What did you do in the garden today?

[chickmom3941]

Here's a regional one:

Upper Midwest Alpacas
ContactMichelle Durenberger
Mailing Address28472 Fox Way, Cannon Falls, MN 55009-4134, United States
Contact Online
Phone612-239-2793
Fax
Website
www.uppermidwestalpacas.com
States/Provinces associated with

Whoa, you even have addresses! I see this one is in Cannon Falls. We used to live very close to Cannon Falls, in a town called Northfield. Northfield is a historic town because back in the day, Jesse James and his gang rode into Northfield and tried to rob a bank, but the townsfolk shot them up pretty good. The old bank that the James gang tried to rob, as well as some other old buildings are still standing, and they have annual festivities remembering that fateful day. Pretty interesting if you like history, which I do.
Thanks for the info, WthrLady. Will have to see what Hubs thinks of the idea...

 

[WthrLady]

Alpaca website allows you to search local mom and pop farms too. Lots up there! That's just the regional big asssociation led farm.

 

[WthrLady]

http://www.alpacainfo.com/find/farms

and as always, if you have any questions, let me know

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. The garden is really winding down. Got a few green beans this morning and surprise, no tomatoes picked today. Yesterday only got up to low 60's so no ripening happened. I went into Boston for a Cardiac Stress Test yesterday. I was pretty nervous since I failed the one I took 9 years ago. But yesterday was good. Yay! The comic relief of the day was the Geiger counter. Because you get injected with radioactive dye you become a little radioactive. LOL! So when you walk past the Geiger counter it crackles. I just got a chuckle from that. I have a big bowl of tomatoes that look pretty ripe so I may have to do something with them. I really want to focus on getting some more painting done in my sunroom rather than dealing with the tomatoes. So I'm feeling tempted to look into alpacas now @WthrLady. Do they eat the grass down to the root like goats or leave enough to grow back like sheep? Also @chickmom3941 try leaving your green tomatoes on the vine until they start to turn yellow or orange then let them finish ripening indoors. If you don't want to leave them on the vine take the unblemished ones and wrap in newspaper and store in a cool, dark place. They will ripen in a few weeks. Fried green tomatoes are OK but although I was raised a southern girl, I prefer my tomatoes ripe and not fried. Have a great day everyone.

 

[Sueby]

One year I had a ton of green tomatoes at the end of the season so I pickled them like dillybeans & they were great with a bloody mary! Lots you can do with green tomatoes - a green salsa verde, relish & even a bread! In fact I might try a salsa verde...good idea Sue. Lol

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

One year I had a ton of green tomatoes at the end of the season so I pickled them like dillybeans & they were great with a bloody mary! Lots you can do with green tomatoes - a green salsa verde, relish & even a bread! In fact I might try a salsa verde...good idea Sue. Lol

Very true @Sueby. There's a recipe for green tomato salsa verde in my Ball Canning book. I've also used green tomatoes in place of tomatillos when making green chile stew. I'm trying to steer clear of fried foods as much as possible so I'd rather use my green tomatoes in other ways.

 

[WthrLady]

Good morning gardeners. The garden is really winding down. Got a few green beans this morning and surprise, no tomatoes picked today. Yesterday only got up to low 60's so no ripening happened. I went into Boston for a Cardiac Stress Test yesterday. I was pretty nervous since I failed the one I took 9 years ago. But yesterday was good. Yay! The comic relief of the day was the Geiger counter. Because you get injected with radioactive dye you become a little radioactive. LOL! So when you walk past the Geiger counter it crackles. I just got a chuckle from that. I have a big bowl of tomatoes that look pretty ripe so I may have to do something with them. I really want to focus on getting some more painting done in my sunroom rather than dealing with the tomatoes. So I'm feeling tempted to look into alpacas now @WthrLady. Do they eat the grass down to the root like goats or leave enough to grow back like sheep? Also @chickmom3941 try leaving your green tomatoes on the vine until they start to turn yellow or orange then let them finish ripening indoors. If you don't want to leave them on the vine take the unblemished ones and wrap in newspaper and store in a cool, dark place. They will ripen in a few weeks. Fried green tomatoes are OK but although I was raised a southern girl, I prefer my tomatoes ripe and not fried. Have a great day everyone.

Nope, they are great grazers. They leave a beautiful pasture. They're also communual poopers. They poop in herd piles so collection is easy. Their manure is also ready to use and also awesome for the compost pile.

 

[jerryse]

Picked about 10 quarts of tomatoes . Ran them through the blender then used the Foley food to remove the seeds and skin . Cold process . Cooking in a pot now until it boils . I let it cool some then reduce by running through a cider bag for paste or sauce . So much less cooking time . I noticed years ago that the cooling juice clumps and separates . So I tried straining the juice through a cider bag . Works .

 

[Sueby]

I just canned 13 pints of sauce, crushed tomatoes and the cherry tomato salsa. It was all from my frozen stuff but i think it came out pretty good.

 

[jerryse]

Got 4 quarts and a pint of tomato juice plus 2 half pints of paste . Just finished front brakes and calipers on my pickup . So productive day .