Garden update

We’re reaching the busy time of summer–the tomatoes are coming on fast, the cabbages are heading up, I pulled a bunch of carrots the other day, and I’ve been picking half a quart of black raspberries every day. I haven’t canned much this year because I still have so many jars of stuff from last year. I didn’t even plant cucumbers this year since we had so many pickles, and I need to find a recipe that uses a lot of jam because I have so much.

This was my first year for growing beets, and I have been eating tons (and enjoying them.) I pickled 4 pints of beets and froze some of the beet greens that I didn’t get to. I’ve frozen a nice amount of strawberries, wild blackberries, and cherries as well. It will be a good winter for pies!

My tomatoes are doing well this year, for me. I have never had much more than moderate luck with tomatoes. My plants don’t get very big, and neither do the tomatoes. I have had trouble with the leaves turning yellow, curling up, and dying. I’m sure there is something wrong there, but I just haven’t put any effort into figuring out what yet. I usually get a small to moderate yield of tomatoes, so it’s not a loss to me. I just don’t get the massive inundation of tomatoes that you hear about gardeners having to deal with. Someday I want to be able to can tomatoes and juice and sauce and salsa, and still have leftovers!

I’ve eaten one head of cabbage, and I have another that is ready to cut any day. Someday I want to figure out how to make sauerkraut, but that’s not the highest thing on my list right now.

I pulled a lot of carrots this week. It’s fun to tug on them and see what you pull out, especially when it’s a big one. I was pleased, considering I’ve never done carrots before either. They’re all pretty short, but pleasingly plump, and tasty. I was afraid they’d be all gnarly, but they have been quite nicely shaped.

I canned 4 pints of pickled carrots, but one didn’t seal. I also did 11 pints of tomatoes.