Soon to Sow!

Yesterday, the seed starting soil arrived! So much for our “Amazon Day” because it wasn’t scheduled to get here until today! I’ll take it!

Then I went crazy this morning shopping online at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds! I can hardly wait to get the seed packets!!! This is what I ordered...

Abe Lincoln Original Tomato  SKU: TM260
Bonny Best Tomato SKU: TM181
Classic Beefsteak Tomato SKU: TM111
Plantain - Purple Perversion SKU: HB275
Dwarf Coral Garden Mix Cockscomb SKU: FL266
Lemon Queen Sunflower SKU: FL722
Arikara Sunflower SKU: FL736
Mongolian Giant Sunflower SKU: FL721
Gold Ring Sunflower SKU: FL727
Old Homestead SKU: BN105
Superschmelz or Giant White Kohlrabi SKU: KL103
Red of Florence Onion SKU: ON103
Sugar Snap Pea SKU: SN106
Red Malabar Spinach SKU: SP107
Komatsuma Spinach Mustard SKU: OR102
Yellow Scallop Squash SKU: SSQ108

The goal today is to prep the milk & water jugs I’ve collected, and from the friends that have collected for me! I will soon make another trip to gather from others as I know I don’t have near enough on hand.

In my last article, I explained the “winter sowing” technique I’m planning to do. It’s getting to be that time - finally!

I have a few seed packets left over from Botanical Interests I ordered last year I can work on while waiting for the “rare seeds”!!!!

I double checked our expected last freeze date from the Farmer’s Almanac resource.

I also ordered from Amazon a Frost Blanket Cover because I learned last year, sheets don’t cut it! The Greenhouse Hoops will keep the fabric from touching the plants. And, I did get the clips to keep the fabric secured against our winds.
 

Because of the blasted armadillos, I will have to have more raised beds... but that’s another story for another day.

Happy Gardening! 

Winter Sowing

At our last Garden Club meeting, a member mentioned, “Winter Sowing” and briefly explained the milk jug concept. Then she said, “Do a Google!” Oh my. When life allowed a few days later I did just that!

Of the various YouTube channels I watched, one highly recommended using oil-based Sharpie pens to note the type of seeds and when sowed. She claims they will not rub off the plastic! Last year I used “regular” Sharpies and made - what I thought were cute - plant labels from cutting up milk jugs. After a few times of getting wet (from the little rain we received) the writing simply disappeared! I’ll try the oil based Sharpies (I had never heard of them before!) and hopefully they will stay!

Another creator shared how she uses string tied to the milk jug’s handle. She annotates in her journal one string = a certain type of seed, two strings another, and so on. I’m not excited with that labeling method!

I found the Juicing Gardner on YouTube and she shares numerous tips using all sorts of jugs, and also about in-ground planting using all sorts of containers for domes!

Last month I began requesting FREE seed catalogs from companies! The most impressive catalog came from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds! It’s more like a book - 146 pages worth! I HIGHLY recommend this one!!!

 Their website is amazing! Of course one can order directly from their website, but there is another level of contentment sitting in a comfortable chair, holding the catalog in your hands, going through it page by page! It’s what I love to do on a cold winter day! 

I’ve seen The Whole Seed Catalog on the shelf at Walmart, but never looked at it closely to know it is also from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds until I saw it on their website!

I received the FREE catalog in the mail several weeks before Jessica of Roots and Refuge Farms shared on YouTube a 3 part series touring their place!

           
Simply amazing!

This makes me excited to do winter sowing! And now I must make the decisions... oh which ones to sow!

What would you grow?

Dairy Goats?

While visiting the Heritage Homestead over in Waco I sampled fresh Goat Cheese with a hint of orange and ginger. It was amazing! I didn’t think I liked anything goat. I’ve reached out for anyone local selling homemade cheese to no avail.

The Homestead Craft Village is such a lovely place Momma & I will visit again - by ourselves - when it’s not a cold rainy windy day.

For a few days I silently pondered adding a dairy goat to the mix. I considered different things like where could I graze her/him, and the resulting babies. How much space would they need, what breed would be best, what type of structure would be needed, etc. Then I decided to watch some YouTube videos on how to milk a goat.

It’s not often I say to myself, You are just too old to start raising dairy goats! This is certainly one of those times!

But... I had already joined some Facebook groups. I’ve learned a lot... like the mini breeds, and came across this sweet face at Rural Space Ranch (not too far from here either)!

Tugging my heart!

We’ll see... it’s not over.

Maybe when I hit 70!

Life after the Artic Blast

We had an arctic blast to come through last week. It arrived earlier than the last five years and stayed much longer. Although I covered some of the plants, it was not good enough. Lessons learned and next year will be much different coverage.

After a brief walk through yesterday, I found it very interesting as to what survived. I’m not a bit surprised of the plants that bit the dust.

The oregano is thriving, whereas the green bell peppers are history.

Still growing strong are the dill plants next to the spent tomatoes.

The 24 and 26 degrees didn’t seem to phase the mums and asparagus. And, of course, the collards loved the cold snap!

As last week went, this week is another busy time so the garden is on hold.

I’m anxious, however, to get it cleaned up. Maybe Friday I can get out there and chop things into little pieces, dig a trench, then place the goodies down to compost in place. The collards have proven lasagna style gardening works amazingly well.

After checking the 10-day forecast, I so wish I could tend to the garden today... high expected to be 80 and sunny! Oh well. It is what it is. Friday’s predicted high is only 56 degrees with a 30% chance of rain.

But it is Texas so who knows until the weather actually happens!

Confession

I have a confession. I’ll fess up. I couldn’t wait for winter like I planned. Yes! I’ve already started researching the ins and outs of raising meat rabbits! It happened basically as soon as I published the article Top 2 Things to Study this Winter! 

The next time I went into town, I visited the Tractor Supply Store and bought Bob Bennett’s book Storey’s Guide to Raising Rabbits, 5th Edition. I’m almost finished reading it from cover to cover!

Facebook has several closed rabbit groups I’ve joined, three are specific to Texas! Bucket loads of information! Like, I never knew the difference between GAW and GBW wiring! Thanks to the members, I now know I need to spend the extra monies for GAW wire when building hutches. Galvanized AFTER Wielding. Apparently rabbit’s urine will ruin the “Before” (hence the GBW) in a year!  

I’ve watched many a youtube video during the wee morning hours while waiting for the sun to come up. It’s then chores begin in the garden and visiting / caring for the chickens. I thought, Why not watch and learn while waiting?!

I found the best channel... an ongoing series of raising meat rabbits! I absolutely appreciate the videos by Melissa at Good Simply Living and Homesteading. She explains each step (birth to grow out) simply and beautifully. I laughed along with the other viewers (based on the comments) when she explained the “fall off” a buck experiences.

That’s my confession! It’s not too bad. I am being productive!

Now, to figure out the best place to locate the hutches!

Two Lady Gardeners I highly Recommend!

I don’t remember now how I stumbled upon Jill McSheehy, but I’m thrilled I did! Her website, The Beginner’s Garden, is packed full with information! I signed up for her emails and always find worthwhile, timely, and useful tips in growing the garden.

I’m just now getting into podcasts ~ I’m always late to the party! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed listening to her explain the information she shares. Sometimes I enjoy working an online jigsaw puzzle while listening instead of reading all the time! Yes. I listen to the podcasts from my laptop, not cell phone.

Today’s email had a link to a free .pdf book (28 pages) “15 Mistakes First Time Gardeners Make.” Although I didn’t make all 15, I did make a few!

I highly recommend taking a look at Jill’s website!

A few weeks ago I mentioned taking an online Organic Garden Workshop with Melissa K. Norris. She too has a podcast!  

Because I’m seriously considering having more raised beds for the Spring 2020 garden, both ladies have several articles/podcasts on the topic. I’m spending the time now researching the pros and cons and the mistakes people make using them. Because the ground soil is not all that great, maybe raised beds is the way to go. It’s something to study while the fall garden plays out.

Over on Lanetta’s Creations blog I mentioned the book, All New Square Foot Gardening. It’s all about growing veggies in raised beds. I did do one made with cinder blocks and it has done pretty well with lemon balm, bell peppers, and oregano. Oh, and onions! The onions have been totally harvested out, but everything else is still producing. Maybe I should start collecting more blocks! Just a thought!

Thank You Sweet Jesus for the blessed rain we've received!

Top 2 Things to Study this Winter

What do you do in the winter when it's too cold to work the ground? Fortunately in this part of Texas our winters don't last very long... maybe 2 months. But, it's still "down" time. So these are my top 2 things to study this winter. As a perpetual student, a life long learner, I may come across other areas of research I will do but for now....

First

All Things Bees!

My cousin had bee hives... for a while. From what I recall, he got stung one too many times so they moved on to another hobby.

A couple of friends of mine recently went to a Beekeeper Workshop for several days as she’s always wanted to keep bees. She was very excited about the learning process. I haven’t spoken with him yet, but I bet he’s right there with her sharing the experience!

Right now I am not interested in all out full blown “keeping bees” but would like to know more about how to better attract them to the garden. Other than destroying spider webs when I see them (so not to catch a bee), I want to learn more as what to plant and maybe build a “pollinator house” this winter.

I didn’t know until I read this on a download factsheet: “Bees’ favorite colors are BLUE and YELLOW. Native bees are also particularly attracted to WHITE.”

I love this 65 Pollinator-Friendly Plants Bees Love list of plants I found on Backyard Beekeeping. It will be a great resource to have when I’m out plant shopping next spring!

Quite by accident I found the website Crown Bees The Native Bee Experts and quickly concluded I needed to stop reading, save the link, and get back to it this winter!

Secondly, 

I would like to learn about raising meat rabbits. Yes. You read that correctly! Rabbits!

For a while now I have wanted to add some type of small animal. Since we have a grass lease for cattle going on, I cannot use any other part of the land other than our 2 acres actual homestead site. (Been there, done that with our own cattle.)

But what? I don’t like anything goat. No goat meat, goat cheese, milk or what have you.

I’m currently participating in an online Organic Garden Workshop hosted by Melissa K. Norris. On Day 1 she also had a guest speaker. That’s when/how I discovered Marjory Wildcraft (Red Rock, Texas) and her The Grow Network and raising rabbits!

I then did a quick search through YouTube and found The Cog Hill Family Farm (Alabama). I’ve enjoyed watching the few videos I viewed today! Love his humor! I will continue watching in the winter!

Until then, it’s time to water the garden!

Pray for rain!

Thanks for stopping by!