DJ54
Elite Member
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2009
- Messages
- 4,232
- Location
- Carroll, Ohio
- Tractor
- IH Farmall 656 gas/ IH 240 Utility/ 2, Super C Farmalls/ 2, Farmall A's/ Farmall BN/McCormick-Deering OS-6/McCormick-Deering O-4/ '36 Farmall F-12/ 480 Case hoe. '65 Ford 2000 3 cyl., 4 spd. w/3 spd Aux. Trans
Yes they are, here's a couple more pics from last year when prepping to cook some down to make several tomato products I preserve. Another cut crossways picture, then one when cutting a half of one into 6 pieces before going into a large stockpot to cook down before going through the Squeezo food mill.
The flavor is outstanding to my taste. More of a balanced flavor between sweet and acidic. They are both a great slicer and canner. Win-win in my book. The Celebrity/Celebrity Plus is pretty close to it in flavor and being that solid.
I read my post above and need to edit it to read the Celebrity Plus is a little more tolerant to blight. But I also spray them all every 7-10 days with Aspirin water. Put 1 uncoated aspirin per gallon of water in a pump sprayer and spray the plants, I do it in the evening so it plants will have time to absorb it. There are articles about it boosting the plants immune system against blight and has been studied and found it does help. Not 100% but does extend the season.
The hard part was finding "uncoated" Aspirin. I looked at several Pharmacy's with no luck even with store help. Finally found them at Dollar General, 100 ct. bottle for 99 cents. I found it better to put in a small glass jar I have an hour or so before spraying to dissolve. Then pour that into the sprayer and fill. I usually rinse the jar, put 2 more in for the next time, so I'm ready to go.
I also read that spraying plants with Kaolin Clay helps a lot getting through hot weather preventing heat stress. I got it to spray cucumbers and spaghetti squash to keep the cuke beetles off. It did seem to get them through some pretty hot weather last year when the plants normally wilt down and did seem to help keep producing bloom when they usually stop putting on bloom in hot weather.
It too goes a long way as it takes 1 cup per gallon of water. My main concern was mixing it and it staying suspended in water in the sprayer, and not plugging the strainer in the bottom of the sprayer, and nozzle. Hanging on the shop wall was a plaster mixer I bought 15 years ago to do some repairs at the other place I sold. Put it in my cordless drill on the low side to mix. I put a gallon of water in a 5 gallon bucket, place the mixer in the water and start it up. Sprinkle in the Kaolin Clay. It mixed it very well, then pour in the sprayer. I use a 1 gallon sprayer so it'd be easier to shake if needed. It stays pretty well suspended but do give it a good shake when it get down to about half, and there is very little left in the bottom when empty.
There are several YouTube videos on it, some good, some not so good. Most mix it by hand, or just shake the sprayer, I like my method much better. I even dunked my cuke and squash plants in it a few hours before setting out to dry to help keep the cuke beetles off. It supposedly gets on their antennae and irritates them and they stay away from those plants. It seemed to work very well for that. I was hoping it would help prevent vine borer but didn't seem to help. That's something I need to work on this year. Whether wrapping stems with aluminum foil, ground coffee, or Dematiaceous Earth, maybe all 3. I'd just like to get a successful crop of spaghetti squash without vine borer killing the plants.
The flavor is outstanding to my taste. More of a balanced flavor between sweet and acidic. They are both a great slicer and canner. Win-win in my book. The Celebrity/Celebrity Plus is pretty close to it in flavor and being that solid.
I read my post above and need to edit it to read the Celebrity Plus is a little more tolerant to blight. But I also spray them all every 7-10 days with Aspirin water. Put 1 uncoated aspirin per gallon of water in a pump sprayer and spray the plants, I do it in the evening so it plants will have time to absorb it. There are articles about it boosting the plants immune system against blight and has been studied and found it does help. Not 100% but does extend the season.
The hard part was finding "uncoated" Aspirin. I looked at several Pharmacy's with no luck even with store help. Finally found them at Dollar General, 100 ct. bottle for 99 cents. I found it better to put in a small glass jar I have an hour or so before spraying to dissolve. Then pour that into the sprayer and fill. I usually rinse the jar, put 2 more in for the next time, so I'm ready to go.
I also read that spraying plants with Kaolin Clay helps a lot getting through hot weather preventing heat stress. I got it to spray cucumbers and spaghetti squash to keep the cuke beetles off. It did seem to get them through some pretty hot weather last year when the plants normally wilt down and did seem to help keep producing bloom when they usually stop putting on bloom in hot weather.
It too goes a long way as it takes 1 cup per gallon of water. My main concern was mixing it and it staying suspended in water in the sprayer, and not plugging the strainer in the bottom of the sprayer, and nozzle. Hanging on the shop wall was a plaster mixer I bought 15 years ago to do some repairs at the other place I sold. Put it in my cordless drill on the low side to mix. I put a gallon of water in a 5 gallon bucket, place the mixer in the water and start it up. Sprinkle in the Kaolin Clay. It mixed it very well, then pour in the sprayer. I use a 1 gallon sprayer so it'd be easier to shake if needed. It stays pretty well suspended but do give it a good shake when it get down to about half, and there is very little left in the bottom when empty.
There are several YouTube videos on it, some good, some not so good. Most mix it by hand, or just shake the sprayer, I like my method much better. I even dunked my cuke and squash plants in it a few hours before setting out to dry to help keep the cuke beetles off. It supposedly gets on their antennae and irritates them and they stay away from those plants. It seemed to work very well for that. I was hoping it would help prevent vine borer but didn't seem to help. That's something I need to work on this year. Whether wrapping stems with aluminum foil, ground coffee, or Dematiaceous Earth, maybe all 3. I'd just like to get a successful crop of spaghetti squash without vine borer killing the plants.
