I know, I know. You're saying to yourself,"Really, she's showing me more pictures of the garden?". Well, yes, actually. Mainly because that seems to be most of what I do all day long right now....plus a little cleaning and cooking in the house. Ummmm.....anybody feel like doing a little weeding? Say.....about a week's worth? Just kidding. But if you want to help, come on up! But you don't really have to. But if you're bored, you know where to find us. Just puttin' that out there! I hate to admit how bad the weeds have gotten......it's embarrassing!
Ok, so back to the garden. While I was in Penna. Joel was in charge of watering the garden. Since it rained every day I was gone he got off pretty easy if you ask me....he's not exactly the gardener type and he leaves most of the day to day aspects of the garden in my hands. Well, when I got back, the zucchini and squash had started to come in and some were actually a bit large.
The radishes are pretty, though, aren't they? There are a lot more where these babies came from.
So back to the huge zucchini. One great thing to do with them is to shred them and freeze in 1 or 2 cup increments for use later on. They're great sauteed with onions and peppers for fajitas, or once thawed they can be used to make all kinds of baked goods such as zucchini bread. Yum! Thank goodness I've located my Cuisinart which made short work of shredding these bad boys.
And just like the broccoli from a couple weeks ago, they go on my baking sheets and popped in the freezer for several hours until they are frozen. Then they get portioned out in bags and vacuum sealed and dated and head back to the deep freeze. Now as the smaller zucchini get ready for harvest I can stay on top of harvesting them at the right time for use in other recipes.
Just thought I'd show you Princess Pork Chop on the left and Princess Bacon on the right. Tonight while Joel was getting their feed ready I pulled up some large clover that was nearby and offered it to the girls. They loved it! And it was fun to hand feed them. This was the first time they let me hand feed them anything and I think now we've made friends with each other.
And here are the chicks, they're getting to be such big girls and boys. Look at them, acting so independent living in their Chicken Castle.(Joel's name for the coop, not mine, folks!)
A few of the chicks have gotten really brave and have learned how to fly up to the first and second roost in the coop. Pretty soon they'll be able to make their way up to all three.
And yes, here are the cucumber plants. Am I ever glad we got the trellises put up when we did. Those babies are reaching for the sky and it is so much easier to harvest the veggies thru the large supportive wire.
The corn is almost up to my waist! And I've underplanted it with squash. Corn seeds like to germinate at a temp over 75 degrees, but it likes the soil to be cooler as it grows. So by underplanting with squash the huge squash leaves help to keep the soil cool surrounding the corn. I just wish I had planted more corn than I did. Oh, well, there's always next year.
While dinner was cooking Joel and I took a little ride around the land in the Polaris. I took a bowl with me hoping that we would come across some blackberries that were ready for harvest. Remember all the bushes that had white flowers on them a few months ago? Well, now the bushes are covered in berries.
This was our first attempt at harvesting the wild berries and I wasn't sure if they would taste good. Well, the bigger ones are so sweet! We got so excited because we are surrounded by hundreds of bushes, we just need to clear some of the brush away so we have access to the berries. I was afraid that the berries would be really "seedy" and not much good for jams or cooking, but we have hit a goldmine with these bushes.
I got a little scratched up picking tonight but it is so worth it. I see a blackberry cobbler in our very near future! Can't wait to pick some more and pop them in the freezer so we have berries all winter long. Ooooooo, and now I will have to try my hand at blackberry jam, too. That is my favorite jam out of all the fruit jams that are available. Now we just need a few more gallons of berries.
There's always tomorrow,
Debbie
