Shiloh Farm Homestead

09/07/2026

My advice for Northeast Texas corner of the state, zone 8, the easiest fruit crops to grow in our unique climate.
It’s time to order orchard plants (fruit) for fall planting. Now available at many local nurseries and online.
September is the best month for planting strawberry plugs or blueberry bushes.
November is best for the dormant fruit trees - elderberry, figs, Mexican plum or Chickasaw (sandhill) plum.
November is also a great time of year to plant muscadine grapes. You want nursery grown muscadines and you must know if you are purchasing self fertile or just female vines. (Female vines need a self fertile planted 25-50 feet away for pollination) I purchase my muscadines from Isons they have excellent video tutorials on all their vines.

Ison's is a family-owned grower of muscadines offering over 200 varieties of fruit trees, nut trees, berry plants, small fruits and more.

08/31/2026

My tip for fall planting - take a shovel out to the garden, if the soil isn’t damp at least 4” right now, you’re just spinning your wheels sowing or transplanting. Sure, you can water as you plant, but the entire soil bed needs to have that much moisture otherwise the nearby dry soil will just wick it away from what you’ve planted and either stunt the growth or starve the plant.

08/27/2026

Surprise, surprise, such a cutie patootie

08/26/2026

Saw a few sweet potatoes pushing up through the arborist mulch where the slips were planted. Gathered a dozen large ones from the first 3 slips, have about 2 dozen more slips to go. I’ve never had the mature this early, but not surprised considering nothing else has been normal in the garden this year. 🤭
I started growing in arborist mulch 3 years ago and don’t think I’ll ever switch back to growing in soil. They pull very easily and come out clean.

We still have plenty of 90+ degree days left, so I’m curing them on shelves in the shade on my porch. About 10 days should sweeten them up nicely.

08/26/2026

Today I planted the Bubba Desert Willow and I'm looking for a Burgundy Desert Willow.
Desert Willow is native to many southern states. It outshines crepe Myrtle by being a favorite of many pollinators and hummingbirds, is drought tolerant, requires very, very little care or maintenance.
You may not find it at the big box stores, but nursery garden centers that also carry native plants usually have it available.

08/25/2026

She was on the side door this morning and I stepped outside to take her picture…apparently she was camera shy because she quickly ran up the glass and onto the hinge side of the door 😱 (oh no, I don’t want to squish you!) then around to the inside and flew up into the dining room!
Eeek, I just hoped I would be able to catch her before a cat grabbed her…I retired back to my recliner, coffee in hand, reading your posts…and suddenly she landed on the side of the recliner 😃.
I gently clutched her in my hand - she had the audacity to give me a pinch on my palm with her mandible - and carried her outside to one of the Meyer lemon trees.
What was your early morning adventure?

08/24/2026

My produce stand

Don’t I wish? 👩🏼‍🌾🤩🤭

08/22/2026

Purchasing compost? Nope! Save your money for more seeds instead. I have been using these methods for several years. Currently we are experiencing extreme 💯 degree days and zero precipitation. Soil is too hot and drying too quickly for direct seeding or transplanting, so instead, I’ve covered a strawberry bed with cardboard to shade kill the plants, cool the soil and allow moisture to help the earthworms with decomposition. I’ll be topping the cardboard with some ramial wood chips and by Spring, this bed will be ready for a new growing season with enriched soil.

https://youtu.be/FV-3f2oDmvM?is=nMJSudXHctCwX4rS

08/16/2026

Tranquility, a simple water feature for our honey bees.