Storing the Garden’s Bounty

Between the heat we had and the rain we have not had in the last few weeks, our garden is about finished. Except the pumpkins. Those babies are still going strong! The tomatoes are growing and getting ripe, but could use a little more rain to help them finish the season strong.

Farmer Doc and I have been doing a lot of canning and freezing around here to store all the good stuff that has been coming out of our garden. We spent our entire day on Labor day canning tomatoes and cucumbers. (Well, except for the part of the day when he had to go deliver a calf. Nothing like a laboring cow on Labor Day!)

This was the first time we had used the Sauce Master to deal with our tomatoes. Holy smoke – why did we not get one of these earlier?!? This beats the HECK out of blanching, skinning, and seeding the tomatoes… Just wash them, chop them up into quarters, toss them in the hopper, and crank away!

Slowing Down… For Now

It seems that the garden is slowing down. A little bit. For now. All we need is a little bit of rain, and I’m sure it will spring back into action. But for now, I’m welcoming the (short-lived) break.

The zucchini and summer squash have about had it. But not quite. They are still throwing a few large fruits out there. (Really all this means is that we don’t go check them enough anymore. Anyone need a giant summer squash?)


Most of the butternut squash plants have died, but there is one that is holding on like a trooper. And he is putting out some great-looking butternut squashes! I can’t wait to make these guys into soup in a few weeks!


The spaghetti squash plants are still going strong. For whatever reason, they have not been affected by the butternut-squash-wilt that is at the other end of this row. So we’ll have plenty of spaghetti squash to go around when these are ready. (Any ideas on how to preserve these? I’ll need to do some research pretty soon!)


Our tomatoes are just barely starting to get ripe. (The cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes are way ahead of the “regular” size tomatoes.) There have only been two that have been ripe enough to pick yet, but they are coming…


Oh boy are they coming! We’re going to have to dedicate a whole weekend to canning tomatoes, I think…


The watermelons are doing way better than we thought. They are good at hiding under their carpet of vines, and it’s hard to walk through without stepping on the plants. So we’ve been letting them do their thing without too much supervision. I think we’re going to need to start paying attention soon… they should be starting to get ripe any time now.


The cantaloupes are doing great. There are bunches and bunches of them in there. And, I’m sure, they will all come ripe at just about the same time. So we’ll have some fresh, I’ll freeze some, and we’ll be giving plenty away in town! (I wish there was a farmer’s market in Gibson County… we would so be there with these!)


The wall of cucumbers has slowed down. A lot. One whole drawer in my refrigerator is full of cucumbers (plus a few more that wouldn’t fit in the drawer.) We’re going to need to make some pickles this weekend. In the meantime, the plants are putting out flowers and attracting bees like it’s their job (which, I guess, it sort of is), but there are not many new fruits coming on right now. A little rain, and the cucumbers will explode again…


I am pleased to report that the main crop of green beans is finished. We picked the plants, pulled the beans off, and canned 53 quarts. (Yes, I said 53 quarts.) Over two different days. We kept plenty for fresh eating, too. There are still some late beans left out there, but they have been competing with the weeds and I’m not sure how well they have done. (I’m choosing to ignore them for now.)

Farmer Doc picked three rows of sweet corn last weekend, and we wound up with over 8 dozen ears. He cut down the corn stalks and we fed them to the cows (they were pretty happy!). We gave some away, ate plenty fresh off the cob, and froze a bunch thanks to Beyer Beware’s freezer corn recipe. That will taste great this winter!!


And behind the corn is the pumpkin patch. I used to think that the cantaloupes were taking over the world. But I think the pumpkins will give them a run for their money. The plants are well over knee-high, and have completely carpeted that section of the garden. So here are a few things that I could see walking around the edges…


We have pumpkins in all shapes and sizes coming along, complete with more flowers ready to turn into pumpkins. (Did you know that pumpkins start out green? They’ll turn orange as they get ripe and ready to pick.)


I must have stumbled into the ornamental gourd section of the pumpkin patch here. These cute little guys do start out yellow/orange, but aren’t ready to pick yet. They’ll get a little bigger, a little harder, and the stems will dry up when they are ready to pick. They are tough to find underneath the plant carpet – good thing they are orange!


Have you gotten a break from harvesting and putting up your garden’s bounty, or are you still going strong?

Produce Everywhere!

Oh my, what a difference a year makes! Last year, with the drought, we had nothing in our garden. (We planted one, and we tried to water it, but we ran our well dry for a few hours. Since that is also the water for our cows and our house, we decided the garden wasn’t that important.)
This year? Oh my, what a bounty!

The zucchini and yellow squashes are still going strong. The butternut squashes are invading the zucchini. (Remind me that next year we need to give the butternuts more room to spread out.)

The Garden is Taking Off

Yes, it’s safe to say that this year’s produce haul is already a lot better than last year’s. (It would be tough not to beat, since everything died in the drought!)

The summer squash are doing very well. They started a little later than the zucchini, but they are starting to catch up!

Because it’s Friday

And I have nothing specific to write about.

1. It’s hot. Really hot. This is how we keep Sadie the husky cool – with ice water and a cattle-sized fan.
   

Finally a garden!

Every year, Farmer Doc gets a little excited about our garden. It is always huge, and it always gets overrun by weeds. Last year, with the drought, the garden was a total loss. He spent a lot of time this spring getting the ground ready, tilling in more cattle manure (good thing we have plenty of that!), working the ground, and getting everything ready to plant. As always, we got a late start.

So, while I’m jealous that everyone has lots of garden-fresh produce right now and we don’t… everyone will be jealous of me in late September when we still have fresh off-the-vine tomatoes and no one else does!

Here’s our late garden… believe it or not, it is a lot smaller than it has been in the past!


We’re trying something new this year to deal with the weeds. The great thing about cattle manure is that is makes amazing fertilizer. The terrible thing about cattle manure is that is also grows weeds like it’s going out of style. We have a giant weed battle every year, and most years the weeds win. This year, we put cardboard down around most of the single plants, and we spread a thick layer of straw around the rest of the garden. So far, this is helping a ton!

Building a Raised Herb Garden

I’ve always wanted an herb garden. We plant a huge garden every year, but Farmer Doc is mostly in charge of that. By the time I think about putting an herb section, the whole thing is planned, claimed, and planted. (If I thought ahead and asked, I’d get an herb section. But I don’t.)

I’ve tried a container herb garden inside. That didn’t go well. So I had a plan for this spring! I thought ahead of gardening season… So far ahead, that I decided I wanted my own raised herb garden, close to the kitchen.

Just a few things

1. Martin is finally feeling better. I’m taking him back to Purdue this week for a recheck ultrasound of his heart and kidneys. We’re expecting good news. After all, he picked a fight with Pretzel and then cuddled on my lap last night.

Pineapple moment of truth

We brought back some Maui Gold pineapples from our trip to Hawaii in January. Farmer Doc wanted to try his hand at pineapple farming, so we planted the tops of four of the plants. Only two have made it so far. They did okay living on a table inside at the temporary apartment during our home remodel. Then the lived on the back porch at our new house. And they loved it there this summer! I think they’re well on track to start looking like the ones I saw at the State Fair anytime now…

Gardening at the State Fair

I didn’t have too much time to actually see the state fair during the 3 days I spent there last week. I did make some time to get out and see my favorite parts like the butterfly garden and the FFA building.

This year, I saw an exhibit I don’t remember visiting before – the Master Gardener’s exhibit.


I loved the sign at the entrance to the greenhouse – “Food Begins Here!”

It’s hard to garden in a drought

Our garden goes in late every year. This means that while our friends have zucchini and cucumbers already, we barely have plants above the ground. This also means that when everyone is out of fresh tomatoes in September, we’ll still be growing strong!


The nice thing about not a lot of rain? There’s not a lot of weeds! Of course, it’s hard on the plants we want to keep around, so I guess I would prefer some rain now and then…

We plant a combination of seeds and plants. This dry weather has been really hard on our garden. I’ve been going out about every other day to water the plants, but I just can’t keep up with the rows of seeds. They’re sort of on their own.

Most of the tomato plants are doing pretty well. I’ve not given up hope yet!

Good roses and bad roses

We have two rose bushes in our yard. One is great, and I love it. The other, not so much…

I bought this yellow rose bush when I was living in an apartment in Lafayette. It stayed in its pot on my patio for a year or two, and it was planted here in 2007. It might have been 2008. I’m not sure. Anyway, it’s been in this spot for a couple of years. (And it survived a home renovation!)



It puts on these beautiful roses.

Pineapple farmers

On our trip to Hawaii, we drove past a pineapple farm. Hubby Doc thought that was one of the coolest things. We also ate tons of Maui Gold pineapple.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Pineapple in Hawaii is not the same as pineapple in Indiana. Hawaii does not export any pineapple, except for what people like me bring back on the plane or personally order to be shipped to the mainland. None of the pineapple in the grocery stores comes from Hawaii. If you were looking for a reason to go to Hawaii, go to try the pineapple. You don’t need another reason.

A bucket for every occasion

Okay, so it’s just one bucket. But it got quite a bit of use this week.

Red Hill General Store was very generous to supply the Real Farmwives of America & Friends with some buckets to try out! (Check out the rest of the girls today to see what they did with their buckets, too.)
I got a 4-quart galvanized bucket to play with. And let me say, it has already come in pretty handy, and I’ve got some more uses planned for it in the future!

Right after I got my bucket, I went away to a veterinary conference for a week. I asked Hubby Doc to use the bucket to corral the mail while I was gone. It’s just the perfect size!

I thought perhaps I could use this bucket as a cat dish, and then I wouldn’t have to worry about feeding the cats twice a day (you know, self-feeding).

No such luck. Leo (on the left with the white toes) and Pretzel (on the right with the giant mouth) went to town on the huge bucket of food.

And they would not share with Martin…


Or with Orleans. Poor Floof-Cat.

Okay, so scrap that idea. I will share that I made a giant mess trying to get the cat food back into the original bag. Cat food all over the floor. Whoops. Good thing I had four hungry cats around to help me clean it up!
My fish tank was looking a little low, so I used the bucket to top off the tank (after a thorough washing and rinsing, of course). Just the perfect size for this, too!


I may have accidentally poured water all over the floor while I was filling the fish tank. Note to self, next time, get someone else to take photos when I am dealing with running water in the house…

So I took my bucket outside to see what kind of trouble I could get in out in the garden.
Hmmm… These blackberries are not quite ripe yet. But when they are, this bucket will be the perfect size to pick them into! (And then I’ll be able to post about our famous homemade blackberry ice cream recipe…  yum!)

The tomato plants are also not quite ready. They have started to flower, but are far from putting on fruit. Hubby Doc likes to pick into a five-gallon bucket in the garden. Those get too heavy for me, so this 1-gallon bucket will be just right.


Um, did he really plant four rows of green beans? I might need another bucket…


On the way back inside, I stopped to pick a few lilies from my weedy flower beds.


And then I turned my bucket into a centerpiece for dinner with the girls before the True Blood season premiere!


If only I can get the cats to leave the flowers alone… (That is a long shot around here.)

Like the bucket? The Real Farmwives of America & Friends are having a giveaway this week! Be sure to stop by and enter to win a Galvanized Embossed Tub from Red Hill General Store on the Real Farmwives’ blog. Also check out Red Hill General Store – they have lots of buckets, tubs, bottles, and so much more!!
Thanks, Red Hill, this bucket fits right in around my Home & Garden!

While Red Hill General Store did provide me with a bucket to blog about for this post the pictures, ideas and opinions shared here are my own.

This is why we can’t have nice things

This is the finale of “To Catch an Herb Predator.”

Remember when I said that cats don’t like oregano and cilantro?

That’s not true.

They are equal opportunity herb-eaters.

They just hadn’t found these particular herbs yet.

Since I made that bold statement, they found them.

I woke up the other morning to a SLAM BANG CRASH!

Oh. No.

So I took a quick inventory.

Husband in the shower, no yelling. He’s probably fine.

Leo and Martin (partners in crime), were both on the bed, waiting for me to get up to feed them. Not the cause of the trouble today.

Orleans (potting soil enthusiast) was sitting on a chair right outside the bedroom. This didn’t rule him out from the trouble-making, but did make it less likely.

And then I made it to the kitchen.

When I got there, there was a cat on the counter. (Have you figured out which one yet?)
  
She was contentedly chomping the cilantro.

I yelled so loud, Pretzel took off. (She’s lucky I didn’t catch her.)


(Have I mentioned that she is my husband’s cat? As in, she was in the picture before I was? I think there is a bit of female rivalry going on here…)

She broke my brand new blue strawberry pot.

We are not on speaking terms right now.

The fuzzy suspects

These are the suspects from the Great Herb Heist of 2011.

In no particular order…

Pretzel. 9 year old spayed female, declawed in front, approximately 7 pounds.

Pretzel may look cute and innocent, curled up in the window.


But don’t let her fool you. She can be a trouble maker when she wants to.

She is the only other female in the house, and we do not get along. This cat will jump up on the counters right in front of me. She will wait until you are watching, and then knock stuff off the counters, just to see your reaction.

Would cute, innocent Miss Pretzel eat my herbs?

Next we have the partners in crime, Martin and Leo. These two cats hang out together a lot. Especially during the day. Maybe they spend so much time sleeping so they can cause trouble at night?

This is Martin, a 6 year old neutered male, declawed in front, approximately 12 pounds.

You’ve met Martin before.

He even has his own Facebook page!

He’s a little grumpy, because he actually almost has an alibi.


You see, Martin sleeps in bed with us every night. He goes to bed when I do, and he is there in the morning when my alarm goes off. Any time I get up in the night, I need to kick him to get him off my feet.

Not to say he couldn’t sneak out and sneak back in…

Leo is the other partner, a 15 year old neutered male, declawed in front, approximately 14 pounds.

He’s our biggest boy, but has recently lost some weight. At his peak, he clocked in around 20 pounds. (Mommy wasn’t paying attention!)

He may not look it, but he is talented enough to jump on the counters.

Most of the time I just don’t think he is that motivated.

Although… Could he be rediscovering the energy of a younger cat, due to his fit, svelte new physique?

Last, but not least, Orleans. Orleans is a 13 year old neutered male, not declawed, approximately 13 pounds.

He certainly seems to be enjoying the potting soil…

Why is he trying so hard to get in that bag?

Is he licking his chops? Is that an admission of guilt?!? 

Hmmm. Looks like I still have some investigating to do…

Come back tomorrow for “How to Catch an Herb Predator.”