Basil how to propagate

Instructions:

Cut the basil about 4-6 inches and place in water and in a sunny until they form roots, then transfer to a small pot with rich organic soil.

Fried squash blossoms

Ingredients:

Montery Jack Cheese or Ricotta Cheese

Bread Crumbs

Egg

Olive Oil
Salt

Pick blossoms early in the morning while in full bloom as shown above and without the bee! Now remove the "pistal" in the center of the blossom. It's that center part the bee is flying over. Place the blossoms (open end) face down on the counter to keep the blossoms open while you prepare the ingredients. Beat an egg and set aside.

Stuff the blossoms with, montery jack or ricotta chesse

Dip blossoms in egg batter, coat with bread crumbs and gently saute in olive oil on each side until lightly browned. Serve warm.

I guarantee you won't have any left over. In fact, you'll have to be careful not to go overboard every summer morning and pick all the blossoms.... least you won't have any to pollinate the rest of the squash.

Marigolds saving the seeds

When the marigolds dry peel the leaves and separate the seeds. The tiny spikes (seeds) can then be planted for more marigolds.

Make a easy chicken tractor

I built my own chicken tractor/hoop house. I did not have any specific dimensions, plans or measurements to go by. I just pretty much "eye balled" the whole thing. I used 1' x 2' x 8's. Each tractor is 8' x 4' feet. 

How to freeze tomatoes

Freezing tomatoes is so easy. Especially cherry tomatoes.

These are the "Super 100" tomatoes we grew this summer.

Simply rinse, pop in plastic bags or containers and freeze.


Just take out the amount you need for cooking. You can use them in stews and soups, sauces and more.

You can freeze larger tomatoes also whole. Another method for freezing is to blanch the tomatoes in boiling water, remove skins, cut, place in zip lock bags and freeze.
See our recipe for easy tomato sauce.

How to Grow Okra

Okra is very easy to grow and a very hardy plant. 

 

It's the end of September now and my okra plants are about 10ft high.

Every day I harvest okra. It's best to pick them when the pods are about 2-4 inches long.

How to grow

1
Purchase okra seeds from a reputable provider. The seeds should be widely available in most areas, or you can use your own from a previous season or order seeds online.  Okra also needs a good quality soil to grow in.


2
Plant okra seeds only when the threat of frost has past. They need warm weather to grow and should not be planted until the warm weather has started or the seeds may not grow at all. Be sure not to rush this step.


3
Choose the right area to grow okra. Okra needs full sun and enjoys the hot weather. Be sure that the soil has good drainage as well. Mulch and fertilize the soil as needed.


4
Sow seeds for Okra in rows. Space out the rows at least two feet apart so that you can move through the area once the plants begin to grow. Place the seeds into the soil at least ½ inch deep and space out each seed about 6 inches. Water gently after you have the okra planted.


5
Notice when the seeds begin to germinate. As they do, thin out the plants so that they are about a foot apart from each other, keeping the strongest plants in place. To grow okra in large amounts, you do need a good amount of space since the plant will grow quite wide. Keep the plants wet without puddles of water.


6
Harvest okra as the plant begins to produce the seed pods, which should be about three to four inches in length when they are ripe. Check your okra plants every other day for new growths and harvest them quickly as this will encourage the plant to grow more pods. It takes about 50 days for okra plants to reach maturity. Okra grows extremely fast.

Staking tomatoes

When staking my tomatoes I used 1x2x8 pieces of lumber and for irrigation 

I attached a 1" pvc pipe to each stake using plastic ties. I drilled a small hole (at an angle) at the bottom of each pipe. I used the pipes for irrigation. It works really well when you don't have the hose irrigation and for quickly watering your plants.

 

This is my niece Michaela looking for tomato hornworms. She and I would go out early in the morning to catch them. Our hard work really paid off. We hardly had any damage at all this summer from hornworms or other pests.

You can usually find them tucked under the leaves. They can do tremendous damage to tomato plants. They look like green caterpillars.

These are "Super Sweet 100" cherry tomatoes". This stake is 8ft in height.

They grew in wonderful clusters. I liked how you could pick handfuls and just toss them in salads and easy to freeze. Just rinse, toss in zip lock bags and freeze.

How to transplant peppers

I prefer raised beds for certain vegetables as they give me more control of the soil and are easier to maintain.


Today, I'm going to transplant peppers from the south side of the garden to the northside into a mini hoop house, with the hopes of extending their growing season through the winter. 

Peppers I'm about to transfer to raised beds.

This bed to the left is being prepared for my peppers. I'm going to transfer them from the front area of the farm into the raised bed, which will be a hoop house for them over the winter.

Some of the peppers (jalapenos) I grew in containers all summer. I'm transplanting

these also into the raised beds.

Look carefully at this photo. I'm actually placing a bell pepper plant I just dug up on the raised bed using my shovel. I didn't want to disturb the plant too much by putting it in the wheel barrow, picking it up again, etc. etc. 

Whew! Okay, they're all dug up and ready to go into the bed.

Here's my compost from I made this year. This is my first time using the compost I made. I started it last fall.

For each of the plants, I dug a small well, put some of the compost in and mixed well.

All done. Boy what a work out. Now all that's left is to clean up.

                                                                                

How long can eggs last?

Left on the counter top - a few weeks are tops.
Refrigerated - a few months - 3 is a near limit.
Frozen - 6 months or so is recommended.

Okra Stew

This summer I kept hearing how Sister Haddiyah's okra was so good. I was talking with Sis. Dwyanna one day and I kept hearing pauses of "mmm.. and hmmph.." between sentences. I asked her what she was eating and she said,  "Okra Sis. Haddiyah made." I asked her what was in it? "Okra, onions, pepper, garlic and tomatoes. Mmmmm. It was so good."  She said.
Hmmm, I thought; all that's growing in the garden. I'm gonna make me some of that real soon. 
A few days later, I spoke with Sister Haddiyah and I asked her for the recipe. "Oh, I just put some okra in some olive oil, with lots of onions, peppers, garlic, tumeric, curry, cayenne, (Hmm... I know it's going to be good, cayenne too!)
"Well I got all that here. I'm going to make some right now and I'll send you a picture! I'm about to throw down!"  She laughed. I chopped. 
Here's my version of Sister Haddiyah's okra. I simply added the ingredients above. I'm sure mine is not as good as hers, but it certainly TASTE good....

Collecting Fresh Eggs Tips

Collect eggs as soon as possible and as frequently as possible. The longer they are left out, the more chances of breakage, spoilage and getting them dirty. Keep the nesting boxes clean, replacing straw frequently.


Fresh eggs last longer than "supermarket" eggs.
That's because they haven't been washed.


When purchasing fresh farm eggs there's no need to wash your eggs until your ready to use them. If you wash the egg you remove the protective natural coating that keeps bacteria out of the eggs.
You can wipe them off with a dry cloth and this will not remove the coating.


If you continuously keep your nesting boxes clean, you'll have less "dirt" on your eggs or hardly any at all.

Insects (beautiful photos)

Bugs are beneficial. I don't like to label others as pests as everything God has created has its divine purpose. I'll put it this way, we can be pests. I'm sure when I start digging around in the soil, pulling up weeds and planting seeds and I'm disturbing some poor little fellows home and family.


The above is a red ant. I've noticed they seem to love okra. I found myself stepping into more ant mounds around okra this summer. I've been bit quite few times. They really hurt when they sting and the bites can take a long time to heal. I've learned the hard way to dress properly. I try always to wear my boots, gloves and long sleeves.

As time goes by we'll post photos of the beneficial and the pests. Some I can identify and others unidentifiable. If it's listed as unknown and you can identify it, please contact us and let us know. In the meantime, here are a few photos. 

Look carefully. Can you see the bug approaching the flower? This is a photo I'm really proud of. Being able to catch him suspended in mid-air. Not sure what it is. It looks like a hornet. If you can identify it, contact us. We'd be happy to know.

Tomato horn worm

The guys can devastate tomato plants

Tomato horn worms can grow from 4 - 5 inches in length

Yellow boy tomato salad recipe

This summer was the first time I ever grew yellow boy tomatoes. They are delicious. Here's a recipe I came up with for them.

Ingredients:

4-5 large yellow boy tomatoes

2 TBLS of freshly chopped dill

1/8 c dried tomatoes

2 large cloves of fresh crushed garlic

2 large cucumbers sliced

olive oil

salt

pepper

hand full of cherry tomatoes (husky boy heirloom)

Mix the above ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil.

Drying tomatoes

Tomatoes can be dried in the oven, sun or a dehydrator.  i use the dehydrator. Slice larger size tomatoes about a 1/4 of inch thick. When using cherry tomatoes you can dry them whole or slice in half. 

Place on dehydrator rack and allow to dry until leathery. 




For oven drying, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lay out tomatoes evenly, turn oven on lowest setting and let dry for 12-14 hours or until leathery. 

Place tomatoes in canning jar and cover with olive oil. Use in soups, salads and stews.