What did you do in the garden today?

[oldhen2345]

Today is a chicken Yard kinda day. Need to clean the run and put down fresh sand, add dirt to the dust bath , clip down some bushes and weed whack overgrown areas, refill the oyster shell / grit container and clean the waterer out, sweep off the shed landing and put down more salt water to kill the grass growing through the bricks.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Good morning gardeners. We got another inch of rain over the last18 hours. There was a bit of a lull with only drizzle late yesterday afternoon so I was able to let the big girls out for a little while. Our area has received over 13 inches of rain in the month of July. The garden is looking okay. There are a couple of tiny poblano peppers dangling from the plant I put into a feed bag. It seems to be doing just fine. The jalapeno plants in the front yard are loaded with peppers now. I may be dumping a potato bag today to see what's in there. LOL! Bitter cucumbers? I agree with you @Swiss. The skin on the larger cucumbers can be quite bitter. That's why most cookbook recipes mention peeling the cucumber and scraping out the seeds before eating. I don't grow the larger cucumbers anymore. I only grow the small pickling cucumbers. Also, if you let the cukes get too big the larger seeds in them can give the entire cuke a bitter taste. The pickling cucumbers have a thinner skin and no bitter flavor. Looks like you are going to be up to your elbows canning @BReeder! Do you dehydrate any of your produce? It looks like you have the makings of a tasty vegetable soup mix there. My San Marzano tomato plants are loaded up with green tomatoes. A few are starting to turn a lighter shade of green. I'm hoping the rain subsides a little so they don't split before they ripen. Have a great day everyone.

 

[gtaus]

In my experience, the bitterness is in the skin of the cucumber. Try peeling off the skin, rinsing, and then taste-testing.

When I make the cucumber salad, I wash the cucumbers, peel them, and then rinse them off. Then I slice them on my food slicer. I'll take a slice from somewhere in the middle of the cucumber and give it a taste test. Even though the skin is gone, I'll still have a bitter tasting cucumber.

I know the cucumber skin can be very bitter, but even without the skin I can still taste bitterness in some of these cucumbers. I watched some more YouTube videos last night on the subject of bitter cucumbers, and I found a couple recipes that claim they will take out the bitterness of the cucumber by using a combination of vinegar and sugar in the mix. I'll try that with the bitter cucumber slices I set aside to see if corrects the bitterness. It's worth a try.

And, if I fail to correct the bitterness, I'll just throw the slices out into the chicken run. I bet the chickens will eat it without a problem. If not, at least it will get composted because I turned my chicken run into a composting system. I put almost all our organic material into the run and just let it compost in place.

 

[jerryse]

When I make the cucumber salad, I wash the cucumbers, peel them, and then rinse them off. Then I slice them on my food slicer. I'll take a slice from somewhere in the middle of the cucumber and give it a taste test. Even though the skin is gone, I'll still have a bitter tasting cucumber.

I know the cucumber skin can be very bitter, but even without the skin I can still taste bitterness in some of these cucumbers. I watched some more YouTube videos last night on the subject of bitter cucumbers, and I found a couple recipes that claim they will take out the bitterness of the cucumber by using a combination of vinegar and sugar in the mix. I'll try that with the bitter cucumber slices I set aside to see if corrects the bitterness. It's worth a try.

And, if I fail to correct the bitterness, I'll just throw the slices out into the chicken run. I bet the chickens will eat it without a problem. If not, at least it will get composted because I turned my chicken run into a composting system. I put almost all our organic material into the run and just let it compost in place.

Next year try a burples cucumber variety . Might be better . Could be a variety tendencey . I have not had bitter cucumbers in years .

 

[chickengr]

When I make the cucumber salad, I wash the cucumbers, peel them, and then rinse them off. Then I slice them on my food slicer. I'll take a slice from somewhere in the middle of the cucumber and give it a taste test. Even though the skin is gone, I'll still have a bitter tasting cucumber.

I know the cucumber skin can be very bitter, but even without the skin I can still taste bitterness in some of these cucumbers. I watched some more YouTube videos last night on the subject of bitter cucumbers, and I found a couple recipes that claim they will take out the bitterness of the cucumber by using a combination of vinegar and sugar in the mix. I'll try that with the bitter cucumber slices I set aside to see if corrects the bitterness. It's worth a try.

And, if I fail to correct the bitterness, I'll just throw the slices out into the chicken run. I bet the chickens will eat it without a problem. If not, at least it will get composted because I turned my chicken run into a composting system. I put almost all our organic material into the run and just let it compost in place.

you can pickle bitter cucmbers.

try to chop a piece that was attached to the vine and rub it against the other piece. it should take some liquid from the rest of cucumber (looks like sort of thick cream) then rinse it. I remember my granny doing it before making a salad.

 

[chickengr]

Next year try a burples cucumber variety . Might be better . Could be a variety tendencey . I have not had bitter cucumbers in years .

it is true that some varieties don't get bitter. sunshine also make some varieties bitter.

 

[NewBoots]

Our area has received over 13 inches of rain in the month of July.

OMG that would even be too much here! The lake would love it but still.

So I was tying up yet more tomato vines this morning and I have a question. What does an indeterminant tomato plant do if you top it? And by that I mean trimming the top growing tips. Does it go sucker crazy? Does it put more energy into the flowers and fruit? What happens?

 

[MrLeeHo]

93 and humid today…nothing but refilling chickens water and ousters shells for me outside. Did roast up my first small batch of san marzanos for sauce this weekend. Yum!!!

 

[Sequel]

93 and humid today…nothing but refilling chickens water and ousters shells for me outside. Did roast up my first small batch of san marzanos for sauce this weekend. Yum!!!View attachment 2779059

Those look fabulous! My San Marzano are still small and green!

 

[MrLeeHo]

Those look fabulous! My San Marzano are still small and green!

I should have about another 6-8 ready to pick tomorrow. I was trying to hold out until those were ready but i had a couple that were starting to bruise from the first batch. Well either make pizza or pasta this weekend. Well see how they turn out.