Life on the Ranch

     I have been going out to the garden for just temporary checks. It seems as if there is not enough time in the day to do all that I want to do. So, today some of us wandered around the jungle . . . I mean, the garden, for a little bit longer. We found pumpkins, a few cantalope, tomatoes, banana peppers, bell peppers and jalapenos. There are also a few habenero peppers on one plant, some cabbage and broccoli growing and sweet potato vines all over the place (we plan on digging these out around November 1st).       Osiyyah and Yo were "helping" pick:     My next garden goal? To read through a book that my friend, Teresa picked up. It's called The Winter Harvest Handbook  by Eliot Coleman. It is suppose to be one of the better books on how to have a 4-season garden. This is a goal of mine - to be able to grow produce all year long for my family.

          The picture above is what the war is over. It is me against the myriad of bugs that have attacked the garden this year. It has been way worse than last year. And now, even in late August, there is an onslaught of Squash Bugs and Cucumber Beetles. So, I got online and started reading about what to do to get rid of these pests. I was not encouraged but rather discouraged as I read numerous accounts of other gardeners saying that there is no way to win against the above 2 mentioned insects. I felt like throwing the towel in until I went out one last time and saw the 2 zucchinis that are growing.       I had a new reason to fight these bugs . . . they are in the process of killing the plants that are growing the crops that I want for my family. Here is a picture of a Squash Bug having the guts to eat the zucchini plant: Here is a picture of the same Squash Bug after I sprayed him with my solution of Dawn dish soap and water: ...

Well, my posting has kind of fallen by the wayside over the past weeks since we have been doing much outside. I'll try to give you a quick garden update right now before we head to the local swimmin' hole.        This year was a more difficult year to grow things. We planted as soon as we could in April and got hit up with a variety of troubles - early blight, squash beetles (I'm still battling these even now in August!), grasshoppers, Japanese beetles. When I make my rounds in the morning, I usually just grab a spray bottle with Dawn dish soap in it and spray to groups of black blister beetles as I see them.       Despite these gardening trials, we have managed to have a fair amount of tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers and jalapenos. The tomatoes and cukes are coming to an end now and the 3rd planting of zucchinis are starting to grow - hopefully, I will be able to fend off the squash beetles! Along with the zukes are pumpkins and wat...

     I found this recipe one day as I was surfin' around the internet trying to come up with creative ways to use all of the 18" zucchinis that are coming out of the gardens around here. I'm not a big fan of cooked zuc so, I set out a recipe quest. Well, I'm the kind of person that will try to make salsa out of just about any fruit or veggie - last year we tried cucumber salsa, blueberry salsa and even blackberry salsa. This year, I found zucchini salsa (that's another post in the makes) and then turned up this recipe.      This stuff is the bomb! What a great recipe this is - it uses up those huge zukes that grow so easily in just about any home garden AND  it gets another veggie into the belly of it's eater. We made a few modifications to make it fit our liking. 12 Cups zucchini, grated finely (I don’t see why you couldn’t use yellow squash!) 9 Cups sugar 1 Cup apple cider vinegar 2 large cans crushed pineapple 3  3oz packages Jello, any ...

     Last year was the first year that I tried my hand at canning pickles. They tasted good but, they were soft. I was hoping to make a crunchy dill pickle like those refrigerated Claussen pickles that my dad used to buy. Well, this year I made sure that we planted pickling cucumbers. And, I read lots of recipes and instructions about how to make them.      We have successfully made some good pickles this year now that we have cucumbers coming out of the garden on a regular basis - we are averaging 15 to 40 cucumbers a day!! I think the main difference is #1 - the fact that we planted a pickling variety and, #2 - we are presoaking the cukes in a cold water bath for hours.      The simpliest recipe, and the one that reminds me of those Claussen pickles is this one: Refrigerator Pickles Ingredients: - Pickling cucumbers - as many as you want to deal with - garlic cloves (one per jar) - dill seed - white sugar - pickling salt - white ...

We learned that green tomatoes could be substituted for the tomatillos in this recipe. Salsa Verde 1 pound tomatillos or green tomatoes 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (we used a white onion, it was about 1/2 an onion) 1 tsp minced garlic (1 clove is good for this) 1/2 a jalapeno with no seeds (I might leave the seeds in next time for more kick!) 2 Tbl cut up cilantro (scissors work great for this) 1 Tbl Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups water - Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat an simmer until the tomatillos or tomatoes are soft (about 10 to 15 minutes). - Using a blender or food processor, puree the mixture until it is smooth. - Makes a great green salsa to dip chips in, or use to make chicken enchiladas or top a baked potato with it - YUM! YUM! - Pictures to come soon, Lord willing.

     I have something going wrong with my tomato plants this year. I was told by one gentleman that it is Black Spot hitting up the tomato plants in the NE Oklahoma area. I also called Roger over at the OSU Extension Office and he said that it is most likely Early Blight or Septoria. He told me to use a product called Daconil to control it. He also said to practice good garden hygiene - at the end of each season pull out and burn or bag up and trash all plant remains.       Here are a few pics in case anyone has any suggestions: Any ideas - shoot me an email at kim@goodgoats.net

There is a war that I am in support of - It is the war against bugs that come with the intent of destroying my garden. This morning, one of my children called me over to look at the zucchini leaves and this is what saw:  These are swarming groups of squash beetles - all sizes of them - they must have just hatched a new round of them. So, I ran and grabbed a few spray bottle that had blue Dawn dish soap in them. Then we did this: After spraying and drowning many of the bugs, the war seemed to be over for the moment . . . until the next funky bug shows up, barging into my garden space.

Well, the picture above is my version of "Go Green!" It is the start of what will hopefully be lots of produce from the garden - cukes, bell peppers, zucchini and jalapenos are in the picture. I'll try to get a pic of when we "Go Red!"          Here is another green plant growing in our garden - mint. These were sprigs that the kids brought home from Grandma's house a little while ago. They are doing good - some in a sink and others in a bathtub (in the garden). Here is one last for the night since I am tired and need to get some sleep. This is a pic of a few of my children standing by one of the giant sunflowers we planted in the garden.

     Well, 7 months have passed since we first put the garlic bulbs in the ground. Some of the leaves have been turning brown and some of the plants have even started to bolt (produce a flower head). I decided to pull a few out to see what they looked like. They seemed to look good. After coming and researching a little bit, I decided to go get a few more of the garlic plants and try my hand at braiding them.       There is some debate among garlic growers as to whether or not to wash the bulbs off or not before the curing process. I decided to leave the dirt on them and did my best at a not-so-good-braid. Now that braid is hanging . . . in the house!       In the picture below, you can see that the garlic braid is hanging right above the kitchen table and counter area. Here is a closer pic of the hanging braid: Here are a few pics of when I was trying to figure out how to do a braid:

It is so fun to have a garden! Here are some updated pictures from my morning stroll around the place. This first picture is one of the best sites to me, as I am a green salsa eater - tomatillos. These are a relation to tomatoes but are a little different. The green fruit grows inside a papery husk. This is the key ingredient for Salsa Verde! mmmm!!  A green bell pepper in this picture: Chili peppers - I'll have to try my hand at making chili powder! Suriyah, my daughter, has been keeping a close eye on the cucumbers and, there are little ones growing!! Woohoo!! See the start of a little cuke in the picture below? Recently, my nephew was able to get a whole bunch of 5 gallon buckets. And, he says he can get me an endless supply. So, what does a gardener do with a bunch of 5 gallon buckets? Expand the container garden. We will see how the tomato plants in the buckets produce compared to the one in the ground and the other ones in the freezers.

Well, the garden is starting to produce food for us. Check out the size of this cabbage! I am holding it in the air. The actual head weighed about 5 pounds or so, I think. It was turned into a yummy coleslaw dish. Here are the peas starting to grow on the vines: Here is one of the garlic plants getting a flower head on it. I don't know too much about growing garlic but, I think they are getting close to be being done . . . we had put these into the ground last October, I think. Here are some marigolds . . . just one of the flowers we have planted in an effort to keep bad bugs away from our veggies while they grow. I came back in yesterday with one of the strollers full of goodies. Here is a pic of that: More later, hopefully. It is more difficult to do posts nowadays it seems since the weather is nicer and I find myself outside much more. Kim

I was walking around the garden this morning as the sun was coming up. The peas are getting flowers on them: The cabbage head is SOOOOO big - I am wondering when it will begin to close up, if ever. The lettuce bed has gotten bigger in just the past few days - time for salad today! The lettuce and carrots in the first freezer are growing great! AND, one of the best sites in the garden (according to me) - TOMATOES starting to grow! That means salsa, Lord willing.

     Yep, trying our hands at potatoes also. We have a few experiments going . . . well, actually our entire garden is an experiment, I guess. I was commenting the other day about an "experiment" I had going and one of my kidos said, "Mom, what isn't an experiment in your garden?"       Anyway, back to potatoes. I am trying the barrel method with 3 cardboard barrels that were on their way to the burn pit. The idea is to toss the starter into the bottom and cover it with dirt. Every time the plant peeks out, more dirt gets thrown on top of it. Once we reach the top of the barrel we let the plant flower out and then dump it over and dig out all of our goodies - potatoes. We'll see how it works. We also have about 6 plants growing in mounds. Updates will come, Lord willing, as the plants get bigger.