Veggies to Plant in May in Louisiana

I know that I missed putting this list up last month, but hopefully I'll be able to keep up from now on.

Collards

Cucuzzi

Eggplant

Hot Pepper

Luffa

Mirliton

Okra

Peanut

Pumpkin

Southern Peas

Squash

Sweet Potato (slips)

Heat-tolerant Tomatoes (Start seed for transplants)*

Cantaloupe

Watermelon

*A few heat-tolerant heirloom tomato varieties are:

Arkansas Traveler

Costoluto Genovese

Green Zebra

Quarter Century

Sioux

Super Sioux

Some Progress, Some Harvest!

I was not able to plant the garden I dreamed of this year, and I did not get to do much in the garden this spring. I had some health issues, as well as a hectic schedule and as a result, not a lot got done. We were able to plant some corn and beans, as well as some tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cucumber, and cantaloupe. We had to use one of our garden spaces for goat, thus were not able to plant as much this year.

This is the swiss chard, lettuce, and garlic. 

Garlic is a first for us this year, and I can't wait to see how it turns out! We were blessed with some cloves by a neighbor who has had the same garlic passed down for generations in his family. It's so lovely to get a heritage along with a seed!

As you can see, we are beginning to get some little tomatoes. I am very excited about them!

It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord can take one tiny seed, and grow it to become a large plant producing pounds of fruit! It kind of reminds me of our faith. When we first come to Christ, our faith is so small, and seemingly so insignificant. But God takes that seed of faith, as tiny as it may be, and carefully cultivates it to become a growing, thriving plant producing wonderful fruit for His glory!

And, for those of you who tease me about all veggies and no flowers, here is proof that I've planted flowers in my garden! I admit that the purpose was to help deter pests from my vegetables, but they are flowers none-the-less! I'm sorry, but unless it serves some profitable purpose, it probably will not end up in my garden! 

Here is a glimpse of some of the fruits of our labors. Our strawberries did pretty pitifully this year compared to the ones we planted last year, but we are getting some berries, so we are thankful for that!

My trial-run of growing carrots was a success! We were so excited to harvest the crisp-smelling roots. Believe me, I had help to pull them up! To the girls, pulling up carrots was as much fun as digging potatoes!

"And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they may prepare a city for habitation; And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may yield fruits of increase." ( Psalm 107:36-37 )

Chickens, Herbs, and Lettuce!

This is the time of year when I'm just itching to get in the garden. All the rain that we have had lately has been a little frustrating, but I know God has the weather in His control and will allow me to get the garden in when He's ready!

I've been pretty limited on what I can do in the garden because of the weather, but I have still been able to get some of my beds cleaned out. The easy way.

As you can see, I'm not the one doing the work. I draft my chickens to do that job!

Daddy made me this chicken run that fits exactly over my raised beds. They do a great job cleaning the beds out, and give it a little extra fertilizer! Not enough to burn the plants, but enough to add a little nutrients.

I have never successfully grown carrots before, so I thought I'd try again. As you can see, at least the greens look pretty! I can't say if there are any carrots under there, but we'll see in a month or so!

This is my herb nursery bed. I'm rooting some rosemary and peppermint, as well as some green onions.

Here is a glimpse of the feathered friends I have around here. They went on a laying strike several weeks ago, and it took a lot of coaxing to convince them to lay eggs again. They now have free access to lay pellets and corn, and I have a light that is timed to come on so they get 16 hours of light a day.

It worked!

As I've always said, harvest is the very best part of gardening, and I was able to harvest our first lettuce. It was SO yummy! You may think lettuce from the store tastes good, but when you get to taste it fresh from the garden, you find a new definition for "good"!

Of Mustards and Radishes / Veggies to Plant in March (in Louisiana)

I did not get the opportunity to plant as many winter veggies as I would have liked, but the Lord did allow me to get some in, and this week we were able to harvest the first.

Mustard greens are some of my dad’s favorite greens, so I always try to plant as many as I can.

I like to plant them thickly, and then when they are the perfect size for harvesting the tender baby greens, I thin them to the desired spacing.

I harvested half of this row this week, and plan to harvest the other half next week.

I was just thinking how, when you allow the greens to grow close together, they can never grow to the size and healthy vigor that they can. It is when they are thinned so they can stand alone that they grow the most to become beautiful large plants we enjoy to see and harvest.

I find it very much like our life in Christ. It is wonderful to have brothers and sisters in Christ that we can grow together with, but it is during the times when we stand alone that our largest and strongest growth in Christ occurs. I wonder why then we also tend to get so upset when these times come? Where is our faith? Our faith that is to be like the “grain of a mustard seed”?

Though I enjoy eating mustard greens, I must admit cleaning them is not a favorite chore of mine. My mom was kind enough to say that since I picked them, my sisters could clean them. But because of the recent rainfall, the greens were especially dirty. I happened to see some ½ x 1-inch wire lying next to the garden, so I rigged up a large “colander” to rinse most of the dirt off the greens before I brought them inside. It worked pretty well!

As always, it is so exciting to eat the first fruits of the garden. I harvested four large bowls of greens which wound up being about 5 quarts cooked down. A very yummy harvest!

I was also very excited to harvest two quarts of radishes. Several of us really enjoy the cool and crisp “crunch” of a good radish, and the Lord has blessed us with several so far this year.

Veggies to Plant in March in Louisiana:

I know that not everyone who reads this lives in Louisiana, but I know for me, it helps to have a list of things I can plant for the month. If I have it at the beginning of the month, it really helps me to plan and know what my goals are for the rest of the month.

(Plant after the last frost, or plant and protect in case of frost)

Cantaloupe

Collards

Corn

Cucumbrs

Cucuzzi

Eggplant*

Kohlrabi*

Lima Beans

Mirliton**

Mustard

Peppers*

Pumpkin

Radish

Snap Beans

Southern Peas

Summer Squash

Swiss Chard

Tomatoes*

Watermelons

Winter Squash

*Plant transplants

**Plant the whole fruit with the sprouted end in the dirt 3 inches deep