Gardening, anyone?
Congratulations to Beth on her novel being chosen for Women of Faith! That's so exciting and I'm so proud of her. I hoping to attend a WOF conference someday, I've heard they're wonderful. Way to go, Beth!
It's kinda sorta spring here in Ohio. I say kinda sorta because spring is such a short season here. We get a few days of really mild weather and then the rest of the time its cold. Then it starts getting hot. Right now I still have the heat on in the house and last week we got a few snowflakes. But I know in other parts of the country planting has already begun or even finished.
Farming and gardening are so important to the Amish. They started out as an agrarian culture and still have a deep abiding connection to the land. The opportunity to farm exclusively has dwindled over the years due to the expense of farmland and it being in short supply. But there are still lots of Amish farmers. Those that don't farm have gardens, some of them large and varied. Two weeks ago my husband and I went to Holmes county and saw several farmers plowing their fields with their teams of draft horses. I have a booksigning in Middlefield Saturday and I'm curious to see how far the Amish have gotten with their planting. When we had our garden we didn't start until the beginning of June and usually harvested from late August to mid to late September. I miss our garden, especially the sweet, fresh tomatoes!
Are there any gardening fans out there? What do you plant in your garden? We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, okra, corn, squash, zucchini, pickling cucumbers, potatoes, and one year, pumpkins. We tried planting carrots and onions but our soil has a lot of clay in it and for some reason the root vegetables didn't grow well. Have you planted your gardens yet? When do you usually harvest? Let's talk gardens!
'Til next time,
Kathleen
It's kinda sorta spring here in Ohio. I say kinda sorta because spring is such a short season here. We get a few days of really mild weather and then the rest of the time its cold. Then it starts getting hot. Right now I still have the heat on in the house and last week we got a few snowflakes. But I know in other parts of the country planting has already begun or even finished.
Farming and gardening are so important to the Amish. They started out as an agrarian culture and still have a deep abiding connection to the land. The opportunity to farm exclusively has dwindled over the years due to the expense of farmland and it being in short supply. But there are still lots of Amish farmers. Those that don't farm have gardens, some of them large and varied. Two weeks ago my husband and I went to Holmes county and saw several farmers plowing their fields with their teams of draft horses. I have a booksigning in Middlefield Saturday and I'm curious to see how far the Amish have gotten with their planting. When we had our garden we didn't start until the beginning of June and usually harvested from late August to mid to late September. I miss our garden, especially the sweet, fresh tomatoes!
Are there any gardening fans out there? What do you plant in your garden? We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, okra, corn, squash, zucchini, pickling cucumbers, potatoes, and one year, pumpkins. We tried planting carrots and onions but our soil has a lot of clay in it and for some reason the root vegetables didn't grow well. Have you planted your gardens yet? When do you usually harvest? Let's talk gardens!
'Til next time,
Kathleen
Posted by Kathleen Fuller at 5/20/2010 4:38 AM 
Categories: books, Amish living, Amish
Tags: Amish living Kathleen Fuller
Categories: books, Amish living, Amish
Tags: Amish living Kathleen Fuller
We have a small vegetable garden at the back of our property. Like Ohio, our weather doesn't allow the planting yet!! We will likely have another frost- planting should be in a couple of weeks. Right now, we are harvesting rhubarb- boy, do we have a huge crop this year. I have tried 5 different recipes, all delicious. But... there is more rhubarb to come- can you freeze it??? In summer we grow, tomatoes, green and yellow beans and peppers. This is all in a 12 foot square garden- it is my husband's second hobby, after his flower gardens. Good thing- leaves me time for my quilting, scrapbooking, reading...
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Hi, some yrs. back like about 1971 my late husband and I planted a garden at the end of March and living in northern Mi, in Gaylord that is a snowbelt of Mi, anyway our garden did turn out very nicely and was plentiful. Blessing's
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We.comhave a garden. We plant corn, squash, peas,bush beans, , orka, potatos, tomatoes and cucumbers.
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In Florida we plant tomatoes, green beans, onions, broccoli, carrots, dill, parsley, and marigolds to try to keep the nematodes away.
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My husband and I retired early so we are putting in our first vegetable garden. We live around the Albany, NY area and everyone we talk to says the best time to plant is Memorial weekend, so that's what we will be doing then. I'm planting tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green, red and yellow bell peppers and cucumbers. My husband insist on growing some corn and potatoes, that's his job. Hope the garden turns out okay for these first timers.
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yes Kathleen I put out a garden every year. Last year the deers enjoyed it more than we got to. We put out a little of everthing. My family uses alot of pickles. beets. tomatoes and homemade kraut. I enjoy doing the canning because it makes me think of my grandmothers. My mom who is 80 still helps and that makes it special to me.
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I always love reading Amish books from any author and love reading about their gardening and I have learned alot from them. Although our garden will go in late this year(the rain was awful), and everything is started from seed, tomatoes, pickling cukes, peppers, eggplant, artichoke,sweet potatoes, potatoes,louffa sponge, several kinds of ghourds, cooking pumpkins, lge pumpkins lima beans, green beans, carrots, beets, raddishes, lettuce and more!! I will be very busy canning and freezing this year, and cant wait to do apple & pear sauce and butters again this year. I always make about 12-15 baskets for Christmas for family and friends w/ all kinds of canned goods and home made baked goods w/painted ghourds and hand made calendars. Because I am disabled w/Fybromyalgia, Migraines , sleep disorder and spinal problems doing this is theraputic and refreshing and keeps my mind elsewhere. Thank you for all the info!!
Joanie Q
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We have a vegetables, Pepper,green.red,yellow.Tomatoes big boys and cherry. I am trying strawberries in a planter box. I also tried Mint!! I love spearmint!! I use Maragolds to keep away the bugs my pop-pop use to say. I want to try herbs next year I think.....
This year is going to a year we will all need a garden...
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