Let Us Plant Lettuce

Although spring is still a week away, we are having some nice warm days and everyone is itching to get out there and start planting seeds.  However, here in Oklahoma where we live, the average last frost date is April 15, so it is a little risky to put out tender plants until the danger of frost is past.

That being said, lettuce is one of those hardy plants that will withstand frost and live to tell about it.  In fact, we have been growing lettuce in our hoophouse all winter.   Click this link to see it:   Hoophouse

In order to get the nice individual heads that we sell at the farmers' market, we start lettuce seed in cell packs and put them in our small greenhouse.  Here's some that was started a couple of weeks ago.



Once it gets to be about this size, we plant the individual little plants.

We grow several varieties of lettuce.  Every year, we drool over the seed catalogs and have a difficult time deciding what kinds to order.  There are several "tried and true" varieties that we grow every year.  But, we like to try a couple of new ones every year.

Here are a few of the different kinds we've grown this winter.

As the spring warms up, we mix several varieties together and sow them outside in rows like this.

This is easily harvested by grabbing a handful and cutting it off about an inch above the ground.  Then, in a few days new leaves will begin to grow from the stub that is left.  This is called the "cut and come again" method and you can get about 3 cuttings off the same patch of lettuce.

Lettuce is easy to grow and I encourage you to try it.  You can stash it between flowers in your flower beds or even grow it in pots on your patio.  A word of caution, though.  It does not like hot weather and will bolt and turn bitter when hot weather arrives.  So, now is the time to start planting it.  If you sow a few seeds every couple of weeks during the spring, you will be able to enjoy fresh greens for several months.  

Early Spring Chores and Pictures

We've had spring-like weather the last few days.  Heck, yesterday it was 80 degrees!  That is verging on summer as far as I am concerned.  I had to break out my sleeveless t-shirt and shorts!  Well, maybe not the shorts just yet.  But, it was a beautiful day and we got a lot done outside.  We planted the elderberry bushes that we bought a couple of weeks ago from 360 Farms near Webbers Falls, OK.

Elderberries are native to Oklahoma and are high in antioxidants.  They make excellent jellies and their flowers can be dried and used for tea.

I also mulched our blackberry bushes using leaves we had collected last fall.  This normally eliminates most of the weeds in the blackberry bed and keeps moisture in the soil.

Finally, we rebuilt our household compost pile.  This time we just used t-posts and wire.  Tom used part of a pallet as a "gate".  It is just wired to a couple of the posts and will be easy to remove when we are ready to move the contents of the pile out to our large-scale compost making effort out in the "compost lot".  See this entry for information on that:  Making Compost .

Rebuilding this compost pile was necessitated because Tom hit the old one with the tractor.   It was a more elaborate affair that consisted of wooden frames covered with wire.  It was getting in need of repair anyway.  The new one will work just as well and only took a fraction of the time to build.

While I was out in the garden, I took the opportunity to take pictures of signs of life that are sprouting up.  Here's a picture of one of the garlic beds.

I also noticed that my chives are coming out of dormancy.

We've been growing lettuce in our hoophouse all winter.  But, Tom has begun planting it outside in the garden now.  Here are some tiny lettuce plants he set out yesterday.  We will cover these with a light row-cover if it gets really cold, but otherwise, they will be fine and ready to pick in a few weeks.

There were other signs of life in the garden, as well.  Like this dandelion.

And this henbit.

Even if dandelion and henbit are considered weeds, to me they are still beautiful flowers and are a welcome sight after the cold, overcast days of winter.  

Winter Sowing

I have found a new interest ..... Winter Sowing!  I know this sounds crazy, but I ran across this on Facebook and it has opened up a whole new world for me.  The rationale behind this concept is that in the natural world plants grow from seed, bloom, make seed and die.  The seed lie on the ground through the winter, through rain, sleet, snow and freezing weather.  Then, when the time is right, they sprout, send down roots and the whole cycle begins again.

It is thought that seeds which follow this cycle and are outside to endure the cool evenings and warm days during the early spring form stronger plants than those that are coddled inside under lights and warm temperatures.   This makes a lot of sense to me.  In fact, there is a website devoted to the concept which gives suggestions and ideas about how to do this.

Winter Sowing

It appears one of the most prevalent ways to accomplish winter sowing is to use gallon milk jugs.  I started saving milk jugs weeks ago, but when I was ready to start my seeds, I didn't have enough, so I went to a couple of the local coffee shops and asked for their empties.  Aspen Coffee gave me a whole trash bag full of empty gallon milk jugs!

The first step was to rinse them out and cut them around the middle with an X-acto knife, leaving a small "hinge" at the bottom of the handle.

 Here is a closer look at the hinge.



Then make drainage holes in the bottom.  There are several ways to make the holes.  One is to heat a nail over the stove and melt a hole in the plastic.  However, I used a Dremel tool fitted with a small drill bit.

Once the holes are made, then it is time to fill them with potting soil.  Be sure to water the soil well before you plant the seeds.

 Now sprinkle seeds on top of the soil and cover them with a small amount of soil.

After the seeds are planted, close the jug and seal it with duct tape, like this.

Label the jugs with a felt-tip marker and set them in a sheltered place where they will get some of the winter sun.

The general rule of thumb seems to be that you can use the winter sowing method to start perennials in January, but should wait until mid-February or early March to start tender plants.  I didn't know this at the time and planted all mine in mid-January.  Even so, I have one annual that has come up already and seems to be doing fine, even though most nights have been below freezing.

Once the plants are up, you will have to keep a close eye on the jugs to make sure they don't dry out.   Also, when the days are consistently warm and sunny, you will need to open the jugs up to keep the little plants from cooking.   There will be a period of several weeks where you may need to open them during the day and close them again on frosty nights.  You should not have to re-tape them, but just use a short piece of tape to close the jugs for the night.

After thoughts.....  In retrospect, I believe I cut some of my jugs too shallow.  They need to be deep enough to put 2-3 inches of soil in.  Also, I ran into problems taping the jugs shut because of the indention that many jugs have in the side.  

A solution to both of these issues is to cut the jugs at the top, like this.

When cut this way, the jug is deep enough so you can put in as much soil as you like and it also avoids the problem with taping over the indentation in the side.  It also uses less duct tape.

It will be interesting to see how this works.  Judging from the one jug of annuals that are already up, I know I put too many seeds in the jugs.  I'm sure I will have to thin the plants and only keep the number I need. 

It is still not too late to give this a try.  All the seeds I have planted so far are flowers of various sorts, perennial and annual.  But, I want to try starting a few tomatoes and peppers with this method and compare them with the ones we normally start in the basement under lights.

My biggest problem is going to be where to plant all these flowers, if they all come up! 

Update on the Peacock

It is about time that I gave an update on PeteyPi, our peacock.  If you have forgotten how he got this rather odd name, here is my original blog about him.  

The Peacock

So, here he is today.

If you recall he was only 2 years old when we got him and won't be 3 until this spring.  Because peacocks do not get their full tail feathers until they are 3, then he still has a way to go.  But, he is getting there.  He has a few "eye spots" and they are beautiful.

Because he is such a large bird, we installed a couple of 2X6s in his shelter as roosts for him.

Here he is jumping from the top roost to the bottom.

Today I decided he needed a better feeder.  His old feeder was made of plastic and was too shallow.  A lot of food was knocked out onto the ground and wasted.

So, I bought him a bigger feeder that is made of metal and is deeper.   He was very curious about it.



And, walked all around it.  Even jumped up on the straw bale in the corner to get a better look at it.

Finally, he decided to try it out.

Then, I cleaned and refilled his water dish and he tried that out too.

 I have gotten quite attached to this silly bird.  I sometimes give him treats, like this lettuce that I recently had left over from a salad.

 It is amazing the things he can do with his neck and head.  He can stretch his neck out long, like the picture of him on the straw bale, or scrunch it up, like the above picture.  He can also turn his head 180 degrees!

So, that's the latest on PeteyPi.  Hope you enjoy the pictures and find him as beautiful as I do!

Turnip Greens

About a month ago, I took you on a tour of what winter looks like on the farm.   

December on the Farm

One of the pictures I posted in that article was of our turnip patch.  

Both the leaves and roots of the turnip plant are edible.  But, turnips have a bad reputation because of their strong taste.  However, when cook just right, they are delicious.  Here's how I cook the greens.

First, remove the tough stems of the bigger leaves, wash well and drain in a colander.

While they are draining, chop some onion and saute in a large pot along with some chopped bacon.

You'll need a large pot to start with, but the greens cook down to a fraction of their original size.  I like to use a cast iron pot like this enameled pot.

Once the onions are softened and translucent, add the turnip greens.  You will need to stir them ever so often and watch them carefully to keep them from sticking.  I usually add a little extra water or broth.

Cook over low to medium heat.   They quickly wilt and cook down, like this.

Now, put a lid on the pot and cook over low heat until tender. 

Add salt and pepper to taste, put them in a bowl and enjoy!

I like to add a dash of hot pepper sauce and eat them with cornbread.  Some folks add a teaspoon of vinegar.  These are a meal in themselves.  

Attracting Native Pollinators

Back in June of 2016, I wrote an article about the Native Pollinator Workshop we attended at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture.   Native Pollinator Workshop

I recall at the time I had intended to write some more about what we learned in that workshop, but, alas, we got busy with the garden and I forgot about it.  Forgot about it, that is, until this past weekend when we attended the annual Horticulture Industry Show.  This was the topic of my last blog entry.  HIS meeting

During the meeting I attended a session on providing habitat for native bees.  I posted a note about the session on our Windy Acres Natural Farm Facebook page and someone asked me if I could share some of the information I learned at the session.  This reminded me that I had intended to share information from the workshop we attended in June.  So, here is that belated post.

The Europeans brought honey bees to the new world and since that time, we have become dependent on them to help pollinate our crops.  However, before the Europeans arrived, there were already many native insects that did the job of pollination just as well as honey bees.  Now that honey bees are being decimated by disease, it is more critical than ever that we encourage preservation of our native pollinating insects.  

In addition to pollination, many natives eat pest insects.  For example, the larvae of many syrphid flies eat aphids.  The adult fly fuels itself by eating sugary nectar and then searches for plants with aphids on which to lay its eggs.  When the young flies hatch, they patrol the plant looking for aphids to latch onto and suck dry.  

So, how do we encourage these native pollinators in our yards?  Here are some tips.

• Avoid using pesticides, but if you must, try to avoid letting the pesticide spray drift out of the area you want to treat.  Use low pressure and avoid days when the wind is blowing.  Even light wind can cause considerable drift.

• Create a pollinator-friendly landscape.  Unfortunately, this does not go hand-in-hand with large manicured lawns.  Some lawn may need to be sacrificed to create suitable habitat for beneficial insects.  One can do this by creating flower and herb gardens that contain plants that attract butterflies and native bees.  Here are some recommendations for flowers and herbs that are good to plant.

• Native wildflowers are excellent for attracting pollinators.  A short list of these includes Asters, Beebalm, Goldenrod, Milkweed, Joe-Pye Weed, Purple Coneflower, Sunflowers and Spiderwort.  There are many domesticated varieties of these you can buy at garden centers.  As I have mentioned before, we have a couple of large areas we only mow a couple of times a year to encourage wildflowers.  In one of those areas we have some beautiful native milkweed called Antelope Horn Milkweed.  Here's a picture of it.

• Herbs include Basil, Lavender, Mint, Rosemary and Oregano.  Here are some pictures of my basil patch from last summer.  I let it go to seed during the latter part of the summer.  It was literally covered with bees.

• Garden flowers include Mexican Sunflower, Cosmos, Russian Sage and Borage.  I grew Mexican Sunflowers this past summer and plan to plant them again this year.  In addition to attracting butterflies and bees, they are also a beautiful red color with yellow centers.  

• Provide suitable nesting sites for native bees.  There are a couple of ways to do this.

• About 70 percent of native bees nest in the ground, so they need access to bare ground.  Clear the grass from an area of your yard.  An obtrusive corner where you might situate a few large rocks so that it looks somewhat landscaped would work well.  The site should be open, sunny and have good drainage.

• Other native bees are tunnel-nesters.  They generally nest in abandoned beetle tunnels in stumps or dead trees.  But, you can simulate these sites in several ways.  Here are pictures that illustrate how to do this.

The Xerces Society has excellent information on building nests like those above.

Xerces Society

Horticulture Industry Show 2016

Goodness! Here we are in 2016 already. When did that happen? The past few weeks have been a whirlwind with family coming in for the holidays and a birthday for Tom thrown in there as well.  

However, we have one more activity to get out of the way this month before I feel like the gardening season can truly begin.   The Horticulture Industry Show is an annual event that is a joint meeting of growers in Arkansas and Oklahoma.   Each year the location alternates between Tulsa, OK, and Ft. Smith, AR.  Oklahoma State University bears a lot of the responsibility for organizing the event.

Here is a link to this year's event:  HIS meeting  

The theme this year is "Building Soils for a Secure Future" and the keynote speaker is Jeff Moyer from Rodale Institute.  He is a world renowned expert in organic agriculture.  

Rodale Institute was founded in 1947 by organic pioneer J.I. Rodale to study the link between healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people. He moved from New York City to rural Pennsylvania in the late 1930's where he was able to put his ideas and principles into action.

He learned about organic food-growing concepts and theorized that to preserve and improve our health we must restore and protect the natural health of the soil.  When World War II caused a sudden shortage of nitrogen fertilizer because it was diverted to making munitions, the natural nutrient poverty of the nation's soil was revealed.  Developing and demonstrating practical, non-chemical methods of rebuilding natural soil fertility became Mr.  Rodale's primary goal during World War II.

Rodale Instutite's website contains a wealth of information on topics ranging from herbal gardening and apple tree pruning to organic gardening and maple sugaring.  I hope you will check out their website below.

Rodale Institute