its worth it

ITS WORTH IT

way back in the unrelenting humid heat of july
hb the ut grad student and i prepared this bed
in my organic garden for planting my six fall tomatoes

yes you have to think ahead when gardening
i kept the tomatoes protected early on
with solar screening to keep away the oppressive heat
watered them with some drip irrigation
combining it with deep watering underground

for this bed i used buried 5 gallon buckets between
each tomato
with holes drilled on the bottom and up above ground
to allow the water to get deep into the soil

i chose to not stake them but leave them growing on
the ground
so it would be easier to cover them up this fall

we fought off lots of grasshoppers
and
too much rain
at one point
but
as i looked forward to this upcoming week
there was that
first freeze warning for the hill countries

so
i told my wife she
its time

so
i went out and picked
all my eggplants
all my okra
went into the freezer and pulled out our frozen purple hull peas
dumped the chopped eggplants and chopped okra
into a crockpot with the peas

adding my pea bean recipe
ms dash seasoning salt crushed black pepper butter olive oil
chopped garlic chopped onion chopped poblano pepper
a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes was added
the concoction was cooked for several hours
added a pan of my wife shes cast iron skillet cornbread to the meal
it doesnt get better than that
most of the ingredients were from our garden
eggplant peas okra garlic onions poblano

then
we harvested all of the tomatoes
well the biggest ones

the smaller ones got left on the vines
hoping that by adding the white row cover
maybe just maybe they would survive to grow larger
time will tell

i know i have lost all my fall tomatoes before from freezing
i was determined to not let that happen this time

im glad we covered them up well
since this weekend we got below 28 degrees here
at the country n

so far i have been afraid to peak under the row cover
at the tomatoes and peppers
to see if they survived the freeze
maybe today i will

so we took all these green tomatoes
probably close to
well we didnt count them
but lets say 50-100 of these medium sized green tomatoes
wrapped each one in newspaper
dropped them in this box
we also picked a few peppers bell banana jalapeno poblano

in a few weeks they will be the most delicious organic tomatoes
much better than what is in the stores now

here is one that was almost ripe
it will be eaten today four days after it was picked
it is a tycon tomato

thanks to hb for planting these

my wife she and i want to wish everyone
a happy thanksgiving

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-garden stories

COUNTRY N NEWS-GARDEN STORIES

several years ago
when touring the natural gardener in austin
i ran into the owner the organic guru john dromgoole
we stopped and talked to him for a few minutes

when i looked up
i noticed we were standing under this vine that
i had not seen before
it had yellow flowers on it
whats that i asked
john said oh its a butterfly vine

why is it called that i asked

well he said look closely at these seedlings
they look like butterflies dont they
these are frequently used in decorations

well i see why i said

so i planted one at our house
its sort of wax and waned over the years
but

this year it exploded into these yellow flowers

which turned into these little butterflies when the flowers dry up

they do look like butterflies dont they

out i went to the garden

this little ladybug was doing its work on our okra

we have used okra in as many recipes as we can think of
i have used a ton of them just grilling them with other veggies
also i have added them to beans and have done an
okra tomato dish in the crockpot
but
my standby when we are out of things to cook
is to dunk them into quart pickling jars with pickling juice
in the refrigerator
having now pickled okra out the ying yang

a few years ago we had the best fall tomatoes ever
we had a late freeze almost not into mid december
which allowed the tomatoes to grow and grow

we are hoping for another crop like these this year
thanks hannah

here is the bed a few weeks ago

here are a few that are much much bigger today

now if i can just keep my wife she from picking them
for fried green tomatoes

we planted all our cole crops like broccoli and cabbage
swiss chard kale bok choy spinach and lettuce
we harvested our first lettuce crop last week
soon we hope to have a regular weekly crop of lettuce and spinach
i plant a small section every 2 weeks so we should have these
until late spring
we shear them a few inches off the ground leaving a stub
so lettuce spinach swiss chard bok choy will regrow more

also when we harvest our cabbage and broccoli
we let them regrow so we reharvest smaller heads of each
well into the spring

our carrots and beets and english peas are also growing

this is the best time to garden around here
especially since our winters are getting warmer
it just takes keeping a close eye on the weather
covering them with a warm row cover
when the temperatures drop too much

bon appetit

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-dont do it yet

COUNTRY N NEWS-DONT DO IT   YET

this week as i headed to my garden i walked passed
this arugula plant that planted itself at the entry to
our garden

it started as a transplant probably 10 years ago
i let it flower and go to seed each year
the butterrflies and bees love these yellow flowers

i have found the wild type arugula all over our yard
i usually just let it grow
picking the leaves whenever we need arugula for a salad

then
i walked into the garden
there sitting on top of a milkweed that was growing
in the garden
was this beautiful butterfly
not sure if its a monarch
its not quite their time yet but close

this milkweed was planted in the corner of the garden
3 years ago
i let it go to seed
it seems to find the right place to grow
usually on the edge of a garden bed

our contribution to the monarch problem
we as a society seems to be determined to
wipe them out

there are wild type milkweeds called antelope horns
that grow wild on our property
i mow around them and let them go to seed
apparently these wild ones are better for the
monarchs

as i walked around my garden
the fall tomatoes are growing good
and are getting blooms
getting ready to produce our first fall tomatoes

we are harvesting a few juliet tomatoes that planted
itself around a citrus tree i planted this spring
the juliettes have been producing all summer long
they are now bursting with tons of blooms
getting ready to produce an abundant fall crop

the okra are growing like crazy
we use them in cooking
pickle them
fry them
grill them with other veggies
cook them in the crockpot with tomatoes and onions

we are still eating the malibar spinach that grows
the hotter it gets
we eat it in salads
spinach casserole
pasta dishes

the purple hull peas i planted in our winter bed
are making its final push to produce its last crop
since
after this crop
i will trim them to the ground
leaving the roots in place
feeding the vines to the chickens
which coverts them to compost for us to use

then
i plan to put down about 3-4 inches of our country n compost
spread a generous dusting of cottonseed meal
a sprinkling of organic garden fertilizer
i use ladybug 8-2-4
then
i gently rake this into the top couple inches of soil
then
water it well with liquid molasses and humates
then
cover it with a layer of mulch
either leaves or if i have access to it
pine straw

now its ready to plant

its cool this am
its 69 degrees
it feels fall crisp
makes you want to start planting the fall garden
todays temperature here will rise to 95
a cool front is coming through though
dropping the daytime temps to upper 70s and low 80s

now
i listen the the natural gardener folks on the radio each weekend
a big warning they are giving for gardening in central texas
dont plant you fall garden yet

i know the plants are at the nursery and big box stores
but
they say now they are the gurus of organic gardening around here
dont plant until the garden soil temperature gets 85

why
seeds like carrots beets lettuce dont sprout good
another heat attack is coming ready to wipe out what you have planted

plants like broccoli cabbage kale etc may survive
but get stunted by the warmer soil and heat
the plants get stimulated to go fast to bolting and flowering
which can make the final products
taste bad

now i am speaking from experience
since ive learned my lesson
having replanted seeds and plants multiple times over the years

all i can say is

dont do it
yet

the organicgreen doctor