Fall Gardening

I am finding that posting fall gardening on two blogs is too repetitious, so I will post a daily link to my garden blog. On this blog I will continue to post more information about emergency preparations, and recipes that use what we are growing, buying or from our food storage.

Start Planting!

To start your fall planting this month, be sure to plant basil, beans, dill, and squash soon, so that they will be harvested before frost (our average first frost is November 7).

To see if you have enough time for full maturity, check the growing time for your particular vegetable. (For example, if I planted bush green beans on August 3, and it takes 56 days until harvest, I would count the days and find that the beans will be ready to pick by September 28, in plenty of time before the frost). This also helps if you are planning on preserving vegetables as it lets you plan for canning or freezing time in that particular week.

Some growth may slow as the temperatures get colder and may show signs of stress (more towards winter). On the other hand, we may have an extra long warm fall with everything growing abundantly! Seeds are cheap, so plant away!

Fried Okra

Fried Okra--serves 4-6

1 lb. okra
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
2 c. cornmeal
vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash and drain okra. Cut off the tips and stem ends. Slice okra into 1 1/2" thick rings, and place in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle with salt.

2. Pour buttermilk over okra. Stir well to coat. Set aside for 15 minutes;drain

3. In a large skillet or deep fryer, preheat oil to 375'. Place cornmeal in a separate bowl or shallow pan. Roll the okra in the cornmeal until well coated. Fry in the oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

Homemade Mustard

Yesterday was National Mustard Day! I never knew there were so many different kinds of mustard. This is something to add to our food storage, to add a little spice to some of the more bland foods. It is easily made from scratch, as long as you have the powdered mustard.

Homemade Mustard

Mix together equal parts mustard powder and water--that's it!

You can also make mustard from mustard seeds, but it is a bit more involved, and I will not be going into that here. If you are interested, just Google homemade mustard.

Garden Rice

Here's a quick little recipe to get you in the mood for growing a fall vegetable garden!

Garden Rice

*1/2 c. white rice
*1 c. chicken broth
*1/4 c. fresh vegetables (corn, peas, broccoli, Bok choy, green onions, etc.)
*fresh or dried basil or any herb that pairs with your vegetable

Mix all together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover and cook until rice is done.

Fall Vegetable Gardening

This will give you an idea of what to plant this month. Generally, you can plant all of these vegetables and herbs by seed, with the cole crops (cauliflower, broccoli, brussels spouts, cabbage, turnips, many of the Chinese vegetables) going in as transplants (they needed to be started in July). You could try them by seed and you may get lucky! If they are not growing so well by the time you find vegetable starts in the stores, you can always replace them. Starting seeds outdoors at this time of year can be a little tricky for some veggies. I will be covering the vegetables one at a time, and I will give some ideas that I have collected over the years that will help you be successful growing a great garden. If you have any questions, just ask in the comment section of a post or email me here.

Planting in August:

Basil
Beans
Beets
Bok choy
Broccoli
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Chives
Dill
Endive
Fennel
Green onions
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuce
Mustard
Peas
Potatoes
Rutabagas
Spinach
Squash
Swiss chard
Turnips

If you are really adventurous, you could plant directly sow tomato seeds, or tomato transplants from the store, for a late fall crop!

Good Luck!!

Dairy Prices Going Up

Kellene, the Preparedness Pro, has posted a short article about how the government has provided a way for the dairy farmers to stay in business by upping the prices of milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products. She urges everyone to stock up on butter (can it), cheese (wax it--more to come on this in a couple of days), etc. She also has links to coupons for dairy products. Go here for more information.