There is one hurtle to jump in growing Rosemary here. Other than that, I have found our ‘Madeline Hill’ hardy Rosemary an easy-to-care-for herb. No pruning needed, or fertilizing, or watering even in drought, and no disease or insect problems. Harvest is easy, and as a seasoning, a little goes a long way. It even dries quickly for preservation and has a lot more flavor than the who-knows-how-old stuff from the store.

Winter protection is the mysterious hurtle. Protection from constant dampness may be more important than insulation from the cold and wind, at least to a degree. The tag that came with our Madeline Hill plant said it would survive –15 F, and I have seen it survive –3 F without protection. Plant it on the south side of a wall or foundation – and if the eves protect it from too much moisture, that is all the better.

If you feel you will need to insulate it, just watch the forecast for dangerous temperatures… and when they have arrived, put a support over the plant and drape something over it like several layers of burlap or blankets. I would recommend a final waterproof layer. It is nice to uncover it in warmer sunnier weather, and it is not too much work to cover it up again once or twice during the winter if needed. I would insulate any rosemary plant in its first winter if the temperature goes below +15 degrees F.

I hope you give it a try!

Yes, our original ‘Madeline Hill’ plant is still thriving, and we have a 2nd one now. If you are interested, here are some details on winter protection  and survival experiences since the last update…

In 2008 I layered three stems to create three additional plants, and as of April 2009 they had all survived their first winter (with burlap insulation). The coldest temperature was –9 F. All three remained connected to the parent plant underground even though they had developed their own roots. They were severed in April 2009 and grew well through the summer. Two of them were transplanted to new locations.

In the winter of 2009-2010 was a very wet year, which may be one of the reasons that one of the new plants died, despite being insulated from the cold. It appeared fine all winter until March, at which time it just dried up. In 2010 all three remaining rosemary plants did great.

In the winter of 2010-2011, I insulated the old established plant a little differently. It was so big that I didn’t have a way to cover it completely, so I packed burlap in and around it, leaving some of the shoot tips exposed. Interestingly, the leaves and young shoots in the center of the plant “protected” by the burlap died, while the exposed shoot tips survived! The coldest temperature that winter was –3 F. My hunch is that dampness is as bad for rosemary as cold. The burlap packed around the plant became wet from melting snow and stayed wet (and probably frozen) most of the winter. It was an odd-looking plant come spring with tufts of living shoots at the tips and a big empty middle! The shoots that survived best were those closest to the brick wall. The thicker woody branches in the center remained healthy but never sprouted new growth to fill in the center of the plant. The plant only grew at the ends where the younger shoots survived. Unfortunately, a second one of the newer plants died that winter, leaving us with the old established plant and one “new” plant. The one that died was the one that was not transplanted; it was crowded by the parent plant, hugging the ground, too wet through the winter, not enough light and air I suspect. In 2011 both surviving plants grew well.

This winter (2011-2012) has been unusually warm. I covered the younger plant once so far and have not covered the older plant at all, and they seem to be doing great, even though the weather has been very wet. We have had frequent warm days and it has not been below 10 F yet!

I had read that ‘Issai’ was slightly less hardy than the typical “hardy kiwi” and sure enough, those two vines failed to survive the winter. However the fruiting vine and its pollinator have never had any trouble with winter survival. In a few years the vigorous vine had spread out over the trellis quite nicely and now the two ‘Issai’ kiwi vines have been replaced with two other cultivars. We hope to report on them in the future.

2011 was a special year! Although hardy kiwi can easily survive our mountain winters, they are ready to break dormancy in the spring as soon as they sense warm weather. As a result, our “Anna” vine would always leaf out in early April, get hit by frost, and have to start over again. Even a light frost would blacken the leaves and shoot tips. In past years, whenever the vine bloomed, the flowers were always misshapen or partly black. But in 2011, the vines narrowly escaped all threatening frosts. Apparently the vines were elevated sufficiently on the hill to allow frosty air to drain away from them just enough that they were not affected by the light frosts that occurred occasionally throughout the rest of April and May! The bloom, which began around May 25 was thick and full and fragrant!

One more problem. Due to a setback the pollinator vine had almost no flowers on it this year. I could see no way for the fruiting vine to be pollinated well enough to produce a good crop. I did not expect any fruit at all. But as time progressed through the spring and early summer it became obvious that there was going to be a harvest! How was this possible? Could this vine have been self-pollinating? On August 22 I found the fruits full of little black seeds, just like fuzzy kiwi. They were still very hard and far too tart to be edible.

Finally came the day of September 12 when I made a quick check of the kiwi vines and noticed that one of the berries was wrinkled like an empty sack. “Must be rotten” I thought. I picked it and some green liquid oozed out. “I wonder what rotten kiwi tastes like.” I touched my tongue to it. Then I licked it. “Wow” I exclaimed, “that’s not kiwi! That’s lime candy!!!” I just about did cartwheels all the way back to the house. I could not wait for everyone else to taste them. When they did, they were amazed at the level of sweetness and flavor “like a mix of grape and kiwi” they said. The skins were a bit leathery with a reddish blush, matching the description of the ‘Anna’ cultivar perfectly.

With the help of Donald, Jonathan, and David, most of the fruit was harvested on September 28. At that time most of the fruits were still hard, but became sweet as they softened at room temperature. Squishier usually meant sweeter. Refrigeration seemed to slow the ripening process so that we were able enjoy them over a long period of time. October 10 was the date of the last harvest, when most of the fruits remaining on the vine had become soft.

Kiwifruit is an astounding source of nutrition (more links here and here) and we praise the LORD for making kiwifruit a possibility for our climate… “Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” – Psalm 103:5

Are you reveling in the joy of having peace with God; of freedom from the world and its pride and its lusts? Are you resting in the promise that He will come again and receive you to himself? Are you receiving the grace and the power that he gives to enable us to do His will? “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath Day.” Deuteronomy 5:15 Your deliverance from spiritual Egypt is what I mean by spring, for “he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” 1 John 5:12.

It was hoarse whisper. I was flat on my face, in the grass on the hillside. My left hand grasped my single weapon and I kept my head low. Advances had been made, but the enemy, thoroughly aroused, now swarmed through the area. I had been hit once but thankfully it was a minor wound.

Outnumbered by over a hundred to one, there was only one recourse: the PrAir Force! A “flare prayer” is an urgent petition to God that comes directly from the heart in a desperate situation. In this situation I knew that rain would be the only force guaranteed to drive the enemy forces back into their barracks. And even a brief couple of minutes would be enough time to complete the mission before the deadline.

That morning, my rising time was 3:30. At 5:05 it was time to gear up. My boots were not of military material, just second-grade farm boots. Goggles and ear plugs were enough for head gear. My “weapon” was the weed-whacker, well-fueled.

A few steps up the hill I realized something was wrong. My left boot had a hole just large enough to let in generous amounts of moisture from the dewy grass. I made a quick turnaround, secured boots first-grade, and remounted the hill. Would it be too late? Several minutes later I arrived at the enemy outpost: the far beehives, shrouded in overgrown weeds. It was the weeds, not the bees, that were the actual “enemies” in this scenario. But the bees could be enemies if they wanted to. And if they sensed disruption they would want to. I hoped they had not yet begun their morning drills. It was about 5:30, half an hour before official sunrise. Dark clouds were gathering, all but obscuring the morning sunlight. The deadline was 6:30.

It was barely light enough to see. Lightning flickered in the south. Gingerly I worked my way below the hives to see if there was any sign of activity. To my dismay I saw a blanket of bees covering much of the hive’s front. According to Michael, they are often on the alert early, or even all night long, during the longer summer days. I could hear them too. They were poised for action, itching for enough light to begin their flights. Stooping down so that the silhouette of the hive’s entrance showed against the sky, I discovered that very few were flying. I had a little time.

Mission One was priority: trimming around the hedge of holly bushes. Eleven of them semi-circled the hives at a distance of about 8 feet. Everything was gray but I could make them out. With the weed-whacker humming I circled the first one cautiously. Success! The second one was smaller and harder to see but soon it was done. Three. Four. Now I was directly in front of the hives, in the bees’ flight path, trying to keep low. At about bush number eight it became necessary to stop and cut away some netting from one of the bushes. That took some time. When I finished the hedge it was well past 6:00.

Mission Two. Wearing Michael’s elbow-length bee gloves and encouraged by a light sprinkle of rain, I decided to advance inward and do around the hives themselves. I kept repeating Michael’s words “Those hives are the more gentle hives”, “Those hives are the more gentle hives” . . .

In the same counter-clockwise motion, I began a sweep directly in front of the hives, tilting the weed-whacker to keep the clippings from spraying the hives. I passed the first one then the second—the big one—and the third. At around hive number four came the first sign of trouble: a bee caught in my hair. This can be a harmless occurrence and it is harder for a bee trapped in your hair to actually sting, but it does make that bee angry and it’s a sign that there are probably other bees going into defense mode at the same time. I crouched lower and sped up a little. It didn’t help. I felt a couple more “dive-bombers” hitting my scalp, then a sting on my right leg. I certainly deserved it. To escape I crept away from the hive slowly and flattened myself on the ground. The sprinkle had not been enough! Looking up against the dim sky I could see the ever-present clouds, but also now, dozens of bees. They were not running their simple back and forth flights, they were buzzing about seeking the source of their disturbance. It was hard to believe I had been standing there where the bees now swarmed.

What now? Surrender and go home? This job was for Michael. And a sting or two was to be expected. I might never get another morning to take care of this job, let alone an early morning with a chance of rain! If only it would rain! The time was about 6:20. If it rained now there would be enough time to finish the job.

It was also a time to reevaluate my motives. I was confident that if my motives truly were one of a servant, I could trust the will of my Commander in Chief. This was His operation. Certainly He could send help from above. There in the grass I remembered that the success of the mission depends upon my relationship with the One who sent me on the mission.

That is when I prayed “Lord, please make it rain NOW!” A bolt of lightning added quite the dramatic affect. My expectations “brightened”. But then I realized that with the bees in an agitated state it might take a particularly hard rain to dissuade them from pursuing their target. I hadn’t thought of that. So I added: “Please make it rain now, HARD” and then breathed an “Amen”. Hardly was the word out of my mouth when there came another splendid bolt of lightning. The drizzle turned into rain, huge drops of rain, and the rain into a downpour—a downpour you would hardly believe, a downpour I would hardly believe! He did it! He really did it! For me!

I stood up, I picked up the weed-whacker once more and completed the mission. I trimmed behind the hives. I finished in front—their very doorstep! The bees had gone inside! The field was mine! Even “Mission 2” was complete! The last weeds fell. I gathered the netting scraps and jogged home. Inside, the clock read 6:32.

How often in these past months the same scenario has presented itself in various ways. What a different, frustrated person I would certainly be if I didn’t have the smile of the Commander in Chief Whom we have chosen to serve. He finds so many ways to put meaning in our tasks. He transforms the to-do list into a treasure chest of stories: sometimes a wild adventure, sometimes a sense of peace, assurance, and fulfillment. Either way, we may encourage our heart in the Lord, as David did when the going was tough. (See I Samuel 30:6.) The Lord is worthy of our loyalty. He is worthy of everything we have. On His side we can continue our advance, moving onward and upward in the battle.

Activate the PrAir Force in your family. Make prayer a regular thing. Then as you go into the day “Keep your powder dry and a flare prayer at the ready” for any kind of surprise situation may arise. (Do keep your flares in a different pouch than your powder though.)  Remember your Commander as you complete His mission. He is in charge and He is ready always to send help from above.

“As free . . . but as the servants of God” (I Peter 2:16).

Like the Vireos, Warblers are small treetop birds better identified by voice than vision. And today’s elusive Tennessee Warbler was a first for me! At first it was only a voice in the woods. But, as He loves to do, the Lord answered a specific prayer and brought an excellent view. It was exactly what was needed for this species. I was able to see it from the right angle and make a positive identification. Then after about half a minute in the open it darted away never to be seen or heard again. It was great. There are some other potential firsts which we have only heard and not seen including the Chestnut-sided Warbler(?), but maybe that will make another story for another time. Every day can hold a surprise in the Wave of Warblers.

All in all, it appears that the Raven, Barred Owl and Field Sparrow are year-round residents—as well as the good old woodpeckers of course.

Departures: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Golden-crowned Kinglet, and Slate-colored Junco (last seen April 13). And now, the . . .

 Arrivals to date:

The grafted cultivars ‘Intrepid’ and ‘Madison’ were too young to bear. More on them in coming years. ‘Contender’ suffered a severe setback in the winter of 2008-2009 due to borers and meadow voles, but is making a surprising comeback. Our ‘Hardired’ nectarine finally died after a long struggle with our environment. Any fruits it ripened in previous years always cracked severely. It had bacterial spot problems on the foliage unlike our other peaches and always lost its leaves early and simply never thrived. Chances are low that I’ll experiment with nectarines again; if I do  it will probably be ‘Mericrest’.

Peaches were harvested from three cultivars, ‘Reliance’, ‘Harrow Beauty’, and ‘Charlotte’, and three seedlings of ‘Bounty’, #1, #2, and #3.

Trees in chart are listed in ripening order.

Click here to view the chart as a PDF

Number of plants: We just grow what we can use as a family. A large number of plants is not needed for healthy seed production. I routinely plant twice as many pots as I will actually use, and only plant out the best of the lot.
Grow lights: My grow light is located by a south-facing window so that the plants receive some natural light during the day in addition to the grow light.
Soil amendments: I use whatever I can get my hands on for nitrogen, whether horse manure or composted grass or something else. “Grass goo” means a big wad of black slimy smelly decomposing green grass stuffed into the planting hole with the seedling at planting time. For gypsum, we smash old drywall to powder. Rock phosphate usually comes in a granulated form. Mulching the plants with hay has done an amazing job of helping to keep early blight from infecting the plants for longer into the summer. Wood ashes can supply some potassium, but don’t apply them too heavily. I never used decayed leaves until 2010 and credit them with much of that year’s amazing results.

(Download Chart PDF)

It became a sort of hobby to see how big a tomato could be grown with this variety that was already well adapted to our climate in north central West Virginia. Finally in 2009 I grew three tomatoes that broke the 3 lb.

mark on our scales at home, the largest being 3 lb. 3 oz. The following spring I read that the largest tomato on record for the state of West Virginia was only 2.96 lb. so I decided to have my next big one certified.

To have a record sized vegetable certified, I was instructed to: 1) have it weighed on certified scales, such as at your local grocery store. 2) Have the one who weighed it sign something that includes the location and the date. 3) Send that document with a photo of the grower with the tomato to your local agricultural extension office to be sent to the state department of agriculture.

The largest tomato I harvested in 2010 was certified as weighing 3.23 lb., but of course there was always the possibility that someone else could grow a larger one before the end of the year. This is exactly what happened; congratulations to Glen Knox of Wheeling for his 3.65 lb. tomato!!! I still do not know if his was an open pollinated variety. This fall I started reading about how to grow giant tomatoes for the first time and now have some new ideas to try – ideas which I should have already known just from reading the Bible.

If anyone in West Virginia is interested in growing Big McHenry tomatoes, just contact us.

I remember reading Deuteronomy 11:11-14 when we moved here to West Virginia over seven years ago, the same passage from which we derived the title ‘Possessing the Land’ for our “farming” activities: “But the land, whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: a land which the Lord thy God careth for… And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto My commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, that I will give you the rain of your land in his due season…”

“Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rian, whereby Thou didst confirm Thine inheritance, when it was weary.” Ps. 68:9

“O Thou that hearest prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come.” Ps. 65:2

Let us continue to pray fervently for the desperately needed spiritual water to come to those who need it, and like Apollos, allow the Lord to make us all that He wants us to be in His kingdom! (1 Cor. 3:6) Fellow Christians, there’s no need for any lack of water flowing from us (Jn. 7:38), so lets get up and do some watering.

In Matthew 5:45 Jesus plainly says that it is our Heavenly Father who sends the rain. We truly are dependant on Him, and rain can be withheld as a judgment (James 5:17-18).

On Tuesday I began to realize how bad things were actually getting. I had checked the weather forecast and it had given no practical hope for rain in the next ten days. I was outside looking at wilted plants and realizing how all I could do was pray. Knowing that we entirely do not deserve any rain, I appealed to the Lord’s mercy and asked for rain. That night I woke up to the sound of a steady and heavy shower! It left puddles that remained on the concrete until the next day and I could tell it had streamed into the walkway. The fact that it came at night helped prevent it from evaporating back into the air. Although it did not solve our drought problem, we are grateful for the Lord’s mercy, as well as for the thick nightly dew, reminding us of his great faithfulness. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed.

There are things we need even more than we need rain. There is a spiritual drought that comes as a consequence of trusting men rather than trusting God (Jeremiah 17:5-13). Have we not, as a nation, looked to men who promise to make things better for us – and forgotten the Lord? Pray that hearts will be turned to trust in the living God.

“O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed… because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters.”