The Homestead Shrinks

As it turns out, the 50'x177' piece of land long used as a garden does not belong to us. Our homestead is smaller than we thought.

Last weekend, prior to seeing the attorney and finding out that we don't own the property, I met with our neighbors. I learned that they had nothing to do with the incident the week prior in which our neighbor frightened off the gentleman who was plowing the garden space. Not only did they not have anything to do with it, they had no idea what he was talking about. Our meeting was pleasant and encouraging. As four Christians, we were in agreement that what mattered most was to glorify God in all things and avoid taking fellow Christians to court.

Am I angry that I am losing the garden? Honestly, not really. Truth is, I was overwhelmed. I was having a very hard time keeping up. I didn't want to admit that but that is the truth. I am actually relieved and encouraged. Now, I can focus on a smaller area and thus take better care of it. I can still grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruit trees and do it much better. The plan is to make mixed garden beds that will be attractive and productive. I've very excited!

In other news: John Boy and I went foraging pears from the neighborhood and came home with a huge cache of pears. No, seriously, we're talking huge! It seems that folks plant pear trees and then either don't have time to harvest them or don't want to bother. They are glad to have someone take them. Amazing!

Mother and I have picked 100 pounds of tomatoes from the u-pick farm. I'll pick more if Hurricane Irene doesn't ruin the remaining crop. Mother has been busy canning. We are developing quite a pantry of canned tomatoes, peaches, pears, soup, and okra.

John Boy and I have also begun getting two copies of the Sunday paper for the coupons so we can build our 3 month pantry. What, a 3 month pantry? Yep. We are working on building a 3 month pantry (food, medical, and household supplies) for "in case of...". After we have a 3 month pantry, we'll begin working toward a 1 year pantry. If you don't have supplies at home to handle a short-term or long-term crisis, you should really consider starting to work in that direction. Seriously. There are lists and instructions on how to build a pantry. Some lists provide a weekly shopping guide that will result in a 1 year pantry at the end of 51 weeks. In a year or so, I hope to have a 1 year pantry...but we aren't quite there yet....

Okra, Okra, Okra



Okra Jungle



Once upon a time, I hated okra. It was just a disgustingly slimy or disgustingly hairy textured vegetable. I know, I'm Southern, how can I not love okra? Embarassing but true. But, this embarassing problem has now been remedied! I can honestly say that I love fried okra, okra in tomatoes, and best of all, pickled okra! Lesson learned: don't assume you still dislike something as tastebuds do change. Or, perhaps the lesson learned is: one's own home-grown okra tastes way better than that grown somewhere else. Either way, I'm glad I was open to try growing and eating this veggie!

This tastebud change is very timely because we have okra coming out of our ears! Every other crop has failed miserably this year. But, not the okra. It has enjoyed the excessive heat and humidity and grown into an okra jungle.  Oh, you think I jest? Au contaire, I jest not! It is a jungle out there! Look! A person could get lost in there! 



Okra blossom



Sunflower Jungle seen from
with Okra Jungle



Despite the itchy affect of touching the okra plants, harvesting does come with some simple pleasures. I get to enjoy the pretty okra flowers. I also get to listen to and occasionally have a tete-a-tete with a few of my gardening helpers. I got a picture of the okra flower but unfortunately the green treefrog and itty bitty gecko were not willing to pose for a picture. There were also some bugs which I suspect were not "helpers" but since the frogs and lizards were on the job, I focused on harvesting.

Fortunately, I did not encounter any snakes. Copperheads have been very stubborn and refusing to acknowledge the eviction notices we've served over and over again. They just don't seem to be willing to relocate. One had the audacity to bite my cocker spaniel, Tanner, on the hip while he was minding his own business in the dogyard last week. It was sentenced to death by beheading. Oh, and Tanner is fine. He slept it off and was back on guard duty a few hours later.



If you have ever harvested okra, you know the itching we endure when harvesting in this jungle! Wading through the jungle in search of the okra pods is quite a challenge and pods get missed no matter how careful I am.

But, we are finding different uses for the different sizes of pods. The small and medium sized okra pods are used for pickling or frying. The medium to large-but-still-tender pods are used in canning tomatoes-and-okra. The large-no-longer-tender pods are blanched and frozen to be used in the dogs' food. They don't mind the slime. Dogs are gross. But, I love them anyway.



Lacto-fermented okra



Tomato Relishs



Today, I picked a basket full of okra and green tomatoes (and a small amount of red tomatoes). Mother and I processed these into jars of pickled okra and tomato relishes. The pickled okra are vinegar pickled and then water bath processed. I have also lacto-fermented a batch of okra and those pickles are amazing. The fermented okra pickles are not processed as that would kill the beneficial bacteria.