What's Growing in the Garden

Picked a good amount of sugar snap peas yesterday. Got them blanched and in the freezer now. We'll grab a small handful here and there through the winter to toss in stir fries. Pulled topsets from the Egyptian walking onions this morning and planted a bunch of them - we don't have the space in the raised beds to just let them "walk" and replant wherever they would go. Put some brussel sprout seeds in the ground, hoping in time for a fall harvest after first frost - we're about 3 months out from average first frost date. Most everything else is growing well.
 
We have been alternating between meals of beet greens and peas. Also digging Northland red baby potatoes as we need them, they get a little bigger every time. Also harvesting romaine lettuce daily. So far we have 8 pints of peas in the freezer. We try to preserve enough vegetables to last until the next garden is producing. We are down to the last dozen or so meals from last year.
 
Egads - I think I'm going soft, but I must say I admire you guys who grow, preserve/freeze What y'all eat!
 
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Yup... It's always been invaluable - but it will be more so in the next years.
 
We have been doing it since 1974 through good times and bad. We of course purchase some things but it's nice to know we don't have to.
 
sprucegum said:
We have been doing it since 1974 through good times and bad. We of course purchase some things but it's nice to know we don't have to.
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And when you can't it doesn't impact you like it does others.

A more stark comparrison for me is when the power goes out long term in a winter storm. People around here that are reliant on their central heating systems start abandoning their homes to go where they have heat, our wood burning stove is already going 24/7, for us it's just another day.
When things start to get that way with food, it's going to get interesting.
 
Between what we preserve, freeze, can and stockpile, my wife and I could go.for quite a while. Even if the kids came here, we would be good for a while. Gonna can more this year and I'll probably can several deer. Probably make 2-3 whole deer into jerky. I'm off after Wednesday for 1.5 weeks so the.next thing is canning peaches and making peach butter.
 
We do the same as others have mentioned above. Usually can more than we can eat in a year, but just rotate and discard older canned and frozen veggies and fruit. Don't do it because of any "current" events, always done it since I was a kid. You never know what kind of weather disaster might occur during a growing season and destroy a crop.
 
This time of the year I really miss my granny. She was the one that taught me to make jelly and preserves. I'm the same way. Don't do it just for the current times we are living in. Have been doing it for years. But I will probably put up more due to the situation to help the kids if they want it
 
Eric Rorabaugh said:
Between what we preserve, freeze, can and stockpile, my wife and I could go.for quite a while. Even if the kids came here, we would be good for a while. Gonna can more this year and I'll probably can several deer. Probably make 2-3 whole deer into jerky. I'm off after Wednesday for 1.5 weeks so the.next thing is canning peaches and making peach butter.
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As hard as I've tried just can't get a decent peach or apricot crop. Trees last just a few seasons before they get gummosis and die.

Local Farm Bureau is getting a shipment of peaches from an orchard in S Illinois in a few weeks and I've already got my order in. Really looking forward to fresh peaches (that weren't harvested green). Will be canning some, make jam and some red raspberry/peach jam.
 
I'm fortunate with the peaches and apples. A good buddy of mine has an orchard so I get a good deal on them. Last year I got a whole bin of apples for apple butter (215 quarts). Peaches didn't do.good last year but this year is real good. Everyone is wanting the peach butter. I'll make it, can some and freeze some for cobblers.
 
We've got okra left... a few sweet pepper plants and some tomatoes that refuse to shrivel up and die... Over a week of 100+ days pretty much wiped everything out. We got some rain Wed - Fri, but it was too late. But, now I get to scrape it smooth, till in the Spring compost and get ready for fall.

Alan
 
I was hoping to can green beans this year, but my third planting failed. I froze beans last year, but they weren't as good as fresh. I can okra the last several years. I still have a dozen jars from last year. They're not bad but I wish I could use less vinegar. I might try balsamic vinegar this year on some. And I'm not sure I can taste the garlic that I put in either.

Will be trying pickles again this year, but every time I try, they end up soft. Any thoughts?

Use to make peach syrup too, but critters get most of them. My Apricots usually get sap blisters on them and then drop.
 
djg said:
I was hoping to can green beans this year, but my third planting failed. I froze beans last year, but they weren't as good as fresh. I can okra the last several years. I still have a dozen jars from last year. They're not bad but I wish I could use less vinegar. I might try balsamic vinegar this year on some. And I'm not sure I can taste the garlic that I put in either.

Will be trying pickles again this year, but every time I try, they end up soft. Any thoughts?

Use to make peach syrup too, but critters get most of them. My Apricots usually get sap blisters on them and then drop.
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I don't know the acidity of balsamic vinegar, but make sure your acidity doesn't get too low if you try some of it.

Best pickles I've ever made were whole dill pickles, all of them no bigger than your thumb. Small and extremely fresh are important. I usually only pickle what I can pick the same day. Cut off blossom end of the cuke, it contains enzymes that can soften them. Some use an additive to try and keep them crisp, think it's calcium chloride, called Pickle Crisp or something like that.

If you haven't tried it, give crock pickles a try - lacto fermentation makes the best flavored pickles. You can then either can them, or just keep them in a crock in the fridge.

Another tip, instead of using a boiling water bath to can pickles, you may also pasteurize them in a water bath at 180° for 30 minutes. This will also result in crisper pickles.

Here is a pub from NDSU on making pickles, sauerkraut, etc. https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/publications/food-nutrition/making-pickled-products
 
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Not in my garden but...
A buddy of mine owns a wrecker company. Had a semi roll over today (and I mean ROLL over a couple times) that was loaded with onions. They won't let them be sold after that so they went in a dumpster. So I got a couple bags (50# each). Will go get a couple more in the morning for some people I share with. We're going to can some caramelized onions, freeze some, save some and I'll use some when I can my spaghetti sauce. It's a shame that the rest are going to the dump.

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Eric Rorabaugh said:
Not in my garden but...
A buddy of mine owns a wrecker company. Had a semi roll over today (and I mean ROLL over a couple times) that was loaded with onions. They won't let them be sold after that so they went in a dumpster. So I got a couple bags (50# each). Will go get a couple more in the morning for some people I share with. We're going to can some caramelized onions, freeze some, save some and I'll use some when I can my spaghetti sauce. It's a shame that the rest are going to the dump.

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It is a shame they can't be donated to a food kitchen. The local dollar general stores have been known to fill a soup kitchen If their refrigerator truck comes in 4 or 5 degrees off the 20 degrees that is specified.
 
Eric Rorabaugh said:
Not in my garden but...
A buddy of mine owns a wrecker company. Had a semi roll over today (and I mean ROLL over a couple times) that was loaded with onions. They won't let them be sold after that so they went in a dumpster. So I got a couple bags (50# each). Will go get a couple more in the morning for some people I share with. We're going to can some caramelized onions, freeze some, save some and I'll use some when I can my spaghetti sauce. It's a shame that the rest are going to the dump.

View attachment 229219
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It’s a shame but I’ve got a friend in Florida that use to farm about 500 acres of truck crops. Would always let people glean his fields until one sued him because they claimed they got sick on a rotten cabbage that they picked and ate. Their doctor claimed they had food poisoning from the cabbage. He semi lost the case and only had to pay for their medical bill (they wanted way more) so he shut down letting anyone glean after that.

As a young man I lived about a mile from a dang near 90 degree curve on a major two lane highway and they were always rolling trucks there and we use to get everything from meat, produce, fruit and building materials for free as long as we would help clean up the mess. That wouldn’t happen in today’s world.
 
2feathers Creative Making said:
It is a shame they can't be donated to a food kitchen. The local dollar general stores have been known to fill a soup kitchen If their refrigerator truck comes in 4 or 5 degrees off the 20 degrees that is specified.
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Put a post in your local Craigslist, in the for Free section, that dumpster will be empty within a couple hours.
 
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