What did you do in the garden today?

[Rick589]

I caught another rat today. I am on fire!

Freeze drying more apricots. Also two peaches sliced. Yay! I harvested a fraction of what is ripe on one of the peach trees today. Loading them into baking sheets to pre freeze for the next freeze drying run.

Gobstopper Cherry tomatoes are incredible. Will definitely grow them again next year.

MIL is picking up her chickens tomorrow! I'll have 6 less chickens. Then I can put them back to work in the chicken run on weeds and such.

Jumped on the trampoline with DS this evening. Getting easier! We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I always think about freeze drying but never want to pull the trigger. My thinking always gets stopped at the ‘what do you do with them?’ question. Yes, I know eating at some point is the goal but how you use freeze dried produce is the stomper for me, vegetables more so than fruit.

 

[Rick589]

So, is it just me or are our new broody hatched and raised BO peeps experiencing explosive growth versus our brooder raised peeps? I’m probably simply not remembering the brooder experience but it seems to me, based on an admittedly untrustworthy memory, that these two broody raised chicks are way ahead at three weeks versus the brooder. They’ve been with mama and the flock since the day the eggs were laid.

 

[Minanora]

I always think about freeze drying but never want to pull the trigger. My thinking always gets stopped at the ‘what do you do with them?’ question. Yes, I know eating at some point is the goal but how you use freeze dried produce is the stomper for me, vegetables more so than fruit.

Freeze dried ingredients are used almost like fresh ingredients. If you use the mylar bags, the sizes are like Mason jars. So you can have a bag of diced tomatoes that has all of its nutritional value intact, weighs nothing, and can be used for anything you would have used a jar of diced tomatoes for. I will be using my freeze dried apricots for pies, tarts, smoothies, ice cream, sherbet, snacks, and jam.

The butternut squash is for soup, just because it got too warm in storage before I processed it. But otherwise I would use it for pretty much anything I put winter squash in (which is just about everything).

You can freeze dry cooked or raw ingredients as well. The possibilities are almost endless. I thought the same as you until I did that first batch and realized the insane number of applications this machine has. You can make a lasagna and freeze dry it in portions for nearly instant meals.

I will be freeze drying my next batch of refried beans. So much lighter than quart jars, and more shelf stable.

The weight also means that I can pack more food into the camper when we go on long trips. Don't have to worry about jars breaking or over loading the truck/camper. Plus I can make whole meals and just reheat over the fire instead of doing tons of prep and then cooking.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Staring at my tomatoes and mentally willing them to ripen. I cannot believe how bad this year was. We're normally knee deep in tomatoes by now!

 

[Minanora]

Watering and more everyday. We've gotten this weather pattern that bring 3 hot days, then cools off for a few, and repeat. My poor beans nd dahlias can't manage the extra hot sun in the afternoons and either burn or wilt. Picking raspberries and marionberries, red plums every other day, with yellow plums to ripen soon. They are 2 weeks earlier than normal, although bean and tomato weather was slow to start up. View attachment 4177218

This was an early fruit year for us as well, I got apricots 3 weeks earlier than usual. I'll have Santa Rosa plums soon, which is weeks early as well. I need to start writing harvest dates down....

 

[Minanora]

Staring at my tomatoes and mentally willing them to ripen. I cannot believe how bad this year was. We're normally knee deep in tomatoes by now!

Similar here, even my cherry tomato varieties are just starting to take off.

I'm enjoying the break though. Having to process tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans and berries all at once takes too much time and space.

 

[WthrLady]

I always think about freeze drying but never want to pull the trigger. My thinking always gets stopped at the ‘what do you do with them?’ question. Yes, I know eating at some point is the goal but how you use freeze dried produce is the stomper for me, vegetables more so than fruit.

I put them in soups and roasts, grind them up in meatloaf. powder and reconstitute for sauces or leave whole and rehydrate for roasting or grilling.
My thin sliced meats are marinated, cooked, and then freeze dried and packaged for my high protein, non-jerky jerky.
Lots of things you can do.

 

[Minanora]

So, is it just me or are our new broody hatched and raised BO peeps experiencing explosive growth versus our brooder raised peeps? I’m probably simply not remembering the brooder experience but it seems to me, based on an admittedly untrustworthy memory, that these two broody raised chicks are way ahead at three weeks versus the brooder. They’ve been with mama and the flock since the day the eggs were laid.

Do the hen raised chicks go out to free range? What percentage protein are you using for the brooder raised chicks? I would imagine it has to do with diet.

 

[WthrLady]

I put them in soups and roasts, grind them up in meatloaf. powder and reconstitute for sauces or leave whole and rehydrate for roasting or grilling.
My thin sliced meats are marinated, cooked, and then freeze dried and packaged for my high protein, non-jerky jerky.
Lots of things you can do.

I also do pasta and rice that's already been cooked so rehydrating only takes time, not tons of wasted water and heat. (think camping)
but I also use it here when I don't want to long cook rice for DH.
I have cheeses too.
Just a lot of stuff.

 

[Minanora]

I put them in soups and roasts, grind them up in meatloaf. powder and reconstitute for sauces or leave whole and rehydrate for roasting or grilling.
My thin sliced meats are marinated, cooked, and then freeze dried and packaged for my high protein, non-jerky jerky.
Lots of things you can do.

I'm going to freeze dry my celery!!! It's almost ready to harvest. Going to cut it all up and vacuum seal it in mason jars. Sure I'm not making bloody marys with it, but soup, salad topper, stuffing, etc.