Garden Woes ~ Wet or End Rot

Today's dinner plans had to change.  The collard greens are all bug eaten and the squash, most of it, has wet or end rot.  I will have to research on a way to treat the collards next year, so they are not bug eaten.  As for the squash, we are treating it with a milk/water solution, and will continue to do that once a week.  If it works well, I'll be sure to post an update. 

I'm heading back out to remove all the fungus/mold pieces in an attempt to save the garden. 

Now I know what the pioneers felt like when they lost a crop to nature.  I wonder what the calcium levels were in the ground back in the 1800's?  Did they have this problem?  Our soil today lacks many vital ingredients to a healthy garden.

Collard Greens, Swiss Chard and More Turnips

I really need to cook up our garden collard greens.  Our swiss chard is looking great too.  I'm going to search around the Internet and my cookbooks for more turnip recipes as well.  With 3 pounds of ground turkey thawing, I think a nice turkey burger to go along with all of this will make a nice meal.

Yesterday I made 3 quarts of refrigerator pickles and 1 1/4 quarts of homemade salsa.  The salsa was a hit.  I used a recipe from a library book I borrowed, and substituted ground coriander for fresh cilantro.  With extreme heat here this year, my cilantro went to seed early.  I also used a cayenne pepper from the garden instead of a hot chili pepper.  It was a huge hit and they want me to make more today.