Sally's GF3 thread

[pertnear09]

We covered the cherry trees and blueberry bushes. This is the last frost forecast for the forecastable future. Hoping it's for the last time this season!

How did they tolerate last night's freeze?

 

[Sally PB]

Well, we sure did have frost last night too. After the freeze on Tuesday night, the weather people weren't talking about last night's frost very much. When I took Freya out for her morning potty break, I could see frost on the grass.

We'll see what happened....

 

[Sally PB]

A fair number of cherry blossoms look like this.

A fair number look like this.

These pictures are from the tree that was more in bloom than the other. The other has more that are still buds, so hopefully ? more of those are ok.

 

[Sally PB]

I *think* most of the flowers are ok. Some are kaput, but there are lots that look good.

I won't have any idea about the flower buds, as to whether they're ok or not, for a few days yet.

 

[Sally PB]

I wanted to "get some stuff off the front porch." I have 16(!) bags of Starbuck's coffee grounds. (In case anyone doesn't know, they give them away.) I have been putting them around the blueberry bushes for a few years. The dirt there has gone from just sand to looking dark and rich. I've been putting oak leaves and white pine needles on the soil, and have added soil acidifier twice a year for the last couple years too.

So now I'm putting coffee grounds in other places around the garden. Supposedly, they lower the pH of the soil... but I haven't found that to be true. If it were, I would have been getting much more blueberry flowers/fruit years ago.

The soil acidifier (from Espoma) has made the difference in the pH, not the coffee grounds, I think. But the grounds/leaves/pine needles sure have improved the soil.

 

[cavemanrich]

So now I'm putting coffee grounds in other places around the garden.

Does that translate to Garden smelling great.

 

[Sally PB]

Does that translate to Garden smelling great.

Until they totally dry out, yes, you do get whiffs of coffee scent at times!

 

[Sally PB]

I knew that Starbuck's saved coffee grounds for gardeners a long time ago. We didn't have a Starbuck's in the local town, we had Biggby. I asked if they saved them, and the answer was no.

I was happy to see a Starbucks go in right in front of the store where I do my shopping. I stop for coffee grounds, I shop for groceries.

There's another Starbuck's near the Costco I go to. I have gotten HUGE hauls of grounds there, like 8-9 BIG bags!

When you think about it, it's a win-win situation. When they get rid of the grounds, they reuse the bags the coffee came in. They slap on a label to hold the bag closed, so the label is the only additional item they have to have.

[I've worked in shipping. Two or three 500 count rolls of stickers would fit in one of the bags. BIG space saver, trading one for the other.]

They get rid of something heavy and voluminous, they get rid of the bags, and they do something for gardeners.

 

[Sally PB]

Yesterday, my neighbor texted me that she had picked up a Kitchenaid mixer at an estate sale. $72, was I interested? (She knows I am; I asked her to look for one about a month ago.) So I drove over there. Usually, I'd walk the <1/8 mile, but those mixers are heavy, so I drove.

Yup, it came home with me!

I used it to make a gluten free bread recipe. The bread's in the oven. My other GF bread recipe uses a bread machine, and the bread is dense. While it's still warm from the oven, it's good with lots of butter, but after it cools, it's good for toast.

There is nothing wrong with toast. After I went GF, I nearly wept with joy the first time I had toast with homemade bread.

About 15 minutes to go...

 

[cavemanrich]

I LUV my stand mixers. I know you are looking to locate on your countertop.... Which has limited acreage. I keep mine in pantry section. Bring in and work on countertop as needed... Then place back into pantry.
I have 2 units. A Kitchen Aid 4.5 Quart, and a larger 5 quart Kenmore model. That one also has a smaller bowl for it. The attachments are interchangeable between the 2 machines. I'm 99.44% sure that Sears contracted Kitchen Aid to make a Kenmore version to be sold thru Sears.
These machines are well made and will live a long time service.
Here is a pix I have saved from a posting,,,,,, probably the Baking thread.