Don't Forget Your Old Friends

 

The day inevitably comes when you go to the tool shed to work the garden a little. It doesn’t matter the season, it is time to weed, or plant, or dig and you feel like doing something physical and productive. You reach for the hoe, or shovel, or cultivator and find a sad, rusty looking tool leaning against the wall. You wonder what happened to that new tool you bought just how many years ago. Or perhaps, you remember that the handle of the rake split last year and you put it away intending to get a new one the next time you were at the garden center.

 

Tools are like old books. They don’t really go bad; they are abused or neglected or ignored, but they are not rendered useless until they can no longer perform their intended function. A little time and minimal effort can keep garden tools looking good for many, many years and will insure that you won’t have to pay $30 or more for a cheap version of your old favorite.

 

There are two primary parts of most garden tools: the working end and the handling end. In most cases, the handling end is a hard wood that was originally protected with paint, varnish, or urethane. This finish wears away over time and you end up with a dull, brown finish that may start to crack or split. Without doing some serious woodwork, there isn’t much you can do to restore the original finish except keep it from deteriorating further.  Rubbing a coat of linseed oil over the wood annually can create a hard finish over time that will protect the outside and keep the inside from completely drying out and splitting.  Most applied grips like soft rubber on tools don’t last very long. A roll of tennis racket grip leather is relatively inexpensive and can be used to create a working grip as long as it is still comfortable in your hand. There are a few other tape products that can also be adapted to make a softer grip on a wooden handle, but there are few things sold for this specific purpose.  A cracked handle can be glued and screwed for a repair, but it can create additional problems if improperly done. When a handle breaks or becomes dangerous, replacement handles are available for most common tools. It may take a little woodworking skill to get the handle to fit tightly and properly but it will be a lot cheaper than buying a new tool that doesn’t feel right in your hands.

 

The working end of most tools is usually steel or iron with teeth (rakes and cultivators) or sharp edges (hoes and spades). The sharp edges can easily be kept in good working order with a flat file. A couple of swipes across the edges periodically can make hoeing or digging a much easier job. A bucket filled with sand and used motor oil is also handy. Plunging the teeth or edges into will the sand will help prevent rusting.

 

The upper steel part of a rake or hoe joins with the handle. These parts were probably painted when new. After time, they begin to rust. A little elbow grease with a wire brush or coarse steel wool can remove most of the rust so that a spray paint for metal will adhere and provide both protection and a pretty color. All tools are intended to do a job. Most do the job decently and will last a long time. In order to ensure this, a little light maintenance and care can keep a tool working effectively and efficiently.

August is the Time for Hummingbirds to Migrate

August: Peak Migration
August brings the biggest push south, and hummingbirds are gathering in huge numbers along the Gulf of Mexico. By August you may see no males at your feeders. Juvenile Rubythroats look so much like their mothers that most of us can't tell the difference. The babies have no memory of past migrations. They do not migrate with a parent. They just follow their urge to put on a lot of weight, fly in a southerly direction for a certain amount of time, and find a good place to spend winter. Hummingbirds migrate at the time when their food is most plentiful, and they leave when they are fat enough. Some follow the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. Many—but not all—fly 500 miles nonstop across the water to Mexico and other Central American countries. It's a mystery how individual birds make the decision.

4-H Teaches Great Things

The cattle barn isn’t all that big.

The boy is sitting on his showbox next to his heifer. She’s not all that big, but he only weighs 50 pounds if he has a couple of rocks in the pockets of his worn jeans.

When it comes time to lead her to the wash rack, he gets pushed around. He’s doing well, but his dad is injured and he just hasn’t been able to help the boy like he wishes he could have.

So it doesn’t take long. Before the boy, or his parents, knows what is happening an older 4-Her jumps up to help him rinse. Later on, an older boy offers to help. And then two girls wonder if they can help him practice showmanship.

And so it goes. The older kids help him and he learns.

Not too far away, a little girl stands on the fence looking down at her pig.

“She was afraid of them at first,” her mom says. But now, she’s clearly comfortable. An older girl at least 10 years older leans down and says something to her. The younger girl hops down and picks up a hose and quickly cools her pig down from the stifling heat. It’s obvious the older girl has been the younger one’s guide—teaching her what to do but letting her become comfortable with what was once a scary proposition.

It happens time and time again. Not only in this barn, in this county, at this county fair, but all over the country in other barns, at other fairs.

It happens in the kitchen, when one 4-Her shows another how to smooth the buttercream just right to get the even look she wants. It happens on the shooting range, when a teenager holds a shotgun showing the younger boy how to aim quickly.

It’s yet another example of what is so right about the 4-H program. Young people take on the role of teachers to younger members. They become leaders, without even knowing it is happening. They remember being there—not knowing how to keep their pig from bolting out of the gate—and so they share what they have learned.

It’s a legacy. The responsibility of that legacy is passed down every year with no formal ceremony or fanfare. The 4-Hers who have the honor today didn’t ask for it. They simply knew that someone once helped them and that’s what you do. It’s what is right.

The 4-H program teaches service and kindness, but it isn’t done by command. That service is taught through example. Young members watch, they learn and then, all too soon, they are the ones setting the examples.

Those older 4-H members become role models. They are the “good kids” parents of young children feel happy their child can emulate. And perhaps that’s the best thing to watch: a younger child watching an older one doing what is right—not because it means they will win an award, but because they have learned kindness and leadership by example. Some day, when those older 4-Hers become parents themselves, only then will they appreciate how important their acts were.

And the mom of the boy who received all of the help with his heifer? She will be eternally grateful for the kindness of those young people. It means more than they will ever know

 

Determining when vegetables are ready to harvest

Many vegetables will let you know when it’s time to bring them in by giving you clues. All you need to know is what they are:

Color. Most people understand to pick a tomato when it has reached the color that it is supposed to be—that’s easy. What you may not know is that winter squash will do the same thing, just developing their full color when ripe. They can take some frost as well, so if they’re not ready don’t rush it. Just be sure to get them in before a killing frost.

Size: Relatively Small. Snow and sugar peas, which you eat pod and all, should be picked before the seeds inside start to develop; likewise garden beans and wax beans. Kohlrabi should be harvested when it is about the size of a golf ball; any larger and they get woody, which ruins the flavor. Summer squash and cucumbers can be eaten when they are bigger, but squash tastes better when it’s young and cucumbers have a tendency to get seedy later in life.

Size: Relatively Big. The opposite is true for peas and beans that you will remove from the pod, to a point. For most, like shell peas and limas, go ahead and let them get plump. For fava beans, the same is almost true. After a point they can get woody as well. They would have to be pretty darn big, though.

Size: That Depends. Okra should be harvested no bigger than what the seed packet recommends. For most this is just a few inches, but some varieties grow larger. Cabbage can be harvested small or allowed to get bigger. If they get too big, they can split; still edible, but a little messier. Brussels sprouts are like cabbages, and can be enjoyed at any size, just don’t let them get so large they begin to open. Carrots will give you an indication of how big they are if you brush back a little soil from around the stem. Be careful though: carrots are great deceivers. Even though they may actually be smaller than they appear, they are most likely still edible.

Before They Bolt. Bolting is simply the term we use for when a plant produces flowers that we don’t want. What we harvest from broccoli and cauliflower are actually unopened flower heads, and that’s the way to harvest them. The same is true for basil and most salad greens; they are better brought in before they start making flowers.

When They Fall Down. Really, does it get any easier than an actual show of “we are ready”? Potatoes, onions and Jerusalem artichokes, aka sunchokes, will actually fall over when it’s time to harvest. Potatoes can be picked as ‘new’ potatoes as soon as you see flowers, but the stems falling over are an indication that the plants are done producing. Onions are most certainly done. Jerusalem artichokes can be harvested starting at this point, and continuing on even after a frost. Some say they actually taste better then.

Miscellaneous. Pick both hot and sweet peppers early to encourage more growth, then let them turn color as they mature, depending on the variety. Pick corn when the ears produce a milky substance from the kernels. This is about 3 weeks from when you first see the silks. Bring in all your sweet potatoes before the frost. Eggplants get shiny skins when they are ripe. Melons are Difficult. Watermelons make a “thump” when you tap on them, and their skins turn color where it meets the ground. Not too bad. All other types of melon simply take practice to know when they are ripe. I guess they just don’t want to give their secrets away.