"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Good Enough

SM and I have gone back and forth about the purchase of a new sofa for my spare room.  

The spare room is where I like to hang out during the winter months.  It's my reading/TV/napping room.  I like this room because it's right beside the kitchen so if I'm cooking something, I'm right there.  I also like this room because of the floor to ceiling windows.  I still feel I'm outside even on a cold winters day.  I feel all snuggled in.  It's a shabby room.  Pillows, throws and blankets are everywhere because if it's my room, it's the dogs room too.  I'm a puppy snuggler.  

So we've been looking at new sofa's and we've also been watching Craig's list for a used one.  I have no problem with a used sofa but I did have conditions.

It must be leather, a decent color, non-smoking household and no dogs or cats.  Now the first three make sense but why no dogs or cats?  Because cat piss is the WORST and also if there were other dogs than MY dogs might sniff and chew it to death.  

Remember Casey?



Oh...No, not that version of her (grin).  This version below...



(Separated at birth?...grin)  Casey is only 2 and enough of a pup still that she might think that the sofa is a chew toy.  So I didn't really want to buy a new sofa.

Sunday morning SM had Craig's List up and found an ad for a green leather sofa out by Lake Norman.  A phone call later and we were heading out for a Sunday Morning drive.  Lake Norman is about an hour's drive away.  I hadn't been out there in years.  We followed the Garman and ended up right ON THE LAKE.  A beautiful home.  Nice guy.  They just wanted to get rid of it.  Sold.

So here it is.  My "Good Enough" sofa.



We paid $75 for it.

Score!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Grubby

I've been eyeballing the sad state of affairs with my tomato patch.  They still put out one or two here and there but they're small and rot as soon as you look at them.  They have lots of cracks and splits and the worms have finally found them.

So yesterday, after reading Leighs post over at 5 Acres and a Dream about procrastinating...I figured now is as good a time as any. 



It was 7:30 am and a sparkling 64 degrees outside.  (The nights are getting cooler even though we're still popping up into the mid 90's.)  I donned my grubby outfit.



I'm pretty sure we all have our "getting nasty in the garden" outfit.  Mine consists of a busted up pair of ratty jeans,  SM's old long sleeve shirt, tennis shoes that have split in the soles so you walk funny in them, my old cloth work gloves that have seen better days and a ball cap to keep my hair out of my eyes.

Last year I pulled after a big rain.  Yuck.  This year it's been dry now for a few weeks.  Much better.  Less filth.  I pulled and yanked and began piling everything up.  At least when it's this hot it will dry the greenery up and then I can just burn it.  


Too bad you can't compost this stuff.

I left a few of the tomatoes that looked less diseased than the rest.  We'll see if the cooler fall weather stimulates some fruit to set.  I planted all indeterminate tomatoes this year.  I thought that having tomatoes all season long (in theory) was a good way to go.  Ha.  We get SO HOT here that I'm thinking I'd be better of with one good push of tomatoes.  That's really all I got this year with the heat and disease anyway.  I'll still have a Matt's WC and a few indeterminates but I might as well explore the determinate varities.  Do you plant a mix?  Or do you go all one way or the other?



I left the peppers in too.  You never know.



The green beans I planted in mid July are starting to bloom.

The carrots did pop.  But they're not doing much.  Carrots are such a drag.  I love them but they take FOREVER.  I don't know what the secret is with growing carrots.  Do you?



Out of the 5 different types of lettuces that I planted only 1 came up.  Too freakin hot would be my best guess.

I then hopped on the lawn mower to give the lawn a swirl. 

It's strange to think that fall is right around the corner.  I'm looking forward to it.  We've got LOTS planned.  Hoop houses to build, double digging new spaces and manure.  That's right!  Stay tuned as I somehow get SM to help me spread manure.  (He has an aversion to all things poo...avoids doggie doo and diapers too.)  Poor man....

Monday, August 29, 2011

A Plethora of Peppers

A few days ago I bought a case of Green Peppers at the Farmers Market.  "What's up with that?" you might ask.  Well, just about everything I cook that has the "Holy Trinity" of carrots, onions and celery always gets a bit of green pepper tossed in too.  

Some people love garlic, I love Green Peppers.  Not raw though...only in a cooked dish.


Now, I planted 20 some-odd bell pepper plants this year.  I did harvest some, but not nearly enough that I'd hoped for.  If there's secret to growing bell peppers, I'm bound and determined to figure it out.  Next year we'll find a shadier spot, in the ground (not a raised bed), plant them tight and deep and keep some shade cloth handy to combat our extreme heat.

Last winter, bell peppers were selling for up to $2 each and I remember saying to SM that I planned on going into THIS winter with a good supply of frozen peppers.

The price has come down with availability during the summer but I hadn't seen the price of peppers below a dollar, (either at the FM or at the grocery) until the other day.

On Saturday, SM and I saw signs for 50 cents each at the FM and these peppers were HUGE.  And they smelled wonderful.  "You're going to get some right?"  SM asked.  "You bet I am!"

As SM wandered off in search of other good things, his wife was working the deal.  "How much for a case?"  I asked the vendor.  A thoughtful look on her face she said "$22 dollars".  So I went ahead and jumped.

I hauled my booty out to the main aisleway and patiently waited for SM to return.  He comes wandering up and his eyes pop open.  "A whole case?"  

"Yep!  I'm freezing them."  I replied.


"Well, that's a year worth of peppers for sure..."



So that's what I did.  And guess what?  There were 63 HUGE peppers in that case.  Do the math and that's .35 cents a pepper.


When was the last time your bought a fresh green pepper for .35 cents?



I cut 2 gallon bags of strips.  



2 gallon bags of "rough chop" and I also used the food processor to "fine chop" 6 - 1 cup bags for soups.  (When I make soups I make a HUGE pot.)


 I also roasted some and stuck those in the freezer too.

SM wants some stuffed green peppers BIG TIME so I kept back about 6 peppers for that and for fresh roasting and eating over the next few weeks.

This is one of those times that buying in bulk really pays off!  As long as you can store it safely (and use it) than it's a great deal.
 

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Charlotte Regional Farmers Market

We hadn't been to the Farmers Market in about a month.  I was going through withdrawals...:)  So I thought ya'll might like to tag along with us and see whats happening at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market.



We got there about 8:30 am.  On my radar?  Apples!!!!  I know it's early but I'm dying for a fresh crisp apple!



The CRFM has 4 "barns", covered areas that vendors can stay dry in.  


In Winter they only open the 1 barn that is completely enclosed.  



(*SM and I went once during the winter just to see what was being offered.  Not much and since things were out of season the prices were higher than at the grocery store.)  



There are the food and produce vendors in 2 barns.  You can find local honey, pasture raised meats, eggs, butter, soaps, cut flowers and even canned items like jellies, chow chows, relishes and pickles.  

Some of the distributors are large groups, hiring employees who are efficient in the replenishing and offering of a variety of produce both locally grown and out of state.  They pull the produce out of huge refrigerated trucks.


A local bakery has a stall here.  This little guy has the best seat in the house looking at all the goodies in the display case.  (*SM points out that he's actually a "ladies man" checking out the "cutie" working the register.)

There are also the smaller vendors, the local farmers where the family itself is working the tables offering up what they have raised, cleaned and bagged themselves.  They have their coolers out and "sold out" signs handy.  The food might be in the back of a  U-Haul type trailer or out of the bed of a pick-up truck.  

It's truly amazing that food is as cheap as it is when you think about all the effort that's been put into it.  That sentiment aside, if I'm buying bulk (which I try to do on some items), I'm still going to try and "deal" with the vendors to get the best price I can get.  I had one vendor tell me that he won't sell by the case.  Smart man.  As you're about to see in my future posts, buying by the case saves you even more.  Vendors make more money with a "by the pound" purchase than with a bulk purchase.


(I like this sign and it's message.  I still can't afford to buy meat from them though.)


They have one barn set aside for crafts with all manner of handcrafted items from yarns and knit wear to hand made furniture.  Another barn is the "Green Shed" where you can find all manner of plants for your edible and decorative gardens.

 

Anyhow, we did the lap around the produce barns to see what's what and made our purchases.


We ended up spending about $50 dollars.  Here's the loot.




A case of Green Peppers (post to come), along with some Red Peppers that SM had to have, the only Macintosh Apples left in the entire Market (still too early for apples), some Asian Pears, a few baking potatoes for a recipe that's in the crock post as I'm writing this (post to come), and cookies.  

Yes...cookies.  Why did I buy cookies?  

Because this vendor and her daughter put some effort into their venture that's why.  (Love the aprons.)

  

Mom was very busy packaging up cookies for some buyers.  Her daughter stood waiting expectantly.  She wasn't texting!  She wasn't gabbing on the phone!  Good for you Mom!  Teaching your daughter right!

While I was eyeballing some homemade granola she had out on her beautifully displayed table, I hear SM breathe "Oooo...Snicker-Doodles."  

I whispered to SM "Why don't you go ahead and buy some cookies?  They look good!"


"Yours are better.  (Grin..Have I got this man trained or what!)

"Yeah, but these look great and you know that I'm not baking cookies or anything else for that matter until the weather breaks."

So SM purchased 6 cookies from this aspiring young lady for $12.  (Twelve DOLLARS)  Ouch!  But the cookies are HUGE and it IS a freakin Snicker-Doodle for heavens sake.  (I applaud and encourage entrepreneurialism in our young people where ever I can find it.)

So that's our Farmers Market.  Thanks for tagging along and expect a few more posts this week about all the goodies I bought there.  

PS...SM had some of the cookies last night with a glass of milk.  "So how where they?"


"Gourmet."  He replied.  "Excellent cookies."


"Worth the $2 dollars?"  I asked.


"Yep.  Worth every penny."  


Uh Oh...I have competition.  (smile)




Saturday, August 27, 2011

On The Rise

I came across this article today on Yahoo Why is Celiac Disease On The Rise

The article itself gives only basic information.  What I always enjoy is reading the comments.  I usually take away more information from reading the opinions of the commenters than I do from the article itself.

I'm not celiac, but if I had continued to eat gluten I'm sure I would be.  I'm 'pre-disposed".  My brother is full blown celiac and we suspect my father was

Since I quit gluten last year not only has my digestive health been more manageable, (I still suffer from IBS) but my anxiety/panic disorder is completely gone.  I know it could come back but I suspect it won't.  You have NO IDEA how my life has changed since getting off the panic attack carousel.

I blame GMO wheat.  Some of the commenters do too.  The mainstream media will do what it has to to protect "$ The Big Green $", so you won't ever hear or read about it in the media. 

But some of us are onto you Monsanto.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Should I Stay or Should I Go?


I noticed about an hour ago that the wind is picking up.  It's breezy and overcast with 1 layer of really high white clouds and a second layer of lower puffy clouds.  We're only supposed to get winds here, no rain.  Our forecast calls for 15-25 mph gusts.

That's pretty much how it's been for the last 13 years.  Hurricanes that hit the outerbanks don't impact us much here.  It's often said that the East side of a hurricane is the most destructive.  We've always been on the West side of these storms and it's true...we can see it (and it's really erie), but it's another world over here.   We'll have the wind but no rain.  Drive an hour east of here and you'll be in the flood plains.  Completely different scenario.

SM and I didn't live here when Hugo hit Charleston and swung up into Charlotte.  When we moved here, Hugo memories were still fresh and we'd often hear the stories of the devastation.  Tales of hunkering down in the hallways of your home listening to the roar of the wind thinking your roof might come off.  No one slept.  Just a constant roar. 

It went through quick.  Within 3 hours the world had changed so when people walked outside all they could see were trees down everywhere.  You couldn't drive so emergency services were down.  A friend spoke of living in the Hospital where she just stayed and worked because staff couldn't rotate in or out. 

Another friend spoke of BBQ's running, almost like a block party.  No power for one week meant that frozen foods needed to be cooked up so the guys would grill up the meat and anyone around got a free meal.  Anyone with a chainsaw got to work trying to clear the roads.  I expect it felt good to help your brother out as much as you could.  Ice and fresh water were at a premium, but people were patient.  I never heard anyone talk of looting or theft though I'm sure it had to have happened.

So many of the blogs I visit are in the path of this storm.  Most are staying put.   I understand that.  I've often asked myself if I were in your shoes "Should I stay or should I go?"  Surviving the storm is one thing.  Surviving the aftermath is another. 

I wish you all the best and I know you're as prepared as you can be.  It's the way you are.  Bless you all and we'll be here when you get back up again.

Dark Side of the Moon

We live out in the country but in a subdivision.  We don't have an HOA...(Yeah me!)...and since we're not within the "city limits" we don't have sidewalks or street lights.  

Walking in the street at 5am is no big deal and I'm sure that streetlights are nice, but I like it dark.  


When I walk the pups in the morning in the summer there's plenty of light.  Now that we're heading into fall, the sun is lazy to rise.  I've noticed these past few weeks that the early-bird people like me are suddenly THERE...boom!...Right in front of you, it's so dark.  No problem with that as most everybody is friendly enough and we all recognize each other as habitual walkers.  

Every now and then though, we get a newbie out there who comes out of the blue and decides that exercising at 5 am is a good idea.  So they have to learn the ropes.  

We have a gal out there now who just started jogging with her dog.  She doesn't respond to my "Good Morning" greetings and once I literally had to tell her to stop getting so close to me and my pack.  The reason is simple.  Dogs like to check each other out.  They'll ignore each other once they've met.  This gal doesn't want our dogs to meet.  I've asked her if we could let them say "hello" but she pulls away and then of course it's doggie "West Side Story".  My "homies" against your "gangsta".  Everyone is barking and lunging...(sigh).

Now if you can see us coming, good on ya, but when it's moon-dark like it is right now you can barely see what's 5 feet in front of you.  

Several years ago, the pups and I were out on a moon dark morning like this one and I heard a funny whooshing noise suddenly.  Some dude thought it was a great idea to start exercising on his bike, in the dark, with no lamp, zooming around at 35 mph.  Now I wear reflective clothing but that only works if something is shining on me.  

He zipped between me and Scooter (my Cocker Spaniel).  I instantly let go of the leash (I use retractables).  He slowed down but didn't stop.  No one was hurt but it scared me enough that a few minutes later when he zips by me again I yelled at him to "get a headlight" and "be careful!"  (A few days after that he did get a bike lamp but within the month quit riding.  I never saw him again.)


The dogs or I could have been seriously hurt.  (Not my favorite way of waking up in the morning, I can tell you that.)  So I went out and bought one of these.



I'm sure campers use these "hand-free" flashlights all the time.  I found them at Dick's Sporting Goods.  They're nice and small on a wide elastic strap and have 3 lamp settings.  They run on 3 AAA batteries. 


I started off with just one and wore it myself.  I tried it on my head (didn't like the pressure) then on my wrist (just double wrapped it).  It occured to me though that I'm in the center of the pack.  The "advance team" needs to be wearing these.  I bought another one since Scooter walks behind me and "The Girls" walk out in front of me.  The strap can be adjusted and just slides on over their neck.  The lamp shines down on the ground so it doesn't bother the dogs eyes or oncoming traffic.  We look like a pretty weird UFO floating close to the ground.




Here's Ginny modeling the latest in doggie workout gear. (Sorry for the blur, but you get the idea.)


Anyway, I thought I'd show ya'll this gizmo.  It's a nice, hands-free option that gives you a light source for active people (and puppies!)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Shuckin Beans

One of my goals next year is to plant more beans.  I love me some beans.  I usually just eat them fresh or freeze them up.  (I never was into the taste/texture of canned beans...go figure.)

On a whim, I planted some Lima Beans in July.  I've never grown Lima's before so I've been watching them with interest.  Only about half germinated in the mid summer heat but they did seem to withstand the bugs better than the green and yellow bush beans.  They put out some pods, not a ton, but a respectable amount.  Each pod only had about 2-3 beans in them though.

OhioFarmGirl had written a post about Horticulture Beans and I think I'm going to add them to the "Bean Fest" I'm hoping to have here next year.  OhioFarmGirl was extolling the virtues of her dried beans and I thought that since the Lima beans were already starting to dry, I'd let them go all the way.  

I went out last night and eyeballed the plants.  They're still hang in there. (Yes, we're back in the 90's)  The plants themselves are still green and appear to want to put out more flowers and pods.  In fact, many of the pods are still green.  But the ones that were dry were already splitting and "popping" the beans out at the slightest touch.

I went ahead and gathered them up.  It was kinda fun.  You could easily see the pods since they were brown but all you had to do was shake the plant to make sure you didn't miss any.  The beans rattle in the pods.  

So this is what I got.  



Hmmm.  I can buy a bag of beans for a buck at the store.  If I'm going to do dried beans, it looks like I'm going to need A LOT of of plants.  It looks like the Horticulture Beans give you more beans per pod.  Maybe I won't be doing Lima's next year.


What beans produce best for you?



Tuesday, August 23, 2011

It Figures...

We love to go to the beach in September.  Less crowded beaches, no kids in the pool, cheaper rates for a hotel room...what's not to love?

Hilton Head Island is our favorite beach, hands down.  We've been up and down the east coast from Nags Head to Miami.  Hilton Head wins every time.  It's just so peaceful there.  Yeah, you pay a premium, but so what.  It's just for a couple of days.

Looks like the Carolina coastline might be somebody else's favorite destination this weekend.




It figures!  Somebody has to come and "crash" the party!

I wonder if it'll be cleaned up in...Oh, lets say 3 weeks time?  We looked online and the rates are really, really cheap for this weekend if anyone wants to go!  (grin) Lets hope she just stays a Cat 2 or 3.  You might get a lot of wind with that but usually not a ton of damage. 

Funny thing is, if you look at the projected path, it looks like Irene just might be stopping by my house too.  Hmmm..."Fluff the pillows honey, we've got visitors!"

Monday, August 22, 2011

Moon and Stars

Just for the fun of it, I planted Watermelons and Muskmelons this year.  It was a "what the heck" kind of moment.

The Muskmelons did nothing, nada...El Zippo.  Too much shade.  Everything with vines will be moved next year to the new garden patch that we'll start to dig if it ever decides to get cool again.  (Yes...the heat is back on!  Panting here.)

The Moon and Stars Watermelon that I got from Baker Creek offered up 4 melons.  Two were small and "melted" like the Wicked Witch of the West.


"I'm melting!"

Who can blame them?

But the other two hung in there.  This weekend I noticed that the vines were dying back so I went ahead and yanked them.



Size wise, they are nowhere near the size of the pictures in the catalog.  Plus, I had stars, but no moon :(



Once I cracked them open, you can see that they're still a bit immature. 

I dug out the good stuff and low and behold it was sweet!  Truly, I wasn't expecting that!

So I think I will try these again next year.  But I'll put them in a sunnier spot.  The turn around time took forever too.  I direct sowed these the first weekend of May so that's almost 120 days.  Perhaps I'll start the melons indoors next year.  It'd be nice to have melons in July.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Fat, Dumb and Happy

Like most of the world, SM and I are learning how to make do with less.  Our annual income is much less than we anticipated it would be at our age.  We can blame the Great Resession but the reality is this scaling back could have happened at any given time in our lives.   

Fortunately, because of common sense (or shear dumb luck) we find ourselves continuing to be able to manage our monthly expenses of mortgage payments, utilities, food and gasoline expendatures without having to dip into the savings account very often.  I still wish we could have had the house paid off.  That (and building our savings account) has always been the priority with any excess cash that we had at the end of the month.  Excess cash has gone the way of the dinosaurs around here these past few years.

Instead of week long vacations out of state, we run away to the beach (4 hours away) for a long weekend.   

Instead of buying replacement windows for the whole house, we're planning on only buying one or two as the need arises and repair what can "hold on" for another year.

Our vehicles are becoming a concern.  The Buick needs to be sold.  Ever since the wreck (where SM played bumper cars with a semi) the car just feels off.  It's drivable but it's now been moved up the "priority list" and needs to be replaced ASAP.  We're hoping the Jeep can hold out another year.

SM has been doing a lot of research and competitive shopping lately. 

Our home owners insurance went up 10% with Nationwide.  SM went shopping and found another agency who would cover us for $500 less a year.  He went ahead and switched our auto insurnace too and saved another $1100 a year.

This weekend SM has installed MagicJack and is playing around with that.  He paid $39 for it (which includes the 1st year of service).  We pay about $40 a year for the land line so that's another $480 a year in savings.   I have never owned a cell phone (and probably won't use one very much anyways) but SM wants me to have one for emergencies so he's going to get me a TracFone.

It's football season so the DirecTV has been turned back on at a cost of $95 a month (Boo Hiss) but we still plan on suspending service during the summer months (April-August) so that adds another $500 to the kitty.

Add it all up and that's a $2,500 savings per year.

"You just gave us a pay raise baby!"  I said to SM grinning. 

Notice that we're not really sacrificing anything.  We're just exchanging one service for another.  A company that we've been with forever like Nationwide (who should have been giving us a "loyality" discount) will no longer get our business.  Too bad...So sad.

There's a saying about being "fat, dumb and happy".  When we had enough money, we didn't shop around or look for sales.  The money dries up and we learned (and are STILL learning) about frugality. 

It's been a good lesson.  We've been lazy. 

We're not lazy anymore.

Friday, August 19, 2011

Summer As It Should Be

The past few days have been excellent weather-wise.  We broke out of a crappy weekend with hot humid stormy weather and started the week out with a beautiful weather pattern of normal summer days.



When I think of summer I think of days close to 90 and nights cool enough to open the windows.  I see blue skies, not the hazy white sky we've had the past few months.  It's here.  Summer as it should be.  Postcard perfect.

Someone finally turned the oven off.  I have the windows open and the fans on and I just can't be more relaxed.  It feels so good to breathe fresh air in my own home instead of the closed up air conditioned stuff I breathe most days in the Summer.  It's wonderful to be able to sit on our back porch swing and be able to talk and relax after a hard days work.  The pups are out sniffing and chasing birds (and each other.)

SM came home late Tuesday night.  He'd been gone almost a week.   "When was the last time we've been away from each other a whole week?"  I asked.

"Probably when we were newly married, years ago.  I'm sure I've had business trips that took a week." SM replied.

SM told me that it was almost cold in Columbus Ohio where he was visiting friends and family this past week.  "It was in the low 60's at night.  But it was beautiful during the day in the 70's."  SM stayed a few extra days to help his brother stain the trim of his house.  Ron is closing in on 70 and they have a 2 story that has cedar trim that needed staining.  So SM went up the ladder and did what he could while Ronnie and Connie worked on the lower half.  What he couldn't reach, Ron will hire someone to complete.

"You get BIG points from me for that."  I told him giving him a squeeze.  "It was nice of you to stay a few extra days and help him out.  Wow!  You're really tan!  You got a lot of sun!"  I observed.  (SM is from the Polish Indian Tribe.  I've always teased him that I never knew there were such a thing as Polish Indians.  He goes outside for one day and turns a rich shade of brown that takes me all summer to try and get.)

"I got that on the drive home.  I had the sun roof open and all the windows down.  It was a wonderful drive through the mountains."  SM comes down Interstate 77 through West Virginia.

"It's funny...As I came down the hill (into Mount Airy) I could feel the difference in the air.  You could smell Summer.  Almost like a beach smell.  The temperature popped up 10 degrees instantly."  SM said.

Coming down off (or going up) the mountain ridge around Mt Airy is a stunningly breathtaking sight.  The Blue Ridge Parkway also snakes through that area.  Beautiful vistas.  I'm shocked there aren't more traffic jams or accidents on that stretch of the Interstate.  It just makes you want to pull over and just stand there for a while.

Anyway...Welcome home SM.  Welcome back Summer (as it should be in my mind anyway.)  For another month or so.  Then I hope to be saying "Hello" to fall.


Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The SVB's Win

I have stinkbugs and squash bugs.  I have leaf rot.  I have birds pecking at the remaining tomatoes.  I have hoards of mosquitoes that have been hatched these past few weeks and like to put a "tap" into me every chance they get.  I can shrug off all of these annoyances but one.


The freakin SVB's.  

Squash Vine Borers have molested my garden big time this year.  You start to notice a perfectly beautiful plant starting to produce fruit.



Then you see the yellowing leaves close to where the main root is.  



A closer inspection shows the tell-tale signs of a bastard worm eating the base from the inside out.  Given enough time they just saw the base in half.  End of plant.



I've lost so many Summer and Winter Squash plants to these little buggers.  Funny thing was that I had "zero" last year.  Bumper crop of everything squashy in our 2010 garden.  Squash coming out of my ears.


"OK...You win!  Now how about bugging off next year, hmmm?"



Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Treasure Ship

I went out into the garden between rain storms this morning.  This ship is sinking fast.






But look hard enough and you can still find treasures in the destruction.







I was just starting to pick some of the Matt's WC when I heard the thunder.



The pups (always by my side) were like "Whatcha got in there?



I'll take what I can get.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Planting For Fall

This weeks forecast is for temperatures to moderate just a bit.  Lows in the  70's at night and highs hovering around 90 during the day.  I NEED to get the fall seeds and plants in the ground.  Time is short!





I found this nice page on Dave's Garden that gives you your frost dates according to your zip code. Here's what mine said.


Each winter, on average, your risk of frost is from November 8 through March 29.
Almost certainly, however, you will receive frost from November 26 through March 11.
You are almost guaranteed that you will not get frost from April 15 through October 21.
Your frost-free growing season is around 224 days.



I only have about 10 weeks before our first frost.  Seems like a long time doesn't it.  Ha!  It'll be here before I know it!

So I went ahead and planted the carrot "seed mats".  Just two paper towel widths.  I've never had much luck with carrots so I want to see what happens with these before I get all "gung ho".

I've read that you need to keep them damp with wet burlap or a wet board to get them to germinate in this heat.  


I found an old beach towel.  (I have NO idea where this thing came from.)  Surfs up everybody!  (Look how skinny SM is! @;)



I direct seeded some of my favorite lettuces and since I only had about 8 cucumber seeds left in the pack I went ahead and stuck those in the ground too.  They come into harvest in about 60 days so we might squeak a few more in.

I was "skunked" in my effort to buy some cooler weather veggie starts.  The gal at the nursery told me that all they had were tomatoes and peppers.  She anticipated that they'd get them in the first few weeks of September.  "We have to wait to get them in until after the weather breaks or else they're goners."

"Yeah.  I planted around mid September last year but didn't get anything out of them.  I didn't have a hoop house so the frost caught them." I told her.

There's a part of me that wonders if we'll get anything even with the hoop house.  (I still have my "Yankee" taste buds.)  I keep thinking that I should be able to grow things that I ate growing up in Ohio.  "Hate to break it to you Tami, but some things just don't grow well here in the South.  That's why greens are big down here."

Do any of you grow greens

Turnip, mustard and collard greens are pretty big down here.  I need to get with the program.  Expand my taste buds.  When in doubt, slap some bacon on it.  Everything tastes better with bacon on it.