A Different Kind Of January

I am writing this on Monday January 30, 2012. This is normally our usual sights on the farm in January. Gray skies and the browns of winter. Dismal long overcast days. Days of resting and waiting for those warm days and warming rays of sunlight to return. Anticipating even the preparation of the upcoming planting and harvesting season.

This is the time to armchair garden. To pour over those seed catalogs and plan for the coming year. A time to learn and read new ways to improve those crops and planting practices. A time to rest. A laid back time to ponder.  With the lingering traces of last weeks scrawny half inch of snow that lasted not even a day still visible. Only the second small snow event all year. Only a memory now as only traces remain in the deep shade hiding from the light of day. But wait!

Do I see the mercury on that old thermometer in the upper 60's. Do I see the Hen House Ladies out there in that sunshine fluffing and strutting their stuff.

I hear the roar of an engine in the distance as O Wise One rides his old trusty little green tractor.

Ah.... I smell the perfume of freshly turned soil. The little green tractor turning in all those rotted leaves and old straw bedding from last years pig house into the soil along with coffee grounds, banana peels and crushed egg shells that we have been throwing on there. And the old compost pile thrown on for good measure. Soil being prepared for the early crops of onions, peas and potatoes that it will receive in just a few short weeks. St Patrick's Day just at 6 weeks from now.  Potato planting time.

I have to wonder what February will bring? Will this winter be a bust or is she saving her best for last? Time shall indeed tell. This kind of weather worries me. It taunts my fruit trees to bud out prematurely and bloom earlier than they would normally. Only to then be zapped by those sneaky last of the season freezes. This freezes the blooms and then no fruit for the year. Nothing I can do about it but worry i guess. If not that then something else. This homesteading can sure be a guessing game some years.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter    

Crop Lineup for 2012 Part 2

Continuing my list of crops for 2012.....

Another great performer last year was an heirloom, open pollinated pepper we call Italian Pickling Pepper. This seed was given to us by a family member and we are unsure of it's origin. It has for the last several years exceeded the yields of any pepper we have ever grown of this kind.  Great for roasting on the grill and packing in olive oil or freezing and also a welcome addition to salsa. 

California Wonder is the standard for bell peppers for many years. An heirloom variety originally introduced in 1928 is till the largest open pollinated heirloom bell you can grow. Days to maturity 75. These are the peppers I grow to dehydrate for seasoning, stuff with a filling and freeze or throw into a fresh salad or saute for my spaghetti sauce. 

Yellow crookneck squash is one of those vegetables that you see in all southern gardens. I grew up on them. My mother made the best crayfish and shrimp casserole with these things you can imagine. I always have these in my garden because they are so versatile. Not only are they great on the grill and fried. I can them for casseroles and freeze them for smothering in the winter. You can substitute these in zucchini bread or stuff them like a pepper with meat and bake. A versatile, open pollinated heirloom vegetable. 

My main tomato for everything is the Brandywine Tomato. It grows well in this area and the taste is amazing. We eat these fresh, use them in sauces, salsas and salads. An extremely large one slicer for sandwiches with an heirloom old time tomato taste. She's a big lady so give her lots of room and watch her produce all season.   

Every year I grow a couple Yellow Pear tomatoes for my oldest daughter. She can eat her weight in them and they are great pickled green, in salads or just eating warm off the vine. Many days you can find my husband picking over these bushes while picking and weeding the garden. Another open pollinated heirloom variety we have grown forever saving seeds from year to year.

Southern Giant Curled mustard green are another crop that I grow every year. An open pollinated heirloom variety that I always let go to seed so I have plenty of seeds every year. I plant both an early spring and late fall crop. These can great and taste really good in the winter when you are craving greens.

Every spring we anxiously await that first wilted lettuce salad with the Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce. A great early spring crop for us and eagerly awaited. Nothing like fresh salad greens, green onions,fresh peas and sliced eggs for a salad.

 Long Island Cheese Pumpkins are a great heirloom variety that grows well for us. Just a few bushed provide us not only with plenty of meat for pies and muffins but lots of tasty roasted seeds.

Hearts of Gold  is another heirloom favorite. Open pollinated and a great grower in our area. We love the melons and feed the chickens the rinds which they will fight over.

Well that's it. There are always a few varieties that I forget or people give me start of to try but for the most part that will be the bulk of the garden. Wishing all of you a successful 2012 gardening Year. 

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Crop Line Up For 2012 Part 1

As January draws to an end and the first of my seedlings come up I start planning what will go into the garden for the coming year. I start in my pantry and freezer looking at what is low and needs replenishing. 

Jade Bush Bean is one of the few hybrids that I grow consistently. Jade matures in 60 days which means most years I can get two seasons out of them . I can pick beans and plants a new crop around July 4th and get a second crop. They get 18 to 22 inches tall and produce huge yields of  5-7 inch pencil straight pods  that snap easily and hold well on the bush. Which means I don't have to break my neck to pick them because they are slow to get tough or form strings. They can wonderfully and I can sell extras easily  to the local farmer's market vendor. I have grown Jade for years with very few problems.

Cabbage Early Jersey Wakefield is an heirloom open pollinated cabbage that has been grown in the states since 1872. In 1888 Burpee reported that it was more common than any other early cabbage. In 1901 more seed companies carried this variety than any other. 'Early Jersey Wakefield' is known for the solid conical heads it produces on compact plants. The heads average 2 to 4 pounds and are tender and crisp. Be warned though that in hot weather their flavor turns strong. It takes 60 to 65 days to ripen and I grow it as an early crop. Allowing a few to go to seed. I use it to freeze, eat fresh and make sauerkraut. I grow this because the heads are smaller and I have less problems with them splitting.

Kandy Corn is the other hybrid that I grow. Re buying seeds every year. This is a sugar enhanced hybrid but not drippingly sweet like many. I like my corn to taste like corn. I get good germination and stalks about 8 foot tall. I usually pick in about 90 days from germination. This corn holds on the stalk well although I do not let it linger because of the coons. It also freezes well. 

I grow two different kinds of cucumbers in 2 different gardens. For pickles I grow the Russian Pickling Cucumber that I originally obtained from Seed Savers exchange. Originally from Russia it produces a smooth green pickling cucumber with a delicious sweet flavor and a good crunch

The Cucumber that I grow for slicing is the heirloom variety Straight Eight. It is an open pollinated heirloom that I grow every year producing straight sweet crunchy eight inch fruit. I grow mine on a wire fence and rarely have problems of any kind with this variety. Good germination and resistance to disease. My go to variety for a slicer saving my own seed from year to year.

I grow the heirloom variety okra called Cajun Cowhorn. This heirloom is the same okra my parent s and grandparents grew in Louisiana. Growing as much as 12 foot tall with pods 16 inches long if allowed to grow. The great thing about this okra is that it stays tender longer than most. It still is the best picked young. I both freeze and dehydrate my okra for use in soups and gumbos and also to eat smothered in a cast iron skillet with a little bacon and onions or even fried. 

Australian Brown Onions  are the newest heirloom addition to my garden. Imported originally in 1897 this onion produces a uniform medium to large onion that stores great. I grow mine from seeds originally bought at Baker's Creek Seeds.

Almost any onion sown from seeds can be scallions (also called bunching onions, green onions, spring onions or green tails). I plant an onion called White Lisbon Bunching. Picked young these are great for salads and eating fresh, dehydrating and freezing for use through out the year.  

Another great addition was a new variety of pea last year.Through Seed Savers Exchange we acquired a new variety of garden pea called Champion of England . This pea was a phenomenal grower for us reaching a height of almost 6 feet and loaded with peas holding sometimes as many as 10 peas in a pod. We planted 2 rows one for eating and one for seeds so with good germination we are hoping for a really good crop this year. Another great heirloom from Seed Savers.

That concludes Part 1 and tomorrow I will post the remainder of my choices for this year.

Blessings from The Holler 

The Canned Quilter

Link to Return To Barn Hop #47

A Man Named Pearl

An inspirational man and gardener with an inspirational message.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

A Silent Observer

Gypsy has found a new vantage point . When I am downstairs she gets on the stairs and watches me silently from above.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter

Homemade Noodles and Chicken

Homemade noodles give a new meaning to homemade. The greatest thing for a cold ever. I made these after having baked chicken for dinner one night and taking the drippings skin and bones and simmering to make a thick broth. I put the broth in jars in the fridge and the next morning made a batch of homemade noodles. 

You can find the recipe for the noodles HERE on yesterdays post.

Then take half an onion chopped and saute in olive oil in the bottom of a pot until clear

Then add your broth( I had 2 quarts) in with the onions. Also add 1 teaspoon dried thyme, rosemary, parsley, dried celery and half teaspoon black pepper.

Bring to a boil and drop noodles into boiling broth and spices. Do not stir just take your wooden spoon and make sure they are submerged. Allow to simmer until soft.

Add 2 cups chopped leftover chicken to pot and allow to simmer for 5 minutes to heat through. 

I served mine warm with sides of smothered mustard greens

crusty homemade bread

and baked sweet potatoes.

And the best thing is that everything was produced on this farm except the flour for the noodles and bread. That sentence alone gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment you can imagine.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter