Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Garden Goodness and Struggles with a Drought



First up, I boiled some eggs (that I had to buy, grr!).  I needed something healthy available to eat.   I haven't been eating breakfast at all, and come dinner time, I am so drained I don't feel like eating.  The egg basket has zero after today.




I froze some cucumbers for the first time ever vs. canning.  I did this for recipes I would like to make in the winter.  The remaining will be put into canning recipes - pickles, whatever.



I froze more zucchini, and this time in smaller chunks for other recipes.




Froze more green/wax beans.




I put up the last of the corn we had, as the person never came to pick it up.  



I also had jalapenos to put in the freezer.  I am thankful for what we have been harvesting, but what a year it's been.  The hot peppers are doing great.  I'm only watering the last squash plants now, the cucumbers and the greens.  We are conserving the well water until we re-fill the rain barrels.



I pulled a few turnips to thin them out, praying we get rain and the rest plump up.  I chopped them up for a side dish.  They are definitely not big yet, but we have some time on root veggies.




When I said my plants are small and slow growing, here is a photo of my swiss chard and my russian kale.  Something is eating the kale, but the chard is getting bigger, just not big enough yet.


I'm getting some recipes ready to post tomorrow.


6 comments:

M. Meyers said...

I am so curious about freezing cucumbers! Won’t they be soggy when thawed? Please report back. That could be a game changer for me!

Mama Pea said...

I think your Russian kale (with the holes eaten in the leaves) is a sign of the drought. When we were so lacking in rain the first part of the summer, the bugs were chewing on everything in my garden. I came to the conclusion they were doing it to get any moisture they could. :o(

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

M.Meyers, it's the first time for me freezing cucumbers, so I will let you know.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, it's definitely dry here. Sad face.

Angela said...

I love these ideas! I didn't know one can freeze cucumber or zucchini. Thank you so much for the ideas. I have some yellow squashes that I bought the plants as zucchini and I want to freeze some of it.

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Angela you can slice or dice the squash to freeze. Cucumbers can be sliced and froze or puree and freeze. I plan to dice the slices this winter for pasta salads and for smoothies.