John's August 2014 Garden Update

Hello everyone, its August but sure feels like September! Here's a few updates from the garden.  

Pepper row next to some buckwheat cover crop.The buckwheat suppresses the weeds very well. As I pick things or clean rows I just hand toss seeds on surface and they sprout within a few days if it rains.

Green chiles looking good.

Eggplants coming on with small sets, late but they look good.

Tomatoes ripening fast now. Let the canning begin!

Planted some broom corn for making decorative shocks this fall.

Tomatillos starting to fill out husks.

Tongue of fire beans, we pick some fresh and leave some for dried shelling.

Cantaloupes beginning to ripen.

Butternut squash filling out.

Long Island Cheese pumpkin getting bigger every day!

Brussels sprouts sprouting, can't wait for frost! We may pick some early, but they
are sweeter after a little frost hits them.

We have a few apple trees that produce some great tasting little apples, not sure what variety.
The tree were here when we moved in.  

Blackberries struggled this year, had a few to eat fresh,
but nothing like the gallons we froze last year.  

Time for a snack after working hard. This time of year we enjoy garden sandwiches:
thick cut bologna from our local processor Delaware Meats, ripe tomatoes, peppers, and beet relish. Yum!

Freezing Berries

Besides being easy to preserve (just two steps!), summer berries taste delicious in the winter. I use frozen berries in a variety of dishes, including baked goods and pastries, sauces, smoothies and occasionally... margaritas!

When thawed, frozen berries will rend water. To avoid overly wet cakes, I use recipes where thawing isn't required. I've included one of my faves: Blueberry Buckle, a tender cake loaded with berries and topped with a lemony, cinnamon crumble.

Although we have about a dozen blueberry bushes, they're too young to produce many berries. Instead, we purchased about 10 pounds of big, sweet berries from a local grower. By volume, that's equal to about two gallons.

Freezing berries in a single layer prevents the berries from freezing in a mass, ensuring you'll be able to pull out just the amount you need. The method below can be used with most kinds of berries. We also grow and freeze strawberries, blackberries and raspberries.

Wash & dry berries and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Place tray in the freezer overnight.

When berries are frozen, remove to a ziplock freezer bag.
Place in freezer and use within one year. Easy peasy!

No need to thaw before using to make Blueberry Buckle.
Just scoop what you need from your freezer bag!

Frozen berries will hold their shape in baked goods. No more purple batter!

Buckle is perfect for dessert, breakfast or with afternoon tea.

Berry Freezing Process
Wash berries and place on a kitchen towel in a single layer. Gently pat dry. Place berries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Place pan, uncovered, in freezer overnight. Next day, remove frozen berries to a ziplock freezer bag. Date bag, place in freezer and use within one year.

Blueberry Buckle
From King Arthur Flour

• 
  
• Crumb topping:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

• Cake:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups fresh or frozen (unthawed) blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9" square or 9" round cake pan. If you use a round pan, make sure it's at least 2" deep.

Make the topping: Mix the sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon zest and salt in a small bowl. Cut or rub in the butter with a fork or your finger tips until it reaches a crumbly state. Set aside.

Make the cake: Blend the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. Alternately add the milk and the flour mixture to the sugar/butter mixture, ending with flour. Fold in blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the topping over the batter.

Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: about 12 to 16 servings.

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Pickled Peppers

I love pickled peppers. The briny spiciness is a great foil to rich foods like pizza, pasta and nachos, but can also brighten vegetable salads and sandwiches. Our peppers have just started to produce and over the course of the next month we'll can most and freeze a few to toss in with sautes and chili.

Pickled peppers are easy to preserve with a short process time, raw packed and no blanching. Just place peppers in the jar, add brine and process. I chop the peppers and remove the seeds and veins. If you prefer, leave the seeds attached in whole peppers or sliced rings. Leaving the seeds and veins intact will increase the heat.

This recipe can be used with any hot pepper, or with a mix of peppers. I use this recipe to preserve banana and jalapeno peppers.

Wash, chop and remove seeds. Or if you prefer slice into rings or leave whole.
Want lots of heat? Leave the seeds and veins intact.

Place peppers into clean jars. I used gloves. That pepper juice is hot!
Using my bare hands can make contact handling tricky. For days.
The white granules are Ball's Pickle Crisp. I'm trying it for the first time.

Pour brine over peppers leaving 1/2 inch headspace.

Wipe rims, adjust lids and place in a boiling water bath.

After jars cool, remove rings, wipe down and store in a cool dry place.

Pickled Hot Peppers
Adapted from The Ball Blue Book
Click here for step-by-step water bath canning information
Makes about 5 pints

2 3/4 lbs hot peppers
6 cups vinegar
2 cups water
3 cloves garlic, crushed slightly
Ball Pickle Crisp (optional)

Leave peppers whole or cut into 1-inch pieces. If using a variety of peppers, combine peppers. Combine vinegar, water and garlic in a saucepot. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Discard garlic. Pack peppers into jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add Pickle Crisp, if desired. Ladle hot liquid over peppers, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Adjust two-piece lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

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Canning Party 2014: Peach Edition

I recently had several friends express an interest in spending the day learning how to can food. So I invited them over for #CanningParty2014! In all, six of us had a fun day catching up, talking food and preserving a bushel of peaches. A special shout out to a younger guest, who willingly spent the day with a bunch of oldsters to learn the craft. It feels good to get new canners involved, but especially rewarding when young folks express interest.

We preserved 21 quarts of peaches (they all sealed! And no broken jars!). I snagged a few peaches for tarts and have a few leftovers I'll toss into the next round of canning. With all those hands, we drove through the bushel in about three hours. The sticky kitchen floor was a small price to pay for preserving so much product in a short amount of time.

Peaches can be dehydrated, frozen or canned. We can most for eating and freeze a few for baking. If the crop is big, we'll make a puree and dry into fruit leather.

I purchased peaches from a local orchard. These were shipped in due to the harsh winter.
Our own peach trees died or survived but didn't produce fruit. 

Peaches are shipped under ripe to withstand the rigors of travel.
To aid ripening, I placed them on the counter, under newspaper which traps ethylene gas.
It's similar to placing them in a brown paper bag to ripen.
Adding a banana will hasten the process.

Before canning, peel and pit peaches. To prevent browning, peaches can be placed in an acidulated solution of 1 Tbsp commercial fruit preservative (commonly known as Fruit Fresh or ascorbic acid) to 1 quart of water. 

Remove peaches from acidulated water and place cavity side down, overlapping in jar.
Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot syrup over peaches, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Adjust two piece lids and process in a boiling water bath canner.

Cool jars on the counter away from drafts. Before storing, remove rings and wipe down jar.
Store in a cool dry place for up to one year.

Leftover peaches? Place into a jar, pour extra syrup over and place in refrigerator.
Eat within a week. Note: the jar shown is a half gallon jar, used only for storage.
The USDA does not recommend for use in canning. 

Or use your leftover peaches in a galette.

Canned Peaches, raw pack
Adapted from The Ball Blue Book
Click here for step-by-step water bath canning information

2 to 3 lbs peaches per quart jar
Fruit Fresh or Ascorbic Acid
Syrup (recipe follows)

Peel peaches by placing into boiling water for 2 minutes then plunging onto ice bath. Cut peaches in half, remove skins and pits. To prevent darkening, place peeled peaches in a solution of 1 Tbsp commercial fruit protector (like Fruit Fresh) in a quart of water. Make syrup and heat until sugar dissolves. Keep syrup hot while continuing to peel peaches. Drain peaches and pack cavity side down in jars, layering and overlapping fruit. Leave 1/2 inch headspace. Ladle hot syrup over peaches, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two piece lids and process quarts in a boiling water bath: Quarts for 30 minutes, pints for 25 minutes.

Syrup
This makes a medium syrup (about 40 percent sugar)
3 1/4 cups sugar
5 cups water
Heat sugar and water until hot and sugar is dissolved. Yields 7 cups of syrup.

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Freezing Green and Wax Beans

After a rough start, our green and wax beans are producing. A lot. We love beans and find them a versatile veg that can be used in a variety of dishes.  Lots of folks preserve their beans by canning, but I prefer to freeze my beans. Seems the freezer is easier on the beans while the rigors of canning leaves them overcooked and soft. And freezing beans is fast and easy.

Just picked yellow wax beans

Beans with ends removed and snapped into bite sized pieces

Beans are blanched quickly in boiling water for 2-3 minutes

The vacuum sealer makes quick work of packing while eliminating freezer burn.

Beans ready for the freezer!

Prepare
After picking rinse beans and remove debris. Remove ends and snap into bite sized pieces (or leave whole, if you prefer).

Blanch
Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Lower beans into boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes, just long enough to stop the action of enzymes that cause the beans to lose flavor, color and texture. Remove beans to ice bath to stop the cooking action.

Freeze
Place beans in freezer bags, removing as much air as possible to reduce freezer burn. We use a vacuum sealer. Place containers in the freezer and use with a year.

So what do I do with all those beans? They make a very fast side dish. Without thawing, I can heat in a pan with butter, salt and pepper. If I have a bit more time and I'll add bacon (recipe below). I also use in pot pie fillings, casseroles, stew and bean salads. When preparing, remember freezer beans are not as fully cooked (not as tender) as a commercially canned bean. Substituting in recipes may yield a different result.

Let me know how you prepare your fresh frozen beans!

Sauteed Green Beans
Beans and bacon pair well and while it's not an everyday side dish, it is a delicious way to showcase your bean crop!

3 slices bacon, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 cups fresh frozen green beans

Add bacon and butter to a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until bacon is cooked, 3-4 minutes. Add onion and cook until softened, 4-5 minutes. Stir in green beans and lower heat. Add lid and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally (longer if beans were added frozen). Remove lid, cook until liquid is evaporated, 2-3 minutes. Serve.

Garden Update from John, Chief Gardener

Hi friends! Checking in with a garden update. We had a nice soaking rain yesterday and the garden is looking great. 

Musque De Provenance Pumpkins.  Just blooming and beginning to produce fruit.  

We have been picking and freezing Rodcor yellow wax beans and Provider snap beans.  I started picking Northern Pickling cucumbers this week and did some pickling yesterday while Jan was out.

Whole dill pickles packed in jars ready to have lids placed and be processed. 

Processed dill pickles with red chili pepper. 

Processed bread & butter and whole dill pickles.

The whole dills are one of the easiest, yet enjoyable items you can process. Great for first time canners. I used this recipe:

Kosher Dill Pickles:

From The Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book

For each quart:

1/2 pound pickles, 4 inch size (5 or 6 cucumbers)

4 heads fresh dill, or 2 tablespoons dillseed

1garlic clove (optional)

1 small piece dried hot pepper (optional)

2 1/4/ cup water

3/4 cup vinegar

1 tablespoon of pickling salt

Rinse cucumbers and remove stem and blossom end. Pack cucumbers into hot clean quart jars leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Add dill, garlic and pepper. Make a bring by combining water, vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil and pour hot brine over cucumbers leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Wipe rim, adjust lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes. Let pickles stand one week before opening.

New this year, I used the Ball Pickle Crisp, so we will see if the pickles end up crisper than normal. 

Honey Harvesting and Bee Status 

Our lone bee hive.  We are down to one hive this year, but it is thriving.  I harvested two supers of honey earlier this year and will probably pull one more in August.  The two wide supers at bottom of the hive is where the queen generally lays eggs, and the shallow supers at the top are where the honey is stored. 

Bee pollinating some of our squash.  The bees in the garden keeps me company while I weed.  

Harvested and bottled honey.

Honey in jars to be given to family and friends.  Half, one, and two pound jars.

Cover Crops

Pumpkins planted late with buckwheat growing as a cover crop to suppress weeds.  I generally hoe down the buckwheat as the pumpkins spread and grow.  And the bees love the buckwheat!

Cover crops have become an important part of my gardening rotation.  Buckwheat, rye, clover, radishes, and other crops have been useful in weed suppression and adding organic matter to the garden. 

See you next time! Happy gardening!

John

A peek @BG_garden

Recently Bren, of @BG_garden and manager of #gardenchat on Twitter and Facebook, invited me to visit her at her county fair. Since we live in the same state it was a great opportunity to spend the day chatting with a friend (in more than 140 characters), and check out livestock, winning cakes and quilts, youth projects and tasty fair food. Wood county has a fantastic fair and the day got even more interesting when Bren asked me if I'd like to see her gardens. My response: Um. YES!?!

So off we went to her home where she has an amazing retreat on almost 20 acres, complete with a pond and river, wooded lots (with cool trails), fruit trees, a greenhouse that I'm still coveting, tons of flower plots, veg in raised beds and super friendly pets!

To her credit, Bren was not expecting to host company, so I want to send a big THANK YOU for offering an impromptu tour. I guess I could've declined, but it never really occurred to me.

Here's just a few of my favorites from the tour:

While it looks pink, the color of this rose was closer to salmon.

Loved the red spots on this rose.

Fun place to host a dinner party....

...right next to the pond. 

Olivia in front of the greenhouse that supports seedlings and baby fish!

Golden beet. I snagged a couple for dinner.

Black tomatoes. So unusual!