B24—Lancaster Faming, Saturday, March 31,1984
Rataouille is a colorful,
delicious, easy-to-make fresh
vegetable dish that comes to us
from the Provence section of
Frange. What is so appealing
about ratatouille in addition to the
already mentioned attributes is
that you have to go no further than
the summer vegetable garden to
find the ingredients. Rataouille is a
marvelous mix of peppers,
eggplant, zucchini and cucumbers
topped off with a tomato sauce.
Here’s how to grow rataouille:
Sweet peppers, generally har
vested when they are green
(although they can be allowed to
become red), are an ornamental
addition to the vegetable garden
with their glossy green leaves and
compact, bushy habit of growth.
Besides their use of ratatouille,
they can be stuffed, stewed or used
raw in salads and with dips. After
purchasing plants from your
Kutztown FFA
production, Patrick Fen- Topton; home & farmstead im
stermaker, Mertztown; fruit & provement, Dan Rice, R 2, Kemp
vegetable production, Jenny ton; public speaking, Jenny Seidel,
Seidel, Mazatawny; floriculture Joanne Kunkel, Naomi Herbert,
(Greenhouse), Michael Smith, R 3, Kutztown.
Terry Wlsser, left, is Star Chapter Farmer at Kutztown
FFA, while Scott Mertz is Star Chapter Agribusinessman.
garden center or greenhouse, do
not set them into the ground until
all danger of frost has passed and
the night temperatures will not fall
below 55°F; doing so will cause
plants to stop growing and suffer
great damage. Set plants about 24-
inches apart in a rich soil kept
moist, especially at flowering time
when lack of moisture can result in
no fruit set. If it becomes ex
tremely hot during the summer,
mulch peppers to keep the soil cool
as they will not set fruit if tem
peratures climb over 85°F.
Hot peppers, a close relative,
can be used to spice up your
ratatouille but are becoming most
popular with the increasing rise in
the love of Mexican food. You need
only a plant or two of hot peppers
for an average family; to tone
down their spiciness, use them
fresh and/or remove the seeds.
Ornamental peppers are petite,
(Continued from P*fe 823)
compact pepper plants that
produce hot fruit while adding a
decorative touch to the garden.
Eggplants, like peppers, are set
out after it has become warm as
they are very tender. Set 24- to 3d
inches apart in a deep, well fer
tilized soil and harvest the at
tractive black or purple fruit any
time from one-third to fully
mature.
Cucumbers, like the other warm
season vegetables, should not be
planted until the danger of frost is
past. However, if earlier planting
is desired, it can be done if a
protective covering or cloche is
applied at night if temperatures
are going to dip. Cucumbers
reauire a steadv snpplv of fer-
BERKS COUNTY - Berks
County 4-H Beef Club will hold
their annual spring show on
Saturday, May 19 at the Reading
Fairground Cattle Bam.
Contestants will learn how to and
practice fitting and showing
animals. Animals should be
Lebanon
County 4-H
The Lebanon County 4-H
Livestock Club held their annual
reorgamzational meeting on
March 12 m the auditorium of the
Municipal Building.
Several new programs are
available to the members, in
cluding: livestock judging, teen
leadership and veterinarian
science.
The club will participate in the
county 4-H spaghetti dinner to be
held on April 28 at the Annville
Cleona High School cafeteria. The
next meeting will be on April 26 at
the extension office.
810-AG SEMINAR
DISEASE PREVENTION
FRIDAY, APRIL 13,1984
10 AM to 4 PM
Farm and Home Center, Lancaster, PA
Using natural biology to raise the auto
immune system of all livestock with
emphasis on poultry. Subjects to be
covered; AIR-LIGHT-WATER-FEED
SOIL-ENVIRONMENT.
Purpose: To present natural solutions
to manmade problems. See next week’s
issue for details.
717-397-5418
MMMJF
EPHRATA CYCLE & SPORTS
878 E. Main St., Ephrata, Just Off 222 By-Pass 717-738-1184
tilizer applied to a well drained
soil. Although cucumbers can be
left to trail along the ground, they
will require less garden space and
will be less subject to damage if
they are trained to grow up some
sort of a trellis or fence. Tie the
vines carefully to prevent damage
and take the same precaution
when harvesting fruit.
Zucchini is one type of summer
squash, which is a vegetable whose
fruits are eaten when immature in
contrast to the winter squash
which are harvested in fall and
have a thick skin. Zucchini grow on
bush type rather than on vines, and
grow to about 3-feet around.
Lake the other ingredients of
County 4-H to hold
Berks
washed and clipped before arrival.
All fitting, with the exception of
washing and clipping, will be done
at the fairgrounds before the show
since fitting is part of the contest.
Contestants should bring their
own equipment and chairs. Con
testants should bring Countyard
Farm Show steers, and those with
heifers onlv mav show the heifers.
The Elizabethtown 4-H Pig and
Rabbit Club will hold Us
reorgamzational meeting on
Friday, April 6 at the home of the
project leader, Warren Heisey.
The County Sheep and lheir parasites.
Lamb Club met on March 21 at 7:30 The next meetl ng will be held at
at the Lehigh Farm Credit Kuth and Joshua Gnm’s home.
Building in Foglesville. The program will be on fitting and
A veterinary from East Penn showmanship .
( limn a Icr’i!** 0 M and
FOLLOW THE LEADER
ratatouille, they like warm soil and
days to produce at their best.
Provide zucchini with loose, well
drained soil rich in organic matter
and kept cool with an organic or
black plastic mulch. If early
flowers do not set fruit, do not be
disturbed; all squashes bear
separate male and female flowers,
and only the female flowers
produce fruit. Zucchini, like most
other vegetables, require full sun.
Making ratatouille is easy. Cut
the various vegetables into bite
sized pieces and saute in a small
amount of butter or oil. Season to
taste with onions, garlic, oregano
or other spices and top with a
tomato sauce.
show
Fitting and showing will be divided
into six classes according to bir
thdate.
Freezebranding of Farm Show
steers will be after lunch. Im
planting and worming will also be
available.
Anyone with questions should
call Karen Freeman at the 4-H
office.
Elizabethtown 4-H
Ail persons ages 8 through 19 are
eligible and encouraged to join in a
pig or rabbit project. For more
information call 367-3287.
Lehigh County 4-H
INVENTORY
REDUCTION SALE
1 - Roskamp (Workhorse) Rollermill.
9”x30” Rolls with Blower discharge
1 - Patz Liquid Manure Pump Model 100
1 - U.S. Farm Systems Bedding Chopper
with - 7 H.P. Gas Engine (electric
start)
1 - U.S. Farm Systems Bedding Chopper
3 H.P. Electric Motor (Single Phase)
PRICED TO MOVE
Phone 445-6736
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