Another busy weekend. We picked apricots and lots of cukes. We willmake bread and butter pickles and apricot jam Saturday. The apricots are not very nice looking but taste good.

Canning marathon

Mom came to stay with us this weekend, I think I wore us out!! We canned 9 quarts of dill pickles,
5 pints of raspberry-gooseberry jam, 3 pints of pickled beets, we used a new recipe using red wine vinegar it was good. We froze 8 quarts of kohlrabi and then made 2 large jars of refrigerator dill pickles. It was fun canning with Mom. She helped peel and wash vegetables.

The peppers are starting, I found a recipe in Mother Earth News to make homemade hot sauce, it sounds good if anyone wants the recipe it should be on this months website. If I get a good bunch of hot peppers I am going to try it.

tomato wilt

Looking for some advise from my gardening expert sisters. This happens to me almost every year with my tomatoes. The plants look healthy and there is plenty of fruit but the leaves start to die, mostly on the bottom. Not really easy to see with this pic.

I replaced my soil last year and am using disease resistant hybrid seeds.

Any ideas what is causing this (or is this normal) ? I plant them close together (about 2x2 ft apart) and water with a hose usually once a day (not sure if this is too much). I keep planning on getting soaker hose but haven't done it yet.

thanks

Garden producing

We have had great garden goodies this week!! We had frseh potatoes, white, red and purple, creamed fresh peas, raspberries, gooseberries. I made a gooseberry crisp and am making gooseberry cocktail sauce for cocktail meatballs!

Debbie's potatoes

More growing up

Cucumbers begin their upward travel. I'm curious about how this is going to work with the twine.

On the other end of the yard, pie pumpkins are starting their climb on a metal fence.

May the best climber win!

Deckerville wild garlic!

What else can you expect from D-ville, but "wild" garlic. Growing wild in the park and harvested by Deckerville's park caretakers, Debbie and friends. (aka Kevin and Linda).

Debbie's 50 tomato plants!

Posted for Debbie:

"Some plants were bought and hand planted, some planted by seed right in the ground and some by seed in pots and then planted.

"Weeds are hand hoed. Area between rows is rotatilled.

"Water is done by rain and when needed by a long hose!"

Fresh goodies!!

The garden is starting to produce, plus we picked strawberries at a friends. We have enjoyed fresh greens, tomatoes, strawberries, and kohlrabi. Eating good in the neighborhood this week. The flowers are coming along nice, the red blaze climbing rose is gorgeous and full of full blooms. The lilly's are blooming, think i am going to add some for next year. I forgot to take a picture of the delphinium but it is beautiful. We made jam, froze berries and have been eating lots of fresh ones. I picked a handful of gooseberries and raspberries yesterday yumm yumm. Of course I made bread too so we could have BLT's.