Here in Central Florida, Italian Oregano is pretty hardy all year long.

I harvest my oregano plant when it begins to over crowd. (usually before flowering)

Harvesting herb is best done in the morning so as not to allow the sun to wilt your plant.

There are different methods for drying herbs. I simply cut the healthy branches from the herb plants.
I remove any dry or yellow leaves, then I rinse with cool water and pat dry with paper towels.

I place them in layers on a garden tray and let them dry in a dark cool place for 2 weeks. It’s important to give them plenty of air circulation, so they can dry out quickly. Wet herbs will mold and rot.

After they dry it’s time to store.

Store your dried herbs in air tight containers. Zippered plastic bags will do. I like to use small canning jars. Be sure to label and date your containers.

Your herbs will retain more flavor if you store the leaves whole and crush them when you are ready to use them. Dried herbs are best used within a year.

Use about 1 teaspoon crumbled dried leaves in place of a tablespoon of fresh

I’ve been concerned about the little heifer ever since Rocco the bull has been introduced to the farm.

When it comes down to it we castrate calves because we want our heifers to be able to mature without the stress of any early pregnancy. Our neighbor Donna and Greg have horses; Donna recently invited us over for her annual vet appointment. From that visit we were referred to Veterinarian Donald Kanfer (from Deland, FL) who specializes in cattle.

There are several methods for castrating. Dr. Kanfer chose the burdizzo pinchers because Rocco was still young enough. Pretty much this technique crushes the cords through the scrotal wall.

Advantages of using the Burdizzo pinchers:
Bloodless, less chance of infection, no tetanus shot required because there is no scrotal atrophy occurring.
Disadvantages:
Best done by an experienced operator or veterinarian, One cord can only be cut at a time and cannot slip from the clamps of the Burdizzo, If the cord is incompletely crushed the animal may develop stagginess later.

Dr. Kanfer was pretty swift and gentle. Rocco rested the remainder of the evening and to my surprise he was hungry and moving around doing his routine rounds of the pasture.

Maybe it all boils down to caring about the welfare of our cattle while responding

The apparent warm weather all year around in Florida is the one thing that makes gardening a challenge. Depending where you live in the peninsula the weather and region varies. For the most parts here is a list of vegetables to plant in your garden for the month of:
January
• Plant seeds of English peas, mustard greens, turnips, carrots, and radishes.
• Plant transplants of broccoli, cabbage, Brussel sprouts.
• Start potatoes.
• Raise tomato transplants indoors to set out after all danger of frost has passed.
• Mulch around your vegetable plants to conserve moisture and reduce weed problems.

If your not planting cool hardy vegetables January is a great time to prepare your beds for your Spring gardening.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!~

Approximate dates

There is still risk of frost in January for planting any frost-tender plants. For greater chance of harvest it is best to wait until the beginning of March. If you are working with a fall garden, you’d want to aim to harvest any tender crops before the end of the first week of December.

A couple nights ago the temperature dropped to 28′, I woke up to a frozen garden.  The tomatoes were dead, the peppers were dead as well as the mint and lemon grass.  The yucca, papaya and banana tree were wilted. Surprisingly the oregano and carrots were happy as autumn leaf falling.

Now, the oranges were delicious!

Walter and Robyn Smith donated a 20 day old Holstein dairy bull towards our Farm4Kidz project. We bottle feed the calf (Rocco), two quarts a day, this will go on for about six weeks. He is on the pasture with Molly and penned at night, I make sure he gets plenty of clean water. More info from Betty Clay - Bottle raise a calf
To donate for this cause CLICK HERE Thank you for your support.