….or something close anyway. Over at Daddy Bear’s Den he was talking about what they did with the produce they got from a neighbor and a farmers market nearby, and it reminded me of what I’ve been slowly working my way towards.
The garden this year is only producing jalapeno peppers as they, rhubarb, and the berry plants were the only things planted. The berrys won’t produce till next year at the earliest, but once they do we’ll have a very nice selection to pick from assuming the critters don’t eat them all. We’re thinking we’ll probly pickle the jalapenos as the 3 plants are producing lots and lots. On a side note, I saw a comment somewhere online about digging up hot pepper plants just before 1st frost and potting them inside for the winter, then replanting them in the spring. Anyone done this, or know any specifics I’d need to know about doing so? Or if, once potted I could just leave them potted and set them into the garden area or onto the porch?
What we do have lots of are home grown pears and apples. There are two pear trees and four apple trees (two each of two different types). We didn’t bother with pesticides or anything this year (and probly won’t ever), and all the fruit trees are in desperate need of pruning, and so the apples are looking decidedly iffy. Not sure how many good ones we’re going to get out of them. But the pears….we’re already eating pears, and sharing them around. I’m thinking I’m going to try my hand at canning them so we’ll have some for the winter.
Next year I’d like to get more in the way of vegetables growing. Not sure how much, or what kinds yet, mostly as the beds aren’t put together yet. I’d been planning on putting in a set of raised beds this summer to work with next summer. Traditional beds, lumber rectangles about 1′ high, but then I saw this over at Smartdogs, and it got me thinking. I LIKE that idea. I know Helene does something similer with old fridges and freezers, but I’m pretty sure my neighbors wouldn’t appreciate that, but the galvanized tubs I could do. Plus those could go closer to the house cause they won’t interfere with the septic system. The only big downside is those tubs are expensive, and well, money’s an issue, anyone know of a cheap source?
Saturday, Aug. 13, is the first National can it Forward Day. Webcasts all day at FreshPreserving.com, to show folks how to can. Recipes and resources are available on this website also.
No idea about potting peppers. I usually let them go and move on to winter crops. Pickled my second batch of hot peppers, and doing blueberry jam today.
I'll bet raised bed tubs would look good in your yard.
Cool thanks! My parents used to do some canning and pickling up through when I was a teen, and I used to help on occasion, but its been over 15 (almost 20?!) years since I even though about it. So it should be interesting….
I don't nessecarly mind buying new plants next year, but I'd have to buy plants, not seeds, for anything that needs a head start as my cats and puppy happily eat any plant that arrives in their reach in the house, which makes starting seeds interesting. So if I can SAVE the plants….and keep the puppy from knocking over the pots to eat the dirt….and keep the cats from snacking on their leaves…..
I have two raised beds for our vegetable garden. They're basically open topped wooden boxes that are about 3'x4'x6'. I can get a whole bunch of pepper plants or about 6 tomatoes in them. The taller beds take more materials to build, but the extra height is easier on the back. We also have some decorative planters from the hardware store that we use for our tomatoes. I'm probably going to expand one or the other next year and up our output.
Hmm, what kind of wood did you make them out of? I'm reasonably handy, so I could probly make that….
I used non-arsenic pressure treated lumber. Then I made sure to put a few coats of sealant on all surfaces just to be sure that nothing from the wood seeped out.
Sealant on the inside, white paint on the outside to make them look pretty…..hmmmmm
I miss my apple trees, but buggs and deer always got most of the fruit anyway. Unfortunately my pears never did a thing (after 18 years, one would expect at least one pear!).
I do have recipes for pear butter that I made several years ago. Hope those are helpful!
I was going to do straight up chunks of pear in light syrup, but some of the spice combo's sound cool….
hhhhhmmmmmmmmm