The Garden Produce Thread

[MaggieJ]

Rather than hijacking Miss M's canning thread, I thought I'd start a more general thread on favourite ways of preserving our garden harvest.

Our zuchinnis are going to be starting very soon and for once the yellow ones seem ahead of the green. I hope they produce a ton! I freeze a lot, just diced and bagged without blanching.

A couple of years ago I tried dehydrating zucchini slices and discovered that the yellow ones especially make a great substitute for potato chips. You can season them or eat them plain or use them with a dip. Guilt-free snacking and they are really good.

 

[Marinea]

Good idea for the zucchini!

We just got our first cucumbers of the season last night- I ate two, sliced with vinegar and fresh pepper. Will be making pickles soon.

 

[TerriG]

Rather than hijacking Miss M's canning thread, I thought I'd start a more general thread on favourite ways of preserving our garden harvest.

Goo idea since that is what I did :x

We got our first green zucchini last night. Yellows aren't far behind. We use them to saute or in stir-fry. I want to slice, blanch, vacuum seal, and freeze what we can't use fresh so that we can use them this winter

I didn't end up getting in my first plantings on my salad veggies (lettuce, carrots, etc), so I am just going to get them planted asap. I also didn't get my green beans in. I read that in some areas, they can do up to 3 plantings in a season. I think I am just going to go ahead and plant now and see what happens. It's at least worth a try.

My tomatoes are looking awesome! Something got into my cukes and killed a bunch of plants. My melons are finally blooming.

 

[TMTex]

I wish we could grow zucchinis. I love them, but they don't seem to do that well in our garden. They supposedly produce like rabbits.

Well, maybe so. :/

 

[carebear]

TMTex, that's odd...they usually do pretty good regardless of where they're planted. What kind of soil do you have? This year I did my zukes in a faux wine barrel planter from Costco. With lots of rabbit poop and fresh bagged soil lol. Anyway, if it's the soil at your place they don't like, using a planter and bagged soil might tell you something...

 

[MaggieJ]

The garden is looking good even though we need rain. We have mulched most of it with straw and it really does seem to help. The green and yellow beans have lots of blossom and today I saw quite a few tiny beans. Won't be long!

The zucchini are forming but are slow to grow to picking size. Not sure what is up. The lettuce is ready to pick and the radishes... salad time!

It's easy to get overly optimistic in July. Everything promises nicely and then sometimes we don't get enough rain to keep the garden healthy. We have rain barrels, but they seem to go down awfully fast when there is a prolonged dry spell.

 

[Dood]

We don't preserve a lot...

Our first harvest is to pickle the garlic scapes

Then we get a break until strawberry season and we just freeze those and/or make jam.

Our main harvest is Tomatoes for spaghetti sause and salsa, some of our peppers are added and of course our garlic.

Occasionally we do cucumber pickles and pickle or freeze green beans but not every year.

 

[MaggieJ]

I've been picking red currants, gooseberries and blackberries most mornings, before it gets too hot. I put them all in the freezer as I pick and then make jam, chutney etc. with them after the harvest is complete.

 

[TerriG]

We got a few more zucchinis and got our first tomatoes too! They are small, but fresh. Dh tossed me a tiny little orange one when we were out weeding. I popped it in my mouth and enjoyed. There is nothing like a fresh, sweet, still warm from the sun, tomato.

We have gooseberries, but I have no idea what to do with them. They came with the house. I had never heard of them before we moved in.

 

[Random Rabbit]

Now i'm feeling like a real slacker ! With the cold snap thru most of May... then the torrential rains in June... we are behind in harvesting.

But the garden is growing.... There are some small Zucchini... about 6 inches right this moment. Peas are blooming like crazy...and starting to set pods. The green beans are coming on like Jack's in the Beanstalk...but no flowers yet. We may have corn this year... last year the same seed gave us three whole stalks from the entire package. We pulled them out and planted More zucchini. (DH's idea that was :? ) There are some bell peppers on the plants already. The potatoes are beginning to bloom. I have pulled a couple onions for cooking already. Still smallish... but they do have Bite !

My blueberries are a bit behind... and it looks like a slightly smaller crop this year..Blackberries are still small and green.

But on a totally Happy note ... i have Hollyhocks this year. Last year...not a one !

Gardening is always a challenge ...( and a Lot of work.)

 

[skysthelimit]

Got the first cucumber today and the first strawberry, which Chopper snatched out of my hand an finished off for me. It's rained 17 days straight up until Friday, and everything seems water logged except the cucumbers.

I've never tried preserving anything, that's next on my list of things to do, especially the tomatoes and peppers.

 

[Miss M]

We have peeled and frozen 7 gallons of tomatoes.

We have blanched and frozen 1 gallon of squash. We have eaten a lot of squash, and they seem to be in a slow-down right now.

We have not gathered in enough corn, beets, chard, carrots, or beans to put any up, but we have canned some beans from our cousin's garden.

We have a bazillion cucumbers to make sweet horseradish pickles with.

We have dehydrated lots of bell peppers and Big Jim peppers. I have some sweet banana peppers to dry, and more tomato skins. Now I just need a spice grinder so I can grind the tomato skins.

A neighbor told me to fertilize the beans, to get them to turn more of those myriad blooms into beans, so I need to do that.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

The garden is looking good even though we need rain. We have mulched most of it with straw and it really does seem to help. The green and yellow beans have lots of blossom and today I saw quite a few tiny beans. Won't be long!

The zucchini are forming but are slow to grow to picking size. Not sure what is up. The lettuce is ready to pick and the radishes... salad time!

It's easy to get overly optimistic in July. Everything promises nicely and then sometimes we don't get enough rain to keep the garden healthy. We have rain barrels, but they seem to go down awfully fast when there is a prolonged dry spell.

I am with you Maggie....We need rain.. they are calling for it next week... Everyone is getting there hay done.. My garden Is doing good. Eating lots of salads..Beans has lots of flowers.. waiting on those to can. Did some strawberry picking and made jam.. Raspberries are ready.. To hot to pick.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

oh yes my garden is doing amazing... it's green over my head... :roll:

{beginning is wheat sprouting but it shows my "garden"... totally not really a garden..}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLllEOkc ... Eqk7xGsRVw

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLllEOkcj-I&feature=c4-overview&list=UUGccvSitkgba2Eqk7xGsRVw[/youtube]

 

[Lastfling]

I have some sweet banana peppers to dry, and more tomato skins. Now I just need a spice grinder so I can grind the tomato skins.

Tell me about the tomato skins - what do you do with them?

 

[Miss M]

I have some sweet banana peppers to dry, and more tomato skins. Now I just need a spice grinder so I can grind the tomato skins.

Tell me about the tomato skins - what do you do with them?

I'm trying it for the first time, myself. I just read about dehydrating them. You powder them in a spice or coffee grinder, and you can sprinkle the tomato skin powder as a seasoning, or you can mix it about 1:1 with water to make tomato paste, or about 1:4 for tomato juice. http://baconandeggs-scifichick.blogspot ... owder.html Pretty cool!!! Right now, I'm just stuffing them into a coffee jar, but I'll get a grinder one of these days. :mrgreen:

My daughter eats the dried skins like potato chips, so we'll see if I have any left. :roll:

Skin side down, by the way. If you put the tomato side down, they will glue themselves to the trays. Ask me how I know.

 

[Lastfling]

Skin side down, by the way. If you put the tomato side down, they will glue themselves to the trays. Ask me how I know.

Okay, I'm easy -- How do you know????? :laugh2: That is kinda what I thought they'd be used for, but had never heard of it before. I'd be interested in knowing how they come out ------- If, you can keep your daughter out of them long enough to try! :cheesysmile:

 

[Miss M]

Skin side down, by the way. If you put the tomato side down, they will glue themselves to the trays. Ask me how I know.

Okay, I'm easy -- How do you know????? :laugh2: That is kinda what I thought they'd be used for, but had never heard of it before. I'd be interested in knowing how they come out ------- If, you can keep your daughter out of them long enough to try! :cheesysmile:

:lol:

Alright, then, once I have a grinder for them, I shall update! :ugeek:

...assuming, of course, I have any left! :lol:

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

do ya think a mortar and pestle would be ok to grind the tomato skins? I mean long as not really any tomato meat left on them then they will be pretty brittle and thin anyways. maybe even a blender could work for some.

 

[Miss M]

do ya think a mortar and pestle would be ok to grind the tomato skins? I mean long as not really any tomato meat left on them then they will be pretty brittle and thin anyways. maybe even a blender could work for some.

I imagine so, and I do have a mortar and pestle, just not sure where. Haven't seen them since we moved.

I have wondered if the blender might do it, but I really think it wouldn't. I might try anyway.