Dwight Kurt Schrute III has nothing on Richard Havloch Glassford II

What do Dwight and I have in common.... the love of BEETS.  Yes I said BEETS.  A portion of my life's attention has been directed towards the development of the largest beet known to man.  I speak of a table beet or what some call beet root, not sugar beets. I will post my success and failures as I chase the elusive world record beet.  Family renowned beet expert Richard Glassford Sr. (my beloved father) is my beet root confidant. Both Grandma and Grandpa G. have been growing quality beet roots.  You can check out Grandpa G's family record on our main blog page.  

 Beet seeds are a compound seed, made of many connected little seeds.  These seeds are some of my Detroit Red line.  I have some large ones still in the ground that I am saving for seed production. We are carefully selecting only the big ones.

  If you look closely you can see how the multiple seeds are clustered together.  It is easy to see in the top seed.

It is no secret that this is the year of the giant beet.  Many of us are working on the perfect culture to maximize our beets genetic potential. We planted some of our beet seeds two weeks ago.  This is one of our seedlings.  Just think... this could be a world champion.... or maybe just dinner. 

 You can see the seed attached to the top of a leaf.  All three seedlings in view came from one seed cluster.  I culled each little peat pot to one plant.  Last night we enjoyed the little culled beet greens on our salad... tasty!

 Did you Know That

* Scientific name is Beta vulgaris

* Native to the Mediterranean

* Leaves thought to been eaten before written history, how did they figure this out?

* French chefs polularies beets in the 1800's

* Beet powder used as a coloring agent in food and clothing

* Many colors of beet root:  red, white green, pink, purple

* Some have beautiful tree ring like patterns in the root... go ahead give a root a cut and check it out.

* Most of the beets grown commercially end up in a can

* Grandma and Grandpa G. prefer beets pickled

* Beets are an important part of the Eastern European diet

* Swiss chard is closely related to beets

 * Beet greens are better for you than beet roots

* Beets are a power food containing anti cancer properties

* One of the only crops you can eat the leaves and roots

* Eat too many beets and you might see your urine or stool (pooh) turn pink or red, beeturia

* People with kidney or gall stones should avoid beets (oxalates)

* There are many modern varieties of beets, Red Ace is the most commonly planted

* Beets can be used to make homemade wine... interesting!

* A cup of beets is about 75 calories

* Ancient Greeks and Romans enjoyed beets...they really liked them

* Sugar beets are about 20% sugar and beetroot (table beets the red ones you normally eat) are around 10% sugar

* If you like spinach you should like beet greens

I have been putting my little beet babies under lights for a few hours every night.  During the day they are placed next to a south facing window. The leaves you see are called cotyledons or seed leaves.  Some of them are starting to get their true leaves.

What people say about beets (at least those that are living with us)

Richie "its the way to a woman's heart"

Heather " the bigger they get the nastier they taste"

Lynne "it turns everything pink"

Big Rich " Grandpa is the beet master... he knows them like the back of his hand...grandpa makes the beets happy with lots of water

Jim "baby beet leaves taste great"

Rachel "Daddy gave me . 50 cents to try my first beet... I was bribed" 

If you read this post please let us know what you think of beets. 

As you can tell, by prematurely planting my red beets,  I am slightly excited to start our garden.  We got our second shipment of vegetable seeds this past week.  Here are a few of the new varieties we are growing this year.  I am expecting two more shipments and we are going to buy a few plants from the local nursery. It will be Lynne's goal to keep me out of the local nurseries.  Last year Richie and I would sneak off and go buy some plants.  Spring is a wonderful thing.  If you want a little bit of spring, plant some beets in a pot and stick it next to the window.  You can grow some fabulous greens and maybe have a few beet roots for supper.  

Happy Birthday Derek

This past week we celebrated Derek's first birthday.  He had a great time with his presents and cake.  He is one of the happiest little kids. We have a few images of the party. 

 

 Father and son working as a team to blow out the candle.

 

 Derek chilling, smiling at all his fans. He was the star of the evening.

As he sucks off the sweet frosting I think he bit his little finger.

 

See the little red spot on his finger.  I think it is an owey from an accidental finger bite.  

 

He likes to use this foot.  The little guy his quite creative with his feet.  Maybe we have another soccer player on our hands.   

His first big grab of cake.

 It took him a little to start eating the cake but once he realized it tasted good, he was in it to win it.

 He was a clean cake eater.  Our kids were a serious mess. 

 I don't think Derek has eaten many sweet things but you can see he is not taking the little bite, chew and chew philosophy.

 Yummy...

Lynne and I found an interesting little troll like alien droid like stuffed creature.  It is so strange we had to buy it for Derek (Heather had shown it to Lynne earlier, I think she wanted one too).  Derek was very intrigued by the circular mouth and the carp like action it creates when you squeeze the "things" mid section.

Derek pulling his finger out of the carp-like mouth.  I love the inquisitive look on his face. 

As Jessica squeezes the thorax of the creature it makes the sound of a thousand aliens from galaxies beyond. 

We also got him an orange ball.  The little guy really likes playing with things that roll or bounce.  The ball is like a big super ball it can really bounce.  In this image he is throwing me the ball. 

He loves to play catch. 

Pick a boo!

Happy Birthday Derek.  We look forward to many years of fun with this little guy. 

Gone For A Season

I started this experiment on June 1st. One of my main goals was to grow a beard vertically and horizontally larger than my Dad grew his beard. I think I have succeeded even though grandma G. questions my success. I challenge Richie to do the same. Years from now I might try a longer fungal mass in hopes to secure the the longest beard ever grown by a Glassford. 

The above image was taken minutes before partial removal. One of the main problems I experienced with my long facial hair was eating and drinking. It was a hassle to say the least. Another would be people stare and give you a puzzled look. It is kind of a "what the heck" look. 

A benefit would be saving money on shaving supplies.... yes it is expensive to shave. You also get the nod from other endowed facial growers. There is a brotherhood among those who dare to put down the razor.

Lynne said on many occasions.... I want my husband back. I did not marry a biker, homeless person, convict or crazy person. I saw this look many times this growing season. 

Even though Lynne greatly disliked my experiment she was a trooper... thank you Lynne.

I would also like to thank Heather for taking the images for us.  She is quite the little photographer.

Well I have have had my facial experiment for 7 months, and Christmas day I started exposing my face to the elements.  It took a few days with a goatee before I could shave off most of the hair.  Currently I am supporting what you now see and will shave all of it within a month. I would like to thank my mother and father for providing me with the genetic abilities to grow a beard for without I would have been for every wondering.... what it would be like to have more hair on my face than on the top of my head.

Happy New Year

I know we are half way through Jan. but some followers (all two) might be interested in what we did late into the evening on Dec. 31st. For us old people (Lynne and I) it took about all the energy and concentration we had just to stay awake. If it were not for the Wee and good company we would have missed the traditional ball drop. Hey, come to think of it we did not see the ball drop. Whats with that.... we were watching a major network. I must be going senile.

Rachel and I are playing a little ping pong.

Everyone played a few games. My follow through looks much like a kung-fu move.

In this image Rachel and I are taking on Jim and Dan. I can't remember who won but from the looks at it Rachel and I dominated.

Dan and Jim score while Rachel gives the grrrrrrrr.

We did pry Heather from her new digital book. Keep scrolling down and you will see her participating.

Mom had a good laughing attack playing the Wee.

Once Mom gets started she is hard to contain.

Jessica and Mom score big so a modified two finger "high five" is in order.

Jim also known as 'the wee master' can play with his hand in pocket. Not many can compete at such a high level using the hand in pocket method. Keep it up Jimmy.

See we almost got Heather off the couch.

Ok back to reading...

This game everyone decided to sit down and see who can win...Jessica won!

Victory is sweet even if it is a digital game. Three cheers Rachel

Yea Heather.... quick someone hid her electronic book devise.

Opps... Heather falls off the edge of the game.

Jimmy Jumps his way to the finish line. The two-handed pocket placement method can be seen as Jimmy prepares to jump.

Three cheers for a great year.

After one to many drinks.... even if there was no alcohol.... it was late. May this new year bring you all joy. Stay healthy everyone! We love you all,

Rich and Lynne