Texas Spring/Summer Thread

[jinman]

Dennis, it's starting to to be way too hot for my beans. I may try to put a shade over them because they are still blooming pretty good. The problem is everything else is coming on strong, and I just don't have time to get to the shade. Maybe I'll squeeze it in between watering the garden and the yard. I'll string some of my extra garden hose up between t-posts to hold the shade cloth.:laughing:

 

[jinman]

And while I'll eat any of them, I actually prefer picking them before the hull turns yellow, and I do like plenty of snaps in mine. And while we buy canned ones, I cannot find any that meet my preferences.

As soon as the hull becomes leathery, they shell really easily. The greener ones seem to have thick hulls and the peas are small. I think once before we discussed snaps, and I said I like to go back and pick snaps after picking shelling peas. That way I know how many snaps I have compared to shelling peas. Have you ever seen canned blackeyes with snaps?

 

[Lou66]

I can remember when I was a child setting around on the front porch,, shelling pea/beans or shaking a quart of spoiled cream..:laughing: .. Now either had its merits,, one would turn yellow and the other would fill a small basket,, But both came with the same result.. Good job Lou

 

[Bird]

As soon as the hull becomes leathery, they shell really easily. The greener ones seem to have thick hulls and the peas are small. I think once before we discussed snaps, and I said I like to go back and pick snaps after picking shelling peas. That way I know how many snaps I have compared to shelling peas. Have you ever seen canned blackeyes with snaps?

Of course you're right, but even though the green ones are a bit harder to shell, I think they're the best tasting. But I never worried about the ratio of snaps to shelled so I just picked them all at the same time. I've looked for blackeyed peas with snaps in hopes of finding younger peas. But we buy Bush's Best Field Peas with Snaps; keep some on hand and they're pretty good; not as good as fresh, but the best canned ones I've found.

 

[Bird]

shaking a quart of spoiled cream.

Lou, I started to school before they had school lunches, so we all carried our lunch, and mine included a pint of milk. Of course we had our own milk cow so my milk was pretty "rich"; i.e., had a bit of cream in it. And since we also had no refrigerator at school for our lunches, occasionally my milk would be soured by lunch time. And when that happened, I'd shake the jar walking home that afternoon and have just a little butter when I got home.:laughing:

 

[farmgirl19]

I think it was a "right of passage" to sit under the big tree in the front yard, with bushel baskets of peas, and shell, for what seemed like hours. Usually had lots of stories to share and jokes to tell, when there was a small group shelling. While I am sure some don't miss it, I think today's kids miss more than just the work, they miss part of life too! I still think of the people that I used to shell peas or snap beans with, whenever I am doing it by myself on the porch! Great memories!

 

[Bird]

I think it was a "right of passage" to sit under the big tree in the front yard, with bushel baskets of peas, and shell

Or shucking corn or peeling little new potatoes for canning. And yep, we did those things outside because we had no air-conditioning.:laughing: I was 19 years old, bought a little house trailer, worked nights, so slept in the daytime, and installed a Fedders window unit air-conditioner in that trailer. That was the first time I lived or slept in a home with air-conditioning.

 

[jinman]

In the early and mid-60s, I remember picking hundreds of bushels of blackeyes and selling them for $2.50 to $2.75 a bushel. Our watermelons sold for $0.50 to $1.00 each and that was good money because picking watermelons was so much easier than picking peas. I used to hate the itch from picking okra, but I loved the money we made selling it. We picked and sold wild blackberries for $1 a gallon and wild plums at 2 gallons for $1. What we couldn't sell by putting an ad in the newspaper classifieds, we'd take to the local Piggly Wiggly and sell to the produce manager. I can never remember having produce that we could not sell. All those prices seem cheap today, but I'd save my money until the Craven's Drygoods Store or Beall's put print cotton shirts on sale for $1 each. I thought I was living good because I had a dozen new shirts.

 

[Bird]

My first money crop was my okra and I only sold it to the local grocery store. Early in the year, I'd get 35 cents a pound and later in the year it would gradually go down to a nickel a pound. And then we had more of the big red plums than we knew what to do with, so I'd take about half a gallon and go door to door to sell the plums. I'd have that half gallon to show and tell customers it was 50 cents a gallon and I'd pick them fresh and deliver them in the morning. I think both of those were easier than picking up the pecans in the Fall to sell, and I can't remember what kind of prices we got for the pecans.

We had a well and a windmill for our water and the well was good enough that you couldn't pump it dry, so we could do all the watering we wanted to.

But my mother made my shirts, except for white ones that were things like birthday gifts to wear to church. I still remember the first time I went to a store and bought a shirt; bought 3 of them when I was 14 or 15 years old to come to Dallas for the Stamps Quartet School of Music.

 

[farmgirl19]

Yes, we sold our peaches, plums and okra to the local store. We'd take a fresh picking every other day. The goods sold well, since was truly fresh, and we got rid of any surplus, without it going to waste. Of course, we filled freezer and pantry by freezing and canning too!