Woohoo, it's that time of the year to get my garden produce put away for winter. This weekend I hope to try my hand at making pickles-thanks to some very productive cucumber plants in the greenhouse :) I have not made pickles myself so I am reading up on the process, and am going to try a method similar to my Atomic beans. It should work okay because I intend to slice the cucumbers into spears before I pack the jars. Luckily, I have all the ingredients on hand already.
Today I am taking the largest zucchini. I let a bunch of these go really big on purpose, as it takes four or five super big zucchini to make just one batch of zucchini relish. These will get peeled, deseeded, and then ground (10 cups a batch!) and brined over night. A very good friend is coming by on Sunday to give me a hand with these two chores. I will also need to inventory how many larger squashes I have coming on, so I can figure out how many batches I can make. Usually, three batches (over 20 pints) is just barely enough to get by for the year. If you haven't had the relish in my own version of tartar sauce (for deep fried halibut) you just have no idea what you are missing! Unbelievably great, seriously :)
(Edited to ad photo above-rather more squashes than I'll need, don't you think? lol!)
I might take some cabbage too, and do up some for sauerkrout. I could probably wait a couple more weeks on that, let the cabbages get a little bigger though. They are continuing to add more leaves and are on a slow grow-perfect for tight heads. The other day I noticed I have some baby pumpkins too-they came on way too late to mature to any size-only one is about canteloupe size right now. It's all a learning curve and next year I will get them planted a couple weeks earlier and build a better bed and hoop for them. If I can expand the size along the bank there, it would be a perfect spot for all the squashes.....but then I would end up with some very strange results as things cross pollinate, lol
I can't say enough good things about Susitna Organic's humified compost. That stuff is downright amazing, honest. Everyone who has used it, is raving about the results they are seeing. If you are a local Valley gardener, I urge you to give it a try-even if you have your own compost going. I have several bags sitting right by the garden....I will be putting that down this fall before freeze up, so it will begin working first thing next spring. It's absolutely gorgeous stuff and I wish I could afford an entire dump truck load-just to have it, lol!
Over the weekend, both horses will get some arena time-both for work and play. Amazing what a couple good rolls does their attitudes, lol Reba is coming along pretty well, all things considered. A couple days ago they both got moved back to normal digs and the mare about lost her little mind. I honestly had no idea she was so averse to change-and not being able to see the old man really rattled her. She spent about three solid hours being an idiot-bucking, running, spinning, rearing, you name it....goofy girl! She is all settled in now and at ease, but because of her insecurity, I am seriously considering moving her about every ten days or so, until she gets over being upset. I can't even imagine taking her from place to place, she'd be a wreck waiting to happen, lol But she is picking up the figure 8's on the lunge line really quick, she's a pretty smart girl ;)
Now that I have written out my "to do" list, it remains to be seen how much actually gets done!
I might take some cabbage too, and do up some for sauerkrout. I could probably wait a couple more weeks on that, let the cabbages get a little bigger though. They are continuing to add more leaves and are on a slow grow-perfect for tight heads. The other day I noticed I have some baby pumpkins too-they came on way too late to mature to any size-only one is about canteloupe size right now. It's all a learning curve and next year I will get them planted a couple weeks earlier and build a better bed and hoop for them. If I can expand the size along the bank there, it would be a perfect spot for all the squashes.....but then I would end up with some very strange results as things cross pollinate, lol
I can't say enough good things about Susitna Organic's humified compost. That stuff is downright amazing, honest. Everyone who has used it, is raving about the results they are seeing. If you are a local Valley gardener, I urge you to give it a try-even if you have your own compost going. I have several bags sitting right by the garden....I will be putting that down this fall before freeze up, so it will begin working first thing next spring. It's absolutely gorgeous stuff and I wish I could afford an entire dump truck load-just to have it, lol!
Over the weekend, both horses will get some arena time-both for work and play. Amazing what a couple good rolls does their attitudes, lol Reba is coming along pretty well, all things considered. A couple days ago they both got moved back to normal digs and the mare about lost her little mind. I honestly had no idea she was so averse to change-and not being able to see the old man really rattled her. She spent about three solid hours being an idiot-bucking, running, spinning, rearing, you name it....goofy girl! She is all settled in now and at ease, but because of her insecurity, I am seriously considering moving her about every ten days or so, until she gets over being upset. I can't even imagine taking her from place to place, she'd be a wreck waiting to happen, lol But she is picking up the figure 8's on the lunge line really quick, she's a pretty smart girl ;)
Now that I have written out my "to do" list, it remains to be seen how much actually gets done!
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A lot got done over the weekend, whew! Here is a picture I took this morning of the fruits of our labors yesterday. I could not have done this without the assistance of my good friend and sister in law-and as it was, I was up to nearly ten pm finishing the last batch. Ugh! But in a good way ;)
2 comments:
Yumm! frech garden veggies! I love canning at home , haven't done much the past few years other than Beet pickles , maybe I need to get back to it
Nothing beats the taste of home grown produce, the difference is amazing....especially up here where most of our fruits and veggies have been irradiated and then cold stored-hardly any flavor left in them.
I'll add a photo of the jars we get put up this evening, it's a long day ahead in the kitchen for me, haha!
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