An update on our gardening and canning
Just checked the wild blackberries here today, and picked a handful of nice ones. We have been having a lot of rain for the past week or so, so they are filling out nicely. Wondering how we are going to pick gallons of them with our green beans now coming on like gangbusters.
Finished the small row of snow peas, froze enough for all my stirfries for the year, and saved seed for the next planting. Just pulled up the last of our two 70 ft. rows of green peas. Managed to freeze lots of them, along with nearly 60 quarts of chopped broccoli and brocoli florets--from eleven plants. My husband wants to feed those plants to the chickens, but I froze 3 quarts of florets today. They just keep coming and coming. He planted three 70 ft. rows of Virginia peanuts today. We had very good luck with the Spanish peanuts last year, and I've made some peanut butter.
We have pulled all 640 Vidalia onions, and have dried two gallons of minced onion, have a couple of bushels ready to go into cold storage, and many more to still give away. We took a bunch of them, along with other vegetables down to the temple last Tuesday, and set them in the dining room, with shopping bags, for other ordinance workers to take home. Going to pull the spinach and lettuce tomorrow. Can't keep up with the summer squash and zucchini. We take bags of vegetables to friends and the families we Home/Visit teach.
Have canned 15 pints of green beans so far, but will do 80 or 90 pints. We still have a lot of dehydrated vegetables left from last year. Merl planted two rows of green beans out here for a couple of young mothers in our ward today. (They are in my prep class.) I'll help them get started canning vegetables, and will teach them to can meat. We have been taking advantage of lower meat prices lately, and have canned 30 pints of boneless pork, 10 pints of hamburg, 7 quarts of chicken, and 20 quarts of beef stew in the past week or so. Will do some more hamburg and chicken. A 10 lb. bag of legs and thighs was $5.00 at WalMart Super Center last week.
My husband sent a lot of vegetables with our cousin-in-law today up to a committed survivalist friend (non-member). He and his wife are living off the grid, and have been doing well, but the record flood of a nearby river this month drowned all of his garden. They'll be able to replant, but this will give them a start on their canning.
Planted three grape plants from Stark's a month ago. Two are seedless Concords...and there are eight bunches of grapes forming on one of them.
Hubby picked the first ripe tomato today, so will be overwhelmed with them soon. Have to admit that it is a good problem, though. I wish all of you the best of luck with your gardens this year. I think we're going to need them
