I did my first canning of the season this week.
Usually, by now, we'd have several canners worth of green beans on the shelves in the basement but this year the harvest has been later and, so far, not very plentiful.
With our first picking of beans, I made dilly beans. One jar is different because I ran out of beans and Clarence suggested I try using snow peas.
This is the first year I haven't had to buy dill to make these. I've tried growing it in the past, hoping it would self-seed like it did for my mom when I was young. I've never had any luck, though. When I managed to grow some, it was never ready at the same time as the beans.
Last year, Clarence started some dill on a compost pile. It wasn't ready when I wanted to use it and went to seed later in the season. This spring, he spread the compost out in the hoop house and we had several dill plants come up in unexpected places. I thought it was a particular blessing that it was ready when I needed it. So much more convenient than having to find it for sale, too.
The zucchini has continued to thrive. We've enjoyed Honey Roasted Zucchini several times but a couple got quite big so I shredded them to use in baking.
I tried Blueberry Zucchini bread from Finding Joy in My Kitchen and was able to use up the fresh blueberries I had on hand, as well as the huge zucchini. I highly recommend her recipe and appreciate that she makes changes similar to what I like to do, such as using whole wheat for part of the flour, and applesauce for part of the fat.
The tomatoes are starting to ripen but we don't have enough for canning yet. The pole beans are starting to blossom, so I'm hoping for bigger harvests of beans in the coming weeks. No cucumbers yet. The corn may be ready soon. The potato vines are starting to die so we'll have to see how our lasagna-garden-style experiment worked.
Clarence is gearing up for his fall gardening already. I think he plans on putting in more snow peas, romaine lettuce, and spinach this coming week.
You can follow other gardeners participating in the From Seeds to Harvest challenge by visiting Teaching Good Things.
Usually, by now, we'd have several canners worth of green beans on the shelves in the basement but this year the harvest has been later and, so far, not very plentiful.
With our first picking of beans, I made dilly beans. One jar is different because I ran out of beans and Clarence suggested I try using snow peas.
This is the first year I haven't had to buy dill to make these. I've tried growing it in the past, hoping it would self-seed like it did for my mom when I was young. I've never had any luck, though. When I managed to grow some, it was never ready at the same time as the beans.
Last year, Clarence started some dill on a compost pile. It wasn't ready when I wanted to use it and went to seed later in the season. This spring, he spread the compost out in the hoop house and we had several dill plants come up in unexpected places. I thought it was a particular blessing that it was ready when I needed it. So much more convenient than having to find it for sale, too.
The zucchini has continued to thrive. We've enjoyed Honey Roasted Zucchini several times but a couple got quite big so I shredded them to use in baking.
I tried Blueberry Zucchini bread from Finding Joy in My Kitchen and was able to use up the fresh blueberries I had on hand, as well as the huge zucchini. I highly recommend her recipe and appreciate that she makes changes similar to what I like to do, such as using whole wheat for part of the flour, and applesauce for part of the fat.
The tomatoes are starting to ripen but we don't have enough for canning yet. The pole beans are starting to blossom, so I'm hoping for bigger harvests of beans in the coming weeks. No cucumbers yet. The corn may be ready soon. The potato vines are starting to die so we'll have to see how our lasagna-garden-style experiment worked.
Clarence is gearing up for his fall gardening already. I think he plans on putting in more snow peas, romaine lettuce, and spinach this coming week.
You can follow other gardeners participating in the From Seeds to Harvest challenge by visiting Teaching Good Things.
Good for you! That blueberry zucchini bread sounds yummy! I love zucchini and banana breads.
ReplyDeleteBecky K.
so glad you've enjoyed the bread :)
ReplyDeleteYour bread looks fabulous! We didn't end up with a garden this year...just too much for Tim with his hip and everything...
ReplyDeleteOh well, we have been given some produce which I froze and I am thinking of getting some more from a local stand to put up for winter.
Maybe next year we will have our own.
I have a whole 4 pints of wax beans canned (yeehaw!) we ate the rest. I am sure there are more to be picked by now! You will have to let me know how the pickled snow peas turn out, I'm intrigued!
ReplyDelete