Playing Catch-up

Summer has come and gone and I won't say I'll miss it this year. It was hot, humid and rainy. I didn't put a garden in because of the cold, rainy weather this spring. I should have attempted something, especially after seeing the prices for produce here! The Farmer's Markets in this area are outrageous to say the least. I know we are in a more prominent area, but gouging will stop me from buying local!

 Wegman's was running a sale on frozen veggies. A pound bag was 79 cents, so I made sure to dehydrate some. I saved 20 cents a pound and all the work was pretty much already done. I told hubby to wait and watch, because the sale ran quite a while, I was sure the veggies were going to go up in price. They have gone back to 99 cents a bag or more, but the bag sizes have gotten smaller. Yup - price increase!

It appears it's really time to buckle down and get serious. We had some serious crop failures this year with lots of rain and flooding plus an early freeze/snow in the midwest as well as down south! Potatoes, seed corn, sugar beets, and dried beans were some of the crops that were affected. I'm sure we are now going to see some price hikes with everything. Those are major crops and many things in the food industry depend on them.

Currently, milk is running $4.20 a gallon at Walmart and Sam's and even more for name brands. I've stopped buying fresh milk. That's just too expensive - especially when other parts of the country are selling as low as $1.50 a gallon! I hate living in a regulated state. It's supposed to help the farmers, but I just heard on the radio that Deen's is going under, because sales dropped, Walmart no longer uses them (Walmart does their own now) and what they do sell isn't enough to support them. It's really sad when specialty milk is cheaper than the real thing! I can get almond milk for $1.75 for a half gallon! I've switched to powdered milk.

I'm anxiously awaiting my garlic order to arrive. I'm very late getting them in, but figured I'd take a chance and try. MIgardener had a sale of them, so I picked up 3 different bulbs to try. According to my tracking number, they are supposed to be delivered today. We've had such cold temps - quite a bit below normal, so hopefully they will do ok. If not - I've only lost 3 heads of garlic and $10.

Getting Ready for Winter

l.- pickled garlic; middle-broccoli soup; r.-pumpkin pickles

It has been busy here around our little "homestead". We've been getting ready for winter, and putting up some food as well as putting the garden to bed. It's been a long week, but quite productive, although there were some disappointments along the way.

As you know, there is a critter we are trying to catch in out basement. He has been very happy were he is, and won't be caught. I guess I can't blame him - all that yummy food we've put away for winter has made it a warm haven for him. Until we catch him, we've got pumpkins, squash, 'taters, etc. all around the house in places I'm not happy with at all. It's made it difficult, so I'm canning and freezing things to get them out of here. I hope we can catch the invader soon, as I'd rather put things back down in storage than to have to preserve it all. It just tastes better fresh IMHO.

I did up some broccoli soup - 16 pints total. I opened a new box of lids, and it appears they weren't good, as the same amount of lids I got out of the new box was the same amount that didn't seal. We are only putting away 9 pints now. I know that I can reprocess them, but I don't know how it will change the flavor. Instead, we just had soup for dinner for the next two days. In my 20+ years of canning, this has never happened. Guess I was due for some humble pie :)

A good friend of ours sent up some extra garlic he won't be using, so we now have a nice 7" square priority mail boxes FULL of cloves that have been removed from the garlic head. These were ones that didn't pass his inspection to replant. With all that extra garlic (on top of what I have from my garden), I have a lot to experiment with. We've been eating garlic in everything these days, and now we've even tried pickling the cloves. I only did a test batch of 2 half pints, as I have no idea what to expect from the flavor. (from Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving pg. 160)

I also tried a test batch of Pumpkin Pickles. (from Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving pg. 163) Everyone is anxious to try these, as the syrup the are packed in tastes yummy. The book said that it made 5 pints, but I ended up with 6 pints and a little extra syrup. We have very little waste from pumpkins, as we roast and eat the seeds as well.

The garden is now getting ready to be put to bed. We have part of it done, but still need to get out and finish it. We've covered the garlic with horse manure, straw and a nice big pile of Maple leaves. They will be nice and cozy over the winter. We put in 120 Bogytar, 108 Siberian, and 36 Bavarian Purple - all hardneck garlic. I'm hoping they do well. They went in a little later than I would have liked.

We also prepped our onion and pea beds for spring. They have been turned, and layered with horse manure, straw and some leaves as well. When spring comes, the manure should be pulled down into the soil by the worms over winter (in theory) and the straw will mark the rows. The leaves are piled on deep to hopefully prevent the soil from freezing solid, and will allow it to be workable in the spring. We'll pull both the leaves and straw off to allow the soil to warm a few days before planting. We'll be putting in 2 types of peas - a sweet pea and Carlin peas. The Carlin are a dry pea and is traditionally used for Pea Porridge. (Remember the ditty "Peas Porridge Hot, Peas Porridge Cold?")

The tomato cages are cleaned up and put away, and we've pulled all the stakes up that held the cages. Our cages aren't the flimsy ones you buy at the store, but are made from a roll of 4" x 4" fencing that is 4' high. We also picked more rock that decided to pop up during the season. Those things produce better than my veggies do!

We still have to finish off the garden, but all the time we put in now will save time in the spring, when we are anxious to get all those little seedlings in their new home. We also won't have to worry about getting the beds turned to get the earliest veggies in, as they will be ready to go. So many times we've run into problems and have missed putting in the earliest crops. We are trying to prevent that next year.

Our First Frost

We had our first frost Thursday. Friday morning at 6am our thermometer registered at 30 degrees F. We covered our tomatoes and peppers but had hoped that there wouldn't be any frost yet. Guess that was wishful thinking.

I've been canning tomatoes and put up some corn for the winter. I don't know how the cabbage will fare. I've been battling cabbage worms and those dang things are winning. I swear they multiply more than wire coat hangers do!

Today brought a wonderful mail delivery: "The Weather-Wise Gardener" by Calvin Simonds. What a fantastic looking book. It was printed in 1993 by Rodale Press and like all their books, it is just full of information. I've only had a chance to read the introduction, and can't wait to get some time tonight to really start reading it.

I found a wonderful purchase on Amazon.com today. It's a Fagor 12 Piece Pressure Cooker and Canner Set that they are offering for under $30!! This is normally and expensive item - alone running about $100 plus all the other goodies that come with it. I've heard a lot about this set on my canning list, so I decided to purchase it. I have a huge Mirro Pressure Canner that will hold over 20 pint jars, but there are times I'd love a smaller one for those small batches of soups or stews to can. Not only that, but it is to do double time as a cooker, and being 10 quart instead of the 6 quart cooker that I have, will be more geared to our family needs. It's due to arrive by Thursday - and I just can't wait!
I started a Herman last weekend, and it had its first feeding since it was created. Two more, and I'll be able to use it. Hubby can't wait to get some good Herman food again :)

Preparing for Cold Weather

The weather report is calling for chance of flurries tomorrow and possibility of snow on Tuesday. Chance of snow is not unusual for this time of year, but I'm somewhat concerned with all the leaves on the trees. Tonight, we are getting rain, and the temps are at 42°F. They can drop quickly. Those cold temps can cause ice to form on the leaves which can really do some damage. Those trees will snap and pull power lines down and cause life to come to a standstill. Well, at least a for most people. We are prepared. DH has the generator out and ready, plus we've got the oil lamps ready and even one burning right now. I love the glow of an oil lamp, so I had just had to keep one burning.

I honestly love it when the power goes out. The town grows so quiet and still. There are no hums of motors or outdoor lights blocking the gorgeous night sky. It's the sights and sounds I long for, but never get to experience unless we are out of power. The longest we've been without power has been a week, and we really didn't miss it. Now all we need is a wood cookstove and we'll be all set :)

With all the colder temps, I'm getting in the mood for the holiday season. I've been trying out new recipes, and have been looking for a recipe for cranberry sauce. Everyone loves it, but DH and the kids don't like the whole berry kind. They want something that is similar to the gel we get in the store. Today, my hunt has finally ended. I received "Home Cooking with Dave's Mom" by Dave's Mom, Dorothy from PaperBack Swap and in it was the recipe I have been searching for! It's so simple and tastes very, very good! I halved the recipe for trying. We are having this for dinner tonight with our macaroni and cheese.

Cranberry Gel
Source: Home Cooking With Dave's Mom page 106

4 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup water
2 cups granulated sugar

In medium saucepan, over medium heat, add berries and water. Cook until berries pop, then pus through a Foley food mill. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Put in a glass jar with straight sides. (I used a pint wide mouth canning jar). When chilled, it will slide out of the jar and can be sliced for serving. Keeps well in the refrigerator. Makes 4 cups.

I still have not turned the heat on, however, DH did yesterday, to make sure it was running correctly. We are staying at about 60° overnight and it creeps up in the daytime. I have been using the oven for meals, so it usually peaks at about 67-68° in the evenings. The children don't seem to mind or notice it as much as I do, but clothing layers take care of that. I still need to go out and buy some plastic for the picture window. That thing lets so much cold air in - it's like sitting next to a fridge - even with the insulated drapes drawn!

Each year we try to improve our home a little. Each year it becomes just a bit more efficient. I'd love to go solar and use a cook stove for both heat and cooking. Sadly, our kitchen is not laid out so that we can put a stove in yet. Yes, I did say yet. We are planning on some reconstruction a bit down the road to fit our needs. I'm so looking forward to that.

It's funny. I remember when I was so heartbroken when I found out we couldn't move from here. My brother got the family farm, and we ended up with my parents home in town. It's the home they left to move to my grandparents farm. At the time we got this house, it was supposed to be a stepping stone to something larger - a little farm of our own. Life happened and we didn't move and every time we thought we'd have enough money and income for something, the land prices would go up out of reach, yet again. After 16 years of hoping and dreaming, the harsh reality set in that things wouldn't be as we dreamed about. Well, not yet, anyhow. So we decided to stay here a few more years as the economy becomes more and more questionable, and we'll thank the Lord we have a place to call home. Now, we've settled in nicely, and we are welcoming each new change and appreciating it all.

Bloom where you are planted. I finally know what that means!

Getting Fall Plantings In

We were lucky to get the garlic in today before the rain. We allowed things to try as much as possible, but the ground was still wetter than we'd have liked it. It now is snuggly nestled under composted manure, straw and leaves - all ready to set roots and quietly hang out until spring. We also moved all the winter onions and replanted them, as well as a couple of horseradish plants. Not much left to do in the garden, except to put it to bed. I still have a few tomatoes to pick before the killing frost they are calling for this weekend, and a couple of carrots to still harvest, but that's it.

As you can see, the trees here are still green. This was taken from our backyard through the lilacs...


What is even more amazing is the peppers - here they are STILL producing.....


The milkweed pods are opening and they are drawing in some new friends - can you see one here? You have to look closely.

If not, maybe this picture will show them off better....

Every other Thursday is interrupted with a trip to take the kids to their biology lab, so I can't get involved with anything time consuming. It's about a 40 minute round trip, so I decided to put some bagels in the bread maker to try. I found a recipe on RecipeZarr that sounded quite good. I was quite surprised how easy they were. To think all this time I've been putting them off because they appeared to be more difficult than they actually are. They turned out nicely - and everyone here is insisting that we don't buy them from the store any more. (Note - if you see marks under the bagels - please ignore. I cooled them over the parchment paper I baked them on so I could catch all the wandering poppy seeds.)

Garlic Planting Time

We spent the day finishing up the garlic bed. DS turned it all by hand and spent a lot of time making sure it was ready. Then we raked and marked it out and put one of the two wide rows of garlic in today. Our garlic plot is only 6 1/2 feet by 8 1/2 feet. We planted a 26" x 8 1/2' row today. After we put them all in, we sprinkled toe row with composted manure and then some straw. I still need to add more mulch - probably leaves and more straw before the freeze. The row now is home to 85 very large cloves of garlic. Tomorrow, we'll put the rest in.

Our friend, Paul, is an heirloom garlic "collector" (and I say that very fondly!) and he was sweet enough to share some of his garlic with us. We planted 35 cloves of Georgian Crystal, 25 cloves of Siberian, and 25 cloves of Bavarian Purple. We still have Chesnok Red, Transylvanian, Polish Softneck and California White to plant tomorrow. I'll have to separate the cloves and see how many we will have to plant. He sent us so many beautiful bulbs, and if I have a lot left over, I'll see if there's another small place we can plant more. Our garden isn't very large, so space is an issue - right now. I'll have to do some figuring, to see where and how we can make more room if need be.

I ordered the book, The Healing Power of Garlic by Paul Bergner from PaperBackSwap. With all the garlic we should have next year, we'll need a book on how to use it other than cooking with it.