What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

Having a pop up thunderstorm at the moment, which has dropped our temperatures to tolerable-ish.

 

[Smokerbill]

Made my first ever dill pickles using a basic recipe that has only dill and a clove of garlic in each jar for flavor. I used the low temp pasteurization method in hopes of getting crispy pickles.

 

[WthrLady]

6 qts of tomato puree simmering on the stove before I put it on trays to deep freeze. When I have 5 trays, I'll freeze dry them.

The Weston tomato processor I purchased at the Mennonite thrift store for $6 is fantastic! (the old kitchenaid one doesn't fit the NEW KitchenAid meat grinder head) GROWL

 

[dirkandlorie]

Made 2 loaves of bread, with honey and a little orange peel for French toast tonight. Getting an excess of eggs now that the littles are laying too, so gotta use some of them up. No more room in the fridge for them. Maybe a couple quiches for the freezer next.
My dog eats 2-4 eggs a day, so want to make sure I have eggs through the winter too, so trying my hand at waterglassing this year. My pickling lime arrived and I have a 1 gallon jar to use for waterglassing, but have a question for those who've done this before. Can I just mix up the lime water, put it in the jar, and add eggs as I collect them? Or do I need to save eggs on the counter and put them in all at once, then pour the lime water over?

 

[Nym]

I was planning to rake up all the bits from yesterday's tree works but a misty rain has moved in and looks settled. I love to rake, it's like meditation for me. Strange lol

 

[Smokerbill]

The three pints of pickles all pinged and sealed with the Ball lids, so that's a relief. But I noticed that some of the cucumbers migrated upward so that the tops are probably out of the brine solution at the top of the jar. Is that a big problem?

I remember reading to pack the cucumbers tightly into the jars, which would probably prevent that from happening... but I didn't pack them tightly.

 

[Rick589]

The three pints of pickles all pinged and sealed with the Ball lids, so that's a relief. But I noticed that some of the cucumbers migrated upward so that the tops are probably out of the brine solution at the top of the jar. Is that a big problem?

I remember reading to pack the cucumbers tightly into the jars, which would probably prevent that from happening... but I didn't pack them tightly.

I don’t think it make much of a difference. I don’t do shelf stable pickles, our are refrigerator pickles and we usually will weight them down to keep them submerged. But, as we eat them they float to the top anyway without any noticeable difference.

 

[Smokerbill]

I don’t think it make much of a difference. I don’t do shelf stable pickles, our are refrigerator pickles and we usually will weight them down to keep them submerged. But, as we eat them they float to the top anyway without any noticeable difference.

I considered making refrigerator pickles but thought it would be good to start getting reacquainted with the water bath processing process. I plan on doing a lot of it this summer.

 

[WthrLady]

I'll be picking Concords tomorrow and jelly is in the lineup.