It's Pumpkin Time/The First Frost

Welcome back.

The weather has been very summer like over the last week or so.  The temperatures have been right around 80 degrees the last two or three days.  However, the weather can vary tremendously this time of the year, and it has.  We had our first frost just 10 days ago on September 19th.  The temperature dipped to 30 degrees and the result was just a light frost.

Luckily, I covered a few remaining plants that I wanted to save.   I still have some tomatoes and peppers on the vine.  I try to protect the tomatoes as long as possible, since I will have to wait many months for next year's crop once a hard frost puts an end to the growing season.  That's a long time to wait for tomato lovers.

The old expression of frost on the pumpkin rang true:

Frosty Morning - Tomatoes and Peppers Covered

Speaking of pumpkins, I recently harvested those and my "manure pile" gourds.  You may recall that last fall I discarded some gourds on a pile of composted manure.  Quite a few sprouted this spring, so I allowed them to grow and the results were pretty good.  See my post of  May 23, 2014 for more details (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com.br/2014/05/garden-updatenice-red-winged-blackbird.html).

Overall, the pumpkins and gourds did well.  The pumpkin varieties I planted this year were Big Max, Connecticut Field, Jack O' Lantern, and Jack Be Little miniature pumpkins.

Since the above photos don't show the gourds and mini pumpkins very well, below is a photo of some of them on our dining room table:

Now that the growing season is winding down, I am starting to start the process of cleaning up the garden in preparation for next year.  So far, the only clean up I've done is where the potatoes were planted.  I removed the vines and the worst of the weeds before rototilling, which I did about a week ago:

The Potato Patch Ready For Rototilling

The Last of the Wildflowers

Finally, a few photos from my home of the fall foliage.  It is shaping up to be a very colorful year. On our hill, which is at an elevation of 1500 ft, the colors are close to peak:

Until next time.

The Harvest Continues: Onions, Potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts

Welcome back.  As always I hope you enjoy reading my blog.

Recently I pulled the two rows of yellow sweet Spanish onions that I started from seed and transplanted in May.  You may recall that in my post on August 21, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/08/onions-and-potatoes.html), I wrote about harvesting the Stuttgart and red onions. The Spanish onions are a long season onion and therefore require more time to mature.

In that post I also described how I dry and prepare the onions for winter storage.  After drying in the sun for a few days, I store them in our cellar in plastic bins for the winter.  In the past I have also hung them to store which works well also,  I remember my Mom braiding the tops before hanging them.  That is also a great method which definitely takes some practice.

Yellow Sweet Spanish Onions

I have been continuing to harvest the potatoes.  I have the Kennebec and Yukon Gold varieties dug, only one row of the German Butterball variety remains.  They were planted a little later and are still growing.  However, frost is expected tonight which will probably put a damper on the growing season.

In review,  Kennebec is a great all purpose mid season potato that stores well.  It matures in about 80 days.

Yukon Gold is also a good storage potato known for it's yellow flesh.  This variety matures in about 70 to 90 days, and is great for baking, although it is very good also for boiling or potato salads.

Once the potatoes are dug, it is important to allow them to dry before storing them for the winter.  It is also important that the potatoes not be washed or exposed to light during this process.  If potatoes are exposed to light they will turn green and become inedible.

I have found that drying the potatoes on newspaper works well as the newspaper will wick away moisture.  This is also a technique my Mom used.  I lay out sheets of newspaper on my garage floor and spread out the potatoes.  After allowing them to dry overnight, I then cover them with an old blanket the following morning and keep the garage door closed to keep out as much light as possible.

I allow the potatoes to dry for 3 or 4 more days.  Then I transfer them to plastic milk crates for storage.  I normally sort them by variety and size, puting the larger ones in one crate, the smaller in another for example.  I then store them in the cellar which stays at a pretty constant temperature during  the winter, normally between 40 and 50 degrees.

The final step is to cover the crates with an old blanket or quilt to block out any light.

The Brussels sprouts I planted as an experiment have grown well and were recently ready for harvest. It is interesting how these plants grow, I didn't realize how large the plants get.  The sprouts appear along the stem and mature from the bottom up,

And finally:

Another Beautiful Sunrise at My Home

Until next time.

Making Tomato Sauce/The Great Blue Heron Returns

Hello to all my readers and welcome back.

It's hard to believe that September has arrived and the gardening season is winding down.

The tomatoes have done really well overall, and are producing heavily as September gets under way. The plants are starting to die off from late blight, but there are still plenty of tomatoes left on the vines that will still ripen over the coming weeks.

Since I have an abundance of Corbarino tomatoes, a small paste variety, I decided to experiment with making a batch of tomato sauce.  I also used a few Cherokee Purples, Big Rainbows, and Artisans. For more information on these tomatoes and others I planted this season, see my posts on March 25, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-tomato-starting-time.html) and April 7, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/04/planting-more-tomatoes-more-heirlooms.html),

The first step is of course to wash the tomatoes in cool water.

Corborino and Artisan Tomatoes

Cherokee Purple and Big Rainbow Tomatoes

Next, I slit the tomatoes, then gently squeezed them to remove some of the water and seeds.  Even though I used a food mill later in the process, this step helps to remove some of the liquid and seeds.

I then pre-cooked the tomatoes for 5 or 10 minutes to soften them.  This will make the milling process easier.

Now it's time to get out the old food mill and press the juice and pulp from the tomatoes. Be sure to squeeze as much pulp as possible from the tomatoes.

The final step, of course, is to simmer, season, and reduce the sauce.

Which seasonings you use is of course entirely up to you according to your taste preferences.  I  used onion salt, garlic powder, hot pepper flakes, ground black pepper, oregano, basil, and a touch of sugar to help counterbalance the acidity.

Continue to simmer the sauce for about 4 hours to obtain the desired thickness.  The volume of sauce will reduce by about 50%.

In this case we used the sauce to make a delicious pot of chili.

Finally, we had another visit from a Great Blue Heron.  They are fun to watch as then hunt around the pond, moving very slowly so as to not startle their prey.  Enjoy the photo.

Great Blue Heron

Until next time.

Heirloom Tomatoes/Wild Turkeys At Raquette Lake, NY

Welcome back.  I hope you are enjoying reading my blog as the summer draws to a close.

Sunflowers in Full Bloom

Although our family is on vacation this week in Raquette Lake,  NY,  I decided to write a short entry. 

The tomato harvest is well underway as the month of August comes to an end.  On the morning

we left for the Adirondacks, I picked some nice tomatoes and also some hot peppers.  We have been enjoying them while at camp.

Hungarian Wax and Jalapeno Peppers

As you may recall, I planted a mixture of hot peppers that included these two varieties.  They were started from seed as described in my post on March 30, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/planting-peppersspringtime-birds.html).

The larger heirloom tomatoes are now starting to ripen, as I picked a few from the heirloom mixture that I planted (also from seed).  Refer to my post on March 25, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-tomato-starting-time.html).

Cherokee Purple and Dixie Golden Giant (large tomatoes).  Also Corborino and Artisan.

I'm sure that by the time we get home in a few days, there will be an abundance of all of the varieties.  In the coming weeks I will also be harvesting the rest of the potatoes (I only have dug a few hills), and also some Brussels sprouts and sweet Spanish onions.

Finally, a few photos of some wild turkeys that have been wondering frequently around the property of the cabin we are currently renting in Raquette Lake, NY.

Until Next time

Onions and Potatoes

Welcome back.  Yesterday I pulled the yellow Stuttgart and red onions.  It's hard to believe that the growing season is winding down.  The summer sure went fast.  But it's not quite over yet.

So when is the proper time to harvest the onions?

Generally, when the tops start to turn brown and die off, it is time to harvest.  This indicates that they have stopped growing.  Of course, different varieties will mature at different times as is true with all vegetables. For example, the yellow sweet Spanish onions that I planted are still growing, I normally wait until September to harvest them.

You may recall my post on May 10, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/planting-more-early-season.html), in which I described planting the Stuttgart and red onions.  It doesn't seem that long ago, but it's been over three months now.

Below are the results of that planting:

Once the onions are pulled, it is best to let them dry in the sun for a few days as a type of aging.  A wheelbarrow works well for this.   Of course, they can be used as soon as they are harvested, but if you want to store them, it is better to make sure they are dry.  Onions can be stored over the winter in a cool dark place, preferably around 40 to 50 degrees.  I store mine in our cellar, which maintains that approximate temperature range during the winter.  These conditions also work well for potatoes.

Some varieties store better than others.  The Stuttgart onion is an excellent keeper.  The red onions do fairly well also, but not as well at the Stuttgart.  The yellow sweet Spanish onion is not a good storing onion.

I also dug 4 or 5 hills of potatoes yesterday, for several reasons.  The vines are still growing, but they are starting to wilt down a little.  Similar to the onions, I usually dig the potatoes once the vines have died off, which is normally mid-August to September depending on the variety.

I described planting the potatoes in my blog entry of May 30, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/in-with-potatoes.html).

I dug a few of the Yukon Gold hills, since we are going on vacation and we wanted to use them to make a potato salad.  This variety is an excellent choice for potato salad.  I also wanted to "test" the crop to see how well they have grown this season.

Based on the results from digging these 4 or 5 hills, It is going to be an excellent potato harvest this year:

Yukon Gold Sampling

Finally, a photo of a pretty sky this evening with a small rainbow included:

Until next time and as always, thanks for reading.

Wildflowers, Sunflowers, and a Garden Pest

Welcome back.

As promised, this week I will take a break from the veggies and dedicate my post to the flowers in my garden.

Preparing the garden to plant wildflowers is pretty much the same as it is for vegetables, as far as rototiling, etc.  I have a small raised portion of my lower garden that I have been using for the wildflowers for the past 4 or 5 years.  Prior to that I planted sunflowers there.

After rototilling, the next step is to rake the soil.  However, I take a little more time to remove as many stones and coarse material as possible.  The seeds are very fine, actually similar in size to lettuce seeds.

There are many different mixtures of wildflower seeds you can purchase.  The mixtures are categorized according to region of the country, color, plant height, sun preference, moisture preference, etc.  Some mixes are designed to attract butterflies.   Following is one of the packages I used this year..  I also used a butterfly mixture:

Wildflower mixture that contains Chrysanthemum,  Dianthus, Coreopsis, Cosmos, Alyssum and more

After preparing the soil, sprinkle the seeds on the surface according to the package directions.  Most packages will tell you how many square feet the seeds will cover.

Next, I use a rake to gently rake in the seeds to an approximate depth of one quarter of an inch.  The idea is to mix the seeds with the soil to prevent them from washing away, and also to keep them moist to promote germination.  As an added precaution, I put a very light coating of grass clippings over the top to further prevent erosion of the seeds and to retain moisture.

One very important aspect is to water daily until germination occurs.  The seeds are so tiny, therefore they must be kept moist.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at the time of planting, however I did take one about 2 weeks later near the end of May:

Wildflower Bed

If you look closely, you can see that the seeds have begun to sprout.

The flowers have been blooming for a month or more, and are starting to fill in nicely  Following are a few photos I took this past Sunday, August 10th:

Also, as you may remember, I planted sunflowers as I wrote about in my post on June 23, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com.br/2014/06/sunflowers-and-nesting-tree-swallows.html).  In that post I also described how I moved some of the plants to create an evenly spaced plot.

This past Sunday I also took a few photos of the sunflowers:

Finally, a certain garden pest has been nibbling in my garden, mostly affecting the beans.  I planted the pole beans 3 times, each time they were mysteriously eaten,  After the third planting, I even put a little fence around the bean poles, however that didn't work either.  Can any of you guess who the culprit was?

Scroll down for my guess......

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Until next time.

Harvest Time Has Begun/Blanching Beans

Welcome back and as always thanks for reading.

August has arrived and the garden is really starting to produce nicely overall.

So far this season we have been enjoying lettuce, scallions, and peas.  Over the last week or so the green and yellow beans have been ready to pick.

Green Romano Beans

Although I didn't post an entry on planting beans, this year I planted yellow wax beans and a Romano type flat green bean.  The Romano beans are delicious and I have found that I prefer this type of green beans as compared to the typical green bean.  

After being away on vacation for 4 or 5 days, I returned to find a decent amount of vegetables to pick, including a few surprises.  There were also some disappointments:

Garden Harvest

The best surprise was the tomatoes!  I picked some of the Artisan and Corbarino varieties.  For information on these varieties, refer to my post on March 25, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-tomato-starting-time.html).  In the basket above the Corbarino tomatoes are in the center, the Artisan tomatoes are in the right corner.

Another nice surprise was the lemon cucumbers, an heirloom type, which are producing very well.  See my post on June 4, 2014 for information on this variety (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/06/planting-cucumbersa-visit-from-turkey.html).  This cucumber is delicious, the best I have ever tasted, as they are slightly on the sweet side.

The cucumbers overall, however, are a disappointment since the vines seem to be dying off for some reason. It may be it has been too wet, or there is some sort of blight that is affecting them.   The same is true for the Zucchini and yellow squash, which are planted next to the cucumbers.  The squash seem to be producing fairly well despite the vines not being too healthy.

The pepper plants are also starting to yield, as I picked a couple of Hungarian Wax ones that were included in the hot pepper mixture I started from seed (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/03/planting-peppersspringtime-birds.html).

Finally, since I ended up with a fairly large batch of beans, I decided to freeze a bag of them so we can enjoy them later on this fall or winter.  To freeze the beans, I used the following procedure:

• Wash the beans thoroughly in cold water and then cut off the ends.  You can leave the beans whole, or cut up into smaller pieces, depending on your preference.

• Bring a pot of water to a boil.  A pinch of salt can be added if desired.
• Place the beans in the boiling water ans set a timer for 3 minutes.

• After 3 minutes, drain and place the beans in an ice water bath for 3 minutes.
• Drain the beans and pat dry to remove some of the moisture.
• Place in a freezer bag or container and freeze.  Be sure to label with the contents and date. The beans should keep well for at least 6 months.

This process of boiling for a few minutes, followed by rapid cooling is called blanching.  Blanching stops enzyme actions that can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.  It also cleanses the surface of microorganisms.

In my next post I will share some photos of some flowers that I am growing in the vegetable garden this season.

Until next time.