'T' is for Turnips, Again

Today I wanted to stop about talk about what's going on in my little corner of the world.

Spring is here in full swing and the pollen count is off the scale. Several days the yellow haze in the air is a swirling cloud move around the state, blessing everything in its path with an even coating of pollen. Even after the rain storms, all the puddles have yellow rings around their evaporated edges.

This past weekend we spent time working up on the farm. Hubby worked moving bulls to new pastures and collecting branches off the fence lines while I started straightening up the garden for another year of delicious vegetables. Which means, fighting Round Two with the reoccurring turnips.

I don't know how many of you were with me last summer as I ventured out of the writing room and into the garden for the first time in many years. Long story short (look it up - it was funny!), I despise turnips. They took over my garden last year and some of my seeds never recovered. I lost my carrots and peppers along with watermelons to an infestation of turnips. This year I vowed would be different.

I pulled an 800 square foot plot of turnips. That's right, root and all, just pulled those suckers out of the ground. Then I sprayed with a mixture of white vinegar and soap to kill whatever might remain.

Let the games begin again!

I Have Lost My Mind, Again

Last summer helpful hubby and I created our first vegetable garden since our marriage twenty-five years ago. It was a comedy from beginning to end but I did end up with quite a haul in canned beans and pickles. Well last night I did it again. The wheels have been set in motion for another adventure - I ordered this season's seeds.

While we did manage to get seed from most of our harvest, the tomatoes, watermelon, and corn were a bust. I decided what I'm going to do is take seeds from last year and new ones just in case. I believe this is called hedging your bets. If what I did last year was wrong, I have a Plan B.

After carefully shopping websites for heirloom seeds, I settled on Victory Heirloom Seeds. The prices were reasonable for the quantity of seed provided, and their website was easy to navigate. Why heirloom seeds? First of all what I am trying to do is create my own sustainable seed bank. Second, I don't try seeds that have been grown as hybrid. There is no way to know what was used to produce the plants. Third - these taste better than hybrids!

Last Sunday I made my way down to the garden spot to check everything out and who did I find nesting there but my old nemesis - turnip greens! Angered I stomped off to see the cows. Let them enjoy the sun while they can! Soon it will be time to fire up the tractor and weed those greens out for good!

So as I work on my newest WIP and await word on two submissions a part of my brain will be making garden plan-o-grams and composting horse manure for fertilizer. That should make the winter go faster, waiting for the sun to return to this hemisphere and for nature's bounty to begin poking their little heads through the warm ground.

Turnip greens - this is you last warning!