What did you do in the garden today?

[Happy hen lover]

Spent the last week in Denver visiting all my kids. Came home to dead zucchini plants, pumpkins, and spaghetti squash plants. Bugs on my butternut squash plants I think I also had vine borers too.I will do things different next year.
I bought a 6 pack of Amish paste tomato plants from the FFA..... turns out they're cherry tomatoes! That was a surprise so messed up my canning paste plan this year. Oh well it went for a good cause.

Come chat in my "Preserving Your Harvest" thread. Plug!

I pickle a lot these days. Waiting a few weeks helps. The flavors tend to blend and you may find the vinegar flavor mellows out a bit. Also, I prefer 1 part salt, 8 parts vinegar and 8 parts water for any pickling I do. I also use apple cider vinegar and white vinegar combined and go for 5% acidity (that's the perfect amount for safe pickling and any stronger will mean an even stronger taste). The ACV is slightly sweet and has a fruitiness that it adds to whatever I pickle. I don't add sugar, but you can and it helps to counter the sour taste of vinegar. And lastly, try incorporating them into a salad. A homemade dressing of just olive oil, herbs, lemon juice, and vinegar blended well (emulsified that is) would go nicely and compliment the pickled beans as well as typical greens, tomatoes, cucumber etc. found in a salad.

Love the brine ratio. I just gkaced at all my old pickle recipes in My grandma's Mom's canning books and the brine ratios are all over the place. I made some last year and they are crisp but blah blah blah not enough vinegar and used no salt! What a waste of time. They had too much water in brine.

 

[WthrLady]

I'd still let 4h know. The kids need to learn to be careful labeling.

 

[Happy hen lover]

once the kids are gone, my grocery shopping trips and costs will be very few and far between!!! we have a very small house too with little storage inside and it seems the most space is utilized for kitchen related storage needs

The scene at the beginning: Home kitchen, clean. residents going about their morning. In the fridge is a jar of sour Michigan cherries and some orange peel mixed with Medium quality Bourbon whiskey in an Amber Quart jar with lid. Jar needs a gentle shake once per day for 4 days to meld flavors.

What happened: Jar failure - bottom third cracked completely off, just as being put back on the top shelf in the fridge. Sour cherries, and bourbon ALL OVER everything...Drips, spray, leaking, covering inside fridge, all over floor, under fridge, in the freezer, all over clothes waist and below, not to mention soaked socks.

The Scene Now: shades of pink to red. Interior of fridge not completely cleaned yet. floor mopped with cleaner, but needs more. Puddles can be seen under the fridge.

 

[Happy hen lover]

The scene at the beginning: Home kitchen, clean. residents going about their morning. In the fridge is a jar of sour Michigan cherries and some orange peel mixed with Medium quality Bourbon whiskey in an Amber Quart jar with lid. Jar needs a gentle shake once per day for 4 days to meld flavors.

What happened: Jar failure - bottom third cracked completely off, just as being put back on the top shelf in the fridge. Sour cherries, and bourbon ALL OVER everything...Drips, spray, leaking, covering inside fridge, all over floor, under fridge, in the freezer, all over clothes waist and below, not to mention soaked socks.

The Scene Now: shades of pink to red. Interior of fridge not completely cleaned yet. floor mopped with cleaner, but needs more. Puddles can be seen under the fridge.

That sucks I hate jar failure!

 

[Iluveggers]

Spent the last week in Denver visiting all my kids. Came home to dead zucchini plants, pumpkins, and spaghetti squash plants. Bugs on my butternut squash plants I think I also had vine borers too.I will do things different next year.

DEATH TO ALL VINE BORERS & SQUASH BUGS!!!!

 

[Happy hen lover]

Out shade cloth over some tomatoes when it was 104 degrees now there is hardly any fruit on them! I am so disappointed with my tomatoes this year. I baby them water them put in wicking tubs fertilized them and the best tomatoes I have iny possession is some I picked in friends grassy weedy lot that moved away! I don't think I have enough dun in back yard so will try next year in front flower beds and see. I think this year is crappy for tomatoes here. Too hot and dry. Maybe they are too crowded too.my beets and carrots are going to be great for picked beets and carrots for fresh eating. Gas anyone heard that carrots get sweeter after frost? I can leave in ground till then.

 

[Happy hen lover]

I'd still let 4h know. The kids need to learn to be careful labeling.

I will when school starts . Hey do you plant any fall crops in August? What and when?

 

[Iluveggers]

Out shade cloth over some tomatoes when it was 104 degrees now there is hardly any fruit on them! I am so disappointed with my tomatoes this year. I baby them water them put in wicking tubs fertilized them and the best tomatoes I have iny possession is some I picked in friends grassy weedy lot that moved away! I don't think I have enough dun in back yard so will try next year in front flower beds and see. I think this year is crappy for tomatoes here. Too hot and dry. Maybe they are too crowded too.my beets and carrots are going to be great for picked beets and carrots for fresh eating. Gas anyone heard that carrots get sweeter after frost? I can leave in ground till then.

Carrots are sweeter after frost for sure!

 

[WthrLady]

Out shade cloth over some tomatoes when it was 104 degrees now there is hardly any fruit on them! I am so disappointed with my tomatoes this year. I baby them water them put in wicking tubs fertilized them and the best tomatoes I have iny possession is some I picked in friends grassy weedy lot that moved away! I don't think I have enough dun in back yard so will try next year in front flower beds and see. I think this year is crappy for tomatoes here. Too hot and dry. Maybe they are too crowded too.my beets and carrots are going to be great for picked beets and carrots for fresh eating. Gas anyone heard that carrots get sweeter after frost? I can leave in ground till then.

They're doing the same out here. It was too humid too long.

 

[WthrLady]

I will when school starts . Hey do you plant any fall crops in August? What and when?

SOMEtimes I put in some lettuce, but otherwise nope. We don't eat kale or anything from the brassica family that isn't eaten alive by the bugs in the fall here. The hoppers are relentless by September. I could toss some sweet short season corn, but why when I can pay $5 a dozen for organic local corn.
Honestly, by the time canning is done in September, I've seen enough of the garden.