What's Going on in the Garden July 14, 2013

The harvests are starting to pick up and so is the preserving! This week I harvested almost 2 lbs. of peppers. They consisted of Hot Hungarian, Hot Banana, Jalapeno & Sweet Hungarian. All of them were promptly pickled and stored in the refrigerator, since we are totally out of pickled peppers from last year.

I pickle my peppers using 4 parts of white vinegar to 1 part of water, boil, cool and then add peppers and store in the refrigerator. I also occasionally add some garlic.

The first Zucchini and Cucumbers of the season.

There will probably be two more zucchinis ready today at the plots.

 

I've been pulling more onions and starting the curing process.

These are some storage onions.....

and these are some more Walla Walla onions

My largest onion has been 11 oz!!!

 

Some of the Walla Walla onions have been chopped and frozen. They do not store very long and chopped sweet onions will sure come in handy over the winter!

 

We also harvested some more Sungold tomatoes and the first of the very few Carrots we will have this year, another head of Cauliflower and the last of the Broccoli sprouts. The Broccoli plants have been pulled and a bunch of Cauliflower plants that did not form heads. Hopefully the fall cauliflower will do better. There's one more head over at the plots that may be ready today or tomorrow.

 

The big news is that there's a Cherokee Purple Tomato out there that is half ripe......maybe Monday or Tuesday it will be ready!!!!!!

 

Tomorrow, Daphne at Daphne's Dandelions, will be hosting Harvest Monday. Hop on over there to see what's happening in gardens around the globe!

   

Harvest Monday....... July 1, 2013 & Harvest Totals to Date

We had two big harvests this week, a lot of the Broccoli and the Garlic. Some of you may have seen my Big Broccoli Harvest here. Well that wasn't all of it for the week. I harvested a few heads earlier in the week and a few more on Sunday. Sorry, no pics of those.

Sunday I went to the plots and pulled the remaining peas. The peas in the home garden were pulled last week. It's just too hot for the peas and they were about finished. After I finished with the peas. I thought that I better check the garlic. Well, it was ready to be pulled. I pulled all the garlic and brought it home.

Since we are in constant threat of thunderstorms lately, I had to put it under the covered part of the back porch. Now I can barely get out the back door!

38 Heads of Music (Hardneck Variety)

 

and.... 

 a total of 56 heads of Silverskin (Softneck Variety)

more of the Silverskin

 

The garlic heads are a good size and I'm quite pleased with the harvest. I think we will have enough for us and my son's household. Later this week I will hang the garlic and let it cure for storage.

 

Since I have been a bit busy and haven't participated in Harvest Monday this year, I thought I would post my year to date weighed harvest totals.

  



Baby Choi - 3.25 lbs.
Asparagus - 3.3 lbs.
Strawberries - 20.8 lbs
Broccoli - 16.8 lbs.
Garlic - 94 Heads (will be weighed once they are cured)
Greens & Lettuce - 3 lbs. (I haven't been weighing most of these)
Onions - 8 oz,
Peas - 11.2 lbs.
Peppers - 1 oz. (1 hot pepper)
Spinach - 5 lbs
Tomatoes - 3 Sungolds (not weighed)

Year to date Total - 62.45 lbs.

 

Hop on over to Daphne's Dandelions, our host of Harvest Monday to see what's going on in gardens around the globe!

Too Busy to Blog & Garden Update

Yes, everything is A-OK.....I've just been too busy with work, life and the garden to blog!!! "The Italian" and I had a lovely vacation in May. The garden is doing great and work is busy as usual. I really appreciate the inquires.

As you can see the plots are bursting with growth! We had one heat wave already in late May. Other than that the rain has been consistent and the heat wave didn't seem to hurt the spring crops.

Plots from the front

The Eggplant were getting nibbled, but the new growth is good.

It looks like they are going to be OK

 

The Peppers are looking good and so are the potatoes (on the left)

The Broccoli is forming heads!!!



The Asparagus is finished for the year. We harvested about 3.5 lbs this year.

 

The Squash are coming up.....and we have Peas galore!

There are Snow & Snap Peas at the plots and Snap & Shelling Peas growing in the Home Garden. To date we have harvested more than 5 lbs. of Peas.

The Tomatoes are Happy!

 

The Cauliflower has yet to form heads. But, I'm sure they will be forming soon!

The Cabbage is starting to form heads.

 

The Blackberries have lots of blooms....so do the Raspberries!

 

The Strawberry bed has to be kept covered due to the birds.

We've picked more than 17 lbs. of strawberries so far this year!!!

Overall the garden is looking great and we are happy gardeners!

 

How's your garden growing so far this year???



 

Home Garden Update mid-April

Wow, I can't believe it's mid-April already and that I haven't posted in a month! I have been reading a lot of blogs though. It's just been very busy with work, life and the garden.

The cold weather and then the hot dry weather has passed and the weather has turned to normal for this time of the year. So.....I finally managed to get the home garden cleaned up this weekend.

The Right Cold Frame Bed

is planted with onions and carrots under the boards. I use Granny's Seed Mat Method.It works great!

The Left Cold Frame Bed

is planted with Asian Veggies, Kale, Collards and Lettuce

The over-wintered Spinach is really taking off!

I harvest this nice big colander of spinach on Sunday

"The Italian" sautéed it with olive oil and garlic....yum!

 

The Peas finally sprouted after our rain this past week!

They're all popping through the ground!

 

I usually plant my early Tomatoes in this bed.

This year I sowed 2 rows of Little Marvel Peas and 2 rows of Carrots.

Slicing Cucumbers will be sown on the right side in about a month

The Herb Garden has been cleaned out.

It was a mess from that Sandy blowing through here last fall!

The Rosemary made it through the winter for the first time!

Lots of Happy Daffodils in the Herb Garden too!

 

In the basement, there are a few Large Tomatoes......

smaller tomatoes......

and even smaller tomatoes!

They will be a nice size when it's time to plant them out.

There are a lot of peppers growing....medium and small

Way too much Celery!!

Cauliflower, Cabbage & Eggplant

The Broccoli has already be planted at the plots.

I'll post on the plots tomorrow.

 

So, how's your garden coming along???

 

Garden Update......busy, busy, busy!!!

Spring is just around the corner! We were blessed with two nice warm days over the weekend. Do you believe it was 62 on Saturday and the mid 50's on Sunday?? So....I went over to the plots to get some work done. This is the best weather for doing this type of work.

I took down 4 of the 5 trellises and laid them on the beds where they will be this year. I forgot the drill-driver both days. So, I couldn't move the last one. I also turned over about half of one of the big beds. I am pleased to report that there are lots of worms!!!

I turned over the one end of this bed where the broccoli will be planted. The garlic is at the other end of this bed.

  

I removed most of the straw from the garlic bed.

 

The bed in the middle was also turned over. This is where I will plant some cauliflower. The two end beds is where the asparagus is planted. No signs of grow yet.

 

As you can see (click on any picture to enlarge), the top of the soil is quite dry for this time of the year.

The raspberries were pruned. I totally forgot to cut them back in the late fall!

I added some additional bunny protection to the fencing. It was too low and we had a bunny living in the garden last year. I managed to get about half of the perimeter finished. Hopefully I will be able to finish it next weekend.

  

There is one full table of starts in the basement. I am in the process of pre-sprouting the peppers and eggplant. By the end of the week, there will be another table going!

 

The greens and lettuce and doing well and......

 

I think it's time to thin the celery!

 

How's your garden prepping coming along???

First Frost/Freeze!

When I left work today it felt quite chilly. I really didn't think anything of it since the radio said it was going to get down to 36 tonight. Then I decided to call Dora from the Community Garden. It's a good thing I did! She wanted to know if I was on my way to the garden since we were getting a freeze tonight. What??? Oh, that's right, I work near Philly and it's a half zone warmer!!

Since daylight ends much earlier then I would like this time of year, I went straight to the garden. Dora was so kind and left me a sweatshirt and containers to harvest the last of the summer veggies.

Hot & Spice Peppers and a couple of small Eggplant

Sweet Peppers

I do have some celery plants in the home garden. But, I think they will be just fine.

Have you had your first frost or freeze yet???

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard...........10/11/2012

Although most of the preserving is finished, I still have a few/many things to make or finish taking care of. Since the peppers are still going strong, I have made some pepper mash and will be experimenting with making hot sauces when we get back from vacation. I ordered the mustard seed for making mustard. That will also be started when we get back.

Presently there are two containers of pears sitting in the kitchen awaiting to be canned this Saturday. I will can them the same as the peaches with a mixture of fresh juice and light syrup. There's also the balance of the dry beans lying on racks drying in the spare bedroom. Hopefully they will be dry soon so I can finish shelling them, weigh them and put them away for later use. 

I haven't decided what I'm going to do about the popcorn. Most of the white corn is hanging in a mesh bag on the back of the door leading to the basement and most of the strawberry corn is hanging from the pot rack in the kitchen. I suppose that I will shell and weigh the white corn. However, we really like the look of the strawberry corn hanging in the kitchen. That corn may stay there for awhile since it's so pretty. There's also dried herbs and dried peppers hanging in the kitchen awaiting to be processed and put away for storage.  

It may sound like a lot and I'm sure that there is something I forgetting. With the exception of the canning of the pears, what's left to do really isn't all that bad. Most of it is fun and easy stuff, unlike the never ending canning and freezing of the summer crops this year!

Since I really didn't do any canning or preserving this week, I thought I would share a recipe and a tip. 

Hot Pepper Jelly

• 2 Cups of finely chopped and seeded sweet peppers. I use a combination of colors to give the jelly a festive look
• 3/4 Cup of finely chopped and seeded hot peppers. You can adjust the sweet/hot ratio if you prefer hotter jelly or you can add a Tablespoon of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 1/2 Cups Cider Vinegar
• 6 1/2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Pouch of Liquid Pectin

1. Place all of the Peppers and Vinegar in a large saucepot
2. Stir in Sugar and bring to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly
3. Stir pectin in quickly and pepper flakes (if you are using them)
4. Return to a full rolling boil and boil one minute
5. Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of the top. Cover with hot lids and process in a boiling bath for ten minutes

Once the jelly is finished processing, I put the jars on a wire rack. Once they cool down a bit, I turn them upside down. Then I continue to turn and shake them until the jelly has jelled enough to keep the pepper pieces suspended throughout the jelly. If you don't do this, the pepper pieces will float to the top.

Isn't it pretty???

What's been going in or out of your Kitchen Cupboard lately....and are you finished preserving your harvest???

Since we will be on vacation for the next two Thursday's, Jody & Belle at Spring Garden Acre will be hosting Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard.

Harvest Monday................10/01/2012

The harvests are really dwindling down. I only have peppers and eggplants left in the garden. I'm sue there will be several weeks of no harvests since there is no fall broccoli and cauliflower and I was way way behind sewing any fall/winter greens.

Sweet Peppers & a few Tomatoes

The last of the tomatoes :(

I pulled all the plants this past weekend. 

Hot & Spice Pepper and a small Eggplant

I managed to get a few raspberries.

Total weighed Harvest: 15.2 lbs

Hop on over to Daphne's Dandelions, our host of Harvest Monday to see what's going on in  veggie gardens around the globe!!!