Seed planting

Saturday, April 7th was bright and sunny.  I decided to dedicate a few hours to the green house.

Last summer, John, Joshua & I took the little "farm truck" and went over to the rock ledge on Riverview Farms (the 782 acre hunt club that adjoins our property on 3 sides).  We collected limestone slabs to use in building a rock oven.  Well, the stones have been standing there in a pile ever since.  I decided to put what we had collected into use as the floor in the greenhouse. John said he didn't mind. We can always go collect more rock.

Our "farm truck", with right hand drive.

Our order had come in from Baker Creek Rare Seeds.  I'm always excited about planting!

This year's seed order.

The herbs will be staying in the greenhouse.  I want to get some herbs & small fruit trees going in the greenhouse.  I want an interesting, relaxing growing environment.  Some place to sit and listen to the birds & smell the dirt & plants.  An over sized terrarium.

My friend Karna hosted a tea party last week, and it was a beautiful day for it.  I went to my friend Beth's house so we could car pool.  Then we went to Karna's.  What a nice day.  The food was good, and so was the companionship!

The pergola put interest shadows on our faces.

I also spent time with the ladies, working on the Hardy Homesteaders raffle quilt.  It's almost finished.  We just need to finish the border.

We were quilting ( and eating cake).

The brush piles from this past winter are slowly disappearing.  I hate tripping over sticks!  My right leg doesn't lift very high, thanks to my Parkinson's (and some old damage after a riding accident).  So as I'm walking along those damn sticks trip me up!  I make piles & burn them when the weather cooperates.

Chris and Joshua have been working on the Hobbit House interior.  Josh & I got the exterior waterproofing finished.  Now it looks like an avocado. Once the interior cement is completed, the door and window can go in.  Then I can tile the floor & paint.  I hope to have everything ready when Tammy and Ariel get here in May.

Weird weather, gardens & bugs

The weather here in Sharp County, Arkansas has been very volatile lately.  We had 3 days with temperatures below freezing, then we had a few days close to 70 F.  And now we're back to colder weather.  Night time lows close to freezing and in the 40's during the day.  A fairly strong snow storm passed over Arkansas south of us.  And then freezing rain passed north of us.  We only had drizzle and fog.

We've been receiving plant and seed catalogs in the mail.  I haven't looked at them closely yet.  We have a stash of seeds, but it's always good to see what else is available.  I particularly like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  I try to invest in heirloom seeds, so I can save my own for the next growing season.  I also want to have the old, tried and true plants.  The are more hardy, in my opinion.

We don't use herbicides or pesticides.  Our bees wouldn't like that.  I do admit to using wasp killer around the house. Particularly, on the front porch.  We have those large, nasty red wasps here.  And they seem to believe our front door is the portal to wasp heaven!  They literally cover the lintel if we don't spray.  And their sting if awful!  Here's more information on these beasties. Red wasps

Red Paper Wasps

We don't kill the wasps flying around the flower garden or the veggie garden.  Only around the doors and windows.  They may think they should come inside, but I disagree!

I haven't seen many hornets or yellow jackets.  There are fewer bumble bees around, which is really sad.  We also have mason bees.  And mud daubers (which aren't bees at all). And there is this interesting fellow that my husband calls a "good news bee".  It's actually a fly. good-news-bee-is-actually-a-hover-fly

 

Good news bee

I hadn't ever seen one, until I moved to Georgia.  They are friendly little guys.  Some days, one will follow me around everywhere I go.  

Our "yard" is actually a mixture of many different plants.  Dandelions, clover, plantain, wild garlic/onion, mullein, some traveling saw grass type grass... what else I'm really not sure.  We haven't put any chemicals on the "yard".  Whatever was growing there 11 years ago is what is there now.  Josh keeps it mowed.  It's nice and green.  That's all we care.  We have many species of wild flowers growing along the drive & under the power lines.  Echinacea, blue eyed prairie grass, black eyed susan, cosmos, wild oregano,  beautiful wild Siberian irises all over in the woods, day lilies, a tiny orchid.... I know I'm only touching on what's out there.  I love wandering around taking pictures of them.  If you're interested in wild flowers, check out Arkansas wild flowers

A cool, foggy morning

We've had a nice week so far.  Mild temperatures get me in the mood for looking at seed catalogs!  What to plant?  We usually have garlic, onion, asparagus (not old enough to harvest yet), rhubarb, tomatoes, bell peppers, potatoes, cayan peppers, carrots, beets, turnips, collards, okra, musk melons, cantaloupe, Cranshaw melons, yellow squash,acorn squash,  zucchini, Jerusalem artichokes, cucumbers... A few years ago we also had popcorn.  That grew really well.

My friend Michelle and I took a day trip to Baker Creek Seeds last year.  Baker Creek Seed Company     That was fun!  I hope we're going to go again this year.  Michelle and her husband Jerry are coming to visit today, so I'll talk to her about that while they're here.

Here's a picture from a few years ago, just the harvest one morning.  Things were growing really well!

Here's what our garden looked like last spring when we plowed it, getting ready to plant.  This was taken April 10th last year.

My niece Tricia is having her second baby in July.  I've picked out the yarn and pattern I want to use to crochet her an afghan.  You can see it on Ravelry, link is here...  Tricia's baby afghan.  I've got to print out the instructions, then I can get started.  I love starting a new project!

Cricket and I took a walk down the hollow to the stream.  It's running, slowly but running.  This is the melt from our sleet/ice/snow storm earlier this month.  We're supposed to have rain this weekend.  That would be nice!

I spent part of the day burning leaves yesterday.  My back is aching today from raking!  I originally hurt my back while I was raking leaves, back in May 1999... and believe me, it really hurt!  I blew out 3 disks!  OUCH!  My back went POP! I fell down on the ground and just laid there for about half and hour before I could even try to get up.  That was the pits!

Egg custard and veggie garden plans

My first task for this morning is to make my men some egg custard.  John LOVES custard.  And since we get 5 eggs a day, custard is NO problem!

The recipe I used is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook... you know the one.  Page 254.

This is a very simple recipe.  Before you begin mixing the ingredients, set your oven to 325.  You also need a pie pan & 6 custard cups.  I put my pie pan on a baking sheet.  Now, put the custard cups in the pie pan and pour boiling water around them.

Egg Custard (flan)

3 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
nutmeg and allspice to sprinkle on the top

In a large mixing bowl, blend all ingredients.  Pour into the custard cups, sprinkle with nutmeg and allspice.  Bake for 40 minutes.

Here's the pictures from this morning.

Doesn't that look yummy?

I'm also planning our garden.  John and Josh tilled the garden over a week ago, before the snow.  If the weather cooperates today, it will get another pass and I'll get the "root" veggies" into the ground.  Here's what we're planning to plant this weekend.

Sweet potato

Blue and red potatoes.  Red and yellow onions.

Walking onions.  I've never seen any plants like these so I thought I'd try them.

Carrots, beets and cabbage.

I also want to get some seeds started for transplant later.  Here's the list.

Flowers for the flower beds and around the garden for insect control.

Plants for the herb garden and on the patio.

And of course, lettuce for salad all summer long.

We love big tomatoes.  Okra is a necessity.

Who could live without squash?

Or cucumbers?

And a nice, ripe melon is HEAVEN!

Our garden didn't do as well last year.  It got too hot, too soon.  Our hottest day last year was June 28th when it was 111F!  Holy moly!  We were in "severe" drought all summer, and I believe we're just finally out of it.  It's been a very dry 12 months.

Northeast walkway and garden in background.

This picture was taken last year on March 31st.  The garden is in the background.  Notice that the onions are already in the ground and the soil is DRY?  The peonies were blooming already.  The peaches were DONE blooming.  It was 86 degrees that day.  Simply amazing.

Josh had just come to live with us that month.  My brother-in-law Joey and his wife Lisa were also living here then.  We had a house full. 

Joe tilled the garden and got the onions planted.  Lisa had lots of plants started in pots for a sale were were going to be in at the Hardy Gym.

In 2011, we had floods.  The Spring River didn't flood as long as some of the other local rivers.  The Black River and the White River were still over flood stage when we took a trip to Georgia for the 4th of July.  In fact, the Mississippi was so high that weekend, we were concerned we might not make it back on time!  We have a long growing season here.  This tomato was still blooming in October.  Notice Curly Joe our lavender guinea behind the tomato?




 We had a pretty good garden in 2010, but for some reason I don't have any pictures of it....  Hummmmm.  I think it's because my grand daughter was here all summer.  And I hurt my back that summer.  That was rough.  So I wasn't outside as much, digging in the ground.  But our homestead still looked pretty good that summer, as you can see from this picture.

Tammy and Ariel catching tadpoles in the "pond".

I know we had beets and carrots in the garden that year.  Ariel helped me dig them up and eat them.  I remember she really liked the Bull's Blood beets.  They're very sweet.  She even asked me, "Can I stay up late and eat beets?"  WOW!

Here's the garden in 2009.  That's the hickory tree that fell in the garden (I discussed this in my last post).

John out standing in his garden.

And the veggies we got that year were excellent.

Picking out seeds for this year's garden

The seed catalogs have been coming for several weeks now.  Since before Christmas, actually.  And I've been looking and looking.  Dog earing pages and putting a star by the varieties I'm interested in.

Then I pass that catalog on to John and Josh to see what they have in mind.  We're pretty much on the same wavelength.

What are we interested in growing this year?  Heirlooms, definitely.  Organic preferably.  We don't use pesticides or herbicides in our garden because we have bees.  So we want the seed we buy to be as free of chemicals as possible.

I think we'll be buying the bulk of our seed this year from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in Missouri.  Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds  If you've never seen their catalog, you're missing out.  The photos are beautiful!  If our produce this year is even HALF as nice, we'll be very proud.  Here's a picture from their blog.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

 I found some wonder tomatoes, and melons I'm very excited about.  I think I'll try the Orange Strawberry tomato on page 132.

 

 The Golden Midget melon (page 163) looks very yummy.  The catalog says that the rind turns a lovely golden yellow when it's ready to harvest and the flesh is salmon pink.  What a lovely color combination.  The taste is very sweet and it matures in just 70 days.

Golden Midget watermelon

 
The Indian Cream Cobra melon (page 72) also looks delicious. 

Indian creme cobra melon

Candy Roaster squash

I'm also interested in the Candy Roaster squash (write up on page 116, pictured on page 118).  It's a pink, banana-shaped squash.  The tip is blue.  It weighs around 10 pounds.  It's delicious, smooth orange flesh is perfect backed, fried and makes great pies.

Joan rutabaga

Josh is interested in the Joan rutabaga (page 107).  The flesh is dense, crisp and mild.  It has a delicate and very sweet flavor.

red plum radish

 He's also interested in the Purple Plum radish (page 104).  It ripens in only 28 days!


















I'm also interested in the Red Rosella (also page 107).  This is a type of hibiscus used for making cranberry-flavored red beverages, jelly, pie and tea.  A tasty sauce can be made by boiling and sweetening the fleshy calyxes.  The leaves are used to make a drink.  The plant is red and very beautiful.  The citrus-flavored flowers are delicious on frozen desserts.

red rosella hibiscus drink

Perkins long pod okra

Living here in Arkansas, okra is a must in our garden.  This year I think we're going to try the Perkins long pod (page 84).

Strawberry Husk Tomato

John has specifically asked me to get the Strawberry Husk Tomato (page 52).  The catalog states this plant has "huge yields of tart-sweet berries."  This is the type of ground cherry used by the Pilgrims and is excellent for pies, jams and preserves.  The fruit is inside a paper-like husk.







I think I'll try the Cosmic Purple carrot also.  I'm a sucker for those "odd-colored" veggies.  I like my salads and my dinner plate to have a variety of colors.  Who says dinner can't be beautiful.  The Cosmic Purple (page 33) has a bright purple skin and the flesh comes in shades of yellow and orange.  The roots are spicy and sweet-tasting.  It's mature in 70 days.

Cosmic Purple carrot

I always start my seeds indoors.  That way I can start only the number of plants I wish to grow.  No thining.

In fact, I usually get my seeds started at the same time I put some eggs in the incubator.  That way I have my chicks hatching about the same time I'm ready to put my seedlings outside to start "hardening".  I want to baby them a bit, but I also need them to experience changing light, temperature and wind conditions so they are vigorous and strong.

Rhode Island Red chicks 1 day old

Just like people, it is the challenges we face - the difficulty we overcome that gives us strength.