Last week we put in some onions and garlic, this week some spinach and swiss chard.  The onions survived the chickens and turkeys uprooting them during the week, I must have replanted them twice over, hopefully they have finally given up on that foolish venture.

Raised bed for spinach and chard

The spinach went into a small raised bed up by the house, my wife Cathy loves Spinach, so we keep it close for her, I think she would eat spinach at every meal if she could. Anyway, we did a few rows of Swiss Chard, rainbow colors of course, in the same bedding area. We wrapped the bed with bird netting so the chickens don’t eat it all.

We also tilled another row and planted two rows of Green Peas (Alaska Variety) so we’ll see how those work. The seeding was a snap with the Earthway Seeder, I’m really starting to get the hang of that thing.

Well stay tuned the planting and seeding continues, oh by the way, the coldframe/seedstarter is working like a champ, I’ll try to post some pix tomorrow, the camera went wonky today so it didn’t get any of the pix I took in there, but believe me the seeds are sprouting like gangbusters!

so until then, keep planting!!

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Well it’s official, the Spring 2011 season has started around here. After the coldest February I can remember we are starting this week with lows in the 40′s and afternoon highs in the low 70′s.  Needless to say the bus has struck around here, and we have started off with a bang!

Of Onions and Tilling!

The first thing I did last Saturday, besides a brake job on my wife’s car, was a little tractor maintenance, I did the 250 Hrs service on the Kubota L5740 changed the oil, lube job etc. After that was done it was off to the tilling, you gotta love a PTO driven tiller, I don’t know how we made it  without one.  Anyhow I started out tilling three rows wide which gave us enough for three rows of red and white onions, a ling row of garlic and a half a row of carrots,  Im trying the seed tape style, they look promising.

Large Garden Area

Here is the garden area I was working on, I’ll have to get out and measure it one day.  This was home to the Okra and Purple Hull Peas last year, so good rotation is a must,  gonna work alot of root crops in this area along with some tomatoes and peppers.  Anyway That will all come later!

the Tillage Begins

As you can see that tiller does wonders, that’s just four passes and already a loose, workable planting bed.  So after that we planted the above mentioned onions and garlic and carrots and everything looks good for the start! Now we just need to have this good weather last a while and things wil be well on the way to a great season!

Cold Frame from Scrap Lumber!

We started a bunch of seeds back two weeks ago and now we have a few sprouting, Since the temps have been so crazy around here I have started all the seeds indoors for now, but soon they will be needing more sun than a couple florescent light can provide!

The answer, a cold frame made from scrap wood and an old sliding shower door, that’s right you heard it and old sliding shower door!  Here , let me demonstrate…

Homemade coldframe

Here look inside and see what I’ve done, it’s just some 1/4 inch plywood nailed together to form a rectangular box with the shower door laid on top.  This isn’t going to be a permanent fixture for us, just enough to keep the cool nights not as cool and get my poor seedling the daylight they need!

Coldframe Interior

On the inside I have a few concrete blocks to soak up some solar energy and also for some shelving. So this took me about thirty minutes to hammer together and it should serve its purpose well enough to give the seedlings a boost, and If another ugly freeze heads back, I’ll bring ‘em all back in!

Well there you have it , the season has started , we look forward to a productive spring, and hope you have one too!

What do you do on a rainy and cold, 41degrees cold, January day??  You whip out the seed catalogs that’s what!

With a steady rain this morning and the cold temps, nobody wanted to get out today, luckily we fixed the fence we needed to yesterday when it was sunny and nice!

So today on this cold blustery day, I start the annual seed selecting ritual.

Cold January day

Looking through these seed catalogs reminds me of one thing, I don’t have near enough money as I do want for new seeds to try, so what ya gonna do?   Guess i’ll just get the ones I can afford and hope have way more money next year!

Seed Catalogs

The Catalog Review!

As usual Johnny’s Selected Seeds has the deluxe catalog, 205 pages of full color seedy goodness, they never fail to impress. Johnny’s has an awesome website too. I have ordered from Johnny’s in the past and  have never had an issue .

Pinetree Garden Seeds has a nice catalog , not as glossy and large as Johnny’s, but still chock full of seeds, info and tools.  One thing I like about them , they have sections of ethnic and region seeds for example French, Asian and Latin American.  They also have some seeds you don’t see in other catalogs, tobacco for one.

Willhite Seed Inc. is a Texas seed company out of Poolville, Texas. They have a well laid out catalog in full glossy color, they arent as big as Johnny’s or Burpee but they have what looks like the largest selection of watermelon varieties I have seen, along with several different sweet potato varieties.

Burpee has another very nice catalog, but then again, they have been around forever, they know how to do this stuff.  With 146 pages of stunning color photos, you will love this one, I know I do!

So there you have it, my list is long and expensive at this point, I will narrow it down soon and place my order, Can’t wait for it to warm up and the gardening can begin!

There are several other catalog that I order from, but they haven’t arrived yet…stay tuned!

The Cabbage has taken off and is growing like gangbusters, it hasn’t started forming heads yet but looks like its coming soon.  I planted green and red cabbage , the green looks like it has just a little more uumph than the red cabbage, but the red is coming along too.

Green Cabbage

We just mulched the beds with some pine needles from the front yard, tryin to keep some of the water where the plants can get too it, our drought still remains in effect, hopefully we will get some rain this weekend!

The whole bed o' Cabbage

Those are the red cabbage in the middle of these beds, as you can see they are just a little slower than the green. Behind that is the Brussells Sprouts, they are looking good too!  We have another bed of those as well.

2nd Bed Of Sprouts!

The ducks like these too, that’s what happened to the front left plant there, looks like it will make a full recovery. We also hung the bird / deer netting up around both beds last weekend , for just such issues!

Tomatoes

The tomatoes are still holding on, we had some cool temps last week, down in the mid 30′s. So far the tomatoes are still looking peppy, maybe the daytime temps in the 70′s are keeping the growing, going!

Tomatoes Still Holding On!

Hopefully they will get ripe, but if not we’ll make some relish or chow-chow, maybe even some fried green tomatoes.

I hope your sstuff is working ok, leave a comment and tell me about it, love to hear from ya!

Until then, Take it Easy

Red and Green Cabbage

The fall garden started a little rough this year , due in part to a late season drought!  The Burn ban is back in effect after a short reprieve, so the rain has been scarce here, and it took a toll on the early plantings. I started with a few rows of pinto beans, and they didn’t even sprout, The cucumbers that I started a couple months back are about 4 inches tall, with flowers but no real vines to speak of. The only real stars of the fall garden this year have been the brassicas, I put in some red and green cabbage and some brussles sprouts and they are still looking good, so there is our hope to hold us thru till spring! I didn’t get the garlic in yet but maybe next week I will plant a few bulbs of that.

Anyway take a look at the latest pics from our place.

Brussels Sprouts

Red Cabbage

So hopefully this will keep us occupied until the spring thaw hahahaha.

Ya’ll have fun and enjoy the weather , we sure are!

The one thing that stands the Texas heat and laughs is the Okra, when all else has shriveled and wilted the okra keeps on chugging. It has been way hot this last week and no real rain for about three weeks so everything is mighty dry, all except for the you know what…that’s right, the okra. it is just starting to really churn out the pods like mad, we are getting about 2 five gallon buckets a day now!  OK, OK I might have over done it this year on the okra, with three rows of about 50 feet each, but we all like it around here, fried, in gumbo, pickled, heck you name it we like it,  and our friends like it to, so it doesn’t go to waste!  And if we don’t eat it all the pigs and goats like it too, they get it raw though!  hehehe …

Yea so I over did it but using the Earthway Garden Seeder, over seeding is a breeze lol! So next year maybe i’ll cut it down to two rows, or maybe not!

Okra Rows

In this picture you can see down the length of the rows, I’m about to the end of the rows, for some reason the three plants on each row are a little shorter, must have gotten a slow start.

The okra plant is in the hibiscus family and they have a stunning pale yellow flower with a dark purple ring at the base of the petal, they bloom mostly in the morning.

After a day the blossom shrivels and falls off leaving a small green nub, This is the beginning of the seed pod, the edible part!

Okra Pods

In this photo you can see the maturing pods as well as the flower that has closed up and will fall off soon.  The pods will keep forming until the frost gets the plant, or you let them just go to seed, more for next year!!

Watermelon, another heat lover!

Just a quick note on the watermelon, it digs the heat too, I you can keep the chickens off of them!

Watermelon with chicken scratches!

Well that’s it for now, we’ve been busy with the garden and the canning lately, and the fall garden starts soon, I’ll keep you posted.

see ya soon

Well the vegetables have been coming in for a month or so now and I wanted you to see the laod of good stuff we have!

The Veggies

Here is a rack of stuff we picked from the garden, this is just a small portion of the jackpot. We have some green tomatoes, cucumbers, strait and crook neck yellow squash, zucchini , jalapeno and banana peppers,  green bell peppers and one lone butter nut squash that my nephew  picked , it wasn’t ready , but he couldn’t help himself!

Green Tomatoes

The tomatoes didn’t get to ripen all the way due to a chicken attack on them, so we had to salvage what we could. These tomatoes will give up their existence to make some chow cow, fried green tomatoes and relish, along with a wonderful salsa my wife made the other day …it was delish!

More Veggies

Here is just the up close of the other veggies, the cucumbers are doing well on the trellis system and the squash is really rolling too. The butternuts have a few more weeks to develop and there are some acorn squash out there waiting for the right time to pick. The peppers are coming in hot and heavy, get it? hehehe  We have a mess of Jalapeno and about twice that in banana peppers , we pickled several quarts of those, just like a major sandwich chain makes…you know the one, its named after mass transit!  Anyway they are good eatin, if I do say so myself.

Squash and Zuccini

And here is a close up of the squash and zucchini, these summer squash have really done better than I expected so we have frozen alot of it, along with making pickles out of the cucumbers and some jalapeno jelly and and a batch of basil/apple jelly.

The peas have really come on strong, we went out the other evening and with about 40 minuted of picking, we had a large utility bucket full, it’s about a bushel or so! Check it!

Bucket Full Of Purple Hulls.

And it don’t look they are stopping anytime soon!  We have Vacuum Sealed quite a few bags already. If you don’t have a food saver sealer or similar product, shell out the cash, its well worth it.

Anyway , like I said we have picked and shelled peas until were purple in the fingers..lol  couldn’t resist!

Cucumber Trellis

I set up two of these this year, one for the slicing cucumbers, and one for the pickling cukes!

The slicers have got a jump start on the others since the chickens got in the garden and scratched the picklers to death, they had to be replanted …dang chickens!

Cucumber Trellis

As you can see the slicers are on the left in this photo, and they have really shot up the trellis, which I made out of  4″x4″ goat wire and an old gate.

Pickling Cucumbers

This one is last years model, it is one 16 ft piece of cattle panel, bent into a gentle arc, works great, if you can keep the chickens off the seedling.

The Cukes are starting to get to a good size and I have picked a few already, they should start cranking out soon.

Well as I write this a well needed rain shower has started up, with lightning, so I’ll Send this on up to the interwebs for your viewing pleasure.

Good Growing to you!

The Purple hulls have really taken off in the last two weeks, we have pea pods everywhere!

I planted this patch with the Earthway Seeder, and after some tinkering I got the seed plates set just right. It didn’t take anytime for the peas to sprout and start growing, even with the rain deficit we are currently in.  And with a light application of 13-13-13 all purpose fertilizer, I know, I ran outta compost on the tomatoes earlier and I don’t have enough made up yet!  Maybe next time huh?, they are really greening up and growing up!

Anyway here is a before and after view of the pea patch, for your viewing pleasure!

Pea Patch Before.

Pea Patch After.

These pics are around three weeks apart, there are flowers all over and small to medium pods on most of the plants.  The weeds aren’t too bad , I tried to keep up but it just gets ahead of ya!

Note to self : next time space the rows better for easier cultivating!!

Anyway, enough about my laziness, I did find a few pods that were pretty good size.

Pea Pods

Again, don’t mind those weeds!

So i’m lookin forward to some purple hulls in a few more weeks!

The okra is coming along slowy but sure, it was also planted with the Earthway, and they went in very uniformly.  Looks like a pro planted it !

Okra Rows

I did leave the rows spaced so I could run the tiller through them, at least until they get up a little taller and can choke the weeds out themselves.

So there ya have it, we have been awful busy, but it looks like it’s gonna pay off soon!

Again thank for stopping by and we’ll see ya next time!

Wow! , I can’t believe it’s May already, we have been too busy around here.  With so much to do I have neglected updates to the blog, I hope you can forgive me?!  Lemme run down a few things that have gone on since last we spoke.

We have had another dairy calf born, SweetLily is her name!

Newest Calf At The Farm

We had a litter of pigs born, as well as picked up a Large Black Boar to breed back to the mama pig.

Fightin' for the milk

Large Black Hog

Ok Ok enough of the farm animals, if you want more check out my other blog here!  Now on to the veggies!

After the tillage and bed preps , using the Earthway Seeder , I planted a large section of purple hull peas and they are coming along really nice.

Purple Hull Peas

The Earthway seeder is nice, but it does take a bit of adjustment to get it working at it best, and I’m still learning the ins and outs of it!

We also planted around 20 or so tomato plants, mostly Celebrity, a few Arkansas Travelers, and three Yellow Pear… If you haven’t tried these little wonders, I highly recommend them , sweet and delicious with just a hint on acidity….ummmm ummmm love em!

Celebrity Tomato Plant

It was getting late so i couldn’t get a good picture of the whole bunch of em , next post maybe!

Carrot Bunch

Pulled up a few carrots that we planted late fall last year, My wife loves em, I’m not a raw carrot person, but we did slice up a few and drop em in a jar of pickled Jalapenos… now that’s a treat!

We also have the cucumbers out and ready to run up the trellises , also the  zucchini and yellow summer squash is in the ground and growing along with some purple potatoes and Yukon Golds.

Got some corn planted too, but again the Earthway Seeder was hit or miss, along with the fact that my step-daughter was helping me…  Thanks Julie  hehehehe

oh tea, and I’m trying some Diakon Radish to make into some Kimchi later!  I’ll let you know how that goes too.

So that’s the update for now, I’ll keep ya posted…stay tuned!