StaddonFamily.com

posted by Michael on 01/6/11

The summer of 2010 was a “peachy” one at our house. Peaches covered tables and filled buckets an dripped down chins. Mom, Esther, brothers, and friends joyfully rose to the occasion and bagged, froze, dried, canned, and ate until all 430 pounds of fresh sun-ripened fruit was safely put away. As I continue to evaluate the few carefully chosen peach varieties we have planted here in the mountains of West Virginia, I was excited for the chance to gather more information, especially on fruit quality.

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

3 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by Michael on 12/20/10

What I call the ‘Big McHenry’ tomato was originally bred in Middlebourn, West Virginia (Tyler County) by a Mr. Mccutchan (or Mccutcheon?) in the earlier part of the 20th century. David McHenry acquired the seeds and continued growing them along with his nephew, Neil, a friend to both my grandfather (Bud Brannon of Salem, WV) and I. Grandpa tried them in 2003. I received the seeds from one of these tomatoes that he grew in Salem and tried them for the first time in 2004. Impressed with the flavor, productivity, and disease resistance, I quit growing any other varieties the next year.

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.

(more…)

3 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by Michael on 11/22/10

Yesterday I told a friend that it would be a miracle if I ever shot a big buck, for five specific reasons. Today I shot a big buck – the biggest we’ve ever seen on our property in fact! God seems to have a sense of humor. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

6 Comments » | posted in Family News, Possessing the Land

posted by Michael on 09/18/10

We are rejoicing for the plentiful rain we received on Thursday! What little rain we have received in recent weeks has only been enough to moisten the surface while the subsoil remained dry as dust. This time it rained heavily at times and softly at times over a long period, allowing the water to soak in thoroughly. It was just what we needed! As I dug a hole today to bury some “compostables” I found it plenty moist to a depth of at least twelve inches. I think the rain arrived just in time, as Goldenrod bloom is just hitting strong, and white Aster bloom is just beginning. The honey bees seem active and are bringing in some pollen.

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.

5 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by Michael on 09/9/10

Things have been getting terribly dry around here, the grass getting browner and browner, crunching under foot. Goldenrod and asters are just about to come into full bloom with not enough moisture in the soil to supply the nectar that the honeybees need so badly. We’ve been watering some younger, less established trees in the orchard, but of course there is no way to water everything that needs it. Further east, some counties of West Virginia are in such a severe drought that an official state of emergency is eminent.

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.”

7 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land