I've never specifically posted in the Ozarks forums but do linger now and again. Seems very dead. I would love to revive it however. I live in the northwestern corner of AR. Haha I won't be starting seeds until at least February, as I start things under cover outside relying on sunlight. Far too cold in January, though I may attempt some lettuce or spinach. We had the exact opposite of your weather this year. It was a very early, warm spring which made earlier plantings possible, which was nice. Our last frost date is usually not until sometime in May but this year it was mid March!! We thought for sure summer would be hot and humid; however, spring quickly became very wet, which stayed the same all summer. We only had maybe a few weeks in July with no rain, and our temperature rarely went above the 80's! Anyways, my tomatoes couldn't handle it. Septoria leaf spot came so early with the excessive rains. I'm also looking forward to a fresh start next year... Merry Christmas!

Well, OK, Jacob! We have a start, anyway! I have email addresses of a couple of people who used to come. I've contacted one, and she said she'd like to start coming here again. Are you close to Siloam Springs? My mother's grandparents lived in a small town very near there. She told me her grandfather said when they first moved there he thought he was "in the garden of eden". Then he'd laugh and say he went out into the woods and even found "an apple tree". Such a sweet memory.

Have you ever tried putting clear plastic or something that would let in the light but not the wind on those outside plants? I have what I call a "cold frame" that's against my house foundation on the east. It's the right width for me to lay some old shower doors on top, which I pick up really cheap at garage sales or thrift shops. I can grow things in there very late into the year, if I have anything alive by then. It gets sun until about 1pm, and then is shaded by the house. I also use it in early spring to help my inside-grown seedlings transition. I can get them outside earlier that way. I got the idea from a book I read by Eliot Coleman. He grows things all winter in an unheated greenhouse in Maine. He says the wind is the culprit, and if you can protect from that, you can still grow things that are somewhat cold hardy, like lettuces and things in the cabbage family, and some root things, all year long. I can't quite do that with my set up.

We've had wet summers here but not in several years now. Back when we lived in town and I had my whole back yard in raised beds. I'd always lose my tomatoes to some fungal disease and my squash to hoards of roly-poly critters. They'd chew on the plants around the soil line and destroy my plants even before the squash bugs could fly in.

Ah, yes, Christmas is nearly here. Hope you (and all others who might read this in time) have a good one. I'm doing the black-eyed pea dinner that was always traditional in my family for New Year's Day, and will have grandson and his family (wife and three little girls -- oldest in first grade, the twins will be 2 in Feb -- and son, the grandson's uncle, and his family. His wife has 3 kids, the oldest in her first year of college, then a ninth grade girl and a fifth grade boy. So this old house will be rockin' on New Year's Day.... --Ilene

You know, we took a trip into MO to go to the Baker Creek Seed festival, and I wanted to stop at an orchard and buy a couple of bushels of apples and we could not find ANY orchards! We even stopped at a restaurant along the way for lunch and I asked the people there, WHERE were all the orchards, and they said there used to be an orchard behind their building, but as the trees died, they were not replaced, until all were gone. I remember when I was a kid (a long time ago) being in the backseat of Dad's flamingo-pink and white '56 Plymouth Belvedere (WITH fins), when we drove through AR and MO and there were roadside stands and orchards EVERYWHERE, in both states. So I ask you: are there any apple orchards left in AR that you know of?

Sadly no. I feel the trees have gotten pushed out to be honest. The apple blossom is still our state flower though. I have read of people finding wild apples all over the place on rural backpacking trails however. We have never seen them ourselves. Isn't it a shame how these things get forgotten and pushed out? What an asset it would be to pick apples in the forest!! I'd imagine disease has played a role as well, as it seems the apple trees my grandparents have are about dead due to disease. Young trees too! I do wonder why it has advanced so much. We haven't had a good cold winter in a while and that could be partly why...

Then again we've only lived here 5 years this coming May and I'm only 15 so I'm not quite old enough to remember wild trees!

Yes, disease is a serious problem. And without a spraying program there are insects that can kill a tree quickly. I lost a tree to borers, now I paint all my fruit tree trunks, or wrap them. Fruit trees back in my great-grandfather's day were not hybrid, either. They were what you might call 'Johnny Appleseed trees'. Heh.

Oh, and I might add that if you're looking for an orchard, we go to a place called VanZant fruit orchard nearby. They have good tomatoes usually as well! I believe they're someplace is Lowell.

Thanks for that, I looked them up, they have a website http://www.vanzantfruitfarms.com/ and they have been getting pretty good reviews. Doesn't look hard to get to.

Oh, and BTW, I'm quite proud of you, at the age of 15, and already interested in gardening. I am 70! Hubs is 75. We had our 50th anniversary last summer.

I am still here and gardening north of I-44 near Springfield, Mo. I would love to see this forum come back to life. Most of us share very similar gardening issues.

I have already optimistically ordered fresh garden seeds for the new year. I got brave and just tossed all old seeds. Of course, I think I have tossed some fairly new seeds that I wish I had kept! Fortex beans being one. Our area is still very dry and we are hoping for good rains come spring.

I will probably remain the "senior" gardener here!

Glenda, so glad you could come! I've answered a few old, unanswered posts, hoping they'll get emails and come by and join in. Maybe after the holidays are all over.

I'll be starting my wintersowing projects soon. Wish we were close enough to each other, I would've gladly taken all your old seed. I'll be planting the Kwintus and the Italian beans that you sent me last summer, and have plans for ramping up the growing conditions for them. I had good luck last fall watering my planted bean seeds with 1 Tbsp epsom salt to each gallon of water. They came up really healthy.

I also had a garden tonic recipe I tried that seemed to help. Will make a big batch this spring and use it in new areas.

Hey! Speaking of Italian beans, do either of you know what a "Nadine" bean is? I have a full gallon bag of bean seed of that variety. It's seed that my great grandma/grandpa saved many many years ago I believe. Probably at least 30-40 years. Anyways, I was going to plant it next year as my grandma has told me that it was my great grandma's favorite bean for canning, that it was very productive, that it was a climber, and that it was an Italian flat bean. I have never found a variety that is called Nadine! Would any of you, being around here, know what it could be?

This forum seems off to a good start so far! I'm excited to see where it will go. It's nice to meet you, gldorris.

Well, LOL, I just tried to look it up and found that someone named Nadine Bean has a Facebook account. And someone named Nadine has an Italian bean casserole recipe. But I could find nothing else on it. Maybe Glenda will know. She's my unofficial go-to when I need help identifying plants. Also Carole, whose screen name is Sunnyside. Been trying to get her in here too, she says she will.

You should for sure plant those this summer, Jacob, and get fresh bean seed from them and we will all work out a trade with you.