I know, Summer just started, and I'm talking about Fall already!
But, in order to have a Fall garden, some things should be done now- planning, ordering seed, planting seeds to transplant into the garden when it is time, adding compost or any other needed soil builders, etc.
In my area, July 1 was the suggested date for planting tomato, pepper, and eggplant seed. I'm a few days behind schedule, mainly because I'm trying to keep up with harvesting the tomatoes that are ripening like crazy right now! 
Most of the Fall planting for my area comes a little later, since July and August are always HOT
. The bulk of planting comes from September to November. But, if I don't at least make a plan now and make sure I have seeds ready, I may miss my planting date when it arrives.
Many of the same vegetables that grow in the Spring garden can be replanted for Fall, they like the cool weather and will do well if they have time to mature before a frost gets them. You can probably get a list of what grows well in your area in the Fall either online, from a local nursery, or from your County Extension Agent.
Here's a little chart to show when the first predicted Fall frost date is:
Zone 3 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 4 - Sept 1st - 30th
Zone 5 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 6 - Sept 30th - Oct 30th
Zone 7 - Oct 15th - Nov 15th
Zone 8 - Oct 30th - Nov 30th
Zone 9 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 10 - Nov 30th - Dec 30th
Zone 11 - Frost Free
If you aren't sure what zone you live in, here's a map that will show you.
With that information you can see how long it takes a particular crop to mature and then count backwards to get an estimated planting date. Of course, it all depends on the weather, and it is good to give your plants at least a week or two of a head-start if your area often has early frosts. I live in Zone 8, and sometimes we don't even have a frost until close to Thanksgiving. Fall is a great time for growing here.
Please share what you grow in your Fall garden and any tips you have. Those of you who live in colder climates, please share your wisdom, as this Texas gardener has never had to garden where it really gets cold !
Hope you have a great holiday weekend, and maybe next week, spend some time planning (and perhaps planting) for the Fall garden!
Blessings,
I always knew she wasn't meant to be tall. She was the daintiest little baby you ever did lay eyes on and quite unlike her older and younger sister.Good things come in small packages and I LOVE this small package ;--)
Yeah for duct tape!
An interesting side note: Every time I post anything about the wart I get a drove of new readers. I have this gadget on this blog that tells me who reads and approximately where they live and thus I can guess who they might be. (Hi Katie, Tina, Sharon, Melissa, Dad, Julie, Yvonne and everybody else...
) It tells me what words people googled that led them to my blog. The two most often googled words that led random people here are: Plantars Warts and African Tumbu Fly! Unfortunately for the random readers they aren't finding a lot of help here, but I will vouch for duct tape on the wart. The gadget also tells me if you came to my blog via some other site. I know when Jason visits because he always links from his blog, etc... it's fun. It adds interest and it lets me know if I am actually communicating with friends and not just journaling life for myself ( which was the original intent).
The gadget also taught me a few things. I learned to use * in words I don't want googled. I learned not to use first and last and town names all together. Once someone googled a friend's name and town and it led them to my site. I was beside myself. Turns out this friend wrote a comment on my blog listing the town she lives in and her email address includes her full name. Whew! At least I wasn't at fault for that. Another time someone googled pr*tty girls and they landed on my site. They did not find what they were looking for, but I learned something valuable and now I use * often. I'm all for safety.
This gadget can be wrong sometimes about where a reader lives. In fact it lists me as living in city that isn't very close to here. It lists the server city, actually, and our server is from out of town. All my friends who use the same server as me are pretty anonymous. I can't tell which of my 6 friends who uses the server is reading. Sometimes it will tell me 8 people from this server visited, but it's a guess as to who they might be.
Sometimes it drives me crazy. Pray tell - who are you that visits from Denver? And Poland and Spain?
Well, back to business. The cherry pitter is calling my name.
Canning cherries...and cherries... and cherries. there seems no end to the cherries. we decided to do an
experiment and make cherry turnovers. It didn't work very well. the juice got on the edges of the dough and so they wouldn't stay closed. 
Kugan:
still more dough! I talked mom into making vegan piggy in the blankets.
the pile of dough was getting pretty small
then we made pizza yumm!
then we made sesame bread sticks.
and the pile of dough? It was gone!
I also made bread today.
all in all this is what it amounted to.
Christina
When I read the following excerpt from Managing A Home by Crystal Miller in the Homestead Happenings newsletter this morning, I just had to e-mail her and ask permission to post it here on the Front Porch. Some of our new bloggers may not be familiar with Crystal's newletter or her Country Store, and I don't want anyone to miss out on the blessing of what she has to offer! The article spoke to my home-maker's heart and was both an encouragement and a reminder that I need to be diligent in caring for my home and family. Hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.
Blessings,
Home Management and Making a Home
By Crystal Miller
When I think of the word “Homemaking” I think of the word as “Making a Home”. Homemaking is all that goes into making my house a home. Due to my home being a priority to me and perhaps because I have a large family I feel like much of homemaking is good home management. I have felt that it takes a well functioning home to feel like a comfortable home. A home where your family enjoys the time spent and others like to come to your home for refreshment and encouragement. I personally feel like it is hard for me to nurture my family and reach out to others if my life and home are not functioning as they should.
In order to manage a home you have to have a plan. You have to have a basic daily plan on how to keep the home flowing and the work done. A plan consists of routines, good time management, chores maintained, systems of organization, and tools to help you keep it all in order and keep the wheels moving forward in your home. Remember that one of the most important aspects of being a homemaker is creating a loving and peaceful environment for your family.
The housekeeping plan you use needs to be one that works for you and your life. I have read lots of books and read many ideas and used different plans, but ultimately these plans and ideas were not the end in themselves, they were the means to creating my own plan. My home is unique and so is yours. I don’t believe we could follow someone else’s plan exactly and have it work for us. We will tweak it and modify and then find something else and say, “Oh that might work” and try it and tweak that, etc., until after a time what you have is “your” plan.
Obstacles to Planning
Our Attitude
There are obstacles that can make a home management plan difficult. One is our attitude about cleaning a house. Being a homemaker is hard work and it takes a positive attitude and a lot of energy and determination each day. The beauty of it all is that with the right attitude caring for our home can be one of those areas in life where we can learn to get into the rhythm of the tasks and learn to appreciate things like warm soapy dishwater on our cold winter-time hands, the soothing hum of a washing machine going, the smell of dinner wafting through the home, the beauty of a shiny clean kitchen floor, the peace that comes from a home where all is clean and in order.
Any woman can choose to believe that their job is drudgery or they can choose to view it as a service to Christ. I believe that being a homemaker is a ministry of service and love unto Christ to those the Lord has given me to love, nurture and care for. My husband and family are the ones that mean the most to me; they are the closest to my heart. They are the first and foremost ministry in my life. If I begin to think of other things I would rather be doing then laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc., I realize that I have neglected to view my role from God’s perspective and that is as His servant. There is something humbling about serving others, washing the feet of our loved ones in these tasks; something that can, if we allow it, help to put our heart and attitudes in the right place. It can change our view of the work we do each day. If Jesus walked into your home you would do everything possible to serve Him while He was in your home. Well ladies, He IS in your home and you are serving Him each day as you go about your task of raising up godly children and caring for and keeping a home for you husband and family (Matt. 25:40 And the King will answer and say to them, ”Assuredly, I say to you inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me”).
Busyness
Many years ago when I began my quest to manage my home better I evaluated all the busyness in my life and looked at what things might be preventing me from managing my home better. I decided that if I am not able to take care of my home in such a way that shows that I have control over my domain then I may need to lessen what I currently have going on and not add any more to my schedule.
I have always been a person who would bite off more than I could chew so to speak. I don’t think I am alone with this either, as I talk to other women who deal with the same issue. I would take on more projects than I could handle, I volunteered for more than I should have, and I made plans that were beyond my abilities or time. The end result was always the same; something would suffer.
When I am too busy the first thing to suffer is always my home. It becomes a mess, laundry backs up, and clutter is a big problem. Then my children are next; attitude problems, discipline issues not being handled well, little ones not getting enough mommy time. Of course meals suffer; boxed cereal, instant, expensive and typically unhealthy food is served. All for the sake of not having my home under control.
The dividing line for outside busyness and effectively managing a home will be drawn in a different place for each of us. I am not saying that all outside activity needs to stop, that would be unrealistic. But rather when life has too much going on, it is much more difficult to manage a home as it should be managed. I had to make very different choices in my life in order to achieve my goals.
Time Management
Problems in good home management can also come from our time not being used as efficiently as possible. I know that it can be somewhat depressing for someone to look around and see that they don’t have control over their home or don’t have as much control as they feel they should and think it is hopeless, I might as well just continue on because I can’t ever get it under control. But let me encourage you that my experience is that as I have worked to organize, deal with clutter, create and implement systems of operation in my home and learn to use my time wisely that my skill level in these areas has increased, my efficiency has increased and I am able to train my children to work along side me and eventually move beyond the basics and accomplish other things in my life.
The first thing to remember is that there are only 24 hours in a day. We can’t expect to find anymore time available than this! We need to sleep a certain amount of those hours; we need wake up time and unwinding time and personal time. That calculates into only so many available hours to do all the other things we would like. These available hours should be viewed as precious time to accomplish the work the Lord has given us!
Be realistic about what you can do with the hours you have. Know your limits, your strengths and your weaknesses. I remember planting a huge garden one year. That was great except for the fact that I was due to have my 5th baby at the beginning of September. The same time all my tomatoes were ripe and ready. I personally did not have the energy to go from birth to canning in the same week! I was still struggling to care for my new baby (which was the 3rd baby in less in than 3 years) and recover and regain some energy. I was not very realistic about what I could accomplish. I wanted to do it all and I physically could not.
Recognize the things in our life that rob time from us. Over commitment, the telephone, the computer, laziness, hobbies that need to put off until the house is in order. Once you have a good handle on time management you will find it much simpler to accomplish the basic priorities.
In Summary
Time spent making and managing a home for my family will be a value passed on not only to my children but to future generations too. I think of the legacy left to me by my hard working, home loving, dedicated grandmothers and I know I can leave this same legacy for my grandchildren.
Managing my home is a mission that the Lord has given me. I always want to remember that homemaking is not a job to be avoided but a job to embrace and live to its’ full potential. This is one major area that is so easy to run from. It can be hard work to run a well managed home. This is a challenge that we as homemakers can embrace and be successful. It requires a determination to succeed and a plan. I don’t mind hard work and I don’t mind working towards these goals when I know that my hard work and my goals are for the purpose of something worthy. And certainly raising a family in such a way as to honor Christ is a worthy purpose.
An excerpt from:
Managing a Home: Tips, Organizational Advice and Practical
How-To’s from a Mother of 8
A new eBook from The Family Homestead
We are very proud of our first tomato of the year! Christina and I split it.
Christina and I picked these cherries yesterday with a little help at the end. I was suppose to send one box to Katie this morning, but I think in this morning's rush, Steve forgot it. Christina was kind of doodling along while we were picking when she noticed how full my bucket was getting and verbally processed the fact that her bucket wasn't near as full. ( Everything about Christina is verbal!) I just commented that that was probably a good reason not to hire an 11 year old. She is so used to doing everything with her sisters this job of theirs has been a bit of a trial. Anyway, after that little exchange I was hard put to keep up with her. The boxes really started to fill up fast from then on.
Emily and Brianna hard at work. You can see why they are tired after 8 hours.
Paul supervising 
Loads of cherries. Becky was run over by the four-wheeler trailer yesterday. If it had been one of the girls their leg would have snapped. Thankfully, Becky was walking when I saw her.
Vanessa riding the trailer with a load. Her crew leader told me she was the hardest worker on his team. I blew it off as him trying to make her feel good, but when I commented to her about it she said, "I have no idea what his measuring standard is but he keeps saying I push the crew hard and fast". She was totally impressed with the Hispanic pickers. She said they work HARD and don't take a lunch break. They arrive at 4:30 AM and WORK. One family picked 100 lugs yesterday. At $7 a lug that's not a bad income. You do the math! Pictured here are bins... lugs are smaller and dumped into the bins.
Christina and I picked a bunch of the vans which the owners have no market for this year. I have more than one kind of pitter. This one is fast but it shreds the cherries so I was experimenting with cherry preserves.
My hands in 15 minutes...
Ready for canning
The set up outside. Hubby was having a paranoia attack about canning. He took care of a botchulism patient all day and it is a pretty serious matter. I explained that I know all about botchulism. Botchulism doesn't grow in canned fruit or pickles because of the acid. I also explained that I don't can vegetables and I add citric acid to my tomatoes. I also had to assured him that I follow the state recommendations on all my canning. I have a booklet with all the proceedures and such laid out that I follow. I told him I would get an updated booklet from the State agricultural department if that would make him feel better. I really do need to get a new seal for my pressure canner for doing tomatoes.
Ready to eat. I had the girls try them with toast and peanut butter at breakfast at 5:45 this morning. They loved them. So, guess what Christina and I will be doing this morning?!
I didn't have my camera with all the time, but here are a few pics of our time at camp meeting.
This is Megan and Linda. We brought Linda with us. It was her first time to camp meeting and she really enjoyed it. The car ride is long and the girls listened to some music and watched a DVD on the way, I believe.
This is Paige sleeping in the carseat. Car rides are especially long for her.... construction took us on a couple detours that we hadn't planned for.
The girls were just talking at the memorial park at the academy. This was one of Paige's favorite places to stop (It was also just before her class, so we had to keep her focused as to where she was going).
This is another view of the same little memorial.
These three are Paige on the homemade waterslide. They have a sewn form underneath. They cover it with a heavy plastic sheet. Squirt dish soap on the plastic and run water down from the top and half way down to keep the plastic wet. The kids get to sliding down quite fast and at first Paige wasn't too sure about it, but she enjoyed it a bit more each time. Paige rode down on her tummy; she rode down backwards; she rode down with a noodle; she rode down with friends. She only quit because they got the popsicles out and it was time to go. She was chilly (they use just water from a hose), but had a big smile on her face. Here's some more fun water shots...
A view from the top... Paige is in line behind one of the teachers.
Paige's first time down... a bit stiff and unsure.
Back up again!
On her back!
with a noodle!
Landing in bubbles.
With friend Thea from our home church.
With another new friend.
Popsicle ending at the waterslide.
Paige at crafts. They made telephones that day.
Snack time... popsicles again... it was a really hot day this day! The kids and MOM's were glad for this snack!
Story time with Pastor Dave.
Paige is in upper row, still in story time. They held their classes in the music rooms so the Kindergarteners could sit on the risers. They used the new SDA readers from the new reading program. Paige really enjoyed them and wants them... now where to find them...
Activity time had various activities. The kids especially liked this one.
Last one, the kids sang in the adult auditorium one evening. Paige started out in front, but later got pushed to the back when the kids wanted to get on the microphone (which was off... the adults know better!) Paige's class had between 45 and 60 kids each day... more on Sabbath.
Sorry it was mostly all Kindergarten adventures... that's where I had my camera... I didn't bring it to the other meetings! I didn't even take a picture of our camp site... and I try to do that each year...
Warmly, ~Melissa
! If I were her I would want people to know why they are praying for me and then I would put the pictures in a chest somewhere to remember, but not look at everyday. Chelsie and family are asking for prayers for another 16 year old girl in the same hospital with the same syndrom. The only difference is this girl Haley is not doing as well as Chelsea. 
35% of her body is like her face. You can imagine there is a lot of pain. She says when she gets out of there she would like to go back and help other kids with this problem someday. She still has spunk!