August Harvest & Preservation

There's been a lot of good eating out of the garden this month. Quite a bit of food preservation too.

Tomatoes. I have to admit that since I learned the trick about freezing tomatoes to peel them, I've been tossing all the ripe ones that we don't eat, into the freezer to save to make juice and sauce later. :) This has relieved me of some of the time pressure that comes with a heavily producing garden. After I had two plastic shopping bags I got to work...

Tomatoes preserved in August:

• tomato juice, 16 quarts canned
• pizza sauce, 3 pints

I also used garden tomatoes in the chicken & okra gumbo I canned.

Chicken & okra gumbo. Just add rice.

One thing I've figured out about canning soups, is to strain out the liquid first, divvy up the meat and vegetables amongst the jars, and lastly add the broth. This way I get fairly equal amounts of solids in each jar.

Preserved this month:

• chicken & okra gumbo with tomatoes, 11 quarts canned

Okra. Of that, I'm still getting more than I need. Besides the gumbo, I've also made and canned okra pickles.

Pickled, canned, okra pods

We've never tried these before, but so many of you recommended them last month, that I just had to give them a try.

Okra preserved this month:

• okra pickles, 6 pints canned
• frozen, sliced, 6 more quarts

My prettiest pepper so far

Sweet Peppers. I didn't have very good luck with any of my peppers this year. None of the seeds I planted indoors last spring germinated. Neither did any that I sowed directly into the ground. I finally had to buy 3 sweet pepper plants just to have some.

Even these haven't done well however, due to blossom end rot, the dryness, and the heat.

I like to preserve these by slicing and freezing for pizza and pepper and egg sandwiches. We won't get much for that I'm afraid.

Preserved this month:

• a handful, frozen

Figs. For two quick weeks at the beginning of the month, we had figs galore.

Bucket of ripe fresh figs

Besides the traditional August fresh fig cake, we don't eat these fresh, so all are preserved. I still have plenty of canned figs from last year, so this year I decided to preserve by making jam and dehydrating.

Halved figs ready to dehydrate

I wondered if I could substitute dried figs for raisins in recipes ....

Oatmeal fig cookies

The answer to that is, yup. They rehydrate well too, for cakes or muffins. One of these days I'd like to try  making a filled fig cookie too. Anybody have a good recipe?

Figs preserved this month:

• fig jam, 13 pints canned
• dehydrated, 1/2 gallon

Melons have been ripening and we've been enjoying both watermelon and green nutmeg melons.

Sugar Baby watermelon

We eat our fill and dehydrate what we don't eat. The nice thing about drying melon, is that it's a good option for both under or overripe ones. It makes a candy sweet, sort of fruit leather, perfect to snack on.

Melons preserved in August

• watermelon, dehydrated, 1 quart
• green nutmeg melon, dehydrated, 1 quart

Elderberries

Elderberries (what the birds didn't get)

I'm afraid the birds got most of these. They start eating them green (as they do the figs & pecans) so the humans don't seem to stand as much of a chance. My bushes are still young and just beginning to produce, so the elderberry harvest will only improve as the years go by.

Rose Hips. I also harvested my first handful of rugosa rose hips. A couple years ago I researched rose hips for jelly making and I read that they are best after a frost. Well, our frost isn't for another two months yet look....

Rugosa rosa hips

Some of them are drying out and shriveling. They simply won't last until October on the bush. So I picked them. It was just a handful, but it's a start.

Beans

Kentucky wonder pole beans on left
Hutterite soup beans in middle
Cowpeas on right

The Kentucky Wonders in the corn, I've given up on. The last time I picked there was just a handful of fresh eating size to be found, so I'm just going to let them dry to collect for seed. Fortunately we still have plenty of canned green beans from last year, so I decided not to worry about it except for fresh eating.

The Hutterite soup beans are being picked regularly. We have yet to do a taste test, so I don't know whether or not we'll grow these again next year. I do like a good white soup bean though.

Cowpeas continue to produce, but I'm saving all for seed next year. I'll grow them in the field then for feed.

Beans preserved this month:

• Kentucky Wonders - dried for seed
• Hutterite Soup Beans - 1.5 pints dried
• Cowpeas - also for dried seed

Black Oil Sunflowers (BOSS)

The drooping heads of black oil sunflowers

I planted these in two places; in the garden as companions to squash and melon, and in the field, on their own. The ones in the garden have done much, much better than the ones in the field. The ones in the field were disappointing, engulfed by weeds, small heads, many empty shells. The ones in the garden produced well. So well in fact, that I've been in competition with the birds for them

Several of the heads were bird pecked

BOSS ripe & ready to pick

When I saw that happening, I checked to see if the kernels had filled out with  seeds.

Sure enough they were ready. So I cut off the heads and put them on our screened front porch to dry. Without the ones in the field, I won't have a lot for feed, but I figure, live and learn, and I've got a start.

With September right around the corner, I have to say that both the garden and food preservation are winding down. Soon I'll be able to count the summer totals for my efforts, and put my summer garden to bed until next spring.

August Harvest & Preservation © August 2011 by Leigh at http://www.5acresandadream.com/

Harvesting the Last of Summer's Bounty

Except for a few random sunflower heads and one pumpkin, the summer harvest is pretty much gathered in. Oh, and the okra and sweet peppers, which are still producing. And if they manage, I may get another tomato or two. But the rest of our summer garden has been harvested.

Amaranth - We weren't sure when to harvest this. One source said the seeds ripen sporadically, so that the heads need to be shaken periodically to collect the ripe seed. Considering these are Golden Giants (pix in this post), which grow to 6 to 10 feet, and that the seed heads can weigh over a pound each, this was no easy task. Another source said that commercially, seed is collected after 4 or 5 months, or around first frost.  We opted for this method, and Dan hauled quite a few wheelbarrow loads to the house.

We grew amaranth for the chickens. I've spread them out and once the heads dry completely, we'll try putting them in a bag and shaking the seeds out. I'll have to let you know how much we get and how the chickens like them.

Sunflowers - I grew Mammoth Gray Stripe from seeds I saved from last year's crop. I've always grown this variety, because I love how they look. I'm thinking that next year though, I'll try the Black Oil Seed variety. Why?  Because I want to use these as feed too, but have read that the black oil is better for that. Sunflower seeds are a good protein source, which is a necessity for good dairy and egg production.

They are ready to harvest when the songbirds start helping themselves! Sunflower seeds make excellent songbird food over winter. Just set out a whole head and watch the show. Care must be taken when drying the heads out. Last year I didn't turn them frequently enough and had problems with mold.

Sweet Potatoes - These are Porto Rico Bush. I have to say that considering how hard our clay soil is, they did quite well. I grew them from purchased slips, but hope to start them next year from these. I haven't weighed them yet, but think they'll be adequate for our use this winter. As we improve the soil friability, we should improve the harvest.

The books say take care not to bruise or damage the skin. I don't think we managed that very well as the skin seemed very fragile. I'll have to keep an eye on them to see how well they store.  Last year Dan brought some home from a local feed store, and I wrapped each in newspaper and kept in a cool dry place in the pantry. They kept for months that way.

Buttercup Winter Squash - Most of these are harvested with one or two still maturing in the garden. The vine is still blooming, bless its heart, though I doubt these will have time to produce anything. I usually grow acorn and butternut squashes, but on a whim, decided to try these instead. They are supposed to have the best flavor, but I reckon that will be a matter of opinion in the end. We have tried one in a mix of roasted veggies. It was very sweet and the seeds were in a mass at one end, making them easy to scoop out with little waste. I can't wait to try them in our favorite winter squash recipes.

Popcorn - Japanese Hulless. I got a harvest, but not a great one. Definitely better than my sweet corn, which did poorly due to poor germination. Okay, and bugs. Bug damage on the popcorn too, which you can see. Some of them were moldy, so I had to discard these. I'm still husking, but hopefully I'll get enough to enjoy for a good part of this winter. Popcorn is my favorite anytime snack.

Black Turtle Beans - I've been harvesting these as the pods have dried.  There are still a few more green pods on the vine, but they seem to dry more quickly as summer came to an end. These will be an important protein supplement for us this winter.  I  am so looking forward to cooking these over the wood heater.

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For the moment, most of the harvest is spread out on old sheets on our screened in front porch. I turn it all everyday, to ensure even drying, though yesterday rain blew in all over everything.

A place for curing is something we need to consider for the future. The porch enables us to do that somewhat, while keeping out our many squirrels and chipmunks. After we finish the back bathroom, we are going to put in our new (energy star rated!) front door. As with most old house projects, this will require a number of preliminary steps including doing some repair to the porch floor joists and replacing the original wood pillars. That step will mean taking out the screens, which DH thinks were not aesthetically installed in the first place. Because of that, we haven't decided whether or not we'll put the screens back.

I do love a screened porch but maybe the front isn't the best place for it. It gets traffic noise and the hot setting sun. Not sure what we'll do instead, maybe a screened deck in back? That's a project for the future, so who knows.

Comments always welcome

Harvesting the Last of Summer's Bounty © September 2010 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/