Homegrown Thanksgiving '23
Viewing comments for Chapter 1 "Believing in Brussels Sprouts"Path to a self-reliant Thanksgiving Feast
2 total reviews
Comment from Faith Williams
Wow! This is an amazing challenge. My husband and I have a garden, and I can or freeze most of the produce from it. I've never had luck growing brussel sprouts either because the worms get to them. Same with broccoli. When I did manage to get a head of broccoli, we could never eat it raw.
Bugs are definitely an issue in the garden. I used to think potato beetles were the worst thing until Japanese beetles infested our raspberries. We don't use chemicals in our garden, so I went out every morning and evening to shake them off the plants into a container filled with soapy water. Didn't make a dent. There's a company that sells beneficial bugs, and I ended up getting some of the 'good' bugs. While they didn't help that summer, I have never had an issue with Japanese beetles since.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I look forward to trying it. My husband and I love brussel sprouts. Our kids, not so much. I look forward to reading more about your challenge.
reply by the author on 05-Jul-2023
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Wow! This is an amazing challenge. My husband and I have a garden, and I can or freeze most of the produce from it. I've never had luck growing brussel sprouts either because the worms get to them. Same with broccoli. When I did manage to get a head of broccoli, we could never eat it raw.
Bugs are definitely an issue in the garden. I used to think potato beetles were the worst thing until Japanese beetles infested our raspberries. We don't use chemicals in our garden, so I went out every morning and evening to shake them off the plants into a container filled with soapy water. Didn't make a dent. There's a company that sells beneficial bugs, and I ended up getting some of the 'good' bugs. While they didn't help that summer, I have never had an issue with Japanese beetles since.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I look forward to trying it. My husband and I love brussel sprouts. Our kids, not so much. I look forward to reading more about your challenge.
Comment Written 03-Jun-2023
reply by the author on 05-Jul-2023
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I didn't like Brussels as a kid either. There is hope for your kids.
Thanks for the support.
Comment from DeboraDyess
What are you talking about?! I LOVE Brussel's sprouts! They're a fam fave for us, too. :) In fact, the name hooked me. I have several messages in my inbox that I'm ignoring because of this delightful veggie.
Since you're working toward publication, I'm going to be hard on you. As I tell all my actual clients, feel free to ignore anything you want to ignore. :)
A couple of things:
~ Tennessee four years ago, and acquiring Fain-XX Farm two years ago, we've lacked >> I try to avoid repetition. In that vein, I'd suggest changing the sentence to something like 'Tennessee four years ago and acquiring Fain-XX Farm two years after that, we've lacked' >> also, the comma wasn't needed. :)
~ over the tip of the planter like ropes over the bow of a ship. >> Nice imagery!
~ In the same paragraph I cited above, I'd start a new one with 'personaly, I hate cucumbers'. The paragraph begins with a beautiful description of the gardens. That doesn't seem to really fit and needs its own space. :)
~ straw bedding and manure then transplanted >> straw bedding and manure, then transplanted
~ cycle for this year and not likely to harm Cucurbita plants this late in the year. >> Again, for repetition, consider changing one of the 'this year's to 'this season'. :)
~ Short on Jack-o-lanterns?! Oh, no!!!
~ parsnips, shallots and onions too. >> parsnips, shallots and onions, too.
~ I love your description of what most of us think Colorado looks like. Nice!
~ Not 100% certain (and, sorry, not taking the time to look), but I don't think you need a comma here >> bales of straw, and a commitment
~ a steaming pot of spicy butternut squash soup when the cold weather starts rolling in, sounds pretty good. >> NEver separate the subject (a pot of soup) from the verb (sounds good) with a comma.
~ I think I want Jessica's recipe for the spic y butternut squash soup, too! lol
~ substitutions as well clarifying the rules. >> substitutions, as well as clarifying the rules.
~ 1/2 cup pecans chopped >> 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
~ Since the Parm cheese is optional, consider mentioning that in the ingredients list
~ but not sure we will be ready >> but I'm not sure we will
~ I suppose venison will work too. >> I suppose venison will work, too.
It's tough to get reviews for longer pieces. You might consider doing this in halves. Ihope some of my suggestions helped. I'm trying to beat a baby up from a nap (hers, not mine) so please forgive fumbling fingers on my part. :)
Blessings!
Deb
reply by the author on 05-Jul-2023
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What are you talking about?! I LOVE Brussel's sprouts! They're a fam fave for us, too. :) In fact, the name hooked me. I have several messages in my inbox that I'm ignoring because of this delightful veggie.
Since you're working toward publication, I'm going to be hard on you. As I tell all my actual clients, feel free to ignore anything you want to ignore. :)
A couple of things:
~ Tennessee four years ago, and acquiring Fain-XX Farm two years ago, we've lacked >> I try to avoid repetition. In that vein, I'd suggest changing the sentence to something like 'Tennessee four years ago and acquiring Fain-XX Farm two years after that, we've lacked' >> also, the comma wasn't needed. :)
~ over the tip of the planter like ropes over the bow of a ship. >> Nice imagery!
~ In the same paragraph I cited above, I'd start a new one with 'personaly, I hate cucumbers'. The paragraph begins with a beautiful description of the gardens. That doesn't seem to really fit and needs its own space. :)
~ straw bedding and manure then transplanted >> straw bedding and manure, then transplanted
~ cycle for this year and not likely to harm Cucurbita plants this late in the year. >> Again, for repetition, consider changing one of the 'this year's to 'this season'. :)
~ Short on Jack-o-lanterns?! Oh, no!!!
~ parsnips, shallots and onions too. >> parsnips, shallots and onions, too.
~ I love your description of what most of us think Colorado looks like. Nice!
~ Not 100% certain (and, sorry, not taking the time to look), but I don't think you need a comma here >> bales of straw, and a commitment
~ a steaming pot of spicy butternut squash soup when the cold weather starts rolling in, sounds pretty good. >> NEver separate the subject (a pot of soup) from the verb (sounds good) with a comma.
~ I think I want Jessica's recipe for the spic y butternut squash soup, too! lol
~ substitutions as well clarifying the rules. >> substitutions, as well as clarifying the rules.
~ 1/2 cup pecans chopped >> 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
~ Since the Parm cheese is optional, consider mentioning that in the ingredients list
~ but not sure we will be ready >> but I'm not sure we will
~ I suppose venison will work too. >> I suppose venison will work, too.
It's tough to get reviews for longer pieces. You might consider doing this in halves. Ihope some of my suggestions helped. I'm trying to beat a baby up from a nap (hers, not mine) so please forgive fumbling fingers on my part. :)
Blessings!
Deb
Comment Written 02-Jun-2023
reply by the author on 05-Jul-2023
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Thank you, but I don't do this for reviews. That might be FanStory's thing, but to me, it's just another venue. I'm sure you are a qualified copy editor, but that really isn't necessary and we obviously have a different opinion about some grammar points, so just enjoy the story if you like.
I'm 9 episodes into documenting this challenge so far, and my target for each episode is at least 1500 words. I'm not going to shortchange those that are interested because the majority of people don't like to read anymore. Generally, I write for myself these days anyway. I gave up writing for anybody else a long time ago. This isn't my first foray into publishing or trying to get published. All episodes are on Medium, so far. Some are on Vocal. I'm The Bantering Welshman on both of those sites too (I never use a comma before too used like this, and really do not understand that correction).
I have much more material on Vocal and Medium; some of it is in both places, and I have two self-published books (fiction) on Amazon (M.S. Humphreys). I'm sorry if I seem a bit crass, but I am very distrusting of people who want to help me "get read" and "sell books." There is a lot of money in writing these days, just not for the writers. I had big dreams a long time ago of making a living as a writer. As early as 9 years ago, when I retired from the Army, I thought I could just get an agent, get my many finished projects published and never have to work for anybody else again. But I sell commercial roofs for a living now and writing is just a hobby.
Thank you for becoming a fan. I'll try to put some more HGTG23 episodes here, but if you want to read now, you can find them on Medium. I hope in the future, you will just enjoy the read. No need to copy edit. On the other hand, if you find a glaring typo, or God forbid an error in fact, please do let me know.
Thank You
