As we now have so much harvested, and a lot more to go, I have had to double up on my canning. Yesterday I finished up the two crates of sweet corn and then canned up a big package of boneless, skinless chicken breast I’d gotten on sale as a close-dated item. I use these a lot in various recipes, canned in half-pints, as it’s usually just Will and I. I make chicken and noodles, chicken pot pie, chicken and biscuits, among other things, with this handy canned food.
Today, Will went out and picked our last grapes, netting a whole five-gallon bucket full. Holy cow, I thought the birds had beaten us to them! So, now I’ve got half of them in the Mehu Liisa, to juice them. I’m making grape jelly, mostly for the Orioles and Rose Breasted Grosbeaks next year, as I had been buying grape jelly, made with high fructose corn syrup, which I don’t feel is good for them. I couldn’t find the grape jelly with sugar anywhere! Besides, it’s cheaper for me to make it than to buy it anyway.
While that’s juicing, I’m going to grind up a bunch of tomatoes, peppers, and onions to make a big batch of salsa. Besides eating it as salsa, I also use it in a wide variety of other recipes. And, God knows, I have a lot of tomatoes to use up in a good way.
We harvested most of our Hopi Pale Grey squash and boy are they ever nice and big. They loved the manure Will spread around them before mulching them. We still have our direct seeded Hopis, on down from the ones we planted as starts, to harvest yet, but we’re letting them get bigger as the frost didn’t kill their vines.
If I get them done, I want to pick some more plums to make more plum juice and/or jelly. Will picked a huge bowl full on my last jelly making day and I still have half a bowl left. (I told you it is a huge bowl!) We still have tons on the trees and I keep telling folks to come get some. I sure hope someone does!
We’re in danger of a frost tomorrow morning early. I’m praying like mad we don’t get it as our last big patch of sweet corn is nearly ripe. A few more days will do it. If we don’t get a frost.
I’ve been husking all the corn Will and I have already picked. The Sandhill Cranes were getting into it, so it needed picking right away. Wow, my arms are tired. There were six crates full! We had Seneca Blue Bear Dance, Damaun sweet corn, and Bear Island Chippewa.
Then our friends, Gina and her family and mom, Dianne and her husband came out to pick pumpkins yesterday in the sunshine. We grow them for the Watering Can nursery in Cook. We got their van packed full. Our Big Max giant pumpkins are big and fat but if we don’t get that frost tonight, they will keep on growing so they can pick some huge pumpkins to astound folks. I love growing pumpkins! — Jackie
If we were local, I would have taken you up on the plums! I love the reciprocating saw idea. Sometimes I am gifted not only winter squash but HUGE carrots and beets. Can see where this might even help there! Sorry to hear that you did get a killing frost. So hard to hurry and process everything. If freezer space is available, we both know that tomatoes can be frozen to process into sauces etc later…….
Yes, I know about freezing tomatoes too. Unfortunately, our 3 freezers are full of meat. Not a bad thing, but not room for any tomatoes. LoL!
We only planted in the hoop houses and green house. The first three 25 degrees nights it didn’t get cold until near dawn so I put the propane heaters in the hoop houses as well at the green house. We are down to beets, carrots and rutabagas in the hoop houses plus a few cabbage so I let them go and only heated the green house. I had been running the wood stove to dry the onions and get a little more out of squash and peppers but I turned the propane on the last time I filled the stove (an old not air tight parlor stove) so I could get some sleep. It was 32 by midnight and low of 24. Lost my chickens to a bear last week. I only had six and he got all but one and wrecked the coop too. Gave the one to a neighbor. Another neighbor staked it out the next evening and got the big black bear when it came back to finish the spilled feed. I’m on a walker and cane so it’s not safe to chase bears in low light because I can’t move quickly and free my hands to get a shot. Oh well.
Oh gee, that’s too bad about your chickens!! My friend in Montana shot a black bear, halfway into her chicken coop through the door he’d broken down. She was alone, with no equipment and had a dickens of a time dragging him back out to get it butchered.
It’s that time of the year. We had another frost last night but not the 28 we had the night before. I picked a crate full of sweet corn and have to get out to do that again today as the frost has killed the plants and the corn gets doughy after a few days after a frost. Ugh!
And so the need to be prepped for situations that arise unexpectedly that threatens a food supply: canning up chicken, or eggs; or you’re just out! A lesson for us all.
Would like to know your method for removing kernels from the cob. I seen so many different ways but would like to know how you do yours.
Well, I used to use the one that is like a sawblade, that you squeeze around the cob and strip it. It worked well, but the kids thought it was gross when I bled on the corn, as I always tried to get that last bit and ended up cutting my hand at the base of my thumb. Now I just use a serrated steak knife and cut it off on a cookie sheet. Then I toss handsfull into a bowl. Yes, I know about the angelfood cake method, but I found my old fashioned way went faster.
It really is that time of year. Started with doing a batch of pork and beans started yesterday then decided to do a pork roast that went in the oven last night. Went out and watered this morning and found the cukes had gone crazy so now it’s relish on top of everything else. All recipes from Growing and Canning Your Own Food! Think about it and it’s many future meals.
We don’t even want go out and look at the tomatoes!!
I know what you mean about the tomatoes! We had another light frost last night and I went out and checked the tomatoes for the first time after two frosts. Not bad, actually. There are still a lot of good ones out there. I also looked at my cucumbers. I wasn’t going to do pickles, but holy cow, I have some super nice Suyo Longs, so….
Last night, we ate a mix of two jars that didn’t seal, one of baked beans and the other, sweet corn. I stirred them up together with some diced, leftover ham and my goodness, it was good!
Killing frost equal s Busy Jackie and Will! The few tomatoes I have are the Huge Goats Bag thankful they are doing good Few more dry beans still need pick- no rain forecast for awhile so will harvest peppers and roast for drying Your way of making your own seasoning! Hope you get everything canned without over doing yourself Huge HopiGrey! I only have 5 this year compared to the baker’s dozen last year 3 Huge North Georgia candy roasters though Look forward tasting them. Haven’t heard much about the new pups all must be going well.
Yep, our new dog, Gypsy is doing great. She and Sarge, the Mastiff, are best buddies and spend at least an hour a day in the front yard, playing and wrestling. She’s so smart, already learned to sit before and after opening a door to go in or out, sit and stay, down and stay, go to your house (crate). We’re working on spin right now. She loves to learn new things.
I’m doing grape jelly now and I just picked a bunch of sweet corn as it frosted last night. So, for a few days, we’re doubling down on the harvest/canning.
I’m happy for your abundant harvest. That is a lot of edibles. Have you ever contemplated how long your stored food would last. Handling all that produce is a major undertaking but a great “problem “ to have. I’m doing garden clean up and harvest. No frost here yet but it will come.
I would guess at least two years’ worth of food in the pantry right now and more added every day, plus squash, pumpkins, onions, etc. We got a frost this morning so we’re really busy today!
I think it will be the last weekend for the San Marzano paste tomatoes – not many left on the plants. I’ll take a closer look at the slicing tomatoes – likely we’ll get a few more from those plants. Or as I say a few more BLTs.
Corded or battery powered reciprocating saws can be found at a reasonable price. We’ve used ours for cutting small branches for starting fires (aka as axe not an option).
We got a killing frost this morning, so we’ll be harvesting everything that wasn’t damaged very soon to make the best use of it. There are still a lot of tomatoes out there, plus cukes, squash and sweet corn and melons. We’ll be busy.
Glad your crops are doing so well..My little neglected garden produced some vegetables, too and a local independent garden has had good crops so there are vegetables available. I’m finding it difficult to cut the squash I buy, tho, with arthritic hands. The challenges of aging! I admire your abilities. Wishing you well as you process everything.
I had trouble cutting my squash too, until I started using a battery powered reciprocating saw. Don’t laugh! My friends are now using theirs and are wondering why it took so long to figure that out! It’s amazingly fast and safe too.