24lbs of squash today, 15lbs tomatoes.  

Got another inch of rain last week, so the total is almost 4" in the last week...  More storms on the radar now, might pick up another inch.

Almost every tomato was split, several pounds had rotted from the damage, but, most are salvageable. Like Dpeacher suggested, I tried a batch of spaghetti sauce last nice.  Used the blend to make a puree of whole tomatoes, boiled it down, and added homemade beef sausage and spices.

Holy Shit.  That was probably the best ever.  

Today I will be trying to make Squalsa.  It should be about 50% tomato, so, I *think* the acid level will be high enough to prevent any issue with storage.

Couple of tomatoes...



Eugene trying to combine his two favorite activities....going inside and getting his picture made.  



Squash beginning to rot the younger fruit because of hte saturated soil.  Plants are healthy though, so they should be fine in a week.  Picked almost all he existing fruit.  Left 1-2 small squash on each plant to help them re-grow, and to avoid an issue with rotting fruit.  



Squash are growing near cantaloupes and Israeli melons (I think they are Israeli...), so I have some cross-pollination happening?



Still getting plenty of peppers too.



TRG



TRG

TRG - Cross pollination would happen from the seeds.  If you planted seeds harvested from last years fruit that is where you would get the funky fruit.  Pollination doesn't affect this year's fruit only the seeds.

Here's a link which shows which cucurbits will/won't cross pollinate with a nice easy to follow table  http://2footalligator.blogspot.com/2010/06/cross-pollination-and-saving-squash.html

I did plant seeds that were harvested last year.  I don't know if these were from that planting or not.  I lost track of some of the seeds that I used.

Before I used the odd looking squash, I tasted them.  Had a mild, squash-like, flavor.  Nothing off or weird.    

Thanks for the link, I'll look through it and see what might have crossed.



After grinding everything, I brought it to a boil to reduce the volume and kill any surface bugs.



Did not have enough room in that pot for 8 onions, most of the squash, all the peppers and tomatoes.  Had to use a second pot to help reduce the tomato juice.



Final product.  I put the harden squash behind it to help the camera catch the right color.



And, so, the real question is, "Just how many pints of sqalsa did this harvest make today?

About this much...

Just under 34 pints.  33.5 pints...



I need to go back and add up how many pounds we have pulled out of the garden in the last week...because, with several months of summer remaining, we are going to run out of cabinet space pretty soon if this keeps up.  

TRG

How much storage room do you have?
That's alot of jars.

7/6 - 28lbs tomatoes
7/13 - 13lbs tomatoes
7/14 - 5lbs peppers
7/16 - 13lb tomatoes, 22lbs squash
7/19 - 15lbs tomatoes 24lbs squash


69lbs of tomatoes in the last 14 days.  46lbs of squash in the last three days. 5lbs peppers.

All of this has now been canned, pickled or preserved.

TRG

You've been busy.

FIFY
He currently has an indentured servant.

I converted a coat closet in the front entry in to a 'garden and harvest' closet.  Ostensibly to keep jarred food, seeds, vinegar, canning spices.

I am going to need to re-think this plan...  That closet is 80% filled now.

There is another pantry and cabinet in the kitchen that will get re-organized ASAP to make way for the next round of canning.

TRG

Shiiiit, he's 17 yrs old.  By using his 'help' I only have to work 1.5 times as hard as when I do it by myself.  

TRG

That's the truth. I get my nephew back on monday.
He's the same age.

Top shelf (barely visible) has seeds (commercial and harvested heirloom ..peas, indian corn, popcorn, wheet, oats), recipe books, gardening guides.

Next shelf, Ketchup and pickles.  Most pickles were from last year, they will be checked, and probably replaced with fresh.

Third shelf, canned meat, brisket, chicken, and beans w ham.  Next to them is the canned beans from this year.

Fourth shelf,  Pepper jelly (against wall, not visible) Salsa, Squash caviar, Relish.

Floor level, rice, pots and kitchenware.



I gotta expand...

There is still a crop of corn to pickle, melons to make in to preserves, and god only knows how much more squash, tomatoes and peppers to can.

TRG

Maybe we can do a prisoner-exchange and send each other's 17yr 'helper' to 'help'.

Gimme your address, I'll pay shipping to send him to you.  

TRG

Have you looked into the reusable canning lids?



http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/

I have looked at them.  Ate the time, I was not sure if this would be a 1-2 year learning experience or something more.  I'll give them another look.

At a buck, or more, each they seemed kinda pricey at the time.  Just googled them and they still seem to be pricey.  

TRG

Yea they are very expensive.



I can't make up my mind if it makes more sense to just stock-pile the cheap lids, or invest in the re-usable ones.



I was hoping someone else had already gone down this road. Looks like I may get to be the guinea pig again.



 

I can buy a jar, with a lid, for about a 1.00, with tax, at Wal Mart.  I think a pack of lids is 3.50 for 12 new lids.

From what I read, and what I researched, the 're-useable' lids are good for 5-6 uses.  They can get damaged, lost, given away, etc.  Mostly, they get damaged and lost.

Math would be ...  12 pack of reuseables, used 5-6 times is equivalent '60-72' regular lids used once.

60-72 lids would mean purchasing 5-6 of the 12 packs, for 18-22.00 bucks at Wal-mart.

It looks, to me, that stocking up on the 'regular' lids is the way to go.

TRG

Well, the second batch of sweet corn just would not come through for me.  Six weeks of drought, no matter how often I watered them, it just could not get deep enough to keep the plants healthy.  The last five days have brought solid rain and cloud cover.  I had been irrigating with sprinklers for two previous days.... it was beginning to ruin in the husk.

So, I pulled anything that looked viable, and decided to pickle it.  

I used this recipe, with some modifications for the fact that I have corn instead of cucumbers.  The brine is the important part.  I tripled the recipe.



The corn looked like hell.  I removed any wormy pars, washed it, and soaked it in cold ice water.  



The cool thing about this is that you really don't need nice and pretty ears.  Those that have no kernels work great.  Twisted little nubbins..?  No problem.

the odd sizes help to to utilize the most space in the jars.  Quarts or pints...doesn't matter, but, you will probably need a few of both.  Trim them to fit.

I used the small tomatoes to give it color.



Finished





Made 7 quarts and 8 pints.

Served best with a burger in mid-winter.  The best part is that unlike cucumbers, they never get mushy.  The entire thing is edible, and gets more flavorful over time.

TRG

I love that you took a picture of the recipe.
You lazy ass.

Bitch, please.

Leaves me more time to polish my tiara.

TRG

Couple things have happened in the last week with almost daily rain.  under 5", but, enough to make some recently buried peas, beans and greens sprout up.

I have the camera close to the ground, but, this will soon be a 15' by 150' patch of beans by later this Summer.

There is also wheat sprouting here.  

On the July 4th weekend, DPeacher tilled this with dust swirling.  Now, it is coming back with a new crop.



The second planting of pie-pumpkins is finishing up.  I think there are 8-10 of them.



The 'Big Mike' giants are growing...



It's 'high cotton' around here right now.  Food stored, summer crops growing, and enough rain to last us for more than 2 weeks.  Temps are supposed swing back to 100, and the rain will get scarce again soon.

TRG

Look at all those weeds.....

IKR?

Last year, I really fought them.  this year, I recognize that they can be controlled, but...not eliminated.  And, they make great fertilizer.  In some places, I pulled them, tilled them, sprayed them.

I can't seem to get rid of them, but, I am learning to balance the aesthetic quality vs the detrimental ones.

TRG

I'm just bustin your balls.  You said something about my weeds last year. May have even called me a slacker.  We've had 30" already this year and its raining now.  I can't get them all

I've heard that if you grow catnip and wait till it flowers and then toss it in amongst your squash that you won't have a squash bug problem. I haven't tried this but I plan on trying it next year.

TRG what meat grinder did you buy? You talked about it about 5 pages back.

Don't tug on Superman's cape...

TRG

LEM 3/4 HP grinder.  Amazon.  375.00, shipped.

TRG

Me?  Sweet little innocent me?

You must be mistaken...

TRG

Chow-chow... lots of it.







Ground 18 pounds of squash, 4lbs tomatoes, 1 lb of jalapenos, 3lbs white onions.

6 cups apple cider vinegar.  6 cups brown sugar. 1 cup lemon juice.

Ground mustard.  mustard seed, celery seed, BBQ spice, tumeric, cinnamon, Allspice, clove, Cayenne pepper, Pickling spice.  About 2 tbsp of each (1/2tbsp on the cloves).

Bring to a boil.

Hot pack.

Made 26 pints and 12 half-pints.





It was much more yellow after the tumeric was added.





TRG

Punkins are ready.   Got these today, and more should be ready by next week.  Last year I harvested a lot more than this.  Better spring weather.  But, I ran in to a problem with pumpkins...storing them.

We really don't eat pumpkin.  I grew them to learn how to grow them.  I also learned how to store them.  But, storing them, by placing them on the floor in the kitchen is not a good plan.  It takes up too much space, and, if one does go bad it leaves a mess for you to find.

Tried scraping the meat out and dehydrating in to candy.  Worked ok, but, not a huge hit and took too much time to make.

Anyone ever just ground them up, added spice, and canned it?



Something like this sounds like it might be the ticket...

http://www.food.com/recipe/pumpkin-preserves-85315

TRG

Looks like some good food there, and a lot of it.

I'll have to start back at the beginning. I need to learn up on preserving etc.

Ball Blue Book for canning and preserving.

TRG

According to the National Center for Home Food Preparation, there are no currently accepted recipes for canning mashed pumpkin due to widely differing sugar and acidity levels even among batches prepared with the same recipe.





Their page on pumpkins does have instructions on canning cubed pumpkin, along with a lot of other preserving options.  Link.



ETA: I have never tried any of the linked recipes, but they are my standard go-to site when I want new recipes.





 

We cook pie pumpkins this way:

Cut in 2 and deseed.

place cut side down into a large pan with about 1/2" water.  Cook until the skin turns brown then take them out

Flip them over and add butter and brown sugar to the center.  Cook 10-15 more minutes

Take them out and enjoy!

Don't eat the skin

More busted tomatoes today.

It will be made in to ketchup.



Also had some squash, and decided to see if squash preserves might be tasty.  Since the pumpkin tasted like the allspice, cloves etc, with no real 'pumpkin' flavor, I suspect the squash will be the same.  Generic filler with the flavor of lemon, sugar and spices.

We'll know later this afternoon.  

I used my largest plate on the grinder.  Washed and then ground the squash.  Most of it shredded, but some larger chunks of skin as well.



3 cups lemon juice, 12 cups of sugar.  Allow it to rest for a few hours so the sugar can draw out hte liquid.

Will add cinnamon, allspice, cloves and salt.

Then cook to reduce and thicken.

Will post pics when finished.

TRG

7 quarts, 3 pints.  I swear it tastes like apple pie filling.  I used 1 TBSP each of allspice, whole clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt.

Boiled for 1.5 hours to reduce and thicken.

Hot packed.

This is what it looks like:





If I do it again I will de-seed the squash.  It takes away from the 'mock apple pie' look of the final product.  Seeds are tender and don't affect the flavor or texture, just visually odd.

TRG

Very cool.

Everyone who has tried it so far has had an expression of complete disbelief when I tell them that it is not apple.

TRG

It will definitely be on our canning list next season. Thanks.

I found stink bugs in my corn dammit!  Mr Clean with freebreeze?

We followed the advice posted above and pressure canned pumpkin cubes.
They make a great pie when ready for use, just drain, add spices and sugar, and puree.

Yup.

TRG

I tried your maggot chicken feeding system.

Looks good.  As long as you can stand the smell, fish work great for maggots production.

TRG

How's everything going man? Our weather started the month off with more rain.
What are you planting this month? We're going to plant more okra, swiss chard,
broccoli, brussel sprouts, collards and cabbage collards.

Going pretty well, took almost 30lbs of vegetables to my neighbor yesterday.  Eggplants, peppers, tomatoes are going gangbusters.

Squash is recovering from the white fungus that formed with the 10 days of moisture.  New growth, new fruit.



Looking down the 30' row of squash.



This is a typical melon.  They just can't seem to catch a break.



Light green is 'volunteer' mustard greens.  Pumpkins, butternut and sweet potatoes in the background.



The butternuts are ranging in size from 10" to 2"  Split one the other day and roasted it on the grill.  




Purple laves are sweet potato.  The lighter vine is 'Big Mike' pumpkins, something is not right with them.  They keep shedding fruit and their color is off.



Remember hte dust cloud pic?  The same area is now regrowing with beans and might make a crop if we get some rain again.



This is looking up the garden.  Lots of vine plants merging together.  Stopping most of the larger weeds, but, there is some grass out there that I need to pull as well.



The only Jubilee melon that had set any fruit this year.  U think I planted this plot three times.  Cold soil, moisture, followed by sudden drought...Not a good year for melons here.



Peppers... it is a good year for them.  Gallons out there.  



This is what every tomato looks like.  Those that I found early, I turned to ketchup.  Saved most of them, but, they are just now putting on post-rain fruit that is not split.






Eggplants have exploded.  Took 12lbs out of the garden yesterday, still have at least that many still growing.



This is the indian corn that I planted two weeks ago with only the tiller.  Bed style.  Seems to be working.



Lots of grass growing up in the tomato crop.  about 30% of the plants are setting new fruit, and we have sooooo much ketchup and salsa that I am not making any attempt right now to clear the grass.



Tilled area on the left is the indian corn row.  New crop from its seed on hte right.  Where I tilled under the original crop now has 6" tall sprouts volunteering as well.



Glamor shot of the squash preserves spiced as apple pie preserves..



Some sort of blight hit the israeli melons.  It looked even worse in real life.  Dusted it liberally with powder.





A picture that basically shows what we can harvest daily and its current level of health.



We've been grilling a lot this summer.  I cook enough each evening so that the leftovers can be lunch the following day.  This is a fairly typical daily cookout around here.  




I pulled another 8 pumpkins from the garden.  Have 10 now, pie sized.  There is probably 12 butternuts that are large enough to pull at the momemt, but, I am going to let them stay out in the garden as long as possible.

300 jars of stuff in the pantry now.  I still plan to can the melons, peppers and will make some more ketchup at some point.  

I did re-seed watermelon, cantaloupe and corn for the Fall.  But, I have not put any of the Fall greens out yet.  August and September look to be hot and and dry days ahead.  

TRG

Looks good despite the problems. I had zero luck with my watermelons this year.
Are you in zone 8? That's the zone I'm in and my growing calendar doesn't say
anything about a fall melon crop.

http://www.garden.org/zipzone/index.php?img=swusa

7b according to the map.

We had a very late frost last year.  I am not worried if we get another watermelon this year.  Temps going over 100.  I am deciding now which plants will get irrigated, and which I will let fail.

Processing 19lbs of squash right now in to preserves.  I don't think we need/want any more summer squash this year.

TRG

I hear you on the squash. We already pulled ours. We gotta leave some room in the freezers for deer.

The rain has killed every thing at my house but the pepper plants and herb garden.

I like protein more anyway.