PING! (and this and that)
I love that sound.
It took a few days, but I finally got enough green beans picked to put up 8 pints in the pressure canner. As I was taking them from the canner, the lids started sealing. Ping!
It's one of the most satisfying sounds I can think of.
*****
This weekend, we went around to the sand cherry bushes and picked all the dark berries. We didn't get many, but we brought them in, steeped them in boiling water, mashed them, steeped some more...then strained the juice. We sweetened it some, added some pectin, and made one little jar of the prettiest magenta-red jelly. It's tasty too! I didn't process it in the canner, because it's just one jar - I put it in the freezer instead. In the middle of winter, it will be a nice reminder of these hot hot days.
*****
Hubby was poking around in the potatoes this weekend and said they are doing nicely. I'm so tempted to dig and peek, but I'm afraid I might damage one. I can't wait to show you the harvest...once it is time! Meanwhile, the tomatoes are setting tons of green fruit. I'm looking for hints of red, but nothing yet! The Fall planting of cabbages, broccoli, spinach, chard and carrots is coming up. I see a couple of blank spots, so I'll re-plant those some time this week.
*****
The deer have really done a lot of damage in the orchard. It's so disappointing. It's also a very, very dry year, so a lot of things just look stressed. It won't be a big fruit year for us, so I'm not too worried about putting jams and jellies in the freezer. I think we'll have the space, no problem. I may even freeze some corn, if the deer don't get it.
If you have any deer repelling tips, please share them. We've got strips of fabric we soaked in lavender oil tied on the trees, but I don't know how long that will keep them at bay.
*****
The first onions that I planted are starting to fall over, so I'm pulling them when the tops begin to yellow. They are white onions. Some are good sized, while some are rather small. My parents gave us one of those onion chopper doohickeys last year, and I'm thinking of chopping up a bunch of onions, freezing them on cookie sheets, then bagging them up once they are frozen. That would be really convenient for cooking, plus I wouldn't have to worry about them sprouting!
So, there's a little news from here. I hope everyone is doing well, and that your garden is abundant! :)
It took a few days, but I finally got enough green beans picked to put up 8 pints in the pressure canner. As I was taking them from the canner, the lids started sealing. Ping!
It's one of the most satisfying sounds I can think of.
*****
This weekend, we went around to the sand cherry bushes and picked all the dark berries. We didn't get many, but we brought them in, steeped them in boiling water, mashed them, steeped some more...then strained the juice. We sweetened it some, added some pectin, and made one little jar of the prettiest magenta-red jelly. It's tasty too! I didn't process it in the canner, because it's just one jar - I put it in the freezer instead. In the middle of winter, it will be a nice reminder of these hot hot days.
*****
Hubby was poking around in the potatoes this weekend and said they are doing nicely. I'm so tempted to dig and peek, but I'm afraid I might damage one. I can't wait to show you the harvest...once it is time! Meanwhile, the tomatoes are setting tons of green fruit. I'm looking for hints of red, but nothing yet! The Fall planting of cabbages, broccoli, spinach, chard and carrots is coming up. I see a couple of blank spots, so I'll re-plant those some time this week.
*****
The deer have really done a lot of damage in the orchard. It's so disappointing. It's also a very, very dry year, so a lot of things just look stressed. It won't be a big fruit year for us, so I'm not too worried about putting jams and jellies in the freezer. I think we'll have the space, no problem. I may even freeze some corn, if the deer don't get it.
If you have any deer repelling tips, please share them. We've got strips of fabric we soaked in lavender oil tied on the trees, but I don't know how long that will keep them at bay.
*****
The first onions that I planted are starting to fall over, so I'm pulling them when the tops begin to yellow. They are white onions. Some are good sized, while some are rather small. My parents gave us one of those onion chopper doohickeys last year, and I'm thinking of chopping up a bunch of onions, freezing them on cookie sheets, then bagging them up once they are frozen. That would be really convenient for cooking, plus I wouldn't have to worry about them sprouting!
So, there's a little news from here. I hope everyone is doing well, and that your garden is abundant! :)
Comments
you are amazing, your garden is so awesome, so neat, all the nice rows of veggies.
i was just working in mine, i just have a real small one, and its all crazy, stuff just growing everywhere, no neat rows... just wild. but i like it :)
so from gardener to another... isn't this a great time of the year!!
hugs
D.
Good luck!
Steph
This IS a great time of year, isn't it? What are you getting from your garden?
Steph, just about everyone on my street has horses. As soon as I can get the load of mulch out of the back of my truck, I'll go ask for some horse manure. Thank you VERY MUCH for the tip!
It's grammea from PH.
I love to read your blog,and check on all the economic and earth friendly stuff you are doing.
I read in one of the Tightwad Gazette books that if you visit your local barber shop or hairdressers and ask for a sweeping of the cut hair from the floor you can sprinkle it around the fruit trees and the deer think there are humans around and will stay away.
Good luck!!!
Hugs and God bless,
Helen(grammea)
I haven't seen any tracks lately, so I'm hoping they're off somewhere else for a while!
Thanks again!