Shiloh Farm Homestead

10/14/2026

What I gleaned from this summers extreme - highest on record - heat wave dome and drought… Farmgirl, you’ve got to make this garden work smarter not harder!
In 2020, I did a major redesign of the garden for the same reason. I began switching from wood sided raised beds to VEGO garden beds and ditching the tiller for NoDig garden rows.
What this summer taught me, and (how I’ve changed it)
Having multiple VEGO beds made watering more difficult ( they are simple to dismantle and move, so I remodeled them into 15’ long beds and added a 50’ long drip irrigation hose )
NoDig rows were also only 8-10’ long and I had 12. I only grow vining or tall crops in these. (Reducing the number of rows to 3 and will be lengthening the rows to 12’ and adding 25’ drip irrigation on both sides of each row.)
Last fall I tossed white Dutch clover seed in all my paths. That was a real big winner in reducing w**d growth in paths, providing pollinator habitat, feeding the soil and only needing mowing 3 times all summer. Clippings were collected and spread around all the veggies as a green mulch.
I watched the suns path more closely and realized the blueberry, fig, muscadine and strawberry needed more full sun for longer periods. (The blueberries had been in this south house side garden for 6 years and had grown very tall and wide - the April hard freeze had killed this years fruit, so a big pruning took place to reduce their size.)
I only had 2 large fig trees and they only receive 4-6 hours of sunlight while fruiting, ( I’ve come to appreciate the ease of growing figs in containers, so I now have 7 varieties, all will be transplanted into the livestock mineral tubs to control size and increase fruiting)
Even though the Isons Supreme and Paulk muscadines took a freeze hit, they still produced enough quarter sized grapes to enjoy eating fresh, they also produced several new sprouts along the roots which I was able to propagate. (Ruby Crisp will arrive this fall and it along with the propagated yearlings will be planted on the outside fence line with 16’ spacing for easier management)
Lastly the Albion strawberries have been prolifically growing in the veggie garden for 10 years and in areas have become solid mats with less production due to shading. (10 plants are being transplanted into this area along with 18 more in a three tiered Greenstalk planter)
Today and tomorrow we will still be in the low 90’s 🥵 but come Friday…ahhhhhtumn will finally settle into place. 🤗

10/14/2026

Some are annuals, some are perennial, all have reliably returned on their own every year without me doing a single thing. The easiest pollinator and hummingbird friendly flowers I grow.

10/14/2026

Definitely the hottest driest late summer months we’ve ever experienced in our zone 8, NE TX area! Just absolutely brutal weather for man, animal, landscape.
When you select native plants, much of the stress of lack of moisture and high heat may set them back into a summertime dormancy, but then just as little as a couple inches of rain (which only moistened the soil 1/4” deep - that’s how dry we are!) and shortened autumn day length, they surprise you with their resilience to put on a final show just as Monarch butterfly and hummingbirds are migrating South along with many other native pollinators dancing through the air.
A few non-natives are also in this area, but they have naturalized for over a century on our farm. (Crinium, Abelia, Spider Lily, Shrimp plant)

10/10/2026

This very simple setup is all I ever need to start transplants whether it’s for Spring or Fall. The seed starting footprint area is only 2’x3’.
This year I added Hoss Tools seed starting station (love the adjustable height of the lights and the 4 growing trays with bottom hole push outs for the plugs once they have nice roots. Each tray holds 12 starts=48 in no more than 18”x24” of area!)
If I have some trays sprouting faster and needing a different light height I can just move them to the shelf above or the one on the countertop. Both of these have 24” long full spectrum LED grow lights at fixed heights. (I can have as many as 144 transplants in 1 1/2” pods going at one time if needed in this small space)
To harden off my transplants, I use a couple methods - on a table under a deciduous shade tree or I directly plant in the VEGO 42” wide x 14’ long beds and cover with a shade cloth over the fence panel hoops for a few days attached with clothes pins or binder clips)

10/06/2026

100’s of oxblood lilies have overnight emerged and then began blooming in profusion after a brief shower of rain.
The honeybees were foraging down deep into the Lillie’s throats for nectar. Their bums were bumping the yellow stamens of pollen so much that they would get weighted down with pollen and would have to shake it off before they could return to their colonies with the nectar.

10/04/2026

His entire plot including home and other structures is only 1 3/4 acres. The No-Dig garden is 1/2 acre and he supplies food for his family, neighborhood, markets and restaurants. All in a suburban area!

10/03/2026

Today I attended a muscadine growing seminar Bob Wells Nursery at Sorelle Farms. Very informative program. In addition to several varieties of Pierce disease resistant muscadine and some table grapes, the nursery is also well stocked currently with several fruit trees for our northeast Texas region and about a dozen fig varieties.
I was excited to purchase Olympian, Osborne Prolific and Tiger Stripe Panache fig trees to add to our orchard.
October is an ideal time to add fruiting shrubs, orchard trees, and grapes to your collections before they go dormant after first frosts. They will enjoy the cooler days and moist autumn rains to spread their roots.

10/02/2026

I’m 71 years young and still gardening every single day because I just LOVE to be doing this chore. (Blessed with a hubby who loves to clean house ☺️)
I’m a firm believer in work smarter not harder, been following Charles Dowding’s gardening method for years. He’s now offering his method not only on YouTube, but also in an online at your pace course.

https://www.facebook.com/61569087941203/posts/122182623494636264/?

Gain a complete understanding of how to grow 40 of Charles's favourite vegetables. With my guidance, you’ll feel confident to grow a variety of vegetables from seed. There are 33 guides, and each one covers every aspect of growing for each vegetable.

09/28/2026

I’ve grown using the teepee method in the past, but hands down straight panel is my choice always now. It’s just very difficult to see or harvest produce inside the teepee angle.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1704412201684324&set=a.713907740734780&type=3

Outsmarting Humidity: Why Flat Trellises Outperform Teepees for Disease Prevention

For growers of pole beans, runner beans, and climbing legumes, trellising is an essential strategy to save ground space, keep pods off wet soil, and ease harvesting. However, not all trellis designs are created equal when managing plant health!

In regions prone to high humidity, frequent rain, or heavy morning dew, the geometry of your trellis structure directly dictates the microclimate surrounding your foliage. While traditional tripod or teepee structures remain popular for their quick setup and rustic charm, they are prone to fungal and bacterial leaf diseases.

Single-plane vertical trellises and angled A-frames are superior designs for disease prevention.

Teepee and tripod structures consist of three or more poles anchored in a circle at the base and tied together at a central point at the top. While structural, their conical geometry creates severe airflow issues as plants mature.

TEEPEE MICROCLIMATE (Disease Zone)
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09/24/2026

The sky is telling me that finally autumn temperatures will be settling in. For us that means upper 80’s to low 60’s for October. Still praying for rain relief, we are still lacking 20” of rain for this year.