You can start peppers and eggplants inside now. You probably would be OK starting tomatoes now and transplanting them outside in late April. For everything else that can be grown from transplants, look at the spring planting date for your part of the state, and start your seeds 3 to 5 weeks prior to that planting date, with 3 weeks being ideal. THE FALL GARDEN: You can plant almost everything in the fall garden that you would plant in the spring garden. Some plants do better when planted in the fall than in the spring, including brussels spouts and (for me) cabbage and other cole crops. The hardest part of planting a fall garden is that you must, by necessity, start new plants and seeds during Oklahoma's hottest, driest, most miserable weather. You can get around that by starting seeds in peat pellets indoors where it is cooler, hardening them off in semi-shade and the transplanting them into the ground, preferably on a cloudy day (or in the evening, so they have all night to recover). You also can give new plants some shade while they are getting established, using shadecloth and other methods, including spraying them with Wilt-Prufe. If you keep them well-watered, the tiny summer-planted transplants will catch hold and grow although you may not see a lot of topgrowth until the weather cools a little in September. Here's approximate planting dates for a fall garden in southern Oklahoma. If you are significantly further north, you may want to plant 2 weeks earlier so you can get a harvest before frost arrives. June 15th-July 1st: Cantaloupe, muskmelon, watermelon and any other European, Asian or American melons (seeds or transplants) July 1st-15th: Tomatoes, eggplants and peppers (all from transplants, not seed) July 15th: Sweet corn (seed) (I pre-soak it in water overnight to help it germinate more quickly, especially if the soil is very dry. July 15-30th: Cilantro (seed or transplants), pole beans (seed), southern peas (black-eyed peas, crowder peas, cream peas, etc.)(seed), winter squash (seed or transplants), pumpkins (seed or transplants) July 15th-August 15th: okra (seed or transplants) July 15th-September 1st: Summer squash (including zuchinni) (seed or transplants) July 25-August 10: potatoes (seed potato pieces) August 1st-Sept. 1st: collards (seed), brussels sprouts (seed or plants), cabbage (seed or plants), swiss chard (seed or plants), kohlrabi (seed or plants) August 1st-Oct. 15th: spinach (seed), mustard (seed), August 1st-15th: Rutabagas and turnips (seed), carrots and parsnips (seed), broccoli (seed or transplants), August 1st-October 1st: parsley (seed or transplants) August 15th-Sept. 10th: lettuce (seed or transplants) August 10th-20th: Bush beans (seed), lima beans (seed), cucumbers (seed or transplants) Sept. 1st-15: beets (seeds) Sept. 1st-Oct. 1st: peas Sept. 10th-Oct. 1st: Leeks (seed) Sept. 15th-Oct. 15th: Garlic (for a spring harvest) HEIRLOOM TOMATOES: I'm going to list the ones that not only have great flavor, but that have great production. Some that have INCREDIBLE flavor, like Brandywine, might only give you a few fruit per plant so they are VERY frustrating to grow. Black Krim (maroonish-greenish-reddish fruit) Cherokee Purple (or Cherokee Chocolate or Cherokee Green)(all taste about the same to me, only difference is skin color) Nebraska Wedding (Orange-gold fruit) Hillybilly or Royal Hillbilly Aunt Gertie's Gold Dr. Wyche's Yellow Mortgage Lifter (pink fruit) Dr. Carolyn (ivory to yellow cherry) Arkansas Traveler or Traveler 76 (not technically an heirloom, I suppose, but has been around Arkansas so long that I think of it as one) Earl's Faux (flavor almost as good as Brandywine, not technically an heirloom, but a sport or cross grown from at least one heirloom parent) Porter, Porter's Pride or Improved Porter (pinkish-red) Bradley (pink, an Arkansas heirloom) Marianna's Peace (pink) Snow White--another ivory to pale yellow cherry, fruit are larger than Dr. Carolyn Black Cherry--relatively new on the market, so I guess it is not an heirloom, but it has that special heirloom-type flavor Sungold--is not an heirloom, but it the best cherry tomato ever If I could only grow 5 heirlooms, I'd grow Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Mortgage Lifter, Snow White and Arkansas Traveler OR Nebraska Wedding. And, if I could only grow 5 hybrids, I'd grow Brandy Boy (flavor incredibly close to Brandywine's), Better Boy, Sweet Million, Sungold and Porterhouse. If I could only grow 5 tomato varieties total, I think I'd grow Black Krim, Cherokee Purple, Sungold, Better Boy and Mortgage Lifter. That's my list of favorite tomatoes, heirloom and hybrid. And, if you asked me on a different day, you might get a different list. Each heirloom has a flavor that is unique and special, sort of like fine wine. And, flavor can vary from year to year and also varies due to soil and growing conditions. You didn't ask about paste tomatoes for canning or cooking, but some of the best ones are Opalka, Amish Paste, Grandma Mary's Paste, Martino's Roma and San Marzano Redorta. For sun-dried tomatoes, you can't go wrong with Principe' Borghese.

I also have a Jambalaya recipe that I concocted several years ago at a family gathering. I think there were 20 some people there, so the recipe as I've recorded it is rather large. (with nearly 7 lbs of meat!) I prefer it done this way, with the rice prepared separately, rather than cooking the rice with the rest of the dish, since if there are leftovers the rice absorbs all of the liquid, making the rice gluey and the rest of the dish dry. Also since several members of the group didn't want it too spicy, the amount of red pepper, cayenne pepper and tobasco were much less than I would otherwise have used, but adding tobasco after it is served works very well. JAMBALAYA 2 lb Chicken Breast (3/4" cubes) 1 lb Honey Ham (1/2" dice) 1 lb Hot-Italian Sausage (de-skinned and broken into pieces) 2/3 lb Andouille-style smoked sausage 2 lb uncooked shrimp (cleaned, de-shelled, and de-tailed, cut into thirds) 2 large sweet yellow onions chopped into 3/4" square pieces 2 red bell peppers (remove stems, seeds and membranes and cut into 1" by 1" pieces) 2 yellow bell peppers 4 cups of rice 2 large cans diced tomatoes 1 15 oz can tomato paste Olive oil 10 cloves garlic 2 tsp red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp black pepper blend (ground) 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 4 shakes Tobasco sauce 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp chopped parsley In one large pan, cook onion in olive oil, add thyme and 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) until onion starts to turn translucent, then add bell peppers and cook another 10 minutes or so. In a different large pan, cook chicken and hot Italian sausage until both are lightly browned and mostly cooked. Empty both pans into large pot. Stir in tomatoes (including water from tomato cans) and the tomato paste. Bring to a low boil and reduce heat to a simmer and stir well. In the chicken pan, cook Andouille and ham over medium heat for 10 minutes, then add to large pot. Crush remaining garlic and other spices except parsley into large pot to suit taste. Cook rice separately while continuing to simmer large pot. When rice is done, remove large pot from heat and add shrimp stirring until it is cooked. Serve over rice, adding tobasco to taste, top with a pinch of parsley.

This is definitely on my to-try-soon list. Moo Shu Chicken Source: Clean Eating Magazine, Winter 2008, p70 3 Tbsp. water 2 Tbsp. soy sauce 1 Tbsp. cornstarch 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil 1/3 cup hoisin sauce 1 tsp. honey or agave nectar 1/4 tsp. minced garlic 1 lbs. sliced chicken breast 1 Tbsp. cooking oil 3 cups packaged shredded cabbage with carrots (coleslaw mix) 2 cups steamed brown rice Shredded carrots and cherry tomatoes, quartered (optional) In a small mixing bowl, stir together water, soy sauce, cornstarch, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, honey/agave nectar and garlic. Set mixture aside. Trim fat from chicken breast and cut chicken into thin, bite-size strips. Pour cooking oil into a wok or large skillet. (Add more oil as necessary during cooking.) Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Stir-fry chicken for 2 or 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Push meat from center of wok. Stir in sauce. Push chicken and sauce to center of wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Add shredded cabbage with carrots to skillet. Stir ingredients together to coat with sauce. Spoon about 3/4 cup of the chicken mixture over rice. Garnish with carrots and cherry tomatoes, if desired.

A meatless Mexican lasagna. Black beans could also be added, which is what I would do. The reviews were all good. Mexican-Style Lasagna (Martha Stewart) 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves 4 scallions coarsely, chopped Coarse salt and ground pepper 10 ounces fresh baby spinach Nonstick cooking spray 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas 1 can (15.5 ounces) pinto beans, drained and rinsed (the reviews said it needed another can of beans) 1 cup prepared salsa (mild or medium), or more to suit 8 ounces pepper Jack cheese, grated (about 2 cups) Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, combine cilantro, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper with as much spinach as will fit; pulse, adding remaining spinach in batches, until coarsely chopped. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Lay 4 tortillas in bottom of dish (they will overlap slightly). Layer with half of beans, salsa, spinach mixture, and cheese; repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with cheese and pressing in gently. Cover dish with foil; place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes; remove foil, and continue baking until golden, 15 to 20 minutes more. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.