(DF) FALL GARDEN? Ok, so it's a little late

Like a lot of people, I grew up with garden planting time being in the early spring and again in the fall.  Well, not really fall, but more like summer (early to mid August) for a fall crop.  Based on how things were done when I was a kid and how things worked with the climate here, I have continued that practice all of my adult life.  So why am I planting in October?

There are a couple of reasons.  The first, and less logical reason is that I have been unable to work in the garden all summer and simply couldn't stand not having something growing.  Lets face it, the ground needs worked up in order to get a handle on the grass anyway.  It is hard for me to have nicely worked garden soil in warm weather and not plant something in it.  The second, and more logical reason is the simple (or more complex, depending on how you look at it) fact that the climate here is not at all like it was when I was growing up.  There is now no way of honestly considering when the first hard freeze will be, or the rainy and dry seasons either, for that matter.  My memories of seasonal change in the past are certainly not what we are living today.  In recent years, I have seen some strange things, like picking vine ripe tomatoes for Thanksgiving salad.

I will reserve the memories of past climate for another post, but with the erratic climate in mind , it makes some kind of twisted sense to keep planting as late as possible.  No I am not planting corn, green beans and okra this time of year, but things like turnips and beets can take a lot of cold without much damage.  I did plant a few blackeyed peas a couple of weeks ago (though I doubt they will have time to make) simply because they are good for the soil and if they freeze, I can till them under.

Yes, it seems late even for turnips, but if the extreme weather holds off a bit, a good mess of turnip greens is always food on a cold evening.  And who knows, they may even make turnips.  As for the main garden, It is not tilled up yet but hopefully will be in time for planting a LATE cover crop of rye or winter peas.

(DF) LOOKS A BIT LIKE WINTER

This morning, I woke up to find snow on the ground. Not much snow, sloppy wet snow, with the temperature barely below freezing letting it melt from underneath. It is enough to make me wish the field was already plowed to take full advantage though. This is the first snow of the year here, and after the warm winter leading up to it, this seems a bit wintery. Looking back though, and comparing it to this time last year, it is not so bad at all ............... almost tropical in fact.

Last year at this time, we had spent the past two weeks with what passes for deep snow and extreme cold here in Oklahoma. Driving conditions were lousy, the cold was bitter and nobody was prepared for it to stay on so long It was much more like the winters I remember from childhood.

With the rest of February and all of March ahead, it is almost certain that this won't be the last white stuff we will see. Nor will the mud it leaves in its wake be the last, but though it is inconvenient, the moisture and cold temperatures are necessary for things on the farm to grow and produce properly. For this reason, even those who don't like winter weather should consider it cause for gratitude. And of course, it could be worse.

With the world we know changing around us; everything from the economy to the climate shifting constantly, it is good to see things resemble what they have always been. However, lets not stop experimenting and preparing for the possibility of change. Learning new and more versatile ways will make any transition easier, but for now, it is good to see the seasonal cycles still working.