August 30, 2014

Busy August Days

Where has the month gone to! August has been a busy month with more things to do than time to do them in. My days have been filled with picking and preserving. Here's the rundown.

Canning Green beans

Dehydrating Zuchetta summer squash

Canning figs

Curing and bagging multiplier onions

Canning pizza sauce

Freezing Green Nutmeg melon

Drying more dried blueberries

Mozzarella cheese for freezing

Black turtle beans for shelling

Frozen elderberries. So far I've filled two 2-gal freezer bags with more
to come. I'd like to make a medicinal syrup this year, and maybe jelly.

1st ever crabapple harvest. Only got 1 lb. Eventually I'll
use these to make my own pectin and apple cider vinegar.

And just coming in ...

Okra, green peppers, and our first pears!

So what's been happening at your place?

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Those are beautiful pictures. I can't wait to be doing things along those lines. Its inspiring. Good Job!

Sandies' Patch said...

Not a lot is the answer!
My tomatoes are a disaster, my beans are very late but, producing now, All squash are pants!
The only surprising plants are the cucumbers, I've had at least 10 fruit on 2 very small,late planted plants. ( someone gave them to me) and they have been delish!
Fortunately, the wild stuff is prolific!
I too will make medicinal elderberry cordial again this year, more of it as, I ran out around Yuletide!

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

Like you it's all systems go here with the garden produce. I'm pickling, freezing, jamming(?) drying and selling the excess from the door or bartering with friends. Had a shockingly bad bean year and the onions haven't been so good, but the rest has been fair to brilliant
Nothing is better than seeing the the fruits of your labours being squirreled away for the winter is there?
Good luck with your harvest
Gill

Leigh said...

Holly, thanks! They do make happy photos, don't they. :)

Sandies' Patch, it's so disappointing when the garden doesn't do well. Last year's was like that for me. Do you have a recipe for that cordial on your blog? I need to start researching!

Gill, funny how some things do well one year and terrible the next. Always a disappointment and always a puzzle!

Chris said...

I think I need to take a seat after reading about all that.

Well done you two, there's lots to be grateful for this past growing season. Make hay while the sun shines, and tuck into all that hard work in the thick of winter.

Tuesday said...

What a beautiful harvest! Our garden seedlings are just peeking up this week.

Mama Pea said...

Loved seeing the visuals of all your hard (but such rewarding!) work. I'm still in the thick of it, hoping the rains of this summer will slack off soon so my onion crop will have a chance to finish off in good fashion. My garden seems to be a little late because of our slow start this spring/summer, but thankfully we are getting much more from the it than we had at first expected. And, boy howdy, is that wonderful!

Mom at home said...

We are still getting tomatoes and lots of okra. I have been freezing both as I don't can. Hot peppers are still in full swing but cucumbers have nearly dried up. The grapes look good. We only got 2 whole plums this year thanks to a late freeze. It's been very hot the last few weeks with very little rain. Your bounty looks beautiful:)

Quinn said...

Freezing melon? Do you use it in beverages later?
Everything is so late here, and now it will be a race to see if squash and corn can ripen before the really cold weather sets in. I am just now picking enough pole beans for one meal at a time, and hoping they'll keep producing. I plan to save seed from my heritage variety of yellow beans this year; the beans are small but have a nice texture and flavor. Always nice to find a "keeper"!

Carolyn said...

Wow, that's a lot of work! But congrats on the sweating 'cause your bounty looks great!

Shoot me an email with your mailing address, you won the book! CarolynRenee at centurytel dot net

Congrats!

Anonymous said...

We have been freezing corn and green beans, dehydrating zucchini, spices and figs and pressing apples and crabapples for cider. We have also been canning peaches and pickles.

Renee Nefe said...

I just finished pulling all the apples off the tree. The birds and yellow jackets are really mad at me! lol What I was able to salvage is soaking to drown the worms out. Going to attempt apple butter...wish me luck!
The tomatoes are surprising me with another round of green ones... but it has been so cool I don't know if they'll get ripe. I should probably tent them with plastic at night. not enough to make sauce, going to try salsa with my peppers & onions.
Green beans and zucchini are only growing as fast as we can eat them. The pumpkin is small but ripening. aphids took out the brussel sprouts.
herbs and lettuce are doing well.

Anonymous said...

We're just gearing up for our spring now. I optimistically planted some potato parings (big chunky ones) from sprouting spuds in between my flowering broad beans although we will still likely see a few more frosts this year yet. I planted a seed grown almond and seed grown apple out the other day and manured several garden beds. We've an excavator in yesterday and today pulling out stumps from poplar trees and I'll be planting pears and apples and cherries and peaches and plums and nectarines and more over the coming week I hope. :) I've 2 pear trees to plant out today and we're off to a nursery this morning to buy a whole heap more trees. :) Tomato and capsicum seeds to sow this week, melons too. It's all systems go for late winter (with mid to late spring weather) here in Ballan. ;)

Leigh said...

Chris, LOL. Just think, you're garden season is just getting started. :)

Tuesday, what fun! I have to day I'm pleased with what we've gotten. Not everything did so well, but I'm thankful for what we did get.

Mama Pea, here's hoping you get a long, pleasant autumn!

Mom at home, it's been hot and dry here too. :(

Quinn, yes, I use that frozen melon in smoothies! They sweeten them nicely without masking the other fruit flavors.

Carolyn, how exciting! Thank you!

Schoonoverfarm, I would love to have enough apples for cider! Hadn't thought about using crabs for that.

Renee, apple butter is a great way to salvage apples! Birds and yellow jackets do love their fruit. Last year they helped themselves to my figs!

Rabidlittlehippy, so fun to be planting trees! Sounds like you'll be busy for awhile.

De said...

I've canned more green beans than ever before this year. The pole beans are still coming but the bush beans are finished. I've frozen two bunches of corn from our garden and one from the farmer's market. We should get one more batch from our garden. The tomatoes didn't do really well this year but I've canned several pickings. We have spaghetti squash coming out our ears, LOL. The beets are just waiting for me to pick and can them. Fruit trees are on our list for the future. The pantry is filling up!

Velva said...

I can't think of a better summer….Love, love this post.

Velva

Kev Alviti said...

You've been busy! Mine will all kick off now I'm back looking after the kids, fig jam tomorrow I think! Although your canned ones look great maybe I should do that. Also going to try salting some beans as we've run out of freezer space!

Sandy Livesay said...

Hey Leigh,

Those are some really nice harvests. I can see you've been busy canning, dehydrating, and freezing.

I still have watermelon, tomatoes, beans, celery, and peppers producing in the garden. The rest of the garden has been cleaned out and prepped for winter.

Leigh said...

De, sounds like you've been busy too. Is there a way to preserve the spaghetti squash? Any idea how long they keep?

Velva, thank you!

Kev, I make fig jam too and we love that. I still have plenty but ran out of the canned figs so that was the method of choice. The last of the harvest I'm dehydrating.

Sandy, I need to follow your lead and start prepping for the fall garden. Actually it should have already been planted, but I haven't had time!

De said...

Leigh, you can roast them and then freeze the "spaghetti noodles." They are also supposed to keep fairly well inside in a dry area that isn't too cold. Our attempts with trash can root cellaring were not successful as the squash turned to mush. I will probably freeze several for winter use.

Mark said...

What a wonder array of crops from the homestead! Congrats on your first pairs. I didn't get the fruit trees in this year, so it's next year for sure.

That cheese looks excellent! I assume its home made with milk from the goats? It's giving me another round of the 'goat itches'! I'm gonna have to think about fences and a goat shed. Shhhh! Don't tell De!

Leigh said...

De, thank you for that! I'd try both methods but like you, haven't had much success with non-cellar root cellaring. I'll have to grow some spaghetti squash next year.

Mark, thanks! Yes, the mozzarella is homemade from our goat milk. Delicious!