The sprinkler is on the garden right now, Larry. We've been dry for a few weeks too.

I didn't do as much for a fall garden, but I don't think I'm behind. Maybe a little. I put seeds in on time, but something is happening to my carrots. They sprout, get their second leaves and then disappear.

I saw what might be a potato finally popping up. It's probably too late now, tho. We'll see. Other than that, I only did a few lettuce and greens and very few beets, radishes and turnips.

I'm hoping we don't get a frost until late October. I'll keep an eye on it, tho. We'll be in Arkansas Oct. 2 to Oct 6. When we return, I would like to dig the sweet potatoes.

I'm baking banana bread and then will head out to check things over.

Sounds like y’all got lots of good stuff going on. I was going to respond to the last thread and time got away from me. yesterday and today I did markets and I am worn smooth out. First thing in the morning I need to harvest and water very well. I am very behind on planting for fall. I should have started from seed six weeks ago. My goals this week all include getting ready for the market in Springtown. It is supposed to be a huge market and I have a lot to prepare. Then if I have any energy left over or time I will plant Carrots, beets, brassicas and more herbs

crazy notes from my garden. This is my 3 or 4 year of growing Ashe County pimento peppers, I love them, but this year they are different. I did buy new seeds, and I planted some saved seeds, Before my pepper plants have been short and stocky. This year all of my tomatoes and peppers have had a lot of fungal disease, and have not produced well, some even died.

This is my best Ashe County? Anyway that is how I have it marked, but I am not sure it is from purchased, or saved seeds. Last year I planted my peppers all mixed together, I don't plan on doing that again. The tallest point on this plant is 49", with the bulk of the plant being at 40". The plant at this time has 20 red peppers on it, and a lot of green peppers, but they are all small, golf ball size and smaller. My question is, if this plant was in you harden, what would you do to make sure that next years crop is better?

I am thinking of starting with all new seeds. and planting different kinds in different areas, and hoping for a drier spring.

Larry, if it's saved seed, do you think it crossed with something last year? I have a pepper that volunteered where I had both orange and red habaneros last year. It is shaped like a habanero and is red, but has no heat at all. But smells like a hot pepper. Anaheims were planted next to them last year.

Looks like Cleveland Co now is "abnormally dry".

Jennifer, my guess is that is DID cross with something, but I don't know what. What ever happened, my habanero is the only pepper that I am happy with this year, but I have other problems other than cross pollination. I am afraid that I have fungal disease issues, I am wondering if they will be an issue next year. I even had a problem where there was no crop planted last year. Did my plants get the disease before they were planted? Also my sweet potatoes did not seem to be effected, and the okra seemed to do okay, but it seemed to be forever before it was dry enough to get my ground ready, and everything I did get planted on time stayed wet for a month or more. You may not notice, but my peppers leaves still have yellow and dark spots on them.

Jennifer, here is some peppers the Jerry brought over yesterday, he had brought some over before, and I love them. I have small jalapeno, giant jalapeno. and tam jalapeno seeds. I had not planed on planting and tam jalapeno. I KNOW that I planted Giant jalapeno seeds, but I have no Giant jalapeno peppers. These peppers are great, almost sweet, with almost no heat but I am not sure what they are,

If I could always reproduce these I would not mind growing these each year. You can almost just eat these as a snack. I can not do a regular jalapeno like that.

I may have had a mix-up in my seed starting.

I might add that sweet potato leaves aren't bad raw, they don't have a lot of taste, but lettuce doesn't either.

But, when sweet potatoes leaves are cooked with onion, garlic, salt, pepper and oil, they are pretty good. and will grow back in about a week.

And, the peppers did have a little heat. Also if I never respond any more, it is because I burned the pressed ham on this sandwich, I doubt that I died from the leaves.

Larry, that looks good. In fact, I think I’m gonna have a sandwich myself.

Y’all my dill is finally coming up. I do not remember when I planted it, but the top of the little pots dried out so much that I did not think that it was going to come up at all. Persistent little darlings. I use a lot of dill in my herb blends and it is expensive to purchase. I am hoping to grow a bunch of herbs undercover over the winter and keep things going as much as possible to keep my costs down, which gets me more profits. Haven’t seen the parsley yet, but there is something green showing in those pots. I hope it’s not weeds. Today I’m working on shrink wrapping my jars. I have had too many people feel like it is OK to open the jar and stick it up to their nose. I can’t imagine how they were raised that they think that’s OK to do with products that are for sale. One person I had to actually ask him to buy it because he stuck it on his nose. They just don’t know better. Candles soaps, I can understand but not things that we are going to eat. So I shrink wrapped the lids and then I have samples behind my display that they can taste or smell. I sprinkle some in their hand and it works very well. So far I have 145 jars ready to go to Market and I am going to be doing at least 150 more. My garden is looking OK, but I can’t stay on top of the water. I thought I watered everything super heavy yesterday but apparently I missed a few things because they were drooping like crazy this morning. I wish I had time to harvest sweet potatoes because I really want to get that project done and behind me. I am going to Quitaque next Thursday to stay with a friend. Then on to Lubbock. I can’t wait to see those grandbabies.

I cant keep up with watering either. It rained on us pretty hard for about 200 yards on the interstate as we were coming home from Ft. Smith, then 1/2 mile down the road the hwy. was not even damp. and no more rain coming home.

I gave away 18 pounds of the 25 pounds of sweet potatoes that I have dug to Madge's sister yesterday, so I should dig a few more. I would like to go ahead and dig my potatoes, but I would like for them all to be in the ground 120, but I doubt that will happen, because that will put the last digging about 11-15, I feel sure that we will have a frost long before them, 10-15 is about the last frost-free date that I would bet on.

I just don't feel young anymore, I cant stay out of the dr. office long enough to get anything done.

Kim, can you do a sample jar for people to smell? It's not hygienic necessarily, but that's on the sniffers not you. lol

Thanks for sharing your pics, Larry. I always enjoying seeing them.

K, I'm about ready for bed. Hard, physical labor type of day at work and I'm ready to rest.

Jennifer, it looks as tho I may have to start digging my potatoes earlier than I had expected because of medical issues, or have the kids dig them for me, either way I want to post pictures of my harvest. I have tried a "new to me " method of planting this year. I plan on weighing my harvest, and try to judge how many plants to plant next year. I have planted too many of everything in the past, and I am no longer to care for as many plants as I use to car for.

I will go for more test tomorrow, and it looks like I may me going in for something next week. I have the rest of one row that has already been in the ground 120+ days, I finish digging that row this week. I have given away most of what I have dug so far, but I still want to save 100# for myself.

Kim, I can only post from my phone and it is extremely frustrating. I’ve finally accepted the only way to be sure is compose it in Notes, then copy and paste. Houzz deletes stuff faster than I can type it and if I need to go back and edit it will lose the entire post or insert long spaces where I don’t want it.

My new squash and green beans are producing,new red zipper peas and new zucchini blooming. Tomatoes are blooming but not setting except for the SunSugar. Okra and cucumbers still making and I have at least a gallon bag of banana and Marconi peppers to give away every week. Have more in freezer already than will use over the winter-I eat them in everything but my husband doesn’t tolerate them often. I’ve planted lettuce in beds but none has survived yet, my greenhouse gets too hot to start inside now. Hoping to dig my sweet potatoes before the rain but don’t see that fitting in my schedule. We’ve been replacing and repairing corral pipe for the last week, a job that is taking us twice as long to do as we get older. Larry, as you say - the list in my mind lasts a lot longer than my body keeps up. I think the deer eating everything in the yard is a mixed blessing. I miss the flowers but not the constant watering and weeding. I have trouble just keeping up with the garden which is fenced in. I remember how Dawn used to comment about the deer just outside her garden fence. Red spider lilies are blooming now, they are a favorite that are sentimental, I need to move those inside the garden fence because the deer have destroyed most of my other lilies - daylilies, tiger lilies and asiatic lilies. I only have a few of the little red ones left, they came from a favorite aunt & uncle in SE OK. Saw the bulbs at a local nursery last week for over $7 each. Rain predicted for next couple of days, hope they are right.

Jennifer, this is my sweet potato report for today, 9-17-25. I finished digging this row of 30 plants, which have produced a total of 97 pounds of potatoes. The quality is lower than I had hoped for. The pile in the foreground is from 3 or plants, the rest have not been dug at this point, also the lawn mower mowed the tops of some of the potatoes off.

There is 73# of potatoes on the lawn mower. There are a lot of damaged potatoes in the bucket, which I will clean up and process the best I can. I always have gopher damage.

The ground is very hard. I will plow with the tractor at a later date to try to scratch up the potatoes that might be under the runners. I expect to get better potatoes from the north garden. This picture is of the south part of the south garden, it was started the year of covid, and needs a lot of amendments.

Larry, I would love to have sweet potatoes that look as good as yours. I'm excited to dig them, but want to wait maybe 3 more weeks. That would be Oct. 8 (from today). We'll be back from Arkansas then. I like to cure them in the hoop house on cardboard (I've said that before, I know).

Glenda, your garden just sounds so pretty. I've seen it from a distance and from what I can tell, it is. Is your daughter and son-in-law going to do the pumpkin patch again? We'll bring the baby if so.

I remember Dawn saying that they had to build an 8 ft fence around her garden. After her memorial service, a few of the ladies went to her house. Kim, Lisa, Megan and...someone else? Tom and I had to get back home for some other event/situation. I am sorry I missed seeing her garden. I know she didn't feel well her last couple of years...and she was transitioning to growing fewer food crops in the large amounts TO making a pretty backyard area. So, her garden may not have been in it's former glory when the ladies visited. But...still. I would have loved to see it. I wonder if Tim is keeping it up at all.

The fall potatoes are beginning to pop up. I have no idea if they'll have time to make anything.

Lima beans have little pods right now.

The only thing I had time for this evening is watering. I sure hope we get some rain this next week.

I worked at my newish job. (normally it's in the Edmond area, so it's quite a drive for me). It's a pretty physically hard job....and can be a bit mentally tiring too. Not going to explain on an online forum. lol

My kitchen garden is really messy, but also really pretty. I like it. I've spent some time earlier in the week hard pruning tomatoes. I had let them just sprawl. I pulled them up, untangled them, and put them on the trellis. They almost look like a pole bean or something similar....from a distance. I was going to pull them, but noticed all the blossoms and small fruit on the the new growth. It's the Isis Candy. I got zero earlier this year, so am excited for a second chance.

Super happy I've committed to growing a small number of tomato plants next year.

The winter squashes are producing well again. I'm so hoping they're not infected by SVB. The earlier vines were, but the newer ones continue to look healthy. I'm glad I left them alone. I processed the first batch because they wouldn't have stored well....but IF these ones aren't invisibly infected and we don't have an early frost, I might get some storage ones too.

How I long for a proper root cellar. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, onions, garlic--I would grow a lot more if I had a place to properly store them. And other than the winter squash, those crops are mostly hands off.

I'm fading fast.

Time to chill.

Jennifer, I’m so tired. I can’t respond. But I did read the post and I will respond in the morning because there was a couple things I wanted to say and ask.

Jennifer, my garden is not pretty but i love it anyway - its pretty redneck and functional but that describes me too. Yes, they will open Walnut Woods October 4. Let me know when uou are coming - I’d love to see you this time and meet your daughter and the baby.

Jennifer, I expect to be digging my best potatoes about Oct.8. I have 2 family reunions, two medical procedures, one class reunion, and countless repairs that need to be done. I figured that I needed to start digging my potatoes in order to be finished by frost. It is embarrassing to be so slow and helpless. I use to enjoy and take pride in things that I cant even do anymore.

I had a picture pop up on face book from a year ago showing 47 sweet potatoes that I dug from under two plants. Later on, after I had cut the vines, and we had a few rains snd a few frost to soften the ground I found 20 more potatoes. This has been nowhere as good of a gardening year as I has last year, but if I get 1/3 the production from the north garden ( per plant ) I will have a good sweet potato year. I have 40 plants planted along the north side of the north garden, and another 20+ plants stuck in areas where I may not even get a potato. Many of the last plants were planted on 7-14 &16. I can care for the north garden easier because it is close to the back door, and I can sit on a stool in the shade and spray water out onto the garden, this is the area I hope to be digging between 10- 8 and 11-16. It is a sad time in life when you get to the point to where digging a few sweet potatoes in the most exciting thing you can think of.

I decided to do a comparison, the two pieces of potato on the top of the picture were dug last year, the 3 pieces on the bottom were dug yesterday. The year old potato would float, the potatoes dug yesterday would not float. I ate some of the uncooked potatoes, and the new potatoes had a better texture, and maybe taste a little better, but not a lot.

The picture does not do justice, both old, and new look better in real life.

Any amount I get I consider a win Larry we have so many obstacles gardening age health animals, unknown critters bugs. I’m always amazed when I get something decent. I will say that I will never microwave another sweet potato. My first sweet potato out of the garden and I microwaved it and it was disgusting. It was so dry and I will not do that again. My favorite way is to wrap it in foil and cook it in the oven or on the grill. Even if I have to boil it and it like potatoes that is what is going to happen wasted one of my most beautiful purple potatoes. I was hoping to get my potatoes,dug before now because I have a big event Saturday and next Thursday I leave town. Since I’m doing so many herbs this week maybe I won’t have to do any next week. When I go down to Lubbock, young Farmer friend of mine is going to give me a tour of his farm and I hope to make some video of it. He is also going to show me how to grow mushrooms

Kim, I am sorry you sweet potato was dry. I have never cooked a sweet potato like that, but I like to cook Irish potatoes that way. I had planned on trying a sweet potato like that , but I may have to rethink it now. The potatoes Madge made for lunch, she candied them, or at least that is what we call it. Madge has a large skillet with a glass lid, she will just put a little oil in the skillet and cook the potatoes on top of the stove. I think that she will also add some brown sugar, and maybe some cinnamon. I don't know much about cooking, my skills are about maxed out when I fry an egg.

I had to go and put the lawn mower in the dry, it has clouded up and thundering, and I did not want to unload the potatoes off of the mower, the 14 pounds that were in the bucket were placed on the back porch. A lot of the potatoes in the bucket were damaged by a gopher, and I plan on using them first.

I can hear it raining now. I might should take a picture to help me remember what it looks like.

Kim, I have to admit I want to smell herbs before I purchase. But I'd never think to just open one. I look for the one labeled "sample", and if there isn't one then I either take my chances or don't buy.

I picked up some sweet potatoes at SF, and they're still growing. I noticed tonight they're sticking up from the soil, so I imagine they're too crowded now. Guess that means I should pull them up.

Tomatoes are barely limping along, but i'm hoping for a small fall crop. Peppers are starting to put on, but the plants are all so tiny that I don't imagine i'll get much.

Jen, I think that potatoes sticking up out of the soil is a good sign. Sweet potatoes normally take 90+ days. I like for mine to grow 120+ days, but I noticed today that I had a potato sticking out of the ground on some plants that were planted 7-14. I really don't know about my potato, but I feel it is too early to dig those plants in that area. My soil is very hard, what tyoe of soil do you have?

About 3:00 this morning we had loud and frequent thunder and lightning.

We got 1” rain, hail broke top of rain guage and hail like chunky crushed ice completely covered the patio.

Blew bird camera feeder, wind chimes and hummingbird feeders down, hanging baskets,quarter sized holes in all window screens on west side of house, a few big tree limbs down and shredded most of garden and flowers.

I will clean it up and if anything looks salvageable I’ll give it a chance but I’ve decided not to replant any more till next year. I’ve had it fighting Mother Nature this year. Still have sweet potatoes to dig, the vines are broken and bruised, but think potatoes will be fine.

Glenda, Mother Nature has not been very nice to you. We got some wind and rain, but I have only noticed a few things blown around. I have not looked for damage, but I don't expect any. I have been to dr. office again today. I only slightly looked at the north garden to see if the sweet potatoes were under water. I will start digging when the weather drys out.

We stopped by the Co-op for me to buy 5# of Rye grass seeds, and an oz of collard seeds. When we got home we found that my (10) 10"x 20" trays, and (50) 4"x 4" cells had been delivered. I am not going to start so many plants next year, and the ones I do start I want to hold them in a larger cell longer. I will still use some of my 36 count cells, but mostly for plants that I plan on giving away.

I need advise from you smart growers. This is the peach tree I started from seed, now, should I try to keep it in the house this winter and let it grow, or, should I plant it outside? This is a first for me. I have know idea what kind it is, just from store peach that taste very good.

He's a tiny little guy. But, I think you should probably keep it sheltered outdoors. Maybe in your unheated garage or a potting shed.

Thanks, Jennifer. I do think that I will put it in a larger pot, I cam see a root going across the bottom of the milk jug.

I kept a beautyberry from Kim in a pot for a couple of years. Just moved it to the shop during the winter and occasionally gave it some water. I'm doing the same with a fig from Moni because I can't decide where to plant it outdoors. It's been 2 years and you would think I could find a place for it.

Jennifer, you may remember the tray that I was starting my purple sweet potato slips in, I marked it by placing 2 Egyptian onions in Those 2 onions are still alive, they have been in a pot out under a tree in the front yard since March with no care other than what mother nature has given them. I also have some of the same Egyptian walking onions in the north and south garden that seem to be at home no matter where you place them, they seem to thrive anywhere.

I made a bunch of fig cuttings years ago, and was surprised at how easy they were to root. It would really be nice if a person had enough steady income so they could stay home and plant seeds, make cuttings, and play in the dirt.

I know I’m kind of a lousy contributor lately. I am so exhausted most days I can’t think straight. I did a market today that was too long too hot and not enough money. But on a great note, I have enough product to do next weekend in Lubbock. This week I can focus on processing pairs and the garden. Hopefully next week I’ll get some downtime where I can read and respond to y’all’s posts. Just know I’m here cheering y’all on in your garden.

Kim, I do understand. That's how I've been lately. Sometimes by the time you sit down in the evening it's hard to put thoughts together to actually type them out.

I'll start a new thread. I'm laughing at this week's thread. I keep thinking it says "dry mouth" instead of "dry month" and then I get thirsty.

We went to a family reunion today,and had a great time. Most of those folks I only see one time a year, so it is always great to see them.

I well plan on going to south Arkansas tomorrow for my nephew's funeral, and I have at least 2 more dr. appointments this week, so I doubt that I will be doing a lot of gardening

this week.

I did check the gardens today, and I am getting more rat damage. The hay has been baled on 3 sides of the house, so that puts more insect and critter pressure on the gardens. Everything that is still alive seems to want to start growing again.

Above is a picture showing how much the sweet potato has grown since the rain started. This potato is ready to dig. Other potatoes that were exposed already have rats eating on them, and I expect that I will have gophers eating on the bottom part of the potatoes. The damage that I am getting on the potatoes, may force me to dig earlier than I had planned.

Jennifer I think that too. Dry mouth. I am dry lately. Dr said I was drinking too much. At any given time I have 2-4 beverages going. I like choices I guess. I got really overheated yesterday and felt like my whole insides were just vibrating. I was shaking and almost throwing up. Not a good feeling. Today it’s been raining and thundering and I honestly have been laying in bed most of the day. I still haven’t got a rain gauge. I really like to have one so I could document how much rain we get. Larry, I have never had a sweet potato come out of the ground. That is very interesting.

Kim, the soil on this side of the place is very shallow, that may be one reason that I have potatoes pushing up above the surface. Another down side I have to deal with is my soil getting so hard.

I thought it strange how you can see the green area on the above sweet potato where the sun has been shinning on it, then the red ring where the potato has pushed farther up out of the soil after we started getting rain. I hope my potatoes don't split, but it is going to be a while before I can dig them.