Beginning Quilt Series - FQS

 

Carpenter Star - Hannah

 

Nanny's Biscuits

 

Sweet Corn

While we were all celebrating the 4th of July, Granny was cooking and putting up the first of the corn.  She let us know that evening, the corn was ready.  We watch the silks on the ears to determine when it is time.  The stalk puts on ears and the ears start to silk, once those silks turn dark and the ear gets full, we pull it.  You don't determine when you want to do corn.  There is a window between when it's full and when it sours. If it sours, you'll know it.

Tuesday morning, before day break, Tony and Jerry went to the garden and pulled 3 and a half rows of the sweet corn.  Granny was right, it was perfect.  Even though Tony did not side dress it, we had big beautiful ears.  There were very few worms in it. And the deers had not eaten any of it.  We were blessed.




Tony pulled the corn and shucked it before he went to work





When we do corn, we do it all at Granny's.  We have done it for so many years that we have our knives and pans ready, along with our buckets and rags.  This year Tony, Jerry, Granny and I hit the ground running.  Well, Granny hit the ground running.  When I got there at 8:00, she had cooked breakfast for 5 people and had made a banana pudding.  I felt guilty for sleeping late. 

Once Tony had the corn shucked, Jerry and I silked it and cut off the bad places.  Even though we didn't see any worms, we saw evidence.  That's to be expected; however, it was minimal.  About 5 years ago, I learned a trick to silking corn.  We started using washclothes to silk it.  It works like a charm.  For years we used a small brush.  The bristles would burst the kernels and make everything so sticky.  Merrit sweet corn has very few silks compared to field corn.  So, the washcloth works well for silking.  You do have to change rags when you do as much as we do; but, it is still easier.



I'm behind on my silking



After we silk it, we use washtubs and 5 gallon buckets to wash the corn through two waters.  This takes alot of containers.  And alot of water.  You want the corn clean before you cut it off.    The water also keeps the ears cool and prevents them from souring.   Because there is so much starch in sweet corn, souring is always a possibility.  We are extra careful to keep it in shade and in the water.

Once you get it silked and run it through two waters, it is time to cut it off.  Here is where skill takes over.  There are two ways to cut off corn.  Cream and whole kernel.  We did it both ways.  Granny likes cream and my family likes whole kernel.  When you cut off, the most important thing is to have a very sharp knife.  Creaming it you clip it twice and scrape it to get the juice out.  Whole kernel is easier because you only cut once and it is close to the cob.  You really don't even need to scrape it unless you want a little juice. When Tony and I first married, Granny was ticky about the way corn was worked up.  I cut away from me; but, Granny cuts toward her.  It really doesn't make that big of a deal as long as you are consistent as to the depth that you cut.  At 91, it is a thing of beauty to see her work.

This year even Tony and Jerry cut off...whole kernel!

There is no telling how many ears came off that 3 and a half rows.  We had all we could do for one day and after we cut it and cooked it....we were finished with the corn.  The next morning, early, Jerry went out and pulled the remaining sweet corn.  Granny called in the neighbors and shared it with them.  Giving away makes room for God to bless you!

This is what Jerry pulled to give away, ain't God good!!



Lay it By

When you plant a garden and work it, you are waiting on the day when you can "lay it by".  After all the work's done...all the planting, plowing, hoeing and thinning; you can sit back and let mother nature do her thing.  There's nothing else to do but watch it grow.  We layed it by this week.  And, it is beautiful. 

Today is the 11th straight day with above 90 temperatures and we have had only one significant rain in two weeks, so we have watered everything but the corn.  In spite of that, the corn is tosseling.  The tossel is the grain that comes out the top of the stalk.  The stalk and leaves are green and the leaves are flat, not twisted.  All of that and we did not "side dress" it.  Granny said that we needed to put some "soadie" on the ground next to the plant so that it will make a fuller ear.  Soadie is the fancy word for amonium nitrate.  It is what makes it green and pretty.  It is also what you would use to build a bomb!  Tony thinks we'll be fine without the soadie, we shall see.

Tossel




90 degrees, no rain, no soadie...looks good!

Before we layed it by, Tony had to plow the peas for the 1st time.  He planted them the week before last and they are coming up.  Among the peas are quite a few weeds.  Plowing takes care of the weeds between rows; but, it will still need to be hoed to get the weeds between the plants.  Tony used the tractor to plow.
He also plowed the okra.  He had to be extra careful because the plants are still small.  And the soaker hoses we laying next to the plant.   



There were some odds and ends that needed to be done.  Tony has always used ground cover between the bean rows and on each side.  This is great for weed control.  By rolling it out, it does not need to be hoed and you can walk easily when picking beans.  At the end of the season, Tony will roll up the cover and use it again the next year.  The vines are starting to bloom and soon we will see some beans.  The first beans will be close to the ground which is another benefit of ground cover.  It is alot cleaner than red dirt!

Between the bean rows.



Jerry also caged the tomatoe plants.  It will keep the plant growing up and makes it easier to pick the tomatoes.  We use just basic fencing and roll it into a cage.  Jerry drove a post in the ground and tied it to the cage to keep it from falling over.  As the plant grows, we will make sure the limbs stay inside the cage.  This helps to keep the plants off the ground and healthy and gets plenty of sunlight to the fruit.

Tomatoes before they were caged.

Caged

Okra

Squash...it is blooming!

Green Beans

Saturday, after Tony plowed the garden, Jerry hooked up the soaker hoses and started watering the beans.  And, boy, do beans love water.  They really started growing and have put on some runners.  The plants are still somewhat small and the runners will be what produces the blooms and then the bean.  It is amazing to watch this happen.  The plants look healthy except for a few places where the bugs have eaten them.  We will take care of those bugs with a little Sevin dust.

After watering the beans

Beans are a vine and the best way to stake them is so the the vine will grow up.  If you don't, the vine will be on the ground and all the beans will be on the ground.  It is not fun picking beans on your knees.  Over the years Tony has perfected "staking" the beans.  There has been some trial and error and this is the way that works best for us.  We have found that big wooden fence posts with some metal fence posts work well, along with barbed wire and bailing twine.  The thin twine is the best because by the end of the winter, the twine will rot on the wire.  This year Jerry has had the "pleasure" of driving the posts along each row and tieing the stings.  It is HARD work; but, it makes life so much easier down the road.

They drive 8' wooden fence posts at the end of each row and at a quarter and half way.  The post at the end of the row are braced at the top with a 2X4 to give them more stability.  It is a big job!  Since the soaker hoses had been on the ground for a while, it made it a little easier to drive the posts.  Between each wooden fence post in the row, there is a 8' metal post to help hold up the barbed wire.  The barbed wire is run across the top of each post.  Don't ask why we use barbed wire.  It might be because of its strength.  It is not becuase it is easy to handle. It will eat you up.  As the bean vines grow, they get heavier and heavier and put alot of pressure on the wire.  So, at the end of each row there is a short metal post driven in the ground and cable is looped around the top of the wooden post and the ends are connected and ratcheted so it can be tightened up as the season goes.





The back end of the bean row



Front end of the bean row

After all the posts are up and the barbed wire is run from one end of the row to the other, you tie cut pieces of the bailing twine about every 6 to 8 inches.  The bailing twine is what the bean runner catches and climbs.  It is amazing...the bean vine has little feelers on them and when the wind blows the runner across the twine it grabs.  Often times we will start the runner by hand.  The vine only runs in one direction, counterclockwise.

Why would you wear white socks to the garden?

Runners

Staking the beans is a job that requires everyone to get involved.  This year Granny had the job of cutting the twine.  It is not a back breaking job; but, it is important. After all, you will need about 700 stings. 



Granny, the greatest teacher I have ever known!



It Takes Water

What is so funny about gardening is that you can do everything perfect; but without water, you've got nothing.  I guess that's why older people are always talking about the weather.  I think weather is God's way of reminding us who's in charge.  We can do all sorts of planning and we can control most everything; but, over and over God's Word reminds us that none among us has ever caused one drop of rain to fall.  It is because of God's mercy that HE allows water to fall to the earth.  Without it, we would all wither.

It has been about two weeks since we have had a good rain and the beans and tomatoes need watering.  Because we have been here before, Tony has bought all the hoses we need to get water from the well, run it to the garden and use soaker hoses right next to the plants.  It is amazing the difference it makes.  Soaker hoses are ideal.  They use very little water, it can be laid right next to the plant and the water soaks in the ground down to the roots.  When you use a sprinkler alot of the water evaporates in the air, you water the weeds and the plants and most of the water lays on the top of the soil instead of going directly into the ground to the roots.

Soaker hoses beside the tomatoes

Soaker watering the japaleno



Soakers on the beans