Summer Garden Coming to an End

The garden has suffered this summer due to high temperatures and little to no rain. The tomatoes are history. We mowed down the rows. Plans are in the works for raised beds in time for the fall garden. We are hoping to plant Swiss Chard and other greens.
We still have hot hot peppers, chilie peppers and jalapeno peppers. We are working on recipes to make candied jalapeno peppers.
Hoping for a cold and wet fall.

GREEN CHILIE PEPPERS

Green Chilie Peppers are ripe and ready. $4.00/lb. Jalapeno peppers are also ready.

Porter tomatoes ready for purchase

While the heat has made the Celebrity tomatoes filled with blemishes, we do have an large number of small Porter tomatoes ready for sale. I have posted a picture of these tomatoes. These are for sale at $3.00 a pound. We also have some Jalapeno peppers. Please call 972-878-1997 to place an order.

Sun Dried Tomatoes,Blackberries, and Red Okra

We have started dehydrating tomatoes as a way to use those tomatoes that have blemishes. Many have to be discarded,but a few can be used for sun dried tomatoes. Sun dried tomatoes placed in olive oil make great additions to a pasta salad. We have a blackberries that are almost ripe. The red okra is also producing. Amazing things can happen if we have a rain soon. Peppers of every description will be coming off soon.

How many day before the 100 * ends?

The tomatoes are suffering in the heat. I have started picking any half ripe to prevent scalding by the sun. The peppers from China are EXTREMLY Hot.. The Jalapenos are beginning to produce. We pray for rain.

Heat , Heat , & more Heat

The next 7 days will have temperatures around 98 degrees. The heat is not good for the garden. We have many green tomatoes. The soaker hoses are going nightly to conserve moisture. A major problem will be the thousands of little green grasshoppers. Organic gardening can be challenging. We pray for cooler temperatures and rain.

Summertime

The first 100 degree day of summer. Man can it get hot. Where we have been building the soil for several years with compost, the plants are able to handle the heat and dry tempteratures much better than the newer parts of the garden. The squash is in full bloom and we will be picking fresh yellow squash this week. There was a time I would eat squash only fried, but Kristi has kept trying new recipies using squash in salads, cassarols, bread and soups that are very good.
Tomatoes are looking good but are not ready yet. A new pest is appearing. Hords of very young grasshoppers are in the grass pastures outside of the garden. The young hens take great delight in chasing and eating that come into the garden, but I fear that as summer continues the grasshoppers will move into the lush garden in numbers that will overwelm the chickens. I do not spray, so this could mean an early end to the garden this year.

Tomato Report

May 31,2010
Our tomatoes are about 30 days away from harvest. We got off to a wet cold spring and planting was delayed about 30 days from ususal but the heat is here now. This week we harvested new potatoes and onions. Dakon radishes are a new thing we tried and can report they do well here at the farm. Now we just need people who know how to fix them in great food.

Oak Grove farms has 400 tomatoes plants and 700 pepper plants growing. We are a local, organic family farm. We have a passion for growing vegetables for the our customers that are the freshest, best tasting that can be found. We use sustaniable practices and do not use chemicals on our land. You are welcome to come see our farm, located at 204 Brown Road, near Ennis, Texas.