Posted on 08/01/2025 6:03:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
I was hoping to get some okra to pickle, but the okra is coming in at the same time as the farmer’s alfalfa needs baling. Okra is not the priority - he grows beautiful alfalfa & the hay is an important cash crop.
Unless some of the local produce stands have it, I’ll just have to grow it myself next year.
This evening, the ‘fluffer’ arrived next door - that’s what I call it. The field got cut, but the hay is lying flat. The fluffer does just that - fluffs it up so it can dry better & in rows that sit up so the baler can pick it up. These will be round bales - kind of cool to watch the hatch open & a round bale rolls out.
Since the field is now cut, I spotted my first fawn of the season, out in the field with mom. Last year there were 3 does with fawns, one with twins. I’m not sure why they haven’t been seen yet - it was fun watching the fawns grow up last year.
How a round baler works - there’s a lot going on in that machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBcUME026w0
JIFFY ENCHILADA CASSEROLE
ING 1 lb grnd beef 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can enchilada sauce
1 can green chilis 1 can corn kernels 10 flour tortillas grated Cheddar (pepperjack for heat)
Sauce: Brown grnd beef; drain. Add cr/chicken, enchilada sauce, chillis, corn. Blend thoroughly.
Assemble In 10" casserole: layer bottom w/ tortillas, then 1/2 meat mixture, 1/2 grated cheese.
Repeat. Bake 350 deg 20-30 min. Garnish. Serve w/ sour cream, lime wedges, hot sauce.
I loved the way we made V8. We have a champion juicer, a wedding gift from 1978. A real workhorse. Best juicer ever. It DOES get heavier every year. We did our V8 by volume and taste testing. Started with the tomato juice, When we had enough we added the other juices, carrot, celery, onion, cabbage, pepper, whatever else. We did not cook it at all. We added spices salt and pepper, etc. last and when it was right we canned it.
also added beets
The machine that ‘fluffs’ the cut hay is called a ‘Tedder’ or a ‘Hay Tedder.’ (They DO call it a ‘Fluffer’ in some parts and that is acceptable, too.)
And then you use a ‘Bar Rake’ behind the tractor to form it into ‘Windrows,’ (long even strips that the tractor hauling the baler can easily follow) and then you use the ‘Baler’ (round or square) to bale it after it dries for a day or so.
And usually it rains on you out of a clear blue sky, somewhere in the process, LOL!
You either stack it in a hay mow in the barn, or you bag it in plastic (which is another fascinating piece of equipment called a ‘Bale Wrapper’) and keep it along the edges of a field for later use.
And I only know all of this because I ask Beau a lot of questions about everything going on around the farm and since he’s been making hay for his Dad and two other farmers since he was strong enough to lift a bale, he always has the answer and ALWAYS corrects me when I use the wrong term for ANY piece of farm equipment. ;)
Thanks - nice to know the correct terminology! I won’t sound like a dummy when talking to the ‘locals’.
I saw a bale wrapper in operation (video) which was interesting. Lots of rows of plastic wrapped bales around here. Per one video, the bale moisture content should be no more than 20%. If the moisture is higher & you plastic wrap the bales, they ferment & become silage that cows can eat.
Since the tractor & tedder are on site, I suspect they will be in operation as soon as the dew dries. The neighbor probably lets a local farmer bale, just to keep the field somewhat under control. The hay is junky - primarily Johnson Grass, lots of weeds. It’s not something you would feed to horses.
Ya gotta have the beets...for color and flavor.
Pot is cooking down now - then I’ll whirl it with the hand blender, then use the Foley food mill, then back into the pot to add the final touches and taste testing, then canning
Only had to ‘cheat’ with two 28oz. cans of tomatoes - and this will be it unless I get some more tomatoes - but it’s not looking promising!
My recipe has a few more steps than yours, but after years of tweaking it, it’s just how I like it. :)
Two things need to happen this week - that pantry under the stairs needs to be cleaned out and organized and be ready to receive more canned goods, and I have to deal with Green Beans. :)
And then All The Fruit.
The guy that fixes Beau’s vehicles is also here at our farm a lot to do hay baling or harvesting or planting in the Spring - which is why Beau’s two trucks still aren’t fixed yet. ;)
Beau: “Where are ya, Rick? I’m at YOUR place dropping off a truck.”
Rick: “I’m at YOUR place baling hay!”
It’s probably smarter to get a guy that’s JUST a Mechanic and not also an on-call Rent-A-Farmer, but that’s pretty much every man around here...and Thank Goodness for that! :)
That looks good and easy!
I’m starting to think I won’t do any canning this year at all. Last year I just did V8, some sauce and blueberry preserves. I am vac sealing broccoli, putting up chopped basil in olive oil, and freezing chopped shishitos. Chinese long beans will get eaten or frozen. Giving away cukes and zukes. I only have picked two regular size tomatoes so far. LOTS in the garden, looks like I will maybe make one small batch of sauce, one batch of gazpacho, and dehydrate the rest. I am going to be getting rid of some jars this year too. Oh No!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Liz! I haven’t made enchiladas in a while. This looks easy to please. I think I’ll see if I can whip it up some time this week.
Thanks, Liz! I haven’t made enchiladas in a while. This looks easy
to please. I think I’ll see if I can whip it up some time this week.
We got a nice break from the normal August heat and humidity over the weekend.
Mrs. Augie got all of the mowing done. I spent some quality time in the kitchen garden. Pulled a bunch of weeds. Pruned all of the tomato plants. Picked ~3 gallons of cukes. Picked 3 five-gallon buckets full of tomatoes - from 12 plants. I expect I’ll fill another bucket this evening when I pick the brandywines. Picked a five-gallon bucket full of spaghetti squash. Picked a couple gallons of peppers.
After I was done picking I chopped up a bunch of the tomatoes and peppers, added some chopped onion and fresh cilantro, some seasonings, and a bit of vinegar - and viola! Fresh pico de gallo for supper!
I took a package of bacon out of the freezer this morning - BLTs for supper tonight then we’ll stuff another batch of jars to make fermented pickles.
It’s time to start getting things ready to plant fall garden, which means I need to get off my biscuits and get back to work on the hoop house.
Funny/not funny from yesterday... ok, mostly funny... I take Howard with me when I go out to work in the garden. It gives him a break from his dog yard and gives me an opportunity to work on teaching him to be patient. I had him leashed yesterday so we could go back to the house after finishing up the picking... he was pretty much dragging me like he likes to do when he’s on the leash... he headed straight for the electric fence around the tomato cages... I told him not to go that way... I had a five-gallon bucket full of tomatoes in the other hand... couldn’t stop him... he got into the hot wire... poor guy yipped and yiped and jumped and hollered like he’d been set on fire... then he looked at me like it was my fault... all I could do was laugh at him.
The remote training collar is working very nicely. Now when he’s out of sight and I want him to come back I just hit the button to beep the collar one time and he comes looking for me. That was money well-spent.
Love my electric chainsaw! I got everything cut & hauled away by 12:50. The cutting is the easy part - the loading, hauling & unloading is the part I hate.
Not sure how much more I will do today. May spray some fence line this evening. The sprayer wasn't working right, but I took it apart this morning, cleaned & reassembled & it seems to be working ok now. My back is talking to me & I don't dare do any heavy lifting until it quits complaining.
Apple tree
Peach tree
Pruning job looks great. I have a VERY old Remington 10” electric chainsaw that I love. Corded. That was before batteries. That an a electric weedwhacker, so light. I just have plenty of extension cord.
Dad had 2 corded chainsaws, probably 10”. I used one once when one of our redbuds came down at the old place. He had LOTS of extension cords & I still had issues trying to reach that redbud - finally got there (barely). I brought both of them to our new place, but really needed a battery operated saw. Mom was skeptical, but after seeing what I’ve cut with it, she’s happy we have it.
Instead of spraying, I remembered I got a cobalt drill bit so I could screw the gutter back on the barn. That’s what I’ve been doing & my ‘plan’ to use deck screws & washers is working! The gutter is currently in full sun & I needed a shade & LMNT break. Once I finish the gutter, I’ll water the gardens, & definitely will be finished for the day.
I love deck screws, very handy.
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