Twiggybet1's Blog

Working on those plans
Sep 25, 2007 | 9:13 PM PST
Tags: jelly , pepper , Compost pile , zuchini

I finished emptying the compost pile today.  It took a little bit longer than I estimated.  But now I have an empty bin waiting for chipped and shredded stuff.  (we actually have 4 spots for compost, this particular one we use for stuff we send through the chipper/shredder.)  I left the sifted compost in the wheelbarrow.  I am not sure which spot to use it in, I have quite a few to choose from that could use some compost.  Now I just need hubby to sharpen the blades on the chipper/shredder so I can tackle a scrub pile that is beside the bin waiting to be shredded up.

I baked a batch of chocolate zuchini mini loaves today.  I also picked a few more zuchini, so it doesn't seem like I got ahead in that respect.  I still have a bushel of zuchini, and no one else wants it!  I also saute'd zuchini with dinner tonight.  I need to scrounge around for a couple new recipes before my family revolts. 

I got some more beets picked, washed, boiled and sliced, and in the fridge.  I need to either pickle them or can them tomorrow.  I also got some of the stuff for salsa cut up.  That needs to be done tomorrow also.  One glitch in my plans is that I have several errands to run tomorrow so I might not get to everything I want to do.  It seems like it's sometimes hard to strike a balance. 

I need to find my pepper jelly recipe.  I also have a recipe for beet jelly, I should find that too.  So I guess canning season isn't quite over yet. 

So many plans, so little time...
Sep 24, 2007 | 9:56 PM PST
Tags: tomato , zuchini , beets , carrots , peppers

Well, it's Monday evening, and I am thinking about all I need to do this week.  I didn't even set foot in the garden today, I had to catch up on other things.  I have been itching to get out there and finish emptying the compost pile.  I was interrupted in this task by unexpected (though not unwelcome) company.  Another 20 minutes or so and I'll have it done. 

This week is going to be a busy one in my kitchen and garden.  I have enough tomatoes left for 1 more batch of salsa.  The last batch I made I used habanero peppers, and it came out quite hot, too hot for some of the family.  So for this last batch I think I'll use my Anaheim chilis, and it should be somewhat milder. 

I still have at least a peck of habanero peppers, so I want to make some hot pepper jelly and some hot sauce for buffalo wings.  I imagine that the hot sauce will be pretty much mine (no one is asking for it) but I have a few requests for the hot pepper jelly, so I think I'll get some little jars so I can give them as gifts for Christmas.

I have a bushel basket full of zuchini.  I plan to make several batches of zuchini bread and freeze them.  I think the baked bread freezes much better than the vegetable.  At least that has been my personal experience.  I plan to make mini loaves of both spice and chocolate zuchini bread, with a glaze topping possibly.  Maybe not.  We'll see.  I have never froze them glazed.

Once I finish with the tomatoes, peppers, and zuchini, then I can concentrate on canning and pickling my beets.  My hubby likes his pickled beets, especially in greek salads.  He doesn't much care for regular beets, though.  And then I can get my carrots up.  Or I think I could mulch them and let them winter over, if we don't have a very severe winter.  But that is unpredictable, so I better pull them.  I don't know if I want to can them or not, I guess we'll see how many I get. 

I would like to get all this done before the week-end.  I plan to have my in-laws over, and would prefer not to have baskets of vegetables cluttering up the kitchen!  Now lets see if I can get it all done!

Tidying up the yard
Sep 21, 2007 | 2:44 PM PST
Tags: tomatoes , green beans , canning

Well, I've spent the last two days doing what I like to call "a million little things" in the garden.  There isn't much ripening right now, the tomatoes and green beans have slowed way down, and I have to wait a while longer for the winter squash and sweet potatoes.  I caught up on weeding the flower beds, pruning a few things and watering some pots and things that usually get a bit neglected.  I also tackled emptying the compost pile.  Well, I alsmost tackled it.  I was nearly finished when I had a cousin drop by.  I plan to finish the compost pile tomorrow. 

It looks like I'll be working out there by myself this weekend, hubby is on overtime.  I hope I can make a dent in the "to do" list on my own.  I have a lot of things on that list that I'd like to get done before the leaves start to fall and create more work for me that way. 

It seems like my canning season is over for the year.  There just isn't enough tomatoes or green beans coming in to worry about canning them.  I didn't get nearly as much put up this year as usual.  Right in the middle of the season, my canner had to poop out on me.  The seal wore out, and I had a devil of a time getting a replacement.  I went from store to store searching, but apparently most stores no longer carry replacement parts for canning equipment.  There must not be enough demand for them to justify stocking them.  I finally thought to check online (duh) and ordered what I needed from the manufacturer's website.  I had been hoping to avoid having to wait for it be shipped to me.  So while my canner was out of commision, I was giving the stuff away as fast as it was growing so it wouldn't go to waste.  Not that we don't usually give a lot away anyway, because we do.  But our family and friends got an extra amout this year.  Oh, well.  My daughter claims she's sick of green beans anyway. 

Last Days of Summer and Hubby's new Toy
Sep 19, 2007 | 7:36 PM PST

Well, these last days of summer are sure living up to their name.  We had a bright, hot sunny day today.  I alternated between spending time tidying up the yard, and tidying up the house.  I spread some compost over an area that I want to put in a shady flower bed.  I don't know what hubby's gonna do when he finds out I stole all the compost.  I don't think he had any plans for it, though.  He's been busy with a new toy lately.  Got himself a used 4-wheeler and has been spending his free time after work but before dark out in the yard tinkering with it.  It's sortof beat-up looking.  One of the plastic fenders had cracked and been repaired using metal staples, so I think I'll cristen it Frankenwheeler.  I'll have to post a picture of it soon. 

Anyhow, I had planted two varieties of green beans this year, and the earlier one is definitly done for, and the other one is almost gone.  I'll have to pull them up by the end of the week, and spread some mulch over the bare dirt so I won't get a bunch of weeds growing there.  Some of my varieties of tomatoes are finished by now, too.  I can get those up also. 

I have a bush my hubby got on clearance sale at the local flower shop.  There wasn't any tags or labels on the pot to identify it.  It doesn't have any blooms on it now, but he said it is supposed to be a hybiscus plant.  (he's going by a sign in the store)  What kind, I don't know.  According to my MIL, the leaves don't look anything like hybiscus leaves.  Well, the poor thing looked pretty shaggy, so I trimmed and pruned it today.  I sure hope this was the right time of year to prune it, and that I pruned it properly.  We will see.  I hope our Summery weather lasts through the weekend! 

Where did Summer go?
Sep 18, 2007 | 12:04 AM PST

Where did summer go?  It seems like it just flew by.  Yeah, I know, according to the calendar we have about another week before it officially becomes fall.  But it sure feels like fall lately.  The weather has been cooler here, and it seems like all the vegetables in the garden are winding down.  The tomatoes are almost done.  The green beans are pretty much finished.  We dug our potatoes already and got a very dissappointing yield.   

I haven't finished all of my summer projects yet.  We had been planning on replacing a portion of our fence.  It isn't done yet.  I have a pile of brush that needs to be shredded as soon as hubby finishes his maintenance on the chipper/shredder.  I ordered a bunch of fall-planting bulbs and plants.  I need to prepare places to put them in before they arrive.  I might have been a bit too ambitious when I placed my order, on retrospect.  So it looks like it is going to be a very busy fall!  The weather is supposed to be nice and warm tomorrow, so I plan get outside and  do what I can .

A couple of things I learned this summer:

1.  Never ask a non-gardener to house-sit  and expect the garden to get watered while away.  However, the garden will be wet and soggy when you arrive home because several hours before you return, you call to tell house-sitter your ETA and add "so, are we still drowning in zuchinni?" and he suddenly realizes that he hadn't touched the sprinkler the whole time you were away.  Maybe he misunderstood and thought I said "drown the zuchinni"

2.  Procrastinating hubbys work best under pressure and deadlines.  So go ahead and schedule your b.b.q or party, write a list of jobs that HAVE to be done before the date, and watch the magic.  This could be fun, and I could get to spend more time with my friends and family, not to mention finally having all those jobs finally get done.  At least until he catches on to my new technique, that is.

3.  Droughts come and go, and kill the vegetables (especially when drought comes during vacation) but weeds are IMMORTAL.  And they reproduce and multiply prolifically.