I was not too excited for the Labor Day weekend. First, we were invited to a cook out event (not my favorite, as there is very little healthy food), and two, my husband made several plans, where I was hoping for some finishing touches on projects and some good ol' R & R.
We decided to visit a produce stand to pick up zuchinni (ours produced very little with the drought), another dozen ears of sweet corn (frozen on the cob this time), some plums, cucumbers, and local honey.
One haul of hot peppers, and the jalapenos are hot this time around. Hot banana peppers had zero heat. I bought the plants from a different place, and I really think they were not labeled correctly (sad for us).
Bell peppers are the star of the garden this year. Second picking, as the red ones were just starting to turn red. Third picking brought in 33 more bell peppers.
It looks like a lot of bell peppers, but it's not even half of what we harvested last year. I freeze them diced and use them in all of our meals over winter and the following spring.
We enjoyed some of those bell peppers for breakfast. I first started making these last year, but this time I remembered that there is too much milk added with the recipe, so I have written down my notes for next year. The recipe calls for ham, but I used bacon this time, and added green onions from the garden (also has spinach in them). Very good too.
Other ideas for you are baked bell pepper rings. They are like onion rings, but with bell pepper slices, and baked. Recipe is online if you google for it. You can also bake stuffed bell peppers, or freeze them stuffed for an easy dinner.
New recipe tried. It's from Slender Kitchen.com online. It is delicious mix of ground beef, thai basil, green onions (herbs I grow), asparagus and other ingredients, served over cauliflower rice. I will add an egg, cooked over easy the next time I make it.
I found one rotted spaghetti squash, and very few pumpkins in the squash this year. The drought has really affected the growth of the garden (despite watering).
I literally watched a raccoon try to get up the tree right after we installed the tree baffle, and could not, so after that I never really thought about it. We have yet to check the pear trees.
As for the deer this year, I was preparing coffee one morning, and caught a young deer eating our hydrangeas. I then went to the other side of the house, and found two more adult deer lingering (but not eating the garden). They have been very active the last few weeks here.
The weather has been very cool for the past weekend (low of 44 degrees), but we are going back to the 80's, and thankful for the extended "summer" weather.
Speaking of trees, we planted a plum tree years ago when we first moved here, but it died. I bought some plums from our local produce stand, and baked a plum crisp for the first time. Delicous!
On a whim, I talked to my husband about planting two plum trees and a few quince trees. We have not planted anything yet, but quince trees are difficult to find locally.
We hired a grand newphew to cut down brush around the barns, trim trees and other outdoor work, but that lasted for one day, and for about 1 hour. He never returned. Looks like I will have to try and find another person. I honestly don't know how I canned all season last year, and got outdoor work done. I haven't canned a thing this season, and I am still busy with freezing bell peppers, pickling banana peppers (fridge style), and freezing jalapenos. I hate to even say it, but the older I get the less I enjoy doing all this garden work.
I know it's important for us to have freshly grown goodies, and stock up for winter, but I lack the "motivation" this year. Especially with the grocery store prices so high right now, it's hard not to stock up with what is growing in the gardens.
I have yanked the cantaloupe plants. They are done for the season. I am currently pulling all of the green/wax bean plants as well.
There you have it. The lastest garden news. Drought weather, lack of rain, lack of produce, and strange temperatures. I will try to get another post up as the month ends.
Early September Garden © September 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart
10 comments:
I agree. We gave up our community garden plot because it just wasn’t fun any more and we haven’t regretted it. I bought two boxes of tomato seconds at the farmers market and canned 14 quarts and 3 pints. I still need to can Ball’s Zesty salsa, salsa verde, applesauce and apple butter. I’m going to peruse the Ball book for some soups or stews that I can do in small quantities. I’ll have to buy most of the veggies. Like you, the drought and very high heat has done a number on the garden even with watering. Squashes were a bust and the blueberries turned into blueberry raisins? š¤£ Everything that did survive is running late this year. I have a lot of green tomatoes starting to ripen. I think a lot of them will be put in the freezer though I have been sharing some with the neighbors. Isn’t it odd how sometimes the jalapeƱos aren’t hot?
Take care, Katie C.
You have a lovely harvest and delicious sounding recipes. Those peppers!!! So many. We love peppers and I paid $1.48 for two to make fajitas last week. I never had a lot of luck growing them. They would always be really tiny.
Enjoy the coolness. We had it too for a few days but it's supposed to get hot again tomorrow.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
We have lots of tomatoes! We are not a fan of many peppers...our Mothers never cooked with them. Looks like you got a nice haul from part of your garden. I agree everything gets harder as we age:(
I really do not have a source to buy "tomato seconds" and most of my local friends plant more of the regular tomato vs. paste tomatoes. You are lucky to find them. The same thing is happening here with late ripening of tomatoes. We have very few.
The cool weather is leaving again for us. The heat returns, but it will give me time to get my herbs stocked up on before the weather turns too cold.
My parents never grew a garden. In fact, my Mom was more of a cook from a can type meal maker. I learned to grow a garden from a friend sharing herbs. I started with that, and then when we moved here, my husband wanted a small garden (his Dad always had one). My grand parents had one, but I only learned how to make homemade applesauce on the stove. Now I make that and can it. My kids have no interest in learning to grow a garden nor can anything. Yes, the bell peppers are the star of the garden this year.
I make my sugarless applesauce in my slow cooker. I usually use two kinds of apples, peel (because store bought bags), core, slice and cook. Don’t lift the lid to stir until it’s really started to bubble which is usually 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through. I puree mine in the blender because I cook with it in addition to just eating it. You can WB can it or freeze it. I usually make two batches and reheat on the stovetop to can so I get a full canner of pints. That’s still on my to do list for later this month. A bunch of years ago, I figured that if I got the apples for a maximum of $0.99/pound, I was doing better than store bought. Now it’s probably higher because the price on everything has gone up.
Take care, Katie C.
Thanks for this info. I have not made it in a crockpot. We got a bunch of apples from our trees last year. It is a blessing, as you said the ones in the stores are sprayed. Yes, everything has gone up. I just paid our internet bill and it too has gone up.
I have to laugh at your comment "willy nilly potatoes.". One year I tossed some old potatoes into the compost bin,, never thinking they would grow,, well they did and they were fabulous! Goes to show,, we can pamper our plants or ignore them either way they ultimately do what they want to do!!! LOL!
Katmom, true. I have not pulled our zucchini plants yet, and they are trying to produce more even with our drought right now. Crazy. I just haven't had time to yank them yet.
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