Canteloupe, mmmmm

Breakfast fresh off of the vine. Only a couple left out there, then its bye bye Canteloupe till spring.

Tomatoes are Falling, No Wait They're Not Falling, But It Is Fall Tomato Time

Almost forgot to mention, its fall tomato time.  I havested 3 yesterday and 2 today.  Haven't had any for months, so I can't wait to see if they have that awesome taste of spring tomatoes.   Maybe a tomato and egg sandwich for breakfast tomorrow morning?

My Back Hurts

It was a busy day in the garden today.  I pulled out the last of the Sun Jewel Melons and Yellow Crookneck Squash.  I then tilled and rehilled those areas, some unplanted areas, and some areas where I was trying old seeds.  In all it was probably around 150 of row that was reworked and planted.  On the carrot side I put down Carrot Nantes Coreless, Chateney, Danvers, and Imperator.   On the beet side, I planted Detroit Dark Red, Detroit Red, and Early Wonder.  I also planted some Red Creole Onion seed.  First time I have tried onions from seed.  I planted about 20 Onion sets also, some yellow, and a few reds that I found in the wheelbarrow from last year.  Last, and most certainly least, I planted some radish from that old 2003 seedlot named 'Easter Egg II Blend.'

So, now I am tired and my back hurts, but it hurts good.

Oh, I left the Mexican Melon and Canteloupe.  Yeah, there pretty much done, but there is so much fruit left on the vines, I have to give them just a little longer.  I am not sure I could have gone any longer, anyway.

Country Boy Simple Fun

Had a little simple country fun just now. I was just cleaning up in the garden, so everytime I found a melon that was a little over ripe, bugs in it even better, I threw it straight up in the air high as I could, watched it come down and explode, then watched the chickens come a running to devour.

Judging by the remains, I think the chickens really liked this Mexican Melon.

Something's Bugging Me

Actually something is bugging my garden.   First came the moths, then came the little green worms who are devouring everything in sight.  They started with the melons, the Cucumber, Mexican Mellon, and Sun Jewel Melon, and that was OK, cause they were about done anyway.  Then they headed to the Yellow Crookneck Squash, skelotonizing every leaf in sight.  And that was OK, too, cause I was about done with them.  And that was all in the space of a couple of weeks.  But now they must be stopped before they set their sights on the Cabbage, Mustard Greens, Kale, etc.  Fortunately a cool front arrives tonight which should slow them down.  Next, I'll move in with an organic insecticide, like BT, to finish them off.  One thing for sure is you can't take your eyes off of a southern garden for long, or the insects will pick it up and carry it away.  Kind of reminds my of a Borg episode on Star Trek.

Whole Lot of Shaking, Err, I Mean Harvesting Going On.

Been waiting for the recently planted seeds to come up, and for the moon to say its time to plant the root crops.  In the meantime, we have harvested so much we have run out of freezer space.   We have room for an upright freezer in the utility room, so its decision time.

I am getting ready for spring as well.  I used a gift certificate from Cel, to get 10 bags of chicken poop and other supplies, which are all stored away for winter. The two large compost bins are full and set to slow cook over the winter. Seeds are purchased and in storage. The only thing left for spring and summer crops is a good back. And after the cold of winter, that hard work and sweat in the sunshine of spring will hurt so good.

Fall Means Football.

And Sun Jewel Melons?   Well, I bought this cool melon from Gotreaux Family Farms in the late spring.   It was pretty cool so I saved the seeds, which I then planted this fall.  And I've got a ton of them, so this one definitely qualifies as botha  spring and a fall crop.

Kuato Says To Open Your Mind

The garden can be a little sci-fi'ish every once in a while.   Check out this wild pair.

The Keith-Saver

Putting up squash tonight. Vacuum sealing the old fashioned way, with a straw zipped into the corner of the ziplock bag, inhale, squeeze the straw closed, remove and finish the zip in one smooth motion.  Flatten and freeze.

Moon Says to Plant, Who Am I To Argue.

First Quarter Moon - Plant above ground crops over the next 3 days, 14th to 16th, but be done by Saturday eve, no planting on Sunday. Here in Louisiana that includes Spinach, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohlrabi, Mustards, Brussel Sprouts, Lettuce. And maybe Swiss Chard. Who knows why Swiss Chard is maybe?


So, today I finished off the last 15 feet of Row 1 by seeding with Tall Utah Celery and Bright Lights Swiss Chard.
 
I planted Row 5 with Souther Curled Mustard, Even' Star Champion Collards, Red Russian Kale, and Long Island Brussel Sprouts, in that order from rear to front.

Rains Said Yes, and Now, So Does the Moon

We had a really good rain yesterday in advance of cooler weather.  Its still quite warm out there, but not the record heat of last week.  And the rains were just in time as growth was starting to slow down.  Now things are back in high gear, although I am already tired of eating Cucumbers and by the numbers of Yellow Crookneck Squash out there, that will be the next thing to overwhelm my diet.  But at least the squash are easy to "put up."  

And about the moon.  I am paying more attention to planting by the moon this year.  Not that I am all that convinced of the science of it, at least not yet, but I have to say its fun.  And what's the harm anyway.  Who knows, maybe it works.  So, we are tomorrow is 1st quarter.   Got the next 3 days to plant above ground crops.

Fall Harvest is Kicking Off

Its a good fall harvest this year.  The weather is cooperating nicely and the bugs are being gentle.  Here is a picture of today's harvest.

Put de Lime in da Corona, Make You Feel Betta

Harvested some Limes today. Due to the freeze damage resulting from last year's 15 year record lows, the citrus harvest will be a fraction of what we got last year.  We'll have enough to enjoy through the fall, but it won't be like last year when I am sick of eating Citrus while the trees are still full in late winter.

Canes and Canes This Week

The Hurricane Lilies popped up out of nowhere over the last week.  I'll add a picture this weekend.

And also this week marks the beginning of Sugar Cane harvest, with cane trucks having popped out of nowhere as well.  Time for extra safe driving as we deal with slow moving tractor to barreling 18-wheelers hauling cane from here to there, and everywhere in between.

Cucumbers or Aliens?

I just harvested a dozen Cucumber that are 18 to 24 inches long and over 2 inches in diameter.   Never seen anything like them.   The rains have been near perfect in timing.  The soil great in this area which is a new spot this year for the vegetable garden.  I have used only Espoma organic products.  But I still can't quite explain this.   Here is a picture of half of today's harvest.  And there are still many more Cucumbers on this vine.

I Am Holier than a Pin Cushion

The fall palm pruning is done, well 95% of it, and it should have been done in mid summer, too, but with all of those disclaimers out of way, the palms look great.  Or at least as great as they can look having endured back to back hurricanes year before last, and a 15 year low freeze last year.  Let's just say Louisiana life has been hard on the them.  Yet, more are looking fine.  And shame on me for not doing the palm pruning earlier, too.   A quick touch with the weedeater at some point this week will finish off matters for the year.   Soon our normal dry fall will come into play at which point summer weeds and grass will bid their adiue.   Of course it won't be long thereafter that winter rains and winter weeds will their debut, but somehow they are much easier to tolerate giving a little green against the brown of winter.  As for the palms, all we can do is to pray we make it out of hurricane season storm free, and that we have a mild winter.   If that happens, we should be fully recovered by the end of next summer.

Here is a picture of my newly pruned Canary Island Date Palm (CIDP)

The Vegetable Garden is Starting to Hit its Stride

The garden is starting to roll. The rains and overcast days are just what the young plants needed to get a break from recent low 90 degree temps.  We've got 4 to 6 inch long cucumbers all over the place.  Already, there is one Sun Jewel Melon already 6" long and 3" in diameter. The tomatoes plants are 2' tall and starting to flower heavily. We are up to 21 Potato plants are now showing above ground.  I saw at least 3 small Canteloupe about an inch in diameter starting to form.  The Yellow Squash seedling are now 1' x 1' and beautiful.  The newer seedlings are starting to put on new dark green leaves to replace those sickly light green "I was raising a greenhouse" leaves.  Its an exciting time in the garden.

Growing and Cooking

‎Potatoes have broken the surface, 18 in all. More additions to the veggie garden include some hardened off some Canteloupe seedlings from Shelton. I put them in the ground today. Recent heat and full sun days have been hard on seedlings of all sorts, but some rain is in the forecast soon, so, now I am hardening off 18 Georgia Collards and 6 Red Cabbage Seedlings to plant at the end of the week.

Tonight, I gently cooked down some Yellow Squash in a skillet with Olive Oil and Honey. In another pot I browned some pork in another pan along with Onion, Garlic, and my homemade Cayenne Hot Sauce.   Then I made a pot of rice and mixed it all together.  Cel and I ate it, and talk about good, cher.

Quote of the Day

“He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.”


- Elbert Hubbard

The Garden Continues to Grow

I put the tomato cages up today, as the fall tomatos have topped the 2 foot mark.  Not sure what to do with the Cucumbers, I guess I'll just let them ramble around the garden.  The last few days have been very hot and dry.  My poor new seedlings were hanging on for life.  Just as I finished watering today, the clouds move in.   The rains were light, but hours of cloud cover were most appreciated by both the plants and me.