I now have over 100 poppers in freezer and starting another batch. These are the smaller first picks too encourage more growth and flowers. Besides the peppers are dbling in size overnight now. It will be cutting and cleaning peppers every other night in front of a show or movie the other night will be stuffing said peppers. They go on cookie sheets to freeze then big batches are put in vac seal bags to use as wanted. I Pulled another 15#'s of reds today. Watererd,weeded,cut blight leaves off tomatoes and powdery mildew leaves off squashes. General plant maintenance. Where's the time go ? Next thing I know it's 3 pm, I haven't eaten nor drank anything and it's HOT! In for the day. Tonight as I wait for chicks to roost themselves at 8pm I'll pull the last of Garlic, cut some cabbage and finish watering plants.. Got my weeks ironing done before 7 this morning . I pulled a snapped tree top down on way home from garden and dropped then cleaned up a few dead trees I've been watching last few years. Dinner grilled chicken burgersfresh, corn, taters and beets.
So... my kitcken table looks like a veggie stand blew up in it. Today two more big bags of poppers went in the freezer along with a creamy mushroom zucchini casserole and an Italian tomato pepper one. Then I blended up 3 dozen eggs and baked egg bites for the dogs treats and froze them. Have I mention how much that saves us? Plus when I let them out and they won't come back to me calling. I just yell egg bites a couple of times and they look like they have rockets in their butts zooming them home...lol. Sliced up more cukes to refill frig oil and vinegar batch. I'm a tad tired, but headed out to do more picking, it stopped raining. I ended up with about 50#'s or red potatoes. Hope the sweets do as well.
I'm so sick if blight! I tried EVERYTHING! That said, I went past a small local farm stand business they had a field of tomatoes across the road from stand. How I knew they were tomatoes was the red orbs I could see in totally black plants. So happy I'm not them. I asked hubby if he has one of those propane torches. He does. so next year the garden soil gets torched in the spring. I'll then till and torch again. I hear that helps...
Yesterday was a marothon of preserving. I got a canner full of tomatoes cooked down, diced up a dehydrator full of zucchini, 2 full cookie sheets of poppers cut and stuffed, 6 eggplant sliced roasted then frozen Worked a on the rodent proof wire mesh around lower section of new greenhouse coop. Side wall metal can be cut and screwed on. Greenhouse frame goes up in next few days. Goshawks got one of my hatched chicks, so no more free range. They all have to be in the penned area. It's amazing how well the curling ribbon works to protect them. Hubby came over to see me at the garden and said " that ribbon is pretty loud and makes some weird sound in a slight breeze, doesn't it". I told him yes and the colors flash so it's sight and sound that keeps the birds from diving. A cheap dollar store fix for sure. Lost 3 birds and one wounded this year. One to egg bound, 2 to hawks and the wound hen I kept alive is still isolated and on the mend. All but one hole closed up. The other healed around edges but is still open. Not being with the roosters has allowed her back feathers to re grow to cover the hole. There have been no fly issues thus far. So I cross fingers. Today is banana peppers and cabbage, last 4 days of rain then temp dropped split a few so they have to get done now. I'm hoping to get another month and a half on the sweet taters. Need to transplant a few of the cauliflower starts to thin row.
I have 12 quarts of sauce put up. I'm " relaxing" doing another cookie sheet of poppers. Pretty sure though I'm on the verge of being sick to death of jalapeños peppers.gave a bushel of green peppers to son. Have at least a bushel on plants and one in freezer Chickens are now enjoying the summer squash daily
Well it's getting to be that time, things winding down with COLD night temps. Last night I I picked a bunch of corn to put up picked a slew of jalapeños, they are still just loaded. 6 eggplant and those are loaded with a bunch of flowers. We love them sliced, sseasoned and roasted in the oven or on grill. Brussel sprouts are about ready to harvest. Starting some lettuce. Letting a bunch of summer squash to get huge and feeding to the chickens. Picking tomatoes for more sauce today.
This is nearing the end of Sept. My pepoers and eggplant are off the chain. Just packed. I've shared with son,sanctuary nieghbor, mailman and still plants are covered in fruit. I'm picki g 5 eggplant every other day.. chickens are loving the summer squash , making fresh tomato juice for hubby twice a week from cherry tomatoes Got some pumkins just a few and not too big. Enough for grandsons.
