country n news-garden news

COUNTRY N NEWS-GARDEN NEWS

it feels like may around here
looking at the wildflowers and the fruit trees
and the trees and the shrubs that are ablooming
they all think its may also

i must say
that doesnt bode well for this summer
i suspect we will have an early summer
starting in the real may
hitting those hotter temps a month early
slowing down
the garden
the wildflowers
the greenery around here

as i look out around our property
i must say
its about prime for the spring
wish it would stay that way

recently
i took these tomatoes and peppers that i planted
back in the first week of february into large 5 gallon pots
put them in my small greenhouse with its southfacing
open clear wall
those tomatoes went crazy
even making little green ones and some red ones
no
those red ones didnt make it out of the greenhouse
and
i moved them outside under the lacy shade of
my huisache tree
to get use to being outside

so yesterday
i planted them
a cherry tomato
a juliet that produces small ones like crazy
two early girls that are full of green tomatoes
two celebrities that are always dependable

all of these are indeterminate
that means they can continue to produce all year
sometimes based on the hybrid celebrity type
they are indeterminate

but in my experience here at the country n
the juliette is the only one that i have been able to
summer over into the fall to produce tomatoes again
in the fall

the bed i use is about 3 ft x 12 ft
the soil depth is about 2 feet
of pure rich composty wormy soil
that i dig and plant using only my bare hands

no
i dont usually use gloves
i like the feel of the dirt on my fingers
under my nails
it brings me one with the soil

this winter i removed the blackeyed peas that were planted
on this bed
added lots of compost
added organic fertilizer and cottonseed meal and molasses
covered it up with the leaves some of you gave me
then
let it ferment for several months
until yesterday
when i planted my tomatoes

i dug the hole
added some earthworm casting to jump start the tomato plants
planted the tomato plant all of which had several small
green tomatoes on them
well one was red so i quickly ate it

then i watered it in with liquid fish emulsion sea weed molasses
to get the roots agrowing

now
hopefully i will get tomatoes earlier than usual
i already have i thought

i left them unstaked even though they were 3 ft or so long
knowing
that that freeze is coming
all i have to do is put some warm covering over them
then i will stake them up on wire cages

john dromgoole the organic garden guru always says
there is always an easter freeze around here

i agree
having lost tomatoes in april several times

also
here are my green 1015 sweet dont make you cry onions
all 200+ of them
yes
it looks like an early harvest of them
ill know its time when the stalks start falling over

also
here are the potatoes
agrowing like crazy
we definitely will have new potatoes by mothers day
heck
if the weather holds up as warm as it is
we should have all of them harvested by then

if you live around here
you have plenty of time
to prep your garden
and
plant those tomatoes and peppers
just
be ready for that easter freeze

the organicgreen doctor

country n news-a peck of peppers...

COUNTRY N NEWS-A PECK OF PEPPERS...

each spring i plant my peppers around the lst of april
since usually the last frost has happened here
usually i say
since some years the cold sneaks in and wipes out
what i planted

this is the story of our country n peppers shown in
the above picture

first i prep the garden bed
which usually i have done weeks before
i add 2-4 inches of our chicken generated
country n compost
mostly from the leaves that many of you gave me

then
i add a sprinkling of cottonseed meal
this provides nitrogen quickly to the new plants
then
i add a sprinkling of an organic fertilizer
like lady bugs 8-2-4 or medina growin green
this adds nitrogen that can be slowly accessed over
several weeks for the new plants
then
i water in a mixture of molasses and humates
to provide goodies for the soil organisms
that are the lifeblood of soil health
then
when i plant my peppers
i use a bit of earthworm castings in the planting hole
to boost the young plants growth
then
after planting i add liquid seaweed to boost new root growth

all i do after that is keep them watered when needed
keep insects off them
they actually rarely have a problem with insects
except
out here in the country
we get the infestation of grasshoppers which are worse
as the summer goes into the fall
i control them by scaring them into the chicken run
around the garden
adding an organic bait called nola bait to the garden
and surrounding property
this all seems to keep them under control
usually

now usually is a common word thats used
when gardening around here
sometimes things just arent usual

so
we look at what peppers we like to eat
so we chose these four
bell peppers used in salads sandwiches pasta sauce grilled veggies
banana peppers rarely make it inside the house since i eat them
while working
jalapeno peppers used in poppers in margaritas grilling soups grilled veggies
poblano peppers  used in cooking and in chile rellenos

the peppers grow slow in the spring into the summer
now we do get to harvest some as we go
but
the real burst comes in the fall
i keep them watered and cover them with a solar screen
during those hot dog days of the summer
then
when the fall rains come
the weather cools
the peppers
well
they just explode in growth and fruit production
so much
that we cant eat all of them
so
right before the first severe freeze
i go out and pick all of them
like i did last week

i saved enough for the next weeks use
then
we freeze them
by
washing them well
placing them in ziplock freezer bags
zipping it almost closed
sticking a straw down in the bag
sucking all the air out of the bag
leaving the bag looking like this

we will use these peppers
bell jalepeno poblano
in cooking this winter

the heat from these jalapenos and poblanos
makes you feel warmer in the winter

this is more than enough peppers to last us until
next summer

so thats how we do peppers
here at the
country n

the organicgreen doctor