Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[SageHill]

Yeah -been watching it climb lately. SO SICKENING -- he'll promise anything and everything to get elected, and in return do nothing about what he promises and does what HE wants. AND people don't even notice they get worse than nothing.

 

[farmerjan]

HOLY MOLEY... I would fall over if the gas was that high here. Our gas actually came down $.10 from 3.49 to 3.39 here local... still 3.69 in town so I make sure I fill up here whenever I get down to 1/2 or 1/3 tank. It is even a bit cheaper an hour south so when I go to the chiropractor, I try to have 1/2 tank or less and fill up down there... Every penny counts.

2 loads clothes hung out. Gallon of tea out in sun. Chickens let out.

Got all the Pontiac potatoes into a couple of "garden baskets" and a 5 gallon bucket and finished digging all the Austrian Crescent potatoes and they are also all in 2, 5 gallon buckets. Had 2 very short rows where I stuck some of them in at the end of other potatoes and looked them up on the garden plan and got them dug. This way I can weigh them all at one time and record it. The Pontiacs are heavy and carried some to the house and put under the maple tree and will bring the rest up later.
Sun was getting pretty warm so I did not try to start the weed eater. Figure I can do that later on.
Did get the hoses rolled up out of the garden too... have to bring them all up to house but at least they are all somewhat "put together" so I can find them.
Packing samples to go out to UPS.... Had to stop and get a drink and a minutes rest. Brought in a nice tomato that somehow didn't get damaged from the hail... tomato sandwich I think, for lunch.
Making a dent in the list of "need to-do's".....

 

[farmerjan]

Horses may make a comeback - here is the gas sign we saw osn our way to my son's plae in Nipomo yesterday.
View attachment 102115
Those are prices for gas not even diesel! Our governor Gruesome wants to raise gas taxes (and prices) higher! And there is talk of him or Michael Obama being on the ticket in '24. He wants t spend us into oblivion and she hates the U.S. God help us if we don't get a republican in to open up oil drilling and pumping again! And build up the armed forces to protect us.

That is TWICE what our gas is... 3.39 for reg.

 

[Ridgetop]

DH finds where it is cheaper to buy. We get our regular at Costco which is cheaper. He has a couple places to buy diesel. He is learning where the cheap places around Yantis are too. That picture was taken up around Ventura, California. We try to make it into Arizona before gassing the truck on the way to Texas. Then gas gets progressively cheaper as we get to Texas. On the way back, he makes sure to fill up on the Arizona side. Only a mile further across the border in California and gas is over $1/gallon higher because of the additional California taxes on gas.

 

[Ridgetop]

Forgot to ask - do you have to dry the potatoes after you dig them up before storage? I think you have to let onions dry a bit too. Maybe all root vegetables have to dry and age a bit in the air before storage to keep from getting moldy. Is that correct?

 

[Mini Horses]

Pretty much. Hand brush dirt off, air dry, store dark/ cool, good ventilation. That's my way.

 

[peteyfoozer]

@farmerjan do you have a root cellar?

 

[SageHill]

HOLY MOLEY... I would fall over if the gas was that high here.

If Gruesome makes a run for pres - be sure to point out CA gas prices -- he's a big part of that.

 

[farmerjan]

Sadly, no I don't have a root cellar. Looking for an old refrigerator I can use for storage for them if I wind up keeping very many... actually have kept them on the front porch, in cardboard boxes (no light) until it gets down near freezing. Then I move them into the entry hall since I keep the doors closed to the rest of the house to keep the heat downstairs... it isn't freezing but it is very cool.... The staircase to the upstairs rooms, is directly in front of you, when you come in the door, so any heat goes up to the 2nd floor... and since I haven't gotten the ceilings done, no point in heating space I don't use...
Onions I used to braid the tops and hang in a cool space... none this year to store.

 

[farmerjan]

Pretty much. Hand brush dirt off, air dry, store dark/ cool, good ventilation. That's my way.

Same here...dig and let sit for 12-24 hours .... potatoes should be left in the ground for 1-3 weeks after the tops die off so the skins will "cure" (toughen up ), then dig, brush off dry dirt... check for spots (like when I stab one or damage the skin).... dark storage that is cool... I do use cardboard boxes as they are usually easier to handle... not as good a ventilation... but pretty much works.

Speaking of potatoes... @Bruce .... how are yours doing or are they ready to dig yet????