Wednesday, July 2, 2014

 And so it begins. Everything up to this point has just been a warm-up for what's to come. What?  My first batch of green beans is sitting in a bucket ready to be cut and prepared.  As usual (for me anyway)  many of them are too large to be anything but tough.  The chickens like them though so it's not like a lost cause.

It seems like once the green beans start coming in  everything else will follow as closely as possible.  Don't ask me why.  I might be wrong but it's the way things happen for me.   

I put up some dill pickles using the recipe that Cristy suggested. I thought I had enough cucumbers ready for a full canner full but only ended up with 5 quarts.  It all worked out though because that was all the vinegar recipe I'd made.  I even made extra so next time it looks like I'll have to double the vinegar mix next time.  I've picked a whole bunch of cucumbers in the past couple of days and it's time to get them prepped and canned.


I also had one of the jars bust on me.  Thankfully it was just the bottom that blew out.  The brand?  It was one of those that Big Lots and Dollar General  carry?  Golden Harvest is the name I think.  It's the first time I've had one of them bust so I don't know what happened.
 

Miss Kitty has decided that she likes the outdoor sink.
I've got peppers to pick and it won't be long till I have to can them too.  These hot banana peppers are almost as long as this plant is high.  I'm thinking I want to  put some up for sandwich peppers.
The picture doesn't do justice to the size of these jalapeno's.  I'm seeing some bacon wrapped stuffed peppers in the near future.
Mars has a thing for serrano's and so I'm definitely going to have to put some up as well.

The purple hull peas are just waiting on me for the first picking and I'm hoping I can get that done today.  I'll shell them and put them up in the fridge until I have enough for a full canner run.  Of all the beans/peas we eat these are our favorite.  I've got a goal of 52  quarts this year. 

I've also got the same goal for squash but that is probably just wishful thinking.  Slowly but surely those #%*$ bugs are trying to take over. It's an ongoing battle and I'm not ready to fly the white flag of surrender just yet.
There are other things I could share but it's all pretty much garden stuff.  Shoot, many of you are going through the same things as I am.   It's times like these I wish I could move as fast as I used to.  This going on at half speed truly gets old. It's frustrating but hey, we all do what we have to do with what we have to work with.  

The beautiful Day Lilly's up top are a sight to see right now.  This is the first time in three years that they've actually bloomed.  I just love the color.

20 comments:

  1. Yay! I am glad you tried the recipe. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine has. I am sorry one of your canning jars broke. That's always a mess. It happens to me sometimes, too, and usually with one of those cheap jars. I have never had one of the old ones I have gotten from yard sales break.

    The sign of summer harvest time for me is when (if? it doesn't produce every year) the old pear tree on my property starts throwing off pears around July 4. Then busy, busy harvest season is ON. :)

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    1. Cristy,
      I'm looking forward to tasting these. They really look yummy in the jars. I'm still covered up in cucumbers and I'll be making some more of these for sure. My mom loves garlic dill pickles and she also likes peppers so I am going to try my hand at making this recipe with peppers in it. Yummm....
      It's a funny thing with the jars. I've had jars blow up in the past and I am wondering if it has to do with maybe getting the water boiling hard and the jars might bump each other? Just a thought!
      Thanks for stopping by and thanks again for the recipe.
      Sci

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  2. I agree, those day lillys are beautiful!

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    1. DFW,
      They were planted along the back of the house that used to be here. This is the first year that those along the back have bloomed since we've been here. They are around part of the front of the old foundation too. I'm enjoying them while they last!
      Sci

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  3. We're in the throes of winter here, but I can totally understand your excitement :) 52 quarts of peas!! Wow!!

    Won't be that much longer before I get my seeds planted... LOL

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    1. Dani,
      It still blows me away when I talk to folks on the other side of the world. Reading all our homesteading/prepping really must be an exercise in patience. When will it warm up for you?
      Sci

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  4. My gawd! There are no weeds in your garden! How did you do that? Everything looks wonderful - I am hoping that I get peppers this year. It will be a first.

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    1. +1 to Susan. for the love of all that is holy and good - how on earth can your garden look like that?

      (*walks away hanging head in shame because my garden does not look anything like yours. now going out to weed. thanks for shaming me into finally doing it. you're a great friend. ya.*)

      much love hon, always! your friend,
      kymber

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    2. Susan,
      Trust me when I tell you that there really are alot of weeds out there. I just happened to take pictures in spots that I'd already weeded. The picture of the peas is clean because Mars added ANOTHER row right there and had tilled it all up. i think he's done adding rows now (thank the lord) Like it wasn't big enough already. I have to be honest. I have the worst time growing peppers from seed. Last year I was able to get some started for the first time. I never knew that peppers had to have higher temps to start. Good Luck with your's!
      Sci

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    3. awwww kymberz No worries. I have set aside a couple of hours a day for weeding and I still get behind. Besides that do you really think I want to take pictures of rows with weeds? I suppose I'll have to post one for you so you don't feel so bad! hehehehe
      Your stuff looks so good. I'm envious of your green house. Living where you do though you need one for sure.
      Hold Your Head High... Ohhh. . (remember that song?)
      Hugs to you and Jam, it's always good to "see you".
      Sci

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  5. So YOU had a jar explode too! Not like ALL of mine did, but now I'm wondering about the quality of the jar itself, and not about whether I could have killed half a dozen people with my canning skills. lol My house cat loved sleeping in the bathroom sink.

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    1. LJ,
      Of course I've had jars bust! I just never had the canner blow up on me. My grandma used to tell us the story about her attempts at canning. She had one blow up in her kitchen that had pinto beans in it. They were all over the ceiling, the walls and the cabinets. She ended up having to repaint the kitchen. She said it scared her so bad she wasn't ever going to can again. After that my granddad not only grew the garden but he did all the canning too. AND he had to do it out in his man cave.
      True Story!
      Sci

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  6. I don't buy the cheap jars because a lot of them are made in China. I try to get made in USA jars and lids. But just about everyone who cans will have a jar blow up at some time or another. I have been making dill pickles, squash pickles, and green beans. Hope to get my pinto beans shelled and canned in a day or so. Also dug potatoes today and will probably can all of those that we don't eat fresh. Pat

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    1. Pat,
      I bought these back before I was "gifted" twice with copious amounts of canning jars. I've really not had much trouble with them till now. It sounds like you are busy busy. I would love to grow some pinto's. I don't really know why I haven't yet. Hmmmm
      Our potato's didn't do so well this year. We got a few really small ones but that's all. I think next year I'm going to try growing them in feed sacks.
      Thanks for popping in!
      Sci

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  7. That's an impressive garden. The peppers you have grown will be good in so many ways. I eat peppers in just about everything I cook, myself.

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    1. Harry,
      Thank you. This garden really takes most all my time but hey, what else would I have to do! What kind of peppers do you eat? Canned or fresh? Mars loves loves loves his peppers and eats them at just about every meal when they are fresh. He resorts to canned peppers once they run out.
      Sci

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  8. Wow, you are so far ahead of us. My beans are about a foot & a half tall, and have a few tomatos, but they are all green ect.
    Enjoy.

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    1. Lady Locust,
      Believe it or not the gardens probably 2-3 weeks late. This time last year and even the year before I was canning by the end of May. It just depends on the weather! I've got a bunch of green tomatoes too. My lettuce has gone to seed so I need to plant some more this week so we can actually have tomatoes in our salads.
      It won't be much longer and you'll be having fresh tomatoes!
      Sci

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  9. SCI,

    I see your garden has taken off like last season!!!! Everything looks amazing, plenty of canning to do.
    When I pressure canned my beef broth this last go round, I had a jar explode as I was taking it out of the caner. I'm not sure why but all was well, and left a nice mess to clean up.

    We take the jalapenos and hull them out, stuff them with cream cheese and wrap them with bacon and put them on the grill........omg, talk about good!!!! Will you be making pepper jelly this year?

    Hugs to you and Mars,
    Sandy

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  10. Sandy,
    I was looking at some pics the other day and realized I had taken so many pics of the garden I could actually make a start to finish set. The garden IS finally going gangbusters.
    I just hate it when a jar breaks. It is an icky and dangerous clean-up. Not to mention the loss of contents! I still think it might be the jars moving around a tad in the pot and maybe bumping each other. Of course it could be anything I supposel

    Gurl..... that is my favorite way to do stuffed peppers!!! Back in Austin several of us used to get together and watch U.T. football. on Saturdays. and do a cook out and have a watch party. We got around to talking about stuffed peppers. That's when everyone there said they made awesome stuffed peppers and the challenge was on! The guys all proclaimed they made the best on. You can imagine the rest! LOL All these guys decided that when we got together to grill at least two of them would bring "their" stuffed peppers. If was a yummy football season!
    Pepper Jelly is on my list of to do's this year. Last year was the first time I'd ever made it and it was a big hit with Mars. How about you? You making any?
    Hugs to you and BDM (btw he's funny) (and scritches to Beans+|)
    Sci

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