Frost On The Pumpkin

Well we finally got the freezing frost this week. The temperature has plummeted pretty quickly. It was 28 degrees outside my door this morning and I had to scrape the ice off the car windows and use the defroster-heater.

The first signs of frost mean its time to take in all the late vegetables from the garden. Even though there may be some warm days in the 50’s, the cold nights below 32 will certainly kill most plants.

As I checked my garden, I could see the frost glistening on the tops of all the melon heads (watermelon, pumpkin and squash). Although the crop wasn’t spectacular I got my share for a small garden. Out of 3 pumpkin plants I got 17 small pumpkins. Two were hybrid crosses with squash which most people call SQUMPKINS. I also got some early fall vegetables like broccoli, carrots, egg plant and giant sunflowers.

My biggest squmpkin was 15 inches across and weighed 50 pounds. You can see photos of my pumpkins at the link below … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/PumpkinBlog101309

You can also see an article and some photos of the giant pumpkins at the Topsfield Fair. The winner this year weighed 1471 pounds. See the link at …. http://multimedia.boston.com/m/26704718/giant-pumpkin-winner.htm?q=giant+pumpkin&index=1&seek=3.879

The world’s largest pumpkin was recorded at 1725 pounds by a woman in Ohio. See the story at the link below …. http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/dpgo_Ohio_Woman_Grows_Worlds_Largest_Pumpkin_mb_20091006_3900624

I grew the pumpkins from seed and then transplanted them to an area adjacent to my neighbor’s yard. We now call this the community garden. I normally use the area for a compost pile but lately it has overgrown with an invasive plant called American Bamboo. I prepared the area by cutting out all the bamboo trees and removing as many bamboo roots as possible. One tiny piece of root will propagate to a full bamboo tree. I then roto tiled the area and planted 8 tomato plants, 3 cucumber, 3 squash, 3 watermelon and 3 pumpkin.

The plants grew like wildfire in the composted soil and quickly choked out the bamboo. Everything was going great until the tomato blight attacked. Most of the tomato plants had 2 inch green tomatoes until the leaves turned black and shriveled up. Shortly after, the tomatoes all rotted on the vine. Needless to say, I didn’t get any good tomatoes from this garden area but did get some cherry tomatoes from another garden area about 100 feet away.

At the end of the garden season I generally pull out most plants and then mulch them with a lawn mower and after compost everything with the roto tiller. However, this year I pulled out the black tomato plants separately and put them in the trash. Maybe this will get rid of some of the tomato blight and maybe I will find a cure for this garden disease before next season.

Although the garden pests, bugs, rodents, mildew and blights certainly decrease the garden harvest, it becomes a challenge to plan a counter attack and reap some rewards. The battle with Mother Nature has always been one of man’s biggest obstacles but maybe the battle will be a little easier next year.

Comments are always welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net

Romeo Fishing Trip

Some of the Romeo gang (Retired Old Men Eating Out) decided to go deep sea fishing a few weeks ago and asked Paul Girard to find some possible fishing charters out of Gloucester, MA. Paul has had great success planning other trips and suggested the Sandy B Fishing Charters. You can see the web site at the link …… http://www.captbluefin.com/index.htm Paul emailed the info and five Romeos signed up to take the trip: Paul Girard, Jim Terlizzi, Joe Pignatiello, Joe Lapiana and Mark Ryan.

We booked the trip for September 15, 2009 and we all met at Solomon Dock in Gloucester. This would be a 4 hour trip from 8 AM to Noon. We all had high hopes of catching a ton of fish and I brought a cooler and some bags to “lug” home the heavy load.
If you have ever been fishing, you know that there are good and bad days where you catch more than you can use or nothing at all. With great anticipation, I told some of my family and neighbors about the trip and even promised them some. After, we would have a big “Fish Fry”. You can see photos of the trip at the link ….
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/FishTrip91509#

It was a beautiful day with blue skies and a few wispy clouds. We met the boat near the Heritage Maritime Museum and Solomon Dock at 7:45AM and were soon on our way out of Gloucester Harbor. There was already activity in the harbor with fishing boats, a rowing team and the Coast Guard moving out. Along the way we observed the shore line with all the beautiful homes, some hotels and Hammond Castle. We also saw the Twin Lighthouses, lobster buoys, sea gulls and cormorants.

We first stopped about a ¼ mile off of Hammond Castle around a small rocky island and cast our lines with herring bait near the rocks. After 30 minutes and no bites we moved on to deeper water. The captain navigated out between the buoys to an area about 80 feet deep. Although there was no sign of fish on the electronic fish finder, we again cast out our baited lines. With no bites we moved to another location and dropped anchor. The boat swung around into the current as the anchor grabbed the bottom. Again we had no luck and decided to pull up anchor and try some trolling as the bout moved along at about 5 mph.

The mate, Paul Gaddis, changed rods and attached big lures to the fishing lines to get ready for trolling. Only two fishing rigs could be used at a time while we trolled, so there would be no tangling of lines and less confusion. As we trolled the lines out, we threw out some chum over the stern to attract any fish in our wake. Chum is just a soupy mix of chopped up fish bait.

At about 11 AM one pole bent over and Joe Lapiana started to work the catch by pulling up and then reeling in. At the same time the other rod caught another fish and Mark Ryan worked that rod. Within a few minutes we had both caught a Blue Fish. The captain helped net the fish and brought them on board. The mate unhooked the Blues and put them both in a catch box. Both fish measured about 10 pounds and about 30 inch in length. At least we caught something. There are good days and bad days. Although fishing does take experience and boat captain know how, the fish are not always in the spots that you are looking.

Although we continued trolling, we got no further bites and decided to head in. On the way in, the mate Paul put on rubber pants and filleted the fish. Like an expert, he cut off the head and tail and sliced some fillets off each side of the fish. He also removed some of the dark red arteries that ran down along the fish sides. Paul then put a few fillets in several plastic bags so we could all take some home.

We tied up at the dock about 12:15 PM and said good bye and thanked the captain and mate for a relatively good day. Being hungry, we decided to stop for lunch at the Causeway Restaurant on Rte. 133. The food was great, the placed packed and the company terrific. Life Is Good!

The Ghost of the Black Widow - On George's Island

Recently I bought a book dealing with the Boston Harbor Islands. The book described the history of this small group of islands over the last 200 years. It caught my eye since I did some exploring out on the islands as a young boy. The title of the book is “The Boston Harbor Islands” by David Kales. You can see it at Amazon.com at the link …. http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Harbor-Islands-History-Wilderness/dp/1596292903/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1237309384&sr=1-3

In the 1800s there were hotels and mansions built on some of the islands for the wealthier Bostonians. Later public parks were established with beaches available by ferry boat. During the civil war, forts were built to protect Boston from enemy ships. Civil War prisoners were also kept on the island. It was more of a summer retreat than a prison where prisoners would walk the island shores and even meet their wives and family during Sunday visits.

Early in the 1900s gambling establishments were built with alcohol and opium dens available. Illegal boxing and prize fights were also a big attraction. Local baseball teams would have Sunday games out on the islands, since the Massachusetts Blue Laws prohibited baseball on Sunday. During World War I and II, war prisoners were kept as well as sick and quarantined immigrants.

When I was in high school in the 1960s, my Uncle Joe would pick me up along with my friend Joey on most Saturday mornings during the summer, for a day exploring the Boston Harbor Islands. Uncle Joe had old green and beige Desoto Sedan with push button drive. On those hot summer days we would drive from where I lived in Chelsea to Hull, MA and meet one of Uncle Joe’s friends Dan who lived in a house on the point near Hull High school. Dan had a small row boat beached near his house and we would row out to his bigger 45 ft. workboat moored off shore.

Dan was a caretaker for the Harbor Islands and worked for the MDC (Metropolitan District Commission). In the 1960’s, the MDC had responsibility to patrol the islands before they were developed and made a State Park. Dan would patrol around most of the islands in his boat and make sure there were no trespassers or vandals. One time we found a few young kids in a power boat trying to take some copper wire from Little Brewster Island.

After making our morning rounds, we would stop at Georges Island and Fort Warren where they had just finished a new dock. The dock was built to allow access to the island after it was declared a State Park. Ferries and small boats would be able to tie up at the dock and visitors could explore the island for a picnic or swimming off the rocky shores. Since we were Dan’s guests, we had free excess to the island and explored the old Fort Warren and all its rooms, halls and dungeons without seeing another person. That was before Uncle Joe told us the story about the Ghost of the Black Widow. After hearing the story, we were sure that the sounds of the wind or the waves were really the whispers of all the ghosts that still haunted the island and protected its secrets.
As I recall the Black Widow story, a civil war solder was imprisoned on the island in the 1800’s. His wife would visit periodically by public boat. Wanting to free her husband, she rowed over at night and met her husband on the beach but was caught by a guard. Accidently, she drew her pistol and aimed at the guard but accidently shot her husband. She was tried and convicted to be hanged on the island. Her last wish was to have a robe and hood made from the black drapes in the fort dining hall. After her hanging, guards and prisoners have sworn that she haunts the island and especially the dungeon hallways where she is seen wearing the black robe.

There are many other stories that are told by park guides if you wish to visit the islands. You can also read many of the books written by Edward Rowe Snow. A list is found at Amazon.com at the link …..
http://www.amazon.com/Edward-Rowe-Snow/e/B001H9R6U0/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_T1_0
You can also take a ferry to the islands. See the link below to learn more …. http://www.bostonislands.com/

On one of our trips to Fort Warren in the 1960’s, Dan wondered if a water pipe in one of the dungeon rooms emptied out at the shore line. He asked Joey and I to go down into the lowest dungeon and yell loud to see if Uncle Joe and he could hear us at the shoreline drainage pipe. Joey said that he could even make a louder sound with an old civil war pistol that he brought to show Dan.

We loaded the pistol with gun powder only, without the bullets, and walked down several flights of stairs to a tunnel that led to the dungeon at the end. The floor was flooded with 6 inches of water and had a wood plank to walk on. I carried a flash light while Joey carried the pistol. When we got to the end of a long tunnel, we saw the hole and pipe.

Joey aimed the pistol into the hole and pressed the trigger. It made the loudest sound I ever heard which bounced and vibrated off the walls. We started to run along the wood plank and get out as fast as possible. Unfortunately, my foot slipped off the wood and I dropped the flash light which went out and was lost in the muddy water. It was now pitch dark and we had to feel our way out along the slimy walls and the long tunnel.

All I could think about was the ghost of the Black Widow chasing me from behind who would grab my ankles any second. Luckily, we reached the opening and ran out and down to the shore to tell Uncle Joe and Dan what happened. Uncle Joe said, “you look like you just saw a ghost” and laughed. He also said that he didn’t hear any sound. Well that was a waste of time but certainly got my heart pumping and a great story to remember.

We had a lot of other great days on the islands but that one was the most memorable. Now that my grand children are old enough, I think a trip to Fort Warren might be our next adventure.

Comments are always welcome. Send email to: markryan82@comcast.net

Bikes for the Grandkids

This summer we left our camper trailer at a campground in Littleton, NH called Crazy Horse. We decided to leave it in one place rather than travel to different locations. Now we can come and go as we please without having to pull the trailer and be bothered with the trailer setup. You can see the campground web site at the link …. http://www.ucampnh.com/crazyhorse/default.asp

We also bring our grandkids to the campground as often as we can and they really enjoy all the camp attractions. There is a swimming pool, playground, game room, camp store and fishing pond. In addition, most of the other children at camp have bicycles that they ride all around the camp roads and trails.

Although our grandkids have bikes at home we wanted to have other bikes that we could leave at the campsite. Consequently, we started looking online and in stores to purchase some inexpensive but rugged bikes that they could use. We needed 3 BMX type mountain bikes with 20 inch wheel size and found that the prices ranged from $70 to several hundred. You can see a sample bike at the web link ….. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=888103

We also decided to look at the local Salvation Army Thrift Store for some used bikes since we frequently donate used clothes and other items and have seen bikes there. On our first visit we purchased one bike that needed a little clean up and paid only $10.00. After a few more visits, we had the 3 bikes that I repaired with new tire tubes or nuts and bolts or chain links. I still make weekly visits to the store to find other bikes that I can fix and have given them to other kids at camp that had none. You can locate the nearest thrift store to you at the following web link ….. http://www.use.salvationarmy.org/use/www_use_mas.nsf/vw-sublinks/C0EC25AA664045D1852574DC005FF44E?openDocument

With a few common tools you can make most bike repairs and there are online web sites that show you how. A few of these web sites are at the following links ….. (Bike Encyclopedia) http://www.sheldonbrown.com/ and (Bike Repair Videos) http://video.google.com/videosearch?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4GGLJ_enUS228US228&q=Bike+Tire+Repair&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=FCh4SuPHGpCNtgfZps2WCQ&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4

You can also see some photos of the bikes that I have purchased and repaired at the following web link ………… http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/BikeRepair73009


Please send comments and suggestions to markryan82@comcast.net

Zucchini & Meat Casserole and Other Tall Tails

I got the first couple of zucchini from my garden last week. A beautiful green fruit about 14 inches long and 5 inches wide. My God, “Its Bigger than Both of Us” as Imogene Coca would say on “The Sid Caesar - 1950’s TV Show”. Most people like these zucchinis about half that size for cooking in casseroles or boiled and served with butter. Although the zucchini was almost picking size four days earlier, I had gone away for a few days and it tripled in size when I got back. It was like the pod people in the movie “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.
See photos at the link …. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/ZucCasserole72609

Zucchini plants are so prolific. They continue to flower and produce fruits all summer - (More Pod People). I usually will pick the first few and give them to my wife to cook in various ways. She has a ton of recipes which are all delicious. However, I know she has reached her cooking limit when I see the zucchini green color to her eyes as she imitates “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” and slaps me on the head with her giant green tail. At that point, I give away the rest of the “pod” crop to family and friends to spread the wealth and propagate the “alien” species.

I decided to grow most of my vegetable garden from seed this year and involved the grandchildren. Once the seedlings reached about 4 inches in height, I could plant them in the garden. You need to time this so you can plant them in the garden after Memorial Day and the last signs of frost. However, like most plans and several delays, I eventually planted the seeds in late April in the house and waited for them to grow to maturity. I hoped Bernie Madoff didn’t help produce these seeds.

I gave a bunch of seeds and seedlings to my grand daughter to put in a garden at her house. I also gave her some plastic fencing to put around the plants and keep them safe from “Space” invaders. She put up the fence her self and delicately put all the plants in the ground. She watered and weeded the garden and took special care of the little seedlings. However, “Alien Creatures From Outer Space” in the form of a ground hog ate most of the plants and the garden fell apart.

To make sure that I had a viable garden this year, I also bought some already grown plants at the garden center. They were duplicates of the ones that I was also growing from seed. I was now growing both seedlings and plants of zucchini, squash, tomato, carrot, lettuce, broccoli, pepper, egg plant, cucumber and a bunch of herbs. Nothing like “hedge hogging” your bets. I also moved the plants from the house to a cold frame outside in May.

After Memorial Day, I planted all the garden center plants in my regular garden and almost ran out of space. A few weeks later, the seedlings which I had growing in a cold frame were now ready to plant in the garden. Since I had no more space to put them in the regular garden, I cleared a spot near the compost pile and made another garden. My neighbor also provided some space on an adjoining compost area. We now have a “Farm Coop”. Maybe we should apply for Federal Stimulus Money.

Unfortunately, the area was also home to an invasive bamboo plant that grows like wild fire and is competing for the same space as the seedlings. This reminds me of the movie “War of the Worlds” where the space creatures try to take over the Earth. Will the alien “Bamboo Creatures” win? Stay tune for the exciting conclusion next month. Although I dig out and snip off most of the bamboo sprouts every other day, there deep roots continue to produce more and more alien creatures.

Although my garden is fenced in, I noticed that some of the plants were still being eaten, especially the Strawberry plants and Lettuce and Corn. To help protect the plants, I made a few screened boxes. After using the boxes on the Strawberries which only produce fruit in June, I moved the boxes over the other tender plants (corn, carrots, and lettuce) to protect them. So far they are doing fine.

Yesterday, my wife tried a new recipe for “Zucchini Casserole” with ground hamburg and served it for dinner. It was truly delicious and outstanding. After some pleading, she shared with me her secret recipe which I have described below. However, like Mr. Phelps says from “Mission Impossible” you must destroy the secret in 30 seconds to prevent a world wide zucchini epidemic.

Zucchini & Meat Casserole (Secret Recipe)

Ingredients:
1 zucchini (1/4” slices), 2-3 eggs, bread crumbs, 1 pkg mozzarella cheese (shredded), 1 lb. Hamburg (see meatball cooking instructions below), marinara sauce (make your own).

Directions:
Meatballs (crumbled after cooking) - mix together 1 lb. Hamburg, 1 egg, 5 slices Italian Bread, (wet with water and shredded), Romano cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Make meatballs and broil. After, cool and crumble.

Casserole - Dip zucchini slices in egg batter, bread crumbs and place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with olive oil and bake at 425 until tops crusty. Then layer zucchini slices in casserole dish with other ingredients in following order: 1. sauce, 2. zucchini, 3. ground meat. 4. grated cheese. 5. Mozzarella cheese. 6, sauce. Repeat layering to fill dish. Bake at 350 for one hour.

Remember: “Don’t Tell Bernie”. - Recipe Will Self Destruct In 30 Seconds

Garden “Signs”

Signs can be interpreted as either ones that you paint or clues that indicate something. When planting a garden you need both. The painted signs are used to identify plants and the other signs will signal when its time to plant the seed, or thin the seedlings, or transfer the seedlings, or water, or protect from frost. A successful gardener has to constantly be vigilant for “SIGNS”. You can see some photos of my “Signs” at the link below …..
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/GardenProgress62309?authkey=Gv1sRgCPyltYz3pariHQ

This year I started some plants from seed. In early May, I had my grandchildren help me with putting the seeds in Peat Pots and trays. I then put the trays in a cold frame that protected the plants from cold weather outside while the seeds germinated to seedlings.

The cold frame had a wood skeleton which was covered with clear plastic. On warm days I would open the cold frame for air circulation and at night close it to protect the plants from possible “signs” of frost.

During the next month the seeds germinated to seedlings and grew to 6 inches tall. This was a “sign” which indicated they needed to be transferred to larger individual pots and then eventually planted in the garden.

Later, I painted some “signs” to help identify the plant sections mostly for garden neighbors and visitors that would stop by to chat. I put the painted signs on wood dowels at different places in the garden.

I watered the plants frequently so that the soil never dried out while the plants were in the cold frame. I used water that I collected from a roof and rain barrel system that I built. After putting the plants in the garden, I watered as needed with a watering can. Most plants only need a cup of water a week to survive. However, I didn’t hand water much since it has rained most of the month of June.

Since I started the seeds late, I don’t expect a harvest until late July or August. Most plants produce fruits in 75 to 90 days. The development of flowers is a “sign” that pollination and fertilization will take place. After fertilization, the bottom of flowers will generally develop into the fruits.

As you patiently wait for “signs” of harvest time, you keep busy tending the plants, and watching for “signs” to weed, water, tie and support plants, and treat for pests and fungus. Harvest time lasts about a month and will produce about a bucket full of vegetables every other day in a small 20x30 foot garden. . Although I try to use most of the harvest, I give a lot away to family and friends.

Comments are always welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net .

Strawberries

I planted some strawberry plants a few years ago and they have spread by runners to cover a larger area (3x8 feet). However, my harvest has been limited by the eating habits of local rabbits. Just when the berries were ripe enough I would find a bite out of the sides of most of them. You can see some info about protecting you plants from rabbits and other garden pests at the link ….. http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/tips/rabbits.asp

This year I decided to protect the plants by covering them with netting. However, my wife suggested using some cheese cloth she had. I took the cheese cloth and tried to cover most of the plants and it worked for a while but when wet with rain the cloth squished the plants.

My only other solution was to build some box frames with plastic or wire screening. I had a few pieces of chicken wire and plastic screen leftovers and made myself two boxes (1’H x 2’W x 3’L) to cover the strawberry bushes. After covering them, I got a pretty good first harvest and the berries were nice a sweet and plump. Even those that were still a little white or green, ripened to red in a few days in a bowl at the window sill. See the photos at the link below ……………. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Strawberries6509

Strawberries are easy to grow and produce some delicious fruits. There are several varieties that have been cultivated for the grocery shelf which are either June Bearing (one crop in June) or Ever Bearing (several crops throughout season). They are also categories by the flowers into 3 types; short day, long day and day neutral. The day neutral plants flower all the time and produce fruits all season. You can see more info about strawberries at the links below …… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry
or http://gardening.about.com/od/fruitsberriesnuts/a/Strawberries.htm


Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Send email to markryan82@comcast.net