updates
Interview with the Tomato Guru
I finally managed to have a chat with my neighbor down the street whom I call the Tomato Guru. He is a fount of information and his tomatoes are always the best in this area! The video runs about 4 1/2 minutes long but it is worth watching. Yall have a good 4th!
Charley’s Garden Pictures
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Tags: corn, garden, gardening, peppers, squash, tomatillos, vegetables, watermelons, zucchini | 
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Picking Squash In Charley’s Garden
A couple of quick videos of Charley’s garden and picking squash.
Finally! Spring is Here
Finally!
Everything finally got dry enough that I could plant my potatoes. I think I sat on the potatoes for 2 weeks before I was able to get to the garden when it was still dry. It seemed during those 2 weeks that every time it was dry enough to plant, I had other commitments, and then it would rain. So it all worked out last week and the potatoes are now in the ground. I planted
baby spinach and lettuces, too. This weekend was spent trying to find places to plant my flower seeds – zinnias, mostly, and some marigolds, cosmos, a little cilantro, cockscomb and scarlet poppies. I’m finding that I am a compulsive seed buyer, and saver, and between the two, I have seeds enough for five acres while living on a 1/4 acre! I keep hinting to my very patient husband that maybe we could plant corn and okra and the rest of my flowers in the front yard. He hasn’t directly said no, so maybe…
Charley Is Going Fishing
Charley is thinking about going fishing this afternoon. Since it rained yesterday, the ground is too wet to plow. As soon as the ground dries out enough for long enough, we are going to get some veggies planted. In the mean time, here are some pictures of Charley’s Veggies that we might get to plant.
Cole Crops
Cole Crops refer to early season cold hardy vegetables that include cabbages, cauliflowers, broccoli, brussel sprouts, lettuce and chard.
In the deep south, cole crops need to be planted by the first of March. In the mid-south (Arkansas and Oklahoma) they should be in the ground by the middle of March. However this year, we have had such a cool, wet March so far the ground has been too wet to plant. I think that gardens will be able to plant their cole crops later this year.
What happens with cole crops is when the temperatures heat up, the plants just don’t fo as well. So planting early and growing cooler is better.
Farther north, cole crops can be planted on up into April.
Posted in updates | Tags: broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cole crops, garden, gardening, vegetables | No Comments »
Still waiting for Spring….
I just heard on the news that it is supposed to be colder and wetter than normal for the next 3 months! I know we are at the whim of the weather, but I am sure ready to dig in my dirt. But…its just mud, mud and more mud! Last year I was ready to plant my early lettuce and snow peas, but I cannot even get to the garden without my wading boots! How is it in your neck of the woods? Hope the sun is shining on you!
Winter Weather
With 8 inches of snow on the ground and freezing temperatures outside, the only thing one can do in the garden is dream about it from the couch. Now is planning time…time to study last years garden and decide what to do different this year. Reflect on the layout and plantings and harvest, what do you need to expand? How did the design of your garden affect accessibility and aesthetics? Were your paths wide enough? Could you get to everything easily to pick the fruit? Did you have too much of one thing and not enough of the other? What worked and what did not?
Reflecting and recording are two favorite past times of good gardeners. Write down your thoughts and new ideas. Study the seed catalogs and order new seeds for the Spring. The vision of your new garden will enable you to weather the winter blues without too much cabin fever.
Enjoy the snow – it is summers irrigation!
Winter Wishes
How many of you have a big stack of seed catalogs sitting on your coffe table? If your like me, you have five or more beautiful, colorful seed catalogs to cheer up your winter blues.
I sit and dream and think about all the different things I would like to grow this next spring. I have circles hundreds of dollars worth of seed in just 2 catalogs! Of course, I will not order that much but it is fun to dream.
How do you choose what to order? There are so many choices, though not as many as there were 80-100 years ago. I choose based on what was fun last year but maybe I did not plant enough or I want to try a different variety. Take potatoes, for instance, last year they grew quite well but I did not plant very many. This year I want o plant several different varieties as well as more of each. The varieties I am considering are All Blue, French Fingerling and Caribe. I also choose seeds based on just plain interesting. Maybe it is something I have never tried before or it is something neat that I want to show the kids or something I think they will like, like Mexican Sour Gherkins, Hardy Kiwi and Luffa Gourds. Of course, my garden is a work and progress and I plant half the things I dream about and half the things I already have or can get at the Farm.
My eyes are bigger than my yard, as the saying goes!
What to do with green tomatoes?
So…what does one do with a whole, whole bunch of green tomatoes? Why, make pickled green tomatoes, of course!
I was determined not to throw all those green tomatoes away, so I did a little searching and found a great canning recipe for Pickled Green Tomatoes on allrecipes.com.
Now, it was time to try my hand at canning for the first time ever. I quizzed several friends and neighbors on the process – if I would need anything special to do it or not. I found out that all you need are some big deep pots, the jars and a sense of adventure!
The Day of Canning commenced with me getting everything ready. I had sliced the tomatoes the night before and refrigerated them per the recipes instructions and now was ready to do the thing. I started boiling jars and lids and the vinegar and tomato concoction and it all just came together…after about 5 phone calls to Mom, that is!
Truly, this was so fun and much easier than I expected. I just finished canning the second batch today. Now, I am hooked. I keep trying to come up with something else to can! I highly recommend this to any beginner. I had been totally intimidated by all the `rules` I thought went into canning, but it was not that bad once I got going. And it is a great way to store excess produce from your garden!
Pickled Green Tomatoes