After the Frost

So much to do at the end of the season! I've been busy putting up tomatoes, peppers, egg plant, apples ... and trying to keep things alive through the chilly nights we've had. We've still got plenty of greens and radishes. Some of my tomato plants have made it through and all of my herbs are thriving so far. Unless this weather pattern really breaks, I can see having tomatoes well into November and cool weather crops into December.  We have been doing 4 markets a week through most of October, but next month we will cut it down to just Burlington and possibly Nauvoo if we have enough to make it worthwhile. The Burlington market runs almost until Christmas and the Nauvoo market can run as long as I go.

I told Grampa Tom I'd like to make row covers for all the mounds in my mound garden so I could get an early start next year. I hope to have a good variety early in the spring to take to Nauvoo before any of the other markets start.

God Bless You All!


~Grama Sue

There Ain't Nothin' Richer - A Corn Picking Adventure

You can have your six-figure salaries, your multi-million dollar houses, all the fame in the world. There's just nothing richer than the way we live!

Today Grampa Tom and I got to thrill the hearts of a two year old and an old farmer. The guy Grampa Tom helps in the spring and the fall left a row of corn at the edge of a field. Today we went out to pick it for our sheep. Payton got to ride in the back of the pick up truck and my old farmer insisted on getting out to help. We had a wonderful time in the warm October sunshine!  

It just doesn't get any better than this!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Indoor Garden Moved In!

It's supposed to be very windy and cold for the next couple of nights so I brought the garden in. I planted a couple more cucumber seeds in it. I sprayed the cucumber plant late in the afternoon a couple of days ago. I think it got to cold because it doesn't look very good. Don't know if it will make it.

God Bless You All! 

~Grama Sue

Sore Hands

Sorry, I haven't been posting much. My hands are very sore from all the cutting I've been doing to put up end of season produce. Typing makes it worse. But oh, the applesauce, tomatoes, squash, etc. we will enjoy this winter!

God Bless You All!


~Grama Sue

Indoor Garden Preperations

Life gets kind of crazy on the farm this time of year. Grampa Tom has been in the fields helping a neighbor get his crops out so I've been doing my work plus some of his. But! Life is good! I'm still eating out of my garden and I'm finally back in my jeans! And I hope to continue even after the snow flies.

It has been wonderfully warm here, but it's supposed to start cooling down so yesterday I rearranged the living room at my farmer's house so I could quickly pull things in when I need to.

It was cloudy out yesterday when I did this. This room is usually much brighter, but I have some lamps that will help on cloudy days. I plan to put the garbage can garden on the left and the other plants on the table. I bought the wire shelves the other day. I can fit 3 more so I will buy them the next time I am in town.

My garbage can garden is doing great. Can you see the little cucumber at the base of the plant? I had a  problem with powdery mildew a few days ago so I got on the internet and found a baking soda remedy for it. There are only a few spots left. Isn't the internet wonderful?

There's a lot of other stuff waiting to come in too. The first plant is my lemon balm, then some holy basil, and a couple of big pots of rosemary. 

There are several little pots of sweet basil, cilantro, dill and lemon grass. There's also a big pot of aloe behind the tomato plant.

Grampa Tom had a couple of volunteer tomato plants that he saved for me so I'm gonna have lots of tomatoes. The little pots on the left are cilantro. The big orange pot is lemon grass and the grey pot is a mixture of different herbs for winter cooking.

Most of the herbs are for the winter market in Burlington. The cilantro and the dill will probably poop out before it is over, but I hope to keep the basil going all winter and dry it so I have some dried basil when the markets start again in the spring. Oh! I've also got a stevia plant sitting next to the porch on the ground that I didn't get a picture of. I don't know how big they get. If it really bushes out, I may have some stevia at the market too.

The next problem will be how to start plants in the spring. Don't know if I'll have room. I'm not going to start them as soon as I did last year. God will show me. He's got till the end of February! 

I really can't wait to take fresh picked tomatoes and cucumbers to the market in December. Won't have very many, but it will make an impression!

The other day, Grampa Tom came over to my mound garden and told me he thinks he ought to leave the gardening to me and go do something else. Now THAT is the ultimate compliment!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue

Shucking Corn

My sis sent this to me. FBers, sorry about the double post! I posted it there then thought, "Duh! Not everybody is on FB! Anyway, it looks pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnBF6bv4Oe4

God Bless You All!


~Grama Sue

Cocks Comb

Aren't these beautiful? They are called "Cocks Comb". Grampa Tom brought these home from the market the other day. He says we are going to grow them next year. The people he bought them from say that once they start to dry up a little, we should hang them upside down so the seeds (on the backs of the flowers) dry. They also said if you spray them with hairspray, they will look like this indefinitely! I can't wait to have a big patch of my own to play with!

God Bless You All!

~Grama Sue