Posted on 10/19/2018 6:47:12 PM PDT by greeneyes
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Just weird all around.
After weeks and weeks and weeks of RAIN, things are finally drying out. Beau came back from Bear Hunting, so we crossed our fingers and headed to the lower garden, which had become a swamp.
Amazingly, we harvested a ton of winter squash; Butternut, Mooregold and Jaranndale. We put it all in the greenhouse as they need to cure a while before storage and now we’ve had a few hard freezes. I also have about a bushel of potatoes to clean - they were VERY muddy when we got the last of them out of the wet ground.
I have the garden pretty well cleaned up for the fall though anything that was still blooming (Marigolds, Salvia, Snapdragons, etc.) I left in for some color out there. That’s pretty much over now, too.
Winter projects will be panning NEXT year’s garden; I have decided to go with only DETERMINATE type tomatoes - much more productive, and since they set their fruit all at once, I can have more control over timing of all the canning I do. They also take up less space and then can be pulled when they are done and I’ll still have 45-50 days to plant other Fall crops.
I had a bunch of ‘volunteer’ lettuces so I potted them up and they’re in the greenhouse maturing and looking good.
We are getting a new furnace this fall and Beau is continuing to work on the roof of the house, which has now sprung a leak at the top of the stairs. He admits he was living on borrowed time. Um. YES!
Some bathroom remodeling will take place this winter, and new flooring in the kitchen and new lighting in there, too. Beau’s Foster Son, who is a painter/refinisher/flooring guy is going to help us with those projects. He’s been coming and spending the weekend and doing a beautiful job on refinishing woodwork. At This Old Dump he’ll have enough work for the rest of his natural life, LOL! (It is appreciated!)
Wish I could post pictures, but I haven’t figured it out, yet. My new computer doesn’t seem to let me post pix from FB as before, but I’ll get it figured out, eventually.
Looking forward to the quiet Winter Months around here - though I still have a LOT of squash to process and can and freeze!
When you can your winter squash do you do the ‘chunk’ thing?
You lungs must be big!
Saw this: High-altitude living can prolong your life. Except when it doesn't ...
We have not harvest our Butternut squash yet here in MA, but as the temp is sppsd to hit 32F nect week a couple times then it seems about time. I read that you should just leave them on the vine until the first frost, as they get sweeter and last longer in storage that way.
In cool not freezing weather they should not rot on the vine any more than in cool airy storage indoors. We have kept some over 6 months and they were still fine. Leave greenish ones in the sun indoors after. . picking for a while.
Hi Greeneyes, I keep both my tomatoes and pepper plants bottom trimmed in the garden for the first 12” or so, so the peppers I’m trying to save were about 4’ tall and I trimmed them down to about 18” tall with some leaves. I was just watching a video on YouTube where a gentleman removed 100% of the leaves and two weeks later had a lot of new growth under grow lights, might try that on two of the peppers. As for the tomatoes I only saved 6 suckers and clipped them back pretty good, two look sad but the other four might make it - all are cherry varieties.
I don’t know. Do I? LOL! I’ve never canned squash before, so I’m just looking up ways to do it. I thought I would just cook it down to mush, then water-bath can it in quart jars. I don’t want to freeze it because our two chest freezers and one smaller freezer are full of fish and wild game (bear, venison, elk and wild hog) and 1/2 a beef steer! (D@mn that Successful Hunter Man-o-Mine, LOL!)
We LOVE winter squashes cut into 1” or so pieces, then baked on a parchment-line cookie sheet with EVOO, S & P and garlic. By FAR our favorite side dish.
I want to can some as you can use squash in place of oil in baking, much as you do apple sauce; equal amounts. And, of course, Pumpkin Waffles, Pumpkin Sauce over Pasta, Muffins, Breads, etc. Lots of yummy ways to use it. :)
If you find instructions for canning the squash puree let me know (hence my question :) )
everything i’ve read is ‘abandon hope all ye who enter’ warnings.
I don’t can mine because everything i’ve read says use the chunks. bah, waste of space/etc. My freezers in the winter time are full of meat and squash puree :)
I had NO idea it might be a health hazard!
Probably a CONSPIRACY started by the makers of Ziplock bags and freezer containers, LOL!
Now that I’ve looked at a few sites, I’m seeing that, too. They say PRESSURE Canning is OK, but hot water bath of pureed squash is a no-go.
So...since I don’t have a root cellar (yet!) I need to see where I can store them in my house at the right temps. I have a feeling it’s going to be in Beau’s STONE basement workshop under the house - the garage DOES freeze, I know for sure. :(
More research is needed, Watson! :)
your burn rate (using them in foods) might be about their spoilage rate. I’ve found that I use them almost as quickly as they start to ‘go’ and necessitate my freezing them. YMMV of course.
I’ve got a nifty (low carb) recipe that uses pumpkin puree. My whole family eats this one with abandon, not just us diabetics in residence.
You can Squash? How do you use it when canned? We have a nice day today. It’s 61 degrees and sun is out. Freezing tonight though. So I have to dig the turmeric today for sure.
Hubby had some very muddy potatoes too. The first batch, he washed off with the hose. The next batch he just left till dry and loaded them into a cardboard box with all the dirt still on them.
I just rub the dirt off between my gloves on my taters.
We need a new floor and door in the basement kitchen. I really would like to have something softer than concrete or tile, but don’t know what that would be. Sometimes, I think a heated floor would be nice too.
Looking forward to pics when you figure it out.
I do this:
I’ve got a pantry that stays above freezing but cooler than rest of my house. I wipe down the squash with a dilute solution of bleach and let them dry thoroughly.
I’ve got one of those bakers rack shelving units. I put cardboard pieces on the metal shelving and then carefully stack the squashes on that. I only stack more than one high IF I HAVE to.
I check them a time or two a week and cook them up as I need them or they start to go.
If they’re starting to look ‘spotty’ faster than I can use them or have room in the freezer, I seed them and then cook the flesh and feed both to the chickens. They LOVE those treats in midwinter! And raw pumpkin/winter squash seeds are supposedly antiworming for chickens.
I usually trim off all but about 4 or 5 leaves at the top. I also will sometimes take a long stalk, stripped of leaves and simply wind it around in the bottom of a pot and put soil on top with only about 5” sticking up above the soil.
I’m taking a break now, but need to get back out and do work while the sun shines. LOL
I have pickled squash and used a water bath canner for that. However, I felt it was too mushy to be good. I haven’t tried pressure canning them, but we have dehydrated them to use in baking or soups. Very compact. But for the oven baked stuff, a root cellar type arrangement is the only way I know of.
Now you have done it! Mentioned a low carb recipe - would you please post it? I’ve been wanting to work some pumpkin in somehow. Thanks.
Thanks. I’m going to see if Beau can clear off some shelving in his ‘shop.’ (To me, it’s a Rat Hole, but it’s all necessary Guy Stuff.)
I’m going to put a thermometer down there to see what the temps are...I know it keeps a decent amount of humidity even in winter. Gotta love those fieldstone walls for that, and there is electricity down there, so a fan running would be helpful.
I REALLY miss the Root Cellar at my other farm. How can this man live like such a Barbarian? No Root Cellar? Really? LOL!
I could easily do some dehydrating...great idea! Thanks!
https://www.dietdoctor.com/recipes/low-carb-banana-waffles/servings/16
I use this recipe and sub 1c pumpkin puree for the 2 mashed bananas. I up the cinnamon a bit and use allspice too sometimes.
lots of good recipes on that site.
Thanks for the ping, greeneyes! Lovely screen name, by the way.
Julie
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