lamba

peace but has secretly coveted Phil’s position for years and has planted other groundhog followers in both Phils troops and Bobbi’s militia organization that keep him informed of what both of them are up to and to stir things up. He has thousands of other groundhogs who look up to him as a holy lamb who will lead them into the night. (they like all things dark and earthy smelling).  He also plans on going to Gobblers Knob with his masses of groundhog followers to make sure neither one will gain or retain the title. Phil or Bobbi have no idea of what is to come tomorrow.. Stay tuned for the final conclusion!

Pasta Making 101

Pasta making 101

What does making homemade pasta got to do with gardening? Nothing! But a gardener’s got to do something in the dead of winter and I wanted to try out that new pasta machine that I got for a birthday gift in June. I thought it would be a great compliment to my homemade spaghetti sauce that I canned last Fall from all those tomatoes I grew. Lava, Elodie and myself are the ‘chefs’ that made it happen. We did many things wrong and it still turned out great!

Trying to keep the well from breaking..

First mix flour (preferably Tipo 00 Italian flour which is finer that regular flour) with some eggs. Your suppose to put the flour on a board and pile it up and make a well  in the center of the flour (like mash potatoes and gravy) and crack the eggs in the well being careful not to break the well. Of course the well broke and it was a mess mixing it together. We had to add more water than the recipe called for because it wasn’t mixing very well but finally it looked somewhat like dough after kneading for awhile. Then we put plastic wrap on it and let it rest for 20-30 minutes. After that we cut it in half. It looked great! What a surprise! We then put a quarter of the doughball through the machine which eventually makes for very long pieces. We ran it through the 1st setting 5 times, each time folding it in thirds and then rerunning it through again. After 5 times, we started setting the machine at #2 setting and then the #three and so forth until we tighten it to setting #6.  Each time it would get longer and longer and  thinner and thinner, eventually reaching about 2 feet long. After that we ran it through the machine where it cuts the pasta into linguine or spaghetti shaped long strands. We cut the finished pieces in half to not be so long (I imagined slurping up a two foot long piece of linguine in my mouth). Finally we put it on a clean floured dishtowel to dry for about 30 minutes. Just enough time to heat the sauce and have a glass of wine! Lots of fun and it tasted great! Here is a quick slide show.

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Possible Coup Coming on Ground Hog Day in 2011

Phil the Groundhog

Just released from Wikileaks: Coming up on Wednesday Feb 2, 2011 is Ground Hog’s Day. Phil, the famous Punxsutawney groundhog will come out of his home (Gobblers Knob) in England and predict whether we will have more winter weather or not. Unbeknown to everyone, Phil has a little brother Bobbi that I discovered and introduced last year on Ground Hog Day.  You can read the original post here.

Phil's little brother Bobbi

Bobbi, Phil’s little brother, is a radical left wing groundhog, one of the original Chicago weathermen group, currently living in Ireland.  Bobbi who has long been jealous of his older brother’s notoriety has  been planning a coup on Gobbler’s Hill since last year. Rumor has it it he has a ground hog militia ready for his takeover of Gobbler’s Hill and exile of his brother Phil from England and plans his attack on Ground Hog Day. Bobbi sees his brother getting fat, old and egotistical with all the attention he gets each year and is sick of it. Some of the changes he wants that have not been addressed in the ground hog world are: mandatory retirement age for Phil the groundhog (Phil’s been in too long), paid admission to see the groundhog every year when he comes out, better food for the groundhogs, better housing, social security benefits, health insurance and secret service protection from those crazy humans who might want to kill them thinking they are gophers. Phil on the other hand, got wind of his brother’s plan and has added extra security for himself  and his staff. On Ground Hog’s Day more than just the weather prediction might happen. Stay tuned for the real story..

2011 Vegetable Lineup

I finished my vegetable list for my main garden. I will grow many heirloom tomatoes, Fairy eggplants, Shishito peppers, Costata Romanesco zucchini, Galeux d’ Eyesines and Red Warty Thing winter squash, Rattlesnake pole beans, and several different cucumbers and some greens. I will have to expand the garden one more time but not before the season starts but sometime this summer. This is so I can get my tomatoes on a 3 year rotation. I’m ok for this year but need a new section for them by next year. I hopefully will be at our Farmers Market this coming year again. We have to apply each year and they have a jury system to get in as it is so popular and has grown so much. Looking forward to a new growing season!

2011 TOMATOES
HEIRLOOMS
PLUM STYLE
(2) Goldsman Italian American-red-BH
(2) San Marzano-red plum/80 days/AFN
BI-COLOR
(4) Striped German-bicolor-SFGH
(2) Gold Medal-bicolor-75-80 days-BH
(1)Ananas Noir
BLACK OR PURPLE
(2) Paul Robeson-black/75-85 days-AFN
(2) Cherokee Purple/80 days-AFN
RED
(1) Pantano Romanesco-red/70-80 days-BH,TOMFEST
(2) Costoluto Genovese-red/78 daysTOMGROWERS
(2) Goldsman Italian American-red-BH
CHERRY TOMATOES
(2) Black Cherry-black/75 days-AFN
(1) Green Grape-green/
(1) yellow/62 days-TOT TOM
HYBRIDS-I grow a few hybrids
(2) Lemon Boy-AFN
(3) Park’s Beefy Boy-red-70 days-AFB

2011 VEGGIE LIST
BEANS-Rattlesnake (remarkably favored pole bean)
PEPPER-Shishito (Japanese non hot pepper)
SUMMER SQUASH-ZUCCHINI-Costata Romanesco (best tasting zuke around)
WINTER SQUASH-Galeux d’ Eyesines and Red Warty Thing (that’s what it’s called!)
EGGPLANT-Fairy (best sweet, no bitter taste and soft skin eggplant I’ve tasted)
CUCUMBERS-Parisian, De Bourbonne, Boothsby Blonde, Poona Kera, Armenian and Parade? I grow cukes for either taste or which variety is best for different types of pickles
CORN-not this year (I’ll get it from our Farmers Market)
LETTUCES-From COOK’S GARDEN-Provencal Mix, Mesclun Mix, Buttercrunch, Yugoslavian Red, Santoro Lettuce, and Little Gem
SPINACH-From COOK’S GARDEN-Bloomsdale
CARROTS-Purple Haze and Scarlet Nantes
ARUGULA-Apollo

2011 HERBS-Following is a list of herbs that will be planted or exist on the property
Basil-new
Lime Basil-new
Thai Basil-new
Oregano-exists
Thyme-exists
Lemon Thyme-exists
Chives-exists
Dill-usually self seeds
Marjoram-new
Mint-exists
Sage-exists
Lavender-exists

New GIANT VEGETABLES To Grow in 2011

My GIANT (competition) VEGGIES for 2011

I’ve expanded my giant varieties this year, adding to my existing list from last year. It’s a obsession inside an obsession! It’s just that it is so much fun to see how BIG some of these varieties can grow. Last year, Kong, my giant pumpkin grew at it’s peak, 18 lbs a day. That’s incredible and one can actually see the difference from morning to evening in growth. This year I also plan to get one of those time lapse cameras that I will set up in the pumpkin patch to see them growing! The big boys who grow giant pumpkins tell me theirs put on 30-40 lbs a day. Imagine! I’m going to plant the same 895 Grande giant pumpkin seed that gave me the New Mexico State Record in 2010, its offspring (mine)-421 Cabossel, and one more-1046 Grande. I like Grande as a grower and his seed did so well here for me in Santa Fe. I think it’s because he’s a grower out of Colorado and we have similar growing conditions and soil.

New varieties for 2011 include giant green squash (looks like green pumpkin), giant green pear gourd (this one was from an 89 lb gourd that looks like a giant pear) and long gourd (this one came from a 96 inch long skinny gourd-I’m going to have to build a tall trellis)!

Also this year I’m going to get serious about growing the giant marrow (last year I sort of ignored it till it started getting big and it was one of the most fun things to see grow) and of course I’ll be trying to break into the 3-4 lb tomato range and I always love my Titan sunflowers (I call them the guardian angels of the garden) with their 20-24 inch heads. It’s going to be an ambitious year and I can’t wait!! Last year was a tough year with so many personal losses but this year feels different! I can’t wait!

2011 GIANT PUMPKINS
895 Grande 08 (1016 Daletas x 1385 Jutras)
421 Cabossel (895 Grande x self )
1046 Grande 10 (901 Hunt x 1385 Jutras)

2011 GIANT GREEN SQUASH
903 Noel 07 (848 McKenzie x self)

GIANT MARROW (like giant Zucchini)
206.5 Wursten 09 or 75.4 Wursten 09
43 Cabossel 10

GIANT TOMATOES
7.18 N. Harp 09n (5.58 Timm x open)
5.416 N, Harp 09 (5.58 Harp x open)
Big Zac (fr Totally Tomato)

GIANT PEAR GOURD
89 Scherber 10

LONG GOURD
96″ Scherber 10

GIANT SUNFLOWERS
Titan

Nyger, niger or thistle bird seed-all the same

Goldfinches at nyjer feeder

I’ve been investigating to see if we can plant Nyjer bird seed from the package seed we buy for birds. Nyger, niger or thistle bird seed are all names for the same bird seed from Africa. The official name, nyjer, was picked in 1988 so as not to offend anyone with the name niger or to confuse anyone about it possibly being a thistle seed. It is not our common thistle that we consider a weed here in the US.  Finches, pine siskins, and goldfinches particularly like it but other birds do not. To prevent any weed seeds that may be in the nyjer  and to prevent the non-native plant (nyjer) themselves from sprouting, all nyjer seed is now sterlized by heat and therefore not able to germinate. Perhaps this is for the best because even though it is not a weed, it spreads like one in it’s native land but does not grow well in the US. This heat sterilization is the reason for its high cost. So unlike the BLACK OIL SUNFLOWER SEED that we CAN plant and harvest for the wild birds, we will NOT be able to grow thistle. Too bad cause it’s so expensive.

Grow Black Oil Sunflower Seeds For Your Wild Birds

I just came back from the bird store where I got some black oil sunflower seeds for my wild birds when I thought why not grow my own for next year? My favorite sunflower up to now has been the Titan sunflower which is a striped seed and is not a black oil seed.  Black oil seeds compared to striped sunflower seeds have a higher oil content and are meatier for birds. They are also easier for small birds to crack open. I already cut off the sunflower heads from sunflowers for birds so why not give them what is really good for them. One variety of black oil sunflower seed that I found is Peredovik Black Oil Sunflower Seed from Russia. In 2016 you can get it at  Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. You can also just plant the black oil seed you get in your birdseed. I read that the sunflowers grow from 3-6 feet tall. So this year I’m going to add them in with my other sunflowers that I grow for a treat for the wild birds.

Hmm, now I wonder if I can grow that real expensive finch seed, Nyger? I’ll have to look into that! It is super expensive but I don’t know if it will grow here. I’ll get back to you on that one..

2014 update: Try to grow some from your birdseed mix but if yours don’t grow from your birdseed, go to the site above to buy some that will germinate. This is the most current seed company to buy from.

Gopher problems

A gopher-too bad they so damn cute

When cleaning up the garden I noticed the gophers have made major inroads into it. Last year they started tunneling in but I deterred them with smoke bombs. I don’t think it killed them but they left for the season and hung outside the garden perimeter. But this year they are there so since I won’t use poison (don’t want to kill the neighbor’s cat who hunts) I will use traps. I don’t know how they got here out in the country (maybe someone used live traps and dumped them out here) but within the last 3 years they have appeared and the battle is now on. I hate to kill them but I work way too hard in the gardens and orchard to let them destroy all of it. A friend of mine turned me on to Trapline where they have gopher, mole and vole traps. She came out and taught me how to use them so the battle is on. Got to get rid of them before the gardening season starts.

The garden is CLEAN.

Finally-done.  It only took 4 months but the garden is finally ALL raked up and I put it in my trailer. Then I  took my trailer that was overflowing with all the garden debris to the dump. I don’t keep any of the dead plants because I don’t want any possible disease or pests harboring in my compost-especially in winter when it doesn’t get so hot. It all came out to 600 lbs! That’s a lot of loading.. and dumping..

More winter greens go in the cold frame

Well I got some more winter greens to plant from ‘The Veggie Man’ from the Santa Fe Farmers Market on Saturday. My good friend Lava, told me she saw him there selling veggie starts and found out where he has his greenhouse and we went over there and picked some up. I got Argula, Endive, Blue Kale, and Baby Bok Choy and Parsley. I will plant them on Wednesday in my Cold Frame (where I already have Swiss Chard, Oakleaf Lettuce and Spinach growing), weather permitting. We are suppose to get cold again on Wednesday so we will see if I or the plants can stand it.

More on winter gardening

Winter gardening is very different than summer gardener. It’s almost not gardening at all. In fact Eliot Coleman, author of Four-Season Harvest which I’m still reading says it’s not winter gardening but winter harvesting which puts it in a whole different light.  The only thing I need to do once in awhile is add water. There are no bugs or disease. I put my whole winter garden in with starts. Makes it really easy that way. He also talks abut eating vegetables when they are in their season so for winter gardening that could include spinach, tatsoi, bok choy, endive, arugula, corn salad, miners lettuce, radicchio, escarole, mesclun, sorrel, mustard, beets and carrots. I always thought that salads were a summer thing but that’s not true because salad crops grow best in the cool seasons and are sweetest then. That’s why we always have trouble with salad crops bolting. We plant them too late in Spring. I’m re-evaluating this whole winter gardening thing.

Yesterday Was 60° F

I was off work yesterday and spent most of the day in the garden. And what a great day it was! It was a glorious day to be outside in the garden-60° F.  I continued  to collect old piles of debris that I had raked up last fall but had not gotten all of them out of the garden. I saw some gopher activity so I’ll have to get busy trapping them soon. Then I moved all of the tomato cages that were tossed over the garden fence and organized them in the now empty round pen. I have 60 totaled! After that I raked any debris just outside the garden as well to keep the area clean. Then I made some goatie toys for my dwarf Nigerian goats.  I stacked some old tires up and screwed them together and then put wooden caps on them (so the goats won’t fall in the holes and then put a plank across the span between the two tires columns. Immediately they jumped up on them and walked the plank! Goats like to play king of the mountain and this will work fine for them. A busy day altogether and I was a little sore last night but it was a good sore. You know, the kind you get when you get things done in the garden.

Don’t forget to feed the birds!

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Now that winter is here, check bird feeders daily. We still have many feathered friends and more than ever they need our help at this time of year.  Experts recommend giving birds black oil sunflower seeds because of their high fat content in addition to their regular food. Put some in your feeder and don’t forget to put some on the ground so the ground feeding birds can get some too. We have a covey of Scale Quail that have visited us since summer and continue to do so this winter. They can’t get in the feeder so we’re sure to put some out on the ground and even on the snow for them. We were lucky enough to see them bringing their babies for food and water in the fall.

Bluebirds only visit us in the winter getting water every day, flying further north I guess in the summer. Woodpeckers, Flickers and even Magpies will come and visit you if you put out suet for them. Other birds include Robins, Thrashers and of course the Pinon Jays among many others. This is the time of year when birds need more of our help as food and water are more scarce.  Don’t forget fresh water and if it is frozen, put on a teakettle and put the hot water over the ice, melting it just enough for them. Don’t worry about burning the birds, the water cools immediately when it hits the ice water. It is actually harder for birds to find water they can drink in winter.

Veggie Tip-What to look at in seed catalogs

2011 Baker Heirloom Seeds Catalog

Why order from seed catalogs vs getting seeds or plants from the local nurseries? Variety. We have more choices to pick from. Now don’t get me wrong – I buy many of my vegetable plants from our local nurseries as well. I don’t start all mine from seeds but I like to grow some new varieties every year and many of those aren’t sold locally. Besides I really like going over the catalogs. What should we look at when ordering from our seed catalogs? Here is some information that catalogs give to help us make our decisions in choosing which variety to buy.

1. Quite often catalogs will list the particular needs of the variety-i.e. needs cool moist soil, tolerates heat, etc. This is important information to consider because of our cold springs, hot summers and what location we plant them at our houses.

2. They list whether it is a hybrid or heirloom variety. I like to grow mostly heirloom varieties so I look for this.

3. We get specific information on each variety-size, weight, color, flavor,  etc and often the history of where a particular seed came from. I especially find the history interesting. I like knowing where they originate from.

How many days to harvest-this tomato was 72 days

4. Probably the most important thing to consider with each variety is how many ‘days’. This means how many days to harvest. Here in Santa Fe, we have a short growing season. Our last frost is the average date we no longer experience freezing temperatures which is May 15th and the first average frost date is around Oct. 10. Last year was a really cold, windy spring with night time temperatures still at 27° on June 6th. We basically went from Winter to Summer. Every year offers new challenges for us weather wise and the weather has everything to do with how many days to harvest depending on when we can put the transplants or seeds in the soil.

 

So how many days to harvest? Some vegetables such as summer squash, cucumbers, lettuce, etc don’t take many days to harvest but some vegetables need a longer growing season such as winter squash, watermelon, and tomatoes so buy varieties that won’t go into October to ripen. Let’s take tomatoes for an example.  If we choose a tomato seed that says 72 days, we’ll probably get tomatoes but if we choose one that says 95 days to harvest, the odds are we won’t get any ripe ones before we get that first frost in fall. In Santa Fe, we should be looking to grow varieties that ripen in 60-80 days. Tomatoes come in early, mid and late season varieties so keep that in mind. Early season goes from 52-60 days, midseason goes from 60-75 days and late season goes from around 80-100 days. You certainly can try some late season varieties (I do) but pick more in the early-mid season range especially if you are only planting  a few. Also with tomatoes that ’80 days to harvest or 80 days’ means from transplanting plants outdoors not planting seeds outside. I’ve had people come up to me and complain they only have green tomatoes in October and when I ask what variety, it usually is one of the longer growing ones so pay attention to that day information in the catalogs because you can usually find some varieties with shorter days till harvest in every variety out there.