BMN Tobacco Bowl

Good Morning

    While many people occupied their time Sunday with the Super Bowl  I am happy to report that we did not. Nevertheless, as a sordid and humorous tribute, I named this newsletter the Tobacco Bowl. Anyway, life here on the homestead is pretty much the same as it has been all Winter.  Nell found out from the foot and ankle doctor on Friday that the cast will stay in place for another three weeks. This is very difficult news for both of us, obviously more so for her than me. She will continue to not be able to put any weight on the foot as well as keep it elevated at all times severely dampening her activities and mood.

    This three week extension effects me on a multitude of levels. For one thing, it means we will be here longer than we wanted. Nell is particularly not happy about being here. Where is here? On the ranch? In Mom's house? On planet Earth?  Worse yet,I am being a house keeper instead of doing the projects that keep me satisfied that I am not part of the problem but an example of a solution. This is deeply disturbing for me. What is the point of becoming aware of our planet meaning the environment when we have no time to do anything useful.

    I volunteered to babysit on Saturday, but that fell through. I feel for Sara, she can't do anything except protect Rachel every second of the day. I wait on Nell and tend to her beck and call while I'm here.  It isn't 24/7, but it keeps me occupied. At least Nell isn't trying to climb everything in sight like Rachel is.  At one point I looked forlornly over to the shop where the garage door is still open after Brittany and I pushed the Rabbit inside, thinking for a moment, that I ought to get over there and work on that project.

    Life is messy. Perhaps not for beer swilling professional sports fans. I assume the structure of the Super Bowl has been carefully laid out by advertising  psychologists, or so it seems to someone such as myself who only furtively glanced at the spectacle in the past. 

    Teetering philosophically. I don't know, I certainly haven't given much thought to what other people do for shits and giggles. Like I said, the mood around here is solemn. I try not to let it get to me. I thought about calling my sister and finding out where we are with the plans that I thought we had agreed upon.  But then I got discouraged realizing that  she is never the one who calls.  I know everyone is busy,  but it makes me feel bad to realize I am the only one who initiates communication.  I blocked it out and focused on things I have control over as the alcoholics say: Me, and my actions.

    Cast about for something to believe in.  What ever I come up with needn't be huge, just a little something will suffice. And no.  Taking jabs at football fans won't float my boat. It really needs to be something I can do, either in between cooking and cleaning or after the new three week sentence has expired.

    We do love to cook and smoke, and not necessarily in that order. On Saturday morning, probably when any self-respecting American should have been smoking cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo I went online and ordered potato starters. That set in motion a more positive direction in my thinking.  On Sunday morning I ordered a seed pack for several types of tobacco.

    Gardening. What is it going to take to get our gardens going this year? Considering Climate Change, which I believe is already upon us, combined with New Mexico weather's unpredictability the only way to start a garden is indoors.

    Building a greenhouse. I spent a few minutes sitting in the doorway and a few more outside in the cold imagining the current garden with the added benefit of a small greenhouse  

Greenhouse-site.  The Cedar tree would be on the north side of the greenhouse. There is also the water line to our house beneath this section  of the garden. I would like to dig down and install a freeze-proof outdoor spigot here. To the right is East, and the blessed morning sun.

Greenhouse-site facing east. The shadows won't strike the garden area for much longer. In a month the sun will rise further north. I would like the greenhouse to have a major portion of it's solar gathering surface facing the morning sun in oder to facilitate getting the ground warm as soon as possible.

Greenhouse-site. I'm envisioning either a PVC hoop structure or a post and beam frame. Either would be simple, however wood has an advantage in that we have a lot of wood.

Tobacco-Farm. Something very soothing about a field of tobacco. Perhaps it is the idea that if I can get tobacco to grow we can rid ourselves of at least part of the expensive tobacco both Nell and I have. I look at it in the same way as our other gardening prospects. The more we grow the merrier we'll be.

Brooklyn-Tobacco plant. Man that looks nice. Here is what I ordered:

The Home Tobacco Seed Pack features 7 of the most common, easy-to-grow varieties
for all your tobacco needs.

Smoking (Cigarettes, Cigars and Pipe), Chew, Snuff, Ceremonial and Medicinal tobaccos are all included in this pack of heirloom tobacco seeds, along with complete instructions on planting, maintaining, harvesting and curing your tobacco for use.  

Kentucky Burley  | Cigarettes, Cigars, Pipe, Chew, Snuff – appr. 100 Seeds
An old Kentucky favorite used by many growers for its thin dark leaves. Also a good cigar wrapper as well as chewing tobacco. Good yield and cures well.

Madole | Cigarettes, Pipes, Chew, Snuff – appr. 100 Seeds
Madole is a dark tobacco used by many growers to produce a good yield of high quality tobacco which cures well.

Louisiana Perique | Cigar, Cigarettes, Pipes, Snuff, Chew, Medicinal – appr. 100 Seeds
The famous and extremely rare Louisiana tobacco. Originally grown by the Indians and fermented and pressed in hollow logs, this is a very potent tobacco. Usually used mixed with milder types. Now grown commercially by only a few families, the leaves are prepared by prolonged pressing and fermenting, into an almost black tobacco which commands high prices.

Black Mammoth  | Cigar Wrapper, Snuff – appr. 100 Seeds
Gives a good weight of fine dark tobacco, and holds itself up well so that the leaves stay cleaner. Certified Kentucky-grown seed. This is the preferred species of the tobacco industry. Small Stalk Black Mammoth is a good-yielding sturdy variety. This deep dark tobacco is great for cigar wrappers and snuff.

Tennesse Burley | Cigarettes, Chew, Dip, Pipes, Snuff – appr. 100 Seeds
This is a standard Tennessee Burley that produces good yield, high quality tobacco that is favored for cigarettes. This plant has multiple disease resistance. A vigorous plant that is easy to grow.
 
Dark Virginia (Orinoco) | Cigarettes, Chew, Cigars, Dip – appr. 100 Seeds
Tall tobacco with a thick textured, crinkly leaves that produces a fine dark, rich tobacco that is a favorite of pipe smokers worldwide. Also makes a good blending tobacco for cigars and cigarettes.

Ceremonial Tobacco | Ceremonial Use, Medicinal Use, Cigarettes, Pipes, Snuff, Arrow Poison – appr. 100 Seeds
Nicotiana rustica, also known as Sacred Tobacco, Mapacho, Aztec tobacco, and a host of other names. Originating in Mexico but was widely cultivated throughout the Americas by native peoples for ceremonial purposes. A very potent variety with very high nicotine content used throughout the Americas as well as Turkey and India among other places. The plants reach about three feet in height, are vigorous and fairly hardy. The abundant yellow blossoms bloom all day and make it an interesting garden annual. Cultivated worldwide for smoking and nicotine production. Potency is high and has been said to have been used as an arrow poison in Mexico.

 

Potato-starters-Caribe-bag-2lb

70 to 90 days. Begin the Potato season with a bang with Caribe, a gourmet treat boasting bright blue skin, white flesh, and flavor to die for! This all-purpose variety harvests very early and very heavily, giving you more spuds for your buck!

And such spuds they are! Caribe isn't some exotic new variety, but a traditional color we just don't see much anymore now that commercial growers have decided only to mass-market brown, white, and red types! (In the Andes, where Potatoes originated, there were once nearly a thousand different varieties!) The flesh is lilac-blue, firm, and thin, filled with white flesh that is classified as "mid dry," meaning that it's not as dry as the baking types, nor as moist as the fryers. In other words, Caribe can do it all!

The fruits reach between 4 and 8 ounces, with a rounded to oblong shape. The plant grows just 12 to 18 inches tall but spreads up to 4 feet wide, and each 2½-pound bag of plants will sow up to 25 feet of row and yield 20 to 30 pounds of potatoes.

Like all Potatoes, Caribe fares best in sandy, enriched soil, but if you have heavy or clay soil, just used a raised bed or plant the tubers more shallowly, mulching them well with straw. Here's how to grow them:

 

Potato-starters-Yukon-Gold-bag-2lb

70 to 90 days. Yukon Gold is so richly flavored that your guests will ask if you already added the butter! This superb baking variety sets an early harvest of large, scrumptious spuds you will find irresistible in soups and side dishes as well as straight from the oven!

Yukon Gold is the most popular yellow-skinned variety for baking, and it's easy to see why. It harvests early — closer to 70 days than 90, and far ahead of the 100 to 110 typical of midseason types. The tubers are rounded, blocky, and packed with succulent flesh, with thin skins just perfect for eating. (That's where all the vitamins are hiding, too!) Although it's classified as a "dry" type best suited for baking, I find it superb boiled or fried too. The spuds range from 4 to 10 ounces, so I save the big mongo ones for baked potatoes, and turn the others into soups, stews, and veggie medleys!

The plant grows just 12 to 18 inches tall but spreads up to 4 feet wide, and each 2½-pound bag of plants will sow up to 25 feet of row and yield 20 to 30 pounds of potatoes. These plants are grown from disease-free stock, and for my money they're the best Potatoes on the market today!

Like all Potatoes, Yukon Gold fares best in sandy, enriched soil, but if you have heavy or clay soil, just used a raised bed or plant the tubers more shallowly, mulching them well with straw. Here's how to grow them:

If your soil is normal to sandy, work in some gypsum and Epsom salts before planting, then set the tubers 3 or 4 inches deep and about a foot apart. (If your soil is heavier, plant more shallowly and rely on mulch rather than soil for coverage.) Potato tubers should be planted in early spring, at the same time as you sow your green peas. If a late frost threatens, just toss a few inches of straw or other mulch over the young plants, and chances are they'll be fine. When the shoots emerge, you may want to sow some bush beans alongside the young plants — they'll keep the bugs down! Basil and Summer Savory are also fine companions that keep insects at bay — I usually just wait to see which Potatoes didn't sprout, and fill in the gaps with these helpful herbs! (Of course, Marigold, friend to all vegetables for its ability to destroy more nematodes than commercial repellents, is always a beautiful choice too!)

Potatoes tend to grow their fruit right under the soil, and over time the tubers may stick out above the soil line. This can cause greening, which ruins the flavor (and adds toxins to the Potato), so watch your plants and add more soil, straw, or peat moss as necessary to keep the taters under wraps! The plants may also bloom, and small, hard green fruits will appear when the flowers pass. Don't be tempted to harvest them — they're toxic!

When it's time to harvest, begin at the outer edges of each plant and work your way in. You want to gently turn over the soil using a garden fork or blunt-edged spade, to avoid cutting into the potatoes. Store the spuds, unwashed and not touching one another, in a totally dark, cool place, where they'll last for several weeks. (You can eat them after they've sprouted; just cut away the inedible sprout and its eye.) Once you've harvested the crop from end to end, begin in a new spot and work your way through it from a different direction. You'll be amazed at how many spuds you missed the first time!