Okra and Maters

Well, the okra has come in. We have a ton of Burgundy and Clemson Spineless Okra. Man does that staff grow fast. Magun and I went over on Sunday morning and cut about a half of bushel and Luba and I are headed back this afternoon to cut some more. We are finally getting some good sized tomatoes. Hillbilly and Yellow Brandywine. The corn ears look odd, but have good taste. There are some Black Beauty Eggplant almost ripe and more cucumbers for sure. Cucumbers-Silver Slicer, Marketmore, and National Pickling-the fruit that just keeps on giving. Oh yeah-Kentucky Wonder Green Beans are here. Luba will be working this afternoon!!!!

 Clemson Spineless Okra--picked with care by Magun O'Dell

 Burgundy and Clemson Okra-picked while Magun scratched bug bites

 Hillbilly and Yellow Brandywine Tomatoes-finally some sizable fruits

Big News and some notes as well

Last night, Magun and I went over to the Summer Garden and picked some tomatoes. I must say the Arkansas Traveler is a strong producer. We will definitely plant those again next year. Buddy the Amazing Farm Dog came along and stood guard. We checked the beans, corn, okra, cucumbers, eggplant and melons. Magun discovered a Moon and Stars Watermelon. It is small but surely does have a moon on it. When we got back home, there was some more canning done. We have been fortunate to have some gorgeous zucchini come from the Home Garden. Last night, we made a dozen half pint jars of sweet zucchini relish. It is supposed to be a lot like pickle relish and it sure did smell and look good--so we will keep our fingers crossed for some good relish this fall. Now for the Big News, I rode around with my Little Buddy--my father-in-law Dick Simons--and looked at some vacant properties owned by the Land Bank. We are acquiring six plots of land close to our house and will be establishing community gardens for the neighborhoods. These will be self-sustaining with the bounty going to the neighbors!!! Go Treehugger Organics!!!

 Magun and her Moon and Stars Watermelon

 Sweet Zucchini Relish in half pint jars

A weekend of new things

Well, it was a big weekend. Buddy the Farm Dog came to stay. In the Summer Garden, Magun, Buddy, and I picked some Clemson Spineless and Burgundy Okra-still about 5 or 6 days out from the big pick I think. We picked some Kentucky Wonder Green Beans. They are great. I remember eating them as a kid with my grandparents and they were so sweet, fresh and raw...still are. Magun loved them. We picked some smaller National Pickling Cucumbers and Stephanie and I made some Half Sours. 3 Big Half Gallon Jars! They will be ready in about 4 or 5 days. Our corn is slow to develop, but the kernels are big and moist but the ears are only half the normal size. I think we were late getting it planted but I have my fingers crossed. Next year, we will plant earlier and be prepared for the raccoons that ate all the corn in our Home Garden because it was planted on time. We picked 3 fair size California Bells (2 from Summer and 1 from Home) to use in Sweet Zucchini Relish we are making tonight hopefully. Below are a couple of pics of the Bells and the Half Sours--grow on!!!

 My Belle with some Home Garden California Bells for Sweet Zucchini Relish

 My girls with half gallon Half Sours

Buddy the Farm Dog

A quick post...more this afternoon. I would like to introduce--Buddy the Farm Dog. Buddy came to us over the weekend. He is about 18 months old. We had a struggle with a name-Ed? Riley? Baxter? but Buddy seem to fit. Welcome to the O'Dell and Treehugger clan. He has gone to the Summer Garden and was a great help and so was Magun!

 Buddy- I bet he is a dirt monster, no need for a tiller anymore

Pass the Butter Please-Oh and Bread Too!

Last night, we cut up about 16 cups of cucumbers-National Pickling and Silver Slicers. We "put up" 12 pints of Bread & Butter Pickles with a twist. Three hours of "chillin'" some sugar, cider vinegar, and secret spices and now it is a waiting game. Stephanie and Magun were the keys to the operation so I know the pickles will be wonderful. Now, we just have 10 lbs. of cucumbers left. Half/halfs anyone? Any other types?

2 Shades of Purple

Yesterday, Luba and I went to the Summer Garden to water. While we were there, we thought we would walk through and see if any produce was ready to pick. Luba spotted some young corn-not ready yet and then she discovered some Burgundy Okra ready for the harvest basket. We got a few pods of Burgundy and Clemson Spineless, but the big "pick" will probably be this weekend. We picked about a half a peck (I always wanted to say "peck") of Rattlesnake Beans-they are through for the season.There were some more Marketmore and National Pickling Cucumbers ready. We also got a few Mini Bangles Bell Peppers and a couple of Hillbilly and Arkansas Traveler tomatoes. Yes, Luba is a great spotter-better than me- she spotted our first Black Beauty Eggplant as well yesterday. It was a joy to spend some time with Luba in the Garden. She even asked about her own plot for next year. I guess seeing some actual fruit come from hard work can be inspiring. Back at the Home Garden, we picked 2 big zucchini. All in all, the Gardens are producing more than I hoped...there will be a lot of work this weekend!

Luba picking some Burgundy Okra pods-The first of the season, but many more to come!

The first Black Beauty Eggplant in all its purple majesty!

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

We are back from our final trip of the summer and the gardens are great--thanks Kathy for all your help! We got a few plants while we were away for a cut garden.

The Summer Garden is flourishing. Yesterday, I went over and did some watering. While I was there, I picked a half a bushel (that's right a half a bushel) of cucumbers-Marketmore, National Pickling, and Silver Slicers. I love Silver Slicers-they are great tasting, excellent producers, and easy to find on the vines. If you have ever tried to find green cucumbers in a bunch of vines, you know what I mean. Stephanie and I are going to can some bread and butter pickles with a twist and some half/halfs. I also picked a half a bushel of Rattlesnake Beans-one more pick and they should be done for the season. These we will freeze for chili this winter. The Jacob's Cattle beans are done for the year. The Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans are coming on and we should get our first pick in the next 7-10 days. We have several Sivan F1 Hybrid Melons coming on. One was off the vine so I brought it home. The smell was wonderful and it was very pretty on the inside but not quite ripe enough to be sweet. There are some pics below. The Sivan is a single serving melon about the size of a softball. We have our first 2 Hale's Best Melons. These are going to be big cantaloupes. I picked a few Bangles Mix Mini Bells. They are cute and colorful but small. We have a bunch of tomatoes coming on. Corn is doing well. And now for the big news. Okra is finally coming and there is A LOT of it. Burgundy and Clemson Spineless have hundreds of pods just starting. We will have bushels by the end of the season. I fertilized all the melons, tomatoes, and peppers yesterday with Garden Tone. I almost forgot, we have blooms on the Black Beauty Eggplant-they got a shot of Garden Tone and a good weeding.

Now the Home Garden-Stephanie, Magun, and I picked 2 zucchini.-one was average and one was the size of my arm from the elbow down. It was huge. Magun calls it a baseball bat. Stef is going to make zucchini-blueberry bread. We picked a few cucumbers and our first tomato from the raised garden. The tomatoes here are huge plants but not producing. I used Garden Tone to add more potash and phosphate and now they have a lot of small fruits. Thanks Garden Tone-you did the trick. If you are looking for a good organic fertilizer-Garden Tone is great. We have 2 big California Bells almost ready to pick. There is a small Blacktail Mountain Watermelon at Home and should be some good eatin' very soon.

We are planning to add a completely self-sustaining Urban Garden on another plot for next year. It will be irrigated by a rainwater collection system powered by solar energy-the produce will be given to the community around the garden. Check out our Kickstarter to see more about it and join us if you wish. 

So Melons, Cukes, Beans, Zoo-chee-knee (shout out to Suzanne)-summer is in full swing.

Burgundy Okra Blooms-

Okra Rows-Clemson Spineless (left) and Burgundy (right)

  

Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans comin' on

The Rattlesnake Beans-get to shellin' kids

Clemson Spineless Okra Pods (sorry about the blur)

A half a bushel of cucumbers, Rattlesnake Beans, and a couple of zucchini

 

Hale's Best Melon 

Blacktail Mountain Watermelon-should get about 8-10" and 10 pounds

 A Sivan Melon-to judge the size, that is Magun's hand on the left and Stephanie's on the right