Garden Tips:

05-14-13: We're off to a late start with Spring planting this year for most of us. So the heat will be drawing up moisture from your garden soil fast and furious. The preventive measure is to MULCH! There are many different kinds, we recommend something that will break down into organic matter in your soil after a year or two. The popular mulches are straw (hay) or wood chips. Most garden houses carry wood chips and bark, but Atwoods or a friendly farmer are the only sources for hay/straw. Apply 3-6 inches deep and water thoroughly to moisten. This also will help with invasive weed invasions, too.

04-23-13: Cover up tender vegetation one more time. If your plants are very exposed, you may want to water them first. Dry plants don't survive freezes as well. Below freezing temperatures are expected tonight with a 10-day warm. Hopefully it will be the last freeze, but that's what we said the last time, right?

03-25-13: At the end of March, getting your garden ready for spring can be quite a chore. Some of the things that can be done now include: 

• cultivating your annual flower and vegetable beds to kill out winter weeds

• applying mulch to control weeds and retain moisture

• starting your warm weather transplants indoors

• planting your cool season crops like broccoli, cabbage, carrots, lettuce, onions, and peas should be planted as well.

For your lawn care, removing excess thatch will help warm up the crowns and will also allow access to treat for crabgrass. Broadleaf weeds can be controlled at this time with a post emergent herbicide as well. If you have any questions about you lawn, or garden care, you can contact me, Charity, and I would be glad to help!

03-12-13:

• Start warm season transplants indoors.

• Prune roses just before growth starts and begin a regular disease spray program as the foliage appears on susceptible varieties. (Anti fungal)

• Plant evergreen shrubs, balled and burlapped, and bare root trees and shrubs.

• Apply mulch to control weeds in flower beds.

• Divide and replant over crowded, summer and fall blooming perennials. Mow or cut back old ornamental grasses before new growth begins.

• Cold season plants i.e. broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, onion, peas, spinach should be planted mid march.

10-22-12: It's about over for the harvesting. Freezing weather is coming. Cooler temps down to the high 30s starting Thursday. Protect tender vegetation. Maybe we can squeeze another week or two for those last tomatoes. Already start looking at soil conditions and plan for some good pruning of shrubs, particularly crepe myrtles. Don't cut back rose bushes until the cold in January. Kale, lettuces, spinach, parsley (especially Italian flat parsley) should already be in the ground and coming up. Window is narrowing for planting daffodils, tulips and other early spring bulb flowers. Better do it now while the weather is still favorable. Thanks for getting our gardens through another year of drought and supporting our harvest. We'll keep sending you notices of activities throughout the winter. Order of lots of seed catalogs for next year and get out your woolens!

10-8-12: Already this last weekend we have had a surprise from Jack Frost, but it was just a very light frost. We didn't take any chances, and as you can see, we covered up the most sensitive and valuable plants that we have yet to harvest. Watch the weather. If you're new to Oklahoma, the weather is unpredictable, despite what the weathermen say. Take precaution. Use newspapers, sheets, clear plastic, and tarps where necessary and cover up your vegetation on every alert. Our fall season can last well into December sometimes, but once the freezes become sustained for more than a couple of hours, then it is over. Hopefully our area will have a long lasting season, because holiday dinners for the family just don't get any better when serving fresh harvested veggies from your garden. It's not just about flavor but the spiritual satisfaction of God providing it through your own laborious efforts. Now that's something to be thankful for. Until next week...happy gardening.

9-24-12:  If you are growing a fall garden keep an eye out for little green worms eating holes in the leaves of cabbage, lettuces, broccoli, etc. You can cover these crops with a floating row cover that works well at keeping the “butterflies” out that lay the eggs for the little darlings. You can also safely spray with a product labeled for caterpillars that contains bacillus Thuringiensis.  They have to consume this to have it work but as soon as they do it starts to shut down their eating. You can also hand pick them…..squishing them or dropping them in a can of soapy water gives us some satisfaction for all of the holes they’ve created. Gardening is not for the weak of heart but, oh, how we love it!

9-11-12: As things begin to die back in your garden be sure to get the dead plant material cleaned out and into the compost (if no diseases or pests are present!) or the trash. You don’t want to provide a wintering over place for things like squash bugs and grasshoppers. Fall is a great time to garden in Oklahoma because we have cooler nights and warm days….the perfect growing environment for many vegetables. We also don’t have the insect pressure that we have during spring and summer months. Watch in the garden for large praying mantis insects. We are finding many of them in our garden and they do a good job eating other bugs. Our only complaint with them is they really don’t care if it’s a beneficial insect, a destructive insect or their cousin Harry! Watch for their egg cases as you clean up…..they look much like a short run of dirty light brown Styrofoam along a stem or wire. These are good to leave in the garden for next year’s pest control.

++++++++++++++

8-13-12: Now that it’s starting to cool off a bit we are looking at some of our ornamental plants that have taken a beating in the heat and doing some maintenance. Many plants like coleus, impatiens and others can be cut back to encourage new growth. So much of the old foliage is scorched and looking bad so encouraging some new growth will get our plants through the months ahead looking so much better. Regular deadheading also helps your plants out. If you’re unsure how to do either of these stop by the garden and Charity or I will be glad to show you.

++++++++++++++

7-30-12: Dealing with extreme heat is tough on plants and gardeners alike. We are cutting back allot of our plants to reduce the amount of leaf surface that the root system is trying to support. This works better on ornamentals than vegetables but can be done by shortening vine length or cutting tip growth back to a set of leaves along the stem. Plants can only take up so much water, after that you can drown them! Try to water in the morning and don’t be too distressed when everything wilts down in the heat of the day; we are all doing that! Give things a chance to perk up during the evening and if still wilted give them a drink. The only good news is that temperatures will drop eventually. 

++++++++++++++

7-23-12:  Watch out for spider mites on your plants! Leaves will begin to show areas where the green color is fading out. When you turn the leaf over and look you will find webbing and tiny, tiny little dots moving around. If you’re not sure, hold a piece of white paper under the leaf and tap it. If the specs on the paper start moving around you have spider mites. Spider mites come in several colors, red, black and brown among them.

They reproduce rapidly in hot, dry weather so try to catch them before they take over the entire plant. If you spot them early you can start treating them with Safer Soap. You can make up a similar mixture by mixing 1 tablespoon Ivory soap, 1 tablespoon canola oil and 2 tablespoons beer in a quart spray bottle filling the rest of the way with water. Spray early in the morning or in the evening and be sure to get under the leaves! If these don’t work for you there are plant-based pesticides that can be used….Neem or pyrethrins are two of them.

If all else fails, take the plant out (don’t compost it!) to keep them from spreading to your other plants. Preventive measures can be taken by spraying water on your plants (early in the day only!!!), getting up under the leaves good. Spider mites like environments that stay nice and dry so this may discourage them from taking up housekeeping in your plants. Watch the water pressure, you don’t want to blast the leaves right off the plant.

Happy Gardening!

Mediterranean Baked Eggplant

with Feta cheese and Tomatoes

• 4 eggplants

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 4 tomatoes (peeled, seeded and chopped)

• 2 to 3 ounces of feta cheese

• Bunch of oregano

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Slice each eggplant lengthwise in half and score the cut sides in a crisscross pattern. Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet. Add the eggplant, cut sides down, and fry over medium-high heat until golden. Fry the second sides for a few minutes then remove to a plate and season with salt and pepper. Wipe out the pan. Heat 1 tablespoon fresh oil in the skillet, add the tomatoes, and cook over medium-high heat until they have broke  down into a chunky sauce, 5 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set the eggplants, cut sides up and snuggled side by side, in a baking dish. Crumble the cheese over the tops, spoon the tomato over the cheese, and sprinkle with the oregano. Cover and bake until the eggplant is tender, about 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 minutes more. 

NOTE: It’s hard for me to cook a dish like this without adding some chopped onion and garlic and sautéing it a bit before adding the tomatoes.  Your call!

Spicy Smoky Kale Chips
recipe adapted from Whats Cooking With Kids

Ingredients:

• about one bunch of kale, rinsed and dried
• Olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• about 1 tablespoon of chili flakes (or to taste)
• sprinkling of paprika or cheyenne pepper power (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove the kale leaves from their tough end and inner stems. Cut longer leaves in half or preferred bite size pieces.
3. Place kale chips in large bowl. Start by tossing in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. The kale leaves only need to be lightly coated with oil. Too much will make the chips too limp and greasy. Only add about  1 tablespoon of olive oil at a time. Then sprinkle in sea salt and chili flakes.
4. Put the kale pieces in a single layer in a baking sheet lined. You can use parchment paper if you like for easier cleaning.
5. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until crisp. About 5 minutes before they are finished, you can gently toss them in the sheet pan for more even baking. They will burn easy, be aware of how they are baking.
6. For more smoky or spicy flavor, lightly dust the kale chips with paprika or cheyenne pepper power.

Nutty Okra

Makes: 4 servings

• 1 lb. fresh okra, cut into ½” pieces

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

• 1 cup all-purpose baking mix

• ½ cup finely chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts

• ½ tsp. pepper

• Peanut oil

1. Toss okra with salt, and let stand 20 minutes. Add egg white, stirring to coat. Stir together baking mix and next 2 ingredients in a large bowl. Add okra, tossing to coat; gently press peanut mixture onto okra, shaking off excess.

2. Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches into a Dutch oven or cast-iron skillet; heat to 375°. Fry okra, in batches, 2 to 4 minutes or until golden; drain on paper towels.

 Tip: Pulse the peanuts in a food processor for easy chopping.

       1 (16 oz.) package frozen cut okra, thawed, may be substituted

Camp Joy Tomato Basil Pasta

• 4 large, ripe tomatoes (or 6-8 small ones)

• 2/3 cup basil leaves

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1/4 to 1/3 cup good olive oil

• 1 pound of linguini or angel hair pasta

• Your choice of cheese: freshly grated Parmesan, a 3x3x1" block of feta, or some fresh mozzarella

• salt and pepper

Pile the basil leaves into stacks of 4-6 leaves and then slice each stack into thin ribbons. Place in a large bowl with the minced garlic. Cut three of the tomatoes into 1/2" chunks. Slice the last tomato in half. Chop one half into 1/2" chunks; grate the other half on the largest holed side of your grater, cut side down. Discard the skin. Add all the tomato chunks and the grated tomato pulp to the bowl. Gently stir in the olive oil and 1 t. salt. Let the mixture sit with its own goodness for at least ten minutes and at most two hours.

Cucumber Salad with Dill

Ellen Ecker Ogden

Cook’s Garden Cookbook

2 cucumbers

1/8 cup rice vinegar

¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 T. Sugar

1 T. Soy Sauce

Freshly Ground Pepper

Fresh Chopped Dill

Thinly slice cucumbers and place in bowl with vinegar, oil, sugar, soy sauce and ground pepper. Garnish with fresh chopped dill and allow to marinate an hour or more before serving.

PLANT SALE THANKS

GARDEN PLANNING

Donate here by Credit Card on PayPal!

Or mail check payable to:

HOPE OUTREACH MINISTRIES

P.O. BOX 1067

ENID, OK 73702

Subscribe to Harvest Update

  Subscribe to Harvest Update