Deer and Tomatoes

Somewhere long ago and far away some deity with more time on his hands than sense must have decided that tomato plants should taste good to deer. Not just the leaves and fruit, mind you, but the whole friggin plant! I did a little research and was mildly surprised to discover that deer are ruminants just like cattle. That is, they both have four stomachs and go after greens. Unlike cattle, however deer are browsers while cows are grazers. Without going into detail, what this means is that deer require a slightly higher caliber diet than do their brethren livestock. They also like to eat more frequently, but in small amounts than the grazers do. The bottom line is that good old Odocoileus virginianus (or white-tailed deer to the rest of us) will just about eat anything in the garden that isn’t tied down. Not only do they love the entire tomato plant but likewise for those prized pepper varieties that take forever to grow. So, if you have deer where you live you need to come up with a plan to protect yourself from their glutinous habits. I have found that simple barricades are just not enough. If you really want to be safe, plan on erecting a fence or other similar barrier. That’s my plan for next year!

Chili #3

Chili Experiment #2

This second batch was similar to the first, with the exception that I used the following new additives:

1 small Bananarama bell pepper

½ tsp brown sugar

¼ tsp vinegar, white

2 green onions

1 tsp basil, dried

1 pc bacon, chopped

Dash salt, pepper and garlic salt

I also used extra lean 93/7 hamburger 0.93 lb that cost 3.89 per lb for a total of $3.62.

The chili mix was a package of McCormick Hot Chili seasoning Mix. I also did this deal in the crockpot after first cooking the hamburger and bacon and green onions in a pan over medium heat.

The beans and tomatoes remained the same so from a nutritional standpoint the only real changes were the brown sugar and the bacon.

This meal was begun at 4PM in the afternoon. I was also the sole judge this time.

Results:

I was able to make five 7 ounce tubs for storage from this run. All tubs were marked and placed in the deep freeze in the garage. I had enough left for a few tablespoons.

Not too bad. You definitely feel the increased heat with this dish. No doubt due to the package mix. Not a dish my father would approve of. I like this a little more than #1 and want to continue experimenting in this direction, but with the following changes:

1) I would like the chili to be a little milder – this may take care of itself when I add some crackers and shredded cheese with I did not have for the taste test.

2) I would like to add more onions and bell pepper pieces. I like the added crunch.

3) I could see just a few more beans in this dish.

4) I did not miss the corn.

Purple Coneflowers

On the right is a group of Purple Coneflowers I picked from the front planting area in my yard. These were grown by me from seed two seasons ago and just flowered this year. I started with something like twelve seeds and did not see much the first year in the way of plants. Then, during the winter, they all but disappeared only to come back very strong this spring. Wow.

An Experimental Chili Recipe

I decided to go on a chili recipe development craze and came up with this first . It was not too bad. Click anywhere on this text to expand the notes. Experiment number two will be coming shortly.

Recent Salmonella Scare

In the news, recently, there has been some talk about tomatoes being removed from shelves due to contamination with a rod-shaped bacterium called Salmonella, that is too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope. I think there have been a number of well-known fast food enterprises (you know who they are) that have removed just about all tomatoes from their foods in response to these reports.

My feeling is that, while a few people my get sick and suffer from abdominal craps and diarrhea, the published stories may have been just a little bit overblown by the media. (Gee. When has that ever happened before?) If you are really concerned, just make it a point to boycott fast food venues for a while (not a bad idea anyway) and frequent local vegetable stands for some good old American, I-grew-it-right-here, organic produce. I’m not saying that even farmer John’s produce might not also be contaminated from time to time, but if you always practice good hygiene when you handle your food, you will probably not have that much to worry about.

Fall Flowers in Spring?

It may just be me but it seems that everything is coming up a little earlier than it used to. While driving around today, I reflected that we are only just into the second week in June and with the official start of summer another ten days off and already I’m seeing roadside flowers like Queen Ann’s lace, purple coneflower and even orange milkweed. I could have sworn these are early fall plants. Perhaps there is something to say for global warming after all.