What did you do in the garden today?

[Sueby]

We have harvested rat-tail radish seed pods. They are crisp and spicy raw. I’m planning to pickle them. Should I water bath can them? Anyone know? @WthrLady, @Sueby , @Wee Farmer Sarah @TJAnonymous

Yep, I found a bunch of recipes for water bathing radish seed pods! I would assume they're fine to WB since pickling in vinegar. But I couldn't find anything from the 'authorities' like ball or ag sites.

ETA: also not a fan here.

LOL, ETA: I looked in my canning book & there are a bunch of radish/water bath recipes, but nothing specific for pickling seed pods. Do yo have the ball canning book?

 

[fuzzi]

20+ pages, will try to catch up later.

Another squash succumbed, oh well. I am happy with the wrapping method, as I've gotten way more squash fruits this time than in 15 years in NC.

Harvest from yesterday is on the bottom:

I left a bag of tomatoes in the mailbox and raised the flag, the carrier was thrilled. She stopped her truck on the street and thanked me.

I picked another cantaloupe, delicious!

The chickens love the pulpy insides, including the seeds.

 

[ShrekDawg]

OMG you're making me drool! That looks sooo good. This is the first summer in a very long time I don't get to have a yummy BLT. I miss that so much. Hopefully next year...

Thank you! It was definitely very good lol I hope you get to have some next year!

 

[ShrekDawg]

20+ pages, will try to catch up later.

Another squash succumbed, oh well. I am happy with the wrapping method, as I've gotten way more squash fruits this time than in 15 years in NC.

Harvest from yesterday is on the bottom:
View attachment 3601023

I left a bag of tomatoes in the mailbox and raised the flag, the carrier was thrilled. She stopped her truck on the street and thanked me.

I picked another cantaloupe, delicious!

The chickens love the pulpy insides, including the seeds.
View attachment 3601024

This is an excellent idea! Maybe I’ll leave some squash and some of the tomatoes in our mailbox.

 

[Farmer13]

First ripe samples from the pepper patch,

 

[WthrLady]

All 14 pints yesterday sealed, on to another batch of tomatoes in a couple of minutes.
COOL today, yes COOL, it will barely make it to the mid 70s. It's also very damp and dark.
I'll take it. My body and brain can use the break from the sun and heat.

I noticed the dragonflies gathering the other day for their annual migration.

 

[igorsMistress]

That was my question to last year when I grew some. I finally figured out that you want to pick it before the petals start to open. I waited too long because I was waiting for mine to get bigger. Edited to add: they never did get bigger. They just started to open up and flower. The ones I grew were a lot smaller than what you see in the grocery store

Mine always have some smaller chokes as some bigger ones like you see in the store. They are heavy feeders so fertilizing every two weeks is important during the growing season.

Bunny poop is the best during the leaf stage but something that supports flower and fruit growth when they start to show up is a good way to get bigger chokes. I’m thinking about trying the liquid stuff that I have for hydroponics next year.

 

[igorsMistress]

How do I know when I should harvest an artichoke? I have one growing and never grew them before.

View attachment 3600651

When you see that they’re just starting to loosen up but haven’t opened. Even if they’re small mine have been quite edible.

 

[gtaus]

OOH, good idea [toaster pizza aka "poor man's pizza]! I'm not a fan of miracle whip, but once I have basil, I'll substitute it with pesto and that can be a "go-to" recipe for when I don't feel like cooking.

I'm sure you could use mayonnaise instead of Mircale whip, if you prefer that. Or, I just bought a can of pizza sauce the other day and will try that on the toasted bread. Basically, you just use what you have and try it out to see if it tastes good. Just about anything tastes fine with fresh garden tomatoes.

 

[igorsMistress]

Good morning all. It’s actually not too bad in the shade right now, 93*. We’re hovering around 115 for our daytime highs so I’m keeping the little Vitex and a lilac under grow lights in the house for now. I’ll transplant when they’re dormant and the temps are cooler. The chickens are enjoying some mud puddles and any bugs that ran from the floods. I got some jerky into the dehydrator and took out some chicken to can tomorrow. I have some bone in thighs to put up for the dogs and some breasts to put up for the humans. Making progress on emptying those freezers!