Inch by Inch, Row by Row. (Part Two)

A little over two weeks into July and the abundance and beauty of the garden is really becoming apparent. The hard part is done and the focus can shift on keeping the weeds and pests in check and integrating all the bounty into creative meals and easy snacking all the while trying to take a moment from time to time to capture the sights and smells of the landscape. Its usually during these times of reflection that I notice the diversity of bugs, casts of light and the occasional vole scurrying by or the slither of a garden snake darting through the grass and under the tomato bed as I just witnessed while carrying a bucket of kitchen scraps to the compost pile.

A lily after a midday rain shower.

The Rainbow Chard and Celery

Collard Greens sizing up to elephant ear status.

Peas have been abundant but most snap peas don't even make it into the bucket, luckily the raw shell peas are less appealing to me and a bit more work to snack on.

Although the underbrush around the newly fallen maples is a bit of a jungle, the berries seem much more abundant this year and should be ripening soon.

The tomato bed is finally complete with A frame trellis in place. So far the design I planned out seems to be working and stable. I used all fresh beech saplings in the construction keeping the cost down to just a few dollars for twine and some beefy 6" nails.  I also splurged on a $15 roll of deer netting that wrapped around the A frame pretty easily and hopefully will deter any major damage throughout the season. I do have to construct some type of gate for the front in the coming week.

I love the view down the tunnel, as the plants climb Im curious what type of canopy it will create and how well the fruit will set on both sides.

A recent weekend harvest !

Beets, snap peas, last of the crinkled cress. 

Lettuce, Escarole and Frisee 

This broccoli plant was tucked in between a few others and never really took off and just started bolting. I decided to pull it to cut down on the competition for nutrients. The cross section of soil and the fungi growth made for a great picture by my wonderful wife Cassi.

Both the Noche and Goldmine Summer Squash are just beginning to produce !

So many greens, I think I sneak a couple of these giant leaves into every meal.

Rainbow Chard is next on the list of munchables !

The peppers are starting to flower and Im gonna slide my old tomato cages around them this year as I lost a few last year due to a strong thunderstorm blowing a few plants over that were bearing some plump peppers, hopefully the cages will keep that from happening this year.

Broccoli is really sizing up nicely into some wonderful heads and making a grand appearance to a few veggie stir fry dinners this past week !

Bush beans are leafing out and ready to start producing some beans.

Beets are ready and willing for pulling and its another easily snipped green, not that we are in need of much more nutritious leafy greens !

Excited about this Jamaican Sour Gherkin plant which produces some tangy grape sized fruit along with some lemon cukes on the right and diva cukes on the left ! Im going to string a trellis for those this week as well.

First handful of blueberries at the homestead are here !

The beginnings of the compost system we have started, its slow and steady and has grown to about half a bin so far with a nice integration of kitchen scraps, lawn clippings and coffee grounds starting the process.

The brush pile has been getting burned slowly.

Snapdragon still life with twine.

Yarrow has been abundant around the homestead, stay tuned for a few recipes and for its uses and healing properties.

And lastly a brief encounter with a cute lil porcupine who was meandering through the overgrown brush chomping quietly on some fresh greens, I had a few words with him and told him the poison ivy was probably the best food option for him and also to please keep a distance from our tomato plants. Hopefully he understood me !

Till next check up... coming up Ill show you what we did with our large garlic scape harvest and update you on a few ferments underway including a strawberry rhubarb wine and the maple wine I started early this spring.

Stocking the Cellar.

So the first week of September has come and the garden is still flourishing with delicious offerings. The wife and I decided this Labor Day weekend would be a great time to make some progress on our bounty and preserve plenty of summers tasty offerings.

Final Stock for the Weekend

12 Loaves Zucchini Bread

12 Pints Corn Salsa

11 Pints Tomato Sauce

6 Pints Maple Bread & Buter Pickles

4 Pints Sherry Bread & Butter Pickles

6 Pints Bread & Butter Pickles

6 Pints of Pickled Eggplant

5 Pints Salsa Verde

Here are the recipes we used... with some adaptations from the originals :

Zucchini Bread

6 Eggs

2 sticks of Butter

1 cup Sunflower Oil

2 tbls Vanilla*

2 tbls Blackstrap Molasses*

1 cup Maple Syrup

7 cups Grated Zucchini

8 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 tbls Cinnamon*

2 tsp Baking Soda*

1/2 tsp Baking Powder*
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips*

2 tsp Applewood Smoked Sea Salt

We used a recipe from one of my favorite local food blogs Diary of a Locavore !
Added some maple syrup and doubled everything up pretty much... we used these great 4 loaf mini bread pans we scored for $3ea @ Mardens.

Corn Salsa

10 ears Fresh Corn

5# Heirloom Tomatoes

5 Hot Peppers (Poblano, Serrano, Cubano and Anaheim)

1 Large Onion

6 Cloves Garlic

1 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup Red Wine Vinegar*

1 cup Moscatel Vinegar*

1 cup Maple Syrup

1 tbls Cumin*

4 tbsp Sea Salt

Found this recipe from Mother Earth News but we amped up the Garlic and variations of vinegar varieties to add more complexity and to be all fancy and cool. Really we just had a few partial bottles in the cupboard and I figured it would be a good experiment !

Tomato Sauce

25# Heirloom Tomatoes

2 Medium Onions

1 Bulb Garlic

1 Quart Ace Peppers

Smoked Applewood Sea Salt

Fresh Thyme, Sage, Savory

Zinfandel Wine*

Olive Oil*

We don't get all fussy with tomato sauce, peels, seeds and all go into the caldron and simmer for 6 hours of so... start with the Onions, Garlic and Peppers browned in some Olive Oil and then unstick them with a dousing of red wine then pile the tomatoes in as you chop. Simmer for 2-3 hours skimming occasionally. Puree with a submersion hand held blender and simmer for a couple more hours till the liquid thickens slowly seasoning to taste as it nears completion. I always am very gentle on salt and herbs till the last two hours... if you over salt early it just gets more pronounced as the sauce concentrates and thickens.

Bread & Butter Pickles

8 cups Sliced Cucumbers

2 Large Onion (1 Red 1 White)

8 tsp Sea Salt

14 tbls Pickling Spice*

(Mustard Seed, Peppercorns, Red Pepper Flakes, Dill Seed, Clove among more)

2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

2 cups Red Wine Vinegar(

1 cup Maple Syrup (Maple Style)

1/4 cup Pedro Ximenez (Sherry Style)*

We are new to pickles... I have done a couple quick pickle batches using baby cukes from our old community plot but the excess of cucumbers at the homestead got me excited to play this year. We also have acquired some whey from Swallowtail Farm to make a big batch of lacto fermented pickles. Ill be starting that and a kimchi this week and discuss the pro's and con's to using vinegar and canning vs the lacto fermenting method.

Pickled Eggplant

5# Eggplant 
6 Cloves Garlic

2 cups Distilled Water
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup Red Wine Vinegar*

4 tbls Raw Honey

Fresh Thyme, Savory and Sage

4 tbls Sea Salt

So much eggplant... after a few eggplant parms, grilling them whenever possible and thinking about other methods of eating them on a daily basis I was searching around to find a good eggplant canning option and this was the best one I could find that seemed plausible with what I has on hand. I found it on Ball's Website.

Salsa Verde

10# Tomatillos

6 Cloves of Garlic

3 tbls Grated Ginger*

1 Large Grilled Onion

1 Grilled Poblano Pepper

1 Grilled Cubano Pepper

6 tbls Smoked Applewood Sea Salt

1 Lime Squeezed*

We got a deal from a local farmer on some ripe tomatillos and went to town washing them, scorching them under the broiler, grilling up some veggies and filling some jars with this tangy green taste of summer. Looking forward to pouring this over some whitefish in the winter to get a glimpse of summer heat in a jar.

*Denotes Ingredients not from Maine and Italics means it was homegrown !

What a productive weekend spent with my wife working hard in the kitchen and filling some cellar space. These are hopefully going to taste amazing once the snow starts flying.

Till next project.