August 17
August 18 (1)
August 18 (2)
August 19
August 20
August 22 (1)
August 22 (2)
The Week of August 16-22
58 oz. bush beans = 3.6 pounds
78 ounces pole beans = 4.9 pounds of Fortex beans
16 oz. carrots
52 ounces cucumbers = 3.25 pounds
4 oz. basil
6 oz. lettuce
20 oz. sweet peppers
115 ounces butternut = 7.2 pounds
30 oz. crookneck = 1.9 pounds
96 ounces zucchini = 6 pounds
12 oz. strawberries
1380 ounces tomatoes = 86.25 pounds
Total for week: 1867 ounces = 116.7 pounds
Total year to date: 516 pounds
78 ounces pole beans = 4.9 pounds of Fortex beans
16 oz. carrots
52 ounces cucumbers = 3.25 pounds
4 oz. basil
6 oz. lettuce
20 oz. sweet peppers
115 ounces butternut = 7.2 pounds
30 oz. crookneck = 1.9 pounds
96 ounces zucchini = 6 pounds
12 oz. strawberries
1380 ounces tomatoes = 86.25 pounds
Total for week: 1867 ounces = 116.7 pounds
Total year to date: 516 pounds
This week's harvest was all about the tomatoes and beans. I got about five pounds of beans in the freezer, and most of the tomatoes canned. My youngest son did get a good sized bag of green beans, quite a few tomatoes, all of the crookneck squash, a few zucchinis and a butternut squash.
We had our first butternut squash of the year for Sunday's dinner, baked with butter and brown sugar, and served with breaded pork cutlets, broccoli sauteed with fresh garlic, and slice Brandywine tomatoes.
Saturday's kitchen mess ended up with 12 pints of tomato sauce canned. Talk about a long process! I started cooking the tomatoes in the morning, after breakfast, and had two crockpots and my soup pot full of sauce still simmering away until nearly 11 that night. By the time I got the last five jars out of the canner, it was past midnight!
What a haul!!! That's a big load of tomatoes. Glad you were able to can all of them. When you make your sauce, do you use your Victorio, and just cook them down until they are much thicker? Do you put anything besides lemon juice and salt in? Are the home canned ones lots better than the store bought? Just curious.... I've never done sauce before. Always just juice and whole tomatoes. This has been my year for experiments. BTW, your berries look awesome.
ReplyDelete~~Lori
As usual, your harvests look amazing! I must be doing something wrong or I'm just not patient enough, I'm waiting for my big bean haul, so far it's just a slow trickle. And I've given up on this crop of tomatoes until I get rid of my critter.
ReplyDeleteI wish I planted butternut squash after seeing yours! Yummo!!!
I love butternut squash done like that. There's hardly anything better.
ReplyDeleteBoy Granny you certainly had a big harvest and busy week canning!
ReplyDeleteYour strawberries are still coming in at a decent rate. I only had a few...that I know of this week.
I would have left them in my crockpot on low and just let them sit all night long. I'm such a morning person and not at all a night person.
ReplyDeleteAs usual you have an amazing harvest.
86 pounds of tomatoes already...amazing. You have a very lucky son.:)
ReplyDeleteI can't get over all that sauce you are making! I am pulling out tomatoes today, sadly in most years it seems that I am in full picking/canning mode in September, but it must be the heat this year that has shortened the lifespan of everything around here!
ReplyDeleteI have pink tomatoes too! Although never planted one, somehow, the tomatoes are bright pink. I think it is either Homestead or Rutgers variety. You have such a wonderful harvest, as always!
ReplyDeletewhew! That's a late night!
ReplyDeleteLori, no, no and no ;-) I don't have a Victoria (wish I did). I have a cone shaped colander with pusher, like this one:
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/2ayt7nu
It's "vintage", just like me ;-)
I wash, stem and quarter the tomatoes, toss them in my big soup pot, cook them with a lid until soft, puree the entire mess with the stick blender, ladle them into the colander and push the juice and pulp through by using the pusher in a circular motion. That leaves all the seeds and what remains of the skins on the pusher to be rinsed off. Then I reheat for juice, or simmer the juice until it's reduced by 1/3 or 1/2, depending on how much patience I have, for sauce. I just add salt and lemon juice to the sauce. I did add a tsp. of sugar to each quart jar of juice this year, to cut the taste of the lemon juice. Not sure if it works or is even necessary, but I thought the juice tasted a bit sour. And I don't think the sauce tastes any better than store bought, but it's handy to have around, and gives one a sense of satisfaction that it's home grown.
Oh, Nartaya, I'm sorry about your tomatoes, and I wish I could share my beans! I have another planting of bush beans that will be ready to harvest this week, so the garden is really pumping out the beans this year.
ReplyDeleteButternut will always be in my garden, even if it does devour have the garden space!
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Ribbit, it was soooo good. I licked my plate ;-)
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Robin, I'm picking a few a week now. I missed picking a couple of days, so lost half of them. Yesterday was picking day, and just as I started out, it began raining. I'm sure they're mushy today.
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Daphne, I'd have left them if the crockpot didn't have that hairline crack in the bottom. I was concerned it could break and make a nasty mess! I ended up transferring its contents to the soup pot, just as soon as there was room, and finished it off on the stove. When there was room to get all three pots into one pot, I called it "done!".
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Mr. H., the total for tomatoes is 185 pounds so far this year. I'm sick of them already, and I've picked less than half of last year's total. Next year I'm cutting back on the amount I plant. Really. Yes, I am.
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Erin, I shortened the lifespan of a few of mine yesterday, and plan on shortening the lifespan of a few more today.
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RandomGardener, Homestead is not pink, I don't know about Rutgers. My homestead is quite small, red and sweet. My Brandywine, clear Pink Early and Dwarf Champion are all pink.
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Shawn Ann, I don't mind, 'cause I can sleep in the next morning if I want :-) No little ones to get up for, and the dogs have a doggy door if they need to go out.
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Great harvest, as usual. And strawberries to boot. JEALOUS!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous week of harvesting. And an amazing amount of food put by for the winter. I'm tired just thinking about all of the work that took. And now I must face the pile of tomatoes on my kitchen counter. I use my mother's old colander on my tomatoes. I'll bet it dates back to the late 1930s. I'll post a photo of it in use one of these days.
ReplyDelete"Next year I'm cutting back on the amount I plant. Really."
ReplyDeleteUm, didn't you say that about this time last year, too? LOL! Amazing harvest, as always...
Granny, you dazzle me with all your harvesting and canning abilities.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, the strawberries are slowing down. I'm just waiting for some cooler weather so I can dig out a few plants and let the bed renew itself. I did have a larger harvest last week, but grandson spent a few days and ate them before I could photo or weigh!
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Lou Murray, sometimes the old things work just a s well as the new ones. Myself included ;-)
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SB, I really mean it this time. Yes I do! I just picked another 21 pounds today, and I'm not finished yet :-(
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Thyme2, that's me....Razzle Dazzle Granny! LOL
Beautiful bounty! You definitely have 2 green thumbs! Everything looks so yummy!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Holly!
ReplyDeleteI think we need to just crown you the tomato queen because you definitely deserve the title. Holy smokes you are rolling in tomatoes (juice, sauce, and fruits!) Could you send a little of that central Washington sunshine and heat my direction?! I got a bunch of large green tomatoes that could use your magic touch this year. :D
ReplyDeleteYou are having another bumper year! Over a hundred pounds of produce in a week is impressive. Your kitchen must get pretty steamy with all that canning.
ReplyDeleteDan, I bought a big box fan for the patio, but I've moved it into the kitchen for the summer! The air conditioning just can't keep up with the canner ;-)
ReplyDeleteKitsap, I'm trying to send ripe tomatoes your way! I wish I could send mine your way ;-) My counter is full again today, and I have a gallon of juice in the fridge, waiting to be canned tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteEverything looks delicous. The strawberries especially.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at your proclamation to Mr H that you will cut back on tomatoes next year. I could swear you said that last year too and just see where you are.
ReplyDeleteWowie. That's a lot of stuff.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get a nap on the days after you stay up so late.
ZZ, I'm not getting a lot of strawberries, which makes the ones I get taste all that much better! I haven't had a chance to get tired of them.
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Daphne, I know...I do think I've learned my lesson, but I guess we'll find out next year. I've certainly whittled down my "want" list for varieties.
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Stefaneener, yesterday morning Mr. Granny came in to check on me, 'cause I slept until 9:30. I NEVER sleep until 9:30!