Summer's End

One think I love about Texas gardening, is the fact that our first freeze usually comes pretty late.  This gives us the ability to keep harvesting veggies a long time after most of the country has said good-bye to fresh Basil.  But, all good things must come to an end and the weathermen said that our end was coming Saturday night.

So, Saturday found us moving the plants that were sensitive to the greenhouse and harvesting all the herbs that were left. Now, there are a lot of herbs that are perennials and do not mind the cold in winter.  These herbs are not herbaceous- weird, huh?  Herbaceous means that the plant's aerial parts die back in the winter and return come spring.  But, I cut them anyway.

Most of the herbs will be made into Salt Scrubs, scented oils, Bath soak teas.  I love hand-crafted bath items the quality and potency are unmatched.  A few of the herbs will become tinctures.  Tinctures are made by taking medicinal herbs and soaking them in an alcohol like Brandi or Vodka.  The great parts of the herbs are absorbed by the alcohol.  Then the alcohol is strained and the alcohol stored in a dark bottle and used  when someone is in need.  The tincture I like best is made with dandelion, it is great for any kind of winter illness and works great for Tony when he is having trouble with allergies.  We ran out this summer because of the heat and drought the dandelions said good-bye.  Finally we got some wonderful rain and cooler temps and out popped the dandelions. 

Well, the weathermen were off by one day- the first freeze came Sunday night.  I am so glad I harvested the last of the herbs.  Of course, the kitchen looks a little funny with the bundles of herbs hanging around- but it smells great!

Awesome Weekend!

Well, November First Monday is history- and it made history.  This month was a record setting weekend and I am so happy for us and for all the other vendors.  There had been a long dry spell in recent months. However, I must say that I am glad its over!  We are all sore and tired, but its the happy kind of tired.

Today, we got most of our customers booths torn down and put away.  Two of them had to wait until Tuesday morning due to rain and it getting dark so early.  So, I guess First Monday isn't quite over for us yet.  But, it was a good day.  We got the title to our F250 in the mail.  All our vehicles are paid off!  No more payments is so cool to say.

While Tony, Cheyenne and Savannah were tearing down the booths, Jonathan, Sierra & I were busy with nursery business.  We cleaned out the greenhouse and brought in the banana trees, birds of paradise and other tropical plants.  Cuttings of the Cuban Oregano were taken along with basil, once those root they will be planted in cups and left to grow in the greenhouse until spring.  Sierra loved the work today, she got to drive the car up and down the hill as we moved plants into the greenhouse.  One day we will have a chuck wagon or a mule ATV to do that kind of work, but right not a little Ford Taurus works really well!

In the process of cleaning up around the greenhouse, I found a little garden snake.  For those who know me, you know that this will usually send me into a fit.  However, I must be growing past my fear of snakes because I caught it and let the kids play with it.  I did have to draw the line at Sierra sitting next to me while letting the snake wind through her fingers!  That gives me the willies!

Also, I got the email letting me know that our chicks had shipped and should arrive in the morning.  We are really excited!  Jonathan and Sierra helped  me get the brooder box ready.  We will keep them inside for a week and then they move outside to the brooder house.  All the chirping is so sweet.  They are so funny to watch.  90% of the chicks will be settled down into a corner sleeping and then one will hop up and run all over the top of all the sleeping ones, of course then they all hop up and run around.  Once the surprise has worn off they will all stop and look around like "What was that all about?".  Then, they will settle down to sleep and it will happen all over again.

So, we worked hard again today but it felt good to get the house back in order, laundry done, and the kitchen clean.  Each month we prove the law of physics true that states that anything left to itself will deteriorate.  Even when no one is home the kitchen gets wrecked, go figure.

As you can see, it is a little snake but it is a snake all the same!

Busy Day

Today was a busy day and a very good one.  Sierra and I planted lettuce and cleaned up the raised beds.  I love the way the beds look when all of the dead plants are pulled up and cleaned out. 

Once they were clean we planted lettuce.  So, in about 2 weeks we will be able to start harvesting baby greens.  Given that I spend about $5.00/week on lettuce and salad mix, a $1.10 pkg of lettuce seed goes a long way in helping to ease the grocery bill.  Not to mention the fact that all our home-grown veggies are organic and much better for us.  Sierra is great help in the garden, while I cleaned she planted.  It is interesting to see what is coming back after such a cruel summer.  The pole beans are putting on new leaves and carrots are popping their tops up through the soil.  It seems some Zinnias dropped their seeds into one of the beds because some little Zinnia plants have popped up.  I don't know if the pole beans will have enough time to put on beans before the first freeze, but I will leave them alone and find out.

Several herbs have earned my respect having hung on through this summer.  Not only are they showing themselves to be heat tolerant, but drought tolerant as well.  The basil has made a huge comeback after this great rain we have gotten.  I had given it up, certain that it was a causality of 2011 history making summer, but it is doing great.  Salad Burnett and Parsley have also comeback from death's door.  Sage was one that never gave up.  Comphrey and Echineacea died back, but have put back out from the roots.

After gardening and breeding the American Blue rabbits, it was time to get cleaned up for Savannah's big night.  She was awarded the Gold Star Award which is a big deal in the world of 4H.  One members who show great achievement and leadership are awarded the Gold Star.  She is very proud of herself and we are proud of her.  Tonight was the D4 4H Banquet that honored all gold star recipients and Adult Leader of the Year recipients.  It is a dressy affair and we had a good time getting all gussied up.  The dinner was very nice and the company was great.  Tony and I sat with our good fiends, Tammy and Mike Lenamond- whose daughter Rebecca also received the Gold Star Award.

Now it is time to call it a day.  Tomorrow we deliver a 100 gallon, 17ft tall live oak tree.  This is the largest we have ever handled- should be interesting.  Never a dull moment on the farm.