The onion patch has endured late April frosts and no rain until last Friday.
The strawberries we planted two winters ago (they were the first planting in this garden) are looking great.
Chisholm Creek forms the eastern property line on our acreage. I think it is the most important feature of our property. It’s wildlife, huge trees and fertile bottom soil give the property unique value. The creek flows constantly as is mostly clear. It rages and sometimes floods when heavy rain falls. It is a torrent then, and scours the creek banks and causes major erosion and bank collapse. Ducks and turkey love the creek. Deer and racoons abound too. We have seen bobcat, coyote and fox next to the creek. It is amazingly close to town too. The creek actually begins in town and bisects the north side of Oklahoma City. I think the nearly 100 ponds and embankments on the tributaries make the stream run clear and run while it is dry. Homes are like people, they are drawn to water. Most of these embankments and ponds are encircled by homes, leaving little or no space for the wild creek. Can a creek like Chisholm Creek be protected as a waterway? Can we leave this last vestige of nature in better condition year after year? Or will it be paved over? It is only 15 miles long before it joins Cottonwood Creek in Logan county. Even while it seems like a possible task, how can it be done before it’s covered up? I wonder what kinds of community action could be taken to preserve and improve the wild Chisholm Creek for this and future generations?
Have you ever heard “When there is onion there is hope”? Who said that? But in my kitchen it is true.
The gardening season has begun. We are transplanting onion sets, leeks and planting potatoes.
One of my earliest clear memories is my grandfather Ray’s back yard. And since it was a corner lot you might call it the side yard because it was open to the street and sheltered by a huge cottonwood tree that served as shade for the many times we visited Ray and Mary Ladd, my maternal grandparents. He would sit outside in metal chairs freshly painted and patched from rust with his friends under the cottonwood and conduct business. Even though it seems as one moment now, the scene must have been different each visit but my memory seems fixed, as solid as the old cottonwood, thicker than it really can be so close to the house. His telephone had a marvelously long cord which he pulled through the back bedroom window out to his table. He had a full head of white/grey hair and always had cold pop in his outbuilding to the back of the lot which served as extra sleeping and storage space. We could get it ourselves from the fridge. We would sip the sweet pop and sit and listen. Like the annual pollination that happens with native cottonwoods, this memory is getting more smokey as I am older. The cottonwood barren of leaves and shade. Memories roll up together like puffs of cottonwood seeds. Gathering and becoming indistinguishable from each other, rolling gently.
The 2014 season is here already.
Shallot, Garlic and Onion seed are in the ground The last seeds and bulbs are in the ground. I have always used onion sets in the early spring. This year I’ll try to grow my own from seeds. They have emerged very nicely. The idea is to not give much room for each plant. Grouping the plants closely will make transplanting easier in early spring. I imagine we will dig up clumps and plant them in rows. Garlic is pretty easy to grow. In the southern US (Oklahoma) we plant in late fall, after the first frost. In a mild or normal winter they will emerge and grow 6 inches high. The magic is below ground where the cloves establish their roots. Garlic loves a rich soil so we have added chicken manure compost before tilling and hilling the soil. They like dry feet so raised beds are best. Plant each clove about 4 inches deep. Next to the Garlic is a row of shallot. It is mostly French Red Shallot that I found at Southern Seed Exchange. They have a nice choice of varieties and cater to a southern gardener’s planting schedule. I have no trouble finding garlic nor shallot. I have until now always planted shallot in the spring. The result is shamefully small bulbs (some of which I have used as seed this fall). Maybe fall planting will finally produce a harvest of shallots. Thanks to Adrian the rows are now mulched with wheat straw that he shreds in a leaf shredder. He has also been busy building more compost piles from shredded okra, peppers and garden debris. We are getting loads of chicken manure from a new round of pullets. Ron Cramer gave me 24 chicks this summer and they have begun producing lots of eggs and poop. Plenty for the compost piles and about 2 dozen eggs per day. The garden is not sleeping. The first section planted in the garden in late 2012 were strawberries. To my surprise they produced some nice berries this year. Next year they should be great – if we can keep the deer out of the garden all winter. The Arapaho thornless blackberries have done very well too.
This season was a very good garden season. Seemed like the garden has been gushing boxes of veggies and melons. Boxes after boxes shipped twice a week. The garden gave it up. Now she and I need a rest. Adrian too, bless him. The okra wants to work more. Each plant 7 feet tall after blooming over and over. Boxes and boxes of okra. But I think it is time to give it up this season. Clean and oil the tools. Compost the too tall okra. Pull down the beans and reclaim the trellis. Call it a day.
People are hungry in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is our hope to provide a source of nutritious fresh food by serving local food banks.
The garden sits in the bottom of Chisholm Creek and shows great promise with great top soil and a nice flat 1/2 acre for cultivation.
Over a long and lucky life I have accumulated a lot...
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People are hungry in Edmond, Oklahoma. There were times as a child that I was hungry. People don't get enough fresh vegetables. It is my hope to provide a source of nutritious fresh food to my community of local food banks, kitchens, friends and family.
The garden sits in the bottom land of Chisholm Creek and has great top soil and a nice flat 1/2 acre for cultivation. We have added a water well, irrigation and electricity.
The setting is my favorite reason to garden here. The old elm tree shades a nice sitting area from which to view the garden and the rich nature that comes and goes in the bottom.
Over a long and lucky life I have accumulated a lot...
Even in prosperous Edmond, food banks do a steady business serving the poor. Most efforts are operated by volunteers. They almost always need help. Please give cash or volunteer.
Great examples:
Regional Food Bank: where you can donate or volunteer.
Other Options, Inc. in OKC
Project66 Community Food Pantry in Edmond