I usually can some : fresh tomatoes, green beans,pepper relish, and maybe some pickles...if I have a good recipe at the time...(and I do have a good sweet pickle recipe) my sweet pickle recipe call for the pickles to soak in lime overnight...this helps them to stay crisp.

This year I tried (for the first time) to make sweet pickle relish and it turned out pretty good. If you are interested in the recipe for this or anything on this page mentioned, just e-mail me and ask.

I got the pepper relish recipe from my girlfriend in Texas...pepper relish is good in beans and give them a sweet flavor, it is kind of like chow chow.

I have added a page of homemade products,
like making your own laundry soap, for instance
If you are interested. howto

I try to grow enough peppers to cut-up and freeze several bags for cooking. I just pick the peppers and wash them, cut the cores and seeds out and cut them up into cooking pieces, and put them in a resealable bag and freeze them.

A little gardening humor.
Law of Gardening I: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
To distinguish flowers from weeds, simply pull up everything. What grows back is weeds.*S*

Soil Preparation
Here is a good mixture to replenish the soil with:
50 lbs. manure
50 lbs. peat moss
25-50 lbs. garden gypsum
25 lbs. garden food
Apply this liberally to your planting area along with some mulched leaves
to put back in nutrients the crops have stripped it of.

Here is something else to add to prepare your soil.
For each 50 sq. ft. of garden space, add:
15 lbs. pelletized lime
15 lbs. pelletized gypsum
5 lbs. garden food
1 lb. Epsom salts
Feed your soil this before planting.
As gardeners we must realize, that each plant extracts certain nutrients from the soil. After a couple of years in the same spot a crop will deplete the soil of certain elements, which is why we should rotate our crops each year.

For insect and disease control
apply the following with a 20 gallon hose end sprayer
1 cup liquid soap
1 cup antiseptic mouthwash
1 cup chewing tobacco juice*
fill the balance of sprayer with warm water.

Spray your garden to the point of run off.
If insects continue add a little liquid sevin to the mixture at the recommended rate for general insects.

*to make the tobacco juice, place 3 fingers of chewing tobacco in an old nylon stocking and soak in a gallon of hot water until the mixture turns dark brown.

Mole Cures
Ok, I have had problems with moles from time to time...
so here are a few "Mole Cures"
This is not a one time solution. It will have to be reapplied at any point
you find activity in your yard.
Take chocolate exlax (or any store brand chocolate exlax)
and place it in an active tunnel. Make a slit in the tunnel
as small as possible, wearing gloves (to hide the human scent)
place the exlax in the tunnel. cover the tunnel opening with a rock.
Be sure to greet new moles with chocolate.....be a good hostess
or host to those pesty little creatures.

Another good way to get rid of moles is with Juicy Fruit gum.
break the gum into small pieces and place a handful into the activetunnels
just poke your finger in the tunnel and insert the gum, cover the hole
you just made with dirt so the mole doesn't get suspicious! *G*
For some reason this gives them digestive problems...do this as needed.

RULE OF THUMB FOR WEEDING
When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. :-)

I found a really cool Virtual garden site. You can plan your own garden and see it
for yourself here.

Pleaseeee sign my guestbook.
I love to know who has been here.Please Sign.

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