Quarantine Vegetable Gardens

[CeeCeeCat]

We had our first BLT sandwiches from the garden tomatoes today. I sliced a beautiful, perfectly ripe, Brandywine Pink tomato and sprinkled it with kosher salt, toasted some GF whole grain bread, then put a thin layer of Duke's mayo on each piece of toast, stacked a big tomato slice, a slice of white cheddar, 2 pieces of crispy bacon, then some arugula and baby swiss chard from the garden (my other lettuces bolted in the heat). Oh. My. Goodness. was it amazing!

I'm up to 3 gallons of tomatoes in my freezer and they just keep coming faster than we can eat them all. I'm freezing the ones we can't eat until I have enough to can a big batch of sauce all at once. To freeze tomatoes I simply wash them, make an x on the bottom with a paring knife and then core out the top and put in a gallon freezer bag. When I'm ready to cook with them I pull them out and let them thaw in the fridge overnight.

I'm overwhelmed with cucumbers right now and getting ready to can a big batch of pickles and relish in the next few days. I think everyone I know will be getting pickles and tomato sauce from me for Christmas this year, LOL. At least they are the right colors for the season (red and green).

Thank you, Gardener - Another of your posts screenshotted (is that even a word, I wonder) for tomato tips Right now, I must have 100+ tomatoes growing - not one of them is ripe yet but we have a(nother) heatwave coming this week, so that’ll help speed things up, I hope.

 

[CeeCeeCat]

Yesterday I made zucchini and dark chocolate muffins - using my very first homegrown courgette. So yummy, I had to freeze them or I’d be sitting here today wedged to the sofa, surrounded by crumbs...

 

[LadyL]

I've got cute little butternut squashes starting. A few tomatoes too but they're still green.

 

[mickey2942]

Well, my first year of container gardening. The cost for dirt, plants, seeds, and grow bags, pots, hose, total cost $250. So far, I have had six peppers, four tomatoes. Tons of basil, mint, dill, parsley, cilantro.

Next year, there won't be the outlay for initial supplies. The zucchini did not do well. Threw them away today. Lots of green tomatoes, hopefully they will ripen up soon.

The flowers have been amazing. Sunflowers, petunias, snapdragons, geraniums. Great summer for flowers. I have huge swathes of wild flowers in front.

 

[watergirl62]

Its the dog days of summer here... we have had about 30 days? in the hundreds here and the highs are not forecast to dip into the 90s until next week. This weekend I pulled up the remaining tomato plants, okra, harvested and cut back the hops. We still have abundant jalapeno and ghost peppers and herbs, but that's it. We will be adding soil a yard at a time over the next few weeks to build our bed up. Glad we have three shovels!

Will be harvesting honey in about 2 weeks. We only have one honey super on one hive to harvest but it weighs about 50 lbs.

I water my bees 2-3 times a day in this heat. I have a 16-inch clay pot dish (they kind you put under a plant) on a plant stand between the hives, and it is full of chunks of cedar 'islands' because bees drown very easily. There is also a pineapple plant on the patio that they like to drink from the bottom (it is full of twigs). The bee baths are very busy places during the heat of the day. Some minor brawling of worker bees also occurs when it gets busy. Not sure what that is all about.

 

[CeeCeeCat]

It’s so unbearably hot here. We Brits don’t do well with extreme heat - I am thankful to WFH, in direct line of two fans. Anyway, the one good thing about the heat - the tomatoes are ripening up nicely. The homegrown basil is also doing well, so I can see a simple salad in my future

 

[LadyL]

I loooooove the heat. But I also stay home in the central air most of the time. My Mom only has a/c in one room so it's a bit uncomfortable to go there, esp. if we're helping clean inside. I grew up with no a/c and my one brother still doesn't have it, even though he can well afford it. It's just what he's used to I guess.

Just watered plants and pulled two more good-size zucchinis. I thought I'd make zucchini lasagna but I don't have any lasagna noodles. Hmmm.

 

[PayrollNerd]

I loooooove the heat. But I also stay home in the central air most of the time. My Mom only has a/c in one room so it's a bit uncomfortable to go there, esp. if we're helping clean inside. I grew up with no a/c and my one brother still doesn't have it, even though he can well afford it. It's just what he's used to I guess.

Just watered plants and pulled two more good-size zucchinis. I thought I'd make zucchini lasagna but I don't have any lasagna noodles. Hmmm.

Can you slice the zucchini lengthwise and use them as your noodles?

 

[LadyL]

Can you slice the zucchini lengthwise and use them as your noodles?

that's a good idea but I'm not sure I have enough for that
I have three medium size ones

 

[mickey2942]

It’s so unbearably hot here. We Brits don’t do well with extreme heat - I am thankful to WFH, in direct line of two fans. Anyway, the one good thing about the heat - the tomatoes are ripening up nicely. The homegrown basil is also doing well, so I can see a simple salad in my future

We don't have AC, no one "needs" it in Montana. We had a few hot days, but now the nights are so cool, I am hoping the tomatoes will ripen up before frost hits.

 

[LadyL]

that's a good idea but I'm not sure I have enough for that
I have three medium size ones

I ended up making a zucchini bake with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spices - saute vegis first then throw in casserole dish into oven - very tasty - the zucchini was the perfect texture.

almost forgot cooked rice separately and put it in bottom of casserole dish, then vegis on top - the tomatoes nicely infiltrated the rice

 

[kalvis]

I was wondering if anyone else was having a problem finding canning jars, lids and rings.

I went to Walmart, Menards and Rural King today looking for some for my mother-n-law and they were all sold out! Maybe it is just a shortage in Indiana.

 

[155etta]

I was wondering if anyone else was having a problem finding canning jars, lids and rings.

I went to Walmart, Menards and Rural King today looking for some for my mother-n-law and they were all sold out! Maybe it is just a shortage in Indiana.

They've been flying off the shelves since March.
Edit to add: Here in Idaho.

 

[Tillicum]

At our old farm we had an orchard and I made tons of applesauce every year. We can't eat apples on keto and no orchard here but I've got tons of zucchini. I've made fried apples (zucchini) with cinnamon and splenda and it's great but has anyone made zucchini sauce before? I'm planning to try it this week. Any suggestions?

 

[LadyL]

At our old farm we had an orchard and I made tons of applesauce every year. We can't eat apples on keto and no orchard here but I've got tons of zucchini. I've made fried apples (zucchini) with cinnamon and splenda and it's great but has anyone made zucchini sauce before? I'm planning to try it this week. Any suggestions?

fried apples zucchini whaatt is that??

 

[Tillicum]

fried apples zucchini whaatt is that??

I use a fried apple recipe but replace the apple with peeled and cubed zucchini.

 

[Clair Louise]

We do that with what we call chokos and you call chayote. We usually put one apple in and the rest chopped chokos.

 

[LadyL]

We do that with what we call chokos and you call chayote. We usually put one apple in and the rest chopped chokos.

I use a fried apple recipe but replace the apple with peeled and cubed zucchini.

ok I'm going to look into this - have never heard of fried apples! don't know what chokos or chayote is either! thanks both I will google for recipes

what does it taste like? is it sweet like a dessert or is it a vegi side??

 

[Clair Louise]

ok I'm going to look into this - have never heard of fried apples! don't know what chokos or chayote is either! thanks both I will google for recipes

what does it taste like? is it sweet like a dessert or is it a vegi side??

Fried, stewed makes no difference. If it looks like an apple pie and has the same consistency with the same sugar added, it tastes the same.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Oh my gosh, I had no idea this thread existed and just found by clicking on "new posts" at the top header of WS.. swimming upstream! Yippeee!