Red Beefsteak, heirloom 6.5 ounces. Many more will be ready for picking in the next few days, that is if the sun ever shines in Southern Ohio again.
Posted on 07/03/2015 1:39:09 PM PDT by greeneyes
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I’ll do that. Let us know how your pickles turn out.
Thanks for posting the pictures. All beautiful. I wish I was sick of picking strawberries, we had almost nothing this year, due to neglect last year.
Hubby had two beds, but he basically just ignored them after last year’s harvest, and didn’t even cover them this winter with straw, nor did they get their share of water during the dry season.
I have never made sauerkraut. I have made some pickles, but none using the fermented methods.
Those lightening strikes can be costly. We had 3 computers and a TV fried once. Had to replace them all. The phone line is the weak link.
If storms get really bad now, we turn everything off and make sure that includes the phone line to the electronics.
I like mushrooms on pizza, and fried mushrooms with a salad for lunch. I also like to keep dried mushrooms around to throw in soups.
Thanks for the pics. Lovely strawberries. I am forced to buy them this year for the first time since 2010.
That’s an interesting looking bug, but I have never seen anything like it before. Sorry I can’t be of help.
Well, that’s great. I love homegrown tomatoes. So much more tasty than store bought. We are in a continued state of emergency/flash flooding/rivers above flood stage/concern about levies etc. here and it keeps raining daily.
Now that’s a darn shame - to steal your corn. Wonder what can be done about that kind of stuff?
I’ve had some cherry tomatoes mature, but they are doing so well in containers. The volunteers coming up in the potato beds are the best looking ones this year. LOL
Let me know how the pickles turn out. Fermented is supposed to be so nutritious, but if it’s not flavorful - who cares?
I don’t recognize it either. I think I’d test the soil, if you haven’t done that in a while. You could also show it to your county extension agent, and they might know exactly what it is.
TIK, do you have any ideas about Oberon’s problem peppers? I wasn’t able to help much I’m afraid.
Same here...my wife has remarked on how ‘sturdy’ the volunteers are looking...several have blooms open at this point...can’t wait to see what we get.
I’ve got some big green tomatoes hiding in amongst the leaves. Don’t know what kind they are - heirlooms maybe even some accidental crosses who knows, but they are looking good.
They are in the Mel’s mix raised beds, on the uphill side, so they get decent drainage and don’t stay sopping wet. I haven’t planted tomatoes there for 3 years, so it was a complete surprise when they showed up there.
Red Beefsteak, heirloom 6.5 ounces. Many more will be ready for picking in the next few days, that is if the sun ever shines in Southern Ohio again.
We got lucky. I had just unplugged the laptops/printers. The TVs were on & even if I had unplugged those, I think the cable boxes would still have gotten fried. We’re up over $2K on damage estimates so far (golf cart/taking tree down) and we haven’t had the electrician out yet to get electric restored to the shed. I think we’ll end up between $3-4K by the time all is said and done. The tree guy told us his parents’ first house burned down after being struck by lightning so it could have been a whole lot worse!
We are overwhelmed with cherry tomatoes. Our Amish paste “Roma” tomatoes are doing well but some are hollow...
When in my early 20’s I made a big batch of pickles and canned them. terrible, soggy, soft. I think Clausens must cold vacuum seal. There’s enough acidity in the brine to kill off any bacteria. Ever since that first batch I’ve done them the cold kitchen counter way. On the counter for a week, take out the dill branches and refrigerate and eat.
I sometimes put in onions but always whole garlic cloves.
I use a 2 gal glass cookie jar you can get from Wal Mart for about $13 as my crock.
Put whatever spices you want in the crock, trim your cucs just like hot pack, then layer them into the crock no more than about 1/2-3/4 full. They draw a lot of liquid when fermenting and the crock can overflow if you try to put in much more. Put a few grape leaves in and it will help keep pickles firm.
Make a brine mix of 1/2 cup salt, 1/4 cup vinegar and 8 cups water. No need to boil cold mix is fine.
Place some kind of food safe cover on top of cucs in crock. I use plastic tops off of yogurt containers. A saucer will work, just something to hold the cucs down in the brine.
Place a weight on top of the cover, a 1 gal plastic juice jug filled with water works great. A quart or half gallon jar fill with water also works. It doesn’t have to sit straight, just hold the cucs down.
Pour the brine in until it covers cucs by about 1 inch.
Take some Glad wrap or Saran wrap and cover the top or wrap around the crock and weight jar if it sticks out too high to cover.
Tape the wrap to seal the crock from air.
Pock a small hole in the wrap, about the size of a toothpick, to let the gas from fermenting escape.
Set crock in a cool place, you might need to cover it with a towel to keep the light out, then let her go. Check to make sure the liquid doesn’t overflow the crock. If it starts to overflow just put a hole in the wrap and pull out some liquid with a turkey baster then tape the hole closed. No need to unwrap and rewrap.
Depending on the temp it takes about a month maybe a little longer.
You will notice the liquid getting cloudy and there will be white sediment in it. That is normal.
You might get a little mold on top of the liquid, don’t worry about it. Pick it out when you’re ready to can the pickles.
If cucs have turned mushy throw them out. 1 or 2 no real problem, any more than that you might want to throw the whole batch out and start over.
When you can the pickles you can strain the liquid through some cloth to clear it up a bit if you want.
Pack pickles in jars, add more spice if you want, bring liquid to boil, cover pickles with hot liquid and hot water bath for 15 mins.
Fermented pickles will taste different than hot pack.
Good luck.
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