TIme to Freeze the Harvest

Sesame flowers
Sesame seed pods




Pasilia Bajio - but some of these fruits are not HOT!?
Big Bomb - these are HOT
Franks Pepper- note the damaged fruit
Giant Marconi - good sweet variety
Red Beauty - none of these have gotten red
Yummy - good little pepper
Blushing Beauty - good pepper - ? on the name choice

These warm September day are great for adding growing days to our gardens but we could sure use some rain. The precipitation promised this week did not materialize and so the garden needed to be watered again. I planted lettuce, Napa cabbage, and kale this week and gave the seedlings a liberal dose of "SLUGO" to try to protect them. The Napa cabbage is always hit hard by the slugs and because it is planted in a cold frame they seem to especially enjoy that protected environment so I will see how this process works. Slugs and earwigs are a continual problem. I found at least two dozen adult slugs under a trap board the other day and the pepper crop has been the victim of slugs and earwigs most of this summer. One of the pictures above shows the holes they bore in the fruits. Even the mum plants that are in the front of the house got a dose of "SLUGO" to help them with the earwigs that really made a mess of the zinnias in that bed.
Tomatoes and beans were harvested this week and they were the preserving job. We freeze our tomatoes rather than can them. Most frozen tomatoes go into soups and stews and because when a frozen tomato is dipped in water the skins slip off easily. Freezing is the way we preserve this crop. Additionally, I made more juice and froze that in plastic bags also. When I juice tomatoes I do skin them but usually add garlic, onion, peppers, cucumber, and parsley to add a boost to the juice. Frozen juice is cooked to blend the flavors and make a more consistent and, we think, a better product for freezing. The whole tomatoes, however, are washed and placed wet in the freezer bags and with a highly scientific tool, a straw, the air is sucked out of the bag. Watch the video below and you too can save by not buying a seal-a-meal but a box of straws instead. I then usually group bag three or four bags in a larger bag and remove the air from that bag too. The video shows this process.
Beans are blanched and then bagged the same way. Our pole beans are really good and I have had a number of favorable comments about how good they taste from people who I gave seed to last spring. I wish the pole bean crop had been better this year but we will make do with the twelve quart bags of beans I froze today.
I have added some of the pepper variety pictures this week and you will note on one the slug or earwig hole in the fruit. The hot pepper varieties have no fruit damage from these pests.
Also the sesame pictures show the number of seed pods that run up the stem of these plants.

Happy Gardening

Dave's seal a bag machine!

Food Glorious Food - Bruschetta in Particular

Tomatoes, garlic, and basil - bring on the French bread
The sesame pods are growing
Grape jelly, seedless dried grapes, dried tomatoes, and grape jam
These seedless homemade Reliance raisins are really good
Big Beef tomato
Earl of Edgecombe
Grub's Mystery Green - this is an amazingly good tomato
Persimmon
Big Bomb pepper - Hot -much hotter than the Volcano variety.

We are dry again and so some rain would be nice. This is an excellent Labor Day weekend - warm, sunny, and mostly windless. I have used all the rain water again, this time on the beans, and so I sure would like some showers. With this cool dry summer some folks are still waiting on a good tomato crop. We on the other hand have a very nice harvest.
The season for stocking up has arrived and I have made some more jam and jelly, and have started the dehydrator for the season.
I used Reliance grapes, a seedless variety, and made a great batch of grape jam - tangy and to be sure I got a nice blush to the product I added a splash of Merlot wine to the juice - the result was very nice. The jam is tart and is nice and firm ( I have had troubles with grapes in the past so I am used commercial pectin to help the jelly and jam set). The other batch of grapes was a seeded variety called Trolhaugen, small but with good flavor, and this batch was made into jelly. It too had a good set and a great tangy taste.
While I had fresh grapes I also dried some. I cut the Reliance in half to open the flesh to the dehydrator fan and left the Trolhaugen whole. Both dried will and both are sweet. I also had some seedless black grapes that were store bought and so I cut them in half and dried them too.
With the tomatoes ripe I wanted to dry some of them also. I picked Sugary and Sweet Olives, cut them in half and in quarters and dried them. These dried tomaotes have a good flavor and nice bright color. I you have never dried tomatoes try it this season. They are great on salads in the winter or just as a snack to remind you in winter of what summer tasted like.
I have opened up space in the garden for some fall leaf crops, kale, lettuce, celery cabbage and hope to get those seedlings in the ground soon - maybe tomorrow. The beans and cucumbers are really producing and the peppers are ready also. As space allows I will include pictures of the peppers. However, my plant labels for the cucumbers are a mess and so I really can't make any comments on the varieties I planted. I will just have to make a better paper record for the trellis just like I have done for the tomatoes and peppers. I do know that one variety called Paradise is making a nice crop but the Diva is not doing so good- they are swelling rapidly instead of staying small and slender as in the past. The slugs are getting both tomatoes and cucumbers that are close to the ground and when I plant the celery cabbage (Napa) in the cold frames I intend to treat with "Slugo" - its war on slugs.
The St. Edmund's Russet apples are ripe and I harvest a few each day. We have another early apple that is very good but for some reason the tag on the branch does not have a name or number so its another mystery fruit. The Big Bomb peppers are really HOT. They should make excellent hot pepper jelly later when I have more apples for juice.

And now for the Bruschetta Recipe that has been requested. We enjoy this with Susan's bread now that tomatoes and garlic are in good supply.
This is all approximate, so experiment and make to your taste...

2 1/2 cups tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 stalks of parsley
10-12 fresh basil leaves
3-5 Tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic pressed
1 small onion diced
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar ( optional)
Black pepper, salt to taste

Chop parsley and basil. Mix with other ingredients. Let this sit for an hour or more, even overnight will allow the flavors to meld. Cut some of that French bread that you made from last week's posting and lightly toast it, and then rub with a clove of garlic and dish up a helping of the Bruschetta with juices and enjoy..

Happy Gardening

Potaotes and beans and one more fair to see.

Beautiful White dinner plate sized dahlia
Veggie Character
Nice medium sized flower
Now those are some potatoes
Just a sample of the fair entries
A purple cauliflower that was a show stopper
A nice plate of onions worthy of a blue ribbion
Sweet Chelsea Hybrid - good salad type
Sweet Olive - does not compare to Sugary
Golden Rave - good flavor
Sugary Hybrid - great sweet fruit
Wapsipinicon Peach

Rainy and cold this week. Yesterday we had rain and weather in the 50's - not something tomatoes like. But today made up for that with sunny skies.
I was in Marinette county judging fair this past week and saw some beautiful veggies and flowers. The pictures help tell the story. That box of potatoes was amazing, with each potato bigger than the next - I am sure that a few in the box came close to 16 oz! One contestant had some of the most beautiful dahlias I have ever seen. They were state fair quality. The pictures don't really show how lovely and gigantic they were. Dinner plate dahlias at least 12 inches across and white ones - always the hardest flower to show because of the tendency to show every little flaw on the stark petals - but these were perfect. The 4H entries were nice too with several kids showing really great quality vegetables. Plus, the little vegetable creature was better in person than the picture shows. You can't see the necklace made of sunflower seeds or the shine that the corn silk hair had- kitchy but a good idea, so it was worth a blue ribbon plus an honorable mention ribbon. This was a two day judging activity so today was harvest and picture day in the garden.
The tomatoes in my garden are ripening. This seems to be different for others who complain that they are still waiting for that first ripe tomato with August at an end. Culture, variety, and the weather may have something to do with this problem. The string method that I use allows for more light and air to pass around my fruit as opposed to say something like cages that get very full of vegetation by this time of the season if you do not prune some of the growth. Caged tomatoes should be de-suckered just like mine on strings. Plus the length to maturity of some varieties makes them later to ripen.
I harvested one of the potato towers and got a fair amount of tubers. The harvest was not as much as I had hoped for but still one variety (Carola) did quite well with 5 to 6 tubers to each plant. The peanut variety did not produce many tubers and their texture is not as nice as the Carola which seem to be creamy and soft. I have already started to re-think this tower method as it is a good use of space but may need more plants to be more productive.
The tomato pictures are a portion of the variety list so a few this week and the rest next week.
Happy Gardening

Jelly Time and French Bread Too

The onion harvest braided on twine
Dutch oven for Susan's No-Knead French Bread
Rose Water Apple Jelly
Nylon drip bag
Cheesecloth drip bag
The finished jelly... and now for some fresh baked bread...

I had some technical difficulties that delayed posting so let's try again...

This was not a real busy week in the garden but more so in the kitchen. The meals this week all had cucumbers and tomatoes as a key part, even breakfast Sunday had tomatoes with the scrambled eggs. Big plates of sliced tomatoes with basil are the best of summer at any meal. As the days begin to get shorter, it's time to plant for fall. This week I seeded kale, napa cabbage, and of course more lettuce. The dill harvest continues as the volunteer plants seed continues to dry. All the garlic is dug and the last batch is drying in the garden shed along with the onions. I braided some of the onions. I use a loop of twine as the base for the onion braid and then weave the stems into the twisted twine. Much more sturdy than just the onion stems and I have something to tie with when they are good and dry and hung in the basement. I have not done the garlic that way. I just cut the stems when they are dry and put the garlic in a mesh bag to hang in the basement. So with dill, garlic, and onions the winter stores begin.

The crab apple trees are loaded with big ripe apples so I made two batches of apple jelly from them. They are a nice red color so the juice makes a great looking jelly as the pictures attest. I made Rose Water Apply Jelly for Susan, and I also experimented with some Ginger Apple Jelly. Here is a quick run through of the process.

I cleaned, stemmed, and cut the ends off the crab apples. I microwaved the fruit in batches and then ran them through a Folley Mill. The pictures show the pulp in both cheesecloth or a new knee high nylon stocking to drip the juice. I decided to use pectin to make sure of a good jelly set. For the Rose Water jelly I followed the pectin package directions for plain apple jelly but added 5 oz. of Rose Water to my sugar. I also put a couple of drops of Rose Water in each jar before filling them with the hot jelly. The jelly has a very nice set, great color, and a hint of roses both to the nose and palate.

For the Apple Ginger jelly I chopped a large piece of raw ginger root and bagged it in cheesecloth. As I cooked my pectin and juice and then sugar I left the ginger in the cooking syrup. The jelly has a pleasant hint of ginger, not hot at all, and great color too. As a bonus I have nice candied ginger root from the cooking process. In a few jars I also placed some chopped candied ginger but not in too many jars because I was not sure of what would be the end result. About half have candied ginger and half do not - time will tell which is the best.

This week would be a good time to include our favorite bread recipe to go with this great jelly. Susan makes a wonderful no knead French bread. We seldom buy bread anymore as this is just so good and easy to make. A Dutch oven that we bought years ago for camping is best for this recipe. Because this is a no knead bread most of the work is done by the yeast and not you.

BASIC NO-KNEAD FRENCH BREAD - Original recipe published NY Times, modified by Susan

3 cups bread flour
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt or sea salt
1 1/2 cups water

Procedure-
In a large ceramic bowl mix the above ingredients until combined.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then cover bowl with large towel or large folded tablecloth. Let rise where there is no draft for 12-18 hours. Any longer and the bread does not have as good a second rise.
After the first rise, use only enough flour to shape the dough into a round, and place it in a lightly oiled ceramic bowl. Cover and let rise for an hour.
At the end of the hour long rise, put a Dutch oven in a cold oven. We use a cast iron Dutch oven; a friend of ours uses an ovenproof ceramic Dutch oven. I put the lid on the top rack and the Dutch oven base on the lower rack. Adjust lower rack so there will be enough room to eventually put the lid on the Dutch oven base, in the hot oven. Turn oven to 450 degrees F. to heat the pan. When the oven is at 450, leaving the pan and lid in oven, remove dough from bowl and place in pan. Immediately set lid on pan, and bake at 450 for 27 minutes. Then uncover the pan (I put the lid bock on the top rack) and bake another 15-20 minutes. Remove bread from pan and cool on a rack. I never take the Dutch oven base out of our lower wall oven. I use a wide wooden spatula to get the bread out and onto the cooling rack. This bread freezes well and can be reheated at 325 degrees for about ten minutes, to make the crust crunchy again.
Variations:
I add more flour or liquid as needed in mixing the dough. Experiment. I sometimes use a combination of all purpose or bread flour with spelt, whole wheat, or whatever looks interesting. We do like just a plain all purpose flour loaf, but I will often add some black or white sesame seeds, golden flax, sunflower, or millet seed. It varies. Once you start to make this bread, the possibilities are endless.

Friday we had a visit from Kendra Mienert, gardener and reporter, for the Green Bay Press Gazette. With her photographer, Marc Larson, they produced a very nice piece on our vegetable garden and what we are growing and doing this summer. Marc's pictures are really nice, especially one he took of a developing apple in a "footie"; and Kendra's article was complementary and well written. The article appeared in the "TIME OUT" section Saturday, August 22, 2009. Take a look at the Green Bay Press Gazette website and search the subject - BACKYARD BOUNTY.

Happy Gardening

Apples, Cucumber, and Naked Ladies

Naked Ladies -
This cardoon is on the third growing season
Not one of the bigger cardoons that I have grown but I would call it hardy
Kong Sunflower
St. Edmond's Russett
Sops of Wine
Much More Cucumber
A great little snak
The mystery plant of the week -


Although the weather person hinted that rain and scattered showers were in the area, little rain fell on the garden this week. I was at an art fair three days this week and on Friday we had good rain for over two hours at the fair. But at home, less than 15 miles away, the garden got no rain - now that's scattered.
The tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers are a daily harvest with the Much More variety making a good show of nice salad sized slicers with very tender skin. The Volcano peppers, which were a free trial seed, are really good and hot. We have had them as snacks with pretzels and Trader Joe's Chipolte Pepper Humus ( see the picture). The Kong sunflowers are blooming. I like this sunflower because after the terminal flower forms and blooms, side branches form at leaf nodes and the plant continues to bloom for a long time. The cardoon has many flowers, so I hope the seed crop will be good. Cardoons can get really big. My blog pictures is me with a single huge cardoon, and the blooming plant this year is from last years plant that wintered over. Cardoon's are classified as biennial but I can't explain this years growth and the second flowering of this plant. There is a row of 5 or 6 plants in the garden for eating in the fall after the centers are blanched. Several other peppers are near to harvest. We have had Frank's Pepper a couple of times and found it to be thin skinned and an OK pepper flavor, so it might hold up well in cooking. The apple crop is growing nicely, at last, and we have had the branch of Sops Of Wine present us with two mature apples - great flavor and wonderful aroma. The St Edmond's Russets will be the next apple to ripen and they are one of my russet types that are grafted on one tree. I picked crab apples and made apple juice for rose petal jelly that I hope to make next week.
The Naked Ladies (Lycoris squamigera) are blooming. I have several large clumps that I want to move before the new vegetable garden is made, so I have let them bloom and will try to move the complete clumps after the flowers fade. Massed together they make a great surprise show. The mystery plant this week is one I recently bought that will have to winter in the house but if I lived in Chicago I could have the plant outdoors and still get fruit - or so the name implies.
With three days at an art fair selling my lampwork beads not much was accomplished in the garden and after checking tonight the weeds are really needing attention. This next week we will deal with the onion harvest which is curing in the little house and see about planting fall leaf crops - especially celery cabbage.
Happy Gardening