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Wednesday, September 29, 2021

September~

 It's September~
Can you believe it?
September is that nondescript month without a season.
It makes up for it with all its activities.
For me, it's a time to preserve.
The gardens are growing in full force since the Heat Dome dispersed.
I've done pretty well this year so far.
The heat made things a little wonky, but it all somehow works out.
Now I'm down to tomatoes.
I was completely out of sauce and down to 5 jars of diced.
That's only 2-3 meals of diced for us depending upon what's cookin'.
I did not photoshop this pix.  They really look like that 😂

So I am trying to get them canned up while I can.
I have reusable lids so am getting used to those on things 
that only require water bath canning just in case of operator error.

During the 2 months of triple digit weather,
anything outside wilted about as quickly as the sun rose.
By the time the weather broke, most flowers at the markets 
were marked down for quick sale.
I happened upon some of them and rescued them from their
garbage bin destiny.
They have thanked me in the most generous way.
Their blooms are beautiful and though my little area
is still a work in progress, it is a welcome spot.
And I am thankful I was able to have a few flowers
to brighten the area even if a little later than usual.
My bean wall took forever to get going but now is going crazy.
The bean blossoms are usually white and some have been, 
but we are also seeing these beautiful spice colored flowers.
I think I have 3 different kinds of beans in here due to
them being eaten in the spring.

I have potatoes to dig and will be rearranging the raised beds 
before next year.
I have another idea for next year (heehee, go ahead and shake your head.)

And lastly, I started this post the beginning of the month,
but we've been hoppin'.
Hubby had a goal of 60 gallons of salsa this year.
We have currently made 99 quarts.
I had to chime in and tell him he can't hog all the tomatoes.
I still need more sauce.
Our pepper plants are going like gang-busters also,
and he doesn't want them "to go to waste."
I told him we could freeze some poppers to use some up.

I will get this posted and hopefully be able to put together
a more reasonable post soon.
Hope each of you is enjoying the turning of the leaves.



15 comments:

  1. That sounds like an amazing haul! Congratulations!

    I think - hope - we are at the point that we are staring into Autumn. I am hoping to get the next round of gardening in two weeks from now.

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    1. I don't usually plant in fall (other than garlic) but will keep this season going as long as I can.

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  2. Pray tell, my dear Lady Locust, what does one do with 60 GALLONS of salsa???! Whoa. I am out of homemade tomato sauce/stewed for chili and tomato soup, but gave up my canning days long ago and got rid of all my supplies.... I think I will need to rethink things next year although I will just buy tomatoes...just can't do that type of gardening at this point for several reasons. Your bean wall is incredible!! I have never ever seen red blossoms on a bean plant. Obviously I live a very sheltered life. I thought my mother was exotic when she planted yellow beans LOL. In our world, good old green beans were all were the standard. ~Robin~

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    1. Hahaha. He reeealllly likes salsa. I don't eat it. He says, "What can we have for supper that goes with salsa?" I will have to look at the name of those beans. They get very long (6"-9"). We've been eating them fresh & letting some just be beans.

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  3. Roasting peppers and then freezing them is a way of life here! Your garden is amazing. The color of those tomatoes is so vivid and the bean blossoms, too! I'd grow them just for the blossoms, much less the beans bonus. You are canning A LOT!

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    Replies
    1. The tomato plants look awful, but they are loaded. And thank you! I might roast up a bunch and freeze them. Canning them makes them kinda mushy.

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  4. Wow! That's amazing. I am so impressed. I have grown some beans this year, but it's a small harvest...probably just one or two servings. I love those red blossoms!

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  5. The birds kept getting to them this spring so they were sparse for a long time. Then they all took off at once.

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  6. Sounds like you're busy! I usually find that my garden goes into survival mode when it's really hot, and then starts producing again when the temps cool off.

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  7. I don't believe we even use one small jar of salsa a year here lol but good for him!
    You have been busy but so satisfying. With all of this supply chain issues you are in good shape for the coming months. I did do some tomatoes but we had such a rainy July nothing did much in my tiny little garden. I have some Basil to harvest at this point and that is about it.
    cathy

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  8. 99 quarts of salsa is just as good as 60 gallons and a lot of goodness and hard work. All of your bounty is wonderful and you certainly are a busy bee with so much to do.

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  9. Your bounty from all of your hard work is wonderful! Whether it is 99 quarts or 60 gallons, homemade salsa is a wonderful thing to have! Wishing you pleasant October days!

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  10. My jaw dropped when I read 60 gallons, but I was equally astounded at the 99 quart number. Wow. Made me wonder if there's a 12-step group for salsa eaters! We made several small jars of tomato jam and thought we were doing well!

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  11. You have been busy. My mom used to can that many tomatoes to feed us. It made for a long summer.

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  12. mmm love that salsa....you have been very busy, and your garden is still going pretty good. The weather has been a bit off this year, but the gardens were the benefactor for sure. We made salsa one year, I remember that it was a long day, and there was alot of chopping and cooking, and then...you canned it up. Well worth the work, it is so fresh and delicious.

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