Why Grow Your Own ?

I’ve been asked by some folks why I grow my own produce.  After all, they say, there are large produce sections in the nearby grocery stores.

What they tell me may be true, but in most cases the quality, and selection in our stores leave a lot to be desired.  I spent nearly 20 years living in Northern California and I got spoiled.  I was able to find nearly anything I wanted ( in season) at any number of roadside stands.

Ever since taking some cooking classes at the Culinary Institute of America I have been cooking with much more variety, and doing that successfully demands a wider selection of ingredients than can be supplied by my local stores.

More importantly, the last few years have been terrible for the food industry in terms of food safety and contamination.  I am sure you have heard of all the lettuce, tomato, hot pepper and other problems that were all daily news not too long ago.

To sum it up, I grow my own so I can have produce that I like and can’t find in the store, so I know it has been handled well and not treated with loads of pesticide, and didn’t spend a week of it’s life traveling across the country to get to me.

But one of the biggest reasons to me is the flavor.  Some may argue, and I can’t deny it may be purely psychological, but fresh home or locally grown produce just tastes better to me and those of my friends who have tasted it.

But the biggest reason of all is I like to be outside working the land,  even in this hot, record  breaking drought we have been living through here in South Central Texas.

Gotta go.  Time to pick a few watermelons.

This is What It’s All About

First Tomato of the Season

 

I have been asked on several occasions why I spend so much time in the garden, what with the high humidity and temperatures here in South Central Texas.

There are a lot of good reasons such as fresh air, being outdoors, physical exercise, nature, etc.  But for me, this picture says it all – fresh vegetables.

This was our first tomato of the season, and while only 8 oz, it was one of the best tasting tomatoes we have had in quite a while.  Home grown seem to have better flavor and not as hard or full of seeds in the center as those we get at the supermarket.

I am anxious for the main crop to ripen so I can make fresh pasta sauce and hot salsa which I plan on canning this year so I can have some this winter.

Yummo!

Oh – Beans!

Grown from seeds, the beans are maturing nicely and beginning to climb

One of my favorite vegetables are Green Bean.  As I discovered when planning my planting this year ( I admitted I was “green”) was that there are two basic type; pole beans, and bush beans.

Pole Beans need to climb, and take a bit longer to produce.  Yet they will continue producing until the end of the season.  Some say they also have a better flavor.  I’ll let you know.

Bush Beans grow in the form of a Bush and mature at about the same time, making them a single harvest vegetable.

I decided on the Pole Bean so I could hopefully get a longer harvest.

I started these from seed in one of my raised beds to see how things go,  As you can see, they are matureing nicely, and starting to climb.

One of the other things that I have learned is that in the Texas heat and humidity, a mulch helps a lot.  I left two plants with no mulch (grass clippings) while the rest were mulched.  The mulched plants are doing very well, yet the two without mulch are stunted, and are not developing well.  I doubt I will see anything from them.

Fo me, it’s been very exciting to watch these and the other plants grow from seed and mature along the way.  As long as I can keep the deer out of the garden, everything should be fine.

My deer fence is 6 ft tall so I should be ok.

Where Bambi Goes – Nothing Grows

Black Eyed Susans after the deer finished with them.

Ever since I began the Garden project and started looking into putting up a deer fence, some friends living around the country asked why? They’re so cute, and ” Gee, I wish they were in my yard”.

 Deer are so prevalent around this part of Texas that they are not very afraid of humans. About the only predator is the automobile. You can see the results along the road before the local vulture “clean-up crew” arrives.

This photo shows what happens when you try to plant something without thorns or a fence, These were Black-Eyed Susans I raised from seeds.  My wife wanted something around the base of a small windmill we have to dress it up. I was afraid of the deer, but decided to try it anyway. All was fine for several weeks, and they grew and grew.  Needless to say I was surprised. One morning when I went out to check on everything this is what we found.

The deer had found them quite tasty and cut them off like they were hit with an old fashioned Scythe.

The next time you see some “cute” little Bambi, think twice before feeding them. They do fine on their own

The Deer Fence Progresses

We are in the edge of the Texas Hill Country on what is called The Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone.  The ground here acts as a big filter for the rainfall as it soaks down into the aquifer below us.  The aquifer is the main source of water in this area.    

Beginning construction of the Deer Fence

 

 

Once the deer fence arrived and we started construction we found how hard a ground can be.  Once we dug down to 6 inches or so, we were met with solid limestone.  As a result, we had to hire someone with a jackhammer to dig our post holes and set them in concrete for us.

As you can see, we finall made progress once we got past that.  Here the frame is set while the concrete drys on the door frame.

Glad this part is over with.

Where It All Began

When I decided to start a large garden as a test run for the Market Farm operation, I needed a place to start.  Although I did want it close to the house, others in the family objected for aesthetics sake.

After looking around our plot, I decided this are in the back corner would be good.  After all, it gets lots of sun, is well drained, and is near some sprinkler lines I can turn into a drip irrigation system.

The brick wall you see was a more or less arbitrary border we put in place when we built for an area for native Texas wildflowers.  Unfortunately, most  years it has been so dry that very few flowers made an appearance, even after seeding.

Due to the large number of foraging deer and oppossums, Iknew I would need a deer fence.  Sheesh, more expenses!

Think I am going to Google deer fences next.

Returning to the Country Life

Although I didn’t  technically grow up on a farm, I did spend nearly every possible moment, weekend or vacation I had while growing up on my grandparent’s farm in Central Minnesota.

Farm Life in the 1950’s and 1960’s wasn’t as large scale as things are now and I learned a lot of life lessons from my Garndma Millie.  I think many of those life lessons and memories I have from those years are what planted the idea of eventually getting back to the farm.

Now, as I find myself not too many years away from retirement, the opportunity has presented itself

I was recently able to make a great deal on a few acres in Northern California.  My plan is to move there in a few years and start an Organic  Market Farm & Mandarin Orchard, while working with my son Scott to build a serious operation.

Since I have been a city dweller for so many years, I need to get back into the hang of things, so to speak.  This blog is nothing more than a documentation of my journey, first building a small operation here in Texas, and then building again when we relocate to California.

Texas has a lot of oppotunity though too.  One thing that amazes me here, is the scarcity of good local produce.  Stores carry very little of most commonly found produce ( have yet to find fresh peas, organic or otherwise).  And most citrus other than grapefruit comes from California, even though it grows here quite easily.

I hope to share my discoveries on gardening vegetables, and citrus, and even the biggest pain in my life – deer control.

Let me know your experiences too.