You can start peppers and eggplants inside now. You probably would be OK starting tomatoes now and transplanting them outside in late April. For everything else that can be grown from transplants, look at the spring planting date for your part of the state, and start your seeds 3 to 5 weeks prior to that planting date, with 3 weeks being ideal. THE FALL GARDEN: You can plant almost everything in the fall garden that you would plant in the spring garden. Some plants do better when planted in the fall than in the spring, including brussels spouts and (for me) cabbage and other cole crops. The hardest part of planting a fall garden is that you must, by necessity, start new plants and seeds during Oklahoma's hottest, driest, most miserable weather. You can get around that by starting seeds in peat pellets indoors where it is cooler, hardening them off in semi-shade and the transplanting them into the ground, preferably on a cloudy day (or in the evening, so they have all night to recover). You also can give new plants some shade while they are getting established, using shadecloth and other methods, including spraying them with Wilt-Prufe. If you keep them well-watered, the tiny summer-planted transplants will catch hold and grow although you may not see a lot of topgrowth until the weather cools a little in September. Here's approximate planting dates for a fall garden in southern Oklahoma. If you are significantly further north, you may want to plant 2 weeks earlier so you can get a harvest before frost arrives. June 15th-July 1st: Cantaloupe, muskmelon, watermelon and any other European, Asian or American melons (seeds or transplants) July 1st-15th: Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers (all from transplants, not seed) July 15th: Sweet corn (seed) (I pre-soak it in water overnight to help it germinate more quickly, especially if the soil is very dry. July 15-30th: Cilantro (seed or transplants), pole beans (seed), southern peas (black-eyed peas, crowder peas, cream peas, etc.)(seed), winter squash (seed or transplants), pumpkins (seed or transplants) July 15th-August 15th: okra (seed or transplants) July 15th-September 1st: Summer squash (including zuchinni) (seed or transplants) July 25-August 10: potatoes (seed potato pieces) August 1st-Sept. 1st: collards (seed), brussels sprouts (seed or plants), cabbage (seed or plants), swiss chard (seed or plants), kohlrabi (seed or plants) August 1st-Oct. 15th: spinach (seed), mustard (seed), August 1st-15th: Rutabagas and turnips (seed), carrots and parsnips (seed), broccoli (seed or transplants), August 1st-October 1st: parsley (seed or transplants) August 15th-Sept. 10th: lettuce (seed or transplants) August 10th-20th: Bush beans (seed), lima beans (seed), cucumbers (seed or transplants) Sept. 1st-15: beets (seeds) Sept. 1st-Oct. 1st: peas Sept. 10th-Oct. 1st: Leeks (seed) Sept. 15th-Oct. 15th: Garlic (for a spring harvest) HEIRLOOM TOMATOES: I'm going to list the ones that not only have great flavor, but that have great production. Some that have INCREDIBLE flavor, like Brandywine, might only give you a few fruit per plant so they are VERY frustrating to grow. Black Krim (maroonish-greenish-reddish fruit) Cherokee Purple (or Cherokee Chocolate or Cherokee Green)(all taste about the same to me, only difference is skin color) Nebraska Wedding (Orange-gold fruit) Hillybilly or Royal Hillbilly Aunt Gertie's Gold Dr. Wyche's Yellow Mortgage Lifter (pink fruit) Dr. Carolyn (ivory to yellow cherry) Arkansas Traveler or Traveler 76 (not technically an heirloom, I suppose, but has been around Arkansas so long that I think of it as one) Earl's Faux (flavor almost as good as Brandywine, not technically an heirloom, but a sport or cross grown from at least one heirloom parent) Porter, Porter's Pride or Improved Porter (pinkish-red) Bradley (pink, an Arkansas heirloom) Marianna's Peace (pink) Snow White--another ivory to pale yellow cherry, fruit are larger than Dr. Carolyn Black Cherry--relatively new on the market, so I guess it is not an heirloom, but it has that special heirloom-type flavor Sungold--is not an heirloom, but it the best cherry tomato ever If I could only grow 5 heirlooms, I'd grow Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter, Snow White and Arkansas Traveler OR Nebraska Wedding. And, if I could only grow 5 hybrids, I'd grow Brandy Boy (flavor incredibly close to Brandywine's), Better Boy, Sweet Million, Sungold and Porterhouse. If I could only grow 5 tomato varieties total, I think I'd grow Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Better Boy and Mortgage Lifter. That's my list of favorite tomatoes, heirloom and hybrid. And, if you asked me on a different day, you might get a different list. Each heirloom has a flavor that is unique and special, sort of like fine wine. And, flavor can vary from year to year and also varies due to soil and growing conditions. You didn't ask about paste tomatoes for canning or cooking, but some of the best ones are Opalka, Amish Paste, Grandma Mary's Paste, Martino's Roma and San Marzano Redorta. For sun-dried tomatoes, you can't go wrong with Principe' Borghese.

I also have a Jambalaya recipe that I concocted several years ago at a family gathering. I think there were 20 some people there, so the recipe as I've recorded it is rather large. (with nearly 7 lbs of meat!) I prefer it done this way, with the rice prepared separately, rather than cooking the rice with the rest of the dish, since if there are leftovers the rice absorbs all of the liquid, making the rice gluey and the rest of the dish dry. Also since several members of the group didn't want it too spicy, the amount of red pepper, cayenne pepper and tobasco were much less than I would otherwise have used, but adding tobasco after it is served works very well. JAMBALAYA 2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes) 1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice) 1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces) 2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage 2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds) 2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces 2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces) 2 yellow bell peppers 4 cups of rice 2 large cans diced tomatoes 1 15 oz can tomato paste Olive oil 10 cloves garlic 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground) 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 4 shakes Tobasco sauce 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp chopped parsley In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so. In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked. Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water from tomato cans) and the tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well. In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste. Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked. Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.

Getting about that time when salads are better than stews. I'm always ready for either season to begin. PEAR, WALNUT AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD W/CRANBERRY VINAIGRETTE (Mimi's) 1/2 cup canned whole-berry cranberry sauce 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 orange) 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger 1/4 tsp salt Salad: 18 Bibb lettuce leaves (about 2 heads) 2 cups sliced peeled pear (about 2 pears) 2 tbsp fresh orange juice 1 cup (1/8-inch-thick) slices red onion, separated into rings 1/3 cup (2 oz.) crumbled blue cheese 2 tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts, toasted To prepare vinaigrette, place first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir well with a whisk. To prepare salad, divide lettuce leaves evenly among 6 salad plates. Toss pear with 2 tbsp orange juice. Divide pear and onion evenly among leaves. Top each serving with about 1 tbsp cheese and 1 tsp walnuts. Drizzle each serving with about 2 1/2 tbsp vinaigrette.

and I have to add this one, it is one of my recent original creations LOL and we deemed it a keeper. Mexican Wraps 1lb lean ground beef 1 chopped onion chopped garlic ( you decide how much, I like a lot) 1 chopped bell pepper 1 can drained black beans 1 can Rotel tomatoes 1 cup frozen sweet corn (canned is ok) 1 pack taco seasoning mix(dry) blue corn tortilla chips crushed a bit(enough to cover the top of the pot, about 1/3 of a large bag) grated cheese ( I use colby jack blend) 2 portions each 1 cup pack of wraps or large flour tortillas In large skillet or pot brown the beef with the onion, bell pepper and garlic. Drain when done. Add to the pot the next 4 ingredients, beans, tomatoes, corn, seasoning mix. Stir well to mix and let simmer on medium-low uncovered 25 mins stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Sprinkle on top one of the portions of grated cheese, and mix it in. Next take the slightly crushed blue corn chips and sprinkle on top ( do not mix in) Next take the remaining portion of grated cheese and sprinkle on top of the chips. Let simmer 8-10 mins on low to let the cheese melt and the flavors blend. Remove from heat. It can be eaten just as it is or you can serve it in a wrap or a large flour tortilla. I heat those in the microwave covered with a wet paper towel for about 30 seconds to make them warm and soft. You can offer on the side extra cheese, sour cream, sliced black olives, salsa, tortilla chips, avocado, or what ever you prefer. We do these assembly line fashion with each making their own and adding what every they want. What I used: tostitos natural blue corn tortilla chips 9oz bag, about 1/3 to 1/2 of the bag. Mission Wraps the zesty garlic herb ones taco bell taco seasoning pack This makes a lot, I cook mine in a large wok shaped skillet. When I have them I will throw on some of the sliced black olives on top of the last cheese layer and let them melt into the cheese. ***you can use other meat like ground turkey, and I have also used the pre cooked Jimmy Dean sausage crumblers, or mix it up!