Fall Gardening

Finally, a pleasant day to be on the plantation. Weather-wise I mean. The heat is low, the humidity even lower and it was a good time to work on the fall garden. I get questions about what exactly I plant in the slave garden, and since the slaves would have had a lot of what the masters had, I’ve got some good stuff planted. Started small though, the spring was a success, but winter is a new challenge for me so I stuck with what I know to be sturdy crops.

So we have some collards going, I already planted some Georgia Collard seeds a few weeks ago and am happy that they have come up quite nicely, although a worm must be having a good time on the leaves. Nothing that some 7 dust can’t fix. I put in some early flat dutch cabbage as well as some additional collard transplants. To top off the leafy greens, I planted some Southern Curled Mustard greens. Never had mustards before, let alone grown them, so this should be an experience. Should they come up (planted from seed) and actually flourish, then I shall try something new. Can’t wait to see progress!!

Since the deer ate all the okra the first time, I went ahead and planted some more, sure it may be too late for okra, but I had the seeds, it could still be warm enough for it, and what’s the use in gardening if you can’t learn from trial and error. The beans (black eye peas and cow peas) are still going despite being snacks for the deer. They have a willingness to survive and I applaud them for that. To top everything off, I planted some Purple Top White Globe turnips. Once I download the photos, I’ll post them for all to see! For now, I need to wrap up some committee work before heading out for the day.