Can you believe tomorrow is the first of June? I can’t! Our garden is coming right along although as I type this I’m hoping it will rain. Hard to believe it actually needs to rain after all the wet weather we had earlier in the year, but we need rain.
Our tomatoes didn’t grow as well this year. The heater in the green house gave out and we never got around to fixing it. I believe the cold March and April nights stunted the plants. We’re keeping our fingers crossed most of them take off now that they’re outside, but we’ve already lost a few plants.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen as many blueberries on my bushes as there is this year. And one apple tree is plum loaded down with apples. It looks to be a bumper crop for fruit, at least it looks that way right now. Who knows what will happen before harvest time, especially if we don’t get some rain.
Tipper
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I am sure you have covered this in the past in your Appalachian Vocabulary lessons, but Plum is such a great word that we use all the time. I am plum tuckered. It was plum full. I am plum out of…..!
Tipper,
I use to have a nice garden with oodles or boocoos of stuff in it. Jesse taught me to not let anyone else in my garden, that they would do it more harm than good. I gave away more stuff than you could shake a stick at.
Jesse was 94 when he left this ole world, but he loved to garden. One time I was sick and had to ask him to help. Immediately he came and took care of my problem with the garden. He was a tunnel worker, and had more Stamina than anyone I ever knew. Jesse wasn’t no bigger than a thought, but he had 3 gardens of his own. Him and Myrtle put up lots of things for their two girls and a boy and they were all grown. I never saw any of them helping Jesse in the garden. That’s the way of good parents, never quit raising their children. …Ken
The tomatoes I planted indoors didn’t fare well. Out of a pack of seeds I’ve only got 6 plants. But, I have a bunch of volunteers in the garden from where I threw out scraps. I don’t know what kind they are but they are two feet tall, blooming and have a few little fruits aready. If they turn out to be any good I’m going to save the seeds. They seem to be pretty hardy and have smothered out most of the weeds.
Yes aready, not already. Another word from my past I never hear anymore ‘septing when I say it.
Interesting post today! I always plant a variety of things, and it is always puzzling why with same ground and hard work certain crops will do excellent while others can be strangely disappointing. Maybe some of it has to do with my not paying attention to signs unless I am fermenting a food. The year I planted the most tomatoes they blighted. Since then I always start right away picking tomatoes for fried green tomatoes early, and usually place several in my window.
Sanford McKinney’s post also caught my attention, because I am familiar and use often the word oodles. Sometimes these amount of something have been called oodles, skads or my Mom’s favorite Boocoos (sp). She always used that to describe her bean crop or maybe quilt pieces. Tipper, you just keep making us think, and we need to do that in a time where many don’t.
Up to last week it was still getting pretty chilly here at night. None of the seeds I planted in peat pots for a head start have even germinated yet. I’m trying to be patient and not get worried that it’s going to be another wet season like last year, but it’s been rainy two days out of three, and poured here again last night.
I wish I could give you some of my rain! My fields look like an ocean and so does my yard and garden. Rain, rain go away has been playing in my head since March. I bought some expensive chemicals to put in my pond a few months ago. It is important to add the product before the cattails get out of hand, but the rain has not allowed the water to go undisturbed for the required time during treatment. The instructions warn of ineffectiveness and a loss of money if it rains within 72 hours after application. I watch the weather forecast closely. We have had three days without rain, but not three days without a threat of rain. The chemical is still in it’s unopened box and the cattails keep on growing.
My garden is looking great, but the weeds are taking over.
We always said “oodles” not oodlings. There used to be a commercial on TV for “Oodles of Noodles.”
Yes, we need rain here to. I have watered three times so far and according to the forecast will have to water this coming week as well. I left a soaker hose on overnight last night for the Rattlesnake beans. First water they have had in nine days and the last time was a ten minute shower.
We have lots of green blueberries, apples and blackberries. If all goes well, we should have lots of fruit to.
Btw, did you ever know of what the old timers called ‘artichokes’. They are a native sunflower that has a root tuber. When happy, it can get 6 to 10 feet tall. It can be dug and eaten in the fall and winter.
Mr. McKinney, I grew up hearing “oodlings” but I have not heard it in a long time. We also said “boo coos” to mean the same thing. (I know that is corrupted French for ‘very much’.)
Mr. Stephens,
Thank you for the information. We also used “boo coodlings” which was the same meaning.
Tipper, I wish I could give you some of our rain from here in E.KY. Kinda surprised you didn’t get it too. The only thing I’ve watered is my newly planted deer bitten pie cherry and my newly planted thornless blackberries, and that was very little watering.
Sanford, I guess we always shortened oodlings to oodles and oodles.
A comment for Sanford. I still say oodles of things, meaning many but never heard oodlings. I too am praying for rain we could use oodles of it right now.
We always said “oodles”In N Alabama.
This has nothing to do with signs, but a word came to mind and I thought I had better post before I forget.
Tipper,
Not sure this is spelled correctly, but I heard the word many, many times while growing up in the mountains of North Eastern TN. Not sure if it was a word particular to this area or maybe not.
It seemed to have been used as a noun as in “We had oodlings of potatoes this year.” “I went to the store yesterday and they had oodlings of new stuff for sale.”
“We had oodlings of people at last year’s family reunion.” “We got there so early that we had oodlings of time to kill before the show started.”
As far as I can determine the meaning: a large number of whatever, plenty, an over abundance
Wishing you and yours a safe and happy weekend.
Sanford