Saving for a rainy day

Saving for a rainy day!
Cottshop

Think about freezing or canning. Of course freezing is the easiest and the least steamy. Vegetable only have to be put into boiling water and then cooked for about 2 minutes, and then put in freezer baggies. I put them in with their own cooking water and it seems to keep them from drying out. They last longer. Beans are great this way, peas I put in raw and they last the year, course they do lose some of their vitamins, but not more than purchased cans or frozen, and they taste better. Corn I cook in boiling water for 2 minutes, then run under cold water or put in an ice bath, then I take the kernels off with a sharp knife. The corn is then put in freezer baggies, frozen, and I have kept them for 2 years this way, that is if I have an abundant crop. This way it tastes just like eating it fresh off the cob. Freezing on the cob doesn't work as well for me and doesn't last as long, though it's good that way if you only keep them for 2-4 months. Do not store the vegetables in the freezer on top of each other, they won't completely freeze if they happen to stick together. Beans can be put into freezer bags raw if you use them up quickly. Carrots last for about 3-6 months in the refridgerator, just be sure to look at them and take out excess moisture every now and then, and one hint I learned over the years, carrots are sweeter if you let them go in the garden until after a frost! If I preserve carrots, I prefer them canned, they keep their flavor and texture better than frozen. Course they're sweet anyway straight from the garden if you don't want to wait for a frost. Beets I like canned or pickled best, Ball canning books explains how to do this. Tomatoes canned are delicious, far above store bought cans, and can be canned plain, as juice or sauces. I love to can them plain mostly and make my own tomato soup all winter (One jar of tomatoes, boiled with 1 meat bullion cube, a little worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and optional, a little rice) Beats all the store brands. Having your own vegetables in the winter is the way to go.

7/21/2006
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Keep pickin

Check the garden every day and pick all the vegetables as they mature to the size you want them. All plants and flowers when the fruit or flower is over mature, it tells the plant to stop growing. Therefor it is good to pick every day. I like my vegetables smallish, my grandfather liked them huge, just a matter of choice. Don't let the cucumbers get to the yellow stage, if they do, pick them as you see them and compost them unless you want to make ripe cucumber pickles or relish. Cherry tomatoes will split when over ripe, carrots and beets can be left until they are large, but summer squash and zuchinni do best if kept picked. Over ripe zuchinni can be used on the grill, scoop out the seeds, and fill the zuchinni with diced tomatoes, onions, summer squash and smaller zuchinni, and maybe some cheese, cook covered in foil that completely covers and seals the squash, prick some holes in the top of the foil for venting, and cook until tender. This is also the season for stealing some potatoes from the plant. Dig down beside the plant, then push your hand in towards the plant til you feel potatoes, and remove them. Refill the dirt around the plant, water and add some fertilizer or compost around the plant, and let it mature in late fall! These potatoes are the best you will ever eat, and no need to skin them. Happy eating!

Nature's in control

Tonight we are supposed to get golf ball sized hail with thunder and lightening. How to prepare! You can't totally prepare, but I have my tomatoes in cages and tied. The cucumbers run up the tomato cages, carrots and beets should survive. My corn is hilled on both sides to help protect against the wind. This is the third such storm this year, and so far I mainly got bruising on the spinach, tomatoes and beans. Gardening can be hit or miss at best some years, so grin and pray!

Fine dining for WoodChucks

The other day I was working in the garden and a movement caught my attention. When I looked up I thought I was seeing rabbits, my eyeglasses were in the house, when I realized that I was actually seeing woodchucks, two of them! They were very cute but also very hungry. At first they were eating some of my flowers, in fact poisonous ones, so I thought, well that will take care of them. However, later that day they were eating my peas, all of them! One tip we learned from the internet was that woodchucks can't resist apples. So, we set a havahart trap, put sliced apples in it and in front of it, and soon there was a woodchuck in the trap. We removed it from our area, however the other one did not come around again. Guess (he) didn't like being there without his (sister). We are keeping our eyes out for repeat visits from him. They are soooo cute but soooo destructive. Better they be in an area where they won't get into trouble.

Bugged!

Oh tis the season for all kinds of bugs in the garden. Personally I have many and usually, because I organic garden, I pick alot off the plants and put them in water with a little dishsoap added to it. I'm full into picking right now. I also put a little soapy water on my cabages to discourage the moths, and if they get through, then I put a little hot pepper spray on them. You can buy BT also, and that works good until the first rain. Bean plants need to be checked for their hosts, the striped cucumber beetle and the bean bug, and sometimes you need to check the tomatoes for the worm [You won't miss them as they're so big, a little hard to see as they are the very same color as the limbs], when it moves grab it and dispose of it. Companion planting helps discourage alot of hosts, but that's another subject. I have dill all through the garden.

rain rain go away

So what to do when the weather is cold and rainy like this Spring and you've already planted? Hope for dry weather and sun first, if that doesn't happen cover the more sensitive plants with plastic, i.e. tomatoes, peppers, beans and corn. I use plastic bags on tomatoes and peppers, and a sheet of plastic on others. This way, the actual crop isn't getting pelted by rain and cold. It doesn't always solve all the problems, but it's a good try. Some items like cucumbers will have to be replanted, and maybe replanted! However, a good fungus spray on the tomato plants helps. Most of my garden has survived this horrible attack, even the hail we got! Hope this helps for next year as the last 3 years have been similar. Looks like a trend to me.