Yippee it’s Burpee time!
Y’all know what time it is? Yes, it’s still winter, but …… this is the time to start thinking about starting those seeds for planting this spring. The hubs and I have started taking inventory of which seeds we need to replenish, making plans on what we are and aren’t going to grow this year, how and when we are going to plant, well, you know, all that good stuff.
This is what we bought last year. We tried a few new items last year and quickly learned they do not do well in our soil. So, we are marking off Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower and Broccoli. We are also marking off Sweet Banana Peppers and replacing them with Pepperoncini and Jalapeno; they seem to sell better at the Farmers Market.
And here is a comprehensive, well maybe not comprehensive, but a list, of what we will be adding to our other list. Notice some things have been marked out; that’s because we already have these seeds on hand so no need to buy more.
I would like to companion plant this year but the hubs thinks it’s too much trouble. What do y’all think? Should we? If you think yes then please help me convince him by leaving a comment and I’ll make sure and read it to him! Thanks Y’all.
Also, if you have any questions about seeds or gardening just ask. We will be glad to answer your questions to the best of our knowledge.
Okay, now get out and get to planning and get ready for planting!
God Bless,
Dana
A Smiling Heart, Indeed!
1 Corinthians 9:10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
Luke 17:6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.
Luke 17:7 But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
Growing a garden is a daunting task to say the least, but one that is well worth the effort come harvest time.
I can’t remember a time when my Daddy didn’t grow a garden. Growing up there were gardens everywhere I went. Seems as if every member of my family had a garden (and tobacco fields, ugh)!
My memory recalls a time when Grandmother would be in her garden early in the morning (before 6 a.m.) hoeing the weeds. She always had on a dress and apron; she hardly ever wore pants. I also recall my Daddy plowing his garden with a tractor that was referred to as the “Little A”
Actually, it’s an International Harvester McCormick Farmall Super A
Seems forever ago that my Daddy used the Little A to plow his garden. He passed away in 2012.
This year the Little A is at my house and my husband is using the Little A to plow our garden.
THIS MAKES MY HEART SMILE:)
We have guestimated the tractor was manufactured in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. If anyone can identify the year please let me know.
It still plows just as good today as it did when my Daddy plowed with it for many, many years!
I love this little tractor and the man plowing with it!
While I was taking these photos I noticed a few little squashes already on the vines.
I’ll have to watch these closely over the next couple of days. They will be ready to pick soon. You know how fast squash grows, almost over night!
This is my son Landon doing what he does best, showing off! How do ya like those muck boots with shorts? Crazy kid …… but ya gotta love him!
Of course, when Mo and Osa (2 of our spoiled dogs) seen me taking pics they had to have their pic made too!
Mo is on the left, Osa on the right; Mother and Son. Osa is a Great Pyrenees and Mo is a Great Pyrenees and ? mix.
Mo can look mean {the worse he will do is lick you to death} but he is a real sweetheart. Loves attention! Has paws are as big as my hand and he is as tall as me {I am 5’6″} when he stands on his back feet!
Mo can be funny when he sticks his tongue out at you! Love his little heart!
And sometimes he will just tell you like it is! Right here he is saying, “put that camera down and pet me!”
Osa, well she is such a lady with a very gentle soul. She loves attention as well but she isn’t as bold about it as Mo.
Note: The rock grave behind Osa belongs to our beloved Izzy, our chocolate lab that passed away this past fall.
Osa is also a prancer. She is beatuiful.
And then there’s Bandit. He is the most spoiled of all. He lives in the house with us and doesn’t know he is a dog!
Bandit is Mini Aussie Shepherd. Mr. Personality has all of us wrapped about his sweet little paws!
And here is our goats and cows.
This is just a few of our chickens getting ready to roost for the night.
As you can see, we are very busy on our farm and we love and spoil all our animals. Hope I haven’t bored you too much with all me ramblings. But I do hope you have enjoyed meeting some of our farm critters.
God Bless,
Dana
Garden Planning 101
Proverbs 31:16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 
This weekend, South Central Kentucky was beautiful! With the threat of a late frost behind us {hopefully}, we took advantage of the 75 degree weather and planted our garden.
I LOVE to garden and am always eager to teach others what I have learned in my short time as a gardener.
Over the last few years I have made it a goal to learn and apply something new each season. This garden season, I wanted to learn as much as I could about companion planting. I want my family’s food to be chemical free so I want to do everything I can to prevent pests and diseases as naturally as possible. With the knowledge that I acquired over the winter, I set about planning out my garden.
Here are a few tips!
1- Decide what you would like to grow. After reviewing last year’s gardening notes, my husband and I decided that we definitely wanted to grow more this year. Not only did we want to grow more corn than last year, but we also wanted to grow other veggies that we didn’t before. I also knew that I wanted to companion plant by incorporating pest-deterring flowers, as well as careful plant placement. If you are new to gardening, start by choosing a few things that you and your family like to eat and go from there.
2- Consider your garden space. Once you know what you want to grow and how much space you have to work with, you can start to put a plan together. Remember that plants have different real estate needs. Some plants need to be trellised while some don’t. Squash plants need about a 2-3 ft circumference, while a bush bean plant may only need a foot of space to thrive. You can find out that information on the back of a seed packet. But y’all, even if you have 50 acres, if this is your first garden, start small. Take time and learn as you go. Gardens are hard work. If you invest too much time and money into something you don’t know a lot about, you could easily become discouraged and give up. Even a small garden can produce a lot of food!
My Family’s Garden Spot
3- Educate yourself on what plants work well together. I scoured the internet for hours learning as much as I could about what garden plants are beneficial to each other. I found many companion planting graphs and charts on Pinterest, but some of them were missing things I wanted to grow, like okra and radishes. So I ended up doing a search online that looked like this– “okra+companion+planting”. I used the information that I got to map out my garden.
I’m kind of a geek and loved making this map.
Some of you that are more experienced, may see some ways that I could have done this better, and if you do please let me know! I am a sponge when it comes to learning about this stuff. I did take a lot of time carefully deciding the best way to utilize the space and grouping “companions” together. Bonus: I’ve always heard that to detract rabbits, you needed something shiny and moving in the garden. Some people string up pie tins around the perimeter of their garden. I decided to make row markers with wooden stakes and shiny duct tape. I’ll let you know if it works. We have A LOT of rabbits.
4- Get to work! A dear, sweet friend {cough cough Dana’s hubby cough cough} broke up our garden for us with his big tractor. Since we didn’t plant for a couple of weeks, we had to go back over it with our new-to-us tiller. My little lady was sick with strep throat and had to stay in the air conditioning while my husband, son, and I got to work. Bo, our Bagel {beagle-basset mix}, supervised close by. Since my hubby is recovering from a medical ordeal that I don’t care to get into, he only did what his energy would allow. My son is eight– need I say more? Otherwise, this would have been a major family involved effort. I pray that as the weeks pass by, everyone will be recovered and can help with the upkeep, harvest, and preservation of the garden.
Hoeing crooked-but-mostly-straightish rows
My two favorite guys planting corn.
PJ carefully placing corn seeds a hand-width apart.
Bo is making sure I stay on task and that the rabbits stay away.
I know this was brief, but it really isn’t that complicated. It just takes some homework and planning. We welcome any questions you all may have about gardening. We don’t know everything, but together we know a lot! HAHA! Happy Planting! 
We linked up with:
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Matthew 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
Psalms 115:15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
AWESOME NEWS ……….
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(that’s a knee slapper joke right there)
Love y’all. Happy Shopping!
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Thanks and God Bless,
SGC
Feed Them For Life: Life Lessons From the Garden
Psalm 34:10-12 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good?
We’ve all heard the old adage, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
This summer, that thought occurred to me as I worked in the garden with my children. We learned the true value of a good sweat.
I was able to remind them of the burden that was given to Adam after he had eaten of the forbidden fruit, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Genesis 3:19″.
They had to learn to recognize the enemies of our food supply as well as our natural allies. We discussed God’s timing. Not only were my children picking squash, tomatoes, corn, and beans; they we were harvesting something greater than bodily nourishment. They We were harvesting knowledge.
The Wheetshire Garden
Through the rows of peaches ‘n cream corn and above the okra shrubs, little voices merrily exclaimed, “Momma! I see a squash bug! I better squish it before it kills this plant”
“Momma! Look how big my pumpkins are getting! All that rain really helped.”
“I found a few lady bugs and put them in the tomato plants.”
That’s music to this momma’s ears. I find myself smiling at this moment.
This post was meant to be about the importance of teaching our children gardening and self-sufficiency skills. I had plans to use words like “GMOs”, “carcinogens”, and “Monsanto”.
I was going to toss philosophy around suggesting that we are God’s design and that everything we need to survive, He created in those first 6 days of creation. All truths, however, the only things that I can think about are the carnal and spiritual lessons that God has shown me through this passion of mine. After all, isn’t the beginning of knowledge the fear of the Lord?
God’s timing? Do our provisions not come from He that feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies, therefore we have no need to worry? Should we not trust in the Lord and lean not unto our own understanding? As the song says, “All I have needed thy hand hath provided…”
Teach a man to fish? Didn’t Jesus feed the multitude with just a few? My son leads our dinner prayer and ends it with “By HIS hands, we are fed…”
Recognize our enemies? Yes, there are those that try to decimate all that is good and they attack from all sides. They attempt to leach out our strengths and keep us from growing and bearing fruit. They try to take away our hope and block The Light.
Our allies? They are our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus; our church families. They help us to attack and snuff out the Enemy. They combine their Lights from within to chase away the looming Darkness that shadows us while we are weak. We are strengthened and are able to take in nourishment to grow and mature.
I like this quote from George Bernard Shaw:
Should we learn and teach our children how to garden? I think so. But it’s imperative to teach them to love and respect the One who created everything that grows in it, whether you garden or not.
~Tangi Wheet
southerngalscook.com 
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