Bumper Crop of Pears

Old-fashioned cooking pears ... delicious out-of-hand, sliced and served with a tasty aged cheddar, or stewed with lemon and ginger.

Rouse the Spouse makes the winter garden happen!

Without his help, there would be no winter garden! My right hip is shot. I can't bend and stoop and do what is needed to prepare the beds or plant the seeds. Total hip replacement is scheduled for the 25th of the month. In the meantime, Rouse is making it happen! Mustard, kale, collards, chard, lettuce, spinach, tatsoi, pak choi, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts... is your mouth watering yet??

Summer Garden

 

It's what's for dinner...

Delicata Squash Ready to Harvest

Also known as sweet potato squash, Bohemian squash, and peanut squash, delicata squash is considered to be a winter squash, with a more delicate, edible skin. It's typically grown in the summer and harvested in the fall. I guess fall is closer than it seems, because here in central NC the delicata squash is ready NOW.

If you've never tasted it, it's worth searching out at your local farmers market. It's a very versatile veggie in the kitchen ... delicious roasted, sautéd, or stuffed and baked. Just cut in half, scoop out the seeds (which can be roasted), and prepare your favorite winter squash recipe. It has a wonderfully rich, sweet, creamy, yellow flesh that's hard to beat.

Hurricane Isaias dumped 3-1/2" of rain at our house yesterday.

What happens when you neglect the garden for a few days in the middle of summer?

On Thursday, we returned from a 4-day camping trip in the mountains of western NC. Boy, oh boy, am I missing the cool mountain air and the refreshingly frigid swimming holes! Of course, the hot and humid garden was in need of picking... swollen cucumbers, too big okra, overdone green beans, cracked tomatoes. It doesn't take long for things to get out of hand, but with the help of Rouse the Spouse, we got everything up to date .... picked, watered, and weeded.

Unfortunately, we found another black snake (the second) ensnared in the bird netting installed to protect the blueberry crop. I'm sorry to have caused the death of Brother Snake. Yesterday, I discovered a spicebush swallowtail butterfly trapped in the netted space. I carefully caught it in our granddaughter's pink butterfly net and set it free. The berries are at the end of their season... the BEST blueberry season we've ever had, I might add. I guess it's time to take down that net.

The tomatoes are really coming in now. We are enjoying the annual deliciousness of juicy tomato sandwiches. Imagine thick tomato slices, sprinkled with lots of salt and pepper, slathered with mayonnaise, stuck between two slices of real white bread from our fantastic local baker at Phoenix Bakery. Sometimes we eat standing over the sink to better manage the drips!

Of course, BLT's are also on the menu... and pasta loaded with basil pesto... and refrigerator pickles... and more green beans than we care to eat... plus shishito peppers... and the incredible roasted okra! We're in the thick of scrumptious summer.

Featured in Chatham Magazine Article!

Ours was one of three local gardens featured in the August / September "food and drink" issue of Chatham Magazine. This well-done local magazine is a great resource for keeping up with what is going on with neighbors and the larger community of Chatham County. It's full of pictures and stories about people we really know!

The magazine can be read online and physical copies can be found at local businesses. Be sure to check out the article in question, titled, Can You Dig It?  Our section begins on page 86. Interesting read with nice photos. Warning: cute granddaughter alert!

Summertime Blues

The blueberry bushes are still yielding quite a bit of fruit ... as much as we care to pick!

I made another blueberry pound cake yesterday ... the third one this season. This one was made in honor of a couple of special July birthdays. My mother-in-law celebrated her 89th birthday last week, and Rouse the Spouse will be 66 tomorrow.

I don't think I've shared this recipe before. Definitely a "do-again-er"! I've been making this cake during blueberry season for years. The recipe comes from a Southern Living publication called The Southern Heritage Cakes Cookbook, copyright 1983. The book is definitely dated, but full of wonderful recipes. Here's an interesting review of the book, from Short Street Cakes in Asheville (post dated 2010) .... featured cookbook review

Blueberry Pound Cake

1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, divided
2-1/4 cups sugar, divided
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries

Grease 10" tube pan (or bundt pan) with 2 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle pan with 1/4 cup sugar; set aside. Cream remaining 1 cup butter. Gradually add remaining 2 cups sugar, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; mix well.

Combine 2-3/4 cups flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating until well blended. Dredge blueberries with remaining 1/4 cup flour. Fold blueberries into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool in  pan 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and let it cool completely before slicing.

For real decadence: Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

What happened to my tomato plant??

When the top of your tomato plant looks like this:

It's time to start looking for THIS:

Tomato Hornworm
A very large caterpillar with a horn on its tail

Here's another photo to give a size reference:

A hornworm's favorite thing to eat is tomato plant, although they will eat potato, eggplant, pepper ... any member of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.

Hornworms chew leaves and can quickly and efficiently defoliate a plant. Typically, the feast begins with the leaves at the top. As the very hungry caterpillar matures, it may also chew holes in the fruit.

Physical removal is usually the only necessary management, but first you've got to find the beast. It's not as easy as you might think. These creatures are masters of camouflage. Blending in with the leaves and stems, they often go unnoticed until the damage is done. As you search, you may come across another sign of hornworm presence... relatively large, dark green droppings that have accumulated on leaves.

Now ... if you find a hornworm that looks like this:
Good news! Leave it! Parasitic wasps have laid eggs on it, effectively taking over its body. The wasps are "good guys" in the garden. For more about THAT, check out my post from June 2019:
https://sueisinthegarden.blogspot.com/2019/06/tomato-hornworms-and-little-help-from.html

Another 1" of rain overnight!

Just another day in the garden

Friday evening we woke in the middle of the night to the sound of thunder (close!) and rain on the roof.  In the light of day, the rain gauge revealed that a much needed inch of rain had fallen. No matter how hard we try, our watering efforts are never as effective as a good soak from Mother Nature. The plants have perked up. The veggies are growing like mad.

Yesterday I was mostly focused on getting green beans and beets processed and ready to eat, then putting up another batch of berry jam. Today, I took a closer look at the rest of the garden. Oh, my! The cherry tomatoes needed tying up. Two of my roselle plants had fallen over. The shishito peppers are ready to harvest, with one plant so overloaded with fruit it had fallen over on its side!

I got busy and picked the peppers. This is my first year growing shishito peppers. Last summer, they were all the rage, and for good reason. Oh my gosh, they are tasty! Officially classified as hot peppers, they are actually not hot at all ... except when they are! One out of every ten or twenty will be a bit spicy ... just enough to get your attention. Anyone for a little "Russian roulette" at the pepper platter?

No need to remove the seeds from these peppers. Just throw them, whole, onto the grill or into the skillet. Char-grilled or blistered with a little olive oil and sea salt, they make an awesome appetizer or unusual side dish. Can't wait to dig into our first batch!

Next task ... shore up the roselle. I carefully placed large tomato cages around the plants, taking care not to break any branches. I hope that will provide strong enough support in the long run.

Then, my espaliered cherry tomato plants needed some attention. What a mess! Fortunately, I was able to get them under control. I trained them up and across the plastic fencing, tying as needed. We've been enjoying the black cherry tomatoes, with plenty more to come. And finally, some little green tomatoes on the sun golds.

Once the urgent tasks were complete, I accomplished the daily picking of beans and cucumbers. I finished as the first hot rays of sun came over the tree tops and into the garden. Perfect timing!

Coffee First ... then the Garden

It's July, and it's hot and humid. When it comes to garden chores, the best plan is an early morning plan. As soon as I get up, I pour myself a big steaming cup of coffee. That's right ... it's already brewed and waiting. Rouse the Spouse spoils me that way :-)

Properly fortified, I head to the garden. The blueberries are coming on strong. The prolific green beans (rattlesnake pole beans and jade bush beans) were picked yesterday, but the beets need to be harvested today. A few cucumbers hide under their vines but cannot escape my eagle eye. It's a race with the sun. As soon as it peeks over the trees, it's quittin' time!

This morning, Rouse the Spouse did the blueberry picking. I pulled the beets and did the initial clean and sort of the roots and greens.

Then, into the kitchen to prep and cook (under pressure) the beets and yesterday's green beans. Then, prepare a batch of blueberry jam. Ooooh! The larder is looking better every day!

Mother Nature will take care of it... right?

Rouse the Spouse generously informed me that I would be in charge of removing the stinky, dead snake from the bird netting. Oh, no. Is he kidding?! I saw a vulture checking it out today. Maybe he will take care of it? But, no ... the place is too sketchy for a vulture. No way to relax and enjoy a good meal. No easy escape. The vulture passed us by.

So I went out to look at the poor snake, impossibly tangled in bird netting. But, wait! Even without the help of Brother Vulture, Mother Nature was taking care of business. The Blow Flies had already congregated, intent on laying their eggs (aka maggots) which would eventually hatch into very hungry larvae that consume decaying flesh. Beside them, a mass of dramatically colored yellow and black American Carrion Beetles were getting on with the business of laying THEIR eggs. Interesting factoid: In addition to eating the decaying flesh, carrion beetle adults and larvae eat maggots and other insect larvae that are competing for the same fleshy food sources. Look out flies!

I'm ok with this. I may have to put up with a little smelliness for a few days, but I'm grateful for the natural ways in which our earth very efficiently takes care of the unpleasantries of life.

The Daily Picking

I picked the garden this morning until the sweat dripped off my nose. I took that as a sign ... finished!

It was 11:00am. The sun should've stopped me at 10:30, but so many blueberries! And two beds of green beans that had to be picked. Plus, I just KNEW there was a cucumber or two under that heavy vine cover. Now for a tall glass of water and recovery in the blessed air conditioned house.

bountiful counter-full

Human Error Strikes Again

We lost Zebra, the presumptive rooster, last night. Got distracted at the wrong time and failed to close the green zone off from the larger chicken yard. Dammit! Assumed raccoon attack. Nothing left but the feathers.

Do not look if squeamish or tender hearted!

Bird netting saves the blueberries for human consumption, but not without a cost. Things can ... and DO ... get caught up in it. We were sad to find this black snake fatally ensnared. Sorry for the loss of this magnificent creature.

First Black Cherry Tomatoes

Almost waited too long to get this first bunch ... a couple have already split!

New Potatoes Call for New Potato Recipes

This one is a "do-againer"! Rich, complex flavors ... it's worth the extra effort!

I was looking for something special to do with my newly harvested potatoes. This recipe did not disappoint. I would give it 5 stars without hesitation. Delicious!

We ate by candlelight, on the screened-in-porch, with the smell of magnolia wafting about. Ahhh ... summertime in the south!

Roasted Lemon Chicken Thighs and Potatoes from fineCooking

Proof that these potatoes were grown with LOVE!

Digging Potatoes

The potatoes have been in the ground since March 6, plenty enough time to allow for mature tubers to develop underground. Plus, the plants are beginning to die back. Today's the day we dig for buried treasure!

We got quite a good haul this year ... nearly 60 pounds of potatoes, representing my best yields ever!

Here are the numbers:

Chieftain Red was the best overall producer, coming in at 22 pounds. Banana Fingerlings were not far behind at 18 pounds. We harvested 11 pounds of the gorgeous French Fingerlings and a disappointing 6 pounds of the Yukon Golds.

Of course, we found about 3 "potential" pounds of large Yukon Gold tubers that had been eaten up by shiny black millipedes and snail creatures. The entire inside of lovely potatoes, gone, turned into stinky, runny, mush. Eeewwww!

I sorted through all the potatoes, gently knocking off dirt, setting aside tubers exhibiting any sign of damage or the beginning of root growth. (Those potatoes would be destined for our dinner plates tonight) The rest are laid out on newspaper in the basement to cure for a few days before being boxed / bagged up for long term storage.

Heading into summer ...

The jade bush beans are ready to pick NOW and the pole beans will be mature next week. Several cucumbers coming off the vine today. Blueberries coming on strong.

New Potatoes

Last night we ate our first potatoes of the season... so creamy and delicious! The big one weighed in at 8-1/4 ounces. If these specimen are any indication, we're in line for our best-ever potato crop!

Hi kitty!

Blueberry Protection

The birds have been enjoying our blueberries a bit too much! I don't mind sharing a few, but they are quicker than we at picking the just-ripe berries. Last year was the first year we got next to NO blueberries. We don't want that to happen again. Our project this weekend was to take action.

First, we draped the bushes with bird netting. What a mess THAT was! I don't recommend it. We actually pulled off a lot of immature berries simply trying to get the thing in place. Plus, no easy way to pick! So, on to plan B... build a bird net cage around the blueberry bed.

Rouse the Spouse utilized pvc piping that we had on-hand, typically used to make the structures that support the fabric row covers that protect our crops over the winter months. Then, he wrapped it all in bird netting, being sure to make a gate at one end for access to pick. It looks good, and it works!

pvc piping good for lightweight framing

lovely how the sun shines off the netting

my happy problem solver

Shallot Harvest

laid out and drying in the shed

Rascally Rabbit

I found this baby bunny in the house on June 4. I'm guessing it was brought in by the cat. Thankfully, there were no signs of injury. I easily caught it in our granddaughter's pink butterfly net. It was perfectly calm as I released it into the side yard, taking time to nibble some clover before hopping away.

Fast forward to today, June 13. As Rouse the Spouse and I were installing bird netting to protect the blueberries, we noticed Bunny Rabbit IN the garden! I hollered and it ran straight to a gap in the chicken wire fence installed to keep OUT such critters. We obviously need some fence mending.

Garlic Harvest

Harvested the garlic yesterday. What a heavenly smell wafting up off those plants as I spread them out on the ground to begin the drying process! Later, I tied them up in bundles to hang in the shed until dry and cured. The goal is to fully dry the papery wrappers while retaining the moisture and oils of the bulbs, a process that will take about two weeks. We've got a rainy week coming up... not the most ideal drying situation. I may have to bring them indoors, to a less humid environment.

Garlic

Last Salad Turnips - First Cucumbers

Beet Roots

Roasted beets tonight! and greens tomorrow...

New Black Raspberry Beds

A big shout-out to Rouse the Spouse and his helper, Jacob, who built new raised beds and filled them with black raspberry plants. I can't wait for next year's fresh raspberry crop!

Cherry Jam

This season, I managed to make two batches of cherry jam for a total of sixteen 1/2-pint jars. Check out the beautiful red color! And the flavor is as delicious as the color would suggest. I guess the hard work of processing little cherries has been worth it ... although I think I might have sprained my thumb while pitting all that fruit!

Chickens

Nanking Mandarin Cherries

Saturday, we picked approximately 4-1/2 pounds of Nanking cherries.

cherries, along with sugar snap peas, salad turnips, and radishes

The processing of this fruit is labor intensive. I spent 1 hour pitting ~3# to make nearly 4 cups of cherries for eight 1/2-pint jars of jammy preserves. Put the rest through the food mill, then a wire sieve, to get the juice.

Here's a nice document about the Nanking Mandarin Cherry (from Minnasota point of view.)  https://misadocuments.info/nanking_cherries.pdf , with a little summary of interesting points below:

Nanking cherries are best eaten fresh off the shrub.
Nanking cherries ripen shortly after strawberries and are a welcome treat in early summer. Nanking cherries can be processed into pies or jam, but they are too small for most mechanical pitting machines. There are a number of reports of people making good wine out of Nanking cherries, and presumably good fresh juice as well.

Nanking cherries are drought tolerant, and can be grown in a variety of well-drained soils.

Nanking cherries frequently receive little or no care. For reliable fruit production, the canes need to be regularly pruned. Nanking cherries should be pruned before bloom. Dead canes can be removed any time of year. Growers should keep about ten healthy canes per plant to maximize fruit quality.

Nanking cherries have surprisingly few disease or insect problems. Deer appear to avoid Nanking cherries. They acquire few leaf diseases.

Birds love Nanking cherries, and growers should prepare to protect their plants against birds. Birds also spread seeds, and Nanking cherries can become a weed in areas near the patch where birds often perch.

Ready for Possibility of ... Frost?!?

Who would guess that frost would threaten on May 9??

BEFORE

AFTER

Best Nanking Cherry Crop We've Ever Had!