Watcha Growing

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Good video 21.Good idea on the Okra.

[Greyhound]

We have had great luck with okra this year, I like it grilled and fried.
https://youtu.be/brF9sW47BhI

Never thought to grill okra.  I bet it's delicious.

[21incher]

When you grill it all the slime on the inside sets up and changes the tetxture. Grilled is the way that I really like it. We have so many okra this year that I do a grill full every couple of days. 

[thecfarm]

The dill



 

Tomato plants are well over my head.



 

broccoli and some herbs



 

Straw and newspaper and cardboard is used as a weed control. Helps to keep the mositure in too. Good thing this year with keeping the mositure in. Been a real dry year. Keeps the dirt off your feet too.

[21incher]

Wow thecfarm you have a great garden with a fantastic view. Where are you hiding all the rocks?

[thecfarm]

In that last picture I can see 2 stone walls. One on the right and one on the left,just above the green stuff. There is a gap beween the 2 walls. Those rocks are not going anyways unless I win the lottery.  :D
And on that last picture,look what is peeking out on the lower right. That is one that I till around. Than on the other side another one resides and I planted rhubarb on one side of that one.

[21incher]

Well the last of the garden is out and the root cellar is full. Was another good year even with the drought.
https://youtu.be/1b21h4KYiHY

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

21...I honestly really enjoyed your video and all the work y'all put into your canning. Such a NEAT setup. 

[21incher]

21...I honestly really enjoyed your video and all the work y'all put into your canning. Such a NEAT setup. 

Thanks. It is a lot of work, but well worth it. It also is the only way to know what you are eating any more. I am glad it is done for the year and I now have some time to saw some lumber and start making christmas presents.

[thecfarm]

It all looks good!!

[coxy]

 I got hungry looking at all that canned food    great job 8) 8) 8) 8)  wish I knew how to do it     have you ever figured out how much you save on food doing your self than buying it

[21incher]

I got hungry looking at all that canned food    great job 8) 8) 8) 8)  wish I knew how to do it     have you ever figured out how much you save on food doing your self than buying it

Thanks, It is real easy to can veggies. If you include the time spent for growing all the food and processing it I would say it costs you 5 times more to grow and can your own then it does to buy it. But we don't count the time. The biggest expense is initialy buying the jars and equipment, after that you just have to but new lids every year that just cost about 15 cents each. Once you get used to the flavor of the heirlooms that you can grow, you will never buy a can in the store again.

[thecfarm]

Wife pressure cooks her soups. They are good. Just open and heat. She has also done chicken. Man that is good. A whole diffeant flavor.
Very easy to can. The main thing to remember,if the lid comes off easy,DO NOT EAT IT. The jar did not seal right and the food is spoiled,but may look fine and smell fine.
Keep the rims clean, and hot. Well,really every thing clean and hot.  ;D

[coxy]

my mom use to can deer meat that was good hot or cold out of the jar

[21incher]

We still keep meat, chicken, & soups in the freezer. Next year we are going to try and can some. thecfarm it is so important to check each jar as you say.  Botulism can form in a improperly sealed jar with low acid content and make you very sick, or even kill you. 

[WLC]

Well the last of the garden is out and the root cellar is full. Was another good year even with the drought.
https://youtu.be/1b21h4KYiHY

Nice looking pantry/cellar.  I'm a bit envious.



Here is a pic of one of my giant veggies I grow for entry in the state fair.  we really are able to grow some giant stuff here with our cooler summers and really long days.  This is a rutabaga that weighed 54 lbs.  I'll post a pic of my giant cabbage row as soon as I download all my pics from my phone to the computer.  I grew seven cabbages this year and five of the seven weighed 50lbs or better.

[21incher]

WLC Wow it is hard to believe you can grow veggies that big with such a short season. I once grew a 20 lb cabbage and thought it was a giant, can't wait to see what a 50 lb one looks like.

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

WLC Wow it is hard to believe you can grow veggies that big with such a short season. I once grew a 20 lb cabbage and thought it was a giant, can't wait to see what a 50 lb one looks like.

It looks like cabbage.  :D :D :D 

[WLC]

This is the one I wound up taking to the fair for the giant cabbage weigh off.  It weighed 51.55 lbs  Not my biggest this year but the one I had to take.  My others that went over 50 and up to 65lbs decided to split open after a rain we had about two weeks before the fair.



This is my Giant Cabbage Row.  This pic was taken about a month before the fair.  The four nearest ones went 55-65 lbs when I cut them and the farthest two both went over 40.  For some scale, the frames they are growing on are 6'X6'.

[SLawyer Dave]

Makes my garden and veggies "tiny" by comparison.

Right now, I have cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, and a hundreds of onions growing in my winter garden.  Still picking sweet peppers and tomatoes, though with the colder temps they don't do nearly as well.  Had a big windstorm come through 2 weeks ago.  My tomatoes were all strung up 7' to 8' tall with rope on 10' 2x4's sunk 2' in the ground.  Snapped those 2x4's right off at ground level, now I have a huge pile of tomato vines which makes it tough to find the ripe tomatos. 

One season ends, and another begins.

[Ianab]

Things are just starting to warm up here.  :D

Got my Chili seeds sprouting on the window sill. Jalapeño in this tray.


And this one is some Thai Birsdeye that I saved the seed from last season. Small but tasty.  ;D


How well they grow depends on the season. Being higher up near the Mt it's a bit cooler in the spring, but once Summer really kicks in we get some nice warm days, away from the coastal sea breeze. So there is usually enough time for the chilies to ripen before things cool off.

[thecfarm]

WLC,those are are bigums!!!
Ianab,I grow my peppers on black plastic. You mentioned cooler temps. The temps here can get up in the 90's for a few weeks and the peppers do fine. I built some cedar sides,4 inches high and a foot wide,no bottom.I bury them into the ground first,even with the top of the ground.The sides I dig out some dirt too.I mix up some fertilizer and I can fill up each side with water. Each side will take quite a bit of water. No reason to water a little,than water another and wait for the water to soak in.Then I lay down the plastic. I use a bunch of rocks to hold down the plastic,in between the rows too.I cut an X in the plastic where each plant will go. Probably you know all this already. At one time I did not.This will double your yield. I could not believe the difference it made. I get stocks the size of mine thumb and they are woody too. I can almost pick peppers like tomatoes. I use Ace peppers for the ones in the states. The hot ones do good too.
I have laid down plastic for the tomatoes and noticed no difference in yield. Just helps out on weeds.

[21incher]

WLC wow they are big. Looks like you have a great garden. From the looks of that fence, you must have some big critters you are trying to keep out.

Inab looking at your seedlings makes me  want to get out my seed  catalogs and start ordering for next years garden. I used to like hot peppers, but no more. I switched to the TAM  jalapeno's because they are only about 1/2 as hot.

[WLC]

WLC wow they are big. Looks like you have a great garden. From the looks of that fence, you must have some big critters you are trying to keep out.

Inab looking at your seedlings makes me  want to get out my seed  catalogs and start ordering for next years garden. I used to like hot peppers, but no more. I switched to the TAM  jalapeno's because they are only about 1/2 as hot.

Yes, I do have a good garden.  I'm pretty proud if it, Thanks! Just wish the weeds didn't grow as well as they do.  Sometimes they grow better than the veggies and it is hard to stay ahead of them. The fence is to try and keep out the neighborhood moose.  Those critters can destroy a garden in a matter of a few minutes.

[21incher]

It is that time of the year again. We have had record rains and late frosts so everything is off to a late start.


 


 


 


 
The tomatoes, peppers, & eggplants are started. Peas, spinach, lettuce, & radishes are popping thru outside. My favorite time of the year.