Before I left on vacation

This year having drip irrigation I had huge harvests. Anyone in Central Illinois this summer knows that's a miracle. We were so behind in precipitation. I believe we are experiencing desertification and that doesn't mean more chocolate or ice cream if you follow me. BUT that's my tomatos on the vine. I've had a steady harvest of tomatoes for over 2 months now. But plenty looked great on the vine when I left.

I was in South Dakota for about 10 days. Supposed to be a week but our truck broke down. Anyway, meanwhile back on the homestead, it rained and rained. We got the remnants of hurricane, Isaac or was it Ilene? I'm sure it was Isaac. Ok well returned and found tomatoes scattered all over yard. One vine the tomatoes all have end rot. And the rest look sad. I think the above 2 may be the only ones that survived and ripened. And all my squash, melon, and cucumber vines were dead in the garden. I haven't even looked at all the winter squash vines by pool yet. I'm scared. But very sad. I'll take pictures of it when sun comes' up.

From the backyard gate the sweet potatoes have taken over the back 2 beds and all over the back fence and trying to latch on to gate even. And Peter Rabbit is living in the corner. So suspect #1.

 

 

Here's the summer squash bed. Last night I threw melon vine with one rotten melon on it as well.

Strawberries I thinned the half on the left. Yeah they came right back. I'm going to try and move them to be ground cover under blueberries but haven't figured out how to do that yet.

Former melon trellis

Cucumber trellis

To me this looks like blight or mildew?

End rot

Brussel sprouts holding their own. Beautiful plants that white flies/mites have lived on and now leaves not so pretty.

The frost will come kill off the bugs and the brussel sprouts will survive and flourish.

 

Gardening done just on time

before the storm.

Just replanted the box with some fall/winter plants. Ornamental Kale two beauties.

Everytime I get the pool chemicals and pH right it rains.... Oh well we have only had like 4 swimming days.

Salsa and pickles canned

Made 10 point size jars of salsa and tasted today. Hmmmm mmmmmm. Also 5 I think jars of pickles

And they said it couldn't be done! EASY PEASY TOMATO PASTE

Sometimes LAZINESS is the mother of invention... I didn't invent this recipe though, I'm just that lazy. Seemed the tomatoes were coming too fast and I hadn't decided what to make with what yet. I purposely grew all of these Osaka (Roma type) tomatoes to make paste then became disheartened by the stories on the internet of paste disasters and working all day only to have bland watery results.



Then I found a recipe for just drying them in oven and making paste from that. No blanching, shocking, peeling, just cutting and baking. WOWZA someone after my own heart. I printed part of the instructions but then when I stared at it and napped on it noticed I had copied maybe just part of the instructions. In other words doubt set in. Really is this it? Then I couldn't find the original blog it came from to save my life. I swear it's my punishment for teasing the author(s) of Knitspot about having yarn projects, garden pictures, recipes and the progress of one pregnant yarner (no idea if real word) in one post. I know who am I? I am as ADHD as the best of them. But alas went back through all of her summer time posts for 2 or 3 years and couldn't find it. www.knitspot.com ? Was it a fig newton of my imagination?

I finally found it again!!!

http://deniseskitchen.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/the-lazy-girls-guide-to-preserving-tomatoes/
Napped again. Sunday almost over. Oh what the heck what can it hurt but to try, I'd only be sacrificing 40 or so of my lovely's.

Napped one more time. Ok let's do this! And since I don't have enough Osaka's alone we'll throw in the disturbing shaped Cherokee Purples. And forget the seasoning how do I know if I want it sweet or salty or vinegar or lemon juice or olive oil. I'm going for pure tomato substrate! We have a plant, oops I mean plan, maybe I've over slept!

First batch all Osakas

Cherokee Purple

Cherokee Purple

Cherokee purple, hmm, more seeds tougher top, eh? What the heck?

1st batch of 2 trays dry

Sun ripening by back window since I have so little counterspace in my yet to be remodeled kitchen. Don't you love our wallpaper. It's called CertainTeed. Rylie thinks its permanent now.

Chopping with the Beechler knife (better known as Alaskan Ulu) into quarters. Only injury was grazed by bee when dumped tomato juice on compost pile. They love the smell too apparently.

Start off 400 degrees for 30 min then 2 hours at 250 then shut off went to bed or work.

Throw in processor and pureed.



Into the freezer. This batch was 3 baking sheets laid out close not packed. First set tried 2 trays at once and bottom tray few burned so went to one tray at a time. But 2 trays would work at once probably if I would remember to remove pizza stone and adjusted the tray levels.  :-(

Shazam!!! Can you believe it! And it's like super concentrated wham-bam tomato taste. DELICIOUS!!! Better than plain ol tomato paste. Never again listen to the nay sayers unless you nap on it at least 3 times!

Calla Lilly's under attack!

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@Susan Wagaman's Asiatic Lilies

This is a picture of the beautiful lilies you bequeathed me before you left for NY. 

This year's melon trellis

This year's set up not nearly so tall since leaning on outer fence maybe it'll wind through trellis?

Calla Lilies

Supposed to be white and purple like wedding flowers. These look awfully pink to me!

Beans, glorious beans....

This morning...first day of summer and first summer harvest!

It's been a long time since

I rock and rolled.

Garden Envy thanks to Lincoln Park Zoo Demo Garden

Well first of all I was thinking Hah I have irrigation system now can they top that?

Well yes, because they now also have irrigation system just donated.

I wonder if this is "cattle panel" that I keep wanting to use for trellising hoops and a big tunnel that my husband keeps talking me out of it.

At first I thought "Hey I'm not the only one with Sorrel out of control but turns out this is horseradish." I heard horseradish was ugly but certainly no uglier than Sorrel and really not ugly to me? I've seen uglier. Like Echinacea Purpura if you don't hack away the dead ones between winter and summer. YUCK!

We both have a huge batch of Chinese red giant mustard greens!

AND WE both have Asparagus BLUES. There's didn't really come back either! Hah! Maybe we picked the wrong year to start and Asparagus Bed.

I currently am using an old bird seed feeder or it must be squirrel feeder because it's for holding corn cobs as my "aerator" for the compost bin. This is great idea and probably easier to put in place.

We will make all of our bins this way from now on. And I'm going to add sitting ledge to top of the raised beds in garden after this is done.

Wow is that beautiful! What is it?

My potato sacks that I plan to plant today or tomorrow will be much more colorful! I already put the early potatoes in a bed. But the mid season fancy shmancy potatoes are going in sacks. Next year I'm growing them all in a "potato box" which my husband will be making but doesn't know yet!

Oh so envious.