Remember that picture of the median strip crabapples in my last post? I successfully transformed that twelve pounds of crabapples that were in the bucket into something delicious. I ended up with nine half-pints and one pint of crabapple jelly... that wasn't runny!
It tastes wonderful!
Next on the agenda was the fourteen pounds of freestone South Carolina peaches I bought from Beazley's Produce Stand on Indian River Road.
I blanched them in order to get the skins off easily.
Then I placed them in ice water to stop the cooking process.
After peeling them and removing the pits, they really looked tasty! No cheating though. I didn't eat any of them.
After removing the pits and skins, I cut them up into much smaller pieces for processing.
Then I mashed up the peaches while listening to some old tunes on the radio...
The finished product was nine half-pints plus two pints of peach preserves!
Now it was time for canning sliced peaches. They sure looked good!
I was able to get five pints of sliced peaches from what I had left over after the preserves. There's a little floating issue going on, but this was my first try for canning sliced peaches, so I claim it as a success!
This week I faced the task of picking the Marconi peppers that were in the garden. I had to get help from any available source. Granddaughter Celie was readily accessible and very willing to help her Poppa!
She liked picking the special red one! She thought that was neat!
Look Poppa!
(She loves going into the garden barefoot!)
Being young is not an excuse for not helping to get the harvest in. We all have to do our part, and little sister Eleanor pitched right in!
There were 26 Marconi green peppers weighing in at a total of 3 1/4 pounds. We took them in the house and prepared some right away for dipping in blue cheese dressing. They were delicious!
I picked collards for the first time this season, and they weighed in at 2 1/2 pounds. Although the leaves are small, the taste will be great!
The sorrel finally looks pretty happy and healthy in the half barrel I have it planted in.
After picking, it weighed 1 1/2 pounds which is quite a nice harvest. Sorrel soup is one of the items on the menu for tonight!
This week's figures bring the total weight of harvested organic produce this year to 286 pounds. That equates to a market value of $1,094.35.
That concludes another Harvest Monday posting from our garden. Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on. I hope more and more people will begin growing some of their own food.
Visit Daphne's Dandelions for some wonderful information on gardening!
Have a great vegetable gardening day!
Veggie PAK
It looks like you are getting a lot of canning done! It's that time of the year. Those peaches look fine to me. Sometimes mine float and sometimes they don't!
ReplyDeleteI think it is so great that you have such wonderful garden helpers!
I am not sure I would post the fact that the grand kids are working in the garden. Some liberal will have you in court for child labor charges.
ReplyDeleteIf I was retired I would take my grand kids from my daughter every day and be with them all day every day. Have fun while they still want to be with grandpa and not with their friends.
What a productive bit of canning you got accomplished. My peaches and tomatoes do the floating thing now and then - not a problem just not county fair worthy.
ReplyDeleteha ha! i laughed out loud at the canning process with eye of the tiger in the background. Those peach goodies look fantastic! The grandbabies are too precious.
ReplyDeletethanks too for the tip about pulling weeds sooner rather than later. I had been continuing my current mode of thinking and was going to let it all go till the spring since it was a goner anyway, but you're right about the seeds. I really do need to get out there and do something.
Robin, You're right! It's canning time, and applesauce and applebutter are the next products I'm going for. Doesn't it leave you wondering when "sometimes they do and sometimes they don't."?
ReplyDeleteFrank, Working the kids is OK. They aren't working for pay... they're working for their FOOD! Ha! Ha! You're right about spending time with them. Get it while you can!
kitsapFG, Thanks! Even though they float sometimes, they still taste great. Maybe I should have pushed them down a little when I was filling the jars. I'll try that next time.
Wendy, Yeah, the eye of the tiger was unexpected when I was stirring and taking the video. When he sang "the end", the video ended. I couldn't have planned that one! Even if you can't pull the weeds, cut out the seed heads and put them in the trash. Then you can pull the stems/stalks out at your leisure. Ridding the garden of weed seeds results in a dramatic reduction in weeds next year. You have a very beautiful garden. Your love of gardening shines through as evidenced by the tremendous amount of labor that went into preparing your wonderful garden! The flat rocks remind me of the rock walls separating areas on my grandparent's farm in upstate NY. I miss it tremendously!
Thanks to each of you for stopping by and sharing a comment, and thanks to all my visitors. I appreciate each and every one of you for spending your time reading what I have to share with you.
Take care and happy gardening!
Veggie PAK