Happy Fall!

Last Friday we went to a special celebration of the Equinox, which we usually do schedule-permitting.  I finally sorted all of the garlic and selected the heads that I'll plant for next year's crop.  I've yet to haul in any squash, save one.  I spotted maybe 4 luffa gourds the other day, when all along I thought there were none!  The bushel basket gourds are starting to set fruit EVERYWHERE, and some of them are getting big. There are still beans to be picked.

I transplanted seedlings for kale, arugula, and kohlrabi sometime last week, along with tatsoi and pak choi.  I've got a lot more broccoli and kale seedlings to transplant, but it's been raining pretty hard so they'll have to wait.  I'm somewhat impatiently waiting for the first frost, mostly because I want to pick all of the garden huckleberries.  The garden has been somewhat neglected because I've turned most of my focus to filling the freezer now that the root cellar is full. 

Speaking of root cellars, I've been reading about them, and I can't believe how much I didn't even know there was to know about root cellars!  It's fantastic and beautiful.  The idea of saving food without needing any outside power is a really wonderful thing that I think the vast majority of people in our society have no idea about anymore. 

Here is some harvest record information that I found laying under a pile on my desk:

9/8/12
Scarlett Runner beans: 1 lb. 2. oz.
Lazy Wife + Purple Podded Pole Beans: 5 lb. 12 oz.
Cucumbers: 1 lb. 8 oz.
Tomatoes: 2 lb. 12 oz.
Tomatillos: 2 lb. 11 oz.

9/9/12
French Horticulture beans: 4 oz.
Cowpeas: 5 oz.
Sky Rocket Tomatoes: 3 oz.
White Onion: 1 oz.
Tomatillos: 3 lb. 4 oz.
Jalapeño: 7 oz.
Mixed straggler beans: 6 oz.
Bottle Gourds: 2.  (they later rotted because they were too immature)
Swiss Chard: 2 lb. 1 oz.
Malabar Spinach 1 lb. 12 oz. (later fed to chickens)
Leeks: 6 large ones (weight unknown)
Sunberries: some.
Long Beans: 2 for seed collection

9/12/12
Sky Rockets: 7 lb. 14 oz.

9/16/12
Beans, mixed: 4 lb. 10 oz.
Daikon Radish: 1 small one
Herbs for drying
- Oregano
- Basil
- Spearmint
- Peppermint
- Raspberry leaf
- Sage

Pole Beans: 7 lb. 3 oz.
Bell Peppers: 4 oz.(2)
 Tomatoes: 14 oz.
Peppers: 4 oz.
Tomatillos: 2 lb. 7 oz.

9/ 21/12
Bell Peppers: 2 small ones
Tomatillos: a few
Skyrockets: a few

9/22/12
Georgia Jet Sweet Potatoes: 17 lbs.
Ping Tung Eggplant: 6 small ones
Red Onions: 3 small ones found while digging sweets.

9/??/12- sometime in the last week
Tomatillos: 17 lbs.

Busy Busy Busy

It seems like most of the rush of the Summer's end harvest has passed us at this point.  The high point of that harvest always seems busy, because we're in a rush to process and save as much as we can for the coming winter, but now that it's done, it seems there's so much more to do now. 

I need to start prepping the garden for winter.  That means pulling the last of the weeds, mulching bare soil where things were taken out, setting up the hoophouse, and starting fall crops on time.  Yesterday, I spotted a SIXTH woodchuck; probably the biggest one I've ever seen in my life.  Seeing a woodchuck always gives me a sense of urgency, so that's not helping. 

I also need to expand the chicken run before the ground hardens.  I also need to make sure I eliminate any drafts in the coop.  We're about a month away from the time when the chickens should start laying.  The anticipation is starting to get to me!!  Last week I started 3 trays of seeds; stuff like cabbage, broccoli, spinach and kale. 

We've yet to harvest any butternut squashes.  I need to pull up the sweet potatoes really soon.  After the frost comes, I can worry about the garden huckleberries.  The beans are still going strong because I planted them late.  I think the last day that I planted them was July 15, but might have been a few days later.  Hopefully the hoophouse greens will work out well!

Harvest Records and Updates

I dug the last of our potatoes today.  Many of them were over 1 lb. each!  In all, I harvested 46 lb. 8 oz. of Butte potatoes today, giving us a grand total of just over 100 lbs. for this growing season.  This is great!  If only our tomatoes did as well this year, but I really can't complain.  Naomi put up 11 pints of corn, last year she only put up 3, so that's good.  We also didn't have beans last year, or potatoes, or any onions at all.  If only we had harvest records from last year to compare to. 

I started seeds this past week, but can't recall the day.  I think it was Monday, September 3rd, but I'm not sure.  I've got two trays going now that were started on different days.  I also bought more seeds this week, along with some more multiplier onion bulbs.  I'm looking forward to growing some hardy greens this winter, especially in the hoop houses.  I know there will be much to learn about growing under plastic in low temperatures, but I'm ready to learn! 

We've still got one woodchuck that's been visiting daily.  He'll get his soon enough I hope.  I'd like to go into winter with no resident woodchucks, so I can have a jump start on the spring. 

I've been slacking off on general garden chores as I've been getting back into work for the fall.  A lot of weeding needs to be done still, and I'm planning to rebuild all of the garden beds before mulching them over deeply before winter's chill sets in.  The good thing is that I haven't needed to water; mother nature's been providing plenty. 

OK, onto the harvest records!

8/31
Daikon Radish: 4 oz (cut off about half to rot)
Corn: 8 oz (2)
Jersey Giant Tomatoes: 1 lb. 2 oz. (4)
Tomatoes, mixed: 3 lb. 7 oz.
Tomatillos: 5 oz. (6)
Onions: 4 lb. 8 oz.
Cowpeas: 8 oz.
Sky Rocket Tomatoes: 1 lb. 6 oz.
Jalapeño: 3 oz.
Ground Cherries: 5 oz.
Basil: 2 oz.
French Horticulture Beans: 1 lb. 1 oz.
Green, Purple, and Wax beans, mixed: 8 oz.

9/3
Corn: 2 Lb. 5 oz. (4 ears)
Tomatoes: 7 Lb. 2 oz.
Sky Rocket: 1 lb. 4 oz.
Beans (green, wax, purple): 3 lb. 5 oz.
Yard Long Beans: 2 oz. (2)
French Horticulture beans: 7 oz.
Cowpeas: 1 lb. 2 oz.
Tomatillos: 10 oz.
Eggplant: 3 oz. (1)
Fish Peppers: 5 peppers
Ground Cherries: some

9/6
Cowpeas 8 oz.
Ground Cherry: 4 oz.
Tomatillos: 13 oz.
Tomatoes, mixed: 3 lb. 12 oz.
French Horticulture beans: 1 lb.
Wax, Purple, and Green Beans, mixed: 1 lb. 2 oz.

9/7
Butte potatoes: 46 lb. 8 oz. 


Sometime in the last week, I picked 5 lbs of green beans, purple beans, and wax beans, but I can't find the paper with that day's harvest record on it, so some data is missing.

August Harvest Records

We've been accumulating these records, and of course the accompanying produce, but haven't been logging them here.  So, here they are.

August 2, 2012
Boston Pickling Cucumbers  1 lb. 12 oz.  (7)
Basil- one handful
Lemon Cucumbers 3 oz. (2)

August 3, 2012
Boston Pickling Cucumbers 10 oz. (2)
Lemon Cucumbers 8 oz. (2)
Tomatillos 13.5 oz. (6)
Crookneck Squash 13 oz. (3)
Jalapeño pepper 1 oz (1)
misc. beans 4 oz
yellow onion 1 oz (1)
Red Wethersfield Onion  5 oz. (6)
Sunberries 1 oz.

August 7, 2012
Lemon Cucumber 1 lb. 14 oz. (6)
Boston Pickling Cucumber 4 lb. 10 oz. (16)
Sikkim Cucumber 1 lb. 11 oz (4)- largest is 1 lb!
Lazy Wife Beans 1 lb.
Purple Podded Pole Beans 1 oz. (1 pod)
Soybeans 1 oz. (one dry pod)
Tomatillo 2 lb. 7 oz.  (28)
Tomato (oxheart) 7 oz. (1)
Sky Rocket Tomato  4 oz. (3)

August 9, 2012
Australian Brown Onions 2 lb. 5 oz.

August 10, 2012
Australian Brown Onions 3 lb. 5 oz.
Volunteer Potatoes 1 lb. 3 oz.
Scarlett Runner Beans 2 oz (2)
Ground Cherry 2 oz. (7)
French Horticulture Beans 8 oz.
Corn 1 lb. 4 oz.  (2 ears)
Chinese Turnip 1 lb. 3 oz. (2)
Tomatillos 10 oz. (7)
Boston Pickling Cucumber 1 lb. 6 oz.  (4)
Sikkim Cucumber 7 oz (1)
Bell Pepper 4 oz. (1)
Oxheart Tomato 7 oz. (1)
Sky Rocket Tomato 5 oz. (3)
Lazy Wife Beans 1 lb. 8 oz.

August 12, 2012
Corn 10 lb. 3 oz. (15 ears)
Purple Podded Pole Beans 4 oz.
Lazy Wife Beans 8 oz.
Sikkim Cucumber 1 lb. 1 oz. (2)
Boston Pickling Cucumber 1 lb. 11 oz. (5)
Lemon Cucumber 6 lb. 8 oz. (18)
Tomatillo 12 oz (9)
Ground Cherry < 1 oz.
Sky Rocket Tomato 11 oz. (9)
Oxheart Tomato 1 lb. (3)
Jersey Giant Tomato 10 oz. (1)
Sparks Tomato 14 oz. (3)
Southport White Globe Onions 15 oz. (6)

August 13, 2012
Southport White Globe Onions 12 oz. (5)
Corn 5 lb. (8 ears)
Boston Pickling Cucumbers 3 lb. 12 oz. (9)
Tomatillo 8 oz. (5)
?? tomatoes 12 oz. (5)
Sky Rocket Tomatoes 5 oz (4)
Jersey Giant Tomatoes 7 oz. (1)

August 15, 2012
Corn 3 lb. 2 oz. (4)
Oxheart Tomatoes 3 lb. 13 oz. (11)
Jersey Giant Tomatoes 2 lb. 2 oz. (6)
Sky Rocket Tomatoes 1 lb. (12)
?? Tomatoes 2 lb. 8 oz. (6)
Lemon Cucumbers 2 lb. 4 oz. (8)
Boston Pickling Cucumbers 1 lb. 15 oz. (9)
Tomatillo (green) 5 lb. 4 oz.
Swiss Chard 4 oz.
Malabar Spinach 1 oz.  ( We decided that we didn't like it, so we didn't harvest any more)
Basil < 1 oz.
Lazy Wife Beans 3 oz.
Purple Podded Pole Beans < 1 oz.
Red Wethersfield Onions 5 oz. (6)
Ground Cherry 2 oz.

August 16, 2012
All Blue Potatoes 26 lb. 10 oz.

August 19, 2012
Purple Podded Pole Beans 7 oz.
Lazy Wife Beans 2 oz.
Lemon Cucumbers 15 oz. (4)
Sikkim Cucumbers 5 oz. (1)
Tomatillo 10 oz. (6)
Jersey Giant Tomato 3 lb. 10 oz. (14)
Golden Queen Tomato 1 oz. (1)
Sky Rocket Tomato 9 oz. (9)
Oxheart Tomato 15 oz. (3)
??? "globe?" 3 lb. 8 oz. (9)

August 21, 2012
Yard Long Beans 2 oz. (2)
Ground Cherries 4 oz.
Cor Di Bieu Tomato 13 oz. (1)
Sauce n' Slice Tomato 5 oz. (1)
Sky Rocket Tomato 5 oz. (5)
Soy Beans < 1 oz.

August 23, 2012
Yard Long Beans 2 oz.
Lazy Wife Beans 6 oz.
Purple Podded Pole Beans 10 oz.
Green Beans 11 oz.
Wax Beans 14 oz.
Corn 2 lb. 14 oz. (4)
Tomatillo 2 lb. 11 oz.
 ??? tomato 1 lb. 5 oz. (4)
Golden Queen 4 oz. (1)
Oxheart Tomato 13 oz. (3)
Jersey Giant Tomato 4 lb. 7 oz. (14)
Sky Rocket Tomato 14 oz. (13)

August 24, 2012
beans, mixed 11 oz.
Ground Cherries 5 oz.
Pepperoncini 2 oz.
Corn 2 lb. 8 oz. (11 ears)
Red Wethersfield Onion 1 lb. 9 oz.
Tomatillo 1 lb. 7 oz. (17)
Golden Queen Tomato 4 oz. (1)
Jersey Giant Tomato 1 lb. 11 oz. (5)
Oxheart Tomato 1 lb. (2)
Sky Rocket 8 oz. (5)

August 25, 2012
Ruby Queen Beets 17 lb. 11 oz
Early Blood Turnip Beets 4 lb. 2 oz.
Onions, mixed 5 lb.
Chinese Radish 1 lb. 12 oz. (2)
Kohlrabi 11 oz. (7)
Sikkim Cucumber 12 oz. (1)
Jalapeño pepper 1 lb.
Pepperoncini 2 oz. (4)
Boston Pickling Cucumber 4 oz. (1)
Bell Pepper 4 oz. (1)
unripe tomatoes 2 lb. 10 oz. (7)
Ground Cherries 3 oz.
Lemon Cucumber 3 oz. (1)

August 26, 2012
Cowpeas < 1 oz. (1 pod)
Kale < 1 oz.
Yard Long Beans 1 oz.
misc. beans 2 oz.
Tomatillo 11 oz (10)
Butte Potatoes 9 oz. (2)
Tomatoes 6 oz. (2)
Swiss Chard 3 oz.
Red Wethersfield Onion 13 oz.
Yellow Onions < 1 oz.
Sunberries 1 oz.
Ground Cherries < 1 oz.

This is Pay Day

Here we are in mid- August; the time when all that hard work really starts to pay off.  We're entering the tomato glut for the year.  This year, however, we've got to add tomatillos to the count.  I can't believe how productive tomatillos are.  We've got some good-sized bell peppers this year, unlike last year where they never got bigger than a quarter.  Last Thursday, I dug 27 pounds of blue potatoes.  I couldn't be happier with the production of our beans this year, either.  We even grew some yard-long beans, and they lived up to the name for sure:

This past weekend, we went to visit my grandparents in Pennsylvania.  We thought we were hardworking over-achievers until we spent the weekend with grandma and grandpa.  They actually wore us out!  Grandma's gardens were beautiful, and she sent me home with some plants.  I got some more multiplier onions, some kind of herb that smells like bubblegum, lemon balm, and fennel.  Plus my mom gave me some daisies and something else I can't recall the name of.  Here's a picture of Grandma's garden:

Cucumbers are winding down, and we have about 20 more ears of corn that we're waiting on.  I planted turnips yesterday, and I've been meaning to start some flats of broccoli, cabbage, and other greens but haven't done it yet. 

Pickles & Cheese

You can pickle just about anything. Yes, we all have an idea of what "a pickle" is... but for each of us it could be something different. It usually conjures up some version of a pickled cucumber- for me, its a garlicy dill pickled cucumber. So far this summer, I have pickled black radishes(on 7/8/12) and dill pickles (today). I jarred 9 pints of pickled black radishes and 4 quarts and 4 pints of dill pickles. I adapted a pickled beet recipe with black radish inspired spices to create the recipe for those bad boys. They came out well, but in the future, I would recommend peeling the skins off. I left them on, because I like the skins when they are cooked, but it turns out that the skins get chewy when pickled. Edible, but not ideal. I'll have to wait at least 2 weeks to try my jarred dill pickles, but I always make sure to make extra for refrigerator pickles to tide me over.
Pickling is essentially fermenting foods in a certain way- the way that you like, and doesn't kill you. In that way, it is very similar to cheese. I would never be able to keep all these cucumbers for more than a month or so without pickling, just like there's no way to keep milk around without cheese. So far I have made Mozzarella, Ziegerkase, Farmhouse Cheddar, Whey Ricotta, Milk Yogurt and Soy Yogurt. However, I haven't tried all of these yet! Cheese is about patience. Aging makes one cheese one way and another another, so we'll have to wait and see if my cheddar and ziegerkase are successful! Mozzarella is quickly becoming a household norm, and the soy yogurt is vastly more popular and easier than the milk yogurt.

Read more about pickling here!

The Second Half of July

Oh boy. Looks like I haven't updated in a while... The garden looks like a jungle again, but at least I know in which areas things are, even if they are under the weeds. There are no no-mans-land areas like we had last year. I at least have access to all the rows, even if you wouldn't be able to tell where the row ended and the walkway began without having been in there everyday for the last several months.
Here's the Harvest report:

• 7/16:
• boston pickling cucumbers: 3 lb (11, 2 were munched :/ )
• beans (type unknown): 1 oz (3 pods) - these fell off in the storm and were recovered, not really harvested
• nest egg gourd: 1 WAY too large gourd. picked and given to chickens. 
• 7/17:
• garlic. 
• bp cukes: 10 oz (4)
• 7/20:
• kale: 4.5 oz
• red beet: 1 lb (5)
• kohlrabi: 6.5 oz (1)
• bp cuke: 2 lb 2 oz (8)
• chard: 13 oz
• rat tail radish seed pods: 3 oz (40)
• 7/21: 
• bp cuke: 12 oz (4)
• 7/22:
• green tomatillo: 11 oz (7)
• pickling onion: 2 lb 11 oz (48)
• crookneck summer squash: 1.5 oz (1)
• kale: 3 oz
• kohlrabi: 10 oz (1)
• beans: 5 oz (6) 
• rtr seed pods: 1 oz
• lemon cuke: 1 lb 8.5 oz (7)
• bp cuke: 1 lb 13 oz (9)
• 7/24
• lemon cuke: 6 oz (2)
• bp cuke: 1 lb 13 oz (11)
• tomatillo: 3 oz (1)
• 7/25
• cn squash: 10.4 oz (3)
• bp cuke: 1.4 (1)
• 7/29
• lemon cuke: 1 lb 11 oz (10)
• bp cuke: 6 lb 3 oz (20)
• kale: 4 oz
• cn squash: 1 lb 1 oz (3)
• lazy wife beans: 1 lb 12 oz
• scarlett runner beans: 9 oz
• chard: 10 oz
• beet: 3 lb 10 oz
• kohlrabi: 15 oz (3)
• tomatillo: 1 lb (11)
• strawberries(everbearing?): 2 oz (12)
• 7/30:
• cn squash: 1 oz (1)
• rtr seed pods: 1.75 oz
• lw beans: 7 oz
• tomatillo: 11.5 oz (11)
• beet: 1.75 oz (1)
• red wethersfield onion: 4.5 oz (5)
• yellow onion: 2 ob 1 oz
• 7/31: 
• yellow onion: 1 oz (1)
• beet: 4.5 oz (1)
• 2 strawberries... didn't make it inside. CHOMP
• ground cherry: >1 oz (3)
• bp cuke: 2 lb 9 oz (3) (bigger is not better)
• cn squash: 5 oz (1)
• lemon cuke: 1 lb 4 oz (8)

I love lists. :)
Happy growing! <3