(AF) RACING AGAINST MOTHER NATURE

 For me, here at Anna's Farm, this has been a most amazing, and blessed Fall Gardening season. I am now wishing I had gambled even more and planted oh, so much more!!! And of course, I am really wishing I hadn't procrastinated so much about planting a Fall garden, and had gotten it in much earlier. My hesitations came from the past few, bad Fall growing seasons. I finally planted a few things, and kept a few of the summer plants heavily watered, in hopes that they came back out of it for Fall. Quite a few of them did!

To our great joy this season, it paid off, with quite a few veggies to feed us now, while most other people's around here are long gone. I have also been watching the weather like a hawk, along with listening to what my own body has been telling me, and let things like my sweet potatoes grow as long as absolutely possible. A few nights were a pretty scary gamble for all my fruits and veggies, but I took the gamble, and it has now paid off. Most of what is growing right now, I had planted close together, and/or inside the protection of taller veggies, and/or let the weeds grow up tall around them, and it really helped keep them protected! Most everything survived the first few frosts we had with flying colors!

We have been thoroughly enjoying fresh tomatoes, both cherry and regular sized, tender green onions, Asian green beans, loads of hot peppers (those Big Jim hot peppers are the BEST fire roasted over a hickory fire on a crisp Fall day), Sweet Banana peppers, Okra, and even fresh Figs. Sadly, nature did turn the clock off for my cucumbers several weeks ago. I am wishing now I had planted a big patch of leaf lettuce, because this would have been the perfect growing conditions for it. We have had just the right amount of rain, along with days of sunshine, and not too hot, nor too cool.

We must remember this great growing season and always take the gamble on planting a well rounded variety of Fall garden. Mother Nature does such odd things anymore, we just never know what She is going to do! If we save as much of our own seeds as possible, we won't be out any money for it, either. And it still won't be a loss if it starts to freeze because most can become goat feed.

But today, sadly, it has all come to an end. It was an absolutely gorgeous, mostly sunny day, today, with the temperature getting up to nearly 70°F. Tonight will be cutting things close, with a predicted low of 31° to 33°F for our area. But tomorrow night, that is another whole story. During the day tomorrow, it is supposed to only get in the low to mid 40s, then tomorrow night, the bottom falls out, going down to 20° to 22°F!!! *shiver* Which means, the outskirts of the country could drop down in the upper teens!! I am SO NOT READY for this!!!

I have had so much going on, lately, that I have not been able to get my plants winterized. So today, I have been scrambling all day to get things done, and as much saved as possible. I dug my sweet potatoes just a little bit ago, as the last drops of daylight were fading, and I was so glad I let them grow longer! There weren't a whole bunch, as I had only planted a few and got them in late (my second time to grow sweet potatoes), but they got sooo big! I am really proud of them this year. Last year was my first year for growing sweet potatoes, and I didn't know I was suppose to spread them out and let them 'cure', so they all ruined, but this year, I hope I do it right and we can enjoy them for Christmas dinner.

I picked all the seed pods off of the Okra. Not all were brown, yet, but they were turning yellow, so I am hoping they are still viable seeds for next year. They are in brown paper bags, now, and I will let them dry out. Then, for one final and thrifty use of the okra, I cut the stalks down and gave them to the goats, much to their great joy! I cut a little over half of them, then I will give them the rest tomorrow. After I cut the okra down, the cherry tomatoes were more exposed and I had to race two of my dogs for them and pick them fast! I am not sure yet what I will do with them, dip them in batter and deep fry them, or pickle them. Probably a little of both. (the green ones, that is, I will let the ones that are turning go ahead and ripen). I was especially surprised to find that I had summer squash to pick today! A couple of the plants had snapped back from summer's heat.

And there is still quite a long list of "winterizing" I must get done before the temps drop down below freezing tomorrow. I am not sure how I am going to get it all done, but somehow, I will! I was going to pick the multitude of Tabasco peppers by moonlight, but I just couldn't see well enough. I am sure, though, I will be working on into the night with flashlight, because it is warmer now than it will be in the morning or all of tomorrow. I have pumpkins, apples, squash, and all those overgrown veggies I have been saving for seeds to bring in, houseplants, a few garden plants I want to pot up and winter over, some plant and tree clippings to cut for rooting, still a few things to pick, and oh, so much to do. I think that while I take a short break, it is time to organize it all on paper, before something important ends up frozen. Dave will be able to help a little tomorrow, but we have errands that have to get done then, too. Errands annoy me, they always seem to get in the way of the important stuff around the farm. Wish us luck!

 HOMESTEAD BARN HOP - come join the fun!

(DF) PATCHED PUMPKIN UPDATE!!!!

As you can see, the patch evolved from wax and gauze to blue duck tape with peace signs. Please don't ask why I have such tape, as it is a long story, and complicated.  Anyway, this picture was taken in preparation for picking the pumpkin late last week just ahead of our first serious freeze of the season.  With the poor little patched pumpkin all grown up and a freeze coming, the time was right and the patch had worked at least well enough for the damaged pumpkin to mature.  So we got a good pumpkin for the holidays, though with a bit more effort than the standard.  RIGHT???

NOT SO FAST!!!  Things aren't always as they appear.  I knew that with the pumpkin's injury, it wouldn't likely keep as long as normal.  My full intent was to open it up, take the seeds and cook the flesh for pies.  Who knows, I might have even canned a couple of quarts for later in the winter, or experimented with drying some.  No such luck.  With work, searching for a hay source, unexpected funerals and countless other delays, Friday rolled around with this fine fellow still on the kitchen floor.  It was still fine and seemed solid Friday afternoon, and I went to Anna's  with the intent to set the pumpkin as a priority for early in the week.  Returning home this afternoon, I immediately smelled something amiss.  Yes, our fair, peaceful friend had leaked rotten pumpkin juice all over the kitchen floor. 

After grabbing towels to contain the mess, I found the large stock pot and began filling it with chunks of yellow stench.  Needless to say, I was not happy with this situation, but maybe there could be a somewhat brighter side to it.  I began feeling through the yellow goo for seeds.  Believe it or not, I found quite a few solid, fully mature seeds, which I truly hope are viable. 

In the end, the mess is cleaned up, the chickens were extremely enthusiastic about the remains and there are seeds of hope for a future season.  Though it would be nice to have a pie from our own pumpkin this year, there are other pumpkins available, so no need to complain.

(DF) BAMBOO HARVEST

Today has been crisp and sunny, an all around beautiful day to do almost anything outside. There were a multitude of things here needing done and, as usual, not enough time to cover it all. I was not surprised when my step-grandson called to say he needed to stop by and pick up some things from me, because someone is always stopping by wanting something. It did however add to the frustration of things I needed to be doing, as most of them were away from the house, so I was left to think of what to do while I waited.

With a few seconds thought, I remembered the bamboo just outside the front yard fence. I planted a couple of small starts several years ago and it has since spread a bit. Though it has not reached the size this species is capable of, it is respectable. Last winter's extreme cold (extreme for here, at least) had killed back the leaves on some of the taller canes. Leaves didn't grow back through the summer, though the canes were still green, so I decided to harvest the damaged ones this winter. Today, while I waited, seemed like a good time for such a project.

So it was off to the bamboo patch with the pruning saw. What a tangled mess! Brush and vines had woven the thick growth of bamboo into a near impenetrable wall. With some work and patience (as if I really have patience), I soon worked my way through to the canes needing harvested. Within a short time, 29 freshly cut bamboo canes lay piled in the driveway.

Trimming the branches with a machete went quickly. Soon, the bundle was tied every couple of feet so the canes will keep each other straight, and ready to hang up in the dry. Now, the bundle is hanging from the rafters of the blacksmith shop. Yes, I did say blacksmith shop, but that is a subject for another post.

Now if Anna and I can just figure out what to do with the bamboo.

(DF) FIREWOOD

With temperatures dropping below freezing at night, firewood should already be cut and seasoned. Unfortunately, not everyone has had time or resources to do so. This lack of resources and opportunity led to a phone call yesterday morning inquiring about firewood.

It has been several years since I cut firewood for a living, but occasionally in an emergency, I still sell a few ricks. This was just such an occasion, so off to the woods I went to get a small load of wood, (about half a rick),for someone who had used up all they had and was concerned about the coming night.

The selling price for such a small amount was not much, but put a little gas in the tank and some left toward funding other projects around the farm. Every little bit helps.

As an added bonus, I managed to bring home a small load of firewood to add to the still insufficient stack here at dave's farm.

(AF) FROSTY NIGHTS

I spent Tuesday evening doing the Cake & Ice Cream thing with my family to celebrate my mom's birthday, so I was greatly relieved that the frost Dave got that night missed me. At only an hour's drive apart, the ever so slight temperature difference in that distance made all the difference in the world. My plants looked cold, but they all survived with no apparent damage.

But over in my neck of the woods it was forecast to go down to between 28° and 32°F last night so I spent yesterday getting all my valuable veggies and house plants prepared. None of my veggies produced during our record heat this summer, but as soon as it finally cooled off my veggies finally began to bloom and set and I am not in the least ready to let Jack Frost have them!

I had quite an assortment of houseplants outside, all of which badly need repotting. But I had to just bring them inside to warmth for now and worry about repotting later. My Aloe Veras are still in the ground. They loved the hot dry summer and multiplied really well so I just put a heavy cardboard box over them and hoped for the best. I will have to dig and pot them up sometime next week.

Early in August I had planted tomato seeds in peat pots in the shade, hoping for great Fall weather to set them out into a Fall garden. But the heat and drought continued on so I only put a few of them into the ground and several into very large pots. Now, as freezing temps approach, they are growing beautifully and putting on loads of tomatoes! It will be a lot of work, but I am going to do everything I can to get at least a few tomatoes off of them. Often times I just pick all the greens ones off when a freeze approaches and either fry them or make pickles out of them, but this year I am going to attempt to extend their growing season as long as possible.

Quite a few of the tomatoes in pots I brought into the house. Now my hallway looks like a forest with a small path in the center to walk down. I kinda like it! Now, if some of those little tomatoes would turn red, and a few stay green, I will be ahead on my Christmas decorating, ha, ha, ha. That is a very tempting idea and would definitely be a Christmas the grandkids would remember.

As for all the rest of my plants .... some in the ground and some in pots too large and heavy for me to lift by myself, I dragged out every old blanket, large heavy boxes, and thick feed sacks I could find and spent the afternoon and evening covering everything up. Until we have a harder freeze for several nights in a row, it is better to cover up the plants in the big pots anyway, rather than drag them in and out of the house.

We have a chance of a light frost again tonight so I am just going to be lazy and leave everything covered up today, then uncover it all tomorrow morning. After that, we are suppose to have at least 6 days of beautiful, warm weather before any more chances of frost. If all of my coverings keep them toasty and safe through these two frosty nights, my little Fall garden will have another whole week to grow and thrive before it is in danger again.