Dear Friends,

 

As temperatures soar, where would you rather be? Here in southern Georgia, things aren't all that “chill,” but there's no place we'd rather spend a sultry summer afternoon.

 

Of course, mitigating heat stress is important for plants, animals, and humans. As The Farm waited for the cycle of afternoon showers to return, we kept cool with clear water, morning labor, and lots of ice pops from the freezer. Our animals enjoyed more frequent waterings, which included filling up ponds and wallows where the animals cooled off according to their natural habits. And the summer crops ripened under the heat, giving us peppers and tomatoes in rainbows of colors. Then, as our prayers for rain are answered, we sat back and watched the soil drink it all in. 

 

What's your favorite way to stay cool while also accomplishing necessary work?

 

Warm regards,

 

Marissa Ames

General Manager, The Farm at Okefenokee

 

 

On June 19th, The Farm at Okefenokee welcomed 26 visitors: four state employees and 22 guests from several Caribbean countries. Hosted and coordinated by GlobalJax, the visitors included farmers, representatives of Ministries of Agriculture, economic and disaster management consultants, and other professionals from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

 

The visitors toured different agricultural establishments around the southern United States and into Washington D.C., learning about biotechnology and higher-end grow systems, before wrapping up the visit at The Farm at Okefenokee. Here, we showed them how regenerative agriculture protects food security and how building a community with a local food system is one of the best ways to feed everyone.

 

After the tour, our new friends picked blackberries, took away gifts of Farm-raised honey, then traveled a couple of miles down the road to see alligators at the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge. We hope to see them back again someday!

 

 

Farming is never the same each day. Some days bring sunshine and blossoms while others share blown-out irrigation pipes and failing equipment. Those picture-perfect farms owe so much to employees who work behind the scenes, keeping operations running smoothly. 

 

A native of Folkston, Georgia, Derrick manages a small team that builds and fixes irrigation, cares for orchards, creates compost, hauls equipment and materials, and rushes to fix the issues that threaten to stop production. Even on the weekends, he steps away from family life for farm emergencies — all with a cool, calm demeanor.

 

 

Fresh homemade ice cream is a timeless tradition, made easier with modern equipment. The ingredients are simple: cream, milk, sugar, a little salt, maybe a few eggs for richness, and flavor-packed additions. You can grab most of the ingredients from a supermarket and craft your own summer treats.

 

This July, we created a Mayhaw Ripple ice cream by making a vanilla bean base and swirling in a thick, sweet syrup made from Farm-grown mayhaw juice. (We thawed mayhaws that had been picked in late April then frozen. After juicing the mayhaws, we slowly heated it to reduce the volume, then added sugar and cooked until it was thick.)

 

Here are some tips to perfect ice cream:

 

Originating in Central and South America, peppers now influence cuisine worldwide. Capsaicin, the compound that gives peppers their heat, has potent pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties for humans. It also provides antifungal and insecticidal properties for the plant. 

Some Like it Hot: American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville developed the Scoville organoleptic test in 1912, which developed into the Scoville scale to measure pepper heat. Rating start at 0 (sweet bell pepper) and extend to 2,693,000 (so far). The Guinness Book of World Records listed the Ghost pepper as the world's hottest in 2007. Naga Viper and Trinidad Scorpion Butch broke the record in 2011, then Carolina Reaper beat that in 2017. Recently, Pepper X stole the title in 2023 with that 2-million-plus measurement.

Five Species, Thousands of Flavors: Domesticated peppers come in only five varieties: Capsicum annum, which includes bell peppers, jalapenos, chiltepin, Thai peppers, and Numex varieties. C. frutescens includes tabasco and piri piri. Aji peppers are C. baccatum, South American rocoto peppers are C. pubescens, and those reigning as hottest — naga, habanero, and Scotch bonnet — belong to species C. chinense.

Did You Know: Green bell peppers are just unripe bell peppers. No, really. Most peppers — hot or sweet — start out green and ripen to red. Variations ripen to orange and yellow. Purple peppers, with anthocyanins, actually wear their color as a “suntan,” developing purple where the sun touches but often remaining green when in the shade. Gardeners develop new varieties often, which combine many of these colors and traits. You may find Bianca, which starts white and ripens to orange, or Blot, which wears violet stripes as it begins lime-green then develops sunset hues. Cayenne chilies, traditionally red, also have yellow, orange, and purple varieties. And, for a gorgeous heirloom, check out Fish peppers: a hot chili with variegated stripes on the leaves and the fruit, before the peppers turn road sign-orange. Don't forget to read Fish pepper's fascinating history.

Pepper Cultivation Tip: Many new gardeners overestimate “full sun” and assume it means “blazing light, all day, every day.” It actually means “at least six hours of direct sun," and the hotter the pepper, the more heat and light it tolerates. Sweet bell peppers prefer a bit more shade.

 

What's your favorite pepper variety?

 

 

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