sb country n news-garden news

SB COUNTRY N NEWS-GARDEN NEWS

this sign above well its my approach to
how i like to live

it says

in the spring
at the end of the day
you should smell like dirt

thats my goal at the end of the day is to look down at my fingernails and see this rim of dirt running from my left to my right cuticles

why
just the other day miss b said to me after coming to see me at the garden whew whats that smell so i said
its the smell of spring
its my new perfume
the essence of fish emulsion and seaweed and molasses

when i smell like this and see those dirty fingernails and see my garden dirt stained shorts and shirt then i know im on the right path
doing whats right in this world
doing what i enjoy

somedays i wonder what those old farmers use to do
did they have permanent stained fingernails like a mechanic would
did they ever wash their work clothes
i could easily wear the same ones day after day seeing those dirt stains and smelling that garden perfume
have you ever smelled the essence of tomato leaf and basil together
it really should be sold in those little bottles like peppermint oil or rosemary oil
maybe do a essence of farmers

so when my wife she sent me that picture off a building near san francisco i knew that i was having a good spring here
i just took a deep breath smelling my garden my hands my clothes

yep
life is good

the organicgreen doctor

sb country n news-views good

SB COUNTRY N NEWS-VIEWS GOOD

one of the things my wife she and i are trying to do
since we moved here
is to try to see and get to know this area

what ive found if you arent careful
you get busy doing the day to day things
and
you dont get to enjoy whats around you

we had noticed this sort of happening to us
as we eased into living here

so you can stand here
look to the ocean
turn 180 degrees
to
look to the mountains

it is when you stop to absorb the beauty
well
it stirs things deep inside
makes you take a deep deep breath
and
sigh
so you can really enjoy what you are looking at

we have started at least once a week
doing hikes in this area
starting from a book on local hikes a relative gave us
eg
our first was a 2 mile hike
along a creek up the mountain
with  magnificent views back over the city
and
over the ocean

this week
we simply walked a few miles along the beach
out then back
when you are walking
you see things better
you smell the smells better
you hear the sounds better

we plan on continuing this long term
hoping
this gives us the essence of this place

when i was home for our reunion
my older sister pulled out this dried pod
she said
i thought you might want these
purple hull seeds to use in your garden

now in the south
you hear words like
black eyed peas
crowder peas
cream peas
purple hull peas

here i hear one word
cowpeas

more than likely
unless you are from the south
you dont enjoy them quite the same as we do

talking with a gardener recently here
he mentioned using cowpeas as a cover crop for the garden
i thought
nope
ill eat those suckers

so i planted them last week
i hope to have peas for new years day from our garden

a cover crop is a crop you plant that will fix nitrogen in the soil
then can be cut down and left in place
or
tilled under
to provide nitrogen and carbon mass in the soil
like the old farmers used to do

things used are vetch rye wheat cowpeas buckwheat eg

now i just cut them off in the ground
leaving those nutritious roots with its minerals in the ground
for the veggies to use
then
leaving the above ground part of the plant laying where its cut
or
placing it in the compost pile

so what i have noticed here
is no matter where you stand and look
if you can see in the distance
well
the view is good

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-millenneal garden

COUNTRY N NEWS-MILLENNEAL GARDEN

this week i was contacted by a local city magazine for
an interview on farming and gardening

i explained to the reporter that we really didnt have a farm
likes some homesteading people do
where they have a cow goats maybe a horse
they tend to drink their own homegrown milk
make their own cheeses
many will have chickens for eggs and for their meat source
most also will garden
canning and maybe selling their excess produce
thats what i think of when i think of a small farm

we here at the country n
took a simpler approach
what do we have time to take care of
what do we like
what do we have space for
so
we decided on
chickens
only for the eggs
all our chickens are allowed to live out their lives here
no meat chickens for us

we also decided to do an organic garden
looking at what we like to eat
what grows when
so
we garden all year round
eg
right now we are about to harvest all our
onions
the stalks have now fallen over
browned some
we will harvest them soon

potatoes
i chose red ones
we have been eating on these taters and onions now
for over a month
our yield this year seems down

garlic
its stalks have  turned brown
we will harvest them next week
laying them out on a covered table to dry for a few weeks
then hang them in braided chains
or
slice off the garlic heads and save in a dark closet

of course we have tomatoes that are starting to produce
it may be a good year for them
we have peppers that are just now producing

our peaches only made on 1 tree well this year
i think it is because of the warm winter
the lack of chill hours prevented the others from making

i read this morning in the texas gardeners seeds newsletter
that 5 million of the 6 million folks who took up gardening
this year were millenneals
why
save money
eat healthy
good for the environment
can grow stuff anywhere even apartments
can be a social activity
can be a challenge
can be an adventure

millenneals
will redefine our politics
as the soon to be the dominant generation
like the baby boomers are now
we need fresh blood in both of these things below

between fixing politics and doing more gardening
i sort of feel a kinship with them

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-its a strange one

COUNTRY N NEWS-ITS A STRANGE ONE

as i walk around our property doing my spring clean up
that i usually do in april and sometimes may
i see so many things that say spring is just early
and
that our winter was real mild

well
it was mild except for one night here when it got
down to 12 degrees
enough that it damaged all the cactus on our property
even the native prickly pear cactus took a beating
also our bay tree got nipped on the top branches
our monterey or mexican white oaks all lost its leaves
usually in a warm winter they dont lose them at all

our early peach tree i dont know what type it is
its definitely a short freeze hour one
bloomed over a month ago
it is now loaded with peaches small ones
which i will have to thin out to about every
6 inches so we will get bigger more delicious peaches
these are the best peaches that we make
when they make
now if we get that cold snap that usually hits
we could lose them all if it gets down in the 20s
fingers crossed

last week i took this picture of our first two
bluebonnets
they usually pop out in april to mid april
not this year
they will all be march bloomers

when you sit on our lower deck
you hear this constant humming
like a nature concert
all day long
its bees covering up our crossvine blooms
they arrive at dawn and dont leave until
the sun goes down

a beautiful site as you walk up to our house
a beautiful sound also

each year i accumulate a lot of leaves
that folks give me
this is a stack of about a 100 bags
that i tore apart and placed in my chicken coop
and in my large c shaped chicken run around
my garden

these girls
they actually go nutso over bags of leaves
they dig down in there
scratching around
finding seeds small seedlings bugs
to eat
its like when you hold a baby who is breastfeeding
you know that humming sound that contentment
sound they make
well
those girls
they make this sound thats a sound of happiness
and contentment
while they work those leaves
eventually shredding the leaves to smithereens
pooping all over them
mixing them all up
making
the absolute richest compost you can make
plus
they also reward us
with all these eggs
as thanks for giving them these leaves

so
here at the country n
its such a peaceful beautiful place this time of year

we enjoy it and appreciate it every day

the organicgreen doctor

garden update

GARDEN UPDATE
as the longest day is past
and the dog days of summer will start today as
we start a run of 100+ degree temperature days
its reassessment and clean up time here at the country n

we have 10 acres with 9 acres of it being pasture land that
i have decided to let go back to nature a few years ago
i planted some native grasses and have selectively let cedars
hackberries and other trees grow back in them
i have also have planted some native trees such as oaks
and cedars to supplement as visual breaks and shade trees

since we had done this we have noticed a return of more animals
and birds and butterflies to the property
we also supply 3 watering troughs of water and two smaller
waterers for the animals to access

this year we had a showy display of different wildflowers
especially bluebonnets fire wheels and bee balms

the one acre in the middle of the property is where our
house sits and is fenced with a 7 ft fence to keep out
the deer

each spring i let the wildflowers grow until they go to seed
then i go in and mow them down and leave them on the ground
to provide seeds for birds and for next years crop of wildflowers

sometimes though like this year it can look like a jungle around
our house
real snake habitat
know my wife she worries about that a lot in the spring

now its mowing time
it takes me 2-3 days to mow weedeat and pick up
excessive clippings

this year i was given a new blade for my weedeater
dang wish i had used this before

its dry here 
its especially noticeable when i mowed and can actually see
the ground

the 1/2 inch of rain yesterday just barely moistened the dust layer

now to the garden
its decision time as my water for irrigation is getting low
i will have to decide which things to continue to water and which
to just pull up and call it over with until the fall

remember the fall is the best time to garden here in central texas

this year i planted a 4 x 12 ft bed i call my summer garden
it has things that will grow in the heat and things that will last
until winter time
okra  malabar spinach  pursalane  christmas lima beans
sweet 100 tomato  juliet tomato  bell pepper
sweet banana pepper  jalapeno pepper  two different basils
swiss chard  and arugula

i now will only water this bed and let the rest of the garden go
then this fall will plant another 4 x 12 bed with my fall garden

here is some of my tomato produce for the year
the canned jars are tomatoes
the varieties of tomatoes are celebrities  cherokee purple  lemon boy
sweet 100  juliet  roma  porter  an unlabelled heirloom
and brandywine

the pumpkin is a sugar or minature pumpkin that we will cook and
can like winter squash
its part of the 3 sisters we planted-corn  beans  pumpkins

overall a good spring garden that
is coming to a end
its time to shut it down and compost whats left

the organicgreen doctor

harvest time, urban farms

HARVEST TIME
one of the fun part of gardening is harvesting time
especially when the tomatoes start producing well

here is a picture of a sample of what we recently harvested
from our garden here at the country n

recently dug up our potatoes
we should have about 10 gallons of red potatoes
which we will store and eat on a regular basis until
sometime in the late fall

we also harvested a large bed of onions
those of you who saw the video from the
alzheimers research center
its the bed i was messing with in the video
we take all those onions and hang them in panty
hose on the rafters of a shed and cut them down
as we need them

the harvest was limited this year because i put
hairy vetch on my beds to act as a green manure
the problem was they over grew my onions and
the tops fell to the ground
this limited the onions growth
overall though we got a good harvest and should
have onions through the fall also
sure are good fresh

we are just now getting the beginnings of our tomato
crops
our vines are full of maters
some never make it to the house as i eat them right
off the vine

for memorial day meal we will have fresh potatoes from
the garden with fresh green beans from the garden

we also picked our peaches yesterday and got
4  5 gallon buckets

thats as much as we need
we will freeze them and use them in my wifes shes
peach cobbler
she promises one for the memorial day meal
they also are used to make a drink called the peach fuzz
it makes you feel fuzzy when you drink it

we planted also this year the three sisters
corn rattlesnake green beans and miniature pumpkins
which we will eat like a winter squash
the pumpkins shade the garden beds
the green beans grow up the corn stalks and fix
nitrogen into the soils
the corn grows up for the support of the beans
we get three veggies in one garden bed
those indians were smart werent they

after we harvested the onions and potatoes i overseeded the
beds with black eyed peas which we will eat from all summer
the peas also fix nitrogen in the soil
this fall ill turn the peas into the soil and they will act
like a green manure

this is so much fun
you should try it if you are not already

start with a square foot garden preferably a keyhole garden
good luck

URBAN FARMS
if you live in the austin area you are probably familiar with some of
its urban farms
theres several but the two weve visited more than once are
the boggy creek farm and the springdale farm
they ink out a living farming in town
great places to visit

all around texas people have ag exemptions which give you a break on
your property taxes if you have farms
heck we all know people who have bent the rules a lot and get
a big break on their taxes
two goats on a small acreage area and they are ag exempted

thank goodness those urban farmers get a tax break since we all
know what how high those taxes are in town
(my taxes are a fourth of what they were in town for the same
property value)

think again
those guys dont get an ag exemption
teach them to try to farm inside the city limits
the law was passed to help prevent urban sprawl from wiping out
farm land
so now heres a farm in the city that could be wiped out because of
the rising land values and taxes

now that just aint right is it

im on the urban farmers side of this arent you
hopefully the press coverage of this will help get something done
sure would hate to lose those urban farms
thery are a special feature to austin
helps keep it weird or at least different

the organicgreen doctor

dreams, tomato, winterize garden, dental fu

DREAMS
one of the side effects of taking aricept (donepezil) is that you
have these fantastic dreams
the dreams are vivid hd dreams
they are never violent or disturbing

last night in my dream my wife she and my cowgirl sisterinlaw she
went horseback riding
my younger son he went to work out at the gym
my brothers and i and my parents were staying at a cabin in the
mountains somewhere am not sure where
it was a beautiful place

they were all late getting back from their rides and gym and our
meal got cold
it was raccoon cooked with an apple in its mouth
(i ran into a racoon early the morning before getting into
our cats food-teach him huh)
there was dressing and greens and veggies surrounding that
old raccoon
i got mad cause they were late but didnt yell or throw things
just gave them my stare that im told i have
no violence

later we all got together again at a mountain resort that had an
alzheimers center and we had a similar meal that was enjoyed
by all
although i dont remember eating any coon in my dream

woke up and felt like i was still in that resort
just hope my wife she didnt leave me there

TOMATO

this is the tomato called the taylor mater since it is from taylor
it was left in a house this summer when the air conditioner
went off
when the family returned when the ac was fixed the
tomato had begun to sprout things all around the tomato
that made it look like it came down from outer space

so my wife she was given it by her friend and i and others recommend
she plant it in a pot

so she did and put it in the garden (of course its organic) that she has
at school
he has grown it all fall in that pot
now that it is cold she moved it inside and put it in her window that
gets sun all day
its thriving
she had sent progressive pictures to me and to the central texas
gardening show on klru here in austin
they plan to show the pictures and talk about it on their jan 7th show

here is the link www.klru.org/ctg
check it out on saturday january 7, 2012

now wonder if it will produce some tomatoes
hope they arent all knarley and warty like

WINTERIZE GARDEN
if you live in this area or where its cold you need to winterize
your garden
ive covered all my veggie beds with row cover that will provide
several degrees of protection

ive add mulch to a lot of my plants in the landscape
those susceptible to freezing that are in pots have been
moved inside or into a small green house ive made in my
garage
have my lemons and oranges in there and they are producing ok

when the weather warms up some i will take the row cover off
then replace it when the cold weather returns

DENTAL FU
well that wasnt bad
in and out in 15 minutes like the burger place with that name
only slight pain with application of the new crown

maybe ill return again if its going to be that easy next time
maybe its like having a baby
where you forget what it was like so you have another one

supposedly theres a chemical that is produced in females that
causes them to forget what it was like

maybe that chemical could be used after you have a dental procedure
dont think i want to have a baby to find out

the organicgreen doctor

square foot garden, stop squash borer

SQUARE FOOT GARDEN
a novice gardener asked if i would tell them how to plant a garden
they know nothing about how to do it
this is for the newbies to gardening

this is the kiss method
the keep it simple stupid method
the stupid is for the instructor not the student

its written for central texas
our soils and climate may not be the same as yours
but the principles are the same

you have to have at least 6 hours of sunlight available
to grow a garden
if you dont grow it in pots instead and put them where the sun is

this will be instructions for a 4 ft square garden

find a 6 ft x 6 ft area of ground to plant
scrape all the grass off
if its bermuda youll have a tough battle in the future to control it
in your garden

lay down at least 10 sheets of newspapers over the area
overlap them

make a frame of untreated wood (cedar is the best) that is 4 ft
x 4 ft square
use 12 inch wide wood if possible although 8 and 10 inch is ok

place the frame in the middle of the 6 ft x 6 ft space
place a rim of cardboard or plastic around the 4 ft x 4 ft box
you have made tucking it under the boards
cover this with mulch such as native hardwood mulch or cedar
mulch
this will block grass and weeds from sprouting around your garden

inside the box add the best garden soil you can get
i use the ladybug hill country garden soil from the natural gardener
at www.naturalgardeneraustin.com
you can also buy bags of it at most local nurseries but not the box
stores
at the natural gardener you can bag your own in 5 gallon bags
also a trip to the natural gardener is worth it as they have demonstration
gardens there also as well as chickens, donkeys, goats etc

you have to start with good soil or your garden wont do well
dont skimp on this or you will fail

after the soil is in place you are ready to plant

divide the 4 ft x 4 ft garden into 1 ft squares that you will plant
with your plants
would use transplants instead of seeds to start out as they are
easier to use until you get better at this

put the taller plants on the north side of the garden

here are plants that are close to fool proof planting
and will last through the summer into next fall until it
freezes

1 ft squares     1   2   3   4
                        5   6   7   8
                        9   10 11 12
                        13 14 15 16
1 is the northeast corner and 16 is the southwest corner

in 1 5  and in 9 13 plant a sweet 100 tomato in mid march
whenever the last freeze has happened
it will grow until it freezes in november
it will need a trellis like the simple tomato cage

in 14 plant a malabar spinach-a vine that will grow well
all summer and provide spinach for salads and dishes
will need a trellis to grow
not all nurseries will have this
its worth finding it as its fool proof once you get it going
the natural gardener will have it
plant april 1st or afterwards as it doesnt like cold weather

in 2 plant an egg plant april 1st
would recommend ichiban but any egg plant will be ok
it wont do much once the summer hits but will take off
in the fall
same with the peppers

in 6 plant a bell pepper in late march
in 10 plant a jalipeno pepper in late march
they make hot ones and mild ones

in 3 and 4 plant onion plants that you can get in
late january or february
plant the first of february
each plant should be 4 inches apart
i poke my finger in the ground and drop it it
you should only need one bunch of them
1050 onions are a good choice for this area
as they grow you can pick them for fresh green onions
i usually pick every other one or just let them grow into
large onions

in usually june the tops will die and fall over
thats when you can pull up the onions

you will probably have a few extra onion plants just stick them
in the corners around other plants and eat the onions as
green onions as the other plants grow bigger

in 15 and 16 plant a red potato in each square
thats just two potatoes
plant them whole about 6-8 inch deep and make a hill of soil over
them like this ^
get the seed potatoes in february and plant around the 1st two
weeks of february
in early june the potatoes plants will die some and thats
the time to dig them up
usually those two potatoes will make 8-10 potatoes or more

in 7 plant a swiss chard
as it grows cut the leaves off to use in salads
you can plant them now or in the spring

in 8 plant arugula
as it grows cut the leaves off to use in salads
i let my grow in the late fall until it flowers as the
bees love its flowers
you can plant them now or in the spring

in 11 plant lettuce from transplants every 6 inches
thats four plants in this square
in 12 plant more lettuce or spinach
you can plant them any time now or the spring
but they will not grow through the summer
but you can replant in the early fall around october

in 14 plant whatever you want
or consider basil planting in early april
it will last until it freezes in the fall

you will need a liquid fertilizer like johns formula or medina or
another organic liquid fertilizer
dont use miracle grow
it does nothing to make your soil better
the salts from the miracle grow will accumulate over time in your soil

you will need an organic liquid seaweed to use
use a solution of this whenever you plant a transplant

new transplants may need to be watered every day until they get
established
remember plants die from overwatering or not watering
if the soil is wet then dont water it
watch out for overwatering from sprinkler systems

every two weeks apply a solution of the liquid fertilizer to each plant
the directions are usually on the bottle
i use johns formula

the other weeks apply a solution of the liquid seaweed to each plant

when it gets hot mulch your plants with mulch
i use pine straw but chopped up leaves etc will work ok

the garden needs one inch of water a week
a tuna can in the garden when a sprinkler is on can be used to
measure that one inch
drip irrigation is better
use your finger or a stick to tell if the soil is dry
again if you overwater or underwater the garden will die

when you harvest a crop then apply 2-3 inches of compost
to the square and work it in to the top 2-3 inches of soil
i use what i make or use the natural gardeners ladybug farmstyle compost
which is sold at most local nurseries

why this doesnt work
not enough water or too much water
dont start with good soil
neglect

pests
on tomatoes they can get a big green worm called the tomato worm
just pick it off and feed it to the chickens or squash it
most of these plants do well without much pests or disease

if you have questions send me a comment or use the facebook link above
and ill try to answer it

good luck
its all worth it
bon appetite

SQUASH BOER
another reader wanted to know how to stop the squash boer
the only 100% way to stop it is to not plant squash



techniques to try
cover the squash with the thin row cover that you can get at most
nurseries
as the plant grows it will not be to heavy and will rise with the plant
open the tent of row cover in the afternoon so the bees can pollinate
the flowers then cover the plant back up

inject a solution of bt bacillis thuringiensis into the base of the
plant stalk
the bt is a bacteria that will kill the larva as it grows

this year i wrapped my stalk with wet newspaper strips and
then placed diatamaceous earth on and around the stalk
the squash lasted longer this year but eventually was smitten by that
boer

when you see these eggs on the squash leaves then slit open the stalk
and remove the larva



or plant winter squash or butternut squash which are somewhat
resistant to the boer
or plant pumpkins and eat them when they are small

good luck

the organicgreen doctor

fall garden, tv shortens life

FALL GARDEN
the fall garden is the best time to garden here in central texas
timing is the secret to success
and rainfall

tomatoes, cucumber, squash ,okra, egg plants, peppers should
already be in-however the hot dry weather has made this a real
challenge even for the best gardeners
mine have really struggled so far

i summer my okra, egg plants, and peppers over from the spring
they take off in production as the fall cools off
these are the things you can plant in later september and october
for a successful fall garden
cole crops (usually early october) such as cabbage, broccoli,
brussels sprouts, kale, collards, kohirabi, then radishes, and beans

beets, swiss chard, lettuce, spinach, asian greens, garlic,
and pea can be planted in mid october

you can get quite an assortment of veggies planted in the fall and
they do well without having to battle the heat like we had in the
late spring this year

planting a 4 ft by 8 ft bed can produce quite a few crops for
you this fall

i look forward to planting my fall garden starting next month and
then extending planting into october
many of these will produce well up to the first frost in november
and the cole crops, lettuce, spinash, and beets will usually make it
through the winter here if protected during our cold spells

try the fall winter garden-just hope for cooler temps and rain
its usually the best time to garden here

TV SHORTENS LIVE
for every 60 minutes of tv watching (22 minutes is how many
minutes of commercials are in a 60 minute show) shortens the lifespan by 22
minutes

those who watch over 6 hours of tv a day live 5 years less than
those who dont

smoking one cigarrete  shortens your lifespan by 11 minutes

smoking and watching tv must really be bad for you

its not the tv watching that shortens the lifespan as much as
the lifestyle of some one who watches too much tv
they tend to have poorer eating habits, exercise less, and have
worse healthy lifestyles

wonder if you use a dvr and skip the commercials if it
would make your live longer
i sure hope so

garden stuff, solar planking

GARDEN STUFF
ok its hot and dry out there
but now is the time to plant some things for the fall garden

this week will plant my fall tomatoes and my fall squash to
include zuchinni, yellow squash and spaghetti squash
will plant these from 4 inch pots to get them a head start
in this weather

will also summer over some of my tomatoes that are producing
well and are not diseased and are a type that will continue
producing in the fall eg sweet 100s, juliet

the beds were prepared before hand by adding 4 inches of
compost and an organic fertilizer or composted chicken manure

the plants will be planted and watered in well with a seaweed
solution and then they are mulched well
each plant is put in a wire cage which is covered with a
shade cloth to block the oppressive heat from the plant
as the weather gets nicer will remove the shade cloth
(hope that is sooner than later)

the plants are watered daily until well established then are
watered with a drip irrigation system that sits under the mulch

any bare or unused garden beds are overseeded with black
eyed peas as a cover crop and as a source of food
(just add cornbread)

it is also about the time to plant eggplant and peppers as they
do the best in the fall
i usually just keep my spring peppers and eggplants going
through the summer as they will produce some during the heat
but will usually take off again once the weather cools
(our fall gardening here is the best time to garden)

be sure and give your shrubs and trees supplemental water
in this drought we are having

be careful working in the heat
garden in the early morning or late evening
wear a hat and
drink plenty of water

good luck

SOLAR PLANKING
so will do green planking by planking my solar panels

the organicgreen doctor

gardening, hot dogs, drownings

GARDENING
here is some of my potato harvest from yesterday
notice the duck planking
its safer having the duck plank instead of me

well eat these taters over the next few weeks
we store them in our pantry
and eat them as we need them

after we (i) dug the taters out of the bed
we (i) put down a 4 inch layer of barn yard compost
and put down some pure chicken manure compost
which is rich in nitrogen made from our chickens productions
this was then worked into the soil well then the area
was covered with a layer of newspapers
this then was covered with layers of mulch
i use pine straw
this will be allowed to 'ripen' until next spring when i plant
my spring garden
probably will plant tomatoes or onions in this bed as i rotate
my beds every year when possible to cut down on the
risk of disease transmission

we (i) also planted some amaryth and lambs ear in my wife shes
salad garden
these are plants that you can eat the leaves in your salads
the hotter it gets the better it grows
we (i) have to water them 2-3 times a day while the seeds are
germinating and growing

we also add malabar spinach which loves the hot weather
also added to our salads in the summer are arugula and pursalane
and swiss chard
all of these like hot weather and are all good together with our
maters and onions and basil in our salads
so this is whats in our summer seasonal salad garden

in a couple of months it will time to start the fall and winter
salad gardens with lettuces, spinach, and salad mixes so
we can have salads from our garden all year round

i watch what the local farmers are selling at the farmers market
each season and i try to grow what they are growing
figured they had already figured this out and they knew what
would grow in this area

also in this area its time in the next 2 weeks to plant your fall
tomato crops
remember the fall may the best time to grow tomatoes
some nurseries will have transplants available
you must provide shade and water for them to get them
through this hot weather
i use shade cloth i get from the local nursery but you can use
anything to provide the shade


HOT DOGS
so that guy ate 62 hot dogs in 10 minutes
that 6 dogs a minute
(i have trouble eating one hot dog)
thats 20000 calories in 10 minutes
thats enough calories for a month
bet he had a bad night and a real bad day today
what people will do for $10000

the black widow won the womens contest by eating
40 dogs in 10 minutes
she a short skinny girl
wouldnt want to have to take her out to eat

will admit it was hard to watch them eat all those dogs
this year i got nauseated watching it
so i dvred for a later viewing

DROWNINGS
weve seemed to have more drownings this summer than usual
maybe more people are swimming because of the oppressive
heat

please be careful
no more this summer

the organicgreen doctor

planking, monkey pod vine, christmas limas, garden stuff

PLANKING
ok so my niece started planking on facebook
so i started reading about planking
so i thought i could do that planking stuff

maybe ill do organicgreen planking
so here it is

rainwater harvesting water tank planking by
the organicgreen doctor

MONKEY POD VINE

the monkey pod vine is growing
see my previous blog about the monkey pod vine
it now is reaching the top of our
arbor which is about 8 ft high
more later


CHRISTMAS LIMAS

the christmas limas that i blogged about recently is growing
its now at about 8 ft
its a long way until christmas
wonder if it will outgrow the monkey pod vine

hope it produces a lot of beans
more later

that black stuff in the picture is a sun screen that
ive put over my tomatoes and peppers to give them
some shade from our oppressive 100+ heat

GARDEN STUFF
dont put your seeds in the freezer
put them in the refrigerator instead

be mulching your garden
i have a 4 inch layer of mulch on my garden
i use a dripper under the mulch
this way my garden doesnt lose as much moisture in
all this heat

when i recently harvested my onions i overseeded the bed with
black eyed peas
they provide nitrogen back in the soil and provides peas for us
to eat and will turn the vines back into the soil this fall

the organicgreen doctor

yum yum, bb

YUM
yum yum
here are the ingredients for our evening meal at the
country n (thats what we call our place)

these ingredients are picked fresh from our garden without washing
for this picture

the brown egg and white egg was not picked from the garden but
was found in a nest in our barn-a frequent site for deposition of the
eggs by some of our wandering free range chickens

the ingredients are spaghetti squash-will be used later this week to
make spaghetti from the inside of the squash
makes a great spaghetti substitute and is more healthy than pasta
(price is $1.65 a lb at the grocery store)

malabar spinach which is just now starting to grow as the weather
gets warmer-the hotter it gets the better it grows
its sitting on the end of the spaghetti squash
its eaten raw in a salad or as we will do today will cook it with
the other veggies

regular spinach as we have some left over from the winter
will mix it with the veggies tonight

1050 onion just plucked from the ground-have over 200 more to
pick later as they reach the end of their growth
will store them in panty hose (cheap new ones) for the summer
and fall

green beans which are just now starting to produce
they are part of the three sisters planted in one bed
squash beans corn
apparently the american indians use to plant things this  way

squash provides the shade and mulch
beans put nitrogen back in the soil
corn provide a stalk for the beans

the other squash is zucchini and are just now producing well
soon the squash borer will wipe them out so will need to
enjoy them as long as i can

corn was picked too early but i did it anyway
couldnt stand it
is the first time corn has been planted here
looks like a good crop so far
have planted the corn in 1 foot squares so they will
pollinate each other

swiss chard is left over from the winter garden and baring any
attack from bugs it will survive through the summer and fall
these are chopped up stem and all and placed with the
other veggies on the grill

banana peppers are used frequently in salads
this is the sweet one
this time will mix with other veggies on the grill like
you would use a sweet bell pepper

potatoes-cheated and dug these early
just cant keep my hands off them

one green tomato
broke the dont pick those until they turn red rule
my wife she is the one that usually breaks that rule
this green tomato is chopped up and placed with the
other veggies

cherokee purple tomato is the purplish small tomato
it is a heirloom and has the best flavor
tomatoes over the years have been bred to look pretty
and have lost some of the flavor over the years
the heirlooms are unchanged and although not pretty
(although i think they are pretty) they have retained
that flavor
try one and youll see what im talking about

squash blossom is used in salads

so we eat these foods frequently during the growing season
organic veggies with no preservatives or insecticides
loaded with nutrition

move over whole foods

BB
well mavs and dirk did it
now they are waiting for the heat
unless the bulls make a miraculous turn around
what a great series final this will be

gardening, spy cam, bb

GARDENING
we got 3 inches of rain this last weekend and
two weeks before that we got 2.5 inches of rain
had just fertilized my garden with an organic fertilizer just
before the rain
all my crops have taken off
was gone for 4 days and when i came back it looked like a
different garden

my onions are starting to fall over which mean they are ready
to be picked
i pull them out and let them dry for a few days then store them
in my garage hanging in panty hose
yes panty hose
i get the cheapest brand i can find
place the onion in the panty hose tie a knot then place another
one in tie a knot etc
these are then stored hanging from the rafters until we need them
they usually last into the winter time

our potatoes are just now starting to end their growth
when they die down will dig them up and store them in
boxes in a dark closet until we need them
they usually last until the mid winter

as we enter the hot weather of central texas i plant things that
can survive the heat
i oversow some of the beds with blackeyed peas
it provides peas to eat and the plants also repace the nitrogen into
the soil

also plant malabar spinach which grows on a vine and the hotter
it is the better it grows
we eat it like you would spinach

we have arugula that grows through the summer and does well
we keep it trimmed down
we have arugula all summer long

will plant amaranth to use in salads
its a weed and is edible

will try planting lambs ear which is edible and
is used in salads

some of these are considered weeds but they are
edible and nutritious

have planted pursalane also in the garden
its known as the dolly parton plant-not because of big
blooms but because it flowers open up 9-5
it grows well in the heat
we pick it and eat it in salads

as the weather heats up the winter/spring spinach and lettuce
bolts and goes to seeds so these plants replace them in our salads

my cucumbers-plant armenian ones as they are more
productive-are just now starting to take off
should have a good crop this year

my okra are just now starting to grow and produce
they get larger and more productive as they weather
gets hotter

so there are veggies that do good in the summer heat as
most veggies shut down at that time

SPY CAM
well in austin they are putting spy cams up on the infamous
street (no not 6th st) that is well known for drugs and prostitution
to keep an eye on the area

the area is video cameraed 24/7 so it can be used to track
suspects or review later for evidence
the police might just try using some of that money to patrol
the area 24/7
that might work well also

BB
thunder lost their thunder at the end
mavs win
dirks year this year

heat tonight
thinks its their year
bulls need more than one option

the organicgreen doctor

inked again, mcdonalds, no oil tax, water, my garden

INKED AGAIN
am determined to beat the ink cartridge prices (rip off)
so got my refill kit again to refill my cartridge
of course i did it without reading the instructions
this time i only have 6 black fingers and did not get any on
my counter top
(my wife she got mad at me last time i did this)
but i have a cartridge that prints out ok just real smudgey
but it is readable as long as you dont have to fax it

after awhile the smudginess all cleared up

paying for ink cartridges is like having to pay some of those
trashy bank fees the banks impose on us
just ticks me off to have to do either

MCDONALDS
so mcdonalds is trying to replace humans with a touch screen
computer that you do your own ordering on
that just doesnt seem right

now we may get our orders right
guess they wont have to pay for all those benefits they
pay now and all those high wages they pay

for some high school students they have provided a job
and for some its the only job they can get

well at least the computers cant fry those fries
not yet at least

sure do like to deal with a human at the checkout areas
whenever i can

NO OIL TAX
sure know when we are getting screwed by the elected officials
in washington
think that we should get the names of all the senators and
representatives that vote against taxing the oil companies and
print their names on the front page of all the newspapers and
post them on the internet for all to see so we will know
which ones are screwing us

vote them out no matter whether they are democratic
republican or independent

heck we get taxed pretty heavy every time we go to the gas
pumps to buy gas
guess thats to make up for the lost revenue from all of the tax
breaks we are giving big oil

you cant just cut programs and not find sources of revenue
all over america people are cutting their expenses and at the
same time are working longer hours and working second
jobs to balance out their budgets

maybe the government could learn a lesson from us

sure get nauseated reading about the no oil company tax

WATER
if you live around here where i do be ready to start watering
again if we dont get rain
most gardens need 1 inch of water a week
sometimes they need more in the hot windy summer
drip irrigation is the best
plants use 90% of the water from drip irrigation vs 60% of the
water from regular irrigation
be sure and mulch to conserve moisture
use the finger test-stick your finger in the ground to check for
moisture

MY GARDEN
im afraid to blog about this but my garden looks the best it has
looked in a few years
my tomatoes are growing like crazy
they sure liked the rain we had recently
just started to get nice red ones
they are loaded
hope for no attack of insects or hail storms which have wiped
out my maters in the past
glad i dont farm for a living
the bout of cold weather we had in april slowed things down some
but my taters, beans, peppers, egg plant, squash, corn, and okra
are growing good

more rain please

BB
heat win
tonight dirk and durant play again

the organicgreen doctor

garden stuff, bb

GARDEN STUFF
worms can live 10 years
they are male and female-hermaphroidites
finding them in your garden soil is an indication of
good soil
consider buying some and adding them to your garden or
flower beds
they aerate the soil and provide some of the best fertilizer available-
worm poop

beware the cutworm
if you plant a tomato especially or other plants such as peppers,
egg plant, cucumber, squash, cabbage etc and notice that
something felled your plant with a miniature chain saw then that is
usually the work of a cutworm

the cutworm is the larva stage of a gray or brown moth that is active
at night

use a collar of wet newspaper or the plastic container cut open at
the bottom to protect the plant
can also use diatomaceous earth or bt (bacillus thuringiensis)
around the plant
during the day time you can wet the soil around the plant
and sometimes the cutworm will float to the surface-then feed it
to the chickens
once the plant trunk is thick enough the cutworm cant cut through
the plant

plant milkweed in your garden bed or flower bed somewhere if you
have room as it is the host plant for the monarch butterfly

it is dry here so make sure you are watering your garden well
each week
do the finger test
stick your finger in the soil and if the finger comes out dry then
the bed needs water

in my garden have planted tomatoes, peppers, egg plant,
cucumbers,beans, okra, basils, tomatillo, squash, and corn
growing nicely is my garlic, potatoes, onions
left over from the winter garden is lettuce, arugula, cabbage, kale,
multiplying onions, parsley, strawberries, and cilantro

this cold weather we are having may slow down or may prevent the
germination of the seeds planted last week eg corn, beens, okra,
cucumber and squash so may have to replant them when the
weather warms again

if your garden is heavily mulched consider pulling back the mulch to
allow the soil to warm
you can add the mulch back when the weather gets hot and dry to
save moisture and keep the soil cooler

beware that another freeze could potentially hit this area-its 45 here
this am
have had a freeze the last 2 years here which caught us by surprise
and had to replant everything in april

BB
aggies got the bears
stout beat out tall girl
guess baylor wont get to play ucon now in finals
congrats am

the organicgreen doctor

crop failure picture, plant potatoes, dreams

CROP FAILURE
here is the picture of my cole crops doing well this fall
this was the best crop ive had in a long time

here is the picture of my cole crops after they failed
they were attacked by aphids, white flies, and neglect

its important when gardening to make frequent visits
looking for problems such as diseases, insects, moisture levels
etc
this is what happens if you dont

PLANT POTATOES
its tater time
a few taters planted now can yield a large harvest
in the early summer

i use the kiss method of planting taters
i buy small whole taters that are recommended for this area
these are texas la soda (red), pontiac (red), and kennebec(white)
your local nursery or feed store will usually have the correct ones
for your area

i dont slice mine but select out the small ones when i buy them
saves time and makes it simple

my soil and bed was prepared a few weeks ago with 4 inches
of compost and organic fertilizer(i use the lady bug brand)
this was mixed in well into the bed

the taters are planted 8-12 inches deep one foot apart in rows
1-2 feet apart
i take my hand and open the soil and just drop the whole tater in
then cover it up with soil      thats it

when it grows up through the soil abut 6 inches i will cover
the growth by bringing soil from the sides of the row but will leave
about1 inch of plant tip exposed
will do this again when the plant grows out
the total bed is covered with pine straw to provide a blanket in case
of a bad freeze
when  the tater plants have broken through and the weather looks
like it will freeze i cover the plants with row cover or sheet (if my
wife she is not looking and i can get by with it)
i usually will fertilize again once the plants are up good

then its just making sure they get watered correctly until harvest
time which is usually some time in early summer when the plants
start to die back

usually i cant keep my hands off them though so will dig some
early      these are called new potatoes
yum yum    sometimes will just eat them raw in the garden

we usually make enough to last for several months into the late winter

you can also plant these in five gallon buckets or barrels or whiskey
barrels
put in good dirt, dig a hole, and drop in the tater
youre done except for watering

enjoy

DREAMS
these are side effects of taking aricept
usually these are good dreams
but have had an occasional disturbing dream
like my last two
am reading a book about the chicago worlds fair and in it
theres a serial killer
nuff said
if have more like this will stop the meds

but last night had a good one
the high school girls basketball playoffs were going on and
one of the local teams (top team in the state) was playing

the game had ended in a tie
they could not go on because the rims were all torn down
so it would be decided by a free throw shot with a deflated
basketball shot into the air
it had to land on the line under where
the basket was
if it landed on the line and did not move then the team that
did that won and got to go to the state tournament

well the players were not allowed to shoot the free throws
but instead had to select someone from the stands to shoot it

know who that was right----me

the player that chose me was the top player in the state
she was able to use her old beat up basketball (one of the
old leather ones that was all worn and pealing) that was
partially deflated

i stood on the line looked around at the kids and the fans
looked at the line and said no way

i found a principal in the stand (thanks becky) who took us next
door to a elementary gym to shoot the free throws then:

i woke up and did not find out what happened

hopefully i can finish this one at my noon time nap
to be continued i hope