Paula and Ken, Thanks a million for hosting the event again this year! It was a wonderful event and I hope you know how very, very, very much we appreciate your willingness to invite all of us to come take over your place for a day.

To All Who Attended: Thank each and every one of you for attending, for bringing all the plants, door prizes, gifts, food, drinks, freebie supplies and so much more. You're an awesome group of folks and it is so much fun to meet new friends and see old friends once a year at our annual get-together. Thanks to all who helped set up, clean up and who assisted with all the special moments in between. A special thank you to Sharon for making sure everyone had name tags and door prize tickets.

All the precious children at the Spring Fling were so darling, so cute, so sweet, and cheerful and well-behaved. What a wonderful group of young 'uns we had with us this year! I'm kind of wondering if you parents bribed them to be on their best behavior. : )

Seedmama, Thank for the unexpected fun of the egg hunt and confetti eggs! Your echinacia cupcakes were so darling and yummy too, and Tigerdawn's beautifully-decorated pan cookie was just as beautiful and tasty. If y'all ever get tired of your real jobs, you know you can team up and open a bake shop!

Those of you who were not able to attend missed out on all kinds of wonderful food. It is amazing what a great spread we had this year and every single thing I ate was just delicious.

CarsonsMimi, Thanks for the tree-like tomato plants. The three I brought home are monsters just like the ones I grow, and I love that you raised so many of the Wild Boar Farms varieties. After I add your three plants to the ones I already planted, I think I'll start calling the tomato section of my garden "the pig farm". Those of you who got some of Lynn's tomatoes with the word "Boar" or any other piggie reference can google Wild Boar Farms to find descriptions of most all of them.

Leava, Thanks for the awesome hand-crafted soap! It is far superior to any other soap I've ever had. All of you who always ask throughout the year if Leava is making any soap, be sure to check with her now to see if she has any available while it is fresh on your mind!

For those of you who attended your first Spring Fling, I hope you had fun!

There were so very many plants that it was just mind-boggling.

I'm glad you NE OK folks made the long drive. It was terrific to meet all of you and to once again see dear old friends like Carol and Al (and our new little doggy friend, Rico).

I think it is fair to say that "a good time was had by all".

I feel like I just returned home from a family reunion. Thanks for making it so much fun.

Dawn

I want to thank Paula and Ken for hosting and inviting me. It was a huge success and so pleasing to meet so many nice people for the first time. How about giving a huge THANK YOU to lkeel? She provided an enormous amount of plants for us all. All in all this turned out terrific and I very much look forward to next year.

Carol - I literally did Laugh Out Loud on that comment!!!

And to all of you from Jenks and the NE corner of our state, I've very happy to know you all got home safely and you all are happy you spent the day traveling down to Sooner Land.

And Jen - go ahead and start that thread about "what do I do with these that I got at the swap?"! I'm sure there will be LOTS of activity!

Jo - I sent you a PM.

And to all of you - thank you so much for taking the time out of your Saturday to come to my little corner of Heaven. The turn out was SUPER this year and there were so many of you I really wanted to spend more time visiting with but I realize that there's only so much time. Just like last year, I wish I could have do-overs next weekend so I could fit it all in.

Hope everyone is happy with any and everything little morsel they took away from this gathering! I am...but I'm also flat pooped....and I'm going to bed. G'nite to all and I'll talk with you tomorrow!

Paula

Today was so awesome!! Thank you Paula and Ken, and everyone else! I got about half of the things planted this evening and I'll work more tomorrow. We went to the arts festival this evening, otherwise I'd probably be done. I'm just so excited to get the plants in the ground and watch them grow! I'll be getting pictures of my "Namus unknownus" plants in the morning. That should be a fun thread!

If I start thanking each one of you individually I just know I'll leave someone out, so a great big thank you to EVERYONE who came today and made it such a wonderful gathering. Thank you for bringing plants, all that delicious food, the drinks and utensils, the fantastic door prizes. Thank you Paula and Ken for all your hard work in putting it together (and Paula, I just loved meeting your mom!). Thank you ALL for being such a fun and welcoming group. Larry and I enjoyed our first Spring Fling, and we're already looking forward to next year. And I can't wait to get all these wonderful plants in the ground!

Suzie

Spring Fling was so fabulously awesome!! Thank you dear Paula and Ken for hosting and all those hard work. Thanks to everyone! Tanu, Priya and I really enjoyed our first Spring Fling, it was beyond our imagination! You all are beautiful people, so caring, generous, down to earth (dirt!), knowledgeable... I can't wait to plant all those wonderful plants in the ground. I hope this tradition of spring fling continues for ever!

Tons of thanks and regards -Tanu, Priya and Chandra and impending twins.

Please click below link for today's pictures...

Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of Spring Fling 2011

sigh, such a nice nice day.thank you to everyone who made it so.and now all the new plant babies are getting gentle rain and i will not have to hammer dry dirt to make holes for them :)
a couple of people emailed me for the facebook page name which is where i post about my soaps for sale,it is
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/owlmakeit
Owl Make It is in El Reno.

thanx again for a lovely day with lovely people
Leava the soap lady

Do you think it would be okay to start a thread listing websites for our forum members who make/grow their own interesting products? I think it would be great to support our fellow GW members and friends, and have all of the info listed in one thread for easy access.

For example, Leava's soap site, Gary's plant website (Duck Creek Gardens), Dody has an Etsy shop where she sells the COOLEST hand spun yarn + more, etc. I am sure there are other members here with websites or Etsy shops.

The only reason I'm asking is that I don't know if such a list would violate any anti-commercial or advertising rules that GW may have. You GW old timers should know the answer.

If Lisa K doesn't sell those GORGEOUS hand painted birdhouse gourds of hers, she should. I'd be her first customer.

Jo

Thanks everyone for a great time, my girls had so much fun. Amarie ate her fried chicken and after every bite she said, "Are you kidding me?"
And yes, Dawn, I did bribe them to be on their best behavior, LOL! Thanks to Seedmama for the fun egg hunt. And Tigerdawn, that cookie was so awesome, I definitely need the know-how on that!!!

I got almost everything in the ground last night, although I had to consult my handy encyclopedia between plantings. Thank you to Mia for several perennials, and jlhart--can't wait to see how they beautify my fence. Thanks for the various tomatoes since I lost several to cutworms...and to whoever brought the lilacs, I'm in love already! We are so thrilled to be a part of such a great group of people.
Paula, your property is lovely and you are a sweetheart for hosting.
Thanks again, Jammie, Chris, Kaiten and Amarie

Jo,

It is sort of a dicey proposition to mention a business on here without running afoul of GW's anti-commercial or anti-advertising rules. That's why some of us frequently mention Duck Creek Farms or The Tomato Man's Daughter, because it likely is okay for us to recommend a local merchant but Gary or Lisa M. could get in trouble for recommending themselves. (I'm glad Leava mentioned how we can contact here and she did it in a pretty subtle manner....because we all wanted to know and had asked. How to find Leava and her homemade soap is a frequent post-Spring Fling question on this forum every year.)

Now, if someone like me were to say "I didn't know Dody has an Etsy shop. How do we find it?", wouldn't it be OK for you or Dody to answer my direct question? I think that would be alright as long as it is a casual mention and not a blatant ad. So, how do I find Dody at Etsy?

Maybe we could start a thread on "My Favorite Local Shops and Suppliers" and compile all our favorites on one thread and then refer people back to it....sort of like the "where to find things in Tulsa" thread that was started a few weeks back. Or, a "Where To Find It" thread. Something like that probably would work.

One of y'all needs to start it because I can't find anything down here in southcentral OK, and y'all probably don't want to drive to Dallas-Fort Worth like I do. lol

Dawn

A pleasure to meet such a genuine group of Oklahoma friends and gardeners.
Thanks Paula and Ken!

Keith

______________________________________________________________________________
"Kiss of the sun for pardon. Song of the birds for mirth. You're closer to God's heart in a garden than any place else on earth." -- Dorothy Frances Gurney

ok, i need to know who made that gorgeous bird house! i thought it was a lisa, but the one i emailed said it wasn't her. sometimes i feel like such a num-nut. :)

dawn, i thought the children were incredibly well behaved as well. they're such nice kiddo's aren't they? probably because their 'rents are such nice people :)

chandra, you're pictures are wonderful! jo and i both brought our cameras, and then promptly forgot to take a single picture. der....

carol, i hope your "recycled bunny chow" didn't stink up your vehicle too much. i know kellyp had a wonderful time smelling it all the way down to norman. hee.

dody :)

i have some birdhouse gourds and seeing the one dody won made me want to come home and paint them SOON, it was gorgeous and inspiring

Is it too early to start a Spring Fling 2012 thread? Heehee!

I am just BURSTING with ideas for next year and after dipping my toe in the water for the first time this year feel much more confident about what to do/bring/cook for next year.

I loved Seedmama's confetti good luck eggs and the kids had SO much fun. Can we make that an annual tradition?

I'd like to sign up for bringing child goody bags again next year. I have all year to watch for cool inexpensive garden activities and prizes, so next year will be bigger and better. I am counting on at least two dozen kids next year. ;)

Someone, I THOUGHT it was Lisa k...whomever made that birdhouse gourd also brought a ton of huge healthy beautiful, clearly labeled plants. A huge shout out to her, and I aspire to bring 1/10th of what she brought.

and, I have a couple of neat ideas for food. Those flower cupcakes (were those from Seedmama too?) inspired me to try more garden-themed food next year (this year I was responsible for the hummus and the sesame flatbread).

How about a candy that looks JUST like potatoes? I saw this in a magazine today and I plan to make them and MORE next year.

http://testkitchen.marthastewart.com/2011/03/4917.html

Jo

Just wanted to say Thank you to everyone, for such a great time. I felt like a kid at Christmas, with all the wonderful plants and food. Also Thanks for all the effort made to make sure the kids had a good time. Danzig has CP and we're kind of protective. It was so nice for him to get to play with the other kids, they were all SO nice. Thank you again.
Jo, if you'd like a gourd, just shoot me an email. I have a few different kinds. I Love painting them.
lisak

Oh WOW. I am also signing up for hummus again next year. Look what I just found!!!!

Carrot Patch Hummus
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/carrot-patches-688927/

lisak do you have an etsy or website? Because you should...I am sure your gourds would go like HOTCAKES. I almost pushed Dody out of the car just so I could have hers. ;)

Danzig was the most gentle, lovely child I have ever met. I feel privileged.

Jo

Jerry and I want to say "thank you" to Paula, her DH, and all the other gardeners that made yesterday so fun. We were a bit on the shy-side, but that's just us:) We had a nice, relaxing time and MiaOKC and Paula got us talking in the end:) I did not get to plant my goodies yesterday...we went to the Norman Music Fest afterwards and continued with a beautiful day. Of course, it is cold, dreary, and rainy today...good ole' Oklahoma. I think Mother Nature smiled on us yesterday! I am looking forward to next year and I loved putting some faces to user names!
Thank you again, especially to Paula for having us!
--Sarah
PS The food was delicious!

Thanks, Jo. Danzig is the light of my life.
And no, sorry no web site. I'm just getting started with the gourds. My son grew them for me last year. This year I've sacrificed my clothes line for a trellis, not very pretty, but at least it's getting used now. I hope to have a lot more gourds this year.
lisak

Oh, yay!!!, we found the right Lisa!!! (sorry I missed meeting you at the swap, it's always good to meet a fellow name sharer!)

Lisa

Now we have a 'painting Lisa' and I have always called the other one the 'flower-child Lisa' because of her beautiful yard, but after what I heard yesterday, maybe it is the 'driving Lisa'. LOL Glad you made it home safely Lisa.

I too would like to thank Paula and Ken for being such great hosts! It was so nice to to meet everyone and to be able to put faces to names. Great weather, great food, and great people, made for a wonderful day.

Michelle

This pic was taken by Chandra and it CRACKED ME UP

In the rear : Jammie/newhippie, KelleyP, Me (Jo), Dody
In the front are the kids (belongine to Jammie and me)

{{gwi:1098235}}

Carol, Sharon, Katie and I all made it safely home. I even took them home the fateful way I drove last year. Every detail you heard was I'm sure very correct. It was a truly scary mishap. It scared me so bad I don't remember if I didn't see him or saw him and thought he was going to stop. I am lucky to be alive. Sorry Seedmama, I didn't mean to take years off your life!! Honest, I am a very safe driver!

I prefer the "flower-child" moniker! LOL. Well, anything but Hornworm Lisa!!!

Maubles (Michelle), I enjoyed meeting you! I'm glad you sat with us at lunch! and thanks for all the great pots!!!

Lisa

Jo, I will email you the pics I took that made me LOL, I somehow gave Dody a second head, and in another pic I gave her an extra arm and a strategically placed fountain drink, I am usually better at pictures. It was fun to meet you girlies, we should hook up in Tulsa, I will let my DH drive so I can beat ya there too. HA!

LisaK, Danzig is a sweetie, I let him crack 3-4 of those eggs on my head, I am loaded with luck now! We have a 16 y.o. nephew who also has CP. I am glad to see Danzig as active and adventurous. I bet he keeps you guys busy! And I am going to try and grow some bridhouse gourds so me and the girls can paint them, you have inspired me! That gourd was gorgeous!
Jammie

Lisa - I was just kidding, or course. I love your yard and so much appreciate the seeds and help you gave me when I was beginning to wintersow. If it hadn't been for you and seedmama, I might never have mastered that one, and now I think it is easy. You're a NICE lady.

Thanks paula and Ken!
I can't believe brent waited for everyone
to eat before he got some big cookie thats his fav
If he sees a big cookie in the grocery store he has
to buy it. He said that was the best one he's had.
All the food was great. I don't eat much sweets but I had
to try the coconut cake that was awsome.

Perfect day for an outside gathering, compared to Sun.
I didn't get anything planted, now I'm afraid cuz of the
cold weather. I had to cover everything last night.
Cool meating everyone your all so great and friendly.
TREE

Sorry to be so late with this post. A HUGE thank you to Paula and her family for hosting us, and to all the GW'ers that made the event so special. I'm so excited to plant all my new arrivals but will need to wait until Wednesday when I put my dear cousins on a plane back to Florida. We've been so busy with OKC Marathon events (brrrr!) that I'm just now getting to post.

Again, huge thank you to all, it was so wonderful to meet so many special people.

Mia, did you volunteer with the Marathon? My church was one of the waterstops. I was out from 7 to about 10:30, when the last marathoner came through. I was soaked to the skin. I (and a few others!) missed the sermon because we were huddled over the gas stove trying to dry out and warm up!

Lisa

Lisa, actually my cousin Lenny and family came all the way from Jacksonville Florida for him to run the marathon. So I've been hosting them since Friday, and on Marathon day, his wife and me and the two little ones made a big sign, and went down to the Penn & Britton area to cheer him on as he ran by. We huddled in the cargo hatch of my small SUV and accidentally cheered on about four strange men before "our" man actually ran by! :) Then we went downtown for the finish (Traffic with a capital T) and were very cold and wet with the 13 month old in the stroller and the five year old on my hip. We were fording the downtown streets and when we finally got to the tent, strangers kept trying to wrap our baby in their coats. LOL - a bonding experience, to be sure. He actually beat his best marathon time ever. I think 34 degree windchill must be a great motivator!

Mia, bless his heart!!! 34 degrees for a Floridian would most definitely be a motivator!

Lisa

Yes, I'm shouting!! I was simply overwhelmed and amazed beyond words at how many of you brought things to help me restart my landscape. I kept walking back to the truck with things that were brought just for me. I was just stunned (but not surprised) by the love. The number of containers I had prepared in advance simply wasn't enough. I made an emergency trip to Home Depot for potting mix and used the entire new bag to finish things up. Seedpapa is stunned as well. "You mean all we have to do is baby them until they root, and then we're set?" Yep, pretty much. You guys are amazing. Thank you, thank you thank you. (Wipe tear here.)

We had a great time as well. Jo, thanks for the lovely goodie bags. We've refilled the ladybug bubbles countless times already.

We need a Spring Fling Recipe thread. There were so many delicious veggie based dishes I couldn't believe it. Yum! Ken and Paula are awesome hosts. Thank you so much!

Lisa, I know you are a great driver, and I'm glad you made it home, both years!

I'm just now catching my wits. My son's First Communion was Sunday, so I rushed to the grocery store after the fling, then back to the house to dig out the dining room to have the family over afterwards. All the cuttings are potted up, and I hope I have carted tomatoes and peppers in and out for the last time. I've been irritated about not having them in the ground yet, but was very grateful this weekend that they were still portable. Hope to correct that situation this week.

Great to see everyone. With seedlings in tow I didn't get to have nearly as many conversations as in years past, but it's always great to see everybody.

I'm not sure who brought the canning starter door prize (Dawn maybe) but I was so happy to get it. I have an assortment of stock pots and no rack to fit in them. I've always just had to improvise with jar rings and wads of alumninum foil on the bottom of the pan. Now I have an authentic jar rack, and couldn't be happier!

A few more...

Here is a link that might be useful: Spring Fling pics

Mia,

My DH ran the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon several times and I believe it is his favorite marathon of all the ones he's ever run because the people...all of them from the volunteers to the runners to the crowds who come out to cheer...they all are just so wonderful. Plus, it has such a special meaning too since it is run in memory of the folks who lost their lives in the bombing of the Murrah Building. I am glad your cousin set a PR for his best marathon time ever. Tim hasn't run a marathon in about 4 or 5 years now....his knees and heels are getting old and can't handle the distance any more. (Don't y'all tell him I said that!)

LisaK, I saw that you brought tons and tons of plants and really do appreciate that. I know how much work it takes to bring that many. You are a perfect addition to our big, happy family!

Seedmama, I am so excited for y'all that you received so many plants to help you replant your landscaping that was destroyed by fire.

I am still in awe of the way you, SeedPapa and the neighbors saved your part of the neighborhood from the wildfire. Often, the stories coming from wildfires don't have the happy ending of homes and belongings being saved, which makes me doubly grateful y'all had a mostly-happy ending. I'm so grateful that you "only" have to rebuild your landscape, your garden and your compost pile (and by using the word "only" I do not mean that doing all that is a small thing by any means) and not your entire home.

I did bring the canning starter kit....and now I have to tell everyone the rest of the story: Y'all, Seedmama and I are close friends and exchange little gifts when we see each other. She brought me the most beautiful set of very unique and special jelly jars. In return, I brought her a jar of Annie's Salsa and two jars of Habanero Gold Jelly. THEN, she got the door prize I brought, which was a canning starter kit. So, essentially, all she and I did at the Spring Fling was swap canning jars and stuff instead of plants. That just struck me as kind of funny. What are the odds her number would be drawn for the canning starter kit? (Not that she's a beginning canner, by the way!) Of course, it goes without saying that Seedmama and I won't be happy until everyone else is as addicted to canning as we are.

Jammie, Thanks for posting more photos. I could look at them all day. This was the biggest and best gathering of all the ones I've attended since joining this forum in 2005. We even had perfect weather. What more could anyone hope for? It was a wonderful, wonderful day. I wanted for it to last forever.

Dawn

Dawn, I brought the mushrooms and the chili pepper bar-b-que apron and they BOTH went to the same home. It's funny how that happens.

Carol,

That's too funny. Life is strange like that sometimes. What are the odds that such a thing would happen?

Dawn

I have a really hard time choosing gifts so I was surprised to see so many of the same things I considered on the tables. Maybe next year I will just grab what appeals to me and hope someone else will like it.

Paula made me some candy that is too die for. I never get anything cinnamon because they all have red dye. She made me yellow cinnamon candy. Eventhough I have to limit sugar, I can manage to work in one piece a day if I can keep Al out of it. He usually doesn't even like sweets but I notice he keeps dipping into my bowl. LOL Thanks Paula.

Seedmama, you lost your compost pile too???? Oh my goodness!!! I would have brought you a bucket of compost too had I known! I'm not sure where I would have put it, Katie might have had to carry it on her lap, but I would have brought you some. I have had a nice pile of compost this year. I just gave away about half of it.

If you come this direction, bring a bucket, I'll fill it up for you. I think I spied another crepe myrtle seedling too.

Lisa

Oh! I'm so sorry I missed it. Don't post much on forums for conversation but guess I should, hopefully if there's another one I can make it!

I lost 200 peach-lings on my best tree last week we had such high winds here in Piedmont. I was very unhappy I had no one to boo hoo to about my loss. Did anyone else go through that?

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the plants. I wasn't sure what to bring. Also glad to see the garlic go. I still have tons of it. More passion vine coming up to.
Oh, by the way I've been addicted to canning for a long time.
We had such a good time.
Thanks everybody,
lisak

Lisa h, I did lose my compost bins. I had built a four compartment bin out of pallets. Everything in them had been hauled across the creek in crates over the ladder we used as a make shift bridge. Of course the pallets would burn, but it had never occurred to me that compost would burn. My son was fine with it because I paid him nickel for every nail and screw he found on the ground. We're using this as an opportunity to do something better. Each side of the new compartments is made of two pallets, resulting in much bigger bins. Also we drove t-posts into the ground to help support them. Things are really looking up. In addition to all the great cuttings and plants I got at the Fling, today I am going to pick up 12 bales of alfalfa someone is getting rid of. Every time I've just tapped out my resources, something new shows up.

Lkeel, your spicy tomato pickles were delicious. When I commented they had "kick" that was a good thing. I canned a lot as a kid, out of necessity. As an adult I have only frozen and put up things requiring a water bath. I bought two pressure canners last year, and took them to the extension service to have them tested. They are good to go, so I'll be putting up even more this year. I am excited.

fishoilmama,

I'm sorry you missed the Spring Fling. It is one big wonderful time.

As for the peaches, yes, it happens to me all the time and it has happened this year.

Raising stone fruit successfully in Oklahoma is a very iffy proposition. I am happy if I get a good to great harvest once every three years, a small harvest once every three years, and no harvest at all once every three years.

Last year's harvest was the best ever. From one old and half-dead peach tree, I harvested 84 lbs. 13 oz. of fruit. That's easily twice the largest harvest we've ever had from that tree. And in case you're wondering if I hadn't thinned and we had oodles of tiny peaches, the answer is no. I had thinned and thinned and thinned and we had huge peaches. We ate all we could fresh, froze 20 quarts to use in cobbler, homemade ice cream and to eat half-thawed, and I made all the peach jelly, peach jam, peach butter and spiced peach butter we could eat and give away. That's a rare "great" harvest year.

This year, the peaches (and plums) bloomed earlier than I'd like so I felt like the wind, hail and late frosts and freezes would get the fruit, and they mostly have.

The peach tree had tons of fruit set this spring but after wind gusts several times in the upper 40s thru mid-50s, five hail storms (only two of them knocked fruit off the tree), late freezes and late frosts, I think my peach tree now has maybe 3 or 4 peaches left on it. One plum tree is now totally fruitless, the Mexican Plum has only a couple of fruit left on it and the 'best' plum tree now has about 10% of the fruit it started with. That's pretty typical, especially considering the wild weather we've had this spring.

Lisak,

Glad to hear there's another canner here! After moving here from Texas, I started canning again and now it is a serious addiction.

Last year, after making 120 or so jars of plum jelly and lots of plum butter and spiced plum butter, and drying others to eat as prunes, I still had piles and piles of plums even though we were eating as many as we could eat fresh daily, so I extracted juice and froze enough juice to make at least 100 jars of plum jelly this year. So, if all the plums on the tree now are killed by hail, frost, high wind, etc., I'll still be able to make vast quantities of plum jelly this year. You know your canning addiction is serious when you are freezing fruit juice to ensure you will be able to make jelly "next year".

By the time 2010 had ended, I had canned almost 700 jars of food and had put about an equivalent amount in our freezers and our root cellar. Last year was an extraordinary year for fruit. This year I won't have nearly as much, but at least I'll be able to make the plum jelly.

Dawn

Well, Dawn, I suppose you'd appreciate this:

Plum Loaf/ Muffins

2c sugar
3 eggs
1/2c oil
1c peeled plum
1/2t salt
1t baking soda
1t cinnamon
2c flour

Bake at 350F

Dawn, My Mother made plum jelly when I was a child and I would always ask her to make one that was tart and overcooked. I loved it almost sour and thick enough to eat by the spoonful. She made one batch a year like that. LOL I hadn't thought of that for years.

As an adult I didn't eat very much jelly and now that I have to watch sugars, I have found several that I just love, the best one is your hab jelly. Oh man, it's good.

I also like Apple Pie Jam and if I get apples again this year (from my son and DIL) then I will make more of that one.

Sometimes you just have to skip a meal so you can eat hab jelly and creme cheese. We went to the Mennonite store today and I stocked up on creme cheese. Also went to Baker Creek and bought a few seeds.....just a few...and some sweet potato slips. I bought White Yams so I hope I like them. I wanted something unique. LOL

Where is the Mennonite Store and Baker Creek? I'm going to be in Tulsa Saturday to pick up my tomatoes and I might need to make a detour.

Tigerdawn, Thanks for the recipe. You know that I'll use it!

Carol, You know, I'm very glad you like the Habanero Gold, but I certainly cannot take credit for it. It is a recipe I got over at the Harvest Forum, and I think the recipe originated from Benardin in Canada.

I like Apple Pie Jam a lot, and Banana Jam too. And Blueberry-Lime Jam. I could go on and on. I really am not a big jelly or jam eater, but when I do eat them I like them on muffins that they match. For example, Banana Jam on banana-nut muffins. Tim eats jam and jelly all the time, though, and the guys at Chris' fire station like jam and jelly on biscuits or toast for breakfast....or any other time. I send cases of jelly and jam to the fire station.

I knew you couldn't stay away from Baker Creek! Do tell us what seeds you bought! I hope it was a fun trip. Were you already going to Missouri for something else and this was a side trip, or was it the sole reason for the trip? Ahem, well along with the Mennonite store too, of course.

Pepper jellies are one of my favorite things to make. They make terrific gifts. Even people who tell me that they "don't like jelly" will eat Habanero Gold or Jalapeno Jelly.

Dawn

Tigerdawn - It would be more than a detour for you, and almost a vacation. LOL I live in Grove which is way north of Tulsa, and Baker Creek is about 165 miles from my house. It is located in the country, a few miles north then west of Mansfield MO.

We go a couple of times a year and the trip is just as much for the store in Seymour as it is Baker Creek in Mansfield. Last year the Spring Planting Festival was on my birthday so we went over that weekend and spent the night. This year the Spring Fling in Norman was the same week-end as the Spring Festival. We drove to Norman on Saturday, and then returned home. The weather was nasty so we decided to skip the Festival which was Sunday and Monday. Today was our anniversary and we decided to take a 'road trip' and just spend the day goofing off, so we went to Missouri. Today the weather up there was gorgeous but they said that for the Festival it was rainy and cold.

I live just a few miles from Missouri and do a lot of my shopping in Joplin. We have a neighbor that works in Joplin. He was standing in the road this morning when we started to leave and my husband said, "We are headed to Missouri." My neighbor leaned into the car window a bit and said, "Been there, done that, wasn't too damned impressed."

We laughed because frequently when we want to be away from home for a day, we find a way to spend our time in Missouri. From where we live we can be in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas in an hour. I ran a census crew last year and the closest place to meet one of my enumerators was in Missouri. We both lived in OK, but it was quicker to meet in Missouri.

Dawn, I was posting while you were, but think I answered most of your questions. Yes, I knew where the recipe came from but likely wouldn't have tried it if you hadn't recommended it first. My daughter asked me to make some for her and I think she took 8 jars home.

I made a batch of the blueberry-lime also but none has been opened. Al loves blueberries, but is not a big jelly fan so he probably hasn't even remembered that I made it.

The store where I went today is where I buy the clear jel like I used for my apple pie filling that I canned last year. I bought some at the Amish store in Chouteau OK, but the store I went to today has a better price. Actually I buy a lot of things there and I think today was about $130. I buy mostly bulk items but I love their cream cheese. I bought 7 grain mix which I sometimes add to bread, raw sugar, bulk coconut, etc. etc.

Yes, it was a trip just for that reason, but the main reason was to be away from home and the telephone. Actually it only rang once before we left town and it was the Judge wishing us Happy Anniversary. She calls every year and someday I'm going to ask her, if she is just relieved that we made it another year and didn't appear in her courtroom in an official capacity. LOL She is very thoughtful and never misses a birthday or anniversary and never fails to send a thank your for every little thing. I should be so thoughtful.

When I was a child, I lived in Wilson and one of my classmates' parents owned the local funeral home. After I was grown, my sister thought it was great fun to say , "The undertaker asked about you when I saw him."

Another daughter heard me mention Baker Creek and ordered a catalog and was excited to know that she could find the tomatoes she was interested in. She just bought a new house and I didn't even realize she had a garden, but I picked up a few things for her: True Black Brandywine and Carbon tomato and Lipstick and Golden Marconi Pepper. She has already grown her plants for this year, but figured those four are sure to get her hooked on heirlooms along with whatever else I send.

Actually I was happy with my answer that I bought a few, but after you asked then I had to count. Ugh, seems I have more than I thought but they are mostly Al's fault. LOL

I bought Sugar Snap peas because I had a hard time finding a pack this year when I needed some. Seminole Pumpkin although I think I still have some from the swap.

Al bought two packages of Tomatillo's which I had conveniently failed to buy because I don't like them, but I guess I have to plant a few now. He bought Tomatillo Verde and Purple Coban.

Then he went eggplant crazy and I already had seeds at home. I suggested Ping Tung because I have been happy with those. He decided to add a few extra: Lao Green Stripe, Lao White, Malaysian Dark Red, Japanese White Egg, Florida Market, Louisiana Long Green, Rotondo Bionco Sfumoto di Roso, Jilo Tingue Verde Claro, and Long Purple. I hope he remembers next year why he is building a screen house to grow them in so the flea beetles don't kill them all. LOL

I bought peppers but they are mostly just replacement packs since I rarely get around to saving seeds. Sweet Yellow Stuffing, Golden Marconi, Corno Di Toro Giallo (2), Odessa Market, Lipstick, and Santa Fe Grande.

I picked tomatoes and so did he, but you probably won't have trouble deciding which ones he picked. Some are weird, one is an ox-heart.....
Stupice, Prudens Purple, Dr Wyche's Yellow, True Black Brandywine, Black Early, Carbon, Black from Tula, Pink Grapefruit, Green Zebra, Mortgage Lifter, Red Cheese, Golden Monarch, T C Jones, and Huge Lemon Oxheart. More than one pack in some cases, and a free pack of Love-In-A-Mist.

I needed the Sugar Snaps for next year and I wanted to get a Paul Roberson and some additional Black Cherry but they were out of both tomatoes.

Please remember that this is my husband of 39 years today, who thinks I should only plant one or two types of tomatoes each year (but loves them all). He is also the same husband who thinks I should have everything I want, and will help me decide what I want in most cases, if I fail to choose for myself. Also, the husband who can't resist a bargain and enjoyed the fact that peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant had 'special pricing' today.

I could open my own farmers market if I had a little land!

This is a much belated thank you to Paula & family for hosting the fling. I'm so glad I went! I only talked myself into it because it was so close to visiting my uncle at the Norman VA home, but I won't need an excuse to go next year.

Of course, the backroads route my phone picked out for me sent me right by one of my favorite plant-buying places, the Chandler feed store...

Thank you paula and ken for hosting.
Good food and people.
I can't believe how many plants were there. Amazing generosity on everybodys part. Now just 4 more things to plant and I think i'll have it all in the ground...

thanks
terra

Hi Dawn, last year was a great year for my peach tree too, one of the best I can remember, probly all the great snow we had that winter. I didn't really measure it except we got a couple ice coolers full, gave some away froze some and ate a bunch. Usually my tree does ok but this year looked like it was gonna be another good one. Such a bummer. Oh, well--I look forward to next spring. And hopefully a spring fling. Thanks for the message. Hi to all. Good luck with the gardening this year and happy mothers day.