It’s June! Mid to Late Summer Vegetable Gardening

Even the most avid gardeners have a bad year! Any number of things can keep you out of the garden in April and May, weather problems, work commitments, family problems . . . we’ve all been there. But don’t give up on your summer vegetable garden just yet. There are still plenty of yummy veggies you can get planted now (in mid to late June) and get a nice harvest before the summer ends.

Let’s talk about what you can still get planted now and also talk about a few things that you can wait on and plant in about 5 or 6 weeks (Around August 1st for most of us).

Want more in-depth training to help you get the most out of your vegetable garden? Take advantage of Rick Stone’s decades worth of gardening experience by signing up for his online, self-paced gardening classes: Year-Round Gardening ($20 with current discount for Survival Mom readers) and Seed  Starting Simplified ($14 with current discount).

Summer or Warm Season Veggies in Your Summer Vegetable Garden

Tomatoes

No summer garden is complete without a few tomato plants and you can still get some in. Hurry on this one! Most nurseries will still have a few tomato plants hanging around but they wont last much longer. (Don’t try to plant tomatoes by seed this time of year.)

This late in the year you want to be thinking about smaller, quicker maturing varieties. Try some type of cherry tomato (varieties to look for include Sun Sugar, and Sweet 100). They are relatively fast growers and should still give you a good harvest in September and early October.

You can also try some of the tomatoes that produce small to medium sized fruit. Think varieties like Early Girl, possibly Celebrity, or many of the Roma tomatoes. Try to find tomatoes that grow on determinate vines (vs indeterminate) as these will spent less time growing vines and more time growing fruit.

The 6 weeks you have lost in growing time means you won’t have a huge harvest this year, but if you get them in soon you should still have plenty for fresh eating and, hopefully, canning!

Summer Squashes

Zucchini and yellow crook neck squash are actually quite fast growing. Look for varieties that have a maturity date of around 60 to 70 days and you should still have lots of time to grow more zucchini that you can eat! You could also look for a patty pan squash with a short maturity date.

Green beans

Most bush type green beans have a maturity date of around 60 to 70 days, so there is plenty of summer left for beans. In fact I don’t make my last planting of green beans until mid July and still have a great harvest!

Melons

If you would still like to plant a melon, you have a little bit of time left. But choose the small “ice box” types as those take much less time to mature. You can also get cantaloupe planted now. Again, don’t expect a huge harvest this year, but you will still have a few melons that will be ready before the frost comes.

Potatoes

If you can find the seed still around at your local nurseries, there is time to grow a nice crop of potatoes. In fact, you could continue to plant potatoes until mid July in most areas of the country and still get a nice harvest of small roasting potatoes. This time of the year I would stay away from the big “baking” potatoes, like russets. You are running short of time to get them to maturity.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a good late season planter. Again, you may not get the huge yields you are used to but by planting seeds now, you can still have a fairly respectable crop.

Onions

If you can still find a package of onion sets at your local nursery, they will do okay this time of year. You won’t get a lot of large onions but you will have plenty of smaller onions and green onions. Don’t try growing onions from seed or starts this late in the year.

Herbs

Many herbs will still do well if planted this time of year. It would be best to plant starts, instead of trying to plant seeds.

Cool Weather Veggies

You can still have an awesome harvest of cool weather veggies by planning now to get them planted in late summer and early fall. Nearly anything you would normally plant in the spring time, you can also plant in the fall. A good, solid summer vegetable garden can extend into the cooler months, if you jump on it now!

Cole Crops

Broccoli, cabbage, kale, and kohlrabi. If you grow your own seedlings, mid June is a good time to start a fall crop of all these yummy cool season veggies. If you plant any of the Cole crops indoors now, they will be ready for planting out in the garden in about 6 to 8 weeks.

That means you will be planting them around mid August and they will mature in October when the weather has cooled back to those temperatures that Cole crops love so much! You may find many of these veggies are even tastier in the fall because a night or two of frost helps to sweeten the flavor.

Lettuce

You can start replanting lettuce about 6 to 8 weeks before your first frost (for us that’s August 1 – 15). Fall planted lettuce can last unprotected in your garden until early December, depending on where you live.

Spinach

Most people see spinach as a spring only crop, but it does very well in the fall! Again look at planting about 6 weeks before your first frost and you will be able to start harvesting in late October. Then cover those plants with a cold frame or hoop house and they will over winter for an extra early spring crop.

Root Crops

Carrots, turnips, beets and radishes all do well in the fall and you can start replanting them around 6 weeks before your last frost.

So as you can see, all is not lost for your summer garden! Get out there this weekend to put some seeds and plants in your garden so you can still have an awesome harvest this year!  Be sure to check out my blog, www.ourstoneyacres.com for lots of great gardening tips!

Would you like to learn more about starting your own seeds or gardening year round? Please consider taking one or both of my on line video courses – Seed Starting Simplified and Year Round Gardening. They are both on sale to thank The Survival Mom for allowing me to guest post on her site!!

Guest Post by Rick Stone of www.ourstoneyacres.com.

The post It’s June! Mid to Late Summer Vegetable Gardening by Guest Poster appeared first on The Survival Mom. Be sure to check it out!

A Look at Bullet Proof Vest Protection for Survivalists

Written by Chris Taylor on The Prepper Journal.

Why do you need protection?

If you’re going to prepare for the worst case scenario, a bullet proof vest needs to be part of your plan. When SHTF, personal protection is really your number one priority– even food and water can wait if you’re not safe from the danger of other people.

Aside from getting a weapon to defend yourself, you’ll need something to defend yourself from other weapons. Since smart shooters will be aiming for your torso above all else, this is the first area you want to protect, and the best way to do so is with a body proof vest.

Of course no vest will protect against absolutely every weapon, so you will have some decisions to make. There are tradeoffs between level of ballistic protection and comfort/conceal-ability that need to be considered when choosing a bullet resistant vest. Generally, vests that protect from high caliber rounds are bulky, cumbersome and their presence is obvious. Covert bullet proof vests are far more concealable and comfortable to wear, but don’t provide optimal protection.

What’s the best choice?

So what’s best for a survivalist? In almost all cases, you will want to procure covert, wearable body armor. Wearability and concealability are supremely important. You have no idea how long you’ll need to wear it, so preparing for long periods of time is wisest– there’s no telling when you’ll be safe enough to take it off.

Covert bullet proof vests are worn under clothing and have comfortable linings. Many are made with CoolMAX lining, which is designed to regulate your core temperature by letting excess heat out of the vest. For those who are irritated by synthetic fiber, cotton-based alternatives are also available.

Soft body armor won’t stop rifle rounds but could be useful in many other scenarios.

Concealability is equally important. OPSEC for preppers is a must-know, and avoiding “indicators” — things that signal to people that you’re well prepared — is very important. If people know how well prepared you are, this makes you a clear target. If you’re seen parading around in an overt body proof vest, people will know that you have your act together, and likely have some other useful stuff to take.

For this reason, it’s recommended that you don’t get anything higher than level IIIa– upwards of that level, you’re getting into ceramic plates which can’t be concealed. One thing to consider is that the lower the level, the easier it is to conceal. Level IIIa soft armor may still “print”, or show its outline underneath clothing.

Of course sacrificing bulk also sacrifices protection. Level IIIa will protect against most common weapons and also minimize blunt force trauma, an often overlooked benefit. If you go lower than that, you’ll have some vulnerabilities, but on the other hand you’ll be more stealthy.

Heavy Weapons and Blades

The only other thing to consider is the possibility of heavy weaponry. As you may already know, getting to know your neighborhood is a very important factor in planning. If it looks like you might actually be threatened by heavy weapons, get some small arms protective insert (SAPI) plates and store them in a safe place. Only put them on when you need them– no need to go traipsing around with an extra 15 pounds of weight for no reason.

Also consider getting vests rated for stab and spike protection. Blades and points are different than bullets, and bullet proof only vests will not protect against them. Overall, it’s key to know that no body armor will protect against everything. The best defense is preparation and staying calm in the face of danger. Even then, having the right bullet proof vest may save your life.

The post A Look at Bullet Proof Vest Protection for Survivalists appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

Apples With Red Flesh: Information About Red-Fleshed Apple Varieties

By Amy Grant You haven’t seen them at the grocers, but apple growing devotees have no doubt heard of apples with red flesh. A relative newcomer, red-fleshed apple varieties are still in the process of being finessed. However, there are quite a number of red-fleshed apple trees available to the home fruit grower. Read on to learn more. About Red Fleshed Apple Trees Apples with red flesh inside (as well as out) occur naturally in some regions of Central Asia, basically crabapples. These tend to be too bitter tasting for consumption, so breeders decided to cross them with scrumptious, sweet white-fleshed apples to produce commercially viable apples with red flesh inside. The creation of sweet tasting red-fleshed apple trees is not only a novelty to grow, but these red-fleshed fruits may have antioxidant properties as well. This breeding effort to bring tasty, saleable red-fleshed fruit began about 20 years ago

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Things to Do in St. Augustine: Part 1

Earlier this month, I took my very first trip to St. Augustine. Since my parents are both Florida natives, I have no idea why I've never made it to the oldest city in the US before, but I had never seen it in person. I've heard of the history of this old Florida city, the Fountain of Youth and how the Spanish landed there in 1565 to claim it for their own. It was really great to finally get there and experience St. Augustine in person. I found out from my mom that her brother, Roland, who has been blind since a very young age, went to St. Augustine's Deaf and Blind school back when he was a boy, so that's a bit of my family history with St. Augustine.

The post Things to Do in St. Augustine: Part 1 appeared first on Southern Hospitality.

Plants And Light: Do Seedling Plants Need Darkness To Grow

By Liz Baessler Do seedling plants need darkness to grow or is light preferable? In northern climates, seeds often need to be started indoors to ensure a full growing season. But this isn’t only because of warmth. Plants and light have a very close relationship, and sometimes a plant’s growth, and even germination, can only be triggered by extra light. Do Plants Grow Better in Light or Dark? This is a question that doesn’t have just one answer. Plants have a quality called photoperiodism, or a reaction to the amount of darkness they experience in a 24-hour period. Because the earth is tilted on its axis, the periods of daylight leading up to the winter solstice (around December 21) get shorter and shorter, and then longer and longer leading up to the summer solstice (around June 21). Plants can sense this change in light, and in fact, many base their

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Mandevilla Ground Cover – How To Use Mandevilla Vines For Ground Covers

By Teo Spengler Gardeners appreciate mandevilla vines (Mandevilla splendens) for their ability to climb up trellises and garden walls quickly and easily. The climbing vine can cover a backyard eyesores quickly and beautifully. But using mandevilla vines for ground covers is also a good idea. The vine scrambles over a slope as fast as it climbs a trellis, and it can quickly cover a rise or a knoll where it is difficult to plant grass. Read on for information about using mandevilla vines for ground covers. Mandevilla Ground Cover Info The same qualities that make mandevilla an excellent climbing vine also make it great ground cover. Using mandevilla as a ground cover works well since the foliage is dense and the flowers attractive. The leathery vine leaves – up to 8 inches long – are dark forest green, and they contrast beautifully with the bright pink flowers. The blossoms appear

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get smarter about poison ivy, with dr. susan pell

NO, POISON IVY was not put on the planet to punish mankind, or to boost antihistamine sales. As with every [read more…]

The post get smarter about poison ivy, with dr. susan pell appeared first on A Way To Garden.