What did you do in the garden today?

[TJAnonymous]

I have 7 full size apple trees, and 2 mini apple trees. 4 different varieties of apples.
I'm going to be making juice with my new juice steamer and canning the different varieties separately.
My Pixie Crunch are always a small apple so making juice is and exciting idea. They have a pinkish tint to them and it showed up in the juice today.
View attachment 3624491
View attachment 3624492
View attachment 3624493

I'm jealous! I want apples so badly! I have a Pink Lady planted 2 years ago. The Granny Smith companion I planted with it died last year. None of the local stores carried ANY Granny Smith this year. Hoping they bring them back next year but that still means any apples are at least 2 yrs away.

Regardless, the Pink Lady has hardly grown. Probably my fault because I haven't really fertilized it. I did give it some fertilizer spikes last month.

 

[Smokerbill]

I think we are at about the same latitude, but weather can be hard to predict. A friend recommended Delicata years ago, and I haven't been successful in the few times I tried. Giving up on those. Might try a bush turban next season. Did not have to grow winter squash in Texas, as very successful sweet potatoes made a great garden and table substitute. And, no squash bug problems. My Greensleeves apple is an English variety.
Wine seems to be the best way to "preserve" fruit for us. Not much jam or canned fruit or jams get eaten, and makes a great gift. The process is easy. Just the waiting isn't...... Can't rush the aging process. Luckily, non grape fruit wines mature between 6-12 months. The plum wine is in the second ferment and racking. Looks to be around 14%. I've never made peach wine before. Here's a crazy thing. I hardly drink alcohol, because genetically my liver doesn't have the enzyme to process alcohol, so it goes straight into my bloodstream. Just enjoy making it.

I've been thinking about making some wine. I got rid of all my homebrewing equipment several years ago, but still have a bunch of 5 gallon stainless steel soda pop syrup kegs. I guess I could rig those up to use as fermenters. Or just do the primary ferments in food grade plastic buckets...

Is tomato wine a thing?

Today, I watered the vines struggling with the soil virus (we think), and or squash borers. So the cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash.

And picked four and a half quarts of current tomatoes, about two bushel of standard tomatoes (still in the truck), way too many eggplants, and three zucchini, and enough green peppers for a big pan of stuffed peppers. Also, a dozen apples from one tree and about a third of a bushel from another tree, and a heaping quart of wild grapes (all still in the truck).

All but a few of the standard tomatoes are green - as in about half are barely yellowish and about half are light orange. I would rather wait until they are with a two or three days of being ripe but the woodchucks would destroy them. Even so, the woodchuck chewed on dozens of them.

What are current tomatoes? Do they taste good?

 

[Smokerbill]

I'm jealous! I want apples so badly! I have a Pink Lady planted 2 years ago. The Granny Smith companion I planted with it died last year. None of the local stores carried ANY Granny Smith this year. Hoping they bring them back next year but that still means any apples are at least 2 yrs away.

Regardless, the Pink Lady has hardly grown. Probably my fault because I haven't really fertilized it. I did give it some fertilizer spikes last month.

There are so many apple trees growing along the sides of roads here that I wouldn't need to plant an apple tree to get all I wanted. Deer love them!

 

[saysfaa]

What are current tomatoes? Do they taste good?

They are the smallest tomatoes; named after the currents that grow on bushes. I looked for them after learning about the rule of thumb about smaller fruits having more nutrients.

Yes. I think they have more taste than bigger tomatoes. It ia a pretty standard tomato taste. I especially like adding them to recipes whole or only skinned. I like the little pop of flavor. But they are also good cooked down or pureed. Or fresh if you don't mind a higher percentage of skin.

Edit to fix typo

 

[akroberts1085]

I picked a couple more zucchinis today and decided to pick all the tomatoes I saw that were breaking and let them ripen inside. Plus a couple little cukes from my pickling cucumber vines and some more turnip greens. Planned on having a salad tonight for supper.

But a steak is starting to sound a lot better. I've been eating a lot of eggs lately and feel the urge to eat some beef protein.

I decided to go all out and make bacon wrapped sirloin fried potatoes green beans mushrooms gravy shrimp and crescent rolls.

 

[Smokerbill]

I decided to go all out and make bacon wrapped sirloin fried potatoes green beans mushrooms gravy shrimp and crescent rolls.

Oh yeah!

 

[CNJ]

Hello, I just got charged for something from FS stormproxies 877-3278914 CA, I called my credit card fraud department to report the charge. This number says to go to ssprg.com to dispute the claim, but the site tries to sell you other things. My bank canceled my credit card and will give me a new one and will investigate the merchant. Just thought I share this with this board.

Don't ever buy those adjustable glasses you see on Youtube, it is made of cheap plastic and doesn't work as claimed, no 20/20 more like blurred vision. This is where it all began, the website tricks you and charges you for 4 glasses. I had to call them to make the correction and get a$99.95 credit card refund.

This was the last purchase I made before FS stormproxies started charging $94 and $101.37 subscription.

 

[chickengr]

I was watching a guy make fertilizer from chopped up weeds in water. He uses the water. Something to consider as I have a bunch of chopped weeds. I have a fish emulsion fertilizer at the cabin. Should be ready to use when I return.

I watched that video too. as I have a lot of weeds that are not edible by animals I plan to put them in a big barrel with water. I don't have time to chop them so I'll put them as they are.

 

[CNJ]

I watched that video too. as I have a lot of weeds that are not edible by animals I plan to put them in a big barrel with water. I don't have time to chop them so I'll put them as they are.

It's better to just compost the weeds, the water makes them smell.

 

[CNJ]

I think I know why the earth boxes are so expensive. This lady Debby had her's for 25 years and is still using the same one.