We are so excited about planting Pap’s big garden this year. There’s still a ton of work to do before we can actually make it happen and we are anxious to get started.
The main reason we are ecstatic over bringing the garden back to life is we can grow corn! Even though the distance from the big garden to our house isn’t that far, our gardens are positioned north of the flat ground and don’t get near the sunshine the bottom area gets.
When we first started building the gardens around our house we tried several times to grow a little patch of corn, but there just wasn’t enough sustained sunshine for it to thrive.
I was reminded of the differences in temperature and sunshine that can be found within a small area when I took Granny to the doctor the other day.
It was a cold 18 degrees when we left Brasstown to travel to Blairsville GA which is about 25 minutes from us. By the time we left the appointment and headed home I noticed the temperature in Blairsville was 34 degrees.
My car has a handy temperature gage so I kept my eye on it as we drove home. The closer I got to home the lower the temperature got.
As we went through the S curves on the other side of the Martins Creek Community Center the temperature was back down to 28 degrees.
It begin to come back up as we went through the Whitmire farm straight and by the time we turned in off the main road it was 31 degrees.
I knew it would begin to drop as we neared Wilson Holler. I was right. When I pulled into Granny’s yard we were back at 29 degrees.
Seems sort of silly to notice the small change in temperature, but the differences fascinate me, especially when I relate them to making a garden.
Knowing Pap’s big garden get’s more sunshine year round has me dreaming beyond the corn. I’ve already been thinking about next fall’s garden. With more sunshine I’m hoping the turnips and greens we always grow will do even better than they do in our current garden areas.
Last night’s video: How I Make Pizza & No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies.
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
I have been getting your emails for several years but haven’t gotten one since last week I didn’t cancel or do anything
What should I do to start receiving them again
Patricia-sorry for the trouble. I checked your subscription list and it shows the emails are being sent to you each day and that the emails have been opened so I’m not sure what is going on?
My dad loved to garden too. I mostly grew up in sunny Florida where he only grew tangerines and tomatoes. But we moved back to Indiana in high school where corn is abundant and beautiful. I still live in Indiana – although my dad is long gone – I try to put out a little garden – and support our local farmers by purchasing the best corn around. I am excited for you to grow your own and recreate memories of Pap too. My kids called my dad Pap too :).
I love following your page and your channels. My husband’s family was born in Hot Springs NC and Cocke Co TN – so I’m always fascinated to learn more of the Appalachian ways you share too. Prayers for Granny, the girls, Matt and yourself. You are a blessing to us all.
I really Hope you get your corn planted! Prayed for a bountiful harvest!
Love this. ♥️
You have a way, Tipper, of making your readers get enthusiastic right along with you. I can’t wait to see videos and read about your gardening ventures. I can relate to your total excitement, because just watching tiny seeds turn into all kinds of delicious food never ceases to amaze me. I do believe my sis thinks I am very foolish for attempting a garden this coming spring, because of my health issues. I have said for some time that I hope to “go” standing right out there in my garden with a hoe in my hand. Dad grew his garden up until he died, and when he miscalculated and was unable to harvest d/t health I “jumped in with all fours.” I took my vacation and picked more half-runners than ever in my life from three different garden spots. I fell into bed each night with chigger bites and yellow jacket stings while he stayed up until midnight and kept a Presto and an All American pressure canner going. We got ‘er done, and that by far one of my fondest memories. I learned you can crawl through a bean patch and still keep picking. When I plopped down the last huge bucket of beans, he announced he was giving them to a cousin. I was exhausted from picking all those beans that came in at the same time, and he was plumb tired of canning. Dad was a gentle man who thought it “lazy” to not work hard and “greedy” to not share the fruits of your labor. I learned a lot that week from the best, and that was that you can work harder than you you ever have before. But, best was how to share the fruits of your labor. So glad to see your enthusiasm for gardening, and found mostly people either love it or hate it. I am amazed when I still occasionally hear “ had enough of that growing up.”
today’s weather forecast brought to you by nimblewell weather station if it don’t rain, sleet or snow today tonight or tomorrow it probably won’t do anything till next day if it’s not hot it might be cold if it’s not cold it might be hot, now you have it friends, today’s weather forecast brought to you by nimblewill weather station, God bless you friends, go plant a garden !!!! save me a piece of that cornbread!
My Aint Gene called microclimates warm spots, hot spots, cool and cold. She was the first to teach me about how cold air sinks into hollers and makes it harder to grow things. She said always build your house facing south and on the side of a hill.
Tipper,
Good luck on your extension garden!!’ I am sure you and Matt will enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Continue praying for Granny!! God bless everyone.
So excited for your future corn field. Corn is one of my favorite vegetables. Butterbeans, corn, tomatoes cooked with a little bacon grease (white gold) into succotash is soooo good. Just love it with a tomato sandwich……now dreaming of summer and tomato sandwiches and fried chicken, and fishing at the pond, and the smell of mowing grass, and ………oh well, y’all know what I mean….lol. Love and prayers to Granny and Little Mamas too and all of you!
Glad ya’ll are gonna to be able to plant corn this year. A garden just doesn’t seem complete without it.
I pay attention to temperature also, it is interesting. Here in eastern NC we had a low temp Sunday night of 18. We’re forecasted to have a low of 65 tomorrow night, big swing. I hope it doesn’t stay warm, my fruit trees will be budding out and then get bit by frost later.
Tipper, you are so right about micro climates. I don’t garden except for a few pots on my porch, but I find the whole science of it fascinating. I have especially seen that what you said is true…”Seeds really do want to grow!” They’re just waiting for the opportuniny!
I’ve been watching a You Tube series by a man who lives high in the Italian Alps (on a southern slope). He found that he can grow some fruit trees and many vegtables by making terraces with stone walls…just small ones. The sun heats the rock walls and that enables him to grow things that ordinarily wouldn’t grow there. It’s a wild and beautiful place, and is amazing to see. He also has a greenhouse that is high yielding. If you’re interested, you can find it by searching “johannes hermit homestead” in You Tube.
I wish you the best on growing your own corn patch. I loved corn until I guess back in my 70’s I started having digestion problems with corn so even though I love, love it, I have had to stop eating it. Eating fresh, corn on the cob, was the best to me!
Your pizza looked delicious and although I’ve never made those no-bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies, I do have your cookbook and will be making some of them in the future.
We live near the top of a mountain about 5 miles form town. I usually see a rise of 4-5 degrees when I go to town. I haven’t found a spot of ground here with enough sunshine to grow much of anything. A neighbor has a large spot with sun all day that I can use but it is so far to take my tiller and other tools and the deer, turkeys and ground hogs tend to eat more than I do from it.
I know we are almost through January, and I can’t garden for lack of sun on my goat bluff, as Matt calls it, like you; however my I’m so ready for Spring and some warmer temps. Everytime we go down the mountain to town, I watch the temps either climb or drop. Sometimes it will actually be colder down in the valley than it is here at 3800’. My momma always said, well you know, heat rises. I kinda think she’s right. Then there are times it’s so much colder here, and warmer down there. I do know that in the summertime we watch the temperature climb as we descend from the cool of our mountains. Looking forward to your garden. I’m still hoping to share a row with a sweet widow friend in her garden.
I’m excited y’all get to grow Pap’s big garden again. It will be wonderful having all that fresh corn and even better knowing you grew it yourselves.
I thought of Tipper when hearing this on the news last night. Two broods of cicadas are hatching at the same time this year and will join together, if I understood correctly, this only happens every 221 years, the last time was 1803. There will be millions, billions or even trillions of cicadas this year. But it was said if you live in places such as these housing developments that are springing up everywhere around here or similar places you will not see or hear them. These places are destroying the “green/forest” land.
Pap would be proud to see you all walking and working in the same soil that gave him so much enjoyment.
I am fascinated by that kind of thing too. I’ve always noticed the changes in temperatures based on how I feel, but never thought to actually keep an eye on the thermometer in the car. I’ll have to try it next time I’m going to another part of the county. Gardening challenges have taught me so much about perseverance and attentiveness. We have extremely heavy clay soil here that never got worked before we moved here. Our first garden was an absolute flop because nothing could break through the soul but it’s been a little better each year as we do light tilling and add lots of compost. Last fall I tried a clay busting cover crop for the first time so I’m anxious to see how that does come June. There’s so much to keep your mind sharp and interested in gardening!
I’m excited to see what the new garden space will yield. It will be a lot of work. I’m sure this is possible because Matt can stay at home now.
Tipper, you are a practicing ecologist. Anybody who gardens is, along with farmers, ranchers, foresters, fishermen, hunters; in short anyone who routinely involves themselves outdoors with plants and animals and their interaction with earth and sky. I’ll claim to be one also, all my life interested in and wanting to understand the natural world in its entirety. I never will of course, but that doesn’t stop me trying. Have you ever imagined having a business of planning and making a garden for some inexperienced person on their property and all the things you would want to consider? They would probably think it would be simple and easy. !!!!
I totally get it. We live right at the top of a mountain, 30 feet behind the house there is a 2,000 foot drop. Sometimes it’s as much as 15 degrees colder at home than below the mountain where I work. But there have been times when the updraft from the valley staved off the first frost for a week or two later than my neighbors less than a 1/4 mile away. Micro climates are real in Appalachia.
What kind of corn will y’all grow? Sweet or field?
Y’all are inspiring!!! My garden will be much smaller this year as I’m committed to building up my red clay with 2 or 3 cover crops. So a few tomatoes, peppers and squash in 2024 but 2025 will be the full blown garden.
Our house sits along the main road, and we have our own little microclimate because of the woods behind us. The neighbors across the road will often have frost on their grass and on their car windows, but our car windows will be clear. My parents live 15 minutes away, and their temperatures are often 4 or 5 degrees cooler than ours, especially in the winter.
I’m so excited for ya’ll. What a great year this will be!!
Mountains effect the weather more than the weather effects the mountains. Mountains create their own climates.
I feel your excitement. I grow mainly in grow bags, but I want to grow a few pumpkins and squash this year so I am looking forwardnto that new area even if small
Looking forward to seeing your extended garden. I’m starting our raised bed garden in the fall. I have a wonderful book that tells you what you can plant in my area of Florida. I will be retired by then and will have the time to devote and learn what I need to know to have a successful vegetable garden.
I’m happy for you as I have heard you say many times that you wished you could grow corn.
I live in southern Greenville County, SC, within a few miles of Laurens County. I also live near a fairly large creek, some of it on my property. The city of Greenville is almost 30 miles away. Many times there will be a 5 degree or more difference in the nighttime temperatures with me being the coldest. I will often have frost when areas closer to Greenville do not have any. I just assume it is because the city of Greenville is no longer “green” but just a sea of asphalt roads, parking lots and buildings that will hold the daytime temperature longer. Many places in Greenville now flood after only a few inches of rain because there is no land left to help soak up the rain water, it all runs into the creeks which evenly run into Reedy River. I guess only an old dirt farmer understands this, seems like the ones in control of allowing all of these buildings and housing developments don’t understand this simple fact. More than with the temperature, I have a hard time understanding wii get more rain more often than other areas close by. We recently got 7 inches of rain in one day in lower Greenville County but very few areas had any problems with flooding, the city had about 3 inches less but many flooding problems.
This is such a beautiful reflection, Tipper!
I’m so glad for all the news about Granny, and of course, your expanded growing space. I think I’ve said it many times, but I’m trying to exercise patience with estate resolution, as I try to move to a more rural/gardening way of life, after my parents’ both have passed away and another family member has been left in charge of things. I hope I can find a favorable microclimate, but even still, it gives me hope to see what you’ve been able to grow on the “goat bluff” even without the blessing of this field for the corn! Those rattlesnake beans sure are good, no matter which field they’re in.
Best wishes, as always,
Matthew
Corn is one of my favorite things from the garden. There are so many ways to eat it. I love a good roasting ear and I also love fried corn over grits. Whew doggy it is so good!
I hope you film the transformation as I will surely be watching! Gardening is one of my passions. I love to share knowledge and see young people coming back to it.
Have a great day. We are getting a lot of rain this week. Good Lord knows we need it.
God bless all y’all!