#1 Tipsy and #2 Green Giant x Yellow Submarine F1

#3 Dice’s  Mystery Black

#4 Jaune Flamme a wonderful French heirloom tomato

#5 Sungold

#6 Purple Haze F1

#7 OSU Blue

The bridge was out, so we had to take a detour, but it was all worth it. The folk there are testing, and comparing heirloom and a bit more recent varieties of tomatoes.

They had a huge [...]]]> This weekend, I traveled to Washington on the Brazos to see the South East Texas Tomato Festival!

The bridge was out, so we had to take a detour, but it was all worth it. The folk there are testing, and comparing heirloom and a bit more recent varieties of tomatoes.

They had a huge range of tomatoes for the tasting. Seriously they had tables covered with a wide range of samples that they were quite generous with. I came away with a bit more than I can manage, but I will have to try. I have never seen so many different tomatoes side by side.

I am rather used to reinventing the wheel whenever I start researching. These wonderful folk have done major research and have produced wonderful data and evidence side by side, that I could see, touch and taste!

I managed to give a few Magenta Spreen plants away, and a few I’itois Onions as well, so I don’t feel too guilty. But indeed I am in these folks debt! The enjoyment, information and seeds that I came home with are treasures indeed!

Here are the tomatoes they gave me to take home and get seeds from!

Most of these are small to medium. I prefer smaller because they mature faster and I am more likely to get some before the bugs and birds consume them. The big one in the middle however was too much to pass up. It is a near perfect balance of tomato qualities and it is named in honor of the great Paul Robeson! I had to have it!

There are 15 varieties here for me to try out. Two of them are mysteries, since I managed to fail on documenting them.

Mystery Tomato number 6, Purple somethingorother.

Mystery Tomato number 12, labeled Red Odd. I guess that is it’s name now.

After extracting seeds, these tomatoes made a wonderful fresh tomato sauce!

I saved the seeds in their juice.

Then I covered the juice and seeds with plastic wrap.

Within three or so days mold will have covered the juice, and the goop will be really slimy and very acidic. This will kill most tomato diseases. Then I will wash the seeds in a strainer and spread them on cloth to dry. After they no longer stick to things, I will put them in packets for next year and plant a few of each for this year.

And yes, I made the rack for the shot glasses. A chunk of cedar with holes drilled in it. I added feet to it so the shot glasses don’t touch the table below. Simple enough, but it will keep the seed ordered and manageable.

Bob

This one is beginning to produce seed.  The one below is ready to eat.

If I remove all the mature leaves, it will grow more, and the pruning will prevent it from going to seed at least until it gets a little bit [...]]]> Right now my lettuce is at a turning point.

This one is beginning to produce seed.  The one below is ready to eat.

If I remove all the mature leaves, it will grow more, and the pruning will prevent it from going to seed at least until it gets a little bit warmer.

Harvesting the whole plant makes no sense when you can get this sort of lettuce of a single plant once a week for months.

Eventually it will all go to seed.  I will miss the salads, but it is nice having the seed to plant this year after year.

These lovely plants have been giving us lettuce for five months now.   Soon however it will get to warm, and they will bolt despite my best efforts to keep them producing.

Bob

Additionally I would rather add potassium to my crops, than sodium.    Most soap these days is made from Sodium Hydroxide, it is cheaper and makes a harder [...]]]> I prefer to avoid pesticides, at times however I want crops and plants I love are being destroyed. One of the safer pesticides to use is soap.

Additionally I would rather add potassium to my crops, than sodium.    Most soap these days is made from Sodium Hydroxide, it is cheaper and makes a harder soap.  The old stuff was made with potash, Potassium Hydroxide.  It costs a bit more, but for spraying on the tender leaves of my plants, I want a better grade of soap.

Potassium Hydroxide is still a dangerous chemical, and care needs to be taken when using it.

First things first, protective gear.

Vinegar is  an acid that can be used to neutralize the Potassium Hydroxide, or KOH.   It will quickly negate the alkali effects of KOH, but it will also produce heat while doing it.  It is possible to cause burns while trying to prevent burns.  To prevent this,  the vinegar needs to be used wastefully as a wash and not as an ointment.  KOH should be washed off with lots of water and then the residue neutralized with vinegar.  Having a hose turned on and ready is a very good idea.

Safety glasses and gloves are also needed for safety.  The area needs to be well ventilated, children and animals need to be elsewhere when handling dangerous chemicals.   paths need to be clear, actions need to be rehearsed and considered.  Contingencies planned for, I did this outside, in case I needed the hose to clean with.

Note that in this picture, the scale is not protected.  This is probably not ideal.

In this picture, the scale is protected by plastic wrap, while the Potassium Hydroxide is being measured.

Here is the process, on a nice warm day, with a pleasant breeze and with no distractions or issues likely to arise, measure the water into a bucket and then measure and mix the KOH into the water.  The chemical reaction of the KOH melding with the water is exothermic.  Heat will be produced.  Care must be taken, and the KOH must be added slowly.  One of the many things  you want to avoid is melting the plastic bucket while working with caustic chemicals.  In my experience KOH is not as bad as Sodium Hydroxide for generation of heat, but being careful and aware of what is going on, is very important when working with these materials.  The dust from KOH being poured can be quite bad for you.  Bad for your eyes, bad for your skin and lungs.  The vapors created when you initially mix KOH and water are also best avoided.  So attention to detail and careful material handling are big issues.

I am using a cement mixer on a power drill to mix.  When I actually pour the KOH, it is much closer to the bucket.  I mix as I pour, so that the heat of reaction is not concentrated at the bottom of the bucket and instead is diffused through the rest of the water.

After the water and KOH have been mixed, you now have lye water and you want to start adding oil.  The reason that I have specified a warm day is two fold.  Oils pour better when warm, and need to be liquid to mix in any case.  If the lye water temperature is lower than the temperature that the oils you are using stay liquid, you will have problems.  If the mix falls below body temperature, it will probably not saponify.  Saponification is the process of lye water and oil mixing and producing soap.  This reaction may or may not instantly happen, and may cause you considerable stress getting it to happen.  Agitation and warmth are key to making it start.   Sometimes it will start and stop.  In some cases it will take a long time.  In any case, soap does not cure as well or at all when cold.

Here is the mix I made, Water, KOH, Soybean Oil, Palm Oil all carefully measured and added.  Now I see a problem.  The bucket is too full to mix well.   I made too much.  So I carefully mixed it up and then removed a bit, to try and keep the mix even.  If I just removed the lightest materials on top, I am sure to mess up the recipe.

Here I am mixing the stuff.  Note that a bit has spilled, and that the small bucket beside it has separated out.   A sure sign that it has not reacted and made soap.

Finally you can see that the goop has started to gel.  This is the sign that it is beginning to be soap.  Notice that the shadows are getting longer.  Sadly a cold snap was coming in, and part way through, the gelling stopped.  I put the raw partially reacted soap in my green house and the next day when the mix was nice and warm, it quickly mixed up and made soap.  Fortunately my poor timing did not result in a bad batch.

Usually you wait for two weeks or a month before using the raw soap.  You also make sure there is not lye left over that has not reacted.  To avoid this your recipe is usually five to ten percent super fatted.  That means that more oil was used than was needed to prevent making skin damaging soap.  Since I was not worried about making a hard bar of soap, I used extra water.  This helps to prevent all sorts of possible issues.  It also speeds the reactions.

Here is the horrible test that I use to see if my soap is going to be harsh.  Before I tell it to you, please remember that I do not advise anyone to be as crazy as I am and use my methods.  A strip of litmus paper is a much better way to go.   I just like to do it the way the old timers did,  I taste my soap.  If it does not burn my tongue, then it is not caustic.  This is not a compliment to the soap really, but this was, hands down, the best soap I have ever tasted.   I still washed my mouth out with water.

Bob

Such a pretty plant.  It is early in the year, so most of these are under a foot tall.  They will be just as pretty in the fall, only by then they will be over ten feet tall.  Tasty and lovely leaves.  I love this plant.  This plant dies each year, but [...]]]>

Such a pretty plant.  It is early in the year, so most of these are under a foot tall.  They will be just as pretty in the fall, only by then they will be over ten feet tall.  Tasty and lovely leaves.  I love this plant.  This plant dies each year, but comes up from seed with no help, year after year.   This plant is descended from the one my mother planted in our yard 42 years ago.  Traditions can be lovely.

Bob