What did you do in the garden today?

[pennyJo1960]

This is why we moved here 3/4 of an acre I can have all the chickens I want

 

[WthrLady]

Well I babysit the cattle. I don't mind a bit. The fence was on my list of repairs for months (even though it's HIS fence), but the heat kept me from it. Guess that'll teach me.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Ya we live and learn growi9ng up on a cattle ranch it would be easy to do that not sure how my body and what I did over the years would be good match

 

[WthrLady]

NEbraska is a mutual ownership when it comes to fences. Anyone can put one up on the bounderies, but upkeep becomes the responsibility of both sides. WHICH SUCKS! It's his damn fence, and he's neglected it for 40 years. I've repaired it twice, restrung 5 strands of barbed wire once, and not one dime. But if I don't want cattle roaming my lot, I have to keep up with it. (Although I CAN bill him for damages they do while here.) So far they're just pests. Plus he's a crazy nice guy. LOL.

 

[IamRainey]

Yup, I pressure can soups. But I do it in the winter when I make a large batch and I can the leftovers so they don't take up room in the fridge

That is exactly where I am! No freezer or fridge space and I'd like the flavor of Summer in the Winter. Sooooo, if you're got any time after all the stuff on your plate could you tell me a bit about pressure canning?

I've never done it. If I pressure can would I not have to worry about the level of acidity at all? Could I make my own recipe and pressure can it and feel confident it was safe if the acid level is below USDA guidelines? And would the texture of veggies in a minimal amount of liquid remain pleasant or go all soft and gooey?

When I made it to the field.....I saw calves. IN THE ORCHARD! A: calves should never be IN the orchard B: I DON"T HAVE COWS!

Hysterical way of describing the shock!

LOL. So much for my evening. I spent dusk and into the dark chasing loose bull calves and mending a barbed wire fence. So I guess I earned my pizza. So much for an evening off.

Hope you enjoyed your well-deserved pizza and you're DONE for the day!

 

[21hens-incharge]

Pressure canning is specifically for low acid foods. Water bath canning is for high acid foods like pickles and tomatoes.

https://www.freshpreserving.com/pressure-canning.html

 

[karenerwin]

Canned 11 half pints of peach jam and 8 half pints of peach jelly.
Tomorrow I plan to can peach marmalade and (If I have enough peaches left) can some peach halves.
Lots of rain last night!! I did not get out to the garden today. I am soooo jealous of all of you that are getting great tomato harvests!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

sad getting allot here but all so darn small bought 2 early girl use to be a decent size tomato but now so small

 

[cavemanrich]

Thought to share some of my flowers.
These are Black swallow tail caterpillars. I saw a few butterflies about a weak earlier. They were flying around my dill container.
When I saw these, I knew it was over for dill. Next day,,,, there was no dill left, and have no IDEA what happened to caterpillars
Next year I will plant more dill, so I may have some for myself

Nasturtiums, I like this large variety. Planted seeds. Mixed color package. Yes,,,, there is a surprise corn in this pot also

I call this SURPRISE CORN. it is growing out of a flower pot. Planted by my friendly squirrels.

Surprise sunflower also. I have a bunch growing out of different flower pots. I just let them grow. I know in short time the squirrels will chomp of the heads.

Ivy geraniums, one of my Favs

My Black Eyed Susan's really bloomed nicely. I think the much rain in spring really did them good. In previous years with not as much spring rain, I would have half the number of blooms

Spinach.

I like the mixed zinnia assortment. Seed planted after no more frost danger.

These are Perennial Hibiscus. They are not the woody stem type. Everything comes up from the root each year. Had these for many years now.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. Sounds like your harvests are going well. I picked another 3 pounds of tomatoes this morning along with a bell pepper and another surprise cucumber. I planning on canning tomatoes on Sunday. My pole beans are looking good and I hope to start harvesting them sometime next week. Can't wait. The weather is cooling down and getting drier so I need to spend some quality time on the yard work. I'm making progress on the garage. I'm taking it slow because it was so hot and humid but I'm also trying to organize the stuff as I go so perhaps next year it won't be such a big chore. Your photos are lovely @cavemanrich, I especially liked the black-eyed susans, one of my favorites. I haven't planted any in my yard yet but hope to get them in next year. The flower mix I spread in my herb garden has the little chrysanthemums that resemble the black-eyed susans so that gives me a smile. I don't know how you manage @WthrLady, you work so hard. Anything you can find to lighten your load is always welcome. Before I retired and was dealing with a 3+hour round trip commute everyday I relied on my crockpot a lot. Also came up with some quick fix dinners. My guilty pleasure was (and still is) Chinese food delivery. If anyone else is interested in learning more about canning and preserving your own garden harvests check out the Ball Canning website: https://ballhomecanning.com. Lots of good information to be had. Interesting sourdough fix @penny1960. When my starter is dragging a bit I add a little yeast to give it a boost. The addition of buttermilk sounds very interesting I may have to give it a try. Have a great day everyone and have fun with all those peaches @karenerwin.