What did you do in the garden today?

[Sooner Magnolia]

I make a peach/hot pepper jelly that my relatives go crazy for! We eat it with cheese & crackers. They request it at every holiday now!

I think you just volunteered to share a recipe....

 

[Sooner Magnolia]

@Sooner Magnolia, omg that is so cute! Is it you that have the hens sharing chicks?

Yes. They insisted in brooding in the same box, so I took the gamble.

The peepers are so irresistible, I can watch them for hours.

I've thought about making the jam but haven't gotten to it yet. I just wish i could grow more peppers myself. I put a couple in the raised beds to see if they did better than the ones in pots and they haven't. I have a friend in town who swears she grows more than she can use, I'll have to go over to her place and see what she's doing.

@WthrLady, I loved your story on your site about making cowboy candy! You do write really well.

Agreed. I don't know how you have the time either!

Welp, I saw my first live 8 week old cornish crosses yesterday at a local fair. OMG, they looked like feathered elephants! These were show birds (4H) and I know in a random batch there would be more variation in size development but that would be fine, then I wouldn't have to process they all at once. Got some good tips on husbandry and an excellent hatchery (has the newer and less fragile strains) relatively nearby (so no shipping needed, just an hour and a half drive) and I'm going to do it.

Newer and stronger cornish crosses? Or like a red ranger?

 

[Sueby]

Pick the cucumbers early then. It helps with keeping them crunchy. Mine usually have a good snap, but can get soft in the center since I tend to pick them a little later. Also, any fully ripe cucumbers get turned into today or pickle chips. Spears have to be made from cucumbers that haven't fully ripened so they hold up through the canning process and deliver a crunch at the end.
Also, I'm curious to know how Clausen seals there pickles. They claim they are never heated. They are sold refrigerated though, but I do have an extra fridge in the garage that could hold some jars as long as they last a long time.

Yea, I know - they will just never be crisp enough for me. I love clausen pickles, thats the crisp I want, but it's not possible from water bath canning.
& I always use pickle crisp. I also keep them in ice water before canning as that helps too. But still not enough.

 

[Iluveggers]

I think you just volunteered to share a recipe....

I’ll try to dig it out this weekend! It’s getting near peach canning time anyway. Lol

 

[WthrLady]

@WthrLady, I loved your story on your site about making cowboy candy! You do write really well.

Awww thanks. I haven't for a while. My mojo is missing.

 

[WthrLady]

I think you just volunteered to share a recipe....

That's how I read it.

 

[vall]

Banana flower popped out. It's taken me 5 years to get this far, I (and the gophers) killed the first few plants.

Squash round 2.. hoping this plant will produce a few pattypan before powdery mildew takes over. There's already a bit on the lower leaves, I need to spray again.

 

[BReeder!]

Yea, I know - they will just never be crisp enough for me. I love clausen pickles, thats the crisp I want, but it's not possible from water bath canning.
& I always use pickle crisp. I also keep them in ice water before canning as that helps too. But still not enough.

Another trick is to soak them for 12-24 hours in saltwater. The salt pulls excess water out of the cucumbers, making them crisper.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Another trick is to soak them for 12-24 hours in saltwater. The salt pulls excess water out of the cucumbers, making them crisper.

I pack the sliced cucumbers in salt for at least an hour or two. Rinse them off really well and drain excess water.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Remember to use pickling salt. Iodized table salt will ruin the crispness.