What did you do in the garden today?

[Acre4Me]

How did you make it so clear? Did you strain it through a fine mesh cloth? Looks kind of like some corn cob jelly I made years ago.

The instructions in the Ball canning book say to simmer the peaches in water (a certain amount per pound fruit) for 20 min, stir and mash a few times. I had already peeled the and pitted the peaches. Then, using a cheesecloth lined strainer, let it drip for 2 hours to overnight (I did 2 hours). Do not press or squeeze /that is what will make it cloudy. Then follow directions with the pectin- this recipe called for liquid pectin (2 pouches).

 

[Smokerbill]

I was given a taste of corn cob jelly, not told what it was. I thought it was delicious. When I was told what it was, I thought it was the most off-beat, wonky, strange, but good jelly I'd ever heard of.

Do you have a recipe?

Unfortunately, no. It's been many years. But for the best looking jelly use red corncobs. I'm not sure which variety of corn has red cobs, but it's a thing! LOL

 

[Tahai]

Finally got the cardboard laid out around my black caps. Next day off, I'll spread out the mulch and weed.

 

[Acre4Me]

First Dahlia! Several different ones are planted, curious to see them all bloom.

Some nice Calla Lily

First time being able to pick enough raspberries to make jam! We had just barely 6 C of berries!

 

[WthrLady]

Unfortunately, no. It's been many years. But for the best looking jelly use red corncobs. I'm not sure which variety of corn has red cobs, but it's a thing! LOL

Our dent field corn has red cobs. Tennessee red dent.
You can use Indian corn too as long as you know it hasn't been treated heavily with preservative pestcides.

 

[WthrLady]

Plucking along.

 

[BReeder!]

DW weeded the garden a bit, clearing up as around the melon vines. All the garlic is harvested and curring on the garden fence - it will be coming in soon. Need to clear out the bok choy and red leaf lettuce as is all bolted. We might plant something in its place - another lettuce or green of some sort. Swiss chard and kohlrabi still doing alright. Kids are picking cherry tomatoes - DD eats them before they make it into the house. Cucumbers still look stunted, but hopefully they'll grow bigger - the vines are growing still at least.

Messed up the other day and left 2 bags of chicken feed out where they got rained on. That was $40 down the drain. Had to buy 2 new bags today and some bedding.

 

[chickengr]

picked 2 cucumbers! unfortunately all plants are stunted. I hope winter crops will be better.

 

[gtaus]

Can I grow Rhubarb in a hügelkultur raised bed?
That was a question I had a few days ago. @Smokerbill stated he read somewhere that perennials don't do very well in hügelkultur beds because the underlining wood rots every year and the soil level drops. For that reason, he suggested that rhubarb might not work very well in a hügelkultur raised bed.

I started looking into that issue, and it was pretty hard to find anything online. However, I did come across one comment after an article on hügelkultur beds and how to build them.

Here was the comment....

"I used this method in our raised beds too, and found it effective. It does drop quite a bit each year, but it just means there’s room for mulching each spring. I did make the mistake of planting rhubarb in one of the beds, and the crowns don’t like being covered. I manage, but I would never again choose to plant rhubarb in a hugel bed. By the way, all our raised beds are high enough for me to garden without kneeling down, as I have mobility issues. I can either sit or bend a bit. This was how we got onto hugel in the first place, as it would take an awful lot of soil and compost to fill such deep beds! "
Caroline on Saturday 27 February 2021

I guess I can understand the soil level drops but the rhubarb crown cannot be covered dilemma in a hügelkultur raised bed. Given that info, I may just plant the rhubarb in one of my old beds with just landscaping timber on the ground as the bed outline. The plants go in there at level with the garden soil.

I'll save my hügelkultur raised beds for annuals. When the wood rots and the soil level drops each year, I'll just continue to add fresh compost and then plant the seeds or transplants.

 

[Sueby]

Sounds like someone's house smells amazing today....

Right!? A fresh peach is probably my favorite smell ever.