August 13, 2014

The garden has been beautiful this year.  The spring was cool, the rain early.  We had no rain in July, but watering and cooler weather kept everything producing abundantly.  We had a big storm August 8th with 3.80" of rain and hail.  The wind from that storm flattened our corn that we were ready to put up the next day.  It didn't ruin the corn, it just made it a little more difficult to gather.  Mom and Dad came that day to help with the corn and we put up 10 1/2 doz into 36 pints.  

Before they came Jim brought in these buckets of cucumbers and I made pickles again using the same formula I did last time.  However, after preparing a bunch of big ones for cinnamon pickles I threw out one bucket to the compost pile.  Sadly, in the busyness with the 38 qt. of pickles I did, I did something wrong with the cinnamon pickles and they had to be thrown out.  I'm sorry, because it would have been nice to have them, and because the ingredients are so expensive, and it was all thrown away.  

More bread and butters.

More dills.

It is so hard to keep up with picking squash even when we determine to pick them small.  They get huge SO fast.  The big ones went to the compost pile.  I grated some, chopped some and sliced some for future meals. 

Without this mixer/kitchen center I would not get pickles and other canning done nearly so quickly.  It has a food processor that grates and slices two thicknesses, a grinder, a small processor that chops, and a blender. I have a host of attachments and would need three or four separate appliances to replace it.  It is a standard in my kitchen and I can't do without it.  

I bought the first one soon after we were married.  Since nothing like this is made anymore, when one wears out, I go to eBay and buy another one.  This is the fourth one, and this time I bought the stand and the mixer arm separately and without the extra attachments which was nice for a change. 

Wind damage.

Hail damage.

Ready for the second batch of corn, 36 dozen.

Ready to cook.

The rest.

We got 95 1/2 pints out of that 36 dozen.  

Below is our stats.

I was tired after two days of work, and then Mom decided to stay one more day and do applesauce.  So, we did.  We processed 5 of these buckets into 35 qts. of applesauce, saved 1/2 bucket for eating, and mom took the rest home. We took on one bucket too many and we were ready to be done long before we were.  Mom was sure ready to be heading home and within a half hour of finishing, they were gone.  

We gave five more buckets to some friends of our, (two different ones) after Lynette and friend Anthony picked more after dark on the tractor loader.  

I have a little over a bucket left that was supposed to go to someone else, but I guess they don't really want them.  I need to start preparing them for freezing.  Ugh. I'm tired of it. 

Tuesday, the 12th, I picked cucumbers and made some more bread and butters and dills, I also pulled up 10 of our 12 hills of cucumbers.  I just can't do any more and we don't need them.  My few bean plants are just enough this year, and I put another quart in the freezer and grated a big zucchini.  

It was getting to be sort of a game to see how much I could get put up.  I've filled nearly all my jars and some of mom's.  

I think I'm looking forward to fall.  

The okra is just starting to produce.