Pot Belly Okra

I won a drawing from  Pecan Corners Youtube channel. I will receive seed for  "Pot Belly Okra"
 She said.

You can save the seed from this okra, in fact that is the only way to get it. There are no commercial sources - the lady I got it from died and even local people did not have it any more. Everyone forgot the work this man did, his family did not keep any of his records. So I started asking everyone around here, and picking up bits and pieces of info. Charles Wright was a Science teacher here, and he and his wife grew a huge garden for the community - they let everyone come and pick so people chipped in to help work it. This okra was also called "Pot Belly Okra" and when you grow it you will see why. It gets wider rather than long. It won't keep in the fridge, but if it is dry and kept where air can get to it, it will keep for several days. It holds a lot of water so if it is piled up on top of each other it will mold. It freezes well, and it cans well with tomatoes. I also canned some leftover gumbo with it and it held up very well.

It does have spines though so I wear gloves & long sleeves when I am gathering. As long as it snaps off the stalk it is good.For more information see her blog

http://pecancorner.blogspot.com/2009/08/heirloom-gardening-mr-birds-big-fat.html



 I have not found proof yet that this Okra is from the famous
Charles Wright (1811-1886) ; born at Wethersfield, Connecticut, a graduate of ... a land-surveyor and school-teacher, but devoting much time to botanical study
Book with Charles Write info
Wickpedia  Said he was never married and lived with his brother and sister at the end of his life.

How to make your own grow bags

I am amazed at how easy it is to make my own grow bags. I made 6 a day the first 2 days and 9 yesterday. I can make at least 75 about 1 gallon size for about $10. They take about 5 minutes each to sew by hand.
Take a look at my video.

The seed potatoes are sprouting too early

 How do you deal with early sprouts?
I have had 3 day of (50f /10c) outside temperature. I was keeping the tubers  in a cool unheated room. Most sunlight was blocked for a few weeks. But with that temp increase outside. Inside temps rose. So the Red Pontiac (Harvested July 08) &  Kennebec (harvested end of Aug), have started to sprout too early.

 I moved them to an area that gets indirect light. I hope to green up the sprouts and stop growth. The Yukon gold (Harvested Aug 08) is the only one not affected. I have been looking for info on Length of dormancy for them,

I will be adding some of the ones with really tall sprouts, to a mixture of cocoa core & organic potting soil. I will try to grow them indoors,for the winter. This is my first attempt to grow potatoes in the house  I may try some in straight core. See what happens.

Winter window garden, Cranberry beans & potatoes

My winter window garden is an experiment to see what I can grow indoors.
I  was able to grow cranberry beans in the house. I started one plant from seed the beginning of Sept. Today I harvested the beans. I will see if they are sprout able. Or If the have to dry longer. This is the first time I have grown this type of bean. It is not a common type for my area. The bean origin is from Italy. But I was lucky to find it at a local store. The take is amazing. They are cooked like, pinto beans. But flavor is much better.
 The video will show you how much the Yacon plant has grown. I also will be  starting potatoes, from pull sprouts and cut of potato peals. 

The CFL light bulb. I bought is really nice.
 Note on light
 This one is a 20w CFL. 5500kelving 93 Cri. full spectrum. Color Technology W/ 6 Enriched Colors
CRI is Color Rendering Index- The quality of the light. The sun is 100 CRI
This bulb is 93+ CRI

 Balanced is pure white with 5,000-6,000K. If the temperature goes above that it will be blue (hazardous to your eyes) and below is yellow/orange in color.
Colors above 5000K are known as cool colors (blue) and closely resemble natural sunlight. Colors below 3,000K are known an warm colors (red).

Spring sun is more blue. Blue light induces vegetative growth
summer into Fall sun is gets more Red.  Red light induces flowering