Sunday, February 17, 2013

Honeybells - Bananas - Coffee??



The last time I went into town to do groceries, I came across a deal I couldn’t pass on; Honeybell oranges, $2.50 a bag.  I picked up 4 bags, took them home, and peeled all of them with a little (very little) help from Tank.  We removed pith and separated segments. I setup for canning, and canned 10 pint, and 3 quart jars of Honeybells.
 
Honeybells segmented


4 quart jars for the refrigerator
 
For the pantry, excuse the bread in package above (son likes this crap)
A present for my compost
 
 
*****  

While out and about, I decided I was going into the big city; Oklahoma City, to make a pit stop at Whole Foods for some specialty items to include fish, and these unique bananas.  They’re from Guatemala, red bananas, also known as Spanish Red, Colorado, or Lal Kela.  When this banana ripens it will have a thick maroon peel with a pink-salmon flesh, and is sweet and creamy with raspberry highlights.  I’ve never heard of this banana, and decided I was going to snatch up two, bring them home, and give them a couple of days to ripen.  Then Bulldog Man and I can test them and not share with anyone else in the family, lol…………………….

Have you ever heard of, or tasted these bananas?

 

 
 
 
Free coffee grounds! 
Huh?  You heard me, free coffee grounds.  While in town, I stopped off at Starbucks to pickup a free bag or two of used coffee grounds for my gardens and compost.   And…..well…. maybe a cup of coffee. Okay, there you have it, I splurged.  Note: you don’t have to make a purchase to get the free grounds.  These grounds are packed back in the original coffee bag, sealed and placed in a basket inside the store for customers to help themselves.  If the basket is empty, ask the clerk if they have used coffee grounds you could have, they will be more then helpful and pack you a bag. 
Anyway, back to the coffee grounds.  These grounds are a great source for acid loving plants i.e. parsley, blueberries, thyme, and basil.  Coffee grounds are also great for late summer, early-fall vegetable gardens. 

Coffee is another ingredient, when added to your compost, that will help create a well balanced nutrient for your garden.  When composting, please remember to use 1 part greens (coffee grounds, vegetable peels, egg shells) to 3 parts browns (paper, leaves, straw, pine needles).  You always want to make sure your compost pile is moist and turned periodically.

Hard to see, adding to compost

Another great reason for using coffee grounds is that earthworms love coffee grounds.  It provides the worms with nutrients, and in turn you will see the worm population increase, making great soil and nutrients for your garden plants.
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18 comments

  1. Thanks for the information on thyme and basil loving coffee grounds. I pick up the grounds at Starbucks too. It is funny on the bigger the city the few customers want the grounds. I have walked away with 4 bags at a time. Great!

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    1. Most people don't realize this is available. Agreed, on the bigger cities.

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  2. Great score on both the Honey Bells & the coffee grounds! And no, I haven't tried that type of banana. Let us know how you like it.

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  3. Never heard of the bananas but they certainly look interesting. Always save my coffee grounds but the nearest Starbucks is three hours away.

    Sounds like a wonderful day to me.

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    Replies
    1. Gail,

      I have never heard of these bananas myself, I can't wait to try them.

      Starbucks stop was only when I drove into town. Why I make coffee, I dump my pot (whats left into my compost bucket and truck it outside to dump).

      Delete
  4. I had no idea SB gave away the coffee grounds. Most coffee shops around here don't do any longer. People ask for them and never come in to pick them up. I scored about 5 lbs that way one time. Canning oranges?!?!?!?! Details PLEASE!!

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    Replies
    1. Katie,
      SB has bags the put together and place usually in a basket off the side of the cash register. The bags are free. If you can't see them, ask the Barista.

      Canning honeybell's, I of course washed my jars. Setup the water bath, peeled all the honeybell's, pulled them apart into segments, made a simple syrup with water and sugar (8cups water & 4 cups sugar) filled each jar with segments and added the simple syrup 1/2 inch from top, wiped top of jar, placed lids (after lids were heated), then add rings. Place jars in water bath, let boil for 10 minutes, remove from water bath. I researched on the web for processing and used Patrice's post of canning oranges from her blog Rural Revolution as reference.
      while peeling the honeybells, I made a simple syrup to add to the jars after fruit was inserted.

      Delete
  5. I put the coffee grounds on my roses. It almost always guarantees a lot of blossoms in the next week or two. I didn't know they give them away. I'll be checking them out for sure! As always, thanks for the info.

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  6. I didn't know that Starbucks gave away their grounds. Good to know. I'm sure my compost pile is not done in the correct ratio. I just throw in what I have. Right now there are layers of food scraps and shredded paper. How do you layer according to ratios?

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    Replies
    1. Georgene,

      Yes ma'am they do give away their used grounds.

      This web site is a great site for reference regarding gardening and composting.
      http://www.gardeners.com/All-About-Composting/5061,default,pg.html

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  7. Next time oranges go on sale I'm gonna get some and can them! Yours look soooo good. And hurray to Starbucks for offering gardeners those coffee grounds.

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    Replies
    1. Leigh,

      I couldn't pass up this great deal on Honeybells.
      When I picked up the bags, I remembered a post from a blogger friend about canning citrus. I went and found Patrice's post http://www.rural-revolution.com/search/label/canning%20citrus

      Her oranges looked so good, I knew I had to one day can citrus, this was the time with all these Honeybells.



      Delete
  8. Sandy
    Well I've never heard of those unusual bananas, nor did I know Starbucks saved and gave away their gounds. Great post!

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  9. Kimberly,

    Same here, never heard of them.
    Starbucks has given away used coffee grounds for a while, I think it's great to recycle.

    ReplyDelete

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