(DF) HOT, DRY, BUGGY, ETC.; but we are still here

As you may have noticed, Anna and I have not posted recently, so I wanted to take this opportunity to say that we are still here, still alright, and most importantly, still together (we just celebrated the first anniversary of our relationship on Thursday).  Though it was not the celebration we had planned, we did get to spend it together and it is wonderful to look back at the year that has so quickly passed.

Now for reasons (not excuses) why we have not posted recently.  To begin with, Anna's computer is still down and her stone-age laptop, like my stone-age desktop, just doesn't handle working in temperatures in excess of 100 degrees.  By the time either of us is forced by the heat to take a break,  it is already to hot for the computers to work.

Time and energy are other factors to be dealt with.  With the long stretch of record breaking heat and record low rainfall in our area, most of our time is being spent watering plants, trees and livestock.  No, we are not getting a lot of production, but in this heat, the goal is to just keep things alive until it cools off and rains.  Today is wonderfully cool by the way, at least so far.  It  has just passed the 90 degree mark, and though quite humid, is still better than the 100 degrees plus that it has been this time of day for awhile.

Between the heat, drought, and what I jokingly refer to as a grasshopper plague of near biblical proportion, it is amazing that anything is left to do here.  Actually though the grasshoppers are most plentiful, they aren't quite on a biblical scale.  However, it looks like the small apple trees will have to be replanted thanks to the grasshoppers eating all the bark off of them.  Managed to keep the deer off them just to save them for the bugs.

On the up side of the situation, my tomatoes have been producing up until the last few days, and okra is still going.  I have actually had a chance to can and dry some tomatoes and have dried a bit of okra.  As an added treat, I found a wild plum tree which I didn't know was there and was able to make several jars fo plum butter, which will be great this winter.

Bottom line is that it could be worse, we have a lot to be grateful for and there is hope for more production in the fall (if the drought breaks in time for a fall garden).  We are keeping notes and taking some pictures so we can bring you all up to date when it cools off and rains so we aren't spending all our time hauling water.  
We are learning lots of things to help us through such times and are making some interesting adjustments, all of which we well share soon, so please bear with us and check back from time to time until we are back to our regular posting schedule.

(DF) GETTING WHAT YOU PAID FOR? REALLY??

As the old saying goes, "you get what you pay for".  But do you really?  Is it always as advertised?  Not likely, at least not always.  There are many things that are not exactly as they appear or are advertised, and in many cases (unless we are very observant and read the labels carefully) we may not even know that we paid for something we didn't get.  It happens all the time with food labels, phone service, clothing and at least a bazillion other things that don't come so readily to mind.  But what about things more simple and straightforward, like garden plants?

Have you ever bought a tomato plant and found that it was really a pepper plant instead?  Me nither, but they look enough different that it would be hard to mistake one for the other.  What about one variety of tomato or pepper that turned out to be another?  This is something that could happen often and in most cases, most people would not be sure of the mistake.

Look carefully at the photos.  You will notice that the tomato is small and red, some variety of cherry tomato to be more precise.  Anna purchased this plant which was clearly labeled as a "Lemon Boy", and had a nice picture of medium yellow tomatoes on the vine.  The tomatoes it is producing are certainly not "Lemon Boy", or anything close.  The pepper plant is one I bought.  You might think it is a bell pepper, judging from the shape of the peppers.  In reality, the peppers are smaller than bell peppers and, though still green, they are obviously hot.  They appear to be a variety called "Cajun Bell", but whatever they are, they are absolutely not the "Cayenne" that they were clearly labeled to be, complete with pictures of beautiful "Cayenne" peppers.

If the tomato had been a different yellow variety than the one labeled, would we have known?  If the pepper had been similar to what was expected, would we have made the connection?  The answer is, probably not.  While surprises can sometimes be good, this disturbs me.  Not only because the varieties are different than advertised (in fact, I feel it is always good to try different varieties) but more because of how such little "mistakes" could be used.

Now to my main point.  It is no secret that the seed companies (among other entities) are always pushing their hybrid seeds, and would like nothing more than for the open pollinated, heirloom varieties to disappear.  It is also no secret that they are constantly developing genetically modified varieties and trying to push them on the consumer.  My question is simple.  At some point, how much trouble would it be to simply substitute a hybrid or genetically modified variety with similar characteristics to the one you think you are purchasing?  The frightening answer is that it would be quite easy to do, very hard to prove and a big chunk of the population would not know the difference for at least a year, and only then, if they saved seeds and planted them the next spring.  This would solve the seed company problem and our problems would begin in earnest.  The really scary part is that if someone like me could think of it, we can't expect that they haven't thought of it too.

I don't think of myself as paranoid, and I am certainly not trying to say that anyone is "out to get us".  The fact is simply that they are looking at the bottom line and if we save our own seeds, they can't sell theirs to us.  This gives me more incentive to grow heirloom varieties and save seeds.  I strongly encourage everyone else to do the same, if for no reason other than keeping the old varieties that our grandparents and great grandparents grew, from being lost forever.  Once you have saved those seeds, I encourage everyone to in some way, share them with others, whether it be giving a few to the neighbor down the road, swapping those you have for those you want, or selling your surplus to those who are having trouble finding them.

If you have purchased plants or seeds that are not what you expected, have fun with the surprise and we would love to hear the stories.  If you have heirloom varieties, we would also love to hear about the ones you enjoy. 

(DF) TIME TO PLANT TOMATOES ??????

Of course it isn't time to plant tomatoes ................. at least not out in the garden. However, if you read my earlier article, "GARDEN PLANTING TIME ................ ALREADY???", you may realize that I tend to get a little impatient. In fact you are probably shaking your head about now, and wondering what makes me think I can raise a garden.

Before you chalk this up as some kind of a joke, let me assure you that I am serious. So serious in fact, that I planted about fifty tomato seeds today, twenty of one variety and thirty of another. I fully intend to plant more varieties as well as some hot peppers in a few days.

No, I am not fooled by the mild winter. The worst months of winter here are NORMALLY February and March, and most of April can be a bit iffy as well. So knowing this, why am I starting seeds in January? Simply put, it is because of the word "normally". Normally, it would be too cold to plant tomatoes out by the time they are big enough. Normally, by the time they can be safely transplanted, they would be nothing but spindly, yellowing runners that would be hard put to survive in the best of conditions. However, this is eastern Oklahoma, where "normal" is a well known myth, at least where the weather is concerned.

Within this broad range of what passes for normal, I have transplanted tomatoes in March and they flourished, and in May only to have them frosted. I have also planted them in mid April (which is customary) to have them blooming nicely in time for weather hot enough to prevent production. There have also been years (last spring in particular) when near record spring rainfall almost drown the tomatoes, followed by record heat which pretty much finished them off.

With these things in mind, I tend to start the seeds early, in the house, with mini-greenhouses made of clear trash bags, (until we can get the greenhouse frame covered, probably next year). By starting a lot more than are really needed, there are plenty to plant out early if the weather looks reasonable, then plant some out at the "normal time", and more (which may have to be moved to larger pots for awhile) for planting late, just in case winter hangs on longer than hoped.

In the not so "normal" event that spring is early, long and leads to a warm, damp early summer, there will be a bumper crop. If that happens, there will be lots of canned and dried tomatoes to store for several years to come.

(DF) HAPPY CHICKENS

No self-sufficient farm is complete without chickens. There is just no substitute for fresh eggs from free range chickens. There is also no substitute for the frustration of watching that big tomato, day after day, until it is almost ready to pick, only for it to be pecked by a chicken.

It was just such an occasion that prompted me to build a chicken pen before garden planting time this spring. It is a reasonable size pen for about a dozen hens and has a wire top to keep them in and predators out. The only problem is that they are not out in the garden eating bugs and weed seeds. This raises the feed bill and lowers the egg quality.

With the garden harvested or frosted, (except for a row of late turnips), I decided to let the chickens out during the day. They are in a habit of roosting in the hen house, so it will be no problem shutting them up in the evening to keep critters out.

They will have to be penned up in the spring, before the garden is planted, but by then they will have eaten a tremendous quantity of bugs and weed seeds that would have over wintered in the yard and garden.

With the added protein, the eggs are sure to be better and more plentiful. I am really looking forward to increased egg production, and it is truly a pleasure to see the chickens so happily scratching about.

(DF) Frost

We all knew it would happen soon, but after the flood and drought, I was hoping for a few more ripe tomatoes. It is the season however and this morning, daylight revealed light patchy frost at my place. Only problem is that the "patches" were mainly in my little patch of tomatoes and squash. It is still too early to tell the amount of damage, but with the forecast for tonight calling for a freeze, there are a few things I need to do to salvage what is left.

Last night, in anticipation of frost, I picked all the squash that was ready, and a few of the largest green tomatoes for frying. The peppers, not yet ripe, are covered with a blanket along with the smaller of the tomatoes.

The one remaining pepper plant, with its little peppers, may spend the night potted and in the house, but that decision has not yet been made.

For now, it is time to cut one last bit of hay and enjoy the first real chill of fall.