tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post890594552897468783..comments2024-03-29T07:05:01.720-05:00Comments on Two Men and a Little Farm: CLOSING UP PART OF THE GARDEN FOR SUMMER1st Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-88596524835527292872017-07-11T18:40:58.751-05:002017-07-11T18:40:58.751-05:00It's pretty well known that horses like carrot...It's pretty well known that horses like carrots, but maybe you dion't know that they absolutely love carrots with the green tops attached. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-66538296441259377602017-07-11T09:21:57.657-05:002017-07-11T09:21:57.657-05:00Good crop of carrots and nice bounty of your late ...Good crop of carrots and nice bounty of your late veggie crops as well.<br />You where truly well blessed with some wonderful veggies considering your garden wasn't cared for on a day to day basis. You should be very proud of yourself.<br />Okra is actually a traditional southern plant and grows well in the Texas warm weather. Save some okra seeds to start come next year.<br />You can start okra seeds indoors in peat pots under full light 3 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost date.<br />You can also start okra directly in your garden 3 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost date as long as you cover the plants with a cold frame or grow tunnel until the weather warms up. Make sure that the covering is 2 to 3 feet tall so that the plants have room to grow.<br />If you do not start your okra plants early, wait until there is stable warm weather. You can plant okra in the garden when the soil has warmed to 65° to 70°F.<br />Plant okra in fertile, well-drained soil in full light about ½ to 1 inch deep and 12 to 18 inches apart. You can soak the seeds overnight in tepid water to help speed up germination.<br />If you are planting okra transplants, be sure to space them 1 to 2 feet apart to give them ample room to grow.<br />Okra plants are tall, so be sure to space out the rows 3 to 4 feet apart.<br />Beware of them pests and disease:<br />Aphids<br />Corn earworms<br />Stinkbugs<br />Fusarium wilt<br /><br />First harvest:<br />The first harvest will be ready about 2 months after planting.<br />Harvest the okra when it’s about 2 to 3 inches long. Harvest it every other day.<br />Cut the stem just above the cap with a knife; if the stem is too hard to cut, the pod is probably too old and should be tossed.<br />Wear gloves and long sleeves when cutting the okra because most varieties are covered with tiny spines that will irritate your skin, unless you have a spineless variety. Do not worry: this irritation will not happen when you eat them.<br />To store okra, put the uncut and uncooked pods into freezer bags and keep them in the freezer. You can then prepare the okra any way you like throughout the winter months.<br />You can also can okra to have it throughout the winter.<br />Here is a list of some herbs and vegetables that can tolerate drier conditions and higher temperatures. <br />Amaranth (harvest and eat leaf amaranth like spinach)<br />Arugula<br />Asian Greens (a wide selection here)<br />Asparagus. This is a perennial. You plant it once and let it grow in that same area. Don’t move it! A well prepared bed will produce spears for at least 15-20 years. And that is a cost effective bargain!<br />Beans (bush and pole)<br />Broccoli (Sun King Hybrid)<br />Cabbage<br />Chards<br />Chinese Cabbages<br />Cowpeas<br />Cucumbers<br />Dandelion<br />Eggplant*<br />Endive<br />Garlic<br />Leeks<br />Lettuces (leaf varieties, harvest young and early in the season)<br />Melons (cantaloupe, honey-dew, watermelons, etc.)<br />Okra<br />Onions (sets and plants)<br />Peppers* (sweet and hot peppers)<br />Pumpkins<br />Rhubarb. This is a perennial and another cost effective bargain. Again, plant it where it can remain for a number of years. If you need to divide or move it, do it as soon as it breaks the surface in early spring)<br />Spinach (New Zealand, Malabar)<br />Squash (summer and winter)<br />Sweet Corn (lots to choose from-white, yellow, yellow and white)<br />Sweet Potatoes (Georgia Jet, Vardaman, Wakenda)<br />Tomatoes (thousands to choose from-Solar Fire, Sun Leaper, Sunmaster, Equinox, many cherry varieties)<br />Woody stemmed herbs (Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Winter Savory) <br /><br />(sorry for long comment)Colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13106960827480062745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-75716873060259048582017-07-11T00:27:12.654-05:002017-07-11T00:27:12.654-05:00You can eat those carrot tops or at least mulch th...You can eat those carrot tops or at least mulch them. Blanche and freeze them for soups, put them in salads. Has the horse had a carrot treat? You can just store the carrots. I thing they need cool, dark, and humid, but you can look it up. <br /><br />What variety of basil did you plant. Basil will bolt and be ruined. I am surprised that it has not bolted in the heat. You can let one plant bolt and have seeds for next year. <br /><br />Basil is like catnip to me. I could roll in it. I think it is an aphrodisiac for me. Practical Parsimonyhttp://www.practical-parsimony.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-36940058818624652752017-07-10T23:12:10.834-05:002017-07-10T23:12:10.834-05:00Yummy, buttered carrots? Dang, so many uses so fe...Yummy, buttered carrots? Dang, so many uses so few carrots left, ha. Isn't that funny about our growing season? I was watching a youtube video with a Houston garden and he was pulling up his tomatoes and other plants and said the exact same thing, herbs, peppers and okra were doing great. <br /><br />I have a Ball canning book a very dear friend gave us, I will have to look through there. ;-)<br /><br />Need to see just how many we have left now. 1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-11091111090185088642017-07-10T23:10:02.288-05:002017-07-10T23:10:02.288-05:00Isn't that crazy? Planted in March and fizzli...Isn't that crazy? Planted in March and fizzling out now. Thank you for the kind words and sadly, the tomato was eaten in a knife and salt frenzy. HA!!!1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-70597395024266174262017-07-10T23:07:14.531-05:002017-07-10T23:07:14.531-05:00Freeze them? Really? Hmm, tempting to have fresh...Freeze them? Really? Hmm, tempting to have fresh carrots in Winter. Thanks for that idea. 1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-42043041207469104722017-07-10T23:06:38.027-05:002017-07-10T23:06:38.027-05:00We've eaten about half now raw, I need to get ...We've eaten about half now raw, I need to get some into jars to savor them, ha. 1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-66996006960626152942017-07-10T23:06:18.114-05:002017-07-10T23:06:18.114-05:00Audrey the basil Yep, she's a monster. A ver...Audrey the basil Yep, she's a monster. A very kind blog reader emailed us directly and asked what our secret was, they never get basil that big. Not sure, it's just in full sun, a raised bed, and gets regular water. Whatever it is, it LOVES it. 1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-69202878068318479192017-07-10T23:05:10.608-05:002017-07-10T23:05:10.608-05:00Thank you very much!! Thank you very much!! 1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-42992969901307493952017-07-10T23:05:00.499-05:002017-07-10T23:05:00.499-05:00Thanks for the fridge pickle idea, love that. You...Thanks for the fridge pickle idea, love that. Your okra will be there soon enough. If I lived close I'd send a basket your way. :-)1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-33171890644917094012017-07-10T23:03:55.360-05:002017-07-10T23:03:55.360-05:00Definitely, not sure if I could have left them lon...Definitely, not sure if I could have left them longer to get a few bigger but hey, we'll take it (and next year plant seeds earlier). Great idea for relish, thanks!!!1st Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04861609647607912193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-25752654579954844512017-07-10T22:31:32.365-05:002017-07-10T22:31:32.365-05:00That's a beautiful basket of your clean-up har...That's a beautiful basket of your clean-up harvest - so colorful! You'll get several good meals from it. <br />Like yours, my garden is down to peppers, some herbs, and okra - with this heat, my okra is really producing. <br />I looked in my Ball canning books and there are several recipes for canning carrots - carrot salsa, dilled carrots, pickled carrots, chow-chow, even carrot jam and marmalade.<br />Talking about your carrots reminded me that I forgot about some late-planted carrots left in my herb bed - gotta dig those up tomorrow. Mmm, looking forward to fresh buttered carrots in July! Texas Rosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00547037404676565726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-82623850799828258502017-07-10T21:54:28.769-05:002017-07-10T21:54:28.769-05:00It's hard to believe that enough summer has al...It's hard to believe that enough summer has already gone by for part of your garden to have ended. Your produce photo is beautiful. I call dibs on that tomato.<br /><br />Love,<br />JanieJanie Junebughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10573607241326291404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-7811235521999800502017-07-10T17:26:23.205-05:002017-07-10T17:26:23.205-05:00We freeze our carrots. I wash and peel them, then ...We freeze our carrots. I wash and peel them, then slice them up. They then get put into ziplock bags but who knows, if I had a canning unit I might be canning them. LOL.FionaGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09044498829299165675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-38701421564828826142017-07-10T16:47:46.051-05:002017-07-10T16:47:46.051-05:00I only like carrots raw - and those look GOOD.I only like carrots raw - and those look GOOD.Elephant's Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06650565833097914052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-24644479241847625862017-07-10T13:52:34.805-05:002017-07-10T13:52:34.805-05:00Is that Audrey in the middle??? WOW is all I can s...Is that Audrey in the middle??? WOW is all I can say, you should see my piddly little basil plant! I'm guessing they love the heat to thrive!!! You have such nice harvests, and for me, appearance goes a long way to overall enjoyment of the food. Nice carrot harvest!!! I haven't ventured into even checking mine yet!Rain https://www.blogger.com/profile/14377719049819222133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-63077653263814471442017-07-10T12:53:24.546-05:002017-07-10T12:53:24.546-05:00Looks like a lovely harvest. You should be very p...Looks like a lovely harvest. You should be very proud of it all. Marciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00992626996077874832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-61963982502344740292017-07-10T12:16:29.385-05:002017-07-10T12:16:29.385-05:00jeeze! i'll be lucky if i ever get anything c...jeeze! i'll be lucky if i ever get anything close to your one harvest. my okra plants are only about 8 inches high. and the carrots...wow! you can pickle them. just like refrigerator pickles. i make them all the time and they are soooo good. they last a long time in the fridge.jaz@octoberfarmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17249328159454897124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3552387675026716797.post-73254315723038504532017-07-10T11:15:01.485-05:002017-07-10T11:15:01.485-05:00I'd say the carrots were a huge success. You ...I'd say the carrots were a huge success. You can can them with onions and jalapeños for a hot pickle relish.donna bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507579686738843451noreply@blogger.com