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
The Amish Way: Poems, Quotes and Words of Wisdom
While shopping at my favorite Amish Grocery I happened across this little book. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to buy it. Much to my delight I found way more than canning recipes and home remedies.
Tucked away in the pages of this little book I found poems, quotes and words of wisdom from some very smart and wise Amish Ladies!
My favorite saying from the Amish Sayings and Quotes collection would be the first one listed because it is soooooo true! It’s kinda of like the old saying, “If I knew then what I know now!”
My favorite poem would be Bless this Mess because it gives me insight on how Amish ladies face the same challenges as me on a daily basis! I guess I just somehow figured the Amish ladies had it all together and figured out that they don’t stress over laundry, dishes, dirty windows, etc!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy these as much as I did and please let me know which ones are your favorite and why they are your favorite. I will be interesting see how differently we all see things.
AMISH SAYINGS AND QUOTES– It is less painful to learn in our youth, than it is to be ignorant in our old age! – You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, but who wants a bunch of flies? An Amish friend Lobelville, TN – If a rooster crows before goin’ to bed, he’s sure to wake up with a wed head! (rain) Mrs. Robert Gingerich East Rochester, OH – Love is patient, Love is kind. Love bears all things, hopes all things and endures all things! – A whistlin’ woman and a crowin’ hen are sure to come to some bad end! Always forgive your enemies. It sure aggravates them! – Any housewife, no matter how large her family, can always get some time alone by doing the dishes! – A peck of common sense is worth a bushel of learning. – God is great, God is good By His had, we are fed. Give us Lord, our daily bread! – Sometimes you get discouraged, because I am so small. I always leave my fingerprints on the furniture and walls. But everyday I’m growing, I’ll be all grown up someday, and all these tiny fingerprints will surely fade away! AMISH POEMS AND WORDS OF WISDOM
The Farmer’s Love Letter
My sweet potato, do you carrot all for me? You are the apple of my eye. With radish hair and your turnip nose, My heart beets for you My love for you is strong as onions. If we cantaloupe, lettuce marry, and we will be a happy pear! Mrs. Robert Gingerich East Rochester, OH A LITTLE AMISH POEM Come, let’s clean our the garden, carry in everything that we find. Stuff everything in jars, with shapes of every kind. When winter comes a howling, along the shelves we’ll snoop, and serve our hungry family, with vegetables and soup. AN AMISH POEM Weary mother mixing dough, don’t you wish the food would grow? Your lips would smile, I know, to see, a cookie bush or donut tree! BLESS THIS MESS I look in the kitchen, and what do I see? But a great pile of dishes, just waiting for me. I glance through the window, my view is all bleary. The prints of small children, make it look very smeary. My glance falls on laundry, hanging over chairs, some of it folded, and some at me stares. With a basket of ironing, and another of mending, I find that my tasks, are almost unending. But the toys of the floor, and the rugs disarranged, show healthy children in this house have played. And the dishes and laundry, are proof that we’re blessed, with food and with rainment, so why get distressed? I’ve health and I’m privileged, to work with my best. So up and at, Thank God for this mess! An Amish friend, Sugarcreek, OH AN AMISH POEM I would rather have a little rose, from the garden of a friend, than flowers strewn around my casket, when my days on earth are ended. I would rather have a loving smile, from one I know is true, than tears shed ’round my casket, when the world I bid adieu. Bring me all my flowers today, and the true smile as I said, now! I’d rather have a smile or rose, than a truckload when I’m dead! TABLE RULESIn silence I must take my seat, and give God thanks before I eat. Must for my food, in patience wait, till I am asked to hand my plate. I must not scold, nor whine, nor pout, nor move my chair or plate about. With knife or fork or napkin ring, I must not play nor must I sing. I must not speak a useless word, For children must be seen, not heard! I must not talk about my food, nor fret if I don’t think it’s good. I must not say, “The bread is cold,” “The tea is hot,” “The coffee cold.” I must not cry for this or that, nor murmur if my meat is fat. My mouth with food, I must not crowd, nor while I’m eating, speak aloud. Must turn my head to cough or sneeze, and when I ask, say “If you please.” The tablecloth, I must not spoil, nor with my food, my fingers soil. Must keep my seat till I am done, nor round the table, sport and run. When told to rise, then I must put my chair away with noiseless foot. And lift my heart to God above, in praise for all His wondrous love. An Amish friend HOW TO PRESERVE A HUSBAND Some insist on keeping them in a pickle, while others are constantly them in hot water. Even the poor varieties can be made sweet and tender by garnishing with patience; well sweetened with smiles and flavored with kisses. Wrap well in a mantle of charity and keep warm with steady fire of devotion. Thus prepared, they’ll keep for years! RECIPE FOR LIFE One cup full of good thoughts 1 cup of kind deeds 1 cup consideration for others 2 cups well beaten faults 3 cups forgiveness Mix thoroughly and add tears of joy, sorrow and sympathy for others. Fold in 4 cups of prayer and faith to lighten other ingredients, and let rise to great heights of Christian living. After pouring all of this into your family life, bake well with warmth and human kindness. Serve with a smile. Lydia Ann Schwartz Berne, IN A COMMUNITY GARDEN Three rows squash 1. Squash grudges 2. Squash criticism 3. Squash gossip Four rows of turnips 1. Turn up for visits 2. Turn up with a smile 3. Turn up with a helping hand 4. Turn up on time Five rows of lettuce 1. Let us love one another 2. Let us welcome strangers 3. Let us be faithful to God’s duty 4. Let us worship God together 5. Let us pray often for one another Mrs. Robert Gingerich
Thanks for visiting! I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did!
Dana
Roots- A Brief History Lesson on Southern Cuisine
I’m kind of a nerd. I start thinking about things and wonder how they started, where they came from, who made it, why, why is it called what it is– and then I study. Not because I have a project due or a deadline, but because I’m a curious person that likes to learn.
A couple of years ago someone asked me what my favorite kind of food was. I jokingly responded, “The kind you eat.” The thing is, I’m not a picky eater by any stretch of the imagination. I’m very adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. After I giggled at my smart aleck remark, I answered seriously with, “home-style southern food”. If you put a five-star restaurant plate with something exotic and beautiful next to a plate with collard greens ‘n ham hocks, fried fat back, corn bread, and black-eyed peas, then told me to pick a plate–I’d go for the latter.
Click for recipe
I got to wondering about why Southern cooking is different from other places in the country and where our southern food traditions come from. So, being the nerd I am, I got to reading up on a little Southern Cuisine history.
As I figured, influences stemmed from the multicultural population, crops, livestock, wild game, and necessity. After all, necessity is the mother of invention. Is it not?
The influential multicultural groups included African, English, Scottish, Irish, and Native American, just to name a few. Not only did their style of cooking form our roots of southern cuisine, but also the ingredients that they brought with them from their native homes largely affected the culinary style we know today. The BIGGEST influences of Southern food, in my opinion, were the Africans. I’ll get more into this in a minute.
Because the growing season weather is hot and humid, and because most of the dirt in the south is clay, some crops thrived in the south while others had to be imported from surrounding regions.
Click for the recipe
Now, the part that I found to be the most interesting was the huge influences that the slaves had on the foods that I love so much. One of the things that I read told how the slave owners would give the slaves the parts of the butchered pigs that they found inedible, such as pig ears, pig’s feet, ham hocks, etc. The Africans would use those piggie parts to season their cooking. That is why, still to this day, we cook down a mess of greens with a pork product. They also breaded some vegetables and fish in cornmeal, such as squash, okra, and catfish, then deep-fried them in pork grease. {Yum!} They introduced okra, black-eyed peas, and many other things to the Southern table.
Greens- A Southern Staple
Barbecue is a Southern tradition that can be traced to our Native American ancestors. Barbecue varies in every region and every region “has the best and only way to eat bbq!” HAHA! I’m not kidding! People get crazy competitive {and snobby!} with it! Everything from the wood used to smoke it, the sauce to baste it, the rub to massage it, and the way to cut it is up for debate! Don’t even get me started on the different sauces!
Our love of pies and cobblers go back to our European ancestors that showed us amazing things that can be done with flour, butter, sugar, eggs, fruit, and imported vanilla and cocoa.
Click for the recipe
I enjoy knowing my Southern heritage. I like knowing why we do the things we do. I love being Southern. I’ve enjoyed sharing with you. And, as the southern comedienne, Minnie Pearl, would say “I’m just so proud to be here”.
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!
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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.
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