Severe Weather Last Night

Sharp lightning, pea-sized hail, strong winds,  heavy rain...
1 and 1/4 inch at our house.

Friends, Carol and Mark, lost several hundred-year-old trees, and the front third of their house. What a sight.  So sad.

Jalapeno Jelly

In the cool of the early morning, I cooked up a batch of jalapeno jelly, producing six 1/2-pint jars.  I used all ripe and red jalapenos, and contrary to the recipe, did not remove any seeds or membranes from the peppers.  Last year I followed the directions, removing all the aforementioned pepper parts. Not enough zing in the jam!  Can't wait to taste this year's version!

Fava Bean Damage

Too much rain, too little rain, wind burn, strong sun on young plants? Who knows? It's on several plants, all at the same level of development. I've removed the ugly stuff. I'll have to watch and see.

Bean Flowers

It's easy to focus on the gustatory pleasures of fresh veggies straight out of the garden, but what about that which comes before the vegetable?  Many garden plants have beautiful flowers that attract essential pollinators that, in turn, aid in the successful production of fruit.  These days we are enjoying a variety of beans and southern peas at the dinner table. With their symmetric, outward flairing side-petals, the flowers of the bean and pea plant family (Legumes) are reminiscent of butterflies.  Here's a little gallery of bean blossoms that are currently blooming in the late summer garden.

Jade Bush Beans

Asian Long Beans

Rattlesnake Pole Beans

Pink-Eyed Purpled-Hulled Peas

Replaced Garden Fence

Cheapo green plastic fencing has served us well the last few years, keeping chickens out of the garden and defining the space as 'off-limits' to the granddog.  It was beginning to deteriorate, though, and had already been repaired in several places.  Of more concern, in some places there were gaps close to the ground making it possible for rabbits to enter, eat well, and prosper. The time had come to make some changes.

Rouse and I removed the green plastic fencing, the plastic covered metal poles, and the miscellaneous wooden stakes that were holding the fence up. The space looked so vulnerable!

Rouse drove in heavy-duty metal posts at the corners and light-weight metal supports along the sides. Then we stretched 24" wide, 1" hex poultry netting (a.k.a. chicken wire) around the perimeter of the garden, attaching it to the support posts with plastic ties and stapling it to the wooden sides of the raised beds.  In between the beds, I used landscape anchor pins to hold the bottom edge of the fencing close to the ground.

I can easily step over the 24" fence, but I need a way to get large equipment and large quantities of mulch etc into the garden. Rouse made a simple gate to allow garden cart and wheelbarrow access. It's obviously not cat proof, and it won't be squirrel proof. I can live with that.

It does look neat and tidy! I'm grateful that Rouse the Spouse is willing and able to help with these big projects. The garden is secured once again! Poor Peter Rabbit and his friends will have to find another fine place to dine.

Fig Preserves

We have so many figs coming in right now.  This morning I made two batches of fig preserves.  I filled canning jars with mostly fruit, then jarred up the remaining jelly to be used as syrup.  It turns out that this is not an original idea. Syrup made from figs was used as a sweetener by the Assyrians in 3000 B.C. - a practice that continued into the Middle Ages. When sugar became scarce during the American Civil War fig syrup came back into vogue.

Tonight I used my fig syrup in a chicken marinade, then served vanilla ice cream for dessert with not-yet-gelled fig preserves on top, accompanied by Abilicious ginger snaps on the side.  Delicious!

Ratatoulle

Hurricane's a-coming.  Time to clean out the freezer.

I used up frozen roasted zucchini, tomatoes, and pesto.  Added fresh sweet red peppers and eggplant from local farms. Made an awesome pot of ratatoulle and a pile of pesto pasta!

Hurricane Rain

The first of the hurricane rain just started.  Rouse and I were outside.  We could hear it coming ... big drops of rain.  We ran to the house.  Then it stopped.  False alarm.  Just a rogue band of rain on the outskirts of a huge storm.

Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the NC coast tomorrow, mid-day.

Figs are Good and Good for You

The fig tree is loaded with fruit and starting to ripen now.  Soon we'll be enjoying buttery sauted figs on ice cream, figs served with flavorful cheese and crackers, fig cake, fig preserves, fig chutney, pickled figs, dried figs.  We have plenty of figs ... enough to share with the bugs and the birds - including the chickens! During fig season, the fig tree is one of their favorite hang-out spots during free-range time.

We're not sure where this fig tree came from!  Our first guess would be that we transplanted a volunteer from my father-in-law's garden to our property, but neither my husband nor I have any recollection of doing that.  Plus, it grew up in a less-than-ideal shady location.  Who would have chosen to plant it there?  Yet it has done well.  And since we removed the large oak tree near the shed allowing more sun exposure, it has flourished, growing into a lovely sprawling shrub with twisting branches wider than they are tall.

The common fig bears a first crop, the breba crop, in the spring on last season's growth.  This year's breba crop was unremarkable.  I think I picked two figs. The second crop is borne on the new growth in the fall and is known as the main crop. I'm picking the main crop now.  The figs pictured here have been washed, stemmed, and quartered ... prepared for the preserving pot.  Fig preserves are our favorite!

Wondering if figs are "good" for you? Although figs have the highest sugar content of any common fruit (55% natural sugar), they are a good source of dietary fiber.  In fact, the amount of fiber found in figs is higher than that found in oranges, apples, or bananas. Fresh figs are rich in iron, calcium, vitamin A, and potassium.  They have some vitamin C (not much but it helps), and are also a good source of manganese. All this while being fat free and low in sodium. Eat figs with confidence!

Fava Beans have Sprouted

Last night as I was closing up the chickens I took a look at the garden.  The fava beans have sprouted!  They were not visible yesterday morning.

Severe Thunderstorm

2.7 inches of rain in last night's severe thunderstorm.  Power was knocked out at our house for 5 + hours.

Weeding Finished!

After three marathon sessions of hoeing, raking, and pulling the garden is weed-free!  Weeds, especially grasses, had taken over between the beds.  It was a hot job.  Note to self:  It's time to put down cardboard and mulch the garden paths again.

I cleaned up the herb bed, removing weeds and dead wood.  Cutting back the mint was especially enjoyable.  I had a little "aroma-therapy" moment in the midst of my garden chores.

While I had the clippers in my hand, I dead-headed the zinnias and the marigolds.  They're still looking pretty.

Possum Come a-Knockin'

Last night ...

Rouse was just a-sittin' and a-surfin' some ol' website when a possum come a-knockin' at the door.

Sue was in the hen house saying night-night to the chickens when a possum come a-knockin' at the door.

Granddog was a-whining, and a leapin' and a lungin' when a possum come a-knockin' at the door.

Sue came a runnin' seekin' help from her hubby when a possum come a-knockin' at the door.

She held the lantern while he did the grabbin' when a possum come a-knockin' at the door.

Granddog was a-waitin' thinkin' this is good as bacon when a possum come a-knockin' at the door.

The hens were a-noddin' sleepin' purty in the hen house ... and  that ol' possum won't be a-knockin' anymore!

Apologies to Nancy Van Laan, who wrote the original Possom Come a-Knockin, one of my all-time favorite read-aloud children's books.

Read a review: Possum Come a-Knockin'

Preserving Summer

Still playing catch-up ...  I made 8 jars of black raspberry jam this afternoon.  I didn't have time to actually make the jam back in June, but I did pick the berries, crush them, measure the exact amount needed for a batch of preserves, then froze them ... waiting for final transformation!

While I had all the canning stuff out I made 3 jars of okra pickles.  The house smells like vinegar.

It's what's for supper this time of year!

Freezing Basil Pesto

In the garden, basil is one of those plants that can be kept from bolting 'prematurely' ... i.e. before the gardener wants it to bolt.  Just keep cutting it!  Tonight I made another big batch of basic basil pesto and froze it in big blops to use in soups and sauces.

By "basic" I mean just the essentials:
basil + garlic + salt and pepper + olive oil

All zinged up in the food processor!

The recipe for basil pesto is not a critical one.  Make it to your own personal taste, depending on ingredients on hand and how it will be used.  For my frozen pesto I go heavy on the garlic and light on the oil, making a more chunky paste. I prefer not to include cheese in my frozen batches. I'd rather add some nice grated parmesan or romano at the actual point of cooking ... along with a few toasted pine nuts, walnuts, or sunflower seeds.

More Eggs from the Young Hens

I picked up two small eggs today... both brown.  No green eggs, yet!

3 inches of RAIN in the last couple of days!

I love it when Mother Nature takes care of the watering chores!  All I had to do was pick the garden, process the veggies, weed the beds, and start thinking about transitions.

I harvested most of the pink-eyed purple-hulled peas and cooked them.  There are still a few pods ripening on the plants.  I had space for only two 10' rows this year... not nearly enough to satisfy our love for southern peas.  Next year I'll plan better!

I stemmed a pile of bush beans and picked lots of pole beans and long beans ... they all went into the 'fridge.  I picked the okra and the jalapenos.

I cooked up a counter full of tomatoes (lots of green stripeys), along with onions, peppers, and celery, to make a thick sauce to be used in cooking this week.  While that was simmering, I made another big jar of refrigerator pickles.  We do love those crispy, sweet and sour pickles!

I weeded the bed that had recently been planted in zucchini and prepared it for its new resident ... fava beans.  Fava beans are a cool weather crop.  Where winter temperatures are above 10 degrees F - I hope that describes us this year - they may be seeded in August - September for a spring harvest. Pods may be picked when the green shell beans inside are plump. Or, for dry beans, wait until pods are dry on the plant before harvest.

Tonight we closed off the 'safe zone' from the hen house, forcing all the biddies to roost in the hen house with the more mature hens instead of in the separate smaller coop they've been using.  Several of the biddies have been 'flying the coop' late in the afternoon.  They love to get out into the big yard to run around, scratch for bugs, eat greens and figs and other delicacies.  The more courageous ones learned they could fly over the fence and didn't need to wait for me to come let them out of the chicken yard.  That habit had to be nipped in the bud.  Rouse and I stole into the hen house under cover of night and clipped their wings in the beam of Rouse's headlamp.

Fava Beans

Preparing fava beans for consumption is more labor intensive than preparing other beans.   First, you must shell the beans, discarding the outer pod.  Then, lightly steam the beans, about one minute. Now, shell the beans again, removing the smooth outer cover. Finally, prepare your favorite recipe. Here's a link that describes the process in words and photos.

How to cook fava beans.

First Egg!

This evening, Rouse brought in the first egg from our young hens' first laying season.  It's the one on the left.  It's brown, so we know it belongs to one of the dominiques. Notice how small it is compared to an egg laid by one of our mature dominiques. The size will increase steadily.

Hornworm

I like to see this!  Parasitic wasp eggs on the back of a big ol' bad hornworm.

Getting Caught Up ...

It's been hot, and we've had a little rain.  The garden is overflowing upon my return.

The okra is coming in steadily and must be picked daily.  Rouse missed a day or two ... Here's what overgrown okra looks like!  I'll leave a few of these on the stalk to mature and dry.  The dried pods are lovely in autumn arrangements.  The small, tender, green pods are lovely sauteing in a large skillet coated with olive oil!

There are lots of beans to pick ... bush beans, pole beans, long beans (pictured).  I like to stir-fry the long beans in olive oil until they're crispy golden, then sprinkled generously with salt and served up hot.  The bush beans and the pole beans cook up perfectly tender in just a few minutes in the pressure cooker.  They're delicious coated with garlic infused butter.  The purple-eyed peas are ripening nicely.

As expected, the cherry tomatoes are prolific producers.  I love to snack on those juicy globes!  The sun golds are very sweet ... perfectly delicious halfed and scattered throughout a big bowl of pesto pasta.

The tomato plants are suffering in the heat.  Much of the bottom foliage has turned brown.  I tied up drooping vines, picked ripe fruits, and tossed the rotting ones into the chicken yard.

We still have plenty of cucumbers.  I was afraid the heat would cause them to turn bitter, but they're actually quite crispy and tasty.  We've had enough rain that the fruits are developing in nice uniform shapes.

I picked all the peppers and stuffed them with ground beef and sharp cheddar cheese.  What a treat!

Looking forward to the fall garden ... the butternut squash plants are up and growing! I spread mulch carefully around the tender young plants.