Ready for the Cold?

We should be having the first real cold snap of the year over the next couple of nights with lows temps below freezing for several hours each night. That will mean it is garden clean up time again and time to enjoy the new season's crop bounty. All of the summer's crops like tomatoes, beans, okra, peppers, and any other annual vegetables that are going to be killed by the cold, should be pulled out of the garden and discarded as they can be good hiding places for garden pests or their eggs. The same goes for any weeds near the garden.

Fall and early winter are also good times for adding organic materials to the garden soil. Compost, fall leaves, and animal manures, can be layered onto the soil and then turned under to breakdown over the winter months. It is also time to grow fall and winter crops down here along the coast. Turnips, cabbage, kale, spinach, sweet peas, beets, and other cold weather crops can all be planted now. If you have asparagus, be sure to clean up the bed after the green stems die back. Cut them all off low to the ground, scatter some composted manure over the plants and mulch them well with a layer of hay or leaves. Asparagus doesn't need mulch to protect it from the cold, but to control weeds and to enrich the soil as it rots.

Right now you can find sweet potatoes, pumpkins, collards, satsumas, and of course pecans, for sale by local producers. Locally the pecan crop is rather sparse this year with good ones being hard to find due to all the rain this year. Cassebaum's has a sign up so they have pecans to sell. Last winter was hard on any citrus growing in the region with many people losing their lemon and lime trees. While most satsumas made it through the ice storm and hard cold last winter, they did not produce a good crop locally. I have seen some being offered at roadside stands but not nearly as many as in a bumper year like last year.

Freezing Time

It may not be freezing weather outside but it is definitely freezing time inside. I have been filling my freezer with fresh snap beans, okra for both frying and boiling, pears, tomatoes for canning later, squash, and butter beans. Local growers have had a very good year so far, so there are many sources for fresh Baldwin County grown produce if you know where to look. Here around Lillian I have seen signs advertising okra, pears, muscadines, scuppernongs, melons, tomatoes, and squash.
Our unusually cool summer this year has given me tomato plants which are still putting on fruits and I have yet to see any of those terrible big black stink bugs. I wish I could say the same for the army worms which are chewing my okra to pieces. We had a heavy crop of figs and our fall peas are looking good. I am afraid all the wet weather has ruined our pecan crop though, with most of the small green nuts turning black already.

The Berries are Ripe

  We are pickin' and grinnin' once again. Our blackberries are coming in and this year we have a nice crop of blueberries for everyone to enjoy. Come out to our farm and fill up some pails with fresh sweet berries for cobblers, pies, smoothies, and just to snack on and fill up on antioxidants. You can find some good blueberry recipes listed on my gardening site, Growitveg.com, near the bottom of the recipes on the home page. I have already made two blueberry/peach cobblers that were enjoyed by all. I just replaced have the blueberries called for in the recipe with some fresh peaches from our tree.
  All across Baldwin County fresh produce of all types is available, from sweet corn and tomatoes, to blueberries and peaches, growers have their stands open for business. Our farm is located in Lillian not far from the Florida line, on county road 91, the same road as Cassabaum's sweet corn operation. They have a sign up saying their corn will be ready soon. Our thornless blackberries put on a heavy crop this year which we have for $3.00/lb we pick and $2.00/lb. you pick and the blueberries go for the same prices.
  Hillcrest farm is open for business with their own crop of blueberries and produce, along with homemade preserves and fresh eggs. So come out during the cool of the day, bring the young ones, and make it a family affair to gather this year's abundance and thank God for the chance to be together and enjoy life. See Ya'll in the berry patch.

Springtime Plantings and a Promising crop

                                                                                                                  

Well the temps are on their way up and its time to get those summertime vegetables in the ground. Spring flowers are their full colors like my Amaryllis. I've had tomatoes in the ground for 3 weeks now and just planted my first crop of pole beans today. I like the old fashion pole beans over the bush varieties because I think they taste better along with being easier to pick and staying cleaner growing up off the ground. Kentucky Wonder is still my favorite variety for eating fresh and canning later. Strawberries are starting to come in and our asparagus is coming up with nice thick spears appearing everyday. You can find locally grown winter crops like cabbage, lettuce, turnips, and collards in the farm markets right now. It is time to plant sweet corn if you have the room along with cukes, peppers, eggplants, butterbeans, and melons. The blackberries are blooming and the blueberries already have a nice crop set on for our you-pick customers to enjoy later.

Bit but not Dead. Brrrr

Well we may not have suffered as much as those up north, but we still had our share of the cold this last week. I hope everyone came through the hard freezes alright and without any busted pipes. We got down to around 21 degrees and did not even reach the thawing point of 32 degrees on one day. I spent most of the week thumbing through the new seed catalogs that have been arriving already, to start planning for next season's garden.
The only thing I have growing in the garden right now is turnip green and the cold even made them wilt slightly for several days. We did enjoy fresh greens and blackeyed peas on News Year's day. I have seen local roadside stands with citrus, cabbage, and greens to sell.
If you had outdoor plants that were damaged by the cold, hold off on cutting them back until the weather warms as the tougher stems may still be alive and sprout out in the spring. Now of course any tender annuals that are dead can be pulled up to clean up the garden and do away with hiding places for overwintering bugs or their eggs. Now is the time of year to prune back grape vines, fruit trees, and rose bushes, as well as setting out new ones.

Late Fall and starting to feel the Cold

The constant rains of this last summer have ruined this years pecan crop here in South Baldwin county. I know we don't have any this year and I have not seen any local signs going up advertizing nuts for sale. Underwoods in Foley has a sign out but I don't know what they have to offer or if the nuts are local or from out of state. Be sure to check any unshelled pecans being sold from roadside stands to be sure you're getting good quality nuts.
Our first early cold spell of this week will put an end to any remaining summer vegetables like okra and tomatoes, but it will mean more of the cool weather crops will be in the local farmer's markets. Turnip greens, Kale,  Pumpkins, Beets, and Spinach will all be coming into season. The last of the locally grown tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, and peppers, can still be found if you shop now.
While there may be a shortage of pecans this year, the local citrus crops of satsumas, lemons, grapefruits, and kumquats is sure to be abundant because of last years relatively mild winter. I just picked a bushel of satsumas off our one bush and have some lemons on another plant. When you have an overabundance of citrus, one thing you can do with the fruits is to squeeze the juice and either freeze or can it. I froze all my lemon juice last year and still have a gallon in the freezer. I also juiced and canned satsuma juice so it would last throughout the year. Why buy processed orange juice when you can have sweet satsuma juice every morning?
It is a good idea to buy an electric citrus juicer when faced with large amounts of fruits to juice. I have one and it is a real time and wrist saver. After juicing the fruits, I strain the juice to remove any seeds and pulp. Put it into a large pot and heat it just until it starts to steam good. You don't want it to boil. I taste it and then add some sugar, usually around a cup to a gallon because the canning process can take away some of the natural sweetness. You also want to use satsumas that are at the peak of their ripeness and not too green or over ripe. If over ripe they will lose their tang and be flat. Adding some lemon juice can help remedy that problem.
Pour the juice into clean canning jars, wipe the rims clean, seal with canning lids and process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. The juice will keep for up to 3 years.
I found that freezing my lemon juice in ice cube trays (2 tablespoons per cube) is a good way to preserve it and have it handy for grabbing just the amount needed in recipes later. I just empty the ice trays into plastic bags and store the lemon cubes that way in the freezer. You can also freeze it in plastic containers in larger amounts.
Hope everyone enjoys the season and helps to keep our local growers in business.

High Summer Vegetables

It is the high point of summer with all the usual heat and humidity that is the norm for our part of the world. Where else can you get a free sauna bath everytime you just step outside. There are some hardy vegetables that are still bearing, which can be found in the local growers markets. Field peas, okra, cucumbers, butterbeans, melons, pears, figs, and summer squash, that are grown locally, can all still be found. Most local tomato patches have quit fruiting due to the heat but there will be a new crop this fall.

Another locally produced crop is our native honey, which is offered for sale at many farm stands and farmer's markets. Did you know that most store brands of honey are actually processed so they cannot be traced back to their country of origin. The honey is washed and watered down so that it does not contain any pollen and it is the pollen that marks each batch of honey so it can be traced back to where it was produced. Much of the honey sold in commercial stores is actually imported from China and may contain pesticides and toxins. Buying locally produced honey is the best way to go as you will be getting a pure product and helping a local producer as well. There is also some evidence that eating local honey can help keep the body from developing allergies to local plants and their pollens.

I put up some 2 gallons of fresh figs the other week. You have to get out early to beat the crows to them and to survive the heat. I have a good crop of pink eyed purple hull peas coming in right now along with my okra which is finally starting to bear in-spite of the constant wet weather and cloudy days.

Summer Crops coming despite the rains

With all the rain this past week, at least the temperatures have been held down. We are nearing the end of our black berry harvest with perhaps a week to go. Customers are stopping in who have been to other local farm stands, with bags of sweet corn, watermelons, peas, and butterbeans, so there is still plenty to enjoy. There are also plenty of red ripe tomatoes to be found and soon there will be okra for frying.

Okra does not like wet, cool, weather so this past week's rains will slow it down some, but the heat will return along with some drier days to allow it to catch up and start flowering soon. The cooler night time temps, in the lower 70's, have meant my tomatoes are blooming again to set on a new crop. Now if I can just keep the stink bugs off them till they redden up.

The Start of Summer and Summer time treats

Its time for enjoying some of the best of the early summer fruits. We now have our You pick Blackberry patch open and it is full of nice ripe blackberries for jelly making, jams, desserts, and just eating out of hand. We open at 7 am. and that is the best time to pick these beauties before the heat really gets turned on. We are open everyday of the week except for Wednesdays and Sundays, so come and fill your buckets. We also offer berries that we pick for $3.00 a lb/ $2.00 a lb you pick. Our plants are thornless.

Hillcrest Farms has blueberries coming in as well as other fresh produce like tomatoes, squash, and fresh herbs. They are open for those wanting to pick blueberries on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and their stand is open daily except for Tuesdays.

Cassebaums sweet corn is coming in, with fresh pickings every morning. They are closed on Sundays. Get there early for a bushel to fill the freezer.

Right now at local farm stands you can find tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash, peppers, onions, garlic, and eggplants. I have been picking fresh tomatoes, when I can save them from the stink bugs, and have already put up green beans and corn in my freezer. Two of my banana trees are flowering so by this fall I will have some delicious bananas for making puddings and breads.

Well, I am finally back to let everyone know what's growing and ready to harvest here in Baldwin County. I see the sweet corn up the road is starting to tassel so it will not be long before those delicious roasting ears are available. Cassebaum's sign says they will be opening in June and I am sure they will be having the same high quality produce that they always have. Hillcrest farms is getting ready for the soon to start blueberry season and the Peebles' farm will be having sweet mouth watering blackberries before long.

I have green tomatoes the size of baseballs on my vines and will soon be picking the first of my pole beans. Strawberries are already being harvested along with potatoes, peaches, and butterbeans. I put up my first batch of peach jam today and soon will be filling jars with blackberry and grape jams and jellies.

We have had a really nice long spring this year with an ample supply of rain, but now it looks like we may be in for an extended dry spell, so the best part of the spring harvest may be the first crops. We have also been enjoying a nice harvest from our asparagus patch, getting about 1 to 2 lbs a week, for our Sunday dinner.

Fall Treats

  There are still plenty of fall goodies to be found even though Halloween is long gone. Jeta farms still has fresh field peas available, pink eyed purple hulls, and they are beautiful. I just put up some 3 gallons in the freezer so we can enjoy some big pots of peas and okra this winter. If you decide to put up peas and need directions for to how to freeze them, check out my article describing the process. http://www.infobarrel.com/Freezing_Field_Peas
  Citrus fruits are ripening in the area and many of the area farm stands and markets will have satsumas, lemons, and kumquats for sale. Hillcrest farms has signs out for citrus, persimmons, and other fall produce.
  The local pecan crop is not abundant this year and the quality is down for most folks. The Cassebaum farm is one of the few places where I have seen pecans for sale this fall.
  Since we have not had a freeze yet, there are still locally grown tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, and cucumbers to be found. If you are not sure where to find any of the local growers that I have mentioned or need to find others, check out my list of growers by clicking on "Growers List" near the top of the page.

Oct. 19, 2012

Well now that the late summer heat has died down and fall temperatures have made life along the coast more bearable, it is possible to find fresh, locally grown produce again. The Elberta Farmers Market is open again on Saturdays from 8 am till noon. It is located on State St., on the south side of US. 98, just after you pass the red light going west. Local produce of all kinds can be found there from honey and pecans, to fresh vegetables and eggs, depending on who shows up to sell things.
Hillcrest Farms has their own crop of grapes coming in right now along with persimmons and home made jellies and preserves. They also have a Baldwin county corn maze for the family to enjoy now that the weather is so nice. They have signs out along hwy 98 so you cannot miss them as you head east from Lillian.
While traveling down hwy 98 toward Elberta, I am sure everyone will notice the beautiful fall colors of the large tree that is located just on the west side of the pond, just before you get to Elberta. That would be a true Golden Rain tree and it was in full bloom a few weeks ago. Now it is changing from the golden yellow of its flowers to the pink and red colors of its seed pods. I saw it as the morning light hit it the other day and it was a beautiful sight to see.
Fall here in Baldwin county means a constant array of eye catching colors from the blooming golden rod covered fields to the large patches of our native daisies and feverfews that are flowering along the roadsides. My own yard is filled with blooming orange torchinas or Mexican sunflowers that are drawing in the butterflies in profusion. Next the wild grape vines will be turning yellow and they will look like garlands hanging from every live oak and wild persimmon.

Hi all, well the dog days of summer are upon us with the gardens and farm stands showing it. The Elberta farmer's market has closed down until later this fall and if you did not get some of the local sweet corn, it is gone now also. In the heat okra is about the only thing still bearing a crop. Pictured is some that I am preparing for freezing. It is time to start planning for the fall garden if you haven't already. If you planted indeterminate tomato varieties this spring and can keep the vines alive through the summer heat and bug, they will set a new crop when the weather cools again.Visit my vegetable gardening site, Growitveg.com to get all kinds of information on having a fall garden of your own.

There looks to be a fairly nice pecan crop on the trees this year but first we have to make through the hurricane season without any big blows. You can find figs and fresh pears at the local produce stands right now. Down on county road 20, just east of hwy 59, the Little's farm still has produce to sell.

There are even more fresh vegetables and fruits to be found at the local farmer's markets and stands. Here are some that I have seen available now, green peppers, okra, figs, peaches, melons, blueberries, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, egg plants, strawberries, and green beans. The hot weather means shoppers should get out early to get the freshest produce and to get it home while it is still cool. It is important to either can or freeze vegetables and fruits quickly for the best flavor and crispness in the end products. Enzymes start to break down the sugars and nutrients in the produce right after they are picked. The blanching or freezing processes will stop the action of enzymes and act to preserve the vegetables or fruits. You can also make wonderful homemade jellies, jams, and preserves with the current crop of fruits or vegetables. I just put up some 12 pints of grape jelly and will be making fig preserves tomorrow. My loving mother put up just over 16 pints of blackberry jam and 10 pints of grape jam before her passing a few weeks ago.

Locally grown watermelons are starting to show up at the area farm stands and markets. Look for melons with yellow bellies and that produce a good hollow sound when thumped on. We used to grow melons by the truckload so I have had some experience with picking ripe melons. This has been a good year for growing large melons but for the sweetest melons you want a dry year.
Don't be afraid to drive down Hillcrest or Rosalia roads as both have been well graded since that major rainstorm we had a week ago. Our blackberries are nearly gone now as we are only getting a few lbs with each picking. Hillcrest farms is still producing a good supply of blueberries and they also have all kinds of homemade jams and jellies, vegetables, potted herbs and plants, as well as homemade ice cream.
Cassebaum's sweet corn is still coming in and they have cantelopes, tomatoes, squash, and other vegetables as well. Celebrate the fourth by making a nice big pot of boiled sweet corn or some gumbo with the fresh okra that can be found at many Baldwin County farm stands.

Locally grown cantelopes are available at Cassebaum's sweet corn stand. Our blackberries are still coming on strong and over at Hillcrest farms they still have blueberries for the picking. The recent rains may have slowed things down a bit but it has not stopped our harvest of all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables. For those of you who are gardeners in your own right, visit my website, http://www.growitveg.com/ to find all kinds of gardening tips and information, including recipes for using your harvest.

The fresh blackberries are coming in fast and furious because of the rain and heat. Over at Hillcrest Farms, they are really getting good crowds showing up to pick blueberries and she has fresh squash, okra, tomatoes, garlic, and her own homemade jellies and preserves. Cassebaum's still has fresh sweet corn coming in, along with a wide selection of their own fresh produce including squash, tomatoes, and eggplants. Soon it will be time for local watermelons to be ripening.

We started picking our blackberries this week, so all you cobbler lovers and jelly makers, here's your chance to get all these juicy sweet berries you need. We sell them either you pick for $2.00 a lb. or we pick for $3.00 a lb. Come out early and bring a picking container, a bottle of water, and a wide brimmed hat to go out and gather your own blackberries. These are totally organic berries that have never been sprayed with anything. We are located 1 mile south of hwy. 98 on county road 91, just west of Lillian Ala. on the Peebles Family Farm. Look for us 1/2 mile south of Cassebaum's sweet corn and like them we are open Mon. through Sat. weather permitting.

Check it out, I have added a page (Grower's List) that lists many of Baldwin County's Producers, where they are located, phone numbers, and what they have to offer in the way of fresh vegetables and other farm produce. Just click on the page title at the top of this page to go to it. Let me know if there are more I need to add or information I need to update.
We are busy filling our freezer with freshly dug carrots, tender snap beans, fresh crookneck squash, and starting tomorrow juicy sweet corn.

I see the folks at Hillcrest farms have their sign out for blueberries so its time to stop by and pick your fill of their delicious berries. They also offer locally produced honey and home made preserves. Hillcrest farms is located approximately 4 miles west of the Lillian bridge just north of hwy 98 on Hillcrest road. Look for the signs and bring your young ones to feed the chickens.

We are really getting the fresh squash and green beans right now. The first fresh tomato was picked from the vine yesterday and we got the first picking of young okra for the frying pan this week.