It's time to start thinking about the garden again. Oh my, what plans I make. hahaha I need to start some plants indoors to transplant after they get big enough. I will wait until my helpers are here. My helpers are Garrett, Emmett, Makenna and Caiden, although Garrett is gone to his Gma and Gpa Jenkins house today. Since Bradleyville doesn't have school on Mondays this year he goes up there most Sunday evenings and stays the night with them.
Anyway....gonna plant the obligatory tomato and pepper plants. I always let my peppers get too chilled and its stunts their growth. I didn't know I was doing that until a few years ago when I was griping at David about my stinkin little pepper plants and he told me it had to be really warm for them to grow well, and cold would stunt them. Gonna try it again...
I looked at some of the planting trays they had at Walmart for $6.78 apiece. You got the tray with a clear plastic top with the peat pellets that swell up when you water them. Probably some styrofoam in the bottom for insulation. Mini greenhouse. Well....I thought that was too expensive, so you know me, I got a bunch of peat pellets, which I DO like to start the plants in. Then I bought several cheap $2 roaster pans (from $ General) with clear plastic tops. No styrofoam. They also don't hold as many peat pellets as the ones at Walmart. I feel like I probably didn't save anything and probably spent more than what it would have cost at Walmart. But, I did it my way....that is always the thing, I want to do it MY way...will I ever learn? No, but that is okay. My way is fine for most things that aren't that important, just so I remember to let God do it HIS way for all the important stuff.
So...tomatoes, peppers, I will plant some potatoes this year. Gonna try to plant them in the empty mineral lick tubs we have laying around. Tried them with tomatoes and feel like they dried out too much. May not work with potatoes either, but plan to fill the tubs with good soil and compost and see what happens. Last several times I tried potatoes in the regular garden, I got a crop about the size of ping pong balls.
So...tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, radishes, lettuce, spinach, onions, turnips, zucchini, squash my mom called "Patty Pan" but now they just call it white scalloped squash, some jalapeno peppers, banana peppers...
I got some beet seeds. Never have tried to grow beets before, don't especially like plain ol' beets, but have been thinking about the pickled beets my mom and grandmas used to make and would like to try them. I did like those pickled beets.
Going to plant some "red" okra, saw it in the store and thought I would try it. Maybe some vining okra. Donna gave me seeds for that several years ago and I keep forgetting every year to plant it. If it will germinate after all these years I am going to try to grow some.
Going to grow cucumbers, of course, nothing says home grown like some fresh out of the garden cucumbers. Got two varieties, one for slicing and another that is supposed to be good for pickles. I tried dill pickles a time or two and they weren't fit to eat, too soft for my taste, but Julie kinda wants to try so we will try. I have made the lime pickles several times that were delicious and a favorite of David's
And then, a favorite crop of mine, green beans. I don't know why, but I want to grow and can mass quantities of green beans every year. We didn't grow any last year because we had so many left over from the year before when we canned close to 300 jars of the greenies, but we have used the final jar this year, so it is time to get on that.
Some sweet corn, always need some fresh sweet corn to nibble on, the grandkids like it too.
Going to grow some peanuts this year, thought the grandkids would like that.
Watermelons and cantaloupes. Don't know where we are going to put them but going to find someplace. Thinking about using Grandma Mollie's old garden place. It has trees around it now and needs cleaning up but it might be a good place for the watermelons and cantaloupes....which brings me to another matter....
THE COWS....AND DEER.... last few years we have had a horrible time keeping the cows in the fields where they belong, and the deer, well the deer just go wherever they want to go. The cows have eaten garden, beans, cucumbers, and TOMATO PLANTS! Never knew cattle fancied tomato plants, but they sure have loved ours. I know it was the cattle on the tomato plants because we have caught them in the act a few times. Now, the deer like to eat my daylilies and I am sure they would like the garden stuff also, but have not ventured into the garden because Bob's coonhound is tied up near the garden and keeps them scared away. But not the cows, they ain't scared of nothin'!
Well, it's time, so we will see what we can get planted, grown, and preserved!
