Texas Fall Gardening

Per a request on tips and " how to" for Gardening in Texas.

Texas planting is a little different than planting anywhere else. You can read books and "how to" articles on what and when to plant but unless you have planted here or know someone who has, all that studying is for not.
To give an idea on the difficulties of Texas gardening, it is like planting in the dry hot desert but at the same time having hardy enough plants to endure harsh cold snaps.
Here's an example, our last frost in usually in March. So one would think to plant like the almanac says and all your spring seeds would be in the ground by March 15th to April 1st and even some of the transplants . Then, in the second week of April after all the seeds have sprouted and the tender little plants are about inch or two tall, we have a week of freezing temperatures and all that work and planting was for nothing.
So you think you learned something? The very next year you decide that will not happen again so you wait till the end of April to seed and transplant. No freezing temperatures this time, but the massive heat and drought hits at the end of May and your plants never had a chance.
I see it year after year. It is like playing craps, just a roll of the dice. Unless you have a climate controlled greenhouse, this is the fight you will face every year.

Fall Gardens are my favorite. Here are some tips I have learned over the years.
I get more production from Fall gardens than any other time I plant. The vegetables taste much better and are brighter in color. The shorter days keeps the sun from pulling all the good taste and color out. This is because many vegetable crops store more sugar making them taste better than the spring crop.

The first thing that needs to be done while it is still hot is to prep the soil. This is the time to add compost. Some people even go as far as to sterilize the ground by turning it three to five times during the hottest parts of the summer and letting the sun kill everything. I do not do this because I use raised beds and my soil is layered and is kinda like a composter in it's self.    

The one thing to remember with a fall garden is the growing season is not as long as the spring. One tip is to use transplants were you can to boost the production. Plus, it is wise to add a couple of weeks to the number of days to maturity on the seeded plants. It also helps to use the varieties that are relatively short in maturing.
It would be nice to have a green house or some cold frames for when it starts getting cold to extend the growing season. Being that I have neither, I use old hay as an insulator from the bitter winds and my kale will last up until it is covered in snow.

Here are just some good fall crops:
Broccoli - The most productive fall crop.
Green Beans - I use either Roma II or Tendercrop.
Carrots - I have to use the short variety like Nantes due to some hard packed soil.
Squash - I plant summer and winter squash in the fall about two weeks apart.

What's the plan and what's in the ground now:
I had a very bad summer garden. I finally gave up on it about a month ago and let it lay. The only thing I have done to the beds was add compost.
This week we planted Sweet Corn, Summer Squash and Cucumbers (slicing and pickling).
This weekend we are planting Snap Beans, Bush Beans, Pinto Beans, Cauliflower and Winter Squash.
The first of September we are planting Cabbage, Carrots, Swiss Chard and Kale.
The middle of September we are planting Garlic, Lettuce (leaf and romaine), Sugar Snap Peas and Spinach.         
This is only the second year I have had gardens here at this place. The first year was not a good year at all because I had to establish my soil. I tried, but the soil was not ready and did not have what it took to grow a nice healthy crop. The summer crops, like I said, could not be kept alive and with the well outage for a week did them in. This fall should be the best yet and I am looking forward to it. 
   

So Close, But Yet.........

I could see it!

I could feel it!

I could smell it!

I could hear it!

It blew in and dropped the temperature almost 20 degrees.
It looked good and It felt good and It only dropped 10 sprinkles then moved right back out.  
I can't remember the last time I was this disappointed.

Something Useful

Finally I can blog about something useful. When I was first told about this I had my doubts, but now, well, ok lets see what you think.

The other day while at the grocery store my youngest girl calls and tells me she needs a bottle of Castor Oil and a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Of course being the curious guy that I am, I asked why. She said it was for her face.
For the past couple of years now my daughter has had bad acne along her brow line. She is really embarrassed about it and always wore her bangs down to hide her forehead. We have spent a lot of money buying different facial products to help her out and nothing has worked. She finally got tired of it and took it upon herself to find something that worked.
So being the good dad that I am, I didn't argue with her oil request but I knew and told her you cannot put oil on your face as a cleaner but what do I know, I'm a guy. She corrected me by saying these oils mixed together will break down your skin oil and clean your pores.

This is what she did :
1 teaspoon of Castor Oil
3 teaspoons of EVOO
The dryer your skin is, you add a little more EVOO
The oilier your skin is, you add a little more Castor Oil.
Mix them together and rub on your dry face for one minute using your fingers. Do not wet your face before.  
Then place a hot rag on your face to steam your pores.
After that, just wipe off and that's it.  

 The next day I was curious about how well this worked. She was so excited, every bit of the acne was gone. She said it would take up to three days, but it was a overnight success for her. 

Now she wears her bangs back showing that beautiful face off like she should. 

I bet you never figured on a post like this in a Rednecks blog hu? I didn't either.

Don't Panic, I Know What to Do

A while back I watched a TV series that was called King of the Hill. I am sure you all have heard of it. I loved the show because me and Hank could have been brothers and it was all about Texas living.

In this one episode, It was winter and Hanks family and all his co-workers from the Propane store were having a BBQ outside in a nearby park. They were using tall propane area space heaters to stay warm and the show had the people in short sleeve shirts and shorts. Bobby (Hanks son) was standing there and he noticed something fell on his arm. He studied it for a second and said, "That's a funny looking ash".  Peggy (Hanks wife) looked at Bobby's arm and said "Bobby, propane does not give off ash. That's not ash, that's snow!". The whole crowd stopped what they were doing turned and had fear in their eyes. Then with panic in her voice Peggy hollered out "Everyone stay calm, I have seen this once before and I know what to do". Then just like Texas drivers, everyone panicked, got in their cars and started sliding all over the roads.

I say all that because that was the first thing that came to mind this morning on my way into work. I was driving down the road when something started hitting my windshield. Usually I have to wash it once or twice on my way in from all the bug guts anyway but this was something different. I thought to myself "What is that?" as I studied the front glass for several seconds and then it hit me. It was sprinkles. Not enough to even turn on my wipers but they were there and it was wet.
The first thing I thought was "Don't panic, I have seen this before"

Dog Day

Today I am dog tired. The heat and twelve hours out in it did it's toll on me. I am going to take the night off.
Thank yall for for being here with me.

That's What I Like About Sundays

What is there not to like about Sundays? Except the fact it is the day before Monday, it is the perfect day.

I was able to sleep in a little this morning, but in doing that made it where it was already to hot to get out and do much.That's ok, I really didn't want to anyway.
After breakfast everyone got all prettied up and we went to refill our spiritual tanks this morning. It was much needed due to the fact I had not been in two weeks because of the sickness that has been running  throughout this house. I think we kicked it's bacterial butt for now (knock on wood). Everyone is over it.

After church we did a little cleaning  and started getting ready for another hot, dry week. I sure did not want another weekend to go to waste like the last one did so I decided to finish up doing some much needed prepping stuff.
I had to re-figure our Bug out bag a little. There is just way to much stuff for five people to live for 72 hours that you can put into a backpack. To remedy this I put all the "Keep me alive" stuff in the backpack and put all the food and water stuff in another. They both now have a place next to the front door tied together just in-case someone forgets to grab both, they will drag the other one right along with them. Smart hu?

The youngest and I also filled another dehydrator today with more seasoned okra. The last batch of these little tasty bites lasted only a day and I didn't even get any. This batch, if I can get to it in time, will be placed into vacuum sealed bags and put into the BOB #2.
I also learned I can not only eat these the way we have been, but I can also reconstitute these and put them in rice for a nice jumbo. One reader said the okra will come back as good as new, slime and all.  Being that they are already seasoned makes it all the better.   

Yall have a good week and try your best to stay cool.
Now I need to figure out what I am going to do about BOB #3, the clothes bag. I'm telling ya, try packing for five people for three days and have everything to just survive on. It is a real chore. I swore I would not have more than one bag, but it just ain't gunna happen.

Quality Time With The Wife

The one thing I hate is shopping. Don't get me wrong, I like going to some certain stores and yes sometimes I just wonder around looking at all the nice new things I cannot afford (like Cheaper Than Dirt), but just shopping for the heck of it is such a waste of time. When I do go, I have a two store limit and that's it.
When I go into town I Try and get the stuff I need and get out. There is no reason to hop from store to store all day and only get one or two things at each location.  I don't care if it's ten cents cheaper across town, it's not worth it.

After spending the morning over at my Mom and Dad's finishing the barn rebuild, the wife wanted to go with our friends D&R to do some shopping. Here is how the conversation went,

The wife: Do you want to go shopping with D&R?

Me: For what?

The Wife: I don't know, just shopping.

Me: Where are they going?

The Wife: Just a couple of stores, I don't know.

Me: You know we can't get anything.

The Wife: I know.

Me: Then why are we going?

The Wife: Just to get out I guess.

Me: Na, I don't need anything and don't want to go if I can't buy nothing.

The Wife: .........................

Me: Dear, why do we need to go out in this heat and walk around the stores when we know we can't buy anything?

The Wife: Fine! We won't go.

Me: Come on now, there ain't no reason to just go walk around and look.

The Wife: Whatever!

So anyway the outing went well. The heat did not keep people from getting out today. The stores were full and the only parking was a five minute walk to the doors. We ended up going to Gander Mountain, The Academy, Sam's and finally Albertson's. I heard mention of Walmart and told them if we went to Walmart I would throw a fit like a three year old girl.
Ha, victory! No Walmart. It's the small battles she lets me win that makes me feel like I have the sayso around here.

I did get to buy a couple of boxes of ammo at Gander Mountain, so it made it all worth it.    

House Guests

I was standing right inside the back door looking out and watching the heat waves float across the horizon when all the sudden a lone Blue Jay flew by and hovered right above the ground. I was fascinated by this little bird and wondered why it was just hovering around. Then the darnedest thing happen. All the sudden he pulled out some little oven mitts, put them over his little feet and then landed.
I say that as a joke but you should see the chickens. They stay under the one tree we have because it is the place where we wet the ground down and have fresh cool water. When they decide to go to the barn they all line up at the shade line, hike up their wings and take off running not stopping till they get to the other shaded area. It's like watching people walk on hot coals.


Even though we have fans and ice bottles available, we had a rabbit die yesterday. The youngest was heart broken because she works so hard to keep everything cool. She called me crying and the only thing I could say was, it was not her fault. So with a heavy heart I oked the transport of all the rabbits into the house.

 I told them to make sure the cage had a bottom and it is to be cleaned every day. We will see how long it lasts.








 Now I have goats and rabbits both in the house. I have one of these bottle babies spoken for and I still need to find a home for the other one. (hint, hint) I will even give you some milk and a bottle to start you off with.


     

Side note:
Please keep my middle daughter in your thoughts and prayers. She has to go see a cardiologist on the 15th and we are scared to death. I told her not to worry, I'll do enough for the both of us.

I Made A Promise

I made a promise not to talk about the heat any more so I won't. Not much else to talk about though.
Hmmm.........
OK, on a technicality I will not talk about how hot it is, but I can talk about the effects of the heat.
Here, take a look.

New Snacks

I was over at my Mom's the other day and she handed me a cup full of little dried up green things and said "Here, try this". Normally I would not hesitate but looking at these things I was not sure what I was about to put in my mouth. I will try anything once, twice if I like it. So without further to do, I grabbed a hand full of whatever it was and shoved it in.

I want to tell you what, I have never had dehydrated okra before so it was a surprise how good it tasted. The wife ended up eating the rest of the cup and the next thing I knew I was in the garden picking okra.

If you never had it and want to try it, then this is how we did it.
Don't use any okra over about 3", It is to tough.
Slice the okra into 1/4 inch pieces.
Blanch. 
Place on dehydrator trays and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
Dehydrate until dried.
And that's it.
I love these are a healthy little snacks and I bet you do too.




I wanted to say howdy to a few new members of the family.
Howdy and welcome to Modern Day Redneck. Don't be shy about your comments. If you take the time to comment then  I will take the time to respond. If you need anything just let me know.
Again, thanks for joining and welcome to the family. 

Results Are In

Just one more comment about the heat and I will stop kicking and leave this horse to die.
Did you see the weather last night saying the part of Texas where I lived was the HOTTEST place in the Nation and it will stay like that all week? I'm just saying.

I thought it would be fun to put up a little poll here on the blog (on the right) to find out how everyone was doing with the whole prepping for the "IT" factor. It ran for about a month and now the results are in.
28% Of us said to Bring "IT" on.
48% Said "IT" needed to hold off a while longer.
15% Just got started getting ready for "IT".
6% Are in trouble if "IT" happened right now.

So this is what I get from the results.
6% of us will only survive for the first couple of months. Grim but true. (I think it is a lot higher than that as a whole nation. More like 90%)
15% Might make it to six months or just a little longer.
48% of us all will have a good chance of making it for a while, but half that number would not be here two years from now.
And only 28% of the population would be able to keep moving right along as if "IT" didn't happen. For how long, I don't know. 

Even if some of us think we are ready for what ever might happen, it will be hard. We might think we are self sustainable but if we really look at all we do, have and need in our daily lives, our percentage of being 100% self reliant, sufficient or sustainable goes way down.  The truth is, with everything I do I am at only 3 to 5 percent self sustainable. Now that's sad.

I was in a conversation yesterday with a guy who said his dream later in life is to be off somewhere and be 100% self sustainable. I told him it is impossible and of course he disagreed so I broke it down for him.

• I asked him what he was going to do for food. He answered by raising animals and growing his own.

• I then asked him how he was going to work his fields to raise the food. He answered by his tractor. 

• I asked him where he was going to get the replacement parts for his tractor. He answered from the tractor shop.

• I then asked him what he was going to store his food in. He answered glass jars and wood bins. 

• I asked if he was going to make the jars and the wood. He said no, he was going to buy them at the store. 

Then it was like a light bulb that went off in is head. He lowered his head and said in a defeated voice, oh I see what you mean.  

It was not my intent to degrade his hopes and dreams but I did want him to realize it is not as easy as he was making it out to be.
Before we parted ways I made sure to give the guy several words of encouragement to help him refocus his dreams and to start living like that now as best he could and not wait for later. I told him there might not be a "Later" and asked what is he doing for his family's well being right now.
I also reminded the young man (20's) that it was his responsibility to provide for his family and if that took storing up a years worth of food or learning how to put by what he grew in his little gardens behind his house then that's what is was.
I could tell his confidence returned and he willingly wrote down some good websites I gave him for places to start off with and learn. One of those being Modern Day Redneck of course.

I lied, one more comment. It will hit 112 today and we have started having losses with the animals. One of my male geese was walking to the shaded goose pond yesterday and fell over dead. Some of the others are not looking so good. We are doing what we can but it is not enough.      

Good Times

This Email was sent to me today and I thought it was funny and accurate. So I thought I would share it with you.

Dear Diary,

Just moved to Texas! Now this is a state that knows how to live!!
Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. It is beautiful. I've
finally found my home. I love it here.

June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an
air-conditioned home, drive an air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to
see the sun everyday like this. I'm turning into a sun worshipper.

June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus
and rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing the lawn for me.
Another scorcher today, but I love it here.

July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used
to this kind of heat? At least, it's kind of windy though. But getting
used to the heat is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the community pool. Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my
body. Missed 3 days of work. What a dumb thing to do. I learned my
lesson though. Got to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I missed Lomita (my cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning.
Sad.   I learned my lesson though. No more pets in this heat. Good ol'
Mr. Sun strikes again.

July 25th:
The wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot
as hell. The home air-conditioner is on the fritz and the AC repairman
charged $200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside on the patio for 3 nights now, $225,000 house and
I can't even go inside. Lomita is the lucky one. Why did I ever come
here?

Aug. 4th:
Its 115 degrees. Finally got the air-conditioner fixed today. It cost
$500 and gets the temperature down to 85. I hate this stupid state.


Aug. 8th:
If another person says, 'Hot enough for you today?' I'm going to
strangle him. Dang heat. By the time I get to work, the radiator is
boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like baked cat!!

Aug. 9th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts, and when I sat on the
seats in the car, I thought my butt was on fire. My skin melted to the
seat. I lost 2 layers of flesh and all the hair on the back of my legs
and butt . . . Now my car smells like burnt hair, fried butt, and baked
cat.

Aug 10th:
The weather report might as well be a dang recording. Hot and sunny. Hot
and sunny. Hot and sunny. It's been too hot to do anything for 2 darn
months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week.
Doesn't it ever rain in this  state? Water rationing will be next, so my
$1700 worth of cactus will just dry up and blow over. Even the cactus
can't live in this  heat.

Aug. 14th:
Welcome to HELL! Temperature got to 115 today. Cactus are dead. Forgot
to crack the window and blew the windshield out of the car. The
installer came to fix it and guess what he asked me??? "Hot enough for
you today?" My sister had to spend $1,500 to bail me out of jail.
Freaking Texas . What kind of a sick demented idiot would want to
live here?? Will write later to let you know how the trial goes.