JRmom - Garden is in!

[savingdogs]

I just had to commiserate, my thumb is hurt right now too. You type so well without it! I'm having trouble with caps without my thumb, but I landed on it and I'm also wondering if I broke anything. I have found a whole list of things one cannot do very well thumbless.

AND I did the same thing to my little brocoli starts, I set them outside when it was nice out and watered them because it was warm. About midway through the day I check them and they are laying there like dead little drowned soldiers. Sheesh, I thought they would like a little real sunshine.

 

[Wannabefree]

You folks are so weird I have a hurt thumb too Well, mine is from using a hatchet and rubbing the skin off my knuckle, but it is sore.

I dry tomatoes, in my cheapy dehydrator and I LOVE them!!! SO MANY can store in a quart jar it is unbelieveable! I use them on homemade pizza, in soups, etc. etc. and they are SO worth doing!! I plan on drying most of mine this year as opposed to canning them. They seem to keep better that way too so long as you get them good and dry, otherwise they can mold. last year I fit 8 pounds of tomatoes per quart...lets see ya do THAT with a canner

 

[valmom]

Oh, sorry to hear about your thumb- these little dogs are all muscle and can pull like nothing else their size, I swear! There really is something about opposible thumbs being necessary for civilization.

I envy you your growing season. I am dying to put plants out!

 

[JRmom]

Well, I managed 2 weekends at the cabin without injuring myself! Hopefully too many rum and cokes on Friday night doesn't count as an injury.

Had one ripe tomato on Saturday... immediately washed it, cut it up, slathered it with salt and pepper and ate it. Yum! I am going to be overrun with 'maters when they start ripening... what was I thinking? I think the dehydrator is going to get a workout.

Weird story... I knew this past weekend that I would have a big bunch of squash ready. The weekend before, they were too small to pick, but I knew another week and they would be ready. Get to the cabin Friday evening and check the garden. No squash. I found one huge squash that was hidden behind a big leaf. Hmmmm. I mentioned the missing squash to my neighbor and we both thought some kind of animal was the culprit. We just couldn't imagine someone coming onto my property to steal a few squash. Well, the next night my neighbor found that during the week someone had stolen his air compressor (from the lot right next door to me). Hmmmmm. I guess the squash were fast and easy to steal. They didn't take the time to pick peas.

Still battling the squash vine borers. Pulled another plant, cut a worm out of another. *sigh*

Made crockpot yogurt on Saturday (it was mentioned here and on a member's blog, but darn, I can't remember who had the instructions on their blog - sorry!). It turned out GREAT! And it was super easy to do.

The weather here has been so dry. The lake at the cabin is so low we can't even put our boat in at our ramp. Everyone is praying for a good tropical storm (or 2 or 3) to settle over us for 2 or 3 days. I refuse to water our lawn(s) (we have a native Bahiagrass that doesn't die, it just goes dormant) so it's parched and brown with bare spots. Still sending up seed shoots though, so we have to mow. Ugh! Today is the start of hurricane season, so hopefully the afternoon rains will be starting up.

I have a confession to make. *hangs head* I have gotten addicted to watching the Casey Anthony trial. 9 to 5 every day.... I have to time my shower, errands, etc. for breaks in the trial.

Edited to do a happy dance.... we just got a good 1/2 inch of rain, with more to come, yipee! Could do without the lightning though.

 

[JRmom]

In the kitchen today. Have a huge bag of veggie odds and ends that are now in a pot making delicious vegetable stock. The house smells great.

Didn't go to the cabin this weekend. We decided to stay in town in case hubby had another kidney stone episode. So far, so good, no more pain. I guess I'll have to make a bonsai run to check on the garden. Ugh, 45 minutes each way. Maybe this afternoon. It's cloudy and cooler today so it won't be too hot to be pickin' beans and whatever else I might have - cukes I'm sure, hopefully some squash, and PLEASE, PLEASE some ripe tomatoes.

Made homemade Frosty Paws for the the doglets on Saturday - they LOVE them. And I made a huge pot of chili on Friday nite. I don't know why, with the weather being so warm, but I was craving chili. So we ate that all weekend. Used some of my dehydrated "test" tomatoes and I was very pleased with how they plumped back up and they tasted great. I think I'll be dehydrating most of my tomatoes this summer.

Made yogurt cheese with the rest of my homemade yogurt - I'm addicted to it. That stuff is so darn good. I'm usually not a breakfast person, but I've been eating a bagel every morning slathered with the cheese. My treadmill is now mocking me.

 

[valmom]

Well, good there haven't been more kidney stone issues! And why would someone steal all the squash? Granted no one is over run quite yet with it to the point we are giving it away at work

 

[JRmom]

Well, good there haven't been more kidney stone issues! And why would someone steal all the squash? Granted no one is over run quite yet with it to the point we are giving it away at work

I don't know why anyone would steal squash, but someone was definitely in the yard. We have a chain that hangs around the gate, but we never use it. Whoever was in the yard took the time to wrap the chain around the gate when they left. Hope they enjoyed my homegrown heirloom squash. But I feel really bad for our neighbor who lost his air compressor.

 

[JRmom]

Wow, what a great weekend! Got a ton of stuff from the garden, cooked, canned, dehydrated, baked.... I'm whupped.

This was my 'mater haul on Friday (got this much again on Sunday). The front green tomatoes are Lime Green Salad tomatoes, in the middle is Amish Paste, and in the back is Homestead, all are heirlooms. The cukes are heirloom Ruby Wallace's Old Time White - a great cucumber! I love 'em, no bitterness at all.

I canned 3 qts. of stewed tomatoes and dehydrated 1 qt., and made 1/2 gallon of salsa out the Lime Green Salad tomatoes, which I froze most of.

I picked and froze 1 pint of hot peppers.

1 picked and froze 1 qt. of blackeye peas. I would estimate I've picked over a gallon so far out of just a single 25' row and the plants are gearing up for another round.

Our little grocery store at the cabin had white potatoes on sale so I bought 8 lbs. and so far have dehydrated 1 qt. - still have another 4 lb. bag to get to this week.

Picked, cooked and ate squash and green beans. Yum!

I had a big empty space in the garden where I've had to pull some squash plants. Saturday, a neighbor brought me 24' of sweet potato slips, so I did four 6' rows. I've never grown sweet potatoes before. Fingers crossed!

I also baked a huge batch of cheese drop biscuits this weekend and froze them.

Whew, that's about it. Well, I also drank a lot of wine this weekend and took the dogs to the lake swimming yesterday afternoon.

Muggy, muggy, muggy today. Guess summer finally got here.

 

[TanksHill]

The tomatoes look wonderful. I have Homestead planted this year as well. I can't wait to try them out.

 

[savingdogs]

Wow, your season is so far ahead of ours, our tomatos are just getting little flowers. That looks so yummy. I have a thing for BLT sandwiches......