We can definitely feel that Fall is right around the corner this week. The night temperatures are much cooler and the mornings crisp. A busy time of year for sure with all the harvesting, canning, and preparing for the winter months that are creeping up on us here in Ohio. It’s a good feeling bringing in the bounty from the garden and seeing the hard work put into it finally paying off. I have to say that this year’s garden wasn’t what I was expecting with certain items not preforming as expect and others a nice surprise. The spring garden definitely did much better than the summer garden. We were still able to harvest enough which is always the case. We always have enough and are grateful for what we receive.
September 16, 2023
In The Garden
Celery
In the back garden I have a raised bed that I have planted my celery plants in this year. I have to say they like this location because they did amazing. So tall and lush with nice thick stalks. This will be a crop that I can plan to plant every other year. Or perhaps just plant enough to eat fresh and not a large harvest every year. I will definitely have enough harvested this year to last for 2 years. My preferred method of preservation is freezing but last year I tried a very nice ferment and loved it. This is a sage celery ferment that I found in this book I purchased last year called Fermented Vegetables. This celery ferment was perfect for those fall flavors we are looking for and a nice addition to those comfort foods for during this time of year. Reminds me of Thanksgiving, so I call this Thanksgiving in a jar.
I have not counted them yet but did harvest 6 plants this week and didn’t put a dent in what I still have. These were given to family members for them to preserve. I will keep you updated on the exact amount I harvest, and how I preserve them up to use over the next 2 years.
Squash
We removed most of our squash and pumpkin vines last week but left 1 zucchini and 1 lemon squash plant up front near the fenced in garden. These 2 plants are still producing nice sized squash and we are simply using them as they ripen. I have enough already prepared and in the freezer to last for the winter.
I made a couple yummy squash quiches as well as several chocolate zucchini breads to freeze. These will make a quick breakfast or easy dessert to pull out when we are busy or unexpected company.
In the fenced in garden, we still have a few pumpkins that I planted late in the season hoping to avoid some of the pressures that my vining plants struggle with. This really hasn’t worked out as well as I had hoped. I do have 2 nice New England Sugar Pie pumpkins, but I also planted a Long Island Cheese pumpkins. This variety still hasn’t produced any pumpkins, and I am afraid it is too late in the season for them anyway. I will leave them until we get a frost just to see.
Tomatoes
This week we were gifted with a lot of Roma tomatoes. These were added to my Amish Paste tomatoes that I still have. I tried a new salsa recipe that I found in my new book Foolproof Canning and Preserving. It is a cilantro lime salsa and very good. This is a very fresh and bright salsa and a nice change from my original salsas I have made this year.
While making this I have decided that roasting my tomatoes with any recipe that I want to be thick is the way to go. It truly was a game changer this year and saved so much time. I simply slice each tomato in half, place them in baking dishes and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then let them cool, remove the skins (which slip right off) and place them in the fridge overnight or for a few hours. This gives the tomatoes time to set and release more of their juices. I then pour off the juice that has settled in the pot and cook down. Such a nice thick result every time.
Planting In the Garden
This week I started a few things out in the garden in hopes of harvesting some fresh produce in the colder months. This is new to us, and we are excited to see what survives our fall and early winter months.
We planted some winter spinach in the back garden where we had our cucumbers. This is covered right now with insect netting only to keep the squirrels from digging in the fresh soil. I will be adding a heavy frost cover to this as well as a row cover called Tufflite greenhouse film. This was purchased from Johnny’s Seed Company and a new item for us. I will be using this to cover most of my fall garden in hopes of extending the season.
Planted in the back garden we also have carrots, cabbage, broccoli, kale, collards, and some winter hardy lettuces. Fingers crossed this works, but I may have waited too long to get them in the ground. Again, all an experiment.
In The Kitchen
So much happening in the kitchen this week. We had so many unexpected items we were blessed with to preserve. I had planned on preserving peaches again this year but that didn’t work out. We drove a good distance to find peaches because I waited too long to purchase them from the local farm where we usually get them. Upon our arrival to the new location, they informed us that they just sold the last 2 pecks right before we arrived. We were very disappointed. When we started to leave, I spied some beautiful plums. So, we bought plums instead of peaches.
Plums
With the peck of plums, we purchased I decided to make a spiced plum jam. I am excited for this. I have always wanted to replicate the pastry from Starbucks that they serve during the holidays. This is a sugar plum croissant and so good. The jam I made has the exact flavor I was hoping for, and I believe this should be an easy pastry to make. I will let you know how they turn out.
I am also going to try an Asian Plum sauce with the plums I have left to preserve. This I am hoping to use as a dipping sauce for my pork pot stickers I make, which are amazing. I can also use this in any Asian dish, and I am excited to have this addition to the pantry as well. Again, very happy with our find but a little disappointed no peaches this year.
Tomatoes
As I have said before, my own tomatoes did not do as well as I had hoped. Thank goodness for friends and family. Because of them I was able to can ketchup, BBQ sauce, tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, tomato basil sauce, tomato soup and of course salsa. I will be finishing up the tomatoes by canning diced tomatoes this week. So very thankful. That is what it is all about though. When you are blessed with a good harvest, we share the bounty.
Pears
At the end of last week (Urban Update #1) we picked pears and the best part they were free. I was able to can 15 quarts of sliced pears. They were so good, and we shared some with my parents. This is a lot of work, pealing, coring, slicing, and canning but a nice addition to the pantry shelf. A lot of the pears were not good and a bit of a waste of time because you didn’t know until you had already pealed them and cut them open only to discover the inside was rotten. Still grateful for them.
Wrap Up
So much accomplished this week. We are feeling grateful for all we have preserved so far this season. Looking forward to seeing how well our fall garden does this year. We will keep you updated on the progress or the failures. Stay motivated and Happy Gardening!
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