Today I concentrated on making pickles.
I got ten quarts of dills and eight pints of Bread and Butter pickles made.
These are washed and ready to be sliced for another go round of Bread and Butters tomorrow.I wanted to get out to pick green beans tonight, but didn't make it. Tomorrow. Gotta get to them tomorrow. I'll have to hit the raspberries and blueberries, too. The berries are easy to process (I'm just freezing them right now) because I've got quite a bit of both flavors of jam left from last year. (Although I don't have but a couple of jars of the Blueberry-Raspberry Jam I make so maybe that should be put on the schedule also.)
The green beans take me a while to pick and then there is the cutting, blanching, packaging and freezing. But as far as a veggie that gives a lot of yield, you can hardly beat beans. (Or is it beet beens? Speaking of beets . . . )
I also have lots of beets that are ready for pickling. Fortunately, they're a little more forgiving than some other veggies and are willing to wait for me to get around to them.
My shell peas are done, done, done. Turns out I'm not going to get that one last picking from them. That's okay 'cause I'd have a hard time squeezing them into the line up right now. So they and the vines from the edible podded peas need to be pulled out.
Yup, I've probably got enough to keep me out of trouble tomorrow. And then some. But I do love all the harvesting and seeing the bounty of summer accumulate. It's a great time of year. (Pant, pant, puff, puff!)
You are right about those beans, I don't know what our winter meals would look like without them. Long after the measly couple bags of peas, random broccoli and pepper strips are gone, those beans keep on falling out of the freezer! I actually threw away beans the other day cleaning my freezer, I had 3 bags from last year that were left over! I haven't started the nitty gritty of preserving yet, since so far my tomatoes are only producing at the rate of 1 pint of sauce every week or so, so the sauce has been going into the freezer. I have dozens of green ones out there though, so it won't be long. My 2nd sowing of beans is just now flowering so I have a few days before I have to start picking those, too.
ReplyDeletePerfect! Now all your Christmas canning is nearly done!
ReplyDeleteI had to take a nap afer reading your post! I bet you fill in your "free time" in the winter with lots of quilting...Don't you love the look and feel of jars and jars on your pantry shelves? Speaking of pantries - ;0)
ReplyDeleteErin - It still blows me away that you get second (and third?) plantings of some veggies in your garden.
ReplyDeleteI have to threaten my single crops with a whip to get them to mature!
Apple Pie Gal - Hahaha! But what could be more perfect? A Christmas Pickle!!
Susan - Quilting? Quilting? What's that?
Speaking of pantries . . . I was afraid someone was going to bring that up. Ain't nuthin' been happenin' on that front. We are so frustrated, disgusted, upset, bamboozled (wanna hear more?) that LIFE keeps getting in the way of forward moving remodeling. This summer one thing and another has been plotting against us. Oh well, we have a dry roof over our heads and we won't be cold this winter so we're thankful and it will get done . . . sometime. Sigh.
Wow, I'm so jealous. What a great harvest of cucumbers. WIsh we had that many, love making pickles.
ReplyDeletemeemsnyc - Getting a garden started is really (REALLY) hard work so don't feel bad that you can't have everything right away. Looks to me like you're doing a lot as it is!
ReplyDeleteI, too, love making pickles. Hubby had a friend over for a Boys' Garage Night last night and when he came in he stood and looked and looked at my day's effort at pickle making. It made him so hungry for pickles that he took a jar of dills out of the refrig (last year's), put four big pickles in a dish and took them up to his office with him to munch while he checked e-mail before shutting down for the night!
Hey Mama Pea! I was under the impression that cucumbers didn't grow well up here, but I guess I was wrong. Or else you've got a secret! I'm going to have to add them to my "things I want to grow" list. They look so good!
ReplyDeletePatty - I've always had good luck growing pickling cucs but the slicing or lemon varieties take a bit more babying (cold frames) for some reason. Northern Pickling has proven out to be a real winner for me.
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